Knox: A Suspenseful M/M Brother's Best Friend Romance, page 10
Knox huffs and bobs his head. “If I had known from the start that I was a target, I never would have come here.”
Needing to comfort him, I get up, walk over, and wrap him in my arms. “I know you would never intentionally put me in danger.”
He doesn’t say anything but returns the hug, squeezing me tightly. I’m not sure why, but we stay in each other’s embrace until Nixon returns.
“No one’s out there right now,” he tells us as we sit in the living room.
“Any sign that they were there?” Knox asks.
Nixon shrugs. “It was dark. I couldn’t tell if there were footprints. I think it would be best if you invested in some cameras and a home security system, though,” he tells me.
“Do whatever you have to do,” I reply. “I don’t want Knox getting hurt.”
Nixon quirks a brow at Knox, who gives his head a quick shake as he stares down his boss. They are clearly having a silent conversation. One that I can’t follow. And if there weren’t more pressing things at hand, I would try to dissect it further.
“I’ll install the security system,” Knox says after they’re done with their staring contest.
“I’ll get Bennett to bring the equipment and help you out,” Nixon states.
“Thanks for coming out tonight,” I tell Nixon, who smiles.
“It’s what we do. Knox is family, and we’ll always have his back,” he states and stands.
Knox walks him to the door, where they have a whispered conversation before Nixon leaves.
As soon as the door is shut and locked, Knox comes back to me, standing beside the couch and awkwardly fumbling a string on his pants.
“We should go to bed,” he murmurs.
“Are you okay?” I ask. He’s shaking, and it unsettles me. “You could stay in my room for the night,” I offer after he doesn’t reply.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he questions, not saying no.
“It’s probably not, but I don’t feel right leaving you alone when you’re clearly shaken up.”
Again, Knox doesn’t say anything, and I decide to take the lead. Standing, I grab his hand, giving it a gentle tug. “Come on. We’re both tired and need to sleep. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself,” I assure him, leading him to my room.
I’m shocked when Knox doesn’t fight me, but it makes me happy that he trusts me.
“Thanks,” he replies quietly as we climb into my bed.
“Always,” I respond with a small smile.
As promised, I stay on my side of the bed, but the desire to reach for him is strong. I want to hold him, to offer him comfort, but I can’t, and it guts me more than it should.
Thankfully, my exhaustion takes over, and I fall asleep quickly.
Chapter Seventeen
Knox
A buzzing sound wakes me, and I have no idea what time it is. After a moment, I realize the buzzing is my phone, and I slap around on the nightstand to grab it.
“Hello?” I murmur as I slowly open my eyes.
“I’m outside,” Bennett tells me, and I groan.
“Shit. Sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep in.”
Bennett chuckles. “It’s all good. You had an eventful night from the sounds of it.”
I let out a dry laugh. “That’s one way to put it. Give me a second, and I’ll be right out.”
I end the call and move to get dressed when I realize I’m not in my room. I totally forgot that I slept in Gunnar’s bed last night.
Not ready to unpack the feelings that bubble up, I rush to my room, get dressed, and head to the front door to let Bennett in.
“You look like shit,” he observes as he walks in with an armful of equipment.
“Thanks,” I mutter, flipping him off.
“I didn’t mean to be an asshole, but seriously, did you sleep at all?” he questions, raising a dark brow.
“I got a few hours, but it wasn’t very restorative.”
“I can only imagine what you’re going through,” he consoles, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Hopefully, this security system will give you and your roommate some piece of mind.”
“It’s a start. I hate that he’s in this situation because of me.”
“How are you handling your feelings?” he asks. “It must be hard to be close to him.”
“It’s complicated,” I grumble, which only makes Bennett laugh loudly, his bright white teeth a contrast to his warm brown skin.
“Complicated is always fun,” he says with a smirk, a mischievous glint in his umber eyes.
“I can’t wait until you fall for someone,” I respond dryly.
“That’s never going to happen,” he states, sounding sure of himself.
Because of that, I hope his next relationship is just as complicated as this one. Not that what Gunnar and I have going on is a relationship.
It’s just a friendship.
I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t stop my heart from wanting more, especially after sleeping in his bed last night. Even though we didn’t touch, it felt like that’s where I was meant to be. Pushing for more could end in catastrophe, and my brother could end up hating us both. But a big part of me wants to throw caution to the wind.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always done what my family wanted, even when I disagreed. I’ve followed all the rules and the guidelines. I’ve never really even put a toe outside the line. Even though I’ve been the typical younger brother and enjoyed pushing my siblings’ buttons, in the end, I always gave in to what they wanted.
But what about what I’ve wanted? Isn’t it about damn time that I say fuck it and do something solely for myself for once? Don’t I deserve to be happy and decide for myself what that looks like?
In the middle of this chaos, now is not the time to make any big decisions.
Bennett and I get to work setting up the security system, keeping the chatter to lighthearted surface-level stuff. It’s nice having someone to spend the day with to keep my mind off the fact that someone is potentially targeting me and that my roommate is the man I’ve been crushing on forever.
