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“Sorry to disappoint,” Hawk snipes angrily, his nostrils flaring as he surveys the kitchen again. “I guess I’ll go and leave you to yourdate.” He spits out the last word, the vitriol in his tone causing my brow to furrow in confusion as I glance around at the dinner prep. It’s only when my eyes land on the bottle of wine that it clicks. Does he think I’m preparing some sort of dinner date for Kai?Oh my god.But also, why does that seem to infuriate him so much?
He turns on his heel and stomps toward the door, but I rush around the island, calling out his name. “Hawk! Wait!” Not listening to me, he continues walking away. “It’s not a date!” He stops in his tracks, spinning to face me, suspicion and doubt written in his eyes. “I was just making dinner for Kai as a thank you for all he’s doing to help me. You, uh… You can stay. There’s enough for three.” I chew on my bottom lip, noticing how his eyes dart down to track the movement, and with a fortifying breath, I steel my spine. “On one condition.”
At my no-nonsense tone, his stormy gray eyes snap up to meet mine, his tone guarded as he asks, “What condition?”
“We leave our past at the door. I just want an easy night. No snide remarks or angry glares. Just three people having dinner together.”
He thinks it over, taking his time, and with every passing second, my heart beats nervously inside my chest. Eventually, he steps toward me. “Okay,” he agrees slowly. “No snide remarks and no angry glares, but if you think I can just forget about our past”—his eyes drop down to my feet before slowly rising, raking over every inch of me with lust burning in their depths—“then it must not have left as lasting an impression with you as it did with me.”
Gobsmacked, all I can do is gape at him. His words are completely at odds with the angry barbs he threw at me last week, but the heat simmering in his eyes affirms that this time he’s telling the truth.
The asshole smirks, leaning in until his uniquely rich, mellow, smoky scent, mixed with pine that reminds me of sitting around an open campfire as a kid, envelopes me. With his lips against my ear, he murmurs, “Better close that mouth, Little Sparrow, unless you want a repeat of the other night.”
My eyes widen, and I snap my mouth shut, making Hawk chuckle, this deeply masculine rumble that vibrates straight down to my bones. “I wonder what Kai would think if he walked in and found you eating my cock for dinner?”
Speechless, I swallow around the lump in my throat, fighting and failing to dispel the flush that rises to the surface of my skin at the imagery he’s painting. It’s not at all normal that the thought of it has me clenching my thighs. I’m seriously beginning to think I’m a closet exhibitionist, with how much it turns me on, thinking about being watched. Discovering that Hawk had been watching Wilder and me in this exact room turned me on like nothing else, and now picturing Kai watching Hawk and me is heating me up just as much.
Taking mercy on me, Hawk releases me and steps away to pour himself a glass of wine, and I conveniently ignore him as I go back to preparing dinner. By the time Kai makes an appearance, Hawk is sitting at the table, engrossed in his phone and pretending not to glance my way out of the corner of his eye while I act as though he’s not here, the two of us co-existing in relative peace.
“Mmm, something smells delicious.”
I beam, moving to pour a glass of wine and handing it over to him. “Thank you. Grab a seat. I’m making steaks and salad. They’ll be ready in a minute.”
Moving back to the stove, I turn over the steaks and pile salad onto three plates, all the while listening to Kai and Hawk’s conversation.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” Kai says in a teasing tone as he takes a seat opposite Hawk.
“Well, thisismy house.”
“How are things at Nocturnal?”
“Good. We’ve had a few new high-profile clients recently, and I’ve put the expansion plans for the outreach program into motion. So far, I’ve got three new safe houses outfitted.”
“We’ll need more manpower to cover the new areas.”
“We will. I have a few potentials. I was hoping you could look over them for me?”
I flick my gaze up in time to see Kai nod. “Send me through their files, and I’ll have a look.”
Watching the two of them talk business, it’s more like they are partners. Hawk clearly respects Kai’s opinion and experience, and I find it fascinating to watch. I’m so busy watching them that I almost forget about the steaks, and I whirl around just in time, yanking the pan off the heat before they end up as lumps of charcoal.
Plating up, I bring everything over to the table and sit beside Kai. Hawk notices, his gaze darting back and forth between us before focusing on his meal.
“God, this is delicious, Emilia,” Kai groans around a mouthful of food. I duck my head, mumbling a thank you before trying a bite for myself. I wouldn’t say I’m a great cook, but I do enjoy the monotony of it. It allows me to forget about whatever my current stress and problems are and just focus on the task in front of me.
“He’s right,” Hawk speaks up. “This is really good.”
Sincerity bleeds through his words, and I smile softly, glad to see our agreement is holding up.
We eat in silence for a while before Kai breaks it, turning to face me. “I have some good news for you.”
“Oh?” I question with a raise of my eyebrows, taking a sip from my wine glass.
“Steven Carmichael. A credit card bill confirms he was booked on a flight to New York when Richard’s finger was delivered to your door.”
“Oh.” My shoulders deflate. I know that’s good news—ruling out another suspect—but I was hoping for something more concrete.
“And do you remember Jack Horner?” Kai continues, apparently not done with hisgood news.
