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My eyes are pinned on the new guy as he climbs the stairs to the loft. He's wearing a dark t-shirt that stretches across a massive chest, and a fleece-lined flannel over it that doesn't hide the thick bulge of biceps that I am one hundred percent sure would have no trouble lifting me up and holding my curvy frame against a wall.
Tree trunk thighs, check.
Mouth-watering ass looking insanely hot in those jeans? Double check.
By the time they've all disappeared inside, it's confirmed. This is the man of my filthy, filthy dreams.
Now I just need to find out who he is.
* * *
Hawk
I'm a man of honor.I like to do things on the up and up-- my involvement with Marcia and her friends and their pranks on each other, notwithstanding-- I have a lot of respect for the Diaz family and I don't want to do anything that might damage our friendship.
That's why I'm here tonight, nervous in the barn's upper level that's been converted to a recreation room.
It's the first time I've stood in this room with a beer in my hand and felt nervous about facing the five men of the Diaz family.
Even at 85 years old, Alejandro stands over six foot. I'm not a small guy myself, but facing Terra's brothers, father, and grandfather— all holding pool cues in their hands, standing around the table that stands between me and the only easy exit— has me keenly aware that our friendship and my badge only go so far with men when they're protecting someone they love.
"So, you gonna tell us what's so important that you wanted to talk to us all together?"
With our shared background in the Corps, Vale and I bonded quickly when we met. The cautious tone of his voice now has me shaking my head quickly to dispel his concern-- there was an altercation awhile back when he was forced to discharge his pistol in self-defense.
That's the official story and I'll go to my grave before I give up a single detail that might cast a doubt on my friend's justification for his actions.
Tense shoulders around the room relax at the reassurance that my reasons for calling the men together tonight isn't an indication that an investigation has been reopened.
My own shoulders, however, stay tense.
"You know I've got a pregnant wife at home, right?" Glen jokes, leaning over the pool table to take the break.
"You know I'm trying to have a pregnant wife at home." Mesa grumbles in my general direction as he leans in for the next shot.
"Well, I'm trying for a pregnant wife at home too," Montana jokes. "So hurry up."
The room erupts in laughter, including myself, taking a bit of the edge off my nerves.
Terra's father is in his sixties and after raising five children already, I’m pretty sure he and Lark are beyond trying for any more.
"Me too," Alex pipes up, sipping his beer from the bottle to a new round of laughter and a few words of encouragement from his grandsons.
"Then what's up, Hawk?" Montana brings the conversation back on track. "Why'd you want us all together?"
It's instinct to go for my hat, but I'm not in uniform tonight. Without my hat to hold onto, I'm at a loss of what to do with my hands.
"You all know how much I appreciate the way the Diaz family has taken me in since I came up to the Ridge, and you know I have the utmost respect for all of you. I wouldn't want to overstep myself by doing anything that might jeopardize our friendship--"
"Cut to the chase." Glen's impatient voice mirrors the look on all the men's faces.
The pool game has been forgotten, as all five men stand to eye my serious tone with some suspicion.
I clear my throat and take my shot.
"I'd like your permission to court Terra."
The men erupt in howls of laughter. The deep bass of their voices bouncing off the wood paneling and rattling the windows.
