Chapter Thirteen

Hawk

Throughout the afternoon, Hawk found it harder and harder to keep his eyes off Kathryn. It seemed everything they did was more fun than anything that Hawk had done with another woman in the past. He had, of course, done many things he enjoyed with many other women in his adult life, but at the same time, he had never had this kind of connection with any other woman but Kathryn.

Of course, he remembered faintly when they were dating in the past and the two of them had spent hour after hour together. Back then, things had been a lot different between them, and they had been bound entirely by lust, both of them perfectly willing to admit it. A relationship in any true sense of the word—or at least in the sense that Cole now defined it—it was not, nor had they wanted that.

Now, Hawk was seeing something different between them. Now, it was as though there was a connection that had never been there before. Perhaps it was because they had both grown up—perhaps it was because they had both changed. Either way, it was as though he was with the same woman from the past, but she had become someone new while also retaining some of the old he’d been so familiar with.

She was still very clearly selfish and thought of herself above all, but at the same time, it was as though she had stopped thinking that the entire world had been put there to serve her. Her high maintenance attitude was present, but now she apparently planned to take care of herself. She no longer wanted Hawk for his body and his money – his body, yes, but not his money.

Throughout the afternoon they talked of many different things, surprising each other with the change in their personalities. Kathryn was surprised to learn how cultured and artistic Hawk had become. Instead of being solely worried about where his next lay was coming from—which admittedly was still uppermost in his mind—he was now able to identify art and artists, statues and history around the town.

He pointed things out to her and taught her things that she didn’t know about the city, including various paintings they found in different places. But, perhaps the most surprising thing of all was when he took her to a little café on the corner of the Strip, treating her to the most local cuisine she had had in as long as she could remember.

He followed up delicious diner fare by treating her to a wine she didn’t even know existed in the United States, and though it wasn’t flashy or showy, there was something about the way they were having fun that made her not miss the luxury of high end dining. Hawk could see that she was appreciating everything he was doing for her and showing her, and that appreciation was brand new. She’d taken such things for granted before.

Hawk was also making a point of showing her a whole new side of him. The more comfortable he became spending time with her, the more he told her of the situation he was facing with the hotel and the two men who were involved in the contract. Kathryn listened to what he had to say in silence, and after he had finished, she continued to be quiet for a while. Thoughtfulness was another new character trait in her. Thinking before speaking had never been a strength for either of them.

“You really don’t have to say anything. I was just telling you what was happening. To be honest, I am rather annoyed that the one thing that I am supposed to be taking care of for the company is the one thing that is being handled by con men, but that’s my luck, right?” He looked over at her as he spoke, and she laughed.

Hawk smiled. It sounded good to hear her laughing again, and he wanted to make her do it again and again. He wanted to make her laugh almost as much as he wanted to make her moan, and he felt that he was just as good at both. And the more time he spent with her, the more he thought about her lying under him on the bed and moaning as she writhed beneath him.

He shook his head, reminding himself that they couldn’t do that again—and that she might not want to do that again. Perhaps she was just as happy with it being a one-night stand as he was, something that had happened, but couldn’t happen again. They had tried before, it wasn’t going to happen again, and they both had to accept that.

But when the afternoon started to wane, he began to dread going back to the hotel room. Suddenly, her hotel room seemed so far away from his own, and the more he thought about bidding her goodnight as he had just a few nights prior, the less he wanted to. He couldn’t believe Dan Wellington had cut off his daughter the way that he had. Given the thoughtful comments she made about Hawk’s business situation and the savvy advice she occasionally offered, she showed that she had it in her to be a valuable asset to her father’s company, if only he’d see her as more than an asset to be bargained.

Although Hawk knew she was nervous about everything now that she’d lost a major source of income, he had no doubt that she was going to come out on top as she always did. Finally, he suggested that they head back to the hotel, telling her they should get cleaned up and go to dinner.

“Dinner? Are you sure you are Hawk Parker? I seem to remember him not being the dinner type after spending a day looking at art and such,” she teased. He laughed and shook his head.

“Maybe my brothers are rubbing off on me. I don’t want to give them that credit, but shoot, there is something about being stuck in Vegas for work that makes one not mind going out for dinner,” Hawk explained.

She agreed, and the two of them headed back to the hotel. But when they got to her room, she convinced him to come inside.

“I’m only going to grab a couple of things, and we can head out. I thought that this was a rather versatile outfit when I put it on. I have to admit that I didn’t know what you had in mind when you said we were going to spend the afternoon out on the town, and I wanted to be ready for anything,” she laughed, and he shook his head.

“You should know that Vegas only gets wild after dark,” he said.

To his surprise, Kathryn sighed.

“Are you all right?” he asked, and she nodded.

“Just tired. I was up a little late last night,” she said with a mischievous grin. He gave her a look that was just as naughty and walked over to her.

“What were you doing?” he asked playfully. She looked down as he put his lips to her neck, nibbling at where her neck met her shoulder. She put her arms up and around his head, enjoying the kiss.

“I had an old friend over, and let’s just say we caught up on some things we were missing,” she said. He laughed and brought his hands up her waist and to her breasts, cupping them through the gauzy shirt she had chosen. She turned and looked at Hawk full in the face, a serious look in her eyes.

She was going to say something, but he put his finger to her lips first, then pressed his lips to hers. She seemed reluctant to kiss him at first, but the more he kissed her lips, the more she began to kiss him back, and the passion began to grow between them. She put her arms up and around his neck once more, this time facing him.

He wrapped his arms around the base of her back, pulling her into him, feeling the pleasure of her breasts pressed against his chest. It wasn’t long before the clothing started coming off both of them, and he took her to the bed. As they had the night before, they began taking full advantage of each other, sucking and kissing every part of the other person that they could.

As Hawk entered Kathryn that night, he felt something shift in him. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt as though he was home. There was something about this moment that was more than just the sex. He felt that he belonged inside her, that her pussy had been made just for his cock, and that he could never feel complete again unless he could do this often.

They climaxed at the same time, and as he rolled off of her and onto the bed, she lay next to him, catching her breath. Hawk wasn’t sure if he should say something, or if there really was anything to say. He was enjoying the best sex of his life with Kathryn Wellington, and he wanted to ignore all the extra feelings he was having toward her.

She suddenly grabbed the phone off the nightstand and hit a button, then held it to her ear.

“What are you doing?” he asked, and she smiled at him.

“I thought we could eat in tonight; room service has some pretty good dinners, you know.” She began giving the clerk her order, but Hawk started climbing on top of her once more.

“I know,” he said. She gave him a sly smile as she finished the order, and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was.

It was going to be a wild night.