Page 81 of Damaged Protector
“I do,” I said, standing from the couch and tightening the lime-green towel around my chest. “Anyone else?” The other women shook their heads, and I headed to the kitchen, surprised to find Hawk there.
“Oh, hey,” he said, noticing me as soon as I walked in. “I was, uh, making something for you.” Pulling something from the counter behind him, he held it up. “A brownie sundae.”
The tall, clear glass was filled with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and was covered with chopped pieces of brownie and warm chocolate drizzle.
Abandoning my slushy cup on the tall marble island, I took the sundae and the long spoon he offered. “You’re trying to make me fat, aren’t you? You just made me that one with the coffee ice cream a few nights ago.”
His smile was a bit shy but his eyes weren’t as they dropped down my towel-clad body. No, his eyes were bold and appreciative, and I could feel a flush rising up my neck and bleeding onto my cheeks.
“Trust me, you don’t have a thing to worry about where your body is concerned, Little Bee.” For some reason, I liked the nickname he called me. Especially when he said it in that low, gruff voice. His gaze shifted to something behind me, and his eyes widened a bit as he took a step back. “India.”
“Hawk, Mallori. Fancy meeting you two here,” the woman greeted as she strolled into the room with a smirk on her face. A knowing smirk.
Did she know what went on between us last night? No, surely not. I certainly hadn’t told her, and I was almost positive Hawk wouldn’t have either.
“I was just trying out a new recipe,” he said quickly. “Mallori was giving it a taste test.”
“How sweet of you,” she cooed, going to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water.
A distinct tension hung in the air like a low fog on a muggy night. I took a bite of the delicious dessert as my eyes ping-ponged between the two. They seemed to be having some kind of stare down, dark eyes locked with pale-gray ones.
The awkwardness faded away when Bode entered the kitchen and kissed the top of his mother’s head. “You about ready to go, Mom? We’ve got a drive ahead of us.”
“Ready when you are.”
He tugged open the fridge and took a bottle of water as well. I loved how everyone made themselves at home here. “I’ll go upstairs and get the kids.”
Bode made it to the entrance before turning back. “Oh, I meant to tell you Hawk… with your birthday coming up, Landree said she’d cook chicken and dumplings for you since it’s your favorite.”
“Sounds good, bud. Thanks.”
“And I’ll make muffins,” Bode called over his shoulder on the way out the door, leaving Hawk chuckling.
“That’s right,” India murmured, “you do have a birthday coming up in July. That makes you… let’s see… a Cancer, right?” She batted her eyelashes at him, and Hawk scowled.
“No clue. I don’t keep up with that mumbo jumbo,” he retorted curtly, his jaw tight with what appeared to be annoyance.
India patted his bearded cheek affectionately before pivoting away and tossing me a wink.
Confused about that entire awkward situation, I thought it somehow seemed significant.
I just didn’t know how.
Chapter 24
I awoke Sunday morning with a feeling of unease in my belly. Hawk had been quiet—silent, actually—on the drive home last night, going straight to bed as soon as we’d arrived.
Something was bugging him, but I didn’t want to be one of those annoying women who asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you so quiet?” every five seconds. Even though I desperately wanted to know. I sensed it had to do with me.
Oh, let’s see, Mallori. The man was squirted in the damn face with pepper spray while he was getting a blow job. In his own home. That couldn’t possibly be the reason, could it?
The sarcastic voice in my head told me that was exactly what was wrong, though the incident was two nights ago. Maybe he was one of those people who stewed for a while and got madder the more he thought about it.
Deciding to do something nice for him, I pushed out of bed and went to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and hair before donning my silky aqua robe to cover my tiny sleep tank and shorts. In the kitchen, I found a boxed mix of blueberry muffins and decided to cook those.
Because nothing said I’m sorry I interrupted your sexy times with a face full of toxin like muffins. I mixed them up and put them in the oven, noticing the house had that empty feeling that told me Hawk was probably out running like he did most mornings.
I’d been waiting on a letter from an organization that provided grants to doctorate-level students, so I opened the front door to check the mail since I didn’t think we’d checked it yesterday. With my hand on the black lid of the mailbox, I froze, realizing the door had been unlocked. Hawk never left me here without locking it.