38. Lottie

"You can't just do that," I sighed, dapping the washcloth across Hunter's dried blood on the side of his cheek. "You could've accidentally killed him."

"He was seconds away from hurting you," he muttered, sucking in a breath as I dragged it over the cut. "Physically, I mean."

"That doesn't give you a free pass to start beating the shit out of him," I said. The words came out breathy, almost in a chuckle. In truth, it was sweet what he'd done. I only wished he wouldn't have had to.

"Okay. Next time I'll invite him out for coffee and have a nice civil conversation."

I shot him a look and grabbed the bottle of rubbing alcohol off my bedside table. He was lucky the cops only took Jared away in handcuffs. Dropping a bit on a cotton ball, I dabbed it gently on the cut and on the little scab that had formed under his jaw. He bared his teeth, his face scrunching, but he didn't complain. "Thank you," I whispered, "for coming back."

"I never left."

My hand froze against his cheek. I couldn't help the little grin that tugged at my lips. Of course you didn't. "When the doorbell rang," I started, forcing the words to come out even though they tried so hard to keep themselves inside, "I thought it was you. I wanted it to be you."

His green eyes met mine, flicking between them. "I'm sorry it wasn't."

I shook my head. "Don't apologize. You were here. That's what matters." I finished up with the alcohol and pulled out a handful of band aids from my first aid kit. Dad had always insisted on keeping at least three in the house at any given time: one on the ground floor, one upstairs, and one for the attic in case someone got hurt up there. It wasn't a bad idea. "I think I want to try."

"Beating up Jared? It was really satisfying."

I laughed. "No," I grinned. "I want to try with you. This. Us."

I took the band aids out of their wrapping and gently pressed the larger one across his cheek. He watched me with bated breath.

"It won't be easy," I swallowed. Tell him. Tell him. Fucking tell him. "But I think it might be worth giving it a proper go. If you still want that."

His hand reached for me, bloodied knuckles and all, and cupped the side of my face. "Of course I want that." He leaned toward me, his hand snaking around the back of my neck, but I tipped his chin up to put on the other band aid instead.

"I realized when you left," I said softly, pressing gently into the sides of the plastic to make sure it stuck. Tell him. "I didn't want to lie to myself anymore. I know it's been… unconventional, but I'm not going to pretend that there isn't something there between us. I'm not going to pretend that I don't love you."

His fingers stilled against my neck, his breath catching. "Do you mean that?"

"Yeah," I breathed. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, like I was twenty pounds lighter than I was a moment ago. "I do. And not just because you beat the shit out of my ex."

He smiled so wide that the bandage I put on his cheek became soaked with blood. His lips met mine in a flash, his hands needy and grabbing. I didn't care that there were flecks of blood on his face or bruising on his knuckles, didn't care that he smelled of rubbing alcohol. It was Hunter, he was here and he wanted me. And I had finally told him that I loved him.

Fingers dug into the side of my waist, pulling me into his lap. I knew where this was going before it even began, I knew what he wanted and what we both needed.

My hands fisted his shirt, riding the fabric up until I could pull it over his head. Across his right shoulder, a massive bruise was already forming from where Jared had kicked him. I ran my fingertips across the reddened skin, light enough that it hopefully wouldn't hurt, but he sucked in air, indicating that it did. His kisses morphed into something hungrier, greedier, and before I could protest, my funeral dress was up and over my head. It dropped softly against the floor, leaving me in just my underwear.

His kisses roamed down, along my neck, across my collarbone, nipping gently at the skin. "Fuck," I breathed, my nerves firing little blooms of pleasure wherever his mouth wandered.

His hand slid beneath the waistband of my panties. My body heated, need prickling between my thighs. His fingers moved lower, dipping into the dampness and gliding across my clit.

"Don't tease me," I rasped.

"Don't tempt me," he chuckled.

He touched me with a featherlight sensation, barely enough to stimulate me. I bit my lip, pushing my hips down harder into him, feeling the rigidness beneath my core. He was throbbing already, desperate, but he hid it so well.

"Do you care about these?" He asked, tugging lightly on the frilly hem of my panties.

"Not at all."

He gripped and pulled, splitting the flimsy cotton into shreds. The lacy edges of my bra dug into my skin and rubbed it raw at the same moment his lips found my breast, sucking my nipple between his teeth. The fabric fell away, leaving me entirely bare on top of his half-clothed body.

I felt the stretch of his fingers as he plunged them in, flexing them, spreading them, opening me up.

"So fucking tight," he said. "Even on my fingers, you feel like heaven."

"I'd feel better on your cock," I replied. I shifted my hips, burying his fingers deeper inside, needing more.

"So needy," he chuckled. "Can't you just enjoy what I give you?"

