I rolled over in bed. It was Thursday morning. Evelyn was off today, and by the sound of things, she was tearing apart the downstairs. She was starting to decorate for Christmas.
I sat up in bed and checked my phone, just like I had done every morning for the past two weeks. My nerves were getting the best of me as I unlocked the phone to see the exact same thing: no message from Hunter. I grabbed the glass of water from my nightstand, taking a drink to get rid of the lump that was forming in my throat.
I finally got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs for some food. Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured myself a cup of coffee.
“Good morning!” Evelyn sang as she came walking into the kitchen with another box of decorations.
“Morning.”
“So, now that Derek finally isn’t around, are you going to tell me what really happened on your trip?” She dropped the box on the floor and poured herself a cup of coffee. Derek had been on vacation for the last two weeks, and we hadn’t really had any time to talk.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know… Did you meet anyone?” I smiled to myself as the memory of Hunter flew into my mind. I took a sip of coffee. “You did! I knew it. I could tell from the look on your face the minute you stepped off that plane!” she sang as she flopped down on the chair beside me.
I went quiet. “I did. I met someone.”
“Well, you have to tell me about him. First, let’s start with his name.”
“His name is Hunter.” I began searching through my phone for a picture.
“Are you going to see him again?” she pressed.
“We were going to try to stay in touch, but it’s obviously not going to work. I haven’t heard from him since I came back.”
“I’m sure he just got busy. Did you message him?”
“No.” I continued my search through my pictures until I came upon the one I was looking for. It was the night of our candlelit dinner. I handed the phone to Evelyn. “This is Hunter. That night he set up a private candlelit dinner on the beach for us. We shared wonderful conversation, ate fantastic food, and danced under the moonlight. I think it was the most romantic night we spent together.”
Evelyn took the phone from me and looked down at the screen. “This is him?”
“Yes, you know, it’s really a small world. He works an hour away from here. We never spoke of where one another lived until the night he left. He suggested keeping in touch, and that was when I found out where he worked.”
I looked at the expression on Evelyn’s face as she looked at the photo. I could tell she was hiding something. “What is it, Evelyn?”
She looked up at me and smiled. “Nothing. He’s very handsome. So, how far did it go between the two of you?” I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I wasn’t sure I wanted to share that with Evelyn. I didn’t want to hear the lecture that I was sure would be coming from following her advice. However, it was too late. She already knew. “You didn’t!”
“Yes, we did.” I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips, thinking back to those nights.
“Must have been good to make you smile like that.” Evelyn nudged me with her shoulder. “Well, as long as you used protection.”
“Okay, Mom.” I swallowed hard, thinking about the last time we had been together, unprotected.
“I’m sure he’ll contact you. Now drink up and help me put this stuff up.” Evelyn dug into a box of decorations and handed me a bunch of garland. “These are for the railing. Let’s go.”
17
Evelyn
Derek was late coming home from his first day back at the office, so Autumn and I had eaten dinner without him. Autumn had already gone to bed. I on the other hand couldn’t even think about sleeping. It wasn’t that I wasn’t tired, because I was exhausted. Autumn was weighing on my mind, and without Derek home to talk to, I knew it would just keep nagging at me.
Listening to her talk about Hunter had nearly broken my heart. I didn’t want this bastard to do this to her. I felt the strong need to protect her, even though she would insist she was fine. It’s just she had had her heart broken enough in the past couple years. She didn’t need this. Once I got her talking, she had continued telling me about her trip and about all the time she had spent with him. I listened painfully for hours as she shared everything with me—from how he tried to get her attention to how they ended up in bed together.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at that picture. There she sat on his lap, his arms wrapped around her. It was Hunter—Derek’s friend—the same guy I had tried to set her up with on that blind date. Hunter—the same guy my husband had warned me of being a player. I prayed she didn’t notice the look on my face. I was afraid that my sister had just been on the receiving end of a guy who was just looking for a good fuck.
Listening to her go on and on and seeing the look on her face just about broke my heart. I had a good mind to call him up and let him have it for not calling her. To think that I had thought they would make a good couple. She didn’t need this. After all that had gone on with her in the past couple of years, she needed a real man, not one who was just going to play her. I prayed Derek was wrong about him, but the cards certainly weren’t stacking up in Hunter’s favor.
Finally, I heard the key in the door. I jumped out of the chair and basically attacked Derek in the front hall. “It’s Hunter,” I whispered.
“Who’s Hunter?” Derek looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“The guy.”
“What guy? Evelyn, what are you talking about?” Derek dropped his briefcase down on the floor and hung his coat in the closet.
“The guy she met on vacation. I told you there was a guy; it’s him! She showed me a picture. I’m going to tell you, if he is pulling one over on my sister, I will…”
“What are you going to do, Evelyn? I’ll tell you, you’re not going to get involved.” Derek kissed me on the cheek and headed into the kitchen. “I’m starving,” he called over his shoulder.
