Soulless Knight (Sins of Knight Mafia Trilogy 1)

When I told Kimble to follow us in the SUV, I knew he wasn’t happy about the decision. However, we were in town on my father’s orders. I wasn’t about to tell him the dinner had switched to pleasure, not business.

Knight whipped his sports car in and out of tiny side streets and alleys.

“Are you trying to shake my security again?” I asked.

“No.” His eyes darted to the rearview mirror. “Should I?”

I smiled. Sitting next to him again, I remembered the thrill I experienced with him. There was something wild and untamed inside this man.

“I don’t think it would be a smart way to start our business relationship.”

He chuckled. “So that’s what this is? Business?” I felt his eyes drift in my direction. “I thought we left that back at the bar.”

“I don’t know what it is,” I answered honestly. It was quickly growing complicated.

“Maybe we should leave business out of it. It would simplify things.”

“Maybe it would.”

Once again, he drove me to a place I’d never seen or heard of. We were in the back alleys of the city. Before he had a chance to round the front of the car, Kimble was already at my door, scanning the street and keeping me in place.

“Relax,” Knight instructed. “I know this place.”

“Does this place know who she is?” Kimble eyed him. “I don’t know that it’s safe here. It’s my job to keep her safe. I’m the one who protects her.”

“As long as she’s with me, you don’t need to worry so much.”

I pushed between the two of them. The testosterone battle was frustrating. “Just stop. I’m hungry.” I stormed into the restaurant. Knight followed me.

“Why don’t you send him home?” he suggested once we were seated. “He’s a little obsessive about his job.”

“I don’t know that he’ll listen.” I held the menu under the candlelight to read it. “What about you? Don’t you travel with bodyguards?”

“Yes.”

“But where are they?” I studied the guests in the dimly lit dining room.

“I sent them home after drinks.”

“I never saw anyone at the bar,” I argued. “Where were they? Who was it?”

He smiled. “That’s how it should be. My team knows how to fade into the background. They’re virtually ghosts. Kimble sticks out. Everyone knows he’s watching you.”

I shifted in my chair. “He’s following orders.” I didn’t know why I chose to defend him.

“But when does he start doing what you want him to do?”

“I’m working on it.” I smiled wryly. I didn’t like that my bodyguard was planted near the restaurant bar, watching everyone who walked in and out of the door. I didn’t like that he was memorizing the moments of my dinner. I didn’t like that he was witnessing how I interacted with Knight. It felt like a violation, not an act of protection.

A solo saxophone took a stage in the corner of the restaurant. I hadn’t even realized it was there until the spotlight highlighted the musician. My breath caught in the back of my throat with the first note.

Knight reached underneath the table and stroked the top of my thigh with his thumb. I leaned toward him.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I whispered. I was suddenly filled with nerves.

“Why not? I think i

t’s going well.”