Page 53 of The Knight

In the bunk’s cocoon of darkness, she wanted to believe his words.

“Am I not just a job to you?” Her attempt at a light tone faltered.

His breath was warm against her nape. “You stopped being a job to me a long time ago. I think you know that, even if it’s hard for you to admit.”

She closed her eyes, letting his words sink into her. The possibility that he might share the same feelings was thrillingandterrifying.

His hand migrated from her arm to her hip. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Freya.” His voice was a faint mutter. “I can’t stop thinking about touching you, holding you, tasting you.”

He moved his hand lower, his fingers splayed wide across her thigh, igniting a firestorm of sensation that raced throughher body. Her blood pressure skyrocketed, her pulse thundering in her ears. She should ask him to stop—this was dangerous territory.

This wasn’t just physical attraction.

It was more.

Uncharted waters.

“I can stop if you want me to.” His lips touched her earlobe.

He was giving her an out, a chance to retreat to safer ground. But cloaked in his warmth, surrounded by his scent, she didn’t want one.

“No.” Her voice cracked. “Don’t stop.”

His hand glided down the inside of her thigh, his fingertips skimming her bare skin.

She allowed her eyes to close, soaking up his exquisite gentleness. This wasn’t the perfunctory groping she’d endured from other men, their touch merely a means to an end. This was different—reverent, exploratory, igniting a fire that spread through her veins.

Abe had hardly touched her, yet her underwear was already damp, her breathing a staccato rhythm trying to keep pace with her heart.

God.

He shifted his hand, pressing it between both her thighs, the heat of his palm searing through the thin fabric of her panties.

“You feel like heaven,” he breathed against her ear.

Her mind reeled. Her world was one of order. Numbers didn’t lie. They didn’t betray. Data protected you from the volatility of emotion that could tear you apart. But that safety had come at a personal cost.

Deep inside her something stirred, a force hovering just beneath the surface. The wild, untamed part of herself she’d kept locked away for so long, now clawing to break free. What would happen if she released it?

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” Abe shifted as if to pull back, to give her space she didn’t want.

No.

She seized his hand, pressing it firmly against the apex of her thighs, her cheeks blazing from the forthrightness of her actions. But she no longer cared. All she wanted was for this man to not stop touching her.

“Freya.” She loved the way he said her name. His fingers skimmed the lace of her underwear, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from him that matched her own gasp of pleasure.

She had always been proud of her composure, but as the hardness of his erection pressed against her, she was perilously close to losing control.

“Fuck, Freya, you feel so good.” His breath tickled her neck. She relaxed, soaking him in, surrendering to the sensations washing over her. The world, the claustrophobic confines of the submarine, all of it all faded, leaving only the two of them hidden in the darkness where nothing else mattered.

She had spent her adult life constructing elaborate defenses to keep others at bay. But now, with the taste of salt on her lips and the heat of Abe’s body enveloping her, those walls were paper-thin. She glimpsed a different path, one where safety wasn’t found in isolation, but in the vulnerability of connection.

Abe’s fingers deftly coaxed the lace of her panties aside, sliding against the slick flesh between her legs. Freya gasped, shocked by her body’s eager response. She’d never been so wet in her entire life, as if her body had been lying dormant, waiting for his touch.

His fingers moved with expert precision, drawing languid circles around the sensitive bud of her clit. Pure pleasure radiated from his touch, spreading like wildfire through her body, loosening every muscle.

Around them, the noise of the submarine continued. the indistinct murmur of male voices ensuring smooth operations, the hiss of steam, the bass thrum of engines.