Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“A little cliché, isn’t it?” he asks.
“Shut up,” I say. “What are you doing here?”
He turns so he’s fully facing me, that grin slipping from his lips as his expression turns serious. Hunter slips his hands into his pockets and looks at me, his gaze firm and stony.
“I decided I’m not going to let you do this,” he says.
“Hunter, I—”
He cuts me off with a shake of his head. “No, see, I feel like that should have been a discussion. Not a unilateral decision.”
“I don’t want to be a wedge between you and Micah.”
“That’s the thing. You’re not listening to me, Harlow,” he says. “That wedge has existed since Micah was a kid. We’ve never really gotten along, and he’s always resented me. It was because I wasn’t around much when he was growing up. That wasn’t my choice, but he was too young to understand what was really happening. That has absolutely nothing to do with you. Or with us.”
“But you’ve been working on your relationship with him. You guys—”
“We’re at a plateau. We weren’t growing closer. Not like a father and son should,” he says. “We were both keeping each other at an arm’s distance. I don’t know why, but we were. But that’s shit between me and him. It has zero to do with you.”
“Hunter, I—”
“Harlow, what we have is special. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, and I’m not ready or willing to just let it go by without fighting for you. Without fighting for us,” he says. “Can you really tell me you’re willing to just end this? To walk away from what we were building?”
“I don’t want to, but—”
“But nothing. We only get so many chances to be truly happy in this life. We only have so many chances to find that rare and special love with somebody that we have. Do you really want to just throw that away?”
With my emotions churning so wildly in my belly, I don’t trust myself to speak. So, I don’t say anything. His eyes burn so hot into me I fear they’re going to scorch me from the inside out, so I look down at the ground instead. He steps forward and slides his fingers under my chin, raising my face so I’m looking him in the eye. My vision blurs as my eyes well with tears. Hunter cups my face in his hands and caresses my cheek with his thumb.
“You’re mine, Harlow. You belong to me, and I belong to you,” he says softly. “I love you and I don’t want to walk away from this. I don’t want to lose you.”
“What about Micah?” I ask, my voice trembling.
He shrugs. “We’ll either work it out or we won’t. I love my son, but I’m not going to let his petty outrage dictate how I live my life. Or with whom.”
The first tear spills down my cheek, and Hunter gently brushes it away with his thumb. My heart and stomach turn over on themselves. The dam of resolve I’d built is being torn down brick by brick. I look deep into his dark eyes and feel a warmth I’ve never felt before flow through my veins.
“I love you, Harlow. And I want to be with you,” he says. “But if you don’t want this, if you want me to leave, just say so and I’ll go and won’t bother you again. But something tells me you want this every bit as much as I do. Tell me I’m wrong.”
I try to summon my strength again to tell him we can’t. That his relationship with his son is far more important than what we have. But when I open my mouth, I can’t find those words.
“You’re not wrong,” I say with a whisper as my own wants and desires come to the fore. “I love you too, Hunter. And I do want this.”
The words have barely cleared my lips when he smiles, leans down, and kisses me. It’s tender but passionate and fills my heart with all the emotions we’re both feeling. I cling to him, losing myself in his kiss, trembling from head to toe, my body filling with the sweetest sensations I’ve ever felt, and all I can think is that I want more. That I want this man more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.
Before I even realize what I’m doing, I find myself clawing at Hunter’s belt. I manage to get it undone quickly and move onto his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them. His lips brush my ear. The soft moan that passes his lips as I reach into his boxers and grab his long, thick cock is the sweetest music I’ve ever heard. Gripping him as hard as I can, I stroke his dick, and his moans turn into a hungry growl. He pushes back and looks me in the eye.