Chapter 16 Hunter #2
I don’t bother explaining. But when Hunter texts back just as I exit the car, a new spark of irritation gives me a second wind. I race into the house to double-time getting ready.
Hunter
Don’t worry about it. Vixey and I have it taken care of.
“I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.” Vixey casts her honeyed eyes downward, rubbing her forearm where it looks like she’s been bitten. The tone of her voice, paired with the fact that she may be hurt, quells my anger for a hot second—until Hunter appears behind her.
Red tunnels my vision as he has the audacity to set a gentle hand at her exposed waist, just above those obnoxious hot-pink cargo pants. The little tart lives in baggy pants and crop tops that barely cover her ridiculously sized breasts.
“You don’t have to apologize, Vix. I appreciate everything you did to help.
” He croons it in her ear, deep and husky—like a lover about to get on their knees and make you see stars.
I’ve been on the receiving end of that lilt.
It’ll tighten your nipples, raise goosebumps, and soak your panties whether you like him or not.
“Hands off, Hunt!” She swats at him with a playful smirk, twirling away to tend to some of Dove and Wrenley’s coworkers.
Everything goes crimson as my eye twitches. “Oh, how cute. Now you have nicknames for each other. Did you take her to the bathroom, too? You know, to show your appreciation.”
“You don’t get to be pissed off.” His tone goes flat and aggravated as he steps into my space. “So you can fuck off with the attitude.”
I recoil like he slapped me, and he leans with me as I edge away, taking up so much of my air I feel near suffocation. Instinct kicks in, and I bare my teeth. “I can fuck off? Excuse the fuck out of me, Hunter. After the way you left me last night, you can fuck off.”
He huffs sardonically. “Doesn’t feel so great to be used, does it, Bunny?”
We’re drawing a crowd, numerous people who work at Metro Media pretending not to stare as we battle it out next to the pool table. I catch eyes with a pair of ladies who are stuffing their faces with cupcakes while they watch the show, and they jolt, turning away when I narrow my gaze at them.
“Maybe try treating people a little better. All Vixey did was what you were supposed to, but you couldn’t even be bothered to show up on time for your own friend’s party.
And as for last night, I was giving you a taste of your own medicine.
” His sneer is foreign to me. I’ve seen him use it on many deserving people, but never me.
I don’t like it—any of it—especially the insinuation I don’t care about Dove.
“My own… my own medicine?” I cry in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me, Hunter? Every time you’ve gotten me off, I’ve offered to reciprocate. So what kind of bullshit are you trying to feed me right now?”
His nostrils flare, his gaze darkening with heat as I mention us being intimate. The space between us spikes in temperature. My cheeks flame, gaze dipping to his mouth as his lips curl at one corner, as if the memory amuses him.
And just like that, I want to drag him to the bathroom for round two. My thighs clench, my breasts ache, my fingers itch to sink into those perfectly styled curls and yank him down for a kiss.
“…those two can’t stop bickering long enough to answer their damn phones!” Wrenley’s outrage splashes between us like a bucket of ice water.
Hunter whirls and the moment shatters. I find my best friend’s gaze. “Shit! Happy birthday, Love Dove!” I shout, waving for everyone to join in.
Guilt crashes over me. I’ve been a shit friend since she and Wrenley got serious. I wish I had a decent reason, but between her having less time for me and Hunter pulling away, I’ve never felt lonelier.
It’s the worst excuse. From this night forward, I vow to do better. Dove deserves better.
“Aww, you guys shouldn’t have. Thank you!” She beams, unbothered by my lack of attention to their arrival.
As Wrenley pulls Hunter away, Dove bombards me with questions. I shake my head and paste on a smile even though I’m annoyed.
Annoyed. Horny as hell. And very pissed I just fucked up my best friend’s surprise party.
Fall is early this year. The leaves are already turning yellow even though it’s not quite September, and a cool chill rides the night breeze. Inside the bar, people laugh and clink shot glasses, merriment filtering through the open door to the sidewalk where I take a reprieve.
Dove and Wrenley look seconds away from their own bathroom sexcapades, and whether it’s my earlier murderous activities or the heavy dose of irritation Hunter injected into my bloodstream, I don’t feel like drinking.
I feel like taking Hunter home and having a repeat of last night. It’s confusing—we haven’t talked much since the birthday girl arrived—but the tension from earlier hasn’t strayed far from that needy, aching place inside me.
Images of last night flash through my mind, stirring the edges of my arousal. The brick is cool against my back as I try to will away the flush creeping along my limbs.
“You’re trembling.” Hunter slides into my periphery, steps silent as a big cat.
I am. He mistakes my desire for being cold and sidles closer. “I’m sorry. For earlier. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset, and I shouldn’t have used Vixey to make you jealous.”
Surprise flickers across my face as I look up at him. “I’d rather you apologize for the way you left last night.”
He pivots, pressing me into the stone. His hands find my waist. His touch ignites my blood, a promise just ready for me to reach out and take for my own.
It’s always been you.
It’s always been us.
“I’m so sorry, Bunny. You didn’t deserve that—me leaving in anger, or what I said. I should never have shamed you for wanting to feel that way during sex. I know it’s your way of coping with what happened, but even if it weren’t, I shouldn’t have made you feel wrong. I’m truly, truly sorry.”
Unbidden tears wet my eyes, a whirlwind of emotions sweeping through, leaving a disaster in its wake.
It’s amazing just how much he still affects me. Nearly three years later and he still wrecks me—in the best and worst ways. Like the first night we met, when a handsome man made me feel like the most precious thing on earth after five minutes.
“Hunter…” I stop when he tenses, bracing for my inevitable pushback. Only, I don’t want to push him away anymore. I’m tired of fighting my heart.
So very tired.
Tonight, I just want to exist with him. Not a serial killer and a detective. Just a man and a woman who love each other, with nothing in the way.
“I miss you.” The declaration comes out a whisper. The din of the bar fades outside the bubble we make.
Surprise flickers in his whiskey eyes before he melts into me. His eyes close, forehead resting on mine, cupping my cheeks as he murmurs, “I’m right here, baby.”
All it would take is for me to press up on my toes and seal our lips together. Something about the moment steals my breath as his ghosts over my freckles. A hot tear slides down my cheek and over his thumb.
“I’ve always been right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He opens his eyes, and I drown in amber.
I don’t know which of us moves first. One moment we’re lost in each other’s gaze, the next, we’re found by each other’s lips.
Hunter tastes like a future I never thought I’d get.
Like my forever.
Like home.