Leather, Lace and Rock-n-Roll (17 page)

“Why are you still here anyway, McGruff?” She
imitated his stance by folding her arms across her chest and
tapping one foot. “Shouldn’t you be with Hawke?”

“You heard Hawke. He needed some time with
Rachel.”

She squinted and cocked her head. “So you get
to run interference?”

“Something like that,” he muttered.

“Don’t you ever get time off?”

“Yes.”

“When?” she chided. “You’re always on duty
when I’m around.”

“I’m in charge of pest control.”

“I’m not a pest,” she said lightly. “It’s not
my fault you just happen to be the same places I am.”

Max swallowed a curse. She was a pest, a tiny
mosquito who constantly buzzed in his ear. Asleep or awake, her
irritating persistence annoyed him. If he thought he could catch
her, he’d put a stop to it. And he knew just the place to swat
her.

He glanced at his watch. “Okay, Princess, go
on back.”

“Finally.” She tossed her head back and
pranced through the doorway. “One of these days, Zeus, you’re going
to listen to me.”

Max watched her sway down the hallway,
oblivious to how much heartache she’d avoided. Someone really
needed to teach Pirelli a lesson. He shrugged. Hell, maybe they’d
all get lucky and she’d do it. He had a feeling that once she
pierced Pirelli with the poisonous barbs of her tongue, he would
run for cover. Max chuckled under his breath, his mood lightened by
that thought.

***

Rachel heard the front door snap shut then
gave Hawke a glance over her shoulder. The moment their gazes
locked she knew talking was the furthest thing from his mind. She
nearly burst into flames at the look on his face.

Her nipples tightened beneath her blouse.
Common sense told her to run. Wild, wanton desire kept her there.
Ready, willing and wet.

As if he sensed her silent invitation, Hawke
closed the distance between them and locked his arms around her
waist. His lips found the curve of her neck and he placed several
tiny kisses upward until his whisper tickled her ear. “I can’t keep
my hands off you.”

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep
breath, fighting the urge to tear off her clothing and grind
herself against him. Desperate to feel the hardness of his body,
she reached between them, pulled his t-shirt from the band of his
jeans, and slid her hands underneath. Her fingertips danced along
the smooth, contoured surface of his skin, tracing each and every
muscle, and committed them to memory.

“Oh baby,” Hawke whispered, “your touch makes
me weak.”

She released a soft moan when he pressed
himself closer, his jeans now strained beneath the zipper. His
erection jumped against her stomach. Her heart pounded like jungle
drums. His hands left the curve of her hips and slid to her
backside, kneading each rounded cheek with a palm. A familiar hum
returned to the vee of her legs.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard
her conscious clear its throat. Rachel groaned.
Oh shut up
already!
And to prove her point, she lifted one leg and draped
it across Hawke’s hip. With his erection now tucked between her
legs, there was no way she would even consider denying how much she
wanted him.

Hawke moved one hand from her backside and
slid up the smooth skin of her leg and under her skirt. His fingers
caressed the heated surface of her thigh until his fingers grazed
the edge of her panties.

“Should I touch?” His whispered tease sent
her head spinning as she nodded her consent.

He touched the wet panel of her panties and
growled deep in his throat. She thrust her hips toward him. He
answered by drawing patterns of heated ecstasy on the silk between
her legs. Her head fell back on her shoulders and she whimpered his
name.

“Tell me, baby,” he urged.

“More,” she moaned.

He responded by lifting one edge of the
silken barrier and wiggling his fingers underneath. Sensation
jerked along her nerve endings as he moved over her tender
flesh.

Rachel’s mind spun even faster as his fingers
played her like a fine instrument. Suddenly, fear and hesitance
took a back seat to deep, lust-powered desire. Desire so strong and
out of control that even intelligence couldn’t harness it. For half
a second, Rachel searched her brain for even an ounce of logic to
save her. And just as she suspected, logic evaporated into thin
air.

