Because of You (12 page)

I had to leave the club—I was afraid my zipper would break because of my damn hard-on. I wanted to walk out with her but Connor assured me he would wait for her.

I can’t wait to get her home so I can peel that sexy dress off of her. All that bumping and grinding just prepared me for what’s yet to come. I want to spend every minute of every day pleasing her and making her happy.

I look up to see her walking towards me. I’m the luckiest guy right now because she’s leaving with me. When she gets close enough to where I can see her face in the darkness she looks scared.

“Is everything okay, baby?” I open the car door so she can slip inside.

Then I hear him. “Riley, don’t leave with that asshole. You belong with me!”

I look up to see Parker storming across the parking lot with Connor, Zoe and Grayson not far behind him.

I glance inside the car to look at Riley. She shakes her head.

Oh. Hell. No!

“What the fuck did you do to her?” I rush over to rearrange his preppy face when Connor races forward, grabbing my arms and pushing me backwards.

“Hunter, let it go. He’s drunk; nothing good is going to come out of this. ” Connor stands in between me and Parker.

“He’s just a pussy and he won’t fight me because he knows he’ll lose. ” Parker tries to get by Connor when Zoe steps in front of him.

“Listen, you low life piece of shit; I called the cops before I came out here. They’ll be here any minute so I think it would be in your best interest if you have a friend take you home, because if you get a DUI you won’t be able to drive your fancy car for quite some time. ” Zoe stands with her hands on her hips, looking like a badass.

He points his finger at me while he screams. “This isn’t over, and I’ll pay you back for what you did to my sister. ” He storms off.

I try to push past Connor but he’s blocking my way. He shakes his head. “He won’t remember any of this in the morning. ”

When Parker turns around before entering the club I can’t help screaming, “If you wanted to fight me you could have when it was just you and me. ” I feel like an idiot after I flip him off.

That’s when it hits me like a ton of bricks—Allison Montgomery—is Parker’s sister. She was the only girl that I hooked up with more than once. When she started getting too clingy, I was a dick and hooked up with her best friend. She left town without telling anyone and from what I’ve heard, no one has heard from her since. Why did it take me until now to remember Parker? Now I know he was trying to get back at me by hurting Riley. It all makes sense now.

Suddenly, someone snaps their fingers, breaking my train of thought. I look up to see everyone staring at me.

“Earth to Hunter, where are you?” Zoe smiles up at me.

I ask her, “Did you really call the cops?” I see Zoe in a whole different light right now. Damn.

She starts to laugh. “No, but he sure as hell didn’t know that, now did he?”

We can’t help it, but we all start laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation. If nothing else, it relieved some of the tension that was building inside of me. I turn around to see Riley still sitting in my Jeep, her head down. Shit.

I say goodbye to everyone as I open my car door and slide in, reaching over to grab her hand. “Please don’t let him spoil our night. ” I kiss the palm of her hand as she looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

“Did you sleep with his sister?” She looks hurt.

There’s no way she could forgive me for treating a woman like that, even if it was years ago. So I cover it up as best I can by saying, “Baby, I’ve slept with a lot of women in the past so I could feel something. For years I was numb. I didn’t realize until you came along that what I was searching for was far greater than sex. I wanted someone to love me, someone I could love not for one night but for a lifetime. And I’ve found that with you. ” And that’s the God’s honest truth.

Suddenly she reaches up to stroke my face. “Take me home, Hunter. ”

When I’m with Riley the silence is usually comfortable, but driving home I’m getting this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. What if Parker put doubt in her mind and she sees the broken man I am and not the man I could be if I’m with her?

I pull into the driveway as she turns to look at me. “I’m not angry at you; I’m mad at myself for letting that asshole get to me. ”

She doesn’t wait for me to open her door. She storms up the stairs before I’m halfway up the driveway. She’s so hard on herself it breaks my heart; she’s held her emotions in check for the last time.

When I open the door she’s strolling into the bathroom. “I need to take a shower before I go to bed; all that dancing made me hot and sweaty,” she says over her shoulder.

When I hear her start the shower, I shed my clothes. Opening the bathroom door very slowly I slip inside. I’ve been dreaming about washing her up for a very long time, so I can get her all slippery and squeaky clean. Tonight is the night where all my dreams come true.

Pulling back the curtain I step in right behind her. She doesn’t hear me because she has her hands on the wall, letting the water run down her body. I pick up the soap and lather it between my hands before reaching around to wash her perfect breasts. I hear a quick intake of breath before she leans her head against my chest.