After everything is set up, we call Sophy to make sure it connects to the system.
“What’s up, losers?” she answers, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Not much, brat,” I respond, and her giggle makes my smile grow.
“Ready to make sure everything is working?” she asks.
“Yup. I’m already by the control panel.”
“Excellent,” she responds, then coaches me through what buttons to hit to finish the connection. “Okay, I can see everything on my end,” she confirms after I hit the last button. “Pull up your app and see if you can access everything.”
I do as I’m told and check all five of the cameras. It might be excessive, but I didn’t want a single spot to be missed. If someone steps foot on Gunnar’s property, I’ll know.
“It all looks good over here,” I inform her.
“Excellent. Nixon requested to be added to the call sheet if the alarm is tripped,” she informs me.
“I expected it,” I reply, not really caring.
It’s honestly nice knowing that the police and my boss will be called in case of an emergency.
“Have you had any time to dig into who could possibly be doing this?” I ask her after I exit out of the app.
“I have a little, but it doesn’t make sense. You have five-star ratings from everyone you’ve ever guarded. Even the bratty teenager you watched last week. She called you a fun sucker and a loser who probably doesn’t have any friends but that she felt beyond safe in your presence,” Sophy says, and I chuckle.
“She was one of the hardest clients I’ve had in a long time.”
“I’ll keep digging and let you know if I find anything,” she assures me.
“Thanks, Soph. I appreciate it.”
“How are things going with the sexy doctor?” she asks, making me sigh.
Seriously, why are all my coworkers invested in my love life?
“All I got was it’s complicated,” Bennett supplies, and I glare at him.
“Ooh, complicated can be fun,” she says, and I shake my head.
“Did you and Slate ever have a complicated relationship?” I ask, mentioning her long-term boyfriend.
“You bet we did. He dated my ex-best friend for five years before we got together,” she states.
My eyes go wide. I’ve never heard this story.
“Shit, Sophy. You broke the girl code?” Bennett checks.
“She cheated on him with the guy I was dating at the time. I’d say she broke it first,” Sophy grumbles.
“Damn,” I choke out. “That does sound complicated, but at least it isn’t forbidden.”
“He was also working for my dad at the time,” she adds.
“How did your dad take the news?” I ask.
“Not well.” She huffs out a breath. “He threatened to fire Slate. It took him a long time to realize we were good together. He was afraid that if we broke up, the workplace environment would be awkward, but Slate and I thought it was worth the risk.”
“Is your brother the reason it’s complicated?” Bennett asks, and I nod.
“Malcolm is definitely not on board with me trying to date Gunnar. I brought it up as a joke, and he flat-out told me he was against it.”
“Shit,” Sophy squeaks out on the phone. “You guys already have a strained relationship, right?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna get better, but right now, it’s still rocky. I don’t want to burn down the minuscule footbridge we’ve just started to build recently. It’s taken years to even get that far.”
“I wish I had more advice,” Sophy says.
“I’d say go with your heart. Sure, your brother might get pissed, but he’ll eventually get over it, won’t he?” Bennett questions, and I shrug.
“With Malcolm, anything is possible.”
“I got to go, losers,” Sophy says, ending the call.
“I should probably get going too,” Bennett says, and I help him load up the unused equipment and empty boxes before waving as he pulls out of the drive.
The house is eerily quiet after he leaves, and I realize I don’t want to be alone right now. I also unexpectedly miss Gunnar.
Thankfully, tomorrow is his last day of work for the week, and maybe we can spend more time together. That is if he wants to spend time with me.
We’re in this really weird place right now, and I’m not sure if he wants to put distance between us or not. What I do know is that I’m tired of caring about what other people think.
I don’t want to live my life only for others anymore. If I can get Gunnar to do the same, maybe he’ll be game to try being something, anything, with me.
God, I want that.
Chapter Eighteen
Gunnar
My heart is heavy as I walk through my door. Nothing is worse than losing a patient, and today, we lost two.
I wish it was my last day of work so I could get drunk and forget about it, but I still have one more day left, and it’s probably better not to drink my feelings away. I don’t do it often, but some cases hit harder than others.
I make my way to the kitchen, and I can’t help but smile when I see Knox. He’s dancing by the stove to some upbeat country song I don’t recognize.
“What are you making tonight?” I ask, and he beams back at me.
“Chicken pot pie.”
My brows shoot up. “I thought you weren’t much of a chef.”
“It’s store-bought,” he adds, and I chuckle.
“I’m sure it will still be delicious. I’m going to change, then we can talk about your day.”
He nods, and I amble down the hall to my room.
After stripping out of my scrubs, I pull on a pair of soft black sweats and a well-worn T-shirt, deciding it’s better not to tempt the fates tonight. “How did the install go today?” I ask when I’m back in the kitchen, pulling out a chair to sit and wait for dinner.
“Good. Everything’s working perfectly. If anyone enters the property, we’ll know,” he assures me.
