Chapter Eight
Fucking priceless.
The horror on Amy’s face was worth the embarrassment of his grandmother coming in and finding them discussing a ball gag. One he had no intention of using. After the handcuffs, he’d meant it as a joke.
She’d given her virginity to him. The sex had been intense, but in the light of day, it was nothing more than passion. Maybe subconsciously he was trying to push her away just a bit. In hindsight, it was a dick move.
He’d lost himself with her. But he had control now.
Though, she did look hot in that dress. And that hair… Once again, he had images of her bending over a desk with him pounding—
“Hawke.” Granny snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Girl, I think you’ve got this boy in a trance. He can’t stop looking at you, and from that tic in his jaw, you’ve got him tied up in all kinds of knots. Hmm. Maybe this craziness is for real, after all. Didn’t invite me to the wedding, but looks like you might have hooked him well and good. Well, hallelujah.”
“Sorry. What was that?” he asked his grandmother. Her blue eyes stared him down, the same look she’d given him when he was a kid and she wondered if he were telling her the truth. He loved her, but she had instincts about people like no one else he’d ever known. If she didn’t believe this was real, there was no way he’d get the company. He needed focus, but he couldn’t stop looking at Amy’s hair. She’d done something. He had images of it splayed against a pillow.
His grandmother snapped her fingers again. “I said you should take her on a tour of the dealership. He’s got eight more of these around Texas, and more all over the United States. I’m proud of him. Hard-headed little son-of-a-bitch when he was a kid. But he turned out all right. That ball gag might come in handy, though. He’s got a mouth on him, along with that head of stone.”
“Hard-headed? Imagine that,” Amy said.
Hawke chuckled. Somehow, he’d known they’d get along. Not that it mattered. Amy wouldn’t be around more than a couple of months. Funny, after one night he was having a hard time reminding himself, the guy who never fucked a woman more than once, that this was temporary.
“Take her around and show her the place. And then let’s go get drinks at Pinks.”
Hawke sobered. “Uh. I took her to Rudy’s last night. She damn near caused a riot with those legs of hers.”
The ballerina frowned. “That’s a lie. There was no riot. He just didn’t want other men looking at my legs. So jealous, this one.” She rolled her eyes, and his cock tightened against the buttons of his jeans. What was it about her? Normally, that sort of behavior just pissed him off.
“Oh, she’s got your number. And I heard about that. Sherilynn and Cannon both called me this morning. Got to admit, I was a little peeved about not being invited to the party.”
His grandmother’s hands were on her hips. He was about to get a lecture.
“Didn’t invite his own grandmother to his wedding or his reception.” Granny’s voice had that edge to it. The one where he wasn’t sure if she was going to start the silent treatment, which she’d made into an art form, or whack him in the head.
He sighed. “I didn’t want to spring the whole family on her all at once. We can all be a bit much. And I didn’t invite any of them; they found out from that big-mouthed best friend of mine. I’m sorry. You should have been the first person I called when we decided to get married.” He had to stop this before she started asking too many questions about why he was being so secretive.
“Everything’s been fast. People don’t tend to believe things like this happen in real life. I didn’t—at least, not until I saw Amy for the first time.” Naked in my pool. Wait. No. This wasn’t real. This was him trying to save face. “I didn’t want to scare the hell out of her, okay? She’s a ballerina. She’s not used to our people. It’s that simple. She’s a very quiet kind of woman.”
“Our people?” Granny gave Amy the once-over. “You a snob?”
Amy shook her head. “No, ma’am. Hawke’s just overprotective. I didn’t even get a piece of my wedding cake. Not going to forgive him for that one. He hauled me out on his shoulder like some kind of caveman because he didn’t like that I was dancing without him. But he doesn’t like to dance. I’m still trying to figure that one out.”
His grandmother grinned. Yeah, she definitely liked Amy. “Well, I think you can handle us, and it’s best to find out now rather than on down the road.”
