Chapter 15

15

HAWK

S liding my arm around Sutton’s hips, I hauled her into me. My mouth crashed into hers over and over again. My heart was thundering in my ears and my cock started straining against my fly.

I hadn’t felt a spark like this in a long time and I wondered if she could feel it too, but as soon as her lips had touched mine, it had been there. That same insanity I remembered from when I was a teenager.

In the time since, I’d convinced myself that it had been no more than my hormone-fueled mind playing tricks on me, but I wasn’t a teenager anymore, and if anything, it was even more intense now than it had been then.

More emotional and possibly even transformative now. What I felt when I kissed her was a profound connection as opposed to simple physical intimacy. With Sutton, it was like everything else faded away, leaving room only for our shared bond, the experiences we’d had, and the experience I suddenly still wanted to have with her.

I kissed her hard, my tongue sliding past her lips and tangling with hers insistently, like I was intent on getting reacquainted with every last nook and cranny of her mouth. Deep groans vibrated through me. My muscles tightened as anticipation lodged itself in the deepest part of my being.

Drawing her even closer, my entire world narrowed to the space between us as though everything I’d made of myself paled in significance to being with her again. The kiss was deep and electric, and I found myself touching her with the kind of reverence that came from knowing I was holding on to someone precious.

I caught her face in one of my palms, my grip careful yet unwavering. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew that we were standing on the street and that anyone could see us. I also knew that her father had explicitly told me to stay away. I knew that I’d hurt her before, and I knew that I would be leaving again soon, likely hurting her again, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to stop.

Instead, I deepened the kiss, walking her back until I could press her up against the wall of the building next to the wine bar, covering her tiny body with my own and rocking my hips against hers. She moaned into my mouth, a breathy, needy sound that drove me halfway out of my mind.

Control had never evaded me before the way it did now, but the taste of her lips was intoxicating. The Scottish whiskey mixed with a sweetness unique to only her. I remembered it from before too, the addicting taste of her lips that I’d never been able to get enough of in the moments we stole behind closed doors.

I’d kissed a lot of women since the last time I’d kissed her, but with everyone else, it had been kind of cold. Fun in the moment but with no deeper feelings to it.

This, however, was as far from that as could be. This kiss resonated with a sense of belonging I’d never quite felt before. There was a passion to it that made it feel like I was finding my way home again.

An overwhelming surge of emotion swept through me, a blend of joy, longing, and an unshakable certainty that this was exactly where I was meant to be. I didn’t even want to acknowledge how all that made me feel.

My heart was pounding with all the feelings I knew I shouldn’t have. My entire body knew it all the way down to the last fiber of my being, and it drove me to push this even further. Tightening my grip on her, I rocked my hips again and hissed into her mouth when she let out another one of those breathy moans.

I had half a mind to shove her pants off right here, but it was cold and this was Sutton . Taking her up against a brick building with an icy wind coming in from the water was not how I wanted things to be.

“Come with me,” I whispered against her mouth, our breath mingling in the quiet space between us. “I want you to come home with me. Interested?”

Instead of responding verbally, she snaked her arm around the nape of my neck and pulled me in for another kiss. Her back arched as she pressed herself into me. I groaned and leaned into her before finally wrenching my mouth away from hers.

“Let’s go,” I grunted, sliding my hand into hers and practically dragging her back to our street.

When we got there, however, it occurred to us, seemingly at the same time, that sneaking back into either of our houses presented some roadblocks. I grimaced as I glanced at her. “I’m on the third story of our house.”

“My parents are at mine,” she said breathlessly, her lips slightly swollen from our kisses but laughter in her eyes. “What are we going to do?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. My mind raced as I combed over the possibilities. “In theory, we could scale the trellis at the back of our house, climb onto the second-floor deck, and then I could lift you up to the roof.”

“And then I climb into your attic window from there?” She laughed, her eyes wide, and shook her head. “I’m almost thirty, Hawk. I don’t possess the same athleticism as I had as a teenager.”

