Page 3 of Knox
Chapter 2
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KNOX WATCHED HIS TEAMMATESexit Quinn’s office, some of the tension leaving his body.It had shocked the shit out of him to come down to say hi to Quinn and find his buddies already here.Not that they didn’t have good reason to be here, given the pending op, but damn.He was hoping to steal a few minutes alone with her, and that definitely didn’t include having his knucklehead teammates around.
“How do you deal with those guys all day long?”Quinn joked, flashing him a knowing look.
“I don’t.”
A small huff of laughter escaped her as she focused on her computer monitor once more, but Knox saw the corner of her mouth lift in amusement.Her smile did something funny to his chest.Simply being in her presence had his pulse speeding up, adrenaline spiking through his veins.Knox had always been a physical kind of guy, enjoying a good workout to get his blood pumping, but damn.Just being around Quinn had him feeling amped up in a way no gym ever could.
He ran a hand through his dark hair, watching her work.
Quinn wasn’t what he’d expected when they’d first met.Weren’t IT whizzes usually the quiet type?Maybe a touch awkward, better with computers than people?She was anything but that.Quinn was funny.Easygoing.Smart as hell, but she had no trouble holding her own amongst his rowdy teammates.She had a slightly alternative vibe with an eyebrow ring and multiple piercings in her ears, not to mention the streak of purple in her glossy dark hair, but she was friendly.Confident.Gorgeous.
Everything about Quinn intrigued him.Her personality.Her looks.She was so fucking pretty he hardly knew what to do about it.Knox had never been into women who needed to be perfectly made up, not a hair out of place.Quinn was gorgeous but real.He got the sense that she was spontaneous and fun.Yeah, she had her own vibe, but she’d be down for anything, and he loved that about her.Nothing seemed to faze her, and in his line of work, he was used to rolling with the punches.Knox and his teammates planned their ops meticulously, but they also made adjustments on the fly as necessary.He could tell she functioned that way, too, her mind always working, adapting to new situations and forging ahead.
“You do seem to enjoy being on your own,” Quinn said, clicking some buttons on her keyboard.The camera feed adjusted, and she zoomed in slightly on another area.He was impressed that she could do whatever the hell she wanted now that she’d hacked into the traffic cams and surveillance systems.Quinn was an asset they were lucky to have.“Trust me, I get it,” she continued.“I work best alone, too.Not that I mind your company.”She flashed him a gorgeous smile, her hair swinging with the movement.There was a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, and a pretty pink flush on her cheeks as she looked up at him.
Interesting.
“Whew,” he joked, pretending to wipe sweat from his brow.“You had me worried there.”
“Aw, come on,” she teased.“Like that would stress you out.”
“You’d be surprised,” he said with a low chuckle.
Quinn eyed him, and Knox felt his heartrate spike.She had to realize he was into her, but hell.He wasn’t about to ask her out right now and fuck things up.They’d both just started working here and had shit to get done.The timing was way off, but that didn’t stop the way he was drawn to her.
“How’d you end up working for Shadow Security?”he asked, noting the curiosity in her eyes.
As their gazes locked for a beat, he tried to ignore the sparks shooting between them.They were several feet apart, but damn.The air felt charged.Electric.If they’d been in another situation, he’d have moved closer.Ducked down and stolen a kiss.Except he was in her office, supposedly under the guise of work.Right.
Knox felt like he couldn’t stay away from her if he tried.
“My dad was military,” Quinn said.“I’m a former military brat,” she joked.“We moved all over the place when I was growing up.I’m an only child, and I think he would’ve loved if I joined the service, but that kind of life wasn’t for me.I’m too rebellious to follow all those military rules and regulations,” she said with a laugh.“I like doing my own thing.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” he said, amusement winding through him.
“You don’t seem too strait-laced for a former military man,” Quinn pointed out.
He lifted a shoulder.“We follow orders and get shit done, but yeah, Special Forces guys are our own breed,” he joked.
