The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice Former FBI agent Hawk Richardson's life is simple. He lives with his wolf in a cabin and has little contact with the outside world. His career with the bureau cost him his sight in one eye and left him angry and bitter. So when Hawk pulls Nina Daniels's unconscious body from her wrecked car, he is unprepared for the feelings that stir within his cold heart. Hawk fights his feelings, but finally gives in to the outspoken woman. For three days they succumb to their desires-until evil comes knocking at their door. A battle ensues, and when Hawk is feared dead, Nina is left alone and devastated. But she can't shake the feeling that he is still alive. Months pass by and Hawk gives in to his need for Nina, but will she accept him when he shows up? Note: This book contains anal sex. Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense Length: 50,395 words

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

Moira Hanson

EROTIC ROMANCE

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer. WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

THE WINTER SOLSTICE Copyright © 2010 by Moira Hanson E-book ISBN: 1-61034-062-0 First E-book Publication: December 2010 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2010 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter from Moira Hanson Regarding E-book Piracy Dear Readers, I would like to take this opportunity to ask for your help in the fight against e-book piracy. As the purchaser of this e-book, you are entitled to the download for your personal use, but please do not distribute this e-book to anyone else. This includes forwarding a copy of the e-book by email and posting it on the Internet, whether it be for monetary gain or not. Some people don’t realize it is illegal and in violation of federal copyright laws. It takes time to bring to life the stories we hold in our hearts. These books are also our source of income. So, thank you for your purchase of this e-book that makes it possible for us to continue to bring these stories to you. With deep gratitude, Moira Hanson

DEDICATION Thank you, Denice, for keeping me going even when I wasn’t sure I’d make it through the year.

THE WINTER SOLSTICE MOIRA HANSON Copyright © 2010

Chapter One December 21, 2009 “You arrogant son of a...” Nina snapped her cell phone shut and dropped it on the seat next to her. She decided he wasn’t worth the breath it would take to expel the next word. It was four days before Christmas, and she had been driving in the snow for two hours to go back to Chicago to get Mason his stupid clothes. He had insisted that he needed his precious suit and whatever else he’d packed in the bag that, of course, he said Nina had left behind. They were in the middle of one of the worst snowstorms in the history of Illinois, and her brother demanded that she return to get the clothes. She didn’t know why she bothered to get them because this wasn’t the first time that he’d sent his assistant on a trip that was the result of him being a jerk. “I’m through with this! I don’t need him, and I don’t need this job. I’ll go back home and work for Mom at the hardware store!” Nina declared to herself as she drove through the curvy snow-covered roads. The tall pine and oak trees surrounded the road, making a canopy of sorts above her. Everything else sat encased in at least fourteen inches of the white flakes that had been falling for the last few days, but luckily, the ice lay at the bottom of that snow.

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The roads were slick, and she drove slower than normal, but as she slid around the next corner she quickly realized that four-wheel drive didn’t mean she could take corners at forty-five miles an hour. “Shit!” The expletive escaped her mouth as she somehow managed to steer the car enough to keep it on the road. She realized that she definitely had been driving with her emotions and slowed down. As she calmed, Nina decided she had been his gofer for the last time. She already had her separation planned. She would return to Chicago and overnight his clothes to him, and then she would pack and move back home. It was time for a change, and this had been the last straw that pushed her to the decision. At twenty-seven, Nina had never had the best of luck with men of any kind. Her father had died on her seventh birthday of a heart attack. He hadn’t been sick a day in his life that anyone could remember, so his death came as quite a shock to everyone. Especially to a little girl that adored her daddy. Then there was Paul Rogers. Nina and Paul were thirteen and about to experience their first real kiss, but Paul slipped off the bleachers at a football game and broke his arm. Worse yet, there were others. Nina seemed to have a run of bad luck with every man that she tried to date. As she got older, her relationships usually ended rather abruptly whether it was the “It’s not you, it’s me” or “I’m joining the army” or whatever other story. She never had a relationship that had lasted longer than two months. And now her one and only brother treated her like crap, which had pretty well capped off her life’s failures with men. As Nina continued to drive, she thought more about men and how she was going to swear them off forever. It wasn’t that she hated them. By all means she loved looking at them and had hoped that by now she would have found Mr. Right, but no such luck. She decided that she would be probably just become an old spinster back in her hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi.

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Distracted by her own thoughts, she smiled while she thought of shipping Mason his clothes overnight and what his face would look like while opening his package the next day. That is if he got it the next day since the weather had turned so bad. She played the scenario out in her head. He would be furious with her and would try to call her, but she would look at the phone and decide not to answer it. It would antagonize him even more, and he would then send her messages and voice mails harassing her as to her whereabouts. Nina sighed in relief at her epiphany, and just as she started to laugh, a blur of something ran in front of her car. It was a deer. Reflexively, she slammed on the brakes, but on the snow-covered road, the car kept going. Nina’s pulse raced as she tried to control the vehicle. With her foot still firmly pressed on the brake pedal, she steered back and forth. The car began to fishtail uncontrollably. Panicking, she could only watch as it appeared that she might hit one tree and then another. Just as her worst fears were of hitting a tree, she looked ahead of her to see a narrow bridge. She was heading straight for it. Within a matter of seconds, Nina had tried to stop her car but now careened toward the side of the bridge. There was an open embankment, and if she didn’t get the car stopped, she just might slip right off of the road and into what she assumed would be freezing water below. Nina let off the brake, and then pumping it again and again, the car slowed down. It still wasn’t enough. It hit the corner of the guardrail at the bridge entrance. The impact gave her quite a jolt. Taking a moment to compose herself, she brought her borderline hysterics down to just angry and scared. A few more terrifying seconds passed, and then she heard a creaking noise. Dazed and confused, it took her a single moment too long to discover what the sound was. It was the guardrail giving way.

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“No!” Nina screamed, trying to brace herself as the car dropped off the side of the bridge, but it all happened too fast. Everything went black. **** Hawk listened to the radio as he drove. They were saying something about the winter solstice and that the exact moment of it had been at nine forty-seven. It basically meant that this was going to be the longest night of the year and the shortest day. He couldn’t give a shit, so he pressed the play button on his MP3 player. The song “Wounded Bird” by Charles & Eddie had just started as he rounded the last corner before the bridge. It wasn’t a particularly masculine song, but Hawk had listened to this music in the ’90s, and it was just one of those that he had liked. “What the hell?” he said. Considering it had always been his job to be observant, he immediately recognized that something was askew as he approached the bridge. There were deep tire tracks leading off the side of the road. He brought his 1987 Ford full-size pickup to a stop and pushed the door open. It creaked slightly. “Stay, Byron,” he ordered his wolf. Hawk stepped out of the truck and let his cowboy boots crush the snow beneath him. Leaving a hole as deep as his boots were high, he pushed through the snow. The wind gusted and swirled snow around him. He was accustomed to the cold, but the subzero wind chill was too much even for him. Flipping the collar of his long, black, leather coat up, he trudged through the snow. He leaned over the remaining railing to see the remnants of a white SUV, a newer, expensive one. “Oh, hell,” he mumbled to himself. The vehicle had dropped off the edge and sat perched on its nose at the bottom of the creek bed. The creek was about fifteen feet down and was fairly shallow this time of year, but it did have water in it just below a thin layer of ice.

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“Hello!” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. His voice echoed through the creek bed. No answer. Hawk walked back to his truck, letting Byron out, and commanded him to sit at the front of the truck. He grabbed the rope that was hooked to the winch on the front and got back to the bridge quickly. Surveying the area, he stepped around to the open side of the bridge and jumped. His feet hit the ground hard, and he had no problem keeping his balance even though the ground was uneven. Being used to this kind of activity, it was of no effort to him. Now, for the task at hand. If the person in the car was still alive then he would have to free them. As he looked at the mangled mess, he actually didn’t think that he would find anyone alive inside. To his surprise, though, as he approached, he saw movement. It was a woman with blood on her face, and of course, there were probably other injuries. Quickly, Hawk grabbed the door handle of the car and pulled. It was stuck. “Of course, it couldn’t be that simple.” He sighed. This wasn’t something that he couldn’t handle. He just didn’t like that he didn’t have options. Of course, he could climb back up the embankment and try to pull the car up, but he didn’t have time for that, depending on her injuries. Instead, he had one clear choice that he could come up with. He would have to carry her up while he climbed. Hawk pulled on the door again with all of his strength until he pried it open. A woman that he guessed to be close to six feet tall hung suspended by her seat belt. With her wavy, golden brown hair hanging forward, he couldn’t clearly see her face, but he assumed by her clothes and the Lexus logo on the steering wheel that she wasn’t in poor financial shape by any means. Inspecting the vehicle quickly, he saw her to be alone. Hawk stepped to her side, and after examination, he gently lifted her head. She didn’t seem to have a broken neck, so he moved on to

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her arms and legs. After careful inspection of each one of her limbs, he decided she would be stable for transportation. Unbuckling the seat belt, he let the weight of her body fall into his arms. Although she appeared thin, she wasn’t the petite, hundred-pound type, but still, her weight wasn’t a struggle for him. He was used to hauling firewood by the armload among other things. A groan escaped her as he cradled her in his arms. She didn’t come awake, though, while he shifted her body so that he could grab the rope. Double-checking his stance, he then whistled as loud as he could and yelled, “Byron!” In just a few seconds, the rope started pulling him upward. Byron had flipped the switch on the small motor. Hawk had trained the wolf to do so for just such an emergency. Unfortunately, it was generally just to save his sorry butt from something stupid that he’d done. Holding on to the woman with one arm and the rope with the other, Hawk leaned back and literally walked up the side of the bank, letting the rope and the winch take most of his weight. Three minutes later, he was at the top. The motor on the winch was supposed to be able to pull up to a ton, so there had been no problem pulling the two of them up. Now that he stood on level ground, he started toward the truck. But after just a few steps, he walked right into a big hole camouflaged by the snow, causing him to lose his footing and fall. Unfortunately, he dropped her right in the snow that was at least fifteen inches deep by now and still coming down. Lying in a heap in the snow, the woman was instantly coated with a layer of the frozen water vapor.. “Damn it!” The strength it had taken to climb up the embankment had taken more out of him than he thought, and losing his footing had proven that. She groaned again as he gathered her back up in his arms and took her to his truck. Completely covered in snow, he carefully placed her into the cab and buckled her in. Letting her body lean against the doorframe, he shut the door.

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“Byron,” he stated. The black and gray wolf jumped into the cab, squeezing between the stranger and his master. Hawk pulled himself in behind the wheel and started toward his cabin. He was fifty-eight miles from the closest hospital and only one mile from his home. Choosing to take her home, he hoped that she had no internal injuries that were life threatening, but considering the weather, he had no choice. “Well, wolf, it looks like we have a guest. I hope she doesn’t bite,” he mumbled sarcastically, trying to make light of the situation. Hawk spent most of his time alone and didn’t like the idea of having someone in his house, especially someone that was female and unconscious. But he knew that he had no choice. It just wasn’t in him to leave her out there to die. Hawk carried the woman inside while Byron followed behind. A fire roared in the fireplace just as he had left it when he left for the convenience store that was twelve miles away. He needed some basic items like milk and snacks. It was warmest in front of the fire, and her clothes were now drenched from the melted snow. After laying her down on the carpet in front of the fireplace, he pushed her hair away from her face. The sight of her with the glow of the fire surrounding her let him see the most beautiful face he’d ever laid eyes on. The soft curve of her jaw led him to her plump lips, and he froze. Damn. He hadn’t seen a woman like this except in the movies. After being momentarily distracted by her looks, Hawk refocused on her injuries. There was a small amount of blood from just a scalp laceration, which shouldn’t need more than some adhesive butterfly sutures. As he scanned down her face with his fingers, something seemingly zapped him. It was as if he had been electrocuted. “Ow!” He pulled back initially, but strangely, he felt unable to stop himself and touched her again. This time there was no shock. He scanned over her porcelain smooth skin and finally snapped out of his daze.

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“Must have been static electricity,” he whispered. Shaking off the oddity of what had just happened, he reassessed the situation. Her clothes were soaked, and they had to come off. “Why me?” he sighed. “Come on, lady, wake up.” He patted her on the face, but she didn’t answer. The last thing that he wanted to do was undress a strange woman, but he had to or she would end up with hypothermia. Hawk started tugging at her jacket first, then her pants. Once she was down to her underwear, he realized that they, too, were wet, so he pulled them off, which left her there on his carpet in his house completely naked. And she was absolutely the best thing that he had ever seen in his life, he decided.

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Chapter Two Nina came awake with one massive headache and pain that radiated throughout her body, but she hadn’t pinpointed the exact location yet. The room around her was dark, only lit by a fireplace, and while she oriented herself, she tried to remember what had happened. The memory of the car diving off the end of the bridge vividly flooded her mind. A scream escaped her, and she shot up off of the couch that she had found herself on. Pain that could only be described as stabbing went through her side. Her breaths came in gasps, and it was then she also realized she was completely naked. Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, she chanted to herself, wondering where she was. “Where are my clothes?” Though definitely surprised by the fact that she was naked, what surprised her more was that there was an answer, which made her jump. “About that…Sorry, but I had to take all of your clothes off because they were wet.” Nina looked down and snatched up one of the blankets that now lay on the floor, covering herself. “Can I have them back please?” she pleaded. Embarrassed that she was naked in front of a stranger, she looked back toward him while waiting for her answer. There stood a man that was taller than her, and much, much larger than her. She arched one brow at the outline of the man whose face she could only see when the fire flickered just right.

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“If you’d like, but they’re sopping wet still. I hoped that they would be dry, but they’re taking longer than I thought.” His tone was calm, she noticed, but he was a stranger, and she needed answers. “How long have I been here?” “Not long.” Nina was trying to remain calm, but her patience was growing thin with this man. He was not giving her any clear answers. “How long is not long? An hour, a day, a week?” As she finished, the stabbing pain came again, but she refused to let him know how she hurt. It wasn’t his problem. “I’m sorry. It’s been about three hours, ma’am.” Ma’am? How old do I look? I may be twenty-seven, but I’m not forty, yet. Jeez! “Thank you. Do you have a phone I can use?” He shook his head, to her disappointment. “Power and phone lines are down. It usually takes them a few days to get everything up and running after a storm like this one. Oh, and my generator is apparently shot, too.” Nina sat back down on the couch and thought the situation through. While she had no desire to go back to her brother’s, she wasn’t very thrilled about her current place of residence. “Let me get this right. I already know that I’m in the middle of nowhere. So, who are you, and when do I get to leave?” She was quite gruff with her tone as she spoke to her host, but she wasn’t in the best of moods before she’d run her car off the road, and now, she was even more pissed off. “Well, my name is Hawk, and I don’t know when you’ll get out of here. The snow has piled on really thick now, probably close to seventeen inches. I can’t even safely get my truck out in this stuff.” His tone had changed. It was defensive, almost hostile. “What about my car, is it totaled?” “I’d say so, especially since it’s at the bottom of the creek bed.” “Good, I didn’t like it anyway. I liked my old Jeep,” she mumbled. No, she didn’t like her old Jeep, she loved her old Jeep, but Mason

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had insisted on her buying the Lexus as a status symbol, and of course, she had to pay for it. He wasn’t giving her a dime extra for something even though he required it. Hawk’s brow wrinkled at her statement. “I’m sorry, Hawk, how rude of me. I’m Nina Daniels. It’s very nice to meet you.” She had suddenly remembered herself and that she was being extremely ungrateful. Nina wasn’t typically so impolite. After all, her job involved being in the public eye. Holding the multicolored woven blanket around herself, she rose, but winced as she pushed herself up. Hawk took two steps toward her. “Are you all right? Do you need anything?” “My ribs hurt on this side.” She glanced down as she touched her left side. “But I’ll live.” When she looked back up, she saw him standing just a few feet from her now. The first and most defining feature of him was the leather eye patch over his right eye. Nina didn’t react to it, though. That would be rude. She was more concerned with what kind of pain someone must endure to lose an eye, or so she assumed. Then she focused her eyes on the rest of his face. He was ruggedly handsome, unshaven, and had quite unruly brown hair that stuck out in every direction. It was just long enough that she could tell he had to run his fingers through it to keep it back. “You probably broke at least one, and I can tape them if you’d like. It helps some, but that’s about all that you can do for them.” “It sounds like you know about that.” Hawk shrugged. “I’ve broken a few myself.” “Do you think I should tape them?” she asked. “I would.” Nina debated for a moment. She knew that she couldn’t do it herself, and if he was going to help her, he would basically be looking at her naked. “I don’t suppose you have any clothes I could put on first?”

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“I’ll be right back.” Hawk nodded and turned toward the stairs in the center of the wall. Nina waited patiently by the fire until he returned a few minutes later. “Here you go. I’m sorry, but it’s all I’ve got that might fit you. With the electricity out, your clothes still aren’t dry.” He pointed to a chair near the fireplace where her clothes lay. “Thanks. Is there a bathroom where I can dress?” She accepted the clothes from him and noticed how large his hands were near hers. They practically made hers look child-size. Distracted by the proximity of his body to hers, she found herself forgetting that she was going to dress. “Yes, but it’s dark, and you’ll need a candle. Here, I’ll take you there, and you can have this.” He led her to the bathroom, which was just on the other side of the living room wall, behind the staircase. Nina closed the heavy wood door behind her. She could see that the bathroom was small, holding nothing but a sink, toilet, and bathtub, yet it was immaculate. There were no piles of anything anywhere. No decorative towels or bath beads, which meant that there definitely weren’t any women living in the house. Nina was the first to admit that women had more clutter and could be messier than men were when it came to bathrooms and closets. Well, except for her brother. The reflection in the mirror showed a small bruise on her forehead and marks on her rib cage. Each step that she had taken to the bathroom had caused her discomfort, but she was tough and didn’t want to sound like a baby. In private now, she sat on the side of the tub and sucked in a sharp breath at the pain as she tried to pull on the sweatpants. They were a good six inches too long, and they were too big in the waist. Luckily, they had a drawstring, so she cinched it in as tight as she could and then rolled the cuffs of the legs up once.

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Now for the sweater. This could be tricky since she already could tell that if she raised her left arm in the air she would pull the muscles across her ribs, causing pain. She put her left arm in the sweater first then, keeping her arm at her side, she tugged at it until it went over her head and popped the other arm through. “There, pain free.” As she stood up to exit the bathroom and go back to her host, she caught the scent of something. It was quite masculine and made her senses heighten to the point of arousal. It was the sweater. Standing with the door still closed, Nina pulled the sweater up enough that she could sniff at it. Once she caught a whiff of it again, she breathed it in a third time, only slightly deeper. There was a musky scent that was mixed with what she imagined the forest to smell like. It immediately caught her off guard at how much she liked the fragrance. It was intoxicating, and Nina couldn’t help but think of how it might feel to touch the skin of a man that smelled like that and let it coat her. Not able to control herself, she inhaled as deep as she could, sending the same pain through her ribs as before. “Damn him for smelling so good,” she whispered to herself before leaving the bathroom. The scent lingered in her nostrils while walking back into the living room. Nina expected her host to be there waiting but instead came face to face with a large black wolf. Even in the shadowed light, she could tell it was a wolf by its elongated snout and wiry-looking fur. Oddly, she had always wanted a wolf, ever since she had seen a movie as a little girl where the young heroine had a guardian wolf. She froze, though, at their encounter. He was standing by the couch in front of the fireplace, right where she had thought she might return to. But she was quickly changing her mind. “Um, Mr. Hawk?” she calmly called out, since she didn’t know if that was his first name, last name, or what. She also made a point not to speak too loud as not to alarm the animal, even though he made no advances toward her.

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“Yes, ma’am,” Hawk answered from right behind her. Nina jumped as his voice echoed through to her bones, startling her. “Oh, you scared me!” she scolded and turned to face him. Standing just inches away from him, she looked up at him, which was a rarity for her. Unfortunately, most men that she encountered, including her brother, were of average height. Which was the same or shorter than hers. Her breath caught at their proximity. “What can I do for you?” It was then that Nina noticed just how deep and sultry his voice was. He could make women melt by saying things like laundry and vacuuming. Of course it would be about right, she figured, that she would be one to fall for a guy that made housework sound sexy. Then the scent hit her, but this time it wasn’t the sweater, it was the real thing. Hawk smelled like raw sexuality to her. It was as if he were emitting pheromones that were meant to arouse her on a level that she had never known. All she could think of in that moment was to pounce toward him and kiss him. She shook the thought away just as quickly as it had come to her, though. “Well, I just thought I would ask about your wolf. He doesn’t seem to want me to go back to the couch.” Hawk arched one eyebrow at her statement. “Actually, Byron’s waiting for you. It was the damndest thing I’ve ever seen, too. He normally doesn’t care for strangers but apparently became rather attached to you while you were sleeping.” Nina listened to what he said, but the thing that stuck in her head wasn’t that his wolf liked her, but his name. “Byron?” **** “Lord Byron the poet, long story.” Hawk shook his head with a smirk on his face. He had named the wolf after Lord Byron because it was his mother’s favorite poet, and he, too, was fond of some of his works but wouldn’t admit it to most people that he knew.

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“Aaah, I see.” Nina nodded and slowly approached the wolf. With her hands down by her side, she let him sniff at her, and when he whimpered and licked her hand, she sat down on the couch and petted him. Hawk stood in the doorway, watching in amazement. That wolf had never let anyone else touch him. She scratched beneath his chin, and he let out a whine that begged her for more. Traitor. Hawk’s eyes narrowed as he stared at his pet. If that was indeed what he was, a pet. Byron had found Hawk in the woods when he was just a pup. With no sign of his pack anywhere around, Hawk had taken him home and raised him. It had been a year and a half since then. “I see the clothes fit okay.” He had more than noticed, and he liked how the green sweater clung to her curves, but he had reprimanded himself silently for thinking such a thing. Then there were the pants. He could live without them since they covered her long legs, and no amount of internal argument was going to stop that desire. “Yes, thank you so much. I realized that I never thanked you.” “Not a problem. Sorry I didn’t have any ladies clothes, but as you’ve probably guessed, there aren’t any women living here.” Not that anyone would want an old, scarred guy like me anyway. “That’s not what I meant,” she replied with a soft tone. Hawk turned his head slightly, wondering what she did mean. “I’m assuming you pulled me from my car?” she added. Oh! Now he got it, yes, he had pulled her from her car, hadn’t he? He had risked life and limb to save her. Well, maybe not life and limb, but he had jumped down into unsure ground to pull her from the wreckage. “You are quite welcome. It wasn’t really a big deal, though. I must have driven up right behind the accident.” Hawk blew off his heroic act since the last thing he wanted from this woman was to have her thinking she owed him, especially if it involved a lot of talking.

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He had been alone long enough that he didn’t like conversing with people that much anymore. “Well, I will have to come up with a way to repay you.” I could think of a way or two, namely you naked and me on top of you. Man, there must be something wrong with me! I must really need to get laid. “Did you want taped?” “Yes, please.” Her reply reminded him of a child responding to her mother when asked if she wanted dessert, and that agreeable tone made him wish he could just get a taste of her. Hawk nodded again and turned back to the kitchen to get the medical tape from the drawer. He had a couple rolls on hand because he frequently seemed to need it. There had been the broken finger, which was a result of a large tree branch that he’d been cutting, falling and pinning his hand against the tree. And somehow he had been lucky enough to miss the main arteries in his arm after a careless slip with his hunting knife. Fortunately, instead of getting stitches, he used medical glue and tape to close the wound. Hawk returned within moments to Nina with a roll of tape in hand. “Where do you want me?” she asked. Those words sent a wave of desire through him that he could barely control. Yes, he had seen her naked, and he absolutely liked what he saw, but damn, this was ridiculous. “I think it will work better if you’re standing. I’ll be able to get it secured easier.” Hawk tried to keep his voice smooth, but the truth was he was about to see at least part of her naked again, and he didn’t know if he could handle it. Nina stood in front of him and slowly lifted the sweater so that her abdomen was exposed. He could tell that she was trying to keep the garment low enough to cover her breasts, but the curve of her left breast sat just below where she had the sweater folded. Hawk couldn’t help but notice it as he sank to his knees in front of her. His pulse raced at the sight of her smooth stomach and lush curves. All he

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wanted to do right then was lift the sweater just enough that he could take her taut nipple into his mouth. With his cock hardening, it pressed against his zipper in the most uncomfortable way, Hawk tore off a piece of tape that was about two feet long. “Where exactly is the pain?” Keeping his eyes on her stomach, he waited. Nina pointed to a spot on the side of her rib cage. Hawk secured the tape from the middle of her stomach over the affected area to the middle of her back. Once that was in place, he added several strips to either side of the first. All the while, each brush of his hand against her soft skin sent a searing pain of desire through his body. She stood there motionless, holding her clothes against her tightly as if to keep him from seeing too much. Hawk could almost feel her eyes burning his skin with her penetrating gaze, but he didn’t dare make eye contact with her. With the tape in place, he shuffled backwards and away from Nina. Being so close to her had feelings stirring that he had buried so deep he had forgotten them. She’s incredible, and I bet there’s not a flaw on that body. Hawk had to force himself to stop his lustful thoughts. “Supper?” Hawk asked, shaking off the last thought. “It’s almost nine, but I thought you might be hungry, and food helps heal most everything.” “Food would be wonderful,” Nina replied. “I thought something hot might help if you woke up, so I made beef stew.” Hawk ordered her to stay seated while he retrieved their food. He hadn’t eaten either, with all of the excitement during the afternoon, and was becoming irritable the longer he went without food. **** As Nina waited in the dimly lit room, she wondered what possessed a man to live in the middle of the woods that was so far out of civilization that he was used to the power going out. Was he crazy?

