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Authors: Mia Dymond

Tags: #romance, #humor, #military, #contemporary, #music, #navy seal

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BOOK: Leather, Lace and Rock-n-Roll
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Hawke forced his mind back on business. House
plans. The reason she thinks I’m here. “I don’t really have
anything in mind. I’m just in the market for real estate.”

“Since you’re here, I’m assuming that means
you’re interested in building a house.”

“Yes.”

Rachel lowered her eyes and scribbled on a
note pad. “Will you spend much time there?”

Every single hour of every single day if she
were around. “A lot.”

Her head snapped to an upright position, as
if she were startled by his admission. “You plan to live here?”

Hawke’s confidence rose a few points. He now
had her full attention. “You’re surprised?”

“I assumed you spent most of your time
working.”

“I’ve decided to slow down and pursue some
other interests.”

Other interests like the sexy, young creature
sitting across the desk from him. Her beauty held him hostage each
time he looked at her, set him off kilter, and left him with a bad
case of cottonmouth.

“What about real estate?” she continued. “Is
there a particular area you’re interested in?”

“No, I haven’t had much time to check it out
yet. Any ideas?”

“I design quite a few homes in Pacific Valley
Heights.” She slid a colorful brochure across the desk. “The
community is exclusive and expertly gated. If you’re interested, we
need to make application quickly. The committee meets once a
week.”

He gave her a playful wink. “Think I’ll pass
inspection?”

“You won’t have any problems.”

He flipped through the brochure without
really paying much attention then glanced back at her. “Do you live
there?”

She pursed her lips. “No.”

Hawke shifted as he caught a note of
avoidance in her tone.

“Where are you staying in the meantime?” she
continued, pointedly changing the subject.

“I have a suite at Escondrijo Deserte.”

The beginning of a smile tipped the corners
of her mouth. “Desert Hideaway. Very nice place. An appropriate
camouflage for someone of your notoriety.”

Mesmerized by the warmth and silkiness of her
voice, Hawke felt himself being sucked deep into a sea of desire.
And he would kill the person who even thought to throw him a life
preserver. “Have dinner with me.”

“What?” She gave him a blank stare, her eyes
once again wide in amazement.

“Dinner. You do eat, right?” he teased.

“You want to have dinner with me,” she
repeated slowly.

“Yes, Rachel, dinner.”

“Only dinner.”

For now. “Yes.”

Rachel tilted her head to one side as if
trying to process his invitation. “Forgive me. It has been my
experience that men like you tend to expect a little more than
dinner.”

Hawke frowned. An insult? “Men like me?”

“Yeah, prominent, successful, used to getting
what you want.”

If she even had half an idea of what he
really wanted, she’d turn him down and run. “So, you’ll go?”

She smiled and shrugged. “Sure.” She pushed
her paperwork to the side and stood to shoulder a handbag resting
on the corner of the desk. “Somehow I don’t think you’d settle for
McDonald’s, so I know a place. Maybe you’ll be more comfortable
away from Cameron.”

“Is anyone comfortable around her?”

She giggled and he almost came undone. That
one breathy little sound made his libido tap dance. “Cameron’s
harmless,” she assured him. “A little overbearing but harmless. In
fact, we work as a team. You’ve hired both of us. She’s a very
talented interior designer.”

“Cameron?” Hawke slid his glasses back in
place. Somehow he couldn’t picture her peacefully painting in a
corner somewhere. “The same woman who slid past Max at the
concert?”

Rachel frowned. “Max?”

“My security manager. The one sitting in your
front office. Apparently you two met at the gate.”

Her cheeks turned bright red yet she managed
to ignore his push for information and redirect the conversation.
“Actually, you and Cameron could probably work out a trade.”

Hawke opened the door and motioned her
through. “Trade?”

She nodded and reached around him to pull the
door closed. “She has a major crush on your drummer.”

Hawke followed Rachel back into the lobby,
relieved to see Max in one piece. That would’ve been hell to
explain.

Max eased himself from the sofa. “Where
to?”

“Dinner,” Hawke answered.

Cameron’s eyebrows climbed her forehead.

Rachel shrugged. “Would you like to join us,
Cameron?”

Cameron grinned. “No thanks. You forget I
have a warm, willing male waiting for me at home.”

