Page 79 of What Comes Around

“Good girl,” he murmured again, softer this time.

Chapter 25: Two People Twisted in the Exact Same Way

My body was still trembling when he finally loosened his grip on me. My breath came in uneven pulls, my pulse loud in my ears. Knox rested his forehead against my shoulder for a moment, his chest rising and falling against mine as we both tried to catch up to what had just happened.

Then he lifted his head and looked at me.

His mismatched eyes were dark and intense, still burning with everything he hadn’t said out loud.

He stepped back just enough to fix himself, tugging his clothes into place. Then he moved in again, bent slightly, and hooked his arms under me, lifting me clean off the floor before I could react.

I gasped and instinctively wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

“Bedroom,” he said quietly.

I swallowed and pointed down the hall. “Second door on the right.”

He carried me through the dim hallway, the tension still humming between us. When we reached the bedroom, he nudged the door open with his shoulder and crossed the room in a few quick strides before setting me gently on the bed.

For a moment he just stood there.

His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, his hands flexing at his sides like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Then something shifted in his expression, a sudden realization flickering across his face.

“Nathan,” he muttered under his breath.

Right. The driver was still outside. Waiting. Probably wondering if Knox had been murdered in my foyer.

Knox pulled his phone from his pocket and typed something quickly.

“What did you tell him?” I asked softly.

“That he can go home,” Knox said without looking up. “I’m staying.”

He didn’t ask. He didn’t check whether it was okay. He said it like a simple fact, something already decided.

When he finished, he set the phone aside on the nightstand and sat down beside me on the edge of the bed. His elbows rested on his knees, his head lowering slightly as if the weight of the evening had finally caught up with him.

His breathing had steadied, but the tension still held in his shoulders.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the house settling around us.

When he finally lifted his head and looked at me, his voice was low.

“I didn’t plan for any of that.”

“I know,” I said softly.

He dragged a hand through his hair. “I lose control around you. I don’t do that with anyone else.”

Something in my chest tightened. “You didn’t hurt me.”

“That’s not the point,” he said. “I let go. More than I ever have.”

He looked at me again, eyes searching. “You weren’t scared?”

“No,” I said. “Not for a second.”

His eyes softened, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little. “Good.”