by R. S. Elliot
I gripped his shoulders for support. His lips found mine once more, capturing my waning breaths as he found a rhythm that shuddered through my core. It was like nothing I had ever felt. And it wasn’t just because it had been so long since I’d been with a man.
It was Hunter.
I needed him like air.
Like I would never need anyone else ever again.
My chest tightened. Somewhere within me, another revelation arose, fed by endorphins and pheromones and pure animalistic lust—or nonsense. The kind that made sensible, driven women with plans do stupid, nonsensical things.
Was I in love with Hunter?
I can’t be in love. I’ve never wanted to be in love.
And yet...
He hit that magical place in the center of my womanhood once again, sending another flurry of sparks and fire erupting across my skin. I dug my hands into his arms, holding on to anything I could as he hit that same spot over and over. My lungs tightened. I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt ready to collapse from the mind-numbing satisfaction seizing me.
My body clenched around him. Every muscle, every nerve peaked with unbridled rapture as the rhythm of his thrusts took on a new pace of their own. I was panting, unable to control the sounds of pure ecstasy escaping my lips. I soared higher, reaching heights I never even knew were possible.
Then I tumbled over the edge, crashing down in a wash of unrivaled fulfillment. He slowed and pressed his head against my shoulder as we both surrendered.
We stood there for a moment—limbs still entangled as one, our bodies still connected in the most intimate of places. He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. His heavy breathing echoed like thunder in my ears. I stroked his cheeks, wanting to feel anything that might draw me back down to earth, back to him.
He pulled back, brushing away the slick strands of hair at my brow. His blue eyes poured into mine, a twinkle of humor in them.
“What?” I asked, my voice raspy and dry.
“You’re loud,” was all he said.
I smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Is that a problem?”
He smiled, chuckling softly to himself. “No. I liked it. It’s just something to note for next time, if you’re still trying to keep this whole thing a secret.”
My heart fell to the floor. He was talking about keeping this a secret. Did he know why I had lied to him in the first place about Flynn? Why I kept pushing him away all this time?
“I don’t need to know everything right now,” he said, putting all the questions he saw circling in my head to rest. “Whatever it is, we can figure it out together—but no more excuses. No more pushing me away.”
I nodded, my body still too numb to respond any other way.
So, we were keeping this a secret for now. Not letting anyone know what was going on while I still supposedly helped him find the woman of his dreams.
Brilliant. Absolutely perfect.
What on earth could go wrong?
Chapter Nineteen
Hunter
“I just don’t think it’s working out for me,” I said.
“What the hell do you mean it isn’t working out for you?” Vanessa asked, nearly throwing the breakfast croissant across the table at me. I had subtly tried to get out of my commitment to the matchmaking service before—an effort that always resulted in Vanessa threatening to fire Lyndsey for not doing her job.
This time was no different. Only now, Lyndsey was the sole reason I wanted out. I couldn’t commit to another woman, not like this. Not knowing how I felt about her.
How did I even feel about her?
I cared about her, deeply. There was no confusion there. But was I in love with Lyndsey? Was she the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with?
It was still too soon to say. I couldn’t abide by a window of thirty days to find my soulmate before, and I wasn’t about to do it now. Though, if there was anyone on this earth who came close, it was Lyndsey.
“I can’t do the thirty-day requirement,” I said, coming up with any excuse I could to get out of my supposed contract. “I didn’t realize it was part of the plan. How am I supposed to fall in love that quickly?”
“I’ve already told you, Hunter. This isn’t about falling in love. It’s about finding a wife.”
I groaned. “Yes. And I’m supposed to pretend those two don’t go hand-in-hand.”
“These are old squabbles.” Vanessa waved an impatient hand in front of her. “The truth is that Miss Picture Perfect can’t find the right one for you. If she did, then you wouldn’t even be second-guessing the thirty days. You would marry the girl on the spot. I can always fire her and assign you a new matchmaker.”
Right. Because that’s what I needed. Not only would it cost Lyndsey her job, I’d be forced to endure some cutthroat salesperson content on “selling” me a lifetime with a complete stranger.
“Lyndsey’s been doing fine,” I explained. “This has nothing to do with her.”
We were keeping this whole relationship a secret. Though, I still didn’t know exactly why, I figured part of it had to do with Vanessa and something along the lines of fraternizing with the clients. Any other part likely dealt with Lyndsey’s parents, who expected her to make serious life changes.
Those life changes probably didn’t include falling for a client at one’s place of work, especially when Lyndsey was supposed to be setting me up with other women instead. Especially when the two of us were on either sides of a bitter feud between family members who should have no say in our personal lives whatsoever.
But even I knew that last part was beyond my control.
No matter how I broke it to her, Vanessa would be pissed. Even Kyle. I saw them both at least once a week, which would definitely make dating their sworn enemy difficult to hide, eventually.
