Crossed (13 page)

“Don’t overthink it, Grace. We did nothing wrong.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I can see it on your face,” he laughed. “Go back to the girls and have some fun. And should you have any more needs, I’ll see you at home.”

I straightened my clothes before turning to leave. I was sure that my quota for fun had already been filled for the night, but I couldn’t leave the girls on their own.

“Grace?” he called out before I turned the corner. “I missed your pussy. A lot.”

I blushed, my gaze darting to see whether anyone was within earshot, then smiled back and blew him a kiss, which of course, like the romantic I knew he was, he caught and slapped right onto his lips. I felt so giddy, it was difficult to believe that this man was one of the reasons my life had been flipped upside down over the past few weeks.

The last thing I remembered was going back to see my friends. I was sure they were thinking all sorts of shit by this point. None of them had seen Hunter, and they had thought I left with the stripper. And as much as I’d need to explain myself to Emma the next day (because she simply wouldn’t let it go), I couldn’t really care less about it. I had the biggest grin on my face a woman could have, and if it spelled out “I just got lucky,” then I wouldn’t change it for anyone.

C
HAPTER
13

My head hurt. I twisted my body in a comfortable bed. A bed I’d been sleeping in the past week. The crisp sheets were wrapped around me as if I were some sort of crepe. I wondered how long I could pull off partying every Saturday with Emma. Last week it was the bachelorette party, and last night we went out to Kissed, her other sister-in-law’s night club. I desperately needed a weekend off. My hand drew over the pillow beside me, only to find it empty. The pounding behind my eyes was annoying, but not as bad as I’d expected it to be. I didn’t quite remember how I got home or who drove me, but I knew that Hunter had been nearby, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

Opening my eyes, I saw him sitting in a chair, scrolling on his tablet. His eyes momentarily paused over whatever it was that he was reading, and he devoured me with his gaze as I stretched my limbs.

“Good Morning, Magic Fingers.”

“Hi. How late did we get home?”

His mouth lifted as if I’d said something magical as well.

“Just after three. You girls can definitely take more shots than I thought.”

“I want to stay in bed all day,” I said, writhing. This would be much more comfortable if Hunter were beside me.

“Don’t you have plans with Emma?”

When I tried to think, my head felt like it could actually explode. Thank goodness I didn’t come up with some crazy off-the-charts dare to do today. Although I doubted that spinning in a circle while rolling down the hill would ease my pain today.

“I do, but I opted for some fun instead of a challenge.”

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Zorbing.”

Hunter’s brows narrowed, and so I continued.

“Rolling down a hill in a giant inflatable ball.”

“Oh, well, that sounds fun,” he mocked.

“It will be. Do you want to come along?” I asked.

“Thanks, but I’ve got work to do.”

“Scar?”

“Yes, he’s off the radar again, and it seems your family wants to search him out as much as we do.”

I lifted my body higher, sitting against the headboard.

“Have you seen them? You know, my other brothers.”

“I have.”

“Are you going to use the evidence you have against them?”

Hunter shifted in his chair, as if the position he’d been in suddenly became uncomfortable.

“I don’t know yet. Circumstances have changed.” He eyed me cautiously.

I pulled the covers higher, only then noticing that I was completely naked. “Wait, did we?”

“No, Grace. I don’t take advantage of women under the influence.”

I breathed out in relief. “Did you undress me?”

“I did.” His gaze quickly skidded to the neat stack of my wardrobe on a dresser. “But I wish you weren’t so relieved that I didn’t make you come.”

“I’m not. I just wouldn’t want to forget a night with you. And since I didn’t remember much, I assumed I forgot.”

“Believe me... ” Hunter moved the tablet to the side and came to sit by me. “No matter how drunk you could have been, you’d never forget a night with me. I’m pretty sure you’d remember if I were inside you. You may have magic fingers, but I believe I have powers that go beyond magic.” He leaned into me, touching his lips to mine. That’s when I noticed that Hunter’s boxers tented out.

“What kind of powers?” I asked, reaching for him so he’d remain close.

