Chapter 102: Mind-blowing Study Session

NORA’S POV

"I swear to god, that man has the worst timing on the Eastern Seaboard," Knox muttered, throwing his arm over his eyes with a long, frustrated groan.

Downstairs, the front door clattered again as Bear began whistling some obnoxious tune, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just interrupted the single most earth-shattering moment of my life.

I was still lying boneless against Knox’s pillows, my heart fluttering with a lazy, euphoric warmth. My inner thighs were still trembling with soft aftershocks, my skin flushed pink beneath his grey number nineteen hoodie.

Knox rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at me.

His eyes were soft, brimming with that tenderness that made my stomach do gentle flips. He reached out, his thumb gently brushing across my bottom lip, which was still tingling and swollen from his kisses.

"You good, Bookworm?" he asked softly, his voice a low, gravelly rasp.

"I’m... amazing," I whispered, an involuntary, giddy smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

Knox smiled, then leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, then to the tip of my nose, before reluctantly sitting up on the edge of the mattress.

"Stay locked in here," Knox instructed.

He pulled his grey t-shirt over his head... the shoulder still sporting a damp, wrinkled bite mark from my teeth, and tossed it into the hamper before pulling a fresh black t-shirt over his broad shoulders and shoving his feet into his sneakers.

"Go wash up, get your clothes on, and pack that rose in your tote bag. It’s yours now, Bennett. Take it with you."

My cheeks flared with a sudden burst of heat, but I nodded, pulling his duvet up to my chin.

Knox walked to the bedroom door, unlocked the deadbolt, and looked back at me with a teasing wink before slipping out into the hallway and pulling the door shut until it clicked.

I scrambled out of the bed, hurried across the rug, and turned the brass lock into place.

Leaning my ear against the wood, I could hear faint, muffled voices drifting up through the staircase from the downstairs foyer.

"...bro, why is your truck parked at a forty-five-degree angle in the gravel?!" Bear’s booming voice echoed faintly. "I had to swerve into the bushes to park the Jeep!"

"I was in a rush, Kowalski," Knox barked back. "Quit whining and move your own damn car if you don’t like it."

"Why are you sweating, Cap? Did you just run a marathon in your socks?"

"I was doing conditioning drills in the hallway. Hand me my keys."

A snort of laughter escaped my lips as the front door downstairs opened and closed. I turned around and walked into Knox’s bathroom, flipping on the light.

I stopped dead in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection in utter disbelief.

I looked completely undone.

My cheeks were glowing with a radiant, flushed rose. My lips were parted, swollen, and pink. My chestnut hair was a wild, sexy halo of tangled curls, and Knox’s massive hoodie hung loosely off my bare frame, the hem brushing mid-thigh.

I turned on the faucet, letting the warm water run, and used a damp washcloth to gently wash my face and clean Knox’s wetness and my own from my inner thighs.

Every tiny touch made me shiver, a phantom memory of his thick fingers curling inside me sending a warm thrum through my lower belly.

’I really did that,’ I thought, a breathless laugh slipping past my lips. ’In Knox Sheridan’s bed.’

I stepped back into the bedroom and quickly pulled on my jeans, buttoning them up beneath Knox’s sweater. I looked down at my cream knit sweater sitting folded on Knox’s desk, then looked down at his grey varsity hoodie with the bold blue number nineteen plastered across the chest.

’I’m keeping the hoodie,’ I decided instantly, stuffing my cream sweater into my tote bag.

Walking over to the nightstand, I picked up the blush-pink velvet box, and gently nestled The Rose Deluxe back into its custom satin mold, closing the lid.

I picked up the brown cardboard carton from the floor, folded the flaps shut, and slid the whole package deep into the bottom of my tote, zipping it securely shut.

Dropping to my knees to reach behind the nightstand, I unplugged my phone and tossed the charger into my bag, then grabbed my phone.

The screen woke up with a tap: seventy-two percent battery. More than enough to survive the rest of the day... and whatever ruthless interrogation Priya had planned for eleven-thirty.

My secret was safe.

Two quiet knocks tapped against the bedroom door.

"Bennett? It’s me."

I walked over and unlocked the deadbolt.

Knox stepped inside, smelling faintly of crisp autumn air and morning pine after moving his truck outside. He took one look at me... standing there in my jeans, his oversized hoodie dwarfing my frame, my canvas bag slung over one shoulder, and his eyes darkened with pure, possessive heat.

