Sinful Rewards 11 by Cynthia Sax Read Free Book Online Page A

looking forward to seeing our cat, to having her join our makeshift family. “Was he able to buy everything on my list?”
    “Logistics sourced the items, and Mack picked them up an hour ago.” Hawke tightens his hold on me. “Gisele will have everything she needs.” He rubs his cheek against mine, his stubble teasing my skin. “Including a home and two people who love her.”
    I glance up at him. “You love her?”
    “She protected my girl from construction site rats.” He kisses my neck. “How could I not love her?”
    I frown, wishing he wouldn’t use that term so casually, acting as though love doesn’t mean anything, as though it doesn’t indicate a forever together. “Will you stay with me until she arrives?”
    “We’ll greet our new cat together,” Hawke assures me. The elevator doors open and we exit, our fingers linked together. “But after Gisele’s settled, I have to leave.” He brushes his shoulder against mine. “I’m personally supervising the venue’s preliminary security scan.”
    “Do you usually supervise that?” I slow my pace to a crawl, wishing to spend more time with him.
    “No.” Hawke matches my stride, his gait smooth and silent. “Normally, I assign the task to my team.”
    But he isn’t tonight. I don’t delude myself that this personal attention is because of me. “There will be a lot of media at the event.”
    Hawke’s lips flatten. “The media is the number one reason why our clients need security. If a hostile’s sole goal is to eliminate an individual, he’d avoid an event like this ball. He’d approach his target when she’s out of the spotlight and alone, minimizing casualties and the possibility of being apprehended.”
    I consider his words. “I don’t have to worry about that type of hostile.” No one would specifically target me. I’m not that important. “That’s why I was safe in the French restaurant.”
    “You were safer in the restaurant,” Hawke corrects. “You’re never completely safe.” He touches the barbed wire tattoo on his arm, a reminder of how random violence can be. “The media and an event like tonight’s ball attract a different type of hostile. They wish to make a statement. They do this by taking out their target and as many bystanders as possible, ensuring coverage of their cause.”
    This is the scary world he lives in. I shiver. “That doesn’t happen very often.” I would have seen reports on the Internet, on TV.
    “But it does happen.” My military man waves his passcard over our condo’s sensor. “You’ll obey my team tonight, Belinda.” He opens the door. “If they say move, you move.”
    “I’ll follow orders.” I step over the threshold. There’s a speck of gravel on my previously cleaned floor. I frown. That shouldn’t be there. I cleaned the condo before I left. No one has entered it since then.
    Or have they? I freeze, my body temperature dropping. “Hawke?” I whisper.
    “Yes, love?” He moves forward and the door shuts behind him.
    I extend my arms, preventing my big man from passing me. “Back into the hallway and call your team.” I keep my voice soft and calm, suppressing the terror swirling inside me. “Someone entered our condo while we were gone.”
    “There’s no need to worry.” Hawke dismisses my concerns.
    I look over my right shoulder and lower my eyebrows, trying not to freak the hell out. “There is a need to worry. I’m serious. Someone was here.”
    “I know you’re serious.” His eyes glimmer. “And that pleases me.” He turns me around to face him. “You’re so damn perfect for me.” He surges toward me. Our chest and hips collide, and his lips cover mine.
    Our condo has been infiltrated and he’s kissing me. I’m stunned, unable to react for a heartbeat, and then I slap his chest, trying to beat some sense into my normally rational man. He reluctantly releases me.
    “You don’t understand.” My pitch rises. “Hostiles came into our