Page 21 of Strut

He was right about that, but there was more hurt in Hunter’s eyes than he was admitting to, and his expression shuttered. He was done talking.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and his gaze shot to mine. “That was none of my business. Come on.” I grabbed my jacket and slipped my arms into it. “We should be going. I’ve got work soon.” I tried to stand but Hunter put a hand on my arm.

“I didn’t run from you in the club because what we did meantnothing.” His brown eyes darkened in the lengthening shadows, their intensity burning straight through me. “I ran because it meantmorethan I was willing to admit.”

What?I blinked twice, and in the ensuing silence, his gaze slid nervously sideways.

“What the hell does that mean?” I finally choked out.

He let go of my wrist and ran his hand over his mouth. “I should never have kissed you that night let alone anything else. I... like you too much.”

He liked me?What the hell did that mean?“Well, you had a funny way of showing it.”

He winced. “I know. But you were right there and I’d had a couple of drinks and you were too fucking tempting. I’m so sorry I was such a dick. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just... I didn’t know what to make of it.”

“Make of what?” I asked warily, not sure I was ready to deal with the answer whatever it was. I was still dealing with the whole Hunter-liked-me bit, whatever that meant. Didn’t mean jack depending on what followed.

“I didn’t know what to make of the fact I wanted more than what we did, more than a hook-up. You... scared me, and I needed to put you back in the box.”

“Iscaredyou?” This was becoming surreal. “You ran because I scared you? What the hell, Hunter? You didn’t even let me get you off. I came like a damn train in a time guaranteed to ensure my perpetual embarrassment, and you just walked the hell away like you didn’t want me touching you.”

Hunter mumbled something I didn’t catch.

“What was that?”

He sighed and caught my eye. “I didn’t want you to touch me because I’d already fucking come, all right?”

Whoa, what?My mouth dropped open. “You’d... what? But...”Holy shit.

I cast my mind back. Hunter’s hard body on mine, his dick grinding against my thigh, his steamy kisses, our tongues tangling, urgent grunts into open mouths. I remembered his head falling to my shoulder, his breath hot on my neck as his hand worked my cock, soft groans falling from his lips to my ear.

Had I really missed him coming? Was that even possible?

But yeah, maybe. I’d been too shocked, too giddy at finally having him touching me, too desperate to stave off the too-soon orgasm about to course through my body, too lost inhim. I’d never for a second thought Hunter had been close, and then almost before the last wave of my orgasm passed, he’d been gone. I hadn’t even seen his face. Just the one word as he left.“Sorry.”

Hunter’s face bloomed red above his thick dark scruff, and he turned away. “Are you happy now?”

“Happy?” I stared in disbelief, ignoring the curious glance of a couple sitting not too far away. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I lowered my voice. “You came from just gettingmeoff? You have no idea how pissed off I am that I missedthat.”

He blew a long sigh. “I didn’t want you to know how into you I was,am.” He stole a sideways glance, which no doubt caught me gaping like a complete idiot, because that’s what I did these days, apparently.

He continued, “We were already friends, and I thought if I’d stayed and talked then you might expect something more from me.”

I shot him a withering glare. “Do you even know how ridiculous that sounds? First off, when we met, you gave zero indication you were remotely into me, so why would I expect anything more. And second, like I’m gonna demand boyfriend rights or something, just because you got off on my leg and made me come?” I arched a brow. “You’re notthatirresistible, Hunter, no matter what you think.”

He winced. “Touché.”

I narrowed my gaze. “Damn right. Because what really happened, pushing aside all your bullshit, was that you yellow-bellied it out of there because ofyourfeelings,notmine. You were scaredyoumight want something more fromme,not the other way around. And so you behaved like a total jerk and left me wondering what I’d done wrong for a whole fucking year.”

I’d clearly hit pay dirt and his silence spoke volumes. I didn’t know whether to feel smug or furious, so I settled on both.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “Iwasa coward, and then I doubled down on that by not coming to you after and owning it. I shouldn’t have left you hanging, especially since we were still working together. I’m sorry. I was an arsehole and an idiot.”

Goddammit.I gritted my teeth and stared at him. It was a great fucking apology, and I didn’t want it to be. “You have no idea how infuriating you are. Not to mention your head’s so far up your arse I’m surprised there’s not whisker burn on your tonsils.”

His lips twitched and those two annoying dimples popped. “Like I said, I’m sorry, I—”

My phone rang and I held up a finger while I searched in my jacket pocket. One glance at the screen and I sighed. “I have to take this. It’s Cage.”

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