The Hunter (Orion the Hunter)

by J. D. Chase

“Respond in what way?” I asked, genuinely confused.

  “I don’t wish to sound conceited - far from it, but women have an annoying habit of behaving like imbeciles around me. They usually either lose the power of speech or they attempt to seduce me. Either way, I hate it.”

  “That isn’t fair. And yes, I admit that you have affected me in that way but I have never, ever responded to a man like that in my life. I can’t explain it. And I was scared of you, or at least the way you affected me. And, at the risk of me also seeming conceited, I seem to elicit a predictable response from most men that I meet, and that affords me some routine and control. I saw some evidence of that type of response from you but you also responded to me with anger - I can’t be sure but think I have glimpsed fear in your eyes sometimes too.”

  I saw his eyes widen in surprise and then he pursed his lips as if he were contemplating my words. He ran his forefinger along his jaw and finally nodded.

  “Yes, you probably have,” he muttered, looking uncomfortable.

  “I have explained my responses to you. Can you try to explain yours to me?”

  He sat back, resting his head on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. He was silent for a moment and I thought he was shutting down, that I wouldn’t get the answers that I so badly needed.

  “I felt angry at the situation - not at you. I was furious that my body responded to you. I was frustrated that I couldn’t get you out of my head. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t concentrate. I found my mind wandering in meetings. Rather than concentrating on making fully informed decisions, sometimes involving millions of dollars, I would think of you. I would wonder what you were doing. Who you might be with? What it would be like to be with you.”

  Oh my god. Keep talking. Keep saying things like that!

  “When I saw you, balanced on the sofa in Norman & Wilde’s reception, I realized just how much I wanted you but that I couldn’t have you. Then you fell into my arms and it was almost more than I could stand. And when you slid your hand up my chest to my face, I tried so hard not to respond to you but I also didn’t want to embarrass you or hurt your feelings. When I felt my control lapsing, I had to get out of there.”

  “Why?” I croaked. What was so terrible about responding to my advances? Why didn’t you want me?

  “It was bad enough to have just thoughts of you disrupting my days and nights - the prospect of you doing it in the flesh … I don’t allow myself to be distracted. I like my world to be orderly, everything within my control. I work 7 days a week. 12- 15 hours a day minimum. I don‘t have time to socialize. I don‘t have the time or the inclination for relationships of any kind.”

  So he is a self confessed workaholic. Ah, with those looks and that body, there had to be a fatal flaw in there somewhere. Nobody is perfect.

  “Oh,” I said, weakly. “Is that what you meant when you said that you weren’t like other people?”

  “Partly, yes.”

  He has a private elevator. He is reclusive. He doesn’t have relationships or socialize. He doesn’t like the way that women respond to him. Oooooh! He has a male receptionist and a male assistant - I’ll bet that all his staff are male. They all wear grey too. Bloody hell. He really is one hell of a control freak.

  “Are all of your staff male?” I asked suddenly, needing to know.

  He looked at me warily. “The staff that I come into regular contact with just happen to be male, yes.”

  “Just happen to be male?” I sneered, finally breaking his hold on my hand. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You don’t want to be dealing with females coming on to you, interrupting your routines, so you employ men. Admit it.”

  “Employment law forbids me from hiring people based on gender. I can’t do that.”

  “Hmm, okay Mr Hunter. If you say so.” I could feel animosity and tension building between us. Part of me wanted to turn a deaf ear to his comments and to rekindle the relaxed atmosphere but part of me was outraged.

  “I have built this company up from nothing and I haven’t finished yet. I am not quite ready to lose focus - not just yet. I have made so many sacrifices. I do what needs to be done to accomplish my aim.”

  “What is your aim?” What could be worth living a life devoid of any change in routine, any excitement … any sex! He hasn’t actually said that he doesn’t have sex. But he hates the way that women respond to him. Ah, perhaps he pays for it. Perhaps he blindfolds them!

  I hadn’t noticed that he’d moved away to collect the decanter of cognac. He returned and poured himself another. I refused a top up; I suddenly felt like keeping a clear head and I’d had too much to drink already.

  Before I could challenge him for not answering my question, he spoke again. “So Miss Prince, I find myself back to my original question. Where do we go from here?” He looked me straight in the eye. “How do I get my orderly life back? How do I get you out of my head?”

  I don’t have any answers. This was a first for me too. But I suddenly felt anger building inside me. He doesn’t care about how you’re affected by him. He blames you for disturbing his concentration. For spoiling his day. Like it is all your fault. What about how he affects you? Whose fault is that?

  I made a point of looking at my watch, with the intention of inventing a prior engagement so that I could make my excuses and leave. I was genuinely surprised to note that it was almost four o’clock. Crap! I am going to be late. I was meeting Angel at 4:30. We had hair appointments in preparation for watching Chad and the band tonight at a new venue - a bigger club in Brooklyn.

  “I don’t have any answers for you, Mr Hunter. I can only suggest that we keep our distance from each other and then it won’t be a problem for either of us.”

