Page 100 of Bloom

One second, I’m wondering when the hell he started smiling so much. The next, I’m lamenting the loss of upturned lips—kicking myself for being the cause of it. Because when Hunter stoops to kiss me, my silly, self-conscious tendencies kick in, and my first instinct is to jerk away.

I didn’t realize that the…thingbetween us was going to be public knowledge. I mean, I knew people would know because people around here know everything—people have already started calling HunterThe Panty Thief, though I swore up and down they weren’t mine—but I didn’t know they’dknowknow. I didn’t know PDA was in play. I just figured we’d be, I don’t know, a little surreptitious or something. Not sneaky, but private.

Clearly, I was wrong.

“Please.” I cringe at Luna’s way-too-pleased tone, cringing even harder when I get a glimpse of her smug face. “Don’t stop on our account.”

Mortifying me further, Jackson adds, “Pretend we’re not here.”

“We’ll turn around if you want.”

“Fuck off.” The harsh words are only a playful reprimand, grumbled while Hunter swiftly rearranges us so he’s blocking me from view, the counter digging into my back as big, dirt-stained hands brace the granite either side of me. The admonishment I get, on the other hand, is a little more steely. “Embarrassed to kiss me in front of your friends?”

I gulp. “No.”

Hunter hesitates, fingers curling around the counter so tightly, I genuinely wonder if he could break a chunk off. Voice barely above a whisper, he asks, “Don’t want Jackson to see?”

“No.” I grab his wrists and squeeze. “Of course not.”

“Then gimme a fuckin’ kiss, honey,” the big guy demands, accent thick and tone leaving no room for arguments. “Been fuckin’ dyin’ all day.”

What’s a girl to do but freakingswoon?

It’s a good thing I’m practically crushed between Hunter and the counter because otherwise, I’m sure I would collapse when he tries again and successfully captures my lips with his. There’s a teeny, tiny, fleeting moment of uneasiness, of overthinking our meager audience, but it’s quick to dissipate. Quick to be overwhelmed by a warm, familiar rush as Hunter kisses me like there’s no one else in the room.

He’s clearly not shy, not pulling any punches, not caring that this should be a moderately awkward situation at the very least. But he doesn’t give a crap, and neither do I. At least, for a little while, I don’t. Until he palms my ass with a fervor that makes me gasp, and the sound snaps me back to reality.

An unimpressed groan rumbles in Hunter’s chest as I jerk away from him, the reprimanding pat of his wandering hands reinforcing his disapproval. Ignoring his protests, I nervously peek around him only to find out we’re alone.

Hot breath tickles my cheek as Hunter huffs. A second later, sharp teeth nip my earlobe. “Sure you’re not embarrassed of me?”

I roll my eyes and shove at his chest, but he doesn’t go anywhere, doesn’t stop feeling me up, and a harder swat of his palm on my ass makes me squeal. “What’s up with you today?”

“Nothing.” Defying the laws of physics, he drags me even closer. “Just missed you this week.”

Thatkilling mething—I get it now. Now that I’m on the receiving end of the killing, I get it. And I get it a little more when his lips wander, lavishing my neck with attention, honing in on the sensitive spot just under my fluttering pulse. My shaky knees return with a vengeance, threatening to buckle, and I hold onto Hunter for dear life as his tongue, teeth, and lips work in perfect harmony to drive me to the brink of madness.

And somehow, for some inexplicable reason, through the fog clouding my brain, I still manage to conjure up the most inopportune question. “What’re we doing?”

“Right now?” I feel his smirk against my skin. “I have some ideas.”

“No.” God, why can’t I catch my breath? “I mean, like,us. I don’t know what the…” My nose wrinkles as I search for the right words—anywords would be helpful. “I don’t know what the rules are.”

With a sigh, or maybe a laugh, Hunter pulls away. “Therules—” I scowl at his entirely too amused mouth. “—are we do whatever you’re comfortable with, Caroline. Whatever you want. Set your boundaries and I’ll respect them.”

“What about your boundaries?”

That smirk is pure evil. “Don’t have a whole lot, honey.”

“Except a relationship.”

I don’t mean to say it. Not out loud, at least. It just comes out, an accusation that isn’t meant to be one, and I regret it immediately.

Hunter’s expression remains soft, only the furrow of his brow giving him away as his hand finds its favorite spot near the crown of my head, as his forehead gently nudges mine. “I'm tryin’,” he murmurs before I can get an apology out. “Givin’ what I can.”

“I know.” I clutch at his t-shirt, twisting the fabric near the neckline. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear. It just came out.”

“S’okay.” Stooping once more, he kisses me gently, briefly. “You got anywhere to be tonight?”

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