Page 8 of Knox
"I don’t worship anything or anyone," Adrian said, though he was very aware that the decor of his room called him a liar.
Knox wasn’t listening anyway. He’d spotted the body pillow on Adrian’s bed, and when Adrian followed where his gaze had landed, he fervently wished that the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
Before, he hadn’t been sure if he was dreaming. Now he was certain he was having a nightmare.
"What is this?" Knox asked. "A naked depiction of me?"
Adrian turned away, unable to face the man. This was too much. From the corner of his eyes, though, he saw Knox pick up the pillow and study it in detail.
"It’s not very accurate," Knox mused.
"What do you mean?" Adrian made himself ask, forcing the words through a throat that felt too tight to speak at all.
"I’m bigger than this."
What? Now Adrian had to turn and look—only to see Knox examining the depiction of his groin area. The man on the pillow was decently hung. Adrian had never once thought that he looked small. "No way," he said without thinking.
Knox raised an eyebrow at him. "You don’t believe me when I say this is inaccurate?"
Adrian’s eyes shot down to Knox’s groin before he could stop himself. The man was wearing pants, but they weren’t hiding everything—in fact, they weren’t designed to hideanything.Adrian knew that from the books; Knox liked to show off what hehad. He was an incubus after all. Not thatthisKnox could be an incubus, but there was a decent bulge there and…
"Fuck," Adrian whispered, forcing himself to look away.
"I’m a grower," Knox said with a hint of amusement. "Would you like to see? I can show you."
"No!" Adrian said quickly. He did not want this stranger to undress in his bedroom. "I don’t know why you crashed through my skylight or what’s going on with you, but this is harrassment."
"Harrassment?" Knox echoed. "You’ve got paintings showing me naked and I’m fairly certain you were sizing me up."
"What the fuck am I supposed to do when you’re running around pretending to be someone you’re not!" Adrian exploded. He couldn’t take any more of this. He was not the creep here. "You need to take off those damn horns and stop messing with me. This isn’t funny anymore!"
Knox didn’t react with anger as Adrian had expected. Instead, his expression turned serious, a flicker of something dangerous sparking in his eyes. And then, those eyes began to glow like molten gold—just like they did in the books. And that wasn’t all. Shadows danced around him, tendrils of darkness that snaked across the floor and curled around Adrian’s ankles like vines.
Adrenaline shot through Adrian’s system, stealing the breath from his lungs. His heart pounded against his ribs.
How could this be happening?
"I’m not pretending," Knox said in a low tone of voice. "This is who I am."
Adrian stared at him, at the glowing eyes, at the shadows that danced to an unheard melody. This was no trick of the light, no elaborate cosplay.
"How?" he whispered.
The shadows retreated and Knox’s eyes returned to their regular color. Still, Adrian could not stop staring at him. This was the man he’d been fantasizing about for the past three years. His fictional crush.
In the real world.
His mind rebelled.
"How is this possible?" he asked, a little louder this time.
Knox, the real incubus standing in his room, turned to the posters again, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I don’t know, but I am thinking that my enemies somehow banished me to a realm without magic, or very little magic." He shook his head, glancing at Adrian again. "I showed you a glimpse of my powers but I could not keep them up for long. There is no ambient magic to draw from. The only possible source…" he stopped without finishing the sentence as if he thought better of it.
Adrian didn’t need him to say it, though.
If this was Knox… if this wastrulyKnox…
Adrian knew his powers and capabilities. He’d spent the past three years reading all five hundred chapters ofMonsters of Veridiaagain and again. Knox could draw some power from the magic around him, but that was never hismainpower source.
