16. Hunter
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HUNTER
“ I t smells good,” Ashlie says from the stairs behind me. She’s changed out of her travel clothes into a gray slouchy University of Los Angeles (ULA) sweater with light pink leggings underneath. If I was struggling before, tearing my eyes away from her now is a full-on battle.
“I was wondering if you were out for the night. You’ve been asleep for hours.” I turn back to the gas stove as soon as I feel my eyes threaten to wander to the dip in her waist. It’s hard enough without the added temptation of her loungewear. Seeing her dressed down with a relaxed smile like this is a long-held favorite of mine. She looks like she did when we— no .
That’s what this is . We’re back in Fort Bender, and I’m reminiscing over a moment we shared years ago. A moment we agreed meant nothing. One I think about every time her jasmine perfume lingers and I’m alone.
“I guess my nap on the plane wasn’t enough.” Her shrug is paired with a sexy giggle that would make even the strongest man crumble. “Wine?” she asks, moving to the small bottle cooler sitting next to the fridge.
From the corner of my eye, I watch as her tip-toed stretch for wine glasses lifts the side of her sweater, exposing a thin gold strand of waist beads. My hand twitches, threatening to drop the mixing spoon I’m holding for the sole purpose of brushing my fingers against— Shit . I clear my throat and shake the thought from my head.
“It was long enough for you to drool down my arm.” I smirk, dodging the playful swat coming my way. Teasing her is my go-to strategy for distraction. Makes it easier to focus on something other than her bare shoulder and the curve of her ass— Stop . What the fuck is wrong with me right now ?
“I do not drool!” She laughs, balancing the wine bottle and glasses as she sets them on the speckled granite island.
“Oh? Then what’s this on my sleeve?”
Her mouth drops as she comes to inspect my shirt, eyebrows scrunching when she can’t find anything. “Where?”
I flick her nose when she leans closer. “Right there.”
“ Ugh !” She rolls her eyes but laughs as she pushes on my shoulder again. “Annoying!”
“I know.” I grin. My eyes linger on that smile, and God, I just want to— Fucking hell, bruh . I clear my throat again, like doing so repeatedly has helped dissipate my wayward thoughts.
Her face falls, and she slides delicate fingers over my forearm. Goosebumps instantly scatter under her touch. “You getting sick?”
“Huh?” My voice cracks like I’m pubescent, and I cringe, trying to hide it by focusing on the bubbling sea of red sauce.
“You keep clearing your throat…and you sound weird.” Her slight caress makes me jolt, and her eyes narrow. “Kinda jumpy too.”
“Na—” Goddammit . I catch the heightened pitch and “ahem” one last time. “Naw, I’m good.” One more swipe of her thumb, and my heart will careen across the floor. “Can you grab those bowls on the counter? Dinner’s ready.”
“Sure. Thanks for cooking…and for letting me sleep.”
I nod, my eyes fixed on the stove. I don’t cook for anyone. Don’t keep women around long enough to want to cook for them. But these past few weeks, I’m realizing just how much I would do for Ashlie, without her even having to ask.
“You were such an asshole back then!” Ashlie laughs and takes another sip of wine as we reminisce about the summer we met. Dinner has long since been put away, and we’re on the sofa by the nearly exhausted fireplace. With her legs stretched toward me, I’ve been spending our time stealing glances in the sultry glow. She’s damn near irresistible tonight. Her lighthearted giggles and sass are just like they used to be, and I can’t help but laugh along. This is the most confident I’ve seen her in a while. Maybe Fort Bender isn’t all bad, if it gives Ashlie the little boost she’s needed.
“I’m still an asshole.” I smirk. Her carefree smile has me thinking all the thoughts I shut down earlier. In this intimate darkness, I keep my eyes on her for longer than I’ve allowed myself all night. “You’re just used to it now.”
“You’re not an ass to me, though…”
“Naw, ?cuz you’re always calling me out.” I’m trying so damn hard to resist brushing a thumb over her pink toenail polish. I’m a fucking sucker for painted toes. “You don’t let me get away with it.”
“Damn right! Can’t let you get away with it.” Her self-assured nod is accented by another giggle that has me biting my lip before I can stop myself. She could always see through my bullshit, and I didn’t have to worry about her pretending with me. I think her ability to call me out is part of what made it easy to let her get so close. She’d keep it real no matter who was around. “But really, why were you such an ass to everyone but me?”
