27. Ella #2
“Yeah.” He didn’t grin, and his face was blank. “For you , I am.”
Then Hunter leaned across the console without warning, one big hand cupping the side of my neck, the other braced against the seat. His mouth crashed into mine, hungry and claiming.
It was the kind of kiss whose very intensity erased every smart-ass comment I’d prepared and burned every doubt clean out of my head.
By the time he pulled back, I was half in his lap, fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt like it was the only thing keeping me upright. My chest was heaving, and my pulse was pounding in my ears.
Hunter traced his thumb along my jaw. His voice was low and rough, and far too steady for someone who’d just kissed me the way he had.
“Tell them you’re my girlfriend if you want,” he said, gray eyes burning into mine. “But you’re so much more than a girlfriend, Ella. You’re everything .”
The words hit me hard, tightening my chest and setting off a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.
Maybe I should’ve been scared of how much I wanted them, how much I wanted him , but fear wasn’t even on the radar.
All I felt was this surge of something wild, something right.
I smirked, because of course he’d drop a line like this and expect me to not ask questions.
“Everything, huh?” My voice wavered slightly, but the way the corner of his mouth curled up told me the response pleased him.
“Yeah,” he said simply. “Everything.”
I kissed him then, because if this was what being claimed felt like, I wanted more . I wanted all of it, and when he kissed me back, when his hands tightened like letting go wasn’t an option, it hit me.
People could whisper, they could tease, they could speculate all they wanted. But none of it dug in anymore. It didn’t sting like it used to.
Because this? This was mine .
And so was he.
***
I knew Dom was going to be a problem the second I heard his voice booming through the door like the world’s loudest foghorn.
“EL-BELL! OPEN UP! I COME BEARING SNACKS AND JUDGMENT!”
Perfect. Exactly what my day needed.
Hunter didn’t even look up from his phone. Lounging on the couch with his long legs stretched out, he radiated the same calm, lethal energy that made my nerve endings hum.
If he was worried about Dom crashing our bubble, he hid it well.
The knock came again, this time louder. “Don’t make me call Mom and tell her you’ve joined a cult!”
I muttered a curse under my breath and shot Hunter a glare on principle. Somehow, this felt like his fault.
He finally glanced at me, raising an eyebrow as if to say, Well?
I groaned. “This is your fault.”
He just smirked and tossed his phone aside. Sliding over the hardwood in my socks, I yanked open the door before Dom actually called our mom.
“Finally!”
My brother barged in, brandishing a bag of chips like a peace offering.
His gaze swept the house, as if expecting to find a crime scene.
Then it landed on Hunter, who was unbothered as usual, annoyingly perfect in gray sweats and the black hoodie I hated simply for hiding the sight of his arms from me.
Fucking rude.
“Ohhhh,” Dom said slowly, his grin stretching wide. “This explains a lot.”
I crossed my arms, my eyebrows flying up. “Explains what ?”
“The radio silence. The cryptic texts. The sudden ‘ I’m totally fine, Dom ’ energy.” He pointed at Hunter like he’d uncovered a conspiracy. “You’ve been holed up with Broodzilla.”
I rolled my eyes so hard they almost left orbit. “We’ve been living together for months. You helped me move in.”
“Yeah,” he said, eyes narrowing. “But now you look different.” He gestured vaguely at my face. “Like you’ve seen some things. Dark things. Things that involve—”
“Stop.” I slapped a hand over his mouth.
Dom licked my palm.
“Ew!” I shrieked and jerked back. “You’re disgusting!”
“Keeping it authentic,” Dom said, voice dripping with mock seriousness. “Hey Hunt, you the reason my sister’s suddenly off the grid, or is she just hiding from me?”
Hunter didn’t blink. “Neither. She just likes better company.”
Dom smirked, unbothered. “You know what’s weird? The vibe in here is kind of spicy .” He sniffed the air dramatically. “Yup. Definitely tension. Smells like someone’s been breaking roommate rules.”
“Dom,” I warned, heat creeping up my neck.
He ignored me completely. “Sooo, has she broken your little control-freak mind yet? Because last time I checked, living with Ella is like signing up for a natural disaster without insurance.”
Hunter’s gaze stayed on him, flat as concrete. “She talks a lot.”
“Wow, insightful,” Dom deadpanned, then flashed me a grin. “Bet you love that, huh?”
I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.
Then Dom’s tone shifted, still light, but with a thread of steel beneath it. “Seriously though. You good to her?”
Hunter’s stare sharpened as he locked onto Dom like a sniper’s scope. “Always.”
Dom blinked, just for a moment. Then he grinned again, as though he hadn’t just been pinned by something capable of making even me shiver. “Cool. Cool. Love the enthusiasm.”
He clapped his hands together, oblivious to the tension that was almost tangible. “Anyway! Game night? I brought chips. Don’t worry, I’ll just ignore the weird eye-fucking thing you two have going on.”
“DOM!” I yelped, my face burning.
“Relax, sis. I’m just saying…” His grin widened at Hunter. “You hurt her, I hurt you. Cool? Cool.”
Hunter didn’t react outwardly. But when his gaze slid to me, slow and scorching, it was like a hand tightening around my throat.