Sandy shook her head. “Not today. I have to drive my mother to a doctor’s appointment later.”
Ali nodded. “Okay, maybe another time.”
“But there’s a park that Pete runs in that has a trail,” she said. “You may want to check it out.”
“Thanks, I think I will.”
Guilt warred with annoyance as Hunter pushed open the entry door of the thirty-story glass and steel tower that housed Erica’s downtown penthouse.
He’d tried calling her again this morning, and his call had gone directly to voice mail. However, they couldn’t put off having a long, serious talk about their relationship.
Hunter knew he should have made it his business to come down here sooner, but he’d rationalized he was giving her the space and time she needed to get this social climbing business out of her system.
Who are you kidding?
It had been out of sight, out of mind.
Ali had unwittingly crowded Erica out of his head, and perhaps even out of his heart. Although they’d never kissed and he’d only made love to her in his dreams, he still felt guilty as hell.
Erica’s wealth might have made her arrogant and inconsiderate at times, but she wasn’t the bad guy everyone around him seemed to believe. Deep down, she was still the compassionate, down-to-earth woman who had cared for her longtime patient as if she were family.
Moreover, she’d always been forthright and faithful. She’d earned his loyalty.
Hunter walked past the foyer and down the corridor leading to the elevators. Knowing his longtime girlfriend, she was probably still in bed with the covers pulled over her head. He’d put on a strong pot of coffee when he got upstairs. They needed to figure out if the differences ripping them apart were permanent or if they could somehow be mended.
“Morning, Detective Coleman.”
The building’s concierge’s greeting roused Hunter from his speculation.
“How’s it going, Dan?”
Hunter considered running into Dan one of the perks of coming to Erica’s building. An avid sports fan, Dan could talk ball twenty-four-seven. Whether it was football, basketball, baseball, or golf, Dan could recite the latest scores and highlights.
“Pretty good.” Dan rounded his command-center style desk and gave Hunter’s hand an enthusiastic shake. “Haven’t seen you around much lately. Have you been camped out in front of the tube watching games too?”
“Games?”
Dan narrowed his eyes. For a moment, Hunter thought he was going to put a hand on his forehead to take his temperature.
“The NBA play-offs and baseball’s season openers, of course,” he said. “What’s the matter? They working you too hard down at the cop shop?”
“I haven’t even had a chance to catch up on the scores,” Hunter admitted.
“Oh, did I mention signing my granddaughter up to play T-ball this year?”
Hunter smiled despite the turmoil going on inside him. “She any good?”
“Is she any good?” Dan repeated incredulously. “Just yesterday, we were in the backyard practicing and she hit the ball over my fence. Only four years old. I’m telling you, she’s a natural.”
Hunter felt the tension in his shoulders ease a bit at Dan’s lighthearted banter. Still, he was anxious to hash things out with Erica.
He pulled his key ring from his pants pocket and singled out the two accessing the penthouse elevator and her door.
Though Hunter had his own keys, Dan liked to ride up to the penthouse floor with him to squeeze in more sports talk.
“So, what do you think about the Titans next season?”
“I don’t know, man,” Hunter said. “The offense looked like crap last season, and the defense wasn’t much better.”
The two men played amateur football coach, each tossing out ideas on how he’d improve Tennessee’s NFL team until the elevator chimed, and the doors opened on Erica’s floor.
“If only the real coach listened to us,” Dan called out as the doors closed behind Hunter.
There were three condos on penthouse level. He heard the faint sound of Erica’s laughter as he approached her door.
He exhaled deeply. At least she was awake.
Unlocking the door, he knocked before pushing it open. “It’s me, Erica,” he called out, so as not to startle her.
“Hunter, wait!”
The warning came a second too late.
Hunter stepped into the living room, and he felt his body go cold.
He scanned the room slowly. An open bottle of champagne nestled in a bucket of ice sat on the coffee table beside two drained glasses. His gaze followed the trail of shed clothing, Erica’s and a man’s, leading up the spiral staircase toward her bedroom.
“Hunter! What are you doing here?” a naked and disheveled Erica stammered.
Finally, he turned to the woman he’d once considered making his wife. He forced himself to look at her. The faux hair stuck up all over her head. Her lipstick was smeared across her mouth, and she smelled heavily of sex.
Hunter watched wordlessly as she grabbed the ivory silk robe he’d bought her last Valentine’s Day from the floor and wrapped it around her nude body. Her fingers fumbled as she tried to tie the sash.
Rage twisted through Hunter with the force of an F-5 tornado prepared to level everything in its path. He held his hands fisted at his side and closed his eyes in an attempt to gain control.
Dozens of questions flashed through his brain. The biggest one—how long had she been making a damned fool of him?
He exhaled as he opened his eyes, once again looking at her. He’d slapped handcuffs on too many scorned lovers who’d thrown their lives away for a taste of revenge. No, he wouldn’t risk his career, embarrass his family, or lower himself to make a scene over her.
She wasn’t worth it.
“Babe, what’s taking so long?” a male voice called out.
