Page 74 of Pucking Knox
Knox: Would do it a thousand times again, Princess.
She's still playing her perfect daughter role in public – all proper manners and campaign-appropriate behavior. But in private? In private she's fire and need and everything I never knew I needed.
The guys notice the change in me during afternoon workouts.
"Different energy," Grey comments as we spot each other. "Like you finally figured your shit out."
"I have."
Another text from Kennedy.
Kennedy: Tell me about this date tonight
Knox: The senator's daughter should prepare herself
Knox: You can keep the good girl act
Knox: You drive me wild
The surprise has been days in planning. The rooftop access wasn't easy to arrange, but Grey knows a guy who knows a guy. The lights took hours to string just right, creating a canopy of stars below the real ones.
"Need help setting up?" Grey offers after practice.
"Got it." I bump Grey’s shoulder in thanks. "Just... maybe run interference if Ace asks where I am?"
"Got you covered." He grins. "Though he probably knows. He's not stupid."
No, Ace isn't stupid. He sees how I look at his sister. How I'm trying to be worthy of her. How I'm finally becoming the man she deserves. But we’ve been keeping things private, so I don’t know how much Ace truly knows.
The rooftop transforms as sunset approaches. Lights twinkle against the skyline, blankets spread for stargazing, everything ready for asking the question that's been burning in my throat:
Be mine. For real this time. No more pretending or hiding or playing roles.
Just us.
Forever.
My phone lights up one more time.
Kennedy: The senator's daughter finds herself quite anticipatory regarding tonight's academic pursuits.
I grin, typing.
Knox: The senator's daughter should prepare herself for much more than academics.
Because tonight isn't about studying or maintaining distance or playing roles.
Tonight is about forever.
And I'm finally ready to truly ask for it.
This time it won’t include my dick.
Chapter 29
When Knox texts me to meet him on the Palmer Building rooftop, I already know what he's planning.
I've seen it in him lately - the quiet confidence replacing his old swagger, the way he's been proving himself without expecting immediate forgiveness, how he's turned his father's arrest into motivation instead of destruction.
