Chapter 21 Hawk
HAWK
Steam curls around us, fogging the glass, the hiss of the water filling the space. The heat sinks into my skin and loosens muscles I didn’t even realize were tight.
Daniela steps in beside me. Droplets cling to her lashes, trail down her cheeks, and disappear along the curve of her jaw. My chest tightens—not from lust, though there’s plenty of that—but from the way she looks at me. Like she trusts me. Like she’s letting me in.
I take the bottle of body wash from the shelf, flip the cap, and pour some into my palm. The scent—something clean, citrus with a hint of spice—mixes with the humid air. I rub my hands together until the lather blooms between my fingers and then slide them over her shoulders.
Her skin is warm, slick, impossibly soft. I work the soap down her arms, slow enough to feel every dip and rise of muscle and bone. She tilts her head, eyes closed, lips parted just enough to let out the faintest sigh.
I want to kiss her. I want to press her against the wall and take everything she’s offering without asking. But that’s not what this is. Not tonight.
“Turn around,” I murmur.
She does, her back to me now, water cascading over her like liquid glass. I work the soap across her shoulder blades, down her spine, to the small of her back. I trace lazy circles at her hips before I drag my hands lower, just to the tops of her thighs. Not too far. Not yet.
When I’m done, I pass her the bottle. She doesn’t speak, just pours a little into her palm and starts on me.
Her touch is lighter than mine, almost teasing, sliding over my chest, up to my neck, her fingers curling just slightly as they pass my collarbones.
She works the lather over my chest, her nails grazing, and every muscle in my body goes tight.
She moves behind me, hands gliding over my shoulders, down my back, slow and deliberate. The water keeps running, but I feel like everything in here has gone still except her hands on me.
When she’s finished, she rinses me with the showerhead. I take it from her in return, rinsing her just as slowly, my fingers combing through her hair until every trace of soap is gone.
We don’t talk. We don’t need to. The air between us is heavy with something unspoken.
I turn the water off, but neither of us moves right away. We just stand there, steam curling around us, breaths mingling, so close I can feel her heartbeat in the space between us.
If only this moment could last.
If only real life didn’t get in the way.
Eagle.
My father.
The mystery of Ted.
And most importantly…
Whoever is threatening Daniela.
If we could stay here, caught in the steamy paradise together, simply looking at each other, kissing each other, caring for each other…
But the steam eventually dissipates.
I open the shower door, reach for a fluffy white towel, and hand it to Daniela. She slides it over her hair, drawing out the water, and then wraps it around herself like a toga.
I grab one myself, dry my hair quickly, and wrap it around my waist.
I give her my hand, and she walks out of the shower.
My en suite bathroom is huge, and the mirrors are all fogged with steam.
We’re naked. Clean and naked.
And already my dick is hard again.
But this time…
This time there won’t be a couch. This time it won’t be hard and fast.
This time it will be on my bed. My bed, with soft bamboo sheets that feel cool under our bodies, and with the moonlight streaming in through my window.
Daniela reaches for a brush on my counter. “May I?”
“What’s mine is yours,” I say, and with those words, I realize how much I mean them.
Everything I have—everything I am—belongs to this woman.
I can offer her riches. But that won’t mean anything to her. She grew up with riches. She knows that riches don’t mean a happy life. I can offer her vast land.
But what is land? You can only occupy a small bit of it at a time.
I can offer her my heart. She has that already. And I can offer her my soul.
But it’s a tormented soul. Tormented by the past. The present. Even the future.
I don’t know what the future holds for Eagle, for my father.
And the future of Ted? His future was stolen long ago. Stolen by my father.
Daniela brushes her hair in the mirror, the long thick strands tumbling over her shoulders and back, clinging to them.
She’s never looked more beautiful.
This woman doesn’t need makeup. She doesn’t need an elaborate hairstyle. All she needs is herself. Though her soul may be as tormented as mine, she is truly good, and it shines through her.
As for me?
I ignored my brother when he needed me most.
I am not truly good.
But Daniela and I at least have this time together. Time in my bed, where I will treat her to the best sex of her life.
I can’t stop looking at her. She lets the towel fall onto the bathroom floor.
She’s flushed all over, her breasts swollen. My dick is rock hard, and though I’m dying to plunge inside her and fuck her, I’m determined to make love to her differently this time.
Slowly.
Sweetly.
I sit down on the bed and continue to stare at her.
Her lips are swollen and pink, her nipples hard with the areolas scrunched.
