Hunter’s lips twitched in amusement before he fixed his frown and narrowed his eyes on me. “Fine. You get a couple hours a day, but my number is the emergency contact on your phone. Public places only, and keep your eyes open for suspicious people. Can you do that for me?” he huffed, but his eyes twinkled with amused exasperation.
“Thank you.” I plopped myself on the toilet seat, fidgeting with a string hanging from the towel before I glanced to find Hunter’s eyes watching me with quiet peace. “Do you think JW would kill me?” I asked.
Hunter’s eyes held mine for long, agonizing beats. His lean throat swallowed as a hand exited the soapy water and dripped a path across the tile to lock with mine. “I don’t know, I can’t predict anything he does before he does it.” He ran a hand through his closely cropped hair. “But I won’t give him a chance. You are my priority.” Hunter leaned out of the tub and caught my chin between his fingers to place a sloppy kiss on my lips.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” I shook my head and ran fingers through my hair. I chanced a glance to find pain radiating from his eyes.
My heart swelled and felt like it may drown in tears as my mind cast to memories of nights Brant stayed away from home with needle-thin alibis about working late and landing big accounts. I knew now that I’d stayed because it’d been the easier thing to do, getting caught up in the luxurious lifestyle had been the Band-aid for a while, until the lack of love and connection formed like a dark cloud over our home leaving me feeling choked and oppressed.
But then the nights away had gotten more frequent and the calls more distant. The pretense for alibis seemed to be tossed in favor of casual omission. We’d been lying to each other—even I’d felt it between us back then. My heart had begun to harden towards him, had frozen to keep his pain away. It’d been slow coming, but it’d been coming.
Just as always, I’d found myself left in the dark, but when presented with the facts, I couldn’t actually say that I did believe my husband over Hunter Ellis
“So, you want my help to bring my husband down?” I turned away, chewing on my lip.
“I would never ask you to do that.” He splashed from the tub and set his beer on the counter before wrapping a towel around his waist and pulling me into his strong arms. “Let’s talk.”
I huffed and dragged my feet all the way to my bedroom where I tucked into a pillow, curled up in the fetal position, giving him my back.
“Don’t do that; it fucking eats me alive when you turn away from me.” Hunter fitted himself behind me and wrapped me in his giant arms, making me feel as safe as I’d ever felt.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to believe,” I said as my stomach turned in painful figure eights. “I think I might be sick.”
“Take deep breaths,” he murmured into my hair as he ran a palm down the long strands. “I’m so sorry. I’ve never done this before, but I didn’t know how deep Brant was in with JW until he started asking questions about you.”
I sucked a lip into my mouth. “But can’t we go to the police? Let him rot in jail—”
“That’s not how it works,” he cut me off.
“What do you mean that’s not how it works? It’s the law—of course that’s how it works. I don’t give a fuck who John Ellis Walker is!” I shrieked and turned in his arms, trying to push him off and away from me. Only his arms tightened further and he wouldn’t let me go.
“Please, Hunter. I don’t want any part of this.”
“I know,” he grunted. “But it’s too late, Princess. You’re in it, but I promise, I’ll get us out of it.”
“So…you’re just going to stay here? With me?” I uttered, flabbergasted at the audacity of him.
“It will be just like it was, a lot of photo shoots, a little business, more sleepovers.” His hands ran up my torso, lighting fireworks.
“I don’t know how you expect me to do this. What do I do when he calls?”
“If he calls, Erin, you have to let him come home.”
“What if he just shows up and I’m not home? What do I say then?”
“You were out working. You got a new job with an incredibly talented photographer.” His mouth lifted in a sarcastic grin, but I couldn’t get caught up in his charm right now. My brain was running mad.
I sucked a lip between my teeth and gnashed. I thought about going to the police. I still wavered there. Could I really trust Hunter? I’d known him for a matter of weeks. I had years of history with Brant and still something hadn’t sat right with him the last few years. More business meetings overseas, late night calls, and after-hours meetings. I delved the recesses of my memory searching for John Walker’s face—perhaps he’d been to my house, or I’d seen him at Brant’s office? But I came up empty. I was positive I’d never met him before, and those calculating golden eyes I couldn’t easily shake.