  I felt some satisfaction when I noted his jaw dropping in surprise and that gave me the impetus I needed to get up from the sofa and make my escape.

  “I apologize but I am running late for another appointment that I cannot miss,” I announced. “I must go. Goodbye Lucas.”

  He jumped to his feet and dragged his hand through his hair. “But we aren’t done.”

  Oh, I think we are.

  He took a step towards me, almost closing the gap between our bodies. His eyes were wide, black and stormy. I could see the tension in his face - his jaw muscles clenched and I was sure he was gritting his teeth. “We need to sort this out. I can’t stay away from you. God knows I’ve tried.”

  “Then you will have to just try harder.” I said quietly then I turned on my heel to leave.

  He caught my wrist and spun me around to face him. “Have dinner with me tonight; we can continue our conversation then.” It wasn’t a question. It was a command.

  Oh so you think that you can control me now? That’s not going to happen.

  I looked into his eye and then forced my eyes to travel down his body and back up again, oh so slowly. I was immensely satisfied to see his eyes were stormier than ever and I could see a vein pulsing in his neck. “I have plans tonight. I will be socializing and I guarantee that I will get hot and sweaty and I will probably be fucked, hard, until I lose all control and scream for mercy. Hopefully, several times.” With that, I shook off his grip and walked calmly from the room.

  As I closed the door behind me, the sound of glass smashing caught my attention. Oh temper, temper Mr Hunter.

  I marched through reception, shooting a lascivious smile at the receptionist and was delighted when the elevator doors opened as I approached and Daniel exited. “Daniel,” I nodded before entering the car and waiting for the doors to close. When they did, I sank against the wall and exhaled slowly. Now that didn’t go the way I planned but at least I can put him out of my mind for good.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I cried as I entered the salon and saw Angel’s annoyed expression. “Something came up that took longer than expected but I am here now. Let’s get beautiful!”

  She tried to stay cross with me but failed miserably. She told me not to be late
again before launching into a monologue of how excited Chad was that the band were going to play a bigger venue tonight. I was aware of her animated chatter but I found that I couldn’t concentrate. I only realized how unsettled and unfocused I was when Tyler, my stylist, began to squeal and jump up and down, clapping his hands. Belatedly, I realized that I had unwittingly agreed to having my black hair streaked with blue - something that Tyler had been attempting to persuade me to do for months. Oh god! I didn’t have the energy to face him down and tell him that I hadn’t been listening and that I didn’t want to have blue hair so I just went with it. Damn the brandy - I knew not to drink spirits in the afternoon, especially on an empty stomach! But I knew that it wasn’t just down to the alcohol. I realized with some irritation that Lucas Hunter was still managing to affect me, even though I thought that I exorcised that phantom this afternoon. Damn him to hell!

  A little later than planned, thanks to the extra time needed in the hair salon, we were ready to leave the apartment for the club in Brooklyn. I took one last look in the mirror, still trying to adjust to the electric blue that streaked my long black hair. I had chosen black skinny jeans, a royal blue bustier, that exposed my toned midriff, and matching blue pumps. I had opted for smoky grey eye shadow and black kohl with lots of mascara. My lips were painted a very deep shade of red. I knew I looked good and I was debating relaxing my man ban, perhaps just for one night. An energetic one night stand was probably what I needed. I felt very tense and there is nothing quite mind blowing sex to relieve stress.

  Angel was a vision in white. She wore skinny jeans and a low cut chiffon top that floated around her midriff. Her pale blond hair shone from the salon treatment and it formed a halo around her head. She had gone for the natural look with subtly applied make up. I looked at us both in the mirror. We couldn’t be more different if we tried.

  We arrived at the club to find the guys finishing up their final sound check. They were pumped at playing a larger venue. Some of their existing fans were already in the bar and that helped to steady the guys’ nerves. We gave them a wave and we were rewarded with huge grins.

  I wondered over to the jukebox to look at the choice of music that was available until the band played later. Immediately, two good looking guys appeared by my side. One offered to buy me a drink and immediately the other one tried to strike up a conversation about music. I politely gave them both the brush off and made my selection. Yes, having people hit on you is annoying but rational people don’t avoid all contact with the opposite sex to prevent it happening. Hmm, who said that Lucas Hunter was a rational human being?

  Angel had bought our drinks and found a table near the stage. The band came over and Chad picked Angel up and sat her on his knee. Travis asked if I wanted to sit on his lap then winked at me and made rude gestures showing what he would like to do if I did. I smiled then ignored him. Scott asked how I was and how my business was going and we chatted amicably for a few minutes. Ethan drank his beer as he scanned the room, no doubt checking out every attractive female in the vicinity.

  The bar soon filled up. It was going to be a busy night. Chad began fretting about what might happen if the crowd didn’t like them. Angel did her best to reassure him. Travis just grinned and called him a pussy. I laughed and enjoyed the easy natured banter. It was just what I needed after the day I’d had. I realized that I hadn’t had much to eat during the day. There hadn’t been much time to get ready when we finally got back from the salon. I had eaten a stuffed vine leaf when we returned to the apartment but now, with the drinks flowing as easily as the conversation, I knew it wouldn’t take much to get drunk. Drinking in the afternoon hadn’t helped, I thought ruefully.

