FORBIDDEN LOVE

by LAURA HARNER

  Her muscles were liquid fire, but her mind was blessedly uncluttered by the confusing thoughts she’d started with. She knew what she wanted, but she needed to hear his terms. If he’d returned with the idea she’d be willing to serve as a side dish, he was mistaken. It would be all or nothing in this battle. She took a few minutes to let her breathing and pulse rate slow while she stretched her muscles out once more, then headed for the elevator.

  They rode up together in a companionable silence, each with a key card in the elevators respective slots so when they reached the top both the front and the rear elevator doors opened.

  Dani risked a look at Hawk and nearly passed out from the sudden wash of desire that ran through her. He was a sweaty mass of gorgeous man. The muscles in his chest and stomach were hard and defined from the exertion, his hair damp against his flushed skin. Her gaze followed the trail of hair as it narrowed to where it traced the valley between his abs and still lower until it disappeared beneath the waistband of his shorts.

  Hawk’s expression darkened and his nostrils flared. He stared at her as if he really were the devil incarnate, the evil Charbonnet she’d heard about all her life. Dani took a step backward out of the elevator and he stalked out after her, sleek and graceful. Predatory.

  “Fuck,” he swore. Without further warning, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her close enough that her chest pressed against his stomach. Then his mouth came down on hers, hard, possessive. There was no tenderness; just a brutality of a man too long denied what was his.

  Dani was more than a match for him. She raked her fingers through his short, dark hair, and pulled his head down to take more. This was what she wanted, what she needed. Wasn’t it?

  No! What she wanted was to pour into that kiss every long, lonely, aching breath she’d taken since he’d left her. The logical part of her brain tried to overpower the screaming desire of her body, forcing her to look past the heat of passion that threatened to explode between them.

  Hawk needed to know her pain and heartache. In this moment, this one instant in the story of their lives, she hated him for leaving her, for making her feel unloved, discarded. Most of all, Dani hated Hawk for making her want him.

  She pulled her mouth back from his driving kiss, but was unable to break the bonds of his arms. “You bastard,” she spat at him.

  “I know,” he groaned and found her mouth again.

  For a minute, she was lost, caught up in his kisses. Then she shoved against him and twisted her face away again. “Let go of me! You’re promised to someone else now, remember? You asked someone else to marry you. Let me go!”

  “Never!” he growled, his face buried in her hair, pressing against her neck. “There is no one else, Danielle. Only you. Christ, forgive me, it’s only you,” he pleaded, his voice breaking on the prayer.

  “I hate you, Hawk Charbonnet! I hate you…”

  “You should,” Hawk agreed, as he planted kisses along her neck, her jawline. “Your life would better without me in it. I tried to stay away. God knows I tried. Walk away from me now, Danielle Delacroiux, walk away. One of us has to be strong enough. If you don’t walk away now, I’ll never let you go again.”

  “Oh, God,” Dani said. Their lips met in another searing kiss, tongues hot, lips and teeth joining in a desperate struggle. His tongue stroked hers as he loosened the braid that restrained her hair.

  Harsh breathing filled the air, punctuated by murmurs of need, mutterings of encouragement. Possessive hands slid down her back, following her curves, cupping her ass. With a jerk, he pulled her tight against him. His long fingers dug in, claiming her, squeezing and lifting until she was tight against his cock.

  Shameless, Dani thought. He left me without explanation, without apology, and here I am plastered against him, again. She couldn’t make herself push away. Her hands were restless, touching every part of him she could reach. His chest was still slightly damp from their run and she rubbed her hands over his pecs, pinched his nipples, scraped her fingers through his chest hair. She ground her mons against his cock and resented the clothes that separated them.

  She wrenched her head back long enough to see which apartment they’d stumbled into. His, good. Then she was pulling at his hair, his clothes, anything she could reach in order to bring him still closer.

