Phantom Riders MC - Hawk (6 page)

“I don’t fucking do kissing,” I snarled down into her flushed face. “Your mouth is only good for one thing.” I steeled myself against the sudden hurt that I saw swimming in her eyes. “Remember that.” With that I pushed away from the wall and turned my back on her.

I couldn’t let her get to me.

I fucking couldn’t.

Chapter 8

Audra

Speechless, I watched Hawk walk away. I couldn’t move, wondering what I’d done to provoke that kind of seething anger, sensing that it was more than just asking him to kiss me. My heart was racing, my blood was boiling, I was so turned-on that I could feel my clit throbbing, and I knew Hawk was turned-on too. So how could he just walk away like that, as if he were too good to kiss me, too good to satisfy
my
needs? What kind of man did that?

A narcissistic prick, that’s who.

Realizing that I was still leaning against the wall, broken and teary-eyed, I yanked my clothes back into place.
Screw Hawk!
I didn’t know what his demons were but it would be a cold day in hell before I let him get close to me like that again. I wasn’t a glutton for punishment, I didn’t like being hurt, and I prided myself on being a fast learner. Leaving Dane the very day that I had seen what kind of man he was, was proof of that.

Wasn’t it?

From here on out I needed to stay clear of Hawk, ignore him and the way he made me feel. I shouldn’t have been feeling anything anyway, he was a stranger. There might be women out there who could handle his particular brand of sex, but I wasn’t one of them. It was sad that he didn’t want the kind of touching and kissing that usually went along with sexual intimacy between partners, that he couldn’t seem to tolerate receiving it or giving it, but I needed it. I needed the closeness, and I’d be damned if I was going to let a man use me for his own selfish means.

As I walked outside my gaze landed on the bikers. Hawk had joined his friends and his back was to me, but I could see enough to know that he was eating something. His friends watched my approach, and I wondered if they saw the truth on my face, that I wanted to hurt their asshole leader. Yeah, they saw, because they both began to smile knowingly, so it surprised me when one of them, Clay, seemed to detach himself from their conversation and turn his sole attention on me.

“Want something to eat, baby?” Clay asked.

Was that a trick question? I stared at him, about to blast him, when he reached inside the saddlebag hanging off the side of his bike and pulled out a wrapped sandwich. He handed it to me.

“You better take this, it’ll be a while before we stop again.”

“Thank you.” I moved to another tree and sank down against it, ignoring Hawk when he glanced my way. He certainly hadn’t cared if I got something to eat, the bastard. Before I knew it, Clay made his way over to me with a bottle of water. I gave him a smile, which he must have interpreted wrong, because the next thing I knew he was joining me.

“Where are we going?” It occurred to me that I didn’t know. The sandwich was a thick ham and cheese on sourdough bread, and tastier than I’d anticipated.

“Well, we’re headin’ home,” he responded, grinning. “Not sure what Hawk has in mind for you.”

“I think he’s regretting helping me.” I took another bite.

“Nah, we never regret helping a pretty woman,” Clay chuckled, reaching into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes and taking one out. “The fuckin’ trouble we ran into this morning was minor shit.” He lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. “The kind that keeps us on our fuckin’ toes.”

Not for me. “Are those men, ah—,” I couldn’t say the word.

He had no such problem. “Dead?”

I nodded.

“Nah, but they’ll be out of commission for a while.” He winked.

I wondered if I should tell him that there would be others. Hawk had to realize that. “They want me, your boss should just drop me off somewhere and be done with me.” I was surprised that I’d almost eaten the whole sandwich, and I decided to wrap up the remainder and save it for later.

“Let’s go.”

I glanced at Hawk to see that he was moving toward his bike. Clay got to his feet and reached his hand down to help me to mine. I stuffed the piece of sandwich into the front pocket of my hoodie and let him yank me to my feet. “You didn’t say where home is.”

“Solon, Maine.”

I’d never heard of it, but then why would I? I’d never been to Maine. I’d lived my whole life in Nevada. Sure, Dane and I had traveled, but only to touristy places like Hawaii and Florida, and a few places in Europe. He liked staying close to home where his business was located in Las Vegas so we never went for very long. The last minute trip to Last Hope had come as a surprise. I hadn’t known that Dane knew anyone in New Hampshire, much less anyone in a small town that was barely on the map.

He’d insisted on my going with him, as usual, though I’d never got any further than our host’s expensive country estate.

“It’s a small town.”

I nodded, acknowledging him, and found myself facing Hawk. He’d mounted his bike and was still taller than me. Why did he make my heart rate pick up speed? I didn’t even know the man, wasn’t sure I wanted to know him. He didn’t compare to any man I’d ever known. He was hard and cold, scary as shit, and yet there was something I couldn’t explain that drew me to him, and I hated it. He was clearly a broken man, a man without a soul. Somehow he’d flipped off his emotions as if he had a built-in light switch.

“I think I’ve come up with a solution to this… to our…
my
situation.” I’d only just thought of it, and I didn’t care if it made me look desperate to get away from him. He just raised a brow, crossed his arms over his massive chest, and waited. “I know I owe you and I pay my debts. At the next town I can get in touch with a friend who can wire me the money you need and we can go our separate ways.”

It sounded like a good plan to me.

