“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what? You’re human. You’ve been through a lot. Sometimes we all need a shoulder to cry on.”

She smiled, sadly, and said, “I bet you don’t.”

Hunter chuckled. “You’d lose that bet. I lost someone close to me recently too, and without my family and my friends, I would have lost my mind. It’s okay to need people, Claire.”

“I know that. I need my dad.”

Once again, he risked her wrath by saying, “I don’t know you, or Larry, all that well. But just from what I’ve witnessed so far, I’m afraid that Larry is not the embodiment of what you were looking for.”

She shook her head gently. “He’s not,” she said, whispering again. “I feel so bad for saying that.” Her tears began running down her face again and once again, Hunter pulled her into him.

“You don’t have anything to feel bad about. Larry doesn’t know how to be a father, but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn. Just try not to give up too much of yourself in the process. He’s lost, Claire, and with your help, maybe he can find himself someday. But be careful not to get lost with him.” She nodded into his chest. They sat there silently again for a long time before she raised her head again. This time she shocked him by pressing her lips into his. Hunter froze and she pulled back. Her face was crimson and she wasn’t looking directly at him again.

“Oh, Jesus, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay…”

“No. I feel like such a fool. I don’t do this. I don’t kiss men that I don’t know. I don’t force myself on…”

Hunter laughed heartily at that and she finally looked at his face. “Oh, lady, you were so not forcing yourself on me. I’ve wanted you since the second I saw you. That night when you hit me in the head with that pipe all I could think about, before I passed out, were your eyes.”

She blushed deeper and looked mortified again. “Oh, God, I’m a mess.”

“No, you’re not. You’re a woman with needs and while you’re running around trying to make sure your father has what he wants and needs, you’re neglecting yourself. That’s not a line to convince you to have sex with me, I promise. It’s just a new friend giving you some advice. Claire, take care of yourself and your needs first, or you’ll never be able to manage his.”

She barely let him finish talking before pressing her lips to his again. Unable to contain himself anymore, Hunter took her face into his hands and pulled her in for a hot, passionate kiss that set his blood on fire. As they kissed he felt her hands run down his back, massaging and trying to feel him through his clothes. He kept kissing her as he laid her back on the bed. He wanted to touch her body so badly, but he had to be sure that she was ready first. He pulled out of the kiss and they looked at each other as they both sucked in shaky, shallow breaths.

“I don’t do this,” she said again. She seemed to have a need for him to know that she wasn’t the type of girl who went around hooking up with random men. He smiled and said;

“I believe you. I wish that I could say the same…but, you’ve already made it clear that you don’t care for lies.” She giggled at that and put her hands up around his neck and pulled him back down into another kiss. He knew now what she wanted and he was finished holding back.

* * *

Claire had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was that chemistry crackled in the air between her and Hunter despite the way they’d met and everything else going on. She wanted him, and it had been too long since she had done anything simply because that was what she wanted. She was going to do this and if there were consequences, she’d deal with those later. Hunter pulled out of the kiss and looked down at her again with his probing hazel eyes. They were filled with lust, but she also saw kindness and compassion there. That turned her on more than the fact that he was one of the hottest men she’d ever kissed. She pushed up and he sat back. She could see in his eyes that he expected her to push him away. Those eyes held surprise and even deeper lust when she climbed up into his lap and wriggled her bottom down onto the raging hard cock pressing against his jeans.

Hunter groaned and kissed her again. She loved the way he kissed her, especially now that he wasn’t being hesitant about it. This kiss was firm and demanding. His tongue danced with hers like they’d been dancing together for years, while his hands began their exploration of her body. He slid his hands along the curves of her sides, up to the curves of her breasts, and they landed in her hair. His fingers tangled around the long strands of it and as he tugged on it lightly, Claire rocked her body against him, sliding up and down on the erection that was begging for release. Hunter was moaning and he let his head fall forward, holding hers back by her hair, and he put his hot lips on her neck. He began to kiss and nip across her throat, making his way up to her earlobe and taking a soft bite of that, eliciting a gasp from her that came from deep in her chest. Claire molded her body to his more firmly, feeling every hard muscle in his thighs and chest as his erection seemed to continue to grow. Hunter moved his hands back down to her waist and slipped them underneath the fabric of her shirt. His rough hands felt so good against her soft skin as he caressed it. He pushed it up all the way to her shoulders and Claire tipped her body back slightly so that he could pull it over her head. He looked at her in her bra and practically growled before his lips returned to her skin, this time to the swell of her breasts just above her bra. He kissed across her breasts while his hands worked on the clasp of her bra. He unhooked it and then sat up again and watched it fall.

