20. Ella
Twenty
Ella
Hunter hadn’t moved from his chair, regarding me like a king at the head of a chessboard.
Oh, good .
Loved being a pawn in whatever kinky little game this was.
Part of me hated how quickly my brain turned it into a fantasy. It was a case of old muscle memory — it was easier to play pretend than to admit how badly I wanted it.
But this wasn’t about me. It couldn’t be.
This was about saving my brother, nothing else .
So why did my body feel like it hadn’t gotten the memo?
He had one elbow propped on the armrest, long fingers tapping once against his knee, and his eyes fixed on me like I was a locked screen he was about to crack.
My pulse was hammering in my ears, my thoughts not only spinning but doing fucking cartwheels. Was this what an aneurysm felt like? Because I was pretty sure I was having one.
Soft blue-green light from his monitors illuminated him from behind like a kind of fucked-up halo, while strings of code scrolled across them like alien scripture.
How he made any sense of this stuff was beyond me.
A single lamp pooled amber across the edge of the bed, casting long shadows across the hardwood floor. His chair creaked as he leaned back slightly, like he was settling in for the show.
Taking a deep breath, the faint smell of his soap laced with something metallic and dark hit me, making something deep in my core tighten.
Fantastic . My vagina just clocked in for the night shift.
The sheets and cover were folded with unnerving precision, every line so sharp it was like the bed had been forced to bend to the will of its owner. Sitting on them felt like an intrusion.
Hunter wasn’t even touching me — yet — and still my body was reacting like his eyes raking over me were a visceral touch.
Could he hear my heart beating? It was all I could hear, pounding in my ears, hammering against my ribs.
This room felt like him, controlled and perfect , like it was daring me to mess it up. Why did this feel like it’d been waiting for me?
He wasn’t supposed to want me. Not like this. Hell, I wasn’t even sure he liked me twenty minutes ago.
I swallowed hard, watching his eyes track the movement in my throat hungrily. How was I just seeing this for the first time? Has he always looked at me like this?
This whole situation was insane … and fucking hot .
Apparently my type was ‘emotionally unhinged control freaks with murder eyes.’
I clenched my thighs, the sudden onslaught of lust taking me by surprise. Something restless was coiling deep inside me.
It was like some kind of energy was building up, and I needed to burn it off before it consumed me.
The silence stretched, like we were perched on the edge of something massive. Something you didn’t come back from, the point of no return.
I should’ve felt disgusted. Ashamed. Trapped. Instead, my body was throwing a goddamn parade and all I felt was wanted .
“Soooo, what now? You gonna break out a contract, or is this just a casual agreement?” My voice sounded a bit more shaky than I would’ve liked, but fuck, I needed a moment to process all this.
Hunter got up, grabbed the back of his shirt and wordlessly pulled it over his head, and tossed it on the chair behind him. My last three brain cells had just left the chat.
Wide-eyed and so fucking turned on I could barely think straight, I watched as he stretched his neck from side to side, like he’d just returned from war.
Unable to stop myself, my gaze dropped, taking in the planes and ridges of hard, thick muscle. Had he bulked up?
He’d always been massive, so it was difficult to tell, but I was almost certain he wasn’t as shredded as he used to be, which somehow made him even hotter. My throat suddenly felt dry.
The tiny smirk now playing around his lips should be illegal. Heat was throbbing in my core, my panties starting to stick to my pussy.
“Let’s go over a few things,” he murmured, his voice still quiet and oozing control, while I was over here falling apart just because he was fucking looking at me.
“You’re very calm for someone who just strong-armed me into a sex pact,” I managed to choke out.
A laugh I hadn’t expected burst out of him and God, it was beautiful . His painfully handsome face lit up, and I watched in awe as it completely transformed his features.
A sudden wave of possessiveness crashed into me.
I’d never seen him laugh, actually laugh, before, and oddly enough, I wanted to keep it to myself.
He’d laughed because of something I said. Let me see him like this, and I didn’t want anyone else to see it. I wanted it to belong to me , only me.
“You don’t lock the door. Ever. I come in when I want, how I want.” His voice was level, matter-of-fact, like he was telling me water was wet. No question, no wiggle room.
It wasn’t threatening, just non-negotiable.
“You don’t see anyone else. Not anymore.”
My laugh came out sharp and high-pitched. “Oh, really? Did I miss the memo where I agreed to that?”
Blind obedience had never really been my kind of thing, but instead of feeling indignation, all I wanted was to taunt him. Normal girls would be pissed. Normal girls wouldn’t secretly be imagining what else he’d want to control.
