by K. M. Scott
“Let me feel you.”
Hunter’s eyes narrowed as he let her hands fall from above her head, and she slid her arms around his neck. He didn’t need to be told what to do next and lifted her up, pressing her back against the door.
“Fuck me, Hunter,” Alexis moaned against his lips.
He gave her a wicked grin, like he’d been waiting to hear those very words, and began pumping into her with abandon. Every thrust of his cock sent ripples of pleasure rolling through her body, until Alexis teetered on the edge of an orgasm.
“Don’t stop…God, don’t stop…” she whimpered as she watched the muscles in his neck tighten with each thrust.
Just as she asked, he continued fucking her like she’d never been fucked before. Her body surrendered to his willingly and forcefully, and she loved every second of it. When she finally felt her release begin to unspool inside her, she silently prayed to God Hunter wasn’t like other men and would go until she finished. Her orgasm rushed through her like a force of nature, leaving her weak in his hold.
Panting, he pressed his forehead to hers and stared at her like he needed to know what she experienced and the answers lay in her eyes. It was the most intimate act she’d ever experienced. She couldn’t pretend a single emotion like that, so he got all of her.
The vulnerabilities she kept hidden from the rest of the world. The unvarnished and untouched real image of who she was.
And in return, she saw in front of her the man she’d wished all her life for. Raw, hard, and animalistic, he possessed her body like it was his to take. But she also saw more than that.
As Hunter’s release roared through him, the guttural noise of a satisfied man escaped his throat, and then his body stilled. Alexis gently ran her hands over the back of his head and down his neck, feeling the dampness of the sweat from their lovemaking.
Placing a soft kiss on his lips, she sighed and smiled. “That was…”
He kissed her and finished her sentence. “Incredible.”
“I was going to say phenomenal.”
“That too.”
As pain began to course through her hips, she groaned and said, “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk tomorrow. I think I need to get down.”
Setting her on her feet, he pulled up his pants and zipped them, leaving them unbuttoned and his belt undone. As he sat down on the bed next to her, Alexis couldn’t help but think Hunter looked just as comfortable at that moment as he had before they had sex. She admired that in him.
“Why so quiet?” he asked, leaning over to kiss her sweetly as she still worked to recover from their rendezvous.
“No reason. I was just noticing how comfortable you always are in your own skin. I wish I could say I was like that, but I think it must be something you’re either born with or not.”
Hunter ran his hand over the top of his head to catch a few beads of sweat. For a moment, he didn’t say a word, but then he smiled in that way that made her stomach do flips and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“You’re one of the most beautiful women in the world, Alexis. Don’t try to be anything you’re not. You’re perfect just like you are.”
Perfect.
No man had ever called her that. Not her ex-husband. Not a single photographer who fawned over her. Not a director on any of her films.
No one else in the world.
And yet, in those dark green eyes, she saw he truly meant that. He thought she was perfect.
“Thank you, but I don’t feel perfect.”
Hunter slid down the pillows and pulled Alexis over next to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head.
“Well, you are to me,” he whispered and hugged her to his body.
Alexis curled up against him and lay her head on his chest. So much bigger than her, he held her in his strong arms as his words echoed in her head.
Perfect. You’re perfect to me.
She didn’t want to make more of what they’d done than it truly was. He wouldn’t be staying in her life forever. As soon as he found her stalker, he’d leave and go back to his life.
A life she knew almost nothing about.
As she lay there in his protective arms, she felt safe, and for the first time since moving to New York, she didn’t feel trapped in her home. She wasn’t hiding now. The apartment didn’t feel like a prison anymore.
Because of Hunter.
But how hard it would be when the day came when he had to leave. Alexis didn’t want to let herself feel attached to him. She wasn’t an inexperienced girl who knew nothing of the world. She understood the difference between sex and love, and all they had between them was sex.
Despite all that, as she lay there listening to him breathe in and out as he held her to him, she knew what they had between them was more than sex. He’d given her something she needed so desperately and hadn’t been able to find on her own.
That strength she’d always believed she held inside.
It had been pushed down by life, by love, and by her career, but in just the short time Hunter had been in her life, she’d found that strength once more.
And she never wanted to lose it again.
Chapter Seventeen
Hunter slowly awoke and opened his eyes, still not used to his new room. As he eased into consciousness, he saw a blond head resting on his chest.
Alexis.
They’d had sex hours before. Mind blowing sex, the kind you never forget. Three times. And now she lay curled up next to him sleeping with her head on his chest.
But they both had clothes on. Craning his neck, he looked down her body and saw that wasn’t exactly the case. While he was fully dressed, she wore nothing other than a t-shirt.
He smiled, thinking to himself that he could get used to waking up and seeing those gorgeous legs and ass every morning. His cock twitched in his pants, as eager as the rest of him to go for round four.
A noise outside in the hallway tore him from the fantasy he’d begun to construct about enjoying an early morning lovemaking session. Looking down at Alexis, he stroked her hair and smiled, still having a hard time believing what they’d done last night.
