Chapter 28 #2
“I’ve known Jess her whole life.” Dakota stood, his face pressing right into Hawk’s.
“Her whole fucking life. I’m not doing anything other than trying to look out for her.
You left her all alone the other night and her car fucking broke down.
Wouldn’t find me leaving my pregnant girl stranded on the side of the road like that.
” Dakota smiled. “Or maybe that was the plan all along. Maybe you’re trying to get rid of your problem.
Everyone knows your reputation. Are you trying to scare Jess into staying away so you’re free to chase some other chick?
Maybe she gets hurt. Maybe she loses her baby.
And then you get to go on your merry way.
No responsibility. Nothing to tie you to her. ”
Hawk snapped. His fists went into Dakota’s shirt and before he could blink, Hawk had him shoved back against the wall.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Wait… don’t tell me. You are the creep. Colt! I think I figured it out. Hawk shows up after, with just enough time to make it seem like he’s not the one harassing Jessie!”
Hawk pulled Dakota’s body away from the wall, just far enough to have some real momentum when he shoved his body back. The crack of Dakota’s head against the wood paneling left a satisfied warmth in his chest.
“Okay, okay. Break it up,” Colt commanded. Hawk didn’t move, his eyes boring into Dakota’s. “Hawk, now. Let’s go of his fucking shirt before you scare Jessie.”
Fuck. His hands dropped away like they’d been burned. And when he turned, he expected to see Jessie staring at him, wide eyed and afraid.
But that wasn’t the case.
She was being held back by Beau, Hayes whispering something in her ear. She pushed through, and Hawk stepped to the side with his arms open, anticipating her landing against his chest.
But once again, she surprised him.
Because all five-foot-five-inches of Jessie Ford went stomping past him and before he could even turn his head, Hawk heard the crack of her palm landing against Dakota’s cheek.
“How dare you say that to him! You might be Lach’s best friend, but you are nothing to me.
I don’t need you making up battles in your mind and fighting them in public and insulting the only person here that I feel truly safe with.
Don’t think for one second that I’ll stand for you ripping down the man I plan on spending the rest of my life with. ”
Holy fuck. Pissed off Jessie was so fucking hot. Hearing her stand up for him…
“Jess,” Hayes stepped towards her, but she finally turned and walked into Hawk’s side. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and he let his jaw relax as her calm surrounded him. Which almost made him chuckle, because to everyone else, she was anything but calm.
“You don’t get to say anything to me.” Jessie pointed at her brother and shook her head. “Don’t you dare pretend like you were whispering nice things in my ear just then.”
Hawk’s face dropped down, lifting hers with his thumb. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“It was nothing.” Hayes didn’t give Jess a chance to speak. “I was telling Jess she needed to come home with us tonight. Back to the ranch. Give you some time to cool off.”
“Over my dead body,” he growled, tucking her closer to him.
“Over mine too,” Jessie added. She’d separated enough from Hawk to square her shoulders.
Her hand pressed against his heart. “I’m going home with Hawk.
This is beyond insane, and I am so ashamed of you both for treating him this way.
He is my family now. If you want to be included in your niece’s life…
in our lives… you better figure out what your problem is and fix it, fast.”
“Just listen. Please,” Beau begged. “We like Hawk. Hell, we’re fucking friends!”
“We used to be,” Hawk mumbled.
“But you’re our baby sister. We’re worried about you. Your safety—no matter who is trying to hurt you—matters to us.”
Jessie’s hands went to her hips and she rolled her eyes.
“Give me a break. I am a grown woman. I am not some naive little girl who needs protection from some big, bad wolf. I knew exactly what I was doing when I asked Hawk to bring me back to his apartment the night Bee was conceived. And I’m so happy I didn’t let the fear of my family’s judgment stop me.
Because of that night, I’m finally building the life I want for myself.
So just stop. Apologize to the man I love, and let’s move on. ”
“Would he be the man you loved if you hadn’t spread your legs for him and ended up pregnant?” Dakota asked. “You made a bad choice. But your family doesn’t want to see you stuck with someone who’s old enough to be your dad, and has violence ingrained in the very fabric of who he is.”
Hawk froze next to her as she fought to bite back her anger over what Dakota had just said.
“What the fuck did I miss?” Lachlan walked back in, his eyes jumping from Jessie to his brothers, and then to his best friend.
“Hawk and I are leaving. You better ask your friend and your brothers what happened here tonight. Let me know if you side with them. I’ll see myself out of your life too if you do.”
“Jess,” Beau’s voice was quiet, and she could hear the hurt in the way he said her name.
“Jessie?” Lach questioned as she slipped her hand into Hawk’s and pulled him towards the exit.
“Jess! Wait…”
The humid night air greeted them as they stepped into the parking lot. She didn’t stop marching until they were at Hawk’s truck. And he didn’t say a word until she tried to open her door.
“Whoa. Wait just one minute.” His fingers wrapped tightly around hers and Hawk held her in place as he tipped her chin up towards his face with his free hand.
“We have a lot to talk about when we get home, but I don’t want you in your head thinking for one second that what your brothers said—what filth Dakota spewed—is true. You’re incredible, Pretty Girl.”
She nodded, slipping her hand free from his hold. She reached for the door handle again, but this time gasped as Hawk’s hands wrapped around her waist and his lips pressed to the spot just under her ear.
“You should know that you don’t open any doors when I’m with you.”
God. She was already so keyed up from what her brothers had pulled that her brain was twisting all the wild energy running through her body into pure lust for the man helping her up into the cab of his truck.
