Page 167 of The Perfect Spiral
My breath quickens slightly as his hand continues its teasing journey up my arm. I’m frozen, unable to stop him. I can feel his hardness against me, and I’m wet enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
He toys with the strap of my top, pulling it down my arm. I’m still facing away from him.
He showers kisses on my shoulder, down to my collarbone, then along the curve of my breast. With a swift, easy move, he pulls back my bikini cup, exposing my breast, and continues his trail of kisses.
Hovering over my nipple, I feel his warm breath on it, then his tongue tracing the perimeter. I release a breathy moan as he takes it into his mouth, sucking on it.
My breathing grows heavier and I close my eyes, leaning my head back against the wall.
Feeling every bit of his mouth on me, he bites and suckles on my breast, his tongue teasing me intermittently. The tingles surge through my body, making me feel hot.
“Uncle Knox, can you get my board?” Adam’s innocent voice comes from the other side of the door.
Knox doesn’t remove his mouth from my breast, but I’m wide-eyed, biting down to suppress a moan.
We hear the door handle being jiggled from the outside and I leap off him, fixing my top and picking up my board from the floor.
He walks over to open the door and I see three little kids standing there, looking up at him. Eden sees him and immediately holds her hands up for him to take her, while Adam runs inside to get his board.
“Hi, Alex!” Adam’s voice echoes loudly in the shed, making me wince a little. I smile back at him and hand him his board.
“Hi, sweetheart! Here’s your board.” I look up to see Eden whispering something to Knox, who still has his hat on backward and looks as hot as hell. I’m trying to ignore him, and he’s doing the same.
Bending down, I pick up my hat from the dusty floor, blowing off the old leaves and dust, and slapping it against my leg to remove the rest.
I place it back on my head and weave my way around Knox and Eden, leaving the shed. I have Noah and Adam beside me, laughing about how excited they are to surf in the sea together.
Seeing the flash of cameras in front of me, I look around for another way to get to the water without the hassle of the paparazzi in my face.
Suddenly, a hand grabs my arm and pulls me through the sea of paparazzi. Knox places my hand on his waist and guides me through, while I have Adam and Noah in between us, doing my best to protect them.
He still has Eden in his arms, her head lying in the crook of his neck, shielding her face from the flashes, his hand resting on her head.
“Alex! Alex! Is that you in the picture?” The same question is repeated over and over again as we navigate through the crowd. It feels like we’ve jumped into a shark tank with red meat tied around our waists.
I notice my grip on his waist is tighter, so I loosen it slightly. The cameras are getting uncomfortably close, hitting off my hat.
I let go of Knox to pull my hat over my face, shielding it from them. Where is the ocean? “Get off her! Now!” I hear the booming sound of his voice in front of me. Seeing a frightened Noah and Adam, I push them forward to walk on, while I hear Eden giggle in his arms.
“Come on, keep walking.” I kiss Adam and Noah on the head to try to distract them. It works, and I keep them walking forward, feeling Knox’s hand on my back, guiding me along from behind.
Finally reaching a space where there aren’t cramped bodies around, I notice that my heart rate is alarmingly high.
I get hugs from Adam and Noah before they run off into the sea, telling me to watch them on their boards. I shut my eyes and pull my hat down lower, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.
There were so many of them.
Once I find myself back to a normal state, I stand in the sand, taking in the view. It’s calm today, and I see Ben out in the sea with Hannah, teaching her to surf.
She’s constantly falling back into the water, and he’s picking herup, laughing at her attempts. I start to walk nearer to the sea, where I can put my board down in the sand.
“Knox? Why are they here screaming at you and Aunt Alex?” Eden asks innocently behind me. I don’t turn around because I don’t want to see or talk to him.
“Well, sweetie, they like her too much and they all want to know her. So they ask questions,” he explains to her in a way she can understand.
He’s always had a soft spot for her. How can he be so sweet after what happened in the shed?
“Why do they ask questions, Aunt Alex?” Eden’s question makes me turn around to face her. I see her poking the side of Knox’s jaw while he pretends to try to bite her hand.
