Kitabı oku: «In the Arms of the Rancher», sayfa 3

A real deep kiss from Hawk. She replayed the thought inside her head. Swallowing to moisten her suddenly parched throat, she began to undress, her hands fumbling with the simple routine. She mumbled a mild curse to herself.

She had just managed to remove her blouse when the phone rang.

Hawk? Kate froze, her heart beating wildly. It rang again. Not bothering to look at the caller ID, she snatched it up, nearly dropping it. Drawing a quick breath in an attempt to keep a tremor from her voice, she said, “Hello.”

“Who was he?” Jeff snarled.

Kate went cold and stiff. “That is none of your business.” She wouldn’t so much as say his name.

“Yes, it is,” he snapped back at her. “You’re mine and you know it.”

“I never was yours,” she said icily. “And I broke up with you months ago, as you well know.”

“You were in a snit.” He was back to the snarl. “And—”

“No,” she said, cutting him off. “You were being verbally and emotionally abusive…again.”

“I’m not giving up, Kate. I know you love me.” His voice was suddenly soft, cajoling, “I’ll get you back.”

“I’ve been patient up until now, Jeff,” she stated flatly, finally saying his name, anger stirring in her voice. “If you bother me again, I’ll report you to the police. And this time I mean it.”

“Sure,” he said in honeyed tones. “You mean it every time, which only tells me you don’t mean it.”

Kate drew a deep breath in an attempt to control her anger. How in the world had she ever thought that syrupy tone was attractive? Now it repulsed her. He repulsed her.

“I have only three words for you, Jeff,” she began.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied smoothly, interrupting her. “Like I told you, you love me.”

“Go to hell.” She hung up on him.

Kate stood trembling, staring warily at the phone as if it might attack her.

Damn him. Damn him. Damn him.

She had had enough. Tomorrow morning she would see a lawyer about reporting him to the authorities and would take out a restraining order against him.

Although Kate had never done so before, in case there happened to be an emergency in her family, she was so uneasy that she disconnected the landline and turned off her cell.

After she was ready for bed, she still felt shaken by the call and so she checked the locks on the front door, even though no one could go beyond the lobby without a card key. Then she double-checked the locks on the patio door and on every window.

Kate lay in bed for some time, unable to sleep. When she finally drifted off, she drifted right into a dream. Not of Jeff and fear, but of Hawk and unbelievable pleasure.

He came to her softly, murmuring of the exciting delights to be found in the joining of their bodies. She sighed in her sleep, her body moving in sensual restlessness.

She wanted, needed, ached for his touch, the feel of his mouth taking passionate control of hers, for his hard body possessing, owning, her own.

Kate woke, trembling, quivering deep inside her body, her breathing harsh and uneven. She kicked the covers away from her perspiration-slicked body. Never had she had a dream so real, so vivid that it actually brought her close to release in her sleep.

Her breathing slowly returning to normal, she sat up, staring into the dimness of her bedroom, her mind and senses still reeling.

While it was true that it had been some time since she had been intimate with a man—she would not think his name—it seemed unreal to Kate that a dream of a man she had so recently met and knew practically nothing about, not simply a dream of a fantasy man, could affect her to her very core. Her thoughts ebbed as sleep claimed her once more.

To her surprise, Kate woke later refreshed, if still a bit anxious.

What was with her, anyway? Kate asked herself, musing on her unusual reaction to Hawk. Yes, he was extremely attractive and fun to be with, not to mention sexy as hell. But he was just another man…wasn’t he?

Shying away from the thought, Kate centered her attention on the business at hand. Going to the phone, she reconnected the landline and dialed Vic’s home number.

Lisa was happy to oblige with the name of a good attorney, as she had been after Kate to swear out a restraining order against Jeff ever since Kate had thrown him out of her apartment.

Minutes later, Kate had an appointment for the next morning with the attorney Lisa had recommended, an older-sounding man named Edward Bender. It was a start.

Chapter Four

Even though she knew the time of Hawk’s arrival, Kate jumped when the buzzer rang from the intercom in the lobby. Fortunately she had just finished swiping her lashes with the mascara wand, or she would have had a very strange black streak across her temple.

Grabbing her purse and a Black Watch plaid wrap that complemented her off-white dress, she flipped the button and spoke into the wall-mounted receiver.

“Hawk?”

