by LAURA HARNER
How could she deny this man? “Yes,” she answered on a sigh.
One arm scooped behind her knees, she was swept up into his arms, and then he carried her to his bedroom. Once there, he let her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor. She stepped out of her shoes, wound her hands around his neck, and pulled him into another heated kiss. Then they fell in a tangle of limbs onto the bed, tearing at clothes, shedding anything that would prevent them from lying skin to skin.
She heard his breath catch as if on a sob, then his mouth was searing hers. His hands moved across her skin, burning with his touch, her hip, her thigh, along the curve of her waist, cupping a breast. He was insatiable, tasting her, nipping at tender flesh, planting open-mouthed kisses across her stomach, pulling the tight peak of a nipple between his teeth before clamping his lips down and drawing her into his mouth.
He stretched along the side of her, ravaging her breasts with his mouth, even as his fingers began an assault on her pussy. A long finger parted her folds, found the moist heat at the center of her, and slid inside. He took her higher, nearly tossing her over the edge, then he pulled her back again, until she thought she would ignite. The pad of his thumb circled her increasingly sensitive bud, and she arched her hips against him, inviting, pleading, demanding that he take her now. Still he teased, prolonging her pleasure, until, at last, Hawk inserted another finger, filling her just as his thumb slid over her clit.
The heat started in her fingertips and toes, and burned inward, every nerve alive with the heat of his touch. Rolling like a firestorm across the desert, consuming her, cresting, ebbing, then igniting again. She was moaning her pleasure, her voice raw, her body shuddering with the spasms of pleasure ripping through her. Even as she came, she demanded more.
“Inside. I want you inside me, now. Fill me, Hawk.”
Hawk climbed up her body and slid his cock inside, filling her and starting the waves of pleasure exploding all over again. Dani gave herself to him, withholding nothing, feeling the power in her surrender.
****
When Hawk carried her to the bedroom, he felt as if he were practically stumbling with his need to have her. Lust slammed into his balls, and his whole body jerked with desire. He ached with desperation to hold her, to know she was safe, to know she was his. His need threatened to drive him to his knees, to beg her to take him and never let go.
He lay beside her on the bed, his mouth covering her breast, tasting the sweetness of her fevered skin against his tongue. Her full breasts swelled and tightened under the ministrations of his lips, his teeth, his tongue, and her pussy flooded with desire. His control was a thin line, threatening to snap at any moment.
Christ, this woman unnerved him, made him dream of impossible things, of love, of forever. He knew he was in over his head, that she wouldn’t be pleased if she thought he was trying to protect her. It was the fear that underpinned his emotions tonight. His father, Constantine, anyone who tried to hurt Danielle was a dead man, because she was his. How could he bear to let her go?
It broke his heart to know that he needed to do just that. He needed to walk away, to distance himself from her. It would be the only way to distract the old men who thought to control him with her as a weapon. He would find exactly the right leverage against each of them to make sure Danielle would always be safe from their threats.
He slid a finger into her hot sheath, finding that spot inside he’d discovered the first time they’d made love, the spot that made her howl with pleasure. When he’d wound them both as tight as he could stand, he slid his thumb over her clit, and felt the first clutch of her orgasm as it gripped both of them.
When she demanded he fill her, Hawk slid home, his cock sinking into her silky heat. He filled her and gritted his teeth against the power of her orgasm, riding it out so he could begin again. She was tight and hot, and she pulled him deeper inside, squeezing with her muscles. The sensation was erotic, tightening his balls, making him feel both weak and powerful as she surrendered her control to him.
Her begging to be filled inflamed him, scorched away the tattered remains of his self-control. He pushed into her, gliding out before thrusting home again. His balls drew up, and still he pounded. Danielle’s hand slid along his sides before her nails dug into his hips, urging him on, harder, faster, deeper.
