Chapter Twenty-Four
Hawk insisted on cleaning the kitchen since Alex had made dinner.
Considering household chores were not on her list of favorite things, she didn’t argue.
While he made busy in the kitchen, Alex returned to the reading nook and browsed through her options.
It had been over a year since she’d actually read a novel. Back when she could turn work off and enjoy life.
She couldn’t help but wonder if those days would ever come back. Maybe if she could turn off Stone Enterprises while in Colorado, she could bring some of that switch home with her when she returned.
Two well-known novelist names stuck out to her, as did a few covers. After reading the descriptions of the books, she picked two and returned to the living room, where the fire welcomed her to curl up and snuggle in.
A large basket held several soft, furlike blankets.
Warm and tucked in, Alex opened the book and started at chapter one.
Hawk walked behind her and looked at the cover. “Crime fiction?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Maybe it will give me some insight on your family dynamics.”
“You’re always thinking, Alex.”
She turned back to the book.
“I’m going to shower.”
“Okay.” Only when he was walking up the stairs did she dare to watch him.
They’d spent the last twelve-plus hours alone, and he hadn’t done more than touch her hand.
Not once did either of them mention their encounter since the day Alex decided to take time off.
That was made easier since Hawk had spent time with his family the days following their kiss.
By the time he returned to his post at her side, Alex was in full “get shit done” mode.
Tunnel vision took her to work in the morning, and her evenings were spent prepping everything Chase needed to take over when he returned.
But now it was time to full-on stop. Stop working. Stop worrying. And stop trying to predict what was going to happen between her and Hawk. For all she knew, he was up in his room right now, trying to figure out how to tell her that he’d thought twice about getting involved.
She couldn’t blame him. Her life was complicated. She came with all kinds of strings. Most of which held up a company and demanded that she forget herself for the majority of the hours in her days.
And someone out there was trying to hurt her.
Or maybe they just wanted to scare her. The only reason she saw Hawk as much as she did was because of his role of bodyguard.
How could they even work outside of this exact situation?
She worked sixty hours a week. How would they see each other between her schedule and his? She wouldn’t need a babysitter forever.
Alex shook her head, dismissing her thoughts, and started on page one.
By the fifth page, she was yawning.
By the seventh, she’d snuggled deeper in the blanket.
By the ninth, her eyes were drifting closed.
When her eyes opened again, only the orange glow of embers smoldered in the fireplace. The lights in the room had been dimmed so low, she had to focus to see Hawk completely asleep in one of the chairs across from her.
He looked ten years younger sound asleep. The hard edges of his jaw and tense muscles eased, giving him the appearance of someone vulnerable.
Not an adjective Alex would have ever used to describe the man.
Yet there he was, his mouth slightly open, his head resting on the side of the chair.
Had he fallen asleep watching her? He could have just gone to bed.
Then Alex realized, no. He couldn’t simply do that. Hawk was there for a purpose.
To keep her safe.
For a moment, she felt guilty for falling asleep on the sofa and keeping him up longer than either of them truly wanted to be.
Her watch told her it was after midnight.
Alex eased to her feet, trying to keep quiet and not wake Hawk up. The book she’d been reading fell from her lap when she stood.
The noise snapped in the otherwise quiet room. “ Shit! ”
Hawk’s eyes sprang open.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He looked around the room before settling on her. He wiped a hand over his face and stood. “You were out. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
“I think I have some sleep to catch up on.” She picked the book up off the floor and tossed the blanket to the side.
“You need it.”
She yawned and ended with a soft moan. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Hawk stepped closer, his eyes looked deep into hers.
He placed his palm on her cheek. For a minute, she thought he’d kiss her. He did, but those lips pressed to her forehead briefly. “Good night, Alexandrea.”
As she walked up the stairs, Hawk stayed behind, turning off lights and checking the doors. She couldn’t help but feel like this was the perfect start of her vacation. Even if she was going to bed alone.
The sky had clouded over by the time Alex pulled her lazy ass out of bed.
It was the smell of bacon that pulled her to the kitchen, where Hawk was doing the honors of cooking breakfast.
It was nine thirty.
“Look who decided to wake up,” Hawk teased.
