With You #2 (The Knights Brothers Trilogy, Book 2) (4 page)

Kate Samuels

“You’re blowing my
mind, do you know that?” I asked Cory. We both sat at the Starbucks drinking cups
of steaming hot coffee.

“I do?” he said,
his eyes gleaming.

And he was. My body
was still on fire for him. He’d ignited something so deep inside me when just
days ago he’d made incredible love to me. And brought me to soaring heights and
I discovered things about my own body that I didn’t even know about.

This was dangerous.

Very
dangerous.

I had held Cory
responsible for Peter’s death not knowing the truth. And now? I wanted Cory
more than I wanted anything else in my life.

“Yes. I just don’t
know where we stand.”

“It should be
obvious shouldn’t it?”

“How so? We’ve
spent the day stuck together in your SUV during a snow storm.”

He smiled. That
gleam in his dark, sexy eyes again penetrated me and I can’t think. I can’t
breathe. I can’t think about anything else, but Cory.

“Cory. We need to
talk.”

“About?” he
grinned.

“About Peter.”

His smile vanished.

“And a lot of other
things,” I said.

“Hey, why do you
have to bring that all up now?”

“Because I want to
know the truth. Do you think…well, if his father had anything to do with…you
know what. Then we have to go to the police.”

“No. We don’t. Not
unless we have enough evidence.”

“I know now. So
we’re both mixed up in this together.”

“You’re not mixed
up in anything. Just let me and my guys handle it all right.”

“But Peter still
meant a lot to me.” I didn’t know why I just said that. Peter had used me,
according to what Cory blurted out in the SUV during the storm.

Sure, Peter was my
first official boyfriend, but it turned out that he’d lied to me.
About everything.
But if someone caused his death, I can’t
possibly leave it alone. I needed to do something. I didn’t know what. But I
had a sick feeling that Cory was about to do something drastic and for some
even sicker feeling, I wanted to do something about it. I already lost Peter,
but Cory had my heart and he meant the world to me right now. I sure as hell
wasn’t going to lose him, too.

“I don’t want you
involved, Kate. Just go home and rest. You have a new job starting in a few
weeks.”

“How can I go home
and rest and pretend nothing happened, Cory.”

“Try.”

“Are you being
sarcastic?”

“I’m being
realistic. Do you have any idea what could be involved?”

I paused for a
moment, breathing hard. He had a point. I had my new job starting soon. I’d
read this morning that Brentwood was thinking about running for mayor. It was
probably not in my best interest—or Cory’s for that matter to go digging
up dirt on a political candidate. That could get ugly real fast. Never mind
that, it could get dangerous. Suddenly getting stranded in a storm didn’t seem
half as dangerous as a possible cover up to a possible murder.

I looked around the
café. It was quiet today. Not many patrons in. But Cory and I had a cozy booth
in the far back. Still, we had to keep our voices down.

Later, after we’d
finished our meals, Cory drove me back to my grandmother’s house. We drove in
silence for a good while. There was definitely tension there. Tension so thick
you could cut it with a knife.

“What else’s on
your mind?” he said, finally breaking the silence.

“Nothing.”

“Oh, come on now. I
can practically see your mind racing.”

“How? Aren’t your
eyes supposed to be on the road?”

He grinned. “Very
funny, Kate. What’s up?”

“A lot of things,
Cory.”

“Such as?”

“Where we stand.”

His expression
turned serious. “Where we stand? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean just that.
After that night in your van, and the hospital, I never saw you again.”

“I told you, I’ve
been busy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Too
busy to talk?”

“There’s a lot of
things going on right now, Kate.”

I didn’t want to
sound desperate like those other girls who practically threw themselves at
Cory’s feet but I didn’t want to be brushed off, either.

“Kate, the truth
is,” he said, as he pulled over to the curb outside Smyth’s Travel Agency. “I
really like you, a lot.”

I felt my heart
squeeze. I said nothing for a moment. I looked around. There was snow on the
ground but at least the wind was more stable and it wasn’t actively snowing
like it had been the previous few days. The travel agency was open. “Why are we
here?”

“It’s on the way to
your house, I just thought I’d stop in for a second. Wait here.”

“Oh, no. I’m not
waiting in here.”

He got out of his
vehicle and came around to the other side to open my side of the door like a
true gentleman. “Fine. But just let me do all the talking.”

“Talking? Cory what
exactly are you up to?”

“I knew I should
have taken you home first.”

I persisted. “I
need to know. Is this about Peter?”

His expression tensed
up.
 
