CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Oh, look. It’s the invisible biker.”  - Gia

 

 

Gia managed to get through the next three days of a no-show Hawk with simmering anger propelling her through each hour. She unpacked most of the boxes for the bedrooms and kitchen and muttered about how she was going to punch him right in the junk the next time she saw him. After three texts and evasive replies of him busy working she’d grown increasingly pissed off, so she’d turned to ignoring him instead.

Five missed calls later she was feeling proud of herself for not pouncing on the phone.

Being messed around was not a nice feeling.

In fact, she felt fucking crappy.

Like he’d followed through with what he’d said he would do for Rider in getting her here and all he’d said to her about sex was just a bare faced lie, pacifying her so she probably wouldn’t chew his ear off.

Whatever. His loss. Which was a big, fat lie.

She’d never be done with Hawk and she felt foolish about that truth. Here she was an intelligent woman, capable of anything she set her mind to and she was churned up over being snubbed by the man she loved.

Men lied every single day. She just hadn’t expected it from Hawk.

First thing first, she was a Marinos before she was a woman, and no one got anything over a Marinos woman. He was in for a world of pain when he showed his face.

“Don’t bother with yucky boys, Harper,” she told her niece kneeling on the thick carpeted floor with the flaying, gorgeous cherub. “They’re all bad news and they’ll give you such a headache.” Harper squealed, pulling Gia’s hair. She laughed kissing the baby’s cheek, lifting her into her lap just in time to see Zara return from the inspection of her sprawling, rented bungalow.

Lawless really had come up with the goods for her. She’d expected a poky little house, maybe a studio apartment, not a three bed, two bath gorgeous detached bungalow in a great part of town with enough space she wouldn’t be bothered by noisy neighbors. The kitchen was open plan, twice the size of the living area and Gia felt at home instantly. Even the yard led out from elegant French doors. The main bedroom was her favorite spot, with a nook in the large bay window for reading and plenty of floor space with a walk-in closet.

“It’s amazing, I love the sunken bath tub and the yard is perfect for cookouts in the summer, plus it could easily have a pool if that’s what you wanted if you buy one day. I vote yay! We can have girl’s night out there with wine and music.” Zara said retaking her seat on the couch.

“And no bikers allowed,” Gia grinned.

The house was a disaster zone, piles of empty boxes, furniture in the wrong rooms, windows with no blinds or curtains and she was still eating takeout because the pantry was empty. But her one success was her office finished and ready for her first online session in the morning.

Cuddling her niece dressed in pale pink pants and a sweater that read ‘Biker Princess’ on the front in glitter writing, Gia grinned, pretended to eat her fingers sending the baby into a fit of the most adorable giggles, making Gia’s ovaries clutch.

She wanted this. Her own family.

“I’m keeping her, Zara.” She announced. “It’s only fair you know you’ll be going home alone, you can drop her stroller and diapers off tomorrow.”

Zara laughed. “You say that, but Rider’s already planning overnight babysitting for you.”

“I’ll do it.” Easy to agree. Harper was the happiest baby. Gia was in love. “Though, how is my brother going to let her go for a full night? He has attachment issues.”

Zara giggled. “You’re not wrong, it’s a wonder I can push him out the door for work every day. He is unashamedly in love with his doodle-bug. And her with him.” Gia knew this having watched her brother with his daughter yesterday. Better than that, he was happier than a horse in stud. The sun rose and set on his Zara. She’d felt a pinch of envy watching them together.

A heavy roar of a bike alerted them. “I bet that’s him now, can’t stay away from his girls for long,” Gia joked bouncing Harper on her lap.

But it wasn’t Rider striding through the door Zara opened.

It was the man who made her heart clutch in a grip so tight she felt it in her toes.

Before she beamed a grin at him she steeled her eyes and glared holding Harper as a shield in case she had the idea of vaulting over the foot rest and wrapping her legs around his gorgeous face.

“Something you need?” She asked coolly.

Gia heard Zara gasp and cover her giggle with a stealthy cough.

Hawk didn’t look anywhere but at Gia.

Not at Zara.

Not the baby Gia was cuddling. And he didn’t pay the large living room a second glance. His hands pushed into his leather jacket pockets, standing as tall as he was, he looked both out of place and right at home in the arched doorway streaking his gaze over her like he had a right to.

Gia felt the look.

It circled her belly and slithered heatedly directly up towards her heart.

A claiming look and she was in no doubt what he was here for.

For her.

Spit dried on her tongue. She distracted her rapping heart by burying her face in the baby’s sweet scent. “I might have been wrong with what I told you, darling.” She told Harper because butterflies were manic in her mid-section from just a stare from Hawk. “But let’s keep an open discussion, okay?” Harper blew raspberries and yanked Gia’s earring. She took it as an okay, theía.

She wasn’t letting him off so easy. “If you’re looking for my brother, as you can see he isn’t here.”

“I just left him at the club.”

Gia clicked her tongue. Chin in the air.

Why wasn’t he looking guilty as fuck? Why wasn’t his nose already groveling on the floor?