“I bet I could make you come without touching you.”

I shivered with pleasure at the prospect of his offer. Hunter knew so well that I loved to bet and had used it more than once to sway me his way. He pulled the cover off me, revealing my nakedness.

“You’re lying,” I taunted. With his getting closer and my slowly lying back down, my voice was beginning to shake and my need began making my head spin.

“Wanna take me up on it?” I could already feel the vibration of his sweet words against my skin. No, he hadn’t touched me. The touch of his lips was a whisper away, slowly drifting from my knee to my inner thigh. I felt my legs part of their own will, exposing my soaked triangle to him.

“Aha.”

I’d never felt so helpless yet so wanted and complete. There’d never been a moment of anxiety with Hunter above me. It was all lust. Desire in its purest form. I closed my eyes, getting lost to the tickle of his warmth as every inch of his hovering body lowered. It was excruciating and beyond arousing at the same time. How close could he get? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Perhaps daring him not to touch me would cause much more anguish to me than him—actually, now that my body began writhing underneath him, pushing upward and begging to be touched, I was sure I’d made a mistake. I wanted his hands on me and his cock inside me.

And that’s when his fingers slid inside me.

I moaned, circling my hips and pushing them onto him as Hunter whispered, “Oops, I guess I lost.”

This was one of those bets I was happiest to win.

* * *

An hour later I was getting ready to leave with Emma. Hunter watched me prance around his condo in my panties, growling once in a while. This man never had enough, and I couldn’t blame him, because it seemed that I wanted him all the time as well.

“If you keep this up, I’ll make you late.”

“Keep what up?” I looked over my shoulder, swaying my ass, tempting him to act on the need that was making him hard for me.

I pulled on my loose sweatshirt and leggings, saying, “I need to go get more clothes from my apartment. How long are you planning for me to live here?”

“As long as it takes to get ahold of Scar. Once I’m sure he can’t hurt you, we’ll think about your going back to your apartment.”

“Maybe by that time I won’t want to move out.”

“That’s what I was hoping for,” he said holding my gaze. There was no smug grin on his face, nor a glimpse of the coyness he usually had about him. Was Hunter serious? Was I? It had been so comfortable here, I could definitely imagine myself living with Hunter. But I’d only known him for three weeks—it was too soon, wasn’t it?

“There’s something I want to ask you,” I said, sitting on his lap.

He wrapped his arms around me, saying, “Whatever it is, my answer is yes.”

“But you don’t know what it is.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Okay, would you please be my date at Lilly’s wedding next weekend?”

He scrunched his nose for a moment, pretending to ponder the question, before he smiled and kissed me, “I thought you’d never ask. Now I need to ask you a question. It’s quite serious, too.”

Feeling him grow underneath me, I had my doubts about the seriousness of it all.

“All right.” I perked up, wiggling my ass over him. There was nothing better than a man growing hard underneath you.

“Today after zorbing, I’d like to take you away for the night. I thought we could use some time alone to relax. Get away from everything.”

That did not sound as dramatic as I thought it would.

“Where would we go?”

His mouth lifted into a curve. “My favorite place in the world. My mother’s house.”

Oh, well. That definitely changed everything.

“She’s going away for the night, so we’ll have the place to ourselves until Sunday night. You’ll love it there.”

“Sounds like your mom lives in a magical home.”

“That’s because she does. So you’ll come?”

How could I say no to that? “I’ll be honored to.” I kissed him and hopped off his lap.

“But first I need more clothes to change into. I’ll be right back.” I ran out of the room and, seeing as my apartment was only one floor higher, I opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Looking at my watch, I saw I had another hour before meeting Emma. Maybe if I hurried we’d still have time for a quickie.

I rushed through my condo grabbing all the necessities I’d need for the next few days. While I could hop back up anytime, minutes spent away from Hunter were ones I’d rather avoid. And now that I knew we were going away, I wanted to be prepared. I packed a bag with extra undergarments, shorts, jeans, and t-shirts before going into my shoes. I made a mental note of doing laundry, as next week would be busy before the wedding. It wasn’t until I was ready to leave that someone cleared his throat. I jumped up like a Tasered lunatic. All the clothes and shoes I still held over my arm flew up to the ceiling before raining down all over the living room.

