CHAPTER NINE
“I’m sorry,” I say immediately. “I know I should have stayed in the car, I should have—”
“Stop,” Hunter says, cupping my face. “This wasn’t your fault. None of it.”
“But if I hadn’t—”
“If you hadn’t been brave and resourceful, you’d still be in that warehouse,” he says. “You saved yourself, Lorelai. You turned two of John’s men against him. You called me. You fought back.”
“I was terrified,” I admit.
“I know,” he says. “I was terrified too. When I got that video...” His jaw clenches. “I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again.
“Don’t apologize,” he says. “Just... promise me something.”
“Anything,” I say.
“Promise me you’ll never leave me,” he says. “I know we’ve only known each other for a week. I know this is crazy. But I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “I promise,” I whisper.
He kisses me with a mix of desperation and desire. I press back against him and feel the boundaries between us disappear.
When we break apart, he rests his forehead against mine.
“I love you,” he says. “I know it’s too soon to say that. I know it’s insane to say. But I love you, Lorelai.”
“I love you too,” I whisper.
He picks me up and carries me to the bed.
“I need you,” he says, his voice rough. “I need to feel you, to know you’re really here.”
“I’m here,” I say. “I’m yours.”
He undresses me slowly, reverently, kissing every inch of my skin as it’s revealed.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs. “So fucking beautiful.”
When I’m fully naked, he steps back to look at me.
“I almost lost you,” he says, his voice breaking.
“But you didn’t,” I say, reaching for him. “I’m here. I’m safe.”
He undresses quickly and joins me on the bed.
“I’m going to make love to you,” he says. “Slowly. I want to savor every second.”
“Please,” I whisper.
He kisses me deeply as he positions himself between my legs. Then, slowly, he slides inside me.
I gasp as he enters me, stretching me to my limits.
“Perfect,” he murmurs. “You feel fucking perfect.”
He starts to move, slow and deep, and I wrap my legs around him.
“I love you,” he says, repeating it with each thrust. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“I love you too,” I gasp as pleasure builds inside me.
He reaches between us to rub my clit, and I arch back back, pressing my bare breasts against his chest.
“Come for me, baby,” he says. “I want to feel you lose control.”
His words push me over the edge and I shatter as heat courses through me.
He finishes seconds later, burying his face in my neck as he comes.
We lay there afterward, tangled together, both of us trembling.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he says after a few beats of silence.
“I’ll try not to,” I say. “But you know me.”
He laughs softly. “Yeah. I do. And I love every stubborn, reckless, beautiful part of you.”
“Even when I’m a pain in your ass?” I ask.
“Especially then,” he says, smiling.