Chapter 4
HAWK
T he second she walked through the door, I knew.
It wasn’t the kind of knowledge that eased in slowly. It hit like a punch to the sternum. Sudden, sharp, and deep. Unlike anything I had ever felt before. My world narrowed to a single point— her .
Gemma.
Her long, toffee-colored hair gleamed under the soft amber lighting of the bar.
Those soft brown eyes framed by thick lashes were big enough to swallow you whole.
Her cute little nose crinkled as she looked around, visibly unsure if she belonged here.
And her sinful lips were made to fucking wreck a man.
They parted on a breath I swear I felt in my bones.
She had full tits, a narrow waist, and wide hips made for gripping. For holding down. For breeding.
The tight jeans she wore clung to hips made to ride. My bike. My hands. My mouth. Her snug dark blue sweater did nothing to hide the curves that could so easily bring a man to his knees.
And I’d seen her in lace.
Fuck! My cock stirred, hard and heavy, thick in my jeans.
I’d memorized every curve from the photo in her file.
It had been tattooed into my skull ever since Midnight handed me the dossier.
But seeing her now—real, flushed, shifting slightly behind Lainie like she wasn’t used to this kind of attention— nothing compared to the real thing.
She wasn’t just hot…she was everything. Feminine and fierce, soft and lethal.
And almost a foot shorter than me, which only made me want to wrap her in my arms and shield her from the world.
My cock throbbed even harder against my zipper, the metal teeth digging into the sensitive skin. I clenched my jaw and forced myself to breathe through the pain. Every inch of me screamed to move, to take, to claim.
But I stayed rooted to the floor. I couldn’t make a move yet. Not when she was looking at me for help. She needed protection, not possession.
Not yet.
Fox, Maverick, and Deviant were posted near me at the bar, watching. I didn’t need to look to know their eyes were on her too.
“Easy.” Deviant snorted into his drink. “You look about five seconds from dragging her into a dark corner and making her forget her own name.”
Maverick’s voice cut in. “Might want to save the caveman routine for when she’s screaming it, yeah? Right now, you just look like a guy about to lose his shit.”
Fox chuckled, arms crossed as he leaned against the brick column near the end of the bar. “Judging by that look on your face, I’m guessing the photo didn’t do her justice.”
My body went still, and I felt almost feral.
He hadn’t seen it, I knew that. Fox was also completely obsessed with his old lady and in no way a threat to my claim on Gemma. But logic didn’t do a damn thing to the animal in me that roared at another man even mentioning her like that.
“Don’t,” I bit out, low and sharp.
Fox raised a brow, cool as ever. “Relax, brother. It was just an observation.”
I stepped in close enough to make the warning hit. “Observe someone else.”
A beat passed. A flicker of amusement crossed his face—just enough to needle me—but he didn’t push. Probably because he sensed that I was a second away from snapping necks and torching the world.
“She walked in, and your jaw damn near hit the floor,” Deviant muttered with a crooked grin. “Pretty sure your dick saluted before your brain caught up.”
My jaw flexed. His would be the first neck I snapped. He was already on thin ice with me, knowing that he’d gotten even a small glance at Gemma’s photo. “Keep running your mouth and see what happens, asshole.”
They all laughed, but there wasn’t a hint of mockery in it. Just the kind of shit only brothers who’d already been hit with their own freight trains of obsession could give.
Fox’s smirk was cold. “Relax, brother. We get it. But you’ve got eyes like a loaded weapon. Just don’t forget where the safety is.”
I finally looked away from her and met his stare head-on. “There is no safety.”
Then I turned my focus back to my woman.
Lainie stepped in behind Gemma, guiding her toward the booths lining the far wall. Her voice was low and reassuring, but Gemma remained alert. Cautious. Her eyes scanned the room while her hands twisted around the strap of her bag.
She stopped when her gaze found me. Her lips parted, and her eyes widened just slightly—like her brain and body had registered me before she could talk herself out of whatever she felt. Good. Because she was going to belong to me. She just didn’t know it yet.
