Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94997 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94997 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Hawke laughs, and I know he heard her. Once they’re gone, I go to stand and take the seat she vacated, but he pulls me back between his legs and holds me there.
“I want to talk about us being a thing. I need some ground rules.” It feels silly having this conversation now, but last night didn’t seem like the right time since what we’d talked about was so much deeper.
“Oh God, you want to talk. Can’t we just go to one of the bathrooms and fuck instead?” When I look back at him, he waggles his brows.
“No.” I push his hands away, and he lets me sit on the stool next to his. I cross my legs, and he watches the movement with a smirk. I’m down for heading to the bathroom with him. Make no mistake about that, but first I want to talk to him about the things swirling around in my mind.
“What do you want to know? Do I want you?” He looks down at his jeans. “That answer will always be yes,” he says with pride. “Will I share you? That answer is no.” He smirks at me as if he answered all my questions.
“What about you seeing other people?” I ask.
“That’s a no. Why would I need to when I have you?”
“What if I’m away? I like to travel a lot,” I remind him.
He leans in with a mischievous smile.
“Well, you can send me a naughty photo like the ones I took on your phone, and I can play with myself to them,” he suggests, and I notice I’m biting my bottom lip. Fuck, it’s so unfair how this man knows how to speak to my most primal needs.
“What if you get bored being in a relationship?” I ask, and he shakes his head in disbelief.
“Why are you even thinking that? You are more than enough for me. You’re everything I compare anyone to. You’re literally on my fucking brain twenty-four-seven. I’m never going to tire of you, lover.”
He lifts his big hands and puts them on either side of my face as he leans in so our lips are almost touching. Then he whispers, “And I sure as fuck know I’m not going to let you get bored of me.”
“Yes, you seem to be awfully cocky about the fact.” I try not to laugh because Hawke has this effect on me. He makes everything light again, bringing me back to the right now instead of what our future might look like. And maybe it’s only because I’m worried we’ve never been in a relationship. I don’t know what kind of exit strategy I might have, but even when I think about it, I don’t think I’ll ever need one with Hawke. And maybe that’s what terrifies me the most. I didn’t expect him to agree so easily to be exclusive. And I don’t know why I thought that at all since it seems so obvious now.
“I guess time will tell.” He winks, but I can tell he’s uncomfortable with something. The thing with Hawke is he’s easy to read. He wears his heart on his sleeve, perhaps more than I ever gave him credit for.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I’m scared you’ll be mad, and I don’t want to do anything to make you mad,” he says honestly. Great, that’s never a good start.
“Our meeting today was intense.” He swallows as he reaches for my hand as if I might run away at what he’s going to tell me next. “It makes me feel icky not telling you this, so I’m going to say it and hope you don’t hate me for it.”
“Okay. Spit it out, Hawke.” A sinking feeling starts in my stomach.
“Eli and Ford know about what happened that night. So does Braxton.” His dark-brown eyes snap to mine, and I can clearly see the dread in his expression. “The night that you were drugged, I called Braxton over to watch you while I dealt with that Lester asshole.”
I’m so confused. “Why Braxton?” I know I should be more concerned about him telling my secret, but surprisingly it doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. Maybe it’s because I already concluded the worst of him weeks ago when I overheard him discussing it with Eli. But Braxton? Why him, of all people? The two of them don’t even get along.
He licks his lips. “I didn’t want to call Ford because I knew he would’ve told Billie, and you asked me not to tell anyone, but I couldn’t let hours go by knowing that fucker who tried to hurt you was still alive.” My heart swells. “So I asked Braxton to watch you and help me clear some things up around that night for a favor. To get the name of the supplier today, I also offered Waylon Striker a favor, and I might need your help in the future when he calls it in.”