“I am only female and appreciate a good looking body.” I snap at him, rolling my eyes as I push past him to get into the house.
He shuts the door and walks over to the chair where his shirt is folded over. He grabs it and puts it on. It’s a shame that he is covering his body up, but then again I am glad he does. I can focus better¸ and I really do just want to go to sleep. I shake my head to clear it. I walk over to the couch and fall down on it and close my eyes.
“Are you that tired? You look beat.”
Before I can answer him, I yawn, bring my hand to my mouth to try and hide it.
“Yes, I did not sleep well last night. Emily went to Matt’s last night so I ended up sleeping on the couch with all the lights on.” That was something I did not want to tell anyone. I am comfortable with talking to Hunter though. I know he won’t say anything bad about me freaking out and sleeping with the lights on like a baby.
I feel the couch dip and feel Hunter put his hand on my leg. The touch was comforting but at the same time I could feel the electricity running through us. My heartbeat kicked up a notch. I have never really felt this with Hunter before when we touched. Normally I feel annoyance and want to pull away from him. But right now I want to move closer and snuggle into him. I feel safe and at home. My eyes shoot open and he is staring at me intently. There is no way he doesn't feel this connection. I can see it in his eyes, the want that he has for me. Before I can say anything he takes his hand away from my leg, but keeps his eyes on mine.
I lick my lips to wet them, getting nervous with not knowing what to do. He makes a small noise in the back of his throat and then tears his eyes away from mine, sitting back and moving away from me.
“I think you should go to bed. You’re tired and need to sleep.”
I look away from him and down to the floor. Maybe he didn’t feel what I felt. “I can just sleep on the couch.”
“No, you will sleep in my bed. I will take the couch.”
I get up and look back up at him, then look away and head towards his room. I hear his footsteps follow behind me.
We walk in and he heads over to his dresser, takes out some workout pants and a t-shirt, and hands them to me. I take them and place them on the bed. I tell him thank you and wait for him to leave. I notice he doesn't leave and I look back up at him.
“Did you need something else?” I ask.
It came out bitchier than I wanted it to. I can’t help it. I am on edge with him still in the bedroom. He looks like he is fighting with himself, wanting to say something but not knowing if he should. The look in his eyes show the fight and I can tell as soon as he decides to say nothing at all. His shoulders slump a little and he clears his throat.
He looks at the door then to me and back to the door. “No, um sleep well.” He says and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
He is acting weird and I am too tired to deal with it right now. I strip out of my clothes and put on the ones he loaned me. Once I have his shirt on I, pull it to my nose and take in his scent. I really love the way he smells. Feeling a little creepy I drop the shirt.
I crawl into his bed and snuggle deep under the covers, hugging them close to me. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep. But for some reason I can’t. I lie there for another 10 minutes and give up hope. I am feeling guilty that he is on the couch and I am in his bed. It would not be bad to let him sleep in the bed with me, we did it the other night and did not have any issues with it. After another five minutes of tossing and turning, I make up my mind and get out of the bed and open the door.
Hunter is right there when I open it, causing me to jump back and scream. Doing this I lose my balance and start for the ground, but strong hands stop me from the impact. I knew it would hurt if I had made contact.
“Shit Payton, I'm sorry. I thought you would be sleeping by now. Are you alright?”
I take a second to collect myself and slow down my heart beat. Not sure if it’s beating now from him scaring the crap out of me or if it’s because he is touching me again. Knowing I have to answer him before he thinks I am hurt or just crazy, I shake my head yes. Not able to get the words out of my mouth.
He gives me a weird look as he stands me up right. Great, he thinks I am crazy.
“Are you sure?” He asks me lightly.
“Yes,” I say lightly, looking at the door trying to not make eye contact with him. “I’m fine, you just scared the crap out of me. What are you doing, coming to spy on me or something creepy?”
He busted out laughing. I mean hardcore, holding his gut, laughing at me. Now just getting irritated, I pull my arm out of his grasp.
“I am sorry. I was not being creepy.” He takes a breath to stop laughing. “I was just coming to get a pillow and blanket for the couch.”
Well, now I feel dumb. I want to palm myself in the face, but I know he will think I am even crazier than before, so I hold back from making a fool out of myself. I look at him, then back at the bed.
“I was thinking the bed is big enough for the both of us. We can just share it. It is not fair that you are sleeping on the couch.”
He doesn't say anything, just stares at me while all the humor he had before has drained from his face, making me fidget. I don’t really know how to take the look he is giving me.
“I mean, it’s your house and all. I will stay on my side of the bed. We can even put a few pillows between us, like a barrier.” Nice, now I am rambling like an idiot.
Hunter moves towards me, putting his hands on my shoulders gently. “I don't really think that is a wise idea.”
I look up at him, noticing how close we are. Leaving my arms to hang at my sides, too afraid to move and absorbing his touch like a sponge. “Why not? It’s not like we are lovers, we are just friends.”
