Mystery Man (Dream Man #1)(76)

Oh boy.

“Do you want to go into more detail about war?” I asked but I wasn’t sure I wanted more detail.

“Did you tell him you were through with me?”

“Um…” I mumbled, trying to pull back a bit but his arm and hand got tighter so I stopped trying. “I was in a bad mood,” I explained.

“Shit, Gwen,” he muttered.

“I also told him I’d sworn off men and was going to take up hiking and set up a ferret rescue.”

He stared down at me. Then he said, “Babe, let me tell you something about men.”

Uh-oh.

“Um…” I began in an effort not to learn anything about men. Hawk wasn’t the only man who was a mystery to me. Men on the whole were a mystery to me. I had no clue why they did half the shit they did and I’d long since decided I didn’t want to know. You could spend decades trying to figure that shit out and never succeed. Ignorance, I decided, was bliss when it came to men. I’d learned to go with the flow and hope I didn’t get chewed up too much in the process.

Hawk kept talking. “Sayin’ shit like that to men like Tack is like a dare.”

“What?”

“He’s the president of an MC. He’s got money. He’s got balls. He’s got brains. He’s got charisma. He’s got power. Men like that, women are easy. Men like that don’t want women who are easy. They want women who are smartasses and they’re cute. A woman like that tells you they want nothin’ to do with men and are gonna set up a ferret rescue, men like Tack take that as a challenge and challenges are what they feed on. They live and breathe for challenge. You sayin’ what you said to Tack is the same as a man comin’ up to him and shovin’ him in a bar. He’s gonna react to that, strongly, and best the situation no matter what he has to do to do it.”

“That’s crazy,” I told him because it was.

“That’s Tack.”

I stared at him. Then it hit me.

“It’s also you.”

His hand squeezed my ass. “You’re learnin’.”

Then something else hit me.

“What happens when you best the situation?”

“What?”

“What happens when it isn’t a challenge anymore?”

His hand left my ass so his arm could curve around my waist and he pulled me closer, muttering, “Sweet Pea.”

I pulled my torso back as best I could and kept my eyes glued to him.

“Is that an answer?” I asked.

He kept his eyes locked to me and asked back, “You gonna give me you?”

It was my turn to say, “What?”

“Babe, yesterday, you said your f**kwad ex crushed you. And I know this to be true because, for days, I watched you approach every situation between us with one hand up as if you’re wardin’ off a threat. When I do something you like, your face gentles because I’ve surprised you, you haven’t had shit like that from a man. You just walked up to me and slid your arms around me sweet. I’ve made you come for me and I’ve been inside you. You’ve shared gratitude. But, Gwen, that hand’s still up, wardin’ me off. You haven’t given me you, not even close. There is no way I’ve bested this situation.”

That was an answer it just wasn’t the answer.

“Okay, so say you best the situation.”

“I haven’t.”

“Say you do.”

“Gwen, I haven’t.”

“But say you do.”

“I do, then we’ll see how that plays out.”

Not a good answer. I knew how it played out. Scott Leighton taught me that.

I looked at his chest and muttered, “I need coffee now.”

“Gwen,” he called.

My arms slid from around his back so my hands could press against his chest.

His arms got tight. “Gwen.”

I pressed harder on his chest.

He shook me gently and ordered, “Gwen, give me your eyes.” I looked up at him and he asked, “You want false promises?” I didn’t answer so his face dipped closer. “Baby, I can’t tell the future.”

“I can,” I whispered and pushed hard on his chest.

I succeeded in gaining a few inches until he hauled me right back, his arms locking around me.

“There it is, Gwen, this is that hand you got up,” he said quietly.

“I need coffee, Hawk.”

I tilted my head down and pushed again at his chest but his hand came up, twisted in my hair and tugged back gently so I was looking at him.

“All right, babe,” he said, “there’s two ways this plays out. I best this situation and you give me all of you, honestly, I could find that’s not what I want and we both move on.”

I yanked my head back but he held firm and kept talking.

“Or,” he went on, “I find treasure and a man who finds treasure does everything he can to protect it and keep it close. I don’t know which way this is gonna go but I’m willin’ to ride it out and see. That’s not a risk I’ve taken in a long time, Gwen, that’s a risk I’ve avoided. But I’m takin’ that risk with you. You step away now, that tells me I’m not worth it to you to take that risk with me.”