“Were you serious when you said all of those things back at my office?” Her cheeks heated, but she forced herself not to shy away from the question. “About … the way you felt when you first saw me—that you were hooked?”
Charlotte’s life was in such a state of upheaval that if she could be certain of that one thing, she truly believed she could survive anything thrown her way.
Hawk put the car in park, unclipped his seat belt, and the soft motor of his power seat hummed as he moved it back. He twisted to grab her around the waist and lifted her across the console like she weighed nothing.
“What are you—”
“I want to be holding you when I answer your question.” He settled her on his lap with her legs draped over the console, her back against his door. “Look at me, Charlotte.”
The edge of command in his voice sent a ripple of need through her entire body, and she turned to him.
“Good.” Hawk repositioned her on his lap, and she felt his erection pressing against her bottom. “Just ignore that for now.” He wasn’t the least bit embarrassed or awkward about his condition. He simply shifted her until he was comfortable.
“Every word of what I said to you at the office is true. This whole thing—you and me”—he waggled his finger back and forth between them—“may seem sudden to you, but I’ve wanted this for a long time.” He leaned in to place a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead, then pulled back just enough to look in her eyes. “But only if you want to.”
“I very much do.” She nodded. “And I feel the same way about you. I just never thought someone like you would be—”
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.” He speared his fingers through her hair, held her head, and pulled her close. “I don’t ever want to hear you talking down about yourself again.” His grip tightened in her hair. “Understood?”
Charlotte sucked in a breath, and her sex clenched at the slight sting tingling over her scalp.
“Understood.” Was that raspy voice really coming from her?
Hawk drew her face to his until his mouth covered hers.
Charlotte melted against his chest and tilted her head to achieve the exact right angle for her tongue to enter his mouth. She’d never been a take-charge woman, especially where men were concerned. But Hawk seemed to have blown open the doors on her baser instincts, and they were now in control.
She twisted her body in an effort to get closer and speared her fingers through his short hair. The deep groan that vibrated in his chest made her feel powerful knowing she could elicit that kind of response from such a strong man.
Her body was on fire and screamed for more,more,and she tried to drag her legs over the console without breaking the kiss. It was a complete and utter fail, and their lips were forced apart.
She whimpered her frustration, and, as their foreheads touched, their heavy breaths mingled between them.
“Hold on, Sweets.” His warm breath skimmed her ear when he whispered, “The first time I have you is not going to be in the front seat of my truck.”
Charlotte couldn’t speak. Her mouth was dry as the Mojave, unlike another part of her anatomy located farther south. How the heck was she supposed to respond to that little sexual bombshell?
Her silence elicited a mischievous smile from him, and he hefted her off his lap, lifted her over the console, and plopped her back onto her seat. She rolled her window down and filled her nose with the cooler evening air.
The lust pumping between them was thick and heavy in the cab of the truck, and if she didn’t cool down, she’d never make it to his house without embarrassing herself.
Hawk repositioned his seat and rolled his window down, too.
Did that mean he was experiencing the same level of pent-up sexual tension she was?
He put the car in gear, rolled closer to the gate, and stopped.
“This houses the gate access panel.” He pointed to a black metal box on a square post. “Caleb and Luna worked together to design it for me.” He grabbed his phone from the cupholder, tapped it a few times, and showed her the screen. “It’s all controlled through this proprietary app that only I and a few other OSI people have access to.” The image on the main page of the app was a photo of his beautiful gate. “It also controls the rest of my security system, which I’ll show you up at the house.”
After another tap, he held his phone up to the bottom right corner of the box, and it popped open.
“Oh, wow.” She never would’ve known there was a door there, had she not seen it with her own eyes. “That … that just looks like a metal box.”
“That’s the idea.” He pointed toward a tiny red light. “That’s a wide-angle camera right above the touch pad. I can see everything it’s seeing, from my phone or the security room in my house.” She heard four beeps when he tapped in the code, then he gently snapped the door back in place. “I also have cameras installed all around the property.” He pointed at a tree on the side of the gate. “There’s one on that tree pointing toward the gate.”
The gate slowly began to roll to one side, and as soon as the opening was wide enough for his truck, he pulled through.
“That’s incredible.” Charlotte knew the people working for OSI were talented, but with each new thing she learned, she became even more impressed.
