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  Hunter softly grunted. I chanced a glance at him. Eyes closed, his expression was rigid, but the noises he made reassured me that he was enjoying what I was doing.

  I wrapped my fingers around him, shocked at his girth in full erection. Thinking about that cock thrusting into me one day made my clit lightly throb. I didn’t think I would ever get enough of this man.

  I watched the head disappear into my palm, then reappear as I slid my hand back down the length of his cock. Over and over again, until my palm became slick with his precome.

  The movement memorized me. My body hummed with lust again. I was turned on by simply watching my hand stroke him. I doubted there was anything about this man that could turn me off.

  Not wanting to focus on my intensifying need, I let my gaze travel over him and it locked on the bicep of his left arm. Tattooed into the skin was my name in bold, black letters.

  Everything in me froze, including my hand. Hunter’s eyes popped open. I quickly regained my composure, switched my attention back to his cock, and started moving my hand in a faster rhythm.

  Why was my name tattooed on his bicep?

  All because of that letter? A letter I’d assumed he’d tossed out or laughed at with his military buddies when they were bored and had nothing better to do?

  Hunter’s breathing hitched and his moans became more intense. He was close. I was seconds away from making Hunter Rhodes come. I pumped my hand faster, my wrist aching from the strain of it.

  The slick sounds of my hand slathering his cock greeted my ear, as he thrust his hips in time with my rhythm.

  “Oh, fuck,” he murmured. “Fuck. I’m going to come.”

  His body stiffened, slightly arching off the bed. Milky white come poured out over my hand then squirted onto my chest. Spurted over my hard nipples.

  Hunter groaned. “So fucking hot.”

  I continued working my hand until he jerked, and sharp gasps shot from his mouth. After I was certain the head of his cock was oversensitive and his orgasm was complete, I slowly released him then I glanced up at him.

  He had his eyes closed again and his face was relaxed and almost peaceful.

  “I love seeing my come on you,” he said as he slipped his hand behind me and rubbed my ass. Come coated my hand and had squirted up on my pink cami, seeping through to the skin. After kissing his soft lips, I slipped off the bed, walked across the short hall to the bathroom, and washed my hands. I stripped off the cami and used a washcloth to clean my skin. I liked having Hunter’s come on me, liked cleaning it off me after we’d messed around.

  But what happened next? I had never gone this far with a man before and I wasn’t sure what the protocol was after giving each other pleasure, but not being in a relationship. Would he just get up and leave? Did I ask him to?

  If I was being honest with myself, I didn’t want him to go. I wanted him to stay all night with me.

  Taking a deep inhale, I stared at my reflection in the mirror over the sink. My hair was the same dark auburn it always been, my skin was still too pale, my eyes still the same muddy brown. I didn’t look any different, but I felt different, more mature, a little more experienced. One of my many fantasies had been realized tonight. I wanted more, to fulfill every scenario I had written down on that paper to him, but I wasn’t sure if there was more to come or if this was a one-time deal.

  Just go with the flow girl. Don’t make it weird.

  I was worried I would say something stupid or express that I wanted him to stay and become that needy, clingy girl. I couldn’t do that. Just go in the room. Hunter’s actions would lead mine.

  When I stepped back into my bedroom, I was expecting to find Hunter standing by the bed, pants pulled back up and ready to hit the door. Instead, he’d moved from the middle of the bed to under the covers. He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Slowly, his head turned toward me.

  He lifted the quilt. “Get in.”

  My mouth went dry. I was going to sleep beside Hunter Rhodes. This had been one of the non-erotic excerpts from my letter—the desire to just feel him curled behind me, to know what it was like to sleep in his arms. Was he going to go through each of my requests, adding his amazing sexual spin to it, one by one?

  Or was this the only fantasy he’d fulfill for me before moving on?

  I couldn’t think about tomorrow. I didn’t want to. There would be nothing I could do about what it would bring. But I could enjoy this. Every. Single. Blissful. Second.

  I flipped off the light then crawled onto the mattress, slipping beneath the quilt. Hunter shifted onto his side, tugged me over to him so my back was pressed against his chest and tucked the covers around us.

  A heavy arm settled around my waist and his thumb stroked the inside of my wrist. My mind was having a hard time grasping that I was lying in bed with Hunter. He didn’t make any move to get things started again, which I found odd since we he was clearly staying the night.

  I wiggled my ass against his cock, but he clamped his hand on my hip, stilling my movements.

  “We’ll fuck when you’re ready. Not before.”

  Biting my lip, I worried about reading too much into his words. If I took them literally, there would be more to follow, but I was terrified of getting my hopes up only to be let down. The range of emotions I had experienced tonight was leaving me exhausted.

  “I never want to leave this room.” His confession shattered the silence and I froze, waiting for him to elaborate. “Everyone in this godforsaken town thinks I’m the same guy that left—a goddamn golden boy with a picture perfect future. I’m not that boy anymore. I’ve witnessed too much. There’s so much fucking rage inside me.”

  I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he’d been through. I shifted onto my other side so I faced him. I took his face between my hands. “Then don’t be that boy, Hunter. Be the man you are now.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t share that part of me with them.”

