Chapter 7 #3
“Yeah,” Liv replied. “She’s unique. Aunt Sloane loses her mind around her.
She tried to keep her away from us kids, but she was always around over the holidays.
My mom tried to shield us from her as much as possible growing up, but she didn’t really get inappropriate with us.
It was only when we all turned eighteen that she inquired about our ability to orgasm one day at Thanksgiving dinner.
Dad almost lost it on her, Aunt Sloane felt terrible, and Mom started to cry.
She was trained in India. My brothers run away from her when they see her, but I feel bad, so I indulge her,” Liv explained.
“That’s over the top,” Taylor said.
“Tell me about it. How do you think Hunter feels?” Liv asked.
“Shit, I forgot you and Hunter were basically cousins,” I said because I was more than tipsy.
“It’s fine. Your secret is still safe with me. Sister code,” Liv assured me.
“Thanks,” I said with relief.
“Okay, so we need to get Catherine laid, but it can’t be Hunter. Although I wonder what his sex guru granny taught him growing up,” Billie Rose laughed.
“Gah, no more Hunter talk,” I said.
Taylor lifted her glass. “To all of us needing to get laid.”
Billie Rose guffawed and lifted her drink to clink glasses, so we all did.
By the end of the night, I was relaxed, tipsy, and warm all over from laughing.
Billie’s Uber came first because she had an early hospital morning.
Taylor and Wren shared one. Liv said her brother was picking her up.
I got into my Uber alone and leaned my head against the seat, smiling like an idiot.
For the first time in a long time, I felt light.
The building lobby was quiet when I got home.
I thanked the driver, stepped inside, and immediately stopped.
Hunter was there. He stood near the elevators with one hand in his pocket, his dress shirt rolled at the sleeves, black pants fitting him unfairly well.
His hair was a little messier than it had been earlier, and the faint shadow along his jaw made him look even more dangerous than he had in the lobby before we left.
He turned when he heard my heels. His eyes moved over me, and even tipsy, I felt the hit of it.
“Catherine,” he said.
“Hunter.”
We were alone in the lobby except for the concierge at the desk, which meant we were not alone at all. He seemed to remember that at the same time I did. His posture stayed easy, his expression calm.
“Good night?” he asked.
“Very.”
“Good.”
“You?”
He gave a small shrug. “Max talked too much.”
“So, normal night,” I giggled.
“Pretty much, and I may have had one too many drinks, which was probably a mistake because I don’t really drink,” he explained, mumbling. That’s when I noticed his sway.
The elevator dinged. We stepped inside together. The doors closed. And just like that, the air changed. I turned to face him, leaning back against the wall. He looked at me once, then at the doors.
“I had one too many also,” I admitted. “I heard that your grandma is a sex guru. Is that true?” I smacked a hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry. I have no filter.”
His hazel eyes bulged. “Um… yeah, it’s true. I’m guessing you were out with Liv.”
“Yup,” I said.
“Oh boy.” He rocked on his heels. “How bad were the stories?”
“Not bad. I just admitted to wanting you, and Liv told me why it was a bad idea, and she offered your grandma’s services to help my vagina get attracted to someone else.”
Hunter bit into his lip and hissed. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” He took a step toward me and braced his hand over my head against the elevator wall. He was so close I could feel his body heat. My breathing changed.
“I’m saying that I haven’t felt attracted to anyone since my ex cheated on me, and for some reason, I’m getting very hot and bothered every time you get close to me,” I confessed, staring directly into his eyes. He was breathing differently too. Like he was fighting the same battle as me.
I placed a hand on his chest. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, Catherine.
I’ve lived a very controlled life, and one look at you and I’m unraveling.
It isn’t okay. There’s a lot of history between your parents and me.
They’re friends with my parents, and… fuck…
you know the million reasons why this is a bad idea. ”
I licked my lips. “Having you this close is making me want you more.”
“You shouldn’t be telling me these things. I’m nine years older than you. I knew you as a kid,” he said.
“I’m a woman now. We’ve had that talk,” I reminded him.
His chest was heaving. He leaned forward. “It would be so easy for me to lean in and take a taste. To drop to my knees and see how wet you are for me. But I have self-restraint, and I don’t have a death wish.”
I moaned at the thought of him on his knees. He was going to make me come before he even touched me. It didn’t make any sense.
“You’re trying to kill me,” he said.
“No, I just want you to fuck me,” I blurted. I had never been so upfront with a man before, but something about Hunter had me undone.
“Do you know how hard I am right now?” he asked, and I looked down at his cock tenting his pants.
I pressed my thighs together. Hunter leaned his head into the crook of my neck against the wall. “You smell amazing. But I’m drunk, and so are you. You’re going to regret this in the morning. I won’t be anyone’s regret.”
“You wouldn’t be,” I urged.
The elevator dinged. Hunter pulled away and moved to the corner of the elevator. He placed his hands in front of him and laced his fingers together. I assumed it was to cover his hard-on. Nate, the forward for the team, got on the elevator. “Bro, what’s up?” He fist-bumped Hunter.
“Good,” Hunter said.
Then he looked at me, and his eyes widened. “Dr. Davis. Wait, were you two out together?”
“No,” Hunter answered like the thought was absurd. “I was out at a club with Max and the guys.”
“Where is Max?” Nate asked.
“He went home with someone,” Hunter said, side-eyeing me like he felt bad to share the information. I knew my cousin was a player, so it wasn’t news.
“What are you up to, Dr. Davis?” Nate asked.
“It’s Catherine. Not Dr. Davis. I was out with friends,” I replied. I felt like I was swaying, but I wasn’t sure.
The elevator stopped on Hunter’s floor. “Have a good night,” he said to Nate and me.
“Night,” I heard Hunter mutter as he walked out.
The elevator then stopped on my parents’ floor.
“Good night, Nate.”
“Night Dr. Davis,” he called out.
I didn’t have it in me to correct him again. I was more focused on how highly inconvenient it was that I was living with my parents right now. What I wanted was a vibrator session. Mom was in the kitchen making tea when I walked in.
“Oh, Mom, hi,” I said. I felt like a teenager trying to hide the fact that I had been drinking. “Rough night at the hospital?”
“No, we had three easy births.” She grinned, then her gaze zeroed in on me. “Are you drunk?”
“I’m not a teenager. I had a few drinks with the girls,” I admitted.
“I miss those days,” Mom said with a far-off look. She had me at twenty-two, which meant she had to become responsible early.
“You can still go out drinking the next time Rebel comes to town. Even Paris would be happy to have a girls’ night out,” I suggested.
“Yeah, maybe. That isn’t a bad idea,” she said. “Everything okay?”
“Yup. Why do you ask?” I was swaying.
“I don’t know. You seem tense,” she observed. Damn, she knew me well.
“All good,” I assured her.
“I’m going to bed.” I pointed at my bedroom.
She smiled like she thought my inebriated state was cute.
“G’night, CC,” she said.
“Night, Mom.”
I walked off and went to my room to sleep. What I needed was my own apartment or at least space. It was hard to move back home after living on my own for so long. It was also hard not to think of Hunter as I fell asleep.