Page 45 of Hawk

“What did I say, baby?” He doesn’t wait for my response. “You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” I whisper, my lower lip quivering.

“Rejoice, Ginger,” he says with a chuckle. “Mission accomplished. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to get you alone all day to have my way with you. Then you came out and gave me the greatest surprise and the best gift. Love you, baby.”

“Love you, Ethan,” I respond.

He kisses me once more, then pulls out and zips himself back up. Hawk reaches for my clothes and helps me to dress.

“Let’s go home.” He takes my hand. I hesitate and wait for him to turn to me. “Etain?”

“Best sex ever, honey. You’re going to have a hard time beating that,” I tease, then enjoy the moment as I hear him laugh.

NINETEEN

Dangers Never Sleep

HAWK

Since the night in the shop with Etain, things have been fantastic. So good that the idea of being with Etain is frightening. Her spunkiness is contagious. The Riders love her, and she makes an effort to fit in. She comes out and joins the rest of us for lunch, jokes around with them, and just plain cares about us.

We wake up together and go home together. You’d think that after two days, I’d want some time alone, but I don’t. She makes me happy, and judging by her expression as she sits across from me at the table, I can see I make her happy too.

“The club is not going to be working at the shop today. We’ve got a date with the Jackals. This is it, babe. Moving forward, we’ll have nothing to do with them,” I say, leaving out the part that there won’t be any of them left to cause us problems.

“It’s dangerous,” she says, concerned.

“No more dangerous than running through enemy territory to capture a rebel leader bent on destroying a village filled with women and children,” I tell her. During our many talks, I gave her some insight into army life and some of the situations our unit was involved in. I kept out the horrifying parts about the dead bodies burnt to a crisp, the children crying for their mothers, and a slew of other ugly details.

“You’re trying to make me stop worrying, but I won’t, you know.” She leaves her chair and settles onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her forehead to mine. “I’ve fallen in love with you. You’re my dream man. You’re smart, funny, sexy, and you have a family who would die for you. You always know what to say to me. When I’m sad, you make it better by just being there. I always thought loving someone takes work, but it doesn’t, because with the right person, it comes easy.”

“Baby, you’re killing me,” I tell her, kissing her softly. “If there was any way I could stay with you today, I would. But I need to take care of us, and that means the Redemption Riders and you and me. You’re one of us now. I’m waiting until this day is over, then announcing you as my old lady.” I cup her cheek. “Do you know what that means to me and the club?”

“It means I belong to you,” she murmurs.

“Yes, but more than that. It tells not only our club, but any other MC what you mean to me. You don’t mess with the women in our circle. Being an old lady comes with its own responsibilities.”

“Like what?”

“You’re the woman who leads the other old ladies, for one.”

“Are there others?”

“Not yet, but I see the door about to swing open. It’ll be your job to see them through the tough times, like this one. You’ll have to keep your head and lead them into what it means to be part of the club,” I explain. “Can you do that for me?”

“For you, I’d walk through fire,” she answers.

I close my eyes and thank God above for sending Etain my way.

Etain

It’s been a couple of hours since Hawk left. He didn’t want me to be alone all day and asked me to call Sasha and see if she’d hang out for the day. Hawk also left Declan behind to keep an eye on things.

Normally, it’s Lee and Declan, but this time, only one is with me. This tells me that whatever’s going down today needs all the men they can get.

“Sasha and I will be fine if?—”

“Not happening, Etain. Hawk says I stay, then I stay,” Declan insists.

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