Seductive Knight (4 page)

Out of those gazillion Knights, she had to stay with the one who made her heart jump like crazy.

Would he recognize her? It had been ages ago since they last saw each other and they both changed.

Gawain Knight. The youngest boy I’ve been in love with forever will share his house with me. Can’t believe he agreed. Oh, God.

It had been during her ten birthday party when she last saw Gawain. She remembered everything from that day. The children, her best friend Maria, Reina the girl she and Maria called B.I.T.C.H who was Gawain’s girlfriend. There were balloons, crepe paper, lots of food, and there were games, too.

But the best part of the party was when Gawain showed up and gave her the softest stuffed turtle she’d ever seen, which she took with her and safely kept inside her travel bag. And then he’d made her birthday memorable when he gave her a kiss on the lips. Everything turned sour though because of Reina. Did he marry Reina the Witch? Oh, no. What if he did? Reina would probably fight Gawain about letting her stay in their house.

“I-I don’t know if it’s wise for me to stay with Gawain.”

“If you’re thinking about propriety, don’t worry about it. We are not living in the old days anymore, and besides I’ve been told that you two are friends.”

“Before I ruined his and Reina’s shoes.” She groaned the last word.

“What?”

“That was long time ago. He probably doesn’t even remember me.”

“No one forgets a good friend.”

True. Alex never had forgotten her friends. They were there at the back of her mind, hovering. “I can’t really say that I’ve been a good friend to him.”

“I’m sure you were. Anyway, you will be staying with him. At least until the Baskervilles are better. He’ll enjoy having your company.”

After my behavior last time he saw me? Did he forgive me then?

“Edmund?”

“Yeah?”

“Did Gawain marry Reina?”

“Reina? They’re still friends. Romantically linked? Not anymore. Not to Gawain, but Reina wanted more. I guess. Why do you ask?”

Alex waved a hand. “Nothing.” For the first time since she’d left home, Alex found her smile.

Chapter Three

Gawain rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. Fuckin’ eh. If it weren’t for the little accident with his staff this morning, he’d never leave his bed. He needed sleep.

It felt like he just hit his pillows when the alarm went off.

Shit. He blamed his brother Bors. He was the one who asked to meet at the bar because of Sheila. After that, he’d made it to his own apartment at almost three in the morning, and with a throbbing headache.

Sheila. He’d most likely not see her again. Fuck, not after her speech about hating gays and lesbians. She whined all night, too, about wanting to dance and be free. Blind dates sucked.

Well, it wasn’t really a blind date. Bors, an FBI Agent, had made it look like Sheila had a blind date with him, but in truth Bors just wanted to save Sheila from going to the
Wet Spot
downtown where all craziness in Seattle happened.

Since he was the last bachelor in the family, Bors had asked Gawain for his help—to provide shelter to the women he’d been trying to keep off the streets. Bors said a minute or two that Gawain would spend with those women could save them from total ruin. Not only that, he could help them stay out of trouble or sleep off their problems. His brother even added that he might learn a thing or two if he hung out with the women, which his other brothers Tristan and Percival agreed on. Of course, they all laughed when he told them that he already knew everything there was to know about women. Gotta love his brothers.

Reluctantly but without protest, he opened his house to give temporary shelter to women in need, provided they would not stay longer than three days and that he wouldn’t have to get to know them on a personal level.

He didn’t mind helping, but he wished Bors would give him a heads up instead of putting him on the spot. His brother had said, while waiting for the right woman to come along and disturb his sleep, he’d be the right brother to help him with his cause.

The right woman. How the fuck could I tell if she’s the right one?

The first one Bors left in his house was a transgender. It was Rudy, Bors’s co-worker. Also an undercover agent, Rudy was suffering from a bad break-up and had nearly blown his cover. They had a drink. Got a good laugh. No harm done. Funny as fuck, though.

Over the years, he watched his brothers fall in love, one by one, wondering if he would be lucky also to find
the
one
.
Last year, Percival brought home a charming woman, now his sister-in-law, and in her first term of pregnancy. Jealous, he promised to find his own mate, too. So he began searching.

