Chapter Thirteen

Hawk

"Y ou didn't have to make sure Kristy got home safely, but thank you for thinking of her." Laura smiled up at me, and that one simple act of human kindness made me feel like a fucking superhero.

"Of course. She's your friend, and I wouldn't let anyone go home alone after that." I wasn't completely certain that Laura was the target, even though it was most likely, but seeing Kristy home was just the right thing to do. "Ready to go up?"

She looked up to her house and then back to me before nodding. "Yep. Beyond ready. I'm so damn tired I'm not sure I can make it up the stairs."

"I'm happy to carry you," I offered with a teasing smile, even though my hands itched to touch her, to hold her again.

She laughed. "As appealing as that sounds, I haven't showered off my day yet, and then I threw myself against a car, so I'm pretty gross."

I wanted to tell her that it didn't matter to me, but that would be fucking weird, and things were already strange enough. She was in a vulnerable state and the last thing she needed was my confused shit piling on top. "Suit yourself."

"I will." She was stubborn as hell, and I liked it about her. Nothing was easy, but I was more than up for the challenge.

"Stop," I called out, and gripped her arm.

"What the hell, Hawk?" She frowned at me, but my gaze was fixed on her front door, which hung open.

"Your door," I whispered. "Get behind me."

She sucked in a breath to argue with me, but I gripped her arm tighter.

"Don't," I warned. I pulled out my gun and climbed the last three steps that led to her porch, kicking the door open and leading with my gun. I went from room to room to assess the damage and check for any intruders, but the oddest fucking thing hit me. "Come in," I told her.

I kept my gaze on Laura as she walked in, expecting the worst, but her face morphed into the same shock I was sure I still wore. "What the shit?" She turned to me. "Why bust my door and not take anything or destroy anything?"

That was the damn question, wasn't it? But I knew men like this. I knew their minds and what fueled them. Anger. Vengeance. Retribution. "Just to fuck with you." And this would fuck with her mind nonstop, wondering if something was missing or if they'd be back when she least expected them. "You're staying with me."

"What? No, I'm not."

"Uh, yeah, you are." There was no fucking way I would let her stay here alone. "No one knows where I live, and I can keep you safe. Plus, my door locks."

"Hawk, listen to me. I will not be run off from my own damn home."

I got in her face so that she couldn't see anything but me. "And I'm not letting you die on my watch."

She sucked in a breath, her chest heaving beneath her scrubs. "No. Just… no."

"And if they come back when you're in a deep sleep like you no doubt will be? Or how about when you're vulnerable in the shower? I can stay tonight, but what about tomorrow night? We don't know what they're up to. This might just be the start."

She said nothing for a long minute, opening and closing her mouth as her arguments came and went silently. Finally, her gray gaze narrowed, and she huffed. "Fine."

"Good," I said, trying and failing to hide a satisfied smile. "Great."

"This doesn't change anything."

I dimmed my smile and nodded. "Agreed."

"Good," she replied, and turned her back to me.

"But knowing how your pussy tastes, does."

She stumbled and then froze before she took off upstairs to collect her things together.

I laughed to myself, thinking about how much fun it was just being around the feisty nurse. Had I ever had so much fun with a woman who wasn't on her knees with my cock in her mouth? Or about to be?

The answer came quickly. Hell no, because I didn't have that kind of fun with women. That was reserved for my club brothers, but fuck if I didn't like it.

A lot.

***

Thirty minutes later, Laura came downstairs with four bags and a tired grin. It looked like she was packed for a vacation—a long one. I resisted the urge to comment, but instead, kept the elation I felt about her crashing at my place to myself.

"Okay. Ready."

I gave a short nod and took the bags from her, storing them in her trunk.

"You wanna stick my address in your GPS?"

"I don't have a navigation system in my car," she answered. I was about to comment, when she added, "I'm mostly just driving around Steel City which I know like the back of my hand."

"Follow me and don't let anyone get between us. Be aggressive if you have to."

"Stop telling me what to do," she muttered, before slamming her door shut and starting the car.

