I looked like a woman in a Hunter sack.
I hoisted up the sweats and looked around for a way I could keep them up. A belt would look weird, especially since there were no belt loops, and using a safety pin would make getting out of them awkward.
With a frown, I looked around the room for divine inspiration. That was when I noticed the draft. There was a door open.
I’d closed the doors so I could get dressed.
I glanced up, half terrified I’d see Blaire running at me with a chainsaw and a hockey mask.
Hunter stood in a tank top, glistening and beautiful, his muscles on display with a sheen of manly sweat. A drop of liquid ran down his cheek and into his five o’clock shadow, rugged and gorgeous. His sweats clung in the right ways, hugging his muscular thighs and cupping his large manhood, currently starting to tent his pants.
He wiped a thumb across his lips as his eyes drifted down my body. “Come into the bathroom.”
The command in his voice sent shocks into me. I didn’t even remember to add the “please.” I was moving before I could process the words properly.
Chapter Three
Hunter turned and shut his bedroom door before following me across the room. He threw a T-shirt in the hamper as he entered the bathroom behind me. As I turned to face him, I felt his strong hands on my hips.
He pushed me against the wall. His lips claimed mine, needy and eager, rough and commanding. He pushed down my sweats and ran his hands up the sides of my thighs.
I reached out for his shoulders, but he caught my wrists and pushed my hands up and out to the sides, bracing them against the wall. He was taking charge. This wasn’t a time for sexual equality, it was a time for me to pleasure, or be pleasured, as he saw fit.
My chest tightened with excitement.
His tongue entered my mouth as he captured both my wrists in one of his large hands. I moaned as his hand slipped up my shirt and pinched a nipple. Shooting pulses of both pleasure and desire fired through me, pooling in my core.
He stepped back, grabbed the hem of my shirt, and ripped it over my head. He tossed it to the ground before letting his gaze travel my body once again. Taking another step back, he eyed me like a predator might. He pushed down his sweats and boxers. His large erection bobbed out, ready and eager.
“Turn on the shower to whatever temperature you want,” he commanded.
Swallowing a lump of seedy desire, I opened the glass door to a large, square shower. I turned the knobs until I had the right temperature, only to step out and notice he was reentering the bathroom. The clothes were still on the ground, and he wasn’t carrying anything, so I had no idea what he’d been doing, but the look of hot lust in his eyes left me with no time to dwell on it.
“Get in,” he said in a firm voice, moving with that muscular gracefulness that had all the spit drying in my mouth.
I stepped into the warm spray, letting it coat my head and wet my hair. He stepped in after me, and despite there being plenty of room, he pushed me against the tile wall before reaching up to adjust the showerhead. The spray hit our bodies as he leaned down to my lips.
I chanced my hands on his shoulders. When he didn’t push them away, I let my touch run along his collarbone and up to his neck before grabbing the back of his head. An urgency came over me that wasn’t expected. I needed him, right then.
I pulled on the back of his neck, making the kiss harder. He growled into my mouth, lifting my knee high. His body dipped right before his hard length seared into me.
“Oh,” I moaned, my eyes fluttering.
His lips met mine again, sensual and passionate. He thrust into me, filling me up and hitting all the right spots. I moaned into his mouth as he thrust again, the tempo speeding up quickly. The warm water beat down on us as he rocked deeper into my body. It felt so good.
“Oh God,” I said, everything tightening in my body to exquisite pain. “Oh—”
He pounded into me, holding my knee on his hip. Tingles turned into crashing waves of pleasure right before eruption!
“OH—!” An orgasm ripped through me, stealing my breath away.
“Hmm,” he groaned, shaking against me in a climax of his own.
He slowed as the last waves of delight flowed through me. His kiss became lighter, but no less sensual. His head backed up, his deep brown eyes delving into mine. Something sparkled in their depths I couldn’t make out. Without a word, he took a step back and ran his fingers through his wet hair and then down his face.
