I opened the waffles first and divided them evenly before pouring syrup on the top and bringing the plate between us.
My brow arched. “Chicken alfredo from Mike’s—”
“Pasta Palace over on Haines street,” he finished, nodding. “Good choice.”
I put a piece of waffle in my mouth to have something to do other than sing his praises or tell him how hot he was...is...whatever. The flavor exploded across my tongue and I moaned, closing my eyes as I took another bite. Carbs were amazing on their own. Combined with syrup? Heaven on earth.
“Help me out,” he said. “My hands are full.”
His mouth opened. It took me a moment to figure out what he wanted, and another one to inflate my lungs, stab a second piece of waffle, and cup a hand beneath it as I held it out for him. White teeth made an appearance as he pulled it from the tines of the fork and chewed so slowly it wouldn’t be appropriate for a commercial.
“Favorite dinner?” he asked after swallowing, as if I wasn’t trying to keep from sliding off the couch from the damn jaw porn he’d just treated me to.
“Umm…” Yep. That was me at that moment. Any sense of being able to articulate my thoughts was long gone.
Another of those wicked smirks flashed. “Allow me. Prime rib, medium-rare. Loaded baked potato on the side with extra cheddar cheese and...” His eyes narrowed and he glanced at the ceiling briefly. “A Corona, if my mind isn’t playing tricks on me.”
The fork clattered to the plate, forgotten.
I gaped at him, a fish completely out of water. “You...remember what I was eating the night we met?”
“You’re the only thing I thought about, Jasmine. There was no chance of me forgetting a single detail. And now that I finally have you all to myself, I plan on uncovering a hundred thousand more so that no matter where I am or what I’m doing there will always be something that reminds me of you.”
I never stood a chance with this one, did I?
“Let me put her down real quick,” I whispered, not giving him a chance to protest as I scooped Lucille from his arms and carefully set her on the floor.
She didn’t waste time trying to stand on her hind legs and smell the arranged buffet, but I’d already captured the collar of Hawk’s shirt and pulled him to me. I narrowly avoided tipping the waffles over as I climbed into his lap and pressed my mouth to his. Our tongues met right away. He tasted like syrup and man, and I melted into his hard edges, pouring everything I felt at that moment into the kiss until I was breathless and exhausted from the fury of it.
“What about breakfast?” he mumbled against my lips.
I smiled, rocking my hips in his lap. “Your words don’t match your actions.
His fingers had already snuck beneath the edge of my top so he could peel it from me. I raised my arms to help, then twisted around like a pretzel to discard my bottoms.
“Hold onto me,” he said, giving me a moment to do just that before he stood long enough to unbutton his jeans, free his dick, and sit back down. He pushed my panties to the side and slid into me achingly slow.
He grunted as I engulfed him to the base. “Guess we’ll eat later.”
“Guess so,” I breathed, running my fingers through the silky strands of his hair.
We moved slowly at first, our bodies finding their match.
“Hey, Hawk?” I bit down on his neck, sucking at the skin there.
His chest rumbled and my body shuddered in response. “Yeah?”
“You’re going to need a spare key.”
His dick flexed inside me. “That so?”
“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but,” I panted. “I spent too long without you already. I don’t want that anymore.”
“Good.” He flipped me onto my back, sliding impossibly deeper. “Because I’m never letting you go again. Now wrap those fucking thighs around me and take this dick.”
“Whatever you say...”
We didn’t talk much after that.
There was mostly screaming on my side. Animalistic grunts on his. Followed by a string of happy barks as we knocked the waffles from the sofa and Lucille got to them.
I think I cried at some point; I remember his tongue on my cheeks anyway.
It was messy.
It was perfect.
It was a long time coming.
But it was us.
And I didn’t want it any other way.
Epilogue
Hawk
One year later
Jasmine sprang up from her seat like her ass was on fire, yelling at the top of her lungs, “What the flying fuck, ref? Are you blind? That was clearly a foul!”
We had decent seats at the game we’d traveled to Charlotte for, but we were still far enough away that there was no way anyone on the court could actually hear us. Especially since she wasn’t the only fan screaming in opposition to what had apparently been a bad call. I hadn’t noticed anything, but that didn’t surprise me. We were on her home turf, and I’d learned quickly just how seriously she took the sport.
A piece of popcorn hit the side of my face and I glanced behind her to find Collin leaning around Gina, mouthing, what the fuck, to me for at least the third time.
I shook my head because I couldn’t explain it. Then Jasmine sat back down, folding her arms with an irritated huff.
She turned to me, green and gold eyes bright with excitement and annoyance. I wanted to kiss the hell out of her—basically my constant state of being for the last year.
