Unforeseen Heartbeat

by Maureen Mayer

  I smacked his stomach playfully. “Hey, don’t even try to bring her out again. You already got a taste of her when we first met, and she’s not a fan of repeat offenders.”

  “I’ll have to keep that in mind. Let’s get you fed before she makes another lovely appearance.”

  “How about we head over to AJ’s after we clean up the mess in the kitchen? I think Liberty is working this afternoon, and I could totally go for some fish and chips.”

  Hunter leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Sounds great. Why don’t you go get ready? I think I can handle things in the kitchen.”

  Padding down the hallway to Hunter’s room, I pulled my suitcase up on the bed and dug through the mess of clothes. I threw on a pair of white shorts and an orange tunic shirt and quickly braided my damp hair, letting it hang over my shoulder. Having left the apartment in such a hurry last night, and not thinking to pack any makeup, I was forced to go au natural until I was able to go back there. If I’d ever be able to go back there.

  When I walked into the kitchen, I found Hunter wiping down the counters with the biggest grin on his face. He was humming a tune that I didn’t quite recognize, but he looked like he was totally in the zone while rocking his hips to the beat. My hand flew over my mouth in an attempt to muffle my giggles… he was just too damn cute. I was worried that if he kept that up, he might dislodge the towel that was wrapped around his hips. Okay, worried might be the wrong word… hopeful would probably be more fitting.

  Tossing the dishtowel over the side of the sink, he pivoted around, and his grin spread even wider as his eyes ran up and down my body. He stalked toward me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him until his pelvis was pressed against me. I smiled up at him, my teeth dragging over my bottom lip. Oh yeah, I felt that… message received.

  “I’ll be ready in just a few, babe.” He kissed the sensitive spot below my ear before pulling away and heading back to his room.

  I leaned back against the fridge, my legs feeling like jelly. I didn’t know how the hell that man got to me so easily, but every little thing he said and did had me feeling like I was the most precious thing in the world to him; someone to be protected and cherished as though I were a rare piece of treasure. God, it just made me love him that much more.

  “So… did you guys finally bump uglies?”

  I spit my lemonade clear across the bar and stared blankly at Liberty who was looking down, fixated on a chip in her nail polish.

  “Jesus, Liberty! I just told you someone threw a brick through my window last night, and your biggest concern is whether or not Hunter and I did the nasty? Unbelievable. I’m glad you’re so worried about my well-being. Really, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” I shook my head in disbelief. Seriously, what the hell?

  “I’m sorry, Maddie. I didn’t mean for it to come out like I wasn’t concerned about you. You know I love you like a sister, and I’ll always have your back.” She rubbed my back. “But let’s be honest… you guys have been going around sharing flirty glances, touching one another every chance you get, and not to mention there’s a nice, fresh hickey… or five on your neck. So out with it. Did you finally let him stick his P in your V?”

  “In my… dear Lord, woman, I’ve corrupted you! What happened to my sweet, innocent Libby Poo?”

  Liberty slapped her hand down on the counter in a fit of laughter. “Well, you see Maddie… I got laid! And more than once I might add. I think that cured me of my innocence.”

  “Touché,” I snorted, laughing right along with her. “But no, we haven’t bumped uglies. We’ve only kissed… and maybe shared a shower together,” I said under my breath and watched Liberty’s eyes grow wide.

  Brett came out through the back door and snuck up behind me, pulling me into a big bear hug and spinning me around. “Hey sis, what’s shaking?”

  “Apparently me! Put me down!” I giggled and threw a straw at him as he slipped behind the bar. “I didn’t know you were working today.”

  “Yeah, I picked up a few extra shifts. Still haven’t found another job yet, so Bob’s been giving me as many hours as possible. So what’s new with you? Fill me in on the latest developments with Hunter?” He cocked his head to the side where Hunter was seated in a booth on the opposite side of the restaurant, looking over the menu.

  “You guys are like two gossiping old biddies. Is my love life really that interesting to you?”

