The Hunt

11. Everly

11

Everly

The shower water poured over me, scalding hot. I welcomed the sting against my skin, as if it could burn away the exhaustion from the day’s back-to-back lectures, study groups, and assignment-writing. It would also be nice if it could burn away the grime of everything I’d been through lately.

Jake. His name slithered through my thoughts yet again.

I still couldn’t believe that he’d managed to skate away from what he’d done to me without so much as a slap on the wrist. After everything he’d done, and everything he’d tried to do, he was just out there living his life without a care in the world.

The thought made my hands ball into fists as the water streamed over me, my breath coming faster.

As furious as I was with Jake, Rhett wasn’t far from my mind either. A completely different kind of frustration swirled around him. That maddening smirk, his infuriating arrogance, the way he could go from being the world’s biggest asshole to unexpectedly generous and protective…

Dare I say… even a little sweet?

“No, I don’t dare say that,” I said to myself out loud, voice echoing loudly in the steamy shower. There was nothing sweet about Rhett Sinclair.

Still, I didn’t know what to make of him, and it pissed me off that he occupied so much of my brain.

I turned the shower off and stepped out, grabbing a towel to pat down my dripping hair. I didn’t bother drying off my body. To me, there was almost nothing better than slipping straight into one of the hotel’s terrycloth gowns after a shower. They were incredibly soft and comfy, and every day, there was a new one hanging on the back of the door, courtesy of the daily housekeeping service.

I padded out of the bathroom, steam trailing in my wake, and froze mid-step.

Rhett was standing there.

I didn’t even have time to process what I was seeing before a startled shriek escaped my lips. At the same time, my arms flew up instinctively, clutching the towel to my chest.

“Wh-what the hell are you doing here?” I managed to splutter, my voice shrill with shock.

Rhett didn’t flinch. Didn’t look away. Just stood there, his gaze steady, sharp, and unapologetic, like I was the one intruding.

For a mortifying moment, I couldn’t tell if the heat on my face was from the shower or the way his eyes flickered down, then back up, taking in my body.

“I wanted to see you,” he finally said, taking a step closer.

“Well, you’ve certainly seen me now,” I muttered as I awkwardly wriggled around with the towel, trying to wrap it around myself without exposing anything to him.

I knew it was too late, though—he’d definitely seen my entire nude body when I first stepped out of the bathroom.

He grabbed a fresh robe off the hook on the door and held it out to me. I snatched it from him, heart racing.

“Listen,” I began as I wrapped the soft fabric around myself and cinched the waist with the belt. “It was very generous of you to give me this room, but if you’re going to let yourself in here whenever you want, then I think I should leave. I didn’t agree to an arrangement like that.”

Rhett took a step backward, blocking the door. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said in a low voice.

“It’s fine. Really. I’ll crash on Tessa’s floor until my new dorm is finally re—”

He stepped forward and grabbed my arm, cutting me off. “I said you’re not going anywhere,” he growled. “It’s not safe for you out there. Especially not in the middle of the fucking night.”

My breath hitched as I looked up at him. His jaw was tight, his eyes a storm of agitation. “Is it safe for me in here ?” I asked, arching a brow.

“Yes.” His fingers flexed slightly against my arm. “Do you have a passport?”

“Um… no. Why?”

“Never mind,” he muttered. “That wouldn’t work anyway.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

He didn’t answer right away. Just stood there, chest rising and falling in steady breaths that belied the tension rolling off him.

“Can you please let go of me?” I asked, wriggling in his grip.

Rhett’s hand stayed exactly where it was, thick fingers curled around my arm. His gaze dropped to the floor for a split second, and I could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard.

With him standing there, gripping my arm with that mix of frustration and intensity, my mind suddenly flashed to the day he broke into my old dorm.

All I could see was him in that skull mask, with that chilling air of authority as he stood there like a reaper deciding my fate. It had terrified me in the moment, but now?

Now the memory clung to me in ways that made heat rise in my chest. He’d looked so wicked that day, so ruthless… and I hated myself for the way some twisted part of me no longer hated the memory.

Then there were his words at the bonfire party about chasing me through the woods, still burning in my mind like the embers from that night.

The way he’d said it—half-joking, half-menacing—should’ve sent shivers of fear down my spine. Instead, it was something else entirely. Something that made my heart race for all the wrong reasons.

