30. Winter

THIRTY

WINTER

W hen Hunter spins me around and moves my panties back into their appropriate place, patting the fabric reverently, I want to laugh.

But I have a feeling any laughter I utter will turn into hysteria, and we don't have the time for that.

I'm trying to reconcile the fact that:

Hunter just told me some incredibly sordid shit.

I've lost my mind because I want to be with him anyway.

I just let him fuck me raw in a bathroom.

"Hunter, I'm…" I move to the sink and lather the expensive-smelling liquid soap over my palms. "Don't you want to wash your hands?" I ask, looking at his hands as I rinse.

The hands that were just inside me.

"I might never wash my hands again," he says. He smiles at me. He's got himself back together, but I can see the stain I left on his pants when I…

I groan, burying my face in my wet hands .

"What's wrong, Sunbeam?" He walks over to me, lowering my hands from my face.

Unable to look at him directly, I whisper, "I squirted on you."

His smile grows even wider. "Yeah, you did."

"Hunter!" I slap a hand across his chest. "I am mortified, " I say.

He kisses my hands. "I'm not," he replies.

I lean into him again, taking strength from the in and out of his breath. He does eventually wash his hands, even though he grumbles while he does so.

Grabbing one of the linen towels, I choke when he says, "Move in with me."

"What?" I ask.

"Right now. Move in with me." I blink at him.

"So that sounds great, but don't you have a few loose ends to tie up? Like, the whole fiancée thing?"

"I do," he says. "That ends right now."

I arch an eyebrow. "Right now?"

"Yes, baby. I can't tolerate any scenario that causes you pain. I've tried to be patient, but—" He rubs his hand over his mouth with a determined look, and his jaw hardens before he kisses my forehead. "There's more I want to tell you. But I need to know you'll be safe in the meantime. And you're safest right by my side."

I look away from him, logic settling into my brain. "Let me get Kitty," I say.

"Can I send someone to get him for you?" Hunter's mouth is pressed to my forehead again.

"I need to get my stuff too. Look at my apartment for a minute. Think about this massive change you're asking of me."

"But you're not second-guessing us?"

I reach my hand up to his cheek. "No, I'm not second-guessi ng us. I want us. I just want to be the one to do this. I need a second for closure, okay?"

He nods. "I don't like it, but okay."

He pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps the screen. "I'll have one of the guys bring you to your apartment. He'll stay with you while you pack. Unless…" He looks up at me, done texting. "I can meet you there? We can spend the night at your place. Maybe I could eat you out on your kitchen island again. You know, for closure." He gives me his best innocent look.

I laugh a little. "Absolutely not, H." I kiss his cheek.

He sighs.

"We can't be seen leaving this bathroom together," he murmurs when he pulls me in for another hug.

"I can only imagine the scandal. You and your other woman having a bathroom tryst at your engagement party." I move to re-pin my hair.

"You're not my other woman. You're my only woman. This whole situation is just an…inconvenience," he says.

I bite my lip. What if things don't work out how he plans? What if things are more complicated or dangerous than he knows? What if he gets hurt? August? Ella?

"Hey," he says, pulling my lip from between my teeth. "It's all going to be okay."

He kisses me gently, and I relax into it.

"I'll leave first," he says. He peppers kisses along my jaw and my eyelids. His phone beeps, and he looks at the screen. "Great, we've got Jose to bring you. Have you met him?"

I shake my head no. "Go out the front doors, and he'll be waiting for you with the Tahoe."

He pulls away from me.

"Wait," I say, and he turns back around. "I love you, Hunter James Brigham."

He smiles. "I love you more, Winter Leigh Vaughan."

And then he's out the door .

I wait three minutes just to make sure he is far from the bathroom before I walk out the door. Turning to the front entrance, I praise the gods for the deserted lobby. Even the reception desk is empty. Through the glass doors, I see a tall man with dark skin standing on the passenger side of the Tahoe with the door open. I haven't seen him before, but he's dressed in black cargo pants, a black jacket, and a black baseball cap. His back faces the automatic doors as he fiddles with the windshield wipers.

"Jose?" I ask as I walk through the doors. My phone chirps with an Uber notification just as my foot hits the rug embossed with the Appleton Country Club insignia. I look down at my phone while walking toward the vehicle, focusing on quickly pulling up the app to cancel my ride. He nods in my periphery. "Thanks for the ride," I say, closing the app with a few taps as I slide into the back seat.

He's silent as he drives us away from the country club, and I'm honestly grateful for the time to think.

Everything Hunter shared with me…all of it is horrifying. What he's been through and what his father forced him to do is…there are no words. He didn't call it abuse by name, but all those details…is there any other way to look at his history?

My heart aches. My mind churns. Only one thought is clear.

I love him, and he is mine.

I pull out my phone to text Veronica.

No reception.

I wave the phone around, hoping to catch a signal if I change positions. I'm in a complete dead zone. I look around at my surroundings, but everything is dark.

"Jose, do you have reception out here?"

He doesn't respond.

Anxiety settles in my chest.

"Jose?" I ask, scooting closer to the front seat. Anxiety morphs into terror as he slams on the accelerator .

"What the fuck!" I yell, and I scream when he takes a sharp left, my head cracking soundly into the side window. I scramble to open the door, but it won't budge. Same for the other one.

I start to fling my body over the seat and nearly vomit when I see the lifeless body of a stranger in the trunk area. His head rests at an unnatural angle as the slit in his throat nearly separates his head from the rest of his body.

I can't help the scream that exits my throat.

Gasping for air, I collect myself to assess the situation.

"Who are you?" I demand through quivering lips.

Finally, he speaks. "Aw. You couldn't have forgotten about me. Right, princess?"