KNOX: Volume 4 (6 page)

“When are you coming back, Mommy?” she asks, clinging to my leg.

I scoop her up in my arms and hug her hard. “I’ll be back in the morning, sweetheart. Daddy and Mommy are going to spend some time together for our third anniversary. It’s a very special day.”

“Can I come with you?
Please
?”

This is always the hardest part.

“No, sweetie. Not this time. But I’ll take you to the park tomorrow and we’ll spend all day there. Okay?”

She’s still pouting, but she nods reluctantly. I squeeze her so tight she giggles, then I set her down and kiss her forehead. I leave the house quickly, before I can change my mind about leaving the kids behind. Knox and I hop into the back of the car together and the driver sets off out of the driveway and through the gate.

Knox drapes his arm over the back of the seat and I pull it down around my shoulder so I can snuggle up with him. “It’s just one night,” he says, squeezing my shoulder. “They’ll be fine.”

“I know. But this better be a good surprise or I’m never doing this again. It’s too hard.”

He chuckles. “Oh, I wouldn’t say it’s a
good
surprise.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll see.”

12

Knox

Rebecca lays her head in my lap and settles in for the two-hour drive back to Manhattan. All I want to do is touch her. I want to grab her breasts. They’re so plump with pregnancy hormones. I love her body when she’s pregnant. But I have to be patient. Sex is always better when you draw out the payoff.

And I have a huge payoff planned for tonight.

As we pass through Brooklyn, I can’t help but think of my mother. Which inevitably leads to thoughts of Geneva and Tony. I haven’t heard from Geneva in six years. Not that I expected to. But she’s been a good girl and she’s kept quiet about my identity. And in return, I’ve kept my word and I haven’t had Tony murdered in prison.

I also set up an anonymous trust fund for Geneva’s son. My nephew, who will grow up without a father because of me. I still partly blame Tony for that. I never would have taken out Geneva’s boyfriend Nico if I knew Geneva were my half-sister.

I thought I might have second thoughts about having Tony killed in prison after finding out the bastard is my biological father. But I don’t. I still want to watch the motherfucker burn. But I’m nothing if not extremely patient.

I went for the long game when I lured Tony in. It took me ten years and I never regretted a second of it. And I’ll wait another ten or twenty years, or however long it takes, until I think Tony has suffered long enough. Then I’ll order the hit. I just can’t stand the thought of Tony dying of natural causes after what he did to my mother.

I brush a long lock of hair off Rebecca’s face and see her eyes are closed. She’s always so tired during the first few months of pregnancy. When she was pregnant with Junior, she fell asleep at Billy’s funeral. She was so embarrassed, but I thought it was adorable.

And she wasn’t the only one who was out of it at Billy’s funeral. Bruno was hopped up on pain meds after spending six days in the hospital for the gunshot wound that nicked his carotid artery and shattered his clavicle.

But Bruno’s a tough kid. He was back at work a couple of weeks after the funeral. His aim isn’t as good as it used to be, but he’s still the only guy who knows what needs to be done before I say a word.

By the time we get to the Brooklyn Bridge, Rebecca is snoring softly. I almost consider telling the driver to take us home for a quiet evening alone, but I know she’ll be pissed as hell tomorrow morning when I tell her what she missed out on. And I’d rather she save her anger for the bedroom.

Rebecca likes to complain about my temper sometimes, but she’s got quite a bite herself. And she secretly loves the way I keep her on her toes. Three years ago today, two months after she gave birth to Ella, I had Rebecca abducted and flown to Paris for our surprise wedding. It took her four hours to forgive me for scaring the shit out of her and climb onto the altar. But it was the best decision she ever made. And how many women would die to say they were abducted by Knox Savage for a surprise wedding?

I reach forward and place my hand over Rebecca’s abdomen, holding it there as she breathes in and out. Ultimately, Rebecca knows I’d never do anything to hurt her. And I’d never let anyone else hurt her. My world changed the day I proposed to her on the bridge. New York City became a different place.

Suddenly, everywhere I looked I saw something or someone who could hurt Rebecca or my children. I tried convincing Rebecca to move to the country with me, but she didn’t seem interested in milking goats or learning to cook. She’s too fucking spoiled. But that’s what I love about her. She’s my city girl, through and through.