“Derek, you said yourself he’s a player.” I followed him into the kitchen.
“Evelyn, you can’t babysit her forever. She’s a grown woman. And I never said he was a player.”
“You have to call him,” I said. I grabbed the phone from the base and held it out in front of him.
Derek looked at me like I was crazy. Putting the plate down on the counter, he walked over to me and took the phone from my hand. “Evelyn, love, calm down. Like I said, Autumn is an adult. She went away, she met someone, she had a good time. If he doesn’t call, he doesn’t call. I’m not going to call him, and you’re not going to call him.” He kissed me on the cheek and went back to preparing his dinner. “Did you tell her we know him?”
“Well…no…but…”
“Why not?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter that we know him? But you want me to call him to tell him to call her. Listen, whatever happens, happens. She’ll have to deal with whatever it is. I’ve returned the RSVP to his firm’s Christmas party, marked with three guests, so the worst thing, if he doesn’t text her, they’ll run into one another at the party. So, let’s let it be. But for now, I want you to make a cup of tea and relax.” He leaned in and kissed me.
Derek infuriated me sometimes. Why couldn’t he see that she was going to get hurt and I had to protect her. “Derek?”
“What?”
“She can’t get hurt again. It’ll be the end of her.”
“You cannot protect her forever. What happened between Autumn and Jason was horrible. It shouldn’t have happened, but sometimes I think it was for the best. I never liked him anyway, and she is too good for a guy like that. She is going to have to learn to date again, and she will go through more assholes than she will nice guys before she finds one to settle down with. I know Hunter from both sides. He can be a total asshole, as we all can be, or he can be an amazing guy. He has a lot goi
ng for him. Now, I’ve had a long day, so I’m going to eat my dinner, relax, and watch some TV. I want you to make your tea and leave it be.” Derek sat down to eat his meal, leaving me to sit in the kitchen to brood. It took me a few minutes, but I finally put the kettle on, made a cup of chamomile tea, and did my best to calm down.
18
Hunter
I sat behind my desk, staring at my computer screen. It had been hell since I had returned. Shit had hit the fan with two of the biggest cases I had been working on before I left, and I’d been locked behind closed doors in meetings with these clients since I had returned. Days had been long, and I was tired.
I ran my hands over my face. I needed a fucking break from all of this. Picking up my mug, I took the last gulp of my cold coffee. I’d been working around the clock since I had returned home. The office was quiet—Carter had left over two hours ago—and I was alone. I needed to turn my attention to something other than these case files for a bit. I got up out of my chair, grabbed my phone, and lay down on the couch. Once I was comfortable, I scrolled through the pictures from my vacation.
There she was with me the day we had gone horseback riding, my arms wrapped around her waist as she sat in front of me on my horse. Her grey-blue eyes stood out against her deeply tanned skin. I could feel myself getting hard at the memory of her body pressed up against mine, her ass sitting between my legs. I felt awful; I hadn’t even had a chance to send her a text since we got back, but honestly, I hadn’t had even a second to myself except to sleep and shower. Still, whenever I had a spare second, she was all that had been on my mind.
My finger hovered over her number. I wanted to call, but what if enough time had passed and she had decided she didn’t want anything to do with me? Where the fuck did that thought come from? I wasn’t an insecure man by any means. I went after what I wanted, in all parts of my life. Fuck it. I pressed her number and waited for it to connect. I needed a weekend out of here anyway, and tomorrow was Friday. Whether Carter liked it or not, I was taking the weekend off, and I wanted and needed to spend it with her.
As soon as it started ringing, I felt my pulse pick up. I was hot. Fuck, I was sweating, and I could hear my pulse whooshing in my ears. I had never felt this way when I had called a woman before. I must be coming down with something. Good thing I was lying down. I was beginning to feel lightheaded.
I was just about to hang up when finally, on the fifth ring, a very sexy, out of breath Autumn answered. “Hello?” The sound of her voice went straight to my cock.
Autumn
“Hey, beautiful.” I heard his deep, sexy voice come over the phone.
“Hunter?” I could feel my pulse pick up.
“Yes, it’s me. Before we get talking, I want to apologize for not calling you sooner. Work has been crazy since we returned, and I’ve spent pretty much every waking moment behind my desk at home or at the office. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Of course. How have you been?” I could hear the shake in my voice. I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest, I was so nervous. I’d been checking my phone for the past two weeks, waiting to hear from him, and finally he had called.
“Aside from busy, missing you.” His voice was so deep and sexy, it was making my center throb. “What about you? How have you been?”
“I’m doing okay.”
“Any second thoughts about what happened between us?”
The only regret that I was feeling now was thinking that he wouldn’t call, that I’d only been a notch in his belt. “No. I hope there aren’t any with you either.”
“Not one on this end either. Listen, I’m not going to keep you; it’s late, and I’m just heading out of the office for the night.”