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Nina looked around the cabin, but in the dark, all she could see was the fireplace and couch and the small light that came from the kitchen behind her. It seemed small and cozy. There was a little bit of clanging coming from the kitchen that alarmed her. Just as she was about to go investigate, Hawk appeared from the darkness. “Here you go.” He had a tray in his hands that held two bowls, two cups, and utensils for them both. He sat the tray down on the coffee table in front of her and then handed her a bowl and spoon. There, in the light of only the fireplace, she sat with a man that was not only good looking but had saved her life. “Thank you so much. I’m famished.” The bowl was warm as she grasped it with both hands. Suddenly, she realized that she hadn’t eaten a home-cooked meal like this in ages. Her mother used to cook, but once Nina moved out and started working for her brother, she didn’t have time to cook or anyone to cook for her. Her dinners were usually eaten rushed as she was being summoned by Mason to fetch something. Tears welled up into her eyes and spilled over before she could stop them. Hawk sat there looking at her, his mouth gaping open. “Is it that bad?” “No, it’s good. It’s too good,” she sobbed. Nina wiped her tears away on the sweater. Then without any words spoken, he handed her a tissue. “I’m sorry. I’m stupid, and I’m just a bit messed up today, I guess.” “Whatever it is, you’re not stupid, well, only if you don’t eat. It’s really good, if I do say so myself.” Nina laughed lightly at his comment as she wiped her nose. She could tell that he tried to make her feel better, but it only reminded her that if it had been her brother saying that, she would know that it would have been a literal comment.

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“But how did you cook if there’s no power?” Nina had just come to the realization and was intrigued. For a split second, she wondered if he had lied to her about the power and was trying to keep her captive. Wow, what a wild imagination! She didn’t feel afraid, though. Not that she would know real fear anymore. Mason had managed to keep her so worked up all of the time that anything not relating to him was a comfort, even if it was a car accident. “Wood stove in the kitchen. It’s a bit slow, but you get perfect stew.” “Oh.” She felt really stupid now. Grateful that he didn’t know what she was thinking, she continued to eat, savoring the food. They ate the remainder of their dinner in silence. Once Nina was full and placed her bowl back on the tray, she gulped down most of her glass of water. Hawk collected everything and rose to take it back to the kitchen. Nina stepped over to him to intercept his movement. “Please let me help. You’ve already been so kind.” She attempted to take the tray from him, but he grasped it firmly and tugged at it. Nina, in a moment of stubbornness, tugged back. A glass from the tray fell, shattering as it hit the hardwood floor. Hawk glared at her. Nina shrank back as she realized she had just made a big mistake. The feral look in his eyes blazed anger, and she had screwed up big time. Nina was stubborn and never seemed to know when to back off and Mason liked to rub it in her face. Nina took a step back and noticed that Byron walked up to stand next to her. “Sit!” Hawk shouted. Nina immediately dropped to the couch. A low growl came from him. “I didn’t mean you,” he grumbled as he walked away. Moments later, Hawk returned with a broom and dustpan to clean up the glass. “I’m terribly sorry. I’ll pay for the glass.” Nina had moved to the farthest end of the couch near the fireplace so that she was well out of his way. And she truly did feel badly about what happened.

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“I don’t think that will be necessary. It was just a cheap glass. I think I’ve got it all, but you might walk around the other way to use the bathroom tonight. I’ll be able to see better tomorrow to make sure I have all of the pieces picked up. I’m going to bed now unless you need something.” “I’m fine, but thanks again for everything.” Nina could feel the coldness from his tone, which left her uneasy. She tried not to think about it, though, as she lay down to sleep. She felt certain that her presence bothered him, and she felt terrible about it. The only peace that she had was that she hoped that the next day might bring luck, and she might be able to leave him alone.

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Chapter Three Hawk went to his cold room alone. He felt badly about snapping at her as he realized that she thought he was talking to her when, in fact, he was talking to Byron. He had assumed that Nina had enough common sense not to step on the broken glass, but Byron didn’t. The type of people that he had been used to dealing with took orders and took them well. No questions were asked, no arguments were had, and there were definitely no struggles for power, but she was different, he saw. She was like him, and it was crazy, he thought. “How did she know Byron was a wolf? Nobody ever gets it right,” he said to himself. It caught him off guard that she knew the difference between a dog and a wolf since most people don’t pay close enough attention. As he drifted off to sleep that night his thoughts were solely of her. The memory of her body and the way her rounded hips moved in front of the light of the fire when she had stood there naked left him with an aching groin. Not only did her body entice him, but the way her hair draped around her exquisite face and her lips, they made him burn. Hawk wanted to kiss her lips until they were swollen from the impact of his. But instead of having dreams about Nina all night, an all too familiar nightmare infiltrated its way into his sleep. Hawke crouched defensively with his back against a wall and his gun drawn. His pulse raced, and sweat poured down his face. He was

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in a dimly lit abandoned building, and he knew that he had been there before but couldn’t remember when. Turning to face the darkness in a different direction, he saw a flash of light and then heard the popping sound of a gun. Out of instinctive reflex, Hawk fired his weapon. He woke sweating and short of breath. It was cold in his room, and he didn’t understand how he could possibly be sweating. Shoving that conundrum aside, he got up to use the bathroom and remembered that he had completely drained the toilet upstairs so it didn’t freeze and crack. Quietly, he sneaked down the stairs to the bathroom. Hawk tried not to look in Nina’s direction as he passed through the living room simply because he didn’t want the reminder that she was there. But when he returned from the bathroom, he couldn’t help but stop and take notice of her. She was lying on her side, obviously to avoid hurting her ribs, and she was only slightly covered. The blanket had slid off of her. As he approached Nina, Byron raised his head from the floor to look at him. He just watched as Hawk pulled the blanket back over her, and as he did, Nina slid her hand over his. “Thanks, baby,” she said with a groggy voice. Hawk had started to say, “You’re welcome,” when Nina mumbled something else that he couldn’t quite make out. She was still asleep, and she was talking. Hawk let out a sigh as he had thought that she might actually have been talking to him. And as quickly as his ego had inflated, it popped. Why would she be dreaming of him? He was a nobody that happened to save her life. Certain that she was dreaming of someone else, Hawk quickly stepped away and had started up the stairs when he heard her speak again. “Please don’t go. Hawk, please stay.” This time, her voice was crystal clear, but he could tell that she was still asleep. The sound of

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his name coming from her, whether she was awake or asleep, was enough to stir him. He shook his head as he climbed the stairs. Hawk crawled back into his cold bed alone and fell asleep. Morning came and brought with it headaches and sniffles. Hawk woke in his bed with a cold nose, and sniffing frequently. He also remembered his nightmare. Trying to shake off the replay of events, he rose and headed off for the stairs so that he could at least get back to the heated part of the house. This was the first time that he had slept in his bed when the power was off, and he hadn’t realized just how cold it could get upstairs. He usually slept on the couch in front of the fire if the winter storms had knocked out the electricity, but this time he had let Nina stay warm. **** Nina woke with a massive headache that she was sure was a brain tumor that had instantly manifested itself overnight and she had only moments to live. She could be a bit of a drama queen sometimes, which she and her brother had gotten from their mother. However, the difference between them was that Nina was able to keep hers in her head, while Mason made sure that everyone around him knew what he thought. The sunlight filtered through the front windows. Daytime meant that not only could she see where she was, she would also be able to see how deep the snow was outside. As she got up to investigate her surroundings, she walked across the floor by the couch, and something pinched her foot. She pulled her foot up to find a small spot of blood. Hawk must have missed a piece of glass the night before, and she had managed to step on it, which was no surprise to her since she was prone to these things. Nina didn’t know how big it was, but she knew it had to come out.

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Without a whimper, she sat down on the couch with her right leg twisted around so that the sole of her foot faced up. Nina began to pick at the fragment of glass. Her fingernails were short, and she just couldn’t get a grip on it, but she tried and tried again. It didn’t really hurt too much, though. After several tries, she noticed the light in front of her darkened slightly, making it harder to see. When she looked up, there stood the most gorgeous man that she had ever seen in her life. This was the first real look at Hawk. Her thoughts of him last night didn’t even do him justice. He wasn’t ruggedly handsome, but was drop-dead gorgeous and built like something that she had only dreamed of. Nina slowly scanned his body with her mouth gaping open. He wore blue jeans and at least two shirts that were tight across his chest. His broad shoulders were basically a sign that said Don’t fuck with me, while his face begged to be touched. Each golden whisker made her want to stand up and rub her hand over it. Better yet, he could rub them all over her. Then there was his eye. The one that she could see was a deep blue with black flecks speckling it. It reminded her of a sapphire being held up in front of a light. It was deep, yet bright. “Let me.” Hawk squatted in front of her. Nina watched his face as she sat there. Sure, there were some scars that radiated out from under the eye patch, but they were appealing to her. There was a story behind them, even if it was a gruesome one. Nina lost herself momentarily in her thoughts as Hawk tended to her. He had his head bent over her foot and was practically in her lap as he examined her injury. Nina breathed in deeply to take in his scent again. She hadn’t thought about what she was doing until he turned his head toward her. “Sorry, I’ll have it out in just a second.” He had mistaken her deep breath as a result of pain when it wasn’t. Suddenly, Nina imagined what it would be like to run her fingers through his hair and then pull

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those lips against hers. She was distracted as she watched him and was surprised when he said, “There, it’s out. Use this to clean and bandage it so it doesn’t get infected. Feet get infected very easily, you know.” Hawk handed her a packet that contained an antiseptic wipe and a bandage for the cut. She stared at him as he spoke. He stood and walked away, leaving her in a daze. Nina let out a sigh, knowing that he would have no interest in her whatsoever. No man ever really wanted her. She was too tall, too wide, and of course, Mason Daniels’ sister. Nina wasn’t fat as standards go, but she wasn’t a size two, or even a size six, for that matter. She was a perfect size twelve, a tall twelve. Her hips were round, as were her breasts. She looked good in a bikini, which she did like, but she was a giant of a woman compared to everyone else in her brother’s lifestyle. Nina wiped the cut, and the alcohol in the wipe hurt worse than the glass did going in. Figures that the treatment was worse than the injury. Carefully, she placed the bandage over it, and before she stood, she scooted back to the other end of the couch and then walked all the way around the coffee table to get to the bathroom. She spent a few minutes washing her face and trying to run her fingers through her hair to smooth it before she returned to the living room. As she looked around, the room appeared completely different in the daylight. This was no old, run-down cabin but an immaculate, modern cabin with fairly new furniture. The couch was over-stuffed. She hadn’t even thought about the comfort of it the night before, but it had been quite cozy. She was just grateful to have a warm, dry place to sleep. The draperies looked very expensive, as did the other furniture. Above the fireplace hung a painting of a flower garden that caught her attention. It reminded her of the gardens her mother had when

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Nina was a child. Before she could lose herself in reminiscence, a nudge at her leg brought her back to her present state. Byron sat anxiously by her side, extending his nose upward, waiting for her to pet him. Nina graciously accepted the invitation and squatted beside him. “Hi, boy.” She rubbed his ears and noticed that he was slightly wet. He must have been out already. “Where’s Hawk?” she whispered. The wolf whined and started to walk toward the kitchen. Nina followed along and gasped as she entered the kitchen. The entire back wall of the room was made of windows, from the countertop up to the top of the cathedral ceiling. Everything was white, the cabinets, the tile that covered the large island in the middle of the room, and the appliances. Well, everything except the old woodstove in the corner that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. She definitely wasn’t in a cabin, and she didn’t even know if she was in the woods anymore. “That smells so good, Hawk.” She loved saying his name. It fascinated her, and Nina wondered where he got a nickname like that but thought it might be rude to ask, so she didn’t. He was cooking over the old woodstove, frying eggs in a skillet that probably cost more than Nina’s weekly salary. “Coffee is over there if you want some. There’s bacon, and the eggs are about done.” His words were short, more like orders, she noticed, but Nina didn’t think too much of it. “Thank you so much.” Nina easily found the coffee cups as the cabinet doors were all made of glass. She poured a cup and doctored it up the way she liked before taking a sip. It was very, very good coffee. It had an aroma to it that said expensive, too. It reminded her of the coffee that Mason ordered in special at thirty dollars a pound. She did have to admit that it was good coffee even though it seemed a bit pricy.

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“So what do you do, Hawk?” She had no clue what the man must do in order to have a place this nice and with all of the amenities to it, all except working electricity, that is. “I’m retired.” Nina wasn’t stupid. Her gaze narrowed as she leaned back against the island behind him watching his every move. “Liar,” she said bluntly but with a hint of sarcasm. Her brother was a habitual liar, and most people in his profession lied about something at some point in their careers, so she was an expert at reading people. Besides, he didn’t look a day over thirty-three, she decided. Retired, yeah, right. “Excuse me?” Hawk turned toward her with the skillet in hand. He moved past her to the counter where two plates sat and gently laid them on the square, white plates. “I said you’re a liar. I can tell when people are lying. But that’s okay. You don’t have to tell me that you’re a drug dealer, or even better, a government spy. Your secret is safe with me.” She saw the corner of his mouth curl upward into half a smile as he pushed the two plates over to the other side of the island. “You have a very overactive imagination.” His statement was true, she did. The way he avoided the question kept him mysterious to her, and she liked that. He motioned for her to sit next to him at the island. This action surprised her since he seemed so standoffish with her. “You have no idea,” she said, tasting the first bite. She had no more than gotten the eggs in her mouth than she spoke again. “Oh, my, these are good. What did you do to them?” “They’re just eggs, salt, pepper, and a little butter.” “Butter, that’s it!” she exclaimed as she stuffed another bite into her mouth. “Mason never lets us have butter. He wants everything cooked with that spray nonstick crap.” Nina savored the eggs as she continued to eat. After breakfast, Nina insisted on washing the dishes. She just didn’t think it very polite for him to have saved her and taken her in

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without helping out some. Finally, succumbing to her wishes, Hawk boiled some water on the woodstove and slowly poured it into the sink with some cold water, as well. **** Nina washed, and he dried, silently. He’d grown used to silence, but her company sent a warm feeling through his body while they acted out this mundane task. He liked having someone there, even though he fought the sexual urges that were plaguing him. Trying to distract himself from her body, he thought about what she had said about the use of butter. It didn’t make sense to him why Nina wouldn’t cook with butter when she seemed to like it. Strangely, it angered him that she would let someone deprive her of anything that she would want. His intermittent thoughts were halted by Nina’s voice, and it sent a wave of desire through him. “Since nobody knows where I am, is there anywhere nearby that might have a working phone?” “Um, not for fifty miles, at least. When it goes out, it goes out all over the place.” “Oh, well, what about my cell phone? Do you think it would get signal? That is, if it wasn’t at the bottom of the creek bed. Never mind.” Nina shrank back. “The snow is two feet deep, I’m sorry, I would try to retrieve it, but I can barely walk out my front door. There’s no way to get to it.” “I understand. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” Nina handed him the last piece of silverware to be dried and put away. She stood with her hands up over the sink as surgeons do on television just after they’ve scrubbed for an operation. Without a word between them, Hawk handed her the towel before he stormed off to the living room. This simple action left him wanting to laugh, and it irritated him again. Yet he knew that she would have no choice but to follow him back to the living room. Hawk hadn’t felt much like talking to anyone

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in two years, and he knew that it was inevitable now, with Nina, that he was going to be forced to talk to her. The question that really bothered him, though, was what topic she would select. “Would you like to lie down?” Hawk asked innocently, but Nina shot a glance at him that said excuse me? “I mean, do you need to lie down? Do your ribs hurt? You can go ahead, and I’ll sit on the floor if you don’t mind me being in here. It’s too cold upstairs.” He motioned toward the couch for her while he sat down on the floor at the end of the brown couch. “You can sit up here. I’ll just lie down over the end. It’s hardly fair that you have to sit on the hard floor while I lie on your couch.” “Thanks,” Hawk responded with such eloquence to her. Not! He couldn’t believe how rude he had just been to her, but he was trying to avoid a real conversation with her since he was at this very moment thinking of how soft her skin must be. He could see how smooth it was and wondered if it was as soft as it looked. What he wouldn’t give to have a woman touch him and want him. He hadn’t had that in a very long time, since before he had lost sight in his right eye to be exact. Hawk hadn’t been in an exclusive relationship at the time, but he had purposely distanced himself from any women three years ago. After his injury, he knew that no woman would want a half-blind, disfigured man. He sat with his long legs extended out from the couch and propped them up on the coffee table. Tucking one of the throw pillows behind his head, Hawk leaned back and closed his eyes. The temptation to watch her got to him, and he slowly opened his eye just slightly so that he could see her curl up at the end of the couch. She nestled into the cushions and rested her head on the arm of it. After only a few moments, Hawk could tell by Nina’s breathing that she must be asleep. Not wanting her to get cold, he covered her with the same blanket he had used for her the night before. At that moment, a feeling went through him that he almost didn’t recognize.

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It was a warm feeling that left him wanting to lie down next to her until they were both toasty warm. Surprised at his own thoughts, he would have been happy just to hold her against him fully clothed, but again, his head filled with the images of her naked, and his cock hardened against the zipper of his pants to the point of pain. Get a friggin’ grip! There was no reason he could contemplate that would ever allow him to get that close to her. She was better than him, and he knew it. She would only want to be with her kind of people. Once he covered her, he noticed her body relaxed just a bit as she stretched out. She had been cold but for some reason didn’t ask for a blanket, and he wondered why as he sat back down next to her and looked at her face. Her skin looked like smooth and pale porcelain. It was perfect. No other woman had looked the way she looked to him. Not that he had been with many women during the last ten years. Eight years of his life had been spent working for the FBI. Hawk had earned his JD degree so that he could pursue his dream of becoming an FBI Special Agent. Knowing that he would have to pass a series of physical fitness tests, he had continually worked out during college in preparation for the day that he would take his test. It had all been hard work, but it was what he wanted, and Hawk scored twentynine points on his test when only twelve were required to pass. He was the epitome of perfect physical health at the time. He’d spent his share of time wearing a suit in an office researching criminals, but he was happiest when he was in the field. With his athletic abilities and his combined degree, he was an asset to the bureau, and they utilized him. While he investigated anything from kidnappings to antiterrorism, his focus was mainly with Mafia-related crimes. Hawk had actually been undercover for a year and a half when he got caught in the midst of a fight between two Mafia goons in the house of one of them.

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Standing in the middle of the laundry room, a fistfight broke out between the two men. Both of them began grabbing the nearest items, and one grabbed an iron while the other snagged a bottle of bleach. Hawk knew that he had to stop the fight, and as one man swung the bottle of bleach and hit the other, the cap released, and the liquid splashed into his right eye. He was declared blind in that eye since everything was just a blur to him. They had told him that the only way to correct it was to have a cornea replacement, and he decided that he was too deep undercover so he could go on without the surgery at the time. He continued undercover, but as his duties came to an end, Hawk found that he struggled to deal with normal life once again. It wasn’t that he had turned into a criminal, but more he just didn’t interact with normal people the same way that he used to. Realizing that he had to make a change in his life, he went home to visit his mother and brothers for Christmas in 2007. His brother, Martin, had started an argument with him about something petty. Hawk knew he was right, but neither would let it go. A fight broke out, and Martin’s nose was broken. Hawk left even though his mother begged him to stay. He returned to work the next week, only to turn in his resignation with no plan of what he would do at all. He kept to himself, taking a night job as a security guard, and didn’t return to see his family until his other brother Clint called him a year later and told him that their mother was dying and that she wanted to see him. Even though he had kept his distance, he knew that if he didn’t go see her he would regret it for the rest of his life. It was a six-hour drive to St. Louis Missouri, but he made it in five. “Hawk, I love you. Please don’t ever forget that.” Those were her final words to him before she slipped into an unconscious state. She died three days later. He’d had no clue that he and his brothers were going to each inherit three million dollars. Their father had been a successful

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business owner and had died when he was in college. The life insurance policy that their mother inherited was in the amount of ten million dollars. She immediately secured three million for each son into trust accounts, while she donated the majority of the rest. None of them knew any of this until the day of the funeral when her attorney informed them. It was during the last year that Hawk finally settled on buying his house that sat in the most isolated part of Illinois that he could find. Now though, as he sat in his cold house with this woman, he truly realized how alone he was in the world. He had pushed away even his brothers after the funeral and just returned to his seclusion. She didn’t look at me like she was afraid of me. I wonder if... He interrupted his own thoughts, remembering that she was a stranger just trying to get home. She had mentioned Mason, and he could only assume him to be her boyfriend, and that would be the end of that. Hawk argued with himself for quite some time until Nina started stirring. She stretched slightly, and he guessed she would be waking soon. Then it dawned on him that she might want to bathe. Nina blinked twice in and smiled at him, and he could only grind his teeth as his turmoil continued. “I’ll boil some water if you want to take a bath.” “I’d love to, thank you. But I can get the water,” she chimed as she pushed the blanket away to stand up. “No. I will get the water, or you’ll hurt yourself,” he snapped at her. Nina shrank back down to the couch without a word. Hawk had already regretted the tone he had taken with her. He sincerely didn’t want her to get hurt, but once again, he just didn’t seem to know how to communicate with her. It made him more and more frustrated with his own inadequacies, and he realized that he was taking it out on her. He poured the boiling water into the tub and then started running cold water to get it to a tolerable temperature. Nina was still in the living room when he returned.

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“The water should be a good temperature for you, but if you need more hot water, I’ll have a pot ready to go just in case.” “You can use it if you’d like. I can wait,” she replied. “You need it worse than I do, I’m sure.” “Sorry.” As soon as she had the door closed, he realized that he had done it again. He wanted to apologize but went to boil more water in case she needed it. Once the last pot was done, he went back to the bathroom and knocked politely on the door. “Yes,” Nina stated. “Is the water all right? I mean, do you need more?” Hawk asked from outside the bathroom. “Oh, it’s fine, thanks.” “Okay.” He accepted her answer as truth but couldn’t manage to leave the door for some reason. Hawk stood there with his arms on either side of the doorframe pressing his forehead against the door. He had been wishing he could correct her last thoughts of him before she went into the bathroom. The last thing he meant was that she smelled or something. He just thought she probably wanted to take a bath worse than he did. Damn, he wanted her to like him. He wanted to hold her, feeling the softness of her skin against his. How he longed for the touch of a woman, but not just any woman, this one. It was beginning to be pure torture to him to think of her naked on the other side of the door. Oh, how he wanted to just open the door and take her in his arms and kiss those lips of hers until her taste coated him. And when his cock jerked against his jeans, he wanted nothing more than to fuck her until it didn’t hurt him anymore. Finally, he pulled himself away from the door and into the living room. While he waited and tried to think of something other than her, Hawk retrieved a book from the shelf in the corner. It was an old and tattered copy of a collection of poems, but instead of reading it, he shoved it roughly back onto the shelf.

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That’s the last thing I need to read right now, poems about love. He returned to the warmest spot in the house, right in front of the fireplace and waited. **** Nina came into the living room within a few minutes to find Hawk sitting in front of the fireplace, poking at the logs and sending a few sparks through the air and up the chimney. His tall frame sat on the hearth, one leg extended and one drawn up. Innate, raw, power were the only words that came to mind as she watched him sit there. And when he turned to see Nina walk toward him, she noticed the change in his expression. It went from stolid to excited within as much time as it took her to blink. One corner of his mouth curled upward, and she could see he tried to conceal his joy. The whiplash from his cold words and seemingly warm expressions might kill her. It would definitely give her a headache. “You should sit here to let your hair dry.” Nina didn’t reply. She felt a little upset about the comment that he made before she went to bathe. However, she did take a seat in front of the fire, but on the floor instead of next to him. Nina didn’t want to bother him, since everything that she had done so far seemed to irritate him. Nina turned toward him to see if something was wrong, but there seemed to be little that she could read from his face to indicate what. She wrapped the towel around her neck so that the water would stay on it instead of her sweater. “Here, let me help you.” Nina still wasn’t sure of how to react to him, so she remained still. ****

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Hawk pulled the towel from her neck, letting the wet strands of her brown hair fall against the sweater, but only momentarily. The towel fell onto his lap as he sat cross-legged behind her, and then swiftly but gently, he collected her hair into one hand and lifted it. The silken strands spread out against his hands, and his body reacted from the sensation. His cock hardened, and he wished that he could just leave even though there was no way that she would know about his sudden erection. Only, to make matters worse, he couldn’t resist brushing his fingers through her hair like a comb. Hawk continued this for a few moments, and when Nina leaned her head back, he guessed that she must be enjoying it. Nina sat still as he continued to pull his fingers through her hair. One hand lay beneath the hair, and the other would go through the top, and then he would alternate hands. This simple act felt intimate to him, and he wondered if it could possibly feel the same to her. Hawk stopped with one hand resting on her shoulder once he had pulled it through her hair. As if she moved in slow motion, Hawk watched as she slipped her left hand up across her shoulder to touch his hand, but as their skin made contact with one another, he pulled away and stood. He left her alone in the living room. Hawk wasn’t going to sit there any longer and get closer to Nina when he knew that she would be leaving in a day or two. There was no reason for him to get attached to her. Byron was going to go out soon anyway, so that was a good escape, he thought. Hawk pulled on his coat and boots before letting Byron out the back door. The cold air whirled around him as he shut the door behind him. “I’m so fucking stupid!” he cursed at himself as he pushed his legs through the snow. He felt so mad right then that he couldn’t stand it. He wasn’t sure what he wanted more, her to leave him alone or to spread her out on the floor so he could taste every square inch of her

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body. Kicking at the snow while Byron relieved himself, Hawk struggled with the two thoughts. But by the time he went back inside he still didn’t have a resolution, so Hawk left Nina alone in the living room until evening. He had passed through the room twice, once when he went upstairs to change and the second when he came back down and returned to the kitchen. They ate by the fireplace again in complete silence, though. And tonight when Hawk said that he would clean up, Nina let him. Strangely, he felt disappointed that she didn’t argue with him as he washed the dishes alone. Once he had put the last dish away, he realized that nightfall brought a chill into the room that made it even colder than it had been in the last two days. The temperature had dropped a few more degrees outside, making it insanity for Hawk to try and sleep up in his bed. “If it’s all right, I’m going to sleep down here tonight since I don’t have any heat upstairs,” Hawk said as he entered the living room. “Of course, it is your house. I’ll sleep on the floor so you can have the couch.” “Okay,” he replied. It was his house after all, but just as soon as she had finished her statement, Hawk darted up the stairs. Leaning it up against the staircase, Hawk quickly moved the coffee table out of the way and then plopped the mattress down right up next to the couch. “Actually, I will take the couch, and you can take the bed.” He smirked. A smile grew across her face that had his heart pounding so hard that no matter the physical training that he had undergone, he felt winded. “And before you say one word, you will not win this argument, so just sleep on the bed and make me happy.” Nina had opened her mouth but clamped it shut at his reply just as Hawk wanted. He had no intentions of hearing another word about it.

