“We used to be,” Hawk mumbled.
“But you’re our baby sister. We’re worried about you. Your safety—no matterwhois 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 amnotsome 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.”