  The band took to the stage and it was clear pretty quickly what the crowd thought of them. The cheers were deafening when they finished playing their first number. Pretty soon, the place was heaving - it was more like being at a rock concert than a bar in Brooklyn. All of the tables were taken, some people were dancing and others were bouncing up and down in front of the stage. The atmosphere was electric. Angel and I looked at each other and grinned. “Let’s join in,” she said excitedly.

  We moved towards the stage, squeezing through the crowd that was moving almost as one. Hands were in the air and the band’s existing fan base was singing along to each track, clearly energized by the positive reaction from the crowd. As we neared the stage, Angel gasped when she saw the attention the band was getting from some of the female fans. Travis was encouraging a pouting blonde to lift up her top and flash her breasts. Several young women were reaching up trying to grasp Ethan’s hand whenever he came to the front of the stage.

  I looked at Angel’s horrified expression and laughed. Chad and Scott weren’t exactly reveling in all of the attention - in fact, they looked quite uncomfortable. I pointed this out to her and she relaxed. We were soon carried along with the movement of the crowd, jumping up and down as there was no room to dance. The temperature in the bar rocketed and after a while, I signaled to Angel that I would go and get us some beers. I pushed my way back through the revelers and was dismayed to see that the queue for the bar was about five people deep. The three bar staff looked totally harassed. Oh great! I needn’t have worried. A handsome blonde guy who was three people in front of me asked me what I wanted. I asked for two beers and he passed them back. I blew him a kiss in thanks.

  I told Angel to drink it slowly because of the queue at the bar. “Wow,” she shouted. “Hopefully, the band will be asked back if they are this popular. They will be stoked!”

  We bounced and drank and sang and cheered until we were exhausted. Towards the end of their set, they began to play their ballads and the crowd began to sway rather than jump. The bar was crammed by his time and we were shoulder to shoulder. I was grateful for the change of pace as I could feel the effects of the alcohol in my system. I felt a hand on my lower back and turned instinctively. I came face to the face with the blonde who had bought our drinks. “Dance?” he said loudly to be heard about the music, holding out his hands. He was attractive in a pretty boy sort of way - more boy band than rock band. Not my usual type but hey, it was only a dance.

  We began to slow dance and he quickly pulled me into him and I felt one of his hands slide down to my behind. The smell of his cologne was quite overpowering and made me feel slightly nauseous. There was more room to dance now as less people had stayed by the stage for the slower numbers. I knew that I had had too much to drink because I was finding it difficult to concentrate fully.

  I realized that his other hand had traveled up to my face and he was now cupping my cheek. He is going to kiss me! Do I really want him to? What about my man ban? Part of me craved some physical attention after the emotional day that I’d had but I knew that I didn’t really feel attracted to the guy whose head was slowly angling down towards mine. I watched his eyes close and his lips part in slow motion. No, I don’t want this. I would rather go home alone. I pulled back my head saying “No” firmly but he just grinned and held me tighter. His head immediately swooped down and his intentions were clear. I again said “No” firmly and then put my hands on his chest to push him away but I must have shoved him pretty hard because he went reeling backwards. I stood still in confusion when I heard him shout. However, the reason for his shouting soon became clear.

  Lucas was stood about six feet away from me, holding the blonde guy by the scruff of the neck. Oh shit! What is he doing here? I sobered up quickly and took two determined steps towards them. I opened my mouth to protest and then stopped abruptly when I saw his face. Cold fury gripped his features as he glowered at me. I noticed that he was still wearing the same clothes that he was wearing earlier in the day. He shook his head briefly and then effortlessly pushed the blonde guy away to the side. I just stood there, frozen to the spot, horrified at the unwelcome interruption but afraid of the dangerous energy that seemed to be emanating from Lucas. The people around us could feel it too I realized as they gave us a wide berth.


  I closed my mouth but glared at him, determined for him to see how angry I was too. His eyes narrowed and he quickly closed the gap between us, grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the stage and towards the bar. I tried to pull away but his grip tightened. He pulled me behind the bar and out into a corridor. He barged through a door into a deserted office. He pushed me roughly down onto a chair and stood over me, raking his hands through his hair before planting them on his hips.

  I took a deep breath but resumed my angry glare. When my heart began to slow and my head cleared. I hissed quietly, “Just what the hell do you think you are doing?”

  “He was going to kiss you,” he shot back, his black, raging eyes boring in to mine.

  “So what if he had? It has got nothing to do with you!”

  His face contorted as he struggled to remain calm. “Of course it has!” he said quietly.

  “Really?” I spat back sarcastically. “Can you explain to me what business it is of yours who I choose to kiss … or fuck for that matter?”

  “Issy, I am warning you. Don’t push me.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.