Chapter 8 Xavier
Xavier
I’ve never been in this room. It’s very green, though that doesn’t surprise me.
Hunter always had a love for plants and growing things.
Likely a leftover from his childhood, where he lacked control, where he and his brother struggled to keep themselves alive, let alone anything else.
I don’t send him flowers every week just because they’re pretty, and I want to brighten his day.
It’s a reminder that I know him, that I’m still here, and he can’t ever ignore that I exist.
My lips quirk as I drag my gaze down to Miles’ socks. I don’t blame him; Hunter can be very persuasive, and as much as Miles is a deadly shadow, he’s more polite than most would give him credit for. Besides, shoes aren’t required for him to still be a lethal weapon. I’ve seen him kill a man naked.
He says nothing, moving to give me room to stand beside him. It would feel cosy if the tension in the air wasn’t thick enough to choke us all.
“Are you staying long?” Hunter asks, his disapproval clear.
He’d rather we weren’t there at all. Too bad.
I’m well aware how dangerous his job can be, but this is different.
This is deliberately targeted. An altogether different beast and one I’m more experienced with than him.
A finger in a bouquet of flowers isn’t a warning, it’s personal.
Miles looks to me for the answer, a silent shadow. He tilts his head behind himself, letting me know someone else is in the house.
There’s only one person it could be, given that there are no cars outside. Olivia. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that she would be here. I’ve always made sure that she was elsewhere when I’ve snuck into Hunter’s room, to ensure that our paths never cross.
“We’ll see,” is all I reply. Would she come out here?
I doubt Hunter would allow it, when he doesn’t trust either of us.
I’m banking on that. “You invited us in, Hunter.” I inject just the right amount of amusement into the words, causing Hunter to turn and half snarl at me.
He’s so fucking beautiful he takes my breath away.
“I invited him, not you.”
“It’s one and the same.” If he thinks that Miles is separate from me, he’s very much mistaken.
Hunter doesn’t dispute the statement. He finishes the coffees, after dropping something in mine.
If he was trying to drug me, he’d be more subtle about it, surely.
He shoves a mug into my hands without giving me any warning, some of the coffee sloshing over the side and over my thumb. Not scalding, at least.
“Neither of you should be here. I’m perfectly safe.” He holds up a finger before I can respond to that. “And if I’m not? Then I will deal with it. Me and my team. People that I trust.”
The barb hits its intended mark. I don’t allow it to show. Maintaining eye contact, unable to look away from his dark-green eyes even if I wanted to, I take a sip of the coffee. There’s a faint taste of something else in it. Butterscotch? Is that what he put in it?
“A good thing that it’s not your decision then, isn’t it?”
A muscle twitches in Hunter’s jaw. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to say hello. A visit between old friends.”
“Is that what we are? Old friends?” Hunter asks mockingly, red spots appearing at the height of his cheekbones. “Finish your drink and get out, both of you.”
With one last long drink of the quite delicious warm beverage, I slide the mug onto the counter and move closer to the object of my every desire. “Is that really what you want?”
He visibly swallows, and I brush the pads of my fingers over his Adam’s apple, feeling the ripple. He’s been eating me with his eyes from the moment he opened the door, and I’m always willing to satiate him.
“Yes,” he says, voice wavering. Trying so hard to be strong against the face of our attraction.
That’s never worked for either of us. It’s been undeniable from the very start.
Drawn to each other like moths to a flame and always willing to get burned for it.
I’ll always set myself on fire for him. All he has to do is ask.
“Liar.” Dragging my teeth along his jaw and down his throat, I nibble and suck until I get to the edge of his shirt collar.
The mug in Hunter’s hand wobbles precariously, and Miles is there in the next moment, slipping it from his grasp and out of harm’s way.
He doesn’t move away from Hunter, so close his chest glances against Hunter’s shoulder.
The proximity taunts me, raises the heat between us. Yanking his shirt to the side, buttons already undone, I bite down on Hunter’s collarbone, eliciting a sharp gasp from him. I want to hear it again. And again.
“Undo his pants,” I order huskily.
Hunter’s breath hitches, abdomen sucking in.
I lift my head, watching him carefully. There’s a hint of confusion in his green eyes, and no small amount of lust that only feeds my own.
He doesn’t pull away even when Miles’ arms slide around him, efficiently flicking the top button and taking down the zipper.
There’s no hesitation. I know part of it is that Miles will obey all orders, no matter what they are, and the other is that he’s wearing gloves, and he isn’t cautious about any accidental contact.
“Tell me what you want, Hunter,” I whisper, my lips dusting his. “Want me to jerk you off again, or would you prefer my mouth?”
