When he called me ‘baby’, I couldn’t help but melt into him. He rarely called me that. It was always ‘sweetheart’ or ‘angel’. I was a stupid, weak idiot when he used that one little word. I let my eyes flutter open and focused on the wall across the room. “Everything okay at the bar?”
“Yeah, everything is good. Bash just had some club stuff to talk to me about.” His nose nuzzled my ear and I tried hard to hold in my gasp of pleasure. “You smell good, baby.”
My teeth sunk into my bottom lip to keep from moaning as his teeth nipped at my earlobe. It was something that I’d been daydreaming about for weeks now, but I couldn’t help wondering if he was drunk. Hawk hadn’t ever come on to me like this before. Even in his sleep, when he touched me it was only ever to pull me closer and kiss my forehead.
“Wh-what are you doing, Hawk?” I breathed when he pulled my lower body even closer to his lower half. His hips rocked against my bottom and I realized that he wasn’t wearing his normal sleep pants. He was in his boxers and it did nothing to mask the fact that he was very much aroused.
“Trying to show you that you aren’t the only one that cares, baby.” His breath was hot on my neck but it made gooseflesh pop up along my entire body. “I care about you, Gracie. I’m sorry I haven’t showed you before now, but I was trying to take things slow. I didn’t know if what that fucking monster had done was still haunting you or not. I didn’t want to scare you with what I’ve been feeling and taint what we could have with that sick bastard’s memories.”
I think my heart literally stopped. Was I dreaming? There was no way he could be saying all this for real… Right? Needing to know, I turned in his arms. He relaxed his hold on me enough to let me move so that we were face to face. The light from the bathroom was still on, so I could see his face clearly.
I’d seen more than my share of drunken men in my lifetime. My father had been drunk nearly every night of my childhood and before his and my mother’s death, it had been a near all-day thing. So when I looked into Hawk’s green eyes I knew what to look for. They looked tired, but there was no glassiness, no bloodshot whites. His face wasn’t flushed with drunkenness and except for the hint of mint from his toothpaste I didn’t smell any lingering alcohol on his breath.
He was completely sober.
Was I dreaming then? I bit into my lip harder and when I felt a drop of blood beading up and the sting of the pain, I knew for sure that I was wide awake.
Hawk growled, his eyes trained on my lips. “Don’t do that, baby,” he commanded in a rough voice. “Are you okay?” He lifted a hand, his thumb rubbed over my now sore bottom lip. When he wiped away my blood, his eyes darkened. “I would kill someone if they hurt you, Gracie. You hurting yourself like that does not put me in a good place. Why did you do that?”
I licked away the remaining smear of blood. “I wasn’t sure if I was still sleeping or not,” I told him honestly. Lying to Hawk, even to protect my pride, just wasn’t something I could do. He deserved my complete honesty and loyalty.
His eyes widened and his nose flared. “Baby, there are other ways to make sure you are awake or not. Hurting yourself is not one of them. Want me to show you?” Before I could even open my mouth his big hands slipped down my back and cupped my bottom. I gasped as he pulled me in closer, my legs parting of their own volition. “Gracie?”
His voice was strained, but I could feel that he was holding back, waiting for me to give him permission to show me how he could prove I was awake. I knew what was coming, knew that he was going to kiss me as soon as I gave him the green light. Hawk’s kiss was something I’d wanted almost from the moment I’d met him—give or take six or so hours. If it were anyone else I wasn’t so sure if I could have gotten over what had nearly happened to me, but with this man I knew I was safe. I knew that he would never physically hurt me.
I’d known that from the first morning I’d woken up with him beside me in this very bed. There was no hesitation in my nod or as I opened my mouth to tell him yes. The nod was confirmation enough, though, and his lips were brushing over mine before the smallest sound could escape.
His breath had felt hot on my neck, but it was scalding as it burned over my lips a millisecond before his hungry mouth connected with mine. His tongue stroked across mine and I got my first real taste of him. It was minty from his toothpaste, but with the next taste I caught the flavor of something more potent underneath. It was sweet, incredibly intoxicating, and went straight to my head.
