Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Knox looked up with fire in his eyes. “Okay, so maybe you won’t. Then we’ll find another way to get the money. My shoulder’s better every day, and I need you for more than just earning more cash.”
Liv stalled, breathing deeply to calm down, because Knox clearly had good intentions. “Right now, it is what I should focus on.”
Knox stepped closer and slid his hands to Liv’s cheeks, his eyes bright and wild, as if there were burning pits somewhere at the bottom of his pupils. “No. You are important to me. You’re already working so much. I don’t want to regret time not spent together. Life can’t be just surviving, Liv.”
The touch, while warm, made Liv freeze with indecision. “Are you saying that… you just want me here?” he asked softly.
“No. I need you here.” Knox stroked his face with his thumbs and leaned in for a kiss. “You do so much already. You gotta let me take care of you. I can’t get it out of my head that you said you felt like a nobody. You’re not. You’re my somebody. And you’ve got friends here too. You matter.”
Warmth enveloped Liv like a charm cast by Knox’s sweet lips, and he pulled him close, letting himself enjoy this moment as the earlier anger simmered down. “I’m sorry. I try to always have time for you. Every day.”
“You do more than enough. But I need you to enjoy life with me too, not just see me as a problem to fix.” When Knox hugged him, Liv gave himself into his care, knowing that there was nothing he wanted more than to be needed by this man. Always. Forever. To never ever disappoint him.
But it seemed he’d done it again.
“You’re not a problem,” he whispered, turning his face so he could bury it in the blond hair smelling of mint and familiarity. He felt at home with Knox, no matter where they were, and maybe there was some truth to what he was saying? Maybe Liv had been so focused on solving an issue that he forgot that they both only had so much time? He took a deep breath of Knox. “I’m just… so powerless. I keep thinking what happens if I don’t win the race. If you can’t have the surgery on time. And when I work… I know I’m not earning thousands an hour, but at least I’m doing something, you know?”
“I know. I get it. But please be with me too. If there’s another shootout one day, if something goes sideways, I don’t want either of us ending up thinking of the time we didn’t spend together when we could have. And you’re going back to work tomorrow. Let me treat you, okay? Enjoy the evening, because we don’t get many like this.”
The ache deep in Liv’s chest made him fall deeper into Knox’s arms as guilt coiled around them, souring the sense of closeness. It was impossible not to think back to the time when Knox lay injured and bleeding and Liv had no idea how the night would end.
He never wanted to go through anything like it again.
“Okay,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to Knox’s warm neck, desperate to make up for his initial reaction.
Knox entwined his fingers with Liv’s, but then abruptly pulled back and lifted Liv’s hand. “What’s this? What happened?” he asked, pointing to the dressing on Liv’s finger.
Liv scowled. The truth was too embarrassing. “Nothing. Just a flesh wound, and all that.”
Liv’s heart sped up when Knox pulled his hand to his lips and kissed it. “Be careful next time. I really like your fingers.”
“Just never let me cut salad, and we’ll be golden,” Liv said with a shake of his head. “Fortunately, it’s the left hand, and these can still do magic,” Liv said, wiggling his fingers in front of Knox’s face.
“No salad cutting. Noted. Let’s go see how Jag is doing with my rabbit. You good?” Knox asked, squeezing his hand and looking straight into Liv’s eyes. The new kind of connection they’d forged since leaving California was raw. Pure. Electric.
It was like nothing Liv had ever felt, yet it no longer scared him. He’d work until his skin rubbed off his hands to make sure Knox was safe. He’d beg, borrow, steal, lie, cheat, or kill to get him that surgery.
Because Knox was everything to him. Making him smile was Liv’s reason to keep on living, and when Knox’s eyes sparked at him with awe, he felt like he could race a Formula 1 driver in an old van and still win.
“I love you.”
Knox’s expression softened, shining in a way Liv was usually terrified of seeing. Not this time.
Knox snorted and playfully punched Liv’s shoulder with his cheeks flushing. He was so fucking beautiful. “I love you too, Little Spoon.” A nickname he only ever used when they were alone. Initially, Liv had been self-conscious about it, but it expressed that Knox knew him better than anyone. That they belonged together and gave each other everything.