Hawke (Carolina Cold Fury Hockey #5)(46)

“You might want to change,” I tell her as I give her body a quick rake before standing from the couch.

She blinks at me in surprise, coming to a dead stop just to the side of her dad’s recliner. He’s got it collapsed into a sitting position, his back ramrod straight. He’s prepared for a fight if one should occur.

“Change for what?” Vale looks between her dad and me with befuddlement.

“Hawke’s taking you out,” Dave pipes in with a firm voice. Almost a command.

“Out where?” she demands.

“To a movie,” I smoothly lie to her. “Your dad and I think you need to get out of this apartment and do something fun. All you do is work.”

Vale’s eyes narrow at me, then slide over to her dad without widening a millimeter. “You both decided I need some fun?”

“Something like that,” Dave says with a smirk, then gives her a wink.

Vale’s gaze travels back to me, and her eyebrows raise in question. “And you’re the person that’s going to give it to me, I suppose?”

Oh, baby…you have no idea, I think to myself. Because, yeah…sure, I want to talk to Vale. I want to put all the cards on the table, get the truth of why she ditched me all those years ago, and I want to come to peace with that.

But I want to f*ck her again, and that’s the part I most certainly didn’t tell Dave about. I’m quite certain I can get that to happen, and that’s without any degree of ego talking. Vale and I are just magnetized to each other, particularly when it comes to sex. She’s cut ties with the toad, she’s already given herself to me once, and it’s damn well going to happen again.

Tonight as a matter of fact.

I know this because I decided that no matter what Vale says to me tonight, no matter what her reasons are for crushing my heart, I’ve decided I’m going to accept it and let it go. With that nastiness out of the way, then I’m going to f*ck her again.

And again, if I’m lucky.

This was my epiphany. A cleansing of our history and a monstrous orgasm deep inside the one woman who once used to rock my world.

But she just thinks we’re going to a movie and I’m okay with that little lie for right now.

“Come on, Vale. Shake a leg. Go put some clothes on and let’s see a movie. You can relax, let your mind escape,” I say with what I hope is sincere and genuine interest in her well-being.

Vale chews on her lower lip in consideration of the offer. She looks back down at her dad, who immediately raises up a defensive hand and growls, “Don’t you dare even suggest that you can’t leave me alone for a few hours. I’m fine and I want you to go.”

She capitulates way easier than I thought she would, which fills me with elation. While she may be as confused as I am as to the weirdness of our current relationship, she definitely wants to spend more time with me.

Or at the least, isn’t averse to the idea.

It only takes ten minutes for Vale to change and for us to hit the road. She assures her dad she’ll be back well before midnight, but I know that’s not f*cking happening if I have my way. She’ll be in my bed all night and I can bring her home in the morning. I’ll text Dave later to let him know.

We manage to fill the awkward void with small talk about the game last night. It’s engaging enough that Vale pays no attention when I leave the beltline, nor does she seem to pay any attention when we drive farther north, away from Raleigh. It’s only when I put on my turn signal in preparation to pull into my neighborhood does she sort of jolt in her seat.

“Where are we?” she asks hesitantly.

“My subdivision.”

“You said we were going to a movie.” Her voice is guarded, her posture stiff and unsure.

“We can watch a movie at my house. It will be more comfortable,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders.

As I navigate my way through the dark roads lit periodically with streetlamps or the glow from landscape lighting, Vale crosses her arms over her chest in a defensive move. She almost sniffs with suspicion. “If you hadn’t just come to my apartment to get me and let my dad know I was with you, I’d think maybe you were bringing me to your house to murder me or something.”

“Why would you say that?” I ask her.

“Because you lied to me to get me out of the house. You inferred we were going out to a movie.”

“Okay,” I say as I pull into my driveway. I hit the garage door opener and pull my car inside. After putting it in park, I turn to her. “So I lied. I wanted some time alone for us to talk.”

“Talk? About what?” she asks, but I can tell she knows damn well what I want to talk about.

I don’t answer but just stare at her through the gloom of the dark garage lit only by the electronics from my stereo system. I continue to stare at her until she looks a bit uncomfortable, and finally she starts shaking her head.

“No,” she says emphatically. “I’m not talking about that.”

“About what?” I say innocently.

“You know what,” she grits out.

“Fine,” I say in exaggerated concession as I open the car door. The overhead lamp floods the interior with light and I see her skeptical look. “Let’s go inside and just watch a movie. I’m sure we can find something good on pay-per-view.”