“Because everyone else sucked.” I shrug, turning to the lowering embers. Vulnerability, even in the dark, isn’t my strong suit.
“Everyone, except me?”
“You were alright,” I tease, giving in and nudging her foot. I take the opportunity to swipe over the pink polish before letting go. Her silky skin gets impossibly softer each time we touch, which does nothing to discourage my desire to keep touching her.
She’s quiet for a couple of minutes, long enough that I wonder if she’s fallen asleep again. When I slide my eyes over to her, she’s watching me while nibbling on her thumbnail. Holding my gaze, she places her wine glass next to the empty bottle on the coffee table and sits back again.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“You know why I was blushing earlier? At the diner?”
“Yeah. Ole Bert in the corner,” I tease. She doesn’t laugh, though, shaking her head instead. The undeniable shift of energy in the air prickles my skin as we stare at each other.
“Patti told me you used to look at me like I hung the moon.”
“Eh, Patti says a lot of things.” My pulse pounds in my ears as I realize we’re stepping into some uncharted territory. This doesn’t feel like friendly reminiscing anymore. This feels dangerous.
“She told me you still look at me that way…”
“Patti’s got a thick prescription on those glasses…” I try to joke, but my voice cracks halfway through the delivery.
“You remember what I was wearing the first time we met.”
“Yeah. So what? I have a good memory.”
She looks at her toes and chews on her thumbnail as she asks quietly, “Do you ever think about that night?”
“Which night?” I know exactly which night she’s talking about, but I’m not letting on until she calls my bluff. Of course I think of it. I’ve thought about it for years. I thought about it a few hours ago. I’m always remembering that night, and what could have been if we weren’t who we are.
“The one we said we’d never talk about…” Her eyes slowly drift back to mine, her hands dropping to her lap. “I sometimes wonder what would have happened…if we were?—”
“Different people,” I finish for her.
She nods, biting her bottom lip. “Yeah. If we were just two people, open to the possibilities of each other instead of?—”
“A noncommittal player and a codependent romantic?”
“Harsh…but yeah.”
“I’m pretty sure those were your exact words when you turned me down back then…”
“Wha—I never turned you down! I was just being realistic. Besides, you didn’t object...”
“Would it have mattered if I did?”
“What?” Her mouth hangs open like she really has no idea the effect she had on me back then.
“You were fresh out of a two-year relationship, and I was just some tourist visiting for the summer. If I told you then that I was into you, would it have even mattered?”
“You were into me?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t know, Ash… I was ready to give it a shot after that night, but you wanted to forget it.”
“So you do think about that night?”
With an exasperated exhale, I grip the arm of the couch to stand. The way my heart is pounding, it’s becoming more evident that being this close to her is a bad idea right now. I grab the glasses and wine bottle, then walk into the kitchen, flipping on the light as I go.
“What I think”— I say over my shoulder—“is that we’ve both been drinking tonight, and we shouldn’t be talking about the night we said we’d never talk about.” The glasses clink as I set them in the sink.
When I turn back around, Ashlie’s standing behind me, leaning a hip against the kitchen island. Her sweater has slipped past her shoulder, exposing the sharp angles of her collarbone. That is one visual I don’t need clouding my judgment right now.
“We’ve shared one bottle over two hours, with food. I’m not drunk, and neither are you… You didn’t answer the question, Hunt.” She bites her nail again, looking up at me through her lashes. The vulnerability in her eyes makes me want to come undone and tell her so many things— you’re beautiful, I want you, I love you . But I know the words wouldn’t come out right, and even if they did, it would be a death sentence for our friendship. For the sake of my sanity, I push it down and give what I can.
“Of course I think about it, Ash. I’ve thought about it almost every day for five years. I’ve never been able to get you out of my head. Not once.”
My words set her in motion, and even though her steps are slow and tentative, they pin me in place. She doesn’t stop until we’re wedged together, my hand falling to her waist. This is a bad fucking idea . The refrain echoes in my mind as her soft fingers slide behind my neck. Pulling me toward her, she pauses just short of my mouth. “You’re in my head too,” she whispers, then laces our lips together.
For just a moment, my thoughts stutter, battling my better judgment with the need growing in my pants. Logic wins, despite the screaming elation in my head, and I pull back slightly. “Ash,” I warn, looking into her eyes. The warmth I’m accustomed to seeing blazes with a fire brighter than the smoldering embers across the room.