“Rhett,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said. The words were low and rough, like they’d been dragged out of him against his will, and as he spoke them, he finally dropped his hand from my arm.

My skin itched, suddenly craving his touch again, but of course I would never admit that. Not to him.

“That’s all?” I asked. “You came here at midnight just to check on me?”

His brows furrowed. “Is that not enough of a reason?”

“Not when it involves you creeping in here while I’m naked,” I said hotly.

Rhett released a sharp breath, raking a hand through his hair. “I’ve just been thinking. Maybe I should—”

He cut himself off, jaw clenching like he regretted saying anything at all.

I frowned and tilted my head. “Maybe you should what?”

His eyes met mine then, and the storm in them made my heart stutter. There was obviously something on his mind. Something he didn’t want to tell me. Or maybe couldn’t tell me.

Maybe I didn’t even want to know what it was.

Some part of me wanted to comfort him, given his clear distress, but at the same time, I wasn’t so sure about that. Did I really want to comfort him? Or did I just feel like I owed it to him for all the help he’d given me?

“I checked the room charges,” he finally said.

Oh.

That was what this weird nocturnal visit was about. He was mad at me for spending so much of his money over the last few days.

I hadn’t eaten that much, though, and he’d expressly told me to order whatever I wanted whenever I was hungry, so I couldn’t understand why he was mad at me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’ll stop ordering so much. And I’ll pay you back when I—”

He cut me off. “I meant you haven’t been eating enough,” he said. “I’m ordering you more food right now. No arguments.”

My mouth dropped open. “It’s midnight! I can’t eat this late.”

“I said no arguments.”

“Why do you even care how much I eat?” I snapped.

“Maybe I just like taking care of you, Everly,” he replied, eyes flashing. “Did that ever occur to you?”

It was the first time he’d ever called me by my full name instead of my nickname. The way it rolled off his tongue sent a jolt straight through me, making my heart skip a beat.

“You don’t even like me, Rhett,” I said, trying my best to keep my voice steady. “So no, it didn’t occur to me. In fact, I’ve felt nothing but total confusion since you helped me the other night and brought me here.” I paused for a beat, shaking my head. “Honestly… I don’t understand you at all. ”

Rhett lifted a brow. “You don’t like me either. So why haven’t you asked me to leave?”

I frowned. “Huh?”

“You’re acting like you don’t want me here right now, but you haven’t expressly asked me to leave.” His voice was sharp and challenging as he towered over me. “So ask me.”

I swallowed hard, my pulse racing. “I… I don’t—”

Rhett stepped even closer, his presence overwhelming my senses.

Why did he have to be so tall? And why did he have to smell so damn good?

“If you want me gone, I’ll go,” he said. “Just say the words.”

As he spoke, his fingers caught my chin, tilting my face upward. His touch was firm, commanding, and I couldn’t look away. Didn’t even want to.

"Go on," he said, his voice low and coaxing. "Tell me to leave."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I couldn’t force myself to say the words.

"I… I can’t," I finally said, the admission so quiet it felt like a confession.

"Why?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.

"You know why," I murmured, my voice shaky.

"I want to hear you say it," he demanded. “Now.”

My heart thundered in my chest, the air between us charged with something electric and impossible to ignore. Rhett’s gaze burned into me, daring me to admit what I’d been too afraid to confront.

I swallowed hard, my lips parting. “Because… I don’t want you to go,” I whispered.

His eyes darkened, his hand still firm on my chin. Then he moved, closing the last sliver of space between us. His lips brushed mine, tentative at first, like a question waiting to be answered, but the second I leaned into him, the kiss deepened, and all the tension that had been simmering between us finally erupted.

His hand slid to the back of my neck, his fingers threading through my hair as he pulled me closer. My hands found his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt like it was the only thing anchoring me to reality. He kissed me like he was claiming me, each movement fierce and consuming, and I let him, unable to think, unable to care about anything but this moment.

When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing hard, his forehead resting against mine. “You should’ve told me to leave,” he muttered. His voice was rough, a mix of frustration and something that sounded close to hunger.

“Why?” I asked breathlessly.

His lips brushed against my ear as he spoke, sending a shiver down my spine. "If you'd told me to go, I would've walked out that door. But the longer you keep me here, the more I'll want to stay, and when I want something, I take it.” He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes, his gaze dark and intense. "And right now, all I can think about is how much I want you."