While having a drink with his brothers, he told them he would find his soul mate like them. Although he wasn’t sure where to start looking. Bors said that he’d met his soul mate, now his wife, when he least expected her. But that didn’t mean Gawain should leave everything to fate. Sometimes, you just have to lend her a hand. He fucking knew that. It was knowing whether she was
it
that had him scratching his head. He’d been with different women. More than once he thought he’d found her.

He met Nora, a Canadian native. Long-legged, fucking perfect ten, charming, and intelligent. She had a habit of tweaking her nose and picking her ears with her pinkie, though. A week later, he was single again. And then there was Adele, a blonde beauty almost as tall as him. Rich, educated, and roamed in his circle. After a one night of good fucking, though, he found out she was a female dom. Fuck! He thought his ass would never be the same again after she pounded him with a belt without warning.

He’d met Shanna. He’d been over the moon. They went out for two months. Two fucking months. She was the first to last that long, but fuckin’ eh, just as he thought he was more than attracted to her, she went back to her ex and waved him goodbye.
Just like that.

His bad luck didn’t stop him from following his brothers’ footsteps, so he began looking again. He found Moira. She lasted a week. And then the last one was Andie. The homophobe.

Those horrible experiences didn’t stop him from loving women, though. Hell, he’d never give them up. Besides, they fucking loved him. It was just sometimes he felt like he was losing interest.

Tristan, his Pediatrician brother, advised that he should take a break from looking. Maybe love would find him instead.

Sighing, Gawain closed his eyes. Maybe he’d been looking too far and not seeing who was right in front of him—Reina. They’d been friends for a long time and had once been lovers. She’d made him happy, especially in bed. He could still sleep in her bed if he wanted to. All he had to do was dial her number. Maybe he should. A big maybe.

There were gazillion stars in the sky, but one of them always sparked the brightest. He knew deep in his bones, he’d manage to reach that one.

She’s out there somewhere. Maybe Tristan is right. If I couldn’t find her, she’d find me.

He remembered reading about Aristophanes, a Greek comic playwright. Aristophanes wrote that originally humans had four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces. Zeus feared their power and split them in half. Condemned, humans spent their lives searching for the other half to complete them. It was believed that once the two found each other, they could become powerful and move mountains with their love. Would he be lucky to find his other half? Who knew? What if it took him all his life to find her? He supposed it would be worth it.

Damn. What the fuck was he doing thinking like a lovesick woman? Hell. If he found her, fine. If not, so be it. One thing for sure, he wouldn’t die an old decrepit who spent his time masturbating.

Only a stupid fuck would give up on women. His brothers said that if he hoped to find the right one, he should look in the right place. He laughed at that. Anywhere you found a woman that could make your dick hard was a good place. It could be that Aristophanes was drunk when he wrote his theory and Zeus was just that—a myth.

His phone rang. He looked at the screen and let out a sigh. It was Edmund.

Now, what does he want?

Edmund, Tristan’s business partner, had been in love with his baby sister, but the dickhead couldn’t even form a coherent thought in front of Kirsten. Teta, though, believed that the two had already shared a bed.
Fuck!
He didn’t want to think about that.

“Knight,” he answered. A low chuckle came from the other end of the line.

“Why do you all answer your phone with
Knight?
There are so many of you, you know. You should at least say,
Knight one
. Or
Knight two
. Or something like that.”

“Or I could just say fuck off. How’s that?”

“Whatever, man.”

“You’re wasting my precious time. This better be good, Edmund, or I’ll give you something my sister would be upset about.”

“What precious time?” Edmund laughed.

The man had been friends with the Knight family, so Gawain knew he didn’t mind their foul mouths. Not that Edmund never cursed in his life. Edmund could match them blow for blow, but somehow, he never cursed as much in front of Kirsten. The one thing he liked about Edmund—the man accepted the Knights. Faults and all. “What’s up, man? If you want my sister’s hand in marriage, you called the wrong number. You got to call Bors.”

“Not your dad?”      