For now, we could be casual. For now, Lyndsey and I could simply see where things took us without letting family or careers complicate things further. I’d finally convinced her to let me in at all. I wasn’t about to risk it by exposing our relationship prematurely.
Though I had to admit, despite all protests, I was already falling hard.
She made me want to abandon all these silly notions about settling down forever and making a life in one place so soon. Maybe we could spend some time traveling. Maybe there would be no rush to start a family.
And what? Leave your mother all alone at home while you set off across the globe?
There would be no one to entertain her, no one to even look after her except for Vanessa and Kyle. Which was as close to no one as I could get. No, I still needed someone serious about their commitments. Serious about settling down in one place.
I just wasn’t sure that was Lyndsey yet.
“Hello?” Vanessa waved a hand in front of my face. “Did you hear me?”
I shook my head of my thoughts, drawing me back down to earth. “What? I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
“No. I just said she’s been spending all of her time with Flynn Archer lately,” Vanessa explained. “I mean he’s fit, but the girl should have more self-respect than to throw herself at him every chance she gets.”
“What do you mean?”
Vanessa took a sip from her coffee mug and leaned forward. Her eyes flickered with the kill of fresh gossip, ready to spill secrets that may or may not even be true. “Well, Libby said she saw them together at the office. Gettin’ all handsy and stuff. Plus, I know he’s been by the house a few times.”
“You know this?” Hell, even I knew it. The real question was why Vanessa was keeping such close tabs on Lyndsey.
Vanessa shrugged. “We have a friend of ours keeping an eye on the house every now and then. You know, after she almost torched the place.”
What the hell?
She was having Lyndsey watched at her own house? This would certainly complicate things in our relationship. How the hell would I explain being at her house if one of Vanessa’s spies ever reported it? I hadn’t thankfully. We’d
agreed to take things slow, and she was incredibly busy with repairs and getting the house ready for the gala in a couple of days.
But this was definitely information to take note of.
“She didn’t almost torch the place,” I said. “You shouldn’t be keeping an eye on her like that. It’s not your place. And I doubt she’s even seeing Flynn.”
Vanessa raised a suspicious brow. “Oh, you know him or something?”
“Or something.”
“I mean, did Lyndsey tell you this?” The tone in her voice sank like a weight to the pit of my stomach. Shit! I was revealing way too much without even trying. “Don’t you think you two are getting a little too close? Plus, you don’t want to get involved. She’s a total flirt.”
“Just because she’s friendly doesn’t mean she’s sleeping with every man she meets.” Did it? She said Flynn was just a friend. Had she only said that to waive my concerns? The two did seem rather cozy that day at the office and when I saw them at her house. It didn’t mean they were dating or sleeping together. It just meant they were close.
But how close?
Was I still jealous of this guy? What the hell was wrong with me? I was letting Vanessa get all up inside my head. And all because the woman I cared about wanted to keep our relationship quiet until further notice.
I can do this, right? I’m not one of those crazy, jealous people. Am I?
“I don’t know.” Vanessa flicked a non-committal gesture in the air. “Kyle said they’ve been close since like elementary or middle school, or something crazy like that. I think they even used to date. So, it wouldn’t surprise me. Now can we please talk about something other than that woman?”
“Of course.” I feigned a smile. “Although, I’m pretty sure you were the one who brought her up. You always do.”
“Because she always...argh!” Vanessa growled instead of completing her sentence, clearly at a loss for words. “How does she always get what she wants? Even with this whole event. Of course, we had to approve it. It was a brilliant idea! And Auntie and Uncle Jake were all on board with it. Then, those rich friends of hers showed up to help with the reno—”
“We’re still talking about her,” I said. This rant was getting us nowhere.
“Well, are you going?”
“Am I going to what?” I’d missed something somewhere. Although, to be fair, I was only half-listening to Vanessa at this point anyway.
“Are you going to the party? At Hummingbird Hollow?”
I shrugged. I knew about it since the beginning. It was meant to give the clients an opportunity to meet other singles, potentially make some real connections. It would have also been the perfect place for me to take someone like Crystal.
Fuck! Was Crystal going to be there? That would be awkward. What was I supposed to do? Just mingle with all the other singles, flirting with women I had no interest in, all while pretending the woman I did want to be with didn’t matter to me.
That didn’t sound like anything I’d be interested in.
“No. I need some time to re-evaluate things,” I said. Which was also true. I needed a way to get out of this mess Vanessa had roped me into, while also deciding what was really important in my life. Could I give up on everything I wanted to be with Lyndsey? Was that what she even wanted?
“Well, we are all staying the night at the manor,” Vanessa explained. “At least the whole family side, and I think Lyndsey’s two friends. She didn’t want us driving home late or whatever. There are plenty of rooms for you, though, if you want to stay. Kyle said something about having a mini poker tournament with Flynn and whatever Lyndsey’s friend’s husband’s name is.”
A knot slowly formed in the center of my chest. It burned, like some deep-seated ember from the depths of Hell. “Flynn is staying the night, too?”
