by Gina Kincade
He's talented at every aspect, his artistry, in the kitchen, in bed, and from what has happened the previous night, he is an incredible listener.
Hunter held her in his arms, cradling her as she cried about her past life, the empty life with Perry. How many times in the past has she heard that she's one lucky girl? No, she never felt lucky. She felt used. She felt like a hollow husk, doing everyone's bidding except her own. People she used to call friends have surrounded her and patted her on the hand, with fake smiles on their faces. Yet, she knew they were only after one thing—an association with someone as famous as her.
In a demented way she would like to thank Perry for finally breaking the proverbial camel's back. It drove her to seek for her own true happiness, her true self. Not the woman who walked around with a hand up her ass talking when she was told to talk, attending events she has been ordered to attend, wearing clothes which were picked for her. She had zero say on anything. And so she sought out the one real friend she's had for years, whose strength and courage inspired her—Trisha.
Trisha lived a life, which was similar to hers, except she'd taken the bull by the horns, and charged into the unknown when she turned eighteen. The night before Trisha moved to New York, they've met before curtain call. Trisha pulled Blanche aside and showed her the one-way flight, which she was to take after Trisha's show. Tears filled Bee's eyes, not for losing the only friend she can trust, but because Bee could not find it in her to take the same route.
Five years later, Bee has found her way to the city that never sleeps, battered and bruised, inside and out.
Hunter didn't ask too many questions last night. He simply let Blanche say whatever she wanted, and cry until she has been too exhausted to do more. Right after, Hunter led her to their new sofa, where they ate the dinner he's prepared. When it was clear that it was time for them to get some sleep, Hunter picked her up and laid her on the bed. And for the first time in all her life, Bee has experienced the delights of making love. Her eyes have been opened to the serenity that it brings. Unhurried in his movements, Hunter worshipped her body in ways she is unwilling to forget. His touches were mesmerizing. His kisses were gratifying. His dulcet tones as he spoke her name were harmonious to the rapid tattoo of her heart. The orgasms that wracked her body were nothing short of euphoric. And right after, Hunter circled his arms around her quaking body, and lulled her to sleep.
Waking up in the morning with him lapping at her until she comes is on the same level as falling asleep with him the night before. Hunter kisses his way back up her body, then plants his hot lips on hers. If she can wake up every single day like that, she'll be convince she's died and gone to heaven.
"I said good morning." Hunter smiles at her, tucking her body into the crook that he's created with his.
"I was going to say good morning to you too but you took my breath away." Her bum touches the stiffness tenting his boxers.
Hunter sucks in a sharp breath, and presses his lips on Bee's shoulder. "I have to make you breakfast."
"That's not necessary. I can make my own breakfast."
She reaches for his hand and covers one of her breasts with it. Hunter never has to be told twice. Between his forefinger and thumb, he pinches her nipple until it peaks, then he traces a line to the other and does the same thing. "I'll make you something quick then I have to go to work."
"But it's Sunday." Bee knows that Hunter has asked for a break the previous day so they can spend it together. Red obliged but Bee wants more of him. Then she remembers. "And it's your birthday."
Hunter's lips hovers over one of her hardened nipples as she says this. "How do you know about that?"
"Marianne invited me to dinner tonight." Bee ruffles his hair with her fingers, as he continues his previous intent. His lips all over her is exquisite.
Bee hears a loud smacking of his lips as Hunter lets go of her puckered nub. "Even the more reason why I need to work this morning. I asked them to move some of my appointments this morning and afternoon. I have clients who are only in the city this weekend. In fact, they might be just here to see me."
Blanche is never one to pout, but that's what she does as he explains. She runs her fingers over his cheek, grazing over his stubble. "I understand. It's just that..." She looks away, blushing at her thoughts.
Hunter tilts her head up with a light touch under her chin. "Just what?"
As she releases her bottom lip, she peeks at him through her long lashes. "I think I'm going to miss you."
The look that he sends her way grips at her chest, making her heart thump harder than it has ever done before. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." A kiss whispers over her lips. "I'm going to miss you too, unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Come with me?"
