Authors: Violet Walker
Chapter Four
H
unter paced the length of his dungeon for twenty minutes while he waited for Rory to show up. He’d let her do the kitchen shopping on her own, yet still she had sent photos of every purchase for his approval. It must’ve taken her forever, but she’d gotten everything and it had all been delivered yesterday. The men downstairs had installed the new stainless steel fridge, six-top range stove and oven. He was impressed with the kitchen even though he hardly ever cooked. Ramona did most of the cooking and, if she found it useful, he’d hire someone else to clean so she could focus on cleaning.
Cecilia appeared in the doorway. “Rory is here and she asked that you come down to the ‘receiving room,’ whatever
that
is.”
Since Rory told him of Cecilia’s feelings, he’d begun to notice a hint of venom in her voice whenever she said Rory’s name. “It’s the first room on the right when you enter the house,” he told her. “Tell her I’ll be down in a minute.”
She nodded and silently walked away.
He’d changed out of his Pac-Man t-shirt and into a striped wool sweater before he went down to greet Rory. Truthfully, he didn’t know what to say after their revealing conversation a few days ago. She hadn’t left him with any real hope for a future together, but he’d thought of nothing but her ominous statement. What
had
his leaving done, other than break her heart? He was eager to know how his middle-of-the-night departure had impacted her. He spotted Ramona at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey Ramona, I heard there was a pretty blond looking for me.”
Ramona shook her head and smacked his arm with a hand towel. “Yeah, she must be crazy,” she said and winked as she headed upstairs.
When he entered the receiving room, he spotted Rory staring thoughtfully out the window. She wore a dark blue cashmere sweater dress that hugged her tight little body, grey tights and knee boots that made a man’s imagination veer towards the carnal. “I heard someone was in search of a tall, handsome tech genius with gorgeous eyes.”
She turned with a smile. “That’s funny because I requested James Bond, not Q.” She laughed at his affronted look.
Hunter felt good that she’d given him a smile that he hadn’t had to pull from her, and her eyes seemed brighter when she looked at him. “How are you, Rory?”
Her smile dimmed a bit. “I’m good, Hunter, how about you?”
“Better now.”
She shook her head. “You’re incorrigible, you know that right?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been told a time or two.”
Her green eyes went big and round, her o-shaped mouth covered by one hand, while the other pressed to her chest. “Oh my! You don’t say!” Her feigned shock and awful accent made them both laugh.
That’s exactly how Cecilia found them both when she entered. “Hey Boss, do you have a minute?”
He nodded and plopped down on the recently-delivered sofa. It had dark green upholstery with a dark gold trim. It was fancy yet functional and comfortable. “What’s up?”
She cast a wary glance toward Rory.
“It’s alright, Rory can hear whatever you have to say.”
She cast another glance over at Rory but pivoted towards Hunter. “We’ve run into a problem with the hardware.” Her glance at Rory was cautious, but she continued to speak. “The supplier for the switch component has been purchased by another company.”
Hunter sat at the edge of his seat and ran an annoyed hand through his hair. “For fuck’s sake, Cecilia, spit it out!”
“Harwood Industries has purchased PVT and we haven’t been able to get anyone on the telephone, so we’re at a standstill.”
Hunter looked over to Rory and she was already whispering into the phone. He turned back to Cecilia, “I think we’ll solve this rather quickly.”
“But sir, I really don’t think you should hold your breath for a decorator,” she said snidely.
“Do we need to have a talk about how you treat guests in my home, Cecilia?”
“No, but I think you’re-”
“You have five minutes Hunter, Dean has a conference call in ten.” She slid her phone over to Hunter, who raised an eyebrow at the pink crystal-encrusted phone cover.
He mouthed the words “thank you” to Rory and turned his attention to the phone call. A few minutes later, he disconnected the call. “Thanks Rory, you are my little lifesaver.”
Cecilia scoffed and tried to cover it with a cough.
Rory glared at the brunette and turned a beaming smile on Hunter. “Well I am a full-service decorator.”
“How did you manage that? Did you used to date one of the Harwoods?” Cecilia asked, eyes wide with disbelief.
“Cecilia!” Hunter roared, anger reddening his face.
“Actually the company belongs to me, my twin brother Dean and my cousin River, so no, I don’t have to fuck a man to get him to do me a favor.” She glared at Cecilia and put her back to the woman. “Hunter, we really should finish up the work in the guest bedrooms.”
He dismissed Cecilia and turned pleading silver eyes on Rory. “I’m sorry about Cecilia’s behavior. I’m afraid you were right.”
She waved away his apology. “Don’t worry about it, Hunter. There was a time I would’ve done the same thing.”
He laughed. “Oh I remember poor Debbie Shayley--probably still gets a nauseous feeling when she sees a public toilet.”
She laughed at the memory. “Well that’ll teach her about trying to steal a girl’s boyfriend then, won’t it?” She straightened her dress and moved toward the door. “Let’s head upstairs so we can talk about the bedrooms.”
He smiled at her backside, “After you.”
