Chapter Thirteen
Hunter
I knew it was Dani when as soon as she walked into the club. I had seen her before, walking in the street, a flash of those lovely curves, the bounce of those brown curls. And yet, I’d been so devastated since leaving the woman, that I chalked it all up to my imagination.
Because I saw Dani everywhere I went, and it was sheer torture. I knew it was punishment for how I had left her. Kristi had called me shortly after I left, berating me for not telling Dani about my immediate departure. She told me the whole pathetic story, down to the expression on Dani’s face when she realized what I had done. Her hurt made me feel like shit.
But I had to go. I knew the brunette wouldn’t understand. At that time, the job had been my life and Maddox Media was everything to me. It was my only reliable go-to. If I didn’t have the business, then what was I as a man?
Nothing. And I had worked too hard to let it all slip through my fingers, no matter how much I loved Dani. I had no choice. So I disconnected my phone, and deleted her emails from my account. I blocked her email address, just in case she tried to contact me. And I threw myself into work, focusing on nothing but the business for the next year.
And it seemed to work at first. After I recommitted myself to the job, my father left me alone. My mother kept trying to set me up with other women of course, but it was useless. I didn’t want anyone.
All I wanted was Dani.
At night, my dreams were haunted by the beautiful girl and when I woke up, my body ached for her warm wetness and creamy curves.
My heart ached, but I persevered. Until I couldn’t anymore. One night, I asked myself what was I doing this for? I wasn’t happy. I was killing myself over something that held no meaning for me, throwing away the one thing that had made me happy for the first time in my life.
So before I could lose my nerve, I resigned. Put in my papers and walked out that same day. I decided that I was going to leave the company and find penance in the one place it was possible to disappear. Kolkata. A city teeming with people with less-than-perfect bureaucracy which would make me impossible to find.
I’ve been here for a little over four months now. It’s been humbling to be sure because I was no longer a rich guy able to buy influence, power, and comfort. I was just another laborer, struggling to survive. But it worked. I started doing odd jobs here and there, and the work was strangely satisfying. But still, Dani was never far from my mind.
And on the one night when I decided to treat myself and hang out at a disco, she was here. When the female entered the club, at first I did a double take. I couldn’t believe it was really her – what was she doing here, of all places?
But it was Dani for sure, and not only that, but the girl was wearing that same bewitching black dress she’d worn the summer before. Looking at that curvy form, all of my feelings came rushing back with an intensity that frightened me. Clearly, nothing had changed – I wanted her as much as I always had.
But Dani had no idea. She was with a female friend, and they made their way to the back of the club, winding their way through the pulsating crowd.
And to my disbelief, I watched as some guy – some college loser with bad skin visible even under the dim lights – asked her to dance. When she accepted, I scowled as the kid led her onto the floor and began to paw that luscious frame.
Jealousy coursed through my veins. I hated the way his arms locked around her waist, fingers trying to touch. Those creamy curves belonged to me, not him. I wanted to snatch Dani away from him, and bring her to my house. But to do what? It had been a year of silence, a tortuous, devastating cold.
Did she hate me?
Was it selfish of me to wish that she still loved me? Because I knew I loved her. In fact, I never stopped loving the girl, and I could never stop loving Dani.
But with all that had happened, how could we possibly have a future? I didn’t blame her if she hated my guts and never wanted to see me again.
Dani kept her eyes closed for the longest time, as if she was feeling the music in her soul. And when she opened them, wide and caramel, I willed for her to see me.
When we locked eyes, a bolt of electricity pulsed through the air, sizzling and hot. I watched her expression change from disbelief to shock to anger. And then, predictably, that pretty face lit up with rage. I knew I had to act now before I lost her again. I set down my beer and strode to the couple.
Dani had stopped dancing. The guy with her was trying to lead her away, but I put my hand on his shoulder and shoved him backwards. He fell to the floor in an ungainly tangle of limbs before getting up awkwardly.
“Don’t talk to her,” I snapped, not even looking in his direction.
The man’s jaw dropped. He turned to Dani. “Daniella, do you know this man?”
I was still holding her forearm, but she yanked it away.
“No,” she said firmly, refusing to meet my eyes.
Hot anger tore through my frame. I went to grab her hands again, but she stepped away and out of reach.
“Dani,” I pleaded.
The boy looked from me to her. “Daniella?”
The brunette took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry Joshua, I think I’m going to go home,” she said, before turning around and walking towards the exit. I wanted to punch this jerk in the face to assert my dominance as her lover, but this wasn’t the time. I didn’t want to lose her. Not again.
Instead, I left him standing in the middle of the dance floor and followed Dani outside. The air felt cool as we exited the stuffy atmosphere of the club. The exit was in the middle of an alleyway and Dani started to walk fast, her heels clicking on the cobblestones.
“Dani!” I growled after her. When she didn’t stop, I jogged up to her side. Reaching again for her arm, I grabbed onto an elbow, forcing her to halt. “Dani, please,” I ground out. “I need to talk to you.”
She stood there, tension radiating from her body.
“You don’t get to do this to me.” She turned around and glared daggers at my frame. “We are nothing to each other. You can’t just come here and act like that.”
“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”
“You don’t get a say in that! If you wanted a say, you shouldn’t have left!” Dani said hotly before she closed her eyes. I knew she was trying to calm herself down. When she opened her lids again, she looked at me like she was seeing a stranger. “What are you doing here, anyways?”
There was so much I wanted to tell her and I knew that the alleyway wasn’t the right place nor the right time. She got frustrated.
“You know what?” she asked, throwing her arms up, “I don’t care! I don’t care why you’re here. There’s nothing for us to say. I’m going home.”
As she bolted from me, I knew I couldn’t let her go. I wouldn’t let her go again. A second chance had been given, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
“Dani, I need to talk to you,” was my urgent explanation. “There are words to say.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she snapped, still striding furiously.
“Don’t you want to know why I left?”
She hesitated a bit, coming to a stop. “Maybe in another life. But now it doesn’t matter why you left. What matters is that you did. And I don’t think I could forgive that.”
I winced. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it was what I knew I deserved. “Please, just give me a chance.”
“I’m tired. I don’t want to talk. All I want to do is sleep. I knew I should have stayed in and not gone out tonight,” she said angrily as she quickened her pace.
“I’m not going to leave you,” I called to her departing back. That made the girl spin around and glare at me, eyes wild.
“You already did!” she shrieked loudly. The hurt in her voice was enough to break my heart. “Hunter, you left me! What more can you possibly have to say? Haven’t you made it clear how you feel?”
This time, when she turned on her heel and stalked away, I didn’t dare follow her. Everything she had said was true.
But that didn’t mean I was going to give up.