Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout, #1)

by Lucy Score

A man doesn’t put hands on a woman lik...

He didn’t give you a choice when he hurt you.”

“He never thought I was good enough for him.” “Baby, truth is, on his best day, he was never gonna be good enough for you, and he fucking knew it.”

By using force. And it only would have gotten worse.

Or I’m going to go break both his arms and legs.”

“Reminding you what you deserve.”

“If you stop, I’ll murder you,” she groaned. “That’s my girl,”

I needed to taste her.

“Ride my hand, Naomi. Ride it while I make you come. Remember who you are. What you deserve.”

Not even me.

My last coherent thought was that the only thing that saved Warner Fuckface from the beating of his life was Naomi’s perfect mouth on my cock.

We never talked about what demons kept him up at night. We didn’t have to.

“Naomi’s ex showed up at Honky Tonk tonight. Put his hands on her. Scared her.”

“Knox gave him the first shot in front of witnesses,” Lucian explained. “What else did he do in front of witnesses? Break his fucking neck?”

Worried about how it’s gonna look in a guardianship hearing. This on top of the Tina shit is the last thing she needs.”

“Good girl. Call Nash.”

What part of “stay the fuck inside” didn’t they understand?

“And you’re gonna have words with her about that, right?” “What do you think?” “I think you’re gonna have words.” I had to admit, it was kind of nice to have my brother back. “Fuck,” I said when we entered.

The truth hurt, as I’d expected it to, which was why I hadn’t shared in the first place. But my parents had stood up under its weight.

I was falling for the man I’d sworn I wouldn’t. But Knox made it impossible not to. He made it inevitable.

“Jer brought me two hundred rolls of toilet paper.”

“I’ll set up shop, and we can get started.”

“Maybe we can find a mall afterwards,” I said, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

Knox Morgan was full of surprises.

Because he noticed everything.

“I’m just… This is…amazing, Knox. You know that, right?”

The man had spent the day giving homeless men and women haircuts. Then he’d brought me coffee and was now on alert, making sure Waylay was safe. He was as protective of her as he was me.

no one ever really chose me.

“Got yourself a girl, Knox?” a thin, reedy voice asked.

“Take good care of ’em, Knox,” he said finally. Knox grunted in response and pulled me back a step, my hand sliding out of Duke’s.

“I don’t know, honey.”

I didn’t get to watch the way they went glassy under heavy lids when I made her come one last time.

I was in too deep. I was drowning. She’d pulled me in over my head, and I was the dumb bastard who’d gone willingly. Forgetting everything I’d learned, every promise I’d ever made, every reason why I couldn’t do this.

I needed this. I needed to give her this. One last time.

I gripped her breast with one hand and sent the other sliding lower, between her legs where we were still joined.

She bowed back, accepting what I had to give her. Relishing it even. I fucking loved it. I fucking loved her.

how fucking wrong it was. How fucked up I was doing this to her when I knew what came next. But I couldn’t stop myself.

Just like I couldn’t stop myself from pushing us both to the mattress, my arms wrapped tight around her chest, holding her to me.

I was still inside her as I plotted how I was goi...

And that was the problem.

I wasn’t. I was anything but happy. I was one step away from a downward spiral I’d never recover from. A spiral that would destroy everything I’d built.

When you saw how close trouble got to your girl.”

“She’s not my girl,”

She deserved someone else.

That I wouldn’t say her name in my head a dozen times just to remind myself that I had her once.

Someone else would get to hear their name from her mouth. Someone else would get to feel like the luckiest man alive. Someone else would bring her mid-afternoon coffees and watch those hazel eyes light up.

“I’m fine.” Another lie.

“Daze, we gotta talk.” The words were choking me. My skin felt too tight. Everything felt wrong.

She trusted me. The thought made me feel like dog shit. Here she was, thinking her boyfriend was treating her to lunch in the middle of the day. But I’d warned her, hadn’t I? I’d told her not to let herself get too close to me.

“By the way, I just want you to know how grateful I am that you’re here. And you’re helping. It makes me feel like I’m not alone. Like maybe for the first time ever, I don’t have to be completely responsible for every single thing. Thank you for that, Knox.”