Hawk Wild (Lost Boys MC Book 2)
Page 9
And yet strangely appealing.
“No.”
Hawk growls low in his chest. “Good.”
“What about you?” I don’t really want to know the answer to this so I’m not sure why I’m asking. “Have you ever—” I clamp my mouth shut.
I really don’t want to know how many women have felt his skin on theirs. Moaned while he filled them with cum.
“Not once.” His eyes stay locked on mine as one hand slides up the center of my chest. “Didn’t want it.”
This is what makes being with him so hard. The man is a freaking non-stop contradiction.
Was.
He’s been remarkably consistent for the past twelve hours.
“Just want it with you.” His hand tangles in my hair, holding my head in place as his forehead rests against mine.
The whole eye contact thing is a little strange. But it’s sort of growing on me. Maybe I should pay better attention to what I see there instead of only wishing I could focus on the way his body feels inside mine.
I reach up to hold his face in my hands and really look at his eyes. They always seem so hard. So sharp.
Maybe not always.
There are fleeting seconds where I see something else before Hawk swoops in and shutters the windows.
But right now there’s no sign of Hawk. All I see is Shaun looking back at me.
And it scares me more than whatever that phone call was about.
****
“WHAT IN THE hell is going on?” Felicity’s voice is even higher pitched than normal. “There is another car just sitting in front of my apartment. One of those stupid car truck things. I think it’s that Gypsy guy in it.” She gets quiet for a second. “Is he single?”
I walk to the front window of my house and lift one of the blind slats to peek out onto the street.
A car I don’t recognize sits a little down the street. Not right in front, but close enough to be able to see my house. Felicity’s not the only one being babysat.
“I don’t know. Probably.” I let the blind fall back into place.
Hawk stayed at my house all day. Mostly in my bed.
He finally left a little before five. Said he had a meeting.
“He’s not my normal type but I’d fuck him.”
I check the lock on my front door just in case, then walk to the couch where Hank is stretched across the cushions, taking up two and a half out of three. “What’s your normal type?”
I assumed Felicity’s type was any man who would give her the time of day. Then again I would have also said she’d never get on the back of a bike in a mini dress.
The bitch proved me wrong last night.
She’s quiet on the other end. “You know what? I take that back. I don’t think I have a type.”
That sounds more accurate.
“He’s real laid back.” Gypsy was actually my number two choice after Hawk. The long hair and slow drawl is sexy as hell.
But he lacks the intensity that Hawk has. And that shit is like catnip to me. Feeds the side of me my parents spent more than a little time and energy trying to quash.
It didn’t work.
I still crave the excitement they said would ruin my life. Turn men away.
Including Jesus. Can’t forget how Jesus feels about wild women.
Obviously they skipped that whole Mary Magdalene part of the bible, preferring to focus more on the ‘women are subservient’ sections.
I like for a man to boss me around and pull my hair as much as the next girl, but dishing out a little control in the sack is way different than trying to tell me what to do.
“I’m real laid back.” Felicity is panting. “We’d be perfect for each other.”
“What in the hell are you doing?”
“Running on the treadmill.” Her voice is more choppy now.
“Why are you on the treadmill? We’re on the fucking phone?”
“I was bored.” I hear a beep and the sound of her feet thumping against the belt ceases. “Fine. I’ll wait until we’re done.”
Yeah. She’s real laid back. Felicity would probably make Gypsy’s head explode with the number of words she can spit out per minute. He’d never be able to process them all.
“So what am I supposed to do? Just sit here at home doing nothing?”
“Are you pacing?”
Dead air. “No.”
“Liar.”
Felicity groans. “I’m just freaking out a little. How are you not?”
I blink across my living room. She’s got a point. “I dunno.”
I am technically worried about The Horsemen I guess.
But Hawk said he would handle it and I believe him.
Because...
Honestly, because when it comes to Hawk I get stupid.
At least I’m willing to admit it.
“I think it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it. We went somewhere we shouldn’t have and left before anything bad happened. It’s fine.”
Sure. That.
“We?” Felicity snorts, reminding me that I like thinking of murdering her. “You were somewhere you shouldn’t have been and we are in trouble because of it.”
“No one’s in trouble. I’m sure it’s just a precaution.” I prop my bare feet on the coffee table and relax back into the cushion of the couch. “I bet Gypsy will be gone soon. He’s probably just making sure no one followed you home last night.”
“Gone?” Felicity sounds a little sad. “You think he’ll just leave?”
Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t he? No one knows who Felicity and Becca are. I’m the one who’s always at Kerri’s house and over at Jill’s every weekend. Hawk isn’t my only tie to the men who left The Knights.
“I don’t think you’re even on The Horsemen’s radar. No reason for him to spend hours staking out your place once they’re sure you’re safe.” I close my eyes for a second and almost fall asleep. I had an eventful night last night.
And this morning.
And most of the day.
I’m actually a little impressed I can walk.
Go me.
Must have a sturdy vagina.
