“I’m the only one in town with a room. There was a young couple who called earlier—said they couldn’t find a room in Nashville and were looking for something.”
“We’ll take it!” I said a little too quickly. The older woman jumped. Then she smiled. “You kids been together long?”
“Feels like forever,” I replied, pushing Kendall back. “How is cash?”
“The best kind of payment!” she replied as she pushed the guest register toward me and handed Kendall the key.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had to fill one of these out.” I said with a chuckle.
“Sheriff wants us to keep one.”
“The... the sheriff? Why?” Kendall asked.
The older woman winked. “Something about the ghosts here.”
“I’ll sleep on a bench in the park,” Kendall stated, turning to walk out the door.
I reached for her hand and pulled her back to me. “How do we get to our room?”
“Oh, it’s on the top floor. It was the attic, but my late husband converted it to the honeymoon room. Course, he died in the middle of the renovation.”
Kendall whimpered.
“Right, well thank you, miss...?”
“Pratt! I’m Ms. Pratt! By the way, I hope you kids ate. Everything closed down early tonight to prepare for the festival tomorrow.”
With that, I was pretty sure Kendall started to cry.
With another smile, I waved our thanks and dragged Kendall up the three flights of stairs. Once we were in the room and the door shut, Kendall shoved me.
“What the fuck was that for?”
“Everything! Withholding information on Mac White. Breaking my car. Making me stay in a haunted hotel, starving me to death, and driving me up the wall with that damn cologne of yours! I am completely out of sorts. Nothing has gone right, and it’s all your fault. All of it. I just... I cannot believe the things I’ve done or said today.”
Clenching my fists, I counted to ten.
“You are lucky I don’t push you against the goddamned wall and kiss you until you lose your breath. Then maybe I’d get some peace and quiet.”
Kendall folded her arms over her chest and flashed me that smirk of hers. “Is that meant to be a threat? Because it had the opposite effect.”
“What?”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “Nothing. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
I exhaled a heavy breath and sat on the edge of the bed. Glancing around, I saw we had our own bathroom. Thank fuck for that. Reaching behind my head, I grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled it over my head.
“Whoa! Hold on there. I think you’re getting the wrong idea.”
I glanced back over my shoulder. “I’m taking a hot shower and changing into something to wear for bed.”
“What am I supposed to wear?”
I shrugged. “You’re the one who didn’t pack an emergency bag.”
As I walked to the bathroom, a pillow hit me in the back of the head.
“Jerk!”
I spent a good fifteen minutes in the shower. My goal was to use up all the hot water, forcing Kendall to take a cold shower, but it appeared Ms. Pratt had a large water heater. A loud knock on the door interrupted my quiet time.
“Hunter! I think I hear something scratching on the wall!”
“It’s me... trying to get out of here and away from you.”
“Ha-ha. My death will be on your conscience, and I will haunt you forever if a ghost gets me.”
I shut off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist before making my way back into the room. I stopped at the sight before me. My heart dropped to my stomach and my knees felt weak.
God help me. Please, please, please. Give me strength.
Kendall was sitting on the bed in one of my T-shirts, her hair up in a ponytail and a half-eaten protein bar sticking out of her mouth. She was the most adorable creature I had ever laid eyes on. She glanced up at me and caught me staring at her.
“You’re lucky I didn’t eat them both. I saved you one.” Kendall stood, and I had to grab onto the doorframe as she rounded the bed and bent over, pulling the other protein bar from the bag and giving me a shot of her black lace thong panties, which were so tiny they could be classified as dental floss.
“If you were a gentleman, you’d let me have both.”
I couldn’t move. I was frozen in place as I let my eyes sweep over her body.
Our eyes met. It was Kendall’s turn to look me over. “Why... why are you only wearing a towel?”
Swallowing hard, I shook my head. Why in hell can I not form words? Oh, that was because the woman I had been dreaming about for the last three weeks was standing before me dressed in nothing but my T-shirt.
Kendall took a step back. Can she feel the energy between us?
“Maybe... we should probably... are there more towels? I need to... shower.”
I had never moved so fast in my entire life. My mouth crashed against Kendall’s as I backed her up against the wall. She moaned and wrapped her arms around my neck while I grabbed her ass and picked her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around me.
“Hunter,” she whispered as she drew her head back.
“For once, Kendall, shut the fuck up.”
I pushed her against the wall, and instantly, my mouth was back on hers. I explored her body with one hand, pushing it under my T-shirt, and I nearly lost my load on the spot when I felt her bare breasts. She didn’t have a bra on.
“Jesus, Kendall. You’re not wearing a bra.”
Her breath was quick and fast.
I lifted the shirt, took her nipple, and sucked on it.
“Don’t stop!” she whimpered.
“Tell me what you want, Kendall.”
“Want?” she gasped.
“Yes.”
“I... I can’t think straight. My mind. Your smell is making my brain fuzzy. What do you want?”
With a grin, I pulled back to look into her blue eyes. I wanted to take things slow, but I knew I couldn’t. This woman had been driving me mad for weeks. I wanted her like I had never wanted another woman. I needed her. Needed to feel her coming on my cock, over and over again. “I want to bury my face between your legs and finally taste you.”
