RECKLESS AND WILD: MOTORCYCLE CLUB ROMANCE BOX SET (23 page)

“I don’t have a dog. I did, though. Joe. He died six months ago and I haven’t been able to get another one.”

“Sounds like you loved him?”

“Yes, very much. He was my best friend.”

“Then you have to understand, Hawk! I feel the same way about Pearl. And it’s not fair to keep her locked up in here. Please?”

“I live in the desert. It’s very private, very secluded, so don’t think if we go there you will be able to escape. And screaming certainly won’t do you any good out there either.”

“I won’t try to escape. I don’t know why,” I said, looking at him sincerely, “but I believe you. If you say you’re going to take good care of me and that this will be over soon, then I will trust you. Not that I have a choice, really, but I choose to make this easy on both of us. I just want Pearl safe.”

“Alright, alright. Fuck!”

I smiled and resisted the absurd urge to kiss him and jump for joy. I figured any place had to be better than this awful clubhouse. And in the back of my mind, I’d be lying if I didn’t think I’d have a better chance of escaping if it was just the two of us.

CHAPTER EIGHT

After taking us outside and letting Pearl pee and sniff around for a minute, Hawk loaded us up in his big, black truck and we left the clubhouse.

“I thought you were a biker.”

“What?”

“Where’s your bike?”

“It’s at my place. I’m using my truck to transport you and your precious puppy. You didn’t want me to put Pearl on the back of my bike when I went to get her, did you?”

“No, probably not the best idea.” Imagining Pearl on the back of a bike made me laugh for the first time since this whole ordeal began and it felt good.

“Am I being kidnapped or held for ransom?”

“Well, is there a difference? And that’s a question I can’t answer for you right now.”

“I see. Okay.”

I was so glad to be out of that dingy room, and grateful I had been able to convince him to take me somewhere else, I decided not to ask anymore questions. Now, I had to just hold out hope that his place wasn’t worse, and I would only be there for a short while.

I had come to the conclusion that my father was behind all of this. He was always getting himself in trouble, and politics was a filthy business. Greed and manipulation were the name of the game, and I knew Victor Valentine wouldn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty. There was no telling what he had gotten himself into this time, and with the people he was known to do business was, I wasn’t surprised someone had taken the obvious route and kidnapped the daughter of a very wealthy politician.

Lucky me.

“How did you know where I was?” I asked Hawk next to me. He was concentrating on driving, and I looked down to notice that Pearl was snuggled up next to his thigh on the bench seat.

What a traitor, I thought.

“I followed you.”

“I see.”

“There’s really nothing more you can tell me?”

“I’m sorry, Vanessa. How about we talk about something else? We have to spend all this time together, we might as well make this as pleasant as possible and get to know each other.”

I looked at him, and then Pearl again, and turned back to look out the windshield at the world flying past us. I spotted a Starbucks on the corner a few blocks away.

“On one condition,” I replied. “I want coffee.” I gestured to the green mermaid logo up ahead.

His deep laughter next to me was contagious, and I couldn’t help but stare at his full mouth as it turned up at the ends.

“Starbucks?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

“Whatever Princess wants, Princess gets.” When he looked over and winked at me, I felt my heart speed up just a little. It was infuriating. I had somehow been paired up with the world’s most handsome and charming kidnapper. My mind was telling me to hate him, but part of me just wanted to see what was under those jeans.

“Oh, please. Princess wants freedom.” I rolled my eyes and turned away, hoping my heart pounding in my chest wasn’t visible to him.

“Soon, Vanessa. Soon. Just enjoy the ride. Do you have anything better to do?”

Well, yes, I thought to myself. You.

The Starbucks had a drive-thru and after he pulled in to order, he turned to me, stabbing me right in the gut with those golden-green eyes once more. I hadn’t had the opportunity to stare into them at any length or in good light until now, but the sunlight shining right in his eyes through his windshield as he turned to ask me what I wanted provided me the perfect opportunity to confirm my suspicions. They were the shade of lush green grass with a kaleidoscope of large flecks of gold in them. Cat eyes. With his long golden hair, he looked like a gorgeous golden lion. I stared at him wistfully, almost wanting to pet him.

