CHAPTER 35
Couple Era
Gabriela
I was over the moon.
It had officially been two and a half weeks since Hunter and I started dating—since I assumed the role of his needy, territorial girlfriend whom he adored—and I genuinely didn’t remember the last time I smiled or laughed this much.
I never realized how much happiness I was actually missing in my day-to-day until Hunter. I loved everything about us and how we seamlessly fit into each other’s lives like we were always meant to be.
He showed me in many ways how committed he was to us.
Every day, he arrived at my doorstep with a smile and a kiss.
Well, two kisses. One for me and one for my Luna, who officially recognized him as her daddy.
And Hunter accepted the title with open arms, doting on my furry companion with cooed words, cuddles, and cat treats.
He even proofed his apartment into a cat-friendly zone, bought her catnip toys, a princess-style cat bed complete with ruffles and a canopy, and a cat tree.
That way, she’d be comfortable whenever we went over to his home.
She was spoiled beyond means. Just like her momma.
Hunter’s generosity knew no bounds.
He drove me to school even on the days when my classes began before his, and he always made pit stops at our favourite café to grab us coffees and chocolate-dipped donuts for me.
And I, on my end, always brought him homemade baked goods.
I couldn’t help myself. My love language was acts of service and I wanted to cater to him in any way possible.
Two weeks ago, we sat side by side in the auditorium classroom, holding hands as another cult classic horror movie played on the big screen.
Hunter didn’t flinch at the jump scare, simply watched the movie with an engrossed quality—I was so proud of him for getting over his fears—while polishing off the blueberry muffins I baked fresh for him that morning.
I pulled out my notebook, flipped it over to a blank page, wrote a message, and passed it to him.
By the end of the year, I’ll be adding ‘private chef’ to my résumé with the amount of cooking I do for you.
Hunter read it in the midst of a gory scene before plucking my pen and replying back in a neat cursive scrawl.
I’m very grateful, doll, and I love everything you make for me.
In fact, I’m wondering when my sweet little neighbour will be inviting me over for dinner?
The praise washed over me like a drug. He made me so giddy with a few words.
How’s this upcoming Friday?
It’s a date. He wrote.
What’s your favourite cuisine?
I’d whip up whatever he requested because I was just that whipped.
He wrote his reply and slid me my notebook back.
Anything you make for me, but I have a fondness for Italian.
When I peered at him, face warming with a blush, Hunter simply bestowed a butterfly-soft kiss on my cheek. We went back to watching the movie, our hands twined together, and a sense of tranquility floating between us.
And regardless of when I ended my classes or work meetings, Hunter always stayed back until I finished so he could drive me back home. Technically, I could hitch a ride with my best friends, but I knew how much Hunter cherished the task of taking care of me.
“You don’t always have to wait for me,” I’d cajoled one time when I stepped out of my evening finance class and saw him waiting for me in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his hands in his trouser pockets.
Hunter had this upper-class, rich-boy quality to him that just did it for me.
It rang in the way he carried himself, in the way he dressed, and in the way he smelled.
To me, he was the crème de la crème of Montardor’s high society.
Confident, charming, and the right amount of cocky when the situation called for it.
Even now, with the lines of fatigue sketched in his face from his long day, he still appeared suave and deliciously alpha in a tailored coat and dress shirt, and that welcoming smirk on his face that never failed to make my heart thud in response.
“And I’ve told you before that I prefer to drive you myself.” He stroked a knuckle down my cheek. “I don’t like going home if you’re not there, sweetheart.”
I cupped his face and rose on my tippytoes to kiss him. “Okay then.”
Plus, I enjoyed commuting with Hunter. Time spent conversing with him while listening to his music playlists was something I looked forward to every day and every evening, similar to how people looked forward to their first cup of coffee in the morning to get their day started and their cup of nighttime herbal tea to unwind before bed.
I didn’t know when it happened, but Hunter became the key to my smooth circadian rhythm and I feared that without him my entire cycle would be amiss.
“Okay then,” he parroted playfully. “Speaking of home.” He fished out a key from his pocket.
A red heart charm hung from its end. “Here. It’s a key to my place in case you and Luna ever want to come over, whether I’m there or not.
” He attempted to play it casual by shrugging.
“I want you to know that you can come and go as you please.”