“Suit yourself,” Max muttered just before he
opened the front door.

Rachel frowned. “Who?”

Cameron folded her arms across her chest.
“You know who.”

Rachel paused for a minute and tossed her
hands in the air. “Of course! Maxwell,

your ca—”

“Have fun, Rachel.” Cameron stood from the
couch. “And call me when you get home.”

 

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

The ride to the restaurant was a true test in
restraint for Hawke. Seated inches away from him, Rachel sat
quietly with her hands folded in her lap. Meanwhile, he fisted his
own hands in an attempt to keep them to himself. He swallowed
another dose of irritation. Normally there would be a whole lot of
touchy feely going on between them by now. Yet, she appeared
relaxed and not the least bit interested in anything other than
casual conversation.

“Romero’s is just up the next hill, Max,” she
said into the silence.

Hawke turned to look out the window. Romero’s
Elegancia sat at the top of a hill overlooking the sleepy desert
below. The two-story, adobe building was the only structure in the
area, surrounded on all four sides by a wooden fence. Tonight,
bright moonlight bounced off the water feature in front, streaming
a path to the front door where waiters in white evening jackets
waited to greet each guest. Rachel was exactly right, this place
wasn’t McDonald’s.

“Take the second left,” Rachel said into the
darkness. “We can go in the back entrance.”

Max steered to the back of the restaurant,
stopped beneath a green canopy, and then opened the back passenger
door. He gave Hawke a nod. “Call me when you’re finished.”

Rachel gave Max a smile. “You’re welcome to
join us.” Max

offered Rachel a hand and lifted her from the
car. “Thank you, Miss Newberry, but Hawke can handle this on his
own.”

“Rachel,” she said softly.

Hawke raised an eyebrow. Would Max take the
bait?

With his usual lack of emotion, Max nodded.
“Rachel. I’ll wait out here.”

Hawke exited behind Rachel to find her
already in conversation with the maitre de. “Hello, Manuel, nice to
see you again.”

“Buenos Noches, Rachel. Would you like your
usual table?”

Rachel nodded and Manuel led them to a corner
table upstairs, away from the crowd.

“Obviously you come here often,” Hawke
said.

“I’ve been here a few times,” she admitted as
he pulled a chair out for her. She turned to look around the area.
“Why do I think this isn’t a coincidence?”

He shot her a wicked grin as he sat opposite
her. “I called ahead.”

She arched one fine eyebrow. “Before you
asked me to dinner?”

“I had high hopes,” he teased.

He watched as her face paled and she
shuddered ever so slightly. “No, really, Rachel, I didn’t have a
reservation.”

He signaled the waiter who arrived shortly
with wine in hand. Hawke poured two glasses then leaned back
casually in his chair, amazed at what an enigma Rachel presented.
Not only was she physically beautiful, she was gentle and extremely
intelligent. Not his usual mark.

Rachel lifted her glass and downed half of
the scarlet liquid before he could take his first swallow. He
watched her set the glass back on the table and then focus her gaze
on his chest. He looked down to see what held her attention and
noticed his shirt had managed to free itself from several buttons,
exposing smooth, bare skin. He glanced back at her and saw her
nipples tighten beneath her silky blouse.

“Hungry?”

She snapped her eyes from his chest and met
his head on. The look he found told him she wasn’t hungry, she was
starved.

He felt himself harden and opted for casual
conversation. “You didn’t say whether you enjoyed the concert.”

Rachel lifted her glass again and swallowed
the remaining contents before she spoke. “Actually, I learned a few
things.”

“Really?” His interest piqued. “This is the
first time I’ve ever been told my show was educational.”

“I found out several things.” Her sparkling
eyes flashed in the candlelight. “I discovered that your security
guard is a breast man, and that most women are not there to hear
the music. But most importantly, I learned that it’s perfectly
acceptable to go to a rock concert bare-bottomed with my panties in
my pocket.”

Hawke choked on his wine, coughing as the
liquid fire burned the back of his throat and the vision of Rachel
without panties knocked him on his ass.

“Don’t mind me, Hawke.” She handed him a
napkin. “Sometimes I’m a little too matter-of-fact for my own good.
Brains instead of beauty.”