  “Ohhh, she used the word love, Brett. That can only mean one thing.” Liberty wiggled her eyebrows, leaning in closer to him.

  Brett rested his chin in his hand with his elbow propped up on the bar. “Dare I say, is my sissy in love? Gasp!”

  “Fuck off, both of y’all!” I turned away, ignoring their silly antics. My eyes fell on Hunter who appeared to be still studying the menu; except now he had a wry grin on his face that let me know he had heard every word they said. Shit.

  I slid back in the booth across from Hunter and gave him a weak smile. “Sorry about that. Liberty has a tendency to run her mouth.” I looked back to find Liberty grinning and wiggling her fingers at us. Has that girl ever heard of subtlety? Apparently not.

  “No worries, babe. I was still deciding on what to order.” His tongue dipped out, tracing across his lower lip as he pulled it between his teeth. I closed my eyes, imagining his lips and tongue and teeth exploring every curve and contour of my body…

  “You guys ready to order?”

  My eyes shot open, and Liberty appeared out of thin air, snapping me out of my daydream. I shut my menu and smiled up at her. “Yeah, I’ll have the mind-your-own-damn-business with a side of keep-your-trap-shut.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. We stopped serving that last week. You must have missed the memo, Maddie. Would you like your usual instead?” Liberty said with a huge, cocky grin on her face, and all I could do was nod in response.

  “What about you, Hunter? What’ll you have?”

  He looked back and forth between us, his eyebrow raised. “Uh, I’ll just have the fried catfish sandwich. Thanks, Liberty.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll have those out for you in a jiffy.” She turned on her heel and skipped back to the kitchen while I shook my head.

  “Everything okay between you two?”

  “Oh yeah, just peachy.” I rolled my eyes. “She and Brett, along with everyone else, love to stick their noses in my personal life, and they’re all convinced we’re madly in love and going at it like rabbits. I’m beginning to think she’s letting those wedding bells get to her head.”

  Soft laughter passed through his lips as he reached across the table and took my hand, gently brushing his thumb over my knuckles. He opened his mouth but quickly snapped it shut when his cell phone rang in his pocket. His forehead creased when he looked down at the number flashing and tapped the screen to answer.

  “Hello?” Hunter held his finger up and slid out of the booth to let me know he’d only be a minute.

  Brett came over to the table, looking back at Hunter as he stepped outside before returning his attention to me. “Why didn’t you tell me about the shit that went down last night? Jesus, Maddie, I swear you’re going to be the death of me,” he said, keeping his voice low.

  “Hey, you think I like being scared shitless in the middle of the night, because someone threw a brick through my window with another message calling me a slut?

  “Shit, Liberty didn’t tell me that part…” he trailed off as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair, tugging at it nervously.

  “Yeah, well I’m pretty sure it was the same asshole who trashed my car. Brett… I don’t know what I would have done if Hunter hadn’t been there, but he seems to think it isn’t safe for me to stay in the apartment, and I agree. I’m going to be crashing at his place until this all blows over.”

  Brett nodded with his head dipped down. “And if it doesn’t?”

  “I haven’t exactly planned that far in advance.”

  Hunter stepped back inside ju
st as Liberty was coming out of the kitchen with our food. “Well I’ll let y’all enjoy your lunch. Call me if you need anything, Maddie. I mean that. You know I’ll be there for you in a heartbeat.”

  “I know.” I smiled and kissed my brother’s cheek. “Love you, Brett.”

  Brett gave Hunter a slight nod and patted him on the back as he passed by.

  “What was that all about?”

  “He likes you.” I shrugged, grinning at him. “You should be happy. He doesn’t really like any of the guys I hang around with.”

  “I guess it’s good to know I don’t have to worry about my girlfriend’s brother coming over in the middle of the night and threatening to chop my balls off.”

  I was in the middle of unraveling my napkin, and as soon as the word “girlfriend” left his mouth, my hand slipped and the silverware went crashing to the floor. Girlfriend? Did I miss something?