After a minute of ignoring, and Hawk blatantly eye-fucking her with Zara right there it was her sister in law who spoke. “Did he tell you we’re having people over for an impromptu kind of planned cookout this weekend?”

Hawk swerved his eyes. “No, girl.”

“She has a name. It’s Zara.”

“It’s okay.” Zara reassured to break the obvious tension between Hawk and Gia. “He calls me girl. It’s one of many nicknames the boys have for me.”

“And you had manners last time I saw you.” His tone accused.

“I’m surprised you can recognize manners.” She huffed right back.

They spoke over each other.

Gia stuck her nose in the air, glaring at him.

Zara chuckled and rose. “I better get home, I hate keeping Coop out there. It’s bad enough he has to trail behind me wherever I go.”

Gia already snooped on the cute, younger man outside sitting sideways on his bike, legs parked in front of him with his head buried in his phone.

“The little shit goes where he’s told. I’ll have a word if he’s bitching about it.” Hawk informed looking ready to chew nails.

Why was that hot as hell?

“No. He’s a sweetheart about it all. He even carries my bags when I shop. I still feel bad,” sighed Zara. “But it reassures Rider, so I let him send prospects with me.” Harper packed up, Gia kissed her niece, reluctant to let her go and handed her to her mom. “You be good, my tiny cutie-pie, Auntie Gia loves you best of all. We’ll talk more about stinky boys when I see you tomorrow.” Gia planned to have a girl’s day to stop herself from thinking of the monster eating her alive with his eyes, instead she was kinda hoping to shove Zara and that sweet baby out of the door, so she could —what? Jump his bones? Hell no. He needed to grovel first. On his knees, licking the ground she walked on, and he could say some sweet words too. Yeah, that sounded good. Beg forgiveness for practically ignoring her for months. Okay, a few days, it still felt the same.

“We can throw an extra steak on the grill if you want to stop by for dinner, Hawk.” Zara said. She’d already mentioned to Gia how she wanted to get to know Rider’s VP better. From the look on his blank face he was about to burst Zara’s friendly bubble.

“Gia is gonna make me dinner.” He grunted without removing his eyeballs from Gia’s intestines.

She felt thoroughly eye-fucked.

Was she making him dinner? Momentarily stunned at this piece of new information, Zara was out of the door and Gia waved her off before she came back to her senses.

She was not feeding him!

“You like kids?”

By the time Gia was twelve she’d perfected her mom’s signature scathing glance she gave her dad to make him wither and give in to whatever whim it was at the time. She sent it Hawk’s way, dismissing with a raise of her chin. He didn’t seem fazed by it, dammit. “Doesn’t everyone?” She left him standing there, walking down the other end of the house to the kitchen.

He followed. “No.”

“Hmm. Well I do. And Harper is the best kid.”

The room shrank fifty sizes with Hawk’s towering frame in it and yet Gia successfully managed to ignore him for a full seven minutes while she made coffee, slipping around him, careful not to touch his body, while she opened and closed cabinets, basically doing the work of unpacking she’d done already, in hopes of occupying her hands and her greedy, begging eyes.

All the while her body was shouting that her man was standing right there glowering with his head canted down just watching her, and to get over there and rub all over him already.

Gia attended clinical psychology seminars each year in New York and Chicago. She knew how the mind worked with addictions and behavioural patterns.

She didn’t give in to urges so easily without being cognizant of it.

Even if she was dying to give in to every instinctual urge.

Even if her insides were squeezed tightly with lust and longing and a stirring of anger. But also, she’d had too much of this disappearing from him over the years and that was before the intimacy between them. Finding herself right back in that same unknown position once more was not giving her the warm fuzzies she expected to have.

Understanding and accepting Hawk wasn’t an easy man helped some. This was just how he was. He wouldn’t deliberately hurt her, but he had to know his actions struck home at the deepest point. He had to take responsibility for his own shit.

His eyes watched her movements. Stalking felt truer to the point.

“You wanna explain what bug crawled up your ass?” He asked breaking the silence while Gia sipped the last of her hot coffee nonchalantly.

How was it a man as big as Hawk could move soundlessly on tiled floor wearing squeaky leather soled boots?

She’d barely turned, and her nose almost brushed his chest.

A startled gasp escaped.

“You have a nerve asking me that,” she fired, slamming her empty cup on the counter with force.

“I’m sensing you’re pissed about something.”

She huffed. “Give the man a gold fish.”

He rolled up a brow. “Gonna explain?”

“You ignored me for days and days and waltz in and expect me to be happy to see you?”

“Yeah, I do.” He had the damn nerve to reply. Gia’s eyes practically went nuclear in her head. “You were fine when I left you at your brother’s place.” Slipping out of his leather jacket he tossed it over a chair, followed by his cut, leaving Hawk in a long sleeve white Henley which he pushed up both forearms revealing thick wrists and vein porn for days.

She glared at him. “You don’t get how relationships work, do you? And if you dare say we’re not in a relationship to me right now I will hurt you so good, Colton.”