It is a little tender though. “I’m gonna go. I want to go soak in the tub.”
Felicity snickers. “I bet. That’s a big man you got there.”
“You’re not wrong.” I work my way off the couch, my whole body is a little stiff now that I think about it.
I should probably have stretched or something. Next time.
“Well.” Felicity goes quiet. When she speaks again her voice is almost hesitant. “Maybe you can call me later? We could have lunch or something this week if you wanted.”
I open my mouth to shut her down. I don’t like Felicity. She’s snarky and bitchy and just a general pain in the ass.
But she seems to be growing on me. She was actually fun to hang out with last night.
Until everything went to shit.
But even then the girl held her own. Didn’t lose her shit or scream or cry or anything. Gotta respect that.
“Okay.”
“Really?” She sounds surprised. Probably because she’s not the only one with bitchy tendencies. “Great. Okay. Well. I’ll talk to you later.”
I hang up feeling kind of excited to hang out with her again. It’s strange. Never in a million years would I have thought Felicity and I would be in the same room together, let alone making lunch plans.
I strip off my clothes and run a steaming hot bath. It’s so hot it makes me shiver as I ease down into the tub. “A-fucking-mazing.”
I rest my head back against the side where I folded a towel and close my eyes, fully planning to sleep until the water goes cold.
The sound of Hank’s low growl from the kitchen ruins that plan.
And Hank’s growling isn’t the only sound coming from the kitchen. Someone is jostling the side door.
My stomach drops.
How could I not have been scared earlier? Because I’m stupid, that’s why.
Hopefully they’ll fall in the puddles of water I’m leaving as I move toward the door.
I should have bought a gun. I could shoot whoever’s trying to break in right in his scrotum. Not the penis. Just the nuts. Makes the penis a pointless reminder of what used to be.
I grab the only weapon I was smart enough to keep handy and hold it over my shoulder as I work my way toward the phone I left on the counter.
Hank’s growl ratchets up as the jostling of the door gets a little more aggressive. Whoever is on the other side of that door might be stupid. I know he can hear Hank and is still coming in.
Dumbass.
Just as I reach for my phone the deadbolt clicks open.
The fucker picked my lock?
That’s bad. Really bad.
The door swings open and I start to swing the bat I grabbed. We might not win this, but Hank and I aren’t going down without a fight.
Only Hank’s not fighting.
His tail’s wagging.
“Hey, buddy. Good boy.” Shaun straightens and raises a brow at me. His lips slowly lift at the edges as he takes in my wet, naked body.
“You sure know how to welcome a man home, Kitten.”
10
SHELLY GLARES AT me. “You scared the shit out of me.” The bat in her hands is still cocked.
I think she’s still considering hitting me.
I can’t be mad about it. If anything I’m fucking proud of her. Love that she’s not just hiding in a closet somewhere losing her shit.
I hold out one hand. “Gimme the bat, Kitten.”
Her head barely tips to one side.
Yup. Still thinking of nailing me with that thing.
I hold up the bag in my hand. “Brought you dinner.”
She finally relaxes, letting the bat rest against the floor at her feet. “What is it?”
My girl’s standing naked in her kitchen, dripping wet, with one hand still on her weapon of choice.
That part doesn’t make me happy. She should have grabbed something more instantly effective. Not that I’d rather be shot than beat with a bat, but I’d sure as fuck rather her be able to stop anyone who tries to come through this door besides me.
Especially if this is how she’s going to do it. “Might want to put your robe on or you’ll be eating it cold.”
Her spine straightens. “I’m fine.” She picks her bat up and rests it against one shoulder then walks past me, grabbing the bag from my hands as she goes. “Why are you sneaking into my house?”
“Cause you haven’t given me my key yet.” I follow her to the couch, grabbing the robe she abandoned as I go.
“Your key?” She drops her ass down to the couch and props the bat beside her before pulling open the bag of food. She peeks inside. Her eyes slowly lift to mine. “Did you bring sushi?”
“You don’t like it?” I hold the robe out. “Come on, Kitten. Robe on. I’m hungry and I need to eat more than just your pussy to survive.”
The heat in her eyes is instant and tempting as fuck.
But I know damn well she’s gotta be feeling the last twenty four hours. I want to make sure she has time to recover and sitting on the couch naked greatly reduces her odds.
Not that I don’t intend to take care of her in any way she needs tonight.
Shelly rolls her eyes and stands up, letting me work the plush fabric up her arms. “You like being naked?”
Her lips slowly curl into a smile. “Sometimes.”
I don’t think I want to know the reason for that smile. It might not end well for someone.
“You only get to be naked in front of me now, Kitten.” I use the tie of her belt to pull her body against mine. “I’m the only one who sees you like this.”
She lifts a brow. “You’re awful demanding. Can’t masturbate. Can’t go to nude beaches.”
Hell. I might have a whole beachful of men to slaughter. “Definitely no nude beaches.” I tip her chin up and brush the kiss I’ve been waiting for across her lips. “We can work something out on the other.”
