His breath caught. And when he handed back my phone, his fingers definitely caressed mine. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. We stood there, staring at each other, both of our fingers wrapped around my phone. What I wouldn’t give to use that hold to pull him closer and kiss that mouth I couldn’t stop thinking about.
“DH to B3.”
Demi’s voice broke our moment, and Hawk relinquished the phone and pulled back. She’d stolen the two-way off Hawk’s belt and she was staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
“This is Wy. What’s up? Over.”
“Can you saddle up Ruger and have someone bring her to the training barn? Over.”
The radio clicked on, then off, then on again. “Uh, not for you, right? Because I’m under strict instructions not to let you on a horse yet. Over.”
Demi rolled her eyes, glared at Hawk, and clicked the button. “No. For Carter. Over.”
“It’s not just me,” Hawk said. “Your fiancé, your parents, and all your brothers are on board.”
Demi snorted but Wy’s voice came through again before she could respond. “That’s okay then. I’ll have her up there shortly. Over and out.”
Demi handed the two-way back to Hawk. Hawk took it, clipped it on his belt, glanced at me for a fraction of a second, then focused on his sister. “Are you sure he’s ready for Ruger?”
“Standing right here,” I muttered, but I didn’t actually care. Watching the byplay between the siblings was entertaining as hell.
“Mal says he is. Niko’s too tame. Besides, you know Ruger is a good girl when she has a rider. It’s not like I’m putting him on Talia.”
“I’d put a stop to it if you were. All right. You gonna have a lesson in the indoor arena?”
Demi nodded and pushed off the railing. “Yeah. It’s contained, obstacle free, and I can instruct from the rail. Plus, I heard Gemma singing off key when I came through, so she can help if I need it.” She patted my arm. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can hang Ramona’s new bridle and then we’ll see what Mal’s been teaching you.”
Without another word, she turned and walked away. But I was still staring at Hawk, and he had his gaze fixed on me. The horse did a little sidestep, but Hawk rolled with the motion, still staring.
“Be careful, okay?”
His voice was low and deep, and I heard the concern there. He obviously trusted Demi’s judgment. He would have refused to allow it if he didn’t. And because I trusted him, I was willing to go along with Demi’s plan.
“I promise.”
Hawk’s gaze softened, and he actually gave me a smile. He let go of the reins and reached out, but before I could react, he dropped it to his thigh. He rubbed his palm on his jeans, then took hold of the reins again.
“Have fun. Demi’s good.” Then he whirled the horse around and rode off to the other side of the arena.
Fuck. He was going to be the death of me. I just knew it. The tension between us hadn’t gone away by deciding we would only be friends. If anything, it had increased. I spun and followed the direction Demi had gone, reminding myself of all the reasons Hawk and I couldn’t be more.
It didn’t work, but I tried.
Chapter 15
Hawk
“So, what you’re saying is that he’s like what? Mom’s Halloween candy?” Gemma asked.
She’d invaded my room in the attic for whatever reason, but then again she really didn’t need much invitation.
I groaned. “That’s… disturbing.”
She snickered and stretched out on my couch. “No, think about it. None of us ever wanted Mom’s portion of the Halloween candy until she said we weren’t allowed to take any.”
I rolled over on the bed, pushed my face into my pillow, and yelled into it.
Gemma laughed. “At least you’re not dramatic about it.”
