Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“Aren’t you too old to be climbing up balconies to meet a girl?” I teased.
“You’re so hard to meet–what’s a man supposed to do to see his sweetheart?” He casually strolled over and sat right beside me on the ground, facing me with his back leaning against the doorframe. He placed his right arm behind him.
Sweetheart? I shook myself as a fuzzy, warm feeling started creeping over me. I stared at him for a moment. A small, lazy smile played on his lips as he looked at me, like he had all the time in the world. I quickly looked away, my gaze dropping to my open phone, which I was about to close. I made quick
work of it, changing the screen.
“What are you doing?” he asked, leaning toward the table to glance at my phone.
“My phone was injured in combat. I’m repairing it,” I said, and then I remembered–my phone wasn’t the only thing injured. I turned back to him. His left arm was in the most relaxed position, but…
“But why are you here? Shouldn’t you be resting?” I moved from my spot, getting on my knees to reach for him immediately, my fingers touching his left shoulder.
“I’ve had worse. This is just a scratch,” he said, touching my hand and pulling me toward him. I stumbled into his lap.
“Careful! You might reopen your wound!” I whispered, keeping my voice low as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer. I tried to get up, but even injured, he had strength I couldn’t break free from.
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you stay and take care of me?”
I sighed and patted his good arm in mock comfort. “I’m not your nurse or your family member.”
“I want you to be my family.”
I stilled at his words, my mind going completely blank for a moment. Words failed me, and then I let out a humorless laugh, a numb feeling spreading through my chest.
“Have you ever…” I swallowed. “Have you ever been injured in the head? Because there must be some issues that need to be addressed by a professional,” I said with a straight face.
He laughed.
This time, my heart stilled. His eyes twinkled, and even though we were shrouded in darkness, there was light in them. I looked away, a part of me wondering–how can he be like this, out of all the people I’ve met or come in contact with?
“Maybe you should try treating those issues,” he said.
“I can’t. Besides, you don’t need me. You already have all kinds of professionals in your organization–people to kill, people to treat, and then… people who can pretend to be your family.”
He grinned at my jab. “Why don’t you ask me directly what you want to know?”
“Why would I ask? You should be the first to clarify things before you even get close to me!”
“Fine, fine. My bad.” He took my hand in his. “I already told you–Kate and I have an arrangement,” he said.
“Why do you have an arrangement? What are the terms of it? And the fact that she’s a Shadow Knight…”
“She is a formidable Shadow Knight,” he praised.
I pressed my lips into a thin line.
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Chapter 36
“Don’t be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous,” I protested.
“She joined the Shadow Knight organization before me.”
“Before you?”
He nodded. “We’re the same age, but she got there when she was ten, and I when I was fifteen,” he said.
“That’s too young.” God knows how they make them the way they are. I don’t want to know.
“A knight is never too young–my grandfather used to say that.”
“So you and Kate are… friends?”
“No. When we were little, we didn’t like each other. Even now, there’s always something about her that irritates me. But she’s a professional.”
“And scared of you,” I added, remembering the way her face changed color when he shouted.
“A little,” he admitted, as if trying to be modest.
“My grandfather wanted me to marry when I turned twenty–one.”
“That’s a bit…”
“Old–fashioned, yes. But he wanted to avoid making what he considered a mistake with my father,” he sighed. “My father married my mother against my grandfather’s wishes. He wanted to retire afterward, so he took off with her. He gave up his position as Head of the Shadow Knight organization.”
“Sounds romantic.”
Killian smiled at that.
“My grandfather didn’t want to repeat the same mistake. ‘Love will make you weak,‘ he said. And I had no patience to argue with him.”
“So your grandfather chose Kate for you?” I assumed.
“No. I chose her. The only way to take over the Shadow Knight organization was to get married. I had different ideas, and Kate was the perfect candidate
to fool him.”
“Why her?” I asked, curious.
“She was a Shadow Knight trained by my grandfather. Her father was under his thumb. He had the illusion of control, so he gave his approval.”
nodded. This, I understood.
“So how did you skip registering the marriage?”
“My grandfather was old. He saw the ceremony–we put on a perfect charade, and everything was set. I took over the Shadow Knight organization, and he got his retirement.”
