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families.”
    “And you?” I asked.
    Knox grinned. “You know who I am,
Ana. What I do. What I stand for.”
    “So the Reap is still alive?” I
asked, referring to the Reaper’s Bastards MC.
    “Is that a question you really want
answered?” he asked, reaching for my face.
    His fingers stroked my cheek,
bringing life between my legs for the first time in a long time. There was a
different feeling when Knox turned me on. It wasn’t just about me getting wet.
It was like heat surged head to toe inside me. It was the wildest feeling,
something no person gave me.
    I tucked my shoulder to his hand
and let out a little sigh.
    Knox was killing me. He was always
killing me.
    “Ah, fuck,” he whispered. “What
happened to us, darlin’?”
    “Do you really want to go there?” I
asked. “History sometimes hurts.”
    “Yeah, it does. I never stopped
thinking of you. I know you’re not happy here. I can fix all that, Ana. I can
steal you away.”
    “Into what kind of life?” I asked.
    “One where you know you’re loved.
One where you know you’ll forever be touched the right way.” The back of his
hand gently touched my cheek. “The way you deserve.”
    Next thing I knew I was turning,
backing up, knowing I wanted to hit the building and have him pin me against
it. I wanted to feel his hand against the back of my leg and lift it. I wanted
to feel him kiss me, undress me, fuck me. We never had our chance at it the
right way. Everything had always been so rushed, waiting for the next slice of
hell to come barging into our lives.
    Knox got close to me, but not as
close as I wanted him.
    I then lifted the money to him,
like I was afraid of him or something.
    “Take this,” I whispered. “I have
to go. Porter is on his way.”
    “You think I give a shit about that
guy?” Knox asked. “Darlin’, I just want you to find happiness.”
    “I’m working on that,” I said. “Saving
money so I could get away from it all, Knox.”
    He nodded. He put his hand over
mine and pushed it away. “Keep the money.”
    “What?”
    “You heard me. Keep it.”
    “No. It’s your money.”
    He shook his head. “Ana, I earn on
my own. You take that money and stash it away. You never know when you’ll need
it.”
    I swallowed hard, feeling all those
old emotions starting to stir again. Each time I met up with Knox, he always
found a way to give something to me. To remind me that under that outlaw
attitude and thick muscle there was a beautiful man with a beautiful heart.
    “What about your band?” I asked.
    “I’ll take care of them. I usually
do. Plus, we’re sort of moving away from it all. Bret’s old lady hates him on
the road so much. Luke’s old lady just had their second kid. Might be time to
put it all away. Which is fine by me.”
    “Jesus, Knox,” I said. “I had no
idea. You guys are really good and popular.”
    “I’m looking at the true star in
all of this,” he whispered to me.
    Just like that we were set back
years, the two of us staring down at the beginning of a wild kiss. Our lips got
so close, just barely touching, then Knox pulled away.
    “Not this time,” he said.
    “Knox…”
    “Darlin’, I can’t hold back anymore
with you. If I kiss you again I’m going to devour you. I’m going to tear you
apart. You need to know that. I’m done with these fucking games. You need to
get the fuck out of here, Ana. For good. There’s nothing left here for you.”
    “What about you?” I asked.
    “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “You
know what I’m doing here. What I’m trying to protect, save, create. It’s part
of me. It will forever be a part of me. But you can go. I’m sorry to say this
to you, darlin’, but there’s nothing here for you. It’s all dead and gone.”
    I made a fist and punched at Knox’s
chest. “I hate you!” I cried out. What I wanted to tell him was that I loved
him. That I wanted him to take me away. That we could figure it out.
    Knox grabbed my fist as I