  He swept her into his arms, and never breaking his kiss, he strode through the apartment to his room. He tossed her onto his bed and then just stood there staring at her as if he were memorizing how she looked in his bed. Then he kicked off his shoes, slid his shorts and socks off, and stood before her, baring his emotions along with his flesh.

  Dani kicked at her shoes, even as she struggled to squeeze out of her damp sports bra. Hawk’s hands roughly pushed hers aside and he tugged at her remaining clothes until they were naked, skin against skin. He thrust a finger between her legs, found her wet and ready.

  Without any further niceties, Hawk pushed her over onto her stomach and raised her hips. Then he shoved his cock in hard and deep, drawing a moan from Dani that was half pleasure and half pain at the abruptness of his entry. He rode her, his cock sheathed in her heat, rough and fast.

  Dani had dreamed of their reunion, of their gentle lovemaking and quiet celebration. This was not that dream. This was fucking. He was claiming her with what felt like a fierce desperation to mark her as his. He’d never taken her from behind before. In this position, his cock slammed deep, hitting her cervix with every thrust, drawing small grunts from her every time he drove home. She couldn’t do more than hang on to the bed.

  He covered her, forcing her down on her elbows, then lower still. She was pressed into the mattress, the sound of flesh against flesh filled her ears. He snaked one hand under her and he drew some of the slick cream from where they joined, then his finger found her clit.

  His teeth skimmed the tender flesh of her neck. “Come for me, Danielle. Come now!”

  With his body pressed against hers, he bit down, like a lion claiming his mate and she screamed as her orgasm ripped through her. She went momentarily blind with the pleasure, her inner muscles clamped down hard around the cock that filled her, gripping, squeezing, claiming him, too.

  Hawk finally let go of her neck as he came, his hot cum shooting into her, and together they rode the crest of his release. He roared her name, his voice raw with emotion, and with each pulse of his essence, Dani felt a timid return of hope.

  ****

  Hawk rolled off her, flung an arm over his eyes, and waited for his breathing to return to normal. He might have a heart attack if he tried to talk before he caught his breath.

  Christ, he’d taken her like an animal, rough, hard, territorial. By God, it was exactly how he felt. She was his. He’d been stupid to let her go. No. He hadn’t let her go. It was past time to be honest with himself, he’d run away from her, from the promise of them. Hawk had compromised everything he’d been fighting for and let his father win. And lost himself in the process.

  No more. He was home to stay, to claim his life, and the woman he loved. He would spend his days and nights making things up to her. First, he needed to tell her how he felt.

  Hawk rolled onto his side and gently turned Danielle so that she was facing him.

  “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  “Yes, I’m okay, and yes, you hurt me,” she answered.

  He winced. Her thoughts so closely mirrored his own even though he’d meant had he hurt her with the rough lovemaking. His Danielle would always speak that which was on her mind.

  “How could you do that, Hawk? How could you ask another woman to marry you?”

  “I didn’t. Not exactly,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I made a bargain with my father and Constantine. A merger between the families, through an arranged marriage, in exchange for a promise of your safety.

  “Sugar, I’ve never wanted another woman since the moment I laid eyes on you. Only you. It was only the thought of keeping you safe that made me think I could possibly go thr
ough with—I thought I could marry Olympia to prevent Demetrios or my father from hurting you.

  “Danielle, I’m sorry. I was stupid to leave without talking to you, without telling you my fears. I was stupid to think I could stay away.”

  “You hurt me. Hawk, I won’t go through that again. I can’t.”

  “What are you saying, Danielle?” His heart thundered so loudly in his ears he wasn’t even sure he would be able to hear her answer. He was afraid. Christ, had he waited too long? Was the damage to their trust too much?

  Danielle reached down and took Hawk’s hand in hers. The warmth—real, human warmth, not from the whisky bottle, but from the woman he loved—made him shake all the way to his marrow. He more than loved this woman; she held the other part of his soul, she completed him. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

  “I’m not going to let you destroy me in absentia. If what we have together isn’t going to work out for any reason, then you have to come talk to me. Don’t leave me like that. My heart can’t take it again.”

