Page 36 of Hawkeye

He bandaged the scrape and told her to use ice if she was sore. As soon as he cleared her to leave, I guided Josie toward the exit, my hand firm on her lower back. The protection apartment remained secure, and her mother had already been informed that Josie was unharmed, but the thought of leaving her there while I slept somewhere else was no longer tolerable. Another man had put his hand around her wrist and tried to drag her into a van, and I needed her in our house, in our bed, where I could wake with her warm body wrapped around mine.

Josie stepped into my space and caught my hand before I could reach for her. Her smaller fingers curled around mine, and the warmth of her touch melted enough of the ice inside me to make the next breath easier. “Take me home with you.”

I stopped and looked down at her. “Already planned on it.”

“Even though the protection apartment is secure?” she asked, searching my face.

“Not the point.” I closed my fingers around hers and drew her against me. “Not sleeping away from you after another man put his hands on you.”

Warm color moved into her cheeks despite the bruising and exhaustion. “You decided that before I asked.”

I shrugged. “You asking saved us an argument.”

Her mouth twitched. “Arrogant.”

“Observant.”

I kissed her forehead, then took her to my SUV before duty found another reason to keep us apart. My palm remained possessively over her thigh throughout the drive, and Josie covered my hand with hers, settling deeper into the seat. By the time the dark road began climbing toward my house, my cock was hard, my anger had settled into something cold and useful, and every thought I had left centered on getting her safely inside, stripping her bare, and reminding both of us whose hands belonged on her.

15

JOSIE

Istill couldn’t believe how everything had gone down today. Without Calder and his team, I would’ve been taken by those men. It was all I could think about as he locked his weapons up before washing his hands in the kitchen sink. There was blood on his knuckles because he protected me.

And he was still pissed off about the close call, judging by the tension in his broad shoulders as he dried his hands. The abruptness of his movements made me think he was trying to hold it inside.

Then he turned and stared at my wrist, where the faint bruise had begun to form. “I’m fine. You got to me in time.”

“He never should’ve gotten that close.” The green of his eyes darkened with fury. “I’m deciding how much of him I’m leaving for Stryker.”

“That isn’t reassuring.”

He shrugged. “Wasn’t meant to be.”

The bluntness of his reply and lack of guilt over what was going to happen to the courier probably should have bothered me. But it didn’t.

Calder was known by his club brothers for being cool under fire, but he was barely holding on to his self-control because of me. The strength of his reaction sent butterflies swarming in my belly, and I crossed the room to be closer to him.

Stroking my hands up his shirt, I tilted my head back to meet his gaze. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“Always, baby doll.”

Twining my arms around his neck, I pulled him down to brush my lips against his. My close call today had burned away any hesitation to go after what I wanted. And Calder was at the top of that list.

Undoing the buttons on his shirt, I spread the lapels and put my palm on the hawk, then traced an old scar where the ink broke. His grip on my hips tightened, and my lips curved into a grin of pure feminine satisfaction.

“You’ve had your look.” He caught my hands. “My turn.”

He lifted me and stalked across the kitchen before I finished wrapping my legs around his waist. I kissed along his stubbly jaw while he carried me to the bedroom. Then he set me on the bed and shifted us until I was fully under him, his body pressed along mine while his elbows took most of the weight.

Calder dwarfed me, and I loved how his body sheltered mine, even in the safety of his bed.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, spread out beneath me.”

I wet my lip, and his gaze dropped to my mouth with a groan. He lowered his head until our faces were barely an inch apart, and I could feel every warm breath on my mouth.

“Are you going to kiss me?” I whispered.