“I called Felicity. I figured she’d know where you were.”
I groaned and sat on the couch. “She swore not to tell anyone I was here.”
“She was worried about you.” Hunter grimaced. “She put up a hell of a fight, though, if that makes you feel better. I thought she was going to kill me over the phone.” He paused for a long time as if he searched for the right words and came up empty. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I walked to the window and stared out through the rain spatters. The storm outside was picking up speed. The people on the street below ran for cover. I had nowhere to hide.
He crossed the room and stood next to me. “I’m miserable without you.”
“Good.” Emotion cracked through my resolve and my chin quivered. “What do you want from me, Hunter?”
“I want my life back.” He took my hand in his. He ran his thumb over the top of my hand, and I knew right then I’d already forgiven him.
“Hunter,” I started to speak, but his other hand went to my face.
He placed a finger over my lips. The simple act of his touch woke up parts of me I’d thought were dead forever. Outside, the severity of the storm increased. Lightning flashed in the distance and thunder shook the windows. None of that compared to the storm that brewed inside me.
“Please, Summer. Just hear me out.” He took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been here for you. I should have been. I was angry and stupid and confused, and I let myself fall for Mitch’s bullshit. I should have listened to you.”
“I didn’t exactly try hard to explain.”
Hunter shook his head and squeezed my hand tighter. “Don’t you dare take the blame for any of this, Summer. I was the idiot. I knew you’d never lie to me about something like that, but I panicked. It was easier to believe Mitch’s line of bullshit than to confront the truth.”
I pulled him to the couch, and we sat. We were quiet for a minute. We hadn’t officially reconciled yet, and it felt as if one of us said the wrong thing, this fragile conversation would break apart and dissolve completely.
“Why did you tell Mitch before me?”
The hurt was etched into his face, and it killed me to know that I caused it. “He came to the reunion and was the same old Mitch. He wanted me back, or at least he thought he wanted me back. I just wanted him to leave me alone.” I folded my hands on my lap and twisted my fingers around each other. “I thought he’d leave me alone.” I wiped a flurry of tears away. “I didn’t think he’d try to ruin everything. But then Mitch saw you come out of the study. He figured you’d been with someone, so he waited to see who you hooked up with.” I took a deep breath as I remembered the ugly scene at the reunion “Why did he do that to me in front of everyone?”
“Revenge is my guess.”
“Revenge?”
“Mitch and I used to hit the bars and parties together, a lot. We were each other’s wingman.” Hunter looked away. “Tiffany Jacobs wasn’t the first chick Mitch cheated on you with.”
I shrugged. The knowledge should have been a knife in my gut, but it was more like a thorn in my side. “I’m not surprised.” I groaned as the familiar feelings of embarrassment and stupidity returned.
“I could tell he was getting serious about Tiffany, but he wouldn’t stop seeing you. I didn’t love you then. I barely knew you, but I didn’t like how he was treating you. So when he disappeared into his room with Tiffany, I texted you from his cell.”
The memory of that day played back in my mind like a scene from an old movie. The footage was grainy and some of the words were missing, but it was all there. Mitch had texted me to come over, he’d said he had a surprise for me.
I flicked my gaze over Hunter’s face. “You set me up.”
“I just wanted you to know the truth.”
“You should have told me.”
Hunter arched an eyebrow. “We fought whenever we came within twenty feet of each other. Would you have believed me?”
I thought about Hunter’s confession. “So Mitch being a dick to me was to get back at you?”
“Well, and you too. His ego took a hit when you dumped him.
“So he ruined everything for a little revenge?”
My tears fell like the rain outside. The fat drops streamed down my cheeks. Hunter moved close and swept me into his arms. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and buried my face into his chest. All the misery and fear from the past week evaporated into pools of tears. The more I cried the more I believed everything was going to be okay.
Hunter waited until my tears ran dry, then kissed the top of my head. “I made a mess of everything, but I have a plan for us.” He pulled out of my grasp and slid to the floor as he pulled a little black box out of his coat pocket. “Summer. I know I screwed up. I know I don’t deserve you, but if you give me one more chance, I’ll spend my life making it up to you.”
My gaze fell to the ring. A princess-cut diamond bigger than I’d ever seen shimmered in the box. “I can’t wear that ring, Hunter.”
He looked as if the air had been vacuumed out of him. His face fell and he snapped the box closed. “I understand.” He started to get up, but I caught his hand.
“I’m allergic to gold.”
Hunter stared at me, his expression blank for a moment before it was slowly replaced by a wide grin. Mischief glimmered in his eyes as he stuffed the ring box back into his pocket. “You scared me, Summer. I thought I’d lost you for good.”
I brushed his cheek and ran my fingertips through his hair. “You’ll never lose me, Hunter.”
He pulled me into a kiss. His tongue grazed my lower lip, urging me to open for him. Hunter slipped a hand up my shirt. He went slowly, as if he savored every sensation. He cupped my breast as our tongues danced together. He moved his thumb over the hard tip of my nipple, and I gasped into his mouth.
Hunter’s tongue slid out as he smiled. “Sensitive?” he asked even as he tightened his grip on my breast.
I held my breath, arched my back and pressed my chest closer.
“God,” I breathed. “You have no idea.”
Hunter tweaked my nipple, then pulled his hand out of my shirt. He spoke while he unbuttoned it. “I’m going to explore your body all night, Summer.”
He bent and kissed my collarbone. I shivered as he ran the tip of his tongue up to my neck. I stifled a moan when he bit it.
I clenched my thighs together. “I’m going to be nothing but a puddle of mush when you’re done with me, Hunter.” I gripped the couch cushion as he ran his lips over the tops of my exposed breasts.
He looked up at me, his eyes dark with lust. “Who says I’m ever going to be done with you?” He pushed my blouse off my shoulders. “I plan to do this every day for the rest of our lives, but tonight I want you slow.” Hunter stood, then plucked me off the couch as if I weighed nothing and then carried me to my room.
He didn’t set me on the bed. He set me down so I stood in front of it. He walked behind me and tugged my blouse off the rest of the way. His hands slid up my back, slowly, as if he were discovering me all over again. He undid my bra and I pulled it off. I ached for him to touch me. I ached so bad I tingled in anticipation.
He turned me to face him. His eyes dipped down. “Take the belt off.” His voice was commanding, but it wasn’t an order. It was a need, like mine. My need for him burrowed inside me and became the reason for everything I did.
I removed my belt and flung it to the side. He didn’t have to ask me to take off my skirt. I unzipped it and pushed it to the floor, taking my panties with it. I stepped out of them and kicked them to the side.