“Finally?” she gasped.
“It’s all I’ve been thinking about for the last three weeks. Then I want to fuck you until you can’t move. I want you to feel me every time you move for the next week and know I was the one between your legs, making you scream out my name with each orgasm I gave you.”
Her eyes widened.
“How many are we talking?”
With a wink, I replied, “A lot.”
Her fingers laced in my hair, pulling my mouth back to hers. “Now. I want you now, Hunter.”
I moved us to the bed and gently laid her down. My hands slid slowly up her legs, and I watched her entire body break out in goose bumps. I loved that my touch was having that effect on her.
When I slid her black lace thong off, I moaned at the beautiful sight before me.
“There you go moaning again, Mr. Owens.”
Smiling, I pulled the towel from around my waist, watching as Kendall stared at my hard cock. I knew I was big, and I loved the way she licked her lips as she took me in.
“I want to go slow, but you’re making this hard.”
Her eyes lifted to mine. “I can see how hard it is. Now is not the time for slow, Hunter.”
“I need to ask—are you with anyone? Dating anyone?”
Kendall smiled and shook her head. “Are you?”
“No, I would never cheat.”
“Neither would I. No, I’m not with anyone.”
She sat up and pulled my T-shirt off, exposing her perfect body to me. I stared at her.
“Condom?”
I dragged my gaze from her body and looked into her eyes. “What?”
“Do you have a condom? If you say no, Hunter, I will throw you out this attic wi
ndow.”
Laughing, I leaned over and found my wallet. I pulled out two condoms.
“Two? That’s it?”
I glanced down at the condoms in my hand and back to her. “Well, I wasn’t actually planning on fucking you tonight, Kendall. If I had planned this, I’d have brought a whole box.”
Her brow arched. “Think highly of yourself, do you?”
“Don’t worry, there are other things I can do to please you that don’t involve my dick.”
Her lips pressed together, and I watched as her hand slowly slid down her stomach and between her legs.
Jesus and all the Hail Marys in heaven. This woman was going to kill me.
“Prove it,” she whispered.
With a smirk, I dropped down and slowly began kissing her up her thighs. One kiss on the left thigh, one on the right. Back to the left. I went back and forth as slowly as I could stand it, making my way to that perfectly groomed pussy.
“Hunter! Wait!”
I stopped and looked at her.
“I have a confession.”
“One you have to confess right now, Kendall?”
She nodded. “I let out the air in your tires.”
I knew it! “Payback is a bitch.” When she smiled, I couldn’t help but smile back. “You’re lucky you’re distracting me right now.”
Lifting her hips, she whispered, “Please.”
I slipped two fingers inside her and nearly came undone. She was so wet and tight. It was going to be embarrassing if I came after a few pumps.
Sliding my tongue along her sweet bundle of nerves, I worked my fingers inside her.
Her hands gripped at my head, guiding me to the pace she wanted. It turned me on even more that she had no problem taking control. When I felt her body tense and quiver around my fingers, I sucked her clit into my mouth.
“Hunter!” she cried out as she fell apart. I watched as she stroked her own breasts and arched her back while she whimpered my name over and over.
I slipped my fingers from her body, put them in my mouth, and sucked them clean.
“Damn, that is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen a man do.”
I ripped the condom open and slid it over my dick. My body trembled as I looked up and saw Kendall watching me, her lips slightly parted, her eyes hooded. I wanted that mouth around my cock, but that would have to wait for another day. I needed to be inside her.
I pushed her knees apart, opening her to me.
“Wait!” she cried out.
If she was changing her mind, I was going to throw her out the attic window.
“I have another confession.”
My head dropped. “I don’t care, sweetheart. I just want to be inside you.”
I lifted my gaze back to hers. She crinkled that nose, and my dick grew harder.
“I injected habanero sauce into some of your Mike and Ikes candies.”
A low rumble came from the depths of my throat. “You bitch.”
She covered her mouth to keep from laughing. “How was I supposed to know you would put a whole handful in your mouth at once?”
I pulled in a deep breath and then blew it out in a rush. “I’m willing to forgive and forget if you would just stop with the confessions.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
Moving closer to her, I asked, “How long has it been?”
“About six months. It was safe. I’ve been tested.” She panted in anticipation.
She looked up at me, silently asking me the same question. “It’s been over a year. I was with the same woman for over three years.”
Something moved over her face, but it was gone before I could register it.
“I’m not sure I can go slow,” I said.
“Don’t. Please don’t go slow. I need to feel you, Hunter,” she pleaded, wrapping her legs around my waist and pulling me to her. I leaned down and kissed her lips. The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but when I lined up my cock with her opening, something happened. Our kiss turned hungry. Passionate and needy. Kendall lifted her hips, and I pushed inside her. All the way inside her. When she hissed, I stopped.
“Don’t. Stop.”