“How can you ask me to pretend everything is normal?” I choked out.
“I’m not asking. I’m telling.” Hunter’s heavy voice resounded in my ears. “Everything stays as is—we do the photo shoots we have planned, not a single thing can be off or JW knows I told you. And that can’t happen, Erin. JW is a cold-blooded killer—we can’t ever find ourselves on his bad side. I mean it when I say it’s you and me until this is over. I’m the best thing for you whether you believe that or not.”
I sighed, more exhausted by the last twelve hours than I’d been in a lifetime.
“Hunter…” I sighed, thinking of the other devastating fact in this story. Hunter grew up under the influence of JW and his goons. “What makes you think you can escape him?” I asked softly, terror threading my voice. Hunter’s eyes turned up to mine and held for long moments.
“I have to believe him when he says this is it—my last job. I don’t have a choice.”
“Sounds like a lot of people are getting their choices taken away when it comes to him.”
“That’s generally how it works.”
“So why did he want to meet me? Scope out the wife of his target?”
“You never know what JW has planned. I shouldn’t have brought you there.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I thought it would prove your innocence. You clearly aren’t involved with Brant’s bullshit.”
“What happens if we run, just leave?”
“Erin…” He slipped the pad of his thumb across my jawline. “If only it were that easy.”
five
TWO MORNINGS LATER, I found myself boarding another plane with Hunter headed to Belize. Hunter had insisted we continue with the photo shoots; not only had they been booked months in advance, but also for the importance of keeping up appearances. Our lives had to continue exactly as normal so as not to raise suspicion from Brant, or even worse JW. It was nerve-wracking to have to continue with our lives as normal when everything was now at risk—how could anyone wrap their mind around all the unanswered questions? But I was being forced to try, at the very least, though the secrets nearly drove me as mad as the man behind them did. I wanted to scream and rage and demand answers, but whenever I did, Hunter shot me a warning and grunted something incoherent.
“Ever been to Central America?” Hunter wrapped my fingers in his as we stepped off the four-person Cessna that had carried us from the capital city to a postage stamp of an island off the coast. The warm salt breeze whipped my hair and kissed my neck, and Hunter’s hand in mine felt right, exactly as it had a few short weeks ago in Lisbon, except this time, I knew more than I ever wanted to.
“Erin?” Hunter’s voice yanked me from my thoughts.
“What? Sorry.” I shook my head, pulling the sunglasses down over my eyes. I’d been trying to hide my indecision from him, but it wasn’t easy, to say the least.
“Have you been to Central America before?” My gaze found his, and I saw compassion shining there.
“No, never.” I shook my head and chewed on my bottom lip as I heaved the pack over my shoulder and dropped his hand when a dark car pulled up.
“Erin.” Hunter’s voice carried on the soft breeze and I let him think I hadn’t heard when the local driver stepped out with a nod of his head.
“Welcome to Belize,” he said in his richly-inflected voice. I nodded with a polite smile and then slid into the back of the car, my feelings hidden from the blonde god that slid in next to me.
“We’re going to talk more about this, but don’t ignore me.” His hand clenched at my knee and I glanced down. His roughened fingers against the denim had my heart skipping beats. Why did he have to be so charming and talented and so good at clutching my heart between his hands? I licked my lips and sucked in a deep breath.
“Anyway, it’s time to take photos.” His fingers caught my chin and his mega-watt smile lit my spirits for a brief moment. If I allowed myself to fall into him, I could. We could slip into the easy “us” that had existed before I knew too much, before he confessed, before he delved my dirty secret.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine.” A half-hearted smile lifted my face.
“Good. I like you right here with me.” He placed a pressing kiss against my lips as the car rumbled off down the twisting dirt road.
“No walking this time? I quipped.
