Reforming Hunt

by Jules Barnard

  “I’m not asking you to give up your friends. Just remember what’s waiting for you at home.” He kissed her, this time wrapping his arm around her small waist and dragging her to his chest, expressing with his mouth all the things he wanted to do with his body.

  He set her gently aside, but she wobbled in her heels, staring at him in a daze. “Call me if you need a bodyguard,” he said, his gaze skimming her. “In that dress, you’ll wreak havoc on the male population in this town.”

  Then Hunt did what he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do and watched Abby walk away.

  Chapter 24

  Damn Hunt and his kisses. How was Abby supposed to focus on having a good time when all she could think about was the way he’d made her body melt with only his mouth and tongue? Which had her thinking about other things he might be good at with his tongue…

  Abby dropped her head in her hands.

  “Everything okay?” Maria asked.

  Abby looked up and smiled. “Yes, fine.”

  “Are you sure? Because I could have sworn you wouldn’t agree to go out with me tonight, now that you have a hot new husband in your bed.” She sent Abby an exaggerated wink.

  Maria knew about her arrangement with Hunt, but apparently hope sprang eternal.

  “Hunt was fine with it.” Actually, that wasn’t true. He hadn’t seemed fine. But he’d let her go without an argument.

  Hunt might be territorial, but he trusted her, and that combination was sexy as hell. Of course, he’d branded her with that hot kiss first, the devil, ensuring all she could think about was what would happen when she got home. And the more she thought about it, the more she considered taking him up on his offer.

  Sex. With Hunt Cade, master of all sexual exploits.

  But there was more to their connection, and that was the risky part. It wasn’t purely physical—it never had been. He’d slowly revealed a giving, supportive guy beneath the sexy exterior. And he loved her son. Abby could easily fall in love with her husband, and that would be disastrous. By all accounts, Hunt Cade wasn’t a relationship person.

  A couple of hours later, after listening to music and conversation she’d struggled to focus on, Abby exited her car and walked up the driveway to her house. All appeared quiet, with the interior lights dimmed and the flicker of the television coming through the blinds. Hunt must still be awake.

  She took a deep breath and opened the front door quietly, careful to not wake Noah in the other room, with the house the size of a shoebox.

  But Abby didn’t find Hunt waiting up, and Noah wasn’t in his bed.

  Hunt was sprawled asleep across the couch, one leg supporting his weight on the floor, his head tipped back against the couch arm. And Noah was splayed on top of him, mouth open, his back to Hunt’s front. Hunt’s arm lay across Noah’s middle, protectively supporting her son even in sleep.

  Abby breathed in and let out a controlled exhale. The breathing should have kept her calm, but tears welled to her eyes anyway. Noah cuddled up with Hunt was the closest thing she’d ever seen to her son with a father figure, and a light choking sound escaped her throat.

  Hunt blinked his eyes open. Confusion filled his face, and then his gaze landed on Abby. A dark, possessive look crossed his eyes before he glanced down, seemingly surprised to find Noah asleep on top of him.

  In one smooth motion, Hunt stood and cradled Noah in his arms. He silently carried Noah to the back of the house.

  Abby kicked off her shoes and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. She needed to clear her head. The adorable scene with Hunt and Noah would not dictate her decision to take things further with Hunt.

  Fine, it was swaying her.

  She’d never seen her son love a man the way he loved Hunt. And Abby couldn’t blame Noah, because she was half in love with Hunt too.

  Hunt returned to the living room rubbing his rumpled hair. “Everything okay?” He stretched his back and yawned.

  Abby set her glass on the counter and walked over. “Noah asleep?”

  “Passed out.” He smiled abashedly. “I guess I passed out too. Sorry, didn’t mean for Noah to fall asleep out here.”

  Abby didn’t care that Noah had stayed up too late. Her son had been cared for and protected by a man who had no reason to love him the way he did.

  She unzipped the back of her dress and watched as Hunt’s eyes tracked her hands.

