Unforeseen Heartbeat

by Maureen Mayer

  “Maddie, it’s more than okay. I made plenty. Besides, it’s your apartment. You don’t need my permission to invite anyone, and we already consider him part of our little group anyway. Why don’t you take him a beer and let the guys know I’m just finishing up.”

  I grabbed a bottle of Sam Adams for Hunter and poured a glass of my favorite sweet red wine for myself. I almost stumbled, spilling beer and wine everywhere, when I took in the scene playing out before me. Hunter had Robbie on the floor in some kind of modified sleeper-hold, while Lance, Shayne and Brett cheered them on.

  “What the hell are you guys doing?” I shook my head, laughing at the pair of them.

  “Robbie was showing an interest in what I’ve been teaching you, so I figured I’d demonstrate a few moves,” Hunter explained. He was on his knees leaning over Robbie’s back with one arm loosely around his neck and the other locking Robbie’s arm behind his back.

  “It sure looks like you’re putting the moves on him all right,” I chuckled, wiggling my eyebrows at him.

  Hunter quickly released his hold on Robbie when he caught what I had implied and stalked over to me with a devious smirk plastered across his face. His cheek brushed against mine just as he moved in to whisper in my ear. “You are being very naughty tonight, missy.”

  “Well, it appears a certain someone has recently brought out my naughty side.” He shook his head and I handed him the beer, watching him take a long pull from the bottle.

  “Dinner’s ready!” Liberty shouted from the dining room, and the guys eagerly barreled their way past us.

  Hunter and I took our places side by side at the table, but he caught me totally by surprise when he pulled my chair out for me. Well, that was a first. Liberty was seated straight across from me, and I looked up to find her smiling at his thoughtful gesture.

  “Shayne, how come you never pull my chair out for me anymore?” Liberty turned to Shayne, and his expression looked like a deer in headlights. Hmm, this should be good.

  “Uhh…”

  “You always used to when we first started dating.” She sat staring at him pointedly. “So what’s changed?”

  “Well, you see, sweetheart… I uh… yeah… I got nothing.” Shayne shrugged, looking down at the table, and went back to twirling the spaghetti on his fork.

  “Hey, you never pull my chair out for me either, Lance. What gives?” Robbie chimed in, and Lance let out a frustrated sigh.

  “Good job, Hunter. Way to bring everyone’s manhood down a notch,” Brett deadpanned, throwing his napkin down on the table and tossing a dinner roll directly in Hunter’s face.

  Hunter looked to me for help, and I burst out laughing. I knew they were all doing this to get a rise out of Hunter as a friendly form of hazing. Soon, the entire room was filled with uproarious laughter, and everyone dug into the feast Liberty had made for us. I looked around the table and realized that we really had become quite an eccentric little family, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  I loved how well Hunter had effortlessly meshed in with our lives, as if he had always been there. He grasped my hand under the table, brushing his thumb over my knuckles, and I looked over to see him mouthing “thank you”. For what, I don’t know. I should have been the one thanking him. He finally opened my eyes and allowed me to see the good in myself, something no one had ever taken the time or put the effort in to do so. But Hunter was different, and I knew he wasn’t going to give up on me so easily. Although, for his own sake, sometimes I thought it might be better if he had.

  Hunter held my hand throughout the entire meal, resting it on his thigh. Periodically, I would give him a little squeeze and catch him looking at me from the corner of his eye, an adorable smile tugging at his lips. Never in my life had I felt more content and at peace than in that very moment.

  We finished up Liberty’s scrumptious dinner and the tiramisu she prepared for dessert, and after a few hours, everyone parted ways with their bellies full. Hunter and I volunteered to clean up the mess left in the kitchen, and I was grateful Robbie and Lance chose to spend the rest of the night at Lance’s seldom-used apartment. That left us completely alone, and I appreciated the unexpected privacy.