“I’d love to meet for drinks,” Amy said. “You should invite the whole family.” She glanced up at Hawke. “I’m tougher than I look. We dancers don’t scare easily. And let’s be very clear, your lack of an invitation didn’t have anything to do with me. I might be quiet, but I’m definitely a more-the-merrier type of person. It was my stubborn, overprotective husband. We’ll be working on that.”
Granny slapped his desk. “Has some spunk, yep. She might just be your match.”
He had to give it to the ballerina. She gave as good as she got.
“I’ll see you kids later.” His grandmother left, probably to tell the rest of the family that his new wife had given him a ball gag to shut him up. That had backfired. He could just imagine the fucking jokes coming his way when they did all get together.
“So, do you want to see the place?”
Her eyebrow shot up. She was pissed. He didn’t blame her.
He was a dick.
“I’m here. Might as well. But let’s make one thing perfectly clear.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t ever send me another gift like that. Not if you like your nuts where they are.”
Damn. He really liked her sometimes.
“Noted.”
…
Amy tried to stay mad at the asshole, but it was tough. He was so passionate about the dealership. And the people here loved him. They all smiled and greeted him as “Boss.”
“This is the garage where it all started,” he said. “My dad opened the place as a custom shop where we fitted Hogs. And then about eight years ago, I got us our first license to sell Harleys.”
Eight years. “You couldn’t have been more than eighteen.”
“Just. But I’ve been working on these beauties since I could pick up a wrench. I’ve always loved these machines.” He ran his hands across the handle bars with such care. She pushed aside images of those hands traveling up her body.
Mad. Angry. Furious. At him. Remember.
“School was something I had to get through so I could go to the shop in the afternoon. Granny is the reason I’m not an illiterate fool. She made me study and do my homework.”
“She’s proud of you.” Amy wasn’t sure what she thought about this side of Hawke. It was easier to think of him as the asshole. She didn’t want to like him.
He was also the guy who took her virginity and then sent her a ball gag.
He didn’t take it. You gave it freely.
She sighed. And she’d do it again and again.
Maybe she shouldn’t have romantic notions, but she could have fun for the next two months. Hot nights with a sexy biker dude—there were worse ways to spend time. And she’d learned so much last night that she had a feeling two months with Hawke would not be long enough to discover everything she wanted to know.
“Thanks for the tour. You go ahead and do whatever you need to do in your office. I need to talk to Belinda.”
“Belinda?” His brows furrowed.
“Don’t worry that pretty little head of yours,” she said. This was almost fun. “What time do we go to the bar?”
“I don’t know. I guess around seven.”
“All right.”
“Wait.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. Then he captured her lips and kissed the shit out of her.
Once again, her stupid body pressed itself against him, and she warmed from the inside out.
There were whistles all around them.
“You look hot,” he said against her lips before letting her go.
“Babe”—she slid her hand across his cock, which hardened—“you have no idea how hot things are about to get.”
Then she left him standing there with his mouth open.
She was a woman with a plan, and she was going to show him she had his number in more ways than one.
Twenty minutes later, she was putting her plan into action. “Try these.” Belinda shoved some leather pants into the dressing room where Amy had stripped. Hawke had a type, and she had a feeling she knew what it was. While she was fine with the woman she was, it didn’t mean she couldn’t step out of her comfort zone and have a lot of fun at the same time. Besides, she was supposed to sell this relationship to his family. She had to show she could fit in.
She pulled on the pants. They were tight and warm, but they kind of did amazing things to her ass. After checking the tag, she had to sit down on the lone stool in the dressing room. “This shit is expensive.”
“Boss gets a pretty big discount. We’ll just put it on his account. He won’t care,” Belinda said.
Yes, but Amy cared. She didn’t want to owe him anything. It was enough that she’d taken the fifty thou to get her brother out of trouble.
She wouldn’t take a penny more. But she wasn’t averse to using a discount. “How much of a discount?” she asked.
“About seventy-five percent,” Belinda said. “That’s pretty much buying it for cost.”
“Okay, I’ll take the pants. And can you get me the tank, one size smaller?”