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Hawk also went back up and brought several blankets and a black down comforter. He wanted to make sure they were both warm. The desire to wake up with a cold ranked as high on his list of things to do as walking through the snow naked. **** Nina went to brush her teeth, and when she returned, Hawk had made the bed for her. The black sheets and comforter were neatly in place, and he had stretched out on the couch to further reiterate that he would sleep there. “It should be good and warm. I held the blanket up in front of the fire for you before I put it on the bed.” “Thank you,” she said softly, crawling across the bed. Nina pulled the covers back, and as she nestled in, she felt the warmth of the fireplace lingering on the blanket. She fell asleep within minutes as the warmth soothed and relaxed her like a bathroom full of steam. Nina woke with a start as the bed shook violently. She sat up quickly only to discover that Hawk had rolled off of the couch and onto the mattress that was a good twelve inches lower than the couch. She smiled as she looked at him stretched out, one arm above his head and one leg still on the couch, uncovered. Still wearing jeans and his layers of shirts, his body left everything to her imagination as she looked at him. His chest moved up and down as he breathed and only gave her a slight indication of the muscle that lay beneath. Nina knew he was strong and muscular by the size of him, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn’t resist his body any longer. Letting her hand hover above his chest, Nina slowly rested her hand there. She felt the hardness of his body through the shirts. Pressing her hand against his shape, the feel of his pecs made her body hot. “Oh, my,” Nina whispered. The sudden flash of heat that scorched her body had her flustered. Just as she was getting lost in her fantasies

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of what he might look like naked, Hawk started snoring. Loudly. The sound brought her out of her trance. Stifling a laugh, Nina tried to pull his blanket up and over his leg, but he was twisted up in it so that she couldn’t, no matter how hard she tugged. Afraid that he would get cold, Nina threw her blanket over on top of him. Hawk turned slightly toward her once she had covered him. Still smiling at him, Nina started to lie back down. Since he was covered with her blanket, she would have to scoot closer to him to share the covers. The idea was pure torture to her. Oh wait, no, it wasn’t. Heat radiated from his body, and she liked the feeling. It had been far too long since she had shared a bed with a man. “Nina,” Hawk whispered. The sound of her name made her flinch. She hadn’t quite settled in, and he had gone and said her name in his sleep. She didn’t care if it was a dream, it was a dream about her, and she hoped that it was good. A wave of desire moved over her body that had her tingling in places she didn’t remember had feeling. The hotness of her body surprised her, and she could feel her face blushing in the darkness of night. Luckily, he was asleep. As she turned away from him, Hawk rolled onto his side completely, throwing his arm over her. “Mmmm,” he moaned and pulled her close to him. Pinned in his bed against his hard body, Nina had wondered what this might feel like. Then she remembered a saying that her mother used to say—Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. With him holding her, Nina gave in to her desires and nestled her body against Hawk’s so that they were touching all over. Every hard line of his body pressed against hers, and the fire within her burned rampantly. As she drifted back to sleep, his arm innocently wrapped around her body, and she could only hope to wake up the same way.

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Chapter Four “What the...” he stated loudly. Nina woke to Hawk’s statement and realized he had his arm wrapped around her with his hand firmly pressed between her legs. Before she could say anything, though, he jumped up and went to the fireplace to churn the wood around. Nina yawned as she heard his movements and felt his absence. Letting her body stretch, she remembered where she was and that she had spent the night in the arms of a man that she barely knew, but it wasn’t like that. They had only slept together in the literal sense, no sex. She had lain wrapped in his arms most of the night as he would not relinquish his grip on her, but she didn’t mind. She had enjoyed it, especially knowing that he was asleep and didn’t know what he was doing. Only having to turn slightly, she found him standing at the fireplace, but before she could even say good morning, he darted off to the kitchen. Nina fell back to the bed, realizing how peaceful she had slept in his arms. She kept trying to push the thoughts out of her mind, but it was difficult, as she was constantly reminding herself of how warm his body was against hers, how carefully he had held her. It wasn’t long before she could smell coffee brewing, so she decided to get up and get some. She would just have to face him, knowing that it was all just a dream that she had conjured up in her mind. “Good morning. Coffee’s almost done. Then we can go get your things if you want. I should be able to get my truck through the snow.”

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Hawk didn’t make eye contact with her, and she felt certain that it was because of the way he found himself that morning. While she was excited to hear the good news of being able to retrieve her personal belongings, she noticed his acerbic tone and decided not to broach the topic. Once they had warmed themselves with some of the hot coffee, Hawk retrieved her clothes for her so that she could dress more appropriately. Taking her time to dress, Nina had tried to pull on her bra but couldn’t fasten it. Every time she tried to pull her left arm around to the back, the bones and muscles of her ribs stretched, causing her pain. Creatively, she even tried to pull it around and fasten the front, but she was just too sore to achieve the task. “Screw this,” she mumbled and let the bra fall to the floor. The thin shirt that she had worn wasn’t going to be enough to keep her warm if they were outside, so she pulled Hawk’s sweater back over it. Finally, she emerged from the bathroom to find Hawk pulling on his long, black, leather coat. Nina couldn’t help but notice how good he looked in that coat. As if he wasn’t tall enough, she thought that it made him look even taller. They, including Byron, trekked out the front door of the cabin onto the vast porch. It was free of snow. Hawk must have been out while she dressed to clean it off. The area around them was beautiful, she thought. Everything was covered in snow, and best of all, she thought, there was a peace that surrounded them as they went down the steps to his old blue truck. Chains were wrapped around each tire, which made it apparent to her how he was able to barrel through the snow without much trouble. The motor roared to life when he started it. Nina half expected the old thing to sputter and spew, but it didn’t. Slowly, Hawk drove to the bridge. They stopped and got out, and Nina stood at the side of the bridge looking down at her snow-covered vehicle while Hawk pulled the rope from the winch behind him.

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“How did you get me out of there?” She looked over at Hawk to see him standing there with what she definitely considered a mischievous look. With one eyebrow arched and a grin wider than she thought him capable of, he spoke. “Like this.” **** He jumped. The black leather coat blew up behind him as he flew through the air, and as he landed, it fanned out behind him against the snow. Nina gasped as he hit the ground hard. In a crouched position, Nina could see Hawk had sunk into the snow up to his waist. She watched as he rose slowly and pushed through the dense snow to the door of the SUV. It was still open slightly from the day before. This was the first that Nina had seen of the crash site and knowing that if Hawk hadn’t found her she would have died. He had saved her and she owed him. Fifteen feet above him, Nina anxiously watched him pry the door open wider. She couldn’t believe that Hawk would just jump like that. It definitely had her thinking that he must be very physically fit, not that the thought hadn’t crossed her mind already, considering his stature. Something about him attracted her beyond the physical. Was it his bad boy persona or the fact that he lived secluded in the woods? Her mind played havoc with her as she thought of how good he might look naked because he had to be ripped underneath all those clothes. “Nina, you’re stupid for even thinking that he’d be interested in you,” she mumbled. Shaking her head at herself, she watched while Hawk made his way into her car. He had to use his hands to shovel the snow out of the front seat, but he had finally made his way in. Nina had told him that her bag was in the backseat, but as for her cell phone, it could be anywhere. Nina waited as he ventured into the vehicle. Several minutes passed and she could only see glimpses of his legs extending out the door. Finally, she saw him throw out her bag and climb back in. But

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then the same creaking sound that she heard from the crash echoed through the creek bed. The car lurched forward with Hawk still halfway inside. “Hawk!” Nina yelled. She leaned over the side of the bridge, holding onto the railing, completely helpless. Frantic, she ran to the side where he had jumped, her stomach churning from fear. His feet were extended out of the door. It appeared that it had probably hit his legs in the tumble. She waited, the seconds felt like minutes. Was he conscious? Should she climb down and help him? All were valid thoughts, but no sooner had they crossed her mind than she saw him move and heard noises from inside the car. **** Hawk crawled backward out of the SUV, cussing. “Damn piece of shit!” He rubbed his head and staggered sideways before stopping to gain his bearings. His head hurt, his gut hurt, and his legs hurt from being tousled as if he had been inside a clothes dryer. Hawk looked up toward Nina with a scowl on his face. Byron, too, waited at the edge to see his master. Muttering to himself, he managed his way back through the snow to the rope. He let out a whistle, yelled the wolf’s name, and the motor to the winch turned. It took a minute and a half for him to be pulled up the side of the bank. Once he reached the top, he looked up to see Nina standing there with her arm extended as if she could help him. “I’m so sorry. Are you all right?” she asked with a shaky voice. He glared at her and all he could think of at that moment was that she should have been more careful while driving and she wouldn’t have wrecked and wouldn’t be bothering her. He was pissed. Ignoring her offer to help, he did his best to remain calm and handed her the duffel bag and her cell phone without any emotion.

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What he wanted to do was throw the bag as hard as he could in one direction and the purple phone in the other, but he knew that would accomplish nothing. Limping back to his truck, he grunted and mumbled. Nina followed behind. During the few minutes that it took to get back to his house, Hawk gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles were white. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her staring at him. He was angry at himself for being so clumsy, and he was even more pissed that this woman had interrupted his otherwise mundane life. Once they arrived, Hawk went up the fourteen steps to the front porch first. He noticed that Nina stayed a good distance behind and rightfully so. He wished she could feel the pain he was in and that it was all her fault. Now inside, he marched right through the living room and up the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. His clothes were now soaked from the snow that had clung to him, and he hurt. All he wanted to do was change and get warm, alone. Nina dropped back onto the couch when her broken rib sent a pain through her side. Between the pain and the shock of everything that had just happened, she was a bundle of nerves and was about to break down. My phone. She could call Mason, and he could have someone find her. Then she would be out of Hawk’s life forever. He wouldn’t have to be troubled by her anymore. Nina flipped her phone open and pressed the power button. Surprisingly, the screen lit up. She then realized that the battery might be drained from the cold temperatures, but it came on, with one bar of power left. “Mason!” she exclaimed when he answered the phone. But before Nina got a hello from him or any other civil salutation, he ripped into her. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve got a dinner to go to and no clothes to wear.” Mason paused. He was going to give her exactly

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thirty seconds to explain herself. She knew his routine, but she was exhausted from the mental games, and it showed in her tone. “I was in an accident, and I can’t get back. Is there any way that you could send someone for me?” Nina pleaded with a weak voice. It was hitting her hard at this moment that he didn’t care about her at all. She was just a servant to him. “That figures, you never could drive worth a damn. Can’t you just rent a car or something and get my clothes to me?” His tone was a little calmer, but his insinuations were still the same. For him, it was all about me, me, me. He truly didn’t care about her. “No! I can’t rent a car, I’m in the middle of nowhere because of you, and you need to come get me!” She fought back tears while the words came out somewhat strangled. Mason started laughing. “You got yourself into the mess, so you get yourself out of it, and if you don’t hurry up, you’re fired!” That was it. She was not going to take it anymore as the anger inside her had reached its boiling point. “I quit!” she blurted out. “What did you say?” he hissed. “You heard me, I’m not coming back!” Nina heard about two seconds of his rant and threw the phone as hard as she could at the stone fireplace. It shattered instantly, and pieces went flying everywhere. The loud boom of Hawk descending the staircase echoed through the room, and Nina turned just in time to have him address her fit of rage. “What’s all the yelling about?” he asked through clenched teeth. “What do you care?” she snapped at him. “I guess I don’t, do I?” Hawk started to turn and walk away again, but Nina had other ideas. Mason had pushed her right over the edge, and since he wasn’t there for her to fight with, she was going to take it out on the rude and aggravating Hawk.

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“You didn’t have to save me, you know. You should have just left me there to freeze to death, and we’d both be better off right now!” Nina wished for just a split second that she had frozen to death. Mason wouldn’t be yelling at her, and Hawk wouldn’t be burdened by her presence. Hawk spun around and glared at her once again. “Is that what you think? At least I’m not the one that answers to some man like a, well, like a dog!” Hawk’s tone declared anger, and she knew it. “What did you say?” Nina froze. She argued with Mason occasionally, but she knew he was an idiot. Hawk had hit the proverbial nail on the head. “You heard me! You let this Mason treat you like shit, and you keep going back for more. He must be one hell of a good fuck for you to keep letting him do this to you.” Nina felt the blood leave her face. In her mind, she ran back through every conversation that they had had during the last two days. She hadn’t told him that Mason was her brother. He just thought that she was some sort of leech out for money or something. Is this what he thought of her? Well, no more of that, because she was going to set the record straight. Taking two steps toward him, she closed the gap, and without as much as a preemptive flinch, she slapped Hawk across the face. Hard. Eyes wide, he stared back at her. She knew the sting of her hand against his face hurt, but he had insulted her more than he knew. “He’s my brother, and if that’s what you think of me, well, that’s just fine. I’ll just leave you alone now.” Glassy-eyed, Nina turned toward the door and grabbed her jacket on the way out. She would just walk as far as she could in the freezing temperatures, and if she died, she died. If this was how life was going to treat her, she didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. She had reached her breaking point. “He’s your brother?” Hawk muttered.

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“Yes. Good-bye.” Jerking the door open, the wind swirled snow into the house around her. The cold air whipped through the house, but neither of them seemed to notice until Byron started barking. “Sit!” Hawk shouted at the wolf. Byron shrank back toward the fireplace while they stood staring at each other. Nina had no idea what difference it made that Mason was her brother until she turned to see his face. Wiping the remaining tears from her eyes with the sleeve of his sweater, she could see something was different in the way he looked at her now, and it confused her. The normally furrowed brow that she was accustomed to was now smooth, and his tightly drawn mouth was now relaxed, almost into a smile. Nina felt intrigued by how this information could bring the slightest hint of a smile to his face since nothing else that she had done during the past forty-eight hours had managed to achieve that. Hawk closed the gap between them with two long strides and stared at her beautiful face with his one good eye. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her toward him and slammed the door behind her. The wind died instantly but left cold flakes of the wetness in her hair. “Don’t leave. I’m sorry,” he whispered. Before she could say anything, he trapped her against his body with the other arm, wrapping it around her waist. Letting his hand spread down over her butt, he pressed her center against his so that she had no choice but to feel his erection. Hawk’s breathing became ragged as their gaze locked and the seconds ticked by.

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Chapter Five Hawk captured her mouth with his forcefully. He was capable of being gentle, but he couldn’t help himself right now as he savored the taste of Nina. Their tongues swirled against each other’s, and Hawk didn’t want to let her go, but he realized that his grip on her might be too tight. Hawk released her arm and moved it to her back. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but he just didn’t know how badly he wanted her until she was about to walk out the door. In fact, it infuriated him that she might leave. Nina still hadn’t moved, and she remained a statue as he plundered her mouth, but how he loved her sweet flavor. It was even better than he had imagined. Hawk’s breathing became erratic when he finally broke the contact of their mouths but nothing else. “You don’t have a mean, maniacal boyfriend?” His words were hushed as he pressed his forehead against hers. “What?” He lifted her chin to see those pale blue eyes still glistening from the tears she had shed, but now there was a spark of excitement there. A growl of frustration ripped from him, and then he abruptly pushed her away, leaving Nina standing there with her mouth open, mid-kiss, looking at him. “I can’t do this.” With his back now up against the desk in the corner of the room, he reached back with one long arm and braced himself against it. “Can’t do what?” she asked.

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He hadn’t made a move on her at all since he thought that she was with someone else, and now that he knew the truth he was scared. “Ow, ow, ow!” She clutched her hand against her side. The grip that he had placed around her body must have aggravated her break. Hawk reached out for her, but she held her hand up. “No, I’m fine.” She held her breath for a moment. “You have some explaining to do, so while I catch my breath, you talk.” He wasn’t sure what to say. Was he supposed to tell her that he thought he wanted her like no other woman he had ever met and that he wanted to rip her clothes from her body and kiss every inch of her naked skin? Or better yet, fuck her until she screamed? “I don’t know what to say. You’re going to leave here in a couple of days, and it won’t be right for me to use you and then let you go.” Nina arched one eyebrow, and then a single tear spilled over, running down her cheek. The instant that Hawk saw that drop of water he stepped back in front of her. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped the tear away. “See, I’m just going to hurt you, and I can’t bear it.” His words were soft and caring because pain was the last thing that he wanted to inflict upon her. Nina looked up at him. “You just don’t get it, do you? If I leave I will regret it for the rest of my life.” She reached up and touched his face. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been with a man? This is completely pathetic, I know, but I’m over six feet tall, Hawk, and most men don’t like being with a woman taller than them, especially if I wear heels, and I do like to occasionally. Not to mention the fact that my brother is Mason Daniels, famous actor,” she said sarcastically and made a face that expressed it, too. “Surprisingly, men bolt when they find out that I’m his sister. He has quite the reputation, you know.” She paused at his confused look. “I guess you probably don’t know about his public philandering, do you?”

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Hawk shook his head. He hadn’t followed newer movies in years, and he barely watched any TV at all since he lived out in the middle of nowhere. He was in complete shock that this beautiful creature standing next to him would have such a hard time getting a man to care for her. It made his heart ache for her. And right at this moment, he could see that she wanted him to care for her, and he was more than willing. “I just want what everyone wants. To be needed by someone, to be desired,” she whispered. “I didn’t know. I had no idea...” He started to apologize, but Nina placed one finger over his lips. “Shhh,” she whispered. “Look, you want me, and I want you. Let’s not talk about what might happen in the future. Please?” Her eyes told everything. As he looked at them, she pled with him. Never in his life had a woman ever begged for him to fuck her, not even before he was scarred. Hawk always kept his mind focused on work. Sure, he had an occasional date and a few one-night stands, but they never meant anything to him. He was certain that he would spend most of his life alone considering he had spent most of it that way already. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered again as he placed his hand lightly on her ribs. She hadn’t complained about them at all, at least not in front of him, so this sudden outburst worried him. “I’m fine really, I don’t think I can twist into a pretzel, but I want you to take me to your bed. Please don’t make me beg.” They both laughed at her brazenness. He took two steps away from her, away from the door. “Nina.” Hawk reached back, extending his arm for her to take. It was the first time that he had actually said her name aloud and he liked the sound of it. Reaching out, she took his hand and let him lead her to the bed in the middle of the living room floor.

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Leaving her momentarily, he drew the curtains closed and returned to the side of the bed so he could light a candle. The soft glow of the fireplace illuminated the room along with the candle. **** The chill in the room caused her nipples to harden, and when they rubbed against the strands of the loosely woven sweater, it sent a shiver over her body. Nina didn’t mind the cold, but her body temperature warmed significantly as she watched him move back toward her with a gait that was nothing less than feral and possessive. Immediately, he pulled his shirt off in one swift motion. His body now exposed, Nina gasped at the sight of him. He was covered in ribbons of muscle that left her wanting to touch every wave of them, but his arms excited her the most. She liked the idea of those arms wrapped around her. “Is something wrong?” “Hardly. I must say, I’m quite impressed with all of this muscle. I mean, I knew you were built, but oh my, oh my!” Nina stroked two fingers down his shoulder and over his biceps until she rested her hand on the back of his. “I thought the scars might be bothering you.” She lifted her other hand and gently rubbed the backs of her fingers over the scars around his eye. “The only thing that bothers me about those scars is knowing that you were in pain when you got them. If you want the honest truth, I think they’re sexy.” She knew it was silly, but she liked the wear and tear that his body showed. He was the complete opposite of the people she was forced to be around on a daily basis. They were always consumed with their appearance, and the perfectly groomed and adorned people bored her. Hawk captured her mouth and let his hands begin to roam her body. She groaned as he felt her shape. With one hand on the back of

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her neck, he let the other drop to her waist, but that was only momentarily as he slipped his hand from her waist beneath her shirt and across her breast. “Mmmm,” he moaned as his fingers slid across the hardened nub. Reaching back down to the hem of the wool, he pulled it up over her head, being careful not to cause her to stretch her left side. Hawk knelt down in front of her now and pulled her pants down, revealing the triangular patch of small brown hairs. Nina stood patiently, waiting for him to rise and then lie down in the bed with her, but he didn’t. Instead, Hawk pushed his thumb over her cleft, sending a chill through her body that was more than she could handle. Without thinking, she grasped his long brown hair in her hands. Hawk took that as a request for more and pushed her legs apart until she was in a position that allowed him to sink his tongue deep inside of her. “Oh, God!” she cried, still grasping his hair. Hawk teased her until she approached release, but then he stopped suddenly. “Lie down, Nina.” Panting like an animal, she complied. He climbed on top of her, hovering just above her. She could feel the bulge inside his jeans against her inner thigh, and it was pure torture to have to wait any longer. “Hawk, I want you inside of me,” she pleaded. She could only imagine what he would feel like, his skin against her skin. “That will be quite difficult as long as I’m wearing pants,” he said playfully. She reached down and released the button to his jeans and started for the zipper when Hawk drove two fingers into her and made her cry out. Her body was hot, and she could feel moisture pooling in her pussy. She wanted him inside of her and the sooner the better. “You taste so good.” Hawk looked up at her through hooded eyes, and

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before Nina could say anything, he delved his fingers deeper inside of her until she came in a moment of blinding ecstasy. With her body trembling, she looked down at Hawk to see him smiling back at her. She watched as he gently laid one hand on breast and then his eyes drop to her side where the tape was. “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?” “Not a bit, so are you going to let me take those pants off?” The corner of his mouth curled up into a smile, and he let out a deep, echoing laugh that went all the way through her. She hadn’t heard him laugh before, and with his deep, resounding voice, it sent her heart into a frenzy. “Yes, now you can.” Remaining on the bed, Hawk moved back onto his knees while Nina pushed herself up so that she sat in front of him where his waist was almost at eye level. She seized the opportunity to rub the outside of his dark jeans. His hardness was apparent, and the size of the bulge had her anxious to rid him of the fabric. Nina pulled the zipper down, and grabbing the flaps of his jeans, she pushed them down over his hips to reveal that he was bare beneath them. She surveyed the length of him, and Nina didn’t wait another second to encircle his cock with her hand. He was huge, and she had to touch him. She couldn’t wait to have him inside of her, stretching her. The idea almost made her come again. **** The mere touch of her drew out a feral growl in response to her soft skin against his. It had been two years since he had been with a woman, and he didn’t know when the last time was that one had bothered to touch him like this. “Aaah.” Hawk sucked in a sharp breath as her fingers roamed over his skin. She stroked him from tip to hilt and back. He let his head fall back as he took in the long forgotten sensations, and when

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he felt her warm, wet mouth close around his cock, he almost lost control. Quickly, he dropped his eyes down to see her there tasting him. It was the best thing that he could have asked for, if he had remotely thought to ask. Nina’s tongue flicked over the tip of his cock again and again. “You have to stop.” He struggled to get the words out. If he let her continue, there would be more than she bargained for. She giggled as she pulled away from him. Hawk lightly grasped her jaw in his hand before she got far, though. “You have the sweetest lips.” Nina dropped back onto the bed, Hawk followed along so that he was again above her. She threw one leg around his waist, trying to pull him closer to her. He slowly let some of his weight press against her, but he still worried that he might harm her. After all, he was six foot five and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, and then, it hit him. “I don’t have a condom,” he whispered. Talk about a mood killer. Nina arched a brow and smiled. “I don’t care. I want you to fuck me.” She dug her fingers into his back, and it took every ounce of willpower to keep from impaling her right then with his cock. Her words made her desire crystal clear, but he was afraid that the weight of his body might be too much. “I’ll be careful.” “You don’t have to be that careful,” she whispered. “Yes, I do, I won’t hurt you in order to please myself.” He smirked at her. In truth, it would kill him if he hurt her, and she might be a tall woman, but she was delicate, and he saw that. Hawk dipped his face towards hers so that he could touch her lips once again. As their mouths moved against each other, Nina placed her hands on either side of his face and began to pull away his eye patch. Hawk grasped her hand firmly, but not enough to hurt her. “Please don’t.”

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Nina smiled and pulled his face back to hers. He couldn’t let her see his eye and ruin the moment. Luckily, he sensed that she didn’t mind his refusal. As they kissed, Hawk pushed inside of her, inch by inch. She moaned as he filled her completely. The warm wetness of her surrounding him sent him over the edge, and he forgot that he was trying to be careful with her as he thrust himself harder inside of her again and again. Nina cried out, and it took all of Hawk’s self-control to refrain from joining her in ecstasy. She dug her fingers into his hips as she matched his strokes with her own. Hawk growled when her fingernails pierced the surface of his skin, but it wasn’t because of the pain. It was more knowing that he satisfied her. He longed to satisfy a woman that would appreciate it. Hawk continued in a rhythm that he feared wouldn’t last long. She simply felt too good. He slowed his movements, and dipping his head down to nuzzle her neck, he slowly moved lower to her breasts, and he suckled one of the puckered nubs, occasionally flicking his tongue across it sharply. Nina arched her back in response. Pulling back, Hawk rubbed a single finger over her clit again and again until she was writhing beneath him. “Oh, fuck. I can’t,” she moaned as he stroked her. Knowing that she had had more than she could handle brought him pleasure. “Yes, you can. Come with me, Nina.” He slid his hands around her hips and pulled her upward. Picking the pace up again, he thrust inside of her as he rubbed her clit, and with one final thrust, they came together. The two of them cried out in exasperation before Hawk fell on the bed next to her, trying to catch his breath. Several moments later, he could finally speak, but as he opened his mouth, Nina started laughing. She laughed loudly and rolled over on her side.

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“What’s so funny?” Hawk asked, in shock that she would laugh after sex. Her laughter was taking a notch out of his ego until she let him off the hook. “It hurts. Oh, my ribs hurt.” She panted as she spoke but continued to laugh. “I can’t stop,” she added breathlessly. Hawk propped himself up on his elbow, and with his other hand, he turned Nina’s face toward his. “Nina, look at me.” She complied as she continued to laugh, but he could see the pain beneath the smile. “Take slow, shallow breaths. You need to calm down or you’ll hurt yourself.” He placed a single hand on her stomach and let it move up and down as she breathed. One short, slow breath after another, and she relaxed completely. She lay there staring at him, and he back at her. “Be right back.” He left Nina only long enough to retrieve a washcloth that he had dipped in the hot water on the stove in the kitchen. Handing it to her so she could clean up, he then climbed back into the bed with her. Hawk pulled the many blankets up over their bodies. He lay next to Nina, not wanting to aggravate her injuries. Nina seemingly ignored his efforts and nestled her back up against him. “You really should lie still,” he whispered in her ear. But he wanted to hold her. Wrapping his arm around her, Hawk pulled her body against his. The heat between them was soothing as he lay there. “I am lying still,” Nina whispered back. Hawk laughed quietly at her lightened tone. He couldn’t believe that just a while earlier they were fighting and then ended up having what he thought to be the best sex of his life. Not only had she literally come crashing into his life, but she had changed it. He knew right then that he could spend the rest of the winter in hibernation with this woman, and it wouldn’t bother him. “Hawk?” “Yes.”

