Page 74 of Strut

“I remember.” I kissed his cheek. “It’s not that. It’s just I’m not used to having this, having someone there for me in quite this way, except maybe for Tui.” I met his soft brown gaze. “But you don’t strike me as the accepting-help-easily type, either.”

Hunter wrinkled his nose. “You’d be right about that. But I think I could be, with you.”

“Is that right?” I crawled over his body to straddle his lap. Then I lowered my mouth onto his and kissed him soft and slow, brushing my lips from one side to the other before licking my way into his mouth. He deepened the kiss with a rumbling growl that went straight to my balls.

I wriggled my hips and smiled against his lips. Things were beginning to move in the right direction downstairs, but that’s as far as it went and Hunter didn’t push. He immersed himself in the kiss, letting me lead, sucking on my tongue, his warm hands cupping my arse, but undemanding. I was more thankful than I could possibly say.

I pulled off with a sigh and peppered his face with butterfly kisses. “Thank you, for not pushing.”

He cupped my face and held me still so he could look at me, lookintome. “Don’t ever thank me for just being a decent human being, Alec. I can’t even begin to imagine how you felt on Friday, having someone force themselves on you that way. Even if I hadn’t been friends with Rhys long enough to give me a heads-up about some of this shit, it’s your body and soul that’s been violated. It’s not rocket science to understand how that could mess things up in your head. It would sure as hell mess with me.”

I nodded. “It does. Even something as small as the fucking cologne he wore. I can’t get rid of the smell. Every now and then I catch a whiff. Or I see his eyes when I close mine and the way he looked at me.”

Hunter’s mouth tightened. “Those lines are ones that should never be crossed, but when they are, it changes things. What the fuck else would I do except be patient?”

God, this man.“I still want you,” I told him, meaning every word. “And the kissing definitely helped. I think maybe we should do more of that.”

His grin stretched ear to ear. “I have zero objection to that. So, here’s a thought. How about I kiss you all over and you lie there and direct operations? Then we shower.”

I fisted his shirt and leaned down to kiss him. “You’re an idiot.”

“No.” He blew my hair off my face. “I’m falling, baby, I’m falling.”

I blew out a sigh. “Yeah, me too. Oxygen mask in place, brace position adopted, landing gear down.”

He waggled his eyebrows. “You show me your landing gear, I’ll show you mine.”

I gave him my best eye-roll. “Need I remind you the cockpit is empty?”

He laughed. “Well, let me know when you’re ready and I’ll light up the runway.”

I snorted. “That was a terrible joke.” I was about to snag another kiss when my phone went off. One look at the screen and I rolled off Hunter to answer the call. Less than a minute later, I hung up.

“Fuck!” I sent my phone sailing across the coffee table and onto the floor.

“What’s happened?” Hunter scooted to the edge of his seat and pulled me around to face him.

I blinked back the tears. “Men-tion called Cara to cancel their test shoot.”

Hunter’s brown eyes went wide. “They what? Shit. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“It’s fucking not,” I shot back. “Cara said Men-tion’s photographer is ‘friends’with Darcy.” I made air quotes. “And Cara’s not exactly pleased with me. She said she’d warned me. Said I was putting the agency’s relationship with its clients at risk. Apparently, no one wants to hire models who might bring false charges against them. Go figure.”

“False?” Hunter’s nostrils flared. “Well, fuck her.”

I snorted. “That’s what I said.” I slumped back on the couch. “Oh god, I’m done, aren’t I? No one’s going to book me. I’ve just sunk my career.”

“Oh, baby.” Hunter’s eyes shone and he ran his thumb across my cheekbone. “We are not just gonna lie down and let him ride roughshod over you. I’m so done with his bullshit.” He brushed his lips across mine, pushed off the couch, and made for the door.

I followed, grabbing his elbow as he reached for his coat. “Where in the hell do you think you’re going?”

He eyeballed me. “You’ve got a big brain inside that beautiful skull, babe. I don’t need to spell it out.”

I stared at him for a moment, weighing my options. Rhys had warned both of us to keep our distance, but that was while police charges were an option. Now?Fuck it.“Then I’m coming with you.” I grabbed my boots and headed for the couch.

“No.” He reached for me, but I shrugged him off. “I don’t want him even looking at—”

I fired Hunter a killer glare and his mouth snapped shut. “You don’t get a say in this, Hunter.”

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