Page 63 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

“You made cheesecake?”

He snorts. “No, the supermarket made them. They were in the fridge section in a pack of four. I threw them in my freezer all day, so by the time we’re ready for them, they’ll be nice and cold.”

“You thought of everything.” I lean back and make him hold my weight despite his efforts to open and pour wine one-handed. “I love this.”

Lifting a glass, he hands it to me with a gentle kiss on my temple. This isn’t one-night-stand material. This is way more. This is breaking all of my rules and scares the shit out of me. This is the part where everything falls apart. I’ve seen this show before, and right at the moment I allow myself to relax and enjoy something, it’ll all fall apart.

But when I take a hesitant sip of my wine… nothing happens. The world doesn’t burn down, and Eric doesn’t flip personalities and declare this all a giant scam. If history were to repeat itself, this is the part where he’d ask me for money, or tell me he just lost his job, so he needs a couch to sleep onjust for a few days. But that doesn’t happen. The worst Eric does is kiss my temple, nuzzle my hair, and whisper that I’m beautiful.

So I take another sip.

Most girls say the one-night stand is where they toss their inhibitions aside. They tell their friends how romantic he was, how chivalrous, how respectful, even if it’s not true. They paint him to be a hero among men, if only to have a moment in the spotlight and their friends gushing about how lucky they are. It’s an innocent lie, an ego-boosting lie, but a lie nonetheless.

But here I sit with my hero, and I’m actively doing the opposite: I’m tossing my rules aside and allowing this man to romance me when I really shouldn’t. It’s both terrifying and amazing. It’s contradictory, and I’m the type of woman who loathes such a state.

“See the lights?” he murmurs in my ear. He nods across town toward a parking lot lit up like it is a royal compound. “That’s the gym. And I got a text a few hours ago that it’s in lockdown and everyone is safe and happy. Cruz secured that place up tight since his girl works there. Cameras everywhere, alarms that come out to every Checkmate phone, plus the cops, plus the Rollers.” He presses a kiss to the warm skin behind my ear. “It’s safe;he’ssafe, and nobody is getting in or out. Not even the trapper hat killer.”

“You knew I was worried?” I smile. “About Mac, that is. Not the trapper hat killer. He’s right here.”

Moonlight sparkles off his eyes as he sips his wine and grins. “Of course. I don’t think you’re worried something truly bad would happen. You trust the Rollers. But I figure you’re worried the kids might get a bug in their asses and try to sneak out.”

“Maybe. A little,” I admit. “Though logically, all of their sneaking is to each other. And since they’re all together in that building, there’d be no reason to sneak away.”

“Exactly.” Pulling a container open, Eric places the hummus by my leg and offers another container with vegetables to dip. “I knew it wasn’t a total worry for you, because the kids are together. They’re probably causing a scene inside and driving the adults crazy, but bringing you up here could only help. You see it’s calm and everything is fine, so now you can relax a little more. You can be with me and not somewhere else in your head. It’s win-win for us both.”

“Thank you.” I take a carrot stick and slide it through the dip. Crunchy and fresh, and super refreshing for a middle of the night meal.

“You hear from Zeke recently?”

I scoff. “Not for a few days. And definitely not something I want to talk about right now. I’m on my first real date, and talking about my ex isn’t really something I want to do.”

“Hold up.” Eric’s heart races beneath my ear as he takes my wine and sets it aside with a snap. He pulls my face around with rough hands so my neck twists and our eyes meet. “Your first real date?”

“Hmm?”

“Sitting on the ground in the middle of the night eating carrot sticks is your first real date?” His light eyes blaze. “Are you fuckin’ serious right now?”

“Uh… I am, but you make it seem cheap.”

“It is cheap!” He throws his hand up. “The only thing I paid for was the cheesecake cups and the wine. Your first real date cost me twenty-three bucks. Total!”

“So?” I sit up and scowl because he’s ruining it. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that second sip. “I’m enjoying this, Eric. Why isn’t that good enough?”

“Because you need a fancy restaurant, fancy wine, candlelight. Jesus, Katrina! Put your heels back on and feel fancy for a night. This is why Mac is always trying to sell you off. You’re allowed to feel expensive for a night!”

I roll my eyes and lie back on the blanket. Screw him for ruining my body pillow, and screw him again for not kissing my hair anymore. “Expensive is overrated. I’d rather be comfortable, without shoes that pinch my toes, while I eat yummy food, talk with an intelligent man who intimidates me because he makes me feel dumb, and stare at the stars while we search for ours.” I grab his hand and pull him down so we lie shoulder to shoulder and our feet touch the grass beyond the rug. “We could be sitting in an overheated restaurant while we people-watch and eat weird meals. Or we could be here, praying wedon’tsee a shooting star.”

“Katrina…” he growls.

“If you laid the two options out on cards, I’d choose this every time. I’d rather have quiet and privacy over a weird server who keeps asking if we liked our meal. I’d prefer to snack on yummy food and stare at the stars. If you’re not happy with this, then take me home and leave me with the cheesecake cups. I’d rather sit in my building parking lot alone and get fat on cheesecake than have you make my date shitty.”

“Not taking you home,” he grumbles. He pushes his hat off and tosses it beside the picnic basket, then his fingers link with mine and his eyes remain not on the stars, but on my face. “I asked for this date, and you agreed. I’m not taking you anywhere till I get my fill, because fuck knows if you’ll ever agree to this again. I mean, why would you?” He huffs. “The best I offered is sitting on the ground eating cold chicken and carrot sticks. You must be so fuckin’ impressed.”

“Eric…” I turn to meet his eyes. “Shut up. Stop ruining this for me.”

He wants to pick me up and toss me back into his truck. He wants to impress me with candlelight, but has no clue that there are billions of them above us, if only he’d look.

After a long, charged moment, he huffs again and turns back to the sky. “Fine. Tell me something about you. Something real, but not something you don’t like about yourself.”

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