Arousal pounded between his thighs as Hawke
caressed the slippery flesh beneath his fingers and hoped to God
she wouldn’t feel the tremble in his touch. He was doing his best
to go slow, take his time, let her see how amazing they were
together. But he sorely underestimated how damn responsive she
would be. The heat from her body scalded him, the touch of her lips
branded him, and those little tiny noises she made dared him. Dared
him to rip the skirt from her waist and bury his lips between her
legs. Dared him to wrap his tongue around her core and love her
until she screamed for mercy.

He placed his lips against her forehead in an
attempt to keep his very fragile control. He really needed to stop
her. She deserved to know the truth before things got even more
complicated. But when she reached between them and coaxed his cock
from the top of his boxers, all hell broke loose. She wrapped her
slender fingers around his length and pulled. All he could do was
thrust.

His lips left her forehead and found the
valley of cleavage. Her creamy smooth skin tasted like peaches and
sunshine, a lethal combination at this point in time. If he were a
vampire, he would’ve pierced her skin to fill his own body with her
taste.

Her next long, slow tug on his cock caused
his knees to buckle and he fought the primal urge to throw her to
the floor and ravish her. Man enough to admit he didn’t have the
stamina to keep them both upright in his current condition, he
attempted to regain control.

Against his will, he lifted his lips from her
skin and slipped his fingers from the heat of her body. His own
body cursed the loss of her touch as he eased her hand from his
pants and placed it against his chest. So far so good. Now if he
could just keep it together long enough to lay her on the floor,
they would be in business. And then she raised her head and gave
him a smile that could make a grown man whimper. A dazed, sexy,
do-me
smile.
Oh. Hell.

Hawke squeezed her body flush against his,
wrapped his arms around her, and lowered her to the carpet. Her
blouse now lay wide open, showcasing the white lace cups of her
bra, the fabric barely wide enough to cover each nipple. He
released a rough breath and reached down to lower his zipper to the
end of the tract. He wouldn’t have thought it possible but the
savage beast between his legs stretched another painful inch.

“Hawke?”

He lifted his gaze to hers and heat sizzled
between the them. “What, baby?”

“What are you waiting for?”

Hawke paused one whole heartbeat. What the
hell was he waiting for? Normally he didn’t hesitate, he knew
exactly what he wanted and took it. With finesse, of course. But
this time guilt nudged him. No doubt, he wanted this woman with
every fiber of his being but why? Suddenly, this seduction wasn’t
part of the extraction. She was more than a mark; his heart would
back up that admission. Yet, Diego was closing in and Hawke had no
choice other than to do everything in his power to stop him.

He ignored his conscience and bent to kiss
the rounded tops of her breasts. “Absolutely nothing.”

She wound her fingers through his hair and
urged him closer. “Thank God,” she murmured.

Encouraged by her reaction, he ran his tongue
under the lacey edge of one side of her bra, taking care to swipe
the peak of her nipple in the process. She whimpered and arched her
back to push the sensitive flesh closer to his tongue. He closed
his lips around the pebbled peak. Her fingers tightened around the
strands of his hair. His erection pulsed against her hip.

Sweat droplets danced on his forehead and
Hawke once again severely questioned his motive. Although Rachel’s
body responded to his touch with a vengeance, he knew she would
never allow this to happen without trusting him. By nature, she was
cautious. Hell, throw a few Ruffies in the mix and she really had
major trust issues. But, the taste of her made him an addict
desperate for a fix.

Hawke raised himself to his knees, his lips
still wrapped around the tender nub of her breast, and then moved
to straddle her. With one last swirl of his tongue, he released her
nipple and gazed into her face. Her eyes flickered open and flames
sprung forward and lured him in. His heartbeat quickened in
realization that ecstasy was just inches way.

He lowered his hands to slide his pants over
his hips when she laid a hand on his forearm. “I have to get
that.”

He frowned and then realized the telephone
was ringing. She rolled from beneath him and reached for the phone
beside the sofa.

Hawke listened, trying desperately to keep
her soft voice from tempting him to yank the phone line out of the
wall.

“I’ll be right there. Thank you.”

She hung up and turned to face him. “Can we
take a time out? I promise it won’t be long.”

He clenched his jaw to keep from cursing.
“Sure.”

“I need to run to the office to pick up a
delivery.”

