With his blonde hair swept messily to one side, his toned body drastically changed from dressy to casual, and the comfortable stance he took, he was attractive enough. Add a kickback grin, and it was enough to render her nothing more than joints and pulses.
“Much better,” he said, his gaze raking over her.
She hugged her torso. “You too. Minecraft?”
He plucked the blue shirt with its multi-colored blocks on the front. “I have an Xbox stashed in that room.”
“So you’re a closet gamer?” she said, amused.
“That I am. If I hadn’t promised you a dance, I might suggest a marathon.”
She relaxed, loving the idea of Hawk hanging out on a couch with a game controller in his hands. He seemed so normal like this. So not billionaire.
“I’ve never played,” she admitted. She didn’t have much time for video games. In all honesty, she was surprised he did.
“That we must remedy,” he said.
“But?”
He inched closer. “But right now, you and I have a previous engagement.”
Ella moseyed toward him, her steps silent on the hardwood floor. “Where are we dancing?”
He offered her a hand and guided her toward the tree. The shades over his windows were drawn, offering them additional privacy. Positioned before him, her nerve endings began to stir. She craved what was to come, to feel his hands around her.
Hawk granted her unspoken desire. His hands slid to her waist, pulling her near.
Ella’s breath quickened, her knees slackening and growing weak.
“This feels forbidden, somehow,” she said, allowing her hands to rove up to his shoulders.
“Does it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
His hands closed at the small of her back, sending a shiver through her. She was too preoccupied to say anything else. It was so different seeing a person in a ballroom, surrounded by people, opposed to witnessing that same person in complete, casual seclusion.
She’d been alone with him in the elevator, and they’d shared a brief, unexpected conversation, but that had been tense and uncertain. This was so different. This was a hidden castle, abandoned and then suddenly discovered, where she wanted to explore, to familiarize herself with every aspect of him. His hidden love of video games. His courteous offer for her to change her clothes so he could still spend time with her. Who was Hawk Danielson, really?
She wasn’t sure how to ask, and honestly, the way time had seemed to still, she knew she could find out little by little. There was no rush.
Her attention shifted to his tree. “That is a beautiful tree,” she said.
“I have my staff do a lot for me, but this is one thing I like to do for myself.”
“Oh? You put up your own tree?”
His lips quirked. “I did, yeah. Put it up, decorated it. I spend more time here than I do at home, so I like to have slices of home here as much as possible.”
“Hence the sweats,” she said, tugging at the pants he lent her.
“They look great, by the way,” he said.
“Ha, ha. Very funny.”
“I’m serious. Don’t get me wrong, you were a stun gun in that get up you had earlier. But I like this look for you. Makes me wish we had time for more than a few dances.”
Her brows drew together. What was he saying? She’d been ready to put everything on hold for this moment. What did he have to get to? A family gathering, maybe?
“I need to be to the hospital in a few hours,” he said, answering her thoughts.
She tensed. “The hospital? Why? Are you—I mean, is everything okay?”
Maybe he had someone he needed to visit. He couldn’t have scheduled something for himself, could he?
“Yeah, sure it is. Nothing like that. It’s just that…” He dipped his head before lifting it again. The smoldering expression in his gaze knotted her stomach. “I’m playing Santa.”
Not what she’d expected to hear. “What?”
He chuckled, leading her in a circle beside the tree. “Every year I like to deliver candy to Harmony Children’s. But after talking to you in the elevator, you gave me a different idea.”
“I did? What idea is that?”
“I’m taking an Ever After Sweet Shoppe to them. I know many of the kids can’t leave, so I thought it might be a fun surprise for them to wake up to. Along with their pillowcases, of course.” He winked.
Ella was speechless. If she thought he was attractive before, it was nothing to hearing this. Maybe it was the soft spot she already had for those kids, but hearing someone like Hawk using his money to help others was nothing short of impressive.
“That is seriously amazing. They’re going to love that.”
The song changed. Soft cellos began singing out Silent Night. Hawk whispered her closer. She rested her head against his chest, drifting to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
“And you?” His voice resonated through his chest. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
She’d been enjoying the distraction from Pris’s horrible words, from the hostile hatred she’d declared, but at the mention of it, she retreated from him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know it was really upsetting to you. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Ella stepped back, the magic of the moment dispelled. “That was my stepsister.”
“Seriously? She works with you or something?”
Animosity flowed through her at the mention of Pris. She wrapped a strand of hair around her finger and glanced around his office. At his desk. Anywhere but at him.
“Yes, she works with me, and she was just giving me a reminder of my hours.”
His voice trailed from beside her. “Is she always that helpful?”
“If by helpful you mean pushy and obnoxious, then yes.” Ella regretted the words. This wasn’t her usual perky self. What was she doing?
Hawk stood near the back of the armchair he’d been sitting in. He rested his hip against it and folded his arms. “If I knew what department she worked in, I could fire her for you.”
Ella laughed.
