Knox looked at her and his tough-guy face softened. “I won’t. It’s really not that bad.”
“He stabbed you!” Her words were getting hysterical now, and she could feel herself losing it.
“Okay, calm down.” He got up, despite Slade hollering at him, and came to her. He held her the best he could.
“At least hold something on it,” Slade said, the disgust obvious in his voice as he pressed the towel to Knox’s stomach again.
“It’s okay, Jas.” He wiped her tears and, while she liked the way it felt and how he called her Jas, which he hadn’t done before today, she didn’t think she’d stop crying anytime soon.
“You—have to—go,” she said through sobs. “I can’t—lose you.”
He took in a deep breath and kissed her.
“I will. Okay? I will. We just have to go somewhere far and we might have to lie a little, okay?”
She nodded and tried to calm herself.
“You stay here and I’ll go and get stitches and come right back.”
“No!” she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Beck came into the kitchen. “You’re in luck. Greg is on his way.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” Knox said.
Slade snorted. “Yeah, maybe literally. Stubborn ass.”
“I’d just rather not get us all in trouble or go to jail,” Knox said.
“Who’s Greg?” Jasmine asked, wiping away new tears.
“He’s our friend who was in the army,” Beck said. “Luckily, he has plenty of basic medical training and can do stitches. It’s gonna hurt, though. I doubt he has morphine or anything.”
Jasmine sat in the other room while Greg worked on Knox’s wound. Every time he yelled out in pain, she gripped Amir’s hand or Daxton’s hand. Beck and Slade were in there with him, probably holding his hand as he squeezed through the pain, too.
When it started to grow quiet, she heard Greg say, “You’re lucky. It wasn’t bad at all.”
She sagged in relief. He left a short time later, and Knox walked into the living room, leaning toward his injured side.
“We decided it would be best to call about the body tomorrow,” Daxton said. “If it was a real bear attack, we wouldn’t necessarily know right away, and since he was kind enough to not park his car at our house, we wouldn’t know he was here. We’ll say we heard animals in the woods fighting, went to check it out, and found the body.”
Knox nodded. “Sounds good.”
“I wonder if he could be the one who killed the bees,” Beck said. “We found out what caused it. The report came back today. Toxic smoke.”
Jasmine shook her head. “I don’t think he would have been that smart.”
“It does seem a little far-fetched,” Amir agreed.
“I can think of someone who might have had something to do with it,” Daxton said.
“Who?” Slade asked.
“Same people who were pissed when Blair’s store stopped carrying their products. Same people who’ve tried to run us out of business for years.”
“The Harper clan?” Slade asked.
Daxton nodded. “When they found out Blair pulled the SheBear Honey line, her store got egged, and she got threats for weeks. She had to call the cops.”
“I’ll look into it,” Slade said. “Seems like a likely suspect.”
“We’re going to bed,” Knox said. He took Jasmine’s hand and led her slowly up to the bedroom after they’d said goodnight to the guys.
He closed the door behind them and pulled her close. “I will gladly sleep on the floor or downstairs, but I really—”
“No. Please. Stay close.”
He chuckled. “I was going to say that I really want to stay close to you.”
She set her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“I’m sorry you had to do what you had to do. But it’s over now. He can never, ever hurt you again.”
She took in a slow deep breath and wondered how long it’d be before that fact seemed real to her. Knox released her just long enough to slip carefully into bed and pull her close again.
“Tomorrow, I want every detail of what exactly happened,” he said. “I could kick myself for leaving you in the house alone. I just never thought…” He growled softly. “When I saw you run out of the house and him following you, I lost my mind.”
“I’m glad I got out of the house. I didn’t think I was going to get away.” The things that could have happened to her right here in this room... She shivered with the fear of it. But he was right, Darius would never hurt her again.
Knox kissed her, and this time, their kissing became heavy and passionate. His hands caressed her stomach and back. He ran his fingertips over her skin, sending chills of pleasure to replace the chills of fear.
“I want you,” he whispered.
