CHAPTER 23
Heart-To-Heart
Gabriela
The quiet that followed our mutual orgasm and Hunter’s confession was laced with tender harmony.
A flurry of goosebumps ignited on my flesh, having everything to do with the beautiful, protective man standing behind me, pressing his kisses into my skin while his arms bracketed me like I was an anchor in the midst of a tumultuous storm.
Unexpected tears stung my eyes. I wanted to tell him that I returned the sentiment—that I was ready to be owned by him too. Yet my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth as I kept going over his fervently spoken words, my heart glowing warm.
All my walls crumbled to smithereens like the ruins of an old castle until I was a skeletal version of the old me before being resuscitated from Hunter’s touch like a phoenix rising from a pile of ashes.
When he proceeded to wash me with utmost care afterwards, soaping my body and shampooing my hair in a soothing lather, like he marvelled at every strand of my hair and every line of my figure, an abundance of affection for Hunter unravelled inside of me, grander than anything I could contain in my frame.
Without a doubt, that was the most intimate shower of my life. We hadn’t had penetrative intercourse and it still rivalled all my past experiences with other men by a long stretch.
I couldn’t recall another human ever gazing at me with such innocent wonder and stark longing.
Like I was punishing him by not letting him be mine.
Like he was eternally grateful for every second spent together, regardless of the outcome.
It made me hate myself a little for putting him through any sort of pain, when he’d only ushered joy into my life since our meeting on the terrace.
It made me want to wrap Hunter up in my arms and safeguard him from any harm, though he was bigger and stronger than me.
Our companionable silence did not come to an end when Hunter turned off the shower and carried me out of the stall.
He proceeded to pat my skin dry with a fluffy towel and massage his lotion into my lax muscles.
No man had ever taken his time with me before, during, or after sex.
Except for this one. And we hadn’t even gone all the way.
There was a lump in my throat as I watched Hunter go about the task with a concentrated frown on his face. I sensed that he needed this quietness to refuel himself before we actually talked.
I also wondered if he was afraid that speaking would shatter the magic of the moment.
Belatedly, I wondered if that was why I was also silent.
By the time he finished combing out my wet hair and brushing a kiss in the curve where my shoulder met my neck, I couldn’t help but grasp his stubbled cheeks and lay a kiss on his lips. It was filled with all the things I had yet to tell him.
Hunter sighed against my lips, eyes still closed.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmured almost vulnerably. “Please, don’t go anywhere without me.”
Oh, Hunter. I wouldn’t even if I could.
Overcome by the tightness in my chest, I simply nodded.
Hunter trudged towards the sinks and mirrors to give me privacy to dress. I imagined him repeating the same post-shower routine on himself as I put on my clothes, sans panties, because those were a dripping mess, and contemplated how to best broach the topic of us.
It was the entire reason for me coming to his game tonight and I wasn’t leaving until I mended what I foolishly broke yesterday.
My belly fluttered with nerves when Hunter re-emerged. He wore a pair of black pants and a white dress shirt that was half-buttoned haphazardly like he’d hurried with dressing himself to ensure I was still here.
His clothes clung to his strapping form, the material translucent where his skin was still damp and highlighting his big muscles.
I couldn’t believe I’d seen him bare and had my hands and mouth all over him.
My God, I was going to dream of that thigh tat.
I wish I’d taken the time to lick the entirety of it with my tongue before I sucked his cock.
“You waited,” he breathed, relieved.
A pang travelled in my chest. Did he actually think I would bail?
I supposed I’d given him every reason to believe so.
My eyes rose to find his beseeching ones, waiting for me to break the spell we seemed to be under.
A hint of fear lurked in his depths. I wanted to set him at ease, my own heart twisting in its cage as I beheld this perfect man who was fairy-tale handsome like a gallant knight in shining armour, besotted with the princess he thought he couldn’t have.
“Of course, Hunter.” I flexed my hands by my side. “I have something to say. Will you listen to me?”
His back straightened with attention and he nodded.
“I came here tonight to talk to you—to apologize for last night. I never meant to hurt you. Not when you mean so much to me. I hope you can forgive me for making you believe otherwise.” I inhaled deeply and cut straight to the chase.
