Claimed by the Marine (2 page)

No question, Hawk Malone was a dangerous man.

Dangerous enough to make the music and the crowds fade away. Make her forget the fact that she’d cried herself to sleep every other night since her break-up. Make her feel…alive, really alive, for the first time in, well, since she could remember.

“Ashanti.”

He said her name and even before she looked up from his chest, she already knew what that deep timber in his voice meant. Her gaze lifted to his and as she saw the blue flames his eyes had become, she felt sure a secret part of her started to liquefy in response.

“Do you want me, babe?”

Ashanti blinked, tilted off her feet by his softly worded question. “I don’t know what you expect me to answer to that,” she breathed, her whole body screaming
yes
.

“The truth,” he replied firmly, his hands lifting to cup her face as he gazed deep into her wide eyes. “When I came home after being months out there, witnessing the carnage, being a part of it…I was so sure nothing could every make me see the bright side of life again. But then I walked in tonight and there you were. There was that look on your face when our eyes met and I just knew…I knew that no matter the cost, I had to have you. Now all I can think of is having your legs wrapped tight around me, pulling me in deep, deep where we both need me to be. The only problem is-if you’ll have the guts to admit the same to yourself.”

“Hawk, please,” Ashanti breathed, unable to keep the uncertainty from her voice. “I’ve never…I mean this is just happening so fast. I…”

“Tell me no, and I’ll let you go. I’ll walk you back to your friends and that will be goodnight. But say yes…and then we’ll sink into the mist together. We’ll leave right now and take the road passion leads us on.”

He held on to her face like he didn’t want her to look away, or even glance around. Like he didn’t want her to get distracted from the purpose.
His
purpose.  The intent to claim her was so strong on the square lines of his face that she could almost read it in words.
I’m going to make you mine, Ashanti. But you have to take the plunge with me. This has to be what you want, too
, his blistering blue eyes seemed to say.

She couldn’t seem able to blink, feeling almost hypnotized by him. “I’ve never met a man like you before,” Ashanti confessed. “But for some strange reason, I’m not afraid. I want this, Hawk. I won’t deny it. But wanting and then letting myself
have
it are two different things. I’m sorry…but I can’t.”

Ashanti tried to read his expression but there was nothing there. Was he disappointed, irritated? She couldn’t tell. But he merely nodded. “Believe me, I understand,” was all he said.

The dance was over. Ashanti almost stumbled as he took her hand and led her off the dance floor filled with swaying couples entwined closely. He drew her close to his side in support and she strained into him, almost as if she wanted to steal this last bit of proximity from him before he walked out of her life for good. Ashanti looked ahead and could see the faces of her three friends.

She could almost swear that she could read their minds as they turned to see her approach with Hawk in tow. Was it pity she saw on their faces, in their bright smiles? Maybe not. It didn’t matter, because she wasn’t thinking about them. She was thinking of the many lonely nights she’d had almost since her adulthood began. Staying in the same, dull relationship because she didn’t believe she could find better. But now, Ashanti decided she’d stopped seeking, needing. She didn’t want to be the predictably upright woman who’d deprived herself of real passion because she’d been
afraid.
Tonight, that particular side of her had to go, for good.

“Wait.”

Her hand tugged on Hawk’s, managing to pull him to a stop just as they were yards away from the table holding her friends. He turned to her with a lifted brow, and her chin squared as she held his quizzical gaze.

“I’ve changed my mind. Let’s go,” she said calmly, and had to keep herself from quivering at the dark, almost feral look of pleasure that crossed his lean, handsome face. His eyes held such tempestuous promise she melted inside.

He didn’t say another word, but was instantly steering her in the other direction – to the exit. Ashanti was just in time to catch the shocked looks on the faces of her three friends before she was practically yanked out of the crowded venue by the long-striding Hawk.

Chapter Three

This might be the single most reckless thing Ashanti had ever done in her life.

But there was something about Hawk Malone that intrigued her in ways she couldn’t even begin to fathom. She’d always thought she preferred African American men like her ex, Aaron. Gorgeous blonde men like
Hawk
only existed in her fantasies and she’d never dreamed she’d have one to herself for real, even for one night.

