Keep Me Safe: A Small Town Suspenseful Love Story (Port James Book 1)

by Alyssa Coolen

  “Abbs?” a low voice asked from behind me as I jumped off the couch I was sitting on, crashing to the floor as there was a sheet twisted around my lower half. “Abbs,” the voice repeated and then I turned and saw him. Knox.

  Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, I looked around. Slowly, it all came back to me. I was at the gym, in Knox’s office. I’d fallen asleep on the couch while he filed papers. The couch was comfortable and I was so tired… so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open…

  “It was a nightmare,” I whispered more to myself than him, casting my eyes down as he stood from his place behind the desk and walked over, crouching down in front of me. He reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear, not caring that I was a sweaty mess.

  “About New York?” he asked softly. I could only manage a small nod, my bottom lip tucked between my teeth. “Okay, come on, babe. Up we go,” he tucked an arm under my legs and hauled me up, sitting on the couch and tucking me against his side.

  “I’m sorry,” I was on the verge of tears.

  “Stop. You have nothing to be sorry for, Abbs. You’re safe here, I promise. No one’s going to hurt you.”

  A small sob rose from my throat. “They always feel so real. He-he was there and it w-was so dark. He hit me,” my voice was rising and tears flowed freely down my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  I promptly burst into tears. Full on ugly crying. Sobbing into Knox’s shirt as though I was in the most indescribable pain, and maybe I was. There was no physical reminder of what he’d done but the memories haunted me. Nightmares, anxiety, paranoia. It was all there. A constant reminder that I wasn’t the same person I used to be.

  But Knox was a rock. He let me sob into his shirt while he pulled the sheet around us and held me close, giving me constant reassurances that I was safe. I wasn’t in New York. I wasn’t alone. I was safe.

  With him.

  I hadn’t felt safe in so long. The last few months were spent on edge, suspended in mid-air, always threatening to fall. But it never happened. I was just stuck there in the unknown with a lingering fear that trouble was around every corner. My nerves were shot. I felt ruined.

  At some point I drifted back to sleep, a dreamless one this time. When I awoke later on, Knox and I were a tangle of limbs. His arms were wrapped around me and I was halfway on top of him, one hand underneath his shirt and pressed against his hard chest.

  Early morning light filtered in through the small window and I guessed that it couldn’t have been later than six o’clock. Knox snored softly underneath me and I took a moment just to look at him. The straight, aristocratic nose and soft lips. The slight stubble on his chin and cheeks, his eyelashes casting shadows across his cheekbones.

  As if he felt someone watching him his eyes opened. He looked up at me and neither of us said anything for a moment. Was he okay with what happened last night? Did he take offense to my mental breakdown? Did he think I was crazy? Because I sure as fuck did.

  “How you feelin’?” was all he said.

  I shrugged and then lay my cheek against his chest. “I don’t get them a lot anymore. But when I do… they’re awful.”

  I felt rather than saw him nod as he ran his fingertips up my bare arm. I was still wearing last night’s dress and positive I looked a mess. “I’m scared,” I whispered.

  Knox squeezed me tighter. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  Chapter 11

  Knox circled around me in the ring, bouncing back and forth while I tried to keep my eyes on him. Where it had been four days since he’d seen firsthand how bad my nightmares were, Knox came up with the brilliant plan of teaching me self defense, or, at least how to throw a decent punch.

  I hadn’t spoken to my parents since that night, Logan seemed to fall off the face of the planet, and Robbie was in a perpetual bad mood. But Knox, with plenty of help from Simone, convinced me that learning a few moves would help me feel better and give me some piece of mind.

  “I look like an idiot,” I said now as I banged my gloved hands together.

  “No, you look nervous. Stand up straight and put your hands up the way I showed you. Come on, Abbs.” Coach Fitzgerald wasn’t nearly as nice as Knox, but I’d be lying if I said his bossy tone wasn’t at least a little bit of a turn on.

  I stood up straight and rolled my shoulders before putting my hands up, my left hand and leg in the front.

