Knox's Stand
Page 53

Train went over to Bliss who was still on Cash’s lap. When she leaned to the side, taking his cock into her mouth, Trains hiss of pleasure left no doubt that he wasn’t going to last long. Knox stood with Diamond’s limp body pliant against his chest. Her face was buried in his neck as he carried her back to his bedroom, shutting the door with his foot. He carried her to the bed, laying her down on the comforter.
“Are you okay?” Knox asked as he pulled off her skirt and shoes.
“Mmm-hmm,” Diamond mumbled. Knox smiled and lay down next to her, lifting her to his chest. As Diamond lay across him, her thigh lifted to rest across his hips.
“You going to knee me in the nuts for doing that?”
“No; I should, but I feel too good to bother doing it right now.”
Knox’s hand smoothed out the tangled curls. “Diamond?”
“Knox, I’m not pissed, but if you keep bugging me, I might become pissed. You’re messing with my afterglow.”
Knox’s chest shook against her cheek. “I wouldn’t want to do that, go to sleep. We need to talk tomorrow.” Diamond pretended to go to sleep, feeling Knox relax under her. She worried until dawn lit the sky that the talk he wanted involved her return to reality.
Much later, Diamond rolled over, half-asleep. Looking over at the clock, she saw that it was afternoon. Turning to wake Knox, Diamond wasn’t surprised to find him gone.
Wendy and Peter Pan had never had their happy ending and neither would she.
 
 
Chapter Twenty-five
 
Diamond had just gotten out of the shower and dressed when her cell phone rang. Her stomach sank when she saw it was Knox calling.
“Hello”
“You finally awake, sleepyhead?” Knox’s cheerful voice had her sagging spirits lifting.
“Yes, I just got out of the shower.”
“Good.” His voice turned serious. “I want you to meet me at this address in an hour.” Diamond’s spirits dropped again. “Beth said you can borrow her SUV, the keys are already in the ignition.
“What’s the address?” Diamond knew that there was no use in putting off the inevitable.
She repeated the address back to him before hanging up. Diamond sat down on the side of the bed, looking at the clock as she watched the minutes click past, one after another. She had become fairly familiar with Treepoint and with Knox’s instructions was sure she would have no trouble finding the house.
When she had no choice other than to leave or be late, which she was tempted to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to keep Knox deliberately waiting. She got to her feet, straightened her shoulders, and gathered her pride, determined this time to accept his decision without breaking down and pleading with him not to stop seeing her. As she went out of his room and down the stairs, she missed the concerned looks everyone she passed gave her when they saw her white face.
She managed to keep her resolve all the way to Beth’s SUV. Climbing in, she drove to town, and with each mile, her resolve weakened. She would only ask for more time once. When she was a couple miles away, she would only cry a little bit. By the time she pulled into the driveway of the big house she was unfamiliar with, she got out of the car and walked to the front door. Her resolve completely disappeared, knowing she would go down on her knees and beg if she had to. She wasn’t going to let the big jerk go. Whatever he said, he was hers.
Diamond started to knock on the door, but the note taped to the door stopped her.
“Diamond the door is unlocked. Come in, I’m waiting.”
Diamond read the short note twice before she gathered enough courage to open the door.
She stepped into the average-sized living room, which was completely unfurnished. Diamond took a hesitant step forward, seeing a suitcase sitting at the bottom of the steps. As she drew closer, she heard music from the upstairs. She slowly went up the steps until she reached the top where she saw a door opened and could hear the music pouring out from the room behind it. Diamond walked into the room and came to a stop.
“Knox.” Her hand reached out, bracing herself in the doorway.
The bedroom was completely decorated with her bedroom furniture; her dresser, her chest of drawers, her chair with her nightgown on it. It was all exactly as she’d left it. Everything perfectly like it had been in her apartment except for the bed. It was a king size bed with a beautiful comforter on it.
“I don’t understand,” Diamond said.
“If you don’t like it, we can pick out something else. I thought this wouldn’t be too far from your office and would still be convenient for me to make a quick stop every now and then when we’re not busy at the office.”
Diamond didn’t take her eyes off Knox.
“Are you wearing a... is that a…” Knox walked forward, moving to stand in front of her.
“A deputy’s uniform,” Knox said. “The sheriff wants to retire in a few months. He’s tired, Diamond. He wants to leave the town in someone’s hands he can trust. I’ll be a deputy for a few months while he trains me before I take over as sheriff. The mayor has already okayed it and doesn’t think the city council will cause any opposition.”
“You’re going to be the sheriff?” Diamond asked in disbelief.
“Yes. I’ll have a regular job. I want you to move in here with me.”
“Knox, are you sure?”
“Diamond, I’m sure. I love you.” Knox went to his knees in front of her then, looking up at her, he said. “I need you. I don’t expect you to believe me, but I can be the man you need. I can be reliable, faithful and there for you and our children. I love you, Diamond. I’ll always love you. I haven’t touched another woman since that first time with you.”
“Even when we were apart those months?” Diamond asked in shock.
“Even then, that’s why I gave my bed up,” Knox told her.
“Knox, I love you, too.” Diamond smiled down into his face. The shadows that were so much a part of him were gone. His beautiful eyes were clear, making no effort to hide his emotions from her.
At her words, he stood, picked her up, and laid her down on the bed. Knox then began pulling off his clothes, and Diamond sat up to take off her own.
She smiled as she crawled to the end of the bed. “What would you have done if I wasn’t such a sure thing?”
“Diamond, you were never a sure thing. Even when you gave me everything you had, I thought you would give up and leave before I could straighten out my shit. I wanted you to stay at the same time that I was afraid you would stay. You were becoming more precious to me than the air I breathed. You showed your strength and love for me every day. I’m going to prove my love to you for the rest of my life.”
“We don’t have to live here. We could do like Razer and Shade; build our house near the clubhouse if you want,” Diamond made the offer, leaving the choice to him.
“They’ll always be my family, and now you’re a member we’ll for damn sure be going to some parties, but only on the nights that there’s no one from town there.”
“I was the new member voted in last night?” Diamond teased his nipple with her tongue.
“Yes. But we’re going to be busy with my new job, getting married, fixing up our island.”