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Brody must accept my word as true because the anger on his face melts away, then I’m met with the bland look that I’ve come to recognize as Brody surviving in a post-prison world.
God… what I wouldn’t give to have my brother just give me one smile.
Just one tiny f**king smile.
But right now, that seems almost as impossible as Gabby giving me a smile.
3
I finish my second cup of coffee and rinse the mug out, laying it in the drain rack. The extra surge of caffeine isn’t doing anything to improve my mood. Yesterday was a freakin’ disaster. I ruined any chance of getting the bid for The Last Call project because I couldn’t keep my fat mouth shut, and then I had the date from hell last night.
I relented to go on a blind date with Kevin Zulekis, thanks to the evil machinations of Casey and her matchmaking ways. I’m going to kill her for setting me up with that bonehead.
“He’s a dentist,” she said over breakfast a few weeks ago. “He’s perfect for you. ”
I went home that day and examined my teeth in the mirror. Two years of orthodontics and regular cleanings gave me a fantastic smile. I’m not sure why Casey felt I needed to date a dentist.
The date started badly and got progressively worse throughout the night. It started by him showing up at my door with his fly unzipped which, in hindsight, I’m sure was intentional. I tried to ignore it for as long as I could but by the time we pulled into the restaurant parking lot, I had to tell him so little Kevin didn’t make an unintentional appearance. He didn’t even have the grace to look embarrassed and sort of leered at me as he zipped up his pants. I swear he even flexed his h*ps outward as he made himself presentable.
During dinner, he had a hard time keeping his eyes off my chest and kept repeatedly licking his lips. That wouldn’t have been so bad, except he had a dab of steak sauce on the lower right corner of his mouth, and he kept missing it every time that slimy appendage made an appearance. I finally had to point it out as well, and he sort of smirked at me while he licked it off, then leaned closer to me and asked, “Did I get it all?”
I shudder even thinking about it.
Finally, he insisted on walking me to the door. I was calculating how to best get inside as fast as possible when he went in for a kiss. He caught me off guard, but I managed to snap my lips shut and gave him a firm push away when his tongue popped out and licked against my mouth. I had to struggle not to say, “Ewww… gross,” as I quickly thanked him for dinner and locked myself in my apartment.
Like I said… I’m going to kill Casey.
What’s even worse than the creepiness of my date, was that all night through dinner, when I wasn’t being repulsed by Kevin, I kept thinking of Hunter.
Oh, not about all the ways he pisses me off.
Rather, I thought about all the ways in which he still attracts me.
His easygoing style, his humor, the way he flirted with me at the bar yesterday. My thoughts stayed with me as I went to sleep that night, and then I ended up having a full-blown orgasmic dream about him. It was hot… I mean, really hot. But it was also appealing to my heart, because in my dream, he gave me everything I wanted.
It started out as a repeat of the night of our kiss, except he didn’t push away from me. Instead, he deepened the kiss and his hands touched me in all my forbidden places. He whispered words to me about how much he wanted me, and that he had been secretly lusting after me for a long time. Then he laid me out on the hood of the car and stripped me bare, proceeding to use his hands and lips to push the boundaries of all sleep orgasms. I kept telling him to stop, that someone would see us, and he said the words that caused pleasure to skyrocket through me.
He said, “I don’t care if anyone sees us. You’re mine, and I want you too much to ever stop. ”
My cl**ax was so intense that it woke me up. I sat straight up in bed with the covers clutched to my chest, my breathing heavy and labored, and my skin moist with sweat.
It wasn’t so much what he was doing to me physically in the dream that caused me to break apart, as it was his words… words that I had been dying to hear that night long ago.
So yeah, I’m in a really bad mood because, apparently, all these years of muttering Hunter’s name along with choice curse words really doesn’t mean that much. I still have some residual feelings there that I need to get rid of, and I can’t continue to walk through this life letting Hunter affect me this way.
“Good morning,” I hear from behind me.
I turn and give my roommate, Savannah Shepherd, a quick smile as she walks into the kitchen. “Good morning. Busy day?”
Savannah sets her camera bag on the kitchen table and checks the contents. “Yeah, I have to head down to New Bern and get some photos of the new bridge they’re building on Highway Seventeen. Exciting stuff, right?”
“Totally exciting,” I tell her with sympathy.
Savannah is a photographer, and she’s really, really good. She does some freelance stuff for wildlife magazines and such, but her main job is with our local newspaper, which doesn’t pay all that much. She’s struggling but determined to make her way.
I met Savannah when I moved back home after dropping out of Carolina three years ago. The obvious choice was to move in with my mom, but I really wanted to be out on my own. If I was going to take over my dad’s business and make a go of it, I wanted to really make a go of it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could be a successful business owner, and that meant being able to fully support myself.
But I really couldn’t afford a place on my own and Casey was unemployed and living with her parents, so I put an ad in the paper and Savannah responded. She’s a year older than I am, and she wanted to relocate to the Outer Banks in order to explore the amazing wildlife and scenic opportunities the beach held. Luckily, we hit it off wonderfully and were content as roommates, although she’s a little bit shy and withdrawn.
