by K. M. Scott
Gideon watched the whole thing and mumbled under his breath, “Damn, she looks pissed.”
Why wouldn’t she be? Hunter understood he’d broken one of the group’s cardinal rules. It was bad enough that he’d gotten involved with Alexis, but by bringing her here, he’d definitely stepped out of line.
And he knew he’d pay the price for it.
Persephone patted Alexis on the arm and then turned toward the two men. “Gideon, I think you’ve had enough time to get Hunter caught up on what you’ve found out so far. Time to get back to the lab and see what you can find from that delivery we got. Alexis, it was a pleasure to meet you. Please be sure to stop at the main house before you leave so we can have that tour I promised.”
With that, Persephone motioned to Gideon that he needed to leave, and Hunter was finally alone with Alexis, at last.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Your boss seems really nice. She obviously thinks the world of you,” Alexis said sweetly.
Hunter arched a single eyebrow and chuckled. “I think she was putting on her nice face for you. I’m guessing I’m one of her least favorite people right about now.”
“Is she angry we’re here?” Alexis asked, worry making her frown.
Shaking his head, he smiled and pulled her to him. “No, she’ll be fine. Her boyfriend likes how I do the job, so even if she’s upset, Nick will smooth things over.”
That wasn’t exactly the truth, but she didn’t need to know just how much trouble he was in.
She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “I’d hate it if you got reprimanded because of me, Hunter. Why didn’t you tell me no when I asked? I wouldn’t have been mad. We could have gone anywhere. I wouldn’t have cared. As long as I was away from that penthouse…”
Alexis didn’t finish her sentence and looked down, avoiding his gaze before adding, “…and with you, that’s all it would have taken to make me happy.”
As he watched her cheeks grow pink, he knew Persephone had been wrong. He wasn’t the only one too attached. For now, he wanted to let himself enjoy the fact that a beautiful and famous actress wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. They’d deal with the reality of their lives later.
This moment was reserved for them to be happy.
Tilting her chin up, he looked down into her dark brown eyes and felt himself begin to get lost in her beauty, both inside and out. If he’d found out he’d been right about her being just another Hollywood diva, it wouldn’t have mattered how stunning she looked. But in the short time they’d spent together, he’d seen something in her he hadn’t expected.
A sweetness and goodness he didn’t think existed in people anymore. All she wanted was to be happy and make movies her fans would love. That girl from Minnesota Lauren told him about right after he arrived at the penthouse still lived inside Alexis. Unlike with other stars, she hadn’t shed who she was before she became famous.
And even though he knew it would sound crazy to the Hunter McKary who walked out of that elevator just a week ago, he loved that woman.
“Is something wrong, Hunter? You look like you want to say something.”
He did want to tell her something. That he’d fallen in love with her, no matter how insane that sounded since they’d only known each other for such a short time. He wanted to say all the things he’d kept inside for so long, hoping that one day he’d find a woman who he would willingly give his life to protect because he couldn’t imagine living without her.
But he didn’t say any of that. Instead, he just shook his head. “No, I’m just happy you’re here with me.”
“So what should we do now?” Alexis asked with a sexy smile.
Teasing her, he looked around the cottage’s living room. “Well, we can watch TV. Or we can make something to eat. I’m sure there’s something in the refrigerator. You’re probably hungry after that long drive.”
She slid her hands down his stomach and began unbuckling his belt, still staring up into his eyes. “I ate at that rest stop, remember?”
Nodding, he smiled as she slid her hand inside his pants to palm his cock. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. The most fried chicken I’ve ever seen any one woman eat at a rest stop in my lifetime.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock at his description of her lunch a few hours earlier, and she pushed him back onto the couch. Climbing onto his lap, she kissed him and giggled. “I didn’t eat that much, and I’m trying to seduce you here, so if you could quit with the chicken talk, that would be nice.”
Hunter looked down at where her hand lightly pressed against his already hard cock. “I don’t think there’s much need for that since I’m obviously up and ready to go.”
“That’s good,” she said with a wickedly sexy smile that turned him on even more.
Sliding his hand around her neck, he pulled her mouth down to his and kissed her deeply, letting his tongue linger as he slipped it over her lips. Alexis rolled her hips to rub her pussy against his cock, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
“No fair. You made me keep my eyes on you last time,” she whispered against his lips.
He opened his eyes and let his gaze slide down from her face to her beautiful but still fully clothed body. He’d had enough of foreplay. Now he wanted to be inside her.
Tugging at the top of her pants, he groaned, “These need to come off.”
Alexis wriggled out of them as she stripped out of her shirt and bra. When she sat naked on his lap, except for her white cotton panties, she took hold of his hands so he couldn’t touch her.
“No fair ripping off another pair. I need to have something to go home in,” she said with a smile.
“Then you take them off because I can’t promise they’ll be in one piece if I get at them.”
