White Knight Read online

  Seph looked at his feet and shook his head. “’Night,” he muttered and strolled off behind Max, leaving me with Claire.

  She sat on the sofa and pulled a throw over her, her eyes already half shut.

  “Why don’t you go to bed?” I said. “You look tired.”

  She gave me a weak smile. “I am. It’s been a busy week and I know it’s only going to get busier. Is Katie alright?”

  I moved to sit next to her, pulling her feet up onto my lap. She opened her mouth to protest and then kicked me slightly in the thigh. I laughed quietly, tucking the throw around her and feeling a sense of victory when she stretched then relaxed. “She’s fine. I think her and Nick have spent the night talking. She seems to have confided in him.” I dug my fingers into her feet through the blanket, hitting pressure points.

  “You’re going to make me fall asleep,” she said quietly.

  The house suddenly felt silent, as if we were the only two people in it. Someone, probably Marie, had turned off most of the lights already.

  “Is there anything I need to know?” she asked. “If Nick’s bringing more security equipment in he must be fairly worried.”

  “I think he is, but not enough to have her not stay with him and the twins,” I said, continuing to massage her feet. “You did the right thing bringing her here.”

  Her eyelids dropped for more than a few seconds, then opened slightly. I laughed, knowing that when she fell asleep she would be almost immovable. “K,” she said, her words slurred by sleep. “You okay about us both being in Oxford tomorrow? As in together. At the same time?”

  My cock was reacting to her being so close; the smell of her the same as it had been years ago. I had thought about Oxford as soon as Vanessa had mentioned it. I hadn’t been there with Claire since before she’d gone silent on me and ended what we had. I had avoided the place to a certain extent because it did remind me of her. “I have to be,” I said. “And we were a long time ago.”

  “Doesn’t feel like it.” Her eyes were open wider now. “Still feels strange to see you with my family and it feels awkward.”

  “Why does it feel awkward?” My hands paused, holding her toes which were always cold.

  “I don’t know,” she said, sitting up quickly and moving her legs from my lap. “I should go to bed. Busy day tomorrow.”

  I said nothing, letting the night time fill the gap between us as she hightailed it out of the lounge, leaving the throw discarded on the floor. I cleared the room, straightening the abused cushions and putting the glasses in the dishwasher, and the empty bottles in the recycling bin. It wasn’t to Marie’s standards but if I didn’t occupy myself I’d would’ve followed Claire to her room and demanded the conversation we should’ve had thirteen years ago.

  ***

  Killian

  Fourteen Years Ago

  “Do you think your sister’s okay?” The noise in the bar meant I had to shout to get Max to hear.

  “Claire’s never been alright. I’ve told you how she used to properly try to kill me and Jackson,” Max said, passing over a ten-pound note to pay for our beers and eyed up the barmaid.

  “I didn’t mean that. She’s got two rugby players circling her like vultures and she keeps looking over to us,” I said, ignoring the beer as I couldn’t take my eyes away from Claire, fighting the urge to go over and claim her as mine. “In fact, she’s just tried to walk off and one’s pulled her back. They look pissed up.”

  Max turned away from the barmaid and looked at his sister. “Let’s go over. I know she won’t want me there and I’ll probably end up hitting one of them. Shit.”

  I saw the same thing, one of the goons putting his hand on Claire’s ass. She shook him off and tried to move away again, but an arm came out to block her way.

  “I’ll go. You stay here.” I shifted away from Max and paced over to where she was, her eyes locking with mine. It had been five weeks since I’d kissed her, five weeks of us sneaking off to cafes or for walks by the river or meeting at the library under the pretence of me showing her how to use it. Neither of us had tried anything more than a kiss, kisses that left her lips swollen and her pupils dilated and me with a rock-hard cock and blue balls.

  “Killian!” she said as she saw me near. The two goons looked at me, their expressions turning wary. I had a good three or four inches in height on them and was wider and stronger. She pushed through the arm of one of them to get to me and moved into my chest, my arm automatically curling around her.

