23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
“So you have an extra leg just for swimming?” I asked Tazanna Diaz as I sat beside her at the mosaic-tile-topped patio table near the pool.
“Tell her about my extra leg,” her husband said, brushing a finger along the back of her neck as he walked behind her on his way to the cooler.
I laughed, but Taz rolled her eyes. “He’s so ridiculous.” Glancing furtively to make sure Woody was out of earshot, she leaned toward me. “Though the man is hung like a donkey.”
So is Hawk. Just the thought of what I’d seen last night flooded my mind. Not to mention the fact that I had felt it between my legs. And against my stomach when I woke up this morning.
After spending the night in his bed.
Shit .
Taz interrupted my Hawk-infused thoughts. “To answer your question, yes, I have a different leg to swim in. Salt water and chlorine aren’t great for the components of the prosthetic, and it’s too expensive to ruin.” I watched in fascination as she rolled the sleeve up her thigh .
“How often do you have to get your regular one checked or get a new one?”
“Most people get theirs checked once a year, but I’m pretty active, so I go in every six months. A lot of folks think it’s just a hunk of metal and plastic, but it’s actually a very complicated device that needs regular care and adjustments.” She picked up her regular prosthetic and pointed out the different parts of it, demonstrating how the joints moved. “I have to get a new one every few years.”
“That’s fascinating,” I said when she handed it over so I could inspect it.
“You can come with me to my appointment at the V.A. next weekend, if it’s something that interests you.”
“Really?” I asked, excited. “Are you sure I wouldn’t be, you know, invading your privacy or something?”
“Not at all,” she insisted. “I’m very open about it. I don’t keep my leg in the proverbial closet or anything.”
I laughed as she rose and stood for a second to get her bearings. Woody was there in an instant. “I’ll take your fancy leg inside so it doesn’t accidentally get wet, mi amor.” He kissed her lustily before bending and kissing her bare belly beneath her yellow bikini top. “Mi peque?o amor.”
“Well, I’m just about to swoon to the ground,” I commented as Taz watched her husband jog inside with her prosthesis.
“He’s so damn excited about the baby. He keeps staring at my belly, and he tells me every day that he’s pretty sure it’s grown since the day before. Hell, there’s barely anything there, right?” She turned to the side to reveal her stomach, which had the barest hint of a bump .
“My stomach gets puffier than that after I eat burritos,” I said dryly, earning me a laugh from the raven-haired beauty.
“Go get your swimsuit on,” she said, and I pulled the strap of my sundress down to reveal the white string of my bikini.
“I put it on a few minutes ago. I’ll meet you in the pool.”
The Broxtons’ back yard was like the swimming pool version of Disney World, with slides, rock formations, and pretty fountains of water that shot up sporadically. Axel was tossing pool noodles and beach balls into the pool, and I did my best not to stare. The man was a football god and was built like it with lean, hard muscles covering every inch of his body.
Pulling my dress off over my head, I felt the heat of the June Texas sun warm my body. My skin grew even hotter when I turned around and found Hawk standing a few feet away, his eyes eating up every inch of me. I could practically feel his stare like rough fingers stroking against my flesh, and goosebumps pebbled my skin in the wake of his roving gaze.
The look was so raw and intimate I had the urge to put my dress back on. I startled when a cool hand touched my shoulder, the sensation so different from the hot caress of Hawk’s eyes.
“I’ve got sunscreen,” Blaire Broxton said, her green eyes exactly matching the emerald swimsuit she was wearing.
I smiled at the gorgeous redhead. “Thanks. I don’t want to burn.”
“Turn around, and I’ll put some on your back.” As I pivoted, her son Max ran by, completely nude and twirling his turquoise swim shorts over his head.
“Naked swimming time!” he yelled, and I giggled as Blaire cursed under her breath before yelling back .
“Not naked time, Rox… Dex… dammit, I mean, Max!” She tossed the sunscreen at Hawk, who caught the brown bottle deftly. “Put this on Mal’s back. I’ve gotta go… do something with this little shit.”
As she ran off to chase her pantsless son, Hawk approached, casting quick flickers down my body. “Turn around.” The sound was so low and deep I could feel it in my bones.
My body responded without argument, like he had physically moved it himself. I heard the sound of the sunscreen lid being removed and then felt the warm spray against my shoulders. A large hand smoothed the oil there, the touch confident, like he’d touched a million women’s bodies before.