  But he could with me. That was what he was telling me. My heart expanded, clogging my throat. After all these years, I had become someone Hunter needed.

  Whatever this was between us wasn’t going to end when the sun came up tomorrow. I was convinced of that now.

  Chapter 2

  “A soy mocha latté and an onion bagel toasted with butter,” a balding man said without as much as a good morning or smile.

  Smothering an impatient sigh, I punched in the items the business suit had ordered. Thankfully the morning rush was almost over. By nine it would be dead in here as everyone who worked in the four-story office building would scurry to their respected jobs. Then I’d do busy work until the lunch rush.

  God, I hated this job, but between my hourly wage and tips, it paid the bills so I couldn’t complain.

  “$7.15,” I told the customer.

  After taking the man’s money, I cut the bagel in half then popped the bread into the oven. While it toasted, I got to work on his latte. Lather, rinse, repeat. Same day in and day out. I never thought after four years of school and acquiring a bachelor’s in advertising, I’d be serving coffee for a living.

  I should’ve known finding a job in this small town would’ve been impossible. My only option was to move to a bigger city. The idea scared the crap out of me. The farthest I’d been away from home was went I went off to college, less than an hour away.

  A small town girl with a big city degree. Taking that next step was my stumbling block to making something of myself.

  I finished making the guy’s order and three more that came in after he left. Then I was alone. Bending under the counter, I dug my phone out of my purse and checked for any messages.

  None.

  Rubbing my forehead, I stared at the image of a beach on my screen saver, willing a text notification to pop up. I didn’t know what to make of this morning. I’d woken up with Hunter’s arm still around my waist. Since I had to open the cafe this morning, I’d tried to slip out of bed without waking him, but the moment
I’d moved his eyes had popped open, startled.

  When he’d asked what time it was and I’d told him six o’clock, he’d jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes, and as he bolted out the door tossed out that he had an interview this morning over his shoulder. No kiss, no sweet nothings, not even a damn ‘I’m sorry I’ve got to go’ as he’d sped by. Nothing.

  Last night as I feel asleep in his arms, I’d been convinced that one orgasmic night wouldn’t be the only taste I’d have of what Hunter could do to my body. After this morning, I was back to doubting myself. Him. Us.

  I inwardly snorted. That was my damn problem, right there. There was no us. One night giving each other pleasure did not constitute an us. I was having a hard time remembering that. Hunter had simply came over for a little action. He’d gotten it. I’d gotten mine. If there was no more, then that was fine.

  Yeah, I could tell myself that all day long, but it didn’t stop my heart for wanting to see him, touch him, again. Sighing, I shoved my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. I couldn’t dwell on it. He either would or wouldn’t call.

  What I needed to do was get busy with something that would occupy my mind so it would shut the hell up. My gaze landed on the expresso machine. Meh. Better than nothing. After grabbing out the weekly deep cleaning supplies, I went to dismantling the machine. I’d just finished sanitizing the steam wand when muted voices caught my attention, causing me to glance up.

  Two men were talking right outside the entrance of the café. Immediately, I recognized the older gentleman. Rotund, with his signature silver hair and round glasses, Mr. Stedman was hard to miss. He was the CEO of a software company that encompassed the entire third floor of this building, and he was also Sophie’s father.

  I wasn’t very fond of the arrogant, snob of a man and hoped he wasn’t coming in to order anything.

  The other guy had his back toward me, giving me a chance to appreciate the way his expensive suit jacket showed off his broad shoulders and trim waist. The way he held himself screamed important and wealthy. Yet, something seemed familiar about him.

  Mr. Stedman started forward and the other guy turned to walk beside him. I dropped the portafilter I was holding onto the floor. Hastily, I bent to pick it up. Now I knew why he’d seemed so familiar. Those broad shoulders had kept my legs spread wide last night while he’d drove my clit mad with his tongue.

  For some reason, Hunter Rhodes was here—in my building.

  Talking with Sophie’s father.

  The two were in a very deep conversation and had yet to look up. Hunter looked so…wealthy, reminding me what class of people he came from. This town reeked of old money, and the Rhodes family and Stedman clans were the oldest and most established families.

  When Hunter’s eyes landed on me, the only reaction he had was a slight lifting of his brows. My cheeks heated. I was never someone to be embarrassed about my job. Earning money was earning money and no one should be ashamed of what they did to make a living. But I felt the difference between us more than I ever had.

  I was a low-paid barista. He was a war hero, who came from privilege.

  Seeing him with Mr. Stedman only intensified the feelings that what had happened between us last night was a one-time thing. He was settling right back into the life he’d left behind. I didn’t belong in that life.

  Mr. Stedman bellied up to the counter as he pulled out his wallet from the inside pocket of his gray pinstriped suit jacket. “Two large coffees. One the usual. One black.”

  Forcing a smile, I rung up the order and shot a glance at Hunter standing behind the older man. No smile, no heat to his gaze, no secret glances, nothing to indicate that he remembered or even enjoyed last night.