“Funny, Princess.” His grin tilted and my insides eased a little. I settled into the seat and watched the burnt orange sun set over the ocean sparkling out every window. I was in paradise again with Hunter, a beautiful man born into chains weighted down by obligation and greed by a man who acted a fatherly figure. For the first time, I would have to struggle to relax with him. It made me feel off-kilter in a way I never anticipated.
“I’m gonna go for a swim,” I announced a few hours later after we’d eaten dinner and Hunter had said that he was going to take a walk to scout shooting locations.
“If you have a death wish maybe,” he grunted and stood from the table.
I rolled my eyes and flung the towel over my shoulder, my bathing suit already on beneath my sundress. “I’ll be fine. It’s shallow; you can see everything for miles,” I protested, gesturing to the shimmering water,
“I told you, you can’t go anywhere without me. Consider it a new rule.”
“What?! No way, Hunter.”
His grin only widened the angrier I got. “Water looks great.” He shrugged his shirt over his broad shoulders, and I had to force my eyes away to avoid staring at his perfectly sketched torso.
“I hate you,” I seethed and stomped off the wood deck and into the sugar sand. His laugh followed behind me.
“Erin!” he called a minute later when I was out on the beach far ahead of him, the moon dipping below the horizon and casting navy shadows across the landscape.
I sped up, peeling my dress over my shoulders as I walked and let it drop in the sand, continuing to the lapping waves.
“Don’t walk away from me.” He caught me just as my toes touched the warm wetness. My eyes cast to his fist at my elbow, up his golden dusted arms, and to his eyes.
“Let me go,” I gritted and pulled my arm from his grip.
“Never,” he breathed, sinister determination falling from his lips.
“Hunter.” I choked on his name, the emotions too much, the bubbling and churning I’d been feeling in my gut for the last two days finally overwhelming me.
“Don’t fucking walk away from me, Erin. If you don’t do that, I promise, you’ll always be fucking safe.” He hauled me into his arms, his heavy biceps wrapped around my shaking shoulders as we stood in the soft frothing surf. I shuddered and let out all the anguish tensing my muscles into his comforting embrace. “You took my choice away! What if I just wanted to be your PA, never know anything more? How could you?!” I spat as I looked up at his piercing eyes through watery tears.
“You were never just my PA.” His sonorous voice soothed as he spoke the words against my forehead.
“Hunter…” My heart broke as he held me.
“I’m sorry, Erin. It’s true. I hired you to keep you with me.” He pushed his fingers through my hair and held me to him like a father comforting a terrified child.
“Why is this happening to me?” I sobbed, unable to see beyond my own sheltered life.
“I don’t know why, but I’ll figure it out. I’ll beat JW at his own game, but beating him requires keeping him close. I swear to you though, as long as you’re with me…” He trailed off and pulled away, his hands at my shoulders, his eyes boring into mine. “Remember I said you can’t act out of character? No extra calls to Brant, no texts.”
“Okay.” I nodded as I swiped at the damp heat at my temples.
“You can’t go through with that divorce either.” His voice nearly cracked when his thumb and finger pulled a curl of brown hair from my forehead. The divorce. How had he even known? “I’m sorry, soon, but not yet,” Hunter continued. “We’ve got to let this shake out with JW, then we’ll know where we stand, but until then, nothing out of the ordinary.” His fingertips kneaded at the tense muscles as fear and frustration rolled in my stomach.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head softly. “Are you sure we can’t just call the police? I don’t want him to...die.” I finally succumbed to the facts.
“I’ll do everything in my power to keep Brant alive, but JW is a loose cannon. He’s on a rager about Brant. This has been coming for a long time; that’s the feeling I get,” he finished sadly.
“So you never even needed a personal assistant?” I whimpered, all the new information washing over me in deadly waves.