“We could be those people, just for tonight.”
I shake my head, closing my eyes as the fight between rationality and desire rages in my head and heart…and jeans.
“We can pretend this didn’t happen in the morning. We’re good at pretending…” Her nails scrape over my shoulders, sending shivers through me that loosen the last strands of my resolve.
“Ash—”
“Just for tonight,” she whispers, and it’s like life itself has decided to spring inside me. “I want this. I want you .”
I should say no. Find the strength for both of us to stop this before we ruin so many years of friendship and trust and pretending. I should walk away, but I don’t. I can’t . Something inside me—deeper than the restraint that’s been holding me back all these years—wants this more than anything I’ve ever wanted before. I have no more desire to keep it buried.
“ Fuck it ,” I murmur, pulling her into me. Lips meet lips, tongues swirling wildly as the curve of her body melts into the crook of mine. She tastes like sweet red wine and all my wildest dreams. She whimpers, and I can’t stop the groan that escapes my mouth as my fingers brush her smooth glass waist beads. I need her . Need to bite and lick and soothe every inch of her. I trail fingers up her curves, under her loose sweater, and damn near lose my mind when my thumbs graze the silky skin above her ribcage. Shiiit . No . Fucking . Bra .
Ashlie pulls me with her until I’m leaning her against the island. I lift and set her on the cool granite, kissing down the jasmine scented skin on her neck. Wrapping her legs around my waist, her whimpers plead for me. “Please. Just for tonight.”
Her warm breath sends an intense need through me, tempting me to get lost in her frantic pacing. But I don’t want to do this frenzied, on the countertop. I want to take my time, want her to enjoy it as much as I will. I want her to remember past tonight.
My lips melt back into hers as I carry her through the lodge. The thoughts racing through my head merge into a single question— What will it be like to feel Ashlie’s body on mine again ? Her hands rove through my hair, sending goosebumps across my skin as her nails scratch against my scalp. I put her down in my darkened bedroom, walking her back toward the bed, our lips never separating.
She fumbles with the button on my jeans, before grabbing my face in her hands, kissing me deeply like she can’t get enough. Her sucking on my bottom lip takes my brain offline, waking every primal urge I have to toss her on the bed. It’s as if she’s feasting after a long famine, and I’m the lifesaving sustenance. I grip her hips tightly as I grind into her.
“Do you have…?” she whispers into my mouth.
“Yeah.” Pulling away is a feat, but I step over to my bag, using the light from the hallway to dig out the few condoms I left inside from my last trip. I smirk at her when I toss them on the bed.
“Of course you do.” She huffs, shaking her head. “You’re always prepared, aren’t you?”
“Always.” I pull her into me. Brushing my lips along her jaw, I stop to nibble her ear and let the jasmine fog through my senses. I could get lost in this scent, traipsing around in her orbit for eternity if we had the time.
“Good,” she says breathlessly. “Who knows how many girls you’ve been with…?”
That stops me dead, and I pull away to look in her eyes. “You think I sleep with all of them?”
“Don’t you?” She cocks her head to the side like she’s already convinced.
I bite my tongue at the distinct urge to prove her wrong. Pulling out my phone, I scroll through my email to locate my latest MedTest results. “All clear,” I say, holding the screen up to her face, smirking as I watch her self-satisfied look turn into genuine shock. “And no, I don’t sleep with all of them. I don’t even sleep with most of them. It’s been months.”
She scoffs. “What? Like two?”
“More like six.” I toss my phone on the nightstand. I’d be offended at the surprise on her face, but my mind is racing ahead to the faces I imagine she’ll be making in a few minutes. “You’ve gotten laid more than I have this year with that dumbass doctor.”
“I—oh. No. Marcus and I didn’t… He was always too tired from work, so we didn’t do much…”
“Even better,” I say, kicking off my jeans and sitting on the edge of the bed. “He didn’t deserve you. Now, come here…”
“Make me.”
