Page 88 of Knox's Boy

The drive home was transformed. The oppressive weight that had filled the car on the way there had evaporated. I drove with one hand, the other resting on Florian's thigh again. Floriandidn't fidget this time. He shifted, resting his head on my shoulder.

"She's cool," he mumbled against my sweater. "Not scary at all.”

"She liked you," I said, running my fingers through his hair. "I told you she would."

"Yeah, well. You were right. As usual." He snuggled closer, his breath warm against my neck. I chuckled. "I think I get it now. Why you are the way you are. You’re just like her. Soft on the inside, iron on the outside."

"Is that so?"

"Mhmm."

I smiled, tightening my grip on the steering wheel, driving my boys, the bratty one beside me and the frightened one inside me, home.

Chapter 37. Knox

I caught Florian's wrist as we crossed the threshold of our bedroom, the door barely clicking shut behind us before I pulled him against me. My heartbeat thundered in my chest. The careful restraint I prided myself on had frayed at the edges throughout the evening, watching him with my mother, his gentle manner, his attentiveness, the way she had looked at him with such acceptance. It had undone something fundamental inside me.

"Daddy?" His voice held a question, blue eyes searching mine with that perfect mixture of concern and desire that always threatened to bring me to my knees.

"You have no idea what it meant to me," I whispered, my voice rougher than I intended, cracked with emotion I rarely allowed myself to display. "Seeing you with her. Watching you become part of my world in that way. I've never taken any partners there. You're the first."

His breath hitched. His body melted against mine. I felt the heat of him through our clothes, the slight tremor in his frame ashe pressed himself fully against me, his arousal evident against my thigh.

I claimed his mouth with a hunger that startled even me. This wasn't our usual show of dominance and submission, this was raw need, unfiltered and honest. His lips parted beneath mine, yielding completely, his fingers clutching at the fabric of my shirt. I tried to start unbuttoning his shirt, but I trembled too hard for that. Something primal had awakened in me, something that couldn't be bothered with control.

"Daddy, let me," he murmured, his fingers replacing mine, moving to the buttons of his own shirt.

I watched, as he undressed for me. When he stood before me in nothing but his underwear, I reached for him again.

"Your turn," he said, hands rising to my collar, working the buttons.

I let him undress me, watching his face as he exposed my chest, my abdomen. His fingers traced the path of hair that disappeared beneath my waistband. The awe in his expression always made me want to go to my knees for him. That this beautiful young man could look at me with such worship was a gift I knew I would never fully deserve.

"Bed," I growled. "Now."

I guided him backward until the backs of his knees hit the mattress. He fell, looking up at me with those blue eyes. I followed him down, covering his body with mine, getting drunk on the small gasp he let out as our bare chests pressed together.

"You were so perfect today," I murmured against his throat, where I caught notes of the cologne I'd bought him in Italy. "So beautiful. So good."

His back arched as I dragged my teeth along his collarbone, leaving a trail of marks that would bloom purple by morning. I wasn't usually so possessive with physical marks, I preferred my claim on him to be subtler, more psychological, but tonight I needed to see the evidence of my touch on his skin.

My hand slid between us, palming him through the thin fabric of his underwear. He was already hard, leaking, his body so responsive to my touch. I stripped us both. I reached for the bedside drawer, retrieving what we needed. The preparations were quick but thorough. I would never hurt him, no matter how desperate my need, and then I was guiding his legs around my waist, positioning myself at his entrance.

"Look at me," I commanded softly.

His eyes found mine. I pushed forward, watching his face as I filled him, the way his lips parted on a silent moan, the flutter of his eyelashes as he fought to keep his gaze locked with mine while rolling back his eyes. The tight heat of him around me was exquisite, but it was the complete surrender in his expression that truly undid me.

I began to move, setting a rhythm that was neither too hard nor too gentle. My hands gripped his hips, angling him just so, ensuring each thrust hit that place inside him that made him see stars. His fingers clutched at the mattress.

"My perfect boy," I praised. "My beautiful, brave, incredible boy."

Florian responded to the praise as he always did, with a full-body shudder and a tightening around me that threatened my control. I leaned down to kiss him again, swallowing his moans as I increased my pace, feeling the familiar tension building at the base of my spine.

"Please," he begged against my lips. "Please, Daddy, I need…"

"I know what you need," I assured him, wrapping my hand around him, stroking in time with my thrusts. "I always know. I love you," I gasped. "God, I love you so much."

His eyes widened at the naked emotion in my voice, and then he was coming, his body clenching around me, his release spilling warm between us. The sight of him undone sent me tumbling after him. I buried my face in his neck as I emptied myself inside him, my entire body shaking.