Page 27 of Baked

But Hunter didn’t look scared or pissed or even worried. The bastard looked amused, laughter dancing in his dark brown eyes.

“Don’t you laugh at me either.” She pushed at his rock-hard chest, getting even more annoyed when it had no effect. What was he made of, stone? “It’s not funny.I’mnot funny.”

That blinding smile of his chose now to make another appearance. Distracting her. Putting out one fire and starting another one.

“Honeybun—” he tried again, but she cut him off.

“Oh,nowit’s honeybun? I get it. You use it when you wanna sweet talk me, right?”

“What are you talking about?” She watched the humor quickly drain from his face.

Don’t do it.

Too late.

“What I’m talking about is you pulling out thehoneybuncard when you think it will get me to shut up. Not caring in the slightest that you’re playing with my damn feelings, Hunter! And that’s not fucking cool, okay?” She was well aware that her voice was getting louder. And even more aware that she needed to stop talking right now. “You don’t tell a girl you like her and then when shit gets hard, just turn around and take it back! What kind of man does that, huh?”

Her hand slapped down on his chest again, shoving at the hard wall over and over. Literally poking the bear.

A bear who reacted by capturing her wrist and hauling her into him until she was inhaling manly musk.

“That’s what this is about?”

She didn’t answer, instead, she dropped her head and decided to focus her attention on the white dust dotted over his black T-shirt.

Not taking the hint, Hunter walked her backward until her ass hit the stainless steel counter. He then unceremoniously hauled her onto it, his hands dropping to her thighs as he opened her up and stepped between them.

They were now eye to eye. There was no hiding.

“You think I changed my mind?”

“Didn’t you?” She kept her voice firm, doing her best to hide the insecurity that had slowly crept inside and made itself comfortable over the past few days.

His forehead dropped to hers, and with one deep inhale, she was immersed in him. More musky aftershave, the woodsy notes of his body wash, and something else. Something she still couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something uniquely Hunter. Whatever it was, it sparked her senses. Made it hard to breathe.

“Baby ...”

He needed to stop. She couldn’t take these names anymore. He couldn’t give her affection one day and take it away the next. It wasn’t fair.

He continued, “When I told you I wanted this, I wasn’t lying. You’remine. Do you hear me? There’s no going back.I’mnot going back.”

She didn’t understand. “Then why haven’t you ... I mean, the past few days, you haven’t ...” Okay, maybe some of her insecurity had crept into her voice that time. So much that she couldn’t even bring herself to string together a whole sentence.

His big hand engulfed her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek as he blew out a long breath. “I want to do this right. I owe you that. I oweusthat, honeybun. I was being selfish before, trying to claim you when you were going through this.Aregoing through this.”

What is he talking about?

He wasn’t done confusing the hell out of her yet. “Right now, you’re vulnerable. And I’d be a complete dickhead if I didn’t acknowledge that. And an even bigger one if I took advantage of you.”

Okay. Hold up.

She reared back, feeling as though she’d just been slapped. He let her go but made no move to back up, a cautious stare assessing every scrunch of her face as she processed what he’d just told her.

“You think you’ve been taking advantage of me? So what, you think I’m some fragile little girl who can’t be trusted to make my own decisions? Is that it?”

“Baby, please.” His voice softened. “You know I don’t think that. I’m just trying to do the right thing. I wasn’t lying when I told you I want this. I’ve waited nine goddamn months to taste these sweet lips, which means I can wait a little longer if I have to. And I do have to, honeybun. This thing between us is the real deal. I won’t do anything to jeopardize that, and that includes making sure we do this right. At the right time.”

Although the sweetness of his words registered, he still managed to piss her off. Why did he get to decide when the right time was?

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