Chapter Thirty

His fingers softly laced through my hair then ran down my back as my head curled on his chest. I couldn’t say the bed of his truck was comfortable after this long, but I was too content to move.

“I imagined fucking you a lot in this truck, but damn… I don’t want to know where you learned some of those things, do I?”

I went up on my elbows, grinning down at him. He lay on his back, one arm behind his head, not a single thing covering him. “Probably not.”

His eye twitched, but he pulled me down on him, kissing me.

“Do you think your mom is wondering where you are?” I pulled back, my fingers tracing his face. I couldn’t stop touching him, which seemed to lead us back to sex. Hence, why we were still here after a couple of hours. The cloudy skies still dripping random drops of rain were darkening with the approaching evening.

Hunter let out a chuckle. “I’m gonna take a guess she knows where I am.”

“What?” I sat up, my hand on his bare chest, still damp from rain and sweat.

“Um… Jayme…” His mouth twisted with humor. “That last time alone, I think they heard us a couple towns over.”

“Oh god.” I smacked my face with humiliation. “So embarrassing.”

“Don’t be.” He grabbed my hand, pulling it away from my face. “There’s always hope she took the relaxant her doctor gave her and slept through it.”

“What are the chances of that?”

“About nil.”

Groaning, I dropped my head on his chest, feeling his chuckle vibrate through my bones. I couldn’t remember feeling this much joy in a long time. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me on top of him, his lips brushing my head. Being in his arms felt so good, I never wanted to be anywhere else. I pressed my ear to his heart, hearing it thump, feeling a peace I hadn’t since we parted.

I sighed contentedly and traced the dragon tattoo on his arm, which reminded me of the sketches he had drawn.

“Have you thought about doing anything with those motorcycle designs?” My finger followed the ink.

“Not really. They were just something I did for fun.”

Tipping up my head on his ribs, I peered at him.

“They’re really good, Hunter. And I’m not just saying that. You could do that… for a living. People would be tossing money at you.”

“I have a job.”

My lips twisted in a frown. “Is this what you really want? To stay here, working in Doug’s garage?”

“That’s not good enough for you?” His lids lowered.

Sitting up again, my head shaking. “Of course it is. Don’t turn me into some uppity snob. I am truly asking if this is what you want.”

He pushed up on his arms, his eyebrows creasing, but didn’t respond.

“I know some of your friends are here. Cody. The baby…” Did he want to be a father to that baby as well? “But like I said before, don’t settle just because one dream fell apart. You are much more than a supercross rider. You always were. And honestly, those careers last for a few years anyway… What did you want to do after that?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it.” He reached for his shorts, tugging them on, jumping down from the truck. I followed suit, pulling back on my shorts before realizing my tank top was across the driveway in a puddle.

“If working at the garage is what makes you happy, that’s great. I just want the best for you.”

He sidled up to me, his hands moving over my naked torso.

“You make me happy.” He leaned down, kissing me. I understood him enough to know not to push any more, to let the topic drop. We would somehow make it work, but I was not staying here. Too much waited for me out there to ignore.

His mouth moved hungrily over mine, like it had been days instead of minutes since we were together. My arms looped around his neck, my bare chest rubbing against his.

“Jayme…” He grunted. “If you don’t stop that now, I’m going to fuck you against the truck. And I won’t be in any way quiet.”

I took a breath and stepped back. His poor mother had gone through enough; she didn’t need to hear us… or worse, see us. That would be wrong.

“Hold on.” He went to the passenger door, opening it. He grabbed something, shaking it out. “It might be dirty, but it’s dry.” He handed me a T-shirt from Doug’s garage. Tugging it on, his sexy smell clinging to the fabric made me want to curl up in it. “I just lost a shirt, didn’t I?” He smirked, watching me.

“Yep.” I nodded, holding it to my nose. “I’ll let it visit when it needs your smell again.”

“Weirdo.” He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me against him. Several moments we stayed there, enveloped in each other’s embrace.

My brain almost couldn’t wrap around that we were here. Maybe we had to go through the last year to get here. I had grown so much since we parted ways. I was proud of the person I had become. Now I appreciated this moment even more.

“Do you have to go home tonight?” he said against my ear, his breath tickling down my neck.

I loved my parents, but living with them again felt like I had stepped back in time to the girl who still needed a curfew and “no boys allowed in the bedroom” rule. They wouldn’t be happy with my choice, but it was mine to make.

“No.” I gazed at him through my lashes. “Why? You plan on keeping me?”

“Yeah.” His attention locked on me, his expression serious. “Forever if I can.”

I went up on my toes, kissing him, my heart screaming yes. As usual, our mouths grew frantic in moments, before Hunter leaned away.

“Let me check in with Mom. See if she’s all right, and then you meet me at my place later tonight.”

“Your place?”

“Yeah, well, Doug’s. I’ve been living there permanently since the accident.”

Duh. That was why all his clothes and stuff were there. At the time it didn’t make sense to me because I thought he was living with Krista.

“Okay.” I nodded. “Text me when you are heading over.”

“There’s something else.” His hand ran down my arm, sending shivers across my skin.

“What?”

“It’s Krista’s birthday. They’ll all be there.”

“Oh.”

“There’s nothing between us except Cody.”

“Are you sure?” My eyebrows curled up. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

He tipped back on his heels.

“You did sleep with her.” I choked over the sentence, hating it drove such a hammer through my gut.

Hunter rubbed his face. “I’m not going to lie to you… It happened once. A long time ago. And both of us knew it was wrong the moment we did it. I was angry and hurt. Completely gutted from you and, yeah, I kind of lost it for a few months drinking and sleeping with anything I thought might help take it away. To take you out of my head.”

I gritted my teeth, knowing I had no room to complain. I had done the same. But picturing him with Krista was beyond agonizing.

“We were both really drunk, and I kept thinking about what you had said to me about seeing us together… I guess it was my ‘fuck you’ to you. Or maybe I needed to see if you were right… Whatever the reason, I hated myself the instant it was over. We both agreed we would stay friends for Cody. We work well together, and she still is one of my best friends. I care about her and love that little guy so much. Doesn’t matter if he’s not actually mine. He’s still my family. My blood.”

My head bowed to the ground, staring at my bare feet, trying not to throw up on my toes.

“I won’t apologize for what I did or who I was with. We weren’t together, and I didn’t know how else to deal with it. But I get it, believe me. You don’t think I picture you with Luca every time I close my eyes? I tormented myself with images of what he was doing to you.”

Damp hair hung in my face, covering the pain in my chest.

“Please say you are fine with this. That you aren’t going to walk away.”

“Fine?” My head lifted, staring into his pained blue eyes. “I’m not going to say I’m fine with it. But I’m not walking away. I couldn’t if I tried.”

His lids shut briefly, exhaling.

“Can I ask you something?” I stepped closer, needing to touch him.

“What?” He brushed a strand off my face.

“How…” I gulped. Just spit it out, Jayme. “How do you know the baby isn’t yours?”

“Besides the timing and condom?” An odd smile wobbled his mouth. “I know who the father is… We talk about everything. We’ve actually grown closer since that awful night together.”

“Who?”

“That’s Krista’s business to tell, but I know if you really think about it, you’ll figure it out.”

I tilted my head to the side, trying to recall all my encounters with Krista since my return. The boy she was fighting with at the party. Tall. Blond hair.

“Oh. My. God.” My hand went to my mouth, sucking in air.

“Faster than I thought.” Hunter’s eyebrows hitched up.

That night everything felt bizarre, when I couldn’t understand why that group of friends were there. Now I knew why.

“Holy shit.” My mouth parted. “It’s Jason.”