Page 28 of Possessed By Knox
I pull the hoodie close and bury my face into it, wishing it was the man’s arms I was buried in. Wishing it was that gorgeous face I was kissing.
He probably hates me now. Leaving the way I did…I’d never forgive me if I were in his place. I left like a coward, but there’s no way I’d have found the strength to leave that clubhouse if Knox had asked me to stay. It shames me, knowing I would have caved in, put my sister’s freedom at risk, so I had to leave.
Maybe…with time, I’ll forget him. In some near future, Knox will be nothing but a fond memory. It’s no use moping and crying about it. He’s just someone I met, gave my heart and body to, shared a lot of my firsts with, but it’s not a big deal. It’s not…
Christ, I miss him.
I pull the covers tighter and bury my nose in his hoodie, seeking to lose myself in the memory of him, when a loud thud sends me jolting upright. I blink owlishly at the door when I realize the noise is coming from the hallway. Probably someone dropped their luggage or something. What do I care?
I start to lower myself back onto the bed when I hear another muffled crash, and I’m about to ignore that too when I hear it. His voice.
My breath hitches. No, it can’t be. I tell myself to stay put, to ignore it since I’m obviously hallucinating, and to let whatever chaos is happening outside my door continue without me. But his voice comes again and my heart jumps, a jolt of something electric shooting through me.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and I’m running before I can even process my thoughts, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor as I rush toward the door. I have to see him. I have to.
I fling the door open and stumble out of my room, and there he is, a crowd of girls practically swarming him. He’s laughing, that easy charming laugh that drew me in the first time I heard it, and from the looks of things, it’s drawing the same kind of attention.
He looks so good, more handsome than I remember with the way the sunlight catches his hair and his eyes crinkle when he smiles.
Then he looks up and sees me.
His smile falters, and his eyes widening slightly is the only indication I get of his state of mind before he starts moving toward me. The girls around him seem to melt away, dozens of eyes following his movements until he’s standing in front of me.
He’s here.
He’s really here.
He shouldn’t be here.
And yet, I find myself stepping aside for him. He walks into my room and shuts the door behind him, and the world melts away. Standing in the center of my dorm room, the only sound is our ragged breaths. My mind is a jumble of emotions, a chaotic mix of joy, disbelief, and a raw, aching need. I want torun to him, feel his arms around me, bury my face in his throat and climb him like a tree, but I lost the right to do that when I left.
“Knox—”
The words are barely out when I find myself spun around with my back pressed to him and my arms pinned behind my back. It happens so fast that I barely register the move.
“Do you have any idea the heartache you’ve caused me?” His voice is hard and warm and so goddamned sexy against my ear that it sends chills racing down my spine. “Left me waiting for you…without so much as a goodbye.”
Shame curls in my chest at his words, and it hurts. Leaving hurt, but seeing him like this tears me to shreds. “I’m sorry,” I sniff.
“Sorry?” His lips trail over my neck and shoulder, punctuating his words with kisses that make my sex ache. “What exactly are you sorry about, little bird?”
“For leaving,” I whisper, tears crowding my eyes. The ache in my chest sends the tears falling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”
“You had a choice to stay and talk to me,” he says, his voice dangerously low. “To let me take care of you instead of offering yourself as a sacrificial lamb.”
His words give me pause. “H-how did you know?”
“Your sister called your mother and heard all about your foolish little deal. We had to go there and deal with your parents.” He chuckles. “Ransom hacked into your parents’ finances and caught them on tax fraud which he used to blackmail them into staying away from you and Abby, or risk losing everything and going to jail. Your sister gave them a piece of her mind and threatened to get a restraining order if they contacted either one of you again. And then the school wouldn’tgive me your address so I had to have Ransom hack into their systems too. There’s no length I wouldn’t go to find you, Ruth.”
My lips tremble at his words. “Knox—”
He yanks my sleeping shorts halfway down my thighs. “You left,” he growls. “I ought to punish you for that so you never think of leaving me again.”
“I had to,” I say weakly, gasping when his hand slips between my legs and his fingers graze my sex, groaning when he finds me wet.
“Fuck, I have to have you now,” he pants in my ear, and then he pushes back to reach for something. I turn around to see him grab the scarf I left hanging on the bedpost. I barely have time to react before he’s tying my hands together in front of me. When they’re secure, he lifts them over my head and loops the scarf over a hook on the back of the door. “I damn near lost my mind when I realized you’d left.” He brings his hand to my cheek and smooths it down my skin. “Do you think I’m going to let you run away from me again?”
“I’m sorry.”