  “Always lead with your left if…”

  “If you’re right handed,” I rolled my eyes.

  He laughed at me and then moved forward, invading my personal space. “Do something.”

  I froze. I couldn’t seriously hit Knox for God’s sake. Maybe this was a mistake. I wasn’t a fighter and it wasn’t in my nature to be violent, even if it was in a controlled environment. The thought of hurting Knox, of hurting anyone the way I’d been hurt made me sick to my stomach.

  “Come on, beautiful,” he said quietly and took another step forward causing me to take one back.

  “I don’t like this.”

  “I know.”

  Inhaling deeply, I lifted my arms a little higher and took a small jab at him which he easily dodged and then brought his hand up to my face, tapping my cheek lightly with his fingers, silently telling me to block my face. I did the same move again, this time successfully blocking my face and then jumping back two steps. He smiled and gave a nod of approval before advancing towards me again. We danced around each other for a minute before he brought his other hand up and brushed his knuckles against my ribs. The gesture was meant to be a warning but the light touch had heat spreading through my belly and a sweat broke out on my forehead.

  He backed up and raised his hands, a devious smile playing over his features. “You’re giving me that damn look again.”

  “I’m not!”

  He cocked his head to the side and gave me a curious, hungry look before reaching between his shoulder blades and yanking his white cotton t-shirt over his head. His abs rippled and the prominent v of his hips had me losing focus.

  “Tell you what,” he said and my eyes shot back to his face. “For every decent shot you take I’ll tell you a secret.”

  Well that piqued my interest. “What kind of secret?”

  Moving almost inhumanly quick he grabbed me and pressed a hard, chaste kiss to my mouth before whispering, “I’ll tell you all the things I’m going to do to you.”

  My quick intake of breath had him smirking before he backed up. Jumping forward, I tapped him lightly on the stomach and then pounced back as he reached for me.

  “One for Ashford!” I laughed and thrust my arms in the air.

  “Take it easy, Rocky.”

  “Tell me a secret.”

  “I want to bend you over the couch in my office. I want you to wear that little dress you had on the other night.”

  I swallowed hard, my arms lowering as he stepped forward. I swung up towards his face and he dodged it, grabbing my wrist and yanking me against his chest. He leaned in and whispered, “I want to fuck that pretty little mouth while you stare up at me with those bright eyes.”

  I tried to press myself harder against him, aching for some relief from the heavy throbbing between my thighs. Fighting back a childish whine, my gloved hand connected lightly with his side. “Looks like you could use some practice,” I said haughtily as I bounced around on the balls of my feet.

  Knox’s eyes went to my chest and I knew he could see my nipples poking through the thin material of my tank top. He moved towards me slowly, purposefully, until I was backed up against the ropes. He was pressed against me and I could feel his cock against my abdomen. With fire in his eyes he whispered, “I bet your nipples are still as sensitive as they were the first time I touched them. I remember the way you shook the first time I put my mouth on them. Remember the first time I scraped my teeth against them? You nearly came.”

  My cheeks flushed and I looked down, pressing my forehead again
st his chest. Shaking my hands back and forth I was thankful that the gloves were too big as they slipped off my my hands and fell to the floor. The instant they were off I was all over him. My fingers roamed over his back, kneading the strong muscles of his shoulders while he pressed hot, wet kisses to my shoulder, tugging the strap down my arm before sinking his teeth into the skin there, a moan erupting from me. My nails skated over the smooth skin of his abdomen and up over his chest until my arms were looped around his neck and our eyes were boring into each other.

  Knox looked frustrated as he said, “As much as I want to fuck you right here right now, there are plenty of windows and I have no interest in letting anyone else look at your naked body. Come on,” he said and took my hand, leading me out of the ring. I waited as he turned all the lights off and made sure the door was locked before leading me to his office and closing the door behind us.

  This is really happening. I’m really about to have sex with Knox Fitzgerald for the first time in five years. Shit.

  Taking a deep breath and refusing to let my nerves get the best of me I backed up until my butt hit the edge of his desk. He eyed me, jaw clenched and nostrils flared as he moved forward, leaning down so that he was eye level with me and his palms were flat against the mahogany.

