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His gaze locked on that lip like a tractor beam. “Maybe.”
“I might not ever—”
“Tenley?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
Knox closed the distance between them and kissed her like it was his damn job. Like he’d die if he didn’t kiss her. And she gave as good as she got.
Their first kiss had been gentle. Searching. Almost tentative.
This kiss was not any of those things.
This kiss was more like a brawl—an all-out battle for control, and neither of them was willing to submit. It was desperate, carnal, and hungry.
But somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized there was no way he could allow their first time to be on a dirty workshop floor. So, with great, great regret, Knox broke the kiss, leaned back, and cupped her precious face in his hands before resting his forehead against hers. “Want to go back to the pool house?”
Her shaky breath blew across his cheek, sending shivers down his spine. “Yes. But I warn you…I have no intention of letting you out of there with your virtue intact.”
He barked out a laugh. There she was. There was his Tenley. “I should hope the fuck not, baby.”
CHAPTER 18
Tenley’s plans of ripping Knox’s clothes off as soon as they set foot in the pool house were ruined in the grossest, most insidious way possible.
If she hadn’t already been intent on keeping Knox’s trust out of Thadeus’s hands, she sure as shit wasn’t going to let him have it now that he was cock blocking two people who hadn’t gotten laid in years. She’d known he was a bully the first time she laid eyes on him, but this…this was downright cruel.
The smug asshole was blocking the door to the pool house, standing there in his expensive suit with his expensive haircut and still not looking half as good as Knox did in dusty tennis shoes and discount-store jeans while Layla barked her head off behind the sliding glass door.
Good grief. What kind of turd do you have to be to make Layla—sweet, squishy, adorable ball of love Layla—dislike you?
Thadeus. You had to be a turd like Thadeus, apparently.
Knox gave Layla a hand signal that had her huffing out one last frustrated woof at Thadeus before she sauntered away from the door. Then Knox slipped his arm around Tenley’s shoulders and pulled her into him. “What do you want, Thadeus?”
He smiled his smug, fat-faced smile and gave Tenley a once-over that made her want to nut-punch him. Well, made her want to nut-punch him more than usual, she supposed. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Tenley gave him her fakest smile. “Oh, and you just had to run over here and offer them, didn’t you? Bless your heart.”
His beady eyes immediately hardened, telling her he was indeed aware that in the south, bless your heart was code for fuck off and die, asshole. “Indeed,” he said through clenched teeth. “But I can do better than that. I had my wife—I don’t think you’ve met Tiffany yet—throw together a little dinner party for tonight so that we can celebrate as a family.”
Knox snorted. “We’re not family.”
Thadeus put a hand over his heart. “Well, that’s just hurtful, Knox. Just because we didn’t always get along when we were younger doesn’t mean we’re not family. Mother always treated you like her own son.”
Tenley felt every muscle in Knox’s body go rigid. “I don’t know who you’re trying to fool with that lie, Thad, but I was there. And I remember what it felt like to have a real mother. So, whatever bullshit you’re peddling, you can do it elsewhere. We’re not falling for it.”
She had to give Knox credit for not punching the bastard in the face. And on the flip side, Thadeus’s ability to be so angry he was clenching his jaw and still keep his words sounding so calm and rational was impressive.
But this conversation wasn’t getting Knox into bed—or the shower or up against the wall or on the floor, or anywhere—any faster. So, she had to cut to the heart of the matter before this whole thing got even more tedious.
She put her hand on Knox’s stomach. “I think what Thadeus is trying to say is that he’d like a new start. To mend the fences he tore down over the years. Isn’t that right, Thadeus?”
Tenley’s jaw hurt just watching how hard Thadeus was clenching his. “Of course, Tenley.”
She smirked. “Then, of course, we’ll be thrilled to accept your gracious dinner invitation. Formal wear, I assume? Eight-ish?”
