Chapter 22 #2
Hunter tips me back onto the bed, leaving my legs dangling. He doesn’t give me any more time to negotiate whether this is a good or bad idea. I’m too focused on the seductive feeling of his breath against my ankles as he slides the shoes off my feet. Watching the care he takes is its own turn-on.
He kisses his way up my legs, taking his time at the area behind my knees. My head falls back on the bed, and I let out a moan. He’s right. I’m barely aware of any of the worries and fears I had moments earlier. I’m barely able to remember the hotel’s name. Or my own.
“Gorgeous,” Hunter says, staring at my legs. It almost stops me because I want to protest. I don’t think any part of me qualifies as gorgeous, but the way he’s looking at me makes me believe maybe I am. At least, maybe to him.
Moving me up the bed, he climbs up as well, straddling my hips but barely touching me.
He gently reaches for the straps of my dress and slides them over my shoulders and down my arms. When I lean back on my elbows, it gives me a chance to look at him the same way he’s been looking at me.
He’s so beautiful, with his hair raked back from his forehead, his angular cheekbones and straight nose, and the dimple in his cheek when he smiles.
He’s smiling now, and it makes me do the same.
Feeling more confident, I lift the hem of his shirt, exposing a tapered waist and a checkerboard of taut abs that I’ve been wanting to touch since the first moment he walked into the kitchen shirtless.
Hunter reaches behind him and yanks the shirt over his head by the collar. He flings it to the floor and does the same with the blazer I was holding.
“I’ll fold it later,” he says.
“Please do.”
He smiles. “What am I going to do with you, Gracie?”
I give him my best deep, sultry voice. “What do you want to do with me?”
“So many things.” His gaze moves from my eyes to my mouth to my breasts, and he sucks in a breath. “So fucking gorgeous. And way too many useless clothes.”
Hunter’s lips drop to mine, but with more urgency this time. He bites my bottom lip, holding it between his teeth before letting it go. “Every time I see that lip between your teeth, I’ve wanted to do this,” he breathes against my mouth.
With my arms wrapped around his neck, I tug him closer so he’s lying on top of me. I can tell he’s holding back some of his weight, but I love the feel of his strong body overwhelming mine.
The kiss gets hotter, deeper. Tongues moving and fighting for dominance. I can’t get enough of him. I want to drink him in, but no matter how long we kiss, I want more.
His hands cup my cheeks, and he plants a long, soft kiss on my lips. “Relax, Tink.”
“I think I’m relaxed.” I sigh.
“You’re getting there, but we can do better.
” I love how he says “we” as though he and I are on this mission together to make me comfortable and content.
It’s a side of him I keep glimpsing in all the sweet gestures he makes without comment, but before now, I convinced myself they were one-off outliers.
The image of him as an aggressive, ruthless player on the field and a ladies’ man off the field was glued in my mind, all from hearsay and evidence I hadn’t collected myself.
I chastise myself for letting false impressions implicate him in a narrative he’s done everything to fight from the time he walked into Kyler’s house.
I need to let those wrong ideas slide away in favor of the man who’s here with me now, doing his level best to allay my insecurities and make me feel good.
“I’m sorry I had the wrong impression of you.”
He backs away enough to look me in the eye. “I think I earned all those wrong impressions. I’m glad you don’t hold them against me.”
“Not anymore.”
Hunter nips at my chin before working his way down my throat with a trail of kisses. His tongue sweeps against my skin, and my eyes fall shut. The pragmatist in me wants to memorize every sensation so I can remember this later.
But as Hunter works down the center of my chest, those thoughts drift from my head like they’re caught in a river current that’s too strong. His lips on my skin make me feel so good that my brain is no match. I’m forced to stay in the present and lean into every sensation.
So I let go.
Tracing the seams of my strapless bra, Hunter cups my breasts over the fabric. He kisses my skin over the tops of each cup before undoing the front clasp and letting the bra fall open.
I’d normally feel exposed, lying here with my dress pushed up to my hips with my breasts bare, but I don’t.
Not with the reverent way Hunter looks at me, like he can’t believe his good fortune.
Like he’s rock hard and hungry for me. I don’t feel like a shy data analyst. I feel like a strong, sexy goddess.
“Fuck, Tink. You are everything.” Hunter bites out the words before lavishing more attention on each breast with his tongue. Circling one nipple, he groans. I groan louder.
My nipple goes hard beneath his tongue, and when he bites down, I feel an ache so deep inside that I arch beneath him, wanting more contact.
My reaction fuels him, and he presses his hips against mine.
I moan and grind against him, shamelessly chasing more of that blissful feeling.
I’ve never wanted a man inside me like I do right now.
Reaching down, I cup his erection through his pants, swallowing hard when its sheer girth fills my hand.
Hunter sits back on his heels and pulls me to a sitting position. He slides the dress down over my waist, carefully exposing me until I’m only wearing panties. He tosses the dress on top of his shirt. I undo his belt, feeling the heat of his stare.
I’m torn between wanting to run my hands over his abs and wanting his pants off as soon as humanly possible. Haste wins.
I unbutton his jeans and pull down the zipper. Still on his knees, he slides the denim down his legs and leans to the side to get the pants off. I take in the sight of him, all hard planes of muscle and lightly tanned skin. He’s perfection, and I unconsciously suck in my stomach a tiny bit.
Almost like he knows, Hunter grips my waist and bends to kiss my stomach. His tongue makes circles around my belly button before kissing me there.
He slides down on the bed and kisses my inner thigh, running his hand higher. “So wet for me. I love that.” His voice is so low and deep that I shiver. I don’t care if it’s obvious that I want him. In fact, I want him to know.
Continuing to kiss the delicate skin of my inner thighs, he hooks his fingers into the elastic of my useless panties and slides them down my legs, letting the fabric skim over my desperately aroused skin.
“Do you like this, Tink?” His smirk is all the hotter because he knows the answer. Because he’s doing everything he can to make sure I am enjoying this even though he’s going so slowly it’s almost painful.
“I do,” I breathe. I start to reach for him, but he intercepts my hands and pins them to the bed. He ducks down and continues kissing my inner thighs, moving higher until he reaches my throbbing center.
When his tongue flicks my clit, I almost come undone. It’s such an intense, incredible shock of pleasure that I actually see stars.
“Oh god, Hunter.”
He groans and gives me even more, his tongue working over the aching bundle of nerves until I’m arching and moaning and begging for more.
Soon I’m cresting the top of an orgasm, too breathless and brainless to do anything except ride it out.
A wave of chills racks my body, and I start to go numb and hyperaware at the same time.
It feels like I’m melting as the room shakes.
Or maybe it’s my body. I shudder and moan and try to wordlessly let Hunter know exactly how good I feel.
“Come on, baby. Give me everything,” he urges. And I let myself go.