  Hunter rinsed off the last dish in the sink and smiled as he passed it over to me. I quickly dried it, placing it in the cabinet next to the stove, and leaned back against the counter across from him. I watched as he stretched his arms above his head, and his shirt rode up a bit, exposing his taut abs and just a hint of his V-muscle that continued further south. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him and the way his hooded gaze drank me in… Oh God, I had to have him now!

  Hunter cleared his throat, and my eyes shot back up to his. Fuck, he caught me staring again. How could I not, though? With a body like that, he was the epitome of every straight woman’s and gay man’s sexual fantasy, and I was dying to get a piece of him for myself.

  I abruptly broke eye contact and shook my dirty thoughts away. “Is it hot in here or is it just me?” I fanned at my face.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s just you, beautiful.” He padded across the linoleum floor and slinked his arms around my waist. “You want to watch a movie?”

  Pressing my cheek against his chest, I soaked up his warm, masculine scent, and my arms instinctively went around him. I placed a chaste kiss just over his heart before tilting my head back and nodding in agreement. Quickly perusing my movie collection, Hunter picked out Anchorman, and slid it into the Blu-ray player before sitting beside me on the couch.

  “Will Ferrell fan, huh?” I giggled, and Hunter wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his side.

  “I’m pretty sure if you’re not a fan of Will Ferrell, it’s a total deal breaker.”

  “Seriously?” I buried my face into his chest, laughing even harder. “I guess it’s a good thing I own every single one of his movies, or else I’d be shit out of luck.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I could’ve made an exception for you. Just this once.” He winked and returned his attention back to the movie.

  We spent the next hour and a half laughing our asses off as we snuggled up under a throw blanket, but I still managed to pass out just four minutes shy of the ending. The next thing I knew, I was lying in my bed, and Hunter was tucking me in beneath the covers. He bent down, pressing a kiss to my forehead, and whispered, “Goodnight.”

  I placed my hand on his forearm just as he turned to leave. “Will you stay the night? Please?”

  He looked as though he were battling his own inner demons, but when he came around to the other side of my bed and peeled back the blanket, I knew he had made his choice. He slid his shirt off and reached down to undo the button of his jeans but looked up at me for permission first.

  “Do you mind? I usually sleep in just my boxers.”

  I shook my head, biting my bottom lip, and pulled the blanket up higher over my body. I only had a tank top and yoga pants on, and when I realized there would only be a few scraps of material separating us, my mind began racing with all of the deliciously naughty things I imagined doing with him. He tugged down the zipper of his jeans, but quickly pulled it back up and told me he needed to grab something from his bike. He came back with his gym bag in hand and was now sporting a pair of black-framed glasses. I was pleased to find that he did in fact look like a sexier version of Clark Kent… and boy, did that give me a lady boner!

  “Sorry about that.”

  “That’s okay. I like the glasses.”

  I watched Hunter’s jeans slowly fall to the floor, and he climbed under the blanket, placing his glasses on the nightstand next to him. I whimpered softly, disappointed to see the glasses go, and that earned me a smirk from him. He knew he looked damn good in them. I rolled over onto my side and reached to turn the lamp off, but was startled by Hunter’s arm sliding across my waist and tensed up at his touch.

  “Is this all right?”

  I nodded, my words caught in my throat, and he pulled me closer so my back was pressed flush ag
ainst his hard, bare chest. His hand ran across my stomach, slipping beneath the hem of my shirt, and the butterflies that had been lying dormant until recently took flight. With my hair fanned out over the pillow, he nuzzled into the crook of my neck, and his lips brushed against my skin. He continued to feather kisses down my neck and across my shoulder until my body shuddered beneath his gentle touch.

  With his rough hand spanning over my stomach, he breathed into my ear, “Baby, your skin is so soft. I don’t know if I can keep my hands off of you.”

  I sucked in a breath and rolled over to face him. “Then don’t take your hands off of me. Yours are the only hands I want on me.”

