I’m not sure about that and if she feels even a fraction of what I feel for Gia for him, then she’s not going to be happy unless she’s with Jarrod.
“Let’s have dinner…um, you won’t mention anything to Gia about what we’ve just talked about?”
I shake my head. “I’m not getting involved in any of that.” My stomach picks that moment to let out a loud grumble, followed seconds later with my sleepy looking wife walking into my arms.
“I’ll cook us all some dinner,” she mumbles against my chest, hiding a yawn.
Her father pushes away from the table. “I’ll make us some dinner. Or rather I’ll warm the large pan of chili that’s in the fridge.”
Gia swivels to face her father. “You cooked?”
He rolls his eyes. “I can cook, but on this occasion it’s thanks to Parker that we have food.”
“Oh.”
“She arrived earlier and was agitated so she cooked.” Jarrod shrugs while my wife frowns.
“I haven’t been a very good friend lately.”
“Gia, honey. You have a lot on your mind, and Parker’s here now so don’t worry about it.” Jarrod grabs a large pan from the fridge as well as a bag of salad.
“I’ll call Ivy and see if she can come over for dinner.” Gia dashes out of the room to do just that, unaware of the look of anguish on her fathers face.
18
Gia
“I’d forgotten how good your chili is.” I smile around a mouthful of food. “It’s the best.”
“I agree,” Julian says, and it’s his praise that has Parker blushing.
I give her a knowing smirk before I feel Hunter’s hand on my thigh as he leans in and whispers, “Behave.”
“I’ll try.”
He laughs.
“Did you get through to Ivy?” Parker asks, glancing around the table.
“She said to tell everyone that she’s sorry but she has other plans.”
At my words I notice Hunter briefly glance at my father who tightens his jaw in annoyance—I wonder why? My best friend at one time had a crush on my dad, which I don’t think she knows I’d figured out. But why is my father tense at the mention of Ivy. Does he know how she felt about him? I can’t imagine him being embarrassed by her. I mean nothing embarrasses him.
My husband knows something, which I’ll get out of him when we’re alone, but for now I turn my attention to my father while he’s in conversation with Julian. The two men have their heads together and seem to be forming some sort of plan. I glance at Hunter to see if he’s watching and instead his brows are drawn while he finishes off his dinner.
I slide my hand over his on my thigh and smile when our fingers intertwine. “What’s brewing?” I indicate toward my father and Jarrod with a nod of my head.
Hunter smiles. “I have no idea.” He kisses my cheek. “Don’t worry.”
I curve my hand around his neck to keep him close. “We need a shower,” I whisper as my other hand runs up his thigh to brush against his thick erection.
He bites his lip in response but he doesn’t remove my hand, which has now moved down to rub against his balls.
A throat being cleared doesn’t stop my investigation below the table, but I do turn and find Julian with a raised brow and my father looking anywhere but at me.
“Sorry.” I sit back in my chair and grin at Hunter’s wince as he uses his hand to move his dick into a less obvious position. Nothing seems to work though as the long, thick, rigid flesh pulses beneath the thin material of his pants.
“Stop being an old maid,” Parker grumbles at Julian. “At least he lets her touch it.”
At Parker’s words we all go silent and all eyes focus on Parker and Julian. The poor guy looks ready to blow with embarrassment coating his face. The muscles in his jaw tighten before he shoots to his feet, pulling Parker up with him.
“We need to talk,” he growls and drags Parker out of the kitchen.
I glance at my father and then to Hunter. “That was, um, interesting…he won’t let her touch it.” I giggle before I try and pull myself together by clearing my throat.
On the third attempt, I manage to hold my father’s gaze. “Have they been like this the whole time?”
He sighs. “Pretty much… He thinks she’s too young. She thinks he’s full of crap.” Shaking his head my father moves away from the table. “I’m going to call it a night.” He bends and kisses the top of my head. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me too, Dad.” I offer him a tired smile and watch him head toward the stairs.
Hunter takes my hand and brings it up to his lips where he kisses my palm before placing it against the scruff on his face. “I’ll load the dishwasher if you want to get started on that shower.” He smiles. “Wait for me in there, okay? I won’t be long.”
“I’ll do that.” I make no move.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“My dad…which is totally weird considering what we were just talking about, but…I think he’s lonely, Hunter. I hate seeing him so alone. It’s never bothered me as much as it does now.”
“He’s still a young guy, Gia. If he wanted to find someone then I’m sure he would have done.”
“I don’t know.” I bite my lip with worry until Hunter hauls me to my feet.
“Shower.” He smacks my ass.
I allow Hunter to push me out of the kitchen with another swat to my butt before I make my way upstairs to our room.
There’s something going on with my father though and I have a feeling that my sneaky husband knows just what it is.
He can’t resist me, so when I have him exactly where I want him, he’ll tell me. Smiling to myself, I remove my clothing as I stroll into the bathroom and turn the shower on.
Minutes later, I feel a slight draft and glance behind me to find my very aroused husband climbing into the shower, a suggestive smile on his lips. He moves in closer and grasping my hips, he places feather-light kisses along my neck and shoulders, sending shivers all the way through my sensitive body.