“Yes.” His sexy, low voice gave her an all over tingly sensation.

“I’m coming right down.”

Without waiting for a response, Kate switched on a night light, locked the door and headed for the elevator.

She had felt an attraction to him from the moment he had walked into Vic’s, standing there all tall and lean and ruggedly masculine.

On the other hand, even from the beginning Jeff had appeared almost too handsome, cultured and charming. Almost too good to be true. Of course, before long, his real character had come through.

Kate snorted derisively as she pressed the elevator button. Handsome, cultured and charming was an act hiding Jeff’s true nature.

As Kate stepped inside the elevator, an old adage of her mother’s came to mind. Handsome is as handsome does. Well, for Kate, handsome had proved to be a nasty jerk when things didn’t go exactly the way he wanted them to go.

“Hi,” Hawk said as the elevator doors parted. “You look lovely.” His eyes held a teasing gleam. “How did you know the Black Watch was my favorite of the clan plaids?”

Kate laughed. “I didn’t. It just happens to be my favorite, too. And hello yourself.” She grinned.

“Where are we going this evening?”

Shaking his head, Hawk cupped her elbow and led her to the car. “I thought we’d pick up where we were, before we were so rudely interrupted. Do you avoid all casinos or just the one we almost went in last night?”

“Just that one,” she said and buckled her seat belt. “But I don’t go to casinos very often.” She smiled. “As the old song goes, I work hard for my money. But I do play occasionally.”

“Table games?” He arched his brows.

“No, I play the machines only.” Kate arched her brows back at him. “What about you?”

“Poker, Texas hold ’em,” he answered, shrugging. “And some blackjack now and again. Ready to go?”

“Whenever you are,” Kate said, and he pulled out of the lot.

He was quiet for a moment as they drove. “I don’t know what scent you’re wearing but I like it…a lot.”

Kate grew warmer and more tingly. “Thank you, Hawk. It’s the only scent I wear.”

“Whenever or wherever I smell it, I’ll think of you.” He flashed a smile at her.

Kate was certain everything inside her was melting. She told herself she had better be careful, because this man wasn’t merely dangerous, but he was dynamite. Compared to Hawk, she thought, Jeff wasn’t even a firecracker.

Playing with firecrackers was one thing, but playing with dynamite…Kate shivered.

“Are you cold?” Hawk asked, noticing her shiver even though he never took his eyes from the road. “I can turn on the car heater.” He reached to do so.

“No…no.” Kate shook her head while offering a weak smile. “I’m fine, really, and we’re almost to the strip.” Jeez, she thought, if he turned on the heater, she’d melt right there in front of him.

“It does seem strange,” he said. “In October here in Vegas in the afternoon, the temp can go into the seventies and even the eighties, yet in the evening it can drop down into the fifties and forties.”

“It’s different where you live?” she said, wanting to know every little thing about him, about his life.

He grinned. “It depends what part of the state you’re in. In Denver it can get very warm during the day and cooler in the evenings. But in the mountains where I live, while we might get some warmth in the daytime, it can get damned cold at night.”

“I like the mountains,” she said, unaware of the wistful note in her voice.

“You’re not from here originally?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m from Virginia, near the Blue Ridge Mountains. My father runs a small horse farm.”

He slanted a quick smile at her. “There you go. We have something in common.”

“Horses?” She laughed.

“Hey, don’t knock it. It’s a start.”

Kate couldn’t help wondering exactly what he meant by a start. A start of what? He was only going to be in Vegas for a while, wasn’t he?

Hawk surprised her by avoiding the Strip, driving to one of the older hotel casinos in town, one she had never been inside before. That is, old in comparison to the unbelievably expensive palaces forever under construction.

Kate liked it even better than the much more elaborate pleasure palaces with which Vegas abounded. For one thing, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the others.

“So,” Hawk said, “what do you want to do?”

Kate was quiet a moment, glancing around her. “I think I’ll wander around a bit—” she flashed a smile at him “—until one of the machines calls to me.”

“Fine,” he said. He paused before adding, “I think I’ll wander to a blackjack table. Suppose we synchronize our watches and meet right here in, say, an hour?”

Grinning, Kate looked at her wristwatch. “Right. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you then.”

They had no sooner separated than Kate began to feel lonely. Silly, she chided herself, checking out the lines of machines as she strolled around.