“According to Kyle. I don’t even know why he would be there except to give Lyndsey some emotional support. But you know, like I said.” Vanessa made some sort of crude gesture with her hands. “He’s like her little fucktoy. So, I’m not that surprised.”
My sister was not the most reliable source when it came to Lyndsey. Though, if Flynn was going to be there, and he was staying the night, then there was plenty of cause for concern. What did she need him there for if they were just friends? He had nothing to do with the company. He wasn’t there doing renovations like her friends were, at least she hadn’t said as much in the past couple of days I’d spoken to her.
So why would he be there? Especially to the point he would need to stay the night to accomplish the task.
No, no. Fuck, no! I am not a jealous man. I have never been.
So why the hell was this bothering me now?
“So, you’re going to go, right?” Vanessa asked.
This went against every fiber of my being.
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
Chapter Twenty
Lyndsey
There are about a hundred people in my house.
One hundred people between the clients who accepted the invites, the catering staff, the office workers, and my personal guests piled all into a few series of rooms in my house.
I felt sick.
“Why in hell did I think this was a good idea?” I asked Flynn, who did little more than shove half a skewer with meat and veggies on it into his mouth all at once.
He shrugged, still chewing when he spoke. “You know, catch a bad guy. Save your house. Stuff like that.”
“This was a bad idea.” I was torn between biting my nails and yanking my hair out. But seeing as I spent nearly an hour on my hair alone, there was no way that was going to happen. I never took so long to get ready in my life. Sure, I may go through five or six outfit changes in one evening on occasion, but finding the perfect look rarely proved a problem.
Except tonight.
And why? Not because I was trying to impress our clients. Not because I was trying to overshadow my cousins and their bland style of clothing. It wasn’t even because I needed to find something both outstanding and easy to run in if necessary.
It was all Hunter’s fault.
That’s right! Of course, I enjoyed getting all dolled up for a man. Who didn’t like feeling beautiful for their date? But he wasn’t even my date. I wasn’t even supposed to act like we were some sort of item. And yet here I was, hoping he’d be at a single’s mixer and see how devastatingly gorgeous I looked in my sapphire dress.
Let’s not even add in the whole heart-wrenching fact that, if he was here, the only logical thing for him to do would be to flirt with all the other women in the room—not me. And that was something I was not equipped to handle at this point. Not on top of the fear my grandmother’s house might implode upon itself at any moment now.
A small part of me wished he wouldn’t come. He had said he might not anyway.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” Flynn said, drawing me back to the whole reason for doing this in the first place. “I mean, I thought of it. So, you know it’s going to work out fine.”
“Right. Because you never—”
“Oh my god. If you bring up Spring Break 2014 right now, I’m going to kill you.”
My lip twitched into an uncontrollable grin. “It’s sad that I don’t even need to say it.”
“It’s because you bring it up all the time,” Flynn exclaimed. “It’s like, literally, the only thing I’ve ever done wrong that you can criticize. Which is why it sticks so much in your brain.”
“Well, it was pretty bad.”
“How was I supposed to know she was a guy?” Flynn asked. “You didn’t even know, until—nope. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
He tossed up his hands in defeat, though I could barely keep myself from laughing. Being home felt good again. For the first time in a long time, I remembered all the reasons I loved being here. There are many reasons that might make me stay.
As if beckoned by some unknown force, I shifted my attention to the door. Hunter walked through, dressed in a
navy suit with a pale blue shirt beneath it. With his tanned complexion and dark hair, the contrasting shades of his outfit brought out the steely blue of his eyes. My breath hitched upward. My heart stopped and sped up all at the same time. I wasn’t sure whether I was going to pass out or die happy.
Either option was a serious possibility at that moment. He looked absolutely gorgeous. If there weren’t a hundred people here, I’d have shoved him into the nearest bedroom and had my way with him.
That was still not completely off the table. Though much more of a risk than our escapade at the charity event. Especially with Vanessa and Kyle so close within reach.
His gaze seized mine from across the room. The last shred of dignity holding me together slid down my chest and landed in the pit of my stomach with sweet, satisfying pleasure. I didn’t care that I was quite clearly drooling over a man I shouldn’t want. It didn’t matter how foolish I looked while gawking.
I was enjoying the view.
Hunter’s expression remained a little more tame than mine felt. I could already feel the heat rising to my cheeks and the need pulsing between my thighs. The smug jerk only stared, a smile reaching his eyes alone, while the rest of his face remained emotionless.
Until they landed on Flynn.
I didn’t even know what he was staring at until his eyes narrowed. He set his jaw, staring just past me at some unknown target. It wasn’t until I turned to see Flynn over my shoulder that I realized they were locked in some strange battle of glares.
I turned back toward Hunter, but he was already making his way deeper into the crowd. I tried to hide my disappointment. Flynn knew me too well for that. His eyes studied me, intense and almost volatile—as if I’d withheld some important bit of information from him.