Blanche hesitates. If she goes, there's no doubt she'll see Red again. What if she reacts the same way as she did the last time? According to Mare, Red will attend the Birthday dinner for Hunter that night. Is it going to be any different in a more neutral location, rather than at the tattoo studio, where Red is clearly the queen?
Before she can answer, the phone on her nightstand rings. She reaches for it without a thought, and answers when she sees Trisha calling.
"Hey, Trish." It's too late for Bee to realize what she's done, that in fact, Hunter isn't quite finished with her yet. After giving her a devilish grin, Hunter continues his torturous flicks and licks on her breasts, the sides of her ribs, down her thighs...
"Are you alright, Bee? You sound tired and wheezy."
"Hmmm...yeah." Bee tries to push Hunter away from her thighs. "What's up?" She covers the phone with a hand and mouths to Hunter to stop what he's doing. Hunter shakes his head, as he positions himself between her legs.
"I want to know how the dinner went...with Reyna."
Bee stifles a moan. She squirms under Hunter, but all he does is follow her movements along. "Was good."
"Good?"
"Oh so good," Blanche pants.
"What? I didn't expect that at all. I thought it would be like Armageddon. When you messaged me yesterday that you were bringing Hunter to meet your mom, I thought you'd flipped your lid."
Blanche realizes that she's only half paying attention to her friend. The sensible move is to tell Trisha that she'll call her later, but even that requires more effort than she can muster. Especially when Hunter inserts a finger inside her, while nipping at her swollen clit. A sharp gasp explodes from Bee's mouth. She slaps a hand over it to stop her from screaming. Trisha doesn't seem to notice as she continues to talk on the other line about what, Bee doesn't know. All her thoughts have now focused on the sizzling sensation of her inner core. She bucks wildly on the bed, while he tries to hold her down, gripping her legs apart.
When she cannot take it any longer and the pressure builds to explode, she turns away from her phone and screams on the pillow beside her. Her body becomes gelatinous. Her bones have turned into soft marshmallows. But apparently, Hunter isn't done. He stands and gets rid of his boxers, his erection springing out of it, before he stretches beside her. Then, he reaches for Bee's phone, where they can both hear Trisha's continued yapping.
"Hi, Trisha, it's Hunter?"
Trisha's voice is loud enough for Blanche to hear. "Hunter?"
"Yeah, can Bee give you call back, she's going to be busy for...hmmm...an hour?"
'An hour?' Bee mouths at him, watching him shrug.
"Ah...yeah, sure. Tell her I'll call her in an hour."
"Thanks. Bye." Hunter ends the call and places the phone back on the nightstand. Then he pulls Bee to him. "Now, where were we?"
Blanche laughs at his antics for a moment. Then she lets herself get lost in his eyes.
"YOU DIRTY WHORE!" TRISHA screams inside the cab. "You mean all that time I was yacking away and he's—"
"Trisha, hush!" Blanche widens her eyes at her friend, and eyes the cab driver.
Trisha rolls her eyes at Blanche. "If you'd called me
when you were supposed to we wouldn't be having this conversation now."
"It took a little longer for uh..." Bee shoots another glance at the driver, before lowering her voice. "He was late for work too." She snickers, remembering Hunter's mad dash to get ready that morning. After all that, he still managed to make her a quick breakfast, and just before he stepped out the door, he's given her a kiss that made her toes curl.
A snapping sound alerts her, followed by Trisha's laughter. "Oh you're so done."
"What? Done? What do you mean?" Bee fixes her hair, using the side window as a mirror. She wants to look her best. After confirming to Mare that she will be attending dinner, she called Trisha up to go shopping with her. She wanted to wear something pretty and elegant to the dinner, even though Mare has told her that most of the people going are from Hunter's work, and most likely, won't bother changing into anything dressy. Also, Blanche required Trisha's opinion on what to get Hunter for his birthday. The first wasn't too challenging, finding the right little black maternity dress was easy enough. The second took them a lot longer. And at the end of their shopping trip, she wasn't completely sure if Hunter would like her present.