She could still remember the incredulous look on the faces of Bertha, Janice and Rebecca as they’d watched her get herded out by Hawk. She almost couldn’t stop chuckling to herself.

But right now, this was no laughing matter.

He hadn’t even kissed her. Had barely touched her, and yet here she was, acting on impulse and following a stranger back to his place. He drove so fast he was barely within the speed limits, almost as if he wanted to get them there before she changed her mind. It looked like Hawk wasn’t much for small talk while he handled his powerful truck with ease through the night-swept roads.

Ashanti didn’t allow herself think much until they were finally at their destination. He stopped in front of the house and it was only then that he turned to her. She faced him with a somewhat nervous smile and had to whip in a breath at the look in his eyes. How could eyes so blue hold such heat, such flames? The confines of the truck suddenly felt stifling and her clothes felt like they were choking her. What was it about Hawk Malone that made her want to jump straight out of the truck and into his bed?

“You can still say no, babe,” he said softly, his hand lifting to sift through her long, wavy black hair. She closed her eyes at his touch, telling herself he was right and she could still make that call. But then she felt the tremor of arousal course through her body and she realized her treacherous hormones weren’t about to come to terms with saying “no” to Hawk.

“Tell me this isn’t what you really want and I’ll drive you straight home,” he continued in that gravel-crushingly deep voice, so soft she had to strain to hear him, “Because once we get inside…Ashanti, I’m going to find it very hard not to rip into you. You’re making me see red with the way I need you right now. It’s been a long while for me since I’ve been with a girl so just a little heads-up that there’ll be some serious hot sex. You and me. All night. I’m going to put my tongue in places you never even thought a man could reach. And then, I’ll slide so deep inside you, again and again, until I make sure you’ll still feel me the next morning. Last chance, babe. Yes or no?”

Goodness me,
yes,
Ashanti thought with an inner shiver at his stirring declaration. Staring deep into his eyes, she didn’t say a word but instead, combed her fingers into the back of his head and drew him down to her lips for a kiss.

Ashanti heard the hitch of his breath as her mouth connected with his. The first taste of him made her whimper in her throat with want. Shivering, she parted her lips beneath his and probed deep, inviting him to respond in turn. Hawk wasted no time, letting out a growl of heat as he wrapped his arms around her and his tongue around hers. Ashanti clutched handfuls of his shirt as his fiery reaction to her kiss made her senses reel. He tasted manly and sweet and dangerously sexy with those firm, silky lips of his and his fresh-hot tongue.

Hawk was
gorgeous
, sexy - a Marine, and could have been with any other girl tonight but he picked her.

She’d never felt so sexy or desired, and there was a boldness building up within her as her hand slid down his chest. Shocked by her audacity and yet unable to stop herself, she rested her hand on his thigh before surfing her fingers up to slide over his bulging crotch. Hawk’s sharp intake of breath only managed to spur her on as she firmly grasped his solid length through his jeans. She’d never felt anything so hard, thick and long. Her lips clung to his moistly as a shudder of arousal rippled through her frame. She heard him groan deeply as she squeezed on his erection.

His hand was slipping beneath the neckline of her dress and he cupped one full, lace-bound breast, rendering her breathless in the process. His hand felt huge grabbing on her tit and when he groped her roughly, she became aware that a flood had just invaded her panties.

“Not here,” he suddenly rasped.

Ashanti whimpered in protest as his fingers slipped from around her breast. He plucked at her lips hungrily one more time before slowly drawing away. With equal reluctance, Ashanti drew her hand from him. Ashanti licked her bottom lip sensually as she looked dreamily up into his narrowed blue gaze.

“Ah, babe…,” he said hoarsely in a way that made her belly squirm. “You don’t look at a man like that unless you want him to slam deep into you. Hard and fast. You don’t kiss him like the world’s about to end tomorrow and not expect him to pound your warm pussy the moment he gets the chance.”

Ashanti shivered as she realized that was exactly what she wanted. For Hawk to
fuck
her; to do it hard and fast and make her forget everything but the sensation of that thick long cock stretching her pussy like nothing and no one ever had.