She hadn’t been with anyone but Darius. When she was with him, it was always forceful and often painful. The thought of having sex scared her. But with Knox, she knew it would be different. She felt so safe with him and knew he’d never hurt her. Maybe it could even be good. And she wanted him, too. Her whole body was hot and tingly with his touch.
She dug her fingers into his long hair. “Me too,” she whispered.
“We’ll have to be careful of my wound, but I think we can make it work.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Just… be gentle.”
The look he gave her was so pained and sympathetic at the same time, it melted any hesitation she had left. “I will.” He slipped her over-sized shorts down and touched her.
He was gentle. Almost too gentle. But every time he touched her in a new way, he paused to make sure she was okay. And when he slipped inside her, he did it so slowly, so carefully, that she finally pressed her hips against him to bring him in deeper.
She was surprised at how good it felt. Of course, it was a little awkward with his injury, but that only meant it could get better once he healed. Though, she didn’t see how it could get any better than what he’d made her feel.
When they were finished, and for the first time in her life, she’d felt the rush of pleasure she should have gotten from sex all along, she kissed him up and down his face and neck.
“Was that okay?” he asked.
“Yes, yes.” She laughed. “More than okay.” She rubbed her nose against his and beamed. “I have to tell you. I haven’t known you long, but I think I am falling in love with you.”
He moaned softly and kissed her. “Good, because I’m falling for you, too. I was thinking about something.” He paused to brush a stray hair from her face. “I hate the thought of you going back to that shelter. Move in here, with me.”
“Really? Are you sure?” She hated living in the shelter and even though she made good money now, the thought of having her own place all alone was daunting and gave her anxiety. If she moved in with him, she would feel safe all the time.
“I’m very sure.”
“But what about the others?”
“Already talked to them.”
“You did?” So, this wasn’t a new idea.
“Right after I found out you were staying there.”
She smiled again and felt tears that were tears of joy. “I would love to.”
“Perfect. Then you’ll never be far from me again.”
Amir
120 Proof Honey III
by
Becca Fanning
Kora Lane sat at her desk, reading over her latest article. This wasn’t the speed of her favorite stories to cover. She loved the ones with some sort of intrigue, some possibility of something illegal or a deeper, hidden story. Something secret to uncover and shock the reader with. This current article was basically a human interest piece, which she found boring, though she thought she had managed to spice up the part about the shop owner having a side romance with his supplier.
Her boss, Davis, knocked on her door and walked in. “Got something for you.”
“Oh?” She slid as
ide the article, marked in red where she wanted changes in the layout, and let her pen hover over the top blank sheet of her notepad.
“Ozark,” he said. “Up in the mountains. We got a report that there’s a house of men living there.”
“I like where this is going so far.” She smirked and looked back up at him after making a quick note. “Continue.”
“It’s suspected that there’s some illegal moonshine activity happening there. They have a business. Bear Natural Honey, and that might be their cover.”
“Moonshine and honey. I like that. What else?”
“That’s it. This one is all on you. The witness left an anonymous tip over the voicemail, so I can’t even give you his info. I don’t have any to give.”
“Okay.” She tapped her pen against her lip. “This is definitely something I’ll check out. I’ll find out what’s going on up there in the mountains and bring it all into the light. I wonder if there’s any gay activity going on… House full of men, all living together?”
“I don’t want to know how you’ll find out, but I know you’ll find something.” Davis rapped his knuckles twice on her desk and walked out.
Kora started making notes immediately. She’d go to this house and find out what the real story was. Then she’d find a way to make it interesting to sell more papers.
She drove up to the location listed on the web site for Bear Natural Honey. Unless they had separate business offices and processing facilities—unlikely for such a small operation—then this would be the place. She saw several big buildings, the bees buzzing around hives off to one side, and knew she had the place.
With her notepad and digital recorder in hand, she maneuvered her heeled shoes over the gravel to the front door. She smoothed down the skirt of her business suit and knocked, her friendliest smile in place on her face.
