Page 24 of Imperfect Saint
Hunter let go of her hand to wrap his big arm around her as she wiggled into a comfortable position against his side. Her hand slid across his chest and he raised his other to it, holding it over his heart. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the sound of him breathing and the steady but quick thump of his heart.
She smiled against his skin, knowing he could feel it, even if it was too dark to see, “I think you’re going to get another chance.”
“I hope so, Mills. I really, really hope so.” He kissed the top of her head and she closed her eyes.
She felt warm and safe and happy in Hunter’s arms. And hopeful. For the first time since she’d left Joshua, he wasn’t the last thing on her mind as she fell asleep. Hunter was and she dreamed of their magical first date, the one he’d told everyone about at dinner, the one that had happened barely an hour ago but felt like an eternity in the making. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.
8
Hunter woke up slowly. His mind was reluctant to leave the dream he was having behind. In it, he was holding Millie. Her soft body was pressed against him. His arms were wrapped around her and when he canted his hips, pressing his erection against the curve of her ass, she made that low, kittenish sound she’d made when he kissed her.
“Mmm.” He hummed as his sleep-addled brain began to rouse but when he opened his eyes the dream world was gone completely.
He was in bed alone. He was only clutching a pillow to his chest in the place where Millie had been in his dream. She wasn’t in bed with him anymore. She wasn’t even in the room. The bathroom door was open and empty too and that made him grouchy. She’d left him sleeping and gone out by herself.
Hunter groaned as he pushed upright, all the old aches and pains making themselves known after a night of tossing and turning. A glimpse at his watch on the nightstand shocked him so much he closed his eyes before looking at it again. It still said it was a little after eight when he put it back down and swiped a hand across his sleepy eyes.
He’d slept late and Millie had let him sleep. He had no idea how long she’d been gone but considering it was past eight in the morning he’d guess she had been up for a while. He couldn’t believe he’d slept in, that he hadn’t woken when she got up or dressed or left the room. Then again, he’d lain awake half the night just holding her, smelling her sweetly lotioned skin and the soothing lavender scent of her hair. He’d listened to her breathing, felt her heart beating against him where she’d tucked herself into his side. He’d been more than happy to be her pillow, her mattress, her blanket, whatever she needed. But it was hell sleeping with a hard-on and he knew he hadn’t conked out until the early hours of morning.
His morning wood jumped just thinking about having Millie in his arms and he collapsed back into the bed. He eased his hand down and gave his thick length a quick stroke. His entire body went tight like a livewire and he knew it wouldn’t take much to come. A few thoughts about Millie and a couple quick tugs and he’d feel a hell of a lot better but he didn’t dare give into the urge.
Millie might come back to the room at any moment and he didn’t want her barging in to the sight of him with his hand in his pants. He didn’t want to scare her off. The least he could do since he’d overslept was drag his sorry ass to the shower and jerk off where he could easily clean up and go find the woman that had put him in this sad state in the first place.
He forced himself to roll out from between the sheets and stand. He stretched, listening to the cracks of his bones and joints. He wondered if this huge house had a gym hidden away somewhere that he could borrow. He could use a good workout and the chance to burn off some of his restless energy. He made a note to ask Millie about it when he tracked her down as he went to his bag to fetch a clean pair of briefs and fresh clothes.
He smiled when he saw it. Sitting on top of his suitcase was a small piece of paper that looked as if it had been ripped from a planner. It was creamy white and he’d have known the flowing feminine script anywhere. He picked it up as he realized that Millie had left him a note.
Gone downstairs to grab us breakfast. Back in a bit. - M.
Hunter liked that she’d left a note. He wished she’d woken him to go with her but since she hadn’t, he supposed the sweet note letting him know where she was so that he didn’t worry was the next best thing. He tried to judge how long she’d been gone from the state of the room and the bathroom but it was impossible to tell. For a half second he contemplated crawling back into bed and letting her bring him breakfast but he dismissed the idea as quickly as it surfaced.
He wasn’t here to charm Millie into bed with him. At least, that wasn’t the only reason he was here. He was supposed to be watching out for her, having her back, and keeping her ex from getting too close to her. He couldn’t do that from up here and God only knew what Millie was facing alone in that dining room.