I shook out my arms. I felt all loose and tingly. Little bursts of pleasure still sparked through me.
I stepped away from the wall. And then my knees gave out. “Oh crap.”
Hunter caught me against his perfect body. I clutched his shoulders.
“You okay?” he asked softly, running his lips across mine.
“Yeah. Sorry. You took all the strength out of me.”
He smiled as I straightened up. After watching me for a moment, probably to make sure I didn’t swan-dive into the glass door of the shower, he grabbed a purple bath pouf and a bottle of Chanel body wash from the shower caddy.
“I’m not sure which is more ridiculous.” I adjusted the temperature to a smidgen cooler. “A seriously muscular man using a girly purple pouf, or that he uses designer body wash. I mean, why not go for Dove? Save some money and match the pouf.”
“This is for men.” He held the body wash out for my inspection.
“And the pouf?”
“Mrs. Foster takes care of the shopping. Usually the pouf color is a secret.”
“So, you’re saying I’ve got the goods on you? Hmm.” I tapped my chin. “How will I use such scandalous information…?”
He laughed, something I’d rarely heard him do, as he lathered up the pouf and moved my body into the spray. “Sorry, I should’ve told you to get your toiletries.”
“I don’t mind smelling like you,” I muttered, a little embarrassed to make the admission.
The pouf slid over my body gently, followed by his hand. When I was lathered up, he washed the pouf and put it back. He then let his palms roam over me, kneading my breasts before massaging my back. His hand worked down and cupped a butt cheek before sliding to the other. His fingers ran down before rubbing between my legs, cleaning up the slickness from our lovemaking.
“You’ve got me hard again,” he said, letting his lips drift down my neck. As evidence, his length slid between my cheeks and against my slit. “Let’s lie down this time. I don’t want you falling and getting concussed. Let me just clean up really quick.”
With economic movements, he soaped himself before rinsing. I watched his hands drift over his mouthwatering body. White suds washed down his bumpy stomach, so deliciously cut. The muscles on his back and arms flexed and moved as he washed his hair.
He turned off the water and gently steered me out of the shower, placing me on a towel laid on the floor. With another towel, he dried me slowly before wiping himself down.
I grabbed the decorative green towel from the rack, and then paused. “I can use this, right?”
His brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know. Some people like certain towels to be for decoration only.”
“Go ahead.”
He finished drying himself and walked out of the bathroom, tossing his towel into the hamper as he passed. I wrapped up my hair in a towel turban before following.
The lights had been turned off in the room. Five candles flickered romantically, placed around the room to spread out the soft glow. He’d even turned the bed down, folding back the comforter so as to make it more inviting.
“Since when does a mogul billionaire get all romantic?” I asked with a delighted smile.
“Since he met someone worth putting in the extra effort.” Hunter led me to the bed. He kissed me softly. “But, I have to admit, I was in a different mood when I set this up.”
I frowned at him and looked around. “What do you mean?”
Hunter stared at me for a moment before shaking his head. “I’ll show you another time.” He kissed me softly, backing me up to the edge of the bed. His hand wrapped around the back of my neck as his lips met mine. He leaned forward, making me lean back until I was scooting across the mattress. I laid my head on the pillow, our lips still connected.
“I just want it soft and sensual right now,” he murmured against my lips. “I want more of those desperate whimpers.”
His tip rubbed against me slowly before easing past my nether lips, taking the breath from my body. Sighing, I let my head fall to the side, focusing on the feel of him inside of me. Before I looked back at his handsome face, though, I noticed a black strip of fabric lying on the nightstand. Next to it lay a pair of handcuffs.
As my gaze went back to Hunter’s eyes, darkened with desire, I remembered his commanding tone earlier. His dominating presence.
Heat ripped through me.
With him, it wasn’t a question of if I’d let him, it was when he felt like it. I trusted him implicitly.