I smiled, don’t ask me why. At the same time I wondered how I could make a promise like that when I didn’t know how much the going rate was for saving someone’s ass, much less if Carol would have the amount of money Hawk might ask for. He remained silent, but I could tell he was thinking things over. His indifferent expression never changed. The coldness in his eyes never wavered. I couldn’t help wondering what he would look like with a smile on his face but what frightened me more was wondering how good his mean mouth would feel on mine.

How would he taste?

As I realized that I was staring at his mouth I raised my gaze to his, surprised to see the coldness had been replaced with something else. The brown of his eyes was simmering with intense heat, and the slightest flare of his nostrils indicated his arousal. I felt my nipples tingle into hard peaks and liquid heat uncurl inside my core. Why did my body react so quickly to him?

I ignored the subtle changes in him and squashed down my awareness, knowing that I would only get burned. “What do you think?”

“I think you need to get on the back of my bike.”

My forced smile disappeared. Not what I was expecting. He couldn’t stand me, so why didn’t he jump at the opportunity to get rid of me?

“You don’t even like me,” I said, hoping to appeal to his common sense.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

What?
I’m not done with you yet?
What the hell did that mean? I glanced at Clay and the other man, Keg, but their expressions were closed off. “What does that mean, Hawk?” I sneered the words at him, slamming my hands on my hips. Who did he think he was, anyway? Okay, I was grateful that he’d come to my rescue twice now, but I was offering him a chance to get rid of me and to go his merry way. Come to think of it, when did I need an overbearing brute to take charge of my life? He didn’t own me.

I said as much. “You don’t own me, Hawk. A little over twenty-four hours ago we didn’t even know each other. I appreciate your help but—”

“Get on the back of my bike, Audra.” His tone clearly revealed his impatience.

He clearly didn’t care what I had to say. I heard Clay and Keg snort, and I glared at them briefly before putting my angry gaze back on Hawk.

“Look around you,” he continued, releasing a heavy breath. “We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.” Damn him, he was right. “The only thing between here and home are country roads and abandoned farms.”

I thought about what he said, glancing around us to gauge my luck on moving on, on my own steam. We were surrounded by absolutely nothing. The urge to defy with him was so strong, but in the end I would lose. I released a sigh, my gaze stopping on Clay.

“Can I ride with you?”

“Fuck no.”

The quick response hadn’t come from Clay. I looked back at Hawk, frowning. “I was asking Clay.”

“And I was answering for him. You stay on the back of my bike.” I glared at him, totally frustrated. “You owe me, not him.”
“So?” I all but screamed.

“Anyone gets between your legs, it will be me.”

I know my jaw dropped. It didn’t seem to matter that he’d already had his fingers inside me, or that I’d given him a blowjob. The implication that I had no say in who got between my legs had me seeing red. “In your fucking dreams! I don’t make love with men who can’t see to my needs—”

“Make love?” Keg chuckled, and he and Clay exchanged smiles. “Prez, she thinks we make love.”

“It’s called fucking, honey,” Clay added with humor in his tone. “Making love is for sweethearts and old ladies.”

I ignored their snickers, keeping my angry gaze on Hawk. The man was made of stone. Nothing I said or did seemed to affect him. I wondered what it would take to make him react. Him sitting there silently, his huge arms crossed over his wide chest, just made me angrier. I wanted to strike out at him, even knowing that he could probably squash me like a pesky bug.

“Whatever you call it.” I made sure to keep my eyes glued to Hawk’s. “It isn’t going to happen. I like kissing and touching when I−,” I shot a hard look to Clay and Keg, “Fuck. So keep me on the back of your bike as long as you want, Hawk. It doesn’t mean I’ll let you slide your big, fat cock into my pussy…
ever
.”

What had possessed me to say such a thing and use those kinds of filthy words? I felt heat race up my neck and into my cheeks. Felt my heart thumping in my chest. Clay and Keg were snickering and commenting among themselves like kids at a schoolyard playground. I ignored them, focusing on Hawk, watching the slow transformation spread over his hardened features. I couldn’t remember ever being so angry. I was too angry to comprehend the lethal look he was giving me, a combination of rage and lust, and damn, did it make me hot.

Apparently Clay and Keg weren’t that far gone. I heard them turn silent, and then, “Baby, you don’t challenge Prez—”

“Prez, what does that even mean?” I snapped, cutting Keg off. “You only make love to old ladies? What kind of world do you live in?” What was I missing? Okay, I knew that I didn’t know a whole lot about bikers, and maybe that was a bad thing, because right now I had the feeling my mouth was getting me deeper into trouble.

“Not knowing will be your only saving grace right now,” Hawk snarled, wrapping a hand around the back of my neck and yanking me up close to him. “Now get on the back of my bike or I swear I’ll fucking leave you right here. You know I will.”

Yeah, he would, because he was a mean prick. Our eyes locked, his mouth was so close to me that I actually felt more than just the heat of his breath. The hand at the back of my neck was like a clamp, showing just enough strength to prove that he could inflict a lot more pain if he wanted to. My instinct was to back away, but self-preservation held me in place. I wasn’t about to cut off my nose to spite my face. I relaxed.

“You done?” he growled.

“For now.” I refused to give him the satisfaction of saying yes.

Slowly he relaxed his grip and when I was able to move again I slipped onto the back of his bike. Hawk waited for me to wrap my arms around him before shooting forward. The man was overbearing and infuriating, but at the moment I had no choice but to do what he wanted. It taught me a valuable lesson though, next time not to seek help from a big, bad biker.