A large man opened the door. She took note of his features to write them down for later. Short black hair, dark skin, very good looking, very muscular. He cared about his appearance and his body. What could that mean for their cover up? Or was this a sign of the activities taking place with the other men? Well, she could certainly handle flirting with this fine specimen to see if he responded to her, a female.
“Can I help you?”
Mmm, and a slight middle eastern accent as well. Nice. “Yes, hello, my name is Kora Lane, and I’m with the Ozark Daily News. I’d like to talk to you about your business.”
“Oh, umm.” He looked behind him into the house. “Usually Slade takes care of this sort of thing.”
“Great. Is Slade here? Is he the CEO of the company?”
“He’s not here right now. He’s, umm, I guess the CEO. We think of him as our leader.”
How cute. This man seemed like the type that would talk. Just uncertain enough that she could convince him to spill everything. “Well, if this Slade isn’t here, I guess you’re my man.” She winked at him.
His eyes widened slightly for an instant, then a slow smile crept over his face. He looked her over, but he was subtle about it. No blatant gawking at her chest. He was classier than that, she could see that now. He was downright sexy, too. Normally, she would never think about sleeping with a source for info, especially if he was the intended target for the story, but him? She wouldn’t mind taking him to bed to pump him for info.
“Well, come on in.” He stepped aside and gestured toward a living room.
She noticed immediately that the place was much cleaner than she expected. “Five men live here?”
He chuckled. “We have a very good live-in housekeeper.”
“That explains it then.” She took a seat on the edge of the couch, turning to face him.
“You should have seen what it used to look like. Jasmine is a godsend.”
“And she lives here, too?’ Kora made a note of this.
“She’s Knox’s girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. Got it. “Do all your girlfriends live here with you?”
“Just her. Though Blair is here so much she might as well.”
“Is Blair your girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “Not mine. She’s Daxton’s.”
“Got it. First things first.” She had her pen ready. “I do like to record my interviews in case I miss something important.” She patted her suit pocket. “I use a digital recorder. Just wanted to tell you for full disclosure. What’s your full name?”
“Amir Thorne.”
“Good name.” She gave him a half smile. “You could be a movie star with a name like that. Or a porn star by the looks of you.” She winked at him and he smiled to himself. “And the name of your company?”
“Bear Natural Honey.” He patted his jeans and brought out a business card. “I usually keep a few of these on me.”
He handed it to her and she looked it over. Professionally made, well designed. Impressive. There was his name and his title, quality control.
“Quality control?” she asked.
“I make sure all our products are the highest quality possible through testing and industry standards.”
She nodded. “And can you tell me what it is you do here on the grounds?”
“We make honey. We have the bee hives and a processing center. Recently, we’ve started branching out to soaps and other skin care products. We pack it and ship it from here, too. Our offices are here. What’s this story about, exactly?”
She leaned in closer. “Well, I’ll tell you because you seem like such a decent guy. My boss thinks there’s illegal things happening up here. Now, I personally don’t believe him. But, I think this story is a good way to get out the truth and clear your name.”
He nodded slowly. “Well, there’s certainly nothing illegal going on. We have lots of employees that make the honey. Slade does the paperwork and Dax helps him and does sales. Our products are sold in local markets all over the Ozark area.”
“Great. Do you have any samples? I’d love to include a review in my story. You know, to help you out.” She winked at him again.
“Sure. How about a tour? That way you can see for yourself that everything is on the up and up.”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t even had to talk him into it. “That would be lovely.”If they were making moonshine, it would be in big stills. Not so easy to hide. She’d look for any room that might contain such equipment. Maybe it was stored in part of the warehouse. Could those stills blow up like meth labs did? She’d have to check on that. If that was the case, they’d put them in the warehouse and probably not in the house.
She stood, glanced down to make sure the little green light was still on on her digital recorder, and followed him out of the room.
They didn’t spend much time in the kitchen or bathroom. These were basic rooms and she saw nothing much of interest there. In the office, though, he took her in and started explaining.
“This is where Slade and Daxton mostly work.” He gestured to the two desks. “They do all the paperwork here. Inventory, ordering of supplies, payroll, taxes.” He indicated several thick binders as he spoke.
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