by April Hunt
Reed howled, hopping back. “What the fuck? You little—”
Knox fisted the bastard’s shirt and hauled him to his toes. “Think twice before you finish that sentence.”
Knox sensed his three brothers on his six before he saw them. Ryder looked cautious but prepped for action, and Roman, back from wherever he’d disappeared to, stood alert, looking ready to rip off Reed’s head himself.
Liam warned Knox quietly, “Not like he doesn’t deserve an old-fashioned ass-whooping, but there’s an entire crowd of DC cops watching right now. Can’t exactly slip out of an assault charge if you pound his nose to dust in front of dozens of witnesses.”
“What-the-fuck-ever.” Reed slurred his words. “I went for it in the first place because I figured the precinct’s social reject was a sure thing. Didn’t realize her legs had been sealed shut at birth.”
“On second thought, we’ll figure something out.” Liam’s lip curled into a snarl.
Knox whipped his fist back, prepping for contact, when Zoey’s hand clamped down on his arm. “Stop.”
“Let go, angel.”
Her grip firmed, and her voice dropped to a bare whisper. “Please. It’s not worth it.”
Both the plea and her touch stopped Knox cold. Bottom lip caught between her teeth, she peered at him through her long lashes, her cheeks a bright shade of red.
Knox wanted to punch the idiot even more for embarrassing her. Against his better judgment, he dropped Reed back to his feet. The guy swayed before slewing another string of curses and hightailing it across the room to his friends.
Conversations slowly resumed and the dance floor re-filled with bodies.
Zoey wouldn’t look at him, her gaze focused on her feet. He cupped her chin and nudged her face up.
Uncertainty dimmed her pretty blue eyes and made him want to go after Reed for putting it there. “Ignore the asshole.”
“I second that,” Grace’s voice chimed in. His cousin pulled her from his arms and into a hug. “I am so sorry, Zo. I didn’t realize the vulture would descend the moment I left you alone.”
Zoey waved off the apology. “Don’t be silly. We can’t be attached at the hip. And it’s not like I didn’t prepare myself for this before I put on this ridiculous outfit.” She glanced down the front of her body and cringed. “I do kind of look like a reject.”
“No, you don’t,” Knox growled.
Both women’s attention—and his brothers’—shot to him, but Grace masked a smile behind a nod. “You’re right. She doesn’t. Reed wouldn’t know natural beauty if it smacked him on his Cro-Mag forehead. Forget him.”
Zoey’s smile wavered. “Thanks, to both of you. My ego will survive the hit, but I think this is a sign that I’m meant to go home.”
She spun into a turn. Inches before she collided with the dancing couple next to them, Knox caught her elbow. “You’re not getting behind the wheel of a car, angel. I’ll take you home.”
“What?” Her blue eyes whipped toward him, panic plastered all over her face as she shook her head. Glasses sliding down her nose, she looked like a sexy librarian. “No. No-no-no. I’m fine.”
“You had how many Rudy Specials?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. I think we all know Rudy’s been giving us juice and soda for the last hour if not longer. I’m okay.”
“Do you really want to chance it?”
She nibbled her bottom lip, deep in thought. “Grace can give me a ride home.”
Grace grimaced. “Uh, sorry, but I took the Red Line here. I was either going to take it back to the hotel or hit Liam up for a ride.”
Liam agreed. “I can play chauffer for both of you. I don’t mind in the least.”
Knox already vetoed that idea. “That would be going way out of your way. Zoey’s place is practically on the way to mine. It’s not a big deal.”
Knox half expected Zoey to decline his offer. That she had to think about it so intently bothered him. Although not a people person, he hadn’t achieved beastly ogre status yet, and even considered himself on pretty good behavior for most of the night.
The incident with Reed couldn’t be used against him. That jerk would’ve incited a monk to break a vow of nonviolence.
Zoey’s small nod of agreement released a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. As she exchanged goodbyes with his brothers and Grace, he waited, and then let her lead the way to the exit.
A faint breeze drifted in from the Wharf, cooling the temperature a good few degrees. Knox palmed the small of Zoey’s back and guided her right. “We need to make a quick stop at my place.”
Her feet froze. “Your place? Why would you take me to your place?”
“Because I walked here, and to take you home, I need my truck keys—not to mention, my truck. It’s right near the marina.”
“The keys to my apartment are in my car, which is at the parking garage. I can grab them and meet you near—”
“That’s not going to happen. We’ll go together to get your keys and then walk back to my place.” He cast a glance to her fuck-me boots. “Can you walk without killing yourself on those stilts?”
She huffed a snort as she changed direction toward the garage. “I’ll have you know, I’ve walked in these things through four loads of laundry and a grocery trip and didn’t stumble once—at least not one that counted.”
Knox chuckled at her sudden burst of sass. “And how many times didn’t count?”
She ignored him, and he chuckled louder.
He’d been home less than twenty-four hours and couldn’t keep track of how many times he’d smiled. And not so coincidentally, most of them revolved around the woman in front of him. It was her superpower along with her crazy smarts. Both abilities were sexy as hell.
