Mystery Man
Page 17
I hopped off the car to stand in front of him.
“I’ve just added reason three hundred and seventy-two to my list of why we are so over,” I announced.
“Had this conversation twice, not havin’ it again,” Hawk returned, his shades now locked to mine. “Last night, my boys measured your window. A new one is being cut and they’ll install it when it arrives. Now they’re workin’ on your security system. That’ll take a couple days. Until then, you stay with me.”
“Too late, I already had a macho man inform me where I’m sleeping tonight.”
I watched his entire body get tight, it seemed like the very air around him turned a warning shade of red and it took a lot but I just managed not to step back.
“And that would be?” he asked in a scary, quiet voice.
“My Dad,” I answered in a snotty voice.
His body relaxed as did his face and his mouth grinned showing both dimples.
“That I’ll allow,” he allowed.
Serious to God, he could not be believed.
“All right, I know you have selective hearing and block out entire sections of what I say but really, pay attention. First, tell your boys to stop their work. Dad is fixing my window and I don’t want a security system from you. Second, I don’t know what went down in that huddle but clearly you won and that makes you think you can waltz over here and boss me around but you are way wrong. Not only because I’m not your woman but also because I do not like to be bossed around, at all, ever. And last, honest to God, honest to God, we… are… over.”
I barely got out the word “over” when he yanked off his shades, then he yanked off mine, then he tossed both of them on the hood of my car. I was so surprised by this maneuver I was frozen stiff so he was able to execute his next maneuver without resistance. Therefore, I found my body flat against his, one of his arms was tight around me, the other hand was cupping the back of my head, he tilted it and his mouth slammed down on mine.
This was a problem.
There was a reason I never kicked Hawk out of my bed and that was because, usually before I could speak, he was kissing me.
And he was an excellent kisser. He could do a lot of things with his hands, his mouth and other parts of his anatomy that were mind-blowing but even if he only ever kissed me it was highly likely I would be ruined for any other man.
Yes, he was that good. Really.
Therefore, when he finally lifted his head (and as humiliating as it was, he took his time and I let him), I had one arm tight around his back and one hand curled on the side of his neck both in order just to hold on. When his tongue was working my mouth, that was all I could ever do, just hold on.
“We over, Sweet Pea?” he whispered to me.
“I do not like you,” I whispered back, still holding on.
He did that deep, amused, manly chuckle again, his hand moved out of my hair and became an arm wrapped around my shoulders before both his arms tightened, bringing me even closer. “Got things to do now, the boys’ll be workin’ here but I’ll come back, take you to lunch.”
Take me to lunch? We’d never even had a date and now he was casually telling me he was going to take me to lunch?
“I can’t go to lunch. I have three deadlines and I only worked for a few hours yesterday. I have to go flat out if I’m going to make them. I’m eating lunch at my desk.”
“I’ll bring something. What do you want?”
God! What was with this guy?
“I have food in my fridge.”
“Tom Yung Goong and Pad Thai, J’s Noodles,” he said and I stared.
Two of my favorites. I had many but Tom Yung Goong soup and Pad Thai noodles from J’s were very high on the top of that long list. And I usually bought them takeout to eat at my desk when I had a marathon workday going.
Then I stopped staring and I felt my eyes get squinty.
“How do you know everything about me?”
He didn’t answer my question but it was unnecessary for him to do so since evidence was suggesting he watched me like… well, a hawk.
Instead, he asked his own question. “You didn’t sleep last night?”
“My house got broken into,” I reminded him.
“Thought you went to your Dad’s to feel safe,” he replied.
“I can feel safe and still toss and turn because I’m obsessing about watching a man’s hand push open my bedroom door at the same time worrying if I’d break my happy kitty snow globe when I had to clock him.”
His arms gave me a squeeze. “That was last night, babe, this is today. You’re good. It’s over. Get it out of your head.”
Was he high? Did he seriously think I could do that? Did he seriously think any woman could do that? I had at least twenty-five years of obsessing about last night left before I could get it out of my head.
“It’s not that easy,” I informed him.
“It’s just that easy,” he informed me.
I glared up at him.
He smiled down at me, with dimples and shit, I liked those dimples.
Time to get to work.
“I need coffee and I need to fire up my computer and get to work.”
“Yeah,” he murmured, dropped his head and before I could avoid it, he brushed his lips against mine. Then, murmuring again, he said, “Later,” let me go but leaned into me to grab his shades then he prowled to his Camaro, all badass cool, on his way tipping his chin to the commandos. Then he folded into his kickass car and purred off.
I stood by my car for awhile watching the street where I’d last seen him thinking one word.
Shit.
Then I grabbed my shades, avoided busy commandos, made my way inside, set a big pot of coffee to brew and when it was done I poured out about five mugs for various hardworking commandos.
Then, finally, I went to my office to fire up my computer.
Chapter Six
To the Rescue
I’d hit my zone and was able to focus even with a bunch of commandos banging around in my house when I suddenly felt my hair shifted off one shoulder, swept across my neck and over my other shoulder.
Then I felt lips at the skin at the back of my ear.
A delicious tremble radiated from my ear going up, down and out and my eyes on the computer screen unfocused as I came crashing headlong out of my zone and careened happily into an entirely different zone. The lips left my ear and, dazedly, I saw a brown paper bag accompanied by a white plastic bag hit the desk by my keyboard. I looked at the bottom right of my computer screen to see the time was twelve forty-seven.