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“What’s your real name?” “It’s Hawk. My name is Hawk Andrew Richardson.” Smiling at her curiosity, he reached up to smooth her golden brown hair away from her face. As he rubbed the back of his knuckles against her cheek, he could feel her face change as she smiled. “Really? I thought that maybe it was some sort of nickname.” Nina turned to face him. “Mom had a thing for actors when she had us. I’m named after Hawkeye from M.A.S.H. My brother Clint was named after Clint Eastwood, and Martin was named after Martin Short. I’m the only one that actually got a character’s name.” “It’s crazy, I know, but surprisingly, we seem to fit our names. Martin is the family comedian, and Clint is a cop.” But he didn’t say anything about himself. It was too difficult for him to admit that he was the intelligent one that pushed everyone away when it came to anything serious. “Nina, is your brother mean to you?” He didn’t want to completely invade her personal life, but it was gnawing at him. Not having even met the man, he wanted to beat his face in for treating her poorly. “He’s an asshole if that’s what you’re asking.” Nina didn’t beat about the bush on this topic. “I mean, he’s my brother, and I love him, but I’m done working for him. I’ll find him a replacement when I get back, and then, I don’t know what.” “What do you do for him?” It really irritated him to know that her own brother treated her like crap. “More like, what don’t I do for him? Which amounts to not wiping his butt and that’s about it. Mason has a problem with women, and I guess I fell into a trap when I became his assistant. He bosses me around like I’m a slave, and I’ve been dumb enough to fall for it.” Nina’s tone was sad and depressing to him. He could sense that she truly did love her brother, but damn if she should accept his conduct. “What will you do if you quit?”

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Hawk gently traced her face with his fingers while they lay together. Nina hadn’t felt this peaceful in ages, and she had never felt this way with a man. She closed her eyes while he continued to caress her face. “I don’t know, but I’ve got enough in savings to tide me over for a year or so until I can figure it out. I just know that I cannot work for him anymore. He’s sucking the life out of me.” Hawk could tell that more questions about Mason would only make her feel worse, and right now, they were enjoying each other’s company far too much. Time for a change in subject. “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?” Nina nodded, smiling. “So what are you retired from?” “FBI.” “Really? So I wasn’t too far off when I accused you of being a spy!” Her high-pitched tone expressed her excitement in being right. “Yes, but I can’t discuss anything with you, as there are still pending cases.” “I see.” Nina lay silently running her fingers over his. “What’s that scent?” Hawk couldn’t stop breathing in the fragrance that had his body hard again already. “Vanilla mostly, it’s just a spray. Do you like it?” Nina kept her eyes closed while he rubbed his nose across her forehead and into her hair. “I love it,” Hawk whispered. Moving closer to Nina, he rubbed his body against hers so that she could feel his stiff shaft against her leg. “Oh, my, what is that, Mr. Hawk?” Dipping his head so that he could kiss her, Hawk crushed his mouth to hers. Nina let her lips part and breathed in his scent. She sighed as he moved his hands across her body, and he couldn’t help but notice her shiver. “Are you cold?” Hawk whispered into her ear as he pulled her body closer to his. “No, but you can warm me up anyway.”

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Hawk growled at her in a way that had alerted Byron. He had been lying silently by the fireplace, but he jumped up and barked once at Hawk. “He thinks I’m hurting you. So much for man’s best friend.” He looked over at the wolf, glaring. “He’ll get over it. Now, I think we were in the middle of something.” Nina reached down between their bodies and cupped him. He moaned as she stroked him. “I could definitely get used to this.” Hawk moved his body above hers and slid himself inside of her, moaning as he felt her heat and wetness from earlier around him. It sent his body into a frenzy that almost made him come right then. Nina smiled at him, and for just a split second, he thought he might just have to keep this woman.

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Chapter Six Mason’s phone was on the third ring as he walked across his hotel room to pick it up. Once he saw the phone number, he knew that he was in deep shit. It was his mom, and she only called him directly when she couldn’t reach Nina. “Hello.” “Mason, I’m sorry to bother you, it’s your mother. Is Nina with you? I can’t reach her on her phone.” She didn’t sound overly concerned to him, but that tone was about to change. “I talked to her this morning, Mom, but I haven’t been able to reach her since.” “Well, where is she?” She listened silently as Mason recapped his brief conversation, including the fact that Nina and he had argued and she said she wasn’t coming back. “Mason Daniels, your sister has been missing for three days, and you haven’t been out looking for her?” “Mom, she’s fine. I talked to her earlier. She was safe, and I’ll get in touch with her later, don’t worry about it.” This hadn’t been the first time for them to fight like this. Nina had left before but had always come back. “You listen to me!” she shouted. “She is your sister and my daughter, and if anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible. I don’t care who you are!” Janice shouted every word at him, and it didn’t matter how famous he had become because the scared little boy came out when she was like this.

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“I’ll get someone tracing her car right away. They’ll find it, and I’ll get her home. Don’t worry about it, okay?” Mason said calmly. “Call me as soon as you know where she is.” He would do everything that he had just said he would. Mason had just played off the seriousness of the conversation to his mom, but the truth was, he was worried. Any other time that they had fought Mason would hear from Nina within an hour or two. This had been different, and he realized that he had made a huge mistake. She really was in danger. “I swear, Nina, that I’ll find you,” Mason mumbled to himself.

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Chapter Seven December 24, 2009 The night had passed with Hawk and Nina sleeping in each other’s arms in front of the fireplace on the mattress. The temperature in the house itself was just above freezing, but they had remained more than warm with their bodies against each other. Now that it was morning, it actually was at its coldest inside the house. There had been twelve hours without sunlight, and the air was colder than it had been the night before. “Is it just me, or does it seem colder?” Nina asked. She had awakened to the sunlight moving across the room. “Hmmm?” Hawk groaned. After a moment, he sat up and looked around. Nina watched as he looked to the fire that still blazed, but could use some more wood. The temperature in the house had dropped by at least another ten degrees, she thought. “It must be even colder out.” Hawk found his clothes and pulled them on quickly while Nina did the same. Byron lay directly in front of the fireplace but got up when Hawk did. He walked over to the front door and opened it to find that the porch was yet again covered by snow. Hawk shut the door back and turned to Nina. “Well, I don’t think there’s going to be much chance of you getting out of here anytime soon.” “Oh, darn, and I had such good warm plans for Christmas.” Nina laid the sarcasm on thick as she stood there shivering.

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Hawk smiled at her wit and moved back to her side. She briskly rubbed her hands on her own arms, trying to warm her body. “Why don’t you sit in front of the fire while I get more wood and start some water to boil for a bath?” “I can help,” Nina chirped. “I know you can help, but I would prefer that you stay here.” Again, Hawk’s tone was harsh, but he seemed to realize it. “There’s no reason for us to both freeze,” he added softly. “All right, I’ll just wait here to warm you when you come back.” Nina had quickly picked up on his way with words. She was going to do her best to understand him better, especially if they were going to be spending the next few days together. He smiled as he walked past her toward the kitchen. He returned several minutes later with an armload of wood that he kept in the back part of the kitchen. While it was dry, it was cold and crackled loudly as he dropped a couple logs onto the existing fire. “The water is almost boiling. I’m going to take two pots up and then come back for the other two.” Hawk sauntered off to the kitchen, leaving Nina wrapped up under the blankets. She watched as he carried the first two pots up the stairs. They weren’t really pots but metal five-gallon buckets with handles. The ease that he carried them with surprised her since he didn’t seem strained at all. The steam rose from them quickly, showing just how hot the water was, too. By the time he returned to get the second batch, Nina had gotten up to join him. She followed a few steps behind while he carried them up the stairs. Nina wasn’t sure why they were going upstairs since she had bathed downstairs. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Hawk led her through a doorway and into a bedroom. The curtains were open, so she was able to see that, while the room was decorated simply, it was quite elegant. The bed was downstairs, and she had already noted how it was covered in a complete black ensemble of comforter, sheets, and pillows. Here, she saw a black dresser tucked in the corner of the west

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and north walls, while the east was lined with four windows. There was definitely a masculine feel to the room but also a sexual feeling, even though she guessed there had not been a woman in here for a long time, if ever. Nina imagined being in this room with him when it was warm and when the bed was in place. Even though she felt very cold right now and could see her own breath as she exhaled, the image of him inside her again warmed her. They continued through the room to the next door, which was a bathroom that was bigger than her bedroom. Nina gasped in surprise at the size of it. The marble tiles that covered the floor were black, tan, and white, while the walls were a sandy tan color that reminded her of the beach. The bathtub sat in the corner of the room, and it was huge. It was a Jacuzzi style tub and took up a good portion of space there. Hawk sighed deeply and poured the water into the tub, and Nina wondered if something bothered him. Her inquisitive mind wandered for a moment, but she decided not to ask him any prying questions that might put a damper on their time together. Slowly, she pressed her hand to Hawk’s back. “So are we both getting in?” Nina asked seductively. She continued to rub her hand down his back until she cupped his ass. Hawk sat the buckets down and turned toward her. “I was sort of hoping you’d join me.” Nina smiled at him, that sultry voice could get her to do anything for him. “You bet your sweet ass I am,” she said as she squeezed his butt. **** Hawk turned on the water, letting just enough cold water run to keep them from burning their skin. Then, without any hesitation, they both pulled their clothes off as quickly as they could. The room was cold, and they had to get in the water to keep warm.

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Hawk stepped in first and then took Nina’s hand to help her in. With the two of them now sitting down, the water displaced so that there was more than enough to keep them covered. “Aaah,” Hawk sighed. The temperature of the water was still hot, but not enough to scald them. He leaned back against the cold ceramic while Nina sat down in front of him. His body hardened at the sight of her derriere right directly in front of his face. I’ll have to get a bite of that later. He couldn’t resist sliding his fingers between her ass cheeks to touch her tight entrance. How he wanted to have his cock in her ass, but would she let him do such a thing? Nina giggled at his touch before she nestled into the water and leaned back against him. Grabbing a washcloth, he lathered it and began washing her neck. “Is this okay?” “Yes. That feels good.” Hawk pushed the soaped cloth over her breasts and down to her legs. Shoving the cloth between her legs, he cupped her mons in his hand. This moment was perfect. “I have to tell you something, Nina.” Tilting her head up a bit so that she could see his face, she waited for his confession. “I’m glad you wrecked your car,” he whispered. “You are?” “Yes, because you’re here with me now.” Hawk dipped his head down to hers and touched his lips to her forehead. “Oh. Sorry I didn’t get it, maybe I have brain damage and broken ribs.” “I think your brain is just fine.” Hawk ran his fingers over her cheek and let them slide down to her body. His hand encircled her breast, and as he massaged it, Nina moaned. She twisted around so that she sat on her knees facing him. “You are much too nice to me, but I’ll take the compliment anyway.” Hawk laughed at her, knowing that she was just playing with him. Instead of saying anything further, he leaned up and took her taut

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nipple into his mouth. The wetness of it in the cold air had caused it to harden, and she whimpered. With one movement after another, their mouths were entangled as they grasped on to one another. Hawk pulled her against his body, trying to keep her warm, but the air in the room was cool, and they would both be freezing soon. Reluctant to let her go, though, he continued to plunder her mouth with his kisses. “You taste so good,” Hawk mumbled. Nina sucked in a sharp breath. Hawk watched as she froze and held on to her side, waiting for the pain to pass. “You okay?” She nodded, but he knew better. She might be stubborn, but he was even more so. “Let’s get you back downstairs to the bed.” “No, it’s okay, really,” she protested, but Hawk was already out of the tub drying off, his erection still at full attention against his stomach. “Nina, I’m not stupid. You are in pain. I’m taking you downstairs and getting something hot into you.” He dressed while Nina dried off. One of her eyebrows shot up at his comment. “I can think of something hot that I’d like inside me.” Her gaze dropped toward the center of his body. Hawk shook his head while smiling at her. He had managed to get his pants on, which only concealed his erection. The pain that he felt now was almost unbearable. All he really wanted to do was throw her naked body down on the floor and make love to her until the burning inside him was sated. “You are quite incorrigible, aren’t you?” he asked. “Most definitely,” she stated firmly. “Well, guess what? I’m the most stubborn SOB you will ever meet, so I declare that I win this round, and you will do as I say.” He growled at her playfully while assisting her with the towel.

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Once she had dressed, with Hawk’s help, they went back downstairs. She sat down on the couch and pulled the comforter up over her body while Hawk went to the kitchen to get them some food. Hawk returned to find Byron sitting on the couch with Nina. “Move it wolf. She’s mine.” Hawk wasn’t about to let the canine take his place next to Nina. Nina laughed as he sat next to her so they could eat the canned soup that he had managed to thaw from its icicle state by warming it on the woodstove. Once they were full, and Hawk had insisted that she lie down, he went back to the kitchen to put things away. As he went back into the living room, he found something that he couldn’t have ever imagined. “What the hell are you doing?” Hawk couldn’t believe what he saw. Nina lay on the bed stark naked with no covers over her. He knew she had to be cold. “I was hoping that you were going to finish what you started upstairs.” Nina didn’t have to explain any further as Hawk crawled on top of the bed and held himself up above her. “I’m going to do things to you that will make you scream.” And without any delay, he leaned down and captured her mouth. Simultaneously, he pushed two fingers inside of her hot core, muffling her moan with his mouth. Hawk fulfilled his promise as he pleasured her until she cried out his name and begged him to stop. Once both of them were satisfied and exhausted, he dropped on the bed beside her. Finally, Nina’s breathing regulated as they lay there facing each other. “Hawk, can I?” She rested her fingers on his temple, touching the patch, waiting for his approval. “Nina, you don’t really want to see it.” He knew what she was thinking, that it wouldn’t really be that bad, but he knew it was. “Yes, I do. I want to see your face, all of it,” Nina pleaded.

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He didn’t argue, but he still didn’t want her to see it. It had pained him to think of someone, especially her, having to stand the sight of his damaged eye. But if they were going to be this intimate, he knew that he had no choice. It was only fair. Holding back a sigh of dismay, Hawk slowly pushed the black leather patch up and uncovered his eye. There were five scars that radiated from the delicate skin surrounding his eye outwardly. The actual eye was a cloudy white instead of blue, but otherwise appeared to be normal. The scars were deep, but they didn’t hurt anymore. He watched as Nina slowly reached up to touch them. “It’s not really that bad. Does it bother you to have the patch off?” “Sometimes, if the light is very bright, I get headaches, so I do leave it on most of the time.” “I like your face the way it is, without the patch.” “Are you sure?” Hawk remained hesitant about this since he never went out without it on. No one had seen his face without it since it had happened except the doctors. “I want you to do what is comfortable for you, so if that means you wear the patch, that’s fine. I wasn’t trying to be bossy, I’m sorry.” Nina kept her eyes on his. Hawk stared at her in shock that she truly didn’t mind his defects, and even more that she was afraid that she had bothered him. It shed just a bit more light on what type of person she was. “Nina, if you really don’t mind then I won’t wear it. And you certainly didn’t boss me. I just want you to be relaxed with me while we’re here.” “Can I ask you what happened?” “I lost my sight first in an unfortunate laundry incident, and the scars were caused by debris from an explosion. It wasn’t that bad really, lots of stitches, but otherwise, it didn’t hurt.” With each passing moment, he felt more at ease with her and sharing with her his life.

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“All I can tell you is that the guy who did this is dead.” Hawk wasn’t going to tell her that they thought the man who had thrown a homemade bomb at him was dead. There was some uncertainty to it, and the bureau was still trying to identify the man’s remains. **** Nina shrugged her shoulders at his statement. She knew when she couldn’t pry anymore. So she decided to change the subject. “Okay then,” she stated. “Did you know that today is Christmas Eve?” Nina asked Hawk. She remembered being excited about Christmas when she was a child, and even to this day, she still believed in Santa Claus, to an extent. “I suppose it is. I’m sorry you’re not with your family.” Nina felt a twitch in her gut that made her feel funny about Hawk’s statement. She knew somewhere deep inside that she was with her family, he and Byron were now her family, even if it was only temporary. “I’m sure Mom is fine, and I really hope Mason chokes on some eggnog or something and has to change clothes, again.” “I understand what you’re saying, but you’re stuck here with me instead of being with them.” Lightly brushing the backs of her knuckles against his cheek, Nina wanted to tell him that she wanted to be with him more than anyone else on the planet. But they had only known each other for two days, how could she even contemplate such a thing? “You still don’t seem to get it, do you? And I thought I was the one with brain damage. I’m glad that I’m stuck here with you. I have never felt this close to a man before. And before you get all huffy with me, I know that when the roads clear, I have to leave, but just to set the record straight, I’m glad I wrecked my car, too. I’m even happier that you were the one to pull me from it. You’ve saved me in ways that I probably can’t explain.”

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Nina stopped as her eyes welled up with tears. The emotion of her unplanned speech had upset her since she didn’t actually say what she wanted. What she really wanted to do was to pull him into her arms and tell him that she loved him. “Nina, are you all right?” Hawk wiped away a tear as it rolled down her cheek. “I’m fine. I’m just cold and tired I guess, sorry,” she mumbled. And just like that, their open and warm conversation had turned to ice. Nina fought off all feelings that had surfaced so she would quit thinking of how much she would miss him when she did leave. “Tell me something. What do you usually do every year for the holidays? I mean, do you cook turkey or ham?” A few seconds passed as Nina thought about his question. “Well, when I get to go home, Mom usually cooks turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mason doesn’t like ham, so we never have it. Why?” “No reason, I just wondered.” He pulled her closer to him and listened to her while he brushed his fingers through her hair. “What was your favorite Christmas present?” “You’re just full of questions now, aren’t you?” Nina was surprised by his sudden inquiries. Was he trying to distract her or trying to find out more about her? Either way, she didn’t really care since it made her feel better just being with him and talking. She thought for a minute before answering. “I suppose my favorite present was the doll Mom got me when I was eight. It was a lifelike doll, soft and smooth.” Nina smiled as she remembered that Christmas. It was the year after her father had died, and all Nina had wanted was that doll. She had asked Santa for it, but money was tight, and while she liked to believe in Santa, she knew he wasn’t real and that she probably wouldn’t get it. “Was it one of those that wet or something for you to like it so much?” Hawk was curious now as he listened. “No, it didn’t do anything. It was made of soft rubber that felt as close as you could get to a real baby back then, but that was almost

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twenty years ago. I think that I wanted it kind of like a security blanket. I slept with it every night.” Nina realized at that moment that she had used that doll to keep her infantile mind safe from the trauma of her father dying. She missed him sorely and wished that she could see him again. Sitting quietly for a moment, Nina choked back tears. With all of the emotions stirring inside her now, she tried to refocus her energies on Hawk and how much she enjoyed being with him. “He would have liked you, you know,” Nina whispered. “Who?” “My father, he would have liked you. You’re much nicer than the other guys that I’ve dated and definitely better than Mason is.” “I see. Thank you.” “Hawk, I want to tell you something, but please don’t be mad at me.” Nina started to shake at the thought of what she was about to say to him. In the last few seconds, she had decided to tell him exactly how she felt about him and that she wanted to stay with him. “What is it?” “I don’t want to leave. I know I have to, but I don’t want to leave.” Nina held her breath as she waited for him to get upset with her. She knew that there was no way that he could possibly feel the same way. Nina was a smart girl, and Hawk was a man who happened to have needs, and she had been in the right place at the right time to fulfill those needs. “Nina, you don’t really mean that, do you?” “I’m sorry. I know that I’m just a fool, so just ignore what I said.” Nina turned slightly farther away from him, not wanting to face the fact that he might poke fun at her about it. “Nina, I didn’t say that you should be sorry. In fact, I don’t want you to leave, but that would be very selfish of me to keep you to myself.” Hawk pulled Nina toward him so that she faced him. “You listen to me. I don’t know what exactly you’re used to dealing with when it comes to men, but I am one-hundred percent

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honest. I can’t bear the thought of you being in pain, especially because of me.” Nina lay there looking up at his multicolored eyes, completely amazed at his compassion. “You aren’t going to kick me out?” “Why the hell would I do that? You must have brain damage if you think that I would kick you out now, woman. I’ve extended way too much effort in keeping you alive, and, well, to just cut you loose would be crazy. I want you to stay with me, but only if you want to.” “You do?” “Nina,” his voice was soft, “I can’t explain it in words, but I don’t want you to leave.” Her heart pounded hard. She had never felt like this before. The blood that pulsed through her veins was hot, and suddenly, she felt a surge of energy ready to burst from her body. He wanted her to stay. She just kept thinking those few words in her mind, not quite able to believe it, but in her heart, she knew that he meant it. “Then what do we do now?” “Pray for more snow?” Hawk’s grin was more than she could take as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her, bringing their lips together into a hot, passionate kiss. Their mouths moved against one another, seemingly binding their admissions of love by a kiss. His lips were warm and wet against hers as he slipped his tongue between them to taste her. A sudden noise interrupted him, though.

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Chapter Eight A whirring sound coming from inside the house had his attention as he looked around the room. “What’s that?” Nina inquired as Hawk looked around the room. “It’s the furnace!” Hawk exclaimed. Looking back at Nina, he smiled and dipped his head down to kiss her quickly before he jumped up. “The power’s on!” Hawk pulled her up with him and ran to the kitchen. The clocks on the stove and microwave were flashing. “Hey, no offense, but I’m really excited that we might not have to spend the entire time under blankets.” Nina smirked at him. Hawk spun around and pulled her into his arms. “But I thought you like being under the covers with me.” His gaze penetrated her as he peered down at her. “Oh, trust me, I do.” After investigating all of the appliances and resetting the clocks and the thermostat, they began to look for food in the kitchen that they could cook. While Hawk’s stew and soup had been more than acceptable, they were both very hungry and wanted more than just soup to eat. “What do you want?” Hawk asked while holding the two doors to the pantry open. He looked up and down at all of the canned goods and other nonperishable items he had stored. “I don’t know. Can I look?” Nina ducked under his arm, wrapping one arm around his waist. There was every kind of canned vegetable

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known to man there, plus baking mixes for cake, brownies, and biscuits. “Is there anything that you don’t have? Wait, don’t answer that. I’m assuming you’ve got meat in the freezer?” “Yes, chicken, pork, beef, deer, and fish.” He let one arm drop around her gently, holding her to his side. “Well, I have an idea if you’ll trust me to cook for you.” Nina had twisted herself around so that she faced Hawk and had both arms around his neck. “I’ve been cooking for myself for years, so I think a change in menu will be nice. While you decide what you want to do, I’m going to go check the hot water heater and the pipes to make sure there aren’t any breaks or leaks.” Hawk kissed the top of her head and darted off to the basement door that was just off of the kitchen. While it was still freezing in the house, Nina could feel the heat starting to radiate through. It wouldn’t take more than an hour or two for the temperature to become warm enough that they could tolerate it. As she started to pull everything from the pantry and the freezer that she would need, she thought of Mason. She had been missing for almost four days, and he probably didn’t even care. Her own brother didn’t know where she was, and the last words that he’d spoken to her were to get herself out of her own mess. And had she ever. Nina had managed to somehow find the one man in the middle of the woods that not only saved her, but wanted her in a way that no one else ever had. Hawk made her feel like a woman, not a subservient employee or someone that could be used and discarded. She felt at home here with him. Tears filled her eyes, but they were of joy. At no time during her entire adult life had she felt this complete. Not quite to the point that they would fall down her face, Nina wiped away the droplets of tears before they escaped. She didn’t want Hawk to walk back in and think that something was wrong. So she moved on to prepare for her meal.

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“Hmmm,” she muttered as she bent over to look inside the industrial size oven. It appeared to be immaculate, and she wondered if he had ever actually used it or if he was a neat freak. **** Hawk had just walked back into the kitchen to find Nina bent over with her backside facing him. Arching one brow, he leaned against the doorframe and watched her move. He noticed how gracefully she moved about and how the curves of her ass made him want to slide his hand between her cheeks and tease her tight hole. Damn, he would love to have his cock in her ass. The moment had him rock hard, but he refrained from moving so that she wouldn’t know he watched. Several minutes passed while she turned on the oven and went back to pull the necessary pots from the rack hanging above the counter. Hawk leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed as he continued to watch her until she noticed him. A smile crossed her face once she caught him. “What are you doing?” “Just watching you, baby. So what’s for dinner?” Hawk moved toward the island so that he could be closer to her. “It’s a surprise. You can go play while I cook.” “The only thing that I want to play with is right here, so you’re just going to have to let me watch you cook.” He slipped his hand over her buttocks and squeezed. “Suit yourself.” Nina shrugged before she returned to the food. Hawk observed quietly while Nina thawed chicken and opened cans and boxes of various foods. She put together some kind of mixture with soup and vegetables in a rectangular glass pan. Then once she had cut the chicken into pieces she placed them in the same dish, covering all of it with clumps of dough. “Dumplings?”

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“Sort of, but I cheated so the consistency is more like a biscuit. You like that kind of stuff?” Nina placed the pan in the oven while talking to him. “Yes, ma’am, there’s not much that I won’t eat, including you.” “Oh really?” Nina wiped her hands on a towel and stepped around the island to where Hawk was sitting on a stool. Pushing herself between his legs, she pressed her body up against his. Hawk wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. “You can’t go anywhere. I’ve got you now.” “Oh, and I was hoping to go out for a jog this afternoon.” Nina rolled her eyes at him before resting her head against his shoulder. “Is there anything that I can do to help you?” “You could go put the bed back upstairs so it’s ready for later.” Grabbing his belt loops, she tugged. “You’re such a tease. I was hoping that I could help with this.” Hawk unbuttoned her jeans and slid one hand between her cheeks and rubbed a single finger over her hole, sending a jolt through her. “And just what are you going to do with that?” Pressing his mouth to her ear, Hawk whispered, “I’m going to fuck it.” Nina swallowed hard. “Just imagine my cock in your tight ass. Doesn’t that make you want it?” Nina slid her hand over Hawk’s cock and rubbed it through his jeans. “I can only tell I am excited by the prospect, but we’re not going unless you take that bed back upstairs,” she exclaimed. “Yes, ma’am!” Hawk slapped her on the butt before pushing her back so that he could do as she asked. He was ready for later to be now, and his body wanted her again, which he couldn’t believe. All of these years alone had apparently left him with pent-up frustrations that he didn’t know could even exist at this level. The thought of her body dripping wet for him had him rock hard again, but he readjusted himself so it didn’t hurt as much.