He moves in closer, putting an inch maybe between us. I can feel his body heat on me. I want to move in closer to him, closing the gap, pressing our bodies together and melt right into him.
He lowers his face to mine, brushing his lips lightly across my jaw. Moving them slowly to my ear. “What if I want to be lovers?” He says lightly, brushing his lips against my ear. His warm breath causes me to shiver as I take in what he just said.
My head shoots up, looking him in the eyes, shocked he said that so openly. Almost like he wanted it to be true, shocked that I want to know if it’s true.
“Do you?” I whisper out. It’s a question I should not ask, but I need to know. I need to know if I am the only one with these feelings. The weird electric current that travels through me when we touch; the butterflies I get when I see him or when I am around him. I so badly want to know I am not alone having these feelings.
He ignores the question and pulls away. I feel the loss of his body heat almost instantly. Disappointment follows closely after. I wrap my arms around myself and watch him grab a pillow from the bed. His attitude is running hot and cold and it’s more confusing than ever.
“It’s time for bed, just fall asleep. You need to rest.” He walks out the door closing it again. Closing me in the room, alone and confused by his actions. Dismissing me like I did something wrong. What does he mean “what if I want to be lovers?” Still feeling the effects of his touch, I lay on the bed again, trying to push all thoughts of Hunter out of my head, forcing myself to close my eyes and fall asleep.
***
Hunter
I don’t know what the hell I am doing. Walking out of my room was the hardest thing I have had to do in a while. I wanted to take her right there; push her on the bed and have my way with her. Run my hands over her body and show her how special she is, how caring a guy should be with a woman.
But I couldn’t allow myself to do it. I had to force myself away from her, and get out of that room as fast as I could; before I messed something up. I walk over to the couch, throw the pillow down, along with the blanket. Flopping down on top of them. Just the little taste I had of her was enough to drive me crazy. The little brush of my lips against
her skin had me going hard. I was acting like a damn teenager. Tossing my arm over my eyes, I try to forget about Payton.
Around four in the morning, I give up on sleeping. It was impossible to fall asleep knowing she is in my bed. I am now dealing with guilt that should not even be there. I took Kelly home the other night and had her in my bed. Now Payton is in there sleeping, not knowing that I had Kelly over. I am such an ass. This just proves that she is better off without me.
I get off the couch and go through my workout routine that I do every day. I finish sooner than I normally do. I glance at the clock and notice that it’s only six in the morning. I only killed two hours. I shower and get dressed. By the time I finish Payton is out in the kitchen, sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen. I stop and lean against the door, taking her all in. Getting a warm feeling in my gut, seeing that she made herself at home in my house. Having her here is doing things to me; things I didn’t want to feel before, when it came to women and relationships. Payton is doing things to me and I fucking like the feeling she is causing.
I want to spend the day with her, to get close to her. I am not ready to have her leave. I know her leaving would be for the best though. Before I can stop myself, I clear my throat to get her attention and walk all the way into the kitchen. She jumps a little and turns to face me, a slight smile on her face.
“Good morning. I hope you don't mind I made some coffee.” She says lightly, in an almost shy voice. Deep down, I know this is because of last night. The look of hurt, I saw on her face when I walked out of the room was almost enough to make me stay with her.
“That’s fine. I was going to make some when I got out of the shower. Thank you.”
I walk over and pour myself a cup. She goes back to drinking her coffee and reading my magazine that was sitting on the island.
“Would you want to go to go hiking with me today? I was thinking about going to Devils Peak and walk some trails.”
She looks back up closing the magazine slowly. I can see the hesitation and she makes up her mind. She is really easy to read. “Umm sure, I just have to stop home and change.”
She picks up her coffee cup and brings it to her mouth, finishing it off. I watch in fascination over my coffee cup. Wanting my lips to meet hers; like the coffee cup is meeting her lips. I can almost feel her lips pressed against mine, the warm, sweet taste of them. I would savor the taste of her. Wishing I could rip the cup out of her hands. If you could kill a coffee cup that cup would meet its end tonight. I am getting jealous over a fucking coffee cup. I pull myself out of my thoughts and clear my throat, trying to even out my voice.
“I can take you home or follow you there, so we can just take one vehicle.”
“Okay, I will take my car home now. Just meet me there when you are ready. That gives me time to get dressed and everything.” She flashes me a smile.
She starts to walk out of the kitchen but stops when she reaches me. “Don't worry about last night Hunter. I was being too forward and should have never asked you to sleep in the bed with me. I know you were only teasing me about wanting to be lovers. I am and will always be, Matt's little sister.” She smiles, pats my arm, and walks out of the kitchen. Leaving me there, not knowing what to think. Christ I was just devouring her in my thoughts. The way I think about her is not the way you think about your best friends little sister. I should cancel with her today. Tell her something came up and that I can’t make it. I know I won’t do it though. Never once have I followed through on my good thoughts. So why would I start now? I crave to see her too much. It has always been that way with her, and I am finding out that it will always be that way.