Rory glanced at him over her shoulder, a coy smile on her face and turned back around.
Hunter groaned, pretty sure she’d put some extra jiggle in her walk to torture him.
Rory’s husky laugh echoed in the hallway on the second floor.
~
“So I was thinking that the guestrooms should have the queen beds on one side and the king beds on the other,” she told Hunter, who she knew hadn’t been paying attention to anything but her backside since they’d climbed the stairs. “What do you think?”
“Uh-huh.”
Rory felt lighter over the past few days, and today she’d felt a sense of feminine pride at the way Hunter couldn’t keep his eyes off her body. She reached for her pen and pad under the pretense of jotting down a note. “Oops,” she said in her huskiest voice when she bent over to pick up the pen. She bit her lip to stop the laughter that built up when Hunter released a strangled groan. She stood, flushed and tossed the pen in the middle of the bed. “I’m just so clumsy today,” she said innocently.
Hunter was still silent and his eyes were still glued to her body.
“Hunter,” she called his name and the only response she received was a sexy swipe of his tongue over those kissable lips of his. Rory walked closer and she knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care. She hadn’t felt so desired, so beautiful and sexy since her first time with Hunter. “Hunter, nod if you can hear me.” She stepped closer.
He licked his lips again.
“Hunter,” she said his name and brought her hands to rest on the muscles beneath his sweater. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
He didn’t respond until her lips touched his and then he was on her, everywhere. His hands flew to her waist, kneading and grasping tightly as though afraid to let her go. He tilted her head and deepened the kiss, he took control of the kiss and she let him because she knew he cared about her pleasure as much as his own. His tongue darted in and out of her mouth, tasting every deep, dark place to remind his tongue that this mouth belonged to him.
He groaned when her tongue tangled with his and Rory reclaimed control of the kiss, licking his top lip then his bottom lip before returning to the top lip. She licked at his tongue before she sucked it and swirled her tongue around it like she used to do in other places. It was her turn to moan, first in protest when his mouth left hers and then in pleasure when he dotted sexy wet kisses along her neck. “Hunter,” she moaned.
“Into the bedroom?”
“Yes,” she whispered softly in his ear, swiping at it with her tongue.
Hunter lifted her and Rory’s legs obediently wrapped around him and she let her hips grind against him, sending a clear message about her needs. “Rory.” He groaned from the feel of her damp heat searing through his pants and his underwear.
Rory slid down his body and took a few steps back, eyeing him up and down.
That seemed to clear Hunter’s mind. “You’re not ready Rory, I understand-” he began, but instead of retreating Rory fisted the hem of his sweater and yanked it over his head.
“Damn, I knew you’d grow up to be sexy as hell.” Then her mouth on his body, caressing his pecs and licking at his nipples, her hands ghosted along his abs before her tongue swirled around each hard ridge. Her path changed directions and she kissed his neck and chin while her hands worked fast to unfasten his pants and push them to the floor. “Yep, sexy,” she confirmed at the site of his erection, twitching under her lustful gaze.
“Rory,” he warned, but her hand snaked out to touch him and she used her thumb to swipe at a bead of moisture on his tip.
“Hunter,” she said to him in the same tone, eyes fixed on his as she licked the moisture from her thumb. Rory dropped to her knees but he caught her before she hit the floor.
“We don’t have time for that now. I need you too fucking bad, and if you put your mouth on me, I won’t last.” He pushed her on the bed and took advantage of her position to remove her boots and nude lace thong. “Fuck, you are gorgeous, Rory,” he gaze seared on her most private spot. “And so wet for me.” He bent and swiped his tongue through her moisture. He held her down when her hips bucked up to his face. Hunter used his mouth on her until her body squirmed under his movements and those sexy keening cries snapped him of control. He sucked her into his mouth and just before she came, he sat back on his heels.
“Hunter, if you don’t-” her words were stopped by one long hard thrust into her body.
He stilled. “Baby, you are so tight.”
“It’s been awhile,” she told him and closed her eyes.
“How long?” She didn’t answer and he grabbed her chin, torturing her with shallow thrusts as he did. “How long, Rory?”
“Since you,” she mumbled and dug her heels into his butt, urging him on.
“What? How can that be Rory? It’s taken everything in me not to throw you over the nearest flat surface and fuck you senseless.” He groaned when she tightened around him.
Her green gaze shot to his, laced with amusement. “Yet, here you have me on a flat surface, legs up in the air, and you want to talk.”
“You little minx,” he groaned and began the process of taking them both over the edge. He went slowly at first, long slow thrusts that tortured both of them. Then he sped up and the dirty things she said to him had him driving into over until sweat dripped from his forehead and their skin smacked together in a sweet, sticky rhythm.
“Hunter, yeah, that feels so good. So good,” she moaned and that was all he needed to hear.
He threw her legs over his arms and pounded into her until she squeezed him so hard he saw stars around his eyes. “Rory, fuck baby.”
