Wind howls against the shutter and a crack of thunder hits the house forcing me to jump.

Hawk leans down toward me, landing his lips on mine, his body softening against me.

My eyes close and I let him hold me, let him kiss me, and let the world slowly disappear as he lifts his t-shirt off my body and moves his lips down over my neck and onto my collarbone. My head arches back giving him more space to move as I run my hand down over his solid back. The tiny black bikini and his thin cotton shorts the only thing separating us.

“I should stop,” he groans. “I’m not sure I can hold back if we go much further.”

My heart is racing. I want to reach down and touch him, run my hand over his cock, feel the weight of his thickness in my hand, but I hold off, letting him set the pace. Besides, I should tell him what I’ve been holding onto about Brick before we get any closer.

He rolls off the top of me and lies beside me in bed, pulling me on top of his chest, my head now listening to his heart hammer.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” he says, kissing my forehead gently. He’s been so kind, so tender, so sweet with me. I want him to know everything.

“I remembered something else about Brick. Something I didn’t tell anyone yet,” I say, a lump forming in my throat.

“What is it?” he asks, still stroking my back with the tip of his finger.

“Can it be just between us?” Knowing how close they are, I hate that I’m asking him to keep a secret, but I’m scared of Reaper’s reaction.

He pauses for a long while, as though he’s thinking over the question. “I promise I’ll let you tell them, but depending on what it is, we may need to tell them sooner than later. If you’re scared of Reaper, we can talk to him together.” There’s so much care in Hawk’s voice that I feel safe. Safer than I did before anyway.

I suck in a deep breath and sit up from the bed, looking him in the eye before I narrow into his ear and whisper the secret I’ve been holding in since yesterday. The one I’m pretty sure is going to change everything.

6

Reaper

Two days down, two to fucking go. Last night was a mess getting all the shutters up, but I think we’re good in the worst-case scenario that the storm turns into a full-blown hurricane, but it doesn’t look like it will. So at least we have that working for us.

I drink down the last sip of my coffee and set the mug in the sink. Everyone is still quiet in the house, at least I think they are. No one has made a peep since I got up. That and Lexi seems to have disappeared. Which would be much more disturbing if I didn’t hear her talking to Hawk late last night in his room.

I knew that guy was getting charmed way to fucking quick. I hope he didn’t do anything stupid. He’s a nice guy, but he’s gullible as hell. She could’ve been in there telling him she’s the Queen of fucking England and he’d have believed her.

I take a deep breath and make my way out the front door and down to the boathouse, wicking rain away from my face as I walk. A nice quiet start to the day, getting things ready for the trip will be a nice break from everything that’s been going on. Besides, I could use some time to think. But as I near the boathouse, I notice the padlock is off the door, someone must be inside already.

Fucking hell.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask Hawk who’s putting towels and pillows in the boat.

He leaving on his own now?

“Ah, just trying to make things more comfortable for Lexi. She’s been through so much. I’m sure she’s anxious to get back on the water again.” He’s spent so long talking to her he knows more than I do, and I don’t like it.

“Well, let’s not spend too much time on that. We’ve got enough shit to worry about,” I growl, checking that the gas tanks are still full. “I heard you two got pretty close last night.”

He pauses and turns toward me like a deer in headlights. I know he told her something, but I have to play it cool and see if he’ll spill before I go in hard. “What? What did you hear?”

“Fuck,” I laugh. “What did you guys do? You’re looking pretty guilty.”

He looks away and smiles, brushing me off. He’s hiding something.

He shakes his head. “Do? We didn’t do anything. We just ya know… we just kissed and I—”

“Kissed?” I say, trying to keep my blood from boiling over. “Well, you don’t waste time.”

His face turns red and a coy smile lifts as he goes back to packing. He’s still hiding something.

“What else?” I ask, straightening my shoulders as I walk toward him, the boat rocking in the water a bit as I move.