He was so close, they both were, and yet he paused, prolonging the moment. He looked down at her face, and Danielle opened her eyes to meet his steady gaze. The moment seemed to freeze in time, as though it was so perfect, so fated, that everything from this very instant forward would change, if only he said those words. He knew she’d thought it part of the game when he said them earlier, but the joke was on him, because those three little words threatened to choke him if he tried to hold them in any longer.
The moment felt so right, so perfect, and yet he couldn’t risk telling her, because this was the last time they could be together.
Danielle looked at him, her blue eyes sparkling with passion, as if she too recognized this moment for what it was, could sense the unexpected feelings threatening to overwhelm him.
She cupped his face in her hands as he began to slowly glide in her heat, drawing out her pleasure, his pain.
“I love you, Hawk,” she whispered and her gaze caught his, trapped him, wouldn’t let him go. Then she wrapped her legs around his waist and the pressure at the base of his spine exploded as she drove her hips up and he thrust into her. He drew out, thrust in, again and again, lost in his hunger for her, seeking to take a part of her into him, to hold her words in this final act of loving.
When her eyes closed again in her pleasure, he felt another orgasm take her, and his own pleasure roared through him. He poured himself into her, hot, reckless, murmuring against her neck. Choking on the unsaid words.
When the draining shudders ended, he held her, pressing his lips to the damp skin of her neck, memorizing the fragrance of her, the feel of her against him.
“Tell me, Hawk, was that hello or good-bye?”
He nuzzled at the soft skin just below her ear, not answering. Danielle pulled back and placed a gentle hand on his chest, pushing him back. Her beautiful blue eyes watched him steadily, and he floundered for an answer.
“Danielle, sugar, I don’t know what you mean,” he said, despite the tightness creeping into his chest.
“I mean, Hawk, that was beautiful. I have never felt so cherished in my life.”
“I sense a but in there,” he said.
“But I also know something is very wrong. There was an edge of desperation to you tonight. A terrible weight of sadness. Hawk, tell me what happened at your father’s today. I told Julian the same story you told my mémé, yet my telling him really upset you. Then you upped it once again with the whole engagement story. I felt the fear in you. I know it was fear for me.
“I told you I love you tonight, and there are no strings attached. You don’t have to say it back, because I already know. I feel it in your touch, taste the love in your kisses. I can see it in your eyes. You love me, too…but we both know that love isn’t always enough. I was just a kid when my mom left my dad. I don’t know how much you know about the story, because it all happened after you were sent away.” Her gaze dropped, and for a minute, it looked as if she wouldn’t continue.
“Do you know the story about my dad and James Courtland—Del’s dad?”
He felt his brow furrow. He knew there was some history between the two men, but he always assumed it had to do with Danielle’s mother, Clare. He shook his head, afraid to let himself speak, afraid of the words he wanted to give her.
“I was eight when my dad died. I mean, when we thought he died. He was supposedly killed while on a deep-sea fishing trip. Others said it was a rescue mission to Cuba. Either way, we never knew for sure, but the story kept coming back that there were witnesses who saw him fighting with your father just before he died,” Danielle said, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
“My fa
ther?” he asked incredulously. Where the hell was she going with this story? “What does my father have to do with Richard and James?”
“A year or so after my dad disappeared, a stranger showed up in Généreux. My mom found him wandering along the edge of Bayou Rose near dark. He was disoriented, didn’t seem to know his own name. Instead of calling the cops, she decided to bring him home, like some lost puppy,” Danielle said, a trace of bitterness in her voice, even after all these years.
“That could have been dangerous!”
“Yes, well, my mom the psychologist always knows best. Anyway, he stayed with us while she treated his amnesia. Pretty soon she’d convinced herself and damned near everyone else in town that he was my dad, come back after some horrific accident.”
“But James doesn’t look anything like your dad,” he said, his skepticism showing.
