Page 13 of Tamed By A Knight

And it’s just like that, I know nothing will ever be the same again. She’s mine. I’m hers.

I won’t let anything get in the way of it.

8

HUSH

“They giving your girl trouble?” Knight’s grave tone almost makes me regret calling him.

But chatting with Knight about this is a matter of respect. Three fools causing trouble in our city is reason enough for an ass whooping. But Stubble and his crew chose to turn their ire on a Knight Rider, and they have to learn a lesson. Since it’s a personal problem, who better to be their teacher than me? Show them what happens when you fuck with the kings of these streets.

“No.” I wouldn’t be bothering him with this if it weren’t for the three of them sitting at a table a few feet away from me. It’s a small town, not many streets, and a handful of eateries. We were bound to run into each other again.

But this soon? I don’t buy it.

“They giving you trouble?” I can hear his heavy, frustrated breathing through the cellphone’s receiver.

“Yes.” Another point in their favor is that Tara opted for takeout from a family-run burger joint close to her place and a night of movies on her couch, instead of going out for dinner and drinks.

Which is why Stubble and his cronies pitching up rubs me the wrong way. Makes me think they’re following me. Find the biggest guy in town and kick his ass to assert their dominance.

I got bad news for you, boys.

“And you say they’re new in town?”

“Can’t confirm, but with most newcomers understanding their role in the Knight Riders world, I have to assume.” I keep my eyes locked on Stubble, and he does the same to me. The other two keep chatting among themselves, as if nothing’s going down.

I could be crazy. Looking too deep into this. But trusting my instincts has gotten me this far, so why stop now?

“Deal with ‘em how you see fit. Show them who’s boss,” Knight says. “Want me to send a few boys your way? A little help couldn’t hurt.”

“It’ll be over before they get here.” If anything happens at all.

“Got it. Stay safe out there.” Knight kills the call.

With business concluded, I join Tara at the table she’s waiting at. I fall next to her, and with a naughty smile, her hand instantly snakes between my legs.

“How’d it go?” I’m not sure if she knows they’re here. To keep her as far from my business as possible, I told her I had to check in with the boss to see if he needed me.

With low lights in the Coyote Bar that night, and her mind warped by what the night might hold, I can only hope her vision was hazy when it came to the three men staring at us.

“Great. I’m unshackled and all yours.” I hook an arm over her shoulders and pull her tightly against me. Big talk is easy when you’re singling one guy out, but approaching a man and his woman gives reason for pause.

“All mine?” Excitement bubbles over her words.

“Forever and always.” I peck her crown, my attention snapping to one of the waitresses stepping out of the kitchen with a takeaway bag in hand. My heart all but sinks when she delivers it to a table of four on the other side of the restaurant.

Noticing me staring at the waitress—hoping that every time she slips into the kitchen, she returns with our bag—Stubble takes it as an invitation to come over. He and the other two get out of their chairs, dropping a few notes on the table for whatever they drank beforehand.

“Tara, these three are trouble,” I finally have to admit, and do it by whispering against the side of her head. “Let me handle it, okay?”

She looks at me before her gaze settles on them, but I never get a clear answer to whether she accepts or not.

“Funny running into you again, big man,” Stubble says with a skin-crawling snark. To assert dominance, or the perceived assertion anyway, he presses his palms onto our table and leans into them.

I knew it. He’s here for trouble. But I’m torn between giving it to him and the crushing reality of what that might mean for Taraand me. If I deal with them the way I want, she’s going to think I’m a monster. Some unholy creature she should’ve never let close.

“Hush, you know this guy?” Tara raises a brow, her eyes darting between me and Stubble.

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