“And I want to try being more than friends. I want to take that chance with you. If you’ll still have me. ”
I barely finished speaking before Hunter was suddenly in front of me, cupping my face and staring down at me with hope. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“What does ‘more than friends’ mean to you? Because I won’t settle for being just your fuck buddy. I’m not some dirty secret to be hidden behind closed doors. I know my worth and I deserve more than that.” His thumb roved over my cheek. “So do you, Gabby.”
“I don’t mean as a fuck buddy.” I cleared my throat, glancing away for a brief second before meeting his blue eyes again. “I want us to date…To eventually become boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Exhaling, Hunter dropped his forehead to mine. I physically felt the relief penetrating through him. “You’ll really give me a chance?”
“Yes. If there’s anyone who’s going to be good to me, it’s you.” I ran my hands over his back in a gentle caress. His bunched muscles relaxed under my touch. “Just please be careful with me. For all my bravado, I am delicate.”
Admitting it out loud was freeing since I knew Hunter would never weaponize it against me. I’d tried my best to pick up my pieces after Franco. Some days, I felt whole. Other days, I felt like a teddy bear with its stuffing torn out.
“Baby, I’ll treat you like glass if it means I can keep you with me. I’ll never let anything or anyone hurt you, including myself.” He dusted his nose against mine. “All I want is the opportunity to show you how good it can be between us.”
He’d already shown me how good it could be between us and for once, I wasn’t scared.
“Okay. First date this weekend?” I said teasingly but thoroughly meant it.
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“You let me plan it. From start to finish.”
I loved a proactive man. “Deal.”
Hunter’s smile was so radiant and infectious. It incited my own. “Fuck, is this really happening? I feel like I’m dreaming.”
I pinched his butt and an amused sound erupted from him. “See? Not dreaming.”
He shushed my chuckle with a claiming kiss that left no room for argument. Simply the understanding that we were two individuals who were finally taking the chance that we owed ourselves.
“Are we moving too fast?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“If anything, we’ve been moving too slow.
I’ve been pining over you for more than a year, Gabriela.
Give me some credit. I want you. I’ve wanted you from the first second I saw you at Josh’s birthday party, looking like the most beautiful girl in the world.
I wondered about your name, about the things you liked.
” He kissed me again. Like he couldn’t stop himself.
Like I was just that addictive. “I also wondered about the feel of your lips, the taste of your skin.” His voice took on a husky edge.
“And there’s a part of me that likes to believe that you’ve wanted me and wondered about these things too.
At least from the moment we crossed paths again on the terrace. ”
“I have,” I admitted as Hunter laid kisses along my jawline, my fingers curling over his shoulders.
“I meant it when I said you haven’t left my mind since.
I think about you all the time. You make me smile, you make me laugh, you make me feel at peace.
Doesn’t matter what we’re doing—watching a movie, taking a walk, or simply texting each other.
You ease my anxiety and quiet the demons in my mind.
When I’m not with you, I count the hours until I can see you again.
And when we’re together, I want to make every second last because I’ll miss you so much when we say good night.
” Remembering his words from the shower, I added softly, “I need you to know that I see you, Hunter. It may have been later than when you saw me, but I acknowledge your existence. I see it, I feel it, and it’s so precious to me. You’re so precious to me.”
A small noise rumbled in the back of his throat and Hunter crushed me in his arms. His mouth pressed to my forehead and he held it there, breathing me in. “Fuck, baby. What are you doing to me?”
Exactly what you’re doing to me. “It’s the truth, Hunter.”
“What made you change your mind from last night to now?” he asked and I sensed that a part of him gnawed over the fact that I may be pitying him.
He was far from a charity case. I’d make sure moving forward that he never felt unwanted or unworthy.
To me, he was everything and more.
“Honestly?” I grasped his face, loving the feel of his trimmed stubble against my palms. “I grew tired of denying myself the thing I want most—you. I spent all night crying over how I lost you when I could have had you—in the way we both want—and I no longer want to keep self-sabotaging. Please know that anytime you’ve felt like I’ve retreated, it’s never had anything to do with you and everything to do with my own issues. ”
“Your ex?” he guessed bitterly.
