“I think I should be offended,” he rumbled, words vibrating deep inside me. “You’re hurting my feelings, Jasmine Gates.”
“As if you have any feelings to hurt.”
“Matter of fact, I do. But you have to take some credit for that.”
“Oh?” I tilted my head. “Why?”
Gray eyes fell to my lips and came back up. “Because the only feelings I do have tend to revolve around you.”
Oh.
“These last few days...” His hand slipped lower on my back, brushing over the curve of my ass. “I’ve been halfway out of my mind not being able to see you. I didn’t think anything could be worse than prison.”
Happy flutters in my chest brought a burst of laughter from my lips. I slapped his chest lightly, lips quirking. “Stop teasing me. Or don’t, actually. You’re being awful dramatic right now and I’m kind of here for it.”
“Who’s being dramatic?” His nose bumped mine as our foreheads pressed together. My breath got caught in my lungs as Hawk took up the entirety of my vision, his unwavering focus all I could see. His voice dropped another octave, brushing between my thighs with the seductive heat it contained. “At least when I was in there, I had a real reason for not being able to get to you. Not without knocking out a few guards and making a daring escape anyway. It would’ve been easy enough, but I have a feeling the Bonnie and Clyde lifestyle isn’t for you.”
“No,” I whispered, still trying to remember how to breathe while he stared at me. If not for the flashes of movement I caught at the corners of my eyes, I would’ve thought we were the only people here. “I can’t say life on the run has ever appealed to me.”
“Scale of one to ten, how much of your reasoning is because you wouldn’t be able to bring Lucille?”
He remembered? I always thought it was an exaggeration when they showed the Grinch’s heart growing in the movie. That wasn’t supposed to be possible in real life. But my heart didn’t get the memo and neither did my ovaries.
The entirety of my being let go of a wistful sigh that fluttered from my lips to his and elicited a low groan from deep in his solid chest.
“Ten,” I managed, my focus on his lips. “I refuse to be without her.”
He flashed another dazzling smile. Good thing he mostly held me up as we continued around the dance floor because my legs were about as stable as pudding. And I wasn’t talking about the cafeteria pudding that could be turned upside down without falling from the container, either.
“You’re something else,” he said, “but you’re distracting me from the point I was trying to make. On the inside, I couldn’t get to you if I wanted to, and fucking hell I wanted nothing more. Now that I’m out? Knowing that you’re somewhere in this city moving around without me at your side sends me up a goddamn wall.”
“You didn’t have to be without me,” I said honestly. In my head, I could hear Rachel telling me to make him work for it, but I didn’t want to drag this out.
I wanted him.
That much was abundantly clear.
After going so long without, didn’t we deserve to skip a few steps?
“I did.” He captured my chin, watching me closely. “I needed to get my shit together before I asked you something very important.”
He didn’t get down on one knee.
That was what kept me standing.
He took a deep breath. “Do you forgive me?”
Wait...what?
Chapter Fourteen
Hawk
Jasmine’s obvious bewilderment was yet another sign that I’d gotten lucky as fuck when it came to this woman.
A large part of me wondered how. How did I deserve this? Deserve her? Given all the shit I’d done in my life, how was it that I still found someone like her when people so much better than me never got the opportunity? Even within the circles I ran, there were plenty of good men who had nothing but horror stories to share about the opposite sex.
Yet I’d managed differently. Sometimes, the world made no fucking sense no matter how long you’d lived in it.
“I threatened you,” I said, pressure squeezing my chest as I remembered the fury that had clawed the inside of my soul until it was raw and unrecognizable. “A few times, if memory serves me.”
“You also didn’t follow through with it. So, was there really any harm done?”
I stared at her, and not just because she looked like a dream come true.
Jasmine had on a dark green dress that showed off miles of long legs and wrapped tightly around her slender figure. From the moment I walked in, I’d wanted nothing more than to put my hands on her. Being able to do just that was more fulfilling than anything I’d ever experienced. Spotting the glow in those hazel eyes when I made my way to her? Talk about a moment to remember.
My throat closed. I tried and failed to clear it, voice emerging on a low rasp. “You’re too good for me.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, standing on her toes to lightly nip at my jaw. “Now you’re getting it. I guess old dogs can learn new tricks. Someone will have to update all those articles that say otherwise.”
“Old?” I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you calling old?”
Jasmine made a show of looking around us. “Do you see anyone else I could be talking to? No? That’s what I thought.”
So fucking mine.
My lashes lowered, head dipping as I brushed my mouth against her lips. Her moan was immediate, spurring me on. I wasted no time dipping my tongue inside and claiming what was mine. She tasted like blueberries and alcohol, and now I knew why she hadn’t complained or backed out when I asked her to dance.
“You’re drunk,” I growled.
A flirty laugh fell against my lips. “Don’t take that tone with me. I drink every blue moon, and it just so happens that I’ve had one hell of a week. The man I’ve been absolutely crazy about for years recently showed up again and decided to interfere with every aspect of my life before leaving me high and dry. Well, cold and not very dry after my shower.”
