Page 8 of A Lifetime of Afters
I gasped. He knew my hair was my pride and joy. Long, lush, slightly wavy, the ends curved in the most arresting ways, lending my twitchy fingers the very best of fidgets.
My hands flew to my head. “No!”
He grimaced as he came closer and took a whiff. “Yes.” Spinning he headed back to his truck, tossing orders over his shoulder, “Get in your car.”
His broad shoulders rocked as he stalked away. Dark curls snuck out beneath his beanie. Worn jeans stretched across thick thighs.
He’d changed since the last time I’d seen him. Not all those changes were good, but physically, he was even more of a powerhouse.
My head tipped to the side.
What was it about the way men moved that so fascinated me? This particular man’s walk made me want to spread my thighs. Filled me with the sudden urge to fall to my knees. A picture of us flashed in my brain. My palms braced against the hard length of his thighs, the hair crisp beneath my palms. His hands in my hair, hips flexing…
“Stop daydreaming, Noelle, and get in the damn car! It’s freezing out here and no matter how bad you smell I’ve gotta get you up to the house and get you warm.”
I snapped out of my lust-induced haze in time to see his back as he continued away from me. Gah! The man infuriated me. I dropped to my haunches and made three snowballs in quick succession. Back in the day, they called me ‘the sniper’. It had been awhile, but I hoped I hadn’t lost my touch.
The first struck him in the middle of his back.
He jerked to a stop, an actual growl reverberating from his chest.
I hummed with satisfaction.
The second hit the back of his neck. I stood with my arm cocked back, poised, ready.
He slowly turned around to face me.
I imagined him gathering his temper and laughed softly to myself in anticipation as I let go and hit him square in the face. “Bullseye,” I whispered.
He roared as he swiped the snow from his cheeks and barreled toward me. “Noelle, what the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m going to toss that round arse into the snow!”
Pressing my lips together primly, I forced a serene expression onto my face though I felt anything but. Fire raged and ice burned as a maelstrom of adrenalin ripped through me. Sadness, loneliness. The pain of rejection. The bittersweet of homecoming. People who should have still been there but weren’t. Unrequited love.
I’d never felt so alive.
“Your mama’s not here to correct your manners so I took matters into my own hands.” I brushed the snow from my hands and held them up to illustrate my point.
Grabbing them in both of his, he yelled. “These hands, Noelle? These near frost-bitten hands? Fuck me, but is there a single, solitary thought left in your head?” Transferring both my hands to one of his, he unzipped his coat and shoved my fingers under his armpits.
I wiggled my fingers and laughed. “What are you doing?”
“You need to get into your goddamn car so I can get you up to the house,” he growled.
With my hands locked under his arms, I searched his eyes. Eyes I’d known my entire life. Eyes that used to smile into mine. Eyes that filled with sorrow and regret as he turned me away.
Eyes that now sparked with fury and impatience.
Where was the Hawk I once knew? The one who would have tossed me over his shoulder before tossing me into the nearest snowbank?
Too many years had passed, and he was obviously not the same man. Another loss.
I sniffed, mortified to feel the icy kiss of a tear on my cheek, and attempted to tug my hands away.
His chest heaved with a sigh. “Noelle… I’m sorry… Seeing you out here asleep in your car in the freezing cold… it did a number on me.”
Sudden and aching chagrin consumed me. Of course. “I’m so sorry, Hawk,” I murmured.
He dropped his head to look at the ground. “Let’s get you up to the house.” He drew my hands out from under his arms and led me to his truck.