Sliding off his lap, she stood up and pulled her beautiful legs out of the panties before setting them off to the side with her pants. There, in front of him without a stitch of clothing on her, she looked like a goddess. Toned and long, her legs made him think about the last time they’d been together. Wrapped around him, she’d nearly made him come in those first moments when she tilted her hips and took every last inch of his cock inside her.
Alexis tugged his pants and boxer briefs down his legs as he lifted his shirt up over his head so he could be naked too. He pulled her down onto his lap and felt her wet pussy glide along his cock, sending ripples of need through his body.
Leaning down, she kissed him long and deep, making it impossible to wait any longer. Grabbing hold of the base of his cock, he directed it toward her entrance and lifted his hips off the couch to slowly slide into her until there was no space left between her body and his.
A soft moan escaped her throat, and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “Fuck me. Make me yours.”
Reveling in the feel of her body around his, he didn’t move his hips for a few moments. Just having her there taking all of him made him want to freeze this moment in time. Before he started pumping into her and she started rolling her hips and before either one of them came, this moment of the two of them together as one was what he wanted to relish.
Alexis ran her tongue along the shell of his ear and whispered, “Is something wrong, Hunter?”
In his mind, he couldn’t imagine anything he’d ever felt in his life being more right. Easing her back so she sat up on his lap, he watched a look of worry wash over her face.
“No, nothing’s wrong. I want to see you ride me.”
Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she rolled her hips and began to do as he wished, fucking him like a goddess riding his cock. He grasped her waist to keep her in place once she found her rhythm and watched in awe as this beautiful woman sensually bounced up and down on his lap. With each time she rose up, his cock nearly left her body, but then she rammed him back into her in a rush that nearly took his breath away every time.
The sweet and tender soul who made him fall in love with her rode him better than he could have dreamed of, fu
cking him with abandon like no other woman ever had. Her body surrendered to his with every time his cock invaded her. Her moans of pleasure echoed around him, exciting him even more as she drew him closer to that edge of ecstasy.
Lost in her own pleasure, she didn’t realize how much seeing her so sensual got him off. This was the woman millions of men dreamed of when they fantasized about Alexis Marchand, and now she was riding him toward a release he craved more than breath itself.
“Oh, God…” she moaned as she dug her fingernails into his shoulder. “This feels so good. Don’t stop.”
He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. With her, he had no choice. Making her happy made him happy.
Her body clenched around his cock, and Alexis pitched forward, pressing her face into the couch cushion. Her fingernails dragged from his shoulders to his biceps, raking the skin, but no amount of pain could take away the feeling of pure pleasure as she began to milk him, her orgasm taking him to his release.
He thrust hard into her over and over until the two of them couldn’t move anymore. Exhausted from their lovemaking, they sat there silently, the tremors from sex still pulsing through their bodies.
Hunter ran his palm down her back and felt the thin glaze of sweat on her skin. “That was quite a workout. I think round two could be ready any minute.”
She leaned back and looked down at him, smiling as she shook her head. “You’re always about the round two, aren’t you?”
“Two, three, four…I’m up for as much as you want.”
“I guess I haven’t been with anyone who knows how to treat a woman because I’m used to one and done.”
“One’s just a start,” Hunter said with a grin. “I don’t even want to think about the sex you’ve had if it’s been one and done.”
He didn’t want to think about her sleeping with any other man, before him or after. And there was the problem. There would have to be an after him. He and Alexis weren’t like Roman and Kate. She would always be in the public eye, so they could never hope for that little house in the country where he could continue to work for Project Artemis.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You looked like you were a million miles away, and then you got a look on your face like you were unhappy,” she said quietly as she wove her fingers through his.
He shook the thought of what would happen later out of his head and forced himself to smile. Looking up at her, he didn’t want to ruin what they’d just had with reality and bring sadness to those beautiful dark eyes.
“I thought I heard a noise outside. Maybe we should get dressed before one of the people I work with comes barging in. Trust me. They’d kill to see you even half dressed. Literally, I mean kill.”
Alexis giggled and kissed him. “You’re crazy, but…” She stopped and shrugged. “Guess it’s time to get up and into some clothes, huh?”
He wanted to hold her there with him for a little longer, but he knew he couldn’t. Or more truthfully, he shouldn’t.
“Just until round two,” he said, hating that his words might be a lie.
She smiled and climbed off him before grabbing her clothes and hurrying off to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back. I have a feeling I should fix my hair after that little rendezvous,” she yelled out to him. “I must look like a banshee.”
His first instinct was to tell her she looked as beautiful as always. That no matter how tangled her hair got, she still took his breath away every time he laid his eyes on her.
But he said nothing and simply got dressed again. As he slipped his pants back on, he caught a glimpse of Persephone and a man walking across the grass toward the cottage. Straining to see if it was Nick with her, he instead saw Paul by her side.
Alarm bells went off in his head, and he hurried to the door to head them off before they walked in. Through the window, he saw Paul’s expression and knew what he’d come to do.