In a bid to distract herself from thoughts of Hawk, she sat down at a machine at the end of a row. She spent several minutes studying the instructions on the three-coin machine before feeding a twenty into the money slot. She racked up eighty credits in the credit window.

Kate had played the machine for almost the full hour when she became aware that someone new had taken the machine beside her. She did not spare a glance at the person.

“Hello, Kate.” Jeff’s smooth voice gave her a start. “I saw you sitting here all alone and came to keep you company.”

Jeff, here? Kate could hardly believe it. This casino was not the kind he frequented; he preferred the glitzy new ones that drew all the celebrities. The thought that followed sent a chill down her spine.

Was he following her, stalking her?

Scared but determined not to reveal her fear to him, Kate turned a cold look on him. “I’m not alone. I have company, and even if I didn’t, I would never want yours.”

“Now, Kate, we both know you don’t—”

That was as far as she allowed him to go. “You know nothing, Jeff, but I’ll enlighten you.” She drew courage from the cool tones she had achieved. “If you aren’t gone from my sight within the next few seconds, I will begin screaming for security.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said. “You forget I know you hate making a scene.”

“Perhaps,” she admitted, “but I’ll gladly make an exception in your case.” She made a show of glancing at her watch. “You have exactly two seconds to disappear.” She didn’t look away from her watch. “One…two…”

He was off the stool and moving away from her, swearing a blue streak. Shaken by the encounter, she drew a calming breath, and the minute he was out of her sight, she hit the pay-out button and walked away with five dollars more than she’d started with.

She was hurrying back to the place where she’d agreed to meet Hawk when she spotted him at a blackjack table. She hesitated a moment but then decided to approach him, certain Jeff wouldn’t try anything again so long as Hawk was near.

Coming up behind him, Kate laid a hand on his shoulder to let him know she was there. “Hi. I see you’re winning.” There were several stacks of chips in front of him.

“Yeah.” He turned to smile at her. “You ready to leave?”

“No hurry,” she said. “I’d like to watch awhile, if you don’t mind me standing in back of you as you play.”

“Not at all,” he said, managing to keep an eye on the play of cards at the same time. “I’m not superstitious. Fact is, I like you there.”

Feeling inordinately pleased and warmed by his comment, especially after that unpleasant encounter with Jeff, Kate lightly flexed her fingers on his shoulder. The warmth flowed stronger when he raised a hand to cover hers briefly, his fingers lacing with hers.

The feeling of his touch remained on her even as the evening continued. Would his touch bring such torrid dreams again? She hoped it would banish those nightmares that only Jeff could inspire.

Chapter Five

The idea was to tire himself out enough to sleep. Hawk knew that was the only reason he found himself back at the poker tables until after two in the morning. As he had earlier in the evening, he won. But that wasn’t the purpose.

He didn’t even doze off, not until after four. Hell, he thought, prowling around the spacious room, popping the top off a can of light beer, he might as well have stayed at the poker tables. He stopped at the floor-to-ceiling window to stare at the glaringly bright lights along the Strip. On the street below, the traffic, both human and vehicular, was almost as heavy as in the afternoon or evening. He took a swig of the cold beer. Obviously there was more than one town in the country that never slept.

His thoughts swirled continuously, every one about Kate. Hawk sighed, “Kate.” He didn’t realize he had whispered her name aloud or finished off the beer. Shaking his head at his wandering mind, he tossed the can into the wastebasket.

He wanted to be with her so badly, he ached with the wanting, the raw need. His back teeth hurt from clenching them together. There were other women in Vegas; there had been plenty of them in the casino and the restaurant yesterday morning. Several of them had cast unmistakable looks of availability at him. He had ignored them.

Just any woman wouldn’t do. Hawk was always selective when it came to the females he spent time with, despite the fact that he so seldom left the ranch.

This time around was different. Hawk was coming to the reluctant conclusion that the only woman he wanted to spend his time with was Kate.

And Kate had man problems, dammit.

She appeared to resent the oily guy more than fear him…but one could never really know what another person was thinking, feeling. Vic had said Kate had thrown the creep out of her apartment for verbally abusing her. And last night he had been far from pleasant.

Hawk frowned. Was the jerk harassing her? Had he been harassing her since she dumped him? Hell, that was months ago now.

