“What else was decided tonight?” he whispered against my skin, I shivered and my arms slid around him, the one at the bottom forcing its way under his weight so I could get to the sleek skin and muscled contours of his back.

“They gave me food for thought,” I replied also in a whisper and felt his smile against my neck.

“Right,” he returned quietly then I felt his tongue.

Mm.

My hands started moving on his back as I pressed my h*ps into his and his thigh moved higher.

Mm.

“Troy says you’re gonna walk all over me,” I announced for reasons unknown even to me and I said it. “In combat boots,” I finished.

His head went back to the pillows. “You talked with Troy?”

I nodded against the pillows, wishing I hadn’t said anything because saying something lost me his mouth. “After Ginger.”

“Babe, he doesn’t know me enough to say shit like that.”

“He said the same thing. You didn’t know him enough to say what you said to him.”

“I see he didn’t take that opportunity to man up,” Hawk muttered.

“It was harsh, Hawk,” I whispered.

“It was real, Gwen,” he returned. “I pissed around with you for a year and a half without makin’ any real moves and any time in that time you could have moved on. How long’s he been doin’ it and what’s the chance that, he doesn’t wake the f**k up, he’ll do it again with another woman?”

Well, he had a point there.

“He told me he’s in love with me,” I shared again on a whisper.

Hawk’s body went still then his hand slid from my ass, up my ribs to cup my breast.

Then he did a nipple swipe.

Yowza.

“Then he’ll appreciate it when you tell him, no matter what happens, I promised you I’d handle you with care,” he whispered back

Um… yowza!

“Hawk,” I breathed but he lifted my breast, bent his head and pulled my nipple into his mouth.

Yowzayowzayowza!

I moaned.

His mouth released my breast, it came to mine as his thumb circled my hard nipple and he ordered, “Touch yourself, baby, while I work your tits.”

“’Kay,” I agreed on a breath and did as ordered.

The instant my finger touched the golden spot, his head slanted, his mouth took mine in a kiss, his finger met his thumb for a nipple roll and that’s when I forgot about Troy, cosmos with the girl posse and living in my head. I dropped my imaginary hand, stopped fending Hawk off and lived in the now.

Chapter Twenty-Two

All I Can Ask

Hawk flipped me to my back.

“Baby,” I gasped. “I wasn’t done.”

He ground his c**k into me. “You got a time limit up there, Sweet Pea,” he grunted. “You can’t bring it home, I take over.”

This was true. Hawk allowed the top for awhile. Then, if I couldn’t “bring it home”, he stopped allowing it.

Like now. Now, he pulled up my leg, kept it high with his bicep behind my knee, arm wrapped around, hand warm on my inner thigh and lifted up with his other hand in the bed, arm straight.

Then I watched his head drop so he could study our connection, his eyes heated, his face hungry. He liked what he was seeing. Just watching him, I felt a strong, pre-orgasm vibration.

Then he did that thing he does with his hips, I whimpered because I really, really liked that thing he does with his h*ps then he started driving into me again.

“Hawk,” I breathed, my hand trailing down, my fingers separating around his pounding cock, feeling our connection, the power of him riding me. Beautiful. Wet. Hard. Hot.

His eyes came to mine and he did that thing with his h*ps again, my neck arched and I came.

Not long after, Hawk did the same.

He released my leg and his heat and weight came to me. I took it gladly, welcoming it by wrapping all four limbs around him.

His face was in my neck and I glided my nose down his shoulder.

God, he smelled good.

His mouth came to my ear. “Got shit to do, babe,” he murmured.

It was morning. The morning after the girl posse meeting of the minds. The morning after he promised to handle me with care.

“Okay,” I whispered.

Even though he had things to do, again this was no first thing in the morning nookie, slam bam, thank you ma’am. His mouth came to mine and he kissed me lightly and again then again before he nipped my bottom lip.

Shit but I liked when he did that.

So much that when he started to roll off me, I rolled with him so I was on top, straddling him, my forearms in the bed, my br**sts brushing his chest, my hair framing both our faces.

One of his hands spanned my hip, the other one gathered one side of my hair, holding it at my neck.

“Gwen,” he said softly.

God, I really loved my name.

I lifted a hand and put it to his face, my thumb moving over his brow, his cheekbone, to where his dimple would be if he was smiling then across his lips and he let me do this, his eyes locked to mine.

“Do you promise to handle me with care?” I whispered, my heart racing.

His hand at my hip curved around my waist pulling me down to him and his hand at my neck did the same so our faces were a breath away.

“Promise,” he whispered back.

“Swear?” I pushed.

“Swear, baby.”

“You had a hand up too, Hawk,” I told him.

“Dropped it awhile ago, Gwen.”

Shit. He had. He totally had.

I nodded then bent my head the quarter inch I needed to touch my lips to his. His arms got tight, he rolled me to my back and my lip touch became a long, hard, wet, delicious kiss.

His head came up and he asked, “You just give me you?”

“I’m gonna try,” I answered.

“All I can ask, Sweet Pea,” he muttered did the triple touch with his lips again, denied me the nip then stated, “We’re goin’ out tonight.”

Oh yeah. I liked that.

“Okay.”

“Dress sweet for me, baby,” he ordered.

“Okay,” I repeated.

He smiled down at me, his dimples popping out then I got the belated nip on my lower lip.

Nice.

* * * * *

“Babe,” Hawk answered his phone.

It was early afternoon and without the freezer full of frozen Twix bars calling my name, firebombs, drive-bys and commandos installing security systems, I’d had two days of uninterrupted, flat out work. I was getting ahead of the game. I had another author send me her files but the deadline was far away, so work was steady, I was golden and my invoices that month were going to be awesome.