Page 11 of Big Forbidden Blacksmith

“Sounds difficult,” I murmur, trailing my gaze over his heavily muscled arms. “Have you done it for long?”

“Five years.”

My eyes shoot back to his in shock. “Really? What did you do before then?”

“I was in the Army. Had to quit and come back to run my father’s business when he passed away.”

“I’m so sorry, that must’ve been hard,” I whisper, running a soothing palm over the back of his hand.

Knox doesn’t say anything for a moment, making me wonder if I’ve overstepped some invisible line with him, but I don’t sense any anger from him. “What about you? When did you start painting?”

“I think I was about four? My parents let me draw all over my bedroom walls and kept giving me drawing pencils until I was old enough to start attending art classes. I’ve never thought of doing anything else.”

I leave out the fact that while my parents were more than willing to pay for classes, they’ve never really supported or encouraged me otherwise. I know they’d rather I followed in their footsteps and went into business management or real estate or whatever it is they do. I just can’t bear the thought of doing anything else.

Just as I open my mouth to ask another question, a loud noise fills the house. I sit up abruptly, splashing the floor with some water.

“What is that?” I asked, alarmed.

“It’s just the landline. I’ll go answer it.”

My eyes widen. Maybe I just don’t remember it, but I don’t recall the sound of a phone ringing like that being so jarring. After Knox disappears, I climb out of the tub, being careful not to slip on the wet floor. I towel off before putting on the massive bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Then, I set off to find Knox.

I find him in the living room, speaking to someone on the phone. I wait until he’s done before asking him to show me how to use it. He leaves me to make my call and heads to the kitchen to start making lunch.

“Hello?” Ashley’s guarded voice breaks through the speaker and I let out a sigh.

“Hey, Ashley. It’s me.”

“Lara!” she yells, nearly popping my eardrums. “Why are you calling me from a different number?”

“It’s a long story,” I say, my eyes flitting to the kitchen door.

“I love long stories. Start talking.”

I lower my voice as I start to explain to my best friend what happened yesterday, omitting the part where I tried doing a nude painting—painting I’d hardly even count as started—and instead, lost my virginity to the subject of that painting.

“And that’s what happened,” I finish up my story, hoping it seems convincing.

Ashley is silent for a long time and I wait for her to explode but her voice is calm when it breaks through.

“Let me get this straight. You were on the way to visit me, took a wrong turn, your car broke down and you were left stranded alone in the middle of nowhere and figured that wasn’t traumatizing enough so you let a stranger take you home?”

And had mind-blowing, world-shattering sex with said stranger who calls me his and I really like it.

“Perfectly summarized,” I say.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? Lara, you don’t know this guy! He could have hurt you,” she shouts before letting her voice soften. “Wait—hedidn’thurt you, did he?”

No, but he holds my heart in his hands and could.

“No, he’s been nothing but kind.”

“I’ll need to see that for myself. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

I bite my lip. I have absolutely no clue where the hell I am, but that doesn’t matter. I’m not really ready to leave. That much is clear now that I’m being given the option. The thought of parting with Knox makes me ache more than I thought I could.

“I don’t know.”

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