Zoey walked in a mostly straight line, only wobbling when they stepped off the curb. The more the parking garage came into view, the more the carefree, no-filter Zoey disappeared. Her posture stiffened, a far cry from the fluid way she’d danced back at O’Malley’s. And her blue eyes, which had been bright with laughter, were guarded.
Knox liked silence. He liked hearing himself think—but something nagged him ever since he’d hauled that jerk off of her. “What made you go out with Reed? From what I hear, his reputation is colorful enough to travel through the entire DC Metro area.”
“It’s not something that someone like you would understand,” Zoey murmured.
Knox supported her elbow as they cleared another curb and stepped into the garage’s first level. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Like you don’t know.”
“Pretend I don’t and tell me.” He braced himself for an explanation he wouldn’t like.
She flung her hand up and down the length of his body. “Because you’re you.”
“Still not grasping it, angel.”
“You’re Knox Steele. Alpha Man. Women flock to the dark and mysterious type like starved bears to a honey hive, and please don’t insult my intelligence by telling me that you have a stagnant dating life. Remember, I was there all through your teenage years. I witnessed the revolving door firsthand. And I highly doubt it slowed after adding a military uniform to the mix.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it dating.” Knox never hated the truth so much in his life.
He didn’t date. He met women. Sometimes they had sex. And then they both moved on. The one time he’d made an attempt at something more, it ended in a catastrophic failure. And when he’d left the Army, he didn’t have the right head space for any kind of social commitments. He still didn’t, or it wouldn’t have taken him so long to come home, and he wouldn’t be dragging his damn feet over heading out to California.
“So sex life,” Zoey clarified with a roll of her eyes. “The point is, you can afford to be choosy because you are a walking sex dream to any woman with a heartbeat. I, on the other hand, can’t be so picky.”
Knox stopped dead in his tracks and gently tugged her around to face him. “Care
to run that by me again, angel?”
“Why do you keep calling me angel?”
“Repeat what you said and explain to me what the hell it’s supposed to mean.” He purposefully ignored her question. “You can’t seriously believe the stuff that little shithead spouted off about.”
“What’s there to explain?” Zoey’s eyebrows lifted. “To everyone around me, I’m either the sick girl who practically lived in the hospital or the woman whose brother threatens bamboo shoot torture if anyone looks at me even the slightest bit cross-eyed. That’s a whole lot of obstacles for someone like me.”
Knox hated the way she phrased that last bit. Worse than defeat, it felt more like…resignation. And it wasn’t the first time he’d sensed it.
With their slight difference in age, he hadn’t been on the playground with her, but he’d pulled her into more than a few hugs when she’d come home crying about being left out of playgroups formed by the other kids.
In middle school came gym class and communal locker rooms, and pre-teen taunting. Girls had latched on to her difference—and her scar—and they’d been relentless in their teasing. Knox had only been around through a portion of her high school years prior to leaving for the Army, but in that time, he’d threatened a fair share of stupid jerks just like Scott Reed.
But in the short time Knox had been back home, he hadn’t once gotten a glimpse of that shy, uncertain girl whose only goal was to keep her head down and survive.
Until now.
“Someone like you?” Knox forced himself to ask.
“Do I need to spell it out for you?”
“Evidently, yes.”
“I’m a blender,” she stated, like he should know what she meant. “There’s nothing about me that stands out. I blend with the crowd. I melt into the background. I’m a backup singer. I—”
“I disagree.”
“Oh, you’re right. Being legally blind without my glasses makes me stand out from the rest of the population.” Sarcasm dripped off her words as she stalked ahead of him down the next aisle.
He wanted to point out all the ways she didn’t blend. Melt into the background? No way in fucking hell. When she migrated into his eyesight, tearing his focus away from her became next to impossible.
Zoey blew out an exasperated sigh and muttered under her breath as she unlocked her car and leaned half her body into the front seat. The other half, clad in delicious red leather, stuck out as she searched her console.
Knox closed his eyes and recited a mental prayer for strength. He should’ve let Liam have the honors of taking her home.
“Gotcha!” Zoey climbed out and dangled her keys. “Now you can fulfill your protective duty, as sworn by you, to my brother. Let the babysitting commence.”
“Do I look like a teenage girl?”
Her gaze tracked over him in an assessing once-over. Knox felt every last bit of her silent scrutiny, and even mentally ordered his junior to stay the hell down when it twitched in his pants. She nibbled on her bottom lip, the sight nearly making him groan aloud.
“No,” she finally admitted. “At least not like any of the babysitters my mom used to hire. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are one.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“Because I know Cade. There’s no way he left O’Malley’s without making you take a blood oath or something.”
“I volunteered my services. There was no oath giving or blood taking.”
Zoey openly stared, a million questions floating around in her eyes. “Why would you subject yourself to babysitting duty when you could be taking home any gorgeous woman of your choosing?”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
When his meaning sunk in, Zoey’s cheeks went from pale pink to fuchsia. Zoey Wright, during any given moment, epitomized the term gorgeous. But flustered Zoey stole the breath from his lungs.
He couldn’t help himself any longer. Slowly reaching out, allowing time for her to pull away, he tucked a wayward strand of blond hair behind her ear. Her creamy skin felt as soft as it looked, and he had to stop himself from touching it again.
