He
sighed heavily. “Storm—you know I don't do that trusting shit.”
Yes,
another red flag. A resounding warning that this relationship would never work. We both had major trust issues.
“Yeah
, well, if I was still sleeping with Luke, I would tell you. I don't play games, Knox.” I had bigger issues to deal with, like ensuring that I didn't end up crazy from the strain of constantly being on guard. “Like if you were still sleeping with Kaydee, I would want to know.” Because I didn't do complicated.
His
eyes shifted away and back. My stomach clenched. Holy shit, we have a problem. I grabbed his square chin. “Tell me what the fuck is going on?”
His
voice had a slight chill to it. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
Nope, that was a lie. I could tell by the tension in his jaw.
I
arched a brow. “I’ll ask you one more time. What. Is. Going. On?” I was like a dog with a bone, and I wasn’t letting go.
His
face tightened with annoyance. “Dealing with Kaydee is… complicated.”
I
didn’t like the sound of that. “Complicated?”
With
an obvious effort, he struggled to keep his temper. “I’m not fucking her, Storm. It’s all business for me.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “But for her… it’s all personal. And she’s bitter right now.”
“Bitter
about me,” I responded flatly.
“Exactly.
Her mood swings and manipulation are tearing the band apart.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I would fucking fire her, but that would tear the band apart.”
I
blinked. “Let me get this right. She’s using the band as leverage to get back with you?”
His
face was set in a grim expression. “I suppose that’s one way of describing this clusterfuck.” There was a deliberate pause. “She’s dangerous and desperate. A combination that might drive her to do something I know she won’t regret.”
My
lips flattened. “I don’t do complicated, Knox.”
His
lips twisted. “Neither do I. My life is complicated enough.” He stared at me. “I’ll fix this. I promise.”
My
chin tilted to a defensive angle. “Like I just said, I don’t do complicated. So make it right or I’m out of here.”
His
gaze returned to meet the challenge in my eyes. “I will.” He frowned. “Your family must hate that you’re with a guy like me.” He paused. “I know that you’re used to more… and someday I’m going to give it to you.”
I
tried to chase away the unease, the air of caution that hung around me. “I’m good with just hanging with you. I don’t need anything else.” This was the truth. He had given me more than he even realized, genuine acceptance with no crazy expectations.
“Why
is it that every time I mention your family, you avoid the topic?”
I
shrugged, my heart thundering in my chest. Not this topic again. “Believe me, there’s nothing special about my family.” Other than we are cursed descendants from a long line of powerful Fae-witches. Cursed to kill every man that we fall in love with. No biggie.
His
eyes narrowed; it was like he could sense my unease. “What? Your mother won’t approve of you bringing home a tattooed rocker guy?”
Nope,
quite the opposite. Mom would love him. Just not for me. More like for her. He was everything she loved in a man: young, wild, and very rough around the edges. She would literally suck him dry.
My
mouth flopped open as he just stared at me, waiting for me to say something. Not that I would or could. How could I even begin to explain the basics of the secretive world that I lived in? He would think I was insane if I told him that this world not only consisted of humans, but beings called Others—wolf-shifters, vampires, and other supernatural beings that blended in, coexisting with humans.
And
my family… how could I even begin to explain Mom’s eccentric, extravagant lifestyle? Or that she was an unabashed Domme—a female sexual dominant who rotated young sexual submissives faster than the speed of light.
I
cringed at what he’d think of Mom running the most prestigious Other matchmaking service in New York. A company with legacy contracts with the most prestigious Other families who expected nothing but the best female escorts for the males of their family. Or that despite my family's wealth, we were considered outsiders among Others because of our Fae ancestry. And the final nail in the coffin of craziness was that after I graduated from college, I was expected to learn the family business with full expectations to take it over like some sort of witch rite of passage.
Nope,
I liked the persona I created better… Stormy Credence, the fun college party girl. It was just simpler that way.
“Look
, it’s not you.” My voice cracked. I cleared my throat and started again. “My mother is… different.”
Very different.
“I’m just not ready to unleash her on you.” Or any human.
She was just too much of everything, which was the exact reason I intentionally told him very little about my family. He knew that my parents were divorced. That I hated my father and had absolutely no contact with him. That my mother ran a very successful company located in Manhattan. And that I was an only child with two cousins, including Light, and two aunts, including Light’s mother. Of course, I didn't mention that we were secretly known as the last of the Credence bloodline, a topic that was way more complicated than I cared to delve into… ever.
I
liked the fact that he didn’t dig into my family dynamics. He just accepted. I also didn’t dig into his family life. He had none. His mother died years ago and left him nothing, so he lived with Liam in a rundown apartment.
I
broke out of my trance when I felt the oppressive cloak of a dark presence approaching—Kaydee. My eyes narrowed as she strode toward us like a toxic dark cloud of dust, wearing jeans so tight I wondered how she could walk without tearing the seams like an angry green monster. My lips pursed with disgust at her tight, ripped from the neck almost to her belly button, black T-shirt with a faded eagle. It was just tacky.
“Knox,
it’s time,” Kaydee purred, deliberately ignoring me as usual, letting her obscenely long, fake nails trail along the bunched muscles of his shoulder.
I
barely squashed the urge to shove her hands off. I didn't like her. Shit, no female that encountered Kaydee liked her. She was too fake, from her overinflated breasts to her ass implants. Even her long ombre-blond hair mixed with gawd-awful jet-black highlights was hair extensions.