I give her an hour to get ready. I pack up my vehicle with stuff we might need and leave to pick her up. She is wearing awesome skinny jeans that hug her in all the right places and a t-shirt with a superhero on it that says “Super Nerd.” I want to laugh because she is a nerd, but a very good looking one. I open the door for her and help her in. Then go over to my side and we head out to Devils Peak, which is about two and a half hour drive. Once we get there, we head out towards the trail. We walk in silence for the first hour. I can tell she is nervous and not too sure of what to say. She is also taking in the scenery. I love watching her face light up each time she sees something she likes.
“I don't see you as Matt's little sister,” I say trying to break the silence.
She stops suddenly, causing me to bump into her. “You don’t?”
“No. I see you as something more than his sister. You are so damn beautiful Payton. You don't see it at all, and that makes you even more beautiful.”
I can see the pink tint spread on her cheeks, as she looks down at the ground. I reach out to her, placing my hand on her face cupping it lightly, making her look up at me. I am just going to do it, tell her the truth about how I feel, how I have felt about her for all these years.
“I have always liked you Payton,” I say as I lower my face close to hers, tempting to push my lips against hers but resist, keeping my lips hovering over hers.
Her lips curve up a little holding my gaze. “I have always liked you too.”
She moves her body closer to mine but not touching her lips to mine, and it's killing me. I give in and close the gap between our lips and kiss her. I kiss her softly holding her face. I kiss the corner of her mouth and then kiss her deeply, pressing myself up against her. Moving my hands down her arms slowly. I can feel the goose bumps form on her skin and it thrills me that she responds to my touch that way. I deepen the kiss even more, loving the way she tastes. I always knew she would taste sweet. I run my hands back up her arms and thread them into her hair. I hear a moan escape her, a low rumble in her throat. It’s a sound that drives me crazy. Making me want to go all caveman and drag her off someplace in the woods. With that thought in mind, I slowly pull away from her and smile down at her. She is breathing deeply, another response that I like.
“Wow,” she says, breathless, smiling big as she touches her fingers to her lips.
Before I can respond, I feel a rain drop hit me in the face and then another one. Before we know it, it starts to downpour. Payton squeals and then starts laughing. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s raining,” she says giggling. Her laugh is something I could listen to all day.
I grab her hand and start running with her back down the trail towards the car, trying to get to the car as fast as we can. We walked a little farther than I thought we had. We are halfway to the car when she pulls us to a stop, bending over at the waist trying to catch her breath. “I don’t work out as much as you.”
“I can see that.”
“You’re an ass.” She says lightly, hitting me in the arm.
“You were not saying that back there on the trail.” She just rolls her eyes at me and starts to walk again.
The rain starts to come down harder. I really should have looked at the weather before we left. The day has been perfect, even with the rain. I loved being able to spend it with her. I knew she was safe from Keegan. I even got to kiss her. I don’t think I will ever forget that kiss, or the way she responded to me. I wanted to do it last night when I had my lips skimming her jaw. I talked myself out of it then, I could not hold back this time. I died a little and went to heaven in that kiss. I swear I can still taste her.
We are both drenched and dirty from the rain and the dirt. I open the passenger side door for her; she gets in, giving me a smile. I grab her arm lightly, pull her up against me, and then push her up against the car, taking her lips again. I can’t get enough, now that I got a taste of her. I have a feeling she will become my new addiction. An addiction I will willingly accept. An addiction I do not want to give up.
Chapter 7
Payton
It has been two days since Hunter kissed me in the woods. Waking up in his bed that morning was different. I told myself that we would never be anything more than friends. We have such a hot and cold relationship; I don't even know what we are. When he asked me to
go on a hike with him, I didn’t want to accept. I wanted to talk myself out of it, but I went anyways. Then, when we were in the woods he kissed me and, once again, shocked me. It was by far the best kiss I ever had. He really is skilled with his lips. He has a way of making you lose yourself while he is kissing you.
I kissed him back, wanting him to see how I feel about him. When we finally got into the car to head home, he was quiet, not talking much, not even when I would try to engage in conversation. When he dropped me off, all he told me was to be careful and safe. He did not bring up kissing me. In fact, he acted like it did not happen.
In the past two days he did send me one text message; asking if I was alright. That was all I heard from him. So be it. If he doesn't want to talk then, I will also act like it never happened. I can act naturally. I knew that nothing would really come out of that stupid kiss. He doesn’t do relationships. I know this. Yet, I let myself hope, just a little, that he would want something with me.
Annoyed with myself for letting Hunter get to me, I get out of my car and head into the dress shop that I am meeting Emily at. I see her right away, she already has a hand full of dresses and the bridal consultant looks like she has had better days. The poor lady looks up at me with a look of help. I smile and walk over to them.
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