Maybe he has. Women literally fall onto their knees for this big hunk, I thought, remembering last night. Again. Hell, I hadn’t been able to get the sight of him—tall and commanding and a hundred percent in control while he was in the Den of Sin—out of my mind.
He did my arms next, his hands eliciting some very salacious thoughts regarding what those greasy fingers could do to other parts of my body.
By the time he’d coated and rubbed the greasy oil onto my back—quite thoroughly I might add—I had to suppress the shiver that was threatening at the base of my spine.
“Cold, Little Bee?” he asked against my ear, and the tingle of electricity finally broke loose, causing a full-body quiver that I could no longer control. His chuckle was hotter than the beaming sun.
Smug-ass man.
After swimming and playing for about an hour, the guys set up chairs and several long, white tables beneath a tent that had been erected on the lawn. Then we all settled down to eat.
Bode’s mom, India, sat beside me. She was very attentive, asking me every question under the sun about myself. “So, no boyfriend?” she queried, her eyes sparkling as she toyed with the long, gray braid that hung over one of her shoulders.
“No, I just moved here a few weeks ago,” I informed her, wondering if she had another son or something she wanted to fix me up with. Otherwise, why was she so interested in my life?
“And when is your birthday?” Her eyes were clear and beautiful, and they seemed to have the power to see directly inside a person’s soul. It was comforting rather than unnerving because she radiated such a gentle spirit.
“Oh, uh, it was last month. May seventh.”
“Ah, a Taurus. Sensual and creative,” she mused. “You’d pair well with a Cancer.”
I laughed. “Which dates are Cancers so I can keep an eye out for my dream man?”
Her lips twitched. “June twenty-first to July twenty-second.”
She shifted her eyes down the table, but before I could see what she was looking at, Mia approached and tapped her grandmother on the arm. “Gigi, I sit with you.” The little girl was precious with her strawberry-blonde pigtails and a scattering of freckles across her nose. Her face showed the classic characteristics of a child with Down Syndrome.
I chatted with the little girl while she sat on India’s lap and ate her french fries. She was engaging and sweet, and by the time dinner was done, I wanted to take her home with me.
“Well, that was a miracle of modern parenting,” Bristol said, walking back outside with Charli, Blaire, Landree, and Shiloh on her heels.
“I can’t believe we got the kids—all thirteen of them—bathed and settled down,” Shy commented.
“It’s all the swimming. Wears them the hell out,” Blaire said, taking her place behind the quarried white stone bar and pulling out a blender. “Now it’s time for the adults to have some fun.”
The sun was just going down over the Dallas skyline in the distance, bathing the world in deep purples and blues. It was still muggy as hell, but the temperature had dropped at least fifteen degrees in the past hour.
Cam grabbed Shiloh by the waist and pulled her to him. She looked amazing in a blue and white striped two-piece swimsuit, and her husband certainly seemed to appreciate it.
“Did Bella go down okay?”
“Fast asleep in Dani’s room. All the little ones are asleep, and India is playing makeup with Katie and Carrie. Mrs. Casper and Ruby are in charge of making sure no one wakes up and escapes. There are kids everywhere upstairs. ”
“Well, Blaire and Ax do have about a million bedrooms. This place is like a fucking hotel.” Cam nuzzled at Shiloh’s neck. “And speaking of hotels, I can’t wait to get you—”
“Cam, cut it out,” she said with a giggle before turning in his arms to face me. “Mallori, remember we’re taking Bella to Disney World in August. I hope you don’t think we’re abandoning you.”
“No, not at all,” I assured her.
“We made these plans a year ago, before we knew you’d be coming to stay with us. I wish we’d known sooner, and we could have arranged to take you with us.” She twisted her hands fretfully at her waist, and I reached out to grasp them.
“Shy, don’t stress about it. I’ll be getting ready to start school and move into the dorm in August. I wouldn’t have time to go anyway.”
She looked relieved. “We’ll be back in plenty of time to help you get moved.”
Blaire walked over and handed me and Shiloh pink frosty beverages in plastic cups. “Amaretto slushies,” she informed us, “with an extra shot of rum.”
“Ooh, I love these,” Shy said, taking a sip, and I followed suit. The drink was delicious, with a tangy bite of sweetness.
Blaire tilted her head to the side and regarded me. “Mal, that swimsuit is darling.”
“Thanks,” I told her, adjusting the string of my white bikini with metallic silver leopard spots. “I got it online. You never know what you’re gonna end up with, but I was happy with this one.”