I
smiled smugly when he shrugged Kaydee’s hand off his shoulder. “You do see Stormy standing here?”
With
an air of forced nonchalance, Kaydee mumbled, “Unfortunately.”
He
was pissed; I could tell by the way his voice rumbled like a freight train. “What did you say?”
She
jammed her hands on her narrow waist. “You know how I feel about her, Knox. And I would take pleasure in making her”—she stepped forward—“disappear.”
“Don’t
even dare.” His voice boomed as he pushed me behind his wide, muscled back.
Outraged,
I tugged on his shirt, trying to step around him as he clutched me against his back with arms of steel. I wanted to scream that I was more than capable of defending myself against her.
Kaydee
sneered, speaking in that acidic tone that I despised. “You won’t always be there to protect her, Knox. Look at her? She’s nothing but a weak—”
Oh
, hell to the no. “Please let me go, Knox. I’ll show her weak,” I hissed.
I
swore that his wolf tattoo rippled before he responded to Kaydee, totally ignoring me. “If you even breathe on her, I won’t be responsible for what I do to you.”
Kaydee’s
mouth formed a big O of shock as she held up her hands and stepped back. “Don’t you see what she's doing? She's destroying everything. She's not worth it.” She pointed at me with her ugly finger. “Plus, she's playing you with that boyfriend of hers. I've seen them together.”
I
sputtered. “What? That's a damn lie.”
I
could tell he was furious by the way his body shook violently as he tried to get his temper under control, and it didn’t help that we were drawing an interested crowd.
“Stop
, Knox. She's not worth it.” I pressed my face against his back, wrapping my arms around his waist, relieved when I felt his anger ebb away.
He
hissed. “You are fucking close to being dropped, Kaydee.”
She
let her cool mask slip, showing the real Kaydee. The cruel, spiteful Kaydee. “You won't. You can't. Not after what I've done for you.” Her body was vibrating violently as she stamped her feet like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. “You fucking owe me, Knox.”
I
looked from Knox to her, in shock. What the hell? He owed her what?
His
fists clenched and unclenched. “I don't owe you shit. My debt was repaid in blood years ago. So don't even think for one second that I won't walk away from you.” His stance widened. “There are managers who would be more than happy to take your place. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Look,
I'm sorry.” Kaydee swallowed nervously. “We've come too far, Knox. For years it was just us.” She gave me a look filled with raw hatred. “Then she comes along and you lose sight of what we've worked so hard for.”
“You
mean what I've worked so hard for.” His voice was hard as ice.
Kaydee's
eyes looked desperate. “Come on. Let's close the deal. Knock this shit out tonight.”
“You
answered my cell.” It was a flat statement.
Her
voice squeaked. “You were busy.”
“I
determine when I'm busy. And I'm never too busy for Stormy. Get it?”
I
smiled. He really did care about me in his own way.
Her
jaw tightened. “Yes. Got it. Now can you get ready?” She just stood there looking at me like she expected me to walk away like some scared little girl.
He
shook his head with disgust. “Bye, Kaydee. Go do your job and get out of my face.” He spun around, pushing me against the wall, his wide back blocking her view.
I
peered around him. She was still standing there, staring, her eyes doing some weird creepy thing. I blinked, swearing that they turned dark gold before flipping back to brown. I looked at her pointedly. “Uh… can you go away now? We were in the middle of something here.”
If
looks could kill, I would be fucking dead. She huffed, stomping away in a cloud of skank.
Opening
my black, fringe-studded bag, I reached in and pulled out my good luck gift. It was something that I saw him eyeing at the pawnshop for a while. “Open your hand.” I shoved the wide, silver skull ring into it.
He
scowled. “I can buy my own shit, Storm.”
My
breath caught in my throat at the raw anger in his voice. “It’s for good luck. Nothing more, okay? Please just take it. And have fun out there.”
Hesitantly
, he slipped it on his finger and flexed his hand. “Thank you. This means a lot.” He grabbed my face, plunging his tongue into my mouth.
I
practically hummed with satisfaction before breaking it off. I trailed my fingers across his cheek before kissing my hand and pressing them against his lips. I was overwhelmed and terrified of the rush of feelings that made me lightheaded. “I’ll be the girl in the front, screaming at the top of her lungs.”
I
was blinking back the tears, struggling with the words of raw emotions sitting at the tip of my tongue. But my mind wouldn't let me tell him. Not tonight… not ever. I quickly walked away before I did something stupid, like telling him how I felt. I pushed through the crowd and skirted around the corner. I was anxious for this whole night to be over. I sensed someone watching me from the shadows. It was Kaydee, who stalked toward me with eyes laced with deadly intent.
“So
are you done filling his head with bullshit of happily ever after?” she said, prowling toward me.
I
tracked her movements with my eyes, not trusting her one bit. “Okay, are we really doing this?” I took off my earrings, sliding them into my jean’s pocket, getting ready for anything.
Her
eyes widened with shock. “So the rich girl is tough, huh?”
I
wanted to laugh. She just didn't know how tough. The one thing that Mom prepared me for was to be able to protect myself under attack. She wasn’t taking any chances with her only daughter and the last of the Credence bloodline. Others were dangerous and took weakness as an invitation to maim or, worse, kill. And killing witches, especially rare Fae-witch hybrids, would be considered a trophy kill. So, the prerequisite for granting me permission to move away from home and getting access to my trust fund was my promise to continue my bi-weekly defensive training sessions with Noah. He was the enforcer for Alpha Ronan Alfero, leader of the largest and toughest New York wolf-shifter pack.