“You’re just leaving now?” I asked as I glanced at the clock. It was almost ten-thirty.
“Yes. It’s been a long freaking week. The reason for my call…” I could feel my throat getting tighter, and my chest was starting to hurt at what was coming next. I was trying to fight back the threat of tears when his question took me by surprise. “What are you doing this weekend?”
“Pardon?” I swallowed hard. I wanted to make sure he asked what I had thought he had.
“This weekend, do you have plans?”
“As in tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing pressing.”
“Well, I was wondering if you would like to come spend the weekend with me.”
“As in stay at your place?”
A deep chuckle came over the phone. “Yes, beautiful, unless of course you want me to make you scream my name at your place. Somehow, I don’t think your sister would approve though.”
A warm chill ran through my body, my center pulsing at the thought. “I’d love to.”
“Great. Did you want me to pick you up?”
“No, I can drive. Where do you live?” I searched around my nightstand for a pen and piece of paper as he rattled off his address.
“I’m taking the day off tomorrow, so how about you be at my place at noon.”
“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.”
We said our goodbyes, and as I went to hang up, I heard him call my name. “Oh, and Autumn?”
“Yes, Hunter?”
“Be well rested. There won’t be much sleep once I get you in my bed.” I was instantly wet at the thought and could feel myself blush. “Good night, Autumn,” he said with a deep laugh.
“Good night, Hunter.”
I set the phone down on the nightstand. I could already feel the excitement building in me. I couldn’t keep myself from grinning like an idiot. When my pulse had finally calmed down, I got into my flannel pajamas and crawled into bed. I was extremely turned on and needed to divert my attention to something other than Hunter, his bed, and the memories that were floating through my head. Turning on my e-reader and finding the book I was in the middle of, I tried to read. It was starting to help until both of my characters had a hot, passionate romp up against a wall in their apartment, which reminded me of the first time we had slept together. I had no choice but to put the e-reader down onto the nightstand. I shut the light off and lay back against the pillow. I clenched my thighs together to try to calm the hard throbbing, but it did little good.
I was just about to slip my hand into my pants when I heard a knock on my door. “Autumn, you still awake?”
“Yes. Come in.” I sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. Evelyn pushed the door open and came into my room.
“I’m sorry to disturb you. I hope you weren’t almost asleep, but I need to talk to you.”
“Okay.” She walked hesitantly over and sat down on the edge of the bed. The look on her face said it all: there was something wrong.
“It’s about Hunter… I’m worried about…”
I put my hand up to stop her. “He called. I’m spending the weekend with him. I hope you’ll be okay to finish the decorating alone. I really want to go.” I smiled. “I’m really excited to see him.”
A huge grin lit up her face. “Absolutely! Go! Have a fantastic time!” She jumped off the bed and walked to the door.
Her demeanor had turned one hundred and eighty degrees. There was something that she wasn’t telling me, and I wanted to know what it was. “Evelyn, what was it you wanted to say?”
“Oh, it’s nothing really. Have a great time. I’ll see you in the morning.” Pulling the door shut behind her, she left the room. I shut the light off, flopped back on my pillow, closed my eyes, and tried to get some sleep.
19
Hunter
Sunday morning was here already. It had been the quickest weekend I think I’d had in a long time. I opened my eyes; the room was still dark. I could feel the soft puff of her breath against my neck. I loved holding her in my arms, her body pressed into me, her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her tighter. At this point, I wasn’t sure I really wanted to let her go. This weekend had been nothing short of amazing. We’d had a wonderful dinner Frida
y night at one of her favorite restaurants; we took in a play at the local theater on Saturday; we went skating at the park yesterday afternoon; and we topped the night off with dinner that we cooked together, curling up on the couch and watching a couple movies afterward. It felt like we had known one another all our lives. I hadn’t been this happy in a long time. None of the women I’d been with could even begin to hold a candle to this girl. In the little time we’d spent together, my feelings ran deep for her. I felt as if I were falling in love.
She began to stir as I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. She adjusted herself closer to me and threw her leg over mine. “Morning,” she murmured.
“Shhh, baby, it’s not time to get up yet.”
“Then why are you awake?”
“I was just lying here thinking how great it feels to have you in my arms.”
“I’m glad because I think it may be my new favorite place.” She placed a light kiss on my neck.
I rolled her onto her back and found her mouth easily. “I’m glad, but I think you might like this a bit more.” Biting on her bottom lip gently, I continued the assault of kisses down her neck to the top of her breasts. Rolling her nipple in between my fingers, I gently sucked the other one into my mouth, grazing it with my teeth. She arched her back and let out the most beautiful sleepy moan I think I’d ever heard.
Inching down her body, I continued trailing kisses over her stomach and thighs. I placed my hands in between her legs, gently forcing them apart. “I’m craving to taste you again.” I couldn’t help myself. I had her there so willing and wanting; I had to have her again.
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