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Nina cooked and cooked some more, and they finally were able to eat. The menu included chicken and dumplings as well as an apple cobbler, and when they were done being gluttonous, they cleaned up the kitchen. The temperature of the house was much warmer now, so their bodies were warm enough that they could shed some of their layers. Nina had pulled off one of her extra shirts, as did Hawk, while they were putting the dishes away. “Now I could stare at that every day.” Nina’s eyes dropped toward his chest. “I see how you are. I’m just a piece of meat, aren’t I? You’re just using my body,” Hawk accused. “Guilty as charged. You should punish me for such a crime, but you should definitely interrogate me first.” “Oh, I will, and it will be long and torturous, too.” Swiftly, he scooped her up, carried her out of the kitchen and toward the stairs.

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Chapter Nine “Have you ever had a cock in your ass?” Hawk asked, even though he felt certain the answer would be no. Nina lay sideways on the bed, naked, with her legs dangling off. Hawk stood between her spread legs, waiting to prepare her for the ultimate pleasure. Nina shook her head. He could see fear and excitement in her expression, but he would be very slow and gentle with her. It would hurt, but not like she feared. The pain would come from her need for more as he pressed his cock into her tight entrance. Hawk leaned over to the night table and pulled a small bottle from the drawer. Nina scrunched her eyebrows at him as if to question why he would have lubricant if he had been alone all this time. “You don’t expect a man to masturbate completely dry, do you?” Hawk said sarcastically. Crawling onto the bed, he positioned himself so that he was just above her. Nina giggled, but he stifled her laugh with a scorching kiss. Nipping her lip as he pulled away, Hawk whispered, “Turn over.” Nina complied and rolled to her stomach. “Now, prop yourself up on your knees. I have to get your tight little ass ready for my cock.” Hawk moaned as she lifted her rear into the air. Damn, he almost couldn’t wait to thrust his dick into her, but first, he had to stretch her. Popping the cap of the lubricant open, he squirted a small amount onto his hand. It felt a bit cool, but there wasn’t anything that he could do about that. Besides, the burn that she would feel soon would remedy that problem.

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“Oh!” Nina jumped slightly as Hawk rubbed the lube between her ass cheeks. Grasping her hip to hold her steady, he reassured her that everything would be okay. “It’ll be warm in a minute, baby.” Sliding one finger past the tight ring of muscle, Hawk couldn’t believe how she reacted. Nina whimpered at first and then moaned as he rocked his finger back and forth into her. “You like that?” he asked. “Uh-huh.” Nina pushed back against his hand, forcing that finger inside of her even farther. “Then let’s add another.” Hawk slowly slid a second finger inside of her ass. Stretching along the way, he found her to be very receptive to him. “Oh, my!” Nina called out. Hawk slowly pulled his fingers from her ass only to hear her disappointment. “No, please.” Nina pleaded. Hawk laughed, but before she could say anything, he thrust his cock into her pussy. The fact that she had enjoyed having his fingers inside of her left him harder and almost unable to wait for the moment that he would have his cock inside of that tight hole. “Ooooh,” Nina moaned. But Hawk wanted her to be at the peak of her arousal when he put his cock into her ass. So he wanted to play with her a bit more and stretch her ass some more, too. As he thrust deep into her, he inserted two fingers into her tight entrance again. “Please, harder,” she cried. Her cry only enticed him to comply. Stretching her ass with his fingers, he thrust into her harder and harder. Focusing only on his control, Hawk knew that he had to maintain his composure or it would be over for him. “Are you ready?” Hawk asked, but not without struggling to keep his words smooth.

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“Yes! Oh, yes!” Nina cried out again. Hawk pulled out of her and flipped the cap of the lubricant pop open. Hawk watched Nina’s hungry expression as he stroked the liquid over his cock. There was no turning back now. She was his and he was about to claim her in a way that no man had ever done before. Hawk gripped a cheek in one hand and his cock in the other. As he slid his cock over her entrance, he felt her shiver. “It will burn at first, but just for a moment,” he explained. He heard Nina suck in a deep breath, and he held his own as he pressed against the tight ring of muscle. Slowly, he pushed the head in, and Nina gasped. She reached around and clawed at his side, urging him on. Hawk knew it might sting, but the only cure was to continue on. Inch by throbbing inch, he slid his cock into her tight ass. Nina moaned as he filled her, and he again struggled to maintain any control. Hawk drew back slightly and plunged into her until he was in a steady rhythm. The sounds she made enthralled him. Every moan and sigh had him on edge, and he knew when she approached her release. “Damn, you’re so tight.” Hawk panted out the words as he continued. “Are you all right?” Nina didn’t speak. She only nodded as another orgasm took her. She screamed out his name as the sensation clearly overtook her. Digging his fingers into her hips, he thrust harder into her as he felt his impending release mount. “Fuck!” he cried. Holding her body against his, he waited as the throbbing slowed. If he had waited any longer, he might have just died from the pressure that had built. Trying to catch his breath, he slowly slid out of her and let her slip completely down to the bed. “That was incredible,” Nina mumbled. Hawk chuckled. “I must say I absolutely agree.” He lay there for just a moment as he regained his bearings.

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“I’ll be right back.” Hawk walked to the bathroom to quickly wash off and bring Nina a warm washcloth. Upon his return, he found her still lying in the same position, but with her eyes closed. He sat onto the bed next to her and gently started to clean her. She popped her head up and looked at him. “What are you doing?” “I’m cleaning up the mess I made.” He smiled at her as he continued. He hoped she didn’t mind that he touched her this way. The truth was that he would do anything to keep his hands on her in any way possible. “Give me a few minutes, but don’t fall asleep yet.” Hawk disappeared into the bathroom and quickly passed back by her to go downstairs. Nina repositioned herself in the bed so she could cover up. Her body still hummed from the sensations, and even the slightest movement of the sheets across her nipples sent a zap straight to her nether regions. A few minutes passed, and while she felt tired, she was also too excited to fall asleep. At least not until Hawk returned. Nina sat up in the bed at the sight of him. Hawk handed her a cup of hot chocolate that was to die for, covered in whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top. “You really are too good to me.” “I wouldn’t say that, I’ve kept you up all night.” He slid into the bed next to her, scooting as close to her as was humanly possible, wrapping his arms around her. “Merry Christmas,” he whispered in her ear. “Mmmm, Merry Christmas.” It was just past midnight, so it was officially Christmas and they were spending it together. Hawk couldn’t have asked for a better present. “Sorry you don’t have any gifts to open.”

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“I really couldn’t care less, Hawk. Please don’t think I’m silly, but being with you is more than enough for me.” Nina sipped on her cocoa while Hawk sat behind her in the bed, still holding her. He more than enjoyed being with her and never wanted the day to end. She had awakened the sleeping emotions inside him and made every nerve in his body tingle from the energy that she gave off. He wanted to thank her for what she had done, more so, he wanted her to know what it meant to him. “I love you.” Hawk pulled his fingers through her wavy hair as she sat in front of him. Nina sat her cup down on the side table and turned toward him, smiling. “I love you, Hawk. Does this mean you’re going to keep me after all?” “Yes. I’m going to keep you forever, just like the princess locked in the tower. You’re going to have to stay with me forever.” Hawk’s heart pounded excitedly as he confessed his love for her and that he wanted to stay with her. “I like the sound of that. So, since I’m going to be held captive here, can I at least buy a couple of shirts and pants? I’m sure Mason will just throw my stuff out when I don’t come back.” Hawk growled. Everything that Hawk had heard about Mason so far disgusted him and he had no intentions of letting Mason get away with mistreating Nina anymore. . “When the roads clear, we’ll both go and get your things. And if he’s thrown a single piece of your belongings out, I’m going to break both of his legs and then he’ll understand that no one picks on my woman.” Nina’s eyebrows shot up as he continued. “Well, all right then. So we’re going to be up for a road trip. That should be fun. Mason won’t quite know what to think of you. Oh, I bet he pees his pants!” Nina seemed quite enthused by the idea of a confrontation with Mason. Hawk knew he could be quite intimidating,

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and he would hold nothing back when it came to Mason’s arrogance. “If you’re that excited about the prospect of your brother peeing his pants, then he must be a complete asshole, and I think I’ll have to at least have a conversation with him,” he stated between clenched teeth. Nina reached up to his face, cupping his strong jaw in her hands. “You don’t need to worry about Mason. When you meet him, you’ll know what I mean. Besides, I feel sorry for him. He’s got to answer to Mom about me, and I wish I could be a fly on the wall when that conversation goes down. She will rip into him, and he’ll wish he had never been born. She’s feisty like me, but she won’t put up with his crap while I usually do.” Nina yawned and Hawk couldn’t help but smile as he watched the fatigue set in. Everything about her fascinated him, especially her habits and quirks. “It’s time to go to sleep, baby. We’ll wake up in the morning and make pancakes, and Byron loves pancakes.” “Okay.” Nina yawned out again. Hawk never relinquished his hold on her as they fell asleep. **** When Nina woke, Hawk had pancakes and sausage made. The three of them ate until they were stuffed. After breakfast, they decided to take advantage of the electricity and shower. Hawk insisted on helping Nina, which of course she didn’t mind. The bath they had shared the day before had been intimate, but now that they had hot water that steamed up the bathroom, they took full advantage and got out after the water finally turned frigid. “That’s got to be the longest shower ever,” Nina commented. She wrapped a towel around herself while Hawk dried off. “Well, I know it was the longest one that I’ve taken.” He wrapped the towel around his lean waist and stepped over to her. Hawk tilted

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his head down to hers and captured her mouth, standing there with his hands around her back, holding her against his body. “You want to go lie down with me?” The words blew into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “Of course,” she whispered back. The morning turned into afternoon as they lay in bed enjoying each other. She thought Hawk had explored every inch of her body during the last two days, but each touch seemed new and exciting to her. Nina didn’t have a care in the world. She had no one to go home to and not even really anyone to talk to except her mom. She would have liked to wish her mom a merry Christmas, but it would have to wait since she had smashed the only phone. When they woke later, it was still light out, and the house was completely warm now. They were both feeling very good about their current situation, since neither was alone. Well, they felt good until the lights flickered and the heater shut off. “Ugh. The power must have been knocked out again,” Nina whined. But at least it was daylight right now, and they wouldn’t be stumbling in the dark to find candles and matches. “Let me go check the breaker box. Maybe something just tripped.” Hawk left her with Byron in the living room while he went to the basement, grabbing a candle on the way. Returning just a few moments later, he told Nina that everything seemed okay there, and he was going to go outside to check the main terminal. “Come on boy.” Hawk took Byron with him so the wolf could relieve himself while they were out. Nina had tried to convince him to wear a coat, but he assured her he would be fine. He did put on the eye patch since the bright light bothered his right eye. Nina went upstairs to the bathroom to comb her hair while she waited. As she pulled the brush through the tangled knots, she thought

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of how good Hawk was being to her and how bad Mason was to her. No, he wasn’t her boyfriend or lover. Mason should have been more important than that. As her brother, he should have taken better care of her, and he should have looked out for her, but he didn’t. Not that Nina expected Mason to dote over her in any way, but she had her occasional moments of vulnerability and could have used a friend. Nonetheless, she did still love him, but she wasn’t going to work for him anymore. A loud stomping sound came from downstairs, letting her know that Hawk had made it back inside, so she went to see if he needed anything. “No luck, I guess?” Nina called out as she walked down the stairs, but much to her surprise, a man stood just inside the front door, and it wasn’t Hawk. Tall like Hawk, the man wore a long, black, leather coat that draped over his body perfectly. His long, black hair blew around his face, with locks of it whipping across his jaw. If Nina didn’t know better, she would have thought the man to be a model, but the glare that he gave her radiated danger. A cold chill ran over her. Seemingly frozen on the fourth step of the staircase, Nina stared at him, and he at her. One-thousand one, one-thousand two, onethousand three. Her heart pounded with anxiety. “Hello,” the man stated. His voice was deep and shot straight through her bones like she’d been electrocuted. “Hello. Can I help you?” Nina managed to reply with a squeaky voice. “Where is he?” His voice was ice cold. Lethal. Well, isn’t he just polite? I know this isn’t going to be good. “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Nina lied. If he came for Hawk and had been a friend then he would have asked for him by name. “Don’t fuck with me!” he shouted. “I will tear you apart and leave the pieces for the wolves in the forest.”

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“Nina, don’t move.” Thank God! It was Hawk, and while Nina couldn’t see him from where she stood, she knew that he must be in the kitchen at the entrance of the living room. “So you did survive. I told them that you weren’t dead, but they just didn’t see how you could have escaped.” Hawk’s words were quite calm as he faced the man that had scarred his face more than two years ago. “It’s so good to see you, too. Now, you know why I’m here. We can make this easy, or we can make this hard. Personally, I don’t give a fuck which way it goes because in the end you are going to die, Richardson.”

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Chapter Ten The man’s voice had elevated to a boom that echoed through the house. Nina definitely didn’t know what would happen, but she knew that this wasn’t going to be pretty. While Nina waited for Hawk to reply or do something, she scanned the room for something she could use as a weapon against the man. She wasn’t going to let him take her without a fight, and she knew Hawk would try to stop him anyway. A quick glance laid her eyes on the fireplace poker and a marble ball that sat on the mantel. Both would definitely cause some pain if hit upside the head, but before she could settle on how she would get to one of the items, Hawk whistled a loud, shrill whistle. Still not able to see him, she watched the man, and behind him through the open door came a blur of a figure that knocked the large man to the ground. Byron. As Byron sank his teeth into the man’s face, Hawk had already made it to the stairs and grabbed Nina by the hand, and they ran back toward the kitchen. She had no clue where they were going. “Grab your shoes,” he commanded. She had left her shoes by the back door when the power came back on and the house was heated. She snagged them up quickly on the run as he pulled her through the doorway to the basement. With a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue, but unable to find her voice as everything was happening so fast, Nina just followed him down the steps. The power was out, but the path was lit. She

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looked up to emergency lights similar to what you see in commercial buildings. Hawk pushed open a reinforced steel door that she could tell was heavy even for him. He pushed the door closed behind her and locked it. What she saw when she stepped inside made her jaw drop. This room, too, was lit with emergency lights, but what had her immediate attention was the wall of weapons. Eight feet of custom shelving housed numerous guns that she could never have imagined. Her eyes bounced across the display, seeing that there were handguns, rifles, also a couple of semiautomatic weapons that she had only seen in movies. She watched Hawk pull on a harness and tuck a pistol in the holster. All that she could think of at that moment was the fact that she might not make it out of this alive, but she was certainly glad that she had met Hawk. “Put your shoes on. There is only one way out of here, and it’s on foot.” He gently touched her shoulder. Nina swallowed hard, realizing that this was all real and she had to snap out of her trance if she was indeed going to live, but fear took over, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep her composure. “Who is he?” “His name is Michael Spencer. He was on the FBI’s most wanted list two years ago when they thought he died. To put it bluntly, the man hates me with a passion, and I’m honestly surprised it’s taken him this long to find me.” “Why does he have it out for you? You were just doing your job, right?” Nina didn’t have experience with any of these types of things and was naïve enough to think that a criminal would leave a law enforcement officer alone, but she was about to find out why she was wrong. “I killed his son. He was sixteen.” Hawk pulled a knife from the shelf and slid it into his boot. “He opened fire on us, and before I saw that it was really only a child, I shot and killed him.”

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Nina understood now, and this worried her. She may have never dealt with criminals like this, but she had enough common sense to understand vengeance. “Hawk, are we going to die?” Nina’s tone was quite sullen but calm. He moved over to her side as he fastened a clip into yet another gun. “Nina, I’m going to do my best to keep that from happening, but I can’t promise anything. I’m sorry.” He placed his hand on the side of her face, brushing his thumb across her cheek. She didn’t have a response for what he had just said, but strangely, she didn’t feel like it was the end. Managing a small smile, she looked at Hawk and had a feeling that everything would be all right. “Okay?” Hawk asked. “Okay.” “Now listen to me. Behind that bookshelf is a door that opens into a tunnel. It’s about a half mile long and goes up the mountain. At the end of the tunnel is a ladder that will take you into a shed. There’s a small generator—” “What do you mean me? You can’t stay here. I’m not going to leave you,” she exclaimed frantically. Hawk placed one hand on her shoulder and lifted her chin with the other. “Nina, listen. I need you to go get help. I have to go back to get Byron, and this is the only way to make sure that he doesn’t come after you. It’s the only way.” Hawk looked into her eyes, and she wished he would survive this. Tears escaped her eyes as she stared at him. Brushing away the tears, he dipped his head down and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her fervently. After only a few seconds, he broke the connection and pulled back. If he hadn’t stopped when he did, she probably wouldn’t have let him go. “You have to start the generator and let it run a few minutes. Then when it gets going, there’s a satellite phone. You need to call an agent at the FBI field office in Chicago. I’ll write the number down for

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you.” Hawk stepped away to scribble a name and phone number down on a piece of paper. “What about 9-1-1? There has to be somebody closer that can help.” “You can do that after you call him.” He handed her the paper. “Special Agent Hennessey will respond quicker, though. Trust me. Here, take this. Do you know how to fire it?” Hawk had handed her a Glock 17. Nina nodded as she indeed knew how to fire a gun. It just happened that the last movie Mason’d been in he had to shoot pistols. While they were only loaded with blanks, Nina went to the firing range with him and found out that she actually wasn’t a bad shot. Thumping came from above them, so there was no time to waste. Hawk pushed Nina toward the bookcase on the north wall, pausing to pull it back. Behind it was a door, a keypad just to the right. Hawk punched in a code, and the lock released. “Nina…” He paused as he pushed her through the door. Turning back to him, she saw an expression on his face that she would have never guessed he’d wear. He appeared to be in pain. “I love you.” He pulled her against him quickly and kissed her with an intensity that left her feeling frightened that this might just be the end. “Now go!” He shut the door in her face before she had a chance to say anything. Hawk wasn’t trying to be mean to her, of course, but he just couldn’t bear to risk her life any longer. Nina’s heart stopped. She felt a fear come over her that she had never felt before. The thought of losing him engulfed her to the point that she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move. Move, Nina. Move! You have to run if you’re going to get help! Her body finally reacted to her mind’s commands. Wearing only jeans, his sweater, and her boots, she ran. Nina kept herself in excellent shape and knew that the half mile would be no problem for her to tackle, but this was uphill. It didn’t matter, though, because she

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had to haul ass. Knowing that her life and Hawk’s depended on it, she ran through the scarcely lit tunnel, reaching the ladder in just under five minutes. Nina paused at the ladder for just a moment to catch her breath. She climbed the ladder with the pistol in one hand, ready to use it if necessary. A manual slide lock secured the hatch, so she pulled it back and slowly pushed the small door up. As she climbed through the portal, she found the shed illuminated and saw the generator that Hawk had told her about. “Shed, my ass.” Nina stood in what she considered to be a large garage. To her right were the generator and a worktable that was so clean it looked as if it had never been used. To her left were a snowmobile, a four-wheeler, and a motorcycle that all looked very expensive. She didn’t get it. He lived in a big, expensive house, had all of these toys, his own private armory, and preferred to drive a thirtyyear-old, beat-up truck? With no time to dwell on the idiosyncrasies of Hawk, she darted to the generator. While she hadn’t started anything like it before, she figured it out, thanks to the diagram on the side. When she got it running, Nina rummaged through the worktable drawers until she found the yellow satellite phone and plugged it into the generator. Too impatient to wait for a complete charge, she powered the phone on and dialed the number that Hawk had scribbled down. “Hello?” A man’s voice echoed on the other end of the line. “Hello, is this Agent Hennessy?” Nina was still a little out of breath as she spoke. “Yes, who’s this?” the deep voice on the other end questioned. “My name is Nina Daniels. I am with Hawk Richardson. He needs your help please!” While her adrenaline had thrown her body into a shaking panic mode, Nina was able to keep her mind calm and focused enough to speak clearly and coherently to the man.

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“Hawk? What’s going on? Where is he?” Nina hurriedly explained the situation to the agent, telling him about Michael Spencer. He assured her that he and his team would be there in forty-five minutes or less. It would take them that long just because they would have to get to the airfield and get to the helicopter. Otherwise, if they drove, it would be three hours, with the road conditions the way they were. Once Nina was off the phone, she rummaged through the few boxes that sat in the corner, where she found clothes and a small electric heater. There was an old, black peacoat that she pulled on over her sweater to try and keep warm. Positioning the heater so that she could sit on the boxes, she huddled in the corner of the shed and waited. Images filled her thoughts from the last five days. They were memories of Hawk staring at her when she stood in front of the fireplace and when he had snapped at her when she broke the glass. And then, there was the moment that he decided to kiss her. While she hoped that everything would be okay, she knew in her heart that these days had been the best five days of her life. “I love you, Hawk,” she whispered to herself. The way he made her feel special and the way he looked at her made her body ache for him. She wanted to have him touch her again. These were the thoughts that kept her warm, but nothing was going to take her mind off of Hawk’s safety. Nina waited as patiently as she possibly could on the boxes for the FBI to show up, wondering all the while how Hawk fared against his lethal opponent. **** Hawk walked back to the shelves of weapons with a determination that exceeded anything he had ever felt before. His heart ached with thoughts of never seeing Nina again before he

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pushed his anger to a level that was dangerous and beyond homicidal. He had found someone on this planet that wanted him, scars and all and he would be damned if he was going to lose it. He fully planned on ripping out Spencer’s heart now. Loss of a son or not, the man was pure evil, and he needed to disappear off the face of the earth. Fully armed, he sucked in a deep breath as he reached for the doorknob. He was going to get his wolf back and kill Spencer. This had to end. Slowly, he unlocked the door, pulling it back toward him just enough to leave an opening about ten inches. Once he had it in a position that he could carry a gun in each hand, he started to squeeze through the gap in the doorway. Hawk had sent Nina with the Glock 17 while he was carrying a pair of Glock 21s. He preferred the 21’s forty-five caliber to the smaller nine millimeter anyway. Being an excellent marksman, Hawk seldom missed his mark, but he always hit his target one way or another. Spencer wasn’t on the stairwell, so one at a time, Hawk crept up the stairs. When he turned the corner at the top and stepped into the kitchen, he found spatters of blood everywhere. I swear, if he hurt the wolf, I’ll draw and quarter him! Pausing at the sight, he listened. Silence surrounded him. Arms extended with both pistols aimed, he moved through the kitchen toward the living room. Still there were no sounds from anywhere. As he passed through the doorway into the living room, he could see the damage that had occurred from the fight between Spencer and the wolf. The chair was overturned, and there was a chunk of what appeared to be skin on the floor in a puddle of blood. Byron had gotten him good, and the thought of it would have brought a smile to Hawk’s face if he knew where they were. Hawk kept his back against the stairs as he slinked through the room, moving his arms as if they were extensions of his eye, ready to fire if something moved. Just as he was about to turn and look up the

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staircase, he heard a clicking noise and felt something hit the right side of his face. It was a bullet. Before he could even react to the assault, he was knocked to the ground. Spencer had apparently been on the staircase behind him and fired a shot that hit his face before jumping onto Hawk and taking him down. One of the guns Hawk carried was knocked loose and slid several feet away, while the other was pinned beneath his body. While Spencer was there completely out of anger and revenge, Hawk was fighting to save his life and Nina’s. He was able to keep his mind focused on the task at hand, so as Spencer started to turn Hawk’s body toward him, Hawk managed to throw the first punch. He twisted his body so fast beneath Spencer’s he was able to channel most of his energy into his left arm and hit Spencer across the right side of his face. The blow knocked Spencer sideways, and Hawk pushed away to secure his grip on the pistol beneath him. The sight of Spencer’s face caught Hawk off guard. The left side of it was ripped open, and blood still poured from the wound. Hawk knew that he had to be in great pain, but this man was used to dealing with pain. Hawk scrambled back just as Spencer lunged at him again. “You killed my son!” Spencer growled at Hawk. “No, you killed your son! If you didn’t want him to die then you should have kept him out of your business!” Hawk shouted back as he stood up, gun aimed. Spencer saw the gun and stood to face Hawk. “I have nothing left to live for, so shoot me if you’re going to shoot me!” It struck Hawk odd at that moment, and he realized that Spencer had been standing at the front door with no weapons. The man was a criminal that had killed countless people and was always armed. Something wasn’t right, and Hawk knew it. It was time to call his bluff.

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“No. I’m not going to shoot you. You’ll have to face your crimes in court.” Hawk knew that today’s events wouldn’t really end that way, but he had to see what he was up to. “Shoot me, you bastard!” Hawk stood firm in his decision. He even lowered his gun. Just as he suspected, Spencer had a hidden agenda of his own. Spencer pulled his black coat open to reveal a bomb strapped to his body. Hawk immediately knew what he’d wanted. If he had shot Spencer in the chest, it would have detonated the bomb. And now that he wasn’t going to shoot him, he would discharge it himself, killing himself and Hawk. Hawk raised his gun to shoot Spencer in the head, but it was too late. Spencer already had his finger looped through a cord and pulled.

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Chapter Eleven Nina had been sitting quietly praying that Hawk would be safe when she heard a loud whirring sound. It was a helicopter. Quickly, she darted out the door of the shed to see the helicopter in the sky. She ran through the snow, waving her arms, trying to signal them. “Down here!” she yelled, even though she knew that there was no way they could hear her. Continuing to wave her arms, she ran toward the aircraft. It appeared to be descending just a few hundred feet away in a clearing. Nina’s pulse raced. She only hoped that they weren’t too late. She had waited alone and scared, not knowing what was happening to Hawk for the last forty minutes. She started running toward the helicopter to meet Agent Hennessy. The snow was deep, and it was a struggle for her after her mile run uphill. As she approached, she could see the men inside, and one of them saw her. He opened the door before the helicopter had landed. “Stay back!” he called out. Nina stopped and stayed where she was as the helicopter landed. The drifted snow completely covered the landing skids and almost touched the bottom of the cockpit. One by one, three men jumped out. They were all at least six foot three or more and built as solid as they came. Nina arched one eyebrow as she eyed the three good-looking men dressed in black and all wearing sunglasses. For a split second, she found herself thinking that she should have met some FBI agents a long time ago. “Miss Daniels?” the first man shouted while the propellers of the helicopter were still spinning loudly.