“If you get Bors’s thumbs up, you don’t have to worry about the rest of the sibs and my parents.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll make sure to bring Bors brownies next time I come for a visit. My call, however, has nothing to do with Kirsten.”

“Oh?”

“Well, you see, Bors is busy now that he’s back with his undercover shift. Tristan is also busy with the fam. Percival, as you know, is attached to his wife. Kirsten can’t leave work. And so I—”

Gawain closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. “Fuck, Edmund, I know my sibs statuses. Just say what you want to say.”

“Someone is waiting for you at your house.”

Another woman? But why is Edmund delivering the news, not Bors?
“Bors asked you? Why didn’t he call me?”

“Bors didn’t actually ask me. I think he asked Tristan and then Percival.”

Really weird, he thought. “I don’t get it. Bors never asked my brothers about using their homes.”

“No, no. Bors asked your brothers if they could detach themselves from their beautiful wives so they could give your visitor a ride to your home. But they were all busy. So I am it.”

“Ah. And because you’re such a suck up, you’ll do whatever it is they ask you to do.”

“Wrong, my friend. I could have said no if I didn’t have the time.”

He didn’t believe Edmund when he said Kirsten had nothing to do why he called. Oh, yeah. He could tell. His sister had a hand on this. Gawain thought to test Edmund. “When did you get the call about this woman?”

“Early this morning.”

“What were you doing this morning?”

“What? Gawain, what has my morning routine got to do with—”

Gawain grinned. “Just answer the fucking question, Edmund.”

“I, uh, taking a shower?”

“You’re asking me?” Oh, he wanted to laugh. Except the image of his sister in the shower with Edmund made him cringed.

“No! Fuck, man. I was in the shower.”

“You heard your phone while in the shower.”

“Fuckin’ eh.”

Edmund mumbled the words, but Gawain heard it on the phone. “What was that?”

“The woman is at your house. Waiting.”

Gawain laughed at the quick change of subject. “So, is she hiding from an ex-husband, pimp, or boyfriend? Or just looking for a place until she sobers up.”

“Didn’t ask. What I do know is she’s interesting, gorgeous and—”

“Edmund, they are all interesting. In their own ways.”

“True. By the way, I was told you’d be happy to see her.”

Gawain sneered. “Why? She’s a celebrity whose sparkle waned? Or she’s a porn star?”

“No, but I think she’s one of those God’s creations that you’d never forget once you lay your eyes on her.”

“Ah, a porn star then.”

Edmund laughed. “No. Better. She’d make you dizzy, Knight.”

Gawain tossed the pencil in a box that was already full of sharpened pencils. His secretary would take the box to Head Start, a federally funded child development program for low-income three and four year old children and their families. “Who is she? Wait, no. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Better that way.”

“Why?”

“Hell, man. Don’t you know? You don’t name stray animals you picked up on the side of the road. Otherwise, you’ll have some kind of connection, and then it’ll be harder to get rid of them. So, no. I don’t want to know who the hell it is you left in my house. Tell me and I’ll rearrange your face.”

Edmund just scoffed at his threat. “Are you telling me you don’t know the names of the women Bors asked you to watch?”

“Some of them because they opted to tell me. I made a deal with Bors. I don’t want to get involved more than giving them shelter for a day or two. Three at the most. Believe me, pubes. Most of them feel the same way about hiding their identities.

“Did you just call me pubes? God, never mind. Okay, I’m not saying anything. Go and see her.”

“Shit. I got a headache. I just want to be alone. Not babysit. Bors didn’t tell you more about this woman’s case?”

“No. Told you, it’s not Bors who asked me to take her to your house. She needs a place to stay.”

“Most of them do.”

“Sad, isn’t it?”

“Fucking sad,” Gawain agreed. The government couldn’t even fund these lost women. Without support, they’d just end up going back to where Bors had tried to keep them away from.

“Aren’t you afraid one of those women would come back and clean your house?”

“They would’ve done it already if that’s what they want. Bors would never leave them in my house without checking them first. Besides, they were just people who lost their way against their will.”