“So what are we waiting for, handsome?”

Chapter Four

Somehow, they were inside his bedroom though now she couldn’t really tell exactly how they’d got there. Much of what had happened so far was a blur but with Hawk seizing her against him, things were beginning to happen in high definition.

Hawk grasped her shoulders, slanting his firm, curvy lips over hers and making her moan from the hot, sweet pressure. That bold, fresh taste of him hadn’t ebbed but only made her even hotter. Crushed so tightly to him, her breasts were pillowed against his hard chest and soon enough, her nipples started to tingle. There was his stirring manhood scorching her quivering core even through the clothes still between them, and the outline of his apparent girth made her head spin.

“Hold me,” Hawk said in a voice so hoarse it was unrecognizable. “Touch me.”

His command had her instinctively reaching for him. He certainly didn’t have to tell her twice. He’d taken off his suit jacket at some point and now he was still dressed in his polo shirt, a thin layer that hid none of his ripped muscles as she roved her hands experimentally over his top frame. Her hands travelled down his lower back to skim over his firm ass, and she whimpered with deep feminine approval of how he felt beneath her touch.

Rock. Hard. Every inch of him.

There was so much energy radiating from his tense body, and his muscles seemed to clench under her touch. He groaned as her fingers spread flat over his buttocks, digging into the flesh and luxuriating in the sensation of hard muscle beneath soft silk evident beneath his jeans. Stunned by how good it felt to explore him this way, she paused as she tried to catch her breath.

“
Aah babe, don’t stop
,” growled Hawk as he nuzzled her arched neck.  “You don’t know what it does to me when you touch me like that. You blow my mind.”

Ashanti felt so helplessly aroused that she had to cling to him for support. She had no idea how to handle this big ball of fiery passion rolling right over her. Hawk sent a shiver down her spine as he laced his tongue with hers, giving her a sloppy, sexy and unchaste mouthful of lust.

“Get naked for me,” he husked, his lips feathering moistly over hers. “I need to see that hot body beneath your sexy little dress. It’s all I’ve been thinking about all night.”

Ashanti felt instant panic, but then pushed it aside. Hawk would be only the second man to ever see her naked and yet, she felt secure in his desire. She could tell he was on fire for her and she almost couldn’t wait to reveal all her secrets to his blue-eyed gaze. His fingers were already helping to draw down the zipper of her dress, pulling it all the way down to where it ended just above the cleft of her ample ass. Drawing back from him, all she needed to do was to wriggle her shoulders and then her hips to get the dress falling to pool at her feet.

Hawk’s gaze swept over her in her dark purple lace bra and panties. Ashanti knew she’d never consider giving up her day job to become a supermodel, but the way Hawk looked at her right then, she felt sexier than any of the women topping the current hottest women lists.

He drew her close with hands heavy and hot on her hips. “You…are…beautiful,” he said simply, eyes smoky with desire.

Ashanti bit on her bottom lip, cheeks warm with pleasure as she ducked her head shyly. She heard him chuckle softly as he reached round to undo her bra. Soon he was tossing it to meet her dress which she’d kicked aside. His breathing seemed to grow ragged as he took her swaying breasts in his hands. Ashanti felt his hands cover the full, aching mounds and she threw her head back in bliss. Why did his touch have to feel so amazing? He turned her breasts into a major erogenous zone just by fondling them, squeezing them together and teasing the nubby tips.

“I love your breasts,” he groaned, his touch growing rough as his breath quickened with need. Ashanti moaned loudly, her knees feeling shaky as her arousal levels hit the roof. He caught both nipples in his fingers and twisted, elongating the eraser-thick tits as he pulled on them hard. Ashanti was shivering so hard she thought she would faint. When Hawk lowered his head to press kisses all over the firm, rounded flesh, she called out his name.

His lips suddenly latched to a nipple and she felt her legs involuntarily start to buckle till he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her up. His other hand quickly undid his jeans to free his erection, scooping it out into the open. And then he took hold of her wrist and urged her fingers down to his rigid cock.