  “The pair of you need to fuck off now before I tear a limb off you both,” I said, hearing Max shout something behind me. “If I see you near her again I’ll make sure you can’t walk properly for a month.”

  They both glared at me and one of them turned to Claire. “Fucking tease,” he said. Before I could raise a fist, Max’s well practiced right hook made contact with his chin and knocked him flying into a table.

  “Shit, man,” his mate said. “You didn’t need to do that.”

  “We were watching you with my sister and saw her trying to get away from you, but you kept stopping her. I know who you are from the rugby team and the next thing I’m going to do is speak to your coach.”

  The man on the floor started to get up, clutching his face. He looked at Max as if deciding whether he wanted to return the hit and then decided against it, walking out of the bar instead. His friend followed.

  Max looked at me and walked over to where our drinks were at the bar. The stares that had fixed on us during the altercation had now moved onto something else. “You okay?” I asked Claire who was still nuzzled into me, her hand creeping under my t-shirt on my back.

  “Yes. They were just being creeps. I would’ve been okay. Trust me, I can cause a scene,” she said, leaning away. “I have brothers. I know where to kick.” We walked over to Max, our arms still around each other which made him look at us curiously. I broke away first, calling over the barman and ordering a bottle of beer for Claire.

  “Who were you here with?” Max said, passing me my pint.

  Claire gestured to a group of girls stood in a corner, a couple of them looking over. “A couple of the girls from my halls and some of the hockey team,” she said. “I’ve only just got here. Those idiots came over when I was ordering my first drink.” A couple of her friends started to walk over to us and a few minutes later Max was chatting to a tall blonde who happened to be a geography PhD student.

  We lost him three hours later as the bar became busier, students returning from Wednesday afternoon matches against other university sports teams and starting competing at drinking games. Claire’s friends were downing shots of tequila and a few friends of mine had turned up after being out rowing and joined them. We stayed close to each other, Claire chatting to her friends and mine and then coming back to me, smiling, trying not to touch.

  “If we slip out now I don’t think anyone will notice,” she said, her hand on my forearm. ‘I’ve a ten o’clock lecture tomorrow and I could do with an early night.” She grinned wickedly at me, her hand then fitting into mine and pulling me to the exit.

  Her speed increased as we headed into the night, the noise of the bar fading behind us. Claire laughed as we reached her halls of residence, her hair messed by the run and breeze.

  “Are you going to walk me to my room?” she said. “I think you should.”

  She moved in closer to me, her hands pushing against my chest, fingers running over my pecs.

  My hands grasped her hips and I steadied her into me, the top of her head barely coming to my chin. She was so slight but not breakable. I’d learned in the last few weeks that she was as strong as steel, tempered with honey. “What do I get if I do?”

  She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me softly, teeth nipping my bottom lip as she moved away. “More of those. Maybe something else too.”

  My cock hardened, my hands moving to her ass and pulling her closer to me. I heard a soft intake of breath as she felt how hard I was through both our jean
s. “We only do what you want,” I whispered down to her. I had no idea of how experienced she was. I knew she’d had boyfriends, had even met a couple when they’d been round while I had been staying with Max, but none had ever stayed over.

  “Let’s go upstairs.” She led me through the halls to her room, unlocking the door with fumbling fingers. We hadn’t drunk much, just two or three beers, not enough to be anywhere near drunk, but I felt like a sixteen-year-old boy, nervous and horny and desperate to touch her.

  I closed the door behind us and bent down to kiss her, walking her backwards across the small room to her single bed. My tongue brushed her lips, asking for permission so I could explore her mouth; she tasted of beer and chocolate and the kiss became harder as if neither of us would ever be full from each other. We lay down on the bed, side by side, my hands under her top on her stomach and back. Her skin was soft and I my hands couldn’t stop touching it.

  I was twenty; I’d slept with more women than I could count on my fingers and toes but I felt like a virgin, unsure and apprehensive. I wanted it to be right, whatever came next. She pressed against my hard dick with her hips, her hands on my ass.

