48. Chapter 48
Chapter 48
When we woke the next morning, Starla was gone. Probably to go file a report against me, but I didn’t give a fuck. I was moving out today. The thought had relief and excitement coursing through my veins.
After we got dressed and ready, I approached Hawk warily. “Are you sure this is what you want to do? I can probably go stay at Cam’s now that their house is done.”
“How much studying do you think you’ll get done with Bella in the house?” he asked with a smirk.
That had been my reservation as well, though nothing could have been worse than living here. At my wit’s end, I had been planning to talk to Cam about it this weekend.
“Bee,” Hawk continued, “this makes the most sense. I’ll be quiet as a church mouse while you’re working, and you’ll be safe with me.”
Yeah, physically anyway.
“Okay,” I told him.
“Good girl,” he said, dropping his voice to that timbre I remembered all too well. “I missed having you with me. ”
One strong hand rested on the small of my back, urging me toward him as he cupped my face with the other. When he brushed his lips against mine, I let him, clutching my fists into the front of his black T-shirt. It would be so easy to melt into him, let him take me exactly where I wanted to be—flat on my back on the bed with him between my spread thighs.
Dammit, why did his body have to feel so right against mine? You can’t let yourself fall back into this rabbit hole, Fitz. You have to protect yourself.
With a strength I didn’t know I had, I flattened my hands against his chest and took a step back. “Hawk, I really appreciate everything you did last night and you offering to let me stay at your house, but…”
His face fell on that last word, which made it harder for me to get the next ones out. “But I think we need to keep things platonic.”
With lowered eyebrows, he asked, “You don’t want me?”
I closed my eyes and stepped into him, wrapping my arms around his thick waist and pressing my cheek against his chest. He smelled better than ever, and I listened to his heart thump for a few long beats beneath my ear.
“More than anything, but I just can’t.”
“Why?” he asked against the top of my head.
Because I love you, you big idiot.
Raising my eyes to his, I implored him to understand without me having to say the words. “I think we were getting a little too close, and… I think this would be best.”
A small smile tipped the corners of his lips up, and he nodded. “I understand, Bee. Whatever you need.”
“If that means you don’t want me to stay, I can talk to Cam. ”
When my chin dipped, Hawk jerked it back up, his eyes fiercely dark. “I don’t just want you for sex, Mallori. I want you to be safe and happy, so don’t ever say anything like that again. It pisses me off.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to piss you off. You might grab me by the neck and throw me around.”
His smirk was pure wickedness, and I realized how that sounded. Before I could think of anything normal to say, he leaned forward like he was going to kiss my lips and then paused before pressing his lips to my forehead instead.
“Go to class, Little Bee. Have a great day, and when you get home, I’ll have all your stuff in your room for you.”
Home. That sounded really fucking good.
“You don’t have to pack my stuff for me,” I protested, taking a much-needed step back. “I can do it after class. Oh, and I need to stop by the housing office and request a refund check since I’m moving out.”
“I’ll handle it,” he said, reaching for a sticky note from the bookshelf. “Write your social security number and student ID on here, and I’ll take care of everything.”
Including me , I thought. He never fails to take care of me.
“Besides,” he went on, “I need to implement Phase Three.” He pulled a flat disc about the size of a quarter from his pocket and showed it to me. It had a small hole in the center.
“What is that?”
His evil grin was back as he dug in his backpack and took out a screw and screwdriver. “I’m going to attach this to the underside of the bitch’s bed. It randomly emits a high-pitched squeal for a few seconds at a time. It will drive her fucking insane trying to find it. ”
“For how long?”
“The battery lasts six to eight months.”
He chuckled to himself and laid on the floor, sliding his head underneath Starla’s bed like he was a mechanic. “Go to class, Bee.”
With one last look, I hooked my backpack over my shoulder and vowed to never piss off Hawk Gentry.
“Hawk, I’m home!” I called as I walked in the front door that evening.
“In the kitchen,” he called back, and I headed that way until I was intercepted by Coconut. I picked her up. She was still a kitten, but she’d definitely grown in the past month. Her head no longer looked too big for her body.
Cradling her against my chest, I walked into the kitchen and my nose was delighted by the delicious scent of Italian food. “You cooked?”
“Yeah, spaghetti and meatballs. Oh, and garlic bread.”
Hawk was shirtless but was wearing an apron with a cartoon hand on it. The index finger was pointing down, and the text read, May I Suggest the Sausage?
“Nice apron,” I said dryly, and he laughed.
“Thanks. Landree and Bode bought it for me.” He stirred a red sauce on the stove and nodded toward an envelope on the countertop. “There’s your refund check.”
I opened it and gasped. “This is for the full amount. I thought they would at least prorate it for the time I did live there. ”
“Told you I’d handle it. I politely told them that one of their students had been through hell and they hadn’t done jack shit about it. I may have also mentioned something about a sexual harassment case being brought against the university since you were subjected to unwanted sexual activity and a strange man had touched your underthings. And again, they did nothing. After all that, they cut a check pretty damn fast.”
Lifting an eyebrow, I asked, “Did you, perchance, choke anyone during these discussions?”
A sly grin played across his perfect lips. “No, I was a good boy, but I kinda have the urge to wrap my hand around someone’s throat. You offering?”
“Hawk!” I said with a giggle, pretending to be scandalized, though my panties were suddenly very damp in the crotch region. “Good boy, my ass.”
He stirred the pasta. “I’m sensing some sarcasm.”
Staring down at the thousands of dollars in my hand, I said, “I’ll deposit this and then transfer the money to you since you’re providing my housing now.”
“No.” His answer was short and firm.
“Hawk, I’m not—”
“No. How was school today?”
I sighed, already making plans to somehow get this money to him. “Really good, actually. We’re studying the cardiac system in anatomy. It’s hard, but I like it.”
Hawk nodded. “Why do you have to know about that? Won’t you usually work with muscles and bones and stuff? ”
“Yes, but in acute care physical therapy, we may have to work with patients that have just had heart surgery. Or other medical issues. Our anatomy classes are very extensive.”
He put the spoon down and came over to place a chaste kiss on the top of my head. “Go put your stuff in your room and relax for a few minutes. Dinner is almost ready.”
I smiled and left the room. I could really get used to this kind of treatment.
Hours later, we were seated on the black leather couch. Hawk was watching TV but had his ear buds in, so the house was blissfully silent. Coconut was sleeping lazily on my lap as I went through the note cards I’d made.
I read the question on the front of each one, then closed my eyes and thought of the answer before flipping the card over to see if I was right.
Hawk nudged me with his elbow, and I looked up. “Need me to quiz you?”
“Do you mind?”
He shook his head. “Of course not. What are you studying?”
“Exercise physiology,” I told him. “I have an exam on Friday.”
For the next hour, he grilled me, going back to questions I missed until the information was firmly ingrained in my brain.
When I went to bed, I curled into my pillow, happy to be in this calm, quiet house but wishing I was in someone else’s bed.