“That’s good. Last night was a bit crazy.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he mumbles.
“Don’t do that. You have no reason to be sorry. This isn’t your fault. Even if we knew from the beginning that someone was targeting you, I’d still have offered to let you stay here,” I tell him as he dishes up our plates.
“You’re a good man,” he replies, sitting next to me.
“So are you.”
“How was your day?” he asks, taking a bite of his food and letting out a low moan.
“That good?” I ask, and he shrugs as the tips of his ears turn that glorious deep shade of pink.
“I might have forgotten to eat lunch,” he admits.
I shake my head at him. “You know that’s not healthy,” I scold teasingly.
“It wasn’t on purpose,” he says. “Anyway, enough about me, you didn’t tell me how your day was.”
“It wasn’t good,” I confide. “We lost two patients.”
“Shit,” he breathes out. “I’m sorry.” He grabs my hand, offering me support, and it melts my heart.
“Sometimes it just hits harder than others,” I tell him.
He squeezes my hand and nods. “If you want to talk about it, I’m here, but if you want to just forget about it, that’s cool too.”
“I’d like to just forget about it,” I tell him.
He nods, offers me a brilliant smile, and gives my hand a final squeeze before letting go. I shouldn’t miss his touch, but I do.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. How ’bout after dinner, we watch something mindless on TV?” he suggests.
“I’d like that. Did Bennett stay to visit with you after the install?” I ask, trying to keep the conversation light.
“We had a bit of a chat, but he had other things to do. The house was ridiculously quiet after he left.”
“I bet. I wish I could take tomorrow off to hang out with you,” I state, meaning every word. “But only one more day left, then I’m off until Sunday.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want to spend much time with me,” he says quietly, taking another bite of his food.
“Why not?” I question and eat some of my dinner as I wait for him to respond.
“I guess I just thought you’d want us to keep our distance. We both said it would be better to remain friends, and I don’t think I’m the only one who feels like the line is blurring at times.”
“You’re not wrong. But staying away from you is kind of hard,” I confess.
Knox blows out a breath as he pushes his plate away and turns to stare at me. “I don’t want to be friends,” he starts, and my heart instantly aches. “I want more than that. All I can think about is our kiss and how much I like you…” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “I know Malcolm will be pissed, and we can hold off on telling him right away if it would make you more comfortable, but I’m done letting him rule my life. If you feel the same way as I do, then I think we should give this a try.”
I’m at a loss for words as I blink at Knox. He looks so vulnerable right now, and I couldn’t tell him no, even if I wanted to—which I don’t. This is a risky decision, but not giving us a try seems beyond stupid.
Since my brain refuses to come up with words, I let my actions do the talking. Leaning toward Knox, I press my lips to his and immediately melt into him.
“You’re such a good kisser,” he whispers, and I chuckle.
“So are you.”
“Is it safe to say that was a yes?” he checks.
“Yes, I want to date you. But I think it’s best we keep it on the down low for a little bit. If something happens and we don’t work out, it won’t be awkward with your brother.”
“I agree,” Knox says, then kisses me again.
My face almost hurts from how big I’m grinning.
When I walked into the house, I wanted to cry. Now, I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier. I just pray that Knox and I are as good together as I think we will be, and when Malcolm does find out, he doesn’t kill me.
The rest of dinner is spent laughing, flirting, and gently touching each other from time to time. By the end, I’m needy and want to say fuck it to the dishes and just take Knox to bed. But the responsible part of me wins, and we both get to work cleaning the kitchen.
“Do you still want to watch TV?” Knox asks as I ring out the dishcloth and hang it over the tap.
“I think I’d rather go to bed,” I suggest, but when Knox’s face falls, it’s clear he misunderstood what I was saying. “With you,” I add.
Knox’s brows shoot up, and his lips turn upward. “Oh.”
“If you’re okay with that?” I check, and he nods quickly, making me chuckle. “Let’s go then.” I grab his hand and lead him to my room.
As soon as the door is shut, I gently grip his face and pull his lips to mine, backing him against the door and smiling at how easily he lets me take control.
“Is this real?” He blows out a firm breath as his back firmly presses to the door.
I fight back a chuckle and nod. “It’s real, and I’m fucking glad it is.”
Knox beams at me and places his hands on my hips, pulling me tightly into him. My body molds to his, and I can’t stop rocking my hips into him. My breath shudders when his lips touch mine again, the kiss quickly turning heated, and I moan into his mouth.
Hating any barriers between our skin, I reach between us to grab the hem of his shirt. But Knox is eager, quickly taking it off and throwing it on the floor before going for mine.
When our shirts hit the floor, we don’t hesitate to strip out of the rest of our clothes. It’s like we are desperate to rid all barriers between us, our gazes locked on each other.
My mouth waters as I take in the site of Knox, and I lick my lips.
“I’m dying to taste you,” I confess, lowering myself onto my knees.
“Fuck.” Knox groans, leaning his head back against the door.