Not regretting it, though. No, he definitely wasn’t unhappy about sleeping with her. He just hadn’t planned on it. But now that they’d gone there, he certainly wanted to continue what they started.
And now seemed like a great time to do just that.
Sliding his hand down her back, he cupped her firm ass and inhaled deeply. The image of her riding him while he squeezed that ass made him want to get down to business right now.
Alexis lifted her head and looked up at him sleepily. Smiling, she said, “Hey, good morning.”
“Good morning. Did I wake you or did the noise out there do that? There’s something going on in the hallway,” Hunter said with a smile, loving how sweet she looked first thing in the morning.
She really was perfect.
And just as he began to pull her up on top of him, she suddenly sat up straight, yanking the sheet off the bed to wrap it around her and cover that beautiful ass and those sexy legs. Clutching it just above her breasts, she said frantically, “Oh my God! I didn’t expect to sleep so late. I never sleep until morning. God, of all the days for my body to finally figure out how to sleep, why did it have to be today? Everyone’s up already!”
“So? You slept in a little. You deserve it,” he said as he looked down at the bulge in his pants. “I say we go for another round right now. Trust me, I’m ready.”
Her gaze zeroed in on his pants and then she looked up at his face. “Another round? This is no time for joking. Everyone is going to know we were together!”
Hunter stood and pulled her to him to kiss her. “I wasn’t joking, and what’s the problem with your assistants and your bodyguards knowing we spent the night together?”
Alexis wriggled out of his hold and began looking around the room. “I don’t want them to know. That’s the problem. Where the hell are my p
ants?”
With each moment she looked horrified to be there with him, his ego grew more and more bruised. “Is there some problem with us being together?” he asked sharply, not caring that she may think he was overstepping his bounds.
She stopped and looked at him, frowning. “No. That’s not it at all, Hunter. I just prefer to keep my private life private.”
Living with two assistants and having bodyguards around at all times made any kind of privacy unlikely. How she thought she could ever keep any part of her life private he couldn’t understand.
Her face lit up, and she lifted the pink jogging pants in the air. “Found them! Will you go out there and distract them for me? I need to be able to get to my room unseen.”
“You mean like Carla did with me?” he asked pointedly.
As she got herself dressed, she looked confused by how he was acting. “Why are you being difficult like this?”
“Because I’m not used to women I’ve just slept with being ashamed to admit they’ve been with me.”
Alexis let out a huge sigh and frowned. “It’s not like that. I promise. I just don’t feel like gossiping with Lauren and Carla about how you were in bed because that’s what’s going to happen if they find out.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I know we look like adults, but the reality is that sexy time with a hot man brings out the teenage girl in all of us. It’s not pretty, but there it is. There’s no way I’m going to escape talking about how you were in bed, Hunter.”
“Okay. I get it.”
Happy again, she smiled. “Thank you. So you will distract everyone long enough for me to get back to my room?”
“On one condition,” he said with a chuckle as he sat back down on the bed.
“What? One condition? Fine. What is it?”
Hunter leaned back against the headboard and put his arms behind his head. “Tell me what you would have said if they asked you how I was in bed,” he said with a grin.
“What?”
“You heard me. What would you tell them?”
She huffed and marched around the bed to stand in front of him. “That you’re fine in bed but difficult outside of it.”
“Just fine?” he asked, stifling a chuckle at how cute she was when she got angry.
She put her hands on her hips and scowled down at him. “I’m not going to compliment you just because you’re fishing for them. Now please distract everyone like you said you would so I can run to my room.”
Happy to hear she enjoyed herself, he stood up with a hard-on that was visible in his pants and smiled. “We’re missing a perfectly good opportunity here.”
Fixing her gaze on the bulge in his pants, she shook her head. “Are you always ready like that?”
Hunter walked over to her and kissed her on the neck just below her ear. “I am when I’m around a gorgeous woman like you.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Please don’t make this more difficult for me than it has to be. I just need to get to my room so no one knows I was in here.”
“So I’ll run interference while you go to your room. Nobody will be the wiser.”
Opening her eyes, she looked him up and down. “Button your pants and get that smile off your face. Everyone is going to know you did something.”
“I’m a grown man. I get to have sex. If I’m lucky, I get to have great sex with a beautiful woman.”
A knock at the door startled her, and she shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. “Don’t let them know I’m here!”
He mouthed, “Okay,” and opened the door a crack to see Lauren standing there looking frazzled. “Morning, Lauren. What’s up?”
“I’m worried about Alexis. I’ve knocked on her door twice, but she hasn’t answered. After yesterday and how she stayed in her room all night, I’m scared.”
“I’m sure she’s fine, but let’s gather everyone in the kitchen. I’ll be right there. Do me a favor and round everyone up.”
“Okay. Thank you, Hunter.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of. I bet she just slept in after an excitable night.”
“I hope so. I worry about her.”