He must’ve read that thought in my eyes, because a slow smile curved his shapely lips. “Another time.”
I noticed it then. The seriousness in his gaze as he moved within me. The tone to his passion. His eyes were so soft. So deep. Emotion rode his movements. He’d welcomed me into his home, he’d shared his past, and now he was connecting with me in an extremely intimate way.
I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the heat. Feeling the intense emotion. My body ramped up, hard and fast, needing him. Craving his touch.
“Hunter…” I kissed him harder, the pleasure mounting. It burned through me. “Oh!” An orgasm dragged me under, drowning me in bliss.
“Oh G—” I squeezed my eyes shut as waves of ecstasy rolled through me. His body shuddered.
As the shock waves subsided, leaving me in a pleasant glow, he shifted to the side and then curled around my body protectively. His hot lips kissed my neck softly. I fell into the moment, feeling the warmth swelling. Knowing what it meant.
I sighed and snuggled deeper into him. “Beds are good.”
Hunter squeezed me just a bit. “Well said.”
I chuckled. “I think Blaire is probably going to kill me. Seriously. She’s crazy. What were you thinking?”
“She can’t hurt you. She’s just a spoiled child that only got attention from a nanny growing up. Like me.”
“You seem…a lot better adjusted.”
“I’m not, Olivia,” he whispered. “I function, and I earn my way, but how many men do you know who employ women in place of a relationship? I’m not as spoiled, or as violent, as Blaire, but I’m just as delusional about what I can have in life. And so far, like her, I’ve had everything I’ve wanted.”
“To a degree,” I said.
His silence hinted that he wasn’t sure what I was talking about, or that maybe he didn’t agree. “You still have your dad in your life, and we both know that’s no fun. You lose battles with the board a third of the time. And you couldn’t outfit your plane with that hideous red carpeting you were after. So no, not everything.”
He nuzzled my neck, making warm fizzles crawl up my middle. His arms tightened around me. “And soon, when you realize what a shallow bastard I really am, I’ll lose you.”
His tone was light, almost playful, but I heard the edge in it. The insecurity.
“As soon as you realize what a psycho I am,” I replied, “you’re out the door.”
He squeezed me again. “Not likely.”
I snuggled back into him with a smile. “You’re not a shallow bastard, Hunter. You’re a rude one. Someday you will say please all the time. I have faith.”
“Again, not likely.”
“Challenge accepted.”
Chapter Four
The next day I arrived at the office at my usual time. Hunter had once again dropped me off at home insanely early, as that was when he went to the office, leaving me to sleep for another hour before I got ready for the day and lugged myself in.
“Morning.” Brenda set Hunter’s coffee on my desk.
“Good morning. Anything pressing for today?”
“For me? Yes. For you? I have no idea. He has you doing harder stuff these days. Bet you wish you hadn’t let him know how smart you are…”
I smirked as I opened my computer, then grabbed Hunter’s coffee as my machine booted up. “Shows what you know. I like being busy.”
“Busy and harassed are two different things. You’re just too young to know it.”
“Jaded!” I accused.
“Yeah. One step ahead of you.”
I laughed as I let myself into Hunter’s office. As usual, his attention was focused on his computer. I put his coffee on the corner of his desk, where I always did, and turned to walk away.
“Olivia.”
“Yup?” I turned back.
“I have a business meeting in the city at the end of the week. Dress is business casual. I’ll require your presence.” He leveled his commanding business stare at me. “I’ve emailed you.”
I quirked an eyebrow. Telling me like this seemed a little heavy-handed. “Okay…”
He turned back to his computer.
What the hell?
Screwing up my face in confusion, I turned with the intention of finding that email. It was obviously super important for him to call this much attention to it.
“And Olivia…” he said as I was halfway to the door.
“Yeah?”
He was still staring at his computer. His hand was braced on his mouse, his finger raised, as though he was just about to make some important, life-altering click.