  Oh, sweet Jesus, she would give him a chance. He would not fuck this up.

  “I’m so sorry, sugar.” Planting little kisses all over Danielle’s face, Hawk’s voice broke with emotion, and he thought he would choke on everything he needed to say.

  “I promise you, Danielle, that as long as there is a breath left in my body, I will love you and as long as you’ll have me by your side, that’s where I’ll be. Please, can you forgive me? Will you let me back into your heart?”

  Danielle cupped his face in her hands, her crystal-blue eyes shimmering. “You never left my heart, Hawk. Don’t you know that? Don’t you know how much I love you?”

  “I think I’m beginning to get the idea,” he said and captured her mouth with his.

  After several long minutes of kisses, Hawk pulled away before he ravished her a second time. “Now, Detective Delacroiux,” he teased, lightening the mood, “being the super sleuth that you are, you probably noticed we just had some extremely sweaty sex.”

  “Why, yes, Mr. Charbonnet, I believe I did notice that,” she laughed. “And I deduce from the hard poking against my thigh, that we might be getting ready to have it again.”

  “Ah, but there you would be wrong.” He was delighted to see her eyes widen in surprise.

  “Wrong? It doesn’t feel like I’m wrong,” she said with a laugh, reaching for his cock. “I am a detective, after all, a trained observer.”

  “God, give me strength,” he muttered, dramatically looking up at the ceiling. He shifted his gaze to her and stroked a finger along her cheek.

  “You’re wrong, because I want to take you into the shower and wash every last sweaty inch of you,” he said.

  “Ah, sounds delicious,” Danielle purred, now stroking his already fully revived cock in her hand.

  “And then,” he laughed, pushing her hand away and scooting back toward the edge of the bed, “I’m going to feed you.” Hawk caressed her side. “You’ve lost weight since I’ve been gone.”

  “Oh, shit!” Dani said.

  “What?” Hawk asked with alarm.

  “I’m supposed to have pizza and beer for Tolley and Deuce in my apartment at seven.”

  Hawk glanced over at his clock. There was still enough time. “I’ll take care of everything,” he said.

  After a quick call downstairs, he carried Danielle to the shower, and stepped in with her still held tightly against his chest. Setting her on the stone bench in a stall large enough for three or four people, he soaped a washcloth. Starting at the bottom, he worked his way up, touching and caressing every inch of the woman he loved.

  He gently toweled her dry, wrapped her in his robe, and then set her on the bed while he dressed in his jeans and a tee. He called down to the front desk again to confirm Danielle’s place was still empty, then carried her through the elevator to her own bedroom so she could get dressed.

  He waited in the living room, unhappily eyeing the stacks of moving boxes. He suddenly knew what he would do. What he wanted to do, he mentally corrected. He really needed to stop imitating a bulldozer.

  When Danielle came out, dressed in shorts and a tee, he wanted to carry her to his apartment and make love to her once again. He fought back the urge. She needed the comfort of building a normal relationship with him as much as he needed to know she would be in his life, not just in his bed.

  He crossed to her and cupped her face in his hands. “You look beautiful, Danielle.”

  He loved the blush that crept up her cheeks. “Thanks. You’re pretty beautiful, yourself. Help get the table set; the food and the guys should be here any minute.”

  “I will, but on one condition. Will you sleep with me tonight, Danielle? Will you stay in my bed and let me hold you? Will you let me make love to you tonight and we’ll greet the morning together?” He kissed her then, with all the tenderness he hadn’t shown her earlier, all the love in his heart exposed for her to see.

  The door to the elevator slid open, and Tolley and Deuce came in, loaded down with Deuce’s suitcase, pizza, and beer.

  “We met the server bringing up the grub so we grabbed it,” Tolley said.

