“Sammy’s out tonight and so is one of our bar backs, so we’ll be busy. Hope you can handle it.”
“I think you know I can.” I’d been working here on and off for four years. I knew the place inside and out. Just because I didn’t maintain regular shifts didn’t mean shit. Tending bar was like riding a bike. Put a shaker and a bottle in my hand, and I knew what to do.
“Cocky much?” she teased, winking at me beneath thick black lashes.
“It’s not cocky if it’s true.” I jumped into action, punching in at the register and grabbing a crate of glasses to stack beneath the bar.
The evening crowd began to filter in and take up seats at the bar and the nearby high-top tables. Rachel and I managed to keep up our easy banter while mixing drinks and pouring beers from the tap. She flicked a beer cap at my chest. “Hey, lover boy.” She nodded her head toward the far end of the bar. “Looks like you have a visitor.”
My eyes followed Rachel’s stare to the end of the bar, where I spotted her. McKenna. Guilt burned in my subconscious for my actions the other night. I couldn’t believe how far I’d let things go.
“Cover me for a second?” I called out to Rachel, already making my way toward the end of the bar.
McKenna looked completely out of place here. Her gaze darted around at the jostling bodies as her hands clutched at the shoulder strap of her purse, holding it securely around her body. When her eyes met mine, her expression softened just slightly. She stepped closer to the bar, sliding onto an open stool in front of her. The guy immediately to her left smiled and pushed himself closer.
When I approached, McKenna’s eyes lifted to mine and she bit her lip, seemingly unsure about being here. Damn right, she should feel unsure. This place was a meat market and she was a delicious, juicy steak.
The douche bag next to her lifted his hand to get my attention. “Another beer and whatever this pretty young thing wants.”
McKenna’s eyes widened, as if she suddenly realized that coming alone to a bar might not have been the best call. But I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
I leaned closer, getting in the guy’s face. “You’re done here. I’m not serving you anything more, and you sure as shit aren’t buying her a drink. I suggest you leave.”
“What the—”
I slammed a fist onto the bar and the guy quickly rose and took off.
“Why’d you do that?” she asked, looking bewildered.
I wouldn’t explain my actions to her. Not until she explained some things to me first. “Why did you come here?”
“Your brothers said you were out. I was worried you were—”
“Out drinking and picking up women?” I supplied.
She nodded.
“Nope. Just working.” Christ, she was watching me with those pretty sapphire-blue eyes, looking at me like she was both hurt and disappointed. I turned to the guy next to us. “What can I get for you?”
“Bud Light,” he called back. I cracked open a bottle and handed it to him, punching the order into the register to add it to his tab before turning back to McKenna.
“No freebies, honey. You want something to drink?” Rachel said to McKenna, suddenly standing next to me.
“She’s a friend, Rachel. Back off.”
Rachel laughed, throwing her head back. “Yeah, they’re all your friends until morning. Right, Knox?”
Curiosity burned in McKenna’s gaze as she appraised Rachel. Looking back and forth between us, I could see the wheels in McKenna’s head spinning, wondering about my history with this feisty blonde. All it took was one little look from McKenna and I felt unworthy of her. This would never work. Why was she here? Didn’t she get the memo after the other night? Unless she was back for more…
McKenna pulled her gaze from Rachel to focus back on me, and straightened her shoulders. “What time do you get off?”
“Two,” I croaked, wondering what she was doing.
“I’ll wait then. Give me a Diet Coke, please.”
Rachel rolled her eyes and stormed away. Shit, I didn’t know what her problem was with McKenna being here. As long as I did my job, she shouldn’t care that McKenna was hanging out at the end of the bar.
“What are you planning to do? Stay here and babysit me, make sure I go straight home after my shift?” She didn’t respond. In any other circumstance it might have angered me, but coming from McKenna, I knew her concern was genuine. “If we have any chance, you have to trust me, angel.”
Her eyes flashed on mine. “Do you trust yourself?”
I leaned closer. “Around you? No.”
Blush colored her cheeks. “I went to your house. I still owe you guys dinner, and when Luke told me you were here—at a bar—what was I supposed to think?”
“The worst, apparently.”
Her gaze zeroed in on Rachel, who was still watching us with a scowl. “Have you slept with that girl?” She tipped her head toward the end of the bar where Rachel was polishing pint glasses.
Shit. “Once. A long time ago.”
Her face fell.
“Hey…” I reached for her hand and brought it to my lips. “I’d be happy if you stayed tonight and waited for me.”
She chewed on her lip, as if deciding.
The truth was, I trusted myself completely around Rachel. We’d had sex once, two years ago, shortly after she began working here. And despite her constant flirting with me, I saw it strictly as a one-time thing. If McKenna was willing to hang out here all night, I wouldn’t deny myself the chance to be near her.