“I’ve just added reason three hundred and seventy-two to my list of why we are so over,” I announced.
“Had this conversation twice, not havin’ it again,” Hawk returned, his shades now locked to mine. “Last night, my boys measured your window. A new one is being cut and they’ll install it when it arrives. Now they’re workin’ on your security system. That’ll take a couple days. Until then, you stay with me.”
“Too late, I already had a macho man inform me where I’m sleeping tonight.”
I watched his entire body get tight, it seemed like the very air around him turned a warning shade of red and it took a lot but I just managed not to step back.
“And that would be?” he asked in a scary, quiet voice.
“My Dad,” I answered in a snotty voice.
His body relaxed as did his face and his mouth grinned showing both dimples.
“That I’ll allow,” he allowed.
Serious to God, he could not be believed.
“All right, I know you have selective hearing and block out entire sections of what I say but really, pay attention. First, tell your boys to stop their work. Dad is fixing my window and I don’t want a security system from you. Second, I don’t know what went down in that huddle but clearly you won and that makes you think you can waltz over here and boss me around but you are way wrong. Not only because I’m not your woman but also because I do not like to be bossed around, at all, ever. And last, honest to God, honest to God, we… are… over.”
I barely got out the word “over” when he yanked off his shades, then he yanked off mine, then he tossed both of them on the hood of my car. I was so surprised by this maneuver I was frozen stiff so he was able to execute his next maneuver without resistance. Therefore, I found my body flat against his, one of his arms was tight around me, the other hand was cupping the back of my head, he tilted it and his mouth slammed down on mine.
This was a problem.
There was a reason I never kicked Hawk out of my bed and that was because, usually before I could speak, he was kissing me.
And he was an excellent kisser. He could do a lot of things with his hands, his mouth and other parts of his anatomy that were mind-blowing but even if he only ever kissed me it was highly likely I would be ruined for any other man.
Yes, he was that good. Really.
Therefore, when he finally lifted his head (and as humiliating as it was, he took his time and I let him), I had one arm tight around his back and one hand curled on the side of his neck both in order just to hold on. When his tongue was working my mouth, that was all I could ever do, just hold on.
“We over, Sweet Pea?” he whispered to me.
“I do not like you,” I whispered back, still holding on.
He did that deep, amused, manly chuckle again, his hand moved out of my hair and became an arm wrapped around my shoulders before both his arms tightened, bringing me even closer. “Got things to do now, the boys’ll be workin’ here but I’ll come back, take you to lunch.”
Take me to lunch? We’d never even had a date and now he was casually telling me he was going to take me to lunch?
“I can’t go to lunch. I have three deadlines and I only worked for a few hours yesterday. I have to go flat out if I’m going to make them. I’m eating lunch at my desk.”
“I’ll bring something. What do you want?”
God! What was with this guy?
“I have food in my fridge.”
“Tom Yung Goong and Pad Thai, J’s Noodles,” he said and I stared.
Two of my favorites. I had many but Tom Yung Goong soup and Pad Thai noodles from J’s were very high on the top of that long list. And I usually bought them takeout to eat at my desk when I had a marathon workday going.
Then I stopped staring and I felt my eyes get squinty.
“How do you know everything about me?”
He didn’t answer my question but it was unnecessary for him to do so since evidence was suggesting he watched me like… well, a hawk.
Instead, he asked his own question. “You didn’t sleep last night?”
“My house got broken into,” I reminded him.
“Thought you went to your Dad’s to feel safe,” he replied.
“I can feel safe and still toss and turn because I’m obsessing about watching a man’s hand push open my bedroom door at the same time worrying if I’d break my happy kitty snow globe when I had to clock him.”
His arms gave me a squeeze. “That was last night, babe, this is today. You’re good. It’s over. Get it out of your head.”
Was he high? Did he seriously think I could do that? Did he seriously think any woman could do that? I had at least twenty-five years of obsessing about last night left before I could get it out of my head.
“It’s not that easy,” I informed him.
“It’s just that easy,” he informed me.
I glared up at him.
He smiled down at me, with dimples and shit, I liked those dimples.
Time to get to work.
“I need coffee and I need to fire up my computer and get to work.”
“Yeah,” he murmured, dropped his head and before I could avoid it, he brushed his lips against mine. Then, murmuring again, he said, “Later,” let me go but leaned into me to grab his shades then he prowled to his Camaro, all badass cool, on his way tipping his chin to the commandos. Then he folded into his kickass car and purred off.
I stood by my car for awhile watching the street where I’d last seen him thinking one word.
Shit.
Then I grabbed my shades, avoided busy commandos, made my way inside, set a big pot of coffee to brew and when it was done I poured out about five mugs for various hardworking commandos.
Then, finally, I went to my office to fire up my computer.
Chapter Six
To the Rescue
I’d hit my zone and was able to focus even with a bunch of commandos banging around in my house when I suddenly felt my hair shifted off one shoulder, swept across my neck and over my other shoulder.
Then I felt lips at the skin at the back of my ear.
A delicious tremble radiated from my ear going up, down and out and my eyes on the computer screen unfocused as I came crashing headlong out of my zone and careened happily into an entirely different zone. The lips left my ear and, dazedly, I saw a brown paper bag accompanied by a white plastic bag hit the desk by my keyboard. I looked at the bottom right of my computer screen to see the time was twelve forty-seven.