  “Girlfriend? You want me to be your girlfriend?”

  “Well, yeah. I figured we were heading in that direction anyway. Is that okay with you? I mean, if you don’t want to put a title on it, that’s fine, but I kinda like the idea of everyone knowing that you’re mine.”

  My heart melted, hearing him refer to me as his. Normally that would have my feminist panties in a twist, and I’d be chewing his head off for thinking he could claim me like some kind of commodity, but I wanted to be his. Fuck it, I already was his!

  “Wow. I uh… sorry, you kinda caught me off guard there.” I shook my head. “I-I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

  A smile tugged at Hunter’s lips “If it makes you feel better, I haven’t had that many girlfriends, either. It’ll be a learning experience for both us.”

  Liberty came over to drop off some more silverware and winked before heading back to the bar, most likely to gossip some more with Brett. Those two, I swear…

  I started picking at my fish and chips and remembered the phone call Hunter had received just a few minutes ago; he didn’t look too happy about it either.

  “So who was that call from earlier?”

  Hunter answered, keeping his head down, “It was Officer Michaels. He was calling back about some evidence they found at the apartment.”

  Now, that had my attention.

  “And…? Did they find the guy?”

  He slowly set his napkin down, and his steely gray eyes bore into me. “No. But they did find a partial fingerprint on some of the glass that was still left in the window. It was enough to run it through the database, but they couldn’t find a match.”

  I nodded, disappointed that they weren’t any closer to finding the guy who was responsible for fucking with my life.

  “I’m sorry, babe.”

  “It’s all right. I just hope they find him soon.”

  “You and me both.” He slid out of the booth and came around the other side, squeezing in next to me. “But you know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, right? I’d never let anyone hurt you.”

  “I know.” I nodded again, and this time the tears were pricking at the back of my eyes. He wrapped his arm around me, and I leaned my head against his shoulder, loving his warm, strong hold on me.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Hunter whispered, his hot breath tickling my ear. “Why don’t we sneak away for the weekend? I think we could both use some time away from all of the drama surrounding us here, and I know just the place to set our minds at ease. Plus, I think I owe somebody a real first date.”

  I tilted my head back to find that his handsome smile had returned. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

  “That’s for me to know, and you, sweet cheeks, to find out.” He dipped down and kissed the tip of my nose.

  I sank back against the booth and groaned. “I probably should have warned you that I hate… no, I loathe surprises.”

  Hunter’s hands flew up over his heart. “Such little faith… you wound me.”

  “Hey, if you found out that your brother was surprising you with a kitten for your fifteenth birthday, and then you went out and bought supplies for said kitten, only to find that he got you a damn baby catfish that ended up dying the next day, you’d probably loathe them too. So if you plan on surprising me, you’ll have your work cut out for you.”

  “Note to self: never buy Maddie anything with a pulse,” Hunter chuckled under his breath after I elbowed him in the ribs. “Seriously though, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with what I have planned.”

  “Planned?” I leaned back with my arms crossed over my chest. “You seem pretty confident there, mister. I never even agreed to go.”

  “Oh, you’re going.” His voice lowered seductively. “You definitely won’t want to miss out on this little trip, babe. Trust me.”

  “When did you find time to plan anything?” I shook my head. “I’ve been with you for the last twenty-four hours.”

  “After I got off the phone with Officer Michaels. I checked with him first to make sure we weren’t required to stick around town, and he even encouraged us to get away for a while. So I called and made some reservations…”

  I leaned in closer to Hunter’s side, anticipating where we might go.

  “You thought I was going to spill the beans there, didn’t you?” He winked, and I huffed in frustration.

  “Let’s get this food wrapped up to go so we can get back to my place and pack up the car. Check-in time is around three, and I don’t want you to miss a single second of what I have planned.”

  He dragged out the last few words, and my body was tingling from the shiver that ran down my spine as he nuzzled into the curve of my neck. If he kept that up, maybe this “surprise” weekend wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “Sounds good to… Wait, you don’t have a car, Hunter.”

