Filed To Story: The Perfect Spiral Book PDF Free by Ashley Constantine
“Who the fuck is this?” he snapped, voice hard and rising.
He started to puff himself up, taking a step forward, but when Knox stood to his full height, all six-foot-five inches of him, Drew faltered.
“Wait… you’re-Knox Carter? The quarterback?”
“Sorry, I sign autographs for children, but not man-children,” Knox said with a smirk.
“How do you know him, Alex?” Drew said as he tried to step around Knox, but found himself blocked.
“Old family friend,” Knox said coolly. “Now get out of here.”
Drew’s eyes darted to me. “Alex, what the hell? He’s your bodyguard now? You’re my girlfriend.”
I squared my shoulders and stared him down. “Not anymore.”
Knox stepped forward, the threat in his posture unmistakable. “You heard her.”
Drew stood there, frozen on the sidewalk, his mouth slightly open as Knox took my hand and led me toward his sports car. Every step felt like a silent victory. Knox opened the passenger door and helped me inside with a steady hand on my back.
He walked around to the driver’s side and fired up the engine. I didn’t say a word as we drove away-but I did turn in my seat, roll down the window, and shoot Drew the middle finger without breaking eye contact.
He flinched.
God, that felt good.
Knox drove us a few quiet blocks until we pulled up in front of my apartment building-the one I barely remembered walking away from earlier, half in a daze. He turned to face me.
“You really should’ve let me hit him,” he said, half-serious, half-teasing.
“What if I told you I already did?” I blurted out.
“You what?” he laughed in disbelief.
“Well, I slapped him-“
“That doesn’t count as hi-“
I cut him off. “Then I punched him. Right in the nose. Made it bleed. Now my hand hurts like hell.” I flexed it in my lap, and Knox immediately reached for it, turning it gently in his big, warm hands.
“Let me see,” he said.
“It’s fine,” I murmured, but didn’t pull away.
He studied the swelling across my knuckles with a tenderness that made my chest ache. “We’re icing this the second we get upstairs.”
He let out a loud laugh and hugged me again. “I’m so proud of you. Your brothers will be too when you tell them-“
“Proud?!? I’m not proud of it! I’m always the one that says violence is never the answer. You should know that by now.”
Knox tilted his head, his smile fading into something curious. “Is that why you never come to my games? Because of the violence?”
I laughed under my breath. “Please. I grew up with three brothers. I’ve seen worse in the backyard. No, I don’t go because… well, it’s hard to watch a game when every girl in the stadium is moaning over you every time you make a play.”
He smirked, cocky as ever. “Can’t help it if the ladies appreciate all this.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re impossible.”
His smirk softened. “But seriously, I’d really like it if you came to my next game.”
“Maybe,” I said softly.
Knox’s eyes lingered on me, sweeping over my face with a kind of quiet awe. “You look… different,” he said, his voice low, as if he wasn’t sure if he should say it aloud.
“I got pretty,” I said with a shrug.
“No, you didn’t get pretty.”
Was I going to have to slap a second man tonight?
Before I could give him a piece of my mind, he leaned a little closer. “You were always the prettiest girl in the room to me, Alex.”
My heart did a backflip, but I couldn’t let him know that.
“Yeah, right,” I said, trying to sound unbothered.
He leaned back, resting one arm on the steering wheel. “Today might’ve been shit for you, but honestly?” He looked over at me, grinning. “It’s kind of a great day for me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why’s that?”
“You’re finally single.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. You tortured me as a kid. Dunked my head in the pool, stole my diary, replaced my shampoo with glitter.”
“We’re not kids anymore, are we?” he murmured.
He leaned in slightly, and I felt the space between us disappear. He smiled like I’d already said yes. Any other woman on earth would.
Every instinct screamed at me to roll my eyes, shove him away, make some sarcastic remark about inflated egos and NFL arrogance. I’d always hated his entitled jock, God’s-gift-to-women act-the way he knew he was hot and acted like the world owed him something for it.
And my brothers? They’d lose their collective minds if they ever found out I’d kissed Knox Carter. I didn’t want to cause all that drama.
I should’ve pulled away. Should’ve gotten out of the car, slammed the door, walked away.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.