I swallowed hard, knowing my next words were a mistake but unable to stop them from slipping out. “Take what you want, then.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Everly,” Rhett said, voice low and gravelly, like a warning and a promise all in one. “Not really.”

Before I could get another word out, he grabbed my hair and pulled me close again, slamming his mouth back down on mine, tongue snaking between my lips.

There was no romance to this kiss, just him ravaging my mouth like a starved man while his fingers damn near yanked my hair out.

I let out a moan, half-pained and half-needy, and dragged my nails down his side. In response, he hissed into my mouth and moved one hand down to grab my leg and hike it up, letting me wrap it partway around him so I could start grinding against him.

I knew I shouldn’t do it.

I should hate him. Should stop this in its tracks right now. But I was already sinking under his spell, letting the wonderful heat rush through me as he devoured my mouth, nipping and sucking on my tongue.

His hand moved up my lifted leg, palming my ass. I let out a hum of pleasure and slipped my own hand between us, sliding under his waistband. A little gasp of shock escaped my mouth as I delved into his boxers and wrapped my hand around his hard cock.

He was big… and pierced.

Heart pounding, I traced my fingers up the tiny metal bars on the underside, wondering how the ridges would feel if he fucked me. When he fucked me.

“Will it hurt?” I whispered, pulling back to stare up at him.

“Only if you want it to,” he said in a low voice.

I didn’t know what he meant, but I wanted to find out. Now.

I withdrew my hand and worked at the front of his pants, and his cock finally sprang free in front of me. My mouth began to water, as if I were having a Pavlovian response to the sight of it, and like an automaton working on previously-programmed commands, I sank to my knees, lips parting.

Rhett yanked his shirt off and tossed it aside before reaching down to fist my hair again. My eyes instantly stung with tears as pain raced across my scalp, and I blinked rapidly, noticing the tattoos covering his arms and chest—dark, twisted forms of skeletal hands, thorned vines, and shadowy figures that seemed to writhe with the movement of his muscles.

When I tilted my chin up slightly, focusing on the biggest tattoo, I noticed it seemed to have been inked over an old scar. The more I looked, the more scars I noticed, thin and jagged lines crisscrossing beneath the ink.

I barely had time to wonder what caused the scars before he thrust into my mouth, gagging me as the piercings slid over my tongue and hit the back of my throat.

I moaned as Rhett’s grip on my head tightened. The sting across my scalp was almost unbearable, but somehow, I wanted it anyway. I loved the way he towered over me, exuding power and control, as if I was nothing more than an object for his pleasure, completely at the mercy of his whims.

He kept hammering at my throat, fucking my mouth until it felt raw, and then he finally pulled out, staring down at the thin, silvery string of saliva connecting my lips to the head of his cock.

“Take it off,” he ordered, eyes moving to my white robe. “Then bend over the table.”

I got up on shaky legs, heart racing as I dropped the robe and turned to face the table. I planted my hands on it, arched my back, and waited.

A beat passed. Then another. By the time Rhett finally stepped up to me, one hand palming my ass, I was practically dripping all over the floor, aching with anticipation.

As soon as I felt his cock grazing my pussy, I whimpered, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip to stop that sound from turning into an all-out cry of desperation.

Rhett slapped my ass, making me jolt, and then he lined up the tip with my entrance. At the same time, one of his hands slid up my ribs and between my breasts to wrap around my throat and prevent me from moving.

I hesitated for a split second, a shiver of exhilaration running through me at the possibility of having my air cut off. Or worse.

Rhett was so much bigger than me. So much stronger. If he wanted to, he could seriously hurt me. Knowing that and feeling his hand squeezing my throat made me feel so vulnerable and yet so fucking alive at the same time.

Without warning, he thrust inside, eliciting a choked scream from my mouth. He was thick, too thick, and my body could barely accommodate him even though I was dripping wet. It felt like he was splitting me open.

“Does it hurt, baby?” he ground out against my ear as he leaned forward, burying himself inside me to the hilt.

My head was swimming, my nerve endings sizzling. “Yes,” I gasped. “And… no. It—”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. I loved the way Rhett’s cock stretched me and filled me up, but words were utterly failing me right now.

He let out a low groan as he pulled out and eased himself in again, and then again, making my body lunge forward with each movement. He panted, free hand holding my right hip in a bruising grip as his thrusts became even more powerful.

