Page 123 of Say It Isn't So

I swallowed.

“I’m done tiptoeing around this. You, me.” His voice was deep, almost hoarse. “You’re mine, do you understand me? So there’s no way in hell I’m letting you walk out this door to spend a second with a man who isn’t me.”

A delicious sensation washed over me. I wasn’t sure how to describe it other than to say that it made me feel warm inside. It made the corners of my mouth turn up, and had me giddy, almost like a schoolgirl finding out her crush liked her. I felt desired and like I was the winner of the greatest prize in the world—Knox Rhodes, the biggest green flag and the one man I didn’t want to stay away from.

“What about Rina?” Suddenly I felt like storm clouds came over us again and I was terrified of being rained on. I was done with the raging thunder and horrible storms we’d had to endure, yet I had to ask about her just the same. I assumed he had been out with Rina tonight and the past few times he’d gone out. We never talked about it, and I liked to pretend it wasn’t the case, but I knew it in my gut.

He took one of his hands off the door and placed a hand on my cheek. Instinctively I leaned into his touch, loving the way it felt to have his hand on me. “It ended before it even started. Nothing happened between us.”

“You guys didn’t—” I couldn’t even finish the thought.

Thankfully, he didn’t make me—he already knew where my mind was at. “Nothing happened,” he repeated, this time in a no-nonsense tone that sent goosebumps up my arms.

I didn’t know how a woman could be so close to Knox and not kiss him, not want to wrap her legs around him. But to say I felt nothing but relief would’ve been an understatement, like the understatement of the frigging century. To think that he could’ve been intimate with her again made me sick to my stomach. Knowing how wrong I was, though, oof.

“There was nothing between her and I. I tried to stay away from you for your sake. I tried to give Rina another chance for her sake, but who was I kidding?” His eyes searched mine. “We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can stop this thing between us.”

I smiled and laced my arms around his neck, letting my clutch fall to the floor. I loved that even though he pushed me away, he still felt it, he still knew there was something between us. I wanted so badly to kiss him, but first wanted to make sure we were on the same page. “I wasn’t going out on a date tonight. I want you, Knox, and only you. And it’s sweet that you care about my relationship with my dad, but if he really loves me, then he needs to get on board.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, because I want to be with you, and I want the whole world to know that I’m the reason Knox Rhodes is off the market.”

In case you weren’t getting the memo here, Knox Rhodes was off the market.

And, of course, so was I, Bianca Morelli. I’d never been so happy over the notion.

Without another word, he dipped his head down and his lips crashed onto mine like waves against the shore during a hurricane—ferociously. He pulled my bottom lip between his teeth and bit down hard. I parted my lips and opened for him, his tongue wasting no time claiming mine. I was glad my arms were wrapped around his neck because I needed all the help I could get to steady myself. The more our tongues entwined, the dizzier with lust and desire I got. I grabbed hold of his tongue and sucked on it like it was the greatest piece of candy known to man.

One of his hands cradled the back of my head now as the other slid from my cheek to my neck, but he kept a firm grasp on me. A moan rose in my throat as he pulled back to trace the form of my lips with his tongue.

“Good thing I have life insurance,” he said, dropping his head on my shoulder as he nuzzled my neck, getting entangled in my hair.

I swept my hair to the other side to give him better access to the soft skin he so clearly sought. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath, to understand what he was saying. “Why’s that?”

“Because when we do finally have sex, sex with you might just be the death of me.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Bianca

I knew Knoxand I were on borrowed time once we’d officially gotten together. It was a great feeling, but also a huge pain in the butt. Why, you ask? Knox was scheduled to leave for another three weeks of fashion weeks—this time for mens’ collections—and since I was no longer working, I wouldn’t be joining him. There was simply no reason.

Over breakfast one morning, I broached the subject. “So, you’ll be leaving for London soon, huh?”

Peering at me over his mug of coffee, Knox smiled. “About that, I have an idea.”

I was giddy just wondering what his idea was. “Do tell.”

He stood up and walked behind me to massage my neck. “Come with me.”

Tingling in the best way possible at his touch, I beamed and looked up and over at him. “You can’t be serious.”

He spun around, bent down in front of me, and rubbed my knee. It’d been like this—he’d barely been able to keep his hands off me, always finding even the smallest ways to touch me. Although we hadn’t done the deed yet, which was killing me, I knew it’d happen when it was right. And until that time came, we had both agreed it’d be best for our joint sanity that I stay in the guest room. In the meantime, I lived for each little touch. Interrupting my thoughts, Knox asked, “Why not? Maybe you can make some connections there for your wedding dresses and we’ll get to travel together again, but this time intentionally. I have a room in each city, so you’re covered there. We just need to get you plane tickets.”

I thought about his proposition. It wasn’t a bad one. While he was at shows, I could start making some progress on my new project, and we’d get to spend the evenings together.Bellissimawas also supposed to be at every one, too, and I knew my sisters were taking turns covering them with other team members, so that meant I’d get to spend some time with them as well. All in all, it sounded like a good deal. Finally, I said, “Okay, I’m in. I’ll book my flights today.”

He kissed the tip of my nose and sat back down. “Good. I’m excited.”

---