Page 79 of Hawk's Sapphire

“It’s never been my plan.”I grunt, and she smiles.

“We’ve been planning this for months.I have everything we need to pull this shit off and get Shea home.I’m not giving up now.”Both her hands come to rest on my cheeks.“I’m doing this.”I try to shake my head, but her hands hold me steady.Her eyes boring into mine.“Look, I need you to listen very carefully.I have a plan.But I can’t do it without your help.If you help me,I will be safe.I can’t trust anyone else to do this.It has to be you.Will you help me?Please.”

I feel my face harden.“No.You’ll have to find someone else.I’m putting my foot down.You’re not going.”My tone is harsher than intended, butwhat the fuck is she thinking?

Sadie pulls back, her hands dropping to my shoulders as she squares her own.Her sapphire eyes darken as she drops her hands, steps back and says with all seriousness, “If you can’t get on board with this, withme…then we’re done here.Pack your things.Matteo, please have your driver take Mr.Hawkins back to Oakridge.”

“What?”I move to grab her arm, but Matteo is there, blocking my path.

It’s suddenly hits me she’s not saying this in anger.She means it.She’s willing to let what we have go—to end us—for Shea.A woman she’s never even met.

Well, fuck that!

“It’s okay, Nathaniel.”Her eyes are glassy with tears, her lower lip quivering.“Like I said before, just chalk it up to a night of fun.Because I’m not ever going to be a doormat and let you walk all over me.I need someone who understands that and realizes my submission is earned, not demanded.”She turns to Matteo and tells him she’ll have everything ready in three days, then walks out of the room leaving me standing here staring at her back.

I want to chase after her.To make her see reason.To spank her fucking ass until she can’t sit for a week.But the tears in her eyes and the pain in her voice leave me rooted in place with a pain like nothing I’ve ever felt radiating through my chest.

“Well, you fucked that up royally, didn’t you, son?”Vincenzo says, his tone one of reproach.

“I’m not your son.”It’s a stupid thing to say, but it’s all I’ve got.

“No.You certainly aren’t,” he says, one brow raised suggestively.“My son would listen and if he did as he was told, he’d get the girl.That is what you want.Isn’t it?”

I turn to face him, my hands fisted at my sides.“Tell me, oh great and powerful Oz, what would you do if you were in my shoes?”

Vincenzo narrows his eyes, pointing a finger in my direction.“First, I’d be mindful that the man I’m disrespecting has a gun aimed at my knees under the table before I made another smartass remark.”

I don’t bother to look under the table.Vincenzo is not a man to bluff.

“Second, I would go with Matteo to The Mansion.You need to be certain you are willing to accept Sadie’s terms, or this relationship will never work.”

“Whatterms?”I have no fucking clue what he’s talking about.

Matteo turns in his seat and faces me.“When a Dom and a sub enter into a relationship, they negotiate terms.Sadie is a natural submissive, but she is also a very strong-willed, independent woman.She needs to be allowed to be herself.Rules are good, but they must be negotiated, and they must fit her lifestyle.As her Dom, or herman, you can’t be so heavy-handed that you strip away who she is at her core.Her safety is of the utmost importance, but understanding and acceptance are just as important for her.”

“I do accept her.I fucking love her,” I snap.

“Then prove it.Help her with this mission.She is determined to put an end to Cusenza for everything he’s done.It’s not just about the sex trafficking.This is Sadie’s way of avenging her family.To make amends for all that’s been lost,” Matteo says.“Did you know Sadie designed a tracking device for herself?The only one of its kind.A way for us to keep tabs on her that no one could trace—exceptyou.”Matteo pauses, letting his words sink in.

The bump on her shoulder.

“She planned for my help all along …fuck.”I scrub my hands through my hair and back down my face.“Why didn’t she tell me before?”

“Perhaps she tried,” Vincenzo suggests.

“You can come with me to The Mansion and let me show you what Sadie needs.Unless, of course, she’s right, and you’d rather cut your losses and have my driver take you to the tarmac so you can get back to your club.”

Fuck no.

33

SADIE

I make it all the way to my room before I lose it.I hate crying, but it seems it’s all I do because of him.

Stripping out of the dress, I toss it in the chair by the window and head into the closet to find something else to wear.I settle on a pair of yoga pants and a Kustom Armor Tattoo t-shirt I stole from Jake and made into a half-shirt.Walking back out into the room, it smells like Hawk.Cinnamon, cedar, with a hint of vanilla—and hot, sweaty sex.

I can’t stay in here.

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