Page 75 of Keeping Knight

But I’m interrupted by a large weight landing on the bed, sending the mattress rocking. Turning my head, I find Sampson standing beside us, his head cocked and his ears pricked up. As soon as he sees me looking at him, he starts panting, and he gives me a happy, puppy-dog smile.

Micah chuckles again. “I guess someone got lonely.”

I snake one hand out from beneath the comforter to scratch between Sampson’s ears. “I guess he did.”

“Hey Sampson,” Micah says. “Decided you want some attention?”

Sampson lets out a small woof of agreement.

“Sounds like a yes,” I say.

“It does,” Micah agrees. Then he kisses me. “How about this? I’ll let Sampson out, then we can have a snack. Unless you’d rather go straight to bed.”

“I like the snack idea. But how about after that, we do this”—I squeeze my inner muscles around him—“again?”

Still inside me, Micah twitches. Swells. “I’m definitely up for doing this again.”

Chapter Seventeen

MICAH

Seeing Ruby in my clothes will never get old.

She’s wearing my old Army sweatshirt again, her legs tucked up beneath it as she sits on the couch, staring out at the sun rising over the skyline. Her bare feet poke out at the bottom, small and delicate. When she lifts her hand to push an unruly curl away from her forehead, the oversized sleeve slides to her elbow, revealing a slender, freckled arm.

As I watch her, a wave of protectiveness slams into me, more intense than it’s ever been.

Maybe it’s because we finally had sex.

Maybe it’s because I’m feeling anxious about the lack of progress on Ruby’s case. Without conclusive evidence proving Sylvia was responsible, we’re still stuck investigating dozens of possibilities.

After the incident at the station---which garnered Liam a misdemeanor charge and a restraining order, which I think is woefully insufficient---I really thought he could have done it. But we still haven't found any proof. Same with Ruby's coworkers. Her neighbors. Old friends from high school. Even the jerk who fired her as his editor. No matter how hard we look, nothing useful has come up on any of them.

And that’s assuming Ruby’s attacker is someone she actually knows. If it’s some random guy who spotted her on the street and followed her home, staked out her building, waiting to see if she’d go out on her little fire escape slash balcony… Shit. It could take us weeks or even months more to find the culprit.

If we lived in a small town, like some of my old Army buddies do, I think it would be easier to solve the case. We’d have a community of people looking out for suspicious activity. There wouldn’t be apartment buildings with hundreds of tenants and thousands of people traveling the same sidewalk every day.

Yes, I know Ruby’s safe here. She says she’s happy with poker nights and visits from friends. But I want this over for her. I want her to start living again.

Frustration makes my jaw set. As my teeth grind together, there’s a flare of pain.

There has to be something else we can do. At this point, I don’t care if it’s legal. All that matters is finding the piece of shit targeting Ruby.

I’ll talk to Rogue, I decide. Privately. It won’t be F&F business. It’ll be just between us. Because he’ll understand. When Sofia was in trouble, he would have done anything to protect her, legal or not. Shit, he made a deal with the don of the Cosa Nostra to keep her safe, and I know he doesn’t regret it for a second.

“Good morning.” Ruby smiles as she turns to look at me. “Although I guess I already saw you this morning, didn’t I?”

Since we didn’t fall asleep until after midnight—after our second and equally amazing round of sex—she’s technically right. Crossing the room to join her, I reply, “That’s true. But you can tell me good morning as many times as you like.”

Ruby untucks her legs and moves over on the couch to make room for me. “Good morning again, then,” she says. Her gaze is soft as it meets mine. “Did you sleep all right?”

“Yeah.” I take a seat beside her and loop my arm around her waist. “I slept pretty well.” Then I tap her nose and give her a teasing smile. “Except for when your snoring woke me up.”

Ruby’s eyes go wide. “What? I was snoring?”

“Yup. Like a little chainsaw.” After a beat, I amend, “Maybe not a chainsaw. Quieter than that. A leaf blower. One of those rechargeable ones.”

“Micah! Was I really snoring? Or are you just making that up? No one’s ever told me I snored before.”