I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll take it. Whatever you’re able to give. It’ll be enough for me.”
I could feel him wanting to say for now but holding back.
“At the end of the day, I just want to be with you—to keep making you smile and laugh. Whenever you’re ready to talk about your fears, I’ll be here to listen without judgement and help you work through them.”
“I adore you,” I murmured, kissing him.
He kissed me back. “I adore you, too.”
After a few seconds, Hunter tightened his arms around me and hesitantly said, “It wasn’t easy for me to put myself out there.
I took a gamble and was glad that it paid off, especially when I realized how easy it was to talk to you without feeling like I was making a clown out of myself.
You have no idea how fast my heart pounded with excitement whenever we talked, whether in person or through texts.
For all my confidence, there was a part of me worried that you wouldn’t want me the way I wanted you.
I’m not one to flirt or chase after girls, but I bent those rules for you, and I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I’ve been these last few weeks with you.
Gabriela, there aren’t enough words to convey how much joy your presence brings me.
You’re like a ray of sunshine. You brighten my world.
And you were the first person to make me feel like I could be my raw self and you’d accept me as is—and you did.
” He kissed the tip of my nose. “You’re not the only one who’s been hurt in your past. So have I.
But I’m willing to work through those issues if you’re willing to do the same.
I’m just like you. I have insecurities, but… we’ll figure it out together, okay?”
His speech left me a little shaken up but relieved too. “Deal,” I replied, my voice laden with emotions. “Also, what are you insecure about? You’re basically perfect.”
Hunter’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his features imploring.
“I’m glad you think so, but I’m really not, Gabby.
I’m human, just like everybody else, and I’m more than my physical appearance.
Having my entire worth reduced to just that one singular, superficial aspect has left me with more bruises on the inside than I can count on two hands. ”
My expression fell and my mind wandered to his bitch of an ex, wondering if she was responsible for birthing these so-called bruises inside of him.
If she was, she’d better pray she never came face-to-face with me.
“I’m so sorry. For what it’s worth, though you’re drop dead handsome, the most beautiful part of you isn’t your physical appearance.
” I placed a hand on the left side of his chest, gazing at him knowingly. “It’s your heart.”
We spent enough time together for me to quickly come to that conclusion.
The most powerful thing about Hunter was his heart and how he wouldn’t hesitate to take the shirt off his back for someone in need.
People like him were rare and I was finding myself growing more and more possessive of him, a sick and twisted part of me wanting to hide him from this traitorous world and keep him safe in my lair, where no one could ever hurt him. Not even myself.
Hunter smiled. “Thank you for saying that.”
My answer was to kiss him for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour.
“Last chance to get away from me before I sink my claws in too deep,” I jokingly warned. “Do you really want to do this? You might realize I’m awfully needy once we start dating.”
“Good.” He picked up my hand to kiss the back of it. “I want you to need me.”
I turned to putty but tried my best to put on a serious expression. It was more playful than anything, really. “I mean it, Hunter. I need attention like oxygen. I may wither away without it.”
It was a bit dramatized and Hunter chuckled. “I’ll shower you with all the attention you need. There will be no withering away on my watch.”
“I also like to cook and bake in my free time, so your fridge might be overstocked with pasta dishes and blueberry muffins.”
“Only an idiot would complain.” He arched an eyebrow. “I, however, won’t. You have free rein to do as you please in my kitchen.”
Smart man. “And I don’t drive, so you’ll have to chauffeur me everywhere.”
“Baby, I’ll chauffeur you to the ends of the earth. Wherever you go, I’ll follow.” Amusement twinkled in his blue eyes. “What else?”
“My cat and I are joined at the hip. I like to bring her with me wherever I can. Will that be a problem?”
He scoffed. “Please, I adore Luna. I’m well-aware that you’re a package deal.”
“Good.” I tapped my chin mock thoughtfully. “Well, I think that’s it for now.”
“If you’re done trying to scare me away from dating you”—Hunter slung his duffel bag onto his shoulder and offered me his hand—“I’d like to take you home, Gabby.”
I smiled, twining our fingers together. “All right. Take me home, Hunter.”