The bratty response shouldn’t surprise me, but I pause and stare at her sassy head tilt. Raising an eyebrow, I grab her wrist and pull her between my legs. My dick twitches at the shiver that runs through her when I palm her waist. I reach up and trace the line of her cheekbone, taking in her soft curls, the freckles over that perfectly peaked nose, those full lips—still puffy from wrestling with mine. Her . My thumb tugging lightly on her chin, I part her lips, chuckling as her breath hitches. Goosebumps race across her skin, and I lean in close to her mouth. “We don’t have to do this, Ash… It’s not too late to?—”
“What part of make me don’t you understand?” Her lips ghost mine until I grip the back of her neck, pulling her into my mouth with the same eagerness as before. But as much fun as the fast pace is, I want to savor this. Enjoy tonight. Worship her. I only get this one moment, and I want to finish what we started five years ago while committing her body to memory.
She inhales sharply when I whip my shirt over my head, her eyes wide as she runs her hand up the tattoo on my side. The sinful way she bites her lip as she touches me makes the strain in my boxer briefs unbearable. I wrap my fingers around hers when they breach my chest, and dip to kiss her thumb. The burn of her gaze glitches, her forehead creasing at my sudden change of pace.
“If I only get you for tonight, I’m about to have the time of my life with every single inch of you.” I lift her sweater over her head and toss it on the floor. She gasps when I tug her forward by her waist beads, something I’ve imagined doing since I first saw them. By the hooded look in her eyes alone, the experience lived up to my fantasy.
“You’re beautiful, honey bear,” I murmur, placing kisses over the swells of her breasts, taking my time to savor the way she moans when I suck her nipple into my mouth. She rakes her fingernails over my back as she arches into my touch, her sweet whimpers swirling around me while my tongue flicks her stiffened peak. I slip my hands over her ass and squeeze. “You, in these fucking leggings, have been driving me crazy all night. Take them off for me.” Licking her lips, she stares right into my eyes and shimmies them down to her ankles. The pink thong goes next. “Good fucking girl. Now do me a favor?”
She tilts her head but doesn’t say a thing.
“Sit your pretty ass on my lap.”
Her eyes spark briefly before she lowers onto my lap, knees around my waist, pinning me in place. “Don’t tell me what to do, Hunt.”
I moan when she rolls her hips. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she pushes me back on the bed, sending my sanity into oblivion. So, my girl likes to play ? She’s been quiet, taking my directions so well, but from the way she has me pinned down, it’s clear she’s been the one in charge all along. I press my lips to her neck, sighing as her silky fingertips dip into my waistband and graze my dick, pulling it free. The sensual sway of her body as she teases her clit up and down my shaft sends me floating through the cosmos, her whimpers illuminating every single star I pass by.
Ashlie reaches for a condom and rips the foil with her teeth. The soft pressure of her fingers as she rolls it on almost undoes me, my hands tightening on her waist with a groan. She grips the base just long enough to seat herself around me. The warmth that scrolls through my body as I fill her is like being bathed in sunlight. “Fuck, Ash, you’re so wet. You’ve been aching for me, haven’t you?”
“All day.” She presses a gentle kiss to my lips and tosses her head back. “Now shut up and let me enjoy myself.”
With one roll of her hips, she’s found a way to devastate me for anyone else. I wholly accept the ruination, pulling her mouth to mine to plunder. Ravage. Claim . My hips buck, the powerful thrust stealing her breath in a piercing gasp. The pinched bliss on her face threatens to make me come, but I grit my teeth to stave off my excitement. I want this moment seared into my memory. Her cries of passion are mine tonight, every single one.
“You like how my dick fills you up, don’t you? Being stuffed so full you can’t breathe?”
“ Shit , Hunt. Yes .” She moans against my lips, grinding methodically like we’ll be doing this for eternity.
Her pussy strangles my dick when my teeth graze her nipple, and stars dance across my vision. “That’s it, filthy girl.” I grunt, her quaking walls luring me into delicious agony with each glide. “Ride me until you’re dripping.” Her sweet whimpers send searing waves through my body, nails digging into my chest as her hips jerk wildly. I could watch her like this forever. “God, look how pretty you are, fucking the life out of me.”
“You feel so good.” She pants, her clit painting my skin with her arousal as she chases her orgasm.
“Use me, honey bear. Make a fucking mess all over me, because once I have you pinned to this bed, I won’t stop until you’re a trembling wreck.”
A few curls stick to the sweat on her forehead, her eyes glassy, pupils blown wide. She’s as stunning as she was all those years ago, and I anchor my hands to her waist, lost to this moment and the memories of that one night.