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I stared dumbfounded at Hawk. I knew he was well off, but I’d never dreamed he wasthebillionaire benefactor. And if what John had said was true, then Hawk had planned a multi-million-dollar philanthropic ball just to see me.
But why? If he wanted to see me, all he had to do was show up. He knew where I lived. Where I worked. He had my phone number.
Was it to impress me? Couldn’t be. Someone like him couldn’t be that much into me. Sure, he had the hots for me, but something like this was for…for grand gestures or…some bored rich playboy playing a prank. Had he been toying with me, a conquest for a billionaire playboy to have fun with?
How much longer would I be his plaything before he threw me away and cast his sights on a new woman to seduce and possibly ruin her career simultaneously? He was no better than my ex. Worse even. I knew it was a mistake to come to the ball.
Hawk added a gentle pressure to my back. “Come on, Lila. Let’s go.”
I dug my heels in. “No. Wait.”
He released the tension but kept his arm around my waist.
“Is it true? You planned all this to see me?”
Without any shame, he nodded. “It’s a win-win. The money still goes to the animal shelters.”
I remembered our conversations at the clinic. All those questions he kept asking me. What had I answered? The most important thing in my life apart from my work was the shelter. My favorite color was gold. My favorite flowers were lavender and roses.
I glanced around at the charity event for animal shelters. Gold-colored roses on the tables. The band was playing another tango. Lavender ceilings.
He’d been planning this for months. Everything was a ruse. “Is this all a game to you? Some type of billionaire bet with your buddies or something?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He nudged us away from the listening ears of John and Simone. “If you were some bet, I would have fucked you a long time ago and been done with you. I don’t put this much time and effort into a meaningless lay.”
Nothing made sense anymore. If he wanted to date me, he’d have asked me out a long time ago. If he wanted to have sex, he could have taken me on my desk. So, why all of this scheming?
Could he have feelings for me, and this really was some grand gesture to win me over? I thought about the man who rolled up his sleeves on the weekends to muck up dog shit. Billionaire playboys didn’t do things like that. Hawk was the man who adopted a sweet, goofy rescue because he’d been at the shelter for far too long. A man who landed a creep in the hospital because he was harassing me. And was now spending millions on a party to raise money for the animal shelters. And what about…?
“The clinic? The therapy sessions?”
He nodded. “I needed an excuse to run into you.”
Who would put themselves through therapy three times a week to see the woman they desired?
This man. One who didn’t know the meaning of defeat. This was a man I could fall for. He was taking risks, making sacrifices, and spending money for me, and we weren’t even a couple yet. He risked jail time or a lawsuit to protect me. He sacrificed his time and probably a hell of a lot of energy going to Mae’s therapy sessions just to catch a glimpse of me. And the money, so much I couldn’t count, on the sessions and this ball.
And if I was being honest, I’d already started falling for him the moment I saw him at the shelter. No wonder I couldn’t stop thinking about him. It wasn’t just lust, although that definitely played a huge part in it.
“Why else would I be there?” Hawk asked. “I don’t fucking need therapy. There’s nothing wrong with my dick, except that it desperately needs to be buried inside your sweet pussy.”
Ahhh. So, the truth came out.
“How did you get my phone number and address?”
He shrugged. “That part was easy. I have my ways.”
Peeking up at Hawk’s burning gaze, there were two things I knew for certain. I was a lay to him. But not a meaningless one. Whatever that meant.
He led me toward the exit. “Let’s go.”
I followed him.
I didn’t know why.
But I let him guide me. Take me wherever he wanted to go. And I couldn’t blame Lustful Lila because she was just as confused as I was.