“You’re awful generous.” Shelly smirks at me as she sits back down and reaches for the bag.
I pull it away. “I got it.” I take it back into the kitchen and start going through cabinets. “What do you want to drink?”
Shelly doesn’t say anything, so I grab her a bottle of water as I head back in with our food. Her eyes are on me, watching as I set the plates and spoons down on the coffee table. I pop the lid off her soup and set it in front of her before sliding a pair of wood chopsticks from their paper sleeve and breaking them apart. “What’s wrong?”
She slowly picks up her soup and a spoon, dark eyes still on me. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because it’s dinner time.” I open up the foam boxes holding all varieties of sushi and sashimi.
I didn’t eat with the rest of the guys tonight. Burgers and beer with a bunch of men fighting over what the fuck we are going to do about King just didn’t hold the appeal that this does.
I still fought about King, just didn’t partake in burgers while I did it.
Wanted to have dinner here.
With her.
Shelly sips at the miso soup for a second before setting it back on the table. “I mean why are you here?”
That’s what I figured she was asking. It’s a fair question since I wasn’t invited back.
Specifically.
“Would you rather have Preacher parked out in front of your house all night?” It’s not that I don’t want to give her a straight answer.
I don’t have one.
I don’t want to think about why I’m here. Don’t want to consider what exactly it is I’m doing. So I’m not going to.
“Are those my two options?” She picks up the chopsticks I opened for her and goes after the spicy tuna rolls.
I know she’s just giving me shit, but I was hoping Shelly would want me here as much as I want to be here. Looked forward to it every second of the meeting I had to go to. Would have gotten out of it if I could, but considering it’s my girl who might be in trouble, I had to be there to make the calls no one else wants to make.
Like sending the guys back out. Using them like King did.
None of us want to do it, ask these guys to go right back to the life they just escaped, but I’m not the only one who doesn’t want Shelly hurt.
They all know her. Wish I wasn’t the first one to meet her.
“You really only have one option, Kitten. But if I tell you that you’ll do your best to get me out of your house just to prove you can.” I watch her eat. Waiting.
She’s going to put up a fight. A good one based on what I know about her.
Finally Shelly puts her chopsticks down. She takes a deep breath and turns to face me.
“So you’re only here because of what happened last night at The Stable?”
I was right. She’s going to put up a fight. I just didn’t realize how well-armed she was.
I focus on the food. “I’m here because I want to be sure you’re safe.”
She rolls her lips in and rubs them together, eyes on me. I try to ignore her, keep my mind on the basics.
Try to convince myself her safety is the sole reason I’m here.
And in a way it is.
“Do they know who I am?”
Her voice is strong. Doesn’t show a hint of fear.
She’s not scared. I wish she was.
“They probably do now.” I keep eating. I want to have this conversation about as much as I want to talk about my reasons for being here.
And packing a bag to bring with me.
She sits a little straighter on the couch beside me. “What do you mean?”
I finally abandon dinner. The idea of food is quickly losing its appeal. “I mean there are men in
a club whose whole job is to collect information.” I stop there. Hoping she’s satisfied with the answer.
But I know she won’t be.
“Then they’ll send someone like Tracker to find me.” Shelly curls her knees up to her chest and wraps both arms around her bent legs. “But why?” She shakes her head, sending still-damp waves of dark hair swinging around her shoulders. “Why do they care about me?” She points my way. “Just because of you?”
I take a deep breath. This is the tricky part. The part that will scare her. “Not just because of me.”
She shoves her hands up in the air. “Then why? What the fuck do these Horsemen people care?”
I wipe my hands down my face. I thought I knew what was going on this morning.
Thought I knew the extent of The Horsemen’s sore spot as far as me and the rest of the men who left The Knights behind were concerned.
I didn’t. Not even close.
“The Horsemen were struggling when me and Tracker and everyone else were still Knights.” I have to stop.
This is fucking miserable. I thought maybe I could come here tonight and forget it all for a little bit.
Just be with her.
But that’s not who Shelly is. She’s not the kind of woman to just sit and let me take care of everything, knowing I will protect her.
I haven’t given her enough reasons to be that woman.
Not that I think that would have helped.
She will always want to be more than that.
I thought that was great a week ago. Now that I’m seeing just what that involves it’s less wonderful.
“They lost a few of their top men a while back and the cops started watching everything they did. Made it hard for them to come back.”
Shelly doesn’t say a word. Just waits, hugging her knees beside me.
“King tried to take over their territory. Did take a fair bit of it, so The Horsemen hated The Knights.” I clear my throat, struggling to give her the rest, knowing how she’s going to react. “But somewhere between then and now The Horsemen must have gotten over that.”
She stares at me a few seconds, her brows low over her eyes. Then they lift as she starts to put the pieces together. I can see the exact instant Shelly realizes what’s happened.
I expect her to panic. Maybe cry.
Instead my girl stands up and the look in her eyes would make me pause if it was directed my way. Then she says one word.