Page 29 of Leading Conviction
According to Hawk’s ancient radio alarm clock that Hannah suspected had belonged to his late pops, it was six a.m. That meant it was five a.m. in Mérida and from the way she’d tossed and turned, there was no way she’d slept more than three and a half hours throughout the night. She was practically delirious.
Hawk’s probably up, too.
Her eyes widened at the unbidden thought.
Now IknowI’m delirious. Why the hell would I care about that?
She frowned and shook her head before finally calling it quits and rolling silently out of bed. It wasn’t like she’d ever wake up Tommy. The boy slept like the logs he sawed. But looking at the blank ceiling all night had sparked two ideas and she wanted to see them both through before Tommy woke.
The first was that she still owed him a batch of tea. She hoped the facility had the brand she liked, but she’d settle for any tea at this point. Tommy needed a sense of normalcy in this new home and she was hoping she could help him find it with a simple glass of sweet iced tea.
The second thing she wanted to do had been on her mind since they’d flown in and landed on the BlackStone Securities roof helipad last night. The facility was at the bottom of the Appalachian Mountains and they’d arrived too late to properly see the view, so she’d been itching to check it out.
Without making a sound, she quickly grabbed her duffel bag and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She changed into worn jeans and a simple T-shirt with a scoop neck so she could tuck her necklace underneath and braided her hair. She slid into a pair of sneakers and waited for one of Tommy’s particularly obnoxious snores before opening the door and walking backward to sneak out.
After closing the door behind her softly, she smiled to herself at the little bubble of excitement in her chest. Without wasting another second, she spun around on her heel… and crashed into a broad man carrying a large bundle in his arms.
She opened her mouth to shriek, but the man lunged at her and cupped his calloused hand over her mouth. The movement made her stumble against the wall, bringing them both into the dim light.
“Shiffft,” Hawk mumbled what sounded like a curse past a paintbrush he clenched between his teeth. He spit the stick out of his mouth into one of the many bags he’d shifted to hold in one hand so he could silence her with the other. “Shh, Han, it’s just me, dove. Don’t be scared.”
At his assurance, the pounding in her chest immediately subsided. Whether he meant to, or not, his entire body had her flush against the wall. His scent overwhelmed her and she closed her eyes, letting her body relax underneath his touch, just like it used to.
Her breaths slowed and she opened her eyes again to see his lips lifting in a grin that didn’t reach all the way to his eyes.
“There you go. That’s it.” He gently removed his hand from her mouth. “You okay?”
He didn’t step back, and shock tingled her skin as she realized she didn’t want him to. His strong chest rose and fell with hers as he searched her face for answers and his sturdy frame clad in his black long-sleeve Henley nearly eclipsed the light in the hallway. What shined through highlighted the muscles in his sharp jawline as they ticced with concern.
“Hannah?”
Her eyes shot up to his hooded gaze. “Yeah?”
“You okay, dove?”
The liquid velvet in his words made her lower belly flip and she dropped her gaze to the lush lips the delicious voice dripped from. It’d been so long since she’d been this close to any man at all, let alone Hawk, and her drained body had a mind of its own.
Hawk leaned closer, and she perched on her tiptoes. He balled his hand into a fist above her head as he caged her in, making her feel safe from the world. A plastic bag bumped into her breasts—
Wait.
Hannah jolted and pushed Hawk’s chest lightly. It was only enough to put an inch between them, but he stumbled back.
“Sorry, I—”
“Damn, Hannah, I’m sorry—”
The blurted-out words collided between them and they both paused before chuckling.
“Sorry about that,” she tried again. “I don’t know what came over me. I think I’m still half-asleep.” She chuckled awkwardly before continuing, “Old habits die hard, I guess.”
“Yeah… uh, I didn’t sleep very well either.” A flicker of hurt wrinkled his face and then it was gone. That almost smile spread over his lips again, and her fingers itched to trace its ever-so-slight curve. “Then again, not all habits have to die, you know. Some are good for you.”
His implication sent tingles up her spine, but before she could respond, he cleared his throat and laid the bags down beside the door.
“Been shopping?” she asked and grimaced. “I mean not right now, of course, the sun hasn’t even risen yet.”
“Yeah, actually. Ellie brought some clothes from the clinic in one of those bags. The other came from a craft store in town. I’m glad you woke up in time—”