  “That will be four dollars and fifteen cents.” Feeling the burn at the back of my eyes, I kept my gaze on the credit card Mr. Stedman held out, then stared at the credit machine as I ran the card. After handing him back the card, I spun and went to work making the order, trying my best to get control of my emotions so I didn’t humiliate myself by breaking down in front of Hunter.

  But I felt the tears in the back of my eyes and the sobs that wanted to escape my throat.

  I needed to act like an adult about this. My letter had created an itch he’d needed to scratch and last night he’d scratched it. All that stuff afterward had to have been venting. If he really wasn’t the same guy who’d left, then why was he willingly putting himself right back into his old life? Hooking up with me had to have been some sort of romp on the other side of the tracks.

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  But if I was some sort of rebellion, what was the deal with the tattoo of my name?

  Maybe it wasn’t me. Eliza wasn’t the most popular name in the country, but it wasn’t original or rare either. It simply could’ve been some other chick he’d met in the military. Some crazy coincidence.

  “Hurry up, would you? I don’t have all damn day,” Mr. Stedman demanded as I worked.

  My skin flamed with humiliation, and I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole. It was one thing to be embarrassed about the job Hunter now knew I did, but something totally different to be treated like shit in front of him.

  “We’re not in a rush,” Hunter said, a tense edginess underlining his tone. “Let the lady do her job.”

  A long silence followed. “You’re right, Hunter, my boy.” Stedman sighed and then called out to me. “Take your time.”

  While I appreciated Hunter smacking Mr. Stedman down a peg, I was none too pleased about being called ‘the lady’ as if he hadn’t had his face buried in my crotch last night. No doubt he was wanting to make sure that the older man wouldn’t get the impression that we knew each other.

  The pretense that he didn’t even know who I was stung me badly.

  After stirring the sweetener into Mr. Stedman’s coffee, I turned with both cups. I kept my gaze on the owner of the business upstairs. I couldn’t look at Hunter. Not with these new thoughts wracking havoc on my brain.

  “Have a great day.” The smile I gave the older man felt tight and forced.

  Nodding, Mr. Stedman turned without so much a thank you. A muscle jumped in Hunter’s cheek. “Thank you, ma’am,” Hunter said coolly.

  Again formal, not even the slightest indication of familiarity.

  He then turned and followed Mr. Stedman to a round table in a corner at the front of the café. Too far away for me to hear anything.

  I was pretty certain that this was the job interview that Hunter had mentioned before he’d left this morning. Considering his words last night, I didn’t know why he would want to go work for Mr. Stedman, but it wasn’t my place to question his motives.

  If he took the job, Hunter would be in contact with Sophie on a daily basis. She was her dad’s right hand. Since she was determined to snare Hunter again, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d had something to do with this meeting. Their union made sense. The two most powerful families finally combining through marriage was expected by everyone in this town.

  At the thought, my stomach soured. I needed to escape my cynical thoughts so I got busy sanitizing the machine again.

  A few minutes later, my phone vibrated in my back pocket. Tossing the washcloth on the counter, I dug it out with my other hand, flicked my phone across the screen then tapped the text icon.

  I’m thinking about what we did last night.

  My breath caught tight and my gaze shot to Hunter and Mr. Stedman. Hunter was sitting across from the other man. From where I stood, it appeared that Hunter was giving the CEO his full attention, and I wasn’t sure how he’d sent me a text. Then I noticed his phone balanced on his knee underneath the table.

  The phone vibrated again and I glanced back at my cell.

  I loved watching you come. I’m hard just thinking about it.

  I couldn’t believe he was texting me. Hunter Rhodes was the most confusing person I’d ever met. One moment he acted like he didn’t know my name, the next he was
doing and saying the most intimate things imaginable.

  Imagine my tongue flicking your clit

  That image immediately popped into my mind and my lower body started to pulse.

  My lips sucking you deep into my mouth

  Air shot out of my lungs as my need intensified and I leaned back on the counter.

  I need another taste.

  Now.

  I wanted it now too. Needed it now. My body already felt ready to explode.

  Go to the storage room. I’ll be right there.

  Everything in me stilled. He wanted me to do what?

  I glanced at the two men again, and Hunter still appeared completely enthralled by every word coming out of Mr. Stedman’s mouth. How did he keep up the appearance of intense interest in this interview while simultaneously texting me such dirty things?

  My phone vibrated.

  Go, Eliza

  I had never done something like this. But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t exciting. Biting my lower lip, I glanced around the café. Other than the two men sitting up front, the place was completely deserted, including the lobby outside. From experience, I knew the chances of someone coming in was slim at this time of day. It didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen though. What if someone stopped by?

  Fuck it. I wanted whatever Hunter was willing to give me more than I wanted to serve someone piping hot coffee. I slipped off to the small supply closet. There wasn’t a lot of room back there. On one side, a metal shelve took up the entire wall with small boxes of supplies, ranging from stir sticks to napkins. Along the other walls were free-standing boxes of coffee, filters and other thing five high that came up my hips.

  Where should I stand? Should I try and strike a sexy pose? I glanced around, nerves suddenly taking hold. What would I do when he came in? Did I just go over to him and start kissing him? Did I wait for him to start something?