“Let go of her leg,” Knox said in a low, angry growl.
Brent frowned. “What’s with you?”
“I want you to let her go. Now. Or I might have to make you.”
“Whoa…okay, man. I’m letting go.” Brent released Melanie and backed away from the stage.
Knox looked up at Melanie, whose face was as white as flour.
“Come here” He crooked his finger at her.
She swallowed and glanced around. All the guys were laughing. It was obvious that she’d never done this before, and he needed to get her out of there before she was traumatized by the event. “Melanie,” he said firmly. “Come here.”
She shook her head. She wasn’t going to come easily. Did she think he’d hurt her? “Sweetheart, I just want to take you home.”
A loud uproar of hoots and hollers filled the room. His buddies apparently thought he meant to take her back to his place and screw her.
Melanie’s cheeks blotched red. She too caught their deduction. Was mortified by it. Would either one of them ever be able to live this fiasco down?
“Knox, go for it,” Brent said, slapping him on the back. “I didn’t know you wanted a piece of that.”
Knox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to remember that Brent was blind drunk and wouldn’t normally be this crude.
He turned and faced Melanie. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
She inched her way toward him, wary of the other men. When she reached the end of the stage, Knox grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and headed for the exit.
Behind him laughter erupted, making Knox pick up the pace, continuing toward the door. He intended to get Melanie away from his alcohol-laden friends.
Melanie beat repeatedly on his back. “Let me down, you brute.”
“I’ll let you down when you tell me why you’re stripping in a club. I know you had a sold-out art show. You can’t be hurting for money.”
Her fists stopped their assault.
“Well?” he prompted. “Why are you here?”
“Actually, I came to see you. I wanted to apologize for not calling.”
“Really?” Knox reached the door, opened it and strode out into the parking lot. The night air helped to cool his temper.
It was pitch-black outside. No moonlight to guide his way. Only a single floodlight that had seen better days illuminated the way to his truck.
Once he’d reached the cab, he fumbled with his keys, wondering what triggered Melanie’s about-face.
He unlocked the door, flung it open and dumped Melanie onto the seat.
The dome light lit the inside of the cab, revealing that his toting had worked her top down.
His mouth went dry as he eyed the soft swells of her breasts. When his gaze wandered down to a pair of legs that went on forever, his cock jumped. Why hadn’t she made an effort to tug up her top?
“I didn’t get a note, Knox.”
Her remark brought his attention to her face. “What?”
“You said in one of your messages that you left me a note at the café. I didn’t get it. I thought you stood me up.”
No wonder she wouldn’t return his calls. He wouldn’t have been too happy either. “I had an emergency at home. I had to leave.”
“Oh I hope everything’s all right.”
He smiled. “Yeah, it is now.”
Silence followed. “I better take you home.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to go home.”
“You don’t? What do you want to do?”
She grinned and slid to the passenger side of the truck. “Why don’t you get in and I’ll show you.”
* * *
Melanie stared into Knox's green eyes and sighed. The way they devoured her body caused her blood to run hot. She wanted to make love to him—here and now. In his truck, no matter who happened by. The whole world could watch as long as he continued to look at her in that way—with lust burning like a beacon.
He leaned over and brushed his lips to hers, a feathery kiss that left her breathless.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, deepening the kiss.
He needed no further encouragement. His tongue darted into her mouth, mating with hers as his hands snaked up to her breast and squeezed with fervor. The caress charged the cells in Melanie's body, igniting a passion she'd never shared with any man. She wanted to rip Knox's clothes off and mount him. To hell with foreplay. She didn't need it. Not one minute of it.
All she could think about was climbing on top him, riding him until he put out the inferno blazing inside her. A fire that had been raging hot for days. She had to put an end to her torment.
His hand left her breast and slid between her legs, his fingers slipping beneath the edge of her costume and sliding into her.
She sucked in a breath, amazed at how the world seemed to tilt.
Knox tore his mouth from hers. “God, Mel. You're so hot. I can't wait to feel this heat around my cock.”
“Oh, yes,” she sighed as his fingers continued their sensual assault deep inside her heat.
Melanie gasped when he began a rhythm—a pace that sent her head back against the seat of the truck. Her body tightened like an over-wound clock and was ready to shatter when suddenly a ringing noise intruded on her passion, a peal that brought Melanie back to earth.
Knox's cell phone. Damn it all to hell. What a great time for a phone call.
He heaved a sigh, gently extracted his fingers and answered his phone.
“Knox.” A deep tremor in his voice spoke of his own desire.
“No,” he said, frowning. “They're all drunk. They wouldn’t be able to put a matchstick out. Okay, I'll be right there.”
He closed his cell phone and looked at her. “I hate to do this, Mel. God, how I hate to. With all the guys out of commission, I have to take the call.”
Melanie adjusted her costume. “I understand.”
He smiled. “Can I see you later?”
She nodded and started to open the door. His grip on her arm stopped her. He tugged her back against him and kissed her hard. “We'll finish this later, okay?”