“You scared me, babe. ” I hear her moan as my hands lather her whole body, lingering in all the right places. I turn her around so she’s facing me, making sure her hair is wet before grabbing her shampoo. When I finish with her hair, I begin licking the water from her neck and follow it all the way down to her breasts, sucking her nipples into my mouth. I use the pad of my thumb to find her center, she’s so wet from her arousal.

“It’s my turn to wash you now. ” She changes places with me so I’m under the shower. She grabs my body wash, pouring some in her hands as she starts to wash my chest. She works her way down, and when she gets to my dick she begins stroking it. I feel my knees begin to buckle.

“If you keep doing that I’m going to come in your hands. ” Grabbing her wrists I crush my mouth to hers. She whimpers against my lips as she tries to free herself from my grasp. I let go of her hands only because I want to grab her ass so she can wrap her legs around me. Her back’s pressed against the slippery wall, her arms secured around my neck when I slip inside of her. While I hold her ass in my hands she rocks her body against mine. It feels fucking amazing.

My lips slide down her neck as my tongue flicks over her wet skin. My teeth nip her tender flesh when I feel her tighten around me as she screams my name. My moans are muffled as her mouth captures mine and I shatter into a million pieces…

Once we catch our breath I feel her muscles begin to tremble beneath my hands. I slide her slowly down my tired body as I hold her in my arms. “I love you, baby. ”

“I love you more. ” I feel her smile against my chest as she snuggles closer.

Once the feeling returns to our bodies, we towel off quickly as we stumble to the bed. I tuck her in close to me so her back’s pressed against my chest, my hands splayed across her stomach as we drift off to sleep.

I’ve been awake for about an hour now, not wanting to move because I want to stay in his arms like this forever. It’s moments like these, when I can feel his heart beating gently against my back or his breath tickling the nape of my neck, that I want to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.

When I was growing up I was so afraid that I would never know what it felt like for a man to love me or if I could love them back. Then I catch him stealing little glances at me when he doesn’t think I’m looking and I don’t have to question his love anymore because I see it in his eyes. Some people say that they wear their heart on their sleeve; Hunter shows his emotions through his eyes—pain, love, sadness, happiness, lust—it’s all there.

Hearing a rapping sound coming from somewhere in the apartment concerns me enough to make me jump out of bed. That’s when I realize someone’s knocking on the front door. Shit, it must be my dad checking up on us.

Slipping on a pair of shorts and one of Hunter’s t-shirts, I’m now decent enough to go answer the door.

“Hey beautiful, I have something I want to show you. Come back to bed. ” My gaze flicks over to Hunter who’s leaning on his elbows, his hair tousled from sleep. Those bedroom eyes focus on me as I notice the tent pitched in the sheets. Now I know what he wants to show me. It will have to wait because whoever’s at the door is getting impatient.

“My dad’s here so I’ll go answer the door while you get dressed and take down your tent. ” My gaze drifts down to his crotch, then back up to meet his eyes. The corners of his mouth slide into a wicked grin. God he’s too damn sexy in the morning. I can feel my nipples harden through the t-shirt I just put on without a bra. Smart move, Riley.

As I open the door I cross my arms to cover my chest, hoping to hide my perkiness. But the person standing before me is not my father.

It’s a woman—a very beautiful woman, in her early forties if I had to guess. She oozes rich with her designer clothes and tall elegant presence. With her three-inch heels she stands at about six feet, towering over me. She’s frowning down at me like I’m not good enough to be in Hunter’s home.

“Can I help you?” I’m now thinking she must be a client of my dad’s or maybe a girlfriend. I shudder to think that this woman who’s throwing out cold as ice vibes would be involved with my father.

“I’m here to see Hunter. He does live here, doesn’t he?” She practically pushes me out of the way as she walks in uninvited.

When I look up I see Hunter walking out of his bedroom, his arms reaching for the ceiling as he slides them through his sleeves before pulling his shirt over his head, his perfect abs on exhibit for everyone in the room to see. “Who is it, baby?” he asks as his head pops through the opening of his Henley, and his gaze locks on the woman standing in the center of his living room.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” It sounds like a snarl as he glances from her to me.

“I’m your mother, Hunter. I have every right to be here. ” She smiles brazenly at him.

I can’t breathe when I glance over at him. My heart squeezes inside my chest as I look into his eyes. They tell me everything I need to know—it is his mother and he’s been lying to me all along. Obviously not everyone he loves is dead because she’s very much alive, standing here in his living room, scowling at me.

I’m glued to the spot as I stare at her. The more I look at her I can see the resemblance: it’s the eyes, they have the same piercing blue eyes. I glance back at Hunter one last time before a sob chokes me up. I cover it with my fist and race out the door.

