Regret (Shattered Secrets Book 1)

by Bella J.

  He would soon learn that she was not just the princess, but the fucking queen when it came to playing the game of let’s see who can drive who insane first.

  She squared her shoulders and put on her game face, trying hard not to think of her favorite top laying on the ground just to be picked up by some random guy or woman who would never appreciate it as much as she did. “Fairy tale princesses don’t play go fetch.”

  Hunter lifted a brow. “But I thought we’ve already established that you are not a fairy tale princess.”

  “You made a weak case.”

  He took another step up and was suddenly very, very close to her. There was no way she could stop from staring down into his eyes while he stared up into hers, seconds passing with not a word said between them. They were so close, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips, the subtle scent of mint tempting her senses.

  With him standing so close, she noticed his hard, chiseled features. There was a subtle tick in his strong jaw, his nose slightly askew like it had been broken before—which she only noticed since they were practically standing on top of each other. And those damn full lips, they were disgustingly inviting. For the first time since meeting his annoying ass, Scarlet felt the crackle of anticipation starting deep within the pit of her stomach. It was faint, but it was there, and it certainly wasn’t welcome

  Hunter moved up another step, his ocean green gaze pinning her on the spot. “If you were a fairy tale character, you would definitely not be a princess.”

  Surrounded by his wild spice, sandalwood, and minty scent, she involuntarily leaned down. “Then who would I be, Ace?”

  “Oh, that’s easy.” His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips, down to her breasts covered by nothing more than the thin fabric of her strapless bra, before he looked her in the eye again.

  “You’d be Little Red Riding Hood, trying to get away from the big bad wolf.”

  Shattered.

  That was what happened to the atmosphere around them the minute those words left his mouth. Shattered, incinerated, and burned to fucking cinder.

  “You’re an asshole.” She spun around and didn’t even try to make a show of her ass while she literally rushed up the damn stairs.

  There were a lot of fairy tale characters she wouldn’t mind being referred to as. Maleficent, the Evil Queen, even the Wicked Witch of the West. Well, The Wizard of Oz wasn’t actually a fairy tale, but that was beside the point. She would rather be called every villain in every fairy tale ever written rather than hear someone refer to her as Little Red Riding Hood—or Little Red.

  They didn’t speak until Hunter finally came to a stop in front of what Scarlet assumed was his apartment door.

  He turned toward her. “I have two rules in my apartment. One, you don’t touch anything. Two, you don’t touch anything.”

  “I’m not a child.”

  Hunter swiped the keycard. “That is yet to be determined.”

  “Fu—”

  “Fuck me—I know. You can stop saying that now.”

  Hunter walked in, and Scarlet followed reluctantly, arms crossed in front of her chest, rolling her eyes. But the minute she stepped into his apartment and took in her surroundings, she whistled in appreciation.

  He turned to her. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing.” She shrugged. “Just didn’t expect your apartment to be this…clean.”

  “Clean?” He pulled his hand down his face. “You know what, I’m not even going to ask. I need a drink.” He stomped off toward the kitchen, making a beeline to the fridge.

  “Oh, yes, please.”

  “I wasn’t offering.”

  “But I’m taking anyway.”

  Hunter closed the fridge and tossed her a beer.

  She caught the cold one and stared at it like she was holding a reptile. “Beer? Seriously?”

  Hunter cracked open his can and leaned back against the fridge. “What, you too much of a princess to drink beer?”

  “Fu—”

  “Fuck me. I know.” He took a large gulp.

  “Stop doing that. You’re taking all the fun out of it.”

  He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You mean I’m taking all the fun out of you telling me every five seconds that you’d like to fuck me?”

  “That’s not what I mean when I say fu—”

  “Fuck you?” He smirked.

  Scarlet took the beer and flung it, aiming at his head. Hunter stepped to the side and watched as it smashed against his fridge.

  “Hey!” he called out. “Don’t waste my fucking beer.”

  Deciding that ignoring him was her best option, she walked into the kitchen and started rummaging through his cabinets.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for a real drink.” She opened another cabinet. “Bingo.” She held up the bottle of Jack she’d found like it was the Wimbledon tennis cup. “Now this is a real drink.”

  While taking a seat at the counter, she opened the bottle and took a huge swig.

  “I do have glasses, you know.”

  “I know. You have beer too, which, in all honesty, is kind of tainting my opinion of you at this point.”

  Hunter lifted a brow. “You have an opinion of me?”

  “Yup.” She took another big gulp of whiskey. “And I’m sorry to say that it ain’t very high.”

  “Says the one sitting at my kitchen counter in her bra.”

  Scarlet looked down at her chest, and back up at him. “And it seems like I’m not planning on covering up real soon either.”

  Hunter walked to the living room, picked up her duffel bag, and placed it on the counter in front of her with a loud thud. “I’m pretty sure you’ll find something to cover up with in there.”

  “Now why would I want to cover up?” She was such a tease—and she fucking loved it. They’d only known each other a few hours and it already seemed like they could easily kill each other. But Hunter was still a man, and Scarlet knew men. They were easy, they were cheap, and they had no fucking self-control—especially when it came to well-endowed women like her. Breasts had always been, and always would be a man’s Achilles’ heel.