He hadn’t said what he did to make her feel better. He’d spoken the truth.
There had only been one woman he’d thought about taking home.
And she stood in front of him, nibbling the corner of her lush, pink-glossed mouth, and making him think about things that would make Cade threaten him with a hell of a lot more than bamboo shoots.
Chapter
Seven
Time alone with Knox meant trouble. Time alone at his place spelled catastrophe, and not to mention increased the likelihood of making a fool out of herself—well, more of a fool because that ship set sail back at the pub.
Zoey knew it. The screaming voices in her head were aware of it too. But that one lone voice? The loudest one? That little bugger enjoyed Knox’s hand on the small of her back so much it had her leaning into it.
After collecting her keys, they’d headed back the way they came. The loud chaos of the Wharf slowly shifted to their backs. Small white porch lanterns blinked off the floating figures in front of them.
Boats.
Zoey adjusted her glasses. “You live in Sunrise Marina? On a boat?”
“Nah. In a high-rise.” Knox smirked. “Yes, a boat. A motorsailer. It’s a lot more peaceful on the water than it is on land.”
“And by peaceful, you mean that you don’t have nosy neighbors cornering you in the hallway and asking to borrow sugar?”
“Or throwing obnoxious parties. Or having scream-to-the-heavens sex. Although I don’t mind the latter so much if I’m an active participant.” Knox gifted her a quick wink.
Her cheeks heated as a naked Knox flashed into her imagination. She’d never seen him in the buff, but thanks to the Steeles living across the street, and driveway basketball, she’d been blessed with firsthand glimpses of the grand evolution of Knox’s chest—and other attributes.
But to see former-Ranger Knox in his full naked glory?
She’d combust on the spot. Heck, the mental image of it alone caused her forehead to break out in a warm sweat. To avoid bursting into flames, she grabbed on to the nearest thought. “Cindy must be over the moon that her boys are home.”
“She is. I’m just afraid she’s putting in too much hope that it’ll be permanent.”
“Ah. That’s right. What did Liam say you were leaving to do? Play with Hollywood celebrities?”
“Let me guess…you don’t approve of it either?”
She shrugged. “You don’t need my permission. And logically, it makes more sense than what your brothers are doing. They’re not exactly desk people and yet they’re opening a business, which, from what I hear, involves a lot of paperwork.”
“No, but they’re drinks people, and besides Roman, they’re social butterflies. A distillery and beer garden will be like a playground for them.”
“When you put it that way…”
At the base of the white-lit gangway, Knox turned toward her, his face a mask of calm shadows…except for his eyes. They studied her carefully, their intensity making her squirm. “What do you really think about me leaving, angel?”
For some reason, the answer seemed important to him, which didn’t make sense. He’d been living the last two years making his own decisions without worrying about what anyone in the family would say or think.
“Why does it matter?” she asked carefully. “You already took the job, didn’t you? And it’s your life. I’m not going to tell someone else what they should or shouldn’t do with what’s theirs.”
He didn’t move. “But?”
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I think you’re using the job—which I’m sure is a legit offer—as an excuse to be anywhere but here. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thinks that…and resents it.”
Zoey thought she’d offended him. He stood quiet, as if digesting her words. Finally, he tipped his chin in a faint nod. “Fai
r enough.”
She waited for more and when nothing came…“That’s it? No you’re right, or sorry.”
“You are right, and I’m sorry about that.”
“But you’re still going to leave.”
“It’s for the best. Trust me.”
As she tried figuring out what to do with that statement, Knox gestured to the narrow walkway leading from the dock to the boat deck behind him. “This is me. Think you can manage the ramp without falling into the river?”
Zoey’s eyes tracked the length of the precarious bridge. She’d have better luck crossing it if it were a wet, spinning log and she wore oiled shoes. “Just…go.”
She shooed him ahead of her and kicked off her boots before following at a much slower pace. By the time he reached the deck, she’d barely hit the halfway point.
He waited on the other end, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “Should I have opted for the three-foot width?”
“Six feet wouldn’t make me feel comfortable.”
At three-quarters of the way across, he plucked her off the bridge and placed her safely inside the boat. Heat radiated off his body, filling the less than one-inch gap between them. Goose bumps erupted over her arms, worsening as the breeze swept in from the Potomac River.
Zoey reluctantly eased away from his hold before he noticed the effect his touch had on her, and she immediately missed his warmth. She distracted herself from the acute loss by inspecting the boat. “I don’t know a lot about boats, but I recognize gorgeous when I see it. This is impressive.”
“It took a hell of a lot of elbow grease to get her to this point, but the end result was well worth the effort.”
She looked at him, surprised. “You built this?”
“From scratch? Hell no. I bought her off an elderly couple a few years back and restored her in my free time. I finished her a week ago.”
“Is that what took you so long to come back? You were waiting until it was finished?” Zoey didn’t realize how her words sounded until they’d left her mouth. Or maybe she did.
Knox didn’t answer, instead saying gruffly, “My keys are below deck. You can come down and look around, or you can wait here. I won’t be long.”