Page 42 of Hook

"Hook..." I whine.

"Bea, sweetheart, I'm asking you to marry me here." He kisses me softly, and my eyes spring open. I gaze deep into his eyes, and it's like I can see the very soul of him. He means it. The man is ready to risk it all for me.

"Yes. I'm yours, yes," I answer, and he buries his face in my neck as he continues to make slow love to me against the wall.

I wait for the feelings of dread to fill my belly, but none does. For the first time in a long while, I have no regrets about the decision I've just made. I'm Hook's, and I don’t think I could be happier.

Seventeen

Hook

It's been morethan a week since I basically fucked Bea into agreeing to be my wife.

I've never begged a woman, but I was willing to get on my hands and knees for her. She is the only one to have that kind of power over me. The only one I trust to rule me in that way.

Now I'm running around doing the shit I'd always made fun of other men for doing: buying flowers and planning shopping trips. I even set up a fucking picnic simply because I know she wants to get out of the clubhouse for a little while.

"Where are we going?" Bea asks as I walk her out back behind the compound. While in front of the strip mall there is street access, on the other side of the clubhouse there's nothing but trees and fields. It's the perfect place for many of us to be able to use our toys away from the public eye.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be fun," I tell Bea as I continue to pull her alongside me. She's wearing a pair of combat boots, somejeans, and a thick sweater. She looks absolutely breathtaking, but I'm praying she's not too attached to the outfit she has on because I intend to get her dirty.

I walk over to a small shed we have and open the door so Bea can see inside.

She gasps as she spies the bright red and black four-wheeler. It's a big boy's toy, but I know that she likes a bit of danger. Usually, I only go on my own, but I think it'd be fun for us to ride together and get to the picnic site a few miles deep into the woods.

"Can I drive?" Bea jumps and claps.

"Fuck no. You want to kill me? I'll have a heart attack the second you go over one hill." I shake my head and pull her into the shed so we can get on the bike.

"Aw, come on!" She whines, but I continue to shake my head no.

She asks me a few times, but I'm not going to let her drive until I know she can handle something of this magnitude. Maybe one day, but not today.

We hop on the four-wheeler, and I start on the barely used back roads through the dense trees.

As soon as we start on our way, Bea grabs hold of me tightly. After the first dip, she begins to laugh. I go faster, pushing the four-wheeler to get up the steep hills and through the deep trenches. Mud, dirt, and debris fly up, and when I look over my shoulder, I see Bea's face is splattered, but she's laughing like a wild woman. Her joy is infectious. The both of us whoop and cheer as I race to take the most exciting route toward the area I've chosen for a picnic.

I'm so focused on Bea, so busy trying to make her smile that I'm not paying attention to my surroundings. So fucking stupid.

It's not until I hear the deep rumbling sound of a truck that I turn my head just in time to see it skid right next to us.

"What the fuck!" I shout, and Bea screams behind me. She grips me tight, and now the fun ride that was supposed to end with us at a picnic site has turned into a mad dash to get away from the people chasing us.

"Oh God," I hear Bea cry.

"What?" I shout over my shoulder while I focus on keeping the four-wheeler on the road.

Bea is looking into the window of the truck that is dangerously close to us. "It's Lance," she says out loud, and I turn my gaze in that direction.

He's nothing like I would have expected. His face is hard, and his eyes are dead as he gestures with his hand for the man driving the truck to ram us again. I jerk the handlebars to the side so we won't get caught, but the side of the wheel hits an uneven patch of ground.

I roar in defeat as I feel the heavy body of the four-wheeler start to tip, even while the wheels are still turning, trying to get traction.

"NO!" Bea screams, and it's the last thing I hear as we tip over into a deep riverbed. The heavy off-road vehicle crashes down with an intense sound of grating metal, and then everything goes black.

I'm not sure how long I'm out, but when I come to, I can't breathe. I can't even take in enough air to scream. I'm lying onmy front, and the four-wheeler is laying across my midsection, pinning me to the ground.

"Bea," I whisper, though I was trying to scream for her. "Bea!" I put as much effort behind my words as I can.