In the past, I’d always needed a finger pressing or rubbing on my clit to come, but this was different. The metal bars lining Rhett’s cock were rubbing another spot inside me that made stars form in my vision as pleasurable heat shot all the way from my curled toes to my core.

I let out another choked moan, wondering how long I had before my legs gave way beneath me.

Rhett bent forward again, plastering himself to my back, and tilted my head back to kiss me. It was ferocious, almost violent, and I tasted a bead of blood springing up on my lips as he swallowed my moans.

“I’m not going to stop until you come,” he muttered, hand squeezing my throat harder. “I’ll fuck you all night if I have to.”

“Harder,” I managed to choke out in response. “I want it harder.”

“Good girl.” Rhett breathed heavily into my mouth as he thrust into me again, so hard and brutal the table jolted. “I fucking knew it.”

“Knew what?” I asked in a ragged whisper, half in a daze.

“I knew you’d be perfect,” he gritted out, slamming back into me. “Knew it from the second I met you. This is what you need.”

I clenched around him repeatedly, my back arching even higher as my nerve endings sparked hotter. One more thrust and my orgasm hit like a crashing wave. It had my eyes rolling back as gasps spilled from my lips, and I was barely able to stand as my knees buckled. Rhett kept me upright with his powerful arms, hips snapping against mine as he fucked me through my climax.

I screamed and clenched on him, coming again only seconds later. Holy shit. Another thing that had never happened to me before. I didn’t even think it was possible.

Rhett groaned and stilled, finding his own release as he filled me with each drop of his cum.

Oh god.

We didn’t use a condom. I’d been so caught up in all the turmoil and lust that it hadn’t even occurred to me until now. I was on birth control, but that didn’t protect against everything, and I had no idea how safe Rhett was.

In fact… I knew almost nothing about him.

And yet you let him fuck you raw anyway, a little voice in my head admonished me. Real smart move there.

He pulled out and released me from his grip. I whirled around, still holding onto the table for support, and watched as he shoved himself back in his pants before turning away, chest rising and falling in heavy breaths.

He grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. Then he finally looked at me again, one hand rubbing his jaw. “That was—”

“A mistake,” I blurted out, cutting him off. “I know.”

Part of me didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to believe it. That treacherous part wanted him to come back and fuck me all over again; wanted to feel the heat of his skin against mine. But that part was buried deep under layers of logic and fear.

It would be better for both of us if this never happened again.

Rhett hesitated, his eyes narrowing as he stared at me for a long, heavy moment. The air between us seemed to crackle with something dangerous.

Slowly, he tilted his head, the muscles in his neck shifting under the tension.

“Yeah,” he finally said. “You’re right.”

With that, he turned and left, letting the door slam behind him. I stayed motionless by the table, staring at the door, unable to move for a reason I couldn’t quite grasp.

There was a knock ten minutes later, jolting me out of my reverie. I hastily grabbed my robe and slipped it on before looking through the peephole, heart hammering hard and fast.

It wasn’t Rhett returning for round two. It was a uniformed hotel staff member, standing next to a cart laden with plates of food. “Room service,” she said, lifting her hand to knock again.

I opened the door a crack. “Sorry, I think you have the wrong room,” I said. “I didn’t order anything.”

The staffer looked at the receipt on the edge of the cart. “It was a rush order from a Mr. Sinclair. Do I have the right room?” she asked.

Oh.

Despite the tense way we left things, Rhett had still gone ahead and ordered all the food he insisted on me having tonight.

I inwardly sighed, letting the door swing all the way open. “Yes, it’s his room,” I murmured. “Thanks.”

I let her wheel the cart in and place the food on the table. My cheeks flushed hot as I wondered if she suspected what Rhett and I had done up against it mere minutes ago.

When she was finally gone, I sat down and stared at the heavenly-smelling halloumi burger in front of me, mind racing with thoughts I didn’t want to deal with. I couldn’t help it.

Every time I thought about the intense moments Rhett and I had just shared, my body seemed to react all over again. His touch, his kiss, the way he made me feel like I was on fire…

I put my head in my hands and let out a frustrated groan. It was a bad idea. A mistake, like I said. Like we both said. But I wanted him anyway. Badly. In spite of everything.

What the hell was I supposed to do with that?