He led me through the snow bank
as we made our way to the entrance of the agency. “Yes.”

When we got inside,
Cory greeted the receptionist who seemed to recognize him. He motioned for me
to stay in the waiting area while he went up to her desk and started talking to
her in a low voice. She keyed in some information on her computer and showed
him the screen. They talked a little while longer then he told her thank you
and left.

“Come on,” he said,
gently holding my arm.

“What is it?”

Cory was beginning
to frighten me. The expression on his handsome face was deadly. He said nothing
as he drove me to my home.

When we’d arrived,
he got out of his SUV and walked to the passenger side to open the door for me
and walked me up to the pathway of my grandparent’s home. They were at the
community club with the other seniors in the area right now. Sometimes a group
of them got together to play bridge. At least Cory and I could be alone…for
now.

“Are you going to
tell me what the hell is going on now?” I asked when we got inside the house. I
dropped my bag on the counter and motioned for Cory to follow me into the kitchen.
I offered him some coffee and he politely refused. I put the kettle on to make
a cup of tea. For some reason, I just felt like drinking some green tea.

“Kate, I can’t explain
everything right now,” he said, as he sat down at the breakfast island. “But I
might be mixed up in something that I don’t want you involved in.”

“Like what? Cory,
stop keep me in the dark about this whole situation,” I said, leaning against
the kitchen counter.

“Why are you doing
this, Kate? Don’t you know how hard it is for me?”

“Doing what?”

“Trying to get so
close to me,” he said, his fingers combing through his hair. “Kate, this is
really fucked up for me right now. That night in the storm, I felt something I’ve
never felt before.”

He got up and moved
closer to me and held me tight. I felt his energy again, his warm body. It
drove my senses wild. My inner thighs pulsed again. Didn’t Cory see how much he
meant to me? Couldn’t he sense it? I loved everything about him. I wanted
nothing more right now than to be with him—in every way. But there was
some barrier, emotional barrier keeping us apart. What was going on inside his
head?

“The truth is Kate,
I care a lot about you, girl. You mean the world to me, but right now I don’t
know if I can give you what you need.”

Stunned by his
words, I stuttered. “W-what do you mean?”

“Time, Kate. You
deserve my time, all of me. But there’s so much going on right now and I might
get my hands dirty soon.”

“What is this thing
about Peter,” I said, pulling away. “What did that travel agent say?”

“The receptionist knows
the Brentwoods. They’ve been using that agency since the beginning of time.”

“So?”

“So, I went to
confirm some information about Patrick.”

“Peter’s twin
brother? The one that’s in Mexico?”

“That’s just it.
He’s not in Mexico.”

“What?”

“Patrick had a
ticket to go to Mexico but he cancelled the flight. Or someone else cancelled
it for him.”

Lost and confused,
I shook my head. “I don’t get it. If he’s been in town this whole time, why
didn’t he just come to Peter’s funeral?”

“There’s a lot of
missing pieces to this puzzle, Kate. But Peter’s dad’s been blaming me for too
long for Peter’s death. And I want to clear my name and make sure that creep is
away where he can’t do any harm.”

“Are you saying
that he killed his other son, too?”

“No. I’m saying
that there’s more to what we saw at Peter’s funeral.”

“Like what?”

Just then, the
sound of the key turning in the front door disturbed us. “My grandparents are home
now.”

“We’ll discuss this
later, but in the mean while,” he said, “say nothing.”

I nodded.

“We’re home,”
Grandma called out from the foyer.

“Okay, Grams. Cory
and I are in the kitchen.”

“Okay, we’re in the
living room,” Grandma called out.

My heart exploded
in my chest. I could feel the hairs stand up on my neck over what Cory had just
said. “Cory, I’m afraid,” I whispered to him.

Cory leaned over to
me, snaked his arms around my waist and pressed his lips to mine. “There’s
nothing for you to be afraid of, Kate. No matter what, I’ll never let anything
happen to you. I promise.”

I prayed that was a
promise he would be able to keep.

Because the way I
felt right now, I would die if anything ever happened to Cory.

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Coming soon… With You #3 (The Knights Brothers Trilogy)

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Thank you for reading WITH YOU #2. If
you enjoyed reading this romance, please share the good news with other readers.
The last book in the trilogy will be released soon. You can write a review at
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She loves to
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Biography

Ann King enjoys reading and writing sizzling
stories of love and seduction with a happily ever after. She enjoys indulging
in sweet, milk chocolate and romantic fantasies that make your toes curl and
your heart smile.