Devastated (Anger Management Book 1)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Her mother and sister showed up at the challenge with a sob story,” Ryan explained, as he moved in front of Hunter.

  “Who did they tell?” Hunter asked, slowly exhaling as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face.

  “Everyone,” Ryan said after a slight pause.

  “Fucking bitch,” he said, dropping his hands as he shook his head with disgust.

  “That about sums it up.”

  “What did they say?” Hunter asked, as he glanced back towards the door he just came through only to head back that way with a curse.

  “First thing out of their mouths was to make sure everyone knew that Kylie was a liar,” Ryan said, catching up to him.

  “What else?” Hunter asked, throwing the door open and heading back towards the pool area where he’d told Kylie to wait.

  “Some bullshit about being concerned about Kylie stealing from Shadow Security and its clients. They claimed they were worried that she wasn’t taking her psych meds.”

  “Did the men believe them?” Hunter asked when he spotted Kylie sitting at the table, worrying her bottom lip as she sat there, looking fucking helpless as his men stood near her, keeping her safe.

  “Not one fucking bit,” Ryan said, which meant that they weren’t done trying to ruin Kylie’s life.

  *-*-*-*

  “Can you please just talk to me?” Kylie said, deciding that she’d waited long enough.

  “Leave it alone,” Hunter said, looking lost in thought as they waited for the driver to finish helping Ryan with his bags.

  She wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but she didn’t think that she had much of a choice, not when he was like this. She still had no idea what happened, one minute Hunter was reaching for her hand and the next, he was snapping at her to stay where she was and ordering his men to keep an eye on her before he took off with Ryan running after him.

  Whatever happened had Hunter deciding to leave the convention early. She’d barely had time to wonder what was happening when Hunter came back, ordering his men to escort her back upstairs so that she could pack. Ignoring the pitying looks his men were sending her, she did what she was asked. Before she’d had a chance to close her suitcase, Hunter was there, closing it for her and handing it off to one of his men with orders to get her downstairs and stay with her until she was in the limo.

  “What happened, Hunter?” Kylie asked when they started driving again.

  “Nothing,” he said, staring out the window.

  “This doesn’t feel like nothing,” Kylie said, trying to figure out what would cause Hunter to leave the convention early when it meant going back on house arrest only to feel her stomach drop when she realized that this was her fault.

  He’d left because of her.

  God, she was sick of this, sick of being afraid, sick of the nightmares, sick of letting her past control her life, she was just…

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, knowing that it wasn’t enough.

  Hunter went still and then, he was reaching across the dimly lit car and pulling her onto his lap with a sigh. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, as he settled her on his lap so that she was facing him.

  “Let’s just go back to the convention,” Kylie said, hoping to avoid this conversation.

  “No,” he said softly, as he reached up and pushed her hair back. “Are you going to tell me why you’re apologizing?”

  “Because we had to leave the convention early,” she said, as she absently toyed with one of the buttons on his shirt.

  “That had nothing to do with you,” Hunter murmured as he placed his hands on her hips.

  “Then why are we leaving?”

  “Because I violated the terms of my house arrest,” Hunter said, shifting his attention to the Shadow Security ID that she still wore around her neck.

  “You’re lying,” she said, watching as Hunter slowly looked up to meet her gaze.

  “Does it really matter?” he asked softly.

  “You don’t have to take care of me, Hunter,” Kylie said and after a slight hesitation, she reached up and cupped his handsome face in her hands and gently caressed his jaw.

  “Yes,” he said, covering one of her hands with his as he turned his head and pressed a kiss against her wrist, “I do.”

  “Why?” she asked, searching his face for an answer.

  “You know why,” he said, as they felt the car come to a stop.

  “No, I don’t,” she whispered softly, as she moved to pull her hand back only to have Hunter stop her with a, “Liar,” before he released her. Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he opened the car door and helped her out. Taking a shaky breath, she accepted her bag from the driver with a murmured, “Thank you,” and waited for Hunter, well aware of the way he watched her every move.

  This was a mistake, she tried to tell herself as they headed to the door, but as they silently made their way upstairs, she realized that she didn’t care. She didn’t care that he was her boss or that this wasn’t going to end well for her. The only thing that she cared about right now was the way that he made her feel.

  When they reached her door, Hunter placed her bags in her room. With a soft smile, he cupped her face in his hands as he leaned down and pressed a kiss against her forehead with a, “Goodnight, Miss Moore,” before walking away.

  It took her a minute to realize that she was staring after him and another before Kylie grudgingly accepted the fact that he wasn’t coming back. Trying to convince herself that she wasn’t disappointed, she walked into her room and closed the door behind her with a groan before she stepped back against the door, closed her eyes and-

  “Stop leaving your bedroom window unlocked, Miss Nielsen,” Hunter said, startling her into opening her eyes as he cupped her face and gave her a kiss that had her breath catching and her hands fisting in his shirt. He moved his lips against hers, teasing her into kissing him back only to swallow his groan when he deepened the kiss. Just as she felt herself starting to melt against him, he brushed his lips against hers one last time with a, “Goodnight, Miss Davis.”