When Kate had joined him at the blackjack table earlier that night, she had seemed different than when they had separated, he to play the tables and she to play the slots. It had been nothing overt or obvious. She had been quieter and slightly more reserved, not at all the woman who had laughed so easily earlier.

The wheels in Hawk’s mind were rolling full speed. Had that creep approached her again between the time they parted and when she joined him at the blackjack table? Had she come to him for protection? Hmm, it was possible, and now that he thought about it, probable.

Confused by her sudden change in mood, he had slightly withdrawn. He had had such high hopes for a kiss, a real kiss, with her before she went into her apartment building.

Hope in one hand and spit in the other.

The old saying of his father’s slipped through his mind. Hawk rejected the very idea that he gave up hope. Sliding beneath the covers again, he thought he had better get some sleep if he wanted to be sharp enough to catch any slight change in her attitude, because he could see her tomorrow.

This time he was unconscious within minutes.

Kate entered Mr. Bender’s office with a heavy step that morning. The lawyer was older—close to sixty she judged—and he appeared to be the classic prototype of an old-fashioned gentleman.

She told him her problem. In turn, Mr. Bender had questions.

“Did he ever hit you, even the lightest slap?”

“No.” Kate shook her head. “But…I must admit there were times when he was the most angry, swearing…I began fearing he might.”

“I see. Did he ever threaten you?”

“Not outright,” she said, “but in a vague, oblique way.” She sighed. “I don’t know how else to describe it, but he frightens me.”

“Now, don’t you worry, Miss Muldoon. The law will take care of this…” He hesitated, his lips pursed as if from a sour taste. “This lowlife.”

Sighing with resignation at her predicament, Kate pushed herself through the revolving door.

Directly into reality. Her cell phone rang. Kate hesitated, eyeing the instrument as if it might leap into the air and bite her. It wasn’t a number she recognized.

Thoughts whipped through her head, one tripping over another. Jeff…the bastard. She knew; she knew he’d track her to the lawyer’s. He must have followed her.

What to do?

The phone rang for the third time. Kate opened the phone, determining to rip a verbal strip off him.

“Hello?” Her mouth was bone-dry; her voice, sharp with impatience. She fully expected to hear Jeff’s angry voice in response.

“Kate?”

A silent sigh of relief slipped through her lips. “Hawk! I, uh, I’m glad to hear it’s you. I had a lovely time last night,” she said, trying to forget the unwanted and unwelcome appearance of Jeff, and the doubts assailing her now.

“I’m glad.” Now she could hear the relief in his voice. “I wondered whether something had upset you.”

“Well, you wondered wrong,” she said, her tone firm. “It’s been a very long time since I laughed the way I have with you these past two evenings, Hawk. It felt good.” Too good.

In all honesty, and as much as she would have liked to deny it, she felt shaky at the awareness it was him on the line. She felt as if everything was smoldering inside her—and breathless, shivery. She had felt somewhat the same at first with Jeff almost two years ago. This time the feeling was stronger, more intense. No, she didn’t like it at all.

She had believed herself immune to any other charmer. For Jeff had been charming and gallant for many months, right up until she had agreed to him moving in with her, his ring on her finger. For a while she had been content. Her contentment had lasted all of three months. A bitter taste filled her mouth. First Jeff had become possessive, questioning her every move when they weren’t together. Then he had become verbally abusive, cursing, accusing her of being with other men, even Vic.

The warm sensations that had been inside Kate faded to cold determination. She could not, would not, go through a situation like that again.

He jumped on her last remark. “In that case, lunch?”

She had no choice but to smile, and it did feel good, dammit. And she couldn’t resist, didn’t want to resist, even though she feared she’d regret it.

“I’ve got to stop by my apartment to change. Do you want to meet me there?”

“Sure. What time?”

Kate glanced at her wristwatch, noting it was not quite twelve-thirty. “Would forty-five minutes work? You realize I’m not going to even ask whether Vic gave you the number.”

He chuckled in reply. “See you then.”

Within fifteen minutes, Kate was entering her apartment. Slipping off her jacket as she went, she headed for her bedroom. She removed the rest of her suit, hung it back in the closet and made a beeline for the bathroom, wanting to wash up before applying fresh makeup.

She smoothed her hair with a brush, giving it a healthy sheen. Makeup was fast and easy. She kept it light, natural looking. Back in the bedroom she was reaching into the closet for one of the outfits she wore only to work when the buzzer sounded on the intercom.