“Fucking hell,” I panted as I buried my cock completely inside her. She was the perfect fit. No woman had ever felt this amazing. I lowered my face to her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. I didn’t want to move. I wanted to live out the rest of my life inside this woman.
“Hunter... Hunter, please.”
Her voice pulled me from my fog. Lifting up onto my knees, I pulled her legs over my shoulders and grabbed onto her hips. With relentless force, I pounded into her. Kendall cried out in pleasure, her hands stroking her tits, then my chest, and back to her tits. I wasn’t going to last much longer. Her moans and whimpers were going to be the death of me.
Kendall’s entire body shook, and she grabbed at the sheets. “Hunter, I’m going to come!”
The second I felt her grip my cock, I felt my own release. I dropped her legs and leaned over her, capturing her mouth with mine as I pushed in deeper with each stroke. With every pulse, I gave her more than just my orgasm.
I had just given Kendall Wales my soul.
I shifted ever so slightly and felt the delicious soreness from the night before. Hunter had made good use of the second condom. In the light of morning, though, my head was a jumbled mess. I had never felt so connected to someone. It was as if we’d become one person. Almost literally. Hunter’s strong arms were wrapped around me, and one of my legs was intertwined with his. I liked this feeling of complete peace. It was different... so much different than it had even been with Weston.
But... I was scared. Scared shitless.
I was out of my league and had no idea what happened next.
Suddenly, things were messy. Complicated. And I wasn’t sure where Hunter’s head was at. I moved to get out of the bed, but Hunter tightened his grip around me. I stiffened when he spoke.
“Where are you going?”
“I was going to check my emails.”
He looked at his phone on the nightstand and chuckled. “Hell, Kendall, it’s not even eight yet. Stay in bed.”
I tried to sit up. Eight. Oh no! I should have been prepping for the day an hour or two ago.
Hunter tightened his grip on me, refusing to let me move. “Just a few more minutes, Kendall.”
“Hunter...” There was no time. I had so much work to do.
He persisted. “It’s okay to relax every once in a while, you know. The world won’t stop. Promise.”
For a few seconds I remained rigid. This was new territory for me. So, I took a deep breath and relaxed. It’s just a few minutes. The world will go on. I stared at Hunter for a second longer. This might be the last time I’m in his arms. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. But I also wanted just a bit more time to sear into my mind what it felt like to be the center of his world—even if it was only for a moment.
He pulled me closer, and I laid my head on his chest. His morning voice was gruff and sexy. “I want to explain something to you. I didn’t have a chance yesterday.”
Here it comes. The part where he let me down easy so there wouldn’t be awkwardness at work. I opened my mouth to beat him to the punch, but he surprised me. “I don’t want you to think I doubt your ability to run this team, Kendall. I don’t.”
That wasn’t what I had been expecting. I stared up at him in confusion. “But you said... yesterday, it was like you thought I had no knowledge of football.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I could run the team’s day-to-day budgets, PR, accounting, and all that other shit you do that keeps coaches in a job?”
“With training, I don’t see why not. But no, you couldn’t just walk into my office tomorrow and know what to do.” Any job could be done if one had the mindset and willingness to succeed. But like anything else, there was a learning curve.
Goose bumps raced along my skin where Hunter dragged his fingers up and down my arm. “Coaching
is the same thing. If you threw me into a boardroom full of suits to work out a business deal, they’d eat my lunch. What I do... what Mac does... it’s not your strength, sweetheart. But I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you could learn it.”
That made sense, and I laughed. “I did pick up the bat swinging into the locker thing pretty fast.”
“Yeah, you did.”
I snuggled in a little closer. “Thank you for explaining. I guess I can get a little sensitive about this since I’m a woman in a man’s world.”
And Hunter had me off kilter. I hadn’t been myself yesterday. Normally, I stayed in control. Around Hunter, I felt something else emerging, something I couldn’t understand yet.
“My mom was the same way. She was a reporter and had been assigned to my dad. She’s told me stories about what it was like to work in a prominently male field. Some coaches wouldn’t let her into the locker rooms. She even had one guy ask if she was reading from cue cards when she quoted some stats on his team. You two are actually a lot alike.”
I liked that comment about being like his mother a little more than I should have. Which was odd. I decided to put myself out there a little. “I’d like to meet her sometime.”
“She’d like that.” I looked up at his face but couldn’t read his expression. It was almost like he was processing the statement, as well. Hunter ran his free hand down his face, and just like that, it was gone. Maybe we were both in uncharted territories, but Hunter had had a serious girlfriend at one time. There had been several pictures of them together before he walked away from football.
Things were changing so fast. There wasn’t time to get caught up in something that would break my heart in the end. I shifted a little to get some space, clear my head. The movement made me wince.
“You sore?”
“Some.”
“Good. You’ll remember me every time you move.”
I laughed, and when my body relaxed Hunter brought me close again.
“That’s a little barbaric.”
“It might be, but you will think of me, and I’ll fucking love that.”
I bit my lip at the gruffness of his statement. It was true—and we were out of condoms.
Hunter’s phone beeped, and he shifted to see who it was. “Mac accepted the job. You have the email in your inbox.”
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