Marrying the Mob Prince
2-24

KNOX

What have I done?

Guilt cut into my bones. I'd known she was working on an article about Sanctum but hadn't warned her that the people there were dangerous. I'd inflicted this on her.

Worst of all, I'd crossed a line in that bedroom.

Regret pulsed in my veins. If only we'd gone home after that kiss. I probably could've given her what she wanted.

I sat in my office. My only light source blinked from the server tower. I'd turned off my screen after an ocular migraine burst across my vision. It'd forced me to stop. My chin dipped and I stared at the keyboard.

Over the next few days, I avoided Indie. I was unwilling to face her. I could give her what she needed, but would she still want it from me? I couldn't bear the disappointment. So I hid in my office and sent bodyguards to protect Indie's parents and sister. I searched for Cainan, whose involvement in human trafficking made no sense, considering our history. I'd developed software for identifying victims at his behest. What the fuck was he doing there at Sanctum? The door softly opened.

Indie popped in, her brown hair pleated into a braid. She carried a mug of coffee, which she put on my desk beside a plate of Linzer cookies. Good girl.

Cainan's voice swept in my head, and my stomach hardened.

"Are these homemade?"

She nodded.

The roughly cut edges and the slightly overdone crust were strong hints, but Indie's presence made me lose awareness of my surroundings.

"I thought you could use a snack," she murmured, playing with my shirt collar. "You've been down here for hours."

"Thank you."

She smiled, and my heart pounded.

I cleared my throat and sipped the coffee, which tasted better than it usually did. Then I bit into a cookie, my tastebuds exploding with the raspberry jam. "This is really great, Indie."

She rubbed my shoulder, then leaned over and kissed my cheek, showering my skin with sparks. Indie's comforting touch vanished as she turned away. Her footsteps retreated as she headed to the door. I wheeled around. "Stop. Come here."

Surprisingly, Indie obeyed. She returned to me and inhaled a deep, savoring breath. Sadness marked the perfect oval of her face.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked.

Am I dreaming?

I stared at her. "Sit on my lap."

She settled on my thigh and nuzzled my neck. Something inside me fluttered. The floral smell of her skin distracted me.

"We should probably talk." I smoothed hair from her forehead, marveling at the comfort touching her gave me. "I'm not proud of how I acted the other night. Losing control makes me feel pathetic and weak." "Knox, you were trying to get me out of there alive. Is that why you're down here?" Indie stroked my hair, but I sensed her misery. It dug into my chest. "Because you think it's your fault?"

"It is. I'm supposed to be in command of myself. Give me half an hour in a locked room with that piece of shit, and I'm no better than a rutting beast. The drugs. Him, egging me on. You being submissive. I couldn't take it. I lost myself." "You did not."

My throat thickened. "I think I hurt you."

She cupped my cheek, forcing me to meet her soft gaze. "Knox, I consented."

"There is no consent if it's under duress. Damn." A blinding pain throbbed between my temples. "I've been feeling like shit for days."

"It's stress. You're overworked."

She didn't understand. "I took advantage of you. It's unforgivable."

"Knox, it was the best sex of my life. Which is saying something, because a man I loathe was in the same room and apparently, it was recorded." Those words threw me off.

I'd never been so conflicted. Confused.

On one hand, I'd abandoned all sense. On the other, I agreed with her. It had been amazing. Was I keen on repeating the experience? Of course-just in a different setting. I'd been with beautiful women. Talented girls who sucked me off in minutes. And I'd never felt like this. My hands trembled. I kept tasting her. My cock still tingled from the imprint of her lips.

Fucking her was supposed to cure me of this obsession.

But if anything, I wanted more.

"I don't know how to act around you," I admitted in a reluctant whisper, studying her. "You have no idea what it's like to be in your presence. You're so good. You spend your free time helping people. Volunteering. Exposing traffickers. Who am I? The opposite. A tyrant. I get what I want, when I want it. I burn businesses to the ground for perceived slights. I follow a rigid schedule to keep my demons satisfied."

And they were becoming more unwieldy.

She'd tossed her birth control pills on my nightstand hours ago. Whether it was accidental or not, the gesture intoxicated me. I found myself playing with them, imagining ludicrous scenarios. Tampering with the pills. Throwing them out altogether. I wouldn't do that, but I nonetheless fantasized about getting Indie pregnant.

When would that day come? And when it did, would I feel less bereft when Tony prattled on about his kid?

A bright red flush climbed up her neck. "I'm not as great as you think."

"You are by my standards."

"Stop making me out to be a saint. I've done terrible things. I killed a man, for God's sake."

I snorted. "Took out the trash, more like. What else?"

"I dragged you into my mess."

"I'm glad you did. A lifetime with you for a dead guy is a bargain."

Her cheeks stained with pink. "That's incredibly morbid."

"But romantic?"

Judging by her deepening blush, she agreed.

Perfect.

Now that I'd redeemed myself, winning her over wouldn't be hard.

I lightly fingered the rose blooming over her cheek. "Nobody makes me feel the way you do."

"Knox, stop with the flattery."

"I'm being sincere. Would I abandon my rules for anyone?"

Her misty eyes spilled over.

Then she tackled me, giving me a back-breaking hug.

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I gritted my teeth.

I would endure. Touching overloaded my senses, but I had to get over it. I wanted this woman. I needed her loyalty more than I could articulate, and I had every intention of chaining this girl to me. And I'd tried the stick. It was time for the carrot.

I tightened my arms around her slim shoulders.

She hugged me tighter. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," I grumbled, grasping for the right words. "I'm just glad you're okay. If anything happened to you, I would've lost my mind."

That wasn't a lie.

If she'd been hurt, I probably would've spiraled into a well of self-loathing. I wasn't in love, but I wasn't cruel enough to break her heart. I wanted what Tony had, not the dead-eyed models who used to hang on my arm.

I relaxed, sinking into her embrace. She nuzzled my chest. I battled an instinct to push her off me and tried to force my attention elsewhere. I got lost in her jasmine-coated skin and the way it made my pulse pound. Struck by a sudden inspiration, I whispered, "Indie, I'll always be there for you. No matter what."

She cupped my face and kissed me. A teardrop transferred from her cheek to mine as she took me hungrily. Her tongue swept my bottom lip. She dipped inside and played with me, the liquid fire thickening my cock.

My heartbeat skyrocketed. Fuck. I never knew it could feel like this. I claimed her rosebud lips, relishing in her receptive mouth and the way she melted against me. She broke away, looking utterly enchanted. A sweet kiss landed on my cheek. I ripped off her T-shirt, and her perky tits bounced free. Without another word from me, she slid to the floor and knelt between my thighs.

Fuck, yes.

I undid my jeans and freed my cock. Heat wrapped me as she sucked me into hardness, her tongue gliding up and down my shaft. My balls tightened with the need for release as I guided her with my hand, falling into bliss. I couldn't believe she still wanted me.

Indie's innocent eyes met mine, her submission stroking my dick as much as the blowjob she was giving me. Her tongue swirled.

Liquid heat lashed me, and I bit my lip to kill the contented sigh.

Yes.

I'd won her.

I'd make her forget the darkness and only let her remember the orgasms. I saw our future etched out like the sun's weak rays, barely visible on the horizon.

She would love me.

Not tonight.

Tomorrow, perhaps.