  “Of course I do. How do you think I get around when it rains?”

  Good point. “Okay, so, how come I’ve never seen your car before?”

  The corners of his mouth slowly curled up like a Cheshire car. “Because she gets jealous when I have another woman riding in her. Besides, I like having you pressed up against me on the back of my bike.”

  She? “Oh, you’re not one of those guys, are you? So totally obsessed with your car that you have to name it? It’s just a car.”

  “Don’t be hating on my baby. She’s fine as hell and purrs like a kitten, but I’ll let you get the full on experience when you meet her.” He boxed up our food and left money on the counter for our bill. “And for your information, her name is Lola.”

  Oh my God, I couldn’t believe I was actually going to admit this, but I was jealous of the way he spoke so adoringly of his car. A freakin’ car! Stupid Lola.

  Hunter grabbed our food, and I said goodbye to Liberty and my brother, letting them know we’d be gone for the rest of the weekend. Liberty shot me a knowing look that screamed, “Get it, girl!” and Brett narrowed his eyes on Hunter, sending him a silent message… or maybe a warning. I shook my head, laughing. Men. They thought women were hard to read, but they were just as bad. My brother was the worst of them all, and Liberty could attest to that.

  We rode back to his apartment, and Hunter pulled up to a row of garages lined up behind the complex. He clicked a button and one of the doors lifted, revealing the sexiest black Stingray Corvette I had ever laid eyes on. Hellooo, Lola!

  “This is your car?!” I slowly spun around to face him with my jaw falling to the ground.

  “Yup. This is my pride and joy. You like?”

  “Uh, I more than like. This is my favorite car! How did you manage to find one, let alone afford one?”

  He grinned, proudly beaming his pearly whites at me. “Found her in a junk yard a few miles from here, and she was basically just skin and bones. Got her for a steal, too. I worked on building her from the ground up, used all original parts, and gave her a new paint job. I think she turned out pretty good.”

  “I’ll say. Lola is a sexy beast!” I walked over to the car and ran my fingers over the smooth hood.r />
  “Is it bad that I’m getting extremely turned on watching you fondle my car?” Hunter’s hand lowered to adjust the front of his pants, and I giggled.

  I carefully slid up on the hood of the car and propped myself up on my elbow, placing my other hand on my hip while I attempted to pose like a pin-up girl. “How about now?”

  He groaned, and I smiled appreciatively. “Woman, you are seriously testing my self control, because right about now, I want to spread your legs, slide in between them, and take you on the hood of my car.”

  Ohmigod, I think I just came. If Hunter wanted to take this relationship slow, that was not the way to go about doing so, but I was ready and willing to have him fuck my brains out right here, right now.

  He stalked toward me, and my heart began to pitter-patter. My eyes fluttered closed as his hands came down to rest on my knees, and I tried to spread them for him, but he kept them locked together with a vice grip. Slipping his hands behind my knees, he tugged my body down the length of the car until my feet hit the ground. I slowly peeled my eyes back open, and he was right in my face with his delicious breath cascading over my lips. “Not right now, baby,” he whispered, brushing his lips along my jaw and down my neck. “But one day I will have you just like this, with your gorgeous body spread across my car, in nothing but those sexy as fuck stiletto heels you were wearing the night we met, while I worship every inch of you.”

  Fuck. Me. I think I just came again.

  “Hunter,” I said breathlessly. “I…”

  “You… need to get your suitcase so we can hit the road.” He kissed my lips softly and took my hand, helping me off of the car. Damn, and I thought I was a tease.

  Hunter quickly threw some clothes in a duffle bag, and I sat on the end of the bed, patiently waiting and wondering where he could possibly be taking me on such short notice. It was only two in the afternoon, and if he wanted to check in by three, we must not have been going very far. He grabbed my suitcase beside the bed and threw his duffle bag over his shoulder.

  “Ready to go, babe?”

  “I guess, but I still want to know where you’re taking me.”