Cara leapt from her chair, slammed her head into Hawk’s chin, and pushed him back with all her strength. Grabbing the edge of the table, he fought to maintain his balance.
“You arrogant prick! You talk about me being afraid? Look at yourself. You’re so damn scared to let anyone in that you’ve made your life nothing but a big escape: booze to numb the pain, women to forget, anger to mask what you’re feeling.”
Hawk clapped his hands. “Congratulations, Dr. Freud! You’ve solved everything in three sentences. Now you can feel good and go back to your pampered life in your high tower to protect that precious pussy of yours.”
“You’re a total asshole!”
“I call it the way it is, baby.” He smiled and winked at her.
The loud crack across his face stunned him, and Cara looked surprised, as well, even though she was the one who’d slapped him. He brought his hand up to his face’s left side. Fuck, that hurt.
Cara, recovering from the shock, calmly said, “Fuck you.” All eyes were on her as she turned on her high heels, opened the door, and left the coffee house.
Hawk stood there in disbelief. He rubbed his face. Damn, she has a strong swing. A smile crept around his lips. Fuck, my woman is fiery. His cock was ready to explode. He knew he was getting to her, but the problem was she was getting to him, too. I spilled my guts to her. What the fuck was up with that? He never told anyone all that shit, not even Banger. Rubbing his face again, he thought about how she’d pay for slapping him. Her sweet ass had a lot of spankings coming.
He swaggered out of the coffee house, hopped on his Harley, and sped down the street, his cheek still stinging. Breathing in the fresh mountain air, he rode toward the clubhouse.
Chapter Fourteen
It was Saturday night and Cara hadn’t spoken to Hawk since Wednesday. She still couldn’t believe she’d smacked him across the face. In fact, she had never hit anyone in her life, but there was something about Hawk which caused her to act irrationally. The man infuriated her and turned her on at the same time, which was a bit unnerving, to say the least. When Trevor had cheated on her and broke her heart, she had been crushed and disappointed, but she’d never felt the urge to physically attack him.
Hawk brought out the best and the worst in her, and he turned her life into an out-of-control roller coaster. She couldn’t wait until she finished his case. She never felt such a strong draw to anyone before, and it seemed surreal to her at times. Reminding herself that they belonged to different worlds had become her new norm: his universe was dangerous, rough, and demanded raw emotion while hers was safe, refined, and expected gentle feelings. Surviving in each other’s worlds didn’t seem possible.
Cara looked at her phone and saw it was five o’clock. Crap, I have to meet Sherrie in thirty minutes. As she put the last touches of gloss on her berry-stained lips, the doorbell rang. Before opening the door, she peered through the peephole and saw Hawk standing on her porch.
What in the hell is he doing here? Her pulse started racing, her stomach queasy. She opened the door and he stood in front of her with papers in his hand. The late-afternoon sun made his hair shine like spilled black ink. He wore his cut, and a tight sleeveless t-shirt which revealed sculpted biceps with armband tribal tattoos. When he moved his arm, his fierce-looking hawk tattoo came to life, and Cara stared at it in fascination.
“I brought the papers by like you wanted,” he said.
“Oh, okay, thank you. You didn’t have to come over. You could’ve dropped them off at the office.”
“I was in the neighborhood. Doesn’t your proper upbringing tell you to invite me in?”
She smiled. “I would, but I’m going out. I’m leaving right now.”
His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. “Like that?”
“Like what?”
“You’re going out dressed like that?” His eyes ran up and down her body encased in a form-fitting black dress. He shook his head. “You’re not going out like that.”
Her eyes bulged. “What? Where do you get off telling me what I can wear?”
“No woman of mine is going to let another man see her sexy body.”
“Well, that’s easy. I’m not your woman, so none of your business.”
She grabbed her purse, closed the front door, and pushed him out of her way. As she marched past him, his powerful arm yanked her into a wall of muscle. He grabbed a fistful of hair, jerked her head back, and crushed her lips with his; his kiss punishing and angry as he sucked and nipped her lips. Twisting, Cara sought to break free, but his arms, like vises, held her in place, making her a victim to his sensuous lips and plunging tongue.
