``I'm not a mom yet.''
``Minute I put a baby in you, you became a mama. Get used to it.'' He pulled me from my spot on the ground and swatted at my dust covered ass. The sweet sting landed before his smooth palm rubbed at the very place he'd probably left a faint red mark. His mark.
I tossed my bag on the table when we entered the cabin as Hunter headed to the fridge. I heard the faint sound of my cell vibrating deep in my bag and sighed, pushing the leather across the table, knowing exactly whose name the caller ID would read.
``Mom?'' Hunter asked.
``Yeah.'' I wiggled behind him and snaked my arms around his tight waistline.
``Gonna ignore her forever?'' He cast a sideways glance.
``Maybe.'' I shrugged and ran my fingers under the soft cotton of his shirt. My fingers danced around the rippled bulges of his abdomen. I could picture him in fatigues, hot and damp with sweat, working out in the desert, his dog tags gleaming on his bare chest. Jesus, he was an army god.
``Well, Ms. Warner, can't get enough lately, hmm?'' That devilish twinkle I loved lit his eyes.
I swatted his chest. ``It's the hormones! It makes me want to hump your leg all day,'' I grumbled and pulled away. His deep baritone laugh echoed through the small kitchen.
``Don't get pouty.'' He spun me in his arms. ``Wasn't complaining.'' He caught my lip between his teeth and tugged, sending fire-bolts shooting between my thighs, my clit buzzing. ``In fact...'' He trailed off as one hand dipped below my waistline and found its way to my panties. His thumb ran through the damp folds beneath the cotton before he slipped a finger in and ravaged my clit. He pinched and swirled and brought me to a swift orgasm against the kitchen counter, leaving me panting and more turned on.
``Mmm.'' He shoved his fingers covered in my pussy into his heavenly mouth. The sight alone nearly made me come again. ``Fuck, love your taste.'' He was lifting me on the kitchen counter before his hands were pushing the pants down my legs, and I was bare and open for him, laid out like a holiday platter. His eyes danced and gleamed before his hands were between my legs, his thick thumbs invading my entrance and fucking me with raw force.
I squirmed and moaned, desperate to feel his long, hard cock impaling me, but when his lips attacked my clit as his fingers thrust and I came again, I forgot about anything else other than the tornado of feeling racing through my body.
I slowly came back to reality on the kitchen counter, my eyes fluttering open to see Hunter shirtless at the end of the kitchen island between my legs, his jeans undone and hanging off his hips, his heavy cock stretching straight for me. I licked my lips and squirmed, feeling arousal flood my body and overwhelm me at the sight of him.
``You're beautiful,'' I whispered, free of the filter I usually carried.
``You're mine,'' he growled, and just like that, his hands were at my hips and his massive dick was splitting me. He rocked and fucked and found a rhythm that reminded me that sex wasn't just lovemaking, it was passionate and primal, raw fucking, and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.
thirteen
Later that night, after we'd fucked furiously on the kitchen island and then made chicken salad for lunch, Hunter was napping peacefully on the couch and I was antsy. The hormones pulsing through my system had me on edge, living without all of my stuff had me on edge, hiding out had me on edge. I still wasn't convinced that we were as safe here as Hunter seemed to believe, but I followed his lead. He was the expert. And he said there was nothing that could be done until JW was found.
I sat on an Adirondack chair on the small wraparound porch that looked out over the water and sipped coffee. Hunter had hounded me about decaf, about too much sugar, about everything, but I'd negotiated him down to one cup a day. He then grumbled that I chose to have my one cup in the evening, but I craved the creamy warmth after a long day. Tea was my daily beverage; coffee was what I relaxed with.
I sighed and flipped through my phone, glancing over the dozen or so messages my mom had bombarded me with that day. I finally sucked in a deep breath, took another swallow of the bitter brew for strength, and dialed, feeling dread coil in my stomach. I listened to it ring exactly one and a half times before she picked up.
``Erin, where the hell are you?'' Her shriek hit my ears. ``I've been so worried -- how could you just leave without telling me?! You're so rude sometimes, Erin,'' she ended on a guilt-delivering pout.