“Yes, fuck me baby,” she moaned and seconds later she was falling, falling down from some place in the heavens where orgasms like hers were commonplace. Somewhere in the distance, she heard Hunter’s grunts before he stilled and spilled himself deep into her sated body. “Oh. My. God.”
He chuckled into her hair. “You can say that again. I think I’ve lost feeling in my leg.”
Rory panted. “Yeah, well I think my vagina is singing.”
He laughed and rolled off her, pulling her in close to his body. “Give me a minute and I’m moving down there for a live concert.”
Rory thrust her hips at him. “If you’re up to it, you can sing a duet together,” she laughed.
Hunter’s hand snaked down her sexy behind and his finger dipped low and slipped inside her moisture. “I’m more than up for it, sugar. In fact I think you should grab the mic,” his eyes drifted down with a smile, “and show me how you handle it.”
She laughed and smacked his arm, as realization sank in. Her heart was also singing and that was bad. Very, very bad. She had two choices. She could fight it, which she was certain was a losing battle anyway, or… “Hunter would you like to be my date for the Hardwood Industries Christmas Ball next week?”
“Damn woman, you stole my thunder!”
Chapter Five
R
ory stood in front of the mirror in her deep red ball gown and scowled. She turned this way and that, eyeing herself critically and wishing she’d chosen the blue dress. It was sexier and sure to knock Hunter’s socks off. This ball wasn’t a big deal, they’d been out on dates nearly every night for the past week as Hunter pulled out all the stops to make her his. She smiled to herself. It had worked.
He hadn’t thrown money at her to win her over either, because he knew with her own considerable wealth it wouldn’t work. Instead, he’d taken her ice skating and bought a tree for them to decorate in the newly-decorated sitting room. He’d invited her over for pizza, tequila and
Call of Duty
, during which he’d refused to let her win. She’d done tequila shots off his body and he’d returned the favor. They’d had a great week together and their time making love was unforgettable. Rory felt her skin flush just thinking about last night when she’d dropped to her knees and sucked him dry while he watched a Rugby match on TV. He’d been hard as a rock under her hand and she had been so overcome with lust she’d done it without thinking.
“Damn woman, I love you so much,”
he’s said to her afterwards. As tempted as Rory was to brush it off as post-coital hallucinations, she could see the love he felt for her shining in his eyes. But she hadn’t known what to say, so she’d just kissed him hard and then sat on his lap, exposing her panty-less state to him. From there, they’d spent the night loving each other into oblivion.
Tonight was the night she would tell Hunter how she felt about him. She checked herself one last time in the mirror. The dark red dress didn’t give her skin any color, but her green eyes popped and the dress fit her body perfectly. The sculpted sweetheart neckline hugged her breasts, making them look larger than they were. The skirt clung to her body down to the knee before falling in a pool at her feet. But the real treat was the back of the dress: it was a low V that dipped just high enough above her ass to be decent. She was sure Hunter would swallow his own tongue.
The bell rang and she hiked up the dress and ran to answer it, throwing on a shawl at the last minute. “Hunter, hi,” she answered breathlessly.
“Hey yourself. You look beautiful, Rory.” He looked around nervously, unsure how to act after his declaration last night, she was sure.
“Come on in, Hunter, we should talk before we leave.”
His shoulders drooped. “Do we have to?”
“Have a seat,” she said, her facial features schooled to reveal nothing.
“I think I’ll stand.”
“I’d rather you sit.” She crossed her arms, letting the shawl fall to the floor. “Please.”
He dropped down into her plush, green sofa and threw his head back. “Okay, I’m seated, you can hit me with it now.”
She smiled and put her hands on her hips. “Last night you said you loved me after I gave you a pretty awesome blow job,” she gave him a cheeky grin that made him blush. “I could see in your eyes that you meant it, but I was scared and I didn’t know what to say. Sometimes I still get flashes of insecurity and I think I’ll wake up one day and you’ll be gone.” She held up her hand to stop his words of protest. “I know, Hunter, and it’s something I’m still dealing with even though I’ve forgiven you. But last night while I listened to your steady breathing and felt your heart beat under my hand, I knew. I was only scared because my heart knew what I didn’t. I’m still in love with you. I still love you.” She turned away from him too quickly swipe a tear when she heard the swift intake of breath.
“Holy hell, Rory, the back of your dress is missing.” She turned but his words stopped her. “Stay just like that.” She heard the shift of the couch and knew he was coming to her. “Aurora Rose Harwood, you are the most beautiful creature ever put on this earth.” He kissed her neck. “I loved you as a teenager before I really understood what love was, and as a man, I am more in love with you than I ever thought I could possibly be.” He kissed the other side of her neck and one hand traced down her spine.
She shivered and he turned her to face him. “Hunter, I love you too, more than my teenaged heart knew how and more now than I know how to handle. I’m terrified of you disappearing again, but I love you enough to risk it.” She flung her arms around him and whispered in his ear, “Just know that this time I’ll find you.”
He kissed her softly and gently, making sweet love to her mouth until she began to press against him. “I’m never leaving again. I couldn’t survive without my heart, and you own it. Completely.”
THE END