Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1]

05

Darcy Blake had tried it all.

The classic rebound, making out with strange guys in the club to forget about him, clubbing till the late hours of the night and getting absolutely smashed. She had tried everything to get over her ex-boyfriend but failed miserably each time.

It was useless. It all just made her miss the bastard even more despite circumstances.

But one conversation with the mysterious, brooding and tight-lipped Thelonious Knight and Jake was slowly dissolving into nothing more than just a distasteful memory.

The man must possess some sort of magic powers to cast such a spell on her.

Not for the first time that night, she berated herself for turning down his offer for coffee. If she had yes then she could have been warm inside some local coffee shop, sipping her warm beverage as she eyed the dashingly handsome creature in front of her. The truth was that she was scared for what she felt for the man and in such a short span of time, too.

She had known him for a total of five minutes and just couldn't stop thinking about him.

He was the total opposite of Jake, and after having been scorned so deeply after what she had believed to be a strong, committed relationship of 3 years, she feared the intensity of the emotions that had passed through her as she spoke to Thelonious. While she was kicking herself now for not getting coffee with him, the word 'no' had rolled off her tongue quicker than she could stop it.

Instead, she was dressed in a thin, black, long-sleeved top with a short, leopard print slip dress on top of it. It came to just above midthigh with a slit up both sides. This wasn't usually her style but tonight, she felt daring and surprisingly confident. She paired it with a pair of leather blank ankle boots and a few silver rings that accentuated her hands quite nicely. Clubbing wasn't something she particularly enjoyed, but drinking, she could do. Sitting on a bar stool with her arms braced on the bar top behind her and a chilled beer in hand, she watched as her friends gyrated on the dance floor with strangers they had just met.

Alice, Delilah and Darcy couldn't be more different if they tried. Alice used to be a cheerleader in high school, was never without a few layers of mascara coating her lashes and had a different man on her arm every week. Delilah was the quiet one who worked part-time at the university library and took a few drinks to come out of her shell. She, like Darcy, too, had recently gotten out of a long-term relationship that stemmed from high school.

Darcy was the sarcastic one with a mouth that usually got her into a lot of trouble. She wasn't as outgoing as Alice but was never one to stay quiet during a conversation. Before Jack had dumped her so unceremoniously, her confidence and self-love had been through the roof. Admittedly, she was feeling much better as of recent.

She wasn't sure if that had anything to do with the way a particular pair of pale blue eyes had looked her up and down, when he had thought she wasn't looking, his gaze almost tingling against her skin as it travelled over the course of her body.

Shaking her head, she downed the rest of beer and asked the bartender for a martini.

She probably wouldn't see him again anyway.

One became two which in turn became three and before she knew it, she had joined her friends on the dance floor with her hips swinging to be the beat of the track.

A pair of warm hands rested on her hips as she danced. Glancing a look over her shoulder, she smiled at the ballsy brunette that had approached her before she backed into him and just enjoyed the feel of his warmth on her back and his hands on her body.

He wasn't Thelonious Knight but he would do for the night.

A giggle escaped her at the thought.

Once they had, had enough of dancing for the night, the girls had one more drink before they decided to call it a night. Making sure that both her friends got into a taxi to take them back to their dorms safely, Darcy turned around and slid into her own taxi where her drunken companion of the night was eagerly waiting.

She hadn't anticipated sleeping with somebody that night but now that the offer loomed in front of her, she was more than willing to take it. When the taxi pulled up outside a large building, she frowned. "I thought we were heading back to your place." She asked him as they both piled out of the cab.

He shook his head and took her hand. "I share an apartment with my sister." He explained before pulling her towards the entrance. "I hope the hotel is okay." His words seemed like he was giving her a chance to back out but with the way he was tagging her towards the building, it appeared that he couldn't wait.

She shrugged. "It's fine."

And with that, Darcy and her man of the night stumbled into the hotel, both equally as drunk as each other. When they finally reached the front desk, she was feeling kind of sleepy and so leaned against the guy behind her with her eyes closed.

That was one thing she missed; being able to snuggle up to a warm body after a long day.

"Can we get a room for the night, buddy?" His words slurred together, barely coherent.

"I don't fucking think so!" A loud voice boomed despite the early hours of the morning.

Darcy chose that moment to open her eyes and look up. What a mistake it was for she creamed her underwear instantly, and not for the guy she had arrived with, but for the icy blues of the dark-haired man that was currently glaring daggers at her; the very man that she couldn't stop thinking about all night.

-

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Chapters of Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1] will be uploaded on Inkitt a week earlier than on Wattpad as well as exclusive bonus chapters at the end of the story. So, be sure to check out Beating Hearts on Inkitt here: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapter 06 is available on Inkitt NOW!

The next chapter will be up on 30/11/2019!

Layla Knight

13.06.19