CARSON_Satan’s Ravens MC

by Kathryn Thomas

  Melissa takes a step closer towards him without even realizing that’s what she’s doing. “Hawk, you don’t have to apologize to me.” She shakes her head, reaching out to touch him, an automatic response that she has to quash. It was something she’d spent a large portion of the night before thinking about, that’s when she wasn’t thinking about Wes and the fact that he was going to destroy the Kings. How would she have felt if Hawk had suddenly turned up at one of her hangouts after they’d broken up? Like he should stick to his own turf, that’s how. “Durangos is your place; it’s your world. You were right; I don’t belong there.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” Hawk doesn’t even hesitate in his response. “I want you to know that you’re welcome there anytime.”

  Melissa smiles sadly, pleased that Hawk seems to be past the combative stage. But at the same time, she knows that if he’s happy for her to be around then perhaps that means he’s over what they had, perhaps he’s realized that it wasn’t such a big deal after all. The thought of that hurts way more than how he’d treated her the night before.

  “Thanks. That means a lot.” Her voice wobbles a little as she fights the emotion threatening to overtake her.

  Hawk nods slowly, still not looking at her. The silence stretches out between them.

  “If you’re here to see Felicia, she bailed a little while ago.” He waves vaguely towards the door before he turns away from her, rifling through a tall toolbox.

  Melissa forces the butterflies in her stomach to settle before she takes another step towards him. They’re still a good six feet apart, but that proximity is enough to pull her into his orbit. “I didn’t come to see Felicia. I came to see you.”

  Hawk abruptly stops going through his tools and turns back towards her, his eyebrow raised in that mock questioning way of his that makes him look like a smartass.

  “To talk to you, actually.” Melissa hurriedly changes tack, not wanting to sound like the pathetic ex-girlfriend who is desperate to get back together—despite the fact that the definition sort of sums her up at the moment.

  Hawk searches her face, looking for something and after a few seconds he leans back against the bonnet of the car that he’s been working on. “I’m listening.” He crosses his arms, looking at her expectantly.

  Melissa takes a deep breath, trying not to think how things might have been different if he’d said those words to her that night instead of storming out of her house without letting her explain why she’d lied to him. Instead, she just focuses on what she has to do.

  “I want to explain what happened. The story my editor wanted me to write, why I didn’t tell you in the beginning, and why I told him that I wouldn’t write it.” Melissa looks down at the floor during her speech, scared that if she looks at Hawk that she’ll lose her nerve.

  “I know about the story, the little exposé they wanted about the Kings, and I know why you didn’t tell me right away. You wanted the story; it could have been a big deal for you.” Hawk’s tone is measured, calm. There’s no hint of the anger that he had directed at her when he’d found her press pass carelessly discarded at her desk.

  He shrugs, his broad chest rising and falling with the movement. “Felicia gave me the headlines last night, right around the time that she told me to get my head out of my ass.” He laughs ruefully, and Melissa finds herself smiling; his laugh had always been contagious. It was one of the sounds she loved most, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it until that moment.

  “That’s not exactly how I would have put it, but she does have a point.” Melissa looks up at Hawk through her lashes, watching as a half-smile tugs at his lips. It was as if they had been transported back to the days before the truth about her had come out.

  “You’re not wrong.” His face turns serious. “But don’t push it.”

  The smile fades from Melissa’s lips, and she swallows hard. So much for the good old days, she thinks ruefully. “You said that you knew why I agreed to write the story, but what about why I changed my mind?” Melissa throws the question out like it is a challenge.

  Hawk looks down at the floor, away from her, as if he’s found something intensely interesting at his feet. “You said some things before I left.” He looks back up at her, his dark eyes hardened again, as if he had pulled down the blinds, protection against caring too much. “Were any of them true?”

  Melissa rears back as if he had hit her. “Do you even have to ask me that?” She frowns at him in surprise.

  The look he gives her tells her precisely what she didn’t want to know. “It’s not like you’ve given me a whole lot of reasons to believe your every word, Melissa.”

  She had loved the way that he said her name, as if it were a caress, as if it were beautiful. This time his tone is cold, hard, like it were any other word.

  She nods in understanding. “Alright, I guess I deserved that.” She bites her bottom lip, trying not to fidget under his gaze. “It was all true.”

  She braces herself for his reaction, prepared for him to scoff, to laugh at her, to shout. But he doesn’t do anything. He remains quiet, looking at her enigmatically, making it impossible for Melissa to know what he’s thinking.

  “I told you that I fell for you, for you and the club, for the whole community of it. I couldn’t write the story that my editor wanted. He wanted blood and fear and enough evidence to bring the full force of the authorities down on the Kings. I couldn’t do that, not to you and not to the rest of the guys. That’s the truth, it’s up to you whether you believe it or not.” Melissa spreads her hands open, showing that she has nothing left to give, just the truth. “Take it or leave it, but it is what it is.” She waits for a response from him, something in his eyes that will tell her what he’s thinking. His face is expressionless, not telling her anything.