"You like him," Trisha tells her smugly.
Blanche blushes. "He's not so bad."
Trisha scoffs. "I think you know that's an understatement. I have to admit, I didn't expect this from him. Or from you. You've both come a long way."
Not believing what she's just heard, Bee crosses her arms over her chest. "Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?"
Trisha shrugs. "I'm just saying. This could be a great thing. After all, you guys are having a baby soon." She pats Bee's belly over the silk/jersey dress. "Are you going to find out the sex of the baby?"
"Maybe. We haven't discussed it. I'd like to, but I don't know how he feels about it. He thinks we're having a boy."
"Typical."
The cab slows down as they turn onto Jason and Mare's street. It's a nice neighborhood, quiet and cozy. Blanche wonders if Hunter would be willing to look at some properties around the area. Blanche places a hand on her lips as she realizes what's gone into her head. She's planning a future with him, but is it only because of the baby? Trisha is right. She likes him. A lot. But how does Hunter feel about her?
"Bee, let's go." Trisha pulls her back to the present, sliding out of the cab.
They walk together toward the house with the blue door. "Wait." Blanche stops Trisha from ringing the doorbell. "Do I look okay?"
Trish raises an eyebrow at her. "Bee, you look better than me. You're pregnant and you're still hot as hell. Stop being nervous, and smile."
"Yeah." Bee nods. "You're right. I'm good. Thanks for coming, Trish."
"Pfft. And miss meeting Wolfe Wainright? Not in a million years," Trisha says, then presses the lit button on the side of the door.
Wolfe and Red. How has she forgotten that they will be at this dinner too? What should Bee expect? Does Wolfe know about Red and Hunter? What if he doesn't and Bee lets something slip?
She tries to recollect herself when the door opens and Mare pulls herself instantly into a tight hug.
"Oh good! You're here. Hunter was starting to worry. I told him you're not even late." Mare welcomes them both into her house. "Hey, you must be Trisha." She offers a hand to Trish.
"That's me. The one and only."
"I'm Mare. Come on in. The party's just began."
"I thought it's just a quiet dinner." Blanche hesitates by the door.
Mare waves her hand. "Oh well, we didn't expect all these people to actually come, but it's good for you to meet everyone." Mare hooks Bee's hand around her elbow. "You look great, by the way."
"See, Blanche. I told you," Trisha quips on the other side of Mare.
When they enter a large room, packed with all sorts of people, Blanche feels a restriction in her throat. She searches the room for Hunter. Her heart skips as she spies him standing by the windows, conversing with someone she can't see. His arms are crossed over his chest, and a hand is on one of his arms. The way clears for her, and Blanche's steps falter as she watches the woman strokes Hunter's arm.
Mare pauses with her too, but before Bee can say or do anything, Mare turns to face her.
"She's only here to finish an interview. She'll be gone soon." Mare grabs a hold of Bee's hands.
An interview? Can it be? Bee relaxes her breathing and nods her head. What perfect timing, of course. Just as things are going great between her and Hunter, Leona comes back in the picture once again. She doesn't recognize her as it was dark in the apartment that night. But from what she's seen so far, Leona is a stunner. No wonder Hunter brought her to their place to have sex with her.
When Mare releases her hands and continues to walk with Bee, Hunter locks gazes with her. His body stiffens, and then he steps back from Leona, making her hand fall away from his arm.
Hunter spreads his mouth into a smile, but his eyes convey something else. Nervousness, maybe even fear. Bee finds herself in front of him. Before she can stop herself, she traps his face between her hands and pulls him in for a deep, searing kiss. He groans against her lips, and she can feel the twitch in his pants.
Bee doesn't even care who's watching. She doesn't care that the rest of the room has turned quiet and that all eyes have fallen on the two of them. She doesn't care that Leona is more beautiful than her, and from the way she's seated on the chair, that her legs are a lot longer than Blanche's. When she's satisfied and Hunter's heartbeat paces faster, only then does Bee let go of him, intertwines their hands, offers him a sweet smile, and faces Leona.
