Page 130 of The Confidant
I gently grazed my fingertips along his forearms, loving how I could feel his prominent veins. His arms were so sexy—the kind that inspired sonnets. They were also strong and comforting, and every time I was in them, they made me feel safe. And with his biceps bulging from the way his arms were bent, I couldn’t help but think about how I wanted to lust after and be in his arms forever.
But when I couldn’t take the tension mounting between us any longer, I bent over to kiss him again. As I relaxed my body against his, he tangled his fingers in my hair and whispered, “You’re so beautiful, Scarlett,” before pulling me somehow closer so my body was flushed with his.
With one hand gently combing through the hair at the base of my scalp and making me release a sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan, he moved his other hand along my shoulder and down my arm. He kissed me deeply, letting his tongue flick against mine in a way that awoke a stirring feeling deep within my belly. Then he was kissing along my jawline and laying me on my back so he could press kisses down my neck and along my collarbone. And all I could do was look at the ceiling and try to catch my breath because everything felt so amazing.
His hand smoothed over my hip and gently grazed beneath my shirt to spread across my stomach. I’d never been touched like this before but his calloused hand against my smooth skin made my nervous system go haywire as my stomach trembled and squeezed.
“Is this okay?” he asked when he noticed how still I went. “Am I pushing things too far?”
If it were with any other guy, I might have been worried that it was. But this was Hunter, and he knew me better than anyone else. I knew he was safe. I could trust him. So I said, “It’s not too far.”
But we were most definitely tiptoeing up to the line now.
It was like our three-kisses rule from last year all over again. Where we knew we had to stick within certain boundaries but were really good at finding loopholes in order to get what we wanted. The boundaries were on our side and an enemy at the same time, and just like an enemy would poke against every side and corner, checking for a weakness, we were really good at pushing things just to the edge of where everything would come tumbling down.
Our kisses eventually slowed, and the frenzy of the past hour subsided as we fell into a more gentle and secure pace. And when the wave of passion turned into a gentle ebb and flow, we pulled away and turned on our sides so we could breathe. We rested our foreheads together and just stared into each other’s eyes as we waited for our heart rates to slow back down.
Hunter brushed some hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. Looking somber, he traced his thumb across my cheekbone and whispered, “I love you, Scarlett,” making my heart swell and my whole body feel tingly.
Because I knew he truly meant it.
Hunter loved me fully—all of me—in a way that I didn’t think anyone else ever could.
And even though the words would never be able to capture all the things I felt for my best friend, I gave him a gentle smile and said, “I love you too, Hunter.”
44
SCARLETT
I wokethe next morning and smiled when I saw Hunter lying by my side, looking at me in a way that said he’d been awake for a while just watching me as I slept.
“Good morning,” he said, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead when he realized I was awake.
“Good morning,” I replied, leaning closer to him.
We’d fallen asleep together and it had been so nice. We’d only kissed last night, nothing more than that. But it had been amazing, and I was pretty sure I could be very content just kissing and holding Hunter for a very long time.
“You’d think that after being friends for so long I’d know everything there was to know about you,” Hunter said in a tired, mumbly voice against my hair. “But I learned something new last night.”
“You did?” I asked, curious what he may have learned. “What is it?”
“That you talk in your sleep.”
“I do?” I asked, surprised by this fact because I’d never had anyone tell me this before.
He nodded.
“What did I say?” I asked, hoping it hadn’t been anything embarrassing.
Or something I was forbidden to say.
“Just something about how attractive you think I am and how you’re obsessed with me.”
I rolled my eyes and patted his chest playfully. “And now I know you’re lying.”
“You don’t think you’d say those things in your sleep?” He pushed his lips down into a dramatic, pouty face.
“Well, since I’m pretty sure I was dreaming about going to Hogwarts and trying to beat Hermione at everything, I don’t think I necessarily had the guy I’m obsessed with on my brain.”