  He leaned over the counter, his face yet again inches from hers. “Because you do not want to know what happens when a woman plays games with me.”

  She also leaned closer, not willing to back down even an inch. “Who says I’m playing games?”

  “Then what the hell are you doing?”

  She shrugged. “Who says I’m trying to do anything?”

  Hunter licked his lips and it totally distracted her. The way he slowly dragged his tongue across his lower lip, the way his mouth glistened with temptation threw her off her game for more than a few seconds. As if that wasn’t enough, he had to go bite his teeth into his lower lip as well, like a predator that was staring into the eyes of the one thing that could satisfy his hunger.

  He pulled back. “Get dressed, Scarlet.”

  After reaching into a cabinet, he placed a glass in front of her. “Now pour yourself a drink and stop infesting my whiskey with whatever germs you have carrying around in that dirty little mouth of yours. God knows where it’s been.”

  She leaned back in the chair. “I’d say fuck you, but I don’t want you to get the wrong impression again.”

  He smirked. “And what impression is that exactly?”

  She grabbed the whiskey and poured herself a drink. “That I’d like to fuck you, when the truth is I don’t want to get infested with whatever STD you’re carrying around on that dick of yours. God knows where it’s been.”

  Their eyes remained locked on each other as Hunter started to slowly move around the kitchen counter toward her. For some unexplainable reason her heart started to beat faster with every step he took. This man had a swagger, the confidence that could melt the panties off any woman—lucky for her she wasn’t just any woman. But there was something about Hunter, about the way he looked at her, how he talked, how he moved.
He seemed so calm, but there was a wild, untamed look in his eyes and somehow it managed to suck her in. With every step he took, moving his body closer to hers, he exuded a kind of feral power that seemed so much stronger than her iron will. Nothing about this man was simple and pure. Raw sexuality seemed to bleed out of him all the damn time. Even though Scarlet had specific needs and a certain way she liked those needs met, she couldn’t stop the images of his hard body pressed up against hers flashing through her mind. Hunter might be a pain in her ass, but he was a very attractive pain in her ass.

  He stopped next to her and, unable to back down, she turned in her seat, letting them come face to face, allowing him to move in between her legs. When she felt his body against her inner thighs, she had to fight the urge to move her hips in search of him.

  Without warning, he reached up and grabbed a fist full of her hair, pulling her head back with a violent tug.

  She gasped as pain stung her scalp, but the pain spread down her spine, turning into a strong electric current as it shot straight down to her core, causing her to suck in a breath. That was new.

  Leaning closer, he brushed his cheek against hers, and she closed her eyes, loving the rough feel of his five o’clock shadow against her skin—not to mention his wild spice and sandalwood scent that suddenly smelled so damn good.

  She felt him flexing subtly against her and she couldn’t stop the soft moan that rolled over her lips.

  “You might not know where my cock’s been,” he whispered against her ear, his voice sending a wave of heat down her spine, “but I know where you want it to be.” Abruptly, he let go of her hair and stepped back. Scarlet almost fell off the damn chair, not realizing she was leaning into him.

  When she looked at his face, she saw his cocky, arrogant grin, which told her that he just got the reaction he wanted out of her—the reaction he expected. Damn, the fucker played her like a goddamn fiddle. Son of a bitch.

  She was so lost in the power of that moment she couldn’t even think straight, trying to come up with something to say. He smiled and lifted his eyebrows at her. “Now get control over that body of yours and shake that horny look off your face. We have lots to talk about.”

  Fucking bastard.

  Chapter 9

  Hunter stared at the woman sitting in front of him. The whiskey in her glass swirled from side to side as she twirled the glass in her hand. The bruise on her jaw had darkened, and the way she was sitting with her one arm wound around her midsection, he knew she was still in pain.

  “You want some painkillers for that?”

  She shifted a little. “I’m fine.”

  She was putting up one hell of a show, but he wasn’t fooled. This woman was in pain and scared shitless of whatever was going on.

  “Tell me.”

  Her gaze shot up to his for a second before returning back to the glass in her hand. “Tell you what?”

  He leaned forward. “Why did your cousin send all those guys after you in just one night?”

  “Who knows?” She shrugged. “Maybe he misses me that bad.”

  Having had it up to his eyeballs with her evasive, cocky comebacks, Hunter got up from the chair and walked over to where she was sitting on the couch with her knees crossed beneath her. He pulled the coffee table closer and sat down on it, leaning as close to her as possible.

  “You’d better listen fucking carefully to what I’m about to say, because I’m only going to say this once.” He scooted closer and placed his elbows on his knees, clutching his hands together. “From where I’m sitting, I can see that you are in way over your head.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Shut up and let me finish.”

  For a second it looked like she wanted to try to punch him again, but then she leaned back into the couch, taking a sip of her whiskey. “Fine.”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to realize there is much more going on here than a man just looking for his long lost cousin. So it’s safe to say that the story I’ve been told is bullshit.”

  She let out a little condescending laugh and clapped a hand on her thigh in a mocking applause. “Well done, Mr. Genius. Do you want your golden star on your forehead now or later?”