The man was in a strange mood, to say the least.
He said, “My mother is having a dinner party in a couple weeks. It is…not business. I wondered if you would accompany me. I’d like you to meet her.”
Hunter Carlisle was asking me to meet his mother! Holy crap!
My first instinct was to squeal. Luckily I didn’t. That would’ve been ridiculous. Instead, I wiped the hair away from my face with the back of my hand and batted my eyelashes.
Only slightly less ridiculous.
“Sure. Yes, of course. I would love to. Will you be telling me what to wear to both occasions?”
He glanced at me, a sparkle lighting his eyes. “I’d like to say no, but…”
“I don’t have any fashion sense, I know. For a guy so heavily into fashion, I have no idea why you don’t have more gay friends.”
“That’s a stereotype, and I don’t have any friends,” he mumbled, his shoulders tensing.
I waved him away. “I’ll leave you to your pity party, then.”
As I left his office, I couldn’t help a delighted smile.
“What?” Brenda asked as I sat down. “You look like he just gave you a gold bar.”
“Kind of did. Wants me to meet his mom.”
Brenda’s eyes widened. Her cup lowered slowly. “Well ho-ly crap. What did you say?”
“Yes, obviously. What do you think I said?”
“Knowing you, I have no idea. Wow. His mother, huh? That’s big news.”
“Yeah. I probably shouldn’t be this giddy, since he still maintains he can’t love, and he’s a shallow monster, but…I am.”
Brenda huffed and turned back to her computer. “He’s a drama queen. I assume you aren’t taking that seriously?”
“Mostly. But he’s in a dour mood. Beware.”
“That’s his default. I’m well used to it, my dear. The way he’s been smiling lately makes me worry that he’s unbalanced. I wonder if he’s about to go postal.”
“You two have a strange relationship.”
“It’s not me, it’s him.”
I smirked and clicked into my inbox.
By the end of the day, my sexy systems were fired up, knowing spare time usually meant Hunter naked. I walked into his office with a sure step and excitement bubbling up.
He sat at his desk
as normal, the setting sun casting long shadows that reached across the office floor. He looked up when I approached, his gaze flicking to the cup of coffee in my hand, and sliding over my body.
“Last call,” I said with a husky voice, reveling in his handsome face and broad shoulders. “I’m ready to go. Do you need anything?”
His brown eyes were trained on me, deep smoldering fire. I set his cup on the corner of his desk, ready to strip. Equally ready to pleasure him. Or myself. Or us both.
“No, I’m all set. See you tomorrow.”
I felt like I’d been dunked in a pool of icy water. My body went rigid. He didn’t even want to see me later?
“Oh.” I shrugged before swishing my hair off my shoulder. “No problem.” I gave him what I hoped was a confident smile. “See you tomorrow.”
His gaze lingered for a moment, probably assessing, before turning back to his computer.
What the hell?
The walk back to my desk was a confused one. He’d been all mushy last night, he’d asked me to meet his mom, and then…he sends me home alone?
In the grand scheme of things, this wasn’t a big deal. We weren’t even dating. Not really. There was no reason why I would spend every night with him.
I kinda wanted to, though.
Half pouting, I grabbed my computer and headed toward the elevator. I hated this part of a new relationship—or whatever it was we were doing. The wondering. The questioning. I should have just asked him why he didn’t want to spend every waking moment with me…
I huffed as I got into the elevator. Yeah, that’d go over real well.
The next few days went exactly the same. He didn’t strip me, didn’t demand to be undressed, and he didn’t invite me over. He gave me an assessing look, and wished me goodnight. He was treating me like a buddy. Not even a buddy with benefits!
I was definitely in the insecure girl stage of the relationship, or whatever this really was. By the end of the week I was a ball of stress, so when I found myself outside the building, waiting for Bert, I hadn’t expected the “Hey!” out of the blue.
More, Please (Please Series Book 3) Page 3