Page 25 of Out of Reach

“That’s awful.” Poor Sebastian.

A waiter approached Sam. “Chef told me to let you know that dinner is ready to be served, sir.”

“Excellent!” Clapping a hand on Jude’s shoulder, Sam directed him toward the house. “I’m sure Hawk is wondering where you got to. That is, unless Lizzy’s lured him off somewhere.”

“She better not have,” Jude said.

Sam only chuckled.

Inside, Hawk was chatting with an older man Jude didn’t recognize. Catching sight of Jude, he raised a brow in question.

Jude gave a small shake of his head, unsure how Hawk could tell something was on his mind. He hated hearing that Sebastian had a drug problem that had derailed such a promising career. He hoped he would be all right. Maybe he would find a chance to talk to him again over the weekend.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hawk

Hawk loathed Sam Prescott for no other reason than the way his gaze lingered on Jude as they sat eating in the dining room. The seating arrangements had Hawk sitting half a table away from Jude, with Jude conveniently beside Sam. Eliza, who was across the table from Hawk, didn’t look any happier than he was with the set up.

“So, Hawk,” she said, tearing his attention away from Prescott and Jude. “What do you do for a living?” She stabbed a cherry tomato with her fork and slipped it between her alarmingly swollen lips. If Jude hadn’t told him she’d had them purposely injected to look that way, Hawk might have thought she was having an allergic reaction to the food.

Prescott had likely had him checked out, so Hawk figured it was safest to answer Eliza’s question with the truth. “I work in security.”

Eliza’s eyebrows were so perfect, Hawk imagined she drew them on a hair at a time.

“Oh? And how did you get into that line of work?” she asked.

He smiled politely. “I have friends in the business, and, being ex-military, it was a good fit for me.”

She looked him over. “I should have guessed. Air Force?”

“Navy SEAL.”

Beside Eliza, a blonde woman audibly gasped, suddenly focusing on Hawk.Uh, oh.Hawk had met his fair share of frog hogs over the years—slang for the women who actively went after SEALS—and judging by the way the woman was looking at him, he’d just encountered another.

“Oh, my. How did I missyou?” she asked, a slow smile spreading over her face.

Years ago, Hawk might have flirted. Might have considered taking her to bed, if he were single. He hadn’t lied to Jude when he’s said he’d never cheated or even wanted to, but he’d definitely gotten off on the high of having beautiful people attracted to him, and, before Jude, he’d slept with quite a few of them. Now, though, he felt nothing but mild annoyance. He was relieved when Elijah, a young black man sitting to Hawk’s right, asked him about his skin care routine. Although, seeing as it was soap and water, he didn’t entertain hope of a long conversation. But evidently that was underestimating Elijah, and the next forty-five minutes were spent on product recommendations. When Elijah was sure Hawk knew exactly what he needed to buy, he thankfully changed the subject.

“Do you shave your balls?”

At which point Hawk looked frantically to Jude to save him, but Jude was deep in conversation with Sam.

“Not usually,” Hawk said.

“Oh, but you should!” And he launched into a long-winded list of reasons why bare balls were the best balls.

It seemed forever before dinner was finally over and Hawk could get away from the table. As soon as he could, he wrapped his arm around Jude’s trim waist and steered him out of the dining room.

“Missed you,” he said loudly before pressing a kiss to Jude’s cheek. “You don’t know how much,” he whispered so only Jude could hear. “Elijah talked to me for over an hour about face masks and ball sacs.”

Jude laughed into his hand. “That must have been riveting.”

“Let’s enjoy our wine by the pool,” Prescott suggested to his guests.

“Stick with me. Donotlet Elijah get me alone,” Hawk murmured as Prescott pulled open the double glass doors and stepped out onto the covered patio at the back of the house. Beyond the Olympic-sized swimming pool sparkling in the moonlight was a magnificent view of the ocean. Hawk wondered if Jude had spent any romantic evenings out there with Prescott.

Hawk directed Jude to a wide lounge chair they could share.