“You didn’t need to. I don’t share. Not you. Not ever,” he deadpanned, never once taking his eyes off me as he stalked closer, his massive shoulders towering over me.
I was a tall girl. I’d never once in my life felt small.
But now? I felt tiny. Delicate, even, compared to his bulk.
Desire was pulsing between my legs, shocking in its intensity.
He stopped at the foot of the bed and loomed over me, his sharp gaze cutting through me.
“Unless seeing someone’s eyes being gouged out is what gets this little pussy of yours wet.”
“Excuse me?” I sputtered, eyes wide.
I should’ve told him to fuck off. Instead, heat licked through me like his words had teeth.
“You heard me. Every inch of you belongs to me now, and I don’t fucking share. Ever.”
I swallowed hard. No sane person would be turned on by his words.
Guess what that made me?
“Neither do I.” Eyes narrowed, I waited for his response.
“Good.” He cocked his head to the side. “Still got that IUD?”
I sputtered, my eyes going wide. “How the f–”
“If you haven’t caught on yet, I know everything there is to know about you. So, IUD … yes or no?”
Jaw slack, I just gaped at him.
“If not, now would be the time to tell me, because I will be coming in my pussy,” he drawled.
“Yes,” I squeaked.
One dark blond brow arched high. “Yes?”
“I still have the IUD.”
“Good. No underwear in the house,” he continued, like he hadn’t just threatened to start a creepy little collection of eyeballs in his spare time and then immediately told me he’d be coming inside of me.
I had no words. Hunter was either insane or the hottest man alive. Honestly, it could go either way.
“You can keep your shirts. You won’t need the rest,” he said, while turning on the spot and walking to the closet, like this was a completely normal rule. “Actually, now that I think about it, you can just wear mine.”
“Look, t-shirt dresses are cute and all, but your shirts will look ridiculous on me.”
He dug one out of his dresser and threw it at me with way too much precision. I barely dodged before it landed in a heap beside me. “You’ll survive.”
“Says the man who probably alphabetizes his socks.” I pursed my lips.
“Color-coded, not alphabetized. Don’t insult me,” he replied flatly.
“Jesus Christ.”
He sauntered over to my side of the bed, his muscles rippling, distracting me at a time when I should’ve been keeping my wits together.
“You eat. Properly. You don’t get to skip meals because you ‘forgot.’”
I started to scoff, but all he had to do was lift a brow, daring me to test him.
How the fuck did he know about that? My girl dinners were between me, a sleeve of Ritz crackers, a jar of pickles, and a block of cheddar, thank you very much.
“Phone’s mine whenever I ask. You don’t hide shit from me.” His tone clearly said, Not negotiable .
“Not gonna give you the passcode,” I sing-sang, flashing him a saccharine smile.
“You’re actually acting like I need it.” He cocked one brow, as if to say, Really?
“You speak when you have something to say. Don’t play silent with me. I don’t play guessing games.”
“And what do I get out of this arrangement?” I finally asked.
He stepped in close, knuckles brushing across my cheek, igniting a shower of sparks.
“You get to keep your brother’s name clean.” A beat passed. “And you get me. All of me. Whether you realize it yet or not.”
“Is that all?” I asked sarcastically.
Hunter held out his hand, palm visibly calloused and forbiddenly massive. “Underwear off.”
No lead-in. No smirk. Just a simple command, backed by the knowledge it’d be obeyed.
I recoiled, my mouth already opening to deliver a sarcastic retort.
But he looked at me. He really looked at me — unflinching, unamused and unmoved.
“ Now . You heard the rule.”
I wasn’t the type to obey rules. I didn’t want to obey, and yet I did.
My cheeks felt hot as I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of my yoga pants and slowly pulled them, along with my underwear, down my legs.
Hunter was watching, but not like a man about to pounce. More like he was taking inventory, cataloging every inch of my body. His gaze swept over me in a slow, possessive drag.
When he held out his hand, I rolled my eyes and tossed the lace into his palm with a flick of my wrist.
“Here. Treasure it.”
“Good. Now come here.”
Holy fuck . The way he was able to just drop his voice to a low, gravelly rumble was doing things to me.
He picked up the shirt I’d so conveniently ignored.
“You’re going to wear this.”
Gripping the hem of my shirt, telling myself my stomach had already been exposed anyway, I sucked in a deep breath. Guess I was really about to show Hunter fucking Rhodes my tits.
I could tell myself this was duty, all I wanted. My nipples clearly had their own agenda.