“I slept like the dead,” she announced. “How did you sleep?”
“It’s quiet here” was his answer.
“Too much?”
Hawk shrugged.
Alex found the cupboard with coffee mugs and poured a cup of magic bean juice.
“What’s on your agenda today?” he asked.
She leaned against the counter and brought the coffee to her lips. “I say we explore.”
“Okay.”
“Using the snowmobiles.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Have you ever driven one before?”
“No. How hard can it be?”
Hawk flipped a piece of French toast in the pan. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Two hours later, Alex stood on the all-terrain vehicle on skis, pulled the goggles from her face, and turned to where Hawk stood in the middle of the circle they’d been practicing on. “The movies make it look easy,” she announced.
Hawk had tried it out first. And took to it like fish to water.
Alex, on the other hand, was having trouble with the timing of when to ease up on the gas to come to a complete stop.
“I think it will be easier for you with fresh snow.”
She glanced at the sky. “I don’t think we’re going to have to wait long for that.” The temperature was well below the freezing point, and the sky was turning gray.
But she wasn’t overly cold. Driving the snowmobile took some serious effort that was keeping her warm. That and the multiple layers she wore to ward off the chill.
Hawk walked over to her, his helmet in his hand.
“How about this ... I drive, you hang on. And tomorrow, if we get some fresh snow, you try again solo.”
A slow, lazy smile spread on her lips. “Is this your way of getting me to wrap my body around yours?”
Her words surprised him.
Hawk looked her up and down openly. He stepped closer. “Remind me to pull a spark plug on one of these tomorrow.”
Alex slid back on the seat and patted the space in front of her. “Saddle up, cowboy. I didn’t come all the way out here to drive in circles.”
A fresh wave of satisfaction washed over her when Hawk tossed a leg over the snowmobile and gripped the handlebars.
He powered the machine and looked over his shoulder.
Alex fixed the goggles over her head, and with Hawk’s gaze connected with hers, he gave the machine some gas, they lunged forward, and Alex’s body slid right up next to his.
She took the hint and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“This is better,” she said.
Hawk put his helmet on, and his voice hummed in her ear.
“Hang on,” he told her.
Alex had no idea that helmets for these kinds of toys came with Bluetooth speakers that made it possible to hear what others were saying.
Hawk started out slow as he entered the trees beyond the house.
Most of the snow on the trees was gone, but the ground was still thick with a winter full of snow that never melted completely.
And as much as watching the landscape was enjoyable, the feel of the man she held on to beat it all by a thousand percent.
He was solid, anchored. When he moved, she did. It was surprising to her how quickly she adapted to folding into him. Her thighs against his, her chest against his back.
It had been entirely too long since she’d been this close to anyone. Even with the dozen layers of clothing between them.
Hawk came to a stop on the edge of the trees and pointed out over a clearing. “That looks safe enough for some speed,” he said.
“What are you waiting for, then?” she asked.
He grasped her arms and pulled her tighter and then found the throttle.
One second they were thinking about moving fast, the next they were digging up tracks in untouched snow with a sheer rush of adrenaline.
As one hour turned into two, Hawk’s mastery of the snowmobile increased. And the more comfortable Alex was with holding on.
Tiny flakes started falling when they decided to head back to the house.
By the time they made it to the circle track they’d started in, those flakes had expanded in size and amount.
Alex was in heaven.
Living a life in Southern California meant that snow days simply weren’t a thing.
Yes, she’d seen snow fall. But not often, and almost never like this.
In the mountains with no one else around.
She knew there were neighbors, but their homes weren’t close, and who knew if anyone was actually in them.
For all Alex knew, the homes were vacation places for men like her father.
Vacant.
Hawk stopped by the machine he’d pulled out to use earlier. “Think you can manage bringing this around to the garage without me?”
“Driving it there isn’t the problem. It’s stopping.”
He untangled from her and stood. “I have faith in you.”
Alex didn’t have anything to worry about. She stopped a good ten feet from the door and got off. She had no shame in having Hawk take it in the rest of the way.
She freed her head from the helmet and pulled the knit cap down over her ears.
The cold was getting to her, but the feel of snow dropping on her face felt too good to walk away from.