  Chapter 26

  Sunday

  Maybe she was losing her mind? Kylie wondered as she risked a glance up from her iPad to find Hunter double-checking the sensors that he’d installed on the patio doors this morning. Really hoping that he wasn’t about to test the alarm that he’d decided to install this morning, again, she sat there, watching as the man who’d acted like nothing happened last night continued to work.

  Definitely losing her mind, she thought, biting back a sigh and returned her attention to the article that she’d been trying to read for the past hour only to find herself thinking about that kiss that had kept her up most of the night. It had been…

  Amazing.

  It had been the kind of kiss that she’d always dreamed of and apparently that’s what happened, she realized, biting back a groan and decided to put herself out of her misery and call it a night. Setting aside her blanket, she climbed off the couch and after a slight pause, said, “Goodnight, Hunter,” sounding hopeful only to feel her shoulders slump when he absently mumbled, “Goodnight, Miss Potts,” as he continued working.

  Deciding that she could add “Pathetic” to her resume, she headed upstairs to her bedroom, proving that she was definitely pathetic several times along the way by sending a hopeful glance over her shoulder only to find the hallway empty. When she reached her bedroom, she glanced at her closed bedroom window and-

  “Okay, that’s enough of that,” Kylie said to herself with a snort of disgust, because this was beyond pathetic.

  Obviously, that kiss hadn’t meant as much to him as it did to her and that was fine. More than fine, she told herself as she headed to her bathroom where she continued to berate herself in the shower while she washed her hair, telling herself that it was no big deal when she grabbed the conditioner and decided that she was better off forgetting about that kiss by the time she wrapped a towel around herself.

  Afte
r reminding herself of her decision to forget that kiss several times while she brushed her teeth and applied lotion from the gift basket that Hunter had given her, she walked back into her bedroom and finished getting dressed. With one last look at her closed bedroom door, because she was pathetic after all, she headed to bed, sighing tragically along the way and-

  “Damn it,” she muttered as she went to grab her cellphone off her nightstand, wondering who was calling her this late only to end up wondering where her phone was.

  Frowning, she looked around her bedroom, searching for her phone only to realize that she must have left it downstairs. For a moment, she debated letting it go to voicemail only to head to her bedroom door when she realized that it might be someone from the Orlando office calling about a problem with the convention. Groaning pathetically, because that’s apparently what she did now, she opened her bedroom door and found herself being pulled into Hunter’s arms.

  “Took you long enough, Miss Rose,” he said, smiling as he leaned down and reminded her just how good it felt to be in his arms.

  *-*-*-*

  Monday

  “I think I’m going to call it a night,” Kylie said, biting back a yawn as she glanced at the man who was enjoying screwing with her head.

  “Goodnight, Miss Sawyer,” Hunter said absently, as he adjusted one of the many security monitors that he’d suddenly felt the need to install today.

  Nodding absently, she glanced out the window at the large security gate that his men installed today and couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t telling her something. After she woke up yesterday to the ear-shattering sounds of an alarm going off, she’d stumbled downstairs to find Hunter working on what he was calling his “Pet Project.”

  Assuming that he was just trying to stay busy, she hadn’t thought much of it and focused on searching for a bottle of Advil, but that all changed when his men showed up bright and early this morning to install a state-of-the-art gate and surveillance system. When she’d asked him about it, he’d told her that he wanted her to feel safe, but…

  She just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to it.

  Lost in thought, she headed upstairs, unable to help but wonder if this had something to do with the convention only to tell herself that she was making a big deal out of nothing. Hunter was stuck on house arrest for four more months and needed a distraction. She couldn’t really blame him, she thought as she walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She started heading to the bathroom only to turn around and open her bedroom door, half expecting to find Hunter standing there, waiting to steal another kiss. When all she found was an empty hallway, she closed her door with a disappointed sigh.

  God, he was driving her crazy, she thought even as she couldn’t help but smile as she headed to the bathroom. Last night, he’d pressed her up against the door and kissed her until her legs threatened to give out. Once he’d had her trembling, he’d kissed her one last time before saying goodnight only to once again act like nothing happened this morning.

  Definitely driving her crazy, Kylie thought as she finished getting ready for bed only to head for her bedroom door when the smoke alarm chose that moment to go off and-

  Found herself being pulled into Hunter’s arms.

  “We should probably get that looked at,” Hunter said, dropping the smoke alarm on the floor so that he could wrap his arms around her.

  “We probably should,” she readily agreed as Hunter pressed her against the wall and took her mouth in a hungry kiss.

  *-*-*-*

  Tuesday

  “Oh…oh, my God,” Kylie choked out weakly as she tried to remember how to breathe.

  This can’t be happening, she tried to tell herself as she stood there, staring helplessly at the reason that she’d hesitated moving to Florida in the first place. Definitely imagining it, she told herself as she closed her eyes only to realize that was a bad idea and opened them back up with a whimper because she was pretty sure that it just moved.

