Page 20 of Betrayal

“He did sixteen years, stopped around my fourteenth birthday.”Another milestone in Hunter’s life.

“And you wonder why he stayed so long?”

“He stayed because of Mum.”Hunter had spent countless hours on the puzzle.“Maybe because of me.Ben and Ellie couldn’t have kids.We’re close.”And that had become one of Hunter’s most carefully guarded secrets.

“The question has to be asked.”

And yet few people ever had.

“Why did Ben stop?”Anna was smart, observant and, at this moment, Hunter didn’t feel he was making a mistake confiding in her.

“Mum walked in on Nick screwing his secretary in their bed.”Hunter didn’t add he’d been close behind.In time to see tits and ass, and humping, and hear Nick’s guttural groans and a saccharine sweet voice say “Oh baby, oh baby.”Nick’s secretary’s scent had overwhelmed his mother’s light floral fragrance.Heavy exertion carried its own smell, giving the scene a gritty immediacy missing from the blurry images on mates’ pirated porn videos.The real-life fuck had replayed endlessly in Hunter’s head—titillating torture.

“What happened?”She spoke with the caution of someone who knew the next step wasn’t straightforward.

“He wanted a divorce.Even more, he wanted to sell the house.But it was in Mum’s name—a tax dodge he’d done a few years earlier.She mistakenly thought keeping the house would bring him back to her.”

“What about you?”

“I went from being a kid, whose father was absent because he worked all the time but demanded adulation and total obedience when he was home, to a kid whose father was absent because they were divorced.”WTF, I’ve just spilled my guts to Anna Turner.

“I love the moon on the sea.Classic cliché, but moonlight on water spells romance.”She was letting him off the hook—wasn’t demanding more details or offering psychoanalysis.

Her perfume slid into his consciousness above the salt in the air and the roasting garlic and chilli from nearby Thai restaurants.

She upended him.Hunter figured he had a sense of her, and she tucked up her skirts and became a sprite on a moonlit beach, quiet and as easy to be with as an old friend.

“I told you my sister was doxxed.So, while I have to have a social media presence for work, she and I prefer as far as possible in this connected and dysfunctional world to keep our private lives private.”

“I didn’t check.”

“I did.”She made an apologetic face.“I gave myself ten minutes.You don’t appear to have personal social media accounts.Any gossip about you is all second-hand.”

“Work’s my excuse.No time.I do have business accounts, managed by my tech-savvy secretary.They don’t include shots of me.”

He wasn’t sure where Anna was heading, but she’d run a few checks.Everyone checked.Ridiculous to feel flattered, but going beyond the business bloggers, beyond the due diligence showed a personal interest.

“I’m telling you because I don’t make my judgements about people based on social media.If I have a question, I’ll ask you, and I expect you to do the same.”

“Fair enough.”

She released his hand.“Race you.”Then took off, her long legs sprinting across the packed, wet sand.

One hundred metres later, he tapped her elbow.“Tag.”

She slowed, finally coming to a halt, barely puffing.She stepped forward until they were toe to toe, her gaze on his, assessing him, weighing her next step.Hunter held his breath.He wanted to touch her, but she’d sprinted past the moment when they could have had a mindless hot and heavy coupling.When she smiled, Hunter knew she’d reached a decision and questioned his sanity.Her hand cupped the back of his head, and she rested her fingers on his other cheek.

Hunter had a split second to react before her mouth brushed against his.He opened his arms to wrap her closer.Like holding sunshine and joy.She lifted her head, her eyes dreamy and smiled.

“Your turn.Wanna kiss me, Duck?”

“I just might.”He scanned her face to imprint her features on his mind.Clear eyes, barely-there makeup, flawless ivory skin, and he wanted to kiss every freckle scattered across her cheeks.Because something told him he shouldn’t do this twice.Kissing Anna Turner was dangerous.“And I hate that name.”

The moonlight on the water, the crash of waves at his feet, the tang of salt in his nostrils and mouth, and her impish grin—absent any kind of fakery—tempted him to recklessness.She caressed his ear and anticipation roared beyond temptation to blazing need.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t do this, despite the little hum we’ve got going.You talked to me.Really talked.Honesty, and not leering down my blouse, are my Achilles’ heel.”She rose onto her toes, leaning against him in innocent provocation.Her smile faltered.The tip of her tongue moistened her top lip, then touched his.

“If we’re only doing this once, we’d better do it right.”He breathed against her lips.She tasted sweet and tart and strong, with a hint of the salted caramel from her gelato, and the combination packed a bigger punch than he’d expected—and he’d expected a flashfire.Once was already not enough.

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