“Can you believe that?” She shook her head, and I was briefly distracted by the maroon highlights catching the light. Since Holt—still hanging in there, alive, and not pissing me off—couldn’t tell her shit anymore, she didn’t exactly have to follow the dress code. “His feet weren’t even planted. That’s not a charge.”
I scowled, nodding my head. “Preach. That ref should be out of a job. It’s like he has no idea what he’s talking about or what’s happening on the court.”
Her angry stare faded until a smile curved her lips. “Why do I get the feeling you’re talking about yourself and not the referee?”
“Because I have no idea what’s going on and I’m just trying to show support as your man even though you look like a crazy person.”
“This is serious business, Hawk. If we don’t win this game, our chances at the playoffs are shot.”
“Our? You realize you’re not on the court?”
The glare came back. I didn’t mind. Happy, sad, raving at a basketball game. Nothing could change how much I loved this woman, certainly not whatever her emotional state happened to be at that moment.
She pinched my lips closed. “You don’t get it, and that’s fine. One of these days you’re going to catch on, and I’m going to rub it in your face.”
I looked her up and down, devouring the sight of her in a crop top, tight yoga pants, and the hoodie she’d tied around her waist. Through the thin fabric of her shirt, I could see the barbell going through one of her nipples. A fairly new addition we were both enjoying.
“You can rub anything in my face anytime you want, baby.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Trust me, I know. Thank you for doing this.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close enough to press a kiss to her temples. “You don’t have to keep thanking me. We didn’t even get the expensive seats.”
“Why would we need to?” She shrugged. “I’ve enjoyed the few games I got a chance to go to just as much from up here. I’m not an expensive date. You should be happy about that.”
I laced my fingers with hers. “I’m happy as long as I’ve got you. Nosebleed seats or not.”
Collin made a loud gurgle. “Someone gag me. I can’t be witness to a man completely losing his balls without wanting to puke my brains out.”
Gina turned to him. “Wouldn’t it be your guts?”
He frowned. “What?”
“You’d be puking your guts out, not your brain. That doesn’t even
make sense.”
“I’ll have you know that I’ve been using that same idiom for years and no one has ever had a problem with it.”
“Probably because they didn’t want you to talk their ears off once they corrected you.”
Jasmine sighed, glancing up at me. “Is it too late to renegotiate our bet?”
We had a friendly wager going. Jasmine thought Collin and Gina would date for two months. I’d given them two weeks. We were currently approaching the week and a half mark, and going by the low hiss of their voices going back and forth as they devolved into yet another argument, I was feeling pretty confident.
Still, I said, “Depends on what you’re bringing to the table.”
She walked her hand up my jeans and it didn’t take long for my dick to react. “I’m sure I can think of something,” she said with a throaty purr. “Maybe after the game I can do that thing with my tongue you like so much.”
I turned my head long enough to bite down on my knuckles. I had other plans for tonight, but damn if it wasn’t hard to consider postponing them in the face of that. I’d thought my endless hunger for her would wane once I blackmailed her into moving in with me several months back.
And yeah, I was serious about the blackmail.
She shot me down the first dozen or so times I asked. She didn’t relent until I fenced in my front and back yard, moved all her stuff while she was at work, and greeted her at the door that night with a key to my place and Lucille under my arm.
Was cuddling the admittedly sweet dog cheating? Hell fucking yes.
That was the whole point.
“I don’t know...” I said slowly, tapping my chin while I pretended to think. “If I win the bet then you’re going rock climbing with me. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to seeing that lovely ass in a harness.”
Her eyes got wide. “You were serious about that? I do not like heights! You’ll have to put me in a straitjacket before I willingly ascend a scary-ass cliff.”
I faked a long sigh, hand dipping into my jacket pocket on the other side. “If you’re going to be such a wimp about it, I guess there’s one thing you might be able to do to convince me.”
“What is it?” She placed her hands on my chest, staring up at me with the biggest, pleading eyes. “Please give me an out because there’s no way they don’t kill each other by tomorrow. I don’t even know what I was thinking.”
As if to prove her point, Gina got up from her chair, fists balled, face tight. She stomped out of the aisle and up the stairs, heading Lord knows where. Collin was hot on her heels, features stormy and focused.
Jasmine turned her head to follow them which gave me time to close my fist and keep it in my lap.
“Say yes,” I told her.
She looked at me. “Say yes to what?”
I got down on my knee, doing my best to ignore the filth that was this floor as I opened my palm to flash the rose-gold band encrusted by a tight ring of diamonds. Cheers rang out around us as people figured out what I was doing. Somebody was drunk enough to reach over and pat me on the shoulder. Lucky for them, I was too focused on her face to break their hand for daring to touch me.