“Pool time!” Axel announced, and we made our way across the flagstone to where he was standing near the water .
“Babe, turn on the pool lights. It’s getting dark,” Blaire told him, and he pulled a sleek black remote from the pocket of his swim trunks.
“Mallori, you’re the guest of honor. What color do you want?”
I stared down at the pretty drink in my hand. “Uh, how about pink?”
He flicked a few buttons, and the pool suddenly glowed the color of a flamingo.
“I like it,” Cam said, nibbling on his wife’s neck. “It’s the same color as your—”
“Camden Fitz!” Shiloh shrieked, swatting at his arm around her waist.
“Why don’t we play volleyball before Cam starts waxing poetic about Shiloh’s nips or something,” Axel suggested.
“I wasn’t talking about her nips,” Cam replied conversationally, like this was the most normal conversation in the world. “It’s—” His wife shut him up with a hand across his mouth as the rest of us laughed.
Gram rose from her seat beside one of the tables, adjusting her large sun hat. “I’m gonna head on home. Dwayne wanted to hang out tonight.”
Bristol sidled up and asked in a low voice so only Gram and I could hear, “Speaking of Dwayne, how did it go with the… you know… back door stuff?”
Gram smiled and winked. “Easy peasy. Honey, once you get my age, things loosen up everywhere . It was like tossing a Tic-Tac in a whale’s mouth. ”
And with that, she said her goodbyes to everyone, leaving Bristol and I gaping at each other in shock for a good five minutes.
We chose up teams for volleyball, and I chewed on my thumbnail as me, Axel, Shark, Charli, Hawk, and Shiloh took to our side of the net. Taz had started feeling nauseous after we ate, and Woody took her home, so we were lined up against Blaire, Cam, Tank, Bristol, Bode, and Landree.
“Why are you about to gnaw your thumb off?” Hawk asked as Tank and Axel adjusted the net.
“I’ve never played volleyball,” I admitted. “I went to a few of the women’s games in college, so I know the gist of it, but…”
“It’s fine. Blaire sucks too.”
“Hey, you big ass,” she said, shoving a mass of water at him from across the net.
He laughed before patiently showing me how to hold my arms to bump the ball. The sight of his large hands encircling my slender wrists made me have certain unsavory thoughts. Thoughts of being bound and at his mercy.
Shit! Where did that come from?
I had no idea, but I was glad I was submerged in the water. Otherwise, I was afraid someone would notice the hard points of my nipples.
“So if you can bump the ball up high, I can set it for Shiloh. She’s an awesome spiker,” Hawk continued.
When the game started, the night air filled with raucous laughter and trash talking. Sooo much trash talking, and the women were worse than the guys .
“Booyah!” Bristol shouted, hands stretched over her head in victory when she landed a hit just out of the range of Axel’s long arms. “Take that Mr. Superstar.”
“Oh, just wait, Queenie. I’m about to ace your ass,” he shot back as he backed up to serve.
For the next few minutes, I managed to stay out of the fray and not touch the ball at all—which was fine by me—until one of Landree’s serves came right at me.
“Crap!” I screeched, trying to remember everything Hawk had told me. I clenched my hands together and bumped the ball with my forearms. It flew high and…
Right out of the pool.
Dammit.
“Sorry, guys,” I called, feeling dejected. A hand that was a few degrees warmer than the water rested on my back, and I heard Hawk in my ear as someone hopped out to retrieve my errant ball.
“Don’t worry about it, Bee. She’s got a hard serve that’s difficult to hit.”
“No one else seems to be having trouble,” I said dryly, tilting my face around to see him grinning wickedly.
“I’ve got an idea. Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” It was a simple reply, but I meant it.
“All right, when the time comes, I want you to slam the ball down over the net as hard as you can.”
“Number one, I’m too short to do that, and number two, how will I know when the time comes?”
“You’ll know.” He backed away, taking that warm hand with him .
You’ll know? That’s all I get? Landree had the ball again, and obviously sensing the weak spot on the team, she grinned and served it in my direction.
Mother of pearl, I’m about to screw up again. Before the thought had barely gelled in my brain, I was being lifted by huge hands around my waist. The ball crossed over the net at the same time I reached that height, and I reared back and slammed it downward. The resulting splash of the ball between a surprised Bristol and Cam gave us the point, and I kicked my legs in glee.
Hawk let me slide down his body, and holy guacamole, that’s one hard-built man.
“No fair! You can’t lift a player,” Blaire complained, hands on hips, as my teammates all high-fived me.
