Page 8 of Bundle of Joy

His arm reaches out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist and squeezing.

“I didn’t say this conversation was over yet,” he says, gritting his teeth.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do. You don’t have that privilege,” I say before yanking my arm away and rushing back downstairs.

Tears are threatening to fall from my eyes. I knew this was a stupid idea. I should have stayed home.

“That’s not true and you know it.” He dismisses me, moving around the counter, heading in my direction, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Wh… What are you doing?” I stammer, my pulse quickening the closer he gets. Damn my treacherous body for reacting to him.

“Trying to prove to you that I’m not playing games,” he growls, and I glance at his hands that are gripping the counter.

“How do you plan to do that?” I ask, stuttering my words and licking my lips.

I’m trying––but failing––to keep my breathing under control. The last thing I want is for him to realize the effect he has on me.

The curtain in the kitchen is open and there’s a small stream of light coming into the room from the streetlights outside.

I watch his gaze drop to my lips, and all I can think about is what it would feel like to press myself against him.

Knox Kingston is someone that has always lived in my fantasies. Thinking about what it would feel like for him to push himself inside of me, or what my body would do if he put his lips or hands on me has me closing my eyes to take a deep breath.

“Sophia,” he whispers, a pain in his voice that I can feel throughout my body.

I dig my fingers into the countertop, trying desperately to think of anything other than what it would feel like to have Knox Kingston lose himself inside of me.

“Don’t,” I warn, feeling the wetness between my legs, my body aching to know what it would feel like for him to touch me, just once.

I can feel when he gets closer to me, heat radiating off his body, his breathing heavy. I try but fail to keep my eyes clamped shut. When they open, his eyes are locked on me.

“I don’t play games, Sophia,” he growls, leaning close to me, his lips brushing my ear.

I don’t know what to say. I’m not sure I could even speak coherent thoughts if I tried. When he’s this close to me, I can’t think straight.

“You’ve done nothing but play games with me since we met,” I snap, my emotions running wild because I can’t tell if I’m turned on or pissed off.

Knox has always been this way with me. There would be these moments, when we were alone, when it almost felt as if he cared about me. Then the next day, he would act like I didn’t even exist. It was almost as if I was a pawn in some game he was playing. Like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to waste time with the little girl who was always around.

“Like fuck I have. You’re the one that fucked my brother.” His nostrils flare, and my eyes flick to the vein pulsing in his neck.

“Leave it to you to bring up shit from the past.” I laugh bitterly, grinding my teeth.

“The past will never stay in the past for me. Every time I look at you all I can see is you straddling my brother.” He laughs, but it doesn’t cover the hurt that passes through his eyes.

“It was a mistake, Knox. You know it. I know it. Even Kai knows it.” I take a step back, giving myself some much-needed space from him.

“That doesn’t make it any easier, Sophia. You knew how I felt about you and you fucked my brother.” His anger returns.

“That’s not true and you know it. Nobody knows how you feel, Knox. You’ve got walls built up around you that nobody will ever be able to knock down. You don’t know how to let people in.

Half the time you pretended like I didn’t exist.”

I run my hand through my hair, feeling a tightness in my chest that is only put there by him.

He doesn’t say anything––he just stares at me. This is what Knox is good at, making you feel like shit without ever saying a word.

I’m struggling to find the right words to express what I’m feeling, when he breaks the silence between us.