``Mom, it's been so busy--''
``You have to come home. It's all over the news,'' she whispered the last word as if it were a dirty sin. It was, I guess. Having the dirty laundry aired was her worst fear. Little did she know how dark the situation was.
``It's just safer to be away right now; all that media coverage is tough.'' I sighed, feeling more beaten down than ever. Every time I picked up the phone with my mother, she found a way to play victim.
``No, come home. You're safe here,'' her smooth voice purred. ``You can stay with me.'' She was offering up my nightmare with a cloying smile, I could hear it in her voice. Like hell I would return to her house. I spent two decades crawling my way out of that pit she called a home. ``It's time for this game the two of you have been playing to end.''
``Mom, it's not a game. The last thing it is is a game. I wish it were that simple.'' I nearly collapsed into the chair. I was so sick of defending my emotions against her. ``I can't come now. Hopefully soon, we just have to let this die down.'' I knew it was a lie as it left my lips.
``I've got a bad feeling about this photographer, Erin. Why do you get yourself into these messes? You'd think you'd be a little more cautious considering you're still married. Do you even know who he is?''
``Mom, how could you say that?'' feeling the fight die before it'd even risen. ``How could you bring up Brant right now?'' I had someone new to worry about and that was changing me already. I needed to keep our baby safe. I suddenly realized what mattered, and it wasn't her endless criticisms and veiled insults. I had a little family of three that required my energy; I didn't need to burn it on running in circles with my mother.
``You've known this guy for what--a few months?'' She continued hurling barbs as if she hadn't even heard me.
``I'm sorry, Mom, I can't really get into this now, I just wanted to let you know I’m okay,'' I offered, desperate to end the call now that I'd done my due diligence as daughter.
``You sound awful,'' she replied.
``Thanks.'' I rolled my eyes. Exactly the reason I never returned her calls. Couldn't she see that? ``I'll call you soon.''
``Erin--''
``I love you, Mom. Stay safe.'' I rushed to hang up.
I swirled the coffee in my cup and took a sip, finding it'd gone cool while I was talking to her. I stood, intent on microwaving the dark drink when I thought better of it, dropped my cup in the sink, and then headed for the living room. I sank down on the soft couch next to Hunter and curled around his solid body, tucking myself in wherever I could fit.
In his sleep he turned, one arm wrapping me up with him before his soft snores were the only sound again. I sighed, my eyes searching his golden-stubbled face as he slept. ``I love you so, so much.'' I dusted one soft fingertip across the soft bow of his lips. ``I just hope we aren't in for any more surprises,'' I said, a haunted tone lacing my voice. I hoped desperately for no more surprises, for the sweet man curled up with me more than anyone else.
``Talk to your mom?'' Hunter mumbled a few moments later. I swear he slept with one eye open.
``Yeah,'' I paused before continuing. ``Just felt like saying goodbye. Like I won't see her again, or even talk to her.''
``It may just be for a while. We won't run forever.'' One of his thumbs traced patterns through my hair. ``You gonna be okay?'' His exhausted eyes caught mine.
``For now.'' I ran my hand across his chest and along the muscles that etched his physique.
``You feeling okay?'' His hand trailed to my tummy and I knew he meant the baby. The baby.
``Yeah, I'm good. It's been a
long day.'' I tucked myself under his arm. ``I could lie right here all night.'' I breathed in his smoky scent with a content sigh.
``It's been a long few weeks.'' One hand kneaded at the base of my neck. ``Let's take a shower.'' He pulled me into his arms and escorted me into the bathroom. I hummed when he started to undress me, piece by piece, before finally slipping my bra down my shoulders. With the shower heating up and plumes of fog washing around us, we ducked into the forceful spray and I felt the anxiety of the day being pounded away by the hot water.
``So I was thinking Luca,'' Hunter said as he pushed a soaped up sponge around my body.
A smile turned my lips. ``Luca? How very exotic of you.''
``It was the name of our driver in Lisbon.” He pressed between my legs and washed. I tried not to get distracted by his devout attention to my body.
``Really? You remember that?'' I asked.
``Of course. I remember every moment with you.'' He placed a kiss on the curve of my ass before he hung the sponge and used his soapy hands against my skin.
