Page 137 of Wrecked
She stood there, mesmerized by his every movement. When he opened his eyes, his gaze met hers. But she couldn’t tell if he was surprised she was still standing there. He didn’t give anything away, except that he was now sporting an impressive erection.
She wanted to blurt out, “I can help with that.” Instead, she said, “Do you have a hair dryer?”
“Center drawer between the sinks.”
She should have taken the dryer and left, but she didn’t want to be alone. Not now, and certainly not when they could be together. She removed the towel wrapping her hair and started drying. He was done showering before she’d finished.
It had been years since she’d gotten ready beside a man. College, senior year. She had a boyfriend who would stay at her place sometimes, until she found out he was splitting his time between her and hisothergirlfriend. He wasn’t invited back. But that was nothing compared to her post-college boyfriend. He’d been a real doozy.
Hawk finished toweling off, but rather than leave, he studied his whiskered face in the mirror. “Shave or no shave?”
If he was going to be kissing her, that three-day-old stubble might feel like a porcupine. But from a purely visual perspective, the dark whiskers looked sexy as hell.
“It stays,” he answered himself, before leaving her alone in his bathroom.
With the towel still wrapped around her, she exited.
Hawk was pulling on shorts as she made her way into the guest bedroom. After dressing in a shirt and shorts, she went downstairs.
He was in the kitchen ladling blueberry-dotted pancake batter onto a griddle. An egg carton and package of turkey bacon waited on the counter.
“We gotta eat something,” he said, “then we need a plan. Two people are dead. You arenotgonna become number three, but we can’t hide here. We’ve got a club to manage and I’ve got a company to run. You can’t work on your BLACK OPS project here. We’re going in a bunch of different directions, but we gotta stick together.”
She went in search of a frying pan. “How do you like your eggs?”
“Not raw.”
His snarky comments always made her smile. But not today. Today, nothing was funny.
Despite their grief, he was pushing forward. She appreciated that about him. After finding the pan, she got busy. She had no appetite, but he was right. Food first, then a plan.
“Computer, jazz music,” he said, and sound floated down from speakers built into the walls.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m never okay, but life goes on, right? You cried enough for both of us.”
What does ‘I’m never okay’ mean?
As she fried up the bacon and eggs, she thought about Sin’s words.He never says no to close friends or family. Ever wonder why?
She hadn’t, until now. As she glanced around his spacious kitchen, she thought about how he never talked about his past. Did Hawk have secrets? What skeletons would she find by living under his roof?
19
HAWK’S MAJOR EFFIN’ SECURITY BREACH
Hawk loved having Addison in his home. Always had. Except now, he wanted her in his bedroom, not staying in the room down the hall. Seeing her in his shower had jump-started his libido. But Hawk did not deserve to feel good, on any level. While Barry’s loss had gutted him, his only concern now was protecting Addison.
With her plate in-hand, she made her way toward the French doors leading to the balcony.
“Whoa, woman, where are you going?” Hawk asked, stepping in front of her.
“To eat outside.”
“We can’t discuss our plan on the balcony. I’ve got neighbors.”
They sat at his kitchen table. Having her there made it feel more like a home, something he hadn’t had in a long time. As he handed her the maple syrup, he soaked up the view.