A palm cupped the side of her head. “Will you?”

Oh, boy. That rough note in his voice box did things to her and she felt herself wilting like day old lettuce.

Take me. Kiss me. Love me.

“I told ya I was going on a club run out of town.”

That was fair, he’d sent a text. A few measly words. And no emoji kisses.

She stuck her nose in the air, as far as his chest would allow. He smelled so good. Clean and earthy. He didn’t push her to say something back. He seemed content to stand holding the side of her face while her brain organized how she felt.

She was unadulterated emotion. Making them opposites on yet something else.

Not a lick of logic in what came out of her mouth next.

All she knew was he’d been gone for days and she’d been lost without him.

As though all the time they’d spent together in Austin meant nothing.

“You’re right by the way. Ignoring my existence has given me time to reassess.” She offered, tilting her head so his thumb stroked her cheek. “Sex between us probably wouldn’t be all that good anyway…I thought you should know I’m finally agreeing with you it’s a bad idea so let’s move on.”

Hawk dropped his hand, flashing his mean, scary scowl. Teaming it with a rumbled disagreeing sound.

Some of the tension trickled out of her limbs.

Biting the inside of her cheek, the timber of that growl reigniting her confidence that he did want her. “I bet the earth wouldn’t even move.” She gave a pithy huff. “Look on the bright side, all the club girls will be pleased to have you back now I’ve stopped chasing you. If you haven’t already…” she let the statement hang in the air because it’d been a nagging thought dragging through her mind late at night.

If he wasn’t in her bed, then was he in someone else’s?

Hawk’s eyes darkened to murderous pools. Rather than fear the strike of his anger Gia found them incredibly beautiful. Deep expressions of his wordless emotions.

“I would have used the time to write a mental grocery list or counted the marks on the ceiling. So, thank you, Colton, you saved us both from mundane fornication. Now we know we shouldn’t sleep together.”

The rumbled noise coming from Hawk’s chest was felt clear through her bones.

“Have you finished?” He grunted without anger.

The last of her anger and tension drifted away, leaving behind a soft wash of warmth every time he grunted between his clenched teeth. Getting Hawk to react was its own reward she’d found.

“Yes.”

He made a new noise.

It was catnip and she was addicted to every expression that came unbidden from this confined man.

“First, you, mouthy little brat; I was out of town, you know that. Had club shit to do and wanted to sort something else before I came back to you. Now I’m back. And I haven’t touched anyone since I got my mouth between your sweet legs and longer before that. Secondly; I make you come plenty, little bit.”

The bottom of Gia’s belly caught fire and it blazed right up to her eyebrows. It took a few measured seconds to speak around the frog in her throat. Provoking him. “That’s oral. Anyone can come with a little tongue wiggling in the right places. Penetration is different.” And then she stoked his fire by adding with a cheeky grin. “But you’re cute for saying so…”

He shoved away from her, huffing and blowing, shifting himself around, giving her his lean back, the shirt stretched over his muscles when both hands went into his long hair.

Gia’s belly almost burst open with glitter she was so delighted, she stifled a giggle into her fist. No point in letting him catch her amused.

Within a millisecond, he was back in her face, her eyes widened.

His brows tugged so low it looked like he had an extra moustache.

“You’ve got a damn nerve calling me cute.” He warned gravel-like.

Her joke backfired in the most spectacular of ways when he stole her air in that way of his just by standing near.

Words didn’t come, and her fingers itched to climb up his chest.

Gia’s mouth opened soundlessly.

“I’d make you gush.” He said matter of fact. “Do you know what that is, Gia? You’d fucking flood for me. You wouldn’t be wet. You’d drench me.”

Oh.

Lord.

Have.

Mercy.

Hawk didn’t stop. His teeth clenched together to match the fists hanging at his sides and his icy rimmed eyes blazed as he stared down at her. “You get my dick inside you, we’d be there a month at least until I satisfied all your aches. Until I’ve put a ribbon of come around that pretty, little neck like a fucking choker necklace.” Then he used a long finger to tip up her chin and Gia nearly swayed in her tennis shoes.

Oh, this man, where did that come from?

She wasn’t complaining. She wanted more sincere, evocative words.

If she could find her tongue she’d beg for more dirty talk.

Already her panties were damp and the heaviness in her boobs was in direct conjunction to the growled words dripping off his tongue. They ached for his hands, his mouth, his deep, deep suck around her areola.

“That’s no boring counting the marks on the ceiling sex, little bit. Just remember that when you bait me into using my cock on you. Next time I won’t be so nice.”

This was him being nice? With that, he inhaled hard and let it go slowly. Nostrils flared she watched his face become a mask of calm. “Now can I do what I wanted to do the minute I stepped through the door?”

Mute, because she couldn’t think of what else to do since her brain drained of working words and any semblance of sentence structure, she nodded and that’s when Hawk used hands under her armpits to lift her easily and deposit her onto the kitchen counter, those same large, roughened hands slid up her inner thighs making her shiver by widening them, then pushed them further apart so he could step into the breach.

And then he kissed the hell out of her.