  Knox leaned forward and kissed me, dipping his tongue into my mouth and exploring thoroughly until I was out of breath. Teasing me. Tasting me.

  My mind was spinning and I couldn’t believe it was finally happening again. Me and Knox, wrapping myself around him until we couldn’t tell where he ended and I began.

  His fingertips trailed along my waist until he lifted me up and sat me down on the edge of the desk, my arms around his shoulders. I caught his bottom lip between my teeth and tugged, earning a delicious groan from him as he thrust his hips forward, his hard cock pressing against the apex of my thighs. The groan he gave was low, guttural, and went right through me as he scooped me up, the big hands that I loved so much gripping my ass while my legs locked around his waist.

  “Are you crazy?” I laughed, pushing my hands through his hair so the thick strands stood up wildly.

  “Five fucking years I’ve been waiting to bury myself inside you again. I’m fucking insane for you, Abbs.”

  Insane for you. Those three words swam around my head as I reached down and tore my tank top over my head. My bra went next and Knox growled before latching his greedy mouth onto one of my nipples, sucking it to the roof of his mouth while I cried out and arched my back. He moved and pressed me back against the cold office wall, a gasp falling from my lips as he ground against me.

  “Knox, please,” I begged shamelessly as his teeth scraped against one pink, pebbled nipple. He released it with a pop that would have made me blush if I wasn’t craving the dirty, hot things he wanted to do to me. His pupils were dilated as he looked at me and then I felt myself sliding down his body, my nails scratching against his chest in a way that made his jaw clench.

  His warm hands slid up my back and over my shoulders, fingers flitting over the pulse at my throat. My own fingers hooked into the waistband of his shorts and I dragged them down revealing the hard, thick length of him. My mouth watered as I wrapped my hand around it and pumped him once, twice. Knox cupped my cheek with one hand and dropped his face to my neck with a low groan while I continued to stroke him. The bead of pre-come on his tip made me clench my thighs and I swiped my thumb across it before sticking it in my mouth, looking directly into his eyes while I did.

  “Fuck,” Knox growled and pulled back, yanking my shorts down my legs and tossing them away before making quick work of my sneakers.

  Old habits apparently die hard because I automatically went to cover up by pressing myself against him, old insecurities bubbling back up as much as I tried to fight it. Knox, sensing my sudden shyness, gripped my upper arms and held me against the wall, his hands squeezing my affectionately. He looked me up and down, eyes freezing at the apex of my thighs. Slowly, he slid a finger up my slit and my hips involuntarily bucked as heat spread through my belly. “I’ve never seen your pussy bare like this before.”

  I sent a silent prayer up to the heavens and thanked God that I started getting a wax.

  He repeated the motion again, this time applying a little pressure to my clit. I threw my head back with a moan, my eyes squeezing shut.

  “Lift one leg up,” he commanded and reached down with his free hand, wrapped it around the back of my knee, pulled it up and wrapped it around his waist. His fingers slid from my clit down to my entrance and my eyes flew open when I felt him slide two long, skilled fingers inside me, curling up while I clenched around him.

  “That’s my girl,” he said with a smile, pumping and stroking deliciously.

  “Knox,” I gasped as a heat spread through my belly. I was close, so fucking close.

  My skin was hot and I felt like I was on fire as he worked his fingers in and out, curling them up. He gave a low, dangerous laugh when I jerked against him and whined, needing more. I needed all of him.

  “You gonna come for me, baby? Come all over my fucking fingers,” he growled, pressing his thumb against my clit and moving in maddening circles.

  That was all it took, and I fucking detonated.

  I came hard, crying out his name while my knees buckled and my body tightened. I felt like I was living and dying all at once, stars exploding behind my eyes as I squeezed them shut. It was so good, so powerful, so intense that it felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was completely consumed by my orgasm.

  Consumed by Knox.

  He continued to pump his fingers in and out of me slowly as I came down from what was a glorious high, sagging against him.