“Hell-ooo?” He was waving his hand in my face, obstructing my view of those eyes and I blushed furiously when I realized how I had drifted off.

“Right. I would like a caramel macchiato, venti, skim, extra-shot, extra-hot, extra-whip, sugar free.”

He roared with laughter, his gorgeous head thrown back in complete amusement.

“Stop it.” He was laughing at me, and I hated it.

“Oh, lady,” he wiped his eyes as his laughter subsided, “this is going to be an adventure. So, tell me something.”

“What?”

“How do I order a normal coffee in this place? I like things simple. No frills.”

No frills. Was that a jab at me? Of course it was.

“Tall house black coffee.”

“Oh, now that isn’t so bad. Is there any coffee in that concoction you ordered?” He asked, clearly completely amused at my order.

“Yes, and lots of sugar. I like things sweet and refined.” Two could play at this game.

He laughed again, his eyes crinkling up in the most adorable way.

“Touché,” he said, nodding at me. and turning to yell my order into the box twice and getting it wrong both times.

I leaned over him and ordered for both of us. I was thankful I had at least worn a bra on my date with Drake last night, or I would have been putting my braless breasts in his face as I leaned across him. The deep breath he took when I got close only made his body press harder against mine, and when I pulled away, the air between us was suddenly thick and electric again.

I grabbed Pearl and put her in my lap, petting her and staring out the window as we waited.

What the hell was happening here? It wasn’t just me, that much was obvious by the growing package in his jeans. And as much as I tried to avoid thinking about it, the harder it became to not think about it.

After receiving our drinks, we continued driving for another two hours outside of the city.

“Where do you live?”

“Joshua Tree.”

“Oh. The desert.”

“Yep. I love the seclusion. And I can see for miles around me, it helps with privacy.”

“I see. I’m a fan of the forest myself.”

Every attempt at getting to know each other had resulted in learning that we were total opposites. No surprise there.

After leaving the city, and driving down long stretches of abandoned roads, he finally turned into the driveway of a rustic log cabin with a huge black Harley sitting in front of it.

“Home sweet home,” he said as he turned the ignition off.

I looked around and saw vast stretches of nothing but bare earth, rocks, dense, short shrubs, tumbleweeds and a huge cactus.

“It’s um….lovely,” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear the dishonesty in my voice.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to be polite. I saw where you live, remember?”

“Um…yeah, I remember. But this isn’t too bad. It’s just so isolated and far away from everything.”

“Just the way I like it. Not a person or a Starbucks in sight.”

“Yes, I suppose. I’m so glad I had you stop earlier.”

He laughed easily, smiling at me and getting out of the car and running around to open my door. At least he had some manners. He wasn’t a complete caveman.

I scooped up Pearl, took his hand, and jumped down out of the truck. The heat hit me like a wave, and my heels sunk into the hard clay earth beneath my feet.

“Wow, that clay is hard. Those shoes must be sharp as knives,” he said.

“Dammit!” I said, pulling my heel out of the ground. “I hate these damned shoes!”

“At the club, we call those fuck-me pumps.”

“Oh, you do, huh? I call them totally uncomfortable. Despite my attire right now, I prefer to wear boots. Expensive boots, but comfortable ones.”

“Is that so? Well, maybe you can wear some of mine. They’re not so expensive, but anything has to be better than those heels. And I bet I have a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that would fit you, too. We’re going to be here a while, so you might as well be comfortable.”

I sighed, put Pearl down, holding onto her leash tightly, and silently followed him while taking in the scene in front of me.

It was bare, but I couldn’t deny it was beautiful. The landscape may not have been my favorite, but the wide open blue sky and the brown earth tones created a different kind of beauty. It was quiet in a way the forest wasn’t. No leaves rustling and birds chirping here. Just sun blaring down on you and drying your skin out. Suddenly, I was yearning for some good moisturizer and sunscreen.

“Are you hungry? I bet you’re starved by now. I was going to get you something to eat earlier, but that whole thing with Pearl happened and well…here we are.”

I hadn’t thought about food until now, but now that he mentioned it I was ravenous.

“Yes, I could eat something, I suppose.”

