Chapter 8
Hunter
“I’m ninety percent sure this man is hiding somewhere to save his ass from her family.
” Logan starts in a low voice as soon as she leaves.
“After attempting to murder Alexander, there’s no way they’ll let him go.
And he must have manipulated her to use her, or else why would he try to kill her uncle if he really loved her? Poor girl.”
That’s possible. But he didn’t look like he was manipulating her in the photo I saw last night. Either he’s very good at masking his feelings, or he was truly in love with her.
Elowen comes back with a photo in her hand. She sets it down on the folder.
It’s a single image of him. He isn’t looking into the camera, but toward whoever is holding it, and the way he’s looking makes it clear she’s the one taking the photo.
He isn’t wearing anything on his upper body, and maybe nothing on his lower body either. I clench my jaw. Images of her touching his bare skin flash behind my eyes, leaving a phantom burn that radiates from my ribs.
This is part of my mental issues, my brain creates too many images when it comes to her. Not just images, sometimes complete scenes, with dialogue.
I hate what it’s conjuring right now. The images won’t stop.
They’re spiraling into more detailed ones.
She’s kissing him. Her hands are in his hair.
His arm is wrapped around her waist. His other hand moves from her back to her neck.
Fuck. Stop. I don’t want to imagine what she did with this bastard.
“What are these marks on his chest?” Logan’s voice pulls me out of the torture.
“His uncle burned and peeled his skin off,” she mutters thickly.
I don’t look back at the photo. Instead, I keep my eyes on her.
She is peace. That motherfucker is chaos.
“Salvario also has haphephobia. He hates touch, so he always wears gloves,” she murmurs.
“Even with you?” Logan asks, softly.
A muscle in my jaw ticks with tension. These are details I don’t want.
She shakes her head. “He never had a problem with me.” A soft smile stretches across her lips, a faint glow brightening her cheeks. “He was too clingy with me, but with everyone else, he hated it.”
I get up from the couch and take the folder, the photo still on top. “That’s enough for now. If we need anything else, we’ll contact you.”
As much as I want to stay in her presence, I have no desire to set myself on fire with jealousy.
Logan and Elowen get up as well. She takes her phone from the table. “Let me give you my contact.”
I take out my phone and hand it to her. She types in her number, then returns it. Our fingers touch for the briefest moment, but even that fleeting contact sends a jolt racing from my hand straight to my head. She pulls her hand away fast.
We head toward the door. The dogs, who have been sitting quietly this whole time, come to the door and block my way out. Logan walks out while I’m stopped in the doorway. The gray one barks at me, nudging me with his snout, pushing me back.
Elowen kneels down beside me. “Bruno. Come here, baby.”
He goes to her, still keeping me in his sight. Now the other dog, Rosie, is blocking my way.
“Rosie. Let him go.”
She moves away, but then Bruno comes back. He’s the stubborn one.
Elowen sighs. “I’m sorry. They don’t usually behave this way.”
“I think they like him, which is hard to believe,” Logan chuckles from outside the door.
I bend down and pat his head. He leans closer.
Elowen shifts closer too, her body brushing against my legs.
I look down at her, she’s rubbing Bruno’s back, kneeling beside me.
In my head, I turn toward her and take her delicate jaw in my hand; she looks up at me with those big eyes, lips slightly parted.
I cut the image there. No need to let it go further with two humans and two dogs present to witness the hardness tenting my pants.
She rises from the floor beside me and looks up at me. “Let’s take a walk. He’ll let you go if I come with you.”
I nod.
We step out. Rosie stays beside me, letting me walk next to her. Bruno walks beside Elowen.
Our arms brush as we walk, sending waves of heat and warmth through me.
The heat scorches my nerves. The warmth sinks deeper into my bones.
It feels like my body has been starving, and this accidental graze is its first taste of what it has been deprived of.
My skin burns where we touch, then aches the moment we separate.
Every brush makes me crave the next, makes me want to drop all pretense and pull her into my arms, just to feel her the way only my dreams have ever allowed me.
My pulse hammers in my throat, in my temples, in the tight clench of my fists at my sides.
At the entry gate, she shifts position and moves to the other side of Bruno, putting distance between us. Is she also affected by these touches, or does she simply not want to walk beside me?
Whatever her reason, her dog refuses to cooperate. He moves to my side, forcing us together again. I like this dog.
“Where is your house?” she asks me. Now that she’s close, she speaks in a low voice that feels intimate. I want to hear this voice with even less distance between us, I can imagine how it would sound in soothing whispers.
“The one beside yours,” I answer.
She looks up at me, almost surprised. “I didn’t know we were neighbors.”
I stare at her, saying nothing. She holds my gaze for a few seconds, then looks away, a small frown forming between her brows.
I like to think I’m affecting her, even if it’s only discomfort. Indifference would be a problem. Any reaction—good or bad—is perfect.
We reach the house in a few minutes. Logan opens the gate and stands in front of her with a genuine smile. “If you don’t mind, can we invite you for a housewarming party tomorrow at six p.m.?”
She smiles back. It’s her professional smile, the one she pulls off everywhere.
“Why not?”
Logan grins. “You’re the only person we know here. It would be great if you’d come and help us meet more people from the neighborhood.”
She nods. “I’ll definitely come.”
She then looks at me. “You go inside. I’ll take them back.”
I nod and do as she says. As I turn to watch her one last time, Logan pushes me inside and closes the gate, calling out a goodbye and a see you tomorrow.
As the gate slides closed, he turns to me. “You have no idea, you looked like a total creep the whole time, staring at her like that.”
We walk toward the house.
“She was so uncomfortable. I wouldn’t be surprised if she never wants to come near you again.” He grunts, punching the code into the front door’s lock screen.
“She’ll come back,” I state, stepping inside as the door opens. He follows, closing the door behind him.
“Because she thinks we’ll help her find that dude.” He flops onto the couch, throwing his shoes off with his toes.
“When I first met her, I thought she was a sweet girl in love with some good man. Now I don’t understand her any better than I understand her man.
She falls for the guy who kidnapped her, even though he’s a crazy, sick bastard who burned a city for God knows what reason? Shit—I forgot to ask her that.”
He runs his hand through his hair.
“And the guy then attempted to murder her uncle, and not only that, he attempted suicide right after. A mental asylum is the only place suitable for him. I think we start searching there. Maybe her family had him admitted to one, I would’ve done the same if my daughter had fallen for a crazy asshole. ”
He sighs like an old man, shaking his head. “Kids these days, falling for just anyone.”
When I don’t reply to his nonsense, he raises a brow. “What? Say something. He’s your love rival.”
“That’s if he’s alive.”
“Bro, that guy is plenty alive in that girl’s heart.” He clicks his tongue. “Never underestimate a young woman’s love. Even if he’s dead, it’ll take you forever to win her over.” He grins. “But don’t worry, your brother’s got you.”
“Is that why you made that housewarming party plan out of nowhere?”
“Yes. You do nothing except be a creep, so someone has to do something.”