“Sure, neither do I, but it’s better than running into your dad right now,” I said. “He’s going to be so pissed if he catches us that he’ll probably try beating me up.”

“You could take him,” she said confidently, winking at me. She started pulling me toward her house. “We’re going back to my place. We’ll have the whole apartment to ourselves. All we have to do is avoid them seeing us as we’re going inside.”

“The steps are outside the house, though.” I followed her willingly, knowing her plan was way more logical than mine.

It started raining. We hurried down the street back to her house. She laughed as she ducked her head, releasing my hand to sprint toward the awning covering her stairs. Breaking into a run myself, I grabbed her hips from behind, laughing too. I pulled her back to me and kissed her in the rain, not giving a shit about the tiny bits of ice pelting us.

Sutton wound her arms around my neck, not breaking the kiss. She pulled me toward the awning with her and leaned back against the wall of her house. She devoured my lips with the same intensity as before.

“Let’s go in,” she whispered against my mouth, still smiling but glancing toward her parents’ front door at the same time. “I’m pretty sure they’re in bed, but just in case. I’d hate for you to get beat up right now.”

“I’ll just run away,” I teased quietly. Then I grabbed her hand and motioned for her to precede me up the stairs.

We spilled into her apartment together, and she quickly shut and locked the door behind us, then spun to face me again. Even with her hair slightly damp and her cheeks flushed with the cold and hopefully, desire, I had never seen a more beautiful woman in my entire life.

While I had expected there to be some awkwardness after our furious kisses and before we got to the main event, Sutton didn’t seem nervous or awkward. Her eyes held mine intently across the few feet of distance separating us, and she didn’t hesitate at all.

The air in her apartment was warm, the lights dim since there was only a single lamp on in the corner of her living area. I remembered this apartment from before, but it seemed different filled with all of Sutton and Winnie’s things.

A two-bedroom, it also had two baths with the main being en-suite, an open concept kitchenette, and a living area that had obviously been remodeled at some point. White drapes hung in the windows and laminated floors were covered in a mishmash of rugs. A children’s desk sat in one corner of the living room, along with a couple big plastic boxes of toys and a blackboard with piles of chalk lying in the grooves attached to it. Sutton had also filled the built-in shelves with books and trinkets, potted plants, and succulents, adding to the homey feel of the place.

I noticed all of this only in my periphery though, unable to completely break eye contact with her in order to look around. The point, however, was that despite the fact that I had four thousand square feet of prime real estate back in LA, this small little apartment felt more like home than my house ever had.

Being here felt right—even if I knew her father would kick my ass if he discovered me with her. I had no fucking clue what it was about Sutton or being in her space that made me feel like I’d finally found something I hadn’t even known to look for, but there it was.

As she stared at me, I stared right back. She slowly pushed her coat from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She kicked off her sneakers next, then tilted her head at me, her eyebrows rising like she was silently saying, “Your move.”

I kicked off my own shoes so fast that it would’ve been comical if anyone had been watching. My jacket hit the floor not a second later. I reached for my sweater next, pulling it over my head in a single motion that I hoped had been as smooth as it’d felt. When my hands fell to my belt, I finally slowed down.

Feeling a smirk appear on my lips, I watched her closely, seeing her struggle to keep her eyes on mine. I didn’t even try doing the same, openly lowering my gaze to drink her in as she lifted her cardigan over her head.

My breath caught as she tossed it down beside her, standing before me with her torso now bare save for a plain white cotton bra that was somehow the sexiest thing I had ever seen. High end lingerie be damned. Give me Sutton Ashbury exactly like she is now any day of the week.

I raked my eyes over her soft curves, fuller now than they had been before. I groaned as I lifted my gaze back to hers, my teeth sinking into the corner of my lower lip. I was going to fucking devour this woman and I wasn’t going to wait another second to do it.