Gabe chuckles. “Dude, if you saw them together the way I have, you would know those two are hotter for each other than Texas in August. Plus, she keeps him on his toes, which he needs. She’s a tough chick. They will be fine.”
I wouldn’t have expected Gabe’s praises of Danika. It’s not that he doesn’t like her. I think he genuinely does, but he has been leery of me letting myself get too involved with her too quickly. Maybe that’s just being sensible.
Sensible.
I used to be the sensible one…before Danika. Now, I find myself saying and doing things I never would have before. I’m opening myself up to her in ways I never did with Becca, even though we were together for years, not months.
But, on the other hand, I haven’t been able to seal the deal with her either.
Not for lack of trying on both our parts.
She walks in the door, looks at me, says my name…just about anything and I’m hard as a fucking rock, but when we get anywhere near going past her gloriously talented cock-sucking, my heart races and I break out into a cold sweat and have to distract her from pursuing it any further.
I don’t know how much longer I can put her off without her saying something. She’s the most sexually-charged woman I’ve ever met and, so far, I’m not giving her what she needs.
And isn’t that a fucking bitch?
The fact she’s even lasted this long tells me there’s something deeper there between us, that I’m not just imaging it or feeling it without reciprocation.
“She’s not going anywhere,” I say with more conviction than I feel, but I also don’t feel like it’s a lie. She’s not going anywhere—if I have anything to say about it.
Ben tilts his beer toward me and smiles. “Good. You’ve definitely been less of an asshole since she came around.”
Gabe spits out his beer and coughs through his laughter.
“Gee, thanks, Ben.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it.”
After regaining control of his lungs, Gabe takes another drink before his face takes on a somber look. “Did your mom tell you about Stone?”
Fuck. What now?
“No, what about him?”
Gabe’s eyes flicker over to Ben before coming back to me. “Well, apparently he blew a deadline for some brief he was supposed to be writing or filing or something.”
Sure sounds like something Stone would do.
“Shit. Did they fire him?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet. They are apparently putting him on ‘probation’ and giving him another chance.”
“Jesus, that kid can’t even make it a couple months without blowing it, can he?” My frustration over my younger brother never really goes away, but things like this make it flare to epic proportions. He just can’t get his shit together and I have no fucking clue why.
The door slides open behind me. I turn to find Skye watching us with another glass of wine in her hand. “Mom says dinner is ready.”
This should be fun.
“So, was it as bad as you thought it would be?”
Caroline quirks an eyebrow at me and takes a bite of her salad while she waits for my response. We somehow managed to sneak away for a late lunch, which is basically unheard of on a Tuesday. For some reason, Tuesdays are a total nuthouse at the paper and we often end up eating protein bars and downing diet Coke to keep ourselves going. Mondays are worse, which is why we haven’t had a chance to discuss the big dinner yet, but Tuesdays are definitely a close second.
I have to think about my answer for a minute. I genuinely don’t know how to feel about my Hawke family dinner experience.
Antonia, Storm, and Ben were just as wonderful and welcoming as Savage assured me they would be, but Skye’s disdain and attitude threw me for a loop, despite being forewarned by Savage and Gabe.
It’s not like I don’t understand her desire to protect Savage. I get it. I really do. The stuff he went through, physically and emotionally, would leave most people fragile and easily taken advantage-of. But Savage is different. He’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met—on all levels—and he’s smart enough to know what he wants and what’s good for him.
“It was good. I guess. His youngest sister, Skye, is a bit of a bitch, but I can deal with her.”
“Is that the one whose twin died?”
“Yeah, so they tend to cut her a little more slack than anyone else, but she was distinctly hostile toward me all night. Thankfully, Gabe helped the Hawkes tame her.”
Caroline’s eyes light up at the mention of Gabe. “Ooo…sexy special forces man was there?”
I roll my eyes and take a bite of my sandwich. Caroline has developed a rather unhealthy crush on Gabe, even though they’ve only met twice and only briefly. The last thing I need is for her to be another notch in his belt. That would make for a lot of awkwardness in the future for both me and Savage.
“Yes, Gabe was there. But leave it alone, Caroline. He’s not the guy for you. He would fuck you and leave you miserable the next day.”