Why is she talking about a shower?
“Anyway,” she continued, twirling my hair with her finger, “I needed a bit of liquid courage to get out of the house tonight. Sue me.”
“I’d rather spank you.”
The pink blush that sprang to her cheeks brought a wicked smile to my lips. When she saw it, she forced herself to frown.
“You don’t get to say things like that to me,” she said.
“Even though you look beautiful as fuck when you’re flustered?”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Even then. At least not unless you’re going to finish what you started.” She poked me in the chest. “You listen here, Hawk Mason. If I wanted to tease myself, I’d go to the bakery and stare through the window at the banana nut muffins knowing damn well I’m allergic.”
“What a lame thing to be allergic to.”
She giggled. “That’s what you got from what I just said? Wait. Is there supposed to be a cool thing to be allergic to?”
“All I’m saying is that our kids better hope they get more of my genes since—”
My brain ran into a brick wall about the same time I realized what had just come out of my mouth. Jasmine clapped her hands over her face, hiding her features from me.
“Shit,” I muttered, plowing fingers through my hair. “Can we pretend you didn’t hear that?”
She wasn’t looking at me.
Her body shook and my heart dropped into my stomach.
Was she crying? Fuck.
Way to fucking go, me.
All that talk about taking things at a reasonable pace and here I was discussing—
The strangled snort she made belonged to a zoo animal, I just didn't know which one. Her hands fell, revealing wet lashes and a few tears falling down her cheeks. She was crying, but the laughter that poured out of her until she was doubled over gave me enough of a reason not to hate myself even though she was laughing at me.
“Gre
at, you broke her,” said a familiar voice to my left. I turned to find Gina—whom I’d introduced myself to at the precinct in the event knowing her would come in handy(which it had)—and the woman at the gym who’d tried to flash her tits in my face while I was busy hunting down Jasmine.
Reagan? Rayna?
I nodded at Gina instead of trying to wrack my brain since I didn’t really care either way. R-whatever-her-name-was had placed herself firmly on my shit list during our first interaction. I didn’t keep a little black book because having evidence like that was a great way to find yourself not just in jail but underneath it, but I knew I wouldn’t be erasing her face from my memory banks anytime soon either.
“I’m fine,” Jasmine wheezed, clutching at her stomach.
Reagan-Rayna said, “You don’t sound fine. Unless your idea of fine equals sounding like you’re dying.”
That made Jasmine laugh harder. When it looked like her knees were about to give out and send her to the floor, I swooped in and lifted her over my shoulder, making sure to keep a hand firmly on her ass and hold her dress in place. It would be a shame to bring the night to a close by going around scooping people’s eyes out with spoons for seeing between my woman’s legs.
But I would.
I very much would.
“Thanks for the tip,” I told Gina. “I think I’m going to take this one off your hands now if you don’t mind.”
“Wait!” Jasmine sat up, body still trembling with barely contained giggles. “You got your information from Geegee?”
She couldn’t see my quick grin, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
“I told you I had my ways,” I said, walking away while she waved and screamed goodbye to her friends at a volume that probably made it look like I was kidnapping her.
Whether or not anyone thought that, I couldn’t be sure. I did a quick sweep for any flashing police lights as we made it out of the club and into the rapidly cooling night. Spotting that the coast was clear, I continued on my merry way, letting my smile remain as Jasmine slowly but surely caught her breath.
“I can walk, you know,” she said after a bit.
“And I can carry you all night. Oh, wait. What do you know, I’m already doing exactly that. Looks like there’s no reason for you to walk.”
“Smartass.”
“Comes with the territory, Jazzy.”
She pinched my side and I jumped more from surprise than pain. “Don’t even start!” she warned. “I wanted to cry when you said that in the Captain’s office. If I never hear that nickname from you again it’ll be too soon.”
My gut clenched. I said nothing until I could set her down beside my Bugatti and trap her against the side of it. I lowered my head until she couldn’t see anything but the sincerity in my eyes. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry about how I acted. I got so caught up in thinking you had betrayed me that I never even considered that there was another option. I should’ve known better.”
“Yeah”—she offered me a small smile—”you should have. But that’s in the past, Hawk.” Her hand lifted, trailing gently down my cheek. “What matters now is the future, and I know where I stand when it comes to that. Do you?”
I couldn’t help the growl that emerged from my throat. “You better be implying that you want this, otherwise you’re going to have a hell of a time explaining to any guy who fancies you why doing so will end with them in a hospital, if they’re lucky.”
She patted my cheek, grin widening. “There’s the criminal I know and—” Jasmine bit down on her lip, lowering her eyes.
I wanted to lift her chin.
I wanted to hear the four-letter word she was about to say.
I wanted to say it back then whisper it in her ear until we were both old and gray, sitting ringside at a basketball game holding hands.
But Collin had a point. We didn’t need to rush this. And I still wasn’t certain I hadn’t already fucked things up enough when I brought up kids, even though that outcome seemed inevitable.
Forgive my French, but once I finally got my dick back inside this woman I was going to make a home there.
No looking back.