  “Abby,” he said low. “We don’t have to do this. I mean, we can. I won’t talk you out of it.” He rubbed his jaw as she slid her dress past her waist and over her hips covered in black satin. The material pooled onto the floor. “But I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

  Pressured? She was the luckiest woman alive to have Hunt look at her the way he did. He’d been staring at her body the entire time he spoke. But now he was looking into her eyes, and there was so much there she could read, and some things she couldn’t. Lust, awe, and something deeper.

  She stepped forward and pressed her body to his, dragging his head down for a kiss.

  And that was all it took.

  Hunt wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, drugging her with his lips and tongue. He walked into the bedroom and quietly closed the door, even now conscientious of the little boy in the other room.

  He crossed the room and sank onto the bed, and Abby tumbled on top of him.

  Hunt leaned to the side, and her back pressed into the mattress. “Still want to do this?” He ran his hand down her ribs and across her black satin bra, a finger brushing her nipple.

  “If you stop now,” she said, “I will kill you.”

  Hunt skimmed his mouth down her throat and gave her a masculine sound of approval. And then her bra disappeared and her panties slid off. She hadn’t even registered him removing the bra until cool air hit her breasts.

  Abby sat up. She might be fully naked, but Hunt was clothed. “Shirt off. Now.” Not eloquent, but whatever. If they were doing this, she wasn’t missing anything. She wanted to see Hunt in all his glory.

  He reached back and pulled his shirt over his head while Abby fumbled with the fly of his jeans. Shaky fingers or not, she felt powerful and in control. This was her man. Maybe not forever, but for right now.

  Hunt stood and shoved down his jeans and boxer briefs. He kicked them aside and slid back onto the bed next to Abby.

  The lighting was dim, but enough filtered through the window blinds to make her eyes bug out. No man was more beautifully built than Hunt.

  She slowly ran her palm over his broad shoulders, across his chest, to tapered abs, taking in every sinewy edge and dip.

  A smile turned the corner of his mouth, and his expression was indulgent. Until she wrapped her hand around his erection.

  Hunt let out a sharp breath and tensed. “Abby, let’s take this slow. It’s been a while. I never go this long without…”

  She looked into his eyes. “Is your reputation that accurate?”

  He nodded, his gaze serious. “You can still back out.”

  Hunt was more than his player reputation. She’d never had cause to doubt his loyalty to her or Noah. “I’m not backing out. But we should use something.”

  “Always. I always use a condom,” he said.

  “Okay, then.” Abby returned her hands to his body, back to where she’d left off. She wanted Hunt more than she’d ever wanted any man.

  He rolled until he was on top of her and looked into her eyes. His gaze trailed down her chest and arms. “You’re so beautiful that I don’t know where to start. You’re like a feast before a starved man.”

  She smiled, but then he covered her mouth and she wasn’t smiling anymore. His tongue dipped, teasing her, and then he scooted down and licked her nipple, no foreplay with hands and fingers, just straight tongue on the pebbled peak of her breast.

  Abby nearly sprang off the mattress, but Hunt held her down, his palm pressed lightly on her chest.

  And then he was moving lower, his hand mapping her breast while h
is mouth kissed a path toward her belly. He lingered there and licked, trailing farther with his soft lips and tongue until he reached the crease of her leg.

  Hunt lifted her knee, opening her to him, but she didn’t have time to feel shy. He sucked along the crease between her sex and thigh, making her squirm.

  He was so close…

  His hand moved from one breast to the other, circling and plucking gently at her nipples while he intermittently kissed and sucked along the tender inside of her thigh. He skimmed his hand down her leg, reaching delicate spots behind her knee, and then back up again, teasing her.

  Abby was about to say something to urge him along when he squeezed her nipple and pressed the flat of his tongue against her clitoris.

  She arched and cried out.

  He tsked. “We don’t want to wake Noah. I have plans for you.”