  “Was there something else?” He waits, watching her with those hawk-like eyes of his.

  “Yes.” Before Melissa can lose her nerve she asks the question that won’t stay buried. “Why did you get all hot and bothered when you saw me talking to Wes?” She plants her hands on her hips, refusing to accept anything but a real answer. “Felicia told me she had to talk you down.”

  Hawk looks down at his feet again and a few minutes go by while he considers what he’s going to say. “You two were looking pretty snug in the bar last night.” It’s a challenge more than a statement, and Melissa is taken aback by the fire in his eyes.

  “I’m not interested in Wes, not in the way that you think. He’s just a friend now.” Melissa waits for a beat, considering this. “In fact, I’m not sure if he’s even that anymore.”

  “And what was he before?” Hawk doesn’t miss anything at all from her tone.

  Melissa takes a deep breath. She knew that this was going to come out sooner or later, that was why she had come here after all, she had just hoped that it would be later. “Wes is an ex. The one I told you about.” She bites her bottom lip, preparing herself for whatever his reaction might be.

  Hawk clenches his fists against his sides and stands bolt upright, taking a few steps towards her, stopping just out of reach. “Wes is the asshole that got physical with you? The guy that won’t leave you alone?”

  Melissa nods mutely, not trusting her voice with him standing so close to her.

  Hawk throws his hands up, looking down at her angrily. “Jesus, Melissa, why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Melissa frowns up at him, his accusatory tone getting her back up. “When was I supposed to do that? When you were shouting at me for being at the bar or when you were ignoring me?” She crosses her arms in front of her chest, refusing to back away from his intense stare.

  Hawk rakes his hands through his hair in frustration, leaving him looking all mussed and sexier than he has any right to. “If I had known that he was the guy, I wouldn’t have let him anywhere near you.” He steps closer to her again, reaching up and stroking the side of her cheek, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear
.

  Melissa can’t help but lean into his touch. There’s no way of telling her body not to respond to him, not to lose its balance around him. She meets his eyes, all dark and reckless with need, with want. “You can’t beat him up for talking to me.” Melissa feels a smile twitch at her lips at the knowledge that Hawk had wanted to do exactly that. It can only mean one thing…that he still cares.

  “I saw you were a little shaken when you left his booth. I wanted to explain to him that no one upsets you. Not when I’m around.” Hawk’s voice is soft and low, and it makes her stomach do little somersaults. He doesn’t take his eyes off of her, as he strokes her cheek with the pad of his thumb. It takes all of Melissa’s strength not to purr.

  “I can take care of myself.” Her voice is husky, filled with need that’s pooling between her thighs.

  Hawk’s eyes burn, but not with anger. This time it’s something else, something that’s even more dangerous for her. “But you don’t have to.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  In one smooth motion, he leans down and pulls her slightly towards him. She melts against him, as their mouths meet hungrily. Melissa moans against his lips, as the kiss deepens. It’s hot and fierce, and she responds eagerly, kissing him hard, kissing him with all the feelings that she’d been dealing with since their fight. She bites his bottom lip, pulling a guttural groan from deep within his chest. His hands move down her back, settling on her and gently kneading her through her skirt, pulling her closer against his arousal. When they come up for air, both of them are breathing hard, their chests rising and falling in unison.

  “You are looking way too sexy right now.” Hawk looks at her, his eyes flaring.

  “I thought…I thought you didn’t care anymore, that you hated me.” Melissa’s voice comes out small, as she looks up at him from under her lowered lashes. She still can’t quite believe that she’s made it back here, into his arms. She’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for him to remember how upset he was with her for betraying him, for lying to him. But she doesn’t see any of that in his eyes.

  He shakes his head, covering her lips with his index finger, as if silencing her lips can quiet her racing brain. “Don’t say that; don’t even think it.” He kisses the corner of her mouth, tracing a line down her neck, making her shiver. “I could never hate you.” His words come in-between the kisses, a whisper against her skin. “And I couldn’t stop caring if I tried.”

  Hawk looks at her intently to make sure that she doesn’t miss his meaning, communicating with his eyes just how much he cares about her. She reaches up on her toes, pulling his head down to hers to kiss him, the heat making the air between them fizzle. His hands are in her hair, sifting through it and massaging her scalp as he deepens the kiss. Melissa thrusts her hips up against his, wanting to feel his hardness against her, the knowledge that she’s the reason he’s so aroused firing her up even more.

  “I missed you.” Her words are muffled against his mouth, but she knows that he hears her, as his kiss becomes more urgent. She sucks on his bottom lip, and it’s as if that is enough to make him explode into action.

  He runs his fingers along her sides, over her breasts, making them pucker and harden immediately under his touch. Melissa reaches down to yank his t-shirt up, wanting to touch his chest, his hard abs, to feel the muscles underneath her hands. They move apart just long enough for him to shrug his top off and throw it unceremoniously onto the floor. Then, he pulls her back towards him again, as if he can’t be apart from her for more than a few seconds. She knows the feeling. All she wants is him; all she needs is him.

