Page 24 of Knox
Adrian tried to shake the thoughts, the doubts. Knox was an incubus. Surely that would make things different.
Eventually they reached the hotel, and Adrian checked them in, acutely aware of the strange look the clerk gave Knox. Adrian tried to ignore the attention. Knox’s attire was none of the clerk’s business, after all.
And he had other things to worry about.
Adrian’s fingers clenched around the key card as they stepped into the hotel room. The place screamed "budget accommodation"—carpet floor, a dull floral print, and the scentof industrial cleaning products clinging to the air. The bed, neatly made but visibly uncomfortable, sat in the center, its white linens too crisp to be inviting.
Adrian’s eyes drifted upward, landing on a framed photo above the bed. A young couple laughed on a sunny beach, carefree and joyous. Adrian’s stomach twisted; it looked like the beach where he and Chris had their first date. The memory surged back unbidden: warm sand between their toes, the ocean’s roar, Chris’s laughter. They’d been happy then, before everything fell apart.
He tore his gaze away from the photo, feeling the sting of old wounds reopening.
He chose to look at Knox instead. Already, the incubus was starting to undress. Adrian couldn’t help but stare as Knox pulled off the pajama top, revealing a lean yet muscular torso that seemed too perfect to be real.
But that was because it wasn’t.
Knox was a fictional character, after all. Even if he somehow, impossibly, stood before Adrian now, catching his gaze and holding it.
"I could use what’s left of my powers," he murmured, his voice low. "Put you under my spell to make you forget whatever is causing the sadness in your eyes."
Adrian’s heart skipped a beat as Knox approached him, shirtless and oh so touchable. The incubus reached out and gently lifted Adrian’s chin with two fingers, forcing him to meet his eyes, now tinged with molten gold.
"But I remember what you said about consent. I remember my promise not to touch you." He withdrew his fingers.
What the hell was that about?
Knox wasn't going to touch him? But then, what were they going to do in this hotel room?
Stand and stare at each other?
That wasn't what Adrian had come here for. "Don't treat me like a child," he said. "If I'm asking for… for this," he gestured lamely at their surroundings, "then I know what I'm doing."
"And I know what promise I made," Knox insisted.
"Then what do you want with me?" Exasperation crept into Adrian's voice.
"I don't need to touch you to feed on you," Knox said. "As long as you don't mind giving me a show."
Adrian blinked, trying to process the words. Give Knox a show? "You want me to strip?"
The thought sent a jolt through him. It didn't sit well, which felt silly considering he had gotten this hotel room with the expectation that Knox would see him naked. But standing here now, in the stark light of the budget hotel room, everything felt far too real.
Knox shook his head slowly, his eyes locked onto Adrian's. "I want you to touch yourself," he said. "I want to watch."
Adrian’s heart hammered in his chest.
"No." The word came out more forceful than intended.
Secretly, he wished he was the sort of person who could give Knox a show, but he wasn't—because he didn't have anything to show off.
Knox's brows furrowed. He probably thought he was offering Adrian an 'easier' solution.
In reality, though…
It was as if he was painting a target on Adrian's insecurities.
"What's the issue?" Knox asked. "You don't want me to see you?"
Adrian licked his lips. "I’m… I don’t…" Goddammit, he couldn’t say it. He was small. So small that his ex had never let him be on top after the first time.You can’t get deep enough. You can’t hit the spot.
