“I think it’s time for that. Once Linden and Emmit lose track of you…they’re going to retrace your steps.”
“Fuck. I’ll call them right now.” She set her mug down on the table and stood.
“Make your call but don’t think I forgot what we were talking about before this.”
She ignored him as she rushed for the backyard to keep a semblance of privacy. He shook his head. The woman was a frustrating combination of contradictions. Damn near meek one minute and roaring like a lioness the next. It created a kind of crazy he found himself drawn to. Of all the times to be attracted to a female. He slowed his thoughts down, the way he did everything when he had a mission to carry out. A few minutes later she returned.
“I left a few voicemails and sent some texts. We’ll see what happens next.”
“Anything else you want to share?” Hawk finished his coffee set the mug on the table and leaned forward, studying her.
“That was it.”
“You sure about that?”
“What?” She laughed. “You don’t believe me?”
“I’m still deciding. But for your sake, I hope you’re telling the truth.”
She swallowed hard. “I am.”
“We’re in this thing together now. So, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I need your complete trust. There are things I won’t be able to explain to you, but my directions, no matter how infuriating they may seem, should be followed to the letter. It might mean the difference between life and death.”
“I get it, Hawk. I’m not stupid.”
“No, but all of this is new to you.” He studied her face. “You done with your food?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, then let’s get dressed. I want to take you out and teach you how to shoot.” She opened her mouth, and he shook his head. “No. This isn’t an optional. You strike me as the type
of woman who likes to be her own hero, and the people we’re up against don’t fight fair. To even the odds you need to be ready to get your hands dirty. You feel me?”
“Y-Yes.”
“If it’s going to be them or you, babe, they’re always going to choose them. So you need to get your mind right and adopt the same mentality.”
“Is that what you do?” She glanced up at him from beneath curly, thick lashes. Without a stitch of makeup on, she might be the prettiest thing he’d seen in months.
“Damn straight. I was born into this chaos. I live that philosophy. This world is a cruel, cold, callous place where mostly might makes right. You got to be prepared to take what you want and kill to protect it once you got it.”
“Seems so cold.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. It’s never steered me wrong, though. To make it out alive you got to get a little hard.”
“I don’t want to believe that,” she said. Her shoulders slumped, and some of the liveliness left her.
If she were anyone else, he’d have told her to suck it up and get a move on. But her vulnerability did funny things to him. “Not hard to the core. Just enough to protect your delicate bits and do what you have to.”
She peered up at him as if he’d suddenly hung the moon, and warning bells chimed in his head. He pushed back his chain and stood. “I’m going to get ready. I’ll meet you in the living room in twenty.” The more distance he put between them, the better he felt.
He cursed her as he shed his clothes and stepped inside the shower with a raging hard-on. Images of her full lips parted and trembling while she looked at him with dewy eyes made him groan. No one had ever looked at him that way before. After Rayen had been locked up, he’d gone on a spree, fucking and fighting his way through the pain. The fighting had slowed down, but the women continued in and out of his life like a revolving door. Now he had a proper fucking lady with the body of a goddess making him feel things best left to others.
He palmed his dick and stroked, imagining her lips parting as she sucked him down. He grunted, tugging harder. He could practically feel the slick heat of her mouth. Thrusting his hips, he fucked his hand until he found blissful release and emptied all he had to give. Learning to shoot was an up close and personal task. Now at least he wouldn’t embarrass her and distract himself. Slumped against the shower, he groaned. Shit, I need to get laid soon. He caught his breath and stood up, grabbing the shower soap from the shelf and squirting some in his hand. The familiar scent grounded him and he got his eyes back on the prize.
They were still in the trial period. While he didn’t believe she’d ever betray them intentionally, her priorities tended to be whack. If she thought it infringed on the rights of others, she’d hold back important information. The real question was how he’d get her to let him inside far enough to figure out how to get her to open up. Why the hell did Tiny think I was the man for this job? Keeping someone safe was one thing, but all this mental work gave him a damn headache.
Hell, Casanova would have her panties off, and her mouth moving a mile a minute while she spilled her guts in no time. Thoughts of her doing anything with the blond-haired man made him growl. Like it or not, something inside of him claimed Hilary as his. He just needed to figure out what that meant exactly while he bulldozed her walls.