Page 22 of Hawk

On the plus side, meeting Sasha and finding a friend in the midst of the insane changes going on is nothing short of a miracle. I used to be an outgoing person and loved meeting new people, but my sole focus became Robert, and I lost who I was. My bad, I mentally chastise myself.

In one fell swoop, I met a friend, found my place, and have found a full-time job. All the nervousness I had when I walked into the garage disappeared when I saw Hawk. The more I get to know Hawk, the easier it gets to open up to him. When Hawk laid it all out, I should have shut him down. I should have said I’m not ready for a relationship. It’s too soon. There’s too much going on in your club. There is so much I could have said, but instead, I kissed him. And it was hot! So hot!

He tastes so good, and the way his soft, firm lips moved over mine made my knees weak and my head spin. One kiss and I needed to change my panties.

It sucks that the Jackals are jerking Hawk and his brothers around. It’s a power struggle, and in the MC world, it’s probably uglier than I could imagine. It bothers me that a Jackal is sitting outside my place, watching my house. I got a creepy feeling when Gunner came to our table and eyed me like frosting on a cake he wanted to lick. Ewww! He makes my skin crawl.

Any normal woman would pack up her belongings and skip town, start over someplace else. I’ve never been normal. It’s like I’m a mix of rational and irrational. I’m an expert when it comes to money matters and planning. The logical side of me thinks ahead. But there’s this other side of me where I follow my gut and do what feels right, and staying where I am with Hawk feels right.

Being around Sasha feels right. I know there’s so much she isn’t saying, and I hope one day, she’ll trust me enough to share what’s going on with her. I want to be as good a friend to her as she’s being to me.

And Hawk, well, it’s crazy, and I can’t explain what I feel. I feel alive! Hawk was honest. Even about the ugly part about the club having troubles. He was giving me an out, making it my choice. And I pounced, kissing him like a desperate wanton, needing to feel his body against mine.

Well, Etain Rogan Huggart, you’ve signed up for a wild ride with Hawk and Redemption Riders. Is this safe? Who knows! What I do know is that I won’t forget my own dreams this time around.

I’m so lost in my own thoughts that I don’t notice Hawk and Drifter coming back inside until Hawk comes into view. He watches me intently, tilting his head.

“Did I leave you alone for too long?” Hawk asks. He’s worried I’ve changed my mind. A normal woman would, but as I’ve already established, normal isn’t an option for me.

I push a mug toward him across the counter, then another to Drifter.

“Cookie?” I hold out a plate and give him a grin.

Hawk smiles. Drifter chuckles and takes a cookie.

“What’s the plan, handsome?” I ask.

“I’m spending the night, babe,” he says. I lift my brows. “Keeping you safe,” he adds quietly. As much as Drifter tries to give us space, I live in a tiny home. There’s no way he can’t hear us talking.

“Am I unsafe?”

“Not with Redemption Riders in your corner,” Hawks says, coming to me and putting his arms around my waist. His voice still soft, he says, “The Jackals are setting us up for a fall. We know this, and we have a plan. Last time, our man Phantom paid the price. This time, we’re ready for them. Gunner saw you today. And he saw me. He knows what kind of man I am and figured out you mean something to me. He’s trying to rattle me. For my piece of mind, I’m asking that you ride this out with me. There’ll be a Rider with you whenever I can’t be. I know it’s a lot to take seeing as you’ve already been through enough in the last few days to last you a lifetime, but I’m asking anyway.”

“Like a bodyguard?”

He nods. He must sense my hesitation. “It’s who I am, Ginger.”

“I don’t want to lose who I am,” I declare.

“I don’t want that either. I’m asking you to give me time to sort this out. After that, if you want to go back to school, I’ll be glad to date a co-ed,” he teases.

I giggle. That’s something else I haven’t done in a long time. Laugh. I’ve laughed more in the last two days than I have in two years.

“I think I might be crazy, but okay.”

Drifter hangs with us for a while longer, then finishes his coffee and takes two more cookies. Surprisingly, he’s got a great sense of humor. He’s intimidating as hell when you first meet him and would scare the life out of anyone in a dark alley, but he can be funny. He’s got the kind of dry sense of humor where you’re not quite sure if he’s kidding or not, but then his sly grin tells you he’s pulling your leg.

He’s handsome in a different way from Hawk. His light brown hair looks like soft sand from a Caribbean beach, and his chocolate-brown eyes are deep. They look like they hold a lot of secrets. He has a scar that runs across his temple close to the hairline, but that doesn’t take away from his good looks. It adds an air of mystery to his already mysterious nature.

Hawk is hotter, in my opinion, but that could be because I’ve already had his kiss, and it’s branded into my memory forever. I find myself staring at his mouth, and when he catches me looking, he squeezes my knee as he sits on the couch next to me. He whispers in my ear, “Keep looking at me like that, and Drifter’s gonna catch an eyeful of what I do to you with my mouth.”

Drifter is sitting in the armchair across from us. With the two of them in the living room, there isn’t much space for anything else.

“Hitting the road, Hawk. I’ve got to get me some sleep,” Drifter says, setting down his empty mug and rising from his seat. I’m sure he caught what Hawk was murmuring and is making himself scarce.

“We’ll meet you at the shop at eight. Gather the others for nine,” Hawk tells him. They clasp their hands together in some manly handshake, and Hawk walks him to the door, securing the lock before heading back to me.

I collect the cups and carry them to the sink. I hate leaving dishes until morning, so I give them a quick wash. Boy, oh boy, I’m becoming my mother! She always says, “Why leave it to tomorrow when it takes seconds to get it down today?”

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