I don’t even remember running down the stairs or flinging open the kitchen door. I don’t even recall Dad calling out to me as I race up to my bedroom and lock the door behind me. I’m on my bed, face down, pressing a pillow against my mouth when a noise, unlike anything I’ve ever heard, erupts from me.

This is a nightmare because I can still feel his touch upon my skin, his lips brushing mine, the weight of his body pressed against me. Why did he want me to believe that his family was dead? Does that mean he’s lying to me about Brady or his grandparents too?

My eyes lock on Riley’s as the woman who gave birth to me introduces herself as my mother. I see the shock on Riley’s face as she waits for me to deny it, but I can’t because it’s true.

The expression on her face says it all—she thinks I lied to her. Her bottom lip begins to tremble as the tears spill down her beautiful face. I should have told her the truth from the very beginning, but I was a coward. I was so afraid she would blame me for what happened that I might have just screwed up the rest of my life.

As I’m standing there I shake my head as she bolts out the door. “Riley! Please, let me explain,” I yell out to her, but it’s too late—she’s already gone. My mother strides over to the door and reaches out to touch my arm.

“Let her go—we need to talk. Why do you insist on slumming? You can do much better than her,” she says vehemently.

Looking over my shoulder I can’t help but glare at her. “Don’t talk about her that way; she’s the woman I love—something you know nothing about. ” I slam the door in her face.

I take the stairs two at a time, wanting to get to Riley as fast as I can. I throw open the kitchen door to a startled Rosie, then sprint past Scott, coming out of his office. When I get to the end of the hallway I check her bedroom door. It’s locked.

I want to take her in my arms so I can kiss away her tears. “Baby, please open the door so we can talk. ” It breaks my heart to hear her sobbing, especially since I’m the reason she’s crying in the first place.

When I don’t get a response I start banging on the door with my fists. “Open the God damn door now, or I’ll break it down!” My jaw clenches as I lean my head against the cool wood of the doorframe, trying to calm down.

“What the hell’s going on here, Hunter?” Scott says, standing there with his fists clenched at his sides. “Remember, you’re in my house now and no one will be breaking down any doors. Do you understand?” He has every right to be pissed at me right now.

Leaning my back against the door I slide down so I’m sitting on the floor. Pressing the heel of my hands against my eyes I try to stop the tears from escaping. “We had a misunderstanding; she won’t let me explain. ”

“Give her a chance to calm down; you both might say something you’ll regret later. Go home, Hunter. ” He squats down in front of me, and puts his hands on my shoulders.

“I love your daughter, Scott. Piece by piece she’s taken down those damn walls I created and in just a few short weeks she owns my heart. ” He understands now that she’s not just a summer fling. She’s someone I want forever. As I slide back up the door he pulls me in to give me a one-armed hug, a bro hug, as Connor refers to it. Slapping each other on the back like a bunch of cavemen, I summon enough courage to go back and confront my mother.

When I open my front door my mother’s sitting on my effing couch with a bottle of water clutched in her hand. “Why are you still here?” Walking over to the fridge I grab a bottle of beer, wishing it were something stronger.

“We have a small memorial service planned tomorrow for your grandparents and Brady, and we would like you to attend. Hunter, why are you living here when you could be staying at the cottage?” Her eyes mist over; other people would feel sorry for her loss but I know it’s all an act. She’s the best unknown actress from California.

“I have to work so I won’t be able to make it. ” I’m sitting in the recliner spinning my beer bottle between my hands. This is awkward.

“What do you mean you have to work? Did you go through your grandparent’s inheritance already?” She storms across the room, the look on her face intense.

Her eyes connect with mine as I stand up, and her hand goes up immediately to cover her face. Without a doubt, I’m pissed, but I would never hit her or any woman for that matter.

I will not tell her that I’m a lifeguard because that would be degrading in her social standings. “We haven’t had any contact since I walked out after Brady’s funeral.” I’m trying desperately to fight the rage that’s consuming me. “The only reason you had children was so that you could groom us to take over the family business. Well, one is dead and I don’t want any part of either of you or the company. ” My fists clench as I head towards the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” She’s angry because I walked away from Erin Davis, CEO of Davis Records Co.

“I’m going to change. I need to get out of here, and so do you. ” Closing the bedroom door I lean against it. My gaze drifts over to the bed where Riley lay sleeping just an hour ago, the sheets still crumpled from our tangled bodies. Her pillow remains curved where her head lay; the smell of vanilla mixed with a touch of coconut still permeates the air. Snatching her pillow I bury my face in it as I inhale her sweet scent. My heart seizes in my chest. What have I done?