Hunter looked up to see her buck-naked paramour standing at the top of the staircase.
“Go back into the bedroom, Taj,” Erica said quickly.
The urge to run upstairs and smash his fist into the guy’s face was strong, but Hunter held back. After all, this man hadn’t cheated; Erica had.
He thought about the questions running through his head, but decided to forgo asking them. What could she say that would satisfy him or make him feel like less of a fool?
Nothing.
Hunter turned on his heel. It was time to put this scene and Erica in his past.
“Let me explain.” Erica grabbed his arm.
Hunter felt something at his feet as he pivoted to face her again. He glanced down at the man’s tuxedo jacket on the floor and roughly kicked it aside. A flash of gold on the lapel caught his eye, but Erica’s steel-like grip on his arm distracted him.
He peeled her fingers from his forearm, her touch disgusting him. “No need,” he said, the calm in his voice surprising even him.
“I’m sorry. We were at a party, and we had too much champagne. One thing led to another,” she babbled. “He said I was pretty. He made me feel special. When is the last time you made me feel special?”
He turned on her. “When?” Hunter asked. “When I stuck up for you when everyone else was ready to write you off. When I let you drag me to all of those stuck-up parties. When I went to charm school to make you happy. When I stood by and let you make a fool of yourself trying to fit in with folks who don’t give a damn about you.”
He watched her flinch and her eyes narrowed. “That’s just it. Taj already fits in. He’s polished, affluent, and classy.” Her voice cracked. “With him, I can fit in too.”
Hunter shook his head, finally seeing what everyone else had recognized long ago. The Erica he cared about was long gone, leaving behind this sad, shallow husk.
“I can’t be angry at a woman who would sell herself so cheaply. I pity you.”
“I’m sorry.” She tried to reach for him again, but the look on his face apparently made her thi
nk better of it.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused them both to look up. Hunter noticed her lover had put on pants, but remained both barefoot and shirtless.
“Everything okay down here?” he said, avoiding eye contact.
The hairs on the back of Hunter’s neck prickled, and the feeling of unease he got when he cornered a bad guy came over him. His instincts had rarely failed him, but Hunter couldn’t rely on them this time.
After all, the man had just had sex with a woman Hunter thought he was in a relationship with.
Hunter’s gaze flickered from Erica and back to her lover. “It’s cool.” He pulled her keys off his ring and dropped them on the side table. “She’s all yours.”
“Hunter, please,” Erica called out.
He turned and looked at her one last time. “There are plenty of things I could say right now, but thanks to you I’m too much of a gentleman.”
Waves of sadness and regret swamped Erica as she watched Hunter leave. She knew it would be a long time before she forgot the look of revulsion on his face.
It would take even longer for her to forget him.
She felt Taj’s arms come around her waist from behind, and she closed her eyes to hold in the tears. Already she longed for Hunter’s strong embrace. How could she have let a man she’d had the best sex of her life with walk out of her life for one she barely knew?
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Taj said. “I’m sure it must have been difficult for you.”
The idea of chasing Hunter down and begging him to take her back popped into her head. After all, she’d only cheated this one time. Before last night, she’d been totally faithful.
She dismissed the thought. Even if he would forgive her, and she doubted he could, it wouldn’t change their ongoing problem.
Hunter didn’t understand her desire to become one of the city’s elite. She yearned to top everyone’s invite list for the chicest parties and events, while he was happy at a backyard barbecue with Sandy and Pete. She wanted to serve on high-profile charity boards and committees, and he was content to serve a public that barely appreciated his efforts.
“Was he the one who stood you up last night?” Taj asked.
Erica nodded. “He’s a cop, so he was always being called away,” she said.
“Cop?”
Erica felt Taj’s body stiffen, and he spun her around. “Did you say that guy was a cop?”
“A detective,” she confirmed.
She briefly wondered why Taj seemed agitated, but waved off the thought.
Taj was so refined, Erica thought. A man like him had probably never witnessed a scene as ugly as the one she’d just gone through with Hunter. It had to have been hard for him too. She hoped it hadn’t turned him off her.
“But that’s over now,” she said, both to herself and to him. Maybe Taj hadn’t exactly rocked her world in the bedroom. He had what she needed outside it.
Taj pulled her close. “Come back to bed,” he said. “I’ll make you forget all about him.”
Erica smoothed a hand against his jaw. Classy, good looking, and connected, this was a man who could help her achieve her dreams. With Taj at her side, she’d be the complete package. She’d no longer be on the outside of society looking in.
“Sorry, Taj, but that scene pretty much killed the mood,” she said, knowing another bout of below-average sex with him this morning would have the opposite effect.
“Perfectly understandable.” His handsome face fell as he dropped his arms.
Erica sighed wearily. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt another man today.
“How about we order in some breakfast, and you can tell me all about how you know the Mc-Adamses?”
Erica smiled to herself. Maybe she’d chosen the right man after all.
Chapter Fourteen
Hunter ignored the burning in his chest and his aching calves as his sneakers pummeled the hard pavement of the familiar park trail. He didn’t care. He just wanted to run.