I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling the warm water rushing over my muscles. ``I like Luca,'' I said, still in awe that I was even in this position in the first place. Picking names for a baby with Hunter. What kind of alternate reality had I been plopped in?
``I have to make a prenatal appointment,'' I offered absentmindedly.
``What? You haven't had your first appointment yet? Don't you need vitamins and shit?''
``Well, yeah, but it's not do or die.'' The giggle clogged in my throat when I thought in some ways, it was. Our lives were in do or die mode at this very moment. ``I'll do it when we get back in the city.''
``Erin.'' He tipped my chin to catch his gaze. ``We may not be going back to the city.''
``Oh. Right.'' Witness protection.
``You still want to do it?'' his eyes holding mine with earnest.
``Yeah.'' I nodded. ``Yes, I think it's the smart thing.'' I ducked my head, thinking only of protecting the little person growing inside me.
``I'll call in the morning. Give us the night to make sure,'' he said somberly as he wiped wet tendrils from my cheeks. ``But if we do this, they'll whisk us off in less than twenty-four hours. It's fast, and there are no official goodbyes...'' His green eyes seared mine.
``Okay. I won't change my mind. But okay.'' I smiled and placed a kiss on his lips, my hands winding around his neck and drawing him to me. My fingertips connected with the cool metal of his tags, in sharp contrast to the hot water pelting his skin.
``You don't take these off to shower either?'' I said as I fingered the chain.
Without replying, his hand came out and clasped mine, taking the chain in his hand and pulling it over his neck before dropping it in a tray in the shower.
``Now I do.'' He pecked my lips. ``That's the first time I've taken them off in almost four years,'' a touch of sadness in his tone.
My eyes rose with surprise. ``You're ready to now?'' my attention darting between him and the pile of cool metal in the tray.
``Readier than I've ever been. Past stays in the past, right? Someone wise told me that once.'' He grinned that teasing grin that turned my insides to whipped butter. ``Plus, you're right, the war is over. I don't need those old things. Just a bad reminder.''
I grinned, pressing on my toes and placing a kiss on the tip of his golden nose. ``I love you, Hunter Ellis.''
``Love you too, Princess.'' He grinned and his hands wrapped around my face before he was devouring me in a kiss that stole my breath and my heart in one fell swoop. In a matter of weeks, I'd come to a place where I couldn't picture my life without him. My golden god. My protector.
``So glad I saved you that day when you almost fell off that curb,'' he murmured through a smile against my lips.
``Saved me my ass.'' I swatted his shoulder with a giggle.
``Then you, and this little guy,'' he placed his palms at my belly, ``Saved me.''
fourteen
``Please, please God, no please.'' I dropped to my knees on the soft dirt as crimson red pooled and disappeared into the granules. I watched helplessly, searching between my legs to find more fresh blood covering my pale fingers before a scream barreled from my lungs and my blurred vision registered a tall, dark man standing across from me, a glint of cold metal in his hand.
Fresh blood glistened on my fingertips. The baby. No. Not the baby.
I woke in a cold sweat to the sound of wind whistling through the old logs of the cabin. I was in the woods with Hunter. I was safe. With a quick stretch, I searched for Hunter's warm body buried in the blankets next to me and came up empty. I yawned then stood, walking from the room, thinking orange juice and a midnight snack didn't sound bad at all. I glanced across the main living area in search of Hunter. His automatic rifle sat on the coffee table where he'd left it after cleaning. The man was an arsenal of deadly weapons. I sighed and kept looking for Hunter when a shout caught my attention from outside.
I turned for the door, bursting out on the wide wraparound porch to find Hunter in the small dirt driveway, his gun aimed squarely at a chest not ten yards away.
``Oh God.'' My heart slammed against my rib cage and my hands rose to my mouth as I caught sight of the snarled teeth and blocky form of JW.
``I know you flipped on me, son,'' JW said with cold malice.
``No, no, no,'' I whimpered before my brain kicked into overdrive and I thought about grabbing the weapon behind me on the coffee table. The one Hunter had cleaned earlier, never knowing tonight that we'd need it.
``Erin! My sweet girl!'' JW called just as my gumption was ready to propel me into action. My muscles tensed and my knees locked with fear. Rooted on the front porch, I turned my eyes to Hunter's.