  Maybe…

  No, it definitely just moved, Kylie thought, licking her lips nervously as she forced her trembling hand to release the comforter that she’d had in a death grip since she pulled back the covers and discovered that she had company. As soon as the comforter fell back in place, she slowly stepped back and when it didn’t slither free to attack her, she decided to keep going until she had her bedroom door open and she was stepping into the hallway where Hunter was waiting.

  “Is something wrong, Miss Mize?” Hunter asked from where he stood, leaning back against the wall, looking bored.

  Nodding, she raised a damning finger and pointed towards her room with a whispered, “S-s-snake.”

  Frowning, Hunter pushed away from the wall. “Are you sure?”

  Unable to answer, she settled for a nod even as she came to the realization that they were going to have to burn the house down. There really was no other option.

  “Stay here,” Hunter said, gently moving her out of the way and-

  “No, no, no, no, no! Don’t do that!” Kylie mumbled somewhat hysterically as she reached out to stop him only to end up standing there, realizing that this was probably the last time that she was going to see him alive.

  Well, she could go in there and help him, but…

  He was on his own, she decided with a sad shake of her head because she was really going to miss him.

  “Miss Fondren?” he called from her bedroom, making her whimper because she’d really like to leave now.

  “Yes?” she called back, really hoping that he wasn’t going to ask her to go back in there.

  “Was this it?” Hunter asked, as he stepped out of her room, holding a black snake by the head as its long body hung down to-

  “Wait. Why does it say, ‘Made in China’ on its stomach?” Kylie asked, glaring up at the man who had gone too far.

  “Does it say that?” he murmured, looking thoughtful as he tossed the rubber snake that had taken ten years off her life aside and reached for her.

  “I-I hate you,” she choked out, as Hunter wrapped his arms around her.

  “You really don’t, Miss Parry,” he said, brushing his lips against hers.

  “I really do,” Kylie mumbled absently, worrying her bottom lip as she glanced past him to make sure that the snake wasn’t moving…just in case.

  “You really don’t, Miss Breaker,” Hunter said on a groan as he kissed the side of her neck.

  “You know that you can just knock on my door, right?” she pointed out on a soft moan.

  “Where would the fun in that be, Miss Meyer?” he asked, as she found herself pressed back against the wall.

  *-*-*-*

  Wednesday

  “Where’s my bed?” Kylie asked no one in particular as she stared at the empty spot where her bed used to be. At least, she was pretty sure that it had been there before she took her shower.

  Frowning, she pulled on a pair of panties and a tee shirt and headed for her bedroom door, having a pretty good idea where it went.

  “Hunter, where’s my-” she barely managed to get out before she found herself pressed up against the wall with a growled, “You were taking too damn long.”

  *-*-*-*

  Thursday

  “Please stop,” Kylie mumbled weakly, as she typed her passcode into her phone only to have the screen shake and prompt her to try again as she stood there, staring helplessly down at her phone as it continued playing Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” until she couldn’t take it any longer and headed for her bedroom door.

  Praying that Hunter was already there, she opened her door and-

  “Where did that couch come from?” she couldn’t help but wonder when she spotted Hunter sitting on a large leather couch that she’d never seen before.

  “It’s always been here, Miss Black,” Hunter said, as he gestured for her to hand the phone to him.

  Wondering how he’d managed to get the couch up the stairs by himself, she crossed the short
distance and found herself smiling when he used the move to pull her down onto his lap. Plucking the phone from her hand, he turned off the song that had her stumbling out of the bathroom a few minutes ago, desperate to make it stop.

  “Can I ask you something?” she asked, as she settled more comfortably on his lap.

  “That depends,” Hunter murmured, as he laid his hands on her tee-shirt clad hips.

  “Why is there a couch in the hallway?” Kylie asked, as she toyed with a button on his shirt.

  “Self-preservation,” he said distractedly as he ran a hungry gaze over her bare thighs, but other than his grip tightening around her hips, he didn’t react.

  “Self-preservation?” she asked, watching as his gaze slowly moved up her body, lingering on her breasts and-

  He cleared his throat as he looked away with a mumbled, “Easier on my back,” making her blink.

  “Carrying a couch up a flight of stairs was easier on your back?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head as she studied him, noting the way that his expression softened when he looked at her as she thought about the way he kissed her, like he couldn’t get enough only…

  He never touched her.

  “It was therapeutic,” Hunter said, leaning in to brush his lips against hers.

  “It sounds it,” Kylie said, smiling against his lips as she slid her hands up his stomach, noting the way that his muscles tightened beneath her touch, the way he groaned as his hands began to move towards her back only to return to her hips and stay there.

  Just like they did every time he kissed her.

  When she’d first started dating David, everything had been awkward, making small talk over dinner, going for a drive, the way he’d held her hand, the way he’d touched her, but it had been the way that he’d kissed her that had left her feeling cold. She’d hated the way he’d kissed her and if she hadn’t been so desperate to belong to someone, she would have realized that there was something off about him. He’d never tried to make her feel comfortable, never made sure that she knew how much he wanted her, needed her, and Hunter…