  Oh the naughtiness, the implications… And how the hell was he touching so many erogenous zones at once?

  Maybe his reputation was well deserved—not because of the quantity of women he seduced, but the quality with which he did it. She should care about the reasons he’d gotten so good, but at the moment, she really, really didn’t.

  Abby’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. She could do nothing but take in the pleasure of Hunt’s touch.

  And then his tongue returned to the mother of all erogenous zones, licking and sucking and putting just enough pressure on that ball of nerves that seemed the center of the universe. She unabashedly writhed on the bed, moaning to keep from screaming.

  She was going to come like she had last time. Hard and fast. And she couldn’t find it within herself to be embarrassed. Not when she was mentally grasping for the release.

  And then Hunt’s mouth disappeared from her body and he sat up.

  “What…?” was all she could get out before he turned her over onto her stomach. Hunt wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her until she felt the warmth of his chest on her back. His thighs were between her knees, and his hand returned to her clitoris, wreaking havoc with his fingers.

  He was doing it again, the multitasking. The sound of foil tearing came from behind, but his fingers never stopped working their magic, swirling around her clit and dipping inside her body. The next thing she knew, he was spreading her knees wider with his large thigh, one hand returning to her breast, the other torturing her in the best possible way with a clever finger on that bundle of nerves.

  He entered her inch by inch.

  Hunt Cade was well proportioned. Everywhere. She’d seen it, but now he was slowly moving inside her and she wanted to cry out. He felt perfect. Or maybe it was his warm skin and the erotic rhythm of his hands on her body. Whatever it was, he was drugging her. And bringing her to the brink before he’d fully seated himself inside her.

  Abby bucked, and Hunt filled her the last inch. He didn’t stop the slow torture of his hands once he was inside her. With her back to his chest, the two of them on their knees, he had access to every part of her body, and he used it.

  Her neck arched back when the release came, and Hunt rode out her orgasm, not ceasing his steady rhythm until he’d drained every drop of pleasure from her.

  Moments later, Abby went limp, unable to hold herself up.

  Hunt eased her onto her belly and turned her over again liked she weighed nothing. He plunged inside her, his eyes an intense blue holding hers. He lifted her knee and shifted his position until he hit a spot deep inside her that had her moaning and building up to another climax.

  What the hell?

  By the time her next orgasm came, Hunt was right there with her, kissing her lips, her neck, and moaning out his own release. The sound of his voice and his jerky, uncontrolled movements were sexy as hell as he let himself go.

  Abby held on, even while her body convulsed, euphoria spreading through her.

  She’d never let go—not as long as she had him.

  Hunt collapsed on top of her, his arms supporting part of his weight as his breathing calmed.

  After a few minutes, he lifted his head from where he’d tucked it against her shoulder and neck. A wicked look gleamed in his eyes. “That was fun. Ready for round two?”

  Chapter 25

  “Round two?” she said, stunned. “I’m still recovering from round one. How are you conscious right now?”

  Hunt rolled to his side, pulling Abby against him. “You inspire me,” he murmured against her neck, tickling her.

  “Or I’m the only willing woman in the vicinity,” she said. “You promised to not be with anyone else. Not like you have options.”

  A queasy sensation rolled through Abby’s stomach. Hunt had made it clear that this marriage was his way of helping her and nothing more. But now that she’d spent time with him and gotten to know him, she wasn’t sure she wanted to let him go. She thought she could keep things casual. Now, she was pretty sure Hunt had ruined her for all other men.

  She couldn’t help her budding feelings for him even before the explosive sex.

  Hunt tensed, and she feared he’d read her mind about wanting more.

  “Everything okay?” she said.

  “I don’t want to be with you because you’re the only woman around. You know that, right?”

  Not really. “We’re attracted to each other,” she said hesitantly. Because there was sizzling chemistry between them.

  “Attraction is putting it mildly.” He shook his head and looked away. “I’m going to sound like a jerk, but you’re the only woman I’ve ever been willing to commit to.”

