CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hawk
“You’re mad at me,” I said to Liane as I picked up the heavy picnic basket, but she wasn’t listening, she was watching my mother driving the golf cart away. I turned to follow her gaze and froze when Mother stopped, turning to look back at us.
“She’s hurting, Hawk,” Liane murmured, holding her stomach as if she felt ill herself.
“Not my problem.” The words were harsh and I immediately knew I didn’t mean them. Well, not completely. Not as much as I once did. Seeing Mother the other day had been like applying ointment on an open wound. The wound was still raw, it still hurt, but the infection appeared to have stopped spreading.
Liane turned on me, her hands fisted on her hips. “It absolutely is your problem because it’s also mine. And I’m telling you this minute, that I won’t be put in the middle like that again. It was despicable that you couldn’t give her five minutes of your time. Do you remember the look on her face when she saw you? The devastation? You have no idea what she’s gone through and you… you…” She whirled and headed up the hill.
“Wait,” I called after her and tossed the picnic basket in the back bucket of the ATV. It roared to life and I chased after her. When I pulled beside her, I shut it off. “Come on, hop on.”
“No, I’m perfectly fine walking, thank you very much.” She had never sounded more British to me than she did in that moment.
“Liane, come on. Don’t be ridiculous.”
That was the wrong thing to say, I quickly learned.
“Ridiculous? I’m being ridiculous?” Her eyes had hell’s fire behind them. “Let’s define ridiculous, shall we? Ridiculous is making assumptions about people’s feelings and thinking you know what they’re going through. Ridiculous is hiding out behind a gated fence when what you really want, deeply want, is to be included in a family. Ridiculous is—”
“Fighting on the side of a hill when we could be fighting in a climate controlled home.” I was careful to keep laughter from my tone even though she was truly adorable.
She growled at me. Growled! Then turned and headed up the hill again.
“Come on. Get on. I promise we’ll talk about it more when we get inside.”
I waited for her to come to her senses, to stop and get on. Nope. She was practically jogging up the damn hill. I exhaled, but didn’t start the ATV right away. Damn. Her ass looked fucking amazing.
“And stop staring at my butt,” she yelled back at me.
I turned on the ATV and gave it a shot of gas. I sped by her before doing a U-turn, coming around to face her. Turning off the machine, I said, “And that’s another thing we need to talk about. If I wanted all of my thoughts read, I’d send you an e-mail of each one. Some things are private, Liane. Private. Do you understand the meaning of that?”
She looked abashed for a moment, and her toe caught on a rock. She stumbled, but didn’t fall. “Are you accusing me of snooping into your thoughts?” Her hands were on her hips again.
“Yes. No. Shit, I don’t know.”
She narrowed her eyes and stalked right past me.
I sighed and turned on the four-wheeler, then turned back up the hill, coming up along beside her.
“I do not snoop on you,” she yelled over the noise of the engine. “I don’t need to. Nearly everything you feel shoots out at me like a bloody bullet.”
I turned off the engine, but she didn’t stop, just picked up speed. Turning it back on, I pulled in front of her and shut it off. I jumped off and marched up to her, not stopping until I’d tossed her over my shoulder.
“Hawk!” Her small fists wailed on my back, hurting more than I’d like to admit.
Straddling the ATV, I started the engine again and smacked her bottom when she started kicking. “Be still!” I yelled at her. “Now, do you want to ride this way or in front of me like a normal person.”
Wrong thing to say. Again.
She began kicking like a caged animal and, to my amazement, pulled my hair. I never imagined in a million years this normally calm creature resorting to violence.
Pulling her off my shoulder, I plopped her down facing me, her legs straddling my hips. I wrapped my hands around her thin wrists. “Stop it.”
A second later, I was seeing stars. I lifted my hand to my nose. This she-cat had head butted me. I couldn’t believe it.
Spotting the blood, she became immediately docile and horrified by her actions. “Oh no, I hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
She whipped her t-shirt over her head, leaving only a tank top underneath. Was she not wearing a bra? I didn’t have a chance for a second look because she was stuffing the shirt against my face.
“Are you alright? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that, but, oooh…”
She lifted the shirt to check on the blood and I couldn’t remove the smile from my face in time. Her eyes narrowed and I quickly grabbed her wrists again, then move my head out of her reach.
“It’s not funny,” she shouted. “I injured you. I’ve never even injured a mouse. I’m a catch and release kind of person.”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer, a hoot of laughter came flying out of my mouth. Her lips grew thin, then curved a little at the corner. Then she was laughing too.
My side hurt, my jaw ached, my temples even throbbed before I could make myself stop. Tears were spilling down my face. Just when I thought I’d gained control, I’d look at her and lose it all over again.
“Is this our first fight?” she asked me, wiping the corner of her eyes. She had hiccups now from laughing so much.
Each time she hiccupped, her breasts bounced up and down. She noticed my distraction and crossed her arms over her chest. Then her eyes dilated as she gazed up at me and she lowered her arms to her side.
“I wish we were married already,” she said, her gaze falling to my lips.
My cock swelled and she shifted on my lap, her cheeks turning the prettiest pink. “I wish that too, Liane, more than you could ever know. If we were, we could begin making up right about now.”
Silence stretched between us.
“I’m still mad at you,” she said after a while and lifted a hand to my cheek.
I turned my face to press my lips into her warm palm. “I know. I don’t blame you. I’d be mad at me too.”
“Will you try? With your mother? With your family?” Her thumb brushed across my lower lip.
“Yes. I’ll do anything for you.”
Her fingers slid around my neck and she pulled my face down to within millimeters of her own. “I love you, Hawk.”
My heart squeezed. “I love you too.”
She smiled against my lips. “Good. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to hit you again.”
I kissed her all the way home.