“Well, sorta.” He looked at me and his face broke out in a sheepish grin. “I’m shit at keeping everything together, and when I saw the position you were in…” His voice trailed off, the unspoken words hanging loud in my ears. He knew more about me than I thought; he knew more than I could have dreamed. He knew everything. “Are you going to be okay tomorrow? The couple will be here at eight, but take the morning off. Hell, take the whole weekend off, take the time you need, Erin.” His thumbs whispered across my jawline in an attempt at soothing me.
“No, I’ll be fine.” I sucked in a slow breath feeling my lungs expand. “I just need to swim and then relax.” I turned out of his arms then, dropping my towel in the crystal sand and stepping deeper into the water.
“About that…they do have sharks down here, so…not sure if you’re really safe…” His eyes trailed the shoreline looking for danger.
“Man, I’m in danger wherever you take me, huh?” I huffed, unable to keep the smile from lifting my cheeks, before dipping down into the bath-warm water and feeling it soak into my muscles.
“Funny!” I heard Hunter before I felt him. His arms came around my waist and pulled me against him, smooth palms running in rivers up and down my body, adding to the calming effect of the water on my muscles.
“You shouldn’t touch me like that anymore. This is so complicated,” I said, but my eyes fell closed as a sigh fell off my lips.
“I’ll stop as soon as you ask me to.” His voice in my ear sent shivers pummeling between my thighs.
“It doesn’t bother you that I’m married?”
“Do you feel married here?” His huge hand covered my chest, directly over the place my heart thumped resounding beats. I searched my mind, my heart, the dark caverns I hated to admit to anyone, before I shook my head vigorously.
“I haven’t felt married in two years,” I answered. “I thought I loved Brant at one time—he took care of me, showered me in gifts, wooed my mother and had us all fooled.” A shiver ran down my spine when I remembered the first time he’d shoved me into a mirror, cracking it and my heart into splinters. Leaving after that felt almost impossible, the fear of Brant’s reaction, my complete inability to support myself financially. I couldn’t see the way out. I didn’t think there was one. But my way out was coming. I could feel it.
“I didn’t think so,” he said. “So no, I don’t mind that you’re still married.” His hand wrapped around my neck and weaved into my hair, his lips pressing against mine in a dec
adent kiss that had my toes curling into the abrasive granules beneath my feet. “I’m going to want you to get that divorce at some point though,” he growled in my ear before sliding me down into the waves with him, until everything but our heads were submerged, and I was perched around his waist, my core pressing against his straining erection as the water swayed around us.
“Promise everything is going to turn out?” I squeaked, nestled into his neck.
“With every fucking beat of my heart, Princess. I’d die protecting you.” His heavy palms fisted at my ass cheeks before one hand roamed up my back and unhooked the top of my bikini. It floated in the water behind us as Hunter’s hand twisted in my wet hair and pulled, arching my neck before his lips found the pulsing vein running down my throat.
“Tell me why. Why would you die protecting me?” I asked, as muddled thoughts floated in my brain.
He nipped at my throat. “It’s my job,” he responded before drawing long sucks on the flesh at my neck. “I need to feel you, Princess, to know we’re okay.” His ravaged voice hummed against my skin and sent shivers coursing through my system. His hands pushed under the waistband of my bikini bottoms as if asking for permission. I clutched at his biceps and rocked against his hard-edged hips that were digging into the sensitive flesh at my thighs before his thumbs yanked the tie on my bottoms and I found myself naked in the ocean around his waist.
I fumbled between us to release his heavy cock from his swim shorts and sighed when he made delicious, sweet contact with my entrance. With one long groan he slid into me slowly, making me forget what it was ever like to be without him.
“Christ, Erin,” he groaned as his fingers tightened and he was thrusting with force, digging into my soft flesh. “You had every fucking reason to leave and you’re still here,” he grunted into my neck as he fucked me.
“How could I? You forced me to stay with you,” I grunted.
“I can’t be with you everywhere.” His breath washed across my neck. “You could sneak out when I sleep.” He accentuated his last word with a forceful thrust.
Blindsight: The Series (Complete Erotic Suspense STANDALONE) Page 10