And Junior’s in a good private school. She said she’d consider moving to the Hamptons if the school turns out to be a dud. But she doesn’t want to leave the city. She loves working for me.

Yes, Rebecca works for me now. Her law enforcement background came in handy when I created a new position for her at Knox Security: Research Analyst. She’s supposed to report to my security analyst, but she reports to me instead. And by reports to me, I mean she comes into my office every now and then and drops her reports on the floor. Then I help her pick them up. We have a great working relationship.

I shake her shoulder gently as the car pulls up in front of the Knox Security building. She sits up and lets out a long sigh. She blinks a few times as she looks out the window.

“Why are we here?”

“I want to show you something before I give you your anniversary surprise.”

Her shoulders slump. “Can it wait? I really don’t want to go in there right now. I’m so tired.”

“Can it
wait
?” I repeat her words back at her. “Is that the way you talk to your boss?”

She glares at me then steps out of the car. I try to suppress my smile as I step out after her.

13

Rebecca

Knox rarely chastises me in the office. And he never reprimands me in front of anyone else. He believes that everyone at Knox Security should respect and fear me the way they do him. But in private, he can sometimes be a prick.

I know you don’t become successful without having some form of perfectionism. You have to be really good at what you do to be in high demand. And Knox is extremely good at what he does. His ability to hide and protect people is unmatched by anyone else in the industry. He continually reminds me of this every time I screw up.

But he hasn’t reprimanded me at work in months. Heck, it may even be more than a year since he last chewed me out over a mistake. So whatever I did to deserve a talking to before our anniversary surprise must have been pretty bad.

Somehow, I can’t bring myself to care. But that’s not what Knox is going to want to see. There is nothing that pisses him off more than apathy.

By the time we reach his office, I’m teetering between extremely nervous and supremely pissed. I stand in front of his desk in my black halter dress and silver sling backs waiting for my scolding, trying not to look too annoyed.

He stands behind his silver and black desk chair, eyeballing the tablet on the glass desktop. His smile reappears briefly as he reaches for the tablet. He taps in his passcode and turns the tablet around to face me. A mugshot of a heavyset Puerto Rican guy pops up next to the stats for a guy named Carlos Rivera.

“Do you recognize this guy?”

I try not to roll my eyes. “No. Who is he?”

“This is Carlos Rivera. He’s been on the run for two years for conspiracy to commit murder. Do you know who he was planning on killing?”

I grit my teeth. “No. Who was he planning on killing?”

His nostrils flare as he begins losing his patience. “Me.”

I let out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, right.”

“You think I’m joking? Do I look like I’m joking?” He pauses for a moment, then he continues without giving me a chance to respond. “I told you yesterday that I had a very important case for you and what was your response?”

I think back to yesterday and it takes a moment to remember what I was doing. “It was the end of the day on Friday. I told you it would have to wait until next week because I was taking Jade to get her shots.”

“So you think Jade’s immunizations are more important than my life?”

“What? Are you — Did you seriously just ask me that?”

“Answer the question!” he roars.

I stare into his eyes for a moment, then I shake my head. “I am through arguing about this. The next time you give me an assignment this important, you be up front with me about it or I swear to God, Knox, I’ll quit.”

He cocks an eyebrow and chuckles. “You think that’s it? You think you’re getting off that easy?” I turn to walk out of his office and he grabs my arm. “Not so fast, Mrs. Savage. I don’t think you’ve been properly punished for your bad judgment.”

I spin around to give him a piece of my mind, when I notice the bookcase behind his desk slowly swinging backward. I watch, completely mesmerized, until it stops moving and I glimpse the blackness beyond.

“What’s that?”

I recognize the hungry look in Knox’s eyes when he responds. “Your penance.”

14

Knox

The fear in her eyes is a turn-on. But the fear quickly turns to excitement when I hit the light switch and she steps into the new dungeon.

