Ashes(75)

She snickered. "Of course you do. You're all about control." She rummaged through her bag until she found the plastic box that Meg handed her as they were leaving. Curious about what was inside, she peeled off the lid and found a gorgeously prepared fruit salad. It was sweet of the woman, but …  "I miss chocolate."



Knox's mouth quirked. "I thought you might." He pulled a Hershey's bar out of his pocket, almost chuckling at the way her eyes lit up. His demon's sour mood lifted at the sight.



"Have I mentioned how much I love you?"



"You said it this morning, actually, but it never hurts to hear it again."



"Then I love you, Knox Thorne. Now gimme that chocolate."



He handed it over. "I have an ulterior motive."



She paused in tearing it open. "Oh yeah?"



"You know I love to watch you eat. It's even better when you're eating chocolate – you make those little moans that wrap around my cock like a fist."



Her demon liked that comment a lot. Harper grinned. "I kind of like watching you eat …  certain things."



The sexual implication had all kinds of images flashing through his head and made his cock harden almost painfully. Another time, he might have ordered her to come to him and do something about the hard-on she'd caused. He could see in her eyes that it was what she expected him, wanted him, to do, but …  "I have plans for you. They don't include you riding me on the jet – not today. So be a good girl and eat your chocolate and fruit."


      ///
       
         
       
        



With a humph, she bit into the bar. "So where are we going anyway? Don't say it's a surprise. You know I don't like them."



A smile tugged at his mouth. "I know."



"You told me to pack plenty of bikinis, so I'm guessing it's somewhere warm."



"Good guess."



Impatience flared in her eyes. "Come on, give me something."



"All right. We'll be staying in a beach hut."



She blinked. "Beach hut? You mean, like, at a resort?"



"No. I own the island."



"Well, of course you own an island," she muttered dryly. "Meg gave me a list of the foods that I can't eat to give to whoever's cooking for us. She cried while I was packing. She said she wants me to stay close to her so that she can keep an eye on me and make sure I eat properly. Personally, I think she was just trying to guilt me into taking her along." She broke off a chunk of her chocolate bar and offered it to him, but he shook his head. "She fusses even more than you do, and that's saying something. But, of course, that no doubt suits you just fine."



Knox partially lowered the window shade to protect her eyes from the glare of the sun. "I like knowing there's always someone watching over you."



She slanted her head. "I wonder if you'll ease up on me a little when the baby's born. Maybe all that hyper-protective energy will then be concentrated on them."



Knox leaned forward and curled his hand around her chin as he spoke, voice grave. "I will be very protective of the baby – make no mistake about that. But nothing will ever make me less protective of you. Not a thing." He kissed her hard and deep, tasting Coke and chocolate and Harper …  which was a bad move, really, because it only made his cock even harder. "This is going to feel like a really long flight," he grumbled.



"I bet I can improve your mood," she said with a smile. "Lucian's postponed his trip. Apparently, he met some Thai woman and she's keeping him rather occupied right now."



That did improve his mood. "Hopefully she keeps him occupied for a long, long time." Knox took another swig from his glass. "Like a century, for example."



She rolled her eyes. "I can't say I'm disappointed by his news. I don't think he'll react well to my being pregnant, so the delay is most welcome. Not that I want or feel that I need his approval. But you've seen how he gets when something upsets his little world. It's excruciatingly annoying. And I know that if he has a tantrum and says something offensive, my demon's going to want to shove my stiletto blade right up his rectum." 



Knox licked his teeth. "My demon will want to do worse." The entity already despised Lucian for his neglect of Harper.



"Which means the whole thing has the makings of a clusterfuck." Harper fell quiet as she finished off her Hershey's bar and drank more of her Coke. "Oh, I meant to ask before: was Dario at the meeting?"