Some Like It Hot (31 page)

For the following two weeks Hunter and Mallory’s relationship continued to blossom, although she made a point not to use words such as serious or committed to describe what they were sharing. As far as he was concerned, they never had to because their actions spoke louder than words. They did things together and his parents as well as his aunt knew his feelings for her ran deep.

Also, during that time Hunter continued to keep tabs on Lewis only to report nothing new to Mallory. Then, when it appeared Mallory was about ready for him to close the case, Lewis left for lunch one Friday and it didn’t take long for Hunter to realize he was headed to a hotel again.

After pulling into the hotel’s parking lot behind Lewis, Hunter parked the car and watched as Lewis got out and walked into the Sheraton Hotel, whistling as if he definitely looked forward to getting with whomever he was supposed to meet there.

Hunter followed a safe distance behind and saw Lewis as he quickly crossed the lobby and walked straight over to the woman who was walking out of the gift shop with a huge shopping bag.

Hunter watched as the couple kissed passionately before holding hands to catch the elevator. He shook his head. Lewis was definitely having an affair.

Mallory checked her watch as she walked into the Sheraton Hotel. She had received a call on her mobile phone from Hunter asking that she meet him here and to catch the elevator up to room 560 where he would be waiting. The only other thing he’d said before quickly ending the call was that the meeting involved Lewis.

It didn’t take her long to reach the room and Hunter opened the door on the first knock. “You didn’t waste any time getting here,” he said, stepping aside to let her in.

She glanced around. It was a beautiful suite with teakwood-colored furnishings. “You said it was about Lewis. Is he here at this hotel?”

Hunter closed the door and locked it before turning around to answer her “Yes, he’s in the room next door. These are connecting rooms.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean he’s actually in the room next door to us in bed with someone?”

Hunter shrugged. “I have no idea if he’s in bed with anyone or not, Mallory, but I figured you would want to know what I found out. And I figured you would want to take a look at the woman as well as letting your brother-in-law know he’d been found out. I normally don’t do things this way but the least I can do is to serve as a witness in case one is needed.”

Mallory nodded. Hunter’s suggestion wasn’t a bad idea. She shook her head not wanting to believe any of this. How was she supposed to act knowing her brother-in-law was probably in the connecting room being unfaithful to her sister? “How long have they been here?”

“Less than thirty minutes and it’s been pretty quiet over there.”

Mallory thought of all the times she and Hunter had made love and all the noise they made and decided on a hopeful note that maybe, just maybe, her brother-in-law was involved in some sort of business meeting after all. She glanced over at Hunter. He had loosened his tie and was in the process of taking it off. “Did you see him with a woman, Hunter?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

Disappointment set in and her next question was cut off by a knock at the door. She arched a questioning brow at Hunter.

“I ordered lunch. I figure you had probably missed it and would be hungry.”

Mallory nodded, appreciating his thoughtfulness. She was hungry but she doubted she could eat anything. Anger began replacing the hunger in her stomach. Didn’t Lewis care how much Barbara loved him and that she would be deeply hurt by what he was doing?

The waiter who wheeled in the cart was efficient and didn’t waste any time setting things up and leaving. Mallory took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching as Hunter uncovered the food. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat anything.”

He glanced up at her. “Why not?”

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

He nodded as he recovered the dishes. She then watched as he began removing his shirt and it was then that she noticed just how huge the bed was. Colossal was a better name for it.

Confused, she watched as Hunter proceeded to take off his pants then climbed on the bed to lay in the center with his hands underneath his neck wearing nothing but his briefs. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, barely able to get the words out.

He smiled. “Waiting for you.”

She looked appalled. “Waiting for me?” At his nod she placed her hands on her hips as a frown covered her face. “Do you think there’s any way I can think of making love with you with what’s going on in the room next door?”

Hunter lifted a brow. “Sounds pretty quiet over there. I suggest we make some noise.”

“This isn’t funny, Hunter.”

“And you don’t see me laughing. Now relax and come here for a minute. You’re all tense. Let me rub your back.”

Mallory sighed. He was right. She was tense and agitated and when it came to giving body massages, Hunter was the best. Besides, it wasn’t fair for her to take the anger she had for Lewis out on him. She slowly moved to the bed but didn’t sit down.

“You’re going to have to sit down for me to help you, Mallory.”

She slowly eased down on the edge of the bed and when she heard him move when he got on his knees behind her, she felt her breath catch. “Why did you take off your clothes?” she asked, barely able to get the words out when he pulled her blouse over her head to massage her back.

“The room comes with the job and since I’m billing you for it I thought we might as well use it.”

“I can’t, Hunter. I can’t make love to you in here knowing Lewis could be next door cheating on my sister.”

He leaned over and kissed the side of her face. “Forget about what’s going on next door, Mallory, since there is nothing you can do about it. But there is something you can do about this,” he said, straightening and letting his erection press against the center of her back.

“Hunter…”

The name was breathed from her lips when he reached around front and unsnapped her bra and then began massaging her breasts. Too weak to resist him, she let him pull her back on the bed with him and he immediately went after her bare breasts as his entire body shifted in place over hers.

Her brain was torn in two. One part wanted to concentrate on what was going on in the room next door and another part wanted this, another chance to be with Hunter. And when he pulled her skirt up to her waist and began removing her panty hose then fumbling with her panties, the latter part of her won out. Especially when he reached down and parted her with his fingers and began stroking her.

“I love you, Mallory,” he said, while simultaneously nibbling at her lips. “And you love me. No matter what your father did to your mother, and no matter what Lewis is or is not doing to your sister, it doesn’t take away from the fact that we love each other, right?”

