Chapter 10

Skye stretchedher muscles in luxurious satisfaction and watched the man sleeping beside her. In her wildest fantasies, she never believed she"d have a man make love to her with so much intensity. Usually a bit hesitant, she didn"t want Hunter to think she"d be a quick roll in the hay for a holiday affair. But after two weeks in his company, she knew they had much more.

She"d fallen in love with him.

He slept with as much intensity as he worked and played. One errant blonde curl rested on his forehead, and she smoothed it back, caressing the slope of his brow, his crooked nose, the hard line of his jaw. Her thumb pressed over carved, sculpted lips, and her body quickened when she thought of that mouth tasting every inch of her skin.

His body was lean and hard, his hands able to grip her and hold her still as waves of pleasure bucked through her. He filled every inch of her and fought for more space, until she felt completely invaded, her body no longer just hers. No, he'd claimed more than her body in their lovemaking session.

He claimed her heart.

His eyes flew open. The golden depths burned like the sun, then turned warm like a half-lit summer afternoon. "Hi."

Skye smiled back. "Hi."

"What time is it?"

"We only slept for an hour, it"s still early. I want dessert."

A laugh rumbled through his chest. "I didn"t sate you enough, huh?"

She fought past a blush and knew she"d lost. "You did such a good job I need sustenance. Sugar specifically."

"Then let"s rip into those pastries."

She grabbed his shirt and buttoned it halfway, then strode ahead of him. His lusty whistle made her giggle, and she figured she"d be ready for round two sooner than originally planned. Skye settled herself at the table and had just secured a chocolate croissant when her phone buzzed.

Hunter munched on a cannoli while she glanced at the screen. Then frowned. "It"s Liz. She wants me to call. Says it's urgent."

"Probably wants to talk to you about her date last night. Don"t worry."

"Yeah, but it's so weird. Do you mind if I give her a quick ring?"

He smiled and pressed a kiss on her lips. He smelled deliciously of chocolate chips. "Of course not. But I may eat all the pastries."

She hit the return call button and drifted into the kitchen. Her friend answered on the first ring. "Hi, what"s up? Is anything wrong?"

Liz sounded wary. "Where are you?"

"At Hunter"s." Silence. "Liz, you"re freaking me out. What"s going on?"

"Did you have sex?"

"Liz!"

"What? We tell each other everything and this is important."

Skye glanced at her lover happily munching pastries and lowered her voice. "Yes. But I"m not discussing details."

Her friend let out a relieved breath. "Thank God. Then he must have told you the truth and you know who he really is."

A sliver of ice trickled down her spine. "What are you talking about?"

"The Pasta King, Skye. Hunter Barone is the heir to the Pasta King. One of the most eligible bachelors in New York City."

The room spun and she clutched the kitchen counter for balance. Her mind worked sluggishly to keep up with the information dump. "How do you know this?" she asked dimly.

"When you did a deep dive of disappearance last week, I realized you were getting serious. That's why I asked for his last name. It sounded so damn familiar, I decided to google him. I didn"t tell you because I figured if it got serious he"d tell you himself. Holy crap, you didn"t know? That bastard! Why is he still pretending to work on a tree farm when he"s one of the richest men in the state?"

Skye heard her friend droning on with a variety of insults she knew well. Finally, she fought herself back to composure. The silly joy drained out of her body and left an empty void. Her tone was wooden when she managed to speak. "I"ve gotta go, Liz. I"ll be ok. I need to talk to him."

She ended the call. The past hovered and crashed around her. What game was he playing? My God, had he been leading her on the whole time, slumming with the elementary teacher upstate? Did he plan to return to the gorgeous, poised, city women able to properly handle the heir to an empire? Nausea slammed her stomach and she fought for control. Then slowly walked out to the dining room.

"Well?" Hunter asked. "How bad was the date? Did she—" he trailed off, taking in her expression with concern. "Skye? Are you ok?"

The man she loved had lied to her. She felt horribly exposed in his shirt and bare feet. Skye wrapped her arms around her middle and squeezed. "I guess that"s how you know how to cook so well," she said quietly. "After all, The Pasta King is known worldwide."

The truth hit him full force and was reflected in his face. He rose from the chair and took a step toward her. "Skye, please sit down. I"ll explain everything."

"No thank you, I'd rather stand." Her polite, chilly words hit the mark. Her teacher demeanor wrapped around her like a cloak. "Why don't you start with who you really are?"

"I really am Hunter Barone. My father built the restaurants, and he"s known as the Pasta King. The stupid name stuck to me when I was born and began training to take over the business."

She kept her expression neutral. "Funny I didn"t recognize you from your photo or your name. Voted most eligible bachelor by Cosmopolitan magazine. Congratulations."

