Spring awoke with her first real sense of anticipation. Until today, she’d dreaded mornings at Thorne Manor. The side glances, the wary looks, the sadness lurking in the gazes around her, they were all too much to bear.
Until Knox.
She stretched and smiled.
A shadow shifted in the corner of her room. She swallowed her instinctive scream as her visitor’s identity was revealed.
“You couldn’t use the front door?” she laughed as she whipped back her coverlet.
Knox stepped into the beam of light coming through her window and gave her an embarrassed shrug. “I couldn’t sleep.”
She stepped to him and placed a hand over his sculpted left pectoral muscle. His heart rate increased by her nearness. She smiled softly because hers did the same when he was close. “Because the Colombia incident was fresh in your mind?”
“Yes.”
“It’s okay.” In a gesture of comfort, she patted his chest. Or maybe she just liked the feel of his rock-hard muscles. She turned away to head to her ensuite bathroom. Before she reached the doorway, she tossed her hair back and grinned at him over her shoulder. “But you do realize it’s creepy to hang out in the corner of a sleeping chick’s bedroom without her permission, right?”
Her cheekiness had done its job and chased away the darkness that had clouded Knox’s gorgeous, expressive eyes.
“I’ll remember that for future.”
“Have a seat, I’ll only be a minute. Then we can get some of those cinnamon rolls I smell baking.” She inhaled deeply. “Do you know one is the size of a dinner plate?”
“I do.”
“Confession: I can eat a whole roll all by myself.”
His deep chuckle pleased her, and she winked before disappearing into the bathroom. As she splashed water on her face and gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she wondered about her lack of apprehension where Knox was concerned. Had any other man been as forward or shown up in her bedroom while she was sleeping, would she be so blasé about it? Yet, the haunted quality about him whenever he gazed at her was unsettling to a large degree. Knowing what they’d both gone through, what he’d suffered—possibly still suffered—due to the incident allowed her to forgive the trespass. And of course her body’s insane attraction to him didn’t hurt his cause.
A short time later, they descended the stairs, their pinkies joined. Knox’s face was a perfect mask, no scar, no indication he’d ever been injured in the past. She got the sense the old wound bothered him more than it would bother anyone else who might view it.
When they got to the foyer, Autumn and her step-daughter Chloe had arrived. Surprise lit both their faces when they saw Knox by her side.
“Knox!” Chloe cried as she raced forward.
He scooped her up and hugged her tight. “Hey, midget.”
“I miss you since you left.”
“I’ve missed you, too, kid.”
Spring frowned and glanced between them. Since he’d left? She had gone off the assumption that he resided at the Carlyle estate.
“What are you doing here, Knox? Do you live with Spring now?” Chloe pulled a pout. “I thought if you married her, she would come live with us.”
“I knew you were trying to set us up in the restaurant!” He laughed and blew a raspberry on her cheek, causing the child to dissolve into giggles.
Once again, Spring felt excluded from a family moment. It was as if she stood on the outside, looking through a glass window at all the happy people. The disconnect was strange and unsettling.
When Knox turned his happy gaze to her, she wanted nothing more than to remember their past. She wanted to know how many times she’d been the one to put that look on his face. Wanted to know exactly what precocious little Chloe had done to throw them together. But the memories were gone. Never to return. There was a melancholy attached to her situation, one she pushed back daily.
Her thoughts must’ve been reflected in her expression, because everyone sobered. Unable to stand another second, she abandoned them in the hall and raced for her workshop.
“Spring! Will you hold up a second? For a small woman, you run like a damned gazelle.” Knox caught up to her at the entrance to the garden. He tilted her chin up. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”
“I think it was obvious. Everyone was giving me the ‘poor Spring’ look again.”
“No, they weren’t.”
She gasped at his obliviousness. “As the person on the receiving end, I know what I saw.”
“And as the person on the giving end, I know what I was thinking when I looked at you. It wasn’t poor anything. You looked like you swallowed a lemon. I don’t know what the hell you were so pissed off about, but that scene back there…” He jabbed a finger in the direction of the house. “That was on you!”
Disbelief at his arrogance boiled through her veins, heating up her cells. She wanted nothing more than to stuff his mouth with dirt to shut him up. Concentrating on his mouth, she lifted her hand—which Knox promptly grabbed. He used her struggle to pull her close.
“Don’t you dare,” he warned.
“Don’t I dare what?” she snapped.
“I know that look. I’ve seen it for quite a few years now. You were going to stuff dirt in my mouth. I warned you once before, if you did it again, there would be hell to pay.”
Color high and eyes blazing with fire, Knox was breathtaking.
Any irritation dissipated, and her gaze dropped to his mouth again, but not to contemplate a mouthful of dirt. No, instead she wanted to feel those firm, warm lips on hers. She wanted a taste of what she’d experienced last night.