``Don't go near her,'' Hunter warned, his stance unwavering, his aim steady.
JW's sardonic chuckle carried on the breeze and chilled my bones. ``Wishing you hadn't gotten involved with Clu now I bet, huh?'' His laugh rattled me and I took a few mindless steps forward before freezing in place. As if confronting him was the smartest option. Hardly.
``Erin, go back inside,'' Hunter ordered, his gaze still focused on JW.
``Don't move, Erin,'' JW barked before a terrifying smile lit his hard face and he opened the rear door of his vehicle and pulled a trembling form from the back seat.
``Oh my God.'' I lifted a palm to my mouth to cover my horror. My mom. The bastard had my mom.
``Thought you'd like that.'' JW hauled my mom across the dirt, her eyes wide with terror. ``Had to duct tape her mouth she fucking screamed so much.'' He huffed and fisted her hair, lifting her face to my sight.
``Let her go. This is between you and me.'' Hunter's voice and the sound of a gun hammer cocking echoed in the night.
``You're gonna wanna think twice about that, son,'' JW sneered and wrapped a forearm around my mother's chest, the blade of a knife glinting at her trachea. ``Get rid of the gun or we're going to find out what happens when I sever her windpipe.''
``No!'' I shrieked as fear, like a ragged blade, sliced my heart. I watched, helpless on the porch and shaking uncontrollably as Hunter's eyes, without wavering, tossed the hunk of metal in the dirt.
``Let them go in the house. They're innocent in this.'' Hunter took one slow step forward, hand outstretched as he eased closer to JW and my mom. Her eyes blinked as they darted from Hunter to me and back again, her chest heaving with choked pants.
``Innocent?'' JW's eyes flared. ``Your husband fucked me over,'' turning his attention to me. ``Now you're fucking my son? I try to give you everything on a fucking platter and you fuck it up.'' I stood caught in his icy stare.
``What are you talking about?'' I whispered, riveted despite my better sense.
``I set your ma up all those years ago with that place outside the city. Take care of her and you. I didn't want you in this life, so I bought your way out of it. You never would have had a chance growing up with me as a dad.''
His words vibrated through every c
ell of my body and caused horror to pulse through my blood. Dad? This couldn't be real, no way it was possible. Sure, I'd grown up on the East Side, had a mom addicted to booze and drugs, but JW? How was it that his blood ran through my veins? His vile, evil, tainted blood laced through my genetic makeup like poison?
``W-what?'' My eyes flared with utter fear at the possibility. He was manipulating me, knew I wanted to find my dad, so he was using it against me. Spitting vicious lies and confusing my head.
``April sixth. My beautiful brown-eyed girl was born.'' His sinister voice rang my birth date. ```Round six pm if memory serves.'' His eyes flashed to my mother's, a vile smile curving his mouth. ``Go ahead,'' his wretched lips flashed at my mom's ear. I shuddered as if the faint odor of cigars and death were creeping up my own skin. ``Tell her the truth.'' His fat fingers caught my mother's chin and forced her gaze to mine.
She blinked once, twice, before her eyes finally fell closed, her chin dropping to her chest in defeat. No. Not possible. This man was not my father. I had not spent nearly thirty years of my life daydreaming about a man who murdered and maimed for a living.
``Shut the fuck up.'' Hunter took another long stride towards his step-father. ``She doesn't need to know.''
``The fuck she doesn't,'' JW snarled and tightened his hold on my mother.
``No,'' I said loudly, shaking my head in disbelief. ``NO!''
``Don't look so disappointed. Who do you think paid for that fancy education of yours?'' JW chided. ``The Christmases with presents around the tree. Your ma even sent me school pictures.'' He spoke, the blade still pressing at the soft flesh of her neck. ``See, I never wanted any brats, knew this wasn't the life for them, but then your ma goes and gets knocked up,'' JW said. ``Couldn't raise a kid in this city and do business, but I did take care of you. I was raised to put family first, whatever Clu may think.'' He didn't break my gaze as he spoke. He watched my heart shudder and shake before it crumbled into one thousand jagged pieces at my feet. The bastard enjoyed this.
Blindsight: The Series (Complete Erotic Suspense STANDALONE) Page 22