“No, he doesn’t,” Danielle agreed. “Mom found traces of plastic surgery, scars from injuries, and most telling of all, a tattoo that matched one on my dad’s shoulder. James never actually had my dad’s memories, but after a few months, he had my dad’s life. I really hated him for not remembering me. It was just too hard for a nine-year-old to understand. He and my mom were so caught up in each other, there just wasn’t any room for me. Our lives were nothing like before, nothing like with my real dad. As I got older, I resented James more and more, and eventually completely dismissed any idea he was my real dad.
“Turned out I was right. One day Dad came crawling out of the mud and muck near Oyster Bayou. By the time everything was settled, Mom had to admit the man she’d brought into our lives was a complete stranger. She and Dad reconciled, but it didn’t last. She and James just couldn’t stay away from each other. I really hated them for that, for the pain it caused my dad.”
Danielle looked at him then, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. “I made a promise to myself when my parents divorced. I vowed I would never fall in love, never marry, because no matter what, you just couldn’t be sure it would last. I didn’t wanted to hurt like my dad did.
“Hawk, there’s never been enough proof, but the FBI believed my dad was held prisoner during that time he was gone. It was nearly five years, and his memories were completely scrambled. Not quite as bad as James’s, because Dad still remembers everything except the missing years.”
“Held prisoner? Why the hell would anyone do that? Who would do something like that?” he asked, a sick feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He was sure he already knew the answer.
“They suspected Julian, but there’s never been any proof. I’m not telling you this to hurt you, but you need to understand something. There is a long history of hate and betrayal between our families. Every time something bad happens to a Delacroiux, you can bet Julian Charbonnet isn’t far behind. He’s been obsessed with us for decades.
“You’re not responsible for your father’s actions, but from this point forward, you are responsible for your own decisions. As I am for mine.
“There has to be trust between us, there has to be honesty. I’m not interested in a fuck buddy. If anyone had asked me a week ago, I would have said I wasn’t looking for anybody. Now, I think I understand my mother for the first time…”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. What do you say to a soul-baring story like that? Danielle shook her head and placed her fingers gently on his lips.
“So cowboy up. Right here, right now. Truth and trust between us, Hawk, because without those, there can be no us. What happens next is in your hands.
“What’s it going to be, Hawk? Was tonight hello or good bye?”
Chapter Seventeen
The panel on the wall near the door made a muffled sort of ping, and Danielle’s gaze shot around to glare it into silence. Hawk, however, stood quickly and pressed the intercom button. He knew only an emergency would have persuaded his chief security officer to interrupt him tonight.
“What is it, Deuce?” Hawk asked, his voice clipped.
“Hawk, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have two officers here in the lobby who seem rather concerned that they can’t reach Detective Delacroiux on her cell. I tried to tell them she was perfectly fine when she came home from work earlier this evening, but they’re insisting on inspecting her place,” Deuce said.
Deuce had very definite opinions about the abilities of the Généreux PD, and they weren’t particularly flattering most of the time.
“Did you point out that unless there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed they won’t get a warrant and without a warrant, they won’t get in?” Hawk asked, hearing the amusement in his own voice.
“Funny you should mention that, Hawk. I was just explaining exactly that, when one of these here morons…Excuse me, Hawk…Will you keep it down? I can’t hear Mr. Charbonnet, Officer. What’s that? Oh, riiight…”
Hawk heard Deuce’s drawl and fought the smile that threatened.
“Sorry about that, Hawk. So anyway, as I was saying, this officer…I mean agent, insists he be allowed to talk with you.
“The other fellow with him seems a good bit brighter. His identification says he’s Detective Beau Delacroiux. I figured with the similarity in names, perhaps our Detective Danielle Delacroiux might be interested in speaking with him?”
Hawk had to fight back the urge to laugh. “Give me a minute, Deuce. I’ll check,” he said and then released the intercom button.
“Feel like company, sugar? It sounds as though your uncle Beau and Agent Espinoza would like to see you.”
“We’re not finished with this, Hawk,” she said mildly.