"You’re keeping the sweater, I see," he murmured, stepping close and looping his arms loosely around my waist.

"It’s mine now, Sheridan," I teased, tilting my chin up. "Occupational hazard of giving me your clothes."

"Keep it," Knox growled softly, dipping his head to steal a quick, firm kiss that made my toes curl inside my boots. "Looks a hell of a lot better on you anyway."

He took my tote bag from my shoulder with one hand, his other hand sliding down to intertwine his fingers firmly with mine.

"Come on," Knox said, turning toward the hallway. "I’ll drive you to campus before Brennan has a stroke at the rink."

I hesitated at the top of the stairs, looking toward the rear of the second floor. "Should we... sneak out through the kitchen back door? In case Bear is still downstairs?"

Knox stopped and looked at me with furrowed brows and a crooked smirk.

"Sneak you out the back?" Knox chuckled. "Bennett, I’m not sneaking you out like a dirty secret. The guys already knew you were coming over last night... I literally kicked them out of the house so we could have dinner. Let’s go."

He led me down the staircase, hand in hand, walking with that relaxed, confident swagger that made him the undisputed king of Briar Athletics.

We reached the front foyer just as the oak front door swung open from the outside and Jake and Milo walked in with their gym bags.

Both of them froze mid-stride, their eyes landing straight on Knox and me standing in the foyer, our hands tightly interlaced, with me wearing Knox’s #19 hoodie.

A wide, shit-eating grin spread across Jake’s face.

"Well, well, well," Jake drawled, leaning against the doorframe with folded arms. "Look who finally emerged from the captain’s lair."

Milo let out a low whistle, shaking his head with an amused chuckle. "Good morning, Nora. Glad to see you survived the SinBin."

"Good morning, guys," I smiled, feeling my cheeks warm slightly, but refusing to look away.

"You’re a dead man, Cap," Jake added. "Coach Brennan was practically foaming at the mouth during special teams film. Said if you didn’t show up with a damn good reason why you missed morning review, he was assigning you to bag skates until your lungs bleed."

Knox didn’t even flinch. He just tightened his grip on my hand with a completely unbothered, smug smirk on his handsome face.

"Tell Brennan I had an emergency, mind-blowing study session with my academic tutor," Knox said smoothly. "I’ll be at the rink in twenty minutes."

From the kitchen doorway, Bear walked out holding a giant blender bottle, taking a massive gulp before choking in a loud burst of laughter.

"Mind-blowing study session!" Bear roared, pointing a finger at Knox. "I knew you weren’t doing push-ups, you lying bastard!"

Jake and Milo burst out laughing as Knox casually guided me past them onto the front porch, letting the heavy front door click shut behind us.

"You’re ridiculous," I laughed, shaking my head as Knox led me down the wooden steps toward his black truck sitting parked neatly on the gravel.

"I’m honest, Bennett," Knox grinned, opening the passenger door and gently lifting me up into the high cab. "It was pretty damn mind-blowing."

He shut my door, jogged around the hood, and climbed into the driver’s seat.

The engine roared to life and Knox pulled out of the SinBin driveway, shifting gears smoothly as we turned toward campus.

The morning sunlight bathed the dashboard in warm gold.

As we drove, Knox reached across the center console, wrapping his hand around mine, his thumb stroking soothing circles across my knuckles.

Neither of us said much. We didn’t need to. The silence between us was full, comfortable, and completely devoid of the walls we had spent the last weeks hiding behind.

Ten minutes later, the truck pulled up along the curb outside my dorm.

I looked up at the brick building, clutching the straps of my tote bag. It was just past eleven o’clock... giving me enough time to run upstairs and freshen up before meeting Priya for our eleven-thirty lunch.

Knox shifted into park and turned to look at me.

"Thank you, Knox," I said softly, my fingers still tangled with his. "For... everything. Last night. And this morning."

Knox reached out with his free hand, cupping the side of my neck, his thumb resting gently against the rapid pulse beneath my jaw.

He leaned across the console, his mouth meeting mine in a slow, deep, devastating kiss that stole the very breath from my lungs. It wasn’t rushed or frantic like against the bedroom door; it was possessive and tender.

When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.

"Don’t thank me yet, Bookworm," Knox rumbled softly, his thumb caressing my bottom lip with a slow, wicked smirk. "Friday after the Boston game... we finish what we started."