  That was it. Hunter was about to lose his shit with this woman.

  He stood up from the table, towered over her, and placed both hands on either side of her head. All up in her face did not even begin to describe just how close he was at that moment. Scarlet didn’t look like the type of woman who got intimidated very easily. But by the way she stared up at him, searching his face like she had no idea what to expect next, he knew he was making good progress in getting his point across.

  “For someone who doesn’t have a lot of friends lined up to help her, you sure as hell have an ungrateful attitude, don’t you, woman?”

  She brought her face closer to his, and he smelled those damn cherry lips of hers again. “Is that what you’re trying to do, Ace? Help me?”

  The warmth of her breath moved across his cheek and the sensation made his cock twitch. How was it possible that a woman who had the sure talent to do nothing more than piss him off also seemed to have the talent to make him think of sex when he was actually trying to make her realize just how fucking serious he was?

  The fact that she still hadn’t covered up those big, voluptuous breasts hidden behind nothing but thin black fabric wasn’t helping either.

  Fuck. Because he was thinking about her breasts, he couldn’t stop himself from looking down at them. And from where he was standing, leaning over her, he had the perfect view from the top, staring down the slit where her tits squeezed together.

  Holy fucking shit, what a sight. Firm, big, round tits that when pushed together would be perfect for him to just pump his…

  Scarlet cleared her throat, and he looked back up at her. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he was actually blushing from the thought her little throat clearing maneuver interrupted.

  She smiled coyly. “Were you having a moment there with my breasts, Ace?”

  Immediately frustrated, Hunter pushed himself away from her and stood up straight.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking this is a serious fucking situation we’re in here. So it would be awesome if you could pretend, just for a second, that a lot of shit went down tonight.”

  “You think I don’t know just how serious this situation is?” She got up from the couch, her eyes dark.

  “I’ve been in this fucking situation for a real long time.” Slowly she started to move, forcing him to back up as her entire demeanor changed from being a total tease, to totally fucking serious. “This is my life, my nightmare, my hell, and don’t you dare try to insinuate that I don’t know exactly how serious this situation is. This situation is the reason I constantly have to look over my shoulder, pretend to be someone I’m not, never letting anyone get close.” She continued to move as the fire in her eyes started to burn violently—beautifully. “I’ve been running, hiding, forcing myself day in and day out to fucking survive this hell I’m in, and I have. I’ve survived. I’m still fucking here, thanks to only one person.” Hunter’s back hit the wall and she leaned right into him. “Me.”

  Jesus Christ. He was so turned on. The way her eyes bore into his, her anger beaming from those blue orbs, and the way her body was wound up so damn tight had his cock twitching and ready to get buried balls deep between her legs.

  His gaze dropped to her mouth, and the only thought that raced through his mind at that moment was how those full, heart-shaped lips of hers would feel against his. Would they taste as sweet as the cherry scent he smelled every time he got close to them? Every male instinct inside him wanted to kiss them, lick them, suck them…bite them.

  “Ace,” she tilted her head to the side, “why are you looking at my mouth?”

  He didn’t take his eyes off her lips, he couldn’t. “Because your lips look disgusting.” Liar.

  She stepped forward, her breasts pushing
against his chest, and he wanted to rip that goddamn bra right off her body.

  “I bet they taste disgusting too.” Her voice was soft, sultry, dripping with erotic intent.

  She traced her tongue across her bottom lip and it glistened with invitation, tempting him with the need to taste the inside of her mouth. He was hardly able to control the carnal desire that pulsed down his spine, crashing against his balls. But then she swirled her tongue all around her top lip like she wanted to lick something…something he was on the verge of giving to her so damn hard.

  And then he lost his shit.

  Hunter grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, pushing her up against the wall. She gasped when he took both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head while pressing his body hard against hers. He was spinning out of control, and by the feral look on her face she was enjoying it, to see him come undone by her.

  He reached up and placed his hand around her neck, slipping his thumb down her lips to her jaw. With a slight squeeze he lifted her chin up so that her mouth came within inches of his. It would only take one deep breath for their lips to touch, for him to finally find out what she tasted like.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to sample a woman’s mouth so badly. The urge to push his tongue down her throat, to sweep through each and every corner of her mouth was making it hard for him to think straight.

  Intense blue eyes that burned with a kind of hunger that could only be sated with ecstasy stared up at him. It was only a matter of seconds before he broke one of his rules—rules he had set to protect himself.

  “What’s the matter, Ace? You scared to have a taste?” She came closer, so close that her nose touched his and her sweet scent fogged all his senses. “Afraid you might like it?” Her lips lightly brushed against his, and he wasn’t sure whether feeling them was purely wishful thinking rather than really happening. “Come on, Ace. Find out if my lips taste as disgusting as they look.”

  She moved her face slowly, softly brushing the tip of her nose up and down his cheek. This woman was seduction personified. Lust and sensuality seemed to just ooze from her pores, eliciting a type of sexual desire that had the power to render any man incapable of fighting it. He was sure that not even the fucking pope would be able to resist this woman and the fire that seemed to burn in her veins.