Page 124 of Sunrise

I want to cry. “Oh, Alex.”

“It was during my weakest point.” His brow pinches as he looks off to the side for a moment and shakes his head. “Well,oneof my weakest points. Knox stopped me before I could do it.”

Sharing this part of himself makes me feel closer to him, but also light years away from him at the same time. “Why are you telling me this now?”

He looks me dead in the eyes, his tone soft and strong. “Because you shared your darkness with us, Sunrise. And I needed to share the rest of mine…ours… with you.”

I knew about his SA. I knew he’s been madly in love with Knox for forever. But this level of intimacy doesn’t just speak about the strength in our trust with one another… it shows that he’s opening up and giving me a glimpse of the person Knox has been fighting to get back since the day he lost him.

Cupping Alex’s face with one hand. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

He’s doneeverything.

“You took on a hippo alien robbery,” I remind him, placing a hand over his heart. “And I bet you’d do it all again if you had to.”

He closes his hand over mine. “In a heartbeat.”

We stare at each other as steam swirls around us. He’s not just saying he’d take another bullet for Knox. He’s saying he’d take one for me…

Vault’s smile warms my soul as he lightly tugs my earlobe.

I love this man so fucking much.

When he leans in to kiss me, I’m sure it was just supposed to be a peck. A gentle assurance that he’s where he wants to be. However, I take control effortlessly and start a spark that sets us alight. Caution blows to the wind as we turn into a tornado of lust and hunger. I shove him against the wall and hold him there with one outstretched arm. My other glides down his body until I cup his balls. Wrapping my hand around them, I pull his sac hard enough to make him groan.

Alternating between nips and licks, I nibble my way down his body until I’m on my knees with his dick jutting out in my face. Stroking the shaft, I suck his head and keep playing with his balls. Massage, pull. Massage, pull.

“God damn, I love your hot mouth on me.” He lets me take my time giving him pleasure, at my pace, in my way. When he finally explodes, Vault fills mymouth with cum and I swallow all of it.

He’s still catching his breath while I wash him. “Thank you for always taking care of me.”

“We take care of each other,” he says in a deep, tired voice. “No matter what. No matter how.Always.”

Something tells me he’d do more than take a bullet for me.

I hope my theory is never put to the test.

Chapter 39

Vault

I’ve tried to get ahold of Knox all goddamn day. He never responded to my text last night, and at first, I assumed his battery probably died. He’s not good at keeping up with that kind of thing. But he’s been home, presumably, all fucking day and never once took my calls or answered any of my texts. Not even the group one.

Relax. It’s fine.

He’s probably just distracted by something. Squirrelly motherfucker. Or maybe he crashed as hard as Sophie did last night and is still sleeping? There’s no reason to worry yet. We’ve all been busy and running on little to no sleep, which is catching up with everyone.

Guess there’s no rest for the wicked.

Checking my watch, I note the time. “The Butterfly Ceremony is about to start,” I warn my girl. Standing in Sophie’s dressing room, in front of her full-length mirror, I smooth out my crisp, perfectly tailored suit again. The man in the mirror is a sculpture of power and seduction. Adjusting my tie so it’s perfect, I’m sucked back into the past…

I can’t get my tie to lay right. The knot is a littlefucked up. Ripping it from my neck, I start the process over.

A loud set of footsteps pound up my stairs and my door suddenly flies open. Knox rushes in, out of breath, and shuts us in my room together. “Don’t go.”

My walls go up immediately. “I don’t have a choice, Knox. I already committed.”

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