  “Killian,” she murmured. “Take your top off.”

  Shaking with quiet laughter, I sat up and pulled my sweater over my head. Claire flicked on a bedside lamp and I realised I was being assessed. Then her hands fell onto my skin and started to trace patterns, over the couple of tattoos I had, then she sat up and put her lips onto my chest, using her tongue to make a trail.

  “This isn’t fair,” I said. “I’m half naked: you’re not.”

  She laughed and sat straight, pulling her top over her head, leaving her breasts covered with only a lacy push-up bra that made me want to suffocate in her cleavage. “Fuck. You’re gorgeous.” I didn’t move, just looked.

  “Killian,” she said quietly. “Is this as far as you want to go?”

  I managed to drag my eyes up to her. “Sorry. Sorry.” My hands went to her waist, finding the bare skin just above the top of her jeans and I kissed her again, softer now but just as demanding. I needed to be inside her, needed her underneath me, needing her shouting my name when she came.

  Claire pushed me back and my eyes dropped to her hands that were undoing a clasp. The bra opened, exposing her tits, round and high and firm with large, dark nipples. My hands moved up her sides, thumbs whispering a touch on the underside of her breasts and her nipples hardened. I moved forward and kissed her again, feeling her tits against my chest. My mouth moved to her neck, sucking gently at the soft skin and travelling down to what my hands had captured, moving to suckle one nipple while my finger and thumb played with the other. I could hear her whimpering, tiny little noises that were making my balls tighten and I wondered if I was going to end up coming in my jeans.

  Her hand slipped to my cock and started to rub up and down. “Claire, I won’t last if you keep doing that,” I said. She moved her other hand and began to unzip my jeans, then pushed them down.

  “Take them off,” she said. “Take everything off.”

  I stood off the bed, doing what she said and watching her shuck off her jeans and briefs together, leaving her bare. “Are you wet?” I said.

  She nodded. “I’m soaked. Killian…”

  I got back on the bed beside her, my finger drawing circles around her nipples. “What is it?”

  “I’ve not slept with anyone before.”

  “Do you want to with me?” I said, trying to hide the nerves in my voice. I felt like a king, that I was going to be her first, maybe her only, but at the same time I was petrified that I was going to hurt her, that I needed to make it good for her and not make it just about me.

  “Yes,” she said. “I want you in me. I can’t tell you how much.”

  I moved a hand down to her pussy and gently moved my finger through her heat and over her clit. She was right, she was wet - wet and warm. “I’m going to make you come first,” I said and began to stroke around her clit, my mouth going back to her nipple. I used another finger to play around her entrance, testing to see how she reacted. She bucked her hips and moaned, her hand seeking my cock

  When she came, she was loud, gasping and moaning. I put my lips on hers, muffling the sound and she pulled me over her. Her eyes were huge, pupils dilated and her hips were searching for me. “I’m on the pill,” she said. “I’m good with it. Do you need a condom?”

  “No. I’m clean. Claire, are you sure? This changes everything.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. All it changes is that you’ll have to sneak in and out of my room.”

  Afterwards, I’d wish I had planned it. I’d taken her out for a meal first, that we’d been out on dates and weren’t a secret. But we were kids and my cock was as hard as frozen metal and she was so warm and wet with her legs spread.

  She lifted her head to watch as I started to enter her. I watched her intently, not wanting to hurt her. At one point she winced slightly, then relaxed and I moved further in.

  “You’re so tight,” I said, trying not to lose control. “You feel so good.”

  “Maybe my first time should’ve been with someone with a smaller cock,” she said, partially gasping.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. Can you take more? Shall I stop?”

  “Don’t stop. More. Please.”

  I pushed further in and then began to move. Her hands moved to my ass and she started to push and press and she wrapped a leg over mine. Her gasps sounded like pleasurable ones and I watched her face. “I’m going to come. Do you want me to pull out?”