He planned to take Alexis back to New York with him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Staring into the mirror, Alexis tried not to cringe at how she looked after a five hour drive, too much fried chicken at a rest stop, and another round of incredible sex with Hunter. Eyeliner sat below her eyes, making her look like some blond version of a raccoon, and her hair looked ratty, like she hadn’t brushed it in days.
God, she’d looked like that the whole time she and Hunter were making love. No wonder the man didn’t want to go for round two yet.
She heard a noise out in the living room and hoped he wasn’t coming in. After waiting a few seconds, she returned her focus to cleaning herself up, mumbling, “No man wants a woman who looks like a train wreck, even if she is in love with him.”
And there, for the first time, she admitted the truth. She loved Hunter. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and wondered when that had happened. One day she was living her life and wishing she could find the happiness that had eluded her, and the next he walked in and a few days later she couldn’t imagine her world without him.
He’d let her be her. No scolding her when she did something stupid like run off and endanger both her and Lauren’s life. No lecturing her she couldn’t when she wanted to try to live a normal life.
And because he did that, she finally saw that she didn’t want to be a person who spent her time throwing tantrums or running away. He gave her that freedom, and she never wanted to give it up again.
She knew what the world would think. They were rushing things. They barely knew each other, so how could it truly be love? This relationship would end like all her others had.
But she didn’t care what anyone else thought. For the first time since Jackson, she felt love and didn’t want to be afraid to admit it.
With one last glance at the mirror, she turned off the light and headed back out to the living room. She didn’t get halfway down the hall before she saw they weren’t alone anymore.
Surprised to have Paul standing in front of her, she looked over toward Hunter, confused. Had he called him at some point? Why? They were supposed to be getting away from everything in her world for a few days, and that included her manager.
“What’s going on? Hunter, why is Paul here?” she asked, searching his expression for the truth.
He stood near the couch and shook his head. “I’m sorry. Somebody obviously called him.”
Looking over at Persephone, she asked, “Is that true? Why wouldn’t you just tell me to leave instead of calling my manager?”
“I didn’t call, Paul. He knew you were here and came down to see that you’re okay,” Persephone said, sounding more than a little defensive.
Her manager stepped forward toward her and held out his hand. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt. You left without telling anyone, so I had to make sure you were fine.”
Persephone walked out of the cottage quietly, leaving the three of them alone.
Anger swirled inside Alexis at what Paul must have put Lauren through to get the details about her leaving. “If you made Lauren cry, I swear to God, Paul, I will never speak to you again. I bet you threatened her, didn’t you? That’s the only way she’d tell you that I left.”
“Maybe it wasn’t her, Alexis,” Hunter said as he walked over to take her hand. “Maybe it was Carla. Is she your mole at the house, Paul?”
She turned to look at Hunter and shook her head in disbelief. What was he saying? “Carla wouldn’t do that to me. She’s loyal. And what do you mean his mole in my house?”
Hunter squeezed her hand and quietly said, “I didn’t figure it out until this morning. Paul told your bodyguards to not follow my instructions about one of them being in the lobby at all times. He had no good reason to do that, so why did he?”
Alexis turned to face Paul. “Why would you do that? Hunter wanted to protect me. You hired him to protect me, so why would you tell the men not to follow his instructions?”
Paul shook his head so vigorously that his blond hair swung left and right. “It wasn’t like that. I knew you were n
ever in any danger. I just told them to ignore that part of what he told them.”
“Why? What if the stalker came to the building and dropped off a letter? One of the guys would have seen him.”
As her head began to swim with questions about the man who had spent the last four years guiding her career and her life, Hunter pulled her close to his side and said, “There was no stalker. There was only Paul. He’s the one who’s been sending you the letters and packages. The only question he needs to answer is why before I tell the cops.”
Alexis turned to look at Hunter, stunned that he was accusing Paul. “What are you talking about?”
Before he could say a word, he pushed her behind him and she saw her manager standing there with a gun in his hand pointed at the man she loved. Terrified, she closed her eyes and cried, “Why are you doing this, Paul? What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is Hunter here was supposed to show up, do some checking, and then the letters would stop. We’d get some great press from the whole thing, the world feeling completely sympathetic for poor Alexis Marchand, and you’d have your pick of films in the end. I was doing my job, but he got out of hand.”
Hunter stood as still as a statue in front of her, holding her hand tightly as he protected her. “And there I was thinking Carla was behind it because she’s in so much debt. It was you all along.”
“Oh, Carla helped. She got a few bucks every time she told me how Alexis was feeling. Then I’d tell the press and she’d be in the headlines again. Nobody got hurt, and everyone won in the end. But then you got in the way because you wouldn’t just let it go the way it should have. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Of course you’d fall for her. You’ve got that protective thing and she’s a damsel in distress. So when the tracker I put on her phone after her little trip to Atlantic City told me you took her here, I knew I had to follow you and take her home. But I’m not going to jail for a little letter writing to help her career. Not going to happen.”