“I won’t be home until late tonight,” she says. “After work, I’m going to go help Alyssa out at The Haven for a bit, and then I’m doing some wedding portraits tonight. ”
Savannah is one of the busiest people I’ve ever met. She never slows down and spends most of her time trying to pick up extra odd jobs in order to help pay her bills. I grimace in distaste at her mention of doing wedding portraits tonight. She started working part-time as an assistant for this sleazy photographer who keeps trying to cop a feel on her. Luckily, she’s been able to rebuff him, but I don’t like her being in that position.
“Just be careful around that douche,” I warn her. “Don’t get stuck there with him alone. I don’t trust him. ”
Giving a small laugh, Savannah slings her camera bag over her shoulder. “I don’t trust him either. I’ll be careful. See you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure,” I tell her with an encouraging smile as I watch her walk to the door. Glancing over at the wall clock, I note it’s getting close to eight AM and I need to get moving. I’m working on some custom bathroom cabinets for one of my mom’s poker buddies. Yes, my mom plays poker, and she’s quite good at it too.
I turn toward the hallway that leads to the bedrooms when I hear Savannah open the front door and exclaim in surprise, “Uh… hello. ”
Turning around, I see Hunter standing there with his fist raised to knock on the door. He’s surprised to see Savannah, and then his eyes move past her and on to me. His gaze slowly slides down my body, and it’s at this point that I realize I’m in my pajamas… which means I’m wearing a tight tank top that doesn’t even cover my stomach fully and a pair of bikini underwear. Definitely not clothing I’m embarrassed to wear in my own home and in front of Savannah, but totally a different matter when Hunter is standing in my doorway.
He eyes me appreciatively, and a smile curves those lips upward. Dragging his gaze back up to mine, he says, “Nice outfit. ”
I could be embarrassed, flub out some type of apology, and then scamper to my room. But tha
t would give him power over me, so instead, I push my shoulders back, tilt my head proudly, and walk up to him. His smile just gets wider as I approach.
“What do you want, Hunter?”
He does a quick rake of his eyes down me one more time now that I’m standing close, and then turns to look at Savannah. Sticking his hand out, he says, “I’m Hunter Markham. ”
Savannah looks at me in question briefly, and then turns back to Hunter to shake his hand. She’s never met Hunter in the times that he’s been back home to visit, but she’s heard Casey and me talk about him, of course. “Savannah Shepherd. And I’m running late, so I’ll catch you guys later. ”
With that, Savannah shoots out the door and leaves me standing there alone with six-foot-three of golden surfer dude, who is looking incredibly gorgeous in a pair of board shorts and a Ron Jon t-shirt. His hair is sticking up in a hundred different directions, and it’s clear he just rolled out of bed.
“Again,” I ask with not even the slightest bit of patience. “What are you doing here?”
Hunter crosses his arms over his broad chest and leans up against the doorjamb. Giving me an easy smile, he says, “I was just on my way to the beach to catch some waves, and thought I’d stop by. ”
“You thought you’d stop by?” I ask, confused, because there is no reason he should be here.
“Yup. And I can’t say I’m sorry to have you greet me this way. Maybe I’ll come by in the morning more often. ” He punctuates the statement by letting his eyes fall to the top swells of my br**sts, which are plumping up over the edge of my tank top. It’s the same exact move that I cursed Kevin Zulekis for making last night, but for some reason, it doesn’t gross me out when Hunter looks at me this way. In fact, it makes me a bit tingly, and my freakin’ n**plestighten in response.
Just great.
Mentally kicking myself in the ass for even allowing those feelings to creep up, I put on my most ferocious glare. “Don’t bother. You’re not welcome here. ”
To make sure he clearly understands that sentiment, I grab the edge of the door and start to close it in his face. He sticks out a flip-flopped foot and stops it from shutting though.
“Not so fast,” he says. “I have business to discuss with you. ”
My eyebrows rise up in skepticism. “Business?”
“Yes,” he says, like he’s talking to a five year old. “Your bid? The one you handed me less than twenty-four hours ago?”
I can’t stop myself. I know I should just shut my mouth, but there’s something about his smug confidence that just rubs me the wrong way.
“And I believe I told you what you could do with that bid,” I point out.
Hunter just stares at me for a few moments, his face impassive, and I have no clue what he’s thinking. His voice is soft when he says, “Come on, Gabs. Don’t let your anger at me ruin the chance for you to get this project. I know it’s important to you. ”
The chastening nature of his statement gets my hackles up, but I do heed what he’s saying. I assumed any chance of me getting that bid was ruined the minute I told him to “Fuck off,” but here he is implying that it might still be open for consideration.
So I bite my tongue, smooth out my features so he doesn’t see the derision I feel, and push back from the door. “Come on in. Let me get dressed, and I’ll make some coffee. ”
He walks in, looking around in interest at our living room. It’s not much, but we have it decorated with some of Savannah’s photographs she took of the wild horses on Corolla, which I framed in whitewashed driftwood.
“Don’t feel like you have to get dressed,” Hunter says with a grin as he flashes me another appreciative look. “I’m perfectly okay with conducting business as is. ”