Hawk? Kate shot a look at the bedside clock. Only thirty-five minutes had passed since she’d talked to him. Pulling on a lightweight robe, she went running to the intercom.

“Yes?” she said on a quick breath.

“Ready for lunch?”

A flutter tickled her stomach, clutched at her throat. “Err…” she said, “not quite. Sorry.”

“That’s okay, I’ll wait.”

“You don’t have to wait in the lobby,” she said, feeling uncertain that inviting him up was wise. Still, she did. “I’ll buzz the lock on the lobby door. I’m in the second-floor front apartment. Just walk in. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

“Gotcha.”

That was what she was afraid of, and if he did have her, what did he intend to do with her?

Thinking she must either be nuts or self-destructive, Kate unlocked the front door and, turning, dashed back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

She heard the front door open and Hawk call out, “I’m here, Kate. Take your time. I’m in no hurry.”

In the process of fastening her belt, Kate had to smile. Hawk was—or at least appeared to be—so nice, pleasant. But then appearances, she reminded herself, were deceiving. She sighed, fully aware that she knew that better than most.

When she entered the living room, Hawk was standing with his back to her, perusing the books on her five-shelf bookcase. He looked gorgeous from the rear.

“See something you like?” she asked, her face growing warm from merely thinking about his tight rear.

He turned to smile at her before replying. “Now I do.” He ran a slow look over her, which parched her throat and moistened other places she didn’t care to think about at the moment.

“Ready to go?” she asked brightly, perhaps a bit too brightly.

“Ready for anything,” he said in a tone that was darn close to a purr. “What about you?”

So am I. The thought zapped into her mind and she immediately zapped it back out. “Uhh…” She stalled, trying to think of a reply, then improvised. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m not ready for lunch…at least not in a restaurant.” She dragged up a facsimile of a smile. “I’ll be spending most of the rest of the day in a restaurant.”

He shrugged. “Okay, what would you rather do?”

She didn’t have to think about that one. “It’s such a mild and beautiful day. “I’d like to spend some time outside. What do you think?” Kate watched as he pondered her suggestion for all of a few seconds.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said and arched one brow. “Do you like hot dogs?”

Kate had to smile. “I love hot dogs, especially dogs loaded with chili.”

“Well…” he said slowly, “how about we drive to town, park and stroll around the outside of the casino hotels. Some of the grounds are beautiful. When we’re ready, we can go into one of the hotel food courts, have our dogs and, if we still have time, maybe check out some of the upscale shops.”

Kate came to a halt, staring at him as if he had two heads.

“What?” Hawk said, frowning.

“You like to shop?” She managed a fake note of awe.

His frown turned into a wry expression. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I like it, but I don’t mind shopping occasionally…like two or three times a year.” He grinned at her.

Even as she shook her head in despair at him, Kate grinned back. “Okay. Let’s roll before you change your mind.”

“Good idea.” As if unconscious of his move,

Hawk curled his hand around hers, laced their fingers together and led them out the door.

Kate’s hand tingled with warmth as they rode the elevator to the ground floor. When the doors slid apart, she immediately felt both chilled and angry all over at the sight that met her eyes.

Jeff…What was he doing there? Her earlier fear coursed back. She could hardly miss his hand reaching for the buzzer to one of the apartments. She felt Hawk stiffen beside her, as if readying for a fight, either verbal or physical.

“What are you doing here, Jeff?” she said, trying to tell Hawk to keep his cool by squeezing his hand.

Without taking his hard-eyed gaze off Jeff, Hawk tightened his grip on her fingers.

“I came to invite you to brunch,” Jeff answered, his tone of voice demeaning. “But I see you obviously have already eaten.”

Steel infused Kate’s back and her head lifted, propelled by pride and anger at the insult in his double entendre. A low, almost growling sound in his throat, Hawk took a step forward.

“Don’t,” she said, yanking his hand to hold him back. “He’s not worth your time and energy.” She looked at Jeff with distaste. “I saw a lawyer today. He is going to swear out an order of restraint against you.”

“You bitch,” Jeff snarled. “And you think that should worry me?” His laugh was harsh, demeaning. “I should have taught you who’s boss long ago.”

Kate felt the simmering anger inside Hawk with the tremor that flashed through him from his rough hand in hers.