I smiled as I got on my bike and led the way home. I took the ride home to think about what I was doing, bringing her into my personal space. It was a dangerous move. Not to my life, but the heart I'd been protecting since I was a kid. Being too close to people who were outside the club was dangerous. It was a weakness, the kind that ended up with people hurt. Or dead.

But I'd already extended the invite, and it was the right move. It still didn't sit right with me that someone had tried to run her over at work and then kicked in her front door. It was almost as if someone just wanted to scare her, and that didn't make sense. Los Ochos knew she was scared already, so they had no reason to do it, which meant it could be another of our enemies.

After an unsettling ride, where I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure Laura was still following me, I pulled off to the road that led to my house.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself, and parked my bike closer to one side of the driveway to make room for Laura.

"I'm tired and cranky right now, Hawk, but I appreciate you letting me stay with you."

"I appreciate you only giving me a little bit of shit before agreeing." I took the bags from her. "Come on, I'll give you the twenty-five-cent tour." I felt her behind me, and when I looked back, she was staring at my ass. "Like what you see?"

"Duh. You have a fabulous backside, especially in jeans. As if you don't know it."

"I do know it, but it's nice to hear it once in a while." I winked and gave her a tour of the ranch house I bought a few years ago so that my mom and sister would have a place to stay when they visited that wasn't the clubhouse. "You can take this suite. It has its own bathroom, so you'll have all the privacy you need."

"We're not sharing?" she sounded curious, and to my satisfaction I saw a brief flash of disappointment cross her pretty face.

"I didn't want to be presumptuous, plus you've had a long and shitty day. You probably want to get some shut eye rather than have a horny biker's cock jabbing you in the ass all night."

She giggled at that, "I don't know, maybe that sounds like fun."

My cock all but jumped to attention with that comment, but then she let out a yawn.

I pushed open the door with a grin. "My room is at the other end of the hall, just in case you did want to sleepwalk." I pointed to the other door. "I made two primaries so my mom would have her own space."

Her head tilted to the side. "Aw, that's sweet." She laughed when I rolled my eyes, but it was interrupted by another yawn. "This place is really homey. Who decorated it?"

"My sister and mom decorated it."

I showed her the second guest room, the kitchen, and the office.

"This is a lot of house for one person."

"I'm a big person, though. And I like having space for myself. I wasn't gonna pay a small fucking fortune for a shoebox."

"Good point." Laura was quiet for a long time as I ran her through what she needed to know to live with me.

"What are you thinking so damn loud about?"

She sighed. "I'm just wondering how your mom and sister feel about you being a biker."

"My mom worries about me, but basically they feel the same way you do." It was a low blow, but she hadn't hidden what she thought of bikers.

"What? How do I think about you?"

"Oh, come on, Laura. Don't deny it now just because I'm extending you hospitality." I flashed a smile that faded when I saw the frown on her face.

"I'm not denying any damn thing," she insisted, and shoved my chest. "I'm not judging you, dammit, but your job is really scary. Really fucking scary." She shook her head before she pushed me again. "I'm grateful you came to my rescue when no one else did, but only a crazy person would do that."

I absorbed her words and stared at Laura for a long minute until I knew she was serious. She wasn't judging me, she was worried about me. I leaned in close and smiled. "You said brave wrong."

"No, I didn't. There's a fine line between the two, and you live your life tap dancing on that line." Her lips tugged into a lopsided grin. "Which I appreciate, but I stand by what I said."

Fuck, she was so goddamn pretty when she was all fiery and defiant. I fought the urge to lean in a little more and take another taste of her lips, but another yawn cracked her jaw, and I knew she needed to sleep. Instead of kissing her, I pulled back and smiled at her steel spine. "My mom would like you."

Her mouth opened and then closed before it opened again. And then closed again.

I laughed and shook my head. "I'll let you get settled. Towels are in the closet in the bathroom." And now all I would be thinking about for the rest of the night was Laura in the shower, naked body soaped up and glistening.

Fuck.

This was my dumbest idea to date.