She got out of the truck, her legs almost giving way. The man made her limbs feel like rubber bands, wobbly and unsure.
Melanie stood in the parking lot and watched him leave. When all that was left to see were taillights, she walked to her car. Her blood still hummed with passion for him, and she had renewed hope that soon Knox would finish what he’d started. If he didn’t, she was going to have to take a long, cold shower and hope that would cool the heat his magic fingers had ignited.
Chapter Twelve
Knox wiped soot and sweat from his brow as he headed into the firehouse. Even with a neighboring station helping out, it'd taken four hours to get the warehouse fire on Liberty under control.
More than half their own house had been too foxed to be of any help. Holt County’s unit had been called in to take up the slack.
The whole time Knox had been fighting the fire, he’d had to listen to ribbing about not being prepared. Not a pleasant thing, shrugging off all the crap took every ounce of self-control he possessed.
Knox entered the station, intent on getting cleaned up and driving to Melanie’s to finish what they'd started earlier. His heart hitched a notch just thinking about her. He'd never been so turned on, and he hadn't even come close to being inside her. The appeal had come from her sighs and moans of pleasure as he stroked her—kissed her full, sweet lips. He got hard just reliving it. The woman was in his blood and until he was able to eject her from his system, his erection wouldn't lower past half-mast. Until they made love, he knew it would be futile to try and sleep. He needed her and he wasn't going to let anything get in his way.
He jogged up the first flight of stairs, stopped to remove his jacket and hang it on a peg, and climbed the remaining steps to the upper level.
He'd quickly shower and race to Melanie to rekindle their flames.
As his foot hit the last step, his stomach lurched into his throat. Sandra stood in the kitchen area. What the hell was she doing here? At this time of the morning? The woman normally didn’t get up until noon.
“I need to talk to you, Knox.” He knew by her reserved tone something was wrong.
“I'm tired. I need to shower and get some rest.”
Her amber eyes narrowed, her ruby lips pulling into a thin line. “It's important.”
Knox tamped down his frustration. Let her talk, then you can get out of here. Get to Melanie's. “All right. What?”
She shifted from one expensive-looking, high-heeled foot to the other, her gaze darting nervously around the room.
“Well,” he prompted, impatience taking hold.
“This is hard.” Tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
Knox knew whatever she was about to say wasn't going to be good.
“I'm thirteen weeks pregnant.”
His heart stopped, and his gaze dropped to her stomach. “What? No way.”
“Like it or not, we're having a baby, Knox.”
“I wore a condom every time. There is no way it's mine.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Condoms break. Obviously one of yours did.”
Knox's world crumbled around him. He didn't love Sandra—hell, he didn't even like her, yet no way could he walk away. Not with her carrying his child. He’d been brought up better than that. “What do you want to do?”
“I love you, Knox. I'm going to have this baby.”
The ground gave way under his feet. His knees buckled. The plans he'd had with Melanie dissolved before his eyes. Nothing could happen between them now, not with this hanging over his head. If Sandra was going to have his child, his needs and wants didn't matter. The child and what it would need, did.
Knox had decisions to make, and until he made them, it was best to steer clear of temptation—and to him that enticement was in the form of a beautiful waif with the means to drive him over the edge with desire.
* * *
Melanie paced her living room floor, her gaze fixed on the beige carpet. She stopped long enough to glance out the window as she’d done a dozen times already. It’d been hours since Knox had left her in the parking lot of A Leg Up and he still hadn’t arrived. Or called.
Something had to be wrong. Maybe he’d been hurt. That would explain why he was late. Horrible scenarios ran rampant through her mind. She saw Knox in a burning building right as the roof collapsed, fire engulfing him before anyone got to him.
She inhaled, holding back the tears the image evoked.
That would be her luck, would fit the pattern. She felt as if the walls were caving in on her. Her life had been a series of unfortunate events. Ones that left her afraid and unsure of herself and her future.
Like the previous arson, a fire she’d taken the blame for because her mother asked her to. A blaze set by her stepfather—a man with two previous strikes against him.
Melanie shook her head, remembering how he’d laughed when fire investigators came to question her. What a loser. Her mother had always gravitated toward them.
Carol Sharp had been a bum magnet, and never saw that fact until Melanie paid the price for her ignorance. Melanie was lucky she’d never been sexually abused by any of her mother’s so-called friends; though her stepfather, Lenny Schaefer, had come awful damned close.
The mere thought of the man sent a cold chill racing down her backbone. She quickly pushed the memory away. The past was just that. No reason to rehash it. Right now she had to find out if Knox was all right.
If she called the firehouse, she might get him into trouble. She didn’t want to do that. He’d never given her his cell phone number, so that was out of the question. So what was left? Drive to the station and talk to him? That was pretty much her only option if she didn’t want to pace the floors any longer.
Knowing full well she’d go crazy staying at home one more moment, Melanie grabbed her keys and raced out the door to her car.
On the way to the firehouse, her mind drifted back to the sexual encounter they’d shared. Just thinking about it made her skin tingle and heat, her nipples go hard as pebbles, her heart flutter with anticipation. The man had her so worked up she could hardly see straight. What would it feel like— to have him buried deep inside her?