Tears sprang to her eyes immediately until the green and gold swam, catching every ray of light like gems held up to the sun. It didn’t take long for the wetness to spill over, running down her cheeks no matter how furiously she attempted to brush them away. Realizing the effort was futile, she settled for placing a hand to her chest instead all while I waited for her to actually answer me.
This woman. I swear.
I gave her a lazy grin I knew was at odds with what I was about to say. “Crying isn’t a yes, Jazzy.” Her smile was radiant, yet managed to promise retribution. “I need those three letters so I can get off the floor and kiss you. Unless you want to go bungee jumping instead—”
“Yes!” she screamed, throwing herself into my arms.
No one would ever hear me admit the cartwheel my heart did. I kissed her soft and sweet while applause broke out around us. It took a few attempts to get the ring on her finger because she was giggling and shaking and trying to wipe at her eyes with her free hand.
But that was fine.
It had taken us a few attempts to get to this point as well. We figured it out before long, and that was more than a lot of people could say.
I placed my hands on her hips, kissing her again and again. At least until some joker whistled.
My head turned and I pinned him with a glare that sent his ass back into his seat. He didn’t turn around again.
“Be nice,” said the sweet voice of my future wife as she turned me towards her.
Wife. I can get used to that.
I tugged her into my lap as I sat down. When she rested her head in the curve of my neck instead of paying attention to the game she’d been so obsessed over, I officially felt like the king of the fucking world. More than any other pursuit in my life had ever accomplished.
“One more confession,” I whispered in her ear, idly stroking the small of her back.
“Go for it,” she said.
“I’ve been holding onto this ring for a while. I actually got it that same day everything went wrong.”
“Hawk Mason.” Jasmine glanced up at me, eyes twinkling. “Are you telling me that you were crazy enough to ask me to marry you after a month?”
I nodded. No reason to hide it now, after all. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“Confession time,” she said softly, nose tickling my neck. “I would’ve been crazy enough to say yes.”
“Sounds like it was meant to be.”
“Yeah.” She raised her voice, head turning towards the court. “Unlike my team having a winning season because they can’t play defense!”
I laughed hard enough to jostle her. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“And you just signed on to deal with me for life, so if we divide the crazy I’m pretty sure you’re in the lead.”
I held her closer. “I’ve got no complaints. I waited four years, six months, twelve days, four hours and—”
“Twenty-seven minutes,” she finished, glancing at my watch. “Give or take a few seconds. I think that brought our crazy back to even levels. I love you, Hawk Mason.”
“I love you, Mrs. Mason.”
She snorted, grabbing a fistful of popcorn from Gina’s abandoned bag to throw in my face. “Slow your roll there, Casanova. I’m not a missus anything yet. Lucky for you...I can’t wait to be.”
“Damn right.” I kissed her again. “Lucky. Fucking. Me.”
The End
Author’s Note
Wowza.
Look at you, finishing books like a champion. Can you hear the applause from the crowd? I mean...the crowd is mostly me clapping and cheering all by my lonesome, but same thing. Right? It totally counts. This is my author’s note, and no one call tell me differently!
Thank you so dang much for reading. So much. So. Freaking. Much. I’ve said it once and I can say it a hundred times. Finishing stories and having people not only read them, but enjoy them, has not stopped amazing me and I’m not sure it ever will. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you putting aside whatever you might have going on to open this book and read it. If you’ve still got a bit of time leftover, reviews are always very much appreciated, and they go a long way!
If you’ve read anything else by me, you might know that I’m about to launch into a random account of this book’s creative process. Assuming that’s something you want to stick around for, feel free! Otherwise, I hope to see you when the next book releases. The fifth installment in the Seven Sinners series is about to hit the editing process and I hope to have that out before March of 2021.
Okie dokie.
Where did this book come from? Honestly, who knows? A friend asked me not long ago how I come up with ideas, and I realized I didn’t have a great answer for them. The themes or the influences may come from shows I’ve wat
ched, books I’ve read, and music I’ve listened to. But for me, every book no matter how long or short starts with a scene. From that scene, I build the rest of the story.
Kingpin’s Promise wasn’t any different.
The idea popped into my head of this untouchable criminal who finally gets caught because of a woman. When he’s released, he sets out on a course of revenge. That was about all I had to go on, so I poked around until the characters explained themselves and started making more sense. But without that single scene none of this would exist at all.
My initial drafts featured an entirely different plot for them with a much meaner Hawk and a fair bit more carnage after his return. Except it didn’t quite...click. So, I went with my gut. Maybe that was a good decision. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe one of these days my characters will cooperate in an easier fashion, but I’m not betting on it. Guess we’ll all find out together in the next one. Until then, take care!
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