  We were so close that I could see the lust swirling in his eyes, and I knew for certain that he was feeling this, too. Hunter couldn’t hide it anymore. I knew he had been fighting this, just as I had been at the very beginning, but I could see his resolve was slowly crumbling. I slipped my fingers through his silky brown hair, urging him to take what I knew he truly wanted. I wanted it too. I wanted him to take me, all of me. Fuck, I was already his.

  I cautiously slid my lips over his and waited for the tension to release from his body before I allowed my tongue to dart out and trace over his bottom lip. His lips parted ever so slightly, but it was enough to let me slip through and gently sweep my tongue over his own. I took my time exploring his mouth, coaxing him to make the next move, and thankfully Hunter obliged. He pressed his body against mine until I was on my back and he was hovering over me and nestled between my thighs. I ran my hands all over his body, craving the contact, and his mouth began to move with more urgency.

  Just as Hunter moved his hand further under my shirt, barely grazing the underside of my breast, a loud crash came through the window, and shards of glass dispersed in every direction. His body flew over mine, pulling me down to the floor on the opposite side of the bed, and for the tiniest moment, I considered ignoring the mess scattered around us and pulling his lips back down to mine.

  “Are you all right?” He cupped my face, and I nodded as he kissed my forehead. Once again, Hunter had managed to slip his gun into the nightstand drawer without me noticing, and he reached for it before bolting out of my room. I followed him down the hall, matching his brisk stride, but he stopped dead in his tracks before he reached the front door.

  “Wait here. Let me just make sure everything is clear out there first.”

  I nodded skittishly, my nerves finally settling in. As soon as Hunter swung the door open, I heard tires screeching against the pavement, but with the headlights turned off, I couldn’t get a good look at the car. Hunter circled the outside of the apartment to make sure everything was safe, and when he came back inside, his gun was tucked in the waistband of his boxers, and he was shaking his head back and forth furiously.

  “You can’t stay here, Maddie. I’m taking you back to my apartment like I should have done weeks ago.” He brushed his thumb over my cheek and gave me a weak smile. “Why don’t you go pack a bag while I call the police? I’ll see if they can send the same officers over, since they’re already familiar with what happened to your car. Maybe they’ll finally have some new leads as to who’s responsible for this shit.”

  I went back to my room and carefully tiptoed over the glass that sparkled against the moonlight as it trickled in through my shattered window. It was nice to find some beauty within the chaos, even if only for a moment. I quickly pulled a suitcase out of my closet and threw in whatever clothes I could grab without even looking at them. For a girl who took pride in taking the time to choose her outfits wisely, this was totally out of character for me. But from the look on Hunter’s face, I knew that it was no longer safe for me to stay here, and what clothing I packed should have been the least of my worries.

  Maneuvering around the jagged pieces, I tripped over something hard and stumbled forward with my palms flat against the floor to brace my fall. The tiny pieces of glass bit through my skin, and I winced at the sudden sharp pain. I looked down to see what I had tripped over and found a chunk of brick with a piece of paper rubber-banded around it. I picked what glass I could from my hands before reaching for it, and the words typed out on the scrap of paper sent my heart racing.

  Your true colors will always shine through…

  Once a SLUT, always a SLUT!

  Hunter came flying into my room and, when he saw the blood on my hands, fell to the floor in front of me, not caring about the glass that was now digging into his knees.

  “Fuck, Maddie, what happened?” He lifted my hands gingerly with the scrap of paper still between my fingers. Hunter’s eyes went from concerned to seething with fury as he read over the words.

  My heart was still beating like hummingbird, and I was breathing erratically. Hunter sensed my panic attack almost immediately and, just as he had done the previous two times, pressed his lips to my throat over my rapid pulse. I tried so hard to match his breaths, but nothing seemed to help. He pulled back and looked into my eyes, searching for an answer, and just when I thought he had found it, he crashed his lips feverously into mine. It took a second to register what was happening as Hunter devoured me, but soon my lips were moving in tandem with his with just as much ferocity.

