Embers (Dark in You 4)

Harper swore under her breath and then snapped her mouth shut. She wanted to poke holes in his case, but he made sense. Uncovering the identity of the Horseman was far more important than whether she got to accompany him to his meeting with Dion. Still, her demon was gonna sulk for sure. “I hate that I can’t argue with that.”

Knox kissed her forehead. “I know you do. And I’m sorry if it makes you feel left out, but we have to be smart.” Wanting to move off the topic before his very astute mate thought of a reason why it would be a good idea for her to accompany him, Knox curved his hand around her chin and said, “I saw your face when Levi asked if you intend to return to work soon. You don’t like the idea of going back to work, even though you miss it. Why?”

“I’m just not ready yet.” Harper had told herself that she’d begin working part-time once Asher reached nine months old. Maybe she’d be ready by then. Maybe not.

“It doesn’t make you a bad parent that you eventually want to return to work.”

“I know that. I really do.”

“But you stupidly feel guilty about it.”

She sighed, admitting, “But I stupidly feel guilty about it. You think I should go back?”

Releasing her chin, Knox glided his fingers down the column of her throat. “I don’t care whether you choose to return to work or be a stay-at-home-mom as long as you’re happy.” Knox doubted she’d find contentment in the latter, though. He knew how much she loved her job. He enjoyed watching her work. She had raw talent, a steady hand, immense focus, and a flair for design. “In any case, there’s no rush to decide.” He dipped his head, letting his mouth follow the path of his fingers as he brushed kisses down her throat. Latching onto her pulse, he sucked hard the way she liked it.

Harper tensed at the sound of her phone chiming. It had been like a hotline all day, and the main caller had been Drew. She’d canceled each call, believing it best not to speak to him. It would only piss Knox off and, well, there was nothing to say anyway. Plus, it was making things hard for Devon. Recalling the female hellcat’s phone call the previous night, Harper remembered how strained her voice had sounded …

“Hey, how are you?” Harper asked on answering the call.

“Fine,” said Devon, her tone friendly but awkward. She cleared her throat. “I wanted you to know that I spoke to Drew. He’s … upset that you found out about the tattoo. He wants to talk to you. I told him that it wouldn’t be possible and he should just get rid of the tat and go home.”

Harper swallowed. “Thanks, Devon. I hate that you must feel in the middle here.”

“I’m just grateful for the restraint Knox has shown so far. He’s so incredibly possessive of you that I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t kicked Drew’s ass.”

“If Drew wasn’t your brother and killing him wouldn’t cause a massive clusterfuck, I think he’d be nothing but ashes by now,” Harper admitted.

There was an awkward silence. “I have to go. Take care. And give Asher a kiss for me.”

Heart squeezing at the almost tortured note in her voice, Harper said, “Will do.”

The feel of Knox’s fingers doodling on her nape snapped her out of the memory. She noticed then that her phone had stopped ringing, thank God.

“Was that Drew again?” Knox asked, voice deceptively casual.

Harper gave a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Check.”

She flexed her fingers. “I’d rather not talk about him or—”

“Check.”

Knowing by the determined set to his jaw that he wouldn’t let this go, Harper pulled out her cell and saw that she had nine missed calls from Drew. The guy was nothing if not persistent. She almost jumped as it began to ring again, screen flashing. And, unsurprisingly, the caller was Drew.

Knox held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

She shot him a pained look. “Knox, just leave it. Answering the phone would only give him attention—”

“Baby, give me the phone,” Knox said, voice soft but insistent.

With a resigned sigh, she reluctantly handed it over to him for one reason only—if the situation had been reversed and another female was constantly calling him, Harper would have insisted on speaking with the bitch.

Knox swiped his thumb across the screen and answered, “Hello, Drew.”

Harper was close enough to hear Drew’s response: “I want to talk to Harper.”

“I guessed that much, since you’ve been calling her all day. I don’t know how you got my mate’s number, but this stops now. No calling her. No texting her. Don’t even think about her.”