Her hand went to her belly, wondering if Hawk would be opposed to recreating the start of the night that Bee was made…
“What’s got you blushing like that, sweetheart?”
“Just a memory very similar to this.”
“Ahh.” Hawk kissed her cheek. Then he took her seat belt and laid it over her chest and under her belly before clicking it into place. “Good and safe now. Let’s get you two home.”
Her body cooled almost immediately, a rush of embarrassment taking place where her uncontrollable horny rage had been. Pregnancy hormones were making her emotions wild, but damn, tears were starting to form and she could barely keep track of the waves that washed over her.
Hawk kept his hand on her leg the entire ride home, but it was easy to read where his thoughts were with each clench of his jaw and squeeze of his fingers.
They rode the elevator up to the apartment in silence.
An invisible vice was tightening down on her chest, and Bee kicked over and over, probably energized from the adrenaline dump she’d had back at Davney’s.
Hawk opened the door to the apartment and Jessie walked in, Marla right at her feet, meowing her greeting.
“Hey, sweet girl. Did you miss Mommy?” When she didn’t bend down to scratch Marla’s back, the cat moved on to tangling herself up in Hawk’s legs.
“Yeah, Marla. I’m happy to see you too,” he chuckled. “No. I’m not giving you treats right now.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jessie bit into her lip as she set her purse down on the table next to the door. Her feet ached, and not even slipping off her shoes gave her relief.
“What do you have to be sorry for, Jessie?” Hawk asked, his fingers pressing into her hips so she moved, her face turning into his chest.
“It was such a disaster. I messed up everything tonight.”
She waited for him to say something—anything—to tell her she was wrong. Instead, Hawk laced his fingers through hers and pulled her towards the sofa.
Once she was sitting, he turned and walked into the kitchen. Jessie sat with her hands in her lap, her fingers twisting and turning themselves into knots. This was where it was all going to fall apart.
Her job was to keep everything together. To solve everyone’s problems. Not to be the problem. And that’s all she’d been for Hawk. That’s all the baby was.
“Hey—” Hawk sat down next to her, pushing a glass of water onto the coffee table before he tipped her chin up so she was looking at him.
“You did absolutely nothing wrong. Dakota knew just what to say to push my buttons, and I fell for it. He’s probably been waiting to step in like that for a long time. I took the bait.”
“You stood up for me, but you shouldn’t have had to.” She shook her head. “I get it if you just can’t deal with this drama anymore. It’s exhausting.”
Hawk sat back like her words had slapped him right across the face.
“What are you talking about?” He shook his head slowly, back and forth, but his eyes never left hers.
“You are all I want, Jessie. When Dakota said—” His voice caught in his throat and his eyes sparkled with fresh tears.
“When he said I was violent, and that you should be afraid of me—fuck—that killed me. His words made your dad’s doubts even louder in my mind.
And your brothers asking if you wanted to go home with them…
I would never hurt you. Or Bee. You both mean everything to me.
And I’ll spend every day, for as long as it takes, for you and your family to understand that. ”
A tear spilled over his cheek, and before she could reach up to wipe it away, his finger was reaching up to brush over hers. She hadn’t even realized she was crying too.
“Don’t you dare let my idiot brothers into your head like that.
You have been wonderful to me. And not just since the baby.
Always. You were there for me after everything happened with Mae.
That trip home was the most calm I’ve ever felt in my life before I moved in here.
And it’s because you were there with me. ”
Hawk tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and cupped the back of her neck.
Jessie let her eyelids flutter closed, expecting a kiss on the lips.
But that didn’t happen. No. This man—the man who protected her, made her feel safe, and cherished, and never expected her to fix his problems or give up who she was and the dreams she had—pressed his lips to her forehead.
And when she opened her eyes in surprise, he just chuckled as his body moved back so he could drop his head and kiss her belly.
“I’m going to fix things with my brothers. I promise,” she whispered.
“That’s not your job. I don’t expect you to fight my battles for me.”
Jessie shook her head. “But it is. That’s all I’m ever doing in my family. It’s what I was made for.”
“No, sweetheart. That’s all you ever did.
But not any more. Because this is your family now.
It’s you, me, and Bee. And I’ll be the one making sure your peace is protected.
That you never feel that burden. Your family asked too much of you.
Put you in a position that you never should have been in.
But I won’t do that to you. And I’ll make sure no one ever does again. ”
“Thank you.”
“That’s the one time you can say that to me, Jess, for doing something that’s my fucking honor as your partner.”
“Stop,” she sniffled as her eyes burned. “If you keep going, I’ll stop believing you are real.”
“What do you mean?” His eyebrows did her favorite thing, where they pulled tight to make a little concerned crease, and his smile-lines framed his piercing blue eyes. God, she really did hope Bee ended up with his eyes.
“Because you’re too good to me. So fiercely protective of me. So sweet and always concerned that I’m okay. Flirty, but only with me. So handsome my body tingles every time you touch me.”
A smile stretched across his face.
“Hmm… it does, does it?” Hawk asked as he ran his finger down the exposed skin on her arm.
“You know it does. The chemistry has always been insane between us.”
“You’re right, mama. It has.” He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear. “But tonight, the chemistry is telling me to run you a bath, gather up some snacks, and take you to bed… to watch a movie and cuddle.”
Jessie sighed, her head banging playfully against his shoulder. She wanted an orgasm, but chocolate and Fitzwilliam Darcy would have to do.