“Do you want me to order you some food? We have a full kitchen.”
“Sure. What’s good here?” She leaned toward me, settling in.
Just after one in the morning, Rachel told me to go ahead and punch out. The crowd had died down, but mostly I think she’d grown tired of watching me and McKenna steal glances at each other all night. Normally I’d feel bad leaving a coworker with all the end-of-shift cleaning, but I was itching to be alone with McKenna again.
I punched out in back and washed up before meeting McKenna. She slid off her stool and stretched. “Now what?”
I wanted to get her alone in my bedroom again, but I knew I needed to reel myself in before I pushed her too far. “Whatever you like.”
“Can we just go back to your place?”
“The guys will be sleeping.” I needed her to understand what she was asking me for. We’d be alone with nothing to distract me and no one to protect her.
She lifted up on her toes and leaned in until her lips brushed my ear. “I’ll be quiet.”
Blood raged south to my groin, making me instantly hard. “Come on.”
Chapter Sixteen
McKenna
With my heart slamming into my ribs, I climbed the stairs to Knox’s room, thinking about the first time I’d come here. Just like I could feel his gaze on me then, I could feel it now. Only this time, I knew what his hands felt like on my skin, what his hot mouth felt like moving against mine.
When I reached his bedroom, I wanted to be brave, to show him what I wanted, since I knew I wouldn’t have the guts to tell him how I felt. Instead, I stopped awkwardly in the center of the room and stared at the big bed.
From behind me, Knox’s warm hand came to rest on my shoulder. The heat from his body licked mine, warming me from head to toe. “Relax,” he breathed behind my ear.
As if on command, my body instantly relaxed. This was Knox. He might have his issues, but he’d never hurt me. I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine, but let out a huge yawn instead. Oops. It seemed my body suddenly remembered the late hour.
“You’re tired.” Knox chuckled, coming around to face me.
I nodded. “I’m sleepy.”
“Go lay down on my bed. I’m going to take a quick shower.”
I obeyed, toeing off my shoes and padding across the room in my socks to crawl into his big bed. I pulled the covers around me and snuggled against his pillow. Mmm. That scent I’d come to love—sandalwood, leather, and male deliciousness—greeted me.
Sometime later, Knox crawled into bed beside me and I opened my eyes to watch him in the pale moonlight position himself on the pillow. He met my gaze and grinned. “Did I wake you?”
I nodded. “I dozed off waiting for you.”
“It’s okay. You can rest, sleepy girl. You’re safe.”
I did feel safe with him. Even the other night, things had only gone as far as I’d wanted them to. In fact, Knox had been somewhat reluctant, leaving me in the shower alone and dressing in the other room. Not that I’d had to convince him too much. His body had responded to the intensity between us just like mine had. His erection had been impossible not to notice. I hadn’t been brave enough to touch him, even though I’d wanted to. In fact, it was all I’d thought about while lying in bed this week.
Knox was still watching me. He hadn’t yet touched me, but he didn’t have to. I could feel the heat from his body as his hot breath warmed a path across my skin. I nestled myself closer and he opened his arms for me, embracing me securely against his body.
“Knox?”
“Hmm?”
Losing my courage, I shrugged. “I’m not tired anymore.” I wanted to ask him about his recovery, if he’d been abstaining from sex, but I knew I wasn’t brave enough to hear the answer.
“What do you want?” He groaned, breathless.
Part of me couldn’t believe I’d found myself in his bed again, tempting him. I shouldn’t be here, even if it was exactly where I wanted to be. I didn’t even know where he stood with his recovery. He kept that information closely guarded.
“Never mind. Maybe we should just sleep,” I said, even though it was the last thing I wanted.
“You see, there’s this girl who’s making it a little hard at the moment.”
When he emphasized the word hard, I giggled. “Knox?” I asked again.
“Yeah?”
I took a deep breath, drawing my courage. “How have you been doing with your addiction?”
He paused for several seconds, a long, awkward silence hanging between us. “I’ve cut back.”
My stomach tightened into a knot. “Why don’t you just stop?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” he teased, poking me in the ribs underneath the covers.
“Recovering from an addiction isn’t supposed to be fun.” I arranged the blankets around me, feeling the sudden need to create a barrier between us.
“Who says I have an addiction? Maybe I just hang out with you on Saturday mornings because I want to.”
“Your counselor, that’s me, says you do, and I bet your brothers too if we asked them.”
“McKenna…”
His tone held a warning, but I pressed on. “What, Knox?”
“I do what I need to do. Are you offering up your services?”
My breathing pattern changed. It was like my body forgot the simple process of drawing in air and releasing it back out. “I’m serious. I’m here, Knox. I believe in you, but…”