Page 37 of Hawk

“I’m pretty sure you know it wouldn’t take an evil plot to get me in your bed, mouse. I just need to be focused on keeping you safe right now.”

He followed me into the bedroom, and we both crawled into the bed. If I’d thought the sounds he made from the living room were a distraction, they were nothing compared to having his body lying a few feet away from me. I was hyperaware of every little movement he made, and I swear his body was like a living furnace. I tried my best to go to sleep. I’d gotten my way after all, so it wasn’t like I could complain that even his breathing was sexy.

I turned on my side so I was facing him. It was pretty dark in my room, but not so dark that I couldn’t make out the shape of him lying beside me, and when I realized I was staring at him in the dark, I rolled back to my back and tried to think about anything else. What kind of dog I might get. My next crochet project. The cakes for Mary Ellen’s tea party. Anything.

When that didn’t work, I flipped to my other side so I was facing away from him. I messed with my pillow, trying to get it right, which was hard because I didn’t normally sleep on this side, so it just felt wrong.

Finally, a giant arm reached over me and dragged me back against Hawk. “Settle, mouse.”

I relaxed against his body, relishing the heat he generated, and the comforting weight of his arm draped over me lulled me to sleep.

Chapter thirteen

Mika

I woke snuggled up against Hawk, and for just a minute, it felt like everything was right in my world. Of course, it didn’t take but a second for my brain to kick in. Everything wasn’t right. Hawk wasn’t mine. He was there to protect me from my past mistakes, and even though I’d been pretty sure he’d been interested at one point, I doubted he would be by the time this was all over. He was getting to see a close-up view of just what a hot mess I was and how badly I’d screwed things up.

I don’t blame myself for Butch’s behavior. Believe me, I wasn’t trying to victim-blame myself, but still, the reality was my poor choices put me in that situation in the first place, and I had to own my part in it. And was that basically the equivalent of victim-blaming? According to the therapist I saw shortly after I got here to Vesper, it was. I was a work in progress, so cut me some slack.

“You awake?” And fuck me, he had a deep, growly morning voice that was sexy.

“I am, but I don’t want to get up. Sleeping with you is like sleeping with an electric blanket.”

“I’ve been told I run hot.”

“It’s cozy, is what it is.”

He chuckled near my ear, and his breath brushed over my skin, making my arms break out in goosebumps before he rolled away from me and sat up on the side of the bed.

“Well, cozy or not, it’s time to start the day. I have things to do, and you have to go to work.”

He stood up, giving me the perfect view of his backside, which was sublime. Sadly, he immediately grabbed his clothes and pulled them on.

The rest of the morning felt almost normal. We had coffee, we ate breakfast, and we chatted about the show from the night before and whether or not Hawk would ever consider driving around the country chasing rewards. I bet he would be really good at it, but he said he wouldn’t like living on the road like that.

A couple hours later, I was ready to leave, and after warning me to be careful and not to take off the watch, he stood on the porch and watched me go to my car and drive off.

I was in a pretty good mood when I waved at the gate guard and drove up to Mary Ellen’s house. I’d always thought that was overkill. I mean, Vesper’s a pretty safe city and I didn’t know why anyone needed a full-time gate guard, but I had to admit I was grateful for it now. It did make me wonder what the other people who lived in the community’s stories were, though. Did they have reasons to want to live in a place where people couldn’t just drive up and knock on your door?

Mary Ellen was in one of her we-need-to-be-productive moods. When she got that way, it was easy for me to see what a powerhouse she must have been in her younger days. I swear, by ten, we’d done more than most people would do all day.

Finally, she stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, that was a good morning. I say we call it a day. I think I’m going to take a nap and then watch someBritBoxmysteries. You’re welcome to stay, or if you want to call it a day, you can go home.”

I’d never been one to watch British television until I started working here, but they were her favorite, and she’d gotten me hooked on enough of the shows that I’d had to add a subscription to the channel as well.

“I’m happy to stay if there’s anything you want me to do, but if not, I have some things I need to do at my house.” I’d been working with her long enough to know that when she saidyou’re welcome to stay or you can go home, what she really meant was she wanted some time to herself.

“You should go ahead and head home then. I know I’ve kept you running nonstop, getting everything ready for this tea party, but I just want to make sure Vivian has a great birthday.”

Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “Oh, my goodness. Vivian’s birthday gift. I had a custom necklace made for her, and it’s ready at The Silver Box. Can you run to pick it up for me before you go home for the day? It’s over on Elm Street, right next to the bank.”

“Of course I can. I’ll run and do that now. You go ahead and take your nap. I’ll put it in your desk drawer if you aren’t up when I get back.”

“You’re such a dear.” She patted me on the hand, and I smiled at her. She really was the sweetest woman. I had no idea what she’d ordered for Vivian, but I could be sure it was something meaningful. They hadn’t been able to have children of their own, but they’d both loved their niece to pieces.

The good thing was The Silver Box wasn’t far away at all so it would be a quick trip, and then I could leave for the day. I thought it would be a great day for me to go spend some time at Mars’ shop. Of course, I’d need to text Hawk first and make sure he was okay with me going there instead of home.

I made the short drive to Elm Street, but unfortunately, there weren’t any parking spots in front of the store. That was pretty common here in the old downtown area, so the city had put in some parking areas as a way to increase traffic to the area.

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