KNOX, page 1
KNOX
Masterson Next Generation
Lisa Lang Blakeney
Writergirl Press
LISA LANG BLAKENEY
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Copyright © 2021 Lisa Lang Blakeney
All rights reserved.
Published by: Writergirl Press
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License Note
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events, people, or places is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review.
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The author acknowledges the trademarked status of products referred to in this book and acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.
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This book contains mature content, including graphic sex. Please do not continue reading if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.
What Readers Are Saying About Lisa
“Lisa writes books that are intense. Explosive. Panty Melting. Raw. Exposed. Angst. Multifaceted."
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“Cover to cover, page by page every word was amazing. This author is amazing and her work is even more amazing. She really can get all the details and words to sound great together."
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"As soon as I picked up book 1 I was addicted to this series. I couldn't wait for this one to come out!"
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"I definitely recommend this series to readers. It was the first of its kind that I have read, and I was not disappointed. 5 Stars!"
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To All Of My Favorite English Teachers Who Encouraged Me To Write.
Contents
Books By Lisa
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Bonus Scene
Who Dis?
Also From Lisa Lang Blakeney
Where You Can Find Me
About the Author
Books By Lisa
The Masterson Series
Devour this addictive series about the possessive bad boy, Roman Masterson, who falls hard and fast for the girl he’s promised his family to protect.
Masterson - Roman & Elizabeth
Masterson Unleashed
Masterson In Love
Masterson Made
Joseph Loves Juliette
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The Masterson Next Generation Series
Knox - Knox & Gigi
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The King Brothers Series
Dive into this series of interconnected standalones featuring 3 alpha hot brothers and the women they lay claim to without apology.
Claimed - Camden & Jade
Indebted - Cutter & Sloan
Broken - Stone & Tiny
Promised - All King Brothers
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The Nighthawk Series
Sexy & sweet sports romances set in the professional world of football. All standalones.
Saint - Saint & Sabrina
Wolf - Cooper & Ursula
Diesel - Mason & Olivia
Jett - Jett & Adrienne
Rush - Rush & Mia
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The Valencia Mafia Series
Coming Soon. Get Notified!
Introduction
USA Today Bestselling Author, Lisa Lang Blakeney, returns with a scorching hot spin-off series featuring the next generation of Masterson bad boys and the women who can't resist them.
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All I've ever done is protect her, but she can never be mine…
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My name is Knox Masterson,
And I’m not a good man.
I fight too much.
Play too hard.
And that life has been fine by me.
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But when there's a threat made against my family,
They all become concerned about her.
The girl who's always been off limits.
The daughter of my father's best friend.
And the one woman who could send me to my knees,
if she only realized the power she possesses.
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I want to be the good son.
The one my folks can depend on.
But when they ask me to keep Gigi safe,
all bets are off.
I ain’t doing that again.
Been there, done that.
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Because the two of us might kill each other,
or do something even more frightening.
Fall hard for each other.
Yet once I lay eyes on her again, I change my mind.
Old habits die hard.
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Because just like when we were kids,
I feel compelled to protect her.
To fight for her.
To own her.
Too bad she's going to hate every single minute of it.
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KNOX is a scorching hot, enemies-to-lovers, romantic suspense novel, featuring bad boy Knox Masterson and the girl he falls hard for, Gigi King. It is the first full-length book in a series of interconnected standalone novels featuring the second generation of Masterson men.
One
Knox
It’s the last days of summer and I’m riding my bike alongside the Delaware River, appreciating the view of the lush foliage and quiet waters. When I ride on days like this, I usually go to Boat House Row, where I’ve spent many summers with my younger brothers rowing on the river. I love the water. It’s one of the few places where I can think, and I’m pretty sure I get it honestly. Both my Grandpa Joe and my dad love the water as well.
My mom wants me to join the crew team at school, but taking part in a team sport on the water would ruin it for me, because that’s the sport for all the rich pricks at my school. Participating in crew is some sort of elitist rite of passage for them. Maybe because they think universities like Harvard or Yale will look upon that activity favorably. I, on the other hand, don’t care about that type of stuff.