  Knox lowered my leg back to the ground and slid his hand up my side. Tucking his fingers under my chin, he tilted my face up and kissed me softly, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. He moved slowly as though we had all the time in the world, tasting me languidly and slanting his mouth over mine.

  “Fuck me,” I whispered against his open mouth before lashing my tongue against his.

  Knox groaned and picked me up again, this time lifting me a little higher and lining himself up against my entrance.

  “If I’m too heavy you can put me down,” I murmured against his neck.

  He froze and then said, “Look at me.” but when I still didn’t he gripped my thighs hard enough to leave bruises. “Now. Look at me, Abbigail.”

  I did, my eyes meeting his. “Stop overthinking. Stop wondering if we’re doing the right thing. I want this. You. Stay with me,” he said quietly with a soft, almost loving expression on his face as he eased the head of his cock inside me. “Stay.”

  I gasped as he slowly lowered me down onto his thick, hard cock. Adjusting to him was deliciously uncomfortable and I arched against him as he thrust up, hitting the spot that made me feel like my whole body was on fire. He stretched me to the point where I was unsure if I could take it, a little bit of pain mixing with the pleasure he was giving me. I clenched around him once, twice, gritting my teeth as I let out a slow breath.

  “Am I hurting you?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.

  I shook my head and bucked against him, needing more. “Fuck me, Knox. Please.”

  He pulled out and thrust back in hard, slamming my back against the wall. I cried out and he grunted, squeezing my ass hard. “So. Fucking. Good.” he said through gritted teeth, slamming into me again and again.

  God, I missed him. I missed the way he held me and the way he fucked me, the way he made me feel like I was floating and drowning all at once. I fucking missed Knox in every way a person can be missed.

  I ground down against him, giving back everything he was giving me. I was with him stroke for stroke as he pulled and pushed, crying out as he drove deeper.

  “Fuck, baby, I missed you,” Knox rasped and then turned, walking across the room with me still wrapped around him. He sat down on the edge of the couch, holding my hips so that he was still so deep I was posi
tive I could feel him in my stomach.

  “Ride me,” he commanded and leaned back, breathing heavily as I gripped his shoulders for support, lifting and lowering myself, grinding down harder and harder just so I could hear him curse and groan.

  “Knox,” I moaned, bouncing down on his cock while his hands reached up, cupping my face. He forced my mouth down to his, his tongue stroking mine as he swallowed every sound I made.

  When he thrust up eagerly I knew he was close and began moving at a breakneck speed, my second orgasm fast approaching. “Come on my cock,” he ground out, his voice strained.

  “Knox, Knox, Knox,” I chanted his name like a fucking prayer as I came again, clenching around him and burying my face against his shoulder, my teeth sinking into him. He thrust a few more times and then pulled out, coming on his own stomach with a deep, belly clenching groan that I wanted to play on repeat.

  Breathless, I pressed my sweaty forehead against his and tried to calm my racing heart. Knox smiled the sweetest, most unguarded smile I’d ever seen on him, and I suddenly found myself wanting to stay for a lot more than just the orgasms.

  Reaching down, I slid my index finger across his abdomen, dipping it in his warm, sticky come before sticking my finger in my mouth. I didn’t have to pretend to like it because the truth was that I fucking loved the way Knox tasted.

  He groaned and then cracked his hand down hard against my ass, laughing as I yelped and tried to move off him. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going? I’m not nearly finished with you yet.”

  After wrapping me in a sheet, Knox and I fell asleep on the couch. I awoke sometime later with sore limbs and muscles that felt like jelly. I was smiling from ear to ear as I sprawled out on top of him. Warm, content and pressed against the sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on, I thought about how much I hadn’t expected any of this to happen. Not years later, anyway. I hadn’t felt so good in months, maybe even years. Sex with random men I saw casually wasn’t nearly as fun as sex with someone who knew my body as well as Knox knew mine. It was starting to seem the longer I stayed in Port James the more I realized how miserable I was in New York. Maybe I never really liked complete anonymity or maybe I never realized how lonely I was, or how much I missed my family.