He winced. "I hate those damn magazines," he muttered. "I'm the same person I showed you, Skye. Everything I told you was the truth. I just left out my actual business."

Her voice hissed. "Truth? You haven't told me the real truth since we met. What are you doing here? Escaping for a holiday break in the mountains? Bored of your city women so you decided to have a hot affair with a country teacher? Needed to mix things up a bit? You son of a bitch—you knew what happened to me with my ex! And you still kept the truth from me. I feel so stupid!"

She watched him grab at his temper. He raked his fingers through his hair, then clenched his fists. "Don't you dare say that. You're more than a holiday affair and everything you said isn't true. I was drowning. I"ve been unhappy and feeling overwhelmed by life. I needed a break, so I took some time to stay in our upstate cabin so I could figure out what I really want. I got some odd jobs on the side to keep me occupied and give me an opportunity to meet new people."

"Was I some kind of experiment?" she asked bitterly, pacing back and forth. Ice prickled her spine as humiliation settled over her. "I get it. I'm good enough to sleep with, but not good enough to bring home to daddy. Right?"

"Don't." He grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her into his arms. Skye fought him but he held her in an implacable grip as his mouth took hers. Her body betrayed her, opening under his carved lips, meeting each thrust of his tongue in an intimate battle. Her breasts swelled and peaked, demanding his attention. She grew wet, and Skye dug her nails fiercely into his shoulders, giving him back all of her rage and lust and need.

He tore his mouth from her, breathing hard. "You're not some half assed affair, Skye," he said softly. "You're the woman I fell in love with."

Silence shattered the room. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she stared at him. Her voice tore out in a ragged whisper. "Don't play games with me."

"I'm not. I know it's only been a short time but I know. I just want to be with you."

She shook her head hard. "No, you're running away from a life you don't want anymore. And I don't want to be that excuse. You're a millionaire with a family legacy and your photo in celebrity magazines. You live a different life, and you just can't throw it away because things get rough."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Are you sure?" She tilted her head up and locked her gaze with his. "You were looking for a distraction because you're not happy. I come along and suddenly you seem to have the answers. But you don't." Her heart splintered in her chest, and the pain buried in deep. She ached to believe he loved her and they could make it work. But he was running away, and until he realized what he wanted in life, she would always wonder if she was enough. "You didn't tell me for a reason, Hunter. Because you don't know what you want yet. "

He gripped her hands. "Since I met you I realized I was missing a piece of myself. Dammit, I was going to tell you the truth tonight—I told you we needed to talk. I want to work this out with you. I can stay here and figure out a plan."

"I won't let you." She dropped his hands and moved away. "I'm sorry, Hunter. You need to figure things out on your own. Some part of you didn't trust me not to walk away once I knew the truth. And you were right. Because you're not ready yet. I can't be an excuse to leave an empire behind on a whim. I need more than that."

"I'll work it out," he repeated stubbornly.

She paused in the hallway. "I promised I'd never put myself in a position where I felt lacking. If you stay now, and try to give up your family legacy, I'll always be waiting for the resentment. And I bet your father won't be too happy to watch you walk away for a woman you met two weeks ago."

"I'd never be resentful. Spending my life with you would be a gift—and my father doesn't matter."

She shook her head. "Oh, but he does. Because if he didn't, you would have been able to tell me the truth right away."

"Skye—"

"Go back home, Hunter. Find yourself and your path. Find out what you really want."

Skye walked into the bedroom and dressed. She was proud her hands didn't shake. Grabbing her purse, she walked past him and to the door. He said her name one more time. The sweet sound caressed her ears, and she hung on to it, knowing it would be the last time she heard his voice.

Then she turned the knob and left him standing in the middle of the cabin, alone.

* * *

She"d left him.

Hunter stared at the closed door in shock. The truth of her words hit hard, and he stumbled to the liquor cabinet to pour two fingers of Scotch. His fingers trembled around the glass but the liquid burned hot in his tightening throat.

What had he done?

His mind grasped for answers. Hunter assumed once he explained the truth about his identity, she"d understand. That they"d work out a plan. But he began to realize the responsibility wasn"t Skye"s. She knew who she was. She knew what she wanted.

He didn"t have a clue.

His gut twisted with his own lies. No, that wasn"t true. His father knew what he wanted his son to be: a clone. He wanted him to rule New York City and their restaurants on his terms. But Hunter had other ideas—ideas that pulsed deep inside but ones he was too afraid to fight for. too afraid to admit he wanted.

Hunter thought the hoax was a way to protect himself and find what he really wanted.

It had worked. He'd found Skye Summers. But the same hoax had caused him to lose her.

Hunter gazed at the closed door and wondered what the hell he was going to do.