Chapter 114
Piper
Robert takes a sip of his drink while Isaak acts like a complete arsehole every time the man opens his mouth.
I suppose that tells me exactly where his loyalties lie.
I take a sip of my champagne as Adelaide smirks into her glass.
Eleanor offers us the occasional smile, but she doesn’t seem entirely present. Her thoughts appear elsewhere, while Ido’s attention never strays far from her.
It’s been over an hour since Robert approached me and offered to buy me a drink. I accepted reluctantly, because it’s time to move on.
I’m not ready to actually move on. My heart still belongs to that infuriating man, but I have to try. If nothing else, I can try to make friends, have a conversation.
Robert and I have nothing in common.
Or it could just be my mind trying to sabotage me.
“So tomorrow I can pick you up and we can have breakfast together,” Robert says.
I offer him a polite smile.
“If you don’t remove yourself from my woman this instant, you won’t live to see midnight, let alone tomorrow morning’s breakfast.”
I snap my head up and meet his eyes.
Amber eyes.
For a second, I lose myself in them.
Damn him.
He looks unfairly good, sitting tall and broad in a flawlessly fitted suit, his chocolate brown hair immaculate.
His jaw is tight, and heat burns in his eyes as he takes me in. Then his attention shifts to Robert, and those amber irises darken to pitch black.
Rage hardens his features as he takes a step towards him.
Isaak smirks, looking pleased. Adelaide looks no different, and when I catch her eye, she winks at me.
Another step from Hunter brings my attention back to him.
I push away from my chair and reach for his arm.
“Don’t,” I say quietly.
His head snaps towards me, and the amber slowly reappears.
“Love, this mosquito spent over an hour buzzing around your head before asking you on a date. Let me squash him.”
Robert gulps and rises from his chair, his eyes darting around in search of an escape.
I shake my head at Hunter.
“Very well,” he says.
He turns to Robert.
“Approach my woman again and your family name will cease to exist.”
Robert swallows hard, nods once, then turns and practically runs for the exit.
“Are you really letting him go? He touched Piper’s arm, you know.” Isaak supplies the information, and I narrow my eyes at him.
Hunter’s eyes darken once more.
“Of course not. He’s being expelled as we speak. And banned from the country entirely.”
Before I can tell him to leave the poor man alone, he looks at me and bends down.
“You’re in trouble, love,” he murmurs at my ear, his teeth skimming my lobe.
Then he straightens and turns to the others.
“We’re out of here. The island, I mean.”
Adelaide raises a brow.
“She’ll be back in May for her exams,” he adds before turning back to me.
The next thing I know, he scoops me into his arms and carries me towards the exit.
I’m too stunned to speak.
Because what exactly does he mean by that?
A car waits outside the bar.
A driver opens the door, but Hunter shakes his head.
“I’ll drive.”
The man inclines his head and steps aside.
Hunter lowers me onto the passenger seat, fastens my seatbelt himself, then closes the door and rounds the car before sliding behind the wheel.
He pulls away from the town without a word.
“You need to drop me back at the academy.”
No reply. Only the muscle in his jaw ticks.
“Hunter…”
“Piper, shut your fucking mouth. I’m barely holding it together as it is, not to pull this car over and fuck you raw to remind you exactly who you belong to. And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you let another man put his filthy hands on you. Your arse deserves a spanking for that alone.”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I refuse to examine what that says about me.
“Stop the car.”
He ignores me.
“Stop the car!” I shout.
This time, he does.
He slams on the brakes without warning, and the tyres screech against the road.
I unfasten my seatbelt and climb out of the car.
Tilting my head back, I stare up at the night sky as the wind catches my hair.
A moment later, I hear Hunter leave the car too.
I keep my eyes closed as I speak.
“Why can’t you just let me be?”
He says nothing.
“Hunter, too much has happened.”
“Your point?”
I turn to face him.
“I was married to your father while I slept with you. I lied to you. I kept the truth from you. People don’t simply recover from something like that. You say you want me now, but one day you’ll resent me. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But eventually, you will.”
My voice breaks into a shout by the end.
“You killed him because of me. You might not feel it now, but you will resent me.”
He simply stares at me.
“I killed him because he touched you. And because he murdered my mother.”
I freeze.
Shock slams into me.
“Hunter,” I whisper.
He doesn’t let me finish.
“Tell me, is this about that absurd notion that I can’t love you? Because, for fuck’s sake, what do you want me to say?”
A tear rolls down my cheek.
“I do fucking love you, Piper!” His jaw tightens as he says it. “More than anything in this world. And love is a pathetic fucking word for it. It doesn’t begin to cover what I feel for you.”
“I can’t breathe when you’re not near me. I kept my distance because there were things I needed to put in order. I had to make sure you’d be protected if everything fell apart. And I wanted to give you time to come to terms with everything.”
“But it wasn’t easy. Every day demanded a level of restraint I didn’t know I possessed. Every instinct in me urged me to come for you, take you away from that academy, marry you, and keep you by my side where you belong.”
“I have a diamond ring burning a hole in my pocket, waiting for the day I can put it on your finger. Staying away from you bloody hurt, but I did it anyway. I didn’t want to force you into another marriage. And I knew that if I stayed, I would.”
“But enough is enough. I fucking breathe for you. I don’t know how to exist in a world that doesn’t have you in it. When I found out about the marriage, I was fucking wrecked, Piper, and that doesn’t happen to me. I don’t feel. But with you, I feel every damn thing.”
“And yes, I was furious. Especially when I found out it was my father. In my head, he was the good man. Yet even then, before I knew the full truth, part of me wanted him gone simply because he stood between us.”
“Do you understand how fucked up that is?”
“I’m a cold bastard, Piper. I was ready to kill my own father when I still believed he was innocent. That’s toxic, it’s twisted. It’s completely fucking wrong.”
“I fucking love you. I breathe for you. I live for you. Seeing you hurt destroyed me. Every bruise on your skin felt etched into mine ten times over. I was never a man for feelings. But with you, I was all in from the very damn beginning.”
He closes the distance between us. We both breathe hard as he presses his forehead to mine.
“I love you.”
He kisses me softly.
“You’re coming back with me. Home. And you will marry me, because that’s what you want, too.”
“I hate you,” I whisper as tears fall down my cheeks.
“Good.”
He presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you.”
“Good.”
His tongue meets mine, and I pour everything I have into him. When he finally pulls away, his eyes hold mine, and I smile.
“I’ll marry you,” I say.
The dimple I love so much appears.
“Yes, yes you fucking will.”