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“Yes! Hawk is in the house, and so is Byron. Spencer is down there, too.” She continued to yell over the sound of the machine as she pointed downhill toward the house. “Who’s Byron?” “The wolf. You have to get them out of there!” But Nina’s explanation was interrupted by something so loud and rumbling that it shook the ground. The house had literally exploded. The impact of the energy it generated shook the hill and the four of them standing there. A great ball of smoke ballooned up into the sky. Nina’s heart stopped. Dropping to her knees, she just watched the flames and smoke consume the sky. Hawk didn’t have a chance. They were too late. Everything at that point seemed to move in slow motion in front of her. One agent told her to stay near the helicopter while he and the others ran toward the house. Nina heard the pilot on the radio calling for backup as the propellers stopped. It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t really be dead, could he? Her heart had slowed closer to a normal rate, and she finally stood up. Nina started brushing away the snow that stuck to her clothing. The pilot of the helicopter climbed out and led her to the cockpit so that she could warm up some. There she waited in a dazed stupor. Minute by minute, time passed slowly, and finally one of the agents came back to the helicopter and climbed into the back. It was Agent Hennessy. “Miss Daniels, we can’t find Hawk anywhere. I’m, I’m sorry.” His voice was deep, and the news he brought her echoed through her body as if she were hollow. And in fact, she was hollow because her heart had disintegrated at the news. There were no words that she could find to speak of what he told her. She didn’t want to believe it because it wasn’t fair. Hawk was stronger than the other man. She knew it, but she didn’t know what

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had happened in the last minutes of his life. What she did know was that he had died making sure that she was safe. The realization made her angry. She was mad at him for it. If he had just stayed with her, both of them might be alive right then, or as her mind twisted her thoughts, even if they were dead, they would be together. “What about Byron?” Her voice cracked. “We can’t find the wolf, either. We’ll have to take you in for your account of the events, and then you’ll be free to go. Can I ask how you know Hawk?” Nina stared at him but didn’t quite register what he was saying at first. “Miss Daniels?” Hennessy shook her arm slightly. “Yes, I’m sorry. Oh, I drove my car into a creek bed, and Hawk saved me. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be alive right now.” Her voice trailed off at the end, knowing that he had saved her life twice now, but he had paid the ultimate price for it. Hennessy continued talking, but Nina virtually tuned out everything he said. Her thoughts were completely on Hawk. The few days that they had spent together were filled with love. He had shown her that it was possible for someone to love her. She did hear him as he told her to wait in the helicopter until the three of them returned to take her back into the city. Nina complied with his request and sat silently, leaning against the door. An hour passed while she waited and watched the fire department and the local sheriff extinguish the fire and scour the site for bodies. The local coroner was called on-site, as well, and when Nina saw the car pull up, she had to go see what they had found that would require his services. “Miss, you should stay here,” the pilot pleaded with her, but she wasn’t listening. Nina ran down the hill to the house and right toward Hennessy. “What did you find?”

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“Miss Daniels, you don’t need to be down here. We’ll get you out of here as quick as possible, but you really should stay back so you don’t get hurt.” Hennessy stopped Nina from moving any closer to the smoldering pile of debris. “Please, did you find him? I need to know,” Nina pleaded. She tried to push past him, but Hennessy held a firm grip on her shoulders. “Nina,” he whispered, “please listen, there are pieces everywhere. I’m sorry, we don’t know what is what. We may never know, but the fact is that we can’t find Hawk alive anywhere.” “No. He can’t be dead. It’s not fair!” Nina, being distraught, pushed at Hennessy until he let go of her. She walked toward the coroner, who was picking up something and put it in a bag. As she closed the distance between them, she realized that it was an ear. Reality hit her hard. Nina turned and ran. She didn’t know where to run to, as she had no car, no phone, nothing. Hennessy grabbed her and wrapped his arm around her. “Nina, it’s okay. Let’s get you out of here.” He led her toward the sheriff’s cruiser and placed her in the backseat. He spoke to the sheriff momentarily before he joined her in the backseat of the car. She sat there quietly, but tears streamed down her cheeks like Niagara Falls. “Miss Daniels, I’m guessing that I’m missing something here. There’s more to your relationship with Hawk than just a stranded motorist.” Nina looked up at him, surprised. She didn’t know how he could possibly know that, but now, for some reason, she wasn’t sure that she should tell him. “What do you mean?” She wiped the tears from her eyes. Would Hawk want her to tell this man about them? Not sure of what to say, she decided to play it safe. “You two didn’t know each other very well?” His eyes narrowed while he watched her decide on her answer. She guessed that interrogations were a part of his job, so she had to be convincing with her answer.

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“No, we had just met. Mr. Richardson was nice enough to let me stay at his house until the roads cleared enough that someone could come get me.” “All right, Miss Daniels. I think at this point we’ll let the sheriff take you back to the station and get a written statement if you don’t mind. And of course, you can contact whoever you need to have them come get you. I’m sorry for the intrusion on your holiday.” Nina nodded at the agent before he stepped out of the car. The car ride to the sheriff’s office gave her time to recount the past few days’ events that didn’t include her feelings for Hawk. The sheriff did just as Hennessy said he would. He took her statement and even called Mason for her. Surprisingly, Mason answered the phone and listened as the sheriff explained the situation. He then asked to speak to his sister, so when Nina talked to him, she was surprised that he actually sounded glad to hear from her. Mason even drove to pick her up. When he arrived at the sheriff’s department, Nina couldn’t believe that he was personally there to get her. Her heart was heavy with grief, and he must have seen it as he greeted her with a hug. **** Three days later, Nina was back to work for Mason. Even though he had told her not to worry about it, she woke up on the twentyeighth of December and checked e-mail and started making phone calls just like normal. Nina had hidden the fact from Mason that she had broken ribs because she just didn’t want to go to the doctor, and even though he was being nice, she feared his caring ways might not last very long. The next three weeks passed by slowly. Nina had lost her IDs in the explosion, so she spent some time trying to get new copies of her Social Security card and a new driver’s license. She had also placed numerous calls to the FBI office trying to speak to Agent Hennessy.

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Finally reaching him, he told her that there had been nothing onehundred percent identifying the remains as that of Hawk’s, but they still hadn’t found any indication that he was alive. Nina kept having this nagging feeling in her gut that he was alive. So, one afternoon in late January, Nina drove to where Hawk’s house had stood. The snow had melted, she noticed, as she drove down the road where she had wrecked her Lexus. She drove a brand-new one just like what she had. Mason had bought it for her. Even though he hadn’t verbally apologized for sending her out that day, she knew that he was sorry. But Nina wasn’t. If she hadn’t been out driving that day, she never would have met Hawk, and even though she missed him dearly, she knew that he had changed her life forever in a positive way. Nina drove across the bridge and down the road just about a mile to the spot where Hawk’s house had been. Everything was gone. Someone had come in and completely dozed out every last piece of debris that would let a passerby know that a house had even been there. The car came to a stop right where he would have parked his truck. She exited her car and walked around to survey the land. While it was obvious that no one was there, she felt closer to him as she walked up the hill. Nina sat down on the cold ground where the porch would have been. Pulling off her gloves, she dropped them next to her and ran her fingers through the freshly moved dirt. Inexplicably, this let her feel like she was touching a part of him. “I wish you’d come back, Hawk. I know it’s selfish, but I need you.” Nina pulled her knees up and rested her head against them. Tears flowed freely as she sat in the sunny but cold weather.

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Chapter Twelve “Mason, I have to quit,” Nina announced as she walked into his apartment. She had just returned from her outing, and she had made her decision. “But I thought things were better. I mean, aren’t I doing a better job?” Mason shot up out of the chair he had been slouched in. “Yes, you are, and I appreciate it more than you can ever know. It’s me. I need a change of scenery, like the beach.” “We can take a vacation, or if you want to go by yourself, that’s fine, too. Please don’t leave. Just when I thought I had fixed all of my screwups.” He pled with her, but she wasn’t going to change her mind. “I’ll pay you more, but please, you’re the only one that can put up with me.” She cupped Mason’s jaw. He hadn’t been so caring in years, and the gesture warmed her. “Mason, there’s something that I need to tell you, but you have to swear that you’ll never tell another soul, especially Mom.” Mason arched one eyebrow. Nina had never confided in him about anything. “I have six weeks to live…” But she just couldn’t do it with a straight face as she burst into laughter. “You suck!” he scolded. “I know, I’m sorry, thank goodness you’re the actor and not me! No, really, I just think I need some time to look at my life. You have been great the last few weeks, and I appreciate it. But I’m going to go home for a while and see Mom. I’m not sure what I’m going to tell her.”

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“You can just tell her that I was being an arrogant ass, and she’ll believe that. Don’t tell her anything that you don’t want to. All I’ve told her since the accident was that you wrecked your car. I didn’t tell her about the explosion and the FBI, and I won’t. But, Nina, please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.” Nina smiled at the love that he showed her now. “Thanks, big brother.” Nina reached out and hugged him. She had on heels that made her two inches taller than him. “You’re welcome, but don’t let anyone see you standing next to me, or the next thing you know, there will be articles about how short I am.” Nina laughed at his attempted humor as she went to pack. **** Nina opened the door to the store and walked in. The sound of the bell that hung above the door rang, brought back a lot of memories from her childhood. “I’ll be right with you,” called out the familiar voice of her mother. Nina didn’t reply. She just walked in and leaned against the front counter. “What can I do for you today?” her mother asked before she saw her. “Oh, my God! What are you doing here?” She squealed as she ran to Nina and hugged her. “I need a job if you need the help.” Daniels’ Hardware had been in business for over forty years. It had belonged to Nina’s grandfather and then to her father. Now it belonged to the Daniels’ women.

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Chapter Thirteen Hawk lay on the ground, and every breath brought great pain. He had made it out the front door before the bomb detonated, and he was thrust across the road into a field. It was only about five minutes after Nina had been taken away to the sheriff’s department that they had found him, and shortly after that, Byron appeared. Byron was sore and weary, but otherwise unharmed. Hawk, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well. He had shrapnel in his back and arms that would require surgery to remove, as well as a number of broken bones. “Hawk, can you hear me?” Hennessy asked. “Took you long enough,” he choked out. “For God’s sake, man, you had me scared. That lady you had here is going to be so glad that you’re alive.” “Nina, she’s safe?” Hawk whispered as they examined him for injuries other than the obvious. “She’s fine. She’s on her way to the sheriff’s department to make her statement, and then, we’re sending her home.” Hawk hurt so bad right then, but the pain temporarily faded away as he was thankful that she was safe. “Don’t tell her anything about me.” Hennessy nodded. “Now I hope you’re going to shut up so we can get you to a hospital.” While he was beat up badly, he was coherent enough to decide that he didn’t want her to know that he was alive until he was able to assess himself. Hawk didn’t want her worrying about him, especially

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if he was by chance fatally wounded. The last thing that he wanted to do was to have her watch him die. Knowing that she was safe was enough for him. One week passed, and Hawk got to the point that he was able to remain conscious for more than a few minutes at a time. The doctors had him heavily sedated due to the extreme nature of his injuries. Hawk’s right arm was broken, as well as his jaw, plus he had a countless number of wounds in his back. Hennessy had told him at one point that he had enough debris from the house and the bomb in his back to make a tricycle. “Hello, there. How are you feeling?” a man’s voice asked. Hawk opened his eyes to see the doctor standing in front of him. “Sleepy, hungry, and pissed off.” He was at their mercy, and he knew he had no choice but to stay. Hawk was able to say a few words at a time without major pain, as the surgeon had decided that his broken jaw was so bad that wiring it wouldn’t be sufficient for the multiple breaks. Surprisingly, the surgery, while extensive, actually would allow him to eat sooner than if his mouth were wired shut. Hawk was supposed to be trying some soft foods today and was looking forward to it. He was able to get some pudding down as well as some soup. The next few days went the same. By the end of the second week, he was able to actually chew some soft things like cheese. But when he got his supper one evening, he lost his appetite and sent it back. Chicken and dumplings. Hawk took one look at the food and almost lost it. Fighting back tears, he pressed the call button and asked the nurse to take the tray away. It didn’t do any good, though, as the meal had brought back every memory of Nina. How could something as simple as the memory of a meal leave him with his heart feeling like it was breaking? It made him ache for her touch, wishing that he could just hold her again.

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Stupidly, he fought his need for her. While he’d felt convinced that he wanted to stay with Nina for the rest of his life before the incident, Hawk refused himself that possibility now. He didn’t belong with her, and he was going to keep it that way. She belonged to a different class of people. Nina wouldn’t want him if he was broken and beaten anyway. Later that week when Hennessy visited him, he all but begged Hawk to let him tell Nina where he was. “Look, you asshole, the woman has called three times this week. She is dying to know if we’ve determined that the bits and pieces we picked up were you or not. I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn. It’s obvious that you two have something.” “Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s better off without me, so the next time she calls just tell her that I’m dead, all right?” Hawk was irate at the repeated conversation. “Fine, I’ll get rid of her, but if you ask me, you’re making a mistake. You just go ahead and lie there being miserable. If you’re not going to be with her, do you mind if I take a stab at it? She is smoking hot, and it would be nice to have a woman that’s almost the same height. And those legs…” “You stay the fuck away from her!” Hawk yelled at him and started to get up. “Whoa! I knew it.” Hennessy pushed Hawk back against the bed. “Knew what?” Hawk snapped. “You love her, don’t you?” “You stay away from her!” Hawk growled as he turned his head away from him. “I was just checking. I would have bet my left nut that you were more than just acquaintances. Good to know that I was right.” Hennessy chuckled. Hawk glared at him and sat back in the bed. “So why won’t you let me tell her that you’re alive? She wants to be with you, and you need her. Any fool can see that.”

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“She’s better off without me. I almost got her killed, and she doesn’t need to be put at risk like that again.” Hawk’s voice trailed off as he turned away from Hennessy. “Oh. Well, I’ll tell you what. I’ll get rid of her, but if you change your mind, you let me know. We’re keeping tabs on her anyway. Did you know her brother is Mason Daniels?” “Yes, and if he does anything to hurt her again, I will kill him.” Hawk was definitely not up for a normal conversation. “Okay, well, I think that’s my cue to leave. If you need anything, you know my number, so please definitely hesitate to call.” Hennessy was being sarcastic, but it wasn’t very masculine of them to be mushy. Hennessy left him lying there alone. Hawk just couldn’t let her into his life. Not when she could have been the one lying in the bed with all of these injuries, or worse yet, she could have been killed. Over the next few weeks, he stuck by this viewpoint while he recovered. He ignored every twitch his heart would make at the mere thought of Nina. **** While sitting in his truck, a new one, with Byron by his side, he looked at where his house had been and remembered the last few years there. He had many memories, but the ones that were more prominent than others were the few days that he had shared with Nina. Five days had changed his entire life, and he couldn’t exactly deny it. Yes, she had invaded his house and even his wolf had taken to her, but what she had really done was invade his heart. Hawk slid out of the cab of the truck and walked to where the steps used to be and sat down. His arm was still in a cast and would be for a few more weeks. He looked down at it and felt grateful that the cast was the only obvious marking of his injuries. The scar on his face from the surgery was healing nicely and would be almost invisible in just a few more weeks.

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As he sat there thinking of Nina, a gust of wind swirled around him, bringing up the faintest scent of vanilla. Jerking his head, he looked around to see where the scent could have possibly come from. Something lying on the ground just a few feet away caught his eye. There lay a pair of ivory leather gloves. He picked them up, and immediately, the scent overtook him again. Only one person had that scent. They were Nina’s, and she had been there not very long ago, maybe even that day. Why would she have been there? It could only mean that she was still looking for him, and suddenly, his restrained heart beat wildly. He wanted to see her. The urge was more overpowering than he could imagine. He had fought this back for weeks, and suddenly, just because of a scent, he couldn’t control it. His face was scarred, his body worse yet, but now none of that mattered. He needed to see her, and the urge had him in his truck before he even realized it. Hawk threw the gloves down on the seat of the truck, and Byron immediately sniffed at them and started whining. “I know, boy, let’s go see if we can find her.” He started the truck and drove to the city. During his time at the hospital, he had refused to contemplate seeing her because it would just be too hard. So he would have to go to the office and hope that Hennessy would help him. Upon his arrival, he was greeted by numerous agents that he had worked with. They all knew him and what he’d just recovered from. “Hey,” Hawk said quietly as he knocked on Hennessy’s office door. “You look like an ad for a medical supply store. What are you doing here?” Hennessy popped out of his chair and quickly walked over to Hawk, extending his arm. Hawk shook hands with him and smiled. He knew he looked more like the walking dead than someone that was almost done healing. “I need your help, if the offer’s still open, that is.”

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“Of course, what’s up?” Hennessy held his arm out for Hawk to sit down, shutting the door behind them. “Do you have her address?” Hawk wasn’t ever one to beat around the bush, and now was definitely not an exception. “Aaah, I see. Yes, I do have the address.” Hennessy sat back down in his chair behind the plain brown desk and opened the top left drawer. His eyes still on Hawk, he pulled out a book and opened it. As he scribbled what Hawk assumed to be Nina’s address on a piece of paper, he continued. “So you give up, do you?” “Yeah, you could put it that way, I guess. She at least deserves to know the truth, and then we’ll have to just go from there.” “Here you go.” Hennessy handed over the piece of paper. Hawk accepted it and stared at it for a minute. The address was the only thing that had kept him from trying to see her. He knew now that if he had been in possession of this information at any time during the last few weeks he would have gone after her. Hawk had just used the lack of this information as another excuse to avoid finding her. Now, though, Hawk wasn’t wasting any time as he thanked Hennessy and left. Feeling anxious and impatient, Hawk broke numerous speed limits on his way to her apartment. Fortunately, all of the roads were clear of winter weather, and there were no accidents. But it still took him thirty minutes to get there from the office, so by the time he arrived he had himself worked up into a bundle of nerves. “Stay,” he commanded of Byron as he got out of his truck, taking the gloves with him. While the precipitation was gone, the temperatures were still frigid, and the winter winds whipped around him. If he hadn’t been so focused on Nina, he might have cared. Hawk walked up to the entrance of the building and took a deep breath just before he pulled the door back so that he could go inside. The cold air stabbed into his lungs like a thousand needles, but still he ignored the pain.

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Hawk walked through the lobby that was decorated with multicolored squares of carpet on the floors and tan walls. Just about twenty feet inside the doorway were the elevators. As he approached, he looked at the piece of paper that he carried. The apartment was 7B, and he couldn’t wait to get there. Luckily, the doors opened just as he was contemplating the stairs. He would only be going to the second floor. The doors closed behind him, and instantly, he thought of her face again. His heart pounded erratically as he imagined her reaching out to touch him. Then the chime sounded, and the door opened. Hawk stepped off of the elevator and looked at the sign in front of him indicating that her apartment would be to the left. Taking just a few steps down the hallway, he found himself standing in front of 7B. Raising his fist so that he could knock on the door, something made him hesitate. What if I’m too damaged for her? What if she doesn’t want me? Hawk snapped himself out of the negative what-ifs and into reality. What if she really did want him? He knocked hard on the door three times and waited. Seconds passed, and he grew impatient, but just as he was about to knock again, he could hear the sound of the lock being unchained and the dead bolt twisted. Slowly, the door came back, and there stood a man. “Can I help you?” Somewhat frozen by surprise, Hawk stood there. But then, realizing that this just might be her brother or a friend, he spoke. “Is Nina here?” God, please let her be here. “Who?” “Nina Daniels, she lives here.” “Oh, Daniels. Well, she just moved out two days ago. I’m walking it for the landlord to see if she gets her deposit back or not.” “I don’t suppose you know where she moved to?”

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“If I did, I couldn’t say,” the man said smugly. His eyes narrowed as he arched one brow. Hawk knew that look. While his arm in a sling and eye patch gave him a thuggish appearance, he knew one way to get an answer that didn’t involve violence. “Will this help?” Hawk pulled a folded hundred-dollar bill from his pocket. The man accepted the bill and immediately responded. “Is she in some kind of trouble?” “No, not at all, I just wanted to return these.” He pulled the gloves from under his right arm where he had tucked them. The man stared at them momentarily before he spoke. “I don’t think she’ll need them anymore. She said something about Mississippi. I don’t know who or what is there, but that’s where she was going. Sorry, don’t know what city.” “Okay, thank you.” His heart sank. This was devastating. He had finally gotten up the nerve to go to her and now she was gone. Hawk had two choices. He could either call Hennessy and have him find out where in Mississippi she had gone or he could leave it be. Climbing back into his truck, he drove to the house he had just rented a few days earlier. It was small, but since he was alone, it didn’t matter. He was still debating in his mind whether to call Hennessy or not. If he was going to put forth the effort and she didn’t want him, it would kill him. Hawk was still supposed to have another surgery on his jaw to remove fragments that hadn’t healed properly, and he didn’t like the idea of her being around while he hurt. Even he knew that he was a pain in the ass if he was hurt. Strictly a male ego problem that he had always had, he never wanted anyone around when he was hurt or sick. As he turned a corner, someone honked their horn, startling him. Hawk looked up to realize that he had pulled out in front of another car when his light was red. This is crazy. I can’t keep thinking about her. She doesn’t want me. She left, after all. He waved to the driver of the other car, not that it would be accepted as an apology. Drivers in Chicago were very well

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known for their honking abilities and the ever popular middle finger gesture, which was one reason that Hawk had lived in a more isolated area. He didn’t like the fast-paced city life, but didn’t want to be so far in the woods that he wasn’t a part of the civilized world. Sighing as he continued on his way home, he had decided to let her go, for now. It had seemed easy to do at the moment, being the stubborn person that he was, but only temporarily. Every night for the next week, he had dreams of Nina. Not all of them were good, though, which greatly disturbed him. The dream, or nightmare rather, that had consumed him for several days involved Nina in another car accident. Every time he would close his eyes, he would see her car burning, and she was trapped inside. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her out. Her screams echoed through his memory as he watched her die three nights in a row. After the third night, Hawk woke up in a sweat, infuriated that the images of her death haunted him. Mad and breathing erratically, he grabbed the lamp from the bedside table and threw it as hard as he could across the room. The electrical cord was secured behind the table, and it ripped right out of the base of the lamp from the sudden jerk. Byron barked twice at the crash. “Oh, shut up,” Hawk snapped at the wolf. Byron sat in the corner, staring at his master. A few sparks popped from the frayed wires that were now exposed. Hawk jumped up and shoved the table aside with a swift thrust and pulled the cord from the wall before anything caught fire. The table had toppled over, the lamp was broken, and Hawk was pissed. The incident had drawn him from his bed quickly, and now that the reality of the dream sank in again, Hawk slumped to the floor. Pressing his hands against his forehead, he growled at the images that were seemingly burned into his memory.

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“She won’t want me,” he mumbled. Hawk was still trying to convince himself that Nina was better off without him and that she wouldn’t want him since he was so scarred now. But he was being stubborn and exceedingly obtuse, and deep down, he knew it. Nina had wanted him the way he was when they were at his house, or was it just because she felt sorry for him? With every positive thought he had, at least one conflicting theory would suck the hope right out of him. He still hadn’t figured it out, either. Why was he fighting himself on this issue so much? Each time that he remembered being with Nina, his body would harden with desire. Hawk’s dick was so hard that it hurt. The way she wrapped herself around him was enough to make him weak in the knees, but at the same time, he felt more energized when he was near her. It was as if Nina’s life source had been linked to his, and now that she was gone, he was tired and empty. Hawk refused to acknowledge that they were destined to be together and got up to take a shower. A very, very cold shower.

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Chapter Fourteen February 14, 2010 Valentine’s Day Nina ran to the bathroom for the fourth time to vomit. Her stomach was unsettled, and she wasn’t sure if it was some type of flu or just nerves. Earlier in the day, Nina had gone to the store to pick up a few things like shampoo and laundry soap when she inadvertently walked down an adjacent aisle that was completely covered in red and white. It was then that it hit her like a blow to the gut. It was Valentine’s Day. While Valentine’s Day had never, ever bothered her before in years past, this time it tore through her heart. Nina knew immediately as she walked through the aisle filled with red hearts and teddy bears that she should be with Hawk. It wasn’t because she wanted a gift or even to give one. It was the fact that this was Valentine’s Day, and she wanted to be with the man that she loved. Six weeks had gone by since the last time that she had seen him alive, and it wasn’t getting any easier for her. Each day she thought of Hawk, his smile, his touch, but most of all, how he made her feel. No man had ever made her feel as special as he did. Her heart was whole when she was with him, but not knowing if he was dead or alive left a void inside her. Wanting more than anything in the world to know where he was, she tried to channel her energy on reality each day. It took every ounce of self-control that she had not to break down and start crying right there and then. Slowly, Nina moved toward the front of the store to pay, but every step left her feeling hollow and

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lonelier than she had been when she’d gotten there. Her body actually trembled at the emptiness inside her soul. Standing at the checkout line, Nina suddenly got a twinge in her stomach that had her dropping everything on the nearest shelf and running for the restroom. Once she had been able to get herself composed enough, she went to work, where she got sick again a couple of hours later. Her mother commented on her looking so pale and tried to send her home, but Nina thought it would pass. But now that she seemed to be spending more time in the bathroom than at the front of the store working, she decided she would go home to her apartment and take a hot bath to try and relax. Nina made it into the afternoon before she left work, and now, as she sat in the tub of hot water, evening approached. “Stupid holiday,” she mumbled to herself. “It must have been created by some greedy marketing genius that got rich off candy and flowers.” Nina sank back into the water until she was lying on her back with her legs bent, her knees protruding. Her stomach was still a bit shaky, but it was calming quickly as she lay in the water. All of her muscles were steadying. Closing her eyes, Nina let the effects of the hot water take over. She moved her arms ever so slightly, causing small waves to bounce back and forth in the tub. And even though she was mellowing out, her mind was still focused on Hawk. What she wouldn’t give to touch him one more time and to feel the two days’ worth of stubble on his face tickle her palm or to feel the warmth of his body next to hers. In her mind there would never be anything or anyone that could ever replace him. She soaked until the water turned cold, then Nina tried to decide if she could eat or not. Finally deciding on crackers and milk to start, she nestled on the sofa and turned on the TV. The crackers and milk didn’t seem to irritate her stomach, but she didn’t want to push it. So ignoring her hunger, she dozed off, thinking of Hawk.