Everything wrapped up in a nice little package.
“Now I’m jealous. All you had to do was pretend to get married, and you got to take over your inheritance. Meanwhile, I have to fight tooth and nail for
mine.”
“That’s not all. I also had to take out our biggest rival at the time.”
“I retract my words,” I said upon hearing this.
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Chapter 36
Killian chuckled.
This explains his side. What about Kate?
“Why would Kate agree to this? Just because you’re her boss?” I asked, skeptical.
“No worries–she doesn’t like me.”
“How do you know? She’s been pretending to be your
wife for nearly ten years.”
“I’m not her type. You are.”
It took me a second to realize what he was saying.
“Oh.” I nodded. “Okay.”
“Killian,” I said, my voice full of seriousness. “Next time, start with the important part first.” I gave him a mocking glare and stood up. Honestly! He’s infuriating!
As I turned away, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me right back in.
“Killian!” I warned as my back hit his chest, and I was once again in his lap. He rested his chin in the crook of my neck, taking my hands and clasping them at my front. The iron scent of blood lingered in his embrace, but he was gentle as he spoke.
“Shhh, don’t make a sound. What if someone wakes up?” His breath brushed against my skin, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Why? Didn’t you drug everyone again?” I jabbed.
Killian chuckled. “You figured it out?”
I shook my head. He didn’t even try to deny it. And yet, I couldn’t find anything inside me to be displeased. I suppressed a smile.
“Killian, you… at the beach house, was it really…?” I asked, as if even I couldn’t believe it.
“Yes,” he said.
I chuckled. “I can’t–oh God! You planned to seduce me.” Disbelief colored my tone.
“Well, the original plan was to talk to you first. Then seduce you. But when I saw you in the kitchen…” His voice grew slow and husky. “Under my roof, so comfortable in your shorts…” His lips brushed against my ear, and my breath grew shallow. “I lost my control.”
His mouth trailed down my neck, leaving small, warm kisses.
“Stop,” I whispered. “You’ll open your wound.” I tried to free myself from his hold.
“Don’t move, or you’ll open my wound,” he countered.
I stopped, and he adjusted me so that I was now sitting between his legs, his legs over mine. I was completely wrapped up in him. His hand slipped unde my satin white pajama shirt and sweater.
“Killian, don’t!” I kept my voice low. “Not here.”
I bit my lip as his hands traveled, the night’s chill mixing with the heat his touch ignited beneath my skin, turning my thoughts blank.
“If you’re worried about waking someone-”
“You haven’t drug them again, have you?”
“No. Continued usage can be fatal,” he said, as if it were some casual fun fact, while his hand didn’t stop. I placed my hand over his to halt him.
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Chapter 36
“Next time you drug them, leave Franny out of it. She’s eighteen. What if she gets seriously sick?”
Killian finally rested his head on my shoulder. “Just Franny?” he murmured, his voice carrying the disappointment of a child whose parents had told him he couldn’t have a dog.
“Yes.”
“As you wish, my love,” he said.
I turned to look at him as he raised his head. I touched his cheek, caressing it. “As I wish, he had said. I sighed Baffling. It was all really baffling,
I kissed him, and his arms came around me, pulling me closer as I turned to straddle him, my knees resting on either side of his hips. He tugged off my sweater, and I threaded my fingers through his hair.
I pulled away, breathing hard.
“Who made you, Killian Knight? God or the Devil?” I murmured against his lips.
His hand slid under my shirt, stroking my bare back. The sensation made my thighs clench, my breath shallow as his hot breath fanned over my lips, his dark eyes pulling me in.
“The Devil, sweetheart. Whatever divinity you see–that’s you,” he said.
Killian’s words never failed to startle me. I pulled him into a searing kiss as he started unbuttoning my shirt.
“Not here. The bed,” I murmured between kisses.
His mouth trailed down my neck as I stood up, taking his hand and pulling him with me. He let me.
I carefully removed his t–shirt, my fingers tracing the edge of the bandage securing his wound.
“One bullet, and I won’t crumble, love,” he said, pushing me onto the bed.
“You better not,” I whispered, pulling him down with me.
He smirked.
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