  “But that was to help me and Noah,” she said. He had agreed to a fake marriage, and Abby wasn’t naive enough to believe Hunt’s affection for her son hadn’t played a huge part in it.

  “Maybe. In the beginning. Now, I’m not so sure,” he said.

  Abby’s face froze.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said, then smiled and kissed him. But inside, her heart and mind went into turmoil. She couldn’t risk ruining their agreement for feelings built on shaky ground. What if Hunt panicked as the relationship grew, and he left her? She’d be back where she started, alone, and with Noah’s grandparents breathing down her neck.

  Since Abby’s wedding to Hunt, Vivian had backed off, and it had been a huge weight lifted off Abby’s shoulders. She couldn’t risk losing the ground she’d made where Noah’s grandparents were concerned. Not even for a chance at love.

  She was a single mom, and if anything could force her to keep her feelings in check, it was her duty to Noah.

  Unfortunately, over the next week Hunt tested Abby’s determination to keep things casual at every turn. He followed through on his declaration of stamina, and good God did he prove himself.

  As soon as Noah crashed for the evening, Abby and Hunt retreated to her bedroom and stayed up half the night putting Hunt’s skills to the test. She was getting so much more out of this fake marriage than he was, she was sure of it.

  Sex with Hunt was the best sex of her life. Though he didn’t seem to be suffering.

  Hunt had reached for her in the middle of the night last night. “Just one more time,” he’d said, and she didn’t think it was all about sex. He seemed to be holding on to her as hard as she wanted to hold on to him.

  Abby leaned over the bed, blushing at the memory, and rummaged for a pair of leggings Hunt had removed. It was Saturday morning, and she heard Noah rustling around in his bedroom. Any minute, her son would come barging in.

  Hunt slid his hand across her ass. “Mmm.”

  She slapped his hand away. “We just finished!”

  He cocked his head. “Is there really such a thing as all done when it’s so much fun?”

  She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. “You’re awful.”

  “But does it turn you on?”

  She giggled and reached for a T-shirt to hide the truth. Because, yes—yes it did.

  Pretty much everything this man did was a huge turn-on. She only
had to look at him these days before her mind wandered to where his hands had wandered a few hours earlier.

  “To be continued later,” he said, and waggled his eyebrows. He pulled on boxer briefs and a pair of gym shorts and stood. “What do you think about Noah joining me at the house today?”

  The “house,” meaning the Cade mansion.

  The house Hunt grew up in had to be at least ten thousand square feet. It was so far beyond anything Abby had known as a child that it might as well be in a different universe.

  “Won’t you be busy?” she said.

  Hunt shrugged. “He can play in the yard.”

  “Oh, yes, the yard.” Abby smiled. “Also known as the half-acre groomed garden that surrounds the mansion, complete with a two-story log cabin tree house.”

  “It’s where I used to hide out. Can’t blame Noah for his excellent taste.”

  “Are you sure, though?” she said, more serious. “He won’t get in the way?”

  Hunt wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Noah’s my bud. We’ll hang. I won’t be there long. Just need to check in on a few things. We’re fortunate. Lewis had so many guys available after his project was postponed that we’ll be moving in soon. I want to make sure everything’s ready before we do. Besides, if I keep Noah occupied, my wife will be nice and rested when I get home.” His voice took on a low rumble.

  He was impossible. She couldn’t say no to him when he talked to her in that deep, sexy voice. And yet she’d never be docile the way she had with Noah’s father.

  Abby had let Trevor call the shots in their relationship, believing his wealth and upbringing made him superior. But she’d been wrong. She nearly lost everything after Trevor died. Which was why she had immediately gone back to school at the local college as soon as Hunt moved in. She’d never be dependent on a man again.

  Abby wanted a partner. Unfortunately, Hunt had become the perfect partner, asking for her opinion about the house remodel and deferring to her taste. He never dictated, and he loved on her like there was no tomorrow. What was she going to do?