  Then in unison, both men said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Dani whispered, “Yes,” against his lips. He smiled, just for her, and then turned to face the men.

  “I’m trying to fix what I royally fucked up. So if you don’t mind, let’s eat so I can go ravish my woman.”

  Epilogue

  Tolley poured Dani another glass of sparkling cider, and she smiled her thanks. She was feeling very grateful tonight. They were in her apartment, still on the penthouse floor of Renaissance Tower. Hawk had made the case, very persuasively, that as long as they were together, she would be safer in the Tower, with all of its security features, than anywhere else. Tolley and Deuce were staying there, as well. At least for now, she reminded herself. She knew they were looking forward to a place of their own. She looked over at the two men, working closely together in the kitchen.

  As Dani watched, Tolley leaned over and gave Deuce a lingering kiss, then they bent their heads to whatever task they were working on. This was the happiest she’d ever known her friend to be, and she would do everything in her power to make it last.

  Over by the windows, Del and Nicolette were dancing, slowly swaying in time to the sexy jazz number that Deuce had picked out. Del was looking rested, but she knew he still fought the demons brought on by the unexpected reintroduction of drugs. He and Nicolette had decided to move out of Constantine’s place in order to build their own lives together. He planned to propose soon, he’d told her, but had sworn her to secrecy.

  She knew her family would squawk at his choice, and Constantine would be livid. She was pretty sure she might be the only person who would be happy to think Del was committed to Nicolette Watkins. Dani was more than okay with his decision. She’d seen Nic while Del was hospitalized; she knew the woman loved him. Somehow, despite or perhaps because of the mistakes Del and Nicolette had each made in their pasts, love blossomed between them, and they would take care of each other.

  She let her gaze drift to Hawk, and found him watching her. In the month since he’d returned she often found him watching her, with an inscrutable look on his face. Sometimes she felt as though he was trying to memorize everything about her, and that scared her, made her feel as though he might leave again. A shiver passed through her at that thought. She wasn’t sure either of them would survive if he left her.

  As if sensing her sudden uneasiness, Hawk crossed the room to stand in front her. “Will you dance with me?” he asked, and his mouth turned into the little smile she loved.

  Dani glanced over at Del and Nicolette again, then back at Hawk. “I don’t know how to dance.” Then remembering her promise to let him in, to tell him about her past and to learn about his, she added, “I wasn’t one for school dances. I wasn’t very popular in school so I just never went to the dances. Not my thing.�
�� She shrugged.

  “So, you’ll learn,” he said with a smile. “Slip off your shoes, sugar.”

  “What? Why?”

  He put his hand out expectantly. “Slip them off, and stand on my feet.”

  Feeling exceedingly foolish, she let him pull her up, then she kicked off her sandals and put her bare feet on top of his. He began to dance her around the room, one hand pressed around her lower back, the other holding her hand close to his chest. He lowered his face to bury his nose in her hair.

  She let him move her about the room, feeling a little silly. Trying to take her focus off her own feelings, Dani asked, “Where did you learn to dance, Hawk?”

  “Mmm,” he murmured against her ear. “Boarding school, remember? Dancing is a part of the curriculum. They had to teach all of us young hooligans how to behave in proper society.”

  She leaned back to look up at him, then. “Is that what you want to do? Teach me how to behave in proper society?” she said, unaccountably stung by his words.

  Hawk threw his head back and laughed. “God, no! I wouldn’t ever want to change you from the delightfully genuine woman that you are. Don’t you know how perfect I find you, Danielle?”

  “So then why do I need to learn to dance?” Danielle laughed, pleased beyond measure at his words.

  ****

  Hawk nuzzled down against her neck, breathing in the scent of her, lemon and mint, and Danielle. He knew that nothing in his life had ever been so wrong as when he and Danielle were separated. His grief was bottomless when he thought she’d been killed. He never wanted to lose her again, never wanted to be apart. He wanted to take her home tonight and never let her go.