Mallory shuddered. It wasn’t fair for him to ask her a question like that while doing this to her.

“Right?” he repeated.

When he sank his fingers deeper, she whispered breathlessly. “Right.”

“And we’re going to have a committed relationship, aren’t we? One that ends with marriage and babies, right?” His mouth skimmed over hers slowly, provocatively as his fingers continued stroking her mindlessly. Her belly was quivering and her nipples felt tender to the feel of his chest rubbing against them.

“Right,” she responded again, squirming beneath his hand as delicious sensations flooded her.

“And no matter who stays together and who doesn’t stay together won’t concern us. We may sympathize but we won’t assume it will happen to us. Our love is solid and it will be stronger than that, won’t it?” he asked, growling his words in a whisper.

She lifted her hips toward his hand and moaned, “Yes! Yes, it will.”

Hunter smiled. “I’m glad we’re in agreement on all things.” He then scooted his body downward. “And now I want the taste of my future bride, the woman who will be the mother of my children, in my mouth.”

She came the moment his tongue replaced his fingers and the orgasm that tore through her almost ripped her in two, and she began trembling uncontrollably. And the more she shivered the more he locked his mouth to her taking the quakes that rocked her body.

“That was nice,” he said, moments later as he gathered her sated body in his arms. He held her tight like he never wanted to let her go. “How would you like to be the person to plan my wedding?” he asked, lovingly stroking her cheek.

“I won’t have a problem with it as long as I’m the bride,” she said, finally accepting her love for him and his love for her. In doing so all the insecurities she felt suddenly faded away. Hunter was right. Although she had to deal with the issues of her father and Lewis, it didn’t mean what they felt for each meant less. If anything it meant more because they were determined to love in spite of it.

She was about to open her mouth to say something else when a woman let out a loud scream in the connecting room. She stilled, recognizing just what kind of scream it was. Then she was off the bed in a flash, trying to put her clothes back on. The more she tried putting them on the quicker Hunter was trying to take them off her.

“Hunter, stop it! I need to get dressed. I’m going to demand that Lewis open that door. I intend to catch him red-handed.”

“Then put on one of the hotel robes from the closet because I intend to keep you in here naked for a while.”

Mallory looked at him like he had gone mad. How could he think of sex at a time like this? “Get up and have your camera ready, Hunter. I want pictures. Barbara will need them when she files for a divorce.”

Hunter shook his head as he slowly got out of the bed. “I’m charging you overtime for this. This job is going past Lewis’s lunch hour.”

Mallory raised her eyes to the ceiling, not believing Hunter’s attitude but decided she couldn’t worry about it now as she raced to the closet to get a robe and tossed the other one over to him. She quickly crossed the room to the connecting door. “Okay, open it.”

Hunter didn’t move. In fact to Mallory’s way of thinking he stood in the middle of the room looking somewhat bored. “We can only unlock it from this side,” he said. “In order to get inside the other room, they will have to unlock it from their side as well.”

Mallory nodded. “All right then, I’ll make him open it and just in case the woman he’s with tries to split and run, I want you to be in the hallway to snap pictures.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I doubt if she’s going anywhere.”

Mallory frowned, wondering how he figured that, but didn’t waste time asking him as she began taking the lock off the connecting door. Then she raised her hand and gave two sharp knocks on the door and yelled at the top of her voice. “Lewis Townsend, I know you’re in there so open this door immediately!”

Mallory heard people scrambling about in the other room and glanced over at Hunter before turning to raise her hand to beat on the door again. Hunter quickly crossed the room and caught her hand in his. “The least you can do is to give them time to put their clothes back on or at least time to grab a robe, Mallory.”

She glared at him. “Why should I?”

Before he could answer, the connecting door was snatched open and a half-dressed Lewis Townsend stood in the doorway looking furious, as if he was pissed off at being interrupted. He was bare-chested and only wearing his pants. “Mallory? What the hell are you doing here?”

Mallory didn’t answer right away. It was apparent that Lewis’s question had thrown her for a loop but she recovered quickly. “How dare you ask me that! I should be asking that question of you. You’re a married man. I don’t know the identity of the woman you’ve been screwing around with for the past month, but need I remind you that you’re married to my sister and I don’t appreciate you being unfaithful to her and—”

“Hi, Mallory.”

Mallory stopped talking and stared at the woman who was standing behind Lewis and peeping over his shoulder at her and smiling. “Barbara? But…but what are you doing here?”

Barbara chuckled as she came to stand beside her husband wearing the hotel’s thick velour robe. “I’m the woman Lewis has been screwing around with for the past month.”

“Come to bed, Mallory.”

Mallory shifted her gaze from looking out of the window to glare across the room at Hunter. “You think this whole thing is funny, don’t you?”

Hunter grinned. “Yes. You should have seen the look on your face when you discovered Lewis had been having an affair with his own wife. And you should have seen the look on Lewis’s face when he discovered you had paid me to nail him for adultery.”

Mallory winced remembering Lewis’s brief period of anger. She was thankful that Barbara had made light of the whole thing and made Lewis see how such a wrong assumption could have been made. It seemed their doctor had suggested that to take their mind off making love mainly to create a baby, they should get back into the routine of making love just for the enjoyment and pleasure of it. He figured with the stress eliminated, pregnancy would come easy.

It had been Barbara’s idea for them to role-play and engage in lunchtime romantic romps at different hotels just for the sheer fun of it. The idea had worked. Today they had met at the hotel to celebrate the news that Barbara was pregnant.