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Nina moaned at the touch of his thumb against her lips, parting them slightly as Hawk slipped it into her mouth. She licked the pad of it before he pulled it back to replace it with his lips. The touch of his mouth against hers sent a wave of energy surging through her as if all the nerve endings in her body were live wires. She had longed for this feeling again for nearly two months. Hawk moved his body against hers, letting his weight press down on her. She had missed this, too. In fact, there wasn’t a single thing that she didn’t miss about him, even the way that he’d barked at her occasionally when they first met. “Nina, I love you.” But his voice was sad and faint as if he weren’t really there, and when she opened her eyes to soothe him, he wasn’t. It had been another dream. It was the only way that she would see Hawk each night. Some nights were a replay of the explosion, some being more vivid than others as she would see him die a violent and horrible death. But most were tender nights of the passion that they shared. Eyes opened wide, Nina surveyed her surroundings, only to find that she was in her small one-bedroom apartment. It was on the second floor of the Bridgewater Park Apartments and was quite nice for a single-room apartment. She had a walk-in closet and all of the normal amenities like dishwasher and laundry hookups as well as a pool and clubhouse, too. She sighed and pushed herself up from the couch, knowing that she might get sick again. Cautious, Nina waited, and fortunately the queasiness seemed to be gone, so she decided maybe it was time to try something with a little more substance to it for supper. While she heated soup up, she called her mom, reporting her current health update. Nina knew that if she didn’t, her mother would call her. That task aside and her soup ready, she ventured out to the

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small balcony overlooking the pool. The temperature was averaging a high of about sixty-two degrees this time of year, so in the evening it had only dropped to fifty-five. Nina sat on the plastic lounge chair that she had bought just a few days earlier and started sipping at the soup. It was chicken noodle, which was quite suitable for her ailing stomach. Once she had eaten to the point that she wasn’t feeling quite so famished, she sat her bowl down and just watched the sky. Ribbons of blue, purple, and pink rippled across the sky as the sun set. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets that she had seen in ages. Come to think of it, she didn’t even know when the last time was that she watched the sun set, which made her sad and feel even more alone. “Hawk, I wish you could see this.” The memories of him were stronger than they’d ever been. Closing her eyes, Nina pictured his face, every whisker, every scar, and his eyes, one blue and one a cloudy white. In just the few days that she’d known him, his image was forever engrained in her mind. No sooner had the words escaped her lips than a gust of wind blew across the balcony, sending a chill through her body. It didn’t take long for her to decide to go inside as the cool breeze shot through her again. Pushing the door back, Nina started to go in. “Have a good night, Valentine.” Hawk’s voice echoed from somewhere. Startled, Nina turned to look behind her, but there was nothing there. She looked back toward the east as if he might somehow appear before her. “I’m really starting to lose it.” Shaking her head, Nina went inside and crawled into bed. That night, she let all of her pent-up emotions out, crying herself to sleep. She had wished on repeated occasions that she had died that night with him, and this night was definitely one of those. ****

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Winter had passed, and on April thirteenth, it was finally springtime in Chicago. The sun was shining as Hawk stepped out of the hospital toward a cab, pulling his sunglasses on. Hawk carried his small bag to the waiting cab, and after instructing the driver of his destination, he headed back to his temporary home. He was still undecided about rebuilding. For some reason, he just didn’t feel that he would ever feel at home there again, but he retained the property just in case he changed his mind. The surgery on his jaw was less evasive than originally thought, which was great news. The loose fragments in his jaw were accessed by an incision made on the inside of his mouth, leaving him with only a few stitches. There was nothing else for him to do now except return home. Alone. The driver turned the cab at the corner of North Avenue, right into a traffic jam. As he sat waiting, Hawk looked out the window, watching people pass by on the sidewalk. Men and women walked back and forth on their way to whatever destination life had in store for them. Each day of the last few months had been a worse torture than anyone could have ever inflicted on him. Every moment of every single day, he would tell himself she didn’t want him and he didn’t need her. But it was all a lie, and he knew it. Keeping all of his true feelings bottled inside of him, he sat there yet again expending every ounce of energy he had not thinking of her. But purposely not thinking of her was to be thinking of her. It made no sense, but then again, nothing that he had done in the last four months had made sense. Shaking his head in frustration at his own madness, he looked out the window again. And then he saw her. He doubted his eyes at first and did a double take. It couldn’t be her. She’s not in Chicago anymore, unless she was

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visiting Mason. His heart beat erratically as the possibility of seeing Nina again consumed him. Walking eastwardly away from the cab with long, wavy, golden brown hair was a woman, and yes, she had to be six feet tall. Without another moment’s hesitation, Hawk reached for the door handle. “Hang on. I’ll be right back, and I’ll pay you double.” Hawk dropped a couple of bills on the man’s seat and bolted from the car. The pain in his mouth was nothing compared to his need to see her. “Nina!” he called as he walked toward the woman. Every part of his body trembled as he moved. Not sure if it was the anxiety or the effects of the surgery playing with him, Hawk closed in on her as he quickened his pace. He noticed that the build was right, the height right, and the hair color was definitely right. “Nina?” he said again as he finally got close enough that he could touch her if he dared. She turned to face him. “Were you talking to me?” “I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.” Hawk turned and headed back to the cab, completely devastated. His heart thumped differently. He realized now that he had wanted to see Nina more than anything. Even if she had slapped him or said she didn’t know him, it would have meant the world to him just to see her face again. Utterly depressed, Hawk sat in the backseat of the taxi staring down at the floor as the driver was finally able to proceed through traffic. “Your stop, sir.” Hawk didn’t speak a word as he opened his wallet and handed the man a hundred-dollar bill. Right now, Hawk didn’t care about anything but the fact that he was without Nina. Loneliness consumed him that night to the point that he could think of nothing else but Nina. Hawk went through the motions of preparing dinner for himself, just a simple sandwich, but food would not satisfy the hunger that burned inside him, and he knew it. Hawk

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sat the plate on the floor, and Byron was more than happy to eat the morsel. The emptiness inside him had grown to an intolerable void, and the only way Hawk knew to fill it would be if he were with Nina, wherever she might be. But right now, she was somewhere else in the country, not even in the same town. “I’m so screwed up.” Hawk walked back to the cabinet in the kitchen, but not to get food. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Not bothering with a glass, he unscrewed the lid, threw it in the sink, and took a long, slow draft. The straight whiskey burned the sutured cut in his mouth, causing him to wince. He’d been given explicit instructions not to have any alcohol with the painkillers they had given him, but since when did he listen to orders? Another swig went down as he dropped down on the couch. Hawk turned on the television that hung on the wall in front of him. While it wasn’t normal for him to watch it, he had bought it since he was still recovering from his injuries and had nothing else to occupy his time. He had grown accustomed to the nightly lineup of crap from each station. So much so that he usually tuned in to watch reruns of The Simpsons. It made him laugh, and he was going to take whatever he could get that would ease his mind. However, at this moment, nothing distracted him from the solitude. Why did she have to wreck her car? Why did I have to find her? Why did I have to fall in love with her? Yes, he was in love with her, and everything had happened for a reason. It was fate, and he knew it. They were meant to be together, at least for those days, and while he hated the fact that Spencer had interrupted their time, it, too, had been fate. Hawk drank a substantial amount of whiskey before he put the bottle down on the floor and passed out slumped over the arm of the couch. When he woke, morning brought pain that he thought just might kill him. His head throbbed from the hangover as well as the surgery

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that he had just had. Rolling off the couch onto the floor, Hawk knew that a hot shower might help him wake up, but he wasn’t sure if he could even stand. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the floor, only to realize that the room was spinning, and before he went crashing down, he managed to sit on the couch. There he sat for an indefinite amount of time before he was brave enough to get to the bathroom and shower. Once he had showered, Hawk swallowed two painkillers that he had been given and chased them down with a gulp of orange juice, straight from the jug. The acid in the juice burned his mouth as if he had lit off a firecracker inside it. “Shit!” He dropped the jug in the sink and shook his head. He knew better than to act like this, but he had tried to lose himself in the alcohol for the night, which he had accomplished. But he was paying for his self-induced short-term memory loss, forgetting that he had just had surgery on his mouth. There was no excuse for being stupid and careless. Well, none except for the fact that he knew he was thinking of one thing, rather one person, and nothing else. Nina. After dragging himself back into the living room, he sat and thought. Nina had come into his life like a tornado, and while he was abrasive and harsh with her, she wanted him. She wanted him like no other woman had. Hawk had spent his entire adult life without any serious relationship because of work. But now, all that occupied his mind was the sight and scent and the touch, oh, yes, the touch, of Nina Daniels. What have I done? Hawk dropped his head into his hands, shoving his fingers into his hair. “What do I do now?” And when he looked up from his own fists that had been balled up against his face, he saw his cell phone lying on the coffee table.

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**** Hawk shook his head stepping off of the elevator onto the thirtieth floor of the posh hotel. It was insane, he thought, to spend in excess of five-thousand dollars on a hotel room, but people paid it. While waiting at the front desk, he had sucked in a deep breath and instantly transformed his face into that of someone who meant business. It was the same expression he used when he was working. Firm, unyielding, and cold. This was the last thing that he wanted to do, and in his mind, this confrontation was going to be painful, but it was necessary. He’d guessed the woman behind the desk was surprised because of the sudden change in her expression as she hung up the phone. “They asked that I send you up. I’ll get the key and take you up myself, sir.” “Thank you.” Hawk nodded to the woman as she led him to the elevators. He watched as she inserted the key and turned it to take them to the Chairman Suite. As they rode in silence, Hawk wished that this was over with. Nina had told him enough about Mason that he already disliked him even though they hadn’t met yet. The door opened, and to Hawk’s surprise, there stood Mason Daniels in jeans and a T-shirt. No fancy clothes, no bodyguards to greet him and pat him down, no assistant to quiz him, just the man himself. Hawk was surprised by this since Nina had mentioned that he was so self-centered and high maintenance. Freezing momentarily as he looked down at the man, he saw that Nina had been right. She’d told him that he would easily be able to intimidate Mason. Now he saw why. Mason was right at six feet tall, maybe a hair shorter, and while he was muscular, his frame was small and lean. Mason looked up at Hawk, and Hawk saw him swallow hard. He should put him at ease, but he wasn’t exactly there to become best friends.

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“Mr. Daniels, I’m Hawk Richardson, FBI.” Hawk lied about his retired state just to continue with the intimidation. “Please come in.” Mason extended his arm and shook hands with Hawk. Hawk stepped inside the luxurious room and scanned it. There was a full bar and furniture that had to cost as much as his house. Then, through the open door to the bedroom, he saw a man and woman talking. Nothing out of the ordinary. “What can I do for you, Mr. Richardson?” Mason asked as he showed Hawk to the couch. Hawk sat down and let out a sigh as Mason sat on the chair perpendicular to him. He had planned to tell Mason that he needed to find Nina for additional questioning, but he had a change of heart. Nina wouldn’t want him to lie to Mason. “I need to find Nina, and I was hoping you could help me.” “And what do you need Nina for? I’m not sure that she wants to be found.” Hawk noted the slight quiver in his voice, even though he tried to remain stoic, but why? Nina had said that Mason usually didn’t care what happened to her, but if Hawk was right, he was actually trying to protect her. “Well, I need to tell her that I love her.” Mason’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “So you’re the one?” “I’m not a hundred percent sure of what you mean, but probably, yes.” Hawk wondered if Mason was going to be difficult about this. Nina had talked about him being such a jerk to her, and he was contemplating beating her address out of him if need be. Mason’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Hawk. Leaning forward, he spoke. “You’re the reason she cried for weeks. Do you realize I would see her crying randomly for no apparent reason? Nina never thought I knew, but I did. It killed me to see her that way and for what?” “I can explain—” “No!” Mason rose in front of Hawk. Hawk noticed that the two people in the other room were now standing in the doorway watching.

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“I’m an expert at being an asshole, and I fully admit that I treated Nina like shit.” Mason’s voice quieted as he continued. “By some miracle, she forgave me, and I’m going to tell you right now there are no explanations or excuses that can take back what you did to her. You don’t deserve her.” Mason stopped his tirade and sat back down in the posh chair. Hawk was absolutely speechless. His anger had dissipated, and now all he felt was sadness. Mason was right. He didn’t deserve her, but he wanted her to tell him that, not her brother. And if she did reject him he could only hope that he could beg for forgiveness. “The day that I picked Nina up at the sheriff’s office, she was frantic with finding you.” Hawk nodded at Mason as he remembered that day all too well. He had been stupid to have Hennessy lie about his death, but he couldn’t take it back. It was too late. “Why didn’t you ever let her know where you were, that you were alive? I mean, she swore me to absolute secrecy regarding any and all information about you, and I still don’t understand.” “I don’t have an answer to that, Mr. Daniels. All I know is that I’m an idiot, and I can only hope that it’s not too late. I love her more than my own life and want to spend the rest of my life making it up to her if she’ll let me. You’re right, I don’t deserve her, but I need to tell her how I feel and let her decide.” He could only hope that Mason would give him the chance. “If there’s one thing I know about Nina, it’s that she absolutely hates being taken for granted.” He paused as he looked at Hawk. “But! She would hate me if I didn’t tell you where she was.” Hawk sighed with relief as Mason told him where Nina lived and even where she worked. He thanked Mason before he hastily left the hotel. He had to find the fastest way to get to her.

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Chapter Fifteen April 26, 2010 Biloxi, Mississippi Nina woke gasping for air. She felt as if something weighed heavily on her chest as her heart pounded hard, seemingly in her throat. Sweat dripped from her face, too, while she pushed herself upright in the bed. Realizing that she was safe in her own bed, the nightmare that had awakened her replayed in her mind again, just as it had countless times during the last few months. While a nightmare is defined typically as a bad dream that is frightening or upsetting, this was more than a bad dream, as each time she saw it, she was actually reliving the night Hawk disappeared. While the house had exploded and burned with such force that shook everything within five square miles, Nina hadn’t given up hope that Hawk might have survived. Something inside her had nagged her almost every minute of every day telling her that he was alive even though there was no proof of it. It drove her crazy that no one at the FBI’s office would confirm or deny that he was alive. Nina wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and slowly got out of bed and headed for her shower. The last week had been more difficult for her than even the first few weeks after the explosion. While her heart felt that he was still alive, her mind kept telling her the reality of the situation was that he was dead. “God, please watch over him,” she whispered. Nina had spoken this short prayer daily. Of course, she hoped that he would walk

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through her door at any moment, but he wouldn’t know where she was if he was alive. Tears pooled at the edges of her eyes until they spilled over, running down her cheeks. The hot water from the shower slid over her, and the tears blended in. She just couldn’t bear the thought of him truly being gone, so she once again refused to accept the possibility and finished her shower. Nina dressed and headed to work. The morning passed quickly with an influx of customers that day. So she was quite ready for lunch as noon rolled around. “Mom, we need to order more three-eighths-inch dowel rods,” Nina called out to her mother. “Oh, and we need more of those new screwdrivers, you know, the pink ones. We’re out already!” She hid in her work as she had for the last few months, ignoring the nagging feeling inside that told her he must be alive. She just didn’t know where. “Okay, we’ll put the orders in tomorrow with all of the others.” Nina heard what her mom had said and rolled her eyes as she walked back to the office. Poking her head in the door, she saw her mom sitting at the desk with her reading glasses on, but she was peering over the top of them. “Mom, you can type the items in now. That’s part of the software. You can add things every day, and then whenever you want to submit it, you can. You can order every day or once or twice a week.” “I know, I know. It’s just hard to break old habits, I guess.” “Mom, this should be old habit by now. It’s been almost three months since we got the new computer.” Nina sneered as she whipped around to go back to the front counter. The store kept her busy, and occasionally, it had even been fun. Definitely, quite the change to working for Mason, but there was still something missing from her life, and she knew what it was. Hawk. But he was gone, and she didn’t even know the extent of how gone he was. If he had survived he hadn’t come to her and she didn’t understand why.

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The thoughts saddened her, but she knew that she had something to live for that mattered more than her loneliness. So she discarded her forlorn thoughts and went back to work. It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon, and business had tapered off. Being the slower part of the day now, Nina decided she would sort the nuts and bolts. It was tedious work, but she didn’t mind because it gave her something to do to pass the afternoon. Sitting on the floor in a cross-legged position, wearing her red and blue oversized smock, Nina surrounded herself with the small plastic trays of nuts and bolts, making sure that each one was back in its correct home. Customers would pick up one size and, realizing that it was too small or too large, inevitably put them back in the wrong tray. She went through these once a week, sometimes more frequently if she had time. The old bell rang as someone entered the store. “I’ll be right with you!” she called out as she quickly shoved some of the trays back in their slots. Nina rolled to her knees and pushed herself up. The sun shone through the glass windows brightly as the afternoon passed by, and she could barely see the silhouettes of the racks by the front door, let alone a person standing there. Blinded by the sun and not able to see if someone was really there or not, she wondered if she had imagined the sound. Then something bumped her leg. Startled, she jumped as she looked down to see a large black and gray wolf standing by her side. Nina dropped to her knees and stared at Byron, eye to eye. Her pulse throbbed through her body, making her shake. Tears welled up in her eyes instantly. After all this time there was no way this was real. She had to be dreaming. Maybe she had fallen asleep after lunch, but if it was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up. “Where is he, boy?” she whispered hoarsely as she ran her fingers through his fur. The wolf whimpered before he licked her face. Nina’s blood burned through her body, and the tears were ready to spill over at any moment. Then the light around her grew darker, and she turned

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her head up to see the silhouette of a man. She knew it was Hawk even though the light beamed from behind him and left every detail of his face a mystery. “Hello, Nina.” That was all it took, and every tear inside her body poured out and down her cheeks. She didn’t cry out with sobs, just silent tears. He was alive. “Hawk,” she said softly. Nina couldn’t believe that he was actually here in the hardware store in Mississippi, standing in front of her. Hawk reached his hand down for her to take, but she just stared at him. It took her a moment, but she snapped out of her trance and accepted his hand by placing hers in it. Hawk pulled her up. A groan slipped from her throat as she rose, and then she faced him. There he was. The man that she had been hoping was still alive. She only slightly noticed as he reached up and slipped his fingers into the locks of her hair. She saw a questioning look in his eyes and remembered that she had cut her hair. Then it all sank in as she stared at his face. He wore no eye patch. The scars remained, but both of his eyes were the same color now. That deep sapphire blue that she had grown to love of the left now also sparkled on the right. “You’re alive?” The question in Nina’s voice was heavy and she knew it. She had never given up hope that he was indeed alive, but also, she had tried to be realistic and had to accept that she might never see him again. With her fists clenched, she faced him and waited for him to say something. She half expected him to be an apparition or a product over her overactive imagination. “Yes, I’m alive. Nina, I’m sorry—” “You’re alive!” She sobbed and started beating her fists against his chest. If he was alive then what had taken him so long to find her? She had only thought of him every second of every day. Hawk stood there taking the beating, but after a few more punches, he pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her.

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“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m so sorry.” Nina had quit throwing punches at him, but she was crying loudly and uncontrollably. “You didn’t want to see me? I don’t understand,” she muttered between sobs. It wasn’t right for him to have let her think all these months that he was dead. “I’m sorry. It was for the best.” Then, completely unexpectedly, she laughed and laughed, louder and louder. Still she laughed as she watched his expressions change. “You’re not real. I get it now. You’re not real. This is all a dream. I either fell asleep after lunch or I slipped and hit my head, but there is no way that you are really standing here in my hardware store with Byron. It’s just not possible!” His eyes widened so much Nina thought they might pop out of their sockets. “I’m real, and I came here for you.” “Oh, that’s rich. Let me get my mom. She will want to meet my delusion,” Nina said. “Nina, it’s really me. Quit being so damn stubborn,” he barked. And with his harsh and slightly rude tone, she paused, suddenly grasping everything. He was real, and he was standing in front of her now. She wasn’t asleep. She couldn’t have dreamt up something this good. Without another word, Hawk placed his hands on her face and pulled her mouth toward his. Their lips met momentarily before he plundered her mouth with his. She had missed his taste for so many months. It was the only thing that had kept her sane, remembering his face, his body, and his taste. “Nina, I’m really here, and I want you. I need you. That is, if it’s not too late.” The words left his lips, and Nina opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “Nina?” Hawk asked with his normally deep baritone voice now as high pitched and squeaky as a prepubescent boy. “Hawk.” Gently, she placed one of her hands on his cheek and rubbed the whiskers on his jaw.

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Finally accepting his embrace, she’d started to reach her arms around his waist when a mild pain combined with a fluttering sensation went through her. “Whoa.” Nina squeezed his arm out of reflex to the sensation. “Oh, Nina, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” His face was white as a sheet as he looked at her in utter fear. “No. But your son did. Again.” The corners of Nina’s mouth curled upward. She pushed her smock aside to reveal the bulge in her tummy. Without hesitation she pulled one of Hawk’s hands to her stomach and held it there. After only a few seconds, there was a light thump, then another. Hawk stood there speechless. “My son?” Hawk gulped. “Yes. Do you remember when you said you were sorry because you didn’t have a Christmas present for me?” Nina remembered it was one of the last conversations they had, and she replayed every word of it frequently in her mind. He nodded, mouth gaping open. “Well, you did. We just didn’t know it. I know it’s a lot to take in, and if you don’t want to be part of it, I’ll understand.” Before Nina could ramble on with any other comment about how things would be okay if he left again, he took her mouth again. “Nina, I’m so sorry. I wish I had known. Can you ever forgive me?” He whispered his words as he moved his mouth from hers down to her neck. His hushed voice and his embrace filled her heart with warmth and hope now. Both were things that she had been missing and didn’t know if she would ever have again. The reality set in as she held on to Hawk, letting him kiss her neck and back up to her chin. “May I?” Dropping to both knees in front of her, Hawk placed his hands on her stomach. “Of course.” Nina smiled, still not quite sure she believed he was really here and wanted her and their baby.

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“I’m so sorry, Nina. I promise I will never hurt you again.” Hawk covered her stomach with his hands and the baby kept nudging as if it knew he were there. The ring of the bell interrupted their moment, but Nina was quick with her thoughts now as things were clearing up in her mind. “Mom! Um, I’m busy. Can you come out here?” Nina yelled before she looked back down at Hawk. He cradled her stomach in his hands as her mother approached. “Yeah, I’ll get the counter. Did you need help with anything?” Her mom eyed the pair as she addressed the customer. They said no, and she immediately darted to her daughter’s side. “Would you care to introduce me to the man who’s feeling you up?” Janice pulled her reading glasses off with two fingers and placed her hands on her hips. Nina knew this moment could be hostile considering how protective her mother was, but she wanted Hawk in her life and he might have some explaining to do to her mother. **** Hawk opened his eyes to see a woman that stood two inches shorter than Nina next to him. He instantly saw where Nina got her looks, as Mrs. Daniels was just a slightly older version of her daughter with the same porcelain smooth skin and beautiful face. As her eyes moved up and down, Hawk recognized the action. She was giving him the once-over and deservedly so. His mom had given him the same look upon occasion when he had done something wrong. Hawk jumped to his feet and extended his hand toward her. “Mrs. Daniels, I’m Hawk Richardson, and I came to ask your daughter to marry me.” Her jaw dropped but not as quickly as Nina’s did. “What?” the two women said in unison. Hawk smiled at Nina and then at her mother, but shifted his gaze back to Nina.

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“Will you marry me, Nina? I promise I’ll never have to leave you again. I’ve made sure of that, and we can live wherever you want. Besides, Byron missed you.” “Yes! Oh, yes, I will!” She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him like there was no tomorrow. Hawk pressed his lips to hers before he all but consumed her with his mouth. Both of them were now completely oblivious to their surroundings as they held each other. He whispered to her again and again how sorry he was. She whispered back that it was all right as tears flowed down her cheeks. “Um, I hate to break it up, but you’re going to scare off the customers.” Her mother stood there with one eyebrow arched. Nina giggled as Hawk loosened his hold on her. He slid his hand from her face down her arm until he was holding her hand. “I think I’ll take the afternoon off if that’s okay?” she said. Hawk smiled, knowing that he had a lot of making up to do, and he wanted to start right away. Mrs. Daniels nodded with a grin. “I’ll be right back.” Nina flittered off to the back office. “Hawk,” Mrs. Daniels started, “you need to know something. When Nina moved home, she told me it was because she and Mason had a big blowout and she quit working for him. But I knew there was something more to it. So when she finally told me she was pregnant two months ago, I tried to get her to tell me who the father was. She was so guarded about the information that she wouldn’t even tell me your name, much less anything about you. The point is, I know nothing about you, and Nina is smart, a lot smarter than her brother. But, if you so much as harm a hair on her head, you’ll need every soldier this country has to protect you.” Stoically, he listened as Hawk sensed the fear that she had for her daughter and didn’t doubt the sincerity of her threat. She would follow through with her threat to him without a doubt, but he had no intentions of ever leaving Nina, and he would never hurt her.

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“I would never let anyone harm her, including myself.” He had never meant anything more sincerely in his life than he did right then. He loved Nina with all of his heart. **** “What’s going on over here, an interrogation?” Nina accused, glaring at her mom as she joined them again. “Just getting some things straight,” her mother admitted. “Mom, please don’t give him the third degree. I’ll explain everything later, but right now, we have some catching up to do.” Nina slid her arm around his waist and inconspicuously grabbed his ass. Hawk jumped. Nina giggled at his reaction. How he had missed that. Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head. Suddenly, desire burned through her. She couldn’t wait to be alone with him. “Come,” Hawk ordered the wolf. The trio walked out the front of the store to the sidewalk. Standing on the sidewalk with Hawk and Byron next to her, Nina looked around, expecting to see his old blue truck. But it wasn’t anywhere in sight. “Do you have a car? I flew in, so I don’t exactly have one here,” Hawk asked. “Yes, my Jeep is over there.” She pointed to the parking lot at the side of the building and pulled him that way. Nina’s pulse still racing, she wasn’t sure where she even wanted to start with him. She had so many questions, but most of all, she wanted him to hold her, and she wanted to share with him about the baby. “This is a bit awkward since I’m on your territory, but do you have your own place here?” Hawk paused at the driver’s side of the old Jeep, opening the door for Nina. Swiftly, after securing it closed behind her, he darted to the passenger side with the wolf in tow.

