Hunter #2
As for the rest of us, our families were usually too busy. They were caught up in businesses, global travel, international deals or in my case, busy with younger siblings. It wasn’t a bad thing, it just meant that my parents didn’t really know Evans beyond polite casual greetings.
As we approach the front door of the cabin, I catch Evans’ gaze and we both grin at one another.
The best way I can describe it is that the house feels alive.
There’s an energy here as loud music plays, and I can hear the twins shouting and yelling at one another.
With the way the noise carries, I think they’re probably playing outside on the decking, their voices drifting on the breeze.
The scent of meat cooking on the grill mixing with the earthy woodlands reaches me, and for a moment I inhale deeply. Home.
“Hunter, is that you?” My mom asks with a yell as we enter the hallway. Down the corridor to my left is a big open plan lounge and to my right is a huge kitchen. The kitchen opens out onto a porch that wraps around three sides of the cabin.
I have no doubt my mother is at the kitchen island with the house keeper, Mrs. Marlow, preparing dinner like they usually did on evenings like this.
“Who else is it going to be? A serial killer?” I yell back as I kick off my shoes. Evans copies me, and I chuckle at his bare feet. I still can’t believe he climbed in my trunk. Why didn’t he just sit upfront?
“A murderer would be an idiot to break into a cabin this noisy.” My sister screeches, adding to the cacophony.
My mother tuts, and I hear Mrs. Marlow laugh. “Don’t be a smart ass Ivii Grace go and greet your brother, see if he needs help with anything. And don’t forget to show him that surprise.”
Evans grins, leaning in as he whispers, “Surprise?”
Goddess, he was like a puppy.
Mine.
I can hear the sound of Ivii‘s feet on the wooden floors before I see her as she dashes down the corridor. She’s wearing a cream sundress and a huge goofy smile. Her shoulders and the tip of her nose are pink, caught by the sun already.
Launching herself at me, she giggles as I sweep her up swinging around before I drop her back down. I wrap an arm around her shoulder and place a kiss on the top of her head. She smells like oranges and sunshine as she leans into me.
“How are you still the same height? Do you just never grow?” I say teasing her.
She elbows me in the stomach before she finally notices Evans.
“Oh, you brought a friend.”
I frown because there’s something off with my sister‘s tone. Ivii is the queen of socialising, she loves meeting new people so to be so stiff is unlike her. She looks Evans over from head to toe, her normally smiling face muted.
“Is that a problem?” I say with a small, awkward chuckle.
“No, no of course not.” She reassures us with her hands, a nervous trait she has. She twirls a curl around her fingers as she glances back to the kitchen. “It’s just that I also brought a friend…”
Percy steps through the door, with a smile and a small wave. “Hey.”
My mouth goes dry.
He looks good, wearing a pale blue shirt and a pair of cream linen pants. Unlike Evans and me, who are slightly sweaty and almost shabby looking in our shorts and t-shirts. But why is he here?
“I mean, it’s just Percy said that your schedules weren’t matching up.” Ivii laughs, as she links her arm though his and pulls him closer. “So, I thought I would play Cupid.”
Besides me Evans has gone stiff. I don’t know if he’s realised it, but he’s also moved closer.
So close I can almost feel his hot breath on the back of my neck.
Glancing over at a mirror to my right, I can see the muscle in his jaw tick in the reflection as he nods his head at Percy in greeting. What is going on in his head?
Glancing between us, Percy chuckles. “Well, this is going to be fun.”
Evans huffs, a burst of acidic lime reaching me. I know Percy picks up on it too, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“I could’ve sworn I had four children,” my mother yells, cutting through the tension. “But only two of them are helping set the table.”
“Coming,” Ivii calls back, sounding like a more energetic version of our matriarch. Turning to Percy she shrugs, “I don’t know why she’s bothering to set the table. The twins would be happy eating out of dog bowls on the floor.”
Percy chuckles again, the sound sweet as they head to help out. He really was the perfect omega, beautiful, graceful, polite, a little wild in the bedroom.
But when I look at him, whatever spark was there has fizzled to a barely glowing ember. Yes, he’s hot. I’m an artist, I can appreciate and salivate over beauty. Yes, I could fuck him. He was filthy and fun. But the question is, do I want to?
Evans hand brushes against mine as we enter the kitchen side-by-side. The tiny gesture sends a cascade of tingles across my skin. And the alpha urge to dominate, to pin him down and claim him, to assert my authority in front of everyone uncoils low in my gut.
This sensation, this feeling coursing through me is more addictive than attraction. Simmering beneath my skin it’s like I’m priming myself for something. It feels like any second now, everything could change.
And the anticipation is as delicious as it is painful.