With the next swipe of his tongue over mine my hands lifted without me realizing it. My fingers combed through his hair and tangled at his neck, holding on like it was a lifeline, as I suddenly realized I could easily drown in what Hawk Hannigan made me feel.
His teeth nipped over my bottom lip moments before he soothed my self-inflicted wound with his tongue. My body was quickly going up in flames and I was in no doubt about whether I was awake or not. His hands tightened on my bottom, holding me against him as his hips grinded against my lower stomach. My panties flooded with my desire for him. I couldn’t hold back a moan as his hardness nudged over a swollen, sensitive spot that made stars flash behind my closed eyes.
When Hawk lifted his head he was breathing hard, his fingers like vices on my bottom as he pressed his forehead against my own. “Damn, baby. If I knew one kiss would do that to me I would have done it a hell of a lot sooner.”
My own breathing was coming in small, quick pants. “Yeah, me too.”
His lips, damp from our kiss, lifted in a small grin. “We will definitely be doing more of that from now on,” he promised and kissed the tip of my nose. “But if you are serious about going to work for Uncle Jack in the morning, you better lie still so that we can get some sleep.”
I swallowed my disappointment and nodded. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Wake me before you leave,” he murmured as he brushed his lips over my forehead before tucking me under his chin. “And take the Chevelle. Everyone knows that it’s mine and they won’t fuck with you if they see you driving it.”
“Okay,” I breathed, cuddling deeper against his chest. The sound of his heart was wild and it made me smile knowing that he was still just as affected by that incredible kiss as I was.
“Night, baby.”
“Goodnight, Hawk,” I murmured. I was asleep within minutes.
--
When the alarm went off, I was half tempted to throw it across the room. I was still wrapped up in Hawk’s arms, almost chained to his body from the way his arms were so tight around me. Reluctantly I wiggled my way free and hit the off button on my alarm a little rougher than necessary.
Behind me, Hawk grumbled something in his sleep and I turned to look down at him. I still couldn’t believe that he had kissed me last night—well, this morning. Whatever. The kiss had rocked my world. Shifting, because just thinking about that kiss made my panties damp, I quickly climbed out of bed and hurried through a shower.
When I came out, wrapped in my robe because I’d forgotten clean clothes, it was to find Hawk still sleeping. The covers had shifted off him and were now barely covering his waist. One hand was slung over his head, the other resting just inches from the waistband of his boxers. His chest was bare—he rarely slept with a shirt on, so I was able to eat up the sight of his hard chest and sculpted abdomen. He had just a hint of blond hair covering his chest, and a small trail of it went from his navel and down.
What was it about that kiss that made me want to climb back into bed with him and spend the morning just making out with him? Normally I would have been able to mostly ignore him and get ready without being tempted to attack his mouth—and other parts of his sinfully delicious body. Sighing, I forced myself to look away from him.
I grabbed the first things I saw hanging in the closet other than Hawk’s clothes: jeans and a simple, white button-up shirt that I could easily change out of when I got to Aggie’s later that evening. I dressed in the bathroom and then sat down on the edge of the bed to pul
l on a pair of running shoes. Simple tennis shoes had not been all that comfortable the day before, so I was going for the arch support of my running shoes today.
Even though I was leaving my hair down, I still grabbed a ponytail holder for my waitressing shift. I was ready, but I still had to wake Hawk as I’d promised him I would a few hours before. Biting my lip, which was still sore, I reached out and laid a hand against his scruffy jaw.
He rubbed his face against my hand before lifting his hand to cover mine. His eyes barely opened as he turned his face and kissed my palm. “You leaving?”
“Y-yeah,” I murmured, wondering if I was going to have to change my panties before I left or not. That simple, innocent kiss to my hand had my body all kinds of stirred up. Damn, one kiss and I’d turned into some raging nymphomaniac ready to jump him at the slightest touch of his skin against my own.
