hanging in the windows. The yard itself was thick with growth. She took her first deep breath in hours, and smelled fresh-cut grass and the scent of myriad different blooms.
Behind her, the gate clicked closed and she knew Hawk was right on her heels. Watching her closely. Was he looking at her wild hair? Her grubby clothes? She glanced back-
All of him.
Everything he felt, which pretty much ran the gamut. Oh, God. She’d never been so aware of another human being in all her life, standing so close she could feel his soft exhale on her temple, could see deep into his warm eyes. He was just so…overwhelmingly male. Did he know the confusion he aroused? Or that when he stared at her like that she had certain reactions she couldn’t seem to help? She crossed her arms over her chest, because, seriously, she had a problem. How could her body react in this manner, when with the other side of her brain she was recoiling in horror at the evening’s events? “This is crazy,” she whispered. “I don’t want to look at you and-”
“And what?”
“And what, Ab? Want me?”
“I don’t…want you.” Trying to be casual, she dropped her arms to her side.
His gaze fell to the front of her shirt, which revealed her traitorous nipples, hard and pressing against the fabric of her shirt. She felt the heat rush to her cheeks. He should have at least pretended not to notice.
Instead his eyes blazed with a new awareness, and a staggering heat that almost equalled the explosions they’d faced earlier.
Oh, God. Was this really happening?
“Abby-”
But whatever he’d planned on saying was lost as the front door opened. There in the doorway stood a stunningly beautiful brunette in a cream silk bathrobe that hugged her spectacular curves. Her smile came slow and sure as she took in the sight of Hawk on her doorstep. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”
He smiled back. “Serena.”
Serena tossed back her long, thick hair and crossed her arms, which as she undoubtedly knew, plumped up her substantial breasts from a D-plus to at least a triple-F. “My my. I guess hell froze over?”
“If you only knew.” Hawk’s smile remained easy and charming, and completely confident in the manner of a man who always got his own way. “Do you have a room available?”
“
“One,” Hawk repeated.
“Two, or nothing,” Abby said through her teeth.
Hawk sighed. “Connecting. We’ll take connecting rooms.”
Serena divided a glance between them, then tossed back her head and laughed. “Oh, boy, Hawk. I think you’ve finally met your match.”
12
STANDING IN THE pre-dawn chill, Abby craned her neck and stared at Hawk. She’d thought tonight couldn’t get any more Twilight Zone-like. “Your match?”
“Serena has a very peculiar sense of humor.” He shot Serena a long look. “Any second now she’s going to let us in off her doorstep and put us in a room, and then go far, far away.”
Serena smiled but didn’t budge. “Oh, but this is so much more fun. So.” She turned to Abby. “You been dating him long?”
Abby opened her mouth to correct that impression, but Serena went on. “No, it can’t have been too long, because, after all, you’re still with him.” She grinned at herself. “That means you haven’t discovered his character flaws yet.”
Next to Abby, Hawk let out a sigh.
Abby shook her head at Serena. “You’ve gotten the wrong idea-”
“Oh, believe me, honey. I know how hard it is to give him up.”
Abby doubted that greatly. Hawk was a handful, not to mention most likely walking/talking heartbreak. She could give him up just like that.
Probably.
“It’s a little like walking away from double-fudge chocolate cake, isn’t it?” Serena asked. “Harder than anything, but in the end, you save yourself the bellyache.”
“I’m not all that fond of chocolate cake in the first place,” Abby replied.
Serena let out a deep laugh. “You know what? I like you already.” She elbowed Abby. “At least the sex is off the charts amazing, right?”
“Can we focus?” Hawk asked, sounding pained.
Off the charts? Abby had little reference for “off the charts amazing.” She didn’t want to know, she reminded herself. Okay, mostly didn’t want to know…
Ah, hell. She wanted to know.
“If we could just get a room,” Hawk said.
“Two,” Abby corrected. “
Serena looked at Hawk, and at whatever she saw in his face, maybe it was the grim set of his jaw, or, gee, maybe the cut over his eye, she nodded, stepped back and gestured them into the inn.
The main room was large and had a fire going, which Abby headed directly toward. Serena held Hawk back. “Sorry about the heckling,” she said softly. “I couldn’t seem to help myself.”
“Forget it.”
“Are you all right?”
“I will be.”
Abby turned back to see her touch Hawk’s cheek, her smile now tinged with fondness and some lingering heat. “Anything you need?”
“In spite of my character flaws?” he asked her drily, but he patted her hand with his.
Serena smiled and hugged him, the gesture warm and familiar, the affection unmistakable. “Food?” she asked.
“Sleep.”
She nodded. “And a change of clothes.”
“That would be-”
“Off the charts amazing?” Serena let out a low laugh. “Sorry about that, couldn’t resist.”
And Hawk blushed.
She concentrated on the pretty room. The hardwood floors were scarred and covered in throw rugs, the furniture was well used but large and very comfortable looking. Butter-colored walls carried old-fashioned black- and-white pictures from the Wild West. She stuck her hands out to the flames, listening to Hawk and Serena murmur to each other behind her. After a moment, he settled a hand on her shoulder, gesturing for her to come with him, and they headed out of the large room behind Serena, whose hips sashayed beneath that silky robe.
She obviously wasn’t wearing anything beneath it.
Abby glanced at Hawk, sure he’d be staring at that lush body, but he was looking right at her. “You okay?” he
