Chapter 56
Piper
I stand frozen, staring at the doorway.
I’m convinced I’ve lost my mind.
Because they’re all here.
The Ferrum Syndicate men.
Arlo Vass, who has just said something about a... dildo.
Heat creeps into my face.
Isaak and Milo Markev. And then there’s Hunter.
My professor.
My eyes find his and refuse to move.
Everything else fades away. The voices, the chaos, the questions. I barely register any of it as I look at him.
He’s dressed in jeans.
Actual jeans.
And a hoodie.
For some reason, that shocks me almost as much as finding him here in the first place.
I’ve never seen him in anything other than suits and perfectly pressed shirts.
Yet somehow, this looks just as right on him.
My breath catches.
It’s ridiculous, really.
I can’t seem to look away.
His hair remains exactly as it always is, not a strand out of place, but without the suits and all the usual formality, he seems... different.
More the man from the ring than the professor.
The Wardgrave heir.
The future CEO.
But it’s his eyes that affect me the most.
Those amber eyes remain fixed on me, dark and intent.
Possessive in a way he has absolutely no claim to be.
I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to be looked at that way.
Like I matter.
But he only wants sex from me.
He can’t love me.
And I don’t ask him to.
I don’t want him to.
I can’t ever allow him to have feelings for me.
But at least I don’t have to worry about that.
Hunter has made his feelings on the matter perfectly clear more than once. He’s not built for relationships or love.
In another life, that might have hurt.
In this one, I’m grateful for it.
Because like the worst person on this planet, I take it as permission to pretend nothing is wrong.
To pretend I have any right to this, to him.
I blink and pull my thoughts back to the present as the rest of the room comes back into focus.
Everyone has moved further inside.
It’s just the two of us, caught in some bizarre trance.
And while Hunter appears perfectly unaffected, I’m busy having a full blown crisis in my head.
I pull off my jacket and leave it by the door before kicking off my boots.
Across from me, Hunter does much the same.
A screech echoes through the room, stealing my attention.
I turn in time to see Octavia slung over Milo’s shoulder as he heads for the stairs. She hits his back and swears at him the entire way up.
They disappear upstairs, taking most of the noise with them and leaving an unexpected silence behind.
And then reality reasserts itself, sweeping aside the attraction and every ridiculous thought my heart had entertained over the past few minutes.
As though his inability to love could somehow change the fact that I’m lying to him.
Or at the very least, keeping a secret.
A huge one.
One that would destroy me.
Him.
Us.
I feel the anger rise, but it doesn’t take long to realise that what I’m feeling is mostly worry.
And fear. So much fear.
If he somehow finds out that Hunter is here with me in the same chalet...
“I think it’s better if you leave,” I blurt out. “I’ve no idea why you came here in the first place, but...”
I look at Adelaide, then Ophelia, and finally at the men standing beside them, and it becomes clear that this conversation is a waste of time. They aren’t leaving.
And looking at Hunter, I don’t want him to leave.
I want to pretend.
Am I completely out of my mind?
I take a deep breath.
“There’s another room upstairs. It has a king bed. You can share if you must.”
I glance down, fussing with the sleeve of my tracksuit. I can feel his eyes on me the entire time, but I refuse to look at him.
Instead, I turn and make my way towards the stairs.
I need distance.
Being near him has left my thoughts in complete disarray.
I don’t look back as I climb the stairs. I already know he’s right behind me.
By the time I reach my room, I don’t even bother closing the door.
There seems little point.
When Hunter Wardgrave decides he wants something, he usually gets it.
A second later, he steps inside and closes the door behind him.
I turn, fully prepared to tell him to leave, even if I don’t mean a word of it. Perhaps even to ask what he’s really doing here in Switzerland of all places.
But the moment I meet his eyes, I know.
Any hope of that conversation disappears.
I’m hopeless where my professor is concerned.
Liar.
Liar.
Liar.
Deceiver.
Coward.
The voices in my head howl their objections, but I don’t have time to drown in guilt and self-recrimination before he’s on me.
His hand finds the back of my head and brings me closer before his mouth claims mine, the kiss steals what little breath I have left.
It’s brutal but oh so good.
Liar.
Deceiver.
Deceiver.
Deceiver.
Coward.
I don’t stop him, nor do I push him away. I simply ignore the voice in my head.
As Hunter undresses me, I tell myself that agreeing to keep doing this in secret isn’t the worst decision I’ve ever made.
It will cost me everything in the end.
But I already know it will also be one of the best things in my life.