No second-guessing.
Nothing but us from now until forever, til death do us part.
“Let me take you home,” I said, kissing her quickly as I opened the door.
She nodded, dropping into the seat. I made sure she was buckled in before moving around to the driver’s side and getting us on the road.
We were silent on the short drive back to her apartment, the vehicle’s powerful engine forming a cocoon around us.
“Wait here,” I said, climbing out and opening her door. I took her hand in mine to help her onto the street but didn’t let go of it as we walked into the building.
“You already won me over. You don’t have to force yourself to be a gentleman.”
“I’m not,” I told her, bringing her knuckles to my lips and sweeping a quick kiss across each one. “I didn’t really think about it. I just know that I want to take care of you.”
“I can open doors just fine, thank you very much.”
“Oh yeah?” I pulled her against me as we stepped into the elevator, making sure she felt the hard ridges of my dick pressing against her stomach. “Look at you, walking and talking and opening doors. You’re like...a real woman.”
She squinted at me. “Is that supposed to be a reference to something?”
“Hell if I know. I told you that you make me dumb.”
“At least this makes sense,” she said softly, fingers dancing along the edge of my jeans before they reached in, giving me a quick squeeze.
My breathing turned rough as her fingers circled my shaft, giving me gentle tugs that drove me fucking crazy. A raspy noise came from me and Jasmine bit down on her bottom lip before her tongue swiped across the spot. That slight bit of slickness taunted me, and I leaned down to catch her mouth and got her neck instead.
Fine with me.
“Harder,” I growled against her flesh, taking two firm handfuls of her ass as I forced her tighter against me. “You won’t break me, baby. Never fear.”
She took me at my word, and I wasn’t sure what felt better. Her trust or the increased friction?
I panted against her neck, eyes rolling back in my head as gentle fingers swiped at my precum and spread it around. There was no comparison between her hand and mine. The soft heat from her palms left me bucking my hips like an animal, needing so much more than this.
A second before I hiked her up by her ass, the doors dinged and opened. I glanced over her shoulder, thanking God that the hallway was empty. We all but raced to her apartment, and I almost wasted the money I spent getting the door repaired when we had to stop and wait for her to find the right key.
Then she did, and the click of the lock opening was my favorite sound of the day.
I had just enough restraint to close and lock the door behind us before she was over my shoulder again as I marched to her bedroom. Later, I’d take in the basketball memorabilia lining the walls. Later, I’d tease her on all the trophies lining the dresser and the medals hanging over her lamp.
But I only had one goal now, and it was reuniting with the woman I could no longer live without.
I set her on her feet just long enough to push her backward. Her small yelp as she landed on the bed made me smile, but the mirth had dissipated by the time I made short work of my clothing. Once the last stitch of fabric was gone, I stood there, still as a predator, watching her watch me.
Jasmine’s lids were at half-mast, and the moonlight soaking through the windows got trapped within hazel eyes, making me think of a dark forest I would willingly get lost in. I gave my dick a quick stroke as I climbed onto the bed until I hovered over her slight form.
“You deserve everything,” I told her roughly. “No one compares to you. No one. And as fucked up as it sounds, I’m glad you didn’t go to the pros. I never would’ve found you in that bar. I never wou
ld’ve known there was a piece of my life missing.”
“I’m glad too,” she whispered, tugging her dress up and over her head until she was in nothing but pale, blue cotton. “You touched me that day and set me on fire. You held me like I was special, precious, irreplaceable.”
I buried my head in her neck, inhaling her scent before biting down on the soft skin there. “Because you are.”
She giggled, squirming beneath me. “And when you say it, I believe it. I want to keep believing it until I can’t convince myself otherwise. Until I can stop feeling like one day I might look up and realize that I’ve never been more than second best.”
“That’s not you.” I skimmed my lips down her collarbone. I unhooked her bra with my free hand and tossed it aside. “That’s not us. I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face, Jasmine Gates. You are my priority. Nothing and no one else could ever hope to compare.”
My fingers skated across her stomach, dipping beneath the waistband of her panties to find her pussy dripping and hot. For me. Only ever me from this day forward.
“Someone’s eager,” I growled, nipping at her ear.
She raked her nails against my arms until I got the hint and pulled the last bit of fabric away from her body.
“You don’t have to tell me.” She spread her legs wider. “I’ve been like this since you touched me at the club.”
My eyes met hers in the dark and I settled between her hips, dick straining as it settled between her folds. “Then I shouldn’t keep my woman waiting.”
“No,” she agreed, capturing my face and bringing it closer to hers, “you shouldn’t. I’ve waited long enough.” Her voice dropped another octave. On a throaty whisper, she said, “Please. Fuck me already.”
This woman could boss me around any day of the week and I’d have a smile on my face.
I brought our lips together and unleashed my pent-up groan at the same time I slid inside her welcoming heat inch by inch by inch.
Watching her writhe and mewl beneath me was my undoing.
And feeling the way her body clenched and pulled at mine once I was buried deep inside built me up all over again.
Kingpin's Promise Page 9