Maverick moved to stand, but I lifted a hand, signaling them to hold back.
“Let her breathe,” I murmured.
Deviant gave a knowing smirk, already in on what I hadn’t said out loud. Fox raised an eyebrow but stayed put.
I rounded the bar slowly, keeping my movements loose and casual.
I wasn’t about to scare her. She already looked like her heart was in her throat.
But it wasn’t just from nerves. There was heat in those eyes, too.
She was trying to mask her reaction and bury it under all that tension in her shoulders, but I saw it.
Her breath hitched, and I caught the flash of burning desire in her gaze before she blinked it away.
She felt the pull just as much as I did.
I stopped in front of her and let my eyes roam down her body one more time—slow, deliberate, possessive—before meeting her gaze again.
“Gemma.” My voice was low and steady, letting her hear the calm even while my blood pounded in my ears.
She swallowed hard, then nodded. “You must be Hawk.”
Her voice was soft and sweet. But there was steel underneath it. Even my name sounded different coming from her mouth. Softer. Curious.
“Let’s grab a booth,” I said, jerking my chin toward the far corner.
Gemma’s eyes widened, and Lainie glanced over my shoulder, smirking just as I felt the presence of my brothers as they walked up beside me.
“We’ll meet you over there,” Lainie murmured, leading Gemma away.
My girl followed her friend, her movements smooth but a little stiff. She didn’t seem to be used to the attention. Or maybe she was just trying to figure out how to carry herself in front of a bunch of dangerous bastards like us.
“I got this,” I grunted.
Fox raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Deviant, of course, didn’t let the opportunity pass.
“Sure you don’t want backup?” he said with a teasing drawl. “Looks dangerous. All five-foot-two of her.”
“She doesn’t need the lot of us hovering,” I muttered. “Just hang back.”
“Whatever you say,” Maverick murmured, but there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Gemma slid into the booth with Lainie at her side, and I took the seat opposite, my thighs brushing the edge of the table as I settled in, hands flat against the wood to keep them from twitching toward her.
I could still feel the phantom weight of that dossier in my hands.
The photo was seared into my mind. But with her in front of me now, the picture was so much more vivid.
She was temptation wrapped in vulnerability. Confidence barely caged under the weight of whatever danger she’d walked into.
Up close, her scent filled the air—warm and clean with an underlying hint of something floral. My hands curled on the table. I wanted that scent to surround me, to be on my skin and soaked into my sheets.
Focus, asshole.
“Start from the beginning,” I said, my voice low and even. “Know some of it already, but I want to hear it from you.”
Gemma hesitated. Her fingers fidgeted with the sleeve of her shirt before she stilled them with a breath. “Someone hacked into my archive.”
“Encrypted?” I asked, though I already knew.
She nodded. “It wasn’t supposed to be possible. I paid for a custom system. It was built by someone who came highly recommended.”
Lainie scoffed. “Yeah, well, they clearly weren’t Iron Rogues recommended. You’re ours now, Gem. We’ve got Deviant.”
Gemma gave a shaky smile and turned to me.
“She’s right. I just…didn’t know where else to go.
I’m scared. And not just for me. One of the images that was stolen was of a client.
A very private one. And she’s…she's really fragile right now. I can’t stand the idea of her being crushed by this.
The message in the email…” She paused, and I caught the way her throat worked as she swallowed, glancing at Lainie like she needed a second of courage before looking back at me.
“It said, ‘You should’ve kept your clothes on.’”
I forced myself not to react. Not to let the rage boiling in my gut show on my face.
She didn’t need that kind of intensity right now.
But my hands curled tighter against the table, the grain pressing into my palms as I clenched my jaw so hard I could feel it throb.
Her voice didn’t shake. She wasn’t sobbing.
Her hands trembled just slightly. Not from fear. From fury.