"Not when it isn't enough," I pleaded. It was never enough. I needed him inside of me.

He leaned back onto the bed, pulling me over him, dragging his fingers out of me. The emptiness I felt was maddening, but as he lifted his damp digits to my lips, I instinctively closed my mouth around them. "That's my good girl," he purred. "Clean them off for me."

Beneath me, I could hear the rattle of his belt as he freed himself. His hips shifted as he pushed his pants and boxers down, and when he finally placed his hand back on my waist and lowered me just an inch, I could feel the hot, solid tip of his cock against my entrance.

I started to lower myself but fingers dug into my skin, stopping me before I could get anything more than the tip. "Beg me," he ordered.

Fuck you. I plastered the fakest, prettiest smile I could muster on my face. "Pretty please, Hunter, can I fuck myself silly on your cock?"

His hands pushed my hips down in sync with his bucking to meet me, slamming himself inside of me with enough force to make me see stars. "That what you wanted?"

I pressed my palms into his chest, breathing through the stretch and my dizzied head. "I?—"

"You want me to fuck you?"

He flipped us before I could take another breath, kicking his pants onto the ground and sinking himself into me fully. His hands grabbed me around the backs of my thighs, pushing them up over his shoulders. "Answer me."

"Fuck me," I breathed. "Please."

He didn't hold back.

Pulling himself from me almost entirely, he slammed back in, drawing a shriek from my throat. Over and over, he filled me so goddamn perfectly. I couldn't speak, could barely breathe, and as his hand slid between our bodies and his fingers found my clit, I thought I'd die right there.

At least I'd die happy.

"You were made for me," he rasped, his breathing quick and shallow. "Made to take me like this."

I moaned my agreement, words lost on my tongue. His hips moved faster, harder, savagely, and before I even knew it was coming, before I had time to breathe through it, an orgasm ripped through me, tearing my nerves and body to shreds.

"Bad fucking girl," Hunter hissed, his thrusts relentless. I gasped, my body convulsing. His hand left my clit, giving me a morsel of relief from the overstimulation, but found itself wrapped in my hair instead, tugging harshly, forcing me to look directly up at him as he used me for his own pleasure. "You ask before you come."

"What are you going to do about it?" I challenged, giggling through the waning of my climax, pleasure frying my nerves. "Punish me?"

He pulled harder on my hair, little prickles of sharp pain spreading across my scalp. Fuck, why did it feel good? "Is that what you want?"

"Maybe," I breathed.

His cock slid from me, leaving me empty yet again, and in a flash, he flipped me onto my stomach. "On your knees. End of the bed. Now."

I blinked through the confusion.

"Charlotte."

He stood at the foot of the bed, his length jutting out at me, slick and coated with my juices. The idea of putting it between my lips made me salivate, but that's not what he wanted.

I got myself into position, facing away from him on my knees, my face down on the sheets and my rear up in the air. "Now you behave," he chuckled.

One sharp smack to my ass forced a cry from my lips, but then he was sinking himself into me again, deeper, fuller than he was before. He fucked me harder, his hand wrapping around the length of my hair and pulling. It was leverage to lift me up off the bed, my back bending almost unnaturally until I was leaning back into him with my head on his shoulder.

"So fucking perfect," he muttered, his hips slamming into me between each word. "But so goddamn sinful."

His fingers teased my nipples, tweaking them, squeezing them. The sounds leaking from me were so loud, so intense, that for once, I was thankful Dad wasn't here anymore.

"Touch yourself, Lottie. Let me watch you."

His words were like a command. I did as he asked, my digits fumbling in the slickness.

"That's it. You're going to come again," he growled, his pace quickening. "And you're going to beg."

The first part at least wouldn't be difficult.

With every passing second, my orgasm built, my sobs and mewls only egging him on. I could feel him holding off just a little, just enough that he wouldn't send himself over the edge. "Do you like when I use you for my own gain, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice almost guttural and vulgar.

His hand raised from my breast, snaking up across my chest. Fingers wrapped around my throat.

"Yes," I panted.

He gave me a little squeeze.

Rapidly, I reached the cliff's edge, and I had to focus every bit of energy I had into making sure I didn't break before he said I could. "Please," I cried. "Please, Hunter, I need to come. Please?—"

"Come for me," he growled, shoving me back into the mattress face first the moment my body broke. I shuddered, ecstasy spreading through my veins like wildfire. His hips moved erratically, slamming into me, stuttering before a warmth spread inside.

His breaths came quickly and loudly as he collapsed on top of me before turning to the side, pulling my shaking body into his. Wave after wave crashed over me, leaving me a twitching, heaving mess.

"You did so well," he breathed, his lips pressing against my cheeks, my forehead, my lips.

I nodded as he pulled me to his chest. "Thank you."