“I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”
Tate let out a long breath, like he’d been holding it, and the sensation skittered over my flesh where his mouth was still touching me. At some point I’d wrapped my arm around his waist…to hold him there, to be able to pull him closer, I wasn’t really sure why. All I knew was that his body fit mine perfectly and instead of feeling strange or unnatural, it just felt…right.
“I’m coming with you,” he finally said.
I sighed and forced myself to push back from him. I missed the contact immediately, but I made myself take a few more steps back, widening the distance between us. “Go home, Tate. Take care of Matty,” I said firmly. “When things settle down, Ronan can help you start over. Don’t worry about the money-”
“I’m not doing this for the money,” Tate interrupted. I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. I shook my head and went to my truck to close the door.
“Matty wanted you to have this,” I heard Tate say from behind me. I turned around and felt my heart lurch at the sight of the Spiderman doll he was holding out to me. I took it and studied the faded patches of paint. “He said he could help you fight the bad guys.”
A chuckle escaped my lips and I lifted my eyes to study Tate who was standing tensely in front of me, his arms hanging loosely by his sides, the hands fisted. “I’ll follow you to Lulling,” was all he said and I knew by his determined expression that he meant it.
A mix of emotions went through me as we stared at each other. There was no denying that Tate could give me the information I needed to help make my search easier. But even the idea of spending the next several days in such close proximity to him was playing havoc with my senses. “What about Matty?” I finally asked.
“Tonight was his last round of chemo for this phase. He has to stay in the hospital for the next three weeks so that his immune system can recover, then he can go home for a week before we start the whole process over again. Ronan and Seth are amazing with him and when I told Matty that you needed my help, he gave me Spiderman to give to you.” Tate let out a little laugh. “I guess since I’m not a superhero, he figured you could use all the help you could get.”
I knew Tate’s last statement was meant to lighten the mood, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh or even smile. Instead, I closed the distance between us and put my hand at the back of his neck to hold him still. He sucked in a breath as I dropped my mouth near his, but I bypassed his lips and moved my mouth to his ear. “You’re a hero every fucking day, Tate,” I said softly. “Don’t ever forget that.”
And with that, I released him and moved past him. “Come on in,” I said as I started for the darkened house. “We leave in a few hours.”
Chapter Ten
Tate
My skin along the back of my neck was still tingling where Hawke had held on to me and it took me a moment to gather myself together enough to follow Hawke into the house. I was still reeling from both his words and his touch, but the part that had me struggling to move forward was the way he’d looked at me…if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he had been feeling the same pull of desire that I was.
From the moment I’d read Hawke’s note, then re-read it, I’d obsessed over what to do next. He’d given me exactly what I’d wanted – freedom. But he’d given me much more than that. And it wasn’t just the money for Matty’s care. No, he’d given me something nearly as valuable. He’d given me people to lean on.
I hadn’t really put much of my faith into Ronan and Seth sticking around as Matty’s treatment continued, especially since Matty’s young age meant he only had so much patience before he had one of his meltdowns. But in the ten days since Matty had been admitted, neither man had waivered in their commitment to supporting both of us and I’d finally realized they weren’t doing it out of some obligation towards Hawke. They were doing it simply because they were both good men and because they genuinely cared about Matty…and me. It was a hard adjustment for me, having friends, and I was sure I’d shown my initial mistrust early on when I’d staunchly refused to stay away from the hospital for more than an hour or two. But neither Ronan nor Seth had ever seemed offended by my overprotectiveness.