Take a hike, bitch, Bee wants to say out loud, but she opts for a saccharine greeting instead. "Hi, I'm Blanche, Hunter's girlfriend."
She hears snickers coming from where Trish and Mare are standing.
"Oh, I didn't know..." Leona glances at Hunter, but Bee knows he's too busy paying attention to the mother of his unborn child. "I'm Leona." She extends a hand toward Bee, who then, shakes it.
"Are you almost done with your twenty questions?" She doesn't understand where the bitchiness is coming from, but Bee doesn't quite know how to stop it.
Leona raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, actually...I..."
"Good. Let me show you the way out." Bee waits for her voice to falter, or her knees to shake, but nothing like that happens.
With her mouth agape, Leona slowly stands, and pats her barely there top with her hands. Mare steps in. "It's okay, Bee, I'll show her to the door."
"Thanks," Leona says to Mare. She shoots another glance toward Bee and Hunter. "I'll call you once the article is done. Good night."
"Yah, good night, Leona. Pleasure to meet you."
Once Leona and Mare disappear out into the hallway, Bee catches Trisha's proud smile. Bee wants to lift a thumb for an Ok, but she feels Hunter's hard body against her. His grip on her tightens. Has she stepped over the line? Leona was there to interview him about his career, has she ruined that for him? Is he pissed off at her?
Hunter tugs at her hand, and she looks up to him, with her bottom lips captured between her teeth. His eyes are dark and hooded. It isn't easy for her to read his emotions, not when she's aware that almost all of the people in the room are still watching them. Hunter cocks his head to the side. She follows.
They pass through the kitchen, ignoring the few people gathered around the island, including Bee's boss, Jason. "Hey, Blanche, you made it!"
Hunter stalks out of the kitchen with her following behind. They turn a right and end up in a dark office. He's mad, Bee convinces herself. Hunter is angry for what she's reacted toward Leona. Claiming him in front of someone who's only there to finish her job. What was she thinking?
"Hunter?" She watches him slide the door closed then lock it. Before she can argue her case, Hunter carries her to the leather sofa, crashing his lips with hers.
"Baby, that was so hot," he rasps, cupping her breasts through the fabric of her dress. He sits her on top of him, her le
gs astride his, an action which causes her dress to bunch up around her waist. There is no doubt how much he's turned on by what happened, if the bulge in his pants is anything to go by.
"Hunter, I..." Blanche doesn't continue as she hears and feels the sharp tug and ripping of her lace underwear. "Oh, shit."
"Yeah." Given another second, Hunter has his pants unzipped and in one quick thrust, fills Blanche with his throbbing need. "Are you really my girlfriend?" He asks, pausing.
"What?" Blanche is delirious from lust. She wants him to start moving. "Yes, of course."
"That's the best thing I've heard tonight." Hunter kisses her again, lifts her ass up, sliding her off him up to the tip, and then brings her back down, producing a gasp from the both of them. "This is the best birthday ever."
Chapter Twenty-Five
He hears a snicker come out of Blanche, while she burrows her face on his chest. Hunter loves the feel of her warm body on top of him, against him, the shiver of delight, and her effervescent glow after sex.
"What's so funny?" he asks, lifting her head up so they can gaze into each other's eyes. He kisses the playfulness on her lips.
"I'm just thinking it's a good thing our new sofa is made out of fabric."
Hunter quirks an eyebrow. "You've been thinking about our sofa this entire time? Have I lost my touch?"
Blanche traces the V of his shirt neckline. "No. Not at all. Every time we have sex on a leather sofa, you tend to rip my panties off." With the moonlight streaking into the room, he can see a bit of blush color her cheeks. She giggles at her statement. And hunter knows he's done for.
What does he do with this sensation? With this feeling? He wants her, all of her. Not just in some physical way, although he will never get enough of that. He likes that Bee shows strength, courage, and growth. He admires the way she handled Leona, even her own mother, and the consequences of the life that she's had with ex-boyfriend. And to think he almost let her go...
"We better get back out there. I don't want to leave Trisha by herself." She squirms on his lap.