Again, her body betrayed her and she leaned in to him, her tongue dancing with his as her legs shook and her thighs clenched together. As a delicious shudder heated her body, her heart hammered, her pulse leapt with excitement, and dampness coated her panties. Damn him. Damn this body. I have to get out of here.
With a strong wrench, Cara freed herself and looked at him, panting. Hawk smirked at her. She smoothed her hair down but he tugged her to him again, kissing her hard. “You’re not my woman yet, babe.”
“I. Will. Never. Be. Your. Woman.”
He brushed her cheek with his thumb. “We’ll see about that. How wet is your pussy, babe?”
“How dare you!”
“Next time, don’t wear your fuck-me dress and heels.” He swaggered past her, swatted her ass, and laughed. “Be good tonight, babe.”
Incensed, she barreled past him to her car, climbed behind the wheel, and slammed the door. Stepping on the gas and peeling out of the driveway, she narrowly missed him. He jumped out of the way as she sped off without a backward glance.
* * *
“Why don’t you just screw him and get it out of your system?” Sherrie asked.
Cara took a sip of her vodka martini. “I don’t know why I let him get to me. He’s so different from anyone I’ve ever known.”
“He gets to you because he drips sex. You know he wants to fuck you, and that’s a huge turn-on. He’s gorgeous. I’d have already feasted on his sexy bod.”
“Okay, I do think he’s sexy and incredibly good-looking, but he’s so demanding and infuriating. I don’t think sleeping with him would be a good idea. Yeah, it’d relieve my itch, but what could come of it?”
“A hot, memorable affair. I’d go for it.”
“I don’t know…”
“This kind of stuff doesn’t happen every day. I think you’ll be sorry if you walk away from this cutie. An affair is great: sex all the time, no strings attached, wonderful memories. When you’re all settled in your mansion on the hill with your high-powered attorney husband and two kids, you can think of your sexy biker love affair when your humdrum life becomes too much.”
“You make a good argument.” Cara smiled. An affair with Hawk—could she do it without getting emotionally involved? She doubted it. “I wish I were more like you, but I’m sort of old-fashioned. I like a relationship. An affair isn’t my style.”
Sherrie grinned. “I keep trying to convert you. I was hoping you’d take the plunge.”
“I feel like getting drunk and dancing the night away,” Cara said while she waved over the waiter. She was going to let loose and have a good time, for once.
* * *
“That was fucking sloppy, bringing me a woman who has family in town. You told me none of these whores have anyone who would miss them. What the fuck?” the man screamed.
“Look, asshole, the bitch told us she was the only one in her family in the US. We don’t do background checks on the sluts,” the leather-clad man hissed.
“It complicates everything.” The man paced back and forth on the gravel.
“And killin’ those other two bitches who are from the area doesn’t? You’re losing it, man, and when we think someone is a liability, we get rid of them, got it?” The biker ground out his cigarette with his steel-toed boot.
“You tell us we’re sloppy. Shit, you’re the one leaving all these bitches strewn between three counties. You shoulda let us take care of the bodies like I told you. You’re the fuck-up.” The other biker leaned so close into the man’s narrow face, the killer could smell beer on the biker’s breath.
“It doesn’t solve anything to start blaming each other,” the man said, calming down. “We have to be careful, more so than ever. We have to go to a remote county.”
“You have to stop leaving bodies around, asshole. If you want to do your sick shit, okay, but get rid of the sluts permanently. I thought you were supposed to be smart. Fuck, you went to all them schools and shit. You’re nothing but a dumb fuck. Stop doing your shit on local bitches that got families. Got it?” The tall biker shoved him backwards.
“Okay, okay. The important thing is that we stick together. There’s too much at stake, if we get caught.”
“That fuckin’ bitch lawyer sticking her pretty nose where it don’t fuckin’ belong is causing all kinds of problems,” the biker seethed.
“Yes, that is a problem. Since she’s not an investigator, I don’t think we have too much to worry about, though.”