Chapter 14 #2
Once we were curled up on the couch, bowls of dessert in hand, I looked at Hawk and asked, “What do you want to know about me?”
“Everything.”
One word.
I hadn’t realized that a single word could have such power.
But Hawk saying that to me in response to my question made my heart melt. He hadn’t even hesitated when I asked.
“I’m a twin.”
His spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. “What?”
“I’m a twin. I told you about my sister, Mia. She’s my twin.”
Hawk’s eyes rounded. “There’re two of you?”
Laughter spilled out of me. “Well, I mean…yes. But despite looking similar, we’ve got very different personalities.”
“How so?” He was so intrigued. And given how tense some of the conversation we’d had over dinner had been, I loved seeing him so relaxed.
“As you already know, I have no problem making friends with and talking to anyone. Mia’s not like that.
She’s super sweet, and she’s great once she gets to know people.
But she’s not the one who’s ever going to initiate the conversation.
And you don’t have to worry about not being able to tell us apart.
Physically speaking, her hair is darker than mine. And she got our dad’s blue eyes.”
“Yours are hazel.”
I nodded and whispered, “Yeah.”
Following a beat of silence, he asked, “So, just the twin sister, then?”
“No. We have a younger brother. His name is Kingston.”
“And you’re all close.”
“Very.”
“You said your sister writes romance novels. What about your brother?”
Lips twitching, I shook my head. “He does not.”
Hawk laughed, his eyes shining. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“Kingston took after our dad,” I revealed. “He’s a professional snowboarder.”
For a few moments, Hawk simply stared at me, his brow furrowed. Then, he looked down at his nearly empty bowl of ice cream and murmured under his breath, “Cunningham. Cunningham.” I saw the moment it clicked. His head snapped up, eyes wide. “Your dad is Zane Cunningham?”
I pressed my lips together and tried to ignore the fear I felt that who my dad was would impact how Hawk felt about me. “He is.”
“Why do you look so terrified?”
Shrugging, I was honest. “I just don’t want you to be put off by who my dad is.”
Hawk blinked rapidly before leaning forward to set his bowl down on the coffee table. Turning fully to face me, eyes practically bulging, he asked, “Are you serious?”
His tone indicated that he was extremely displeased. “I… I was. But I’m getting the distinct feeling I shouldn’t be.”
“No, you shouldn’t be.” He took my hand in his and squeezed. “Chloe, I’m here with you. Me. The guy nobody wants to be around. You’ve never once treated me differently because of who I am and what I did. And you think I’d feel some type of way about you because of who your dad is?”
My throat tightened painfully. “I’m sorry. That was terrible of me to do.”
“It’s okay.” Hawk’s thumb stroked lightly over my hand, his touch tender.
The way he was looking at me, combined with that soft caress on my hand, was far too much to handle. So, I glanced down at my bowl, noted the remaining bites left, and said, “I think I’m finished.”
Hawk released my hand. “You don’t want the rest of your dessert?”
I shook my head, scooped out another bite, and held it up to his mouth. “Would you like it?”
His gaze darkened as he parted his lips. And for the next minute or so, Hawk and I didn’t say a word as I fed him what was left of my ice cream. When the bowl was empty, he wordlessly took it from my hand and set it on the coffee table beside his.
Between the firm, intense eye contact and the memory of kissing Hawk earlier, I felt a bit wild. My body seemed to have taken over, and I suspected he was dealing with some of the same.
I became a bit breathless as my tongue darted out to touch my lips. A slow smile spread across Hawk’s face, and my fingers ached to touch him. He must’ve had a similar craving if his next move was any indication.
Hawk reached up and traced along the curve of my bottom lip with his finger, his eyes focused on its journey.
I stopped breathing, my skin tingling, while Hawk took his time, seeming interested in memorizing the exact shape of my lips.
My need for more refused to be ignored, forcing a whimper to escape.
And that was all it took.
One tiny, desperate sound was all Hawk needed to act. His eyes met mine, and his hand drove into my hair. Two tense moments passed before he tugged me in his direction and captured my mouth with his.
Heat flooded me as my hands sought him out. Reaching. Feeling. Possessing.
I wanted more, craved it. Hawk seemed to understand what I was feeling, because his tongue pushed past my lips and plundered my mouth.
Relief. Sweet relief. And yet, it’s still not enough.
Hawk took me to my back, our lips still connected, and even having half of his body covering part of mine was a dream. I didn’t think it could get better. But then his hand drifted down to my hip, squeezed, and descended on my thigh.
For the first time since his lips touched mine, he tore them away, but only so he could kiss along my jaw and down the side of my throat, the occasional groan slipping out.
My hands had been clamped on his shoulders as he’d lowered me onto my back, but now that I had no worry about him walking away, I wanted to touch more of him.
Hawk’s tongue darted out to taste the skin just beneath my jaw while my fingertips drifted down over his solid chest.
Lower.
Lower.
Lower.
I made it to his hips as his mouth landed at my ear. My hands slipped beneath the hem of his shirt and touched his warm skin. He sucked in a breath before using his teeth to nibble at my earlobe.
That sent shock waves through me, and my hips rolled as a moan glided up my throat. With his knee planted on the cushion between my legs, I found some friction there and was just about to roll my hips again when Hawk pulled back.
“Okay, we’re done.”
“What?” I gasped, grabbing his arms to hold him close. “No.”
“Chloe, please,” he said. “I’m barely holding on to my control right now.”
I batted my eyelashes and smiled. “I don’t mind.”
“I do.”
“But… But we were having a good time.”
He sent a reassuring smile my way. “Yes, we were.”
“So, why do you want to stop?”
Pressing his hips forward, he asked, “Do you feel that? Against your leg?”
I nodded because I did. And what I felt told me Hawk liked me and what we’d been doing a lot.
“Please, sweetness, I need a break.” His voice was soft. Gentle. Like he didn’t want to disappoint me, but he desperately needed me to understand.
Sighing, I released my hold on him and acquiesced. “Okay. We can stop.”
He shifted himself back onto the cushion. “I’d say we could do more talking, but I get the feeling you’ll say something cute, and I’ll wind up right back in this position before I’ve had a chance to calm down.”
I was tempted to tell him that I wanted to talk for that very reason, but I’d promised him I didn’t care how slow he wanted things to go. So, I smiled and said, “We can watch a movie.”
Hawk returned the smile. “A movie sounds great.”
At that, we picked out a movie and cuddled. It was nice; I enjoyed it. Because Hawk held me close, and I got to breathe in the scent of him the entire time.
After the movie ended, we got back to doing more kissing.
Unsurprisingly, things got hot and heavy between us. And when Hawk had gotten too worked up, stopping us for the second time, we decided it was time to call it a night.
But I wasn’t disappointed.
I climbed into bed shortly after he left, replayed my day with him in my head, and fell asleep with a smile on my face.