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She nodded and started the car. Nina glanced over to him, still not able to believe that he was sitting in her car. She didn’t know where to start the conversation as they drove, but she had to hear his voice, no matter what he was saying. “Hey, by the way, how did you get Byron on the plane? Wouldn’t he have to have a collar and records and a crate?” A half smile came upon Hawk’s face. “If we were on a public airline, yes, but we were on a private jet.” Nina’s eyes widened. “A private jet?” “Don’t get too excited. It was a favor. I figured the director owed me that much.” As she drove, she periodically glanced back over at Hawk. He stared at her just as intently. “You look beautiful,” Hawk whispered. “Thank you, so do you.” Nina wanted to ask more questions, but she knew that there would be a lot of tears involved she wouldn’t be able to stop, so instead, she waited. Byron sat between them, nudging her arm. He had missed her, too. She ran her fingers over his head and scratch behind his ear before returning her hand to the steering wheel. Nina stared ahead. She was three minutes away from her apartment and wasn’t sure if she could wait that long to touch Hawk again, but somehow she managed. For four months, she had dreamt of this moment. It was the one thing that she wanted more than even life itself. An awkward silence filled the vehicle, and she worried that he might be changing his mind. After all, she’d just dumped a bombshell on him. They hadn’t talked about children, so she didn’t know if he was opposed to kids or not. But she reminded herself that he had already accepted the news with a marriage proposal. She couldn’t help but smile as she replayed what had just happened in the hardware store. “What?” Hawk asked, seemingly amused by her smile.

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Nina shook her head and placed the car into park. “Second floor. Number three.” Before she knew it, Hawk was at her door, pulling it open. He held out his hand for her, and she accepted it. Nina led him up the stairs to her apartment and unlocked the door, but before she could step in, Hawk stopped her. “Are you sure?” He questioned.. “Excuse me?” Nina squeaked. “You think that after four months of wondering if you were dead or alive that I’m letting you chicken out now?” Hawk opened his mouth to speak, but Nina pressed one finger against his lips, and he froze. “And if you think for one minute that you’re out of hot water for not letting me at least know that you weren’t dead, you’ve got another thing coming.” Her tone was firm but softened as she continued. “But for right now, you are going to come inside with me and get naked. And if you argue, I’m going to let the wolf sleep in the bed and make you sleep on the floor.” One corner of his mouth curved upward as she dropped her hand down to his, pulling him inside. Nina let go of his hand and immediately pulled her shoes off. Hawk mirrored her actions but kept his eyes on her. “I’ll be right back if you want to sit down on the couch.” He nodded and sat down before she turned and walked away. Strangely, she noted a reluctance in his behavior and couldn’t help but think that he might be worried about her leaving the room for even a moment. The truth was that she felt the same way. She hated being apart from him, but had had no say in the matter. She did have complete control over their current situation and decided she might take advantage of it. Feeling playful, she decided to tease him a bit. Nina reappeared wearing only her buttoned up shirt. She sat on the couch with her legs folded under her and she couldn’t help but notice that Hawk groaned as she sat next to him. Her own body buzzed with an electric current that had her wanting to strip his

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clothes from his body, and she could only guess that he might feel the same way. But first she had questions. “Now, I have questions, and you’re going to answer them. And if you don’t, then we’re going to have problems. Got it?” Nina stated forcefully. Hawk nodded and slid one hand over her leg until his hand rested on her hip, where his fingers lingered at the edge of her panties. “I don’t know where to start, but I guess I’ll go with the less complicated questions first. You’re alive, so where have you been?” “Well, after the incident at the house, I was in the hospital for a month. They kept me in hiding during that time. I made sure that someone was watching you for a few weeks before they left you alone.” He let out a sigh before he continued. “Nina, I was a fool and I am begging you to let me spend the rest of our lives making it up to you. I won’t ask you for your complete forgiveness today, but if you think that you just might be able to someday I-” “Stop,” Nina whispered. The touch of his hand against her bare skin was almost more than she could take. Suddenly, her desire for him took control, and instead of continuing with the questions she had prepared in her mind, she leaned over to kiss him. Knowing that he had to be rock hard, Nina slid her hand down over his jeans. His erection was as hard as she could have imagined, and she wondered if it hurt him to be bound in those pants as she continued to kiss him. His lips moved against hers, and it was as if they were kissing for the first time all over again. Nina’s breathing became ragged. Taking in his taste and his scent, the sensations overwhelmed her. “Oh, Hawk.” Nina felt safe in his embrace. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he shifted his body so that he faced her and then propped himself up on one knee. Their tongues slid against each other as their hands explored one another. Nina had wanted to ask him so many questions, but they had all but disappeared from her mind as his mouth consumed hers. But

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there was one that she wasn’t going to let go. Pushing him back, she spoke. “Hawk, what did you do to your eye?” Nina held her hand against the side of his face, cradling the old scars, and some new ones she noticed. Arching one brow, Hawk looked at her. “Corneal transplant.” “Can you see?” “Yes, I can see perfectly. I was lucky. The donor had perfect vision, but I have to wear a contact for the color.” Hawk pressed his lips back to hers, but she spoke as he tried to resume. “I hope you still have that eye patch,” Nina whispered against his mouth. Hawk pulled away slightly. “Why?” “Because I like it. It’s sexy.” He laughed heartily and leaned his mouth down to her ear. “I’m sorry that you’ve been alone all this time. I’m an asshole, and I don’t deserve you.” “Don’t you ever say that again. It was difficult, true, but you’re here now, and I love you. You are not an asshole. Now, if you don’t hurry up and take your clothes off, I might get all hormonal and start crying or throwing things.” Hawk growled at her and swiftly picked her up to carry her toward the door that she had disappeared into earlier. It was easy for him to carry Nina to the room since his body had healed, including his broken arm. “Don’t hurt yourself.” He didn’t answer her just yet. He waited until Nina was lying on the bed and he was next to her. “Look, this will sound absolutely sappy, but I’ve lived through so many things, including the recently broken arm, broken jaw, and eye surgery, that it will take more than me carrying your graceful body to hurt me. The only thing that can hurt now is losing you.”

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Nina lifted her hand to his face once again, and she understood. It did sound absolutely sappy, but she loved it. “I love you, Hawk.” “As I love you. Now, I believe that we left off right about here.” Crushing his mouth against hers, he slid his hands down her arm and slipped his hand between her legs. She parted them slightly, letting him caress her skin, and when he slid his fingers beneath her panties and beyond her folds, she whimpered. The absence of intimacy the last few months was going to heighten the experience, and she knew it, and the need to have him inside of her overwhelmed her to the point that she thought she would come with even the lightest of touches. But before she could feel that long desired sensation, Hawk paused. “Nina, what about the baby? I mean, can we?” “Of course we can.” During her first appointment with her doctor, she’d barely made it through the visit when he had told her that she could continue with normal sexual activities, but she fought back the tears, still not knowing if Hawk was alive or not. “You want to, don’t you?” **** “You have no idea,” he whispered. “Then shut up and make love to me.” Quickly, he jumped up and pulled his clothes off while Nina lay on the bed. She sat up and unbuttoned her shirt, revealing her slightly larger breasts bound by a bra and her orange bikini underwear. While Hawk noticed these things, what he liked the most was the rounded bump of a belly that she now had. She carried his child, and she had wanted to. So many questions went through his mind, but he was going to save them for later because right now all he wanted was to be inside of her.

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“Oh, my, you look good,” Nina said softly. She had shrugged out of her shirt and taken off her bra and underwear while he continued to undress. Nina lay back on the bed, waiting for him. Hawk crawled on the bed, hovering above her like a predator about to attack. “God, you’re gorgeous.” Slowly, he slid his hand across her stomach and back between her legs, pushing them apart so that he could see what he had craved for so long. Dipping his head down, he rubbed his face against the soft brown curls before taking her into his mouth. Cries of pleasure escaped her as he licked and teased her. Hawk’s body was more than prepared to have her, but he would wait until she was sated. He pushed one digit and then another, inside of her pussy, while his tongue flicked over her wet clit. She came in a moment that was pure elation as she cried out his name. Hawk pulled away, letting her body calm just slightly as he hovered above her, but just as she stopped trembling, he thrust himself inside of her again. Nina cried out again as his cock filled her completely. He could feel her body stretching to accommodate his shaft. The sensation of her hot, wet pussy wrapped around his made Hawk moan with pleasure from it. He couldn’t imagine anything that could feel better, and knowing that she loved him made it even better. Not wanting to let the moment end quite yet, though, Hawk held his breath and used every ounce of strength he had to refrain from thrusting into her faster. Instead, he slid his hands beneath her ass and lifted it towards him. As he penetrated her even deeper, Nina let out a moan that had her biting her lower lip. He knew she had another orgasm mounting within her, and he planned to wring every last cry from her that he could. “Hawk,” she murmured between shallow breaths. As he continued to press his body into hers, she met each of his thrusts with her own.

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Hawk couldn’t take it any longer as his cock slid into her wet sex again. Nina threw her arms around his shoulders when he leaned into her with another deep thrust. Her nails dug into his skin as she came again. He could feel each wave of her orgasm, and ultimately, her body sent the same energy through his own. Releasing inside of her, his body trembled before he collapsed on the bed beside her. “Oh, fuck.” Hawk’s breathing was ragged, and he couldn’t believe how stupid he had been to have pretended that she wouldn’t want him, or more so, that he didn’t absolutely need her. “I think we just did.” Nina giggled and turned on her side to face Hawk. He was lying on his back, eyes closed, smiling. “Yes, baby, we did, didn’t we.” Nina threw her arm over his chest. Hawk hoped that he pleased her and after a few moments passed, he rolled toward her, letting his hand rest against her belly. Smiling at each other, they lay there, content. A few moments passed as they calmed, and then, his whispered words crossed her ears. “How do you know it’s a boy?” Nina perked up at his question. Hawk had a million questions for her about the baby. “I had an ultrasound two days ago. Normally, they make you wait another couple weeks, but I paid for them to do it sooner.” “Why did you want to know so bad?” Hawk felt awful about missing these few months of the pregnancy. Hoping that Nina wouldn’t hold that against him, he wanted to know everything he could possibly need to know. Nina swallowed hard and then took a deep breath before she answered him. “Because I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Tears welled in Nina’s eyes at the admission. Hawk saw the anguish in her eyes and knew that he had caused it.

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“I’m sorry.” He pressed his hand against her cheek, holding it there. “It’s all right. You’re here now. Look, I wanted to know if it was a girl or a boy so that I could talk to it.” A smile spanned the width of Hawk’s face at the very thought of her talking to their child, whether he was there or not. “Did you have a name picked out yet?” She nodded. “Well, what is it?” “We can pick something together.” “Maybe, but what did you like?” Hawk was intrigued by the fact that she didn’t want to tell him. “Well, I kind of liked the name Fox.” Nina blushed at her admission. “Really. Hmm, I actually like it. Where did you come up with it?” Nina shook her head fervently, as she wasn’t going to give up the answer that he wanted. “Nina,” he scolded. “No, you’ll make fun of me.” She clamped her mouth shut as soon as the words were out, as she clearly decided she didn’t want to tell him. “I will not make fun of you. I don’t care if you plucked it from thin air or a TV show...” And then it hit him. It was from a TV show, and he knew right then that if he had to bet money on it, he knew which show. His eyes widened as he stared at her with a grin that said, oh, no, you didn’t. “Please tell me that it’s not from the X-Files.” Seemingly frozen, Nina stared back at him. “Yes.” “Not you, too! What? Are you going to name our daughter after Scully?”

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“No!” She slapped him on the stomach, and he flinched at the impact. “I’ll have you know that if it had been a girl, I was going to name her Rose after your mother.” Hawk gaped at the statement. She was actually going to name their daughter after his mother. But he hadn’t ever told her what his mother’s name was. That was the FBI agent coming out in him. “But I never told you her name.” “You aren’t the only one with sources,” she said smugly. But then she rolled her eyes at him. “The Internet has a plethora of information, silly.” “Oh! Well, I do like that, so maybe the next one will be a girl.” “You want more?” Nina was getting her answers now without even having to ask the questions. She had always thought a couple of kids would be just right. “I want as many as you want. Just as long as I get to stay with you, I don’t care if you want five or six children.” “You’re crazy if you think we’re having five kids!” And there they went again, play fighting and bantering with each other. They were perfect at it, too. And right now, that was all that the two of them had the strength for. Hawk scooted closer to Nina as she changed the topic back to his injuries. Nina listened intently as he told her about the final moments before Spencer detonated the bomb. Hawk had turned to run out the front door, making it to the porch when the bomb went off. Periodically while he spoke, Nina would caress his face or arms, she just wasn’t able to keep her hands off of him now that they were finally together. Hawk was lying on his back with his arms behind his head now, quite relaxed. **** Two months later

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Hawk packed the living room while Nina packed the kitchen. They were moving into their new house in three days. Hawk had bought them a house just a few miles away from the hardware store as they had decided to stay in Biloxi, at least for now. They agreed that, with a baby coming in less than three months, it would be a good idea to be near Janice and get all the help they could. Besides, Hawk was starting to like the hardware business. “What’s this?” Hawk said quietly as he picked up a book. It was hidden away behind some other books on the bookshelf. He recognized the cover immediately. It was a collection of poems, just like the one that he used to have. “I’ve got boxes ready whenever you want to move them,” Nina said as she appeared through the kitchen door. She froze at what he held. Hawk looked up at her, and the sad look in his eyes was enough to finish the job and push her over the edge. Tears flowed from her eyes as she remembered. “Where did you get this?” “At the bookstore.” “Nina, why did you buy it? What made you buy this book?” He pounded the book against his hand almost violently, trying to understand. She walked over to him and ran her fingers over the cover of the old book. He watched as a smile came across her face while she stared at it, and then she glanced back at him. “You told me to,” she whispered. “What?” “I was at the bookstore to get baby books and something told me to go over to the used book section. I had no idea what I was looking for, and then I heard your voice.” “You heard my voice?” Hawk was in complete shock, and he didn’t know what to think.

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“‘She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies.’ That’s what you said to me. I knew that I had heard it before but didn’t know where. And when I looked down, there on the table was this book. I opened it to the exact page of the poem.” He swallowed hard at the realization that he had indeed been in a bookstore in Chicago and saw a copy of this same book. Hawk had opened it and read those two lines to himself before he closed it and put it back on the shelf. While it had always reminded him of his mother, now it reminded him of Nina, too, and it hurt too much, so he didn’t buy it. A week later, he had decided that he did want it, but when he went back, it was gone. “‘And all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes.’ Nina, can you ever forgive me?” He tried to mask the pain in his voice, but he couldn’t and tears flowed down his cheeks. Once again, the guilt that he felt for leaving her haunted him. “There’s nothing to forgive.” Nina threw her arms around his neck. Hawk dipped his head to capture her mouth. She had forgiven him so easily, and he didn’t know how. It still amazed him even after all this time, and damn, how he loved her more than anything in the world. Nina pulled back from him.“I’ve been thinking, and I know it’s sappy, but I want to get married on December twenty-first unless you have something different in mind.” Her comment was completely off topic, and Hawk had no idea where it had come from. “Whatever you want, baby. Is there a particular reason, though?” Hawk cocked his head to the side. “It’s our anniversary. The day we met, and it’s perfect for our real anniversary if you don’t mind.” Nina looked at him with a stolid expression, waiting for his response. Hawk held her close while he caressed her cheek with the other hand. “It is, isn’t it?”

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One corner of his mouth curled up as he thought about that day. While it sent a slight chill over his body to think of what could have happened if he hadn’t been there to pull her from that car, it also warmed him. If he hadn’t pulled Nina from the creek bed, she could have died, or someone else might have found her and he would have never known what real love was. “It’s perfect,” he whispered as he grasped her jaw in his hand and pulled her mouth back to his. **** December 21, 2010 The light filtering in from the windows encircled Nina, giving the appearance that she glowed as Mason walked her up the aisle toward Hawk. Her hair had grown back out some and hung just past her shoulders. It sparkled with the light bouncing off of it. Letting out a deep breath, Hawk stood alongside the minister as he waited. She was even more beautiful than the day he had met her, and he didn’t want to share her with anyone. The service was to be small, and they had decided not to have a wedding party. No bridesmaids or maid of honor, no best man or ring bearers. They wanted their families there, but they wanted it simple. Hawk’s brothers were there because Nina had made sure of that. Mason was there alongside their mom, who held the baby. Several of Hawk’s friends from the bureau were there, too, including Hennessy. It was a small group, but the love in the room made it feel full. Hawk didn’t look at anyone else, though, as he only had his eyes trained on Nina as she approached him. She smiled at him in a way that burned through to his soul. Nina had waited anxiously these last few months to make the declaration of their love for one another official. As her due date for the baby approached in September, her emotions were wreaking havoc with her. She was ready to just go to

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the courthouse on any given day and get the wedding over with, but Hawk wouldn’t let her, as he knew how much she had wanted to get married on this day. In hindsight, she was grateful that he had been solid and steadfast for her. This date wasn’t just special to her, though. He now knew that he loved her from the day that he met her, he just didn’t know it, and that revelation made him the luckiest SOB on the planet. At least he thought it did. Nina wore a white, strapless gown that clung to the shape of her body in a way that made his cock hard instantly. She didn’t look like she had given birth to a nine-pound, twenty-three-inch-long baby boy three months earlier. To him, she looked like an angel. While he hadn’t worried about what childbirth would do to her body as long as she was healthy, he was amazed at how good she looked. And while he wasn’t a particularly religious man, Hawk was embarrassed that he had a raging hard-on while standing in the front of a church. Luckily for him, no one could see it with the black tux jacket he wore. Hawk accepted Nina’s hand into his, nodded once at Mason, and turned to the minister so that the ceremony could begin. Fox was fast asleep in his grandma’s arms, and they knew that he would be waking up for a meal soon, so they had purposely planned the service to be short. The minister began speaking, but Hawk wasn’t listening as he stared at Nina from the corner of his eye. His thoughts were still being generated from his groin more than his brain as he envisioned hiking the hem of her dress up enough so that he could sink himself into her until the pain was gone. Or there was the option of bending her over the pew and taking her from behind in a way that would definitely reserve him a place on the naughty list. Still focused on her body and the torment that he had to endure, Hawk didn’t notice that he was being spoken to until Nina hit him in the chest with the back of her hand.

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“Hey, wake up. You’re not getting cold feet on me now, are you?” Her tone was hushed as she tried to get his attention. “What? Oh! Sorry, yes, I do.” Hawk said the first thing that came to his mind even though he wasn’t sure what question had just been asked. Laughter erupted in the small sanctuary, and he realized that he was just about ten minutes ahead of schedule. Nina glared over at him with one brow arched as if she were waiting on him to explain himself. It was then that he remembered he was supposed to be repeating his vows. “Sorry,” he whispered as the minister started over again. Nina stared at him and he knew he would be in trouble later. This time, though, Hawk repeated his vows after the minister and Nina then took her turn. Within minutes, it was proclaimed that they were husband and wife. Without any nudging, Hawk grabbed Nina and pulled her against his body in a way that alarmed her. He devoured her mouth with his and wrapped one arm around her waist while the other was behind her neck, securing her there. Someone cleared their throat, and Nina’s cheeks turned crimson. “Oh, my,” Nina panted. Pushing herself away from Hawk enough to break their mouths, she couldn’t even breathe with the way that he held her. Cupping his jaw in her hand, Nina looked deeply into his eyes. There was something there that she didn’t understand, but then everyone applauded, and the march started for them to leave the front of the church. Following along, Nina walked next to Hawk as he led her back down the aisle. He didn’t have a scowl on his face, but he didn’t quite have a smile, either. They were on their way out the door to the waiting limousine and in a hurry. The wedding reception was being held at a hotel with a banquet room for dancing, and they would have food, as well. Once the evening wound down, her mother planned to

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keep Fox for the night so that Hawk and Nina could spend it alone together at the hotel. Hawk helped Nina into the back of the limo and then slid in next to her, and when the door was shut by the driver, she could ask him what was wrong. Barely able to get her mouth open, though, Hawk pounced. Thank goodness the windows were tinted and the privacy screen was up. His lips crushed hers, and his tongue spiked against hers, and the passion that emanated from him now was stronger than ever. His behavior was peculiar to say the least. Nina couldn’t take any more suspense and pushed him back. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Hawk sighed, and with one corner of his mouth quirked upward, he sucked in a breath. “You’ll be mad at me.” There was nothing in his tone to indicate how severe he was worried about her reaction, but her temper started to heat up. “Hawk, you better tell me what the hell is going on right now or I’m going to be really mad, no matter what it is,” she said sternly as she crossed her arms across her chest. “I warned you is all I can say,” he whispered as he leaned closer to her. But she noted the playfulness in his tone now. Narrowing her gaze at him, she waited. “Look, I was standing in the front of that church, and I could see right through your dress.” He slipped his hand around her waist as he continued, keeping her close to him. “All I could think about then was hiking that dress up and, well, doing things that I definitely shouldn’t have been thinking about in a church. So there, now you can be mad at me because I’m a crude, horny man that just wants sex.” “You jerk!” For one second, Nina thought she might actually be able to pull off the charade of being mad at him, but she couldn’t. Her face still in a scowl, she stared at him and burst into laughter before she threw her arms around his neck.

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“Is this what caused me to worry?” Nina had wondered what could have possibly occupied his thoughts so much that he had become distracted from his own wedding ceremony. Nina kissed him forcefully as she pressed her hand against his groin. Hawk growled at her touch. “Yes, woman, yes!” He grunted the words, letting the frustrations flow through. Suddenly, without warning, she pushed him away. “I don’t know why, but that’s the most romantic thing you could have ever said to me, but you’re going to have to wait.” “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” “No, but I know a few people that might if we don’t show up at our own reception.” Hawk conceded but didn’t take his hands off her as they completed their ride to the hotel. The car came to a stop under the awning, where they quickly went inside to celebrate their union with their friends and family. The room was bright, and everything from the ceiling down was draped in white ribbons and white flowers of various kinds. Nina hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of the wedding, but Mason did. He had actually hired a wedding planner, and she had to beg the woman to tone it down a bit. There was even a live band, which Nina had also tried to reject, but Mason had declared that his baby sister would have the best, and she was supposed to just relax and enjoy the day. As everyone joined them on the dance floor, they found themselves in a moment that, just one short year earlier, neither would have guessed could have been possible. “You do realize that we were freezing our asses off at about this time last year, don’t you?” Hawk looked into her eyes as they twirled around to a slow song. “As a matter of fact, I do. I have to admit that I miss how you barked at me those first couple of days.” Nina smirked.

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“Oh, really?” Hawk let out a howl that had everyone looking at him. Nina laughed and slapped him on the shoulder as he spun her around the room. Pulling her as close as humanly possible, Hawk crushed his lips against hers. Then a sound that had them both turning their heads broke through the room. A cry. It was the sweetest sound, though, as it came from their son. Janice held Fox, and they both went over to comfort him. “I’ll take him. I haven’t had enough male bonding time with my son today.” Hawk tried to sound macho, but no sooner had the words left his lips than he was cooing and talking in a small voice that definitely contradicted his statement. Nina stood with her hands on her hips, one brow arched, just watching. “Would you dance with me?” The voice came from behind her. Nina turned to see Mason in his black suit with arms extended, waiting for her. “Of course.” Nina felt ecstatic, and she started toward him but then stopped, holding up one finger. Quickly, she kicked off her white, three-inch heels and stepped back to Mason. “You didn’t have to do that. I don’t mind.” “I know, but I do. I’ve never liked being taller than you, even when I wore heels on purpose. It made me feel weird.” Nina had long ago forgiven Mason for his abrasive treatment, and he, in turn, had remembered what family meant. He had been checking on Nina every couple of days during the latter half of her pregnancy, making sure that she didn’t want for anything. “Thanks again for everything, Mason. This place looks beautiful.” Nina nodded toward the decorated tables. “No problem. I hope Hawk didn’t mind. I just know that Dad would have done the same thing for his little girl, and since he couldn’t, I knew it was my place.” His voice cracked slightly, and if Nina hadn’t known better, she might think he was getting emotional

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on her. She, on the other hand, wasn’t able to hold back as a single tear slid down her cheek. “It’s perfect, and Hawk understood completely.” She leaned forward and hugged her brother as tight as she could. Nina hadn’t felt this good since, well, she couldn’t remember when she had ever felt so complete. The song was coming to an end, and as it concluded, Mason kissed Nina on the cheek while she wiped away another tear. “May I?” Hawk’s voice was deep and echoed through her body as she turned to see him there waiting for her. He glanced over at Mason and then back to Nina. “Of course, she’s all yours.” Mason smiled. Hawk extended his hand out to Nina, but Mason grabbed his arm. “By the way, thank you. Thank you for being there that day and saving her life.” Nina was surprised by his comment, but before she could speak, Hawk chimed in. “No thanks needed, Mason, and just for the record, she saved me.” Mason snorted a laugh out as he slapped Hawk on the back before he walked toward Janice and Fox, leaving them to continue to dance. Everyone spent their share of time on the dance floor over the next two hours, as well as taking their turn holding Fox. He seemed to handle the juggling quite well as he was passed from person to person. Finally, Janice thought that it was time to head home with the baby so that Nina and Hawk could enjoy the night together alone. It didn’t take long and the entire party dispersed, leaving them alone to go to their room. Hand in hand, they walked toward the elevator, looking into one another’s eyes. “You have the most beautiful blue eyes,” Hawk whispered. “Yours are prettier.” “No, yours are, and don’t start arguing with me, or I’m going to sleep on the couch, at our house.” He growled at her playfully. Nina laughed. She was in fact going to argue with him, as she adamantly thought that his eyes were much prettier than hers, but she

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knew that it was pointless. Leaning against his shoulder, she looped her arm through his and hoped that they would have the next fifty years of their lives to argue and make up.

THE END www.moirahanson.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Moira met the man who she would marry at the very young age of eighteen. Two children and seventeen years later, Moira found herself still madly in love with that same man, but feeling a need for selffulfillment. In October 2008, after reading her first contemporary romance, she was hooked. Moira hadn’t written anything since high school but started writing again and hasn’t stopped since, completing eleven novel-length manuscripts to date. Living in a rural area southeast of Kansas City, Missouri, Moira juggles her time between work, her children, her husband, and writing. May the chaos of life never end.

Also by Moira Hanson Fort Knox Dreams of the Heart Lake Shore Escape

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