She was brave. Protective of her clients. And I fucking loved that.
But she was also watching me, wide-eyed and uncertain. I saw the question lingering there— Can I trust you with all of this?
I softened my voice. “You’re safe now. But you gotta tell me everything if we’re going to protect you.”
I didn’t rush her. I just met her gaze and let her feel my calm and certainty.
Her shoulders loosened the tiniest bit, and her lips parted. She stared at me for a long second, like she was trying to figure out why she already trusted me. I wanted to tell her she didn’t need to understand. That some things didn’t make sense on paper. They were just meant to be.
After taking a deep breath, she nodded. “There’s one more thing.”
I already knew what she was about to say, and my pulse pounded, roaring in my ears.
“There’s a photo of me,” she whispered. “In the stolen files. One I never meant for anyone to see.”
My hands clenched on the edge of the table. Hard. Wood bit into my palms. I kept my voice even, careful not to let the fury slip into my expression. “You sure?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
I knew it. From the second I saw that curve of hip, that dip of collarbone. My gut had gone tight, my cock harder than steel.
But she didn’t need my carnal reaction right now. She needed calm. Control.
“I’m setting up surveillance at your place and studio.
” I redirected the conversation before I did something stupid.
Like drag her over the table and kiss the fuck outta her in front of everyone.
“Deviant’s already working on tracking the files.
I’ll meet you at your house in a few hours to go over security. ”
A small smile curled up the corners of her lips. “Okay.”
I didn’t want to let Gemma go. Every protective instinct in my body screamed to keep her within reach. But I had no excuse to make her stay. Yet.
Lainie nudged her. “Come on, Gem. Let’s go.”
Gemma paused, her warm brown eyes meeting mine. “Thank you, Hawk.”
“Callum.”
Her brow rose.
“My name is Callum.”
“Okay. Um, thank you, Callum.”
I nearly growled. I wanted her to say my name the same way again. Soft and breathless. Like it was a secret.
But instead, Lainie muttered, “Just to be clear, that’s two of my close friends now claimed by the club. I really should start charging a matchmaking fee.”
Gemma blinked, blushing furiously, but I didn’t miss the way she peeked up at me from under her lashes. “What?”
“Never mind,” Lainie huffed as she slid out of the booth first, tugging Gemma along with her.
Gemma looked over her shoulder as they headed for the door. There was confusion lurking in those brown pools. She didn’t understand her reaction to me.
I forced myself to keep my feet planted where they were. There was plenty of time to educate her later. After this shit was handled.
When the door shut behind them, I finally let myself breathe.
“She’s gonna wreck you,” Fox said from behind me, sounding amused as hell.
Deviant made a low whistling sound as he dropped into a chair and kicked his boots up on the table. “Heard your balls hit the floor the second she walked in.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled.
“Big, bad Hawk. All that brooding and cold silence,” Deviant chuckled. “And now you’re walking around with a hard-on and puppy eyes.”
I clenched my hands into fists so I wouldn’t strangle him. “You must really want to bleed today.”
Ignoring my warning, he grinned and quipped, “I give it a week before he’s moved her into his room and turned into one of those ‘can’t function without her’ types.”
My voice was threaded with steel, and my stare was deadly. “Keep testing me, Deviant. See how that ends.”
Fox smirked. “Two days. Tops.”
“Fuck both of you.”
That just made them laugh harder.
Maverick snorted. “Guess it’s your turn to go soft. Don’t worry, happens to the best of us.”
“Not me,” I muttered.
Liar.
“Right,” he deadpanned, calling me on my bullshit. “You’re just vibrating with bloodlust because you care so much about justice. ”
I flipped them all off and stalked toward the back hall, already counting the minutes until I could see her again.
Planning how I was gonna make her mine.
And when I found the bastard who’d dared to touch her work, steal her photo, and make her live in fear…he was going to learn exactly what it felt like to be hunted by a man with nothing to lose when it came to the woman he’d just claimed.