Page 8 of Taming Hawke

“Beat it, jerk,” Tess growls at the guy, and I burst out laughing as she raises her fist to him. The guy immediately pulls back and turns away, hitting on another woman to his right without a pause.

“Thank you, Tess,” Jasmine says.

“No worries, hon. I thought we might have needed Torch again,” Tess explains. “My treat. What does everyone want to drink?”

We all yell “Tequila!” except for Jasmine, who asks for a soda.

We continue drinking our drinks, and take a seat at one of the nearby tables. Jasmine can’t help but bring up the wedding, and we all laugh when she informs us Quill has agreed to wear a black tux with tails, and has promised he will get his boys to wear the same. I laugh out loud. “I don’t know how you do it, Jazz, but getting Quill to wear a suit, and the others, is just a frickin’ miracle. I must admit, though, I’m dying to see my man in a suit,” I say as I picture Hawke in a suit, clean-cut with his hair tied back. My clit throbs at the image.

“Well,” Jasmine says, smirking. “I told him no sex till after the wedding if he didn’t do this for me, and let’s just say he was soon agreeing to everything my heart desires.” Jasmine giggles as she takes her straw in her mouth, taking a sip of her soda and winking at me.

“It’s so romantic,” Tristan interjects. “The fact that Quill and you are getting married at your parents’ ranch. I must say, Jasmine, you picked yourself a keeper.”

Jasmine sighs and sits back in her chair. “I know, I really have,” she agrees, lost in thought as she stirs her drink with her straw and looks at something in the distance.

I click my fingers in front of her face. “Stay with us, Jazz, where are your thoughts at?”

Her cheeks flush, and I know it must be something dirty so I don’t push her. Thinking of dirty, I can’t wait to get home to my man tonight and let him have his way with me. He started something back at my apartment and I can still feel his touch between my thighs. I’ve been all riled up since, and I need Hawke to give me what my body so desperately craves.

We continue talking about our dresses for the wedding. Jasmine of course has chosen me as her maid of honor, and Tess and Hailey are bridesmaids. I’ll be partnering with Hawke, Tess with Blaze, and Hailey will be with Gunner. We have our last fitting tomorrow for our dresses, and Jasmine had them designed for us by one of the top dressmakers in New York, so I can’t wait to try mine on. She’s chosen a stunning design in silver silk that hugs all our curves, but flows at the bottom down to our feet. It’s a gorgeous dress.

I look up from my drink and notice heads are turned toward the club’s front doors. There’s a hush that surrounds the room, only the music breaking the sudden silence of the crowd. We all follow the crowds’ line of vision and gasp when we see Quill and the others walking through the club. Quill’s eyes land on Jasmine, and I see relief in her eyes when she looks up at him. I search behind Quill, looking for Hawke, but he’s not there.

Once Quill reaches Jasmine, he cups her neck and smashes his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. So fucking hot. He pulls back and smiles. “Sorry, baby, I couldn’t stay away,” he explains with his panty-dropping grin. I can see why Jasmine fell for him at first sight.

They met at his father’s hotel. Jasmine was there to arrange flowers provided from her business, in the hotel foyer, and Quill turned up to have a meeting with his father. Jasmine owns a florist shop, and Hailey and I work for her. From the moment Quill set his sights on her at the hotel, he wanted her, and wasn’t taking no for an answer. I could see at the time why Jasmine had her reservations, even though she was attracted to him from the get-go. She’d been burnt before by her ex-husband, Nic. Nic was her first love, but ruined their marriage when he hid a gambling addiction from Jasmine. The truth came to the surface one day when Jasmine got home to a sign in her front yard, saying that their home was for sale by auction. He had lost everything of theirs. Jasmine couldn’t keep up with Nic’s lies anymore. She tried, but he was proving to be hiding a lot more than she’d ever expected. When Jasmine got divorced, she moved in with me and swore she would never let a man take advantage of her again. So when she met Quill, she fought their connection and tried to fight him off. But Quill was persistent, and with his good looks and alpha personality, he left her no choice but to give in to him.

Don’t get me wrong, Jasmine is a strong woman and can stand up to Quill, but she fell in love with him. Sure, they had their moments, like when his ex-girlfriend went all crazy and got Jasmine kidnapped, but that’s another story. All that matters is they’re happy now. They have a baby on the way, and they’re getting married next week. They are true soulmates, and I only hope Hawke and I will have our chance at the same kind of happiness.

I do sense that Hawke’s not telling me something, though. For starters, he hasn’t actually said the words “I love you,” but his actions toward me prove to me he does. Something—and I have no idea what—is holding him back from saying the words. I’ve tried to bring it up with him, trying to work out if it’s maybe something to do with his past, but he keeps saying when he’s ready he’ll talk. But I’m getting a little impatient. I need to know where I stand with Hawke. Does he love me? Does he want me in his future? All I know is that when we’re together and intimate, he shows me what I mean to him with the way he makes love to me.

Yeah, I know! Makes love. It’s hard to believe that a bad-boy biker like Hawke can actually make love, but he does. Not saying I don’t like it hard and fast. Believe me, Hawke impatient to have me is the hottest thing ever.

I love everything about him. I never thought I’d fall for a biker, but I have. Sure, there are downfalls that come with dating a biker. Lots of women have slept with him, for one. I’ve seen the way Cassie stares daggers at me when I’m around the club. She’s made it obvious she’s had him in her bed. I know I should let the past stay in the past, but her little taunts, like saying that she knows how he tastes, make me furious.

Now I know what Jasmine went through when she dealt with Jess. Jess was Quill’s ex, and a club whore. After what went down with the Gypsy Brothers, Jess was killed when Jasmine was taken hostage by them. They were trying to get Quill’s club to agree on a coke deal. After Jess tried everything in her power to break up Jasmine and Quill, and it didn’t work, she left the Blood Brothers MC and ran to the bed of one of their rivals. There she became the old lady of Cannon, the Gypsy Brothers president, who’s now also dead.

Hawke tells me to ignore Cassie, and believe me when I say I’ve tried, but I can feel there’s something he’s not telling me. I’ll give him time to open up to me, like he promised he would, but I’m growing a little impatient.

Jasmine pulls back from Quill’s kiss, and her eyes turn soft at his confession that he couldn’t stay away from her. Torch and Rhyder join us and Quill slaps Torch on the shoulder. “Thanks for the heads-up, brother.”

“What heads-up?” Jasmine asks.

“We heard some douche was messing with Luisa, and that some guy touched my woman,” Quill says narrowing his eyes at Jasmine.She sighs and rolls her eyes. “Babe, it was nothing. Tess handled him.”

“Tess?” he questions and smiles wide at Tess.

“That’s right, I took care of him,” Tess responds.

“That’s my Mujer,” Blaze says in Spanish before he cups Tess’s asscheeks and kisses her.

I miss my man.

Looking at the other club members, I see Trigger. “Where’s Hawke?” I ask him.

Just before Trigger is about to answer, Quill interrupts. “He had something to take care of for me. He’s fine,” he adds, but there’s something in his facial expression that’s not quite convincing.

“Oh.” I bite on the inside of my cheek, trying to conceal my disappointment. “Tonight? But it’s your bachelor party.”

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