An inquest from her brother? Some not so subtle hints from her father that he wanted her back with his business partner’s son? Her ex making moves on her? All of those thoughts and more made Hunter’s smile fall and his grumpy mood resurface as he rushed through a quick, cold shower. He didn’t have time for more than that. Not with Millie already alone downstairs. Now that he was awake enough that his head was on straight and he was thinking with the one above his shoulders, his dick would just have to wait for the attention it wanted.
His hand could have done the job, sure, but his hand wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Millie, and if he had a chance in hell of ever making this thing with her real then he needed to get to her before she put her walls back up and before her family or her ex had the opportunity to come between them.
Hunter grabbed a lightweight sweater and pulled it on. Normally, if he was going to be around Millie, he’d have added a layer, putting a button-up underneath so that he wasn’t tempted to push his sleeves up his forearms and reveal the scars and the tattoo. But she’d seen all of that last night. She’d seen a part of him that he’d hidden from her and she hadn’t recoiled. She’d touched the marks and she’d listened as he told her the story. She’d even said she liked the ink, though he wasn’t sure he completely believed her considering she hid her own tiny tattoo at all times. It was still sweet of her to say she did and he figured since the wedding wasn’t until tonight, he’d have plenty of time to change depending on what activities she had planned for them today.
He added a pair of dark denim jeans and boots. He spritzed on just a dab of cologne. He ran his hands through his hair and contemplated shaving. His stubble was already back in full force, darkening his jaw, and though he’d gone clean-shaven for Millie last night, he dreaded the grind of keeping his face that way which was why he’d grown a beard in the first place. Millie was used to seeing him with a short, manageable beard and she’d never complained about it so he decided to skip shaving today in favor of getting to her faster. He grabbed his watch off the nightstand, buckled it around his wrist and headed downstairs less than fifteen minutes after he’d rolled out of bed.
He was a man on a mission.
It was a big house and it was bustling with people as they prepared for the evening wedding. Hunter followed the sound of voices down to the ground floor. Millie had given him a quick tour last night but it still took him two wrong turns to find the dining room with its long oak table stacked high with warm, delicious smelling breakfast foods.
There were heated trays of eggs and bacon and sausage. A big pot of white gravy and a pan of what looked to be homemade biscuits. There were at least three more trays of fruit and vegetables and at the end there was a server pouring coffee, juice or tea. It was overkill, but Hunter had already figured out after last night’s welcome meal that the Turner family didn’t seem to know any other way.
There was only one Turner that he was interested in though, and he scanned the room for her. Millie was there somewhere and he needed to find her. When he did, he had to work not to scowl.
She looked absolutely breathtaking. He rarely saw her in anything but her business professional skirts and blouses but this morning she’d dressed casually. Her denim pants were skin tight, clinging to her body and cupping her ass in a way that made his imagination run wild. She was wearing a simple, navy long-sleeved Henley and a plaid vest over that with knee high riding boots. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face in a single braid that she’d flipped over one shoulder and the light from the windows glinted off her glasses. She was stunning.
That wasn’t what annoyed him. It was the fact that she wasn’t alone in the line of people carefully picking through the piles of food. Joshua Bell was just behind her and though Hunter couldn’t see her face straight on from this angle he could see the other man’s just fine. He knew that look. It wasn’t the look of anger or even hatred that the other man had shot at Hunter time and again since their arrival. It wasn’t even the sneer of disbelief the bastard had given Millie when Hunter introduced himself as her boyfriend, or when they’d been telling stories over dinner. No, the look he was giving Millie now was that of a man desperate to get back in her good graces. It was all charm and white teeth and pleading niceness. Millie must have said something to him because Joshua’s grin widened and he eased just a little bit closer to her, invading her space despite the fact there was plenty of room for him to go around her.
Hunter saw red. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t want that bastard anywhere near Millie. He didn’t want her talking to her ex-fiancé. He wanted to stamp his name on her like a caveman, toss her over his shoulder and get the hell out of dodge before this asshole convinced her he was worthy of a second chance.
Instead of letting his anger get the best of him, he took a deep, calming breath and let it out before he started towards them. He and Millie had made real progress last night and he wasn’t going to lose ground to some asshole that hadn’t known what he had until he lost it. Everyone here thought he was Millie’s boyfriend, even this jackass who had brought a date of his own, yet here he was hitting on Millie over breakfast. Hunter couldn’t allow that. Not as her fake boyfriend and certainly not as her very real future one.
Joshua Bell might have been her first… everything… but Hunter St. James intended to be her last.
