Wow.
Wow.
Detective Mitchell James Lawson was the most beautiful man I’d seen, the perfect male specimen from top-to-toe and, now I knew, inside as well as out.
This man who Gwen called “baby” (ohmigod!) was the second most beautiful man I’d seen but in ways entirely different from Mitch. He was tall, black-haired and had an unbelievably great body. Mitch had all this too, of course, though he had dark brown hair that you could run your fingers through, not black and cropped short. But where you knew Mitch was good to the core, gentle, kind, all this just from a look, this guy was not that.
He was dangerous.
The good kind.
“Hi,” I breathed and his eyes went from Gwen to me.
My breasts swelled.
“You Mara Hanover?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, still breathy.
“You Lawson’s?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” I answered.
His mouth twitched. Then his eyes went back to his woman.
“So, you’re all shitfaced,” he observed then finished, “Or at least Mara is.”
“Nope, we all are,” Gwen replied airily if a little slurred.
“Fantastic,” Hawk muttered, eyeing the intoxicated remnants of the girl gang and not hiding the fact he was not big fan of dragging our drunk asses home. He then asked the table at large, “Can any of you walk or do I have to carry you?”
I loved Mitch. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Mitch. I wanted to make babies with Mitch. I wanted to grow old with Mitch.
But I also wanted this man called Hawk to carry me. I didn’t even care where he carried me. I just wanted him to do it.
And I was drunk enough to share this.
“I vote for being carried,” I announced and Gwen, Elvira and LaTanya burst into more gales of laughter.
Hawk’s eyes came back to me and my heart fluttered. Then they moved over me and my legs started tingling.
Then they came back to my face. “Lawson see you in that dress?”
I nodded.
“Gave her the business before they came out,” Elvira volunteered, Hawk looked at her while she spoke then he looked back at me.
When he did, I leaned in and up and whispered, “It was hot.”
His lips twitched again.
That was hot too.
Hot!
“Right,” he stated. “Seein’ as you’re hammered, this might not penetrate but I’ll say it anyway. You lookin’ like you do, wearin’ that dress and bein’ Lawson’s woman, he is not gonna want my hands on you. Unless, say, you were lookin’ like you do and filled with bullets. So, to keep your man happy, my advice is you should attempt to ambulate. You start to go down, I’ll catch you. Deal?”
Gwen bumped into me when she leaned into me and I tore my eyes away from the hot guy to look at her.
“I think this is good advice,” she slurred. “Mitch is sweet and trust me, Hawk can be sweet too. But even if I was wearing sweats and had ratty-assed hair, he would lose his mind if any man touched me. Mitch may be sweet but he’s got that in him. I can tell.”
I nodded to Gwen thinking that what she said was true. Mitch felt pretty intensely about me, in this dress and out of it. I didn’t think he’d take the news that a hot guy had carried to his car very well.
I turned to Hawk. “I’ll attempt to ambulate.”
“Good call,” he muttered, his eyes going to Gwen and his lips twitching again.
Totally…
Hot!
Then I heard him ask softly, “Sweet Pea, tab?”
“We haven’t paid, baby,” she answered softly.
Ohmigod!
He called Gwen “sweet pea”.
He could be sweet.
Hawk headed to the bar and I turned back to Gwen and declared, “He’s the second love of my life.”
Elvira and LaTanya both burst out laughing again but Gwen’s slightly hazy eyes grew more than slightly dreamy and she whispered, “He’s the only love of mine.”
I liked that for her. She was gorgeous, definitely. But she was also very funny and really sweet. If I was still classifying, she’d be a firm eleven. She deserved a dangerous hot guy. Totally.
“I like that for you,” I whispered back, she focused on me (kind of) and smiled.
“Think Hawk’s in the mood to move so you got ‘em, suck ‘em back,” Elvira ordered then did as she told us to do and slammed back half a cosmo. After, she put her glass down and declared, “He gets back, Hawk on the move, we gotta be ready to roll.”
I took her direction, quickly sucking back the rest of my cosmo. Hawk was a commando and although gorgeous, definitely scary. If he was in the mood to move, I wasn’t going to give him any lip.
He came back while we were all getting up and snatching our purses. Being awesome and becoming even more awesome, he pulled both Gwen and my chairs out as we pushed up.
A gentleman.
Totally the second love of my life.
Once I gained my feet and ascertained my legs were going to support me, I looked up at Hawk. “How much do I owe you for the tab?”
“On me,” he replied.
“No, really, I had four cosmos. How much –?”
His black eyes focused on me and I shut up.
“On me,” he repeated firmly.
“Okey dokey,” I muttered.
He grinned.
My nipples started tingling.
Then he kept talking. “You get to the truck, got a folder for you.”
I blinked up at him.
Then I asked, “Pardon?”
“Melbamae and Lulamae Hanover?”
I felt my lips part but I didn’t reply.
I didn’t need to reply, he read my face.
“Sent a man, he had a word. Did some diggin’, created a file. They give you shit, which would surprise the fuck outta me if they do, my man reported he was thorough, then you turn that file over to your attorney and you’re golden. Yeah?”
I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t burst into drunken tears.
He was sweet.
“Mara?” he called then prompted, “Yeah?”
“I’ll make you one of my barbeque chicken pizzas,” I blurted and that was when I got his smile.
And it was a nice smile.
A really nice one.
He had two dimples.
Two!
Holy cow.
Gwen who was standing beside him, her arm tucked through his, leaned around him and told me, “Cabe’s body is his temple. You want to give payback, buy him a big vat of protein powder or a coupon for a lifetime supply of cottage cheese.” She grinned. “But I’ll take the pizza.”
“You’re on,” I whispered then I looked up at Hawk. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Hawk’s deep, attractive voice replied quietly.
Yep. So totally the second love of my life.
“Yo!” Elvira called. “We goin’ or can I order another cocktail?”
Hawk’s gaze sliced to her and I bit my lip.
Elvira raised her brows. Hawk shook his head.
Then he started walking.
Without a word, the girl gang teetered behind him and Gwen.
We were ten feet from the door when my purse rang. In my inebriated state, I slowed and clumsily pulled my phone out of my purse. I slowed more when I saw on the display it said, “Mitch calling.”
I took the call and put my phone to my ear.
“Hey honey,” I answered.
“Hey sweetheart,” he replied and I got a heart flutter, breasts swelling, legs tingling and nipples hardening all at once. “Done here. I’ll swing by Club and get you.”
I shook my head and put my hand to the door that had swung closed behind LaTanya.
“Hawk just showed. I’m walking out the door now,” I pushed it opened, stopping and looking out into the parking lot to locate the others and I saw they were well ahead of me. I started to hasten my step as I walked out the door and went on, “And I’m walking to his truck all by myself.”