Savage Collision: A Hawke Family Novel (Hawke Family #1)(11)

She clears her throat, barely glancing up at me before looking back to her hands while I take another sip of wine. “Thank you for the flowers. I have to admit, I was surprised to hear from you, and certainly don’t deserve them after the way I acted in your office the other day.”

I almost spit out my wine. An apology?

She doesn’t seem the type to apologize for anything. That I’m getting one tells me it’s a nudge in the right direction.

“You mean when you stormed in like hell on wheels and tore me a new asshole?” Her head snaps up and I grin at her, making sure she understands I’m just messing with her. “Relax. You didn’t offend me. In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you for the last week.”

Obsessing might be a more accurate term.

“Really?” She shifts forward in her chair, her eyes never leaving mine. I’m glad she’s apparently gotten over her initial reservation. “Thinking about ways to get back at me for my horrible behavior?” She picks up her glass and tilts it back.

I grin and lean forward across the table, close enough so I’m sure she’ll be the only one able to hear me.

“No, thinking about how much I want my face buried between your legs and my tongue in your pussy.”



I sputter, and the wine I’m about to swallow sprays across the table, barely missing Savage’s smug face. He settles back into his seat, laughing as I cough and try to regain some semblance of control.

“You all right?” he asks, his right eyebrow quirking up in a way that makes me want to climb across the table to ride him and smack him simultaneously.

Shit. This is definitely not what I was expecting when I got his dinner invitation.

I was sure he was baiting me just to get me here so he could convince me to leave him and the club alone. And maybe to tempt me more with his sinful smile and come-hither bedroom eyes.

“Yes,” I say, clearing my throat one last time and taking a sip of water as nonchalantly and confidently as I can. “I’m just fine.”

Lie.

I am most definitely not fine. How could I possibly be fine while looking at this man? His arms bulge under his fitted, perfectly-tailored suit jacket, and I suck my bottom lip under my teeth to keep from moaning. A handsome, muscular man in a well-fitted suit is fucking porn for me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shock you.”

Yeah, right.

I roll my eyes at him and take another drink of my wine. “Bullshit, that’s exactly what you meant to do. I bet you get a real kick out of fucking with women like that.”

He chuckles and takes another drink of his wine. “No,” he says with a smirk, “only you. And I wasn’t fucking with you. I’m dead serious. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. You got under my skin.”

He says the last part with such sincerity, I’m forced to rein in my smartass comeback.

Is this guy for real?

I study his face as he holds my gaze. His strong jaw is covered in dark stubble, setting off his cerulean blue eyes, and his lightly tanned skin gives him an almost exotic look. He must have women throwing themselves at his feet, especially in a club like his. He probably fucks a new girl every day of the week.

PUSSY PEDDLER! Don’t forget who he is and what he does!

Just because Nora defended him doesn’t mean I have to forget his profession.

“While I appreciate the compliment, Savage, I have to be honest when I tell you I’m not the least bit surprised to hear your motive for asking me here.”

He looks surprised. “What motive is that?”

I scoff and roll my eyes at him. “To fuck me.”

He bursts out laughing, throwing his head back while his whole body shakes. When he looks at me again, his eyes twinkle with amusement. I have to bite my lip again to stop the smile that tries to creep out. He’s so damn sexy when he laughs like that, and it goes straight to my clit.

“Danika, I did not invite you here to try to fuck you. You asked me why I had been thinking about you, and I answered you, truthfully. I’ll always do my best to respond honestly to everything you ask, but that doesn’t mean my motives in inviting you here were not pure.”

“Pure? I doubt you know the meaning of the word.” He flinches slightly at my retort, and I cringe inwardly.

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh.

He searches my face, contemplating something before he replies.

“Did you speak with your sister?”

Okay, hadn’t expected him to go there after I just insulted him…again.

“Yeah, actually, she showed up at my apartment the day after I came to see you.”

“You two talked?”

I nod, and he watches me, waiting for me to elaborate.

“Look, she told me she spoke with you, so thank you for getting her to come talk to me.”

Being beholden to him for anything irks me, but after chasing Nora for weeks, he was the one who finally got her to actually stop avoiding me. I have to give him credit for that, at least.

“You’re welcome. I can only imagine how worried you were for her. If I didn’t hear from my sisters for a couple weeks, I would be worried, too.”

“You have sisters?” I hadn’t intended that to come out so coarse, but for some reason, the thought of a strip club owner having sisters seems unthinkable.