“Good. Let’s get in and get you two settled, and get you some clothes…although I will be a little sad to see that dress go…and then I’ll grill us up some steaks.”

He winked at me again, and I swore to myself if he did that one more time I was either going to punch him or kiss him.

Cozy and warm, his home surprised me. A large stone fireplace lined one whole wall of his living room, with huge cedar beams framing the tall ceilings. Low slung black leather couches and chairs were paired with rustic tables made out of entire slabs of wood in the living room and dining room. It was clean, tidy, and inviting. And it smelled just like Hawk.

“You can take Pearl off her leash. She’s safe here.” He closed the heavy front door behind us.

I reached down and removed her leash, petting her head reassuringly. I was so happy she wasn’t injured and I could only hope she wasn’t pregnant by that beast of pit bull.

“I’ll be right back.” Hawk disappeared down a hallway and I walked around his living room. It was sparse, but comfortable. No fancy vases or lamps, just simple, practical, no-nonsense essentials. It was refreshing, actually. I noticed a few pictures on a shelf and walked over to inspect them. I wasn’t surprised to see pictures of Hawk and his ‘brothers’ as he liked to call them.

One was just him and Two Dog Dave and those monster dogs, and the other picture was one of the what I assumed was the entire club. About a dozen leather-clad men standing next to their bikes, not a one of them smiling. I supposed men like that weren’t the type to smile for pictures.

“Here you go.” I didn’t hear him walk up behind me, and I turned and saw that he had removed his boots and stood barefoot in front of me, holding out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. “I’ll find you some boots later.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I couldn’t wait to get out of this dress.

“I’d let you borrow a pair of my underwear, but that might be weird.”

I blushed bright red, having tried up till now to to forget that he knew I wasn’t wearing any panties. I hadn’t forgotten myself because my body wouldn’t let me. Every time he winked at me, I had to cross my legs so that the slickness forming there wouldn’t travel down my thighs. I was thankful for the jeans.

“Um…it’s fine, thank you.” I grabbed the clothes from him. “Can I take a shower?”

“Oh, here. Come with me. I’ll show you where everything is.”

I followed him down the hallway, inhaling his leather scent the entire way and watching his tight ass dance in his jeans. The effect he was having on me was becoming torturous.

He led me into the only room down the hall, and I realized quickly it was his bedroom.

“Is this the only bedroom in the house?” I asked.

“Yes. Excuse the unmade bed, I wasn’t expecting company. I’ll um…I’ll change the sheets, don’t worry.”

Visions of dozens of women sharing his bed ran through my head, and I was supposed to sleep there? I looked at the bed, and although it was indeed covered in strewn and twisted sheets and blankets, the rest of the room looked decent. A large dark, wooden chest of drawers stood in the corner, and his bed was king-sized and framed by a gorgeous slab of polished redwood.

“Your house is beautiful, Hawk. It feels like a log cabin in the middle of the desert.”

“Thanks,” he replied. “I like the heat of the desert, but I do love that log cabin feel. I built this house myself.”

“You built it? Wow, I’m impressed.” I couldn’t help but glance at his hands - they were large and wide, with long, strong fingers. My bare pussy reminded me why we were here, and I asked him again where the shower was.

“Did you build the bed, too?” I asked, quietly impressed.

“Um…” he stopped and stared wistfully at the bed in front of us. “Yeah, I did. A long time ago.”

“It’s gorgeous,” I replied.

“There’s an attached bathroom over there. You’ll find everything you need.”

“Okay. Um, thanks.” I walked to the bathroom, wondering if he expected us to share this room. This was becoming a little too intimate way too quickly.

Looking down at Pearl, who had been following my every movement, I reminded myself of why we were here. I silently hoped my father was moving fast to get us home.

Hawk’s bathroom was simple, but just as gorgeous as the rest of the house. The heavy wood walls created the feeling of being in a sauna, and the large clawfoot bathtub was charming and clean. I opened his medicine cabinet, and saw nothing unusual for a man like him. Soap, razor, Old Spice, toothpaste, nail clippers, a bottle of ibuprofen and a first aid kit. No needles, no psych drugs, no pain killers - this guy was clean as a whistle.