Page 21 of Phantom Riders MC: Hawk

The bathroom was good and steamed up by the time I turned off the water and stepped out of the glass enclosure. I grabbed the first towel that I saw and quickly dried off with it, also wringing it through my hair until my hair wasn’t dripping anymore. I was just reaching for the tee I’d brought in with me when I heard someone out in the other room. Crap! With shaking fingers I quickly brought it over my head and smoothed it down my body.

The fogged-up mirror revealed that I’d grabbed a fairly thin, old t-shirt with the Phantom Riders logo on it. Instinctively I knew that it belonged to Hawk. It was massive on me, covering me all the way down to my knees. The soft material felt good against my skin, and I lifted the neck up and inhaled, surprised to find that it smelled like Hawk.

What? I already knew his smell? My mouth turned down in a frown of annoyance.

The bathroom door opened, and I found myself face to face with Hawk. His sharp gaze dropped down my body and moved back up again, so fast that if I’d have blinked I would have missed it. His cold expression didn’t give anything away, so it surprised me when he said, “That’s my favorite t-shirt.”

Of course.

I didn’t hesitate, because I knew how some people felt about their favorite things. “Would you like me to take it off?”

“No,” he said flatly, looking beyond me into the steamy bathroom. He lifted his nose and breathed in. “You smell good.”

I had the feeling that he was trying to figure out why. I laughed softly, fingering the wet strands of my hair. “One of your girlfriends left a bottle of conditioner and I used some.”

His eyes met mine, before he leaned in and sniffed my hair. Then he pulled back. “I don’t have girlfriends.”

“I didn’t think so.” I moved to step around him when he grabbed my arm.

“Why do you say that?” he frowned.

I shrugged. “You don’t like intimacy or kissing and stuff. I just figured that since most girls do like that stuff, it’d be hard for you to find one who didn’t.”

“I never said that I didn’t like intimacy. I don’t do that kissing and foreplay shit—”

“Which is intimacy,” I pointed out. “You like getting your rocks off but it’s all about you. You don’t care what the woman wants because you’re a selfish—” I halted, aware of what I was about to say, forgetting for a second that he’d given me an intense orgasm, even if he hadn’t meant to at the time.

His steely eyes narrowed on me. “Say it,” he demanded between clenched teeth.

“No. You know what you are. What any man is who takes but doesn’t give in return.” I tugged my arm free. “Do you have an extra toothbrush and hairbrush that I can borrow?”

I was surprised when he stepped past me into the bathroom. He yanked open the medicine cabinet over the sink, grabbed something, and then handed it to me without speaking. It was a brand new toothbrush. My gaze moved past it to the tube of toothpaste at the back of the sink. “Thanks.” I quickly tore into the wrapper, coated it with paste, and began to brush my teeth. It was while I was standing back up after rinsing my mouth that I noticed Hawk was still behind me.

I froze, our gazes meeting in the mirror. Holy smokes! I didn’t need to glance down to know that he was naked. God, the man took my breath away, he was that magnificent. The strength in his upper body was obvious, even through the tattoos covering his flesh. Defined, hard muscles rippled down his torso before creating a sexy v-shape to the single muscle hanging between his legs. Was he hard? I couldn’t see it, but I remembered what his cock had felt like in my mouth.

I wanted to turn around and touch him all over. I’d had glimpses of his body before, but not like this, in the bright light of a bathroom. The sight of Hawk was visually stimulating, and before I knew it my body was responding. Smooth heat flushed through me in rippling waves until my body hummed with arousal. My nipples grew taut with awareness, recalling what his mouth felt like. I wanted to squeeze my legs together to stop the sudden ache building there.

The spell was broken when Hawk turned and stepped into the shower. I took a deep breath, cleaned my toothpaste, off the brush and left the bathroom. I needed to distance myself from Hawk before I let him get to me again. It was one thing to be lusting after him, but something about the dark and brooding hulk tugged at my heart strings. The deep, haunting look in his eyes told me there was something buried there, something that had destroyed the man he used to be, leaving behind the shell he was today.

He was a soulless man.

I spied a hairbrush on the shelf above the sink and reached for it, then went and sat on the edge of the bed to work it through my hair. My thoughts went to Carol, my only friend. It was kind of sad if you thought about it, a twenty-five year old woman with only one friend she can trust. She was the one friend Dane hadn’t been able to run off and alienate, because Carol had gotten married and moved away shortly after Dane and I’d begun dating. He’d probably forgotten all about my childhood friend.

I hoped he’d forgotten about her anyway. She was my only way out of the mess that I was in now. I realized I was counting on a lot with Carol because of our past relationship, but when she’d left Vegas to begin her married life with Craig she’d made me promise to call her if I ever needed her. She knew that I’d return the favor if she needed me. But Carol had been lucky in choosing Craig. So far their marriage was rock solid.

The bathroom door opened and Hawk emerged with nothing but a towel wrapped around his lean hips, hanging too low for my peace of mind. I stood up, feeling at a disadvantage on the bed. His gaze moved over me, lingering on my hair and where it was wetting the material that covered my breasts. I glanced down to see what he was so focused on. Yeah, my nipples were hard and looked like two protruding kernels against the thin shirt, just begging for a man’s mouth on them.

I ignored their tingling nuisance. “Are we going to talk now?”

He smirked, but there was no denying the lust darkening his eyes. “Yeah.” There was a brief significant pause. “After.”

For a big man Hawk moved fast, catching me by surprise. A sharp gasp passed through my lips as I found myself backed up against the wall. I felt his hand at the back of my head to cushion the impact, tilting my face up toward his. “After?” My heart was pounding at his move, hot desire quivering in my lower belly. Fuck, I wanted his mouth on mine, but I’d be damned if I was going to put myself in a position of being shot down.

The heat of his damp body practically rolled off of him. His clean, masculine scent made me hungry. What did he mean by after? After what? His expression was a mask of raw dangerous emotion, almost primal as he glared down at me. It was clear that he was undecided, almost afraid, but that was crazy. A man like Hawk wasn’t afraid of anything.

There was a knock at the door and then it partially opened. “Baby—” It was a tall, buxom women wearing a miniscule bikini. Her gaze took us in and the smile on her brightly painted lips disappeared. “I came to take care of you.”

Hawk’s eyes never left mine. “Out,” he growled.

---