Run until it banished the tawdry scene he’d walked in on from his mind. Run until he didn’t taste the bitterness of betrayal. Run until he didn’t feel humiliated for stupidly believing in Erica long after everyone else had washed their hands of her.
He intended to run until he was too damn tired to think.
His sweat-soaked body began to give out on the twelfth mile, but the drumbeat of the how-could-I-have-been-so-stupid mantra continued to hammer in his head.
Hunter slowed his pace to a walk. This wasn’t getting him anywhere.
Ambling over to the drinking fountain, he took a long pull of cold water. He cupped his hands, held them under the running faucet, and splashed water over his face.
He was relieved he had the day off. The last thing he wanted to do was face Pete and a host of others who’d tried to warn him about Erica.
The money had gone to her head, they’d said. It had changed her too much.
Now Hunter knew without a doubt, the Erica he’d seen this morning would never return to being the woman he’d cared about again.
Images of her answering the door naked and disheveled replayed in his mind. He splashed another handful of water over his face and braced himself for the onslaught of pain that usually accompanied heartbreak.
It didn’t come.
Hunter stood, his hands still under the running water, as realization hit him full force. He wasn’t hurting. The only thing Erica’s escapade had wounded was his pride. His heart had remained intact.
“Hunter?”
Recognizing the familiar voice immediately, Hunter spun around.
Ali.
He took a moment to soak in the sight of her. Her face was scrubbed free of makeup, and her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. She wore sneakers and a pink shorts outfit.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“What are you doing here?” Hunter asked, surprised to see her.
“I don’t have any classes today, so I thought I’d go for a walk. I have some things I’m trying to work out in my head,” she said. “I’ve been watching you for a while, and you seem kind of out of it. Are you okay?”
Hunter smoothed away the concern creasing her brow with his fingertips as he pushed aside a lock of hair that had escaped her ponytail. “I wasn’t, but I am now.”
It was true. He’d felt better the moment he’d heard her voice. The sight of her was like sunshine breaking through the clouds after weeks of rain.
Hunter inhaled, drinking in her perfume floating on the late morning breeze. She grasped his forearm, and heat rippled through him. Her touch was soft and sweet just like the scent of her perfume.
“What happened?”
Hunter didn’t want to talk about it. Not because it made him sad. Ali just seemed so far above the ugly scene he’d witnessed this morning.
He looked at her face again. The crease between her brows deepened, and he figured it would be worse to let her continue to worry. “I just left Erica’s place.”
“Oh?” She said, waiting for him to continue.
“She was in bed with another man,” he said flatly.
“Oh, Hunter. No.”
He looked deep into her eyes. Their depths brimmed with concern, tenderness, sympathy, and something else.
Empathy.
“Your husband cheated on you, didn’t he?”
She abruptly snatched her hand away from his arm, and he found himself already missing her warmth. “How did you find out? What did you do, Google me?”
He shook his head. “I had no idea until this very moment. The look on your face told me.”
“Yes, he did, so I’ve been in your shoes.” Her chin dropped to her chest. “Only he cheated with my best friend. I don’t know which betrayal hurt me more, his or hers.”
Hunter touched his finger to her chin and lifted it until they were eye to eye. “Your ex is a damned fool.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry this happened to you.” Her v
oice was a husky whisper, but conviction filled the statement. It wasn’t some platitude. She meant it.
Hunter shook head. “I’m not.”
Ali’s eyes widened. “How can you say that? You tried so hard to make it work, even suffering through my class.”
He took a step forward until his face was mere inches from hers. “Because now I’m free to do what I’ve been aching to do ever since the night at the restaurant.”
“What’s that?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
“Taste you.”
Without preamble, Hunter brought his arm around her waist and hauled her against his perspiration-soaked body. She gasped, and the lips that had taunted his dreams enticed him even more. The world around them fell away as he lowered his head and crushed his mouth to hers.
Hunter heard Ali moan as his tongue delved into her mouth.
The soft sound ignited the firestorm of longing he’d suppressed too long.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with the same fierce hunger. Her hands grasped his shoulders, and she pulled him even closer.
He could feel the peaks of her breasts against his chest. Their delicious weight combined with the heady sensation of her sweet mouth nearly sent him over the edge.
Realizing they were in public, he forced himself to tear his lips from hers, ending the kiss long before either of them was ready. Still holding her against him, he stared down at Ali’s flushed face. He felt the thump of her heartbeat as her chest rose up and down, her breath coming out in pants.
He dropped his head, until his forehead touched hers.
“Come home with me.”
Ali knew there were at least a dozen good reasons why she should say no.
Hunter had just suffered a shock that had sent him into an emotional tailspin. He was on the rebound, and she didn’t need the distraction of a man in her life right now.
The best thing she could do for him, for both of them, was to step back from his sweaty, sexy body and walk away.
Yet, as she stood with his arm wrapped around her and his powerful arousal pressed into her belly, all she could think about was satisfying the desire he’d stirred up the moment he’d walked through her door.
Operation Prince Charming Page 12