“What the hell?” I breathed, seeing Scar sitting in a chair. His legs were crossed, and his fingers intertwined. If he was trying not to give away his intention here, he succeeded. His face was completely unreadable and lacking emotion. And I knew that I didn’t have much time before he pounced at me.

I shot toward the door, but a man I didn’t recognize blocked my way. I ducked before he could grab me and headed around the wall for the kitchen. In my peripheral vision, I saw Scar shoot off his seat, but not before I was able to grab my phone off the counter and dial Hunter’s number. I threw the phone across the room, right onto a couch, just as Hunter answered and Scar tackled me to the ground. Luckily I flew from the kitchen onto the carpeted area in the hallway, hitting my head on the duffel bag I left behind, right at the other guy’s feet.

“Help!” I yelled out before Scar’s smoke-infused fingers grasped around my mouth. All I could do now was pray that Hunter had heard me.

Scar flipped me onto my back with ease and sat on top of me with his legs around my waist. A loud rip sounded as part of my sweatshirt got caught under his knee.

“Shit, what did you do that for, Gracie? I thought you’d understand. I just wanted to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you. You tried to rob me and kill me, asshole!”

Seeing as he was the one on top of me, maybe insulting him wasn’t the best idea.

“I’m sorry, Gracie. It wasn’t like that. Not everything is the way it looks. I wish I could explain more. But since your persistent boyfriend is on his way here, I gotta go. I’ll see you soon, sister.”

He got off me and left with his buddy. I propped myself up on my elbows, feeling something trickle down my forehead. I drew my hand up to find a small cut that bled as if it were a main artery. The gash that had barely had time to heal from when Scar attacked me in the salon had opened up.

Crap! Lilly will have some photoshopping to do on her wedding pictures.

I heard my name being called out from the outside, and soon after Hunter barged into my condo in nothing but his boxers. He ran to my side and knelt at my head, asking, “Are you hurt?”

He didn’t wait for my reply. Within seconds Hunter had a wet towel in his hands and began gently wiping the blood off my forehead. I winced a few times.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think my fingers are as magical as yours.” His mouth tugged upward. “What happened, Grace?”

“He was here, Hunter. In my apartment.”

“Fuck! How did he get past security?”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, feeling my cheeks moisten.

“Did he hurt you?” He began scanning my body from the bottom up, noting my ripped sweatshirt. The thick vein at his temple pulsed.

“No, not physically at least.”

“What did he say?”

I repeated the few words we’d exchanged.

“I didn’t think the fucker would come here,” he said under his breath. “But I haven’t exactly made it easy for him to do business.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say I’ve set up a maze for him with one exit. If your brother takes the bait, we’ll have all the Wagners.”

I didn’t know why, but it made me feel a bit uncomfortable hearing Hunter speak about my family like they were criminals—which they were, of course. And they were only my family through blood and papers, that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Come on, Grace. Let’s get this place cleaned up and alert the building security. What time are you leaving with Emma?”

“Two o’clock.”

He regarded his watch, asking, “And would she be able to drop you off right after?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Because I can’t wait to spend some alone time with you, away from all this crazy shit.”

“Me too, Hunter.”

* * *

“This is the first and last time I’m letting you spin me round and round after a night of drinking,” Emma whined as she pulled into the garage.

“Oh, please. This wasn’t even half as bad as skydiving.”

I’d tried to pull myself together this afternoon, but I had to admit that while it was fun, next time I’d prefer to do it without a headache.

I took my friend’s hand. “Emma, you’ve been distant the past few weeks.”

“It’s not me, Grace. You have a boyfriend now. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

“You know you’re always my number one, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know.” Emma lowered her gaze. For a brief moment, I thought I saw sadness pass over her eyes.

“And he’s not my boyfriend.”