HEAT BENEATH SKIN

SERA

Knox.

Leaning against the wooden beam just beyond the edge of the tub, arms crossed, expression unreadable save for the slow, unmistakable smirk tugging at his lips.

My skin prickled.

“Oh hey, man,” Jared said, completely unbothered. “Didn’t know you were up.”

“Just got out of bed,” Knox replied smoothly, his eyes flicking from Jared to me, resting a second too long. “Had a… long night.”

There was a lilt to his voice. Something deliberate in the way he said it. Subtle enough to pass by Jared unnoticed, but not by me.

My breath hitched.

“I feel that,” Jared chuckled. “You good now?”

“Better than good,” Knox said. “Couldn’t ask for more.”

My entire body went rigid beneath the water.

Jared’s phone buzzed loudly on the nearby bench, vibrating against the wood. He reached over and glanced at the screen, sighing. 

“Damn, it’s work,” he whispered, looking at me with apologies. “Sorry babe, I know I said no phones but I’ve gotta take this.”

“It’s fine,” I managed, barely.

He leaned in, kissed my cheek, and climbed out of the tub, water dripping off him as he grabbed a towel, picked his phone and headed inside.

Leaving me alone.

With Knox.

The moment Jared stepped inside and the screen door snapped shut behind him, something in the air changed. Like the oxygen got heavier, thicker. 

Like the entire world paused, just for this.

I felt every droplet of water clinging to my skin. Every slow ripple against my thighs. And Knox… he didn’t look away.

He stared.

Like I was the only thing in his line of sight. Like he wanted to memorize every inch of me.

And despite the coolness of the pool, I felt hot all over.

The bikini I had on wasn’t exactly modest, it had seemed like a fun choice when I packed it, something flirty for lounging with Jared and trying to spice up our sex life… which was the plan!

But now, under Knox’s gaze, it felt scandalous. 

The triangle top barely covered my breasts, and with how hard my nipples had become, it was all but see-through.

And not from the cold.

I crossed my arms over my chest, subtly, trying not to make it obvious that I was flustered. But the way Knox’s eyes dragged over me, slowly and shamelessly, like he was peeling me apart thread by thread, I knew he noticed everything.

He reached up, and with the kind of nonchalance that felt anything but innocent, pulled his shirt over his head.

Slow.

Deliberate.

His torso was exactly how I remembered it from last night, but in full daylight, it was almost obscene. 

Sun-kissed skin stretched over hard muscle. Shoulders broad, arms cut and veined, that V-shaped line on his hips leading down beneath the waistband of low-slung swim shorts that left nothing to imagination.

There was still a sheen of sweat clinging to him. 

And my mind flashed, unbidden to the last time I’d seen him like that. 

Which was last night. On his knees. Between my legs.

My face flushed hot.

Knox didn’t stop moving. He walked to the edge of the pool, eyes still fixed on mine, and dipped one foot in. Then the other. He descended into the water with a lazy sort of grace, his smirk never fading.

He settled at the opposite end of the pool from me, the distance between us offering only the illusion of safety.

I should’ve left. Stood up, climbed out, and walked away with whatever dignity I had left.

But the last thing I wanted was to give him the satisfaction. To let him know that he affected me like this. That just his presence had me unraveling.

So I stayed.

Floating near the edge, eyes locked on the sparkling water in front of me, refusing to look at him again. My heart, traitorous and wild, wouldn’t calm down. 

Neither of us said a word.

The silence stretched, taut and charged. Not empty. Not comfortable. Just heavy.

I could feel his gaze like heat on my skin. Feel the tension in the space between us, dense and humming, like the moment before lightning strikes.

He was too far to touch me.

And yet somehow, he wasn’t.

The water rippled softly around us, but the silence fractured the moment Knox’s voice cut through it, smooth, deep, laced with sexy arrogance.

“So,” he said, leaning back against the wall of the pool like he had all the time in the world. “We’re not going to talk about last night?”

I stiffened, hard. My fingers gripped the edge of the pool until my knuckles whitened.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said flatly, keeping my gaze fixed somewhere to the left of his shoulder. “Last night was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened, and it won’t happen again.”

I expected anger. Maybe defensiveness.

But all I got was that damn amused smile. Like I’d just said something funny.

Knox chuckled, low and slow. Seductive.

“A mistake?” he echoed, drawing the words out. “Sera, come on. That’s the line you’re going with?”

I clenched my jaw. Said nothing.

He moved slightly, water shifting around him, but still kept his distance. “You wanted it as much as I did. Hell, the way you sounded, moaning my name like that? Begging? You think I imagined that?”

Heat shot up my chest, flooding my face, pooling between my thighs. I hated how my body responded just to remembering.

“You tasted amazing, by the way,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “Like something I’ve been craving for years.”

My breath caught. I gripped the side of the pool tighter.

“I’m your brother’s fiancée, Knox!” I snapped, as if saying it aloud would anchor me.

Knox didn’t even blink. 

“And I’m not disputing that. But let’s not pretend, Sera.” He drifted closer, the water parting around him. Still far, but close enough to make my skin prickle. “Jared’s a good guy. Sweet. Safe. But he can’t handle a woman like you. He can’t give you what you need,”

“And you can?” I shot back, a little too breathless. “How would you know what I need?” 

He shrugged like it wasn’t even a question. 

“Because you didn’t fake a single thing with me, Sera,” His smirk deepened. “Not one damn moan. Not when you were grinding on my tongue, riding my face like you owned it. You begged me to let you cum, and I did. Makes me wonder when last Jared made you cum.”

Fuck!

I hated him.

I hated how right he was.

I hated that he knew.

“It was a mistake,” I repeated, but my voice was so much weaker now. 

“You keep saying that, but your body’s saying something else entirely,” Knox’s tone dropped, rougher now. Intimate. “You have been starving, Sera, and you know it. You’ve been holding back for so long, you forgot what it feels like to be wanted. Ravaged. Claimed. FUCKED like a woman needed.”

My heart jumped at the word.

Knox didn’t move closer. He didn’t have to. He knew his words were doing the work.

Every word he said slithered over my skin like a brand, igniting places I tried hard to forget. My breathing was too fast. My pulse, wild.

“You think Jared can scratch that itch? That ache I put in you?” His voice dipped darker. “You’ll keep chasing it with him. But it’ll never be enough. Not after me,”

My thighs pressed together under the water, a feeble attempt to contain the ache building inside me.

“You’re not even touching me,” I said, almost to myself.

But he heard me.

“I don’t need to,” Knox murmured. “Not when I’m already in your head. In your blood. You’ll think about me every time he puts his hands on you. Every time he kisses you, and it won’t be enough.”

“Stop it,” I said, standing up abruptly, water streaming off my skin.

Knox leaned forward slightly, eyes gleaming. 

“You will come back to me,” he said, like a promise. 

“Stay away from me,” I said, barely managing the words.

Then I turned and climbed out of the pool, not daring to look back.