An intense desire coursed through her, causing her vaginal walls to contract. She was going to have an orgasm here and now just replaying the events.
Shaking the memory, she pulled into the parking lot of the firehouse and parked.
Melanie watched the front door slowly open. Knox stepped out with a curvaceous blonde at his side. They walked to a luxury sedan and Knox opened the car door.
Melanie sucked in a ragged breath when he leaned in and kissed the woman’s cheek. The scene unfolding in front of her eyes crushed her heart. Had their night together been just a random event for him—one he could have had with any woman and been satisfied? Had she completely misread him? His desire for her?
She must have from what she’d just witnessed.
Tears clouded her eyes as she stared at the man she’d thought wanted her as badly as she wanted him. His hands had been so gentle—and skillful, driving her to the brink of ecstasy.
Heat crept up Melanie’s neck. All she’d been to him was a warm body, someone to ease his needs. He hadn’t felt anything for her.
Anger washed over her. She was tired of falling for guys who lied to her. Ones who wouldn’t tell the truth even if their lives were at stake. Melanie was not going to fall for their deceptions ever again.
After the blonde left and Knox walked back into the firehouse, she pulled out of the parking lot. Her objective—go visit Paul Nadar. See if he could find a way to exonerate her from this arson investigation. Do some undercover work. Learn who really started the fire at the Grainger’s. The sooner she found out the truth, the sooner she’d be free of Knox Manning.
* * *
Knox sat staring out the firehouse window. He had so much to think about. It had been two days since he’d been with Melanie—two long days of wondering why she hadn’t contacted him. She didn’t know about Sandra and the baby, so why hadn’t she at least called to find out why he hadn’t shown up at her place after the fire? It didn’t make sense. Unless she regretted what happened.
He laced his fingers through his hair and inhaled.
Their time in his truck had been magic. Her perfume still lingered inside the cab, making it harder for him to forget her soft, velvety skin against his palms.
Shit! How was he going to spend the evening with Sandra when all he wanted was Melanie? He and Sandra had plans to discuss their future and what this child would mean for both of them.
Knox still couldn’t fathom this turn of events. He’d always been so careful. He was vigilant when it came to protection. So how did this happen? And what did Sandra want from him. He wasn’t sure he could marry her, even with the baby she carried. Love had to be in the equation for him to make that kind of a commitment, and he just didn’t feel that for her.
“Knox, you have a phone call,” Brent said, slapping him on the back.
His heart skipped a beat. Melanie? Had she finally worked up the nerve to call the station?
He took large, fast strides to the phone, his heart pounding in his chest. In his mind, he heard her soft voice begging him to come over—and him saying, “Yes, I’ll be right there.”
Knox picked up the receiver. “Hello.”
“Knox, Greg Emory.”
Knox’s hopes sank. “What can I do for you, Greg?”
“I’m going to need another sample from the Grainger house. I didn’t get a clear reading of the accelerant from the specimen you sent.”
“Sure. I’ll run and get another sample. No problem.” At least this would give him something to do. He wouldn’t have to sit around the station and wonder what Melanie was doing, and if she regretted the intimacy they’d shared.
; Why did it matter? He couldn’t have a relationship with her now anyway—not with Sandra expecting his child. That would make him as bad as his father. No way could he live with that. Not in a million years.
He hung the phone up and exited the firehouse.
Working would keep him busy and that’s what he needed right now.
He jumped into his truck and a faint hint of Melanie’s scent whispered around the cab. The perfume was fading—his only reminder of their brief encounter.
He shook the thought and pulled out of the parking lot.
As he pulled up to the Grainger’s house fifteen minutes later, a blue SUV caught his attention. The vehicle was parked in the same place Kay’s car had been the day he’d caught Melanie snooping around.
He exited the truck and took off down the walkway to the back of the house. When he got to the rear, he saw a tall man looking around.
“I can’t get in,” a familiar female voice said as she came around from the opposite side. Melanie’s face bleached when she spotted Knox.
“What are you doing here?” Knox asked, taking in every delicious inch of her. God, she was beautiful. Too distracting for words. The look on her face as he’d stroked her inner thighs and the sweet sighs of pleasure she’d given him came rushing back.
Knox’s dick jumped at the replay. Time to rewind. Or stop the play-by-play altogether before he got a hard-on so obvious no one would miss it.
He turned his attention to the man standing next to her. The guy was slightly shorter than Knox, maybe ten pounds lighter. He had a slightly slimmer physique. His hair was sandy-brown, wavy in texture, and he had steel blue eyes that watched Knox intently. Neither he nor Melanie seemed willing to answer his question.
“Well,” Knox prompted, and a thought hit him, leaving his gut feeling sucker-punched. Maybe this guy was the reason Melanie hadn’t called. Had she spent the last day and night in his arms?
Knox eyed the man, his fists clenching at his side.
“I was trying to find some clue as to who might’ve set the fire here,” the man finally admitted, his gaze shifting from Knox to Melanie.
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