He stopped sopping the wine from his shirt.
“What?”

“I said, brains instead of beauty. Brainiacs
like me tend to be quite verbal.”

“Who told you that?”

“No one.” She dismissed him with a wave of
her hand. “Forget it.”

“Whoever said that was a blind idiot,” he
mumbled as he tossed the wet napkin on the table.

A waiter appeared out of nowhere with several
napkins. Within seconds, Hawke was dry and dinner was ordered.

“Look, Hawke.” Rachel folded her arms across
her chest and leaned back in her chair. “It’s very sweet of you to
compliment me, but it’s not necessary. I know the score. I’m not
the party girl you saw at the bar. Cameron decided I needed a night
out, that’s all. Gorgeous, successful, famous men like you hang
slinky beautiful supermodels from their arms. Not women like
me.”

Hawke tossed her words back and forth in his
mind. She honestly believed every word she said. And if he
disagreed, he risked cementing her warped image of him.

“You think I’m gorgeous?”

She eyed him narrowly from across the table.
“I forgot egotistical.”

He unfolded her arms, took her hand in his,
and braided their fingers. “I thought you were beautiful when I
first saw you last night, even more so when you extracted me from
the jaws of death, and absolutely breathtaking tonight.”

Rachel’s eyes bounced from their enjoined
hands into his eyes. He witnessed her inner battle as she digested
his compliment.
Believe me
.

“Thank you,” she said finally. “You’ve
probably worked very hard to perfect that line.”

Hawke frowned at her response. She was
genuinely oblivious to the extent of her beauty. And her brains
doubled the effect. But what was more incredible was her belief
that he was feeding her a line. Fine. He’d go along.

He laughed lightly. “It’s my best one.”

Hawke reached for his glass again, almost
hurt by her accusation. And why the hell was he so concerned? He
took a long drink and glanced around the room in an effort to reel
in his unusual irritation. Only, much to his dismay, things would
not get better anytime soon. A cold chill climbed all thirty three
vertebrae of his spine when he spotted two reasons for Rachel’s
conclusion walking straight toward him, dressed to the nines with
tanned skin and cleavage leading the way.

He set his wineglass on the table and glanced
at Rachel to see if she’d noticed. I told you so resonated from the
depths of her eyes but she only shrugged.

Hawke actually grimaced when the two women
stopped at the table. He took a deep breath and stood. His only
option now was to see how this played out.

“Hawke,” the tall blonde purred, “I had no
idea you were still in town.”

Hawke planted a brief kiss on her cheek.
“Hello, Ava. I decided to stick around after the show this time.”
He leaned to greet the second, red-headed woman in the same manner.
“Nice to see you too, Erica.”

Ava moved her gaze to Rachel. “Business or
pleasure?”

Before he could set Ava straight, Rachel
scooted back her chair and stood to extend a hand. “Business,”
Rachel answered for him. “Rachel Newberry.”

Ava’s lips split into a grin as she halfway
shook Rachel’s hand. “Is that what you call it these days,
Hawke?”

Hawke’s eyes widened and for the very first
time in his life, he didn’t have a clue how to respond. Again,
Rachel beat him to the punch.

“I can assure you we really are discussing
business.”

Ava narrowed her violet eyes, obviously
suspicious. “What kind of business?”

Hawke waited a split second to see if Rachel
would once again intervene and then realized she couldn’t. His own
confidentiality agreement prevented it. Damn, where was his
back-up?

“Hawke.” Rachel laid her hand on his forearm.
“Why don’t you tell Ava about the real estate development venture
you’re interested in.”

Warmth seeped into his skin and spread over
his body. Rachel was sheer genius.

Hawke smiled at Ava and Erica. “Would you
ladies like to join us and hear about it?”

Ava didn’t hesitate. “I think not, Hawke. You
know I find that kind of talk boring. Besides, we’re meeting
someone.”

“It was very nice to meet the two of you,”
Rachel said as she sat back down.

Ava gave Rachel a cursory glance. “You
too.”

She leaned to place a kiss on Hawke’s cheek.
“You know the number if you get tired of real estate.”

Hawke didn’t answer, relieved when Ava and
Erica wiggled out of sight.

BOOK: Leather, Lace and Rock-n-Roll
6.67Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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