Lauren ran off to do as he told her to, and Hunter closed the door. Turning to look back at Alexis, he said, “Operation Distraction is underway. Give me a couple minutes and then I think you’ll be in the clear.”
“I slept in after an excitable night?”
The memory of how good their sex had been made him smile. “Well, I couldn’t very well tell her you slept late because I kept you up having mind blowing sex.”
His joke didn’t make her smile, so he asked, “What’s wrong? I was just teasing. I’m sure Lauren didn’t know what I was talking about. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Looking down at her feet, Alexis quietly asked, “Are you with someone, Hunter? Did you cheat on someone last night?”
Surprised at the question, he shook his head. “No. Why?”
“No reason,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “Just that you said you have sex with beautiful women, but earlier yesterday I got the feeling you had someone waiting for you.”
He dipped his head and kissed her softly on the lips. Tilting her chin up, he looked into her eyes and told her the truth.
“There’s no one waiting for me anywhere. As for sex with beautiful women, you’re the only woman who qualifies as that in a long time.”
“Oh. Okay,” she said with a little smile. “Okay. Let’s do this. Operation Distraction is underway.”
“I’m on it. Give me a minute and you’ll be safe to go to your room. And by the way, feel free to knock on my door anytime.”
She blushed in such a cute way he wished they could have another few minutes alone together. Disappointed they couldn’t, he left her standing in his room and walked out to the kitchen where everyone already waited for him.
“Morning everyone.”
He turned his back on the group of people and poured himself a cup of coffee while he tried to get the smirk Alexis had chastised him about off his face. He couldn’t help it. Why shouldn’t he smile? It wasn’t everyday he could say he woke up with one of the most beautiful women in the world beside him in bed after a night of phenomenal sex.
Damn. His body was still interested in another go, even though he had to address an entire household of people about the very woman he wished he could be burying his cock inside at that moment.
Well, Operation Distraction couldn’t wait for him to go soft. Time for him to put on his show.
Turning around, he leaned against the counter and tried to look as casual as possible. “You all know what my job is here. I’m going to find out who’s behind the letters and packages that have terrorized Alexis for months. I’ve begun my investigation, but I want to know if any of you who are closest to her have any opinion on who might be doing this.”
Hunter didn’t have a sense that any of them would necessarily give up that information even if they knew it, but he watched each of their reactions to what he said. Carla didn’t look surprised, likely because he’d just spoken to her last night, but Lauren looked utterly baffled as to why he’d chosen this very moment to make this point since her concern revolved around the fact that she still hadn’t been able to get Alexis to answer her that morning, even after two attempts.
The bodyguards didn’t look particularly surprised, either. Malcolm nodded and looked around at the rest of the people around him, while Kyle simply scowled at him. The other two, Kevin and Mark, looked angry, but he had the feeling it was more because they felt protective about the woman they worked for instead of something else.
Believing he’d given her enough time, he abruptly said, “Okay, well, if any of you want to tell me something privately, please don’t hesitate. Thanks and have a great day!”
Lauren waved at him from behind Carla and said, “Hunter, I still don’t know what’s going on with Alexis. I can’t get her to let me in this morning. Has anyone s
een her yet today?”
He’d almost forgot that poor Lauren had gotten herself worked up into a nervous mess about not being able to reach Alexis yet, so he said, “Oh, yeah. Has anyone seen Alexis today? Any of you bodyguards see her go toward the elevator? I certainly hope we don’t have another situation like yesterday.”
Everyone in the room shook their heads and murmured that they hadn’t seen her yet that day. None of that helped Lauren, though, so she hurried off to try Alexis’s bedroom door yet again. He felt a little bad about messing with her feelings, but it had to be done.
Operation Distraction a success, Hunter took his coffee and sat down in the living room. A few minutes later, Alexis walked into the kitchen with Lauren in tow.
“Then you’re okay?”
“Sure,” Alexis said. “I just overslept.”
Visibly relieved, Lauren’s shoulders dropped from where they’d sat up near her ears. “I knocked and knocked but got no answer. I got scared. I even went to find Hunter because I thought something might have happened. You always answer. What happened? You never sleep like that.”
Shrugging, Alexis smiled at her. “Nothing. I was soaking in the tub. It’s the only thing I love about this place, so I wanted to enjoy it.”
“But your hair isn’t wet. How did you get it all up on top of your head without my help?” Lauren asked, confused and a little more than curious this morning.
Her questioning flustered Alexis, who seemed unable to come up with a good lie to cover her first lie. “I don’t know. Honestly, you’d swear I did something wrong. I didn’t leave the apartment like I was told not to, and I just enjoyed a bath. Everyone needs to calm down. There’s no crisis. Just a woman starting her day a little late. Do me a favor, Lauren, and go get the script on my bed I was up late reading. I want to finish it so I can talk to Melanie about it later today.”
Distracted by her boss’s request, Lauren gave up asking any more questions and ran off down the hall. Hunter waved Alexis into the living room and smiled.
“Good morning! How did you sleep?” he asked as she sat down on the couch opposite where he sat in a chair.
