Chapter 13
Hunter
Watching Harrison with Ari was harder than watching her dance without us for the previous hour. I just wanted to cut in, or better still, join in.
As I pull her back flush against my chest, I wrap my arm around her stomach the same way Harrison had just moments ago.
She stiffens, her hand going to my arm as she pulls it away and spins around to look at me.
“Hunter?” She takes in my features before continuing, “What’s going on? Where’s Harrison?” she asks, trying to look past me.
I grab her chin and guide her gaze back to mine.
“How did you know it was me?” I ask, keeping a firm hand fully on her hip in case she’s about to try and make a run for it.
She shrugs. “Because I know you,” she replies. “You don’t smell or feel the same,” she adds softly, so quietly that I just barely hear her over the beat of the music.
I don’t know why her confession makes me want to pump my fist in the air. Yes, Harrison and I are brothers—identical twins—however, we’re still two individuals. We don’t always see eye to eye or like the same things, apart from where she’s concerned. She is, after all, the exception.
“And what do I smell like?” I ask, releasing her chin, my hand moving to the back of her neck to hold her in place.
She bites her lower lip.
“Spicy and warm, with a hint of vanilla.”
“You think I smell warm?” I smile, because I really fucking like that.
Her cheeks heat under my question, and she swallows with a nod.
“And Harrison, what does he smell like?” Because damn if this revelation isn’t as intriguing as hell.
Her eyes flick to the side before meeting mine again.
“Also like vanilla, but more woodsy, with a hint of tobacco… and sweet.”
That makes me chuckle. “You think he’s sweet?”
“No, I said he smells sweet,” she replies, rolling her eyes as she swats my shoulder. I grab her hand and intertwine her fingers with mine.
“And how do we feel?”
She clears her throat, cheeks crimson as her lips part, but as she’s about to answer, Harrison steps up behind her, cutting off her words. His hands move to her hips, one hand above mine, so she’s caged between us. Right where she should be.
“You know she can tell us apart? As soon as we swapped places, she knew it was me.”
Harrison smirks. “Did she now?”
“Yep,”
“What’s going on?” she asks as we both encourage her to move between us.
Fuck, it feels good.
“It’s called dancing, little rabbit.”
“I know what it’s called, Hunter, and that’s not what I meant, and you know it?”
Fuck, I love it when she’s being a brat. She holds her tongue around our father, something we hate but understand, so on the rare occasions she sasses us, we secretly love it.
“Just dance with us,” Harrison says, kissing her just below the ear. “We can go somewhere to talk afterwards, okay?”
“Ari, are you alright?” Abigail asks, stepping up beside us. She’s clearly concerned for her best friend, as she should be, but not because of us, not like that.
“Abigail,” I say in greeting.
“Devil’s spawn,” she replies, flicking her eyes between Harrison and me before focusing back on Ari.
I hold back the urge to chuckle, very aware of Ari’s penchant for calling us that, too.
Instead, I look down at Ari, waiting for her to respond.
“Yeah, apparently we’re just dancing.”
This time, I can’t hold back my chuckle as Harrison whispers, “Careful, freckles. When you sass like that, it does all kinds of dirty things to me.”
I love the way she shivers, and fuck yeah, it turns me on too, as evident from my hardening cock. Thankfully, she’s helping hide it, sandwiched between Harrison and me.
“Ari?” Abigail asks again, ignoring Harrison’s comment.
She stares at her for a beat and then nods. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ll find you when I’m ready to go home.”
“You hurt her, and I’ll cut off both your balls,” Abigail says, flicking her light brown hair over her shoulder before turning away and joining her friend over by the main bar.
We resume dancing, and just for a little while, she lets go, moving between us like she’s always belonged right here. But the bubble soon bursts when some dick bumps into me, causing me to almost knock Ari in the face with my chin.
“What the fuck,” I curse, letting go of Ari and spinning around to grab the guy by the throat and shove him back.
I’m about to swing when Ari reaches for me.
“Hunter, he’s just drunk,” she says, pulling on my shoulder.
I spin back to face her. “Because of him, I could have fucking hurt you,” I seethe.
She shakes her head incredulously, a mocking sound escaping her mouth.
“Are you serious right now? You’ve both treated me like a piece of shit on your shoe, the inconvenient stepsister. Then you both take it in turns to mess with me and now you show up wearing the mask of my mystery man. Yeah, I don’t think so.”
She storms past me, moving surprisingly fast in those heels. I’d be impressed if it weren’t for the fact that she’s heading for the exit.
Harrison goes after her, gently cupping her elbow, and I look up to see security already coming to get the drunk guy out of here. I nod to them and catch up with Ari and Harrison.
“Just come talk to us and we’ll explain everything,” Harrison says, veering her away from the exit and towards the outdoor area instead.
“Only because I think I deserve an explanation,” she says, shaking off his hand and marching through the door. We follow her through, and then I turn to lock it behind us.
She practically power-walks away from us, but that’s okay. We’re more than happy to chase her.