Reaching behind me, my hands land on Hunter’s hips. I step closer and when I feel his erection rub between the cleft of my bottom, I dig my nails into his butt and feel his dick jerk.
He reaches to the side for the shower gel and squeezing a large amount into his hands, he starts to explore my body with heated strokes. My heart pounds with love for this man as his hands stroke slowly down my arms, briefly lacing our fingers together before he places a sensuous kiss against my shoulder. He caresses back up my arms to my shoulders, and moves slowly along my collarbone, then finally to my aching breasts. He massages them with his gel-covered hands, rubbing my aroused nipples between his fingers.
“God, Hunter.” I press my bottom against his erection as his hands start to move down my stomach. He slides his fingers over my mound before he slowly slips them between my wet folds. He pushes one of his fingers inside of me, and my whole body shudders and before I know what I’m doing, I’m rocking on him, trying to find the friction to send me over.
“Not yet,” Hunter whispers, retreating his finger, soothing me with kisses along my neck and shoulder while his hands massage and pinch my breasts. He’s driving me crazy with the teasing strokes and caresses.
So, I’m going to play at his game.
Squirting gel into the palm of my hands, I reach behind me and come into contact with the throbbing hard length of Hunter’s erection. I take a firm hold and start gliding my hand up and down his steely length, my legs nearly buckling when Hunter pushes two fingers inside me.
I turn my head and meet Hunter’s smoldering gaze as his head dips and he captures my lips with his own in a kiss so carnal I’m about to break apart with pleasure.
He turns me in his arms and gripping my bottom tightly, he hauls me up before thrusting inside of me. Our mouths seal together and our tongues imitate what our lower bodies are doing—both hard and unyielding, the only sounds in the room are the running water, ou
r heavy breathing, and the smacking of flesh against flesh.
Then the moment Hunter’s wet mouth suckles and tugs one of my nipples, my orgasm starts rippling along his hard dick. Pleasure that I’ve only ever felt in my husband’s arms wraps around us as Hunter finally let’s go. His release is strong and hard, the warmth leaking down my thighs.
Once our passion has peaked and the water has started to cool, Hunter rests his forehead against mine. “I love you, Gia.”
I meet the loving look on his handsome face with a sated one, as I admit, “I love you, too… So much.” Kissing his plump lips, I wrap my arms around his neck, holding him close.
Hunter turns everything off, wraps a large bath towel around us before he carries me to our bed. He lays me down on top of the towel and quickly dries me while I watch his every move. He’s a gorgeous man and he’s all mine. His body is toned and as he moves the muscles in his arms and torso flex. When he dries my breasts and moves down to dry between my legs, he swells to full erection within seconds.
He smirks knowing where my eyes are and after he’s quickly dried himself, we get under the covers, and minutes later I’m wrapped up in my husband’s arms.
“I had no idea that I could ever feel this way. Before I met you I used to laugh when a friend or colleague from work was tied up in knots over a woman.” He laughs. “But the minute I met you, Gia, my head was turned in your direction.”
I rest my chin on his chest and holding his gaze, my hand caresses one side of his whisker-covered face. “You know how much I love you, and that won’t change. You’re everything to me, Hunter.” I slip my hand down his side and wrap my fingers around his throbbing shaft. I love touching the warm, silky smooth, hardness that always gets harder with my touch. He practically comes alive at my touch.
Moving the sheets out of my way, I hold him upright and climb above him. Hunter’s eyes darken as his hands grasp ahold of my hips. Slowly, I lower myself, and once he’s completely inside of me, I hold still, goose bumps of sensation breaking out all over my skin.
I hold my hand out to him, and without any hesitation, Hunter sits, wrapping his arms around my waist. I give him a soft smile, and ask, “Does my father have something going on with Ivy?”
Hunter blinks with surprise and starts laughing. “Are you, darling wife, using sex to get answers out of me?” He cocks a brow.
I blush. “That was my intention…but no, I love you too much to ever do that. I would like to know though.”
He brushes the hair from the side of my face. “There is nothing going on between them.”
“But?”
“Your father returns Ivy’s feelings and before either of them acted on those feelings, your dad said a few things to send Ivy away.” Hunter kisses the tip of my nose. “He’s hurting because of it, but I think we need to leave it alone.”
“I need to talk to Ivy.”
Hunter presses me down, and the feel of him big, hard, and throbbing inside of me, clears my mind of everything other than him.
19
Hunter
“Whose idea was it to come and hang out in this shack?” Julian grumbles, sweat running down his forehead.
I’m not fairing any better with sweat running into places I never want to think about unless I’m naked in bed with Gia...and those thoughts need keeping for a time when I don’t have scantly clad women eyeing me from the bar.
This place is a dive and wouldn’t pass a fire inspection. It would probably fail before the inspector even entered, but an informant of Julian’s says some of Abatangelo’s men hang out here...so far, no such luck.
Taking another drink, I glance at Julian. “Another thirty, then we’ll split.” I take a long gulp from the bottle of water as one of the women from the bar, starts to saunter toward us.
Julian raises a brow, his lips twitching. “She’s drunk and high,” he whispers under his breath. “Not a good combination.”