  “No. In me,” she said. “It feels good.”

  “Good.” I thrusted three more times and then began to spasm, spilling inside her, her name on my tongue as ecstasy took over. I kept my weight on my arms as I caught my breath, still watching her. “Are you alright?”

  She laughed, making my cock jump as it was still deep within her. “Yes. I feel good.” We slipped onto our sides and I held her into me, wanting to still feel her skin close to mine.

  “Will you stay?” she said.

  “If you want me to,” I said. “I’d rather stay. Then we can do that again in the morning and I’ll make sure you come while I’m inside you.”

  A kiss was pressed against my collar bone. “My orgasms are in your hands. But I do need to go to the bathroom. I’m sticky.” I let her go, our combined wetness glistening between her legs.

  When she returned, still naked, I pulled her against me, her ass against my legs. The small bed didn’t give us any room not to touch, but even if we’d been in a king-sized bed, I wouldn’t have let her sleep without her being next to me because it was at that point I knew she was mine.

  Chapter Four

  Claire

  It was times like this that made me realise what sort of family I had been born into. They were, for the most part, slightly on the crazy side with a large overdose of goodness and a smattering of sarcasm. They were also wealthy and today I was reminded of it, seeing Vanessa’s face when she walked into the kitchen to find that Marie had brought in a catered breakfast, along with champagne and a limo to drive us into Oxford for the shopping trip for bridesmaid dresses and other wedding stuff. Van hadn’t grown up with the extras we’d had, and she struggled sometimes to accept the luxuries we took for granted. Although this morning was excessive in all honesty.

  “Was this your idea, Mum?” I said to Marie who was sipping a coffee whilst watching my brothers dicking around outside, looking like they’d just been for a run. Callum was there too, looking more muscled than before, big enough to give Maxwell a run for his money.

  “Your father’s actually. He thought it would be a nice treat and make sure yourselves and the boys lined your stomachs before you went out drinking,” Marie said, not taking her eyes away from the pushing and laughter that was occurring. She’d left New York with my dad after knowing him less than two weeks, coming home to four children who had been motherless for over a year, and pretty much father
less too as my dad hadn’t known how to do much else besides work and interview nannies. Callum was two I was five, Jackson six and Maxwell seven and Marie became our mum, full of fun and attention, teaching us rules and manners with affection and wanting us as well as my dad. Two years later she had the twins, Seph and Payton, and eighteen months later Ava was born. It made no difference to her that we weren’t her biological children, she loved and told us off the same. But her relationship with Callum was different.

  He’d been a baby when our biological mother had died, taking her own life. We remembered her, remembered her looking after us, but he didn’t. When Marie arrived, he glued himself to her and cried when she wasn’t there. He’d needed her more than any of us and she became his.

  “You’re not coming with us?” I said, surprised.

  She shook her head, tearing her eyes away from the window. “No. You need to go and be girly. Your dad’s going to get measured up and then he’s coming home. I’m going to babysit the twins with Katie so Nick can have a day off.” She looked at me knowingly. “One of Nick’s employees is spending the night too and installing some more security around here so you needn’t worry. Her ex won’t know where she is yet anyway.”

  “Morning!” Vanessa entered the kitchen and looked at the spread in front of her and the chef cooking up bacon and black pudding, which I knew was one of her favourites. I saw her eyes widen as she stared at the spread and took a double take at the chef. “What’s all this for?”

  “It’s to line your stomach. I know you’re dress shopping but they’ll plough you with prosecco. And then you’ll have a boozy lunch too, so this seemed sensible. Besides, it’s not often I have most of my children home,” Marie said, her eyes drifting back outside where Seph was seemingly getting beaten up by two of his brothers. “Although I am going to put the hose pipe on them soon.”

  “What Marie hasn’t told you is that we’re getting to Oxford in a limo that’s picking us up at eleven-thirty. And I expect it’s been filled with champagne,” I said, accepting a plateful of bacon, sausages and eggs from the chef who grinned brightly.