“Fuck,” he whispered as her breasts were fully revealed. “You’re fucking gorgeous.” Claire’s stomach fluttered wildly and her heart beat like a drum in her chest. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man…too long. But suddenly she was glad that she’d waited, because she got the feeling Hunter was going to be the man that was well worth waiting for.

She arched her back as his mouth made its way down from her collarbones to her breasts. He began to lick, suck, and nibble, kissing them with a reckless abandon that she loved. Claire was soaking wet and her pussy was on fire as she rocked into him faster. His kisses and nips were sending jolts of electricity through her body, threatening to set her on fire. Claire put her hands on the hem of his shirt and began to tug at it. Hunter leaned back slightly, taking his mouth off her breasts just long enough to let her pull the shirt over his head. She had to let out a little gasp when she saw what was underneath it. He was beautiful. He had a tattoo on his chest, just above his heart. It was some kind of symbol with a white lion on one side and a black one on the other. There was a date tatted underneath it and the words “Brothers Forever.” Claire leaned down and kissed his tattoo and then across his hard chest to the other side, taking a lick of each one of his nipples for herself. He pulled her back up and she put her hands on his biceps. They were hard and she could feel them flexing underneath her fingers. One of them had a tribal band in brilliant colors wrapped around it and for some reason she was compelled to bend down and kiss that one as well. After she brought her head back up, they looked into each other’s eyes and then without saying a word, they both stood up and removed their clothes. Hunter slid his hand into his jeans pocket and took out his wallet and then a condom. Claire watched with fascination as he covered his beautiful, thick erection and then sat back down on the bed.

Hunter took hold of Claire’s arms and pulled her back down into his lap. She hovered just above his hard cock, loving the way it felt hot and hard against her wet lips. She tipped her head back and let him take one of her nipples into his mouth again. He was sucking on it, hard, when she lifted her hips up and let his cock find her opening. She reached down and grasped his shaft, causing another growl to come out of his chest, this time into her hot flesh. It caused her body to convulse as she slowly lowered herself down onto his cock, taking him deep inside of her.

Claire cried out as he filled her up completely. Hunter groaned and wrapped his big hands around her waist. He gripped onto her tightly and rocked her back and forth. Claire whispered his name…God, it feels so good. She lifted her eyes and locked them into his, and they held each other’s gaze as she moved against him and he rocked up into her. Hunter began to thrust faster and harder and Claire matched each one of those thrusts with one of her own. She reveled in the feelings, waves of pleasure that rolled through her body and crashed into her places that she hadn’t formerly known existed. Their eyes remained locked in a sexy embrace as she put her hands up on his shoulders and his came up to once again take hold of both sides of her face. He pulled her down into another fiery kiss just as she crested the ridge and he held her mouth to his as she plunged over the cliff, experiencing the most intense orgasm that she could ever recall having.

The scream that escaped her body was caught in his throat and Hunter held the kiss while his thrusts became almost violent. Claire was almost thrown off him when his entire body went rigid and she felt the vibrations of his own scream get caught in her mouth. The warmth of his orgasm filled the condom, but she could feel it against her walls as well. In that second, she didn’t feel guilty about a single thing. She didn’t feel the pain over not being there for her mother that plagued her. She didn’t feel the horror of what had happened to drive her out of Italy in the first place. She only felt safety, contentment, and something bordering on a happiness unlike anything she’d felt in a long, long time.