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Hawk must be appeased by that, as he has no comeback. Although, based on the thin line of his lips, he still isn’t pleased about the whole idea.
“That settles it then,” I say, forcing a cheery optimism into my voice. “We’re doing this.”
Nerves rattle my insides, but what bothers me most is the fact that I have to keep my distance from all of them. No more fake dates. No more evenings on the sofa with Hawk or nights curled up around him in bed. Even Wilder will have to stop his edging torture.
We’ll have to appear as nothing more than reluctant housemates until this is all over. A task that feels near impossible.
“Good,” Kai agrees with a curt nod. “Now that’s settled, I need to get into the office. I’ve got a fuckton of paperwork still to get through.”
He gathers his laptop without sparing me a single glance or bothering to say goodbye before heading out.
“Yeah, I’m heading out, too,” Wilder states, pushing off the kitchen counter.
“Seriously?” Hawk asks.
“Yes. I have stuff to do.”
“What stuff? What is it that has you so busy these days?”
Spinning, Wilder’s eyes narrow on Hawk. “Nothing that concerns you, brother. Besides, didn’t you just listen to Kai? We’re supposed to be returning to our regularly scheduled programming before Emilia graced us with her presence. Which means going back to the frat house.”
With that, he storms off, the front door slamming shut behind him.
Perhaps it will be easier than I think to behave like reluctant housemates. Wilder and Kai are certainly playing their roles well.
Chapter6
EMILIA
“Shouldn’t you be going, too?” I direct to Hawk, the two of us left alone in the kitchen.
“I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”
“But—” I begin to protest, my words trailing off when Hawk’s gaze turns heated, wicked intent making one side of his lips lift in a panty-melting smirk.
“I forgot how hot that was—watching you stand up to me.” He takes a predatory step forward that jolts my heart rate into a faster rhythm. “Makes me want to piss you off just to see how you’ll react. How far I can push you before you snap.”
He follows up his statement with another threatening step toward me.
“Although I do miss the fear I used to see in your eyes. Miss watching you fight to overcome it.”
There’s a feral gleam in his gaze now, one that does actually send a skitter of panic down my spine, even as a strange kind of excitement thrums through me.
“Ah, there it is.”
“We can’t,” I squeak, struggling to grasp a coherent thought.
“Oh, but I think we can.” His eyes rake over my body before lifting to my face. “You better run, Little Sparrow. Unless you want me to fuck you in this kitchen,”—he gestures toward the large kitchen window—“and showMelwho you really belong to.”
A strangled yelp climbs up the back of my throat and pushes past my lips a second before I turn tail and run. Fear and excitement consume me, pushing and pulling as they war for dominance while I race out of the kitchen.
It’s ridiculous because I know Hawk wouldn’t put me at risk like that; however, this is the perfect distraction from the unanswerable questions plaguing me since I woke up.
“You better make sure you’ve found somewhere private before I find you!” Hawk shouts. I put on a burst of speed, sprinting toward the stairs.
Instead of heading up them, I make a split-second decision to go down to the basement level. Call me paranoid. Even though it should be impossible for Mel to see through the windows on the third floor, I feel like she would find a way. A room with no windows is much more preferable, and the basement should have at least one of those.
I fly down the steps, smacking my hand over my mouth to stifle my scream, when I hear Hawk charging behind me, taunting, “I’m coming, Little Sparrow.”
