Chapter 17
Hunter stopped in the hallway. He'd stayed back and had a couple of shots of whiskey with Baddy after Annie and Leigh had called it a night in hopes the alcohol would take the edge off and sleep would come easier.
He opened the door and stepped inside his room, searching for Annie. Instead, he found the bedroom door shut and the girls out of sight for the night.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat on the couch.
There was not much to do except go to sleep.
He unlaced his riding boots. The couch was too short and too narrow for his frame.
Six foot three and two-hundred and thirty pounds, he felt folded into the sofa like a man trying to sleep in a box.
He took off his boots, set his pistol aside, loosened his belt, and stretched out when the bedroom door opened.
Annie stepped out, blanket draped around her shoulders, her hair loose, her gaze soft. Hunter took in her bare toes and patted the cushion beside him. He went through the day, smelling her in his room, seeing her around him, and touching her every chance he got. But it was never enough.
She crossed the room and joined him without hesitation.
For a moment, she stared down at her lap. Then, she lifted her hand, tracing the ink on his forearm. Her fingers followed the lines of the tattoo. The soft tip of her finger tickled his skin as she went around the inked wheel and followed the flames.
Hunter let her explore, his chest tightening at the gentleness of her touch. She looked up at him, eyes wide, as if she was learning something about him no one else had bothered to see.
He let his head fall back on the couch, giving her an invitation to do all the exploring she wanted. He had tattoos all over his body. Most of them didn't mean a damn thing, except he thought they looked cool at the time he had them done.
Most of them were twenty years old or older. Just a part of his skin.
She found the scar on his bicep and raised her brows.
"Gunshot." He tried to whisper but didn't know if the word came out or not, except for the shocked look on her face. "Grazed me."
She put her lips on the scar and kissed it, closing her eyes and lingering. His cock pulsed to life. He could sure get used to the softness she brought to his life.
Annie let the blanket slip from around her, then lifted her shirt. He ogled the glimpse of black panties until Annie cupped his whiskered jaw and raised his gaze to where she pointed on the right side of her abdomen, almost to her hip bone. It was his turn to trace the short scar with his finger.
He grunted and looked at her.
"Appen..."
He frowned, tilting his head.
"Appendix," she said.
Hunter nodded, his thumb brushing the mark. Through the years, it was hard to get to know women. They expected conversations and got impatient with him. They accused him of not listening. Of course, he wasn't fucking listening. He was deaf.
But Annie was patient and took into consideration that he needed to read her lips.
He thought of telling her how he felt about her, but he wasn't sure that's how men talked to women. Growing up, all he heard was fighting and yelling. When his mom left, leaving him with his abusive dad, he became the brunt of his dad's anger.
One gunshot might not have stolen his hearing, but multiple ones had made the damage permanent. At the time, he was thankful for the silence. He could no longer hear the ugly words thrown at him
The Royalla members fucked around all the time.
Those who were hitched to a woman kept their old lady away from the clubhouse.
Of course, he'd watched Roma throw herself at Kodiak for years, but their relationship went beyond his experience.
He had a feeling Kodiak had talked to Roma about his feelings.
He cupped her face, pulling her closer, and kissing her deeply. She melted, resting her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her.
She could have gone back to the bedroom. She could have walked away.
But she didn't.
She stayed, curled against him on the couch, her body fitting into his as if it belonged there.
Hunter closed his eyes, the ache in his chest easing for the first time in days. Even without talking, he understood how she felt. He felt it too.
Their time together was short, and he didn't want it to end.