His eyes glared his mistrust at me. “I don’t believe you.”

I shrugged. “That’s your problem, Hawk. You don’t trust women.”

“I just saw a picture of your boyfriend with Covacks.”

“So?” I really had no idea what he was getting at.

“They’re business partners. Are you going to tell me that you don’t know who his business partners are?”

“Dane liked to keep his business out of our personal life,” I explained, holding my ground when Hawk stepped away from the door. I didn’t know what his intentions were, but I didn’t think he would hurt me. “We attended a lot of social events, and if his business associates were there, he didn’t introduce them to me.” I thought about the country estate we’d visited recently. Even then Dane had kept me in the dark.

“So he just kept you around for fucking?” He stopped so close to me that I had to tilt my head to meet his eyes.

His words were meant to hurt, and maybe they would have once, back in a time when I’d thought I meant more to Dane. His secrets and lies, the fact that he beat me after witnessing a murder, had diminished my importance in his life, and now I had to wonder. Had I just been a fuck toy for him, someone to dress up his arm when he was portraying the wealthy, successful casino owner to the public? He’d never confessed his love for me, yet he’d seemed to care for me.

I wanted to slap Hawk for putting that thought in my head. I ignored the heat coming off his body, denying my insane attraction to his bad boy appeal. If he thought his intimidation was going to crush me he was in for a surprise. The last few days had proven to me that I was made of stronger stuff. I remained silent beneath his quiet scrutiny.

He took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “One, you’re right, I don’t trust any woman. So you’re going to remain my guest until I sort this shit out to my satisfaction. Two, no more calls, to anyone, unless I’m with you.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he kept going. “Three, if I find out that you’re a plant—,” A plant! “For Winthrop or Covacks, I’ll kill you myself.”

I swallowed hard, believing him, while trying not to imagine how he would do it. Those big hands of his could snap my neck easily. “Why would I be a plant?”

“Information,” he said simply, and then added, “to be used as leverage against us. A lot of people would like to have control over Phantom Riders, to do their dirty work. Some want to see us gone, as in dead or in prison.”

“Well, I’m not a plant,” I insisted. “I told you why I was running and it’s the truth. I have nothing to hide.” Except that I did. I hadn’t told him why Dane had beaten me. It suddenly occurred to me that Hawk’s keeping me there, even if it was against my will, was the answer to my prayers. I would be safe there without putting Carol at risk.

“We have dealings with Covacks, and you conveniently show up on my bike outside of Last Hope.”

“A coincidence.”

“You have a GPS tracking device on you.”

I was beginning to understand why he was so suspicious. “I didn’t know about it.”

His dark gaze dropped down my body in a lazy sweep. “You fucked me.”

The age old ploy used by women to obtain information from men. Well, I wouldn’t let Hawk use it against me when it wasn’t true. “You fucked me.”

His jaw hardened, if that were possible, and his lips pulled back in a sneer. “Had any dental work done recently, any minor surgeries?”

What? “Are you talking about tracking chips?” It sounded like something out of a syfy movie, yet I knew that could be a possibility. I tried to pull away but the bite of his fingers kept me right where he wanted me. “No! Nothing! I don’t want to be found, Hawk!” I reminded him with a hiss.

“A good cover story, but there’s something you’re not telling me.”

I stopped my struggling and glared up at him. “Who was she, Hawk? Who was the woman who made you so distrusting? The one who turned you into a cold, selfish bastard? She must have been someone important if whatever she did affected you this strongly.”

“Don’t make this about me, lady,” he sneered, lightning flashing in his eyes. He looked like he was about to explode.

I was too stupid not to pay attention to the warning signs that I might be pushing him too far. “What did she do to make you—?”

“Quiet!” he snarled, shaking me like a rag doll. “I want to know what you’re hiding!”

I finally jerked free and stepped back, slamming my hands on my hips, tired of his caveman tactics. We were both wound up and breathing heavily. “You know you don’t own me, Hawk. You’ve got to stop ordering me around and man handling me—”

“Your pussy filled with my cum says that I own you.”

He would remind me that he hadn’t used a condom the second time. My eyes grew bigger with every word out of his mouth, my jaw dropped. I’d never had a man talk so filthy to me before, and while it shocked the shit out of me, I couldn’t deny that his words also turned me on. My body responded as if it had a mind of its own, flushing with arousal. Wet warmth seeped from between my legs, and I knew that it was my arousal mixed with his semen. I should have showered and washed the evidence and memory away.

“I bet it’s leaking out of you right now.”