  Hawk’s hands are working their way down the buttons of her shirt. He fumbles with the penultimate one and curses at the delay. Impatient, he pulls the rest of the fabric apart and two buttons fall to the floor, but there’s no time to think about that as he pushes the shirt over her shoulders. It doesn’t even reach the ground before his mouth has closed over the fabric of her bra, making her moan. He reaches behind her, unhooking her bra with practiced ease that she didn’t want to think about now, or ever. His mouth on her body is making it impossible to follow any train of thought other than how good his mouth feels against her. He suckles at her nipples, making her arch against him. But she needs more, so much more than just his mouth.

  Melissa’s hands find the button of his jeans, and she pulls, needing to feel him against her. In an answering growl, Hawk grabs hold of Melissa’s ass, pressing her against his arousal, making her squirm in anticipation, in need. He shucks up her skirt so it’s around her hips, exposing her to him.

  “Hold on.” His voice is a commanding growl, and she obeys without even thinking twice about it, wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifts her up. Automatically, she encircles his waist with her legs, kissing his jawline, his mouth, breathing in the scent of him, as he carries her over to the bonnet of the car he’d been working on and sits her down on top of it. He kisses her hard, greedily, his eyes dark and full of need.

  He slides his hand along her inner thigh, making her body tingle. “Stockings.” He groans the word out, as if it were the sexiest thing he’s ever seen. Just as he’s about to reach the apex of her thighs, his hand stills and he watches her expectantly. Melissa moans and wriggles against him, desperate for his touch.

  “Hawk, please.” Her voice is a plea, and she twists underneath him, grabbing his waist to bring him closer to her, but he stands fast, enjoying the teasing.

  “Please what, Melissa?” He says her name in that silky way of his, and it makes her even wetter.

  “Please, Hawk, touch me.” Her voice is strangled, as she looks up at him, licking her lips and watching as his eyes flare with arousal.

  “Please is good, Melissa, very polite.” His fingers draw small circles over the soft skin of her inner thigh, edging closer to the hot pool of need between her legs. “Is this what you want?” His fingertips brush the lacy material of her thong, and he takes in a breath as he feels her. “You’re so wet, Melissa.” He says the words reverently, his voice strangled, and Melissa knows that he’s hanging on by a thread, that he needs this as much as she does, that he’s missed this as much as she has.

  “I’ve been thinking about you.” Melissa’s breath comes in short gasps. Her heart is pounding so hard she feels like she can’t quite catch her breath.

  “Oh baby, I was hoping you’d say that.” Hawk’s voice is a low growl, as he roughly pushes the material of her panties to one side and plunges his fingers inside of her.

  Melissa cries out as his thumb circles the sensitive nub of her pussy, his fingers pumping into her at the same time. She grips hard onto his shoulders, helpless to do anything else but hold on for the ride.

  “Come on, Melissa. I want to see you. Come for me.” Hawk’s fingers slide over her wetness, pushing her on, leading her towards her climax. Melissa throws her head back and cries out, letting go as she rides the wave of her pleasure.

  Consciousness slowly seeps its way back into her. But Hawk is far from finished. He looks down at her, breathing hard, his eyes full of intent. She swallows hard, watching him, his fingers wet with her pleasure, unbuttoning his jeans and letting them drop, along with his boxers.

  Greedily, she reaches out to take his length in her hand, twisting and tugging him gently, watching as his eyes flutter closed as he tries to regain some composure. He plants his hands on the bonnet of the car on either side of her, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.

  Melissa finds his mouth, giving him a hot, open-mouthed kiss, probing with her tongue. She’s rewarded by his hands taking hold of her butt and shuffling her further towards him. With a growl, he reaches down and pulls off her soaked panties. Melissa looks up at him, want burning in her eyes, and licks her lips as she takes his shaft and guides it towards her opening. Impatiently, Hawk pushes her skirt up higher, so that he can see them join together and the thought of that is almost enough to send Melissa into another spasm of pleasure. Abruptly, Hawk grabs hold of
her hips and pulls her hard towards him, plunging into her all at once.

  Melissa gasps in surprise as he fills her up. She holds onto him, as he slams into her. He is moving inside of her, as Melissa lifts her hips, wrapping her ankles around his waist, bringing him even closer to her so that he can get deeper. He smashes into her again and again. His thrusts become harder and faster, sweat springing out on his muscular chest at the effort, not only of the movement but also of holding himself in check.

  “Don’t stop.” Melissa’s voice is a plea, as she feels herself building up again towards the top of the rollercoaster.

  “I couldn’t if I wanted to, ‘Mel.” He whispers in her ear, and his voice is so low and sensual that she feels it deep inside of her.

  He thrusts into her again and again and the heat in Melissa’s belly spreads out through her body, making her feel as if there’s a furnace inside of her that needs to be quenched. “Hawk, harder.” She’s moans loudly as he picks up the pace, plunging into her, giving her exactly what she needs, taking her up to the crest of the wave. She cries out, as she tips over the edge, biting his shoulder hard as she climaxes.