“The asshole she’s just been talking with told her to come over.” I watch her slowly approach, apprehension high within her, which causes me to frown. “Something isn’t right.”
“I feel it too.” Julian slightly adjusts his position so that he’s ready for whatever is about to happen while I refuse to move my eyes from the trouble heading toward us.
When she gets close, she drops onto Julian’s lap, her arms going around his neck. If the situation weren’t so serious, I’d laugh at the look of horror on his face. He finally reacts and reaches for her arms, stopping when she begs, “Please help me.”
Her eyes plead as tears run silently down her cheeks. I meet Julian’s startled look and make a decision that I hope doesn’t get us into a shit load of trouble.
“You got her?”
Julian nods, tightening his hold on the woman. “We’re going to get you out of here and then we’ll talk, but if this is some sort of distraction then we’re turning you over to the county jail.”
“I’m behind you.” I toss money on the table and follow Julian and the woman out of the bar.
As soon as we’re outside, I wipe my hands on the leg of my jeans and remove my weapon. The people we’re after play dirty and after they used my wife as some sort of warning, I’m constantly on my guard.
What just happened in there doesn’t sit well with me and I’m half expecting some assholes to come at us, but as Julian settles the woman in the back of the SUV, I glance around us and nothing.
Julian checks under the hood to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with and getting the all clear, I jump into the back with the woman while Julian quickly gets us out of the area.
We’re not being followed but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in this day and age, she could be carrying a tracker.
He drives around the city while I watch the shivering woman. Her scantly clad figure is thin and looking more closely, she has bruising to one side of her face. Her wrists look to have had something fastened tightly around and no makeup can conceal the red marks.
I grab the blanket from the back and move slowly to cover her as she watches me carefully. I consider what to say because the last thing I want to do is terrify her more than she already is. “Can you tell me your name?”
She licks along her dry lips and swallows a few times, her hands that are tightly clutching the blanket tremble. “Carrie.”
“Hi Carrie.” I smile, hoping to put her at ease. “I’m Hunter and my friend in the front is Julian. Can you tell me how you knew that we’d help you?”
“The man in the bar. He told me you’d help me and that I could trust you to help my sister.” Carrie’s eyes flittered back and forth between Julian and I.
She was scared and it was obvious that she was trying her best to trust us. She wasn’t there completely.
“Who hurt you?”
Crying, she buries her head into the blanket. Her whole body shakes as she sobs and I feel so damn helpless.
Minutes tick by and eventually her sobs subside and turn into sniffles. Her tearstained eyes lift and hold mine. “My sister disappeared one night on her way home from college.” She hiccups and closing her eyes, rests her head against the seat. I thought she’d passed out, until her eyes snap open.
“She’s eighteen, in her first semester. We’d been brought up in a good home. Both our parents are happily married. Jessica was on a full scholarship. Her friends said that she’d probably ran off to get away from the hold we’d had over her.” She pauses.
“We didn’t have a hold on her, at least not the kind that was implied by her so called friends at school. Even if she did have a problem with someone she’d always text me. She’d never just leave without a word to me.” She laughed. “If you saw a picture of me from before she disappeared you’d find it hard to believe that I’m the same person.”
“What’d you mean?” Julian asks.
“I used to be more conservative than I am right now. I’ve done things that I’m not proud of to try and find my sister. That bar was the last in a long
line. I’ve been through hell and back, and Neil who told me to come over to you guys was trying to help me. Word had gotten out that I was looking for my sister and I was being watched. He had a soft spot for me and must have known you two were my only safe way out of there. He said he knew you.” She nodded at Julian.
“I didn’t recognize him.” Julian frowns and briefly meets my gaze before focusing on the traffic.
“Neil said when we’d left the club if you wouldn’t help me or believe me to tell you, ‘Jekyll wants you to help me’.”
“Fuck.” Julian slams his fists on the steering wheel. “I was so close to him.”
“He said he had something to do before he could come in…whatever that means,” Carrie added. “Who are you?”
“Friends,” I drawl. “We’re going to get you somewhere safe okay.”
“I don’t suppose you could get me a change of clothes? Something warm.”
“Take us back to the house.”
Julian raises a brow and I happen to agree with his silence questions, but for now it’s our best option. “It’s the only place I can think of to keep her safe.”
“I hear you,” Julian reluctantly agrees, but knowing my friend he’s just as desperate to question her as I am.
“My wife might have something you can change into,” I tell Carrie, wondering how Gia is going to react when she discovers I was hanging out in a dive of a bar with Julian without any backup.
She’s gonna be pissed.
“Talking about your wife, what are you going to be telling her about our little jaunt?” Julian questions.
“The truth. I won’t lie to her and if it’s something bad then I still tell her. The only way to keep a relationship when I work for the people I do… You need to remember that my friend.”
Julian laughs. “No woman will take me on. Think I’m safe.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure,” I add under my breath.
While we’ve been talking, Carrie has watched us and although at first we thought she was stoned, there’s nothing high about her now. She seems aware of everything although I sense her fear.
Lawful: Gia ~ Hunter ~ Julian ~ Jarrod Page 10