  I’m sure it was meant to be more of a distraction from my panic attack than anything, but I couldn’t help but savor the feeling of his lips on me. They felt like pure heaven, and the emotions he was evoking from deep within me were a welcome addition to the ones he had already surprised me with over the last few weeks.

  Hunter’s quick thinking seemed to have worked, because my pulse gradually slowed and my breathing calmed. He tore his lips away and leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?” His hand reached up to cup my cheek, and he brushed away a stray tear. “You’re going to stay with me until the police can find the little prick who keeps fucking with you, and he better pray the cops do find him because he won’t be so lucky if I get my hands on him first.”

  “Thank you, Hunter. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here.”

  “I’ll always be here for you, Madelyn. Don’t think for one second that you can get rid of me so easily. Sorry to say, but you’re stuck with me now, babe.”

  I laughed softly and watched a slow-spreading grin appear on Hunter’s handsome face. “You make that sound like it’s such a terrible thing.”

  “Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that after spending a few days with me,” he chuckled under his breath.

  My heart stirred when I realized that, for the time being, Hunter and I would be cohabitating… just the two of us. It seemed that for every bad thing that continued to happen to me, something good always came out of it; and that something good came in the form of Hunter.

  I was still worried about Robbie and Lance’s safety and thought it might be best for them to remain at Lance’s apartment for a while, so I shot Robbie a text message to let him know what was going on. The police arrived a few minutes later, and I answered all of their questions while they assessed the damage in my room. After they gathered everything they needed, and the paramedics bandaged my hands, Hunter grabbed my suitcase and secured it on the back of his bike. I looked back at my dark, empty apartment and wondered if I would ever be able to return to this place. If I would ever feel safe here again.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Hunter ran his fingers over my neck, kneading the tension away.

  I looked back at him, forcing a weak smile. “Yeah. I guess I’m just worried that they won’t find whoever’s been doing all of this. I just want to feel safe in my own skin again and not have to constantly watch my back.”

  Hunter smiled sympathetically and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I know, babe. Let’s get you back to my place so you can get some sleep, and we’ll try to figure this all out in the morning.”

  Hunter swung his leg over the bike, and I slid in behind him and wrapped my arms snug around his waist. He carefully lifted my hand and brus
hed his lips across my palm where it taped up with gauze before gently placing it back around him. My heart swelled in my chest and even though it hurt to do so, I held him a little tighter the entire way to his apartment.

  At first glance, I wasn’t even surprised to find Hunter’s humble abode in complete disarray: laundry scattered about the living room, dirty dishes in the sink and lining the countertops, boxes that still hadn’t been unpacked. This was your typical bachelor pad, and Hunter being your typical bachelor, I couldn’t hold it against him.

  Between the kitchen and living room was a small fish tank with a massive goldfish filling almost the entire contents of the tank. Hunter set my suitcase down on the floor and wrapped his arm around my waist. “I see you’ve met Killer.”

  “Killer?” I arched my brow. “What kind of name is that for a goldfish?”

  “Well considering he ate every other fish I put in there with him, I thought it was very fitting. Plus, he’s old as shit. The bastard just won’t die.” Hunter shrugged with a smirk.

  Laughter bubbled in my throat and it felt so good to laugh after everything that happened tonight. Hunter released his arm from my waist and took my hand, leading me down the hall to his bedroom. I sank down on the edge of his bed, and he came back into the room with my suitcase.

  “Sorry about the mess in here.” He hurriedly picked up clothes that were strewn about the room and tossed them in the hamper.

  “It’s no problem, Hunter. You were sweet enough to let me stay here. I don’t want you to have to change your living arrangements just for me. If you’re normally a slob then by all means, continue on with your filthy ways.”

  Hunter’s comical expression made me question what I had said. Then I noticed the double meaning behind my words and mentally face-palmed myself. Nice one, Maddie. I pulled my suitcase over to the bed and dug through the contents to see what I had packed so hastily. Of course there was nothing appropriate that I could sleep in. While I stood there with my hands tugging at my hair, Hunter came up behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder.