Page 71 of King of Kings

“I wanted to kill him.Iwantto kill him,” Knox admits.

“I know. I’ve been there too. Feeling that hatred towards him. I finally learned to let it go.” I sigh.

“What happened when you left?” he asks, changing the subject.

“The night I left, I had everything in place. My lawyer was going to serve him with divorce papers the next day. I thought I was finally free. I never imagined he’d find me here. I thought I covered all my tracks,” I say, letting a tear escape before quickly wiping it away.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up about that. It sounds like you did all the right things,” he says.

“I thought I did too. I don’t know where I went wrong.”

“We’ll get everything straightened out. Don’t worry,” he assures me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.

“I’m really sorry, Knox,” I say through my tears.

“For what?”

“For dragging you into this. I never meant for anyone else to get hurt along the way,” I say.

“Don’t worry about me. I just want to make sure you’re safe and you’re okay,” he says, kissing my forehead.

Who knew Knox had this side to him? A side he rarely allows to slip through the cracks of his armor.

“You have to be exhausted. Come on, let’s lay down,” he says, grabbing my hand and leading me towards his door.

When he asked me to come home with him tonight, I was expecting him to put me up in the spare bedroom. I figured he wanted me as far away from him as possible.

“Surely you didn’t think I’d let you out of my sight after tonight, did you?” he asks, reading my mind.

I don’t say anything, and he stops in his tracks, pulling me closer to him.

“Listen to me, Sophia, I’m all in. I’m sorry for the things I said, and I’m sorry I didn’t let you explain.” He cups my face in his hand, and my heart beats wildly in my chest.

I’ve never wanted to tell someone I love them so badly in my life, but I know this isn’t the time. I don’t want to taint a moment like that with the events that happened tonight.

His thumb brushes my cheek before he leans in to kiss the side of my mouth.

My body desperately wants him to take it further, but I know he’s won’t––for my sake.

He pulls away, much to my dismay, and opens his door. I follow him downstairs.

“Why don’t you take a hot shower? It might make you feel better,” he suggests. “I’ll run back upstairs and grab your bags.”

“Okay, thank you again, Knox,” I say, tears filling my eyes.

“Stop thanking me for doing things I should have done a long time ago,” he says before retreating upstairs.

I walk into the bathroom, stripping out of my clothes after I turn on the hot water. I immediately feel better once I feel it on my skin.

I hear a small knock on the door.

“Sophie, I brought you some clothes,” Knox says. I watch him through the glass as he sits some clothes on the bathroom sink.

He turns around, looking at me before pulling his own clothes off.

My eyes never leave his as he steps inside the shower, taking the loofa from me, squirting soap on it and running it across my body.

There’s nothing sexual about what he’s doing, but I can feel the heat in my belly.