Her belly has just the right amount of curve, and her legs…
So long and shapely. Just perfect. Her pussy is shaved, and I can see just the tip of her lips, the rest of it hiding between her legs.
Fuck…
I rub at my forehead.
I could so easily throw her onto my bed and pound into her.
But I won’t.
Not this time.
I haven’t yet tasted every bit of her flesh.
I haven’t had enough of her fragrance and her flavor.
I haven’t had enough of her lips around my cock.
I rub my forehead and gather my willpower. For it will take every last shred.
“Come here,” I say.
She walks toward me, her breasts jiggling gently.
She’s so fucking hot. So perfect.
I take her in my arms and lay her on the bed. “Ready to be tantalized?” I ask.
“Always,” she sighs.
Our bodies are clean after a day at the hospital and waterpark. We’re both tired but not sleepy.
I kiss Daniela’s lips first, a soft peck, and then slide my tongue over her neck and shoulder.
She shudders.
“I’m going to kiss every inch of you,” I growl. “Every single inch.”
Another sigh escapes her throat. “Please.”
“No need to beg. I’m doing it. And I’m going to love every minute.”
I trail kisses over her chest, her breasts, leaving her hard nipples alone for now. It takes more of that willpower, as they are beautiful and beckoning.
But I continue, sliding my lips over her perfect belly, her thighs, her calves, all the way down to her pretty toes. I pick up one foot, kiss her instep, and then give each toe a peck.
“Hawk…”
“Shh,” I say. “Just enjoy.”
“Not a problem…”
I move to the other foot. “Every part of you is beautiful,” I say and then slide my tongue over her big toe.
I kiss up her other leg, and then I part her legs slightly.
Her sweet pussy beckons, but I stay away and instead nibble on her inner thighs, already slick with her juices.
Her flesh is like silk under my lips and tongue. I lick. I kiss. I nip. I nibble. Touching as I go, caressing her curvy belly and then her beautiful breasts.
This time I don’t skip her breasts. Instead I cup them, kiss them, slide my tongue over the flesh.
“Please…”
“I told you that you don’t have to beg me. Not this time.” I flick my tongue over one nipple while I twist the other between my fingers.
“God, yes…” she whispers as she sucks in a breath and arches her back.
“You like that, baby?”
“God, yes. Suck my nipples. Please.”
I return to the nipple, this time sucking harder. Even biting. Damn, I’m hard, and already I can smell her. She’s ready for me. She’ll hold my cock like a fucking vise, and I want so much to—
Not yet, though.
Her nipples need more attention.
I go back to sucking, twisting the other. Then I move my lips away, twist both nipples between my fingers.
She arches again. “Yes…”
“You like that? You like when I pinch your nipples?”
“God, yes.”
“Tell me what you want, baby. Tell me everything you want me to do to you.”
“All of it,” she says on another sigh. “Every single thing, Hawk. All those things I swore I’d never want. But I want them. I want them now. I want them with you.”
Her words both sadden me and spur me on.
Everything this young woman has been through.
The torture, the pain, the rapes. If I could, I’d wash it all from her mind and her body.
I can’t do that, but I can at least give her good memories to replace all that.
I can show her that sex isn’t pain and humiliation.
It’s beauty.
It’s inspiration.
It’s…love.
“More,” she sighs.
I twist her nipples harder—but only slightly. Then I release them and slide my tongue over each one. This time gently, to ease the pleasure-pain I just gave her.
She arches her back again. Raises her hips. Yes, I know what she wants. I want it too, more than she could possibly imagine.
She’s so responsive. I could spend the whole day on her breasts alone. Showing her how lovely she is, how deserving she is of everything good in life.
But she needs more now. And so do I.
While sucking lightly on a nipple, I slide my hand between her legs.
Fuck, she’s so wet. So slick.
My cock tightens. I’m pretty sure I’ve never been this hard before.
I touch her clit only lightly.
“Hawk!”
I drop the nipple. “Good?”
“More than good. Please, I need you.”
“You’ve got me, Daniela. I promise.”
I bring my finger to my lips to taste her. Sweet and tangy and perfect. Then I slide between her legs again, this time gliding one finger into her.
She opens her eyes.
“Good?” I ask.
“Better than good. I want you inside me.”
I steel myself once more. Her words make me want to feel her heat around me.
Again she arches her back, raises her hips.
“God, you’re beautiful,” I rasp out against her sweet flesh.
I kiss her softly. I want to kiss her hard, ravish her.
But if I do that, I’ll shove my cock inside her and this will be over all too soon.