“You gutless bastard.” Hawk’s voice was very soft, controlled and somehow terrifying. He again took a step forward, loosening his fingers to draw his hand away from hers.

Kate clasped his arm with her free hand, holding him in place next to her.

“I’d advise you to leave, Jeff, while you are still in one piece,” Hawk growled.

Though Jeff sneered and put on an act of bravado, as if unimpressed with the six-foot-six-inch Hawk, he cast a disparaging look at Kate as he turned, yanked open the lobby door, then paused to glance back this time in clear fear and anger. He glared at Hawk. “You have no idea the trouble you’re going to be in.” He sneered. “I have friends in this town.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hawk drawled, obviously neither impressed nor intimidated. “And all of them in low places, I’m sure. You know what you can do with your threats and your friends. Get lost.”

His face looking like it was about to cave in on itself, Jeff tore out of the lobby. The swiftness of his steps as he headed for his car was proof that the bigger man had more than intimidated him. He had scared the hell out of him.

“Son of a bitch,” Hawk said softly between his teeth, harsh anger in his voice. Tension hummed through his taut body. He made another move, as if to follow after Jeff.

“Hawk, please don’t,” Kate said, tugging his hand.

He paused, but his hard-eyed gaze remained fixed on the other man until he drove away. Only then did he shift his gaze to her. “I’m not a violent man, Kate,” he said, his voice still threaded with anger. “But I’ll take only so much, be pushed only so far…”

“Not today,” she said, smiling in hopes of cooling his temper.

“No?” Hawk raised one brow. “Says who?” The tension and anger were gone; his eyes teased her.

“Me…I…” She shook her head. “Whatever. I’m ready for a walk in the sunshine…I need a breath of fresh air after that nasty encounter.”

Hawk’s expression was sober, but his eyes continued to tease. “Okay, but this jaunt better be good.”

“Or?” Kate asked in challenge.

“Or it won’t be,” he said, grinning, an invitation for her to join him.

Her relief palpable, Kate laughed.

The tension gone, they had a brief tug-of-war over whose car they were going to use. Hawk won with the simple offer to drop Kate off at work afterward.

The hours they spent together seemed to fly by. They talked practically the entire time, except while they were devouring the chili dogs, sharing one order of French fries and sipping on iced tea.

In a boutique in the Forum Shops at Caesars, they discussed the array of colorful cashmere scarves since Hawk was considering giving one as a Christmas gift to his sister, Catriona. Kate didn’t hesitate giving him her opinion.

“This is beautiful. Perfect for winter,” she said, holding up a scarf in swirling shades of forest green, russet and antique gold.

His lean fingers lightly stroked the length of the soft material.

As if he were touching her, a tingle slid the length of Kate’s spine in time with the stroking of his fingers. She drew a quick breath before asking, “Yes? No?”

He nodded. “I think you’re right. “It’s perfect. Is there anything else you want to look at?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“You wouldn’t like one of these scarves for yourself?”

“I’d love one,” she said ruefully. “But my clothing budget doesn’t stretch to cashmere anything.”

From the expression that flittered over his face, Kate was afraid for a moment that he was going to offer to buy her one of the gorgeous scarves. She softly sighed with relief when he shrugged.

“Are you ready to go, then?”

“Yes,” she said, glad he hadn’t made an offer she would have to refuse, even one involving a simple, if very expensive item.

Kate was happy to get outside again and barely noticed where they were walking until they were in sight of where Hawk had parked the car. It was only then that she glanced at her watch for the first time since they had left her apartment complex.

An odd sensation, almost like sadness, settled on her as they drove to Vic’s restaurant. Their day together was almost over. Kate doubted there would ever be another one, as he would soon be leaving for his ranch, his vacation over.

“I had a lovely day, Hawk. Thank you,” she said when he brought the car to a stop in the restaurant lot. This time she waited until he opened the car door for her.

“You’re welcome, Kate.” His hand on the door handle, Hawk looked at her as she emerged from the car, an endearingly soft smile curving his tempting mouth. He leaned toward her. Without a thought, she met him halfway.

Hawk’s kiss was as soft as his smile and gentle, with no sudden hungry pressure or demand.

Naturally, Kate wanted more, a lot more. Obviously, Hawk did, too. A low groan of protest slipped into her mouth as he reluctantly drew away.