The walls are a deep maroon color and silver drapes hang from the ceiling to floor, framing mirrors that are meant to look like windows. Hanging on the walls between each faux-window are various punishment tools: whips, paddles, brushes, feathers. Then there are the restraints: ropes, chains, cuffs, belts, and even a straitjacket. Gags and blindfolds are in the bedside table with various other toys.

There is one plush gray sofa at the far end of the room and a couple of armchairs flanking the entrance where we’re standing. Up against the wall on the right stands a rolling “wheel of pain” with wrist and ankle straps. Just beyond that is a plain canopy bed with a regular mattress — no spikes — for recovery. But above the bed hangs an intricate suspension system, which I suspect we’ll have lots of fun with in the future.

She turns to me after she’s had a look around and she can’t hide her excitement. “You had this planned all along?”

“Maybe.”

“Is Carlos Rivera even real?”

“Yes, he is very real. And he
was
ordered to take me out.” I press a button on my phone and the wall closes behind me. “But he’ll never find me in here.” Taking a step toward her, I slide my arm around her waist and pull her against me. “So I guess that means you still need to be punished.”

Her breathing quickens as I brush my lips over hers. But she knows the rules. She’s not allowed to kiss me unless I give her permission.

Keeping my lips pressed against her, I pull the skirt of her dress up and slide my hand between her legs. I smile when my fingers find the soft flesh, freshly-waxed and soaking wet.

“No panties. Such a good girl,” I murmur in her ear as I press my thumb against her clit.

I pull back and tilt my head as I look at her face. Her eyes are closed, lips slightly parted, as if she’s waiting for something. Removing my hand from between her legs, I reach up and slowly slide my thumb into her mouth. The corners of her lips turn up slightly as she sucks softly on my thumb.

“That’s right, baby.”

I slide my thumb out of her mouth and she opens her eyes. I shake my head and she quickly closes them again. Taking her hand, I lead her toward the bedside table.

“Strip.”

She begins pulling her dress over her head as I pull a blindfold out of the bedside table. When I turn toward her, she’s standing patiently with her eyes closed, trying not to smile. She’s not wearing a bra.

I take her nipple between my index finger and thumb and squeeze, gently at first then a bit harder. She winces at the pain so I lean forward and take her nipple into my mouth to soothe her. She lets out a soft sigh as I trace my tongue in a light circle around her nipple.

I move behind her and tie the blindfold in place. Then I sweep her hair over her shoulder to expose her neck. I trace my fingertip lightly down the back of her ear and neck, smiling as goosebumps sprout over her shoulders. I continue down her spine until I reach her perfectly round hips. She’s holding her breath as she waits for me to do something.

I lean forward and whisper in her ear. “Don’t move.”

Peeling off my shirt as I cross the room, I retrieve a length of rope and black wooden paddle from where they hang on the wall, then I tie her wrists low on the bedpost so she’s forced to bend over. Leaning over her, I reach between her legs to find her clit. She whimpers as her knees begin to buckle.

“Are you comfortable, princess?”

“Yes.”

“Yes…?”

She moans, trying not to collapse as I caress her slick bud. “Yes, Master.”

Her legs tremble as I massage her slow and then fast, and I know she can’t take much more before her legs turn to rubber and give out beneath her. I remove my hand from between her thighs and she gasps.

“Wait. Please don’t — ”

“I didn’t say you could speak.”

“But I — ”

I switch the paddle to my right hand and swat her; not too hard, but enough to quiet her. Instantly, her legs straighten up so her ass is higher in the air. Her way of begging for more.

“Are you ever going to make me wait when I give you an assignment?”

“No, sir.”

I trace the cool edge of the paddle over her round hips, then down the side of her thigh. “How many spankings do you think you deserve for such a grievous error?”

“Whatever you think I deserve. You’re always right.”

I glide the paddle between her legs. She lets out a desperate whimper as I move it gently back and forth between her folds. Just the sight of luscious ass and her moisture glistening on the paddle is getting me rock hard. I want to push myself inside her right now, but I must be patient.

Sliding the paddle out from between her legs, I land another soft swat on her backside. Her cheeks are getting a soft pink now. I caress her skin softly to soothe her and her breathing slows down as she relaxes. Four more swats and I toss the paddle to the floor.