They locked onto one another, each searching for a clue to what the other was thinking. When Knox’s bold gaze dropped to Spring’s mouth, she smirked. “That’s the great thing about no recall. I don’t know what you threatened me with or not.”
“Yeah, well I also told you I know the perfect way to quiet that sassy mouth.”
Her smile widened as she leaned in. “You don’t say?”
“Oh, sweetheart, you’re playing with fire.”
“Mmm. Maybe.”
Without warning, but not unexpectedly, Knox plunged his fingers into her hair and angled his mouth over hers. A hairsbreadth away, he paused. “Christ, I want you. Sassy mouth and all.”
She closed the distance and became the aggressor. She wrapped her arms around his middle and fisted the material at his back. Without hesitation, she met his descending mouth and moaned her pleasure at the contact. Their heated kiss lasted forever, with them pausing only long enough to gasp for air before they dove back in. His tongue caressed hers. Its erotic exploration made her want to latch on and suck to capture whatever power it possessed to make her hungry and wanton.
“Yo! There’s a kid watching you from the kitchen window. You two want to keep this PG please?” Winnie called from her vantage point.
“Looks like there are some things you remembered, little sister. Nice going! Reminds me of the Hallmark channel.” Autumn’s amused voice penetrated their lust-hazed brains.
“Oh, for the love of the Goddess! Not you and that damned Hallmark channel again,” Winnie shouted. “Tell Keaton he needs to occupy your time better.”
Spring laughed. It was a deep belly laugh that doubled her over and lifted the oppressive thoughts she’d had since she woke without her memories. This was the first time her siblings were free around her. The first time they opened up and joked without being worried how she would respond. And while Spring couldn’t say what was normal, the situation felt right.
Winnie’s sky-blue gaze held an approving light. “Cinnamon rolls are ready, sister. Bring that delicious eye candy of yours in for breakfast.” She directed one word to Knox. “Bacon.”
In a flash, Knox had scooped Spring up and teleported them to the Thornes’ homey kitchen. He dropped her into a chair at the head of the old, scarred, wooden table, then dumped a half dish of bacon onto his plate.
As he bit into the crispy meat, he closed his eyes in ecstasy. “I’ll be honest, Spring, if you decide you don’t want me, I’m making a play for your sister. That woman can cook.”
The edge of the Winnie’s dishtowel connected with Knox’s thick bicep. “It’s hard to screw up bacon.”
“Stop macking on my woman,” Zane ordered in his deep baritone right before he stepped into sight. With a long-suffering look at Knox, he asked, “Why is everyone always trying to steal her from me?”
Winnie’s essence brightened, and a wide, welcoming smile graced her countenance. “Zane.”
“Hey, babe.”
They shared a sweet, loving kiss while the others unabashedly stared.
Spring hadn’t been aware of her heartfelt sigh until Knox linked his pinky with hers under the table.
“For the record, I don’t care if you can’t make perfect bacon or plate-sized cinnamon rolls,” he whispered in her ear.
“Good to know,” she murmured. “Eat up so we can explore that clearing. They won’t let me leave without a bodyguard.”
The sound of speeding wheels crunching the gravel drifted through the open window above the sink. Knox craned his neck to see who the newcomer was. A flash of exasperation came and went across his features, and he cast a side glance at Spring. “I’ll be right back.”
Spring rose only to be gently shoved back into her seat.
“I think it’s best if I handle this,” he informed her as he strode away to answer the front door.
“What’s going on?” No one else in the kitchen would meet her eyes. They were back to trying to protect her. The high-handed behavior set her teeth on edge. “Fine. I’ll go see for myself.”
“Sister, let Knox handle it,” Winnie cautioned.
“In case you all are too obtuse to understand, let me spell it out for you. I don’t need you to run interference for me. Last I checked, I’m a grown adult in possession of a capable mind. Just because I’ve forgotten…” Spring inhaled deeply in an attempt to get her temper under control. “…forgotten a few things, doesn’t mean I’m an invalid. Stop treating me like one.”
She raced for the door to find Knox arguing with another male approximately his same age. The other guy was shorter than Knox by roughly three inches but outweighed him by a good thirty pounds. He might have been nice looking, except at the moment he was flushed in fury. The red complexion made his round face look like an over-ripe tomato.
Once his eyes alighted on her, his demeanor changed. “Spring!”
The happy cry confused her. “Do I know you?”
The man’s mouth dropped open in his surprise. “It’s true then?”
She looked to Knox for understanding. The watchful stare told her nothing. “I’m afraid I’ve had a bit of an accident,” she hedged as she stepped closer to Knox’s side. “My memory was affected.”
The newcomer’s mouth opened and closed like a landed trout. “You don’t remember me?”
“I’m sorry.” She seemed to be saying that a lot lately. “Who are you?”
“I’m your boyfriend.”