He’s telling you his home is yours too, Gabriela.
My heart twisted in my chest. I gently grabbed the key from him.
“Oh, no.” I couldn’t even feign a nonchalant demeanour as I joked, my voice layered with thick emotions that gave me away.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Luna and I are basically going to camp at your place starting now. Good luck trying to get rid of us.”
Hunter wrapped an arm around my waist and lassoed me into his chest, soft blue eyes searching my face.
“I never want to get rid of either of you.” He tipped my chin up with a leather-gloved hand.
“I want your print all over my home. I want my sheets to smell like you, my shelves filled with your books, my kitchen stocked with your favourite foods. Every inch of you over every inch of me. Do you get me, Gabriela?”
What a fool I’d been, thinking we could ever just be platonic.
We were always meant for so much more.
After Franco, I jumped from one fling to another, trying to fill the void in my chest, to no avail. I thought I was content living like that—I thought there wasn’t a single man out there who could fit my standards.
Now I wondered if the universe had left an empty space beside me, not because there wasn’t anyone to fill it, but because it wanted me to wait for divine timing. It was slowly pushing Hunter into my orbit so he could arrive at the perfect instant and take his rightful place.
King of my heart.
How I adored this blue-eyed, dark-haired, gentle beast of a man.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I get you.”
His answer was to kiss me in the middle of a crowded hallway.
After that, I put Hunter’s key to good use just days later.
Friday evening was our date night and I went to his home earlier to begin preparations while he was at football practice.
My boyfriend arrived just in time to find me in the kitchen, wearing the red lace nightie he bought me and red oven mitts with hearts on them, holding a baked lasagna in my hands.
“Welcome home, bello,” I said with a mischievous smile, placing the dish on the counter. “You’re just in time for dinner.”
Hunter dropped his duffel bag on the floor and prowled, his expression dark and hungry. Wordlessly, he picked me up, plonked me onto the island counter, pushed my legs wide—causing my lingerie to hike to my waist—and settled himself on a bar stool.
“H-Hunter?” I squeaked out in surprise.
He wrapped his arms around my thighs, jerked me forward, and slapped my bare pussy hard. “Hush, doll.” His tongue dragged along my slit, parting me open. “I’m eating.”
I moaned and writhed and screamed as he made a meal out of me.
Hunter ate my pussy until I nearly lost my voice.
But he wasn’t done there.
He dragged us into the shower. We were a tangle of wet limbs and white-hot need, kissing and groping each other. Once the soap washed away, Hunter turned me around to face the tiled wall before dropping to his knees behind me.
He buried his face in my cheeks to eat my ass.
“Hunter!” Eyes wide, my hand reached out to clutch at a fistful of his hair…whether to stop him or to keep going, I didn’t know.
The answer became apparent when he thrust two fingers into my slick pussy at the same time and curled them against my G-spot. Coupled with his tongue licking my puckered hole, a foreign sensation I suddenly found pleasant, I was now in heaven.
Oh, God. I…I might need this all the time.
“Mm, you like that, don’t you?” he crooned, his misbehaving tongue relentless.
My yes came out garbled as I fell apart, vision dancing with stars.
I had a few seconds to brace my palms against the wall when Hunter stood up, lined his tip with my opening, and bottomed inside my pussy in a smooth go.
I whimpered.
“Tell me I’m a good boy, Gabby,” he rasped, gripping my hips and thrusting into me with a vengeance, our skins smacking together in a cacophony with the shower water.
“S-such a good boy, Hunt.”
He groaned, going harder and faster. “Play with your clit, baby. I want you to come with me.”
Once we finished, Hunter drew me out of the shower and patted my skin dry with a warmed towel. He followed it up by putting lotion on me, combing my wet hair, and slinging his clean football jersey over my body.
We reheated the lasagna and ate before migrating over to the living room with Luna, who decided to park herself in her princess-style bed.
Hunter put on a romantic comedy that I selected and then he sprawled over the large sectional sofa in grey sweats—the sluttiest thing a man could wear, in my humble opinion.
I lay on top of his muscular frame, my legs on either side of him, and my arms folded over his chest with my chin resting on them.
“Is there a reason why you’re staring at me and not watching the movie?” he inquired, running his hands down my back.