Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Where is she now?”
Tildy’s face fell. “I came home from school one day, and she was gone. She got sick and had to go home to Mexico. She died there pretty soon after. I never got to say goodbye.”
Hawk let go of the necklace and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “I’m sorry, Tildy.”
Tildy took a steadying breath. “It’s okay. She never really left. I know she’s watching over me.”
Hawk finished out the dance, fighting like hell to keep from coming on too strong. Making a move on her so soon after remembering a lost loved one was just way too dickish. When the beat changed to a faster song, he noted with some relief that the blonde was now attempting to turn her feminine wiles on Doc.
He suppressed a laugh. No mouthy princess was going to interest Caleb. He had a steady thing going on with a mystery woman in Sioux Falls. Though none of the guys had ever met her or even knew her name, Hawk assumed it must be fairly serious since Caleb never even so much as looked at another woman.
Hawk guided Tildy back to the table, which wasn’t large enough for everyone so he pulled out the only remaining chair and sat down in it. He drew Tildy into his lap. She made a surprised noise, but stayed where she was, though she was more than a little stiff.
With Tildy pressed up against him and her sandalwood scent filling his senses, Hawk was slowly but surely becoming a little stiff as well. He shifted her on his lap a little as he reached for his beer. Tildy froze, but didn’t otherwise react, though he knew she must feel his cock through his cargo pants. Her breathing came a little bit faster, and she turned her head ever so slightly to glance at him from the corner of her eye. Hawk gave her a grin.
He had one hand on his beer and had the other lazily stroking Tildy’s thigh. In truth though, Hawk was feeling anything but lazy. He kept his hand where it was, venturing no further. Just a signal of interest, an invitation. Tildy was at least going to have to reciprocate his interest before they went any further.
“Matilda, let’s go,” the blonde finally huffed.
“But we just got here,” Tildy protested.
Hawk scowled. It wasn’t hard to figure out the problem. Blondie wasn’t getting anywhere with Doc, Shooter and Tex were happily committed to their women, and neither Easy nor Hawk himself had any interest. Blondie wasn’t used to men who didn’t fall to their knees to worship her.
She stood up. “Are you coming?” she demanded.
Tildy glanced over her shoulder at Hawk. As a rule, Hawk didn’t take them to his place, though he’d make an exception tonight. He was about to make the offer, when Blondie pulled out a knife and stuck it right in Tildy’s back.
She sighed, exasperated. “Are you going to fuck him, Matilda?”
The collective temperature of the entire table dropped about ten degrees as the men scowled at Blondie, and Abby sent her a death glare.
“Hey, now,” Hawk bit out. Jesus, subtlety, look it up, he wanted to tell her. But Hawk could tell that Blondie was a spoiled bitch, and that subtlety wasn’t one of her more endearing qualities.
Blondie’s gaze just about skewered Tildy where she sat perched on top of Hawk’s burgeoning erection. If she’d been curious before, she was just embarrassed and uncomfortable now. Indeed Hawk had planned to fuck Tildy later, but he wouldn’t have used that word, and he sure as shit wouldn’t have put Tildy on the spot like that in front of a bunch of people.
He decided to put an end to her misery and leave her with some shred of dignity. He set his beer bottle down hard and leveled his gaze at Blondie. “I think you’re right,” he declared loudly. “You should go. You obviously can’t handle your booze.”
He felt no small amount of satisfaction watching Blondie’s face turn red. Served her right, Hawk figured, after the number of times she’d embarrassed Tildy just in the half hour they’d been here.
Hawk gently moved Tildy to the side, forcing her to stand up so he could too. “Come on,” he ordered. “Tildy, you should make sure your friend gets home okay. I’ll walk you out.”
As he herded both women to the exit, his irritation ebbed slightly. Blondie got in the passenger side of her own car, after he insisted that she hand over the keys. That earned him a disgruntled snort and the sharp report of the car door slamming, which is exactly what Hawk had been going for.
Now, he and Tildy were alone, or close enough. He leaned in, not quite pinning her against the frame of the car, but close enough that her breasts grazed his chest. They were small, because Tildy was small, but he’d bet even money that, underneath her silk blouse and bra, her nipples were pert and alert.