Spring reeled back in shock. The heel of her shoe caught on a loose board behind her. If it hadn’t been for Knox’s cat-like reflexes, she’d have fallen.
Large, betrayed eyes turned on Knox. “Boyfriend? I thought you… you made me believe you and I were…”
Spring’s horrified expression cut deep. Coldness permeated his soul at the same time outrage took control. She’d immediately taken the little dweeb’s word for it.
“You and I are,” he assured her with a little shake. He turned on Tommy and shoved him toward the steps. “Get a clue, Tommy. She’s not interested.”
A fist connected with his back. “You aren’t in charge of who I see.”
Jealousy clouded Knox’s vision and his good judgment. “You know what, you’re right,” he growled. “You want to date Tommy, be my guest. It’s no skin off my back.”
Fury pounded in his temples, and reason took a vacation. He knocked into Tommy and sent the other guy into the dirt on his ass. With a disgusted grunt, Knox headed for the clearing.
He couldn’t believe history was repeating itself. He’d fallen for that spoiled-rotten brat just as he had the first time around. And just like before, Spring was determined to lead Tommy on when it was Knox she wanted.
He was halfway to his destination when a second set of footfalls registered. Menacing energy tried to wrap its ugly tentacles around him in a distinctive attack against his psyche. He just about snorted his disbelief. Of all the Carlyle clan, he was the strongest and the most advanced warlock. It would take heavy magic to bring him down, and it certainly wouldn’t happen in his current location. The land between the Thorne and Carlyle estates was charmed. Granted, it didn’t mean an enemy couldn’t attack the old-fashioned way with a man-made weapon, but not with magic unless they were a blood relation to one of the two families.
Calling on the five elements, Knox pivoted on his heel, ready to strike. Shock brought him up short. “Mother.”
Two days ago, when he’d last checked, she was locked up in a containment unit at the WC headquarters. The wards on the center made the place impenetrable. No one could get in or out without an express invitation from the Council. And Marianne Carlyle was no exception. She’d been sentenced to life imprisonment for her crimes in assisting the Désorceler Society. She’d been Zhu Lin’s little spy for years leading up to the incident that took Robert Knox’s life.
“How did you break free?”
“I served my time.” The sly, oily expression she graced him with was only relieved by sheer hatred.
“You’re a liar,” he stated flatly.
A movement in his peripheral vision snared his attention. He darted his eyes around the woods as if he were bored with the conversation and the woman in front of him. A glimpse of tawny hair identified the new arrival.
Spring.
“Go back.” He’d meant it for Spring, but he hoped his deranged mother would assume it was directed at her.
Marianne cocked her head and studied him. Knox was careful to reveal nothing. If he showed any sign of vulnerability, she’d strike. It had become her M.O. Marianne Carlyle despised weakness in any form.
One arm behind his back, he gathered the power of the elements he’d mentally summoned.
“Come out, girl,” she called. “I know you’re here.”
“There’s no one here but you and me, you crazy hag,” he scoffed. “The voices in your head must be confusing you again.”
Madness burned bright in her pale-gray eyes. Eyes once the color of his but now practically leached of color from her depravity and inability to find happiness.
“I won’t hurt her. I want to see the pathetic fool who holds your affections, my darling son. I feel it’s only right to warn her that you bring death and destruction to everything you touch.”
Old insecurities rose up and tried to dig their claws into him. Hadn’t he done just that to Spring? Brought death after her destruction? Ruthlessly, he shoved aside his negative musings. His mother was a master of manipulation and mayhem. If he let her inside his head, he was done.
His heart skipped a beat when Spring stepped from behind a wide oak and moved toward them. “Don’t!” Panicked, he’d been unable to hold back his shout.
Spring paused when Marianne cackled.
“Go back,” he called. “Do it now.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Spring argued, starting in motion again.
His general dismay morphed to full-fledged alarm at her stubbornness. With his head turned toward her but his eyes locked on his mother, he affected an ugly tone. “Don’t you have a date with your boyfriend,” he sneered.
“I do,” Spring answered. Four steps closer, she said, “He’s supposed to explore the glen with me this morning.”
When Spring’s words sunk in, Knox’s heart spasmed. Still, he couldn’t soften. “Go home, Spring. I have better things to do with my time than waste it on little girls who don’t know their own mind.”
Marianne’s grotesque, mocking smile widened with each word they uttered. She saw through his pretense. “Always the hero, aren’t you, my boy?” Her focus on Spring, Marianne raised her hands.
Knox reacted without thinking twice. The burst of electricity flew from his fingertips and hit his mother center mass. The lightning bolt he emitted slammed into her at roughly two million miles per hour and fried her with close to one billion volts.
She didn’t have time for any expression of surprise or pain to cross her face, and as such, her face was frozen in a mask of hatred and evil intent. Forever.