“Fuck,” Hunter says shakily under his breath, not directed at either of us.
He curls a hand around my hip, gripping hard.
The other goes to Miles’ front, twisting in his shirt.
Without a word, Miles extracts him, encouraging him to do the same on me instead.
He won’t welcome the touch. If he hadn’t been wearing a shirt, he would have reacted more violently, through no fault of his own.
It’s a trust he places in no one, instinct riding him harder than any rational thought ever can.
When my mouth falls on Hunter’s, he opens for me with a rumbling moan. For an endless moment in time, he’s with me, between Miles and me in complete surrender, and it makes all of my senses sing.
And then he pulls away, putting distance between us. “No. My daughter is sitting two rooms away from us, and neither of you are welcome here.” I make a move to step forward, and he holds up a hand. “Stay over there.”
“Are you afraid, Hunter?”
“Yes,” he says bluntly. “You fog things, make it hard for me to think, and you know it. Right now, my priority isn’t you. If you have nothing else to share about the ‘gift’ sent to me, then I have no further need to speak to you. Leave.”
“And if I say no?” I ask mildly. Will he attempt to throw me out by force? In most circumstances, I would say yes. He’s no stranger to brute force, and he never bends or yields. An admirable strength. The only differing factor in this scenario is the young girl “two rooms away.”
Hunter deflates, gripping the back of a breakfast stool with unsteady hands. “Are you going to fight me on this?”
He knows I won’t. When he truly backs away, says no with that look in his eye, I’ve always relented.
I never push him so far that he never lets me back into his arms. So far that he has the tools he needs to say goodbye for good.
I’ll never let him go, not like that. That’s not how our song and dance works.
“Not today.” A simple gesture with my head to Miles and he’s already at the back door, sliding his shoes on and opening the safe to retrieve our weapons.
With one more look at Hunter, I join him.
We both know this isn’t over. It never will be, both of us destined to be haunted by each other.
But this time it’s different; while Hunter is in this kind of danger, I’ll never be far.
“Xavier.”
I pause, an arm on Miles’ elbow as he slides my firearm back into my shoulder holster.
“Do you want to see her?” he asks, voice barely a whisper.
Something too close to fear clenches my heart, and I barely manage not to turn and look to the doorway I know she’s through. “It’s time for Miles and me to leave.” Miles clips the gun in and straightens my jacket.
There’s a hint of disappointment in Hunter’s eyes along with relief, warring together.
“Of course.” He never expected me to take him up on his offer.
Part of him is glad, I know. The other part simply doesn’t understand.
I wish I could explain. Why I keep my distance from those parts. Why I never fought for her.
Would he listen? No, he’s made up his mind in regard to the kind of the person that I am, and I can hardly blame him. He’s not wrong.
“I don’t need your protection,” Hunter says, not making a move to come any closer, retrieve the closeness we held in the palm of our hand not five minutes ago. My chest squeezes tight. “Don’t follow me anymore.”
I don’t respond to that. If he thinks I’m leaving this alone, he’s wrong.
Hunter’s eyes flutter closed when I brush my knuckles over his cheek.
“Keep yourself safe, Hunter.” When I can’t.
I wish he would allow me closer, allow me to protect him the way he should be protected.
“You know what would happen to this city if you were to come to harm.” He’s the only leash I have left, loose as it is.
Hunter meets my gaze, his own sharp. “Don’t put that on me.”
“Too late, love.” He did that himself, when he said yes and put my ring on his finger. He may not wear it anymore, but that won’t change facts, much as he wishes it were so.
Miles doesn’t speak until we’re out of the gate, standing on the sidewalk in the soft night air. There’s a breeze that lifts my hair, causes goosebumps on the back of my neck.
“Did you drive here?” Miles asks with a frown.
By yourself goes unspoken, but I can hear it.
I can also hear the lecture if I say yes.
I’m almost tempted to say it, just to get him worked up.
There’s nothing quite like this man in a fit of passion, no matter what kind.
A light in him that belongs to me alone.
“No.” I settle on honesty, having had too many strikes at my heart tonight. “Aaron and Ryan are waiting for me.” Three cars up from where his own car is parked. Despite the fact they’re in something more discreet than what Miles is driving, he immediately finds it, face not soothing out.
“I’ll take you home.” He guides me across the street and opens the passenger door for me, waiting for me to slide inside before closing it with a decisive click.
He has his phone out, speaking, as he circles the car.
It’s moving into his pocket when he takes his place in the driver’s seat. “Do you want to go anywhere else?”
“I could go for a burger.”
Miles nods sharply and then pulls out onto the road in a smooth motion, perfectly in control.