Page 104 of Keep Me Close

“Agreed,” I say on a shaky laugh.

It’s slowly that he starts to move. By the third thrust, I can already see the strain pulling his features tight. His jaw locks, a muscle ticking a mad rhythm as his breathing turns rough and uneven. Every muscle grows taut, as if he’s holding himself together by sheer force of will.

A small, startled burst of delight blooms in my chest. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine I could affect Knox like this or bring him to the edge so quickly.

He squeezes his eyes shut. “I hate to admit this,” he grits out, voice strained, “but there’s no damn way I’m going to last.”

I press my lips together, trying and failing not to smile. “It’s okay,” I murmur. “You can⁠—”

With a hoarse groan, he cuts me off. “No. I want us to… I want… Fuck.”

The word breaks apart as his control snaps. His movements become sharper, deeper, driving into me with a desperate intensity as my name falls from his lips like a prayer.

It’s over almost as quickly as it began. His body jerks before going rigid as he collapses against me, all that tightly wound tension giving way at once. His face drops into the curve of my neck, his breath hot and uneven against my skin.

“Damn. I’m sorry about that. I really wanted our first time to be memorable.”

My mouth twitches as I bite my lower lip, trying to fight the urge to laugh, but my shoulders shake anyway. “Mission accomplished. It was definitely memorable.”

He lifts his head just enough to peer down at me. “Are you laughing?”

I shake my head, attempting innocence. “Of course not.”

His eyes narrow. “You’re absolutely laughing at me.”

“I’m not,” I insist, which would be far more convincing if I weren’t very clearly doing exactly that.

With a groan, he drops his forehead to my shoulder. “How humiliating.”

I thread my fingers through his hair, still trying to rein in my chuckles. “Knox⁠—”

“No. Don’t you dare ‘Knox’ me.” He exhales heavily. “Now you think I’m a one-pump chump.”

“Definitely not.” I pause, considering. “There were at least five. So really, you’re more of a five-pump chump.”

His entire body goes still. “This,” he mutters into my neck, “is the kind of thing that should happen to Brooks. Not me.”

That does it. A full laugh bubbles up, spilling out before I can stop it as my hand smooths over his back. “It was perfect, Knox. Truly.”

He lifts his head again, squinting like he’s in no way convinced. “She says while actively mocking me.”

“What can I say? I’m a woman of contradictions.”

A reluctant chuckle escapes him as the tension in his body eases. And just like that, something softer settles between us.

Because it was funny.

And fast.

And probably not the smooth, unforgettable first time either of us imagined.

But it was also real.

No cameras.

Or pretending.

Or strategy.