I’m what some would call a loner.
I choose not to spend my time with entitled kids who rather talk about all the useless shit their parents bought for them. They’re always trying to outdo each other with who has the latest tech gadget and whose parents bought it for them first. I rather hang by myself or with my family than those mindless dweebs any day of the week.
I’m halfway to my destination when I spot one of those particular idiotic fucks. His name is Mario Porter and his mother created some sort of special clothes hangers that made his family a shit ton of money. She was discovered on the reality television show, Shark Tank, and he never lets anyone forget it. He’s obnoxious, not too bright, and normally I would ignore him, but he’s sitting on the grass with Gigi.
I try to look away because the sight of them together sickens me, but just like a violent car crash or a bad Tik Tok video, I can’t stop watching them.
Gigi is irritatingly beautiful.
She is the daughter of my father’s best friend. I’ve known her my entire life. My parents always describe her as the daughter they never had, but that’s a description I wholly reject, because no sister of mine would be stupid enough to like someone like Mario. His terrible reputation for having little respect for girls precedes him. I can’t be the only one who knows that his sole goal is to hit and quit as many girls in the school that he can.
I’ve ridden up this incline of the drive many times before, but suddenly my legs feel like two heavy pillars of cement, and I strain to push the pedals of my bike forward. I want to ride past them, but I can’t. My conscience won’t let me.
I stop several feet behind them to catch my breath and watch with growing dread as Mario slides his arm around Gigi’s bare shoulders. She’s wearing a billowy, yellow strapless dress with crisp white Converse sneakers. Her outfit is an unusual departure from her usual t-shirt and jeans and all I can think about is how easy it would be for Mario to slide his hand up her legs.
Fuck my life.
Gigi notices me first as I approach and a look of confusion crosses her face. The two of us do not socialize in school. In fact, we barely acknowledge each other. The only time the two of us have any meaningful dialogue with each other is when we’re over at each other’s houses, and that’s because we have to. If my parents knew how the two of us actually feel about each other, they’d probably ground me for the rest of my life.
She’s not happy to see me.
And the feeling is mutual.
Because Gigi's older brother is older and out of school, I'm the boy next in line and closest to her age in our circle. Therefore it has been tasked to me to “look out for her” no matter how much I want to pretend that I don’t see this disaster unfolding in front of me.
I can’t unsee it. I have to step in.
“Hey.”
“Uh, hey?” she responds, confused.
Then the asshole speaks.
“What’s up, K-boogie? You need something?”
Oh yeah, did I mention that this douchebag gives everyone in the school nicknames that they didn’t ask for or acknowledge?
“I need you to get your hands off of Gigi’s shoulders.”
I notice immediately once Mario’s sluggish brain realizes what I’ve just told him to do, and then his nostrils flair like an angry bull. He’s not used to me saying much at all, much less tell him what to do, and he ain’t happy.
“I’m sorry?” Gigi asks incredulously as she rises on her knees in the grass, hands on her hips. Dude didn’t even bring a blanket for her to sit on. “What business is this of yours?”
“What’s the deal with you two?” Mario looks between the two of us. “Are you guys actually related or something?”
“No,” we both answer simultaneously.
“But whether or not I’m related to her doesn’t have shit to do with you putting your hands all over her,” I add.
“Damn, K-boogie, I thought the two of us were cool. I’ve known you since kindergarten.”
Mario pulls Gigi tighter to the side of his body. It’s obvious that she’s not at all comfortable with his actions, but she’s going along with it because I annoy her way more than he ever could.
“First, my name is Knox, so don’t call me that K-boogie shit again. Second, we aren’t cool and we haven’t been since you snitched on me to Mrs. McHenry in the third grade. And finally, I’m going to need you to get your hands off of Gigi. She’s not the type of girl you’re used to.”
Gigi’s mouth tightens into a thin line. She’s getting totally pissed with me, and I get why, but I’m only looking out for her as I’ve been instructed to do ever since I could walk.
“And what type of girl is that?” she asks angrily.
Of course, she is taking what I said the wrong way. I didn’t mean it as some sort of slight against her, at least not this time.