His heart gave a jerk at her quiet words. He couldn’t do it. He would find a way to protect her from his father, from Costa, but he couldn’t walk away from her. He’d asked her not to let him fall alone, and by God, she hadn’t. There were no coy games, no waiting to see if he would say it first. She’d just put all those feelings out there with no strings attached.
“No, indeed, we’re not,” he said, smiling. Then he suddenly moved to the side of the bed and pulled her to her feet. “Tell me, Danielle,” and he knew his voice was rough and needy. Meeting her calm, steady gaze, he pleaded, “Tell me again!”
She smiled, her eyes blinking rapidly. “I love you, Hawk Charbonnet.”
Feeling as though he’d just had Christmas, his birthday, and won the lottery, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around, ending with a low and theatrical dip. With a smiling, laughing, and crying Danielle draped over his arm, Hawk said, “And I love you. Hello, Danielle Delacroiux.”
He pulled her upright, planted a big sloppy kiss halfway between her mouth and cheek before turning back to the intercom.
Over his shoulder he asked, “Your place or mine?” Then he instructed Deuce to make the visitors wait ten minutes then release the penthouse elevator.
****
Dani answered her door to her uncle Beau and Special Agent Espinoza, and held back the laugh that threatened to bubble over at the looks on their faces. Their heads were swiveling, trying to take in all the features of the penthouse-level apartment. Dani imagined she and Tolley had looked much the same their first night, visiting the luxury suite.
“What the fuck is this, Dani?” Beau asked. He was hot, practically quivering in his fury at whatever it was he imagined she’d done with Hawk in order to earn this place. It would be such a shame to spoil his illusions.
“My new place, Uncle Beau. Do you like it?” she asked, not bothering to mask the amusement in her voice.
“You certainly don’t let the grass grow under your feet, Detective. I hear congratulations are in order, too,” Tony said, then turned to Beau. “It looks like Dani is better at this undercover shit than I thought.”
Dani wasn’t unaware of the significance of Espinoza’s words, but she wanted to gloss over them, now was not the time. She needed to think.
“Come on in and sit down, and I’ll bring you both up to speed,” Dani said, leading
them into the living room. “I haven’t actually spent too much time worrying about your case, Agent Espinoza, because I’ve been so busy with the murder investigation.”
“How’s that going for you, anything the bureau can do for you, there?” Tony asked, casually stretching out his arm.
“Nothing, thanks. I’m about to wrap it up. Another twenty-four to forty-eight, and I think I’ll be able to close it.”
Beau finally seemed to recover from his shock, and started peppering Dani with questions about her new living arrangements.
“Beau, relax. I’m not doing anything that you didn’t ask me to do. I needed an apartment, Hawk offered, so here I am. I figure it will make keeping an eye on him a little easier, without being too obvious.”
The elevator doors slid open, and Tolley stepped into the room.
“Hey, Beau,” he said with a quick glance at Dani’s uncle, then he turned to the other man in the room and Dani thought she could see the sparks flare. They weren’t happy sparks.
He looked at Tony. “Get out. Now,” Tolley said in as menacing a growl as she’d ever heard from him.
“Tolley? They’re my guests. What’s wrong?” Dani asked.
“Tony Espinoza is a fucking homophobic prick of the worst type. He is never welcome in my home. Get out!”
Dani had thought of Tolley as her cuddly sidekick for so long, she sometimes forgot how big and bad he could be. Nearly a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than her, he was always just Tolley. But he’d been on scene with her more than a few times, and there wasn’t anyone better on the force to have at her side in a fight. The waves of testosterone poured off him now, and she seriously worried Espinoza might pull a weapon in self-defense. It would be the only true way to save himself if Tolley went after him.
The agent quit toying with the base of the lamp and stood, feet apart. He gave his shoulders a little roll, as if he was preparing for a fight. Dani flicked a look at Beau, and by unspoken agreement, he took Espinoza’s arm to steer him toward the elevator. Dani went to Tolley and wrapped an arm around his waist.