“Show me in the rule book where it says I can’t,” Hawk said smoothly, one hand still resting lightly on my waist until Cam’s scowl in that direction became apparent. “You did good, Bee,” he whispered before taking a few steps backward and calling, “Let’s finish kicking some ass.”
We lost by a point, but at least I hadn’t screwed up any more. Now the entire group was sitting in the enormous living room at the Broxton house. Well, minus Tank and Bristol. Those two had left right after the game. Bristol had been whispering something in her husband’s ear, and approximately two seconds later, he was bounding upstairs to grab their sleeping toddler before hustling her out the door .
Though the house looked fancy from the outside, it was comfortable and homey on the inside. It was mostly tidy, but there was an occasional stray sock, children’s book or toy dump truck laying around that said kids live here.
Charli bumped Axel with her elbow. “Did I tell you what Max asked in class the other day?” The Broxton triplets attended Charli’s preschool.
“I hate to even ask,” the big man said wryly.
Her face creased into a wide grin. “One of the teachers was out sick, so I was filling in for her that day. We were discussing plants and soil, and the subject of using manure as fertilizer came up.”
“Jesus,” Ax said, covering his blue eyes with his hand. “The boys are all into toilet humor these days.”
Charli was barely containing her laughter. “So Max said if poop could be used to grow plants…” She was overcome with a fit of giggles before continuing. “He wanted to know if he could grow a tree out of his butthole.”
The entire room erupted in howls of hilarity.
“I swear, that kid is going to be the death of me,” Blaire announced, walking into the room. “I just put another batch of drinks in the freezer, if anyone needs a refill.”
“I do,” I said, standing from the couch and tightening the lime-green towel around my chest. “Anyone else?” The other women shook their heads, and I headed to the kitchen, surprised to find Hawk there.
“Oh, hey,” he said, noticing me as soon as I walked in. “I was, uh, making something for you.” Pulling something from the counter behind him, he held it up. “A brownie sundae. ”
The tall, clear glass was filled with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and was covered with chopped pieces of brownie and warm chocolate drizzle.
Abandoning my slushy cup on the tall marble island, I took the sundae and the long spoon he offered. “You’re trying to make me fat, aren’t you? You just made me that one with the coffee ice cream a few nights ago.”
His smile was a bit shy but his eyes weren’t as they dropped down my towel-clad body. No, his eyes were bold and appreciative, and I could feel a flush rising up my neck and bleeding onto my cheeks.
“Trust me, you don’t have a thing to worry about where your body is concerned, Little Bee.” For some reason, I liked the nickname he called me. Especially when he said it in that low, gruff voice. His gaze shifted to something behind me, and his eyes widened a bit as he took a step back. “India.”
“Hawk, Mallori. Fancy meeting you two here,” the woman greeted as she strolled into the room with a smirk on her face. A knowing smirk.
Did she know what went on between us last night? No, surely not. I certainly hadn’t told her, and I was almost positive Hawk wouldn’t have either.
“I was just trying out a new recipe,” he said quickly. “Mallori was giving it a taste test.”
“How sweet of you,” she cooed, going to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water.
A distinct tension hung in the air like a low fog on a muggy night. I took a bite of the delicious dessert as my eyes ping-ponged between the two. They seemed to be having some kind of stare down, dark eyes locked with pale-gray ones.
The awkwardness faded away when Bode entered the kitchen and kissed the top of his mother’s head. “You about ready to go, Mom? We’ve got a drive ahead of us.”
“Ready when you are.”
He tugged open the fridge and took a bottle of water as well. I loved how everyone made themselves at home here. “I’ll go upstairs and get the kids.”
Bode made it to the entrance before turning back. “Oh, I meant to tell you Hawk… with your birthday coming up, Landree said she’d cook chicken and dumplings for you since it’s your favorite.”
“Sounds good, bud. Thanks.”
“And I’ll make muffins,” Bode called over his shoulder on the way out the door, leaving Hawk chuckling.
“That’s right,” India murmured, “you do have a birthday coming up in July. That makes you… let’s see… a Cancer, right?” She batted her eyelashes at him, and Hawk scowled.
“No clue. I don’t keep up with that mumbo jumbo,” he retorted curtly, his jaw tight with what appeared to be annoyance.
India patted his bearded cheek affectionately before pivoting away and tossing me a wink.
Confused about that entire awkward situation, I thought it somehow seemed significant.
I just didn’t know how.