Chapter 2 Mine

Lily

Sharing was supposed to be something you learned as a child. Toys. Snacks. Crayons. Maybe the occasional fucking Barbie if your parents were really determined to teach you patience.

Apparently, I had missed the lesson. Because I could share Knox with Darius. I could share Darius with Jinx. I could share Jinx with Knox. Hell, at this point, the four of us had developed some bizarre fucking system that nobody had bothered explaining, yet somehow worked.

But other women? Absolutely fucking not.

Which was why I stopped dead at the end of the hallway leading into the bar area. My hand tightened around the strap of the bag hanging from my shoulder. No. Nope. Absolutely fucking not.

A woman I vaguely recognized was leaning against the bar.

Sweet-butt. Newer one. Blonde. Tiny. Pretty. Wearing shorts so fucking small I could practically see what she'd eaten for breakfast.

And she was standing beside Knox. Close beside Knox. Too fucking close beside Knox.

I narrowed my eyes. He wasn't even looking at her. That was the only reason I hadn't committed murder yet. Knox had papers spread across the bar in front of him, coffee in one hand while Marcus stood on his other side explaining something.

The blonde apparently hadn't noticed that Knox was ignoring her because she kept talking. Laughing. Touching his arm.

My eye twitched.

Across the room, Jinx looked up from the cereal he was shoveling into his mouth. His spoon stopped halfway there. His eyes found me. Then the blonde. Then Knox. Then me again. His spoon slowly lowered.

"Oh, fuck."

Darius looked up from his phone. "What?"

Jinx pointed his spoon toward the stairs. Darius followed it. His shoulders dropped. "Oh, fuck."

I started forward.

"Morning, Shadow," Victor called. I ignored him.

"Morning, Lily." Ignored that too.

Someone else said something. Didn't hear it. Because the blonde had just put her hand on Knox's chest. My fucking chest. Wait. No. His chest. Whatever. Still mine.

Knox finally looked away from his paperwork. His eyes landed on me. Then traveled down. Then came back up. And the bastard smiled.

"Morning, beautiful."

"Don't beautiful me."

His smile grew. Motherfucker.

The blonde finally turned. She looked me over. Slowly. Then looked back at Knox. Oh. Oh, she had a fucking death wish.

Jinx abandoned his cereal and leaned back in his chair.

Darius pointed at him. "Don't encourage her."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're smiling."

"I'm happy."

"You're about to witness a homicide."

"Exactly."

I reached the bar. The blonde sighed. "We're having a conversation."

I stopped. Looked at Knox. Then her. Then Knox again. "Were you?"

Knox took a sip of coffee. "I was reading."

Jinx snorted.

The blonde's cheeks flushed. "Whatever." She reached for Knox again.

He caught her wrist before she touched him.

Good boy. Because I was approximately three seconds away from becoming a widow before I'd even gotten married.

"Don't," Knox warned.

Apparently, she had more confidence than common sense.

She yanked her hand away and looked at me. "You know you don't own him, right?"

The entire clubhouse went silent.

Jinx whispered, "Aaaaand there it is." Darius covered his face.

I smiled. "You're absolutely right."

Knox's eyebrows rose. Everyone relaxed. Idiots.

My hand slipped beneath my cut. The knife left my fingers before the blonde even realized I'd grabbed it.

THUNK.

It buried itself in the bar between two of her fingers. She screamed. Half the clubhouse jumped. Jinx slapped both hands over his mouth.

I walked forward. "I don't own him." The blonde stared at the knife. Then me. "But if you touch him again, you're going to have a hell of a time touching anything with four fingers."

"Lily."

I looked at Knox. "What?"

"We talked about threatening the sweet-butts."

"No. You talked about it."

His jaw flexed. "I specifically remember telling you not to threaten them."

"And I specifically remember thinking that was stupid."

Someone coughed. It suspiciously sounded like Victor covering a laugh.

I yanked my knife from the wood. The blonde immediately stumbled backward. Then I realized everyone was staring.

Good. Might as well clear this shit up now.

I pointed at Knox. "Mine." His mouth twitched.

I pointed at Darius. "Mine."

Darius closed his eyes. "Jesus Christ."

Then Jinx. "Unfortunately, mine."

His entire expression changed. "Whoa."

"What?"

"Unfortunately?"

"Yes."

He stood. "I feel like that's unnecessarily hurtful."

"You're exhausting."

"You slept in my bed two nights ago."

"Exactly. I haven't recovered."

Victor lost it, his laugh echoing through the clubhouse.

Jinx pointed at me. "I deserve an enthusiastically mine."

"You get what you get."

"I make you come."

"Jinx!" Elias's voice boomed from somewhere behind the bar.

I nearly choked. Jinx looked toward my father. "What? We're all adults."

"Keep talking and you won't be."

Jinx immediately grabbed his cereal. "Understood."

Knox caught me around the waist when I walked past. I glared at him. He pulled me between his thighs.

"She touched you."

"I noticed."

"You didn't stop her."

His eyes sparkled. "I wanted to see what you'd do."

I stared at him. "You…" His grin appeared. "You motherfucker."

I smacked his chest. Knox caught my hand and kissed my knuckles. My anger immediately betrayed me by melting approximately twenty percent. Fucking traitorous vagina.

Darius appeared beside us. "For future reference, maybe don't intentionally provoke the woman who carries six knives."

"Seven," I corrected.

Darius stared at me. "Where the fuck is the seventh?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Jinx suddenly appeared behind me. "Okay!" His arm wrapped around my waist. Then my feet left the floor.

"What the fuck?!"

"Shadow has places to be."

"PUT ME DOWN!"

"Nope."

He started carrying me toward the door. I pointed over his shoulder at Knox. "We're discussing this later!"

Knox lifted his coffee. "Looking forward to it."

"And you!"

The blonde practically jumped behind the bar. "I'm sorry!"

"Good!"

Jinx shoved open the clubhouse door. "She's territorial. We're working on it."

"No, we're fucking not!"

"See?"

The door slammed behind us. Jinx finally put me down. I adjusted my cut. Then glared at him.

"You done?"

He looked thoughtful. "No."

"Jinx."

"I'm just trying to understand something."

"What?"

He grinned. "Was mine enthusiastic?"

I stared at him. Then started toward the truck. "Get fucked."

He followed me, laughing. "That's not an answer!"

"We have work to do."

"Oh, NOW you're professional?"

I flipped him off over my shoulder. His laughter followed me across the parking lot.

And despite myself, I smiled.