Page 32 of Damaged Protector
“Whatever could you mean?” I asked innocently, tilting my head to the side.
He blew out an exasperated breath. “You know what I mean, Hawk.”
“Ahhh, so, no bringing randos home and making them scream while Mallori is in the house?”
He glared at me while Tank snickered. “Yes. That. It should only be about a week. Think you could hold off being a psycho for that long?”
“I’ll do my best.”
Tank’s eyes flitted back and forth between us. “Aren’t you going to have the other talk?”
“The one where I threaten to cut off Hawk’s dick if it gets anywhere near my cousin?” He lifts an eyebrow at me. “No, I think he’s aware.”
I raised both hands and shook my head. I wasn’t a man who was easily scared, but Camden Fitz was the deadliest person I knew. I’d never want to get on his bad side.
“That’s the last thing you need to worry about. I like my women more… seasoned.”
Tank snorted. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
“Yup,” I said, tugging my sweaty shirt away from my body.
“Daddy, come play wiff us,” Amelia called from beneath a daisy-shaped water feature that was shooting a spray high in the air, raining tiny droplets down onto the ground.
Tank stood and stripped off his shirt, tossing it onto the bench. Cam and I looked at each other and shrugged before doing the same. “Let’s get wet, boys,” I hollered before jogging over to the play area and scooping up Amelia.
Holding her out in front of me, airplane-style, I let the water spurting up from a small hole in the ground hit her in the belly as she giggled like a little maniac. After handing her off to Tank, I did the same with Bella before moving to stand under a giant bucket that tipped over every few seconds to drench anyone standing beneath it.
Damn, that felt good. The temperature on this steamy day in early June was over a hundred degrees, and I took a few steps forward and slicked my dark, wet hair back, away from my face.
When I opened my eyes, they locked with a set of brown ones from across the splash pad. A woman was standing at the edge, near a little boy of about three as he hopped over the dancing water that popped up randomly from a series of holes in the ground.
She directed a smile my way and twirled a dark ringlet around one finger as her gaze lowered to my tattoos and scars. When she looked back up at me, her tongue slid suggestively over her plump lips. She might as well have had a neon sign on her forehead that read, Really fucking available. Insert dick below.
The woman was wearing tiny denim cutoff shorts and a black bikini top. It looked damn good on her, and I knew all I’d have to do would be walk over, act like a total dick, and I’d be deep in her ass before you could say anal kink.
The old adage “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar” never rang true for me. I guessed I gave off those bad boy vibes so many women were attracted to.
Hmmm. The woman was hot, and I wouldn’t mind getting my—
Cam’s gaze met mine, and I remembered that I had a houseguest and was supposed to be toning my shit down. So I turned my back on the woman and jogged over to play with the little princesses. We stayed another thirty minutes until Amelia and Bella began to get whiny.
“Time for N-A-P-S,” Tank spelled, and Cam nodded. They scooped up their daughters while I gathered the discarded clothes, and we began walking the short distance to Tank’s house. Both girls were asleep by the time we arrived, and the woman at the park was completely forgotten.
Chapter 10
“These fajitas are delicious, Tank,” Mallori said, folding her flour tortilla around the savory beef and grilled veggies. We were having dinner at the Hanford house after the ladies had spent the day shopping.
“Thanks,” the big guy replied. “But it was a group effort. I manned the grill, Hawk made the marinade, and Cam was in charge of the vegetables and tortillas.”
“Dat’s not his name,” Bella announced, pointing at her father.
Shiloh smiled indulgently as she swiped some food from her daughter’s cheek. “That’s his real name, honey. Daddy is what you call him because he’s your father.”
The little one shook her head, dark curls swinging in a soft bounce. “Nuh-uh. His name is Ooocam.”
“Ooocam?” Shy asked.
“Yepper. That's what you call him, Mommy. I hearded you last night in your bedroom. You said, Ooocam! Ooooooocam!”