As hard as he tried, he couldn’t throttle the
desperation in his voice. “Now?”

She gave a small nod. “It’s important.”

Hawke released a heavy sigh and reached to
button his pants. Damn terrorist. “Okay, but when we get back here,
the phone doesn’t exist.”

“You’re going with me?”

“Of course.”

“Can you do that?”

He snickered. “I’ll probably be okay in your
car, Rachel.”

“What about photographers?”

“Your windows are tinted.”

“And Max?”

“I’ll call on the way. He can meet us
there.”

Hawke glanced at his watch ten minutes later
when they finally pulled under the covered parking area outside the
building that housed Newberry and Tremaine.

Rachel parked in her designated space and
turned to face him. “Where’s Max?”

Hawke grinned and gestured with his head at
the burly figure standing beside the driver’s side of the car.

“That was quick,” Rachel mumbled as Max
opened her door. “Thank you.”

Max gave a silent nod as they left the
shadows of the parking garage behind and headed for the
entrance.

Stifling hot rays of sunshine reflected off
the windows of the skyscraper and into Hawk’s face, penetrating the
tint of his sunglasses and causing momentary blindness. He blinked
several times in an attempt to clear the polka dots from his
vision. He glanced around the parking lot, suddenly suspicious of
the silence. A lone bird chirped in the distance. A red-hot chill
climbed his spine and adrenaline boiled his blood just as a loud
pop broke the stillness.

He hurled himself at Rachel and hit the
pavement.

Tucked in a tight spot between two parked
cars, Hawke rolled off Rachel and pulled her to a sitting position.
“You okay?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

He followed her gaze to her thigh, smeared in
blood. “Max! She’s hit!”

Max appeared in seconds, hoisted Rachel in
his arms, and headed for the Suburban. Hawke’s thighs burnt as he
tried to match Max’s stride.

Max moved Rachel to one side and threw open
the Suburban door with a free hand. “In the truck, Hawke.”

Hawke stepped inside the Suburban and scooted
to one side while Max set Rachel in the empty seat beside him.

“Give me your shirt.”

Hawke yanked his t-shirt over his head and
tossed it to Max. Max tore the cotton in half and wrapped it around
Rachel’s left thigh. It was then Hawke noticed the wound, now
seeping blood at a fairly steady pace. Rachel sucked in a quick
breath when Max squeezed the edges together.

“Just a graze,” he said, “but she may need a
couple stitches.”

Hawke glanced at Max, ready to demand
answers. Max gave his head a slight nod from side to side and
closed the door.

Hawke looked at Rachel, now ashy and pale.
His heart ached and adrenaline pumped anger through his veins. He
reached to smooth her hair from her face. “If you wanted me to take
off my shirt, all you had to do was ask.”

She gave a weak smile as Max drove out of the
parking garage, cell phone tucked between his shoulder and ear and
issuing orders to Greg Huntington.

“Max?”

Max twisted the phone away from his
mouth.

“Could you please ask Greg to call Cameron
and ask her to come get my delivery?”

Max nodded and then continued speaking.

Rachel reached to soak more blood with the
shirt and hissed at the contact. “This will be all over YouTube in
a matter of minutes.”

Mad as hell, Hawke couldn’t help but grin.
“Now who’s being dramatic?”

Rachel raised her head and the pain that
sparkled in the depths of her eyes damn near made him grit his
teeth in two. “I’m serious.” She took a deep breath and then
released it. “Check it out.”

Hawke bit the inside of his cheek. Even in
pain her logic took over.

Max snapped his cell phone closed and caught
Hawke’s attention in the rear view mirror. “Huntington called
Diablo Memorial. No media.”

Rachel leaned her head back against the seat
and closed her eyes. “Thank you, Max.”

Max pulled back onto the main road. “Won’t be
long.”

Hawke gripped the armrest as Max swung the
Suburban into the Emergency Room drive at Diablo Memorial and
crammed it in park. In mere seconds, the sliding doors opened and a
nurse arrived with a two hundred pound orderly and a wheelchair.
Max opened the passenger door, eased Rachel into the chair and then
gestured at Hawke to get out.