She waited while Belinda brought her the top. It was obscene how tight it was, but it made her boobs look bigger. And she needed all the help she could get there. No way could she compare with some of the women she’d seen at the club. But at least hers were real, and she wasn’t as flat chested as many of the dancers she worked with at the company.
“Damn,” Belinda said when Amy came out of the dressing room. “I’m about as straight as they come, but I’d do you.”
Amy laughed.
“The boss is gonna flip his shit when he sees you.”
That’s what she was hoping. “Thanks.” She handed over her credit card.
“I don’t think he’d want you to pay.” Belinda eyed the card with disdain.
Amy shrugged. “Yeah, but I want to.”
Belinda ran the card and then handed her the bags with her other clothing.
“So, is this more his type?” Amy asked.
The other woman smiled. “Oh yeah.”
Excellent.
Five minutes later, she entered his office for the second time.
“Dad, I told you. I love her. Yes, I’m looking out for her. Yes. No reason for you guys to come home early. I shipped the papers to you in Fiji. Yep. It was sudden, but she’s something else. Knocked me for a loop. Yep. Fell hard. Chip off the old block, but this one is going to stick. She’s it for me.”
Hawke shoved a hand through his hair.
That was what he did when he was nervous.
He was talking about her, to his dad. And lying through his teeth.
Amy faltered, and then backed down the stairs.
“She’s beautiful. No. Yeah, we’ll figure it out. It’s been fast, but when you know, you know, right? Yes. They all love her as much as I do. Lucky she was at the house, or I might not have ever met her. Weird is right. But we’re happy.”
“Okay. Yep. See you in a month. No, really. We’re good. It’s time for you to enjoy life and be happy with your wife. I’ve got this.”
She waited a few seconds before entering. He’d been staring at his laptop but whistled when she walked in.
“Uh, shit. You were hot before, but damn.”
“Thought I’d try being one of your kind of people tonight, since you seemed to think I might have a difficult time fitting in.”
He looked confused for a second and then smiled.
He was kind of beautiful when he did that.
“Don’t mind Granny. She liked you.”
Amy wasn’t so sure about that. “If you say so. She has one of those stares that go right through you. She kind of scared the hell out of me, though I’d never admit it to her.”
“That’s a good idea. Never show weakness with her. I love her, and she’s the dearest part of my family, but she has a way about her. Impossible to lie to her. So best to keep to what is true. We’re married. We’re having fun. It’s fast, so no one expects us to know that much about one another.”
“Got it. The drinks tonight…it’s more of an interview or something, right? She’ll be looking for any breaks in our story?”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’ll be fine. They just love me. And after my dad—well, he’s been married a few times. I’m sure your mom knows all that. He hasn’t kept it much of a secret. They’re going to be a bit curious, especially Granny.”
She was nervous, even more so than yesterday. The idea of all this make-believe was easy when it was just the two of them, but now his family was involved. Her mom had been shocked. Then she’d sent a picture of Hawke and said he was the kindest man she’d ever met. Kind of rough on the outside, but a teddy bear on the inside. In the small amount of time she’d seen him with his family—that protective side of him where he always made sure they were okay. “I’m a performer, I can handle it.”
“So, you ever ridden on the back of a Hog?” he asked, leading her down the stairs.
“Nope. But then, I’m ready to try a lot of things I haven’t done before.” This was her summer to live. She’d see what it was like to be “normal.” Then she could go back to the studio and her career and really focus. But she’d never again wonder what it would be like to have a relationship. And she’d have a husband for at least a while. She wondered what some of her friends, those who called her the Ice Princess, would think about that. Yes, she didn’t talk much around them, or date, but that didn’t mean she deserved that title. She was a professional. She’d spent the last fifteen years working her ass off. One summer to see how other people lived––that’s all she wanted.
And there was something about him that made her feel bold—like he wanted her to challenge him. And she never backed down from a challenge.
His eyebrow went up. “Never realized dancers were so adventurous.”
You have no idea.