His lips lifted in a smile against my open hand. “I’ll bring you some lunch.” He kissed my hand again and I wasn’t quick enough to close my mouth before a small moan broke free. His tongue circled my palm twice before he finally released me. “Drive safely, baby.”
I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that when my mind was still stuck on the way his tongue had made my body heat raise from normal to white hot in a matter of seconds. But I gave him a smile, murmured a “see you then” and went dazedly off to work.
Somehow I found my way to Jack’s garage. Raven had given me directions the night before so I knew where I was going. I’d been expecting a small garage and lots of grease everywhere. What I found was a classy bike shop where he sold parts, with a five-car garage in the back where there were already men working on a range of different automobiles. I saw what looked like a classic Harley Davidson in one bay, a simple mom van in another, and even a muscle car in yet another bay.
I parked the Chevelle and got out only to notice that I’d caught the attention of Jack’s mechanics. Five men were watching me from the garage as I shut the door of Hawk’s car and tossed my keys into my purse. I took them all in for a moment. One was an older man with hair grayer than Jack’s, but the others varied in ages from early twenties to mid forties. I didn’t look long enough to see if they were attractive, as I didn’t care if they were or not.
A door that seemed to connect the bike shop to the garage opened and Jack walked out, a grin on his face. “Morning, sweetheart. Glad to see you decided to take me up on my offer.”
I didn’t return the smile. I wasn’t there to play happy families with the man that had abandoned my mother when she had needed him the most, or even to make friends with him. “Yeah, well, the money you promised was just to good to pass up.”
If I was expecting his smile to fade at my cold tone I was disappointed. If anything the grin grew wider and he actually chuckled as he nodded his head toward his men. “Let me introduce you to these dickheads and then I’ll show you where you’ll be working.”
He walked into the first garage bay where the old man was working on the classic Harley. “Gracie, this is Snake. Snake, my granddaughter, Gracie Morgan. She’s gonna be taking care of the garage’s office work.”
I couldn’t keep my eyes from widening at the older man’s name. “Snake?” I questioned. “Is that your real name?”
Jack threw his head back and laughed out loud and Snake gave me a grin as he wiped his grease-covered hands on an old rag. When his hand was clean he offered it to me and I hesitated only for a moment before shaking it. “It’s the only one I know now, Gracie. My momma gave me the name of Chester, but Snake suits me better.”
“It sure as hell does,” Jack assured him, still chuckling. “If you need anything, Gracie, you just let Snake know. If the other boys give you a hard time you come talk to me. Make sure you talk to me before you tell Hawk so I can take care of it before he takes care of them. I like these dickheads and don’t need that boy burying any of them unless I know first.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t tattle, Jack.”
“No one said you did, girl. But if anyone gives you a hard time, I expect to be told. Yeah?”
I blew out a long sigh. “Yeah.”
He nodded and then introduced the other four mechanics. There was Clutch, who was the youngest of them. He was probably just a year or so older than me and he had a grin that told me he was an easy sort of guy to get along with. Onyx was the forty-something man who gave me a small smile but otherwise went back to working on the mom van. I figured that like Snake and Clutch, Onyx wasn’t his real name but instead was the one the MC had given him. But I could definitely see why they’d called him Onyx. His black eyes gleamed like the gemstones. I could also see that Clutch and Onyx were related, not because they looked so similar, but from their eyes alone.
Harley told me that his name was the one his momma gave him. He was no older than thirty if I was guessing, and he gave me a smile that was a mixture of friendly and appraising. He didn’t make me feel threatened, exactly, just really uncomfortable. I forced a smile back at him and rushed to shake the last man’s hand. His name was Trigger, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know how he’d gotten that club name. The man was a little older than Onyx, but despite his name I actually felt kind of safe when his big hand clasped mine.
“Nice to meet you, Gracie,” he murmured. “I knew your momma. She…” he broke off and shook his head. “She was a really good girl. You look just like her.”