Mario stands up and puffs out his chest as if he’s going to try something with me. He is quite aware of my reputation and knows that I’m the best fighter in school, but he’s obviously putting on a show for Gigi.
“Yeah, KAY-BOOGIE, what kind of girl would that be? The way I heard it Gigi is just my type.”
Mario attempts to inconspicuously hold his balls as he emphasizes the word type. It’s crystal clear what his meaning is even if it goes completely over Gigi’s naïve head. It’s purposefully disrespectful, and I immediately see red, so I react without thinking and punch him square in the jaw.
It feels so good when my knuckles crash against the soft flesh of Mario’s constantly running mouth, but it doesn’t take long for me to discover that he fights dirty, like the punk that I believed him to be. There’s nothing fair about it. He tries kicking, spitting, and biting me. In fact, I think he damn near bit a piece of my ear lobe off. I’m going to have to give it to the douche. I didn’t think he had it in him to fight like this.
Our brawl doesn’t last long, but for the short time that it does, it's bloody and brutal, and I don’t know what comes over me but I want to annihilate him. I am in what my twin brothers call the red zone. It’s like everything disappears around me and there’s just me and Mario and a haze of red, blurry light. I’m pounding his face into the grass with my fist when the only thing that brings me out of it are the shrieking cries of fear piercing my ears. Gigi is yelling at the top of her lungs.
“Get off him! Get off him!”
I’m saving her from becoming the laughingstock of the school and all she’s worried about is this loser?
Typical.
I finally stop and stare at him with hostility as he pulls away his hand from the three-inch gash I’ve made over his eye and notices blood. At this point, there’s a small crowd of bystanders standing around us murmuring among themselves, but I ignore them while Mario puts on a show for them instead.
“My parents were right about you. You and your family are trash. I’m going to sue, you crazy fucker, and get you kicked out of school!”
I cock my head to the side after his outburst. Mario and I have known each other a long time, and he’s definitely heard the rumors (truth) about my father and Gigi’s father, for that matter. Our families have money like his, but we are not to be fucked with. He knows this, but again I realize that he’s just puffing hot air for Gigi’s benefit.
“You sure about that?” I say in a menacing tone. “You want to involve my parents in this?”
The blood continues to drip down Mario’s face into his eye as he contemplates what I’m saying. I can tell that he’s considering the situation he finds himself in. Will he save face in front of Gigi, or will he walk away?
“No bitch is worth this,” he blusters, and then walks past the crowd to his parked car to leave.
The small crowd disperses and now there is only Gigi and I left.
She’s crying.
“He’s not worth crying over,” I tell her.
“I’m crying because I’m mad, not because I’m sad!” she yells at me.
“What?” I ask, taken aback. “You’re mad at me?”
“You ruined his face!”
Never mind the scratches on mine and the chunk of ear, he bit. Not to mention that Gigi and I have known each other our entire fucking lives. Where’s the loyalty?
“He was using you, Gigi,” I tell her matter-of-factly.
She plops down on the grass, and her dress rises a bit, showing her knees. I notice the faint scar on her left one. I put it there when we were ten-years-old and playing tag. I chased her so fast that she fell on some pavers around the pool and cried bloody murder. That was the day my father reiterated that it was my job to protect Gigi, not hurt her, because she was like family.
“He was the first boy brave enough to ask me out for a date.”
“What do you mean, brave enough?” I scoff.
“Everyone in school knows that you’re my guard dog, Knox. No boy in the junior or senior class will touch me with a ten-foot pole. You’re ruining my life.”
“You think I enjoy saving you from your damn self all the time?”
Actually, I kind of enjoyed giving Mario that can of whoop ass today.
“Then stop doing it.”
Gigi is sixteen-years-old and as far as I know, hasn’t had a boyfriend yet. She’s definitely a virgin and may not have even had a first kiss. So, while I can understand her frustration with me, the truth is that I haven’t met a kid yet at school who would treat her the way she deserves. They’re all shitheads that make choices led by the obvious parts of their anatomy. I should know, I’m one of them. And in our small world, that could mean the kiss of death for Gigi’s reputation.