I swallowed hard and gave him the best smile I could produce, considering I was so close to tears that someone other than myself would think her such a good person. In my eyes, my mother was the best mother ever. Despite what my father had done to her she had been fiery and full of life. I just hated that the man who had cost her the rest of her precious life shared DNA with me. “Thanks, Trigger.”
“I’m going to put Gracie to work now, boys.” I gave Trigger another smile and turned to follow Jack into the garage’s office. “Bash usually works here a few days a week too. Monday thru Wednesday. Thursday thru Saturday he takes care of club business for the most part. When he was enforcer, he sometimes had to take care of inner club issues for a few other charters. Now that he’s president, that stuff falls to Spider to take care of,” Jack told me as he showed me into the office. “Anyway, don’t be surprised when you see him Monday morning.”
“Okay,” I said and nodded before taking a seat behind the desk he had led me to. It was neat enough, with a few papers that looked like order forms already waiting on me. There was an older computer already on with a screensaver of a motorcycle driving from side to side.
For the next forty or so minutes, Jack told me what he expected of me and gave me a crash course on how to put in orders, who to call for parts, and how to set up appointments. I also found out how to give customers prices and how to write up a bill for them. It was all basic things that I caught on to fairly quickly. By lunchtime I was confident in my ability to run the office for Jack and he was more than comfortable enough to leave me on my own while he went out to pick up a few parts that Trigger needed for the truck he was working on.
My stomach started to grumble, letting me know that I hadn’t stopped long enough to grab so much as a toaster pastry breakfast. Hawk had said he would bring me lunch but I was starting to wonder if he had forgotten. Disappointment filled me not because I’d been looking forward to whatever meal he was going to bring me, but because I’d been excited to see him.
Sighing, I picked up my purse. Jack had told me to just hang the sign that I was out to lunch when I was ready to take my break. I turned it over so that everyone would know I would be back in half an hour and headed out. As I walked toward the Chevelle I heard one of the guys call my name and I lifted my head with a forced smile when I realized it was Harley.
I stopped and waited as he jogged toward me. “You going to lunch?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Want me to bring you guys back anything?”
“Nah, we’re good. We ordered a few pizzas, actually, so if you want to stay and eat with us
that’s cool.” He glanced back toward the other guys and I followed his gaze. Onyx and Snake were still working, but on different vehicles than what I’d seen them working on that morning. Trigger and Clutch, however, were watching us.
I wouldn’t have minded eating with the other guys, but Harley really made me uncomfortable, so I smiled and started to shake my head when I heard the rumble of a motorcycle pulling into the parking lot behind me. My heart started racing as soon as I turned my head and saw Hawk sitting on his hog. Completely forgetting about the man standing there waiting for my answer I just barely contained my need to sprint across the parking lot toward the big blond biker god getting off his bike and pulling a sack of food from Aggie’s from his saddlebag.
Seeing me, Hawk grinned and opened his arms. Without hesitating I wrapped mine around his waist as he pulled me against him almost roughly. Warm lips pressed a kiss into my forehead. “Did you think I’d forgotten about you, baby?”
I shrugged. “You were half asleep when I left this morning. It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings if you had.”
“I definitely was not half asleep, sweetheart. One taste of your skin and I was wide awake. Couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up and had breakfast with Raven and Lexa.” Another kiss to my forehead and he stepped back, offering me the bag of food. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” The smell of the food coming from the bag was making my stomach hurt I was so hungry. “Will you eat with me?”
“That was my plan.” He grasped my hand and linked our fingers, tugging me back toward the garage’s office.
Harley was still standing where I’d left him, a grim smile on his face as Hawk and I passed him. “Hey, brother,” Hawk greeted him with a smile of his own. “You been taking care of my girl?”
“Didn’t know she was your girl, but yeah. We’ve been taking good care of her.” Harley muttered something under his breath, making Hawk’s hold on my hand tighten, but I didn’t hear what he’d said. After a tense moment where Hawk turned a cold glare on the man he went back to the garage bay he’d been working in all day. “Later, man.”