Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Stace

This wasn't what I had planned when I came over. I hadn't exactly had a plan when I decided to hop in my car with Buck and go to see her. Her voice had just been so sad that I couldn't hang up and let it go.

The tucking her into bed thing came to me spur of the moment too, but it felt right.

I left Hunter to get her pajamas on when I went to her kitchen. Her place was so nice I was scared to touch anything. I knew she had money, but now that I was here, I knew for sure.

The kitchen was immaculate. Not a single crumb to be found. She hadn't had enough time to clean this well before I got here, so I bet it was just like this all the time. What the hell had she thought of my place? I was a slob in comparison.

Putting those thoughts aside, I went through her cabinets and found her tea stash, as well as her mugs. Her fridge was like something I'd seen from an influencer who did lifestyle content. The organization was next level.

"Jesus, Hunter," I said to myself as the kettle whistled and I tried to find something that resembled a bedtime snack. I found some fancy crackers and almond butter, so I put together some little sandwiches along with her tea. I picked a chamomile blend. If she'd had hot chocolate I would have made that for her. I'd bring some with me next time. Every year for Christmas my mom got me a huge supply of this expensive hot chocolate mix that I could share with her.

Hunter's door was closed when I approached the bedroom again with the tea and crackers and a book I'd pulled off her bookshelf. I'd thought about a newer romance novel, but that would be a bad idea, so I found a classic instead. It was still romantic, but there were no sex scenes or descriptions of heaving breasts or anything so it seemed safer. Less likely to cause lust.

"Hunter?" I asked, knocking softly.

"Yeah?" She was definitely still irritated and had a scowl on her face when I walked in, but she was in bed and wearing a soft-looking tank and no bra.

No bra and her blanket wasn't covering her chest. Maybe lust was going to be a problem, at least for me.

"Look at you all tucked in," I said, refusing to let myself stare at her nipples.

I passed her the tea and the plate and found a chair to pull over next to the bed. Her room was decorated in soft blues and yellows and tans. It was a gentle and floral space, more so than the rest of the apartment. This was a pretty space for a princess. Her bed was made of white iron that twisted in vines to form the headboard and footboard. Definitely a bed for royalty.

The chair was upholstered and comfortable as I settled in and then realized that poor Buck was probably lonely.

"Buck! Come here, boy."

He skidded on the floor in his haste to get to the bedroom.

"Is it okay if he gets on the bed?" I asked Hunter, considering that this was her room.

"Oh, I guess?" she said.

There was a blanket folded over the foot of the bed and I spread it out and commanded Buck to lay on it. He settled right down and stared at me, his tail wagging as if he was ready for a story too.

"This is ridiculous," Hunter said, holding her tea.

"Why?" I asked.

She raised her eyebrows. "Because I'm not a child?"

"I know you're not a child. I just wanted to do something nice for you. Isn't this nice?" I asked.

Hunter let out a breath. "If I say it isn't then I sound like an asshole. I don't need you to do any of this, Stace."

She kept saying that. That I didn't have to do anything for her. What she didn't get yet was that I wanted to. I liked doing it and she deserved it.

Instead of answering her, I opened the book and started reading. My eyes flicked up to find Hunter watching me with a bemused look on her face. I paused.

"Drink your tea," I said, just to watch her get annoyed. It was so damn cute.

Hunter narrowed her eyes at me but did drink her tea. I also saw her fingers reach for the plate of crackers and she munched on one quietly. Having a little snack in bed was one of life's simple pleasures, in my opinion.

So I read. I turned the pages and spoke the words and every now and then looked at Hunter. She finished her tea and snack and went to brush her teeth before coming back to lay on her side facing me, one hand propping her head up.

Buck had fallen asleep and snored softly.

This wasn't how I expected to spend my night but here I was, and I wouldn't change anything that had happened. Well, I might have added some kissing. A good horizontal makeout session. Fuck, I loved kissing so much.

I stumbled over the words and looked up to make sure that Hunter hadn't noticed to find that her eyes were closed.

She was asleep. Mission accomplished.

Pleased with myself, I closed the book and left it on the nightstand as I took the cup and plate to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher. I called Buck and helped him off the bed, hoping it wouldn't wake Hunter. She stirred briefly but went back to sleep.

"Good boy," I told him, stroking his head. He'd done so well.

I gathered up his things and set them by the door, making him stay. There was one last thing I needed to do before I left. Scratch that, two things.

Firstly, I found a notepad and pen and wrote her a note and left it on her nightstand before leaning over and giving her a soft kiss on her forehead. Her inhales were deep and she looked at peace.

Goddamn she was beautiful. So beautiful.

In my fantasy, I would pull back the comforter and climb into bed with her and hold her all night. And if I took the fantasy further, she would wake me in the middle of the night with a kiss and I'd strip her slowly and we'd fuck for hours and hours.

No, that wasn't going to happen tonight. She needed more time. I wanted her to trust me. To open up to me. To want me and reach for me.

Right now, she was still holding herself back. I could see it in her eyes. I could see the way she looked at me. Part of the teasing was to provoke her. To get a response. To see the heat flare between us as it always did.

Buck and I left and went back to my place and got ready for bed myself. I kept my phone with me in case Hunter woke up and realized I was gone. Would she panic? I had left the note where she would find it.

It took me a long time to fall asleep that night, even with Buck laying on my feet like he always did.

My mind was miles away, still in bed with Hunter.

I don't know what to say to you after last night. But thank you. It was unexpected, but in a good way.

Her message came in when I was yanking myself out of bed. I had picked up a shift later, but I had some time before I had to be ready to run errands and clean and get shit done since I was off from the animal shelter today.

I wished I could lay in bed all day, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Come on, let's go," I said to Buck. He yawned and then lay back down. My dog wasn't a morning person.

Lazy animal.

I got up and made myself some breakfast and tried to figure out what to say to Hunter. Last night I was all confident and in the light of day I was feeling a little too exposed. Like I'd shown her too much. I kept doing that.

You're welcome. It was my pleasure. Truly. How did you sleep?

That didn't sound too clingy or desperate, I thought.

Better than I have in a long time. You didn't put anything in my tea, did you? she sent.

I laughed as I cleaned the kitchen.

No, promise. I guess my voice can be used as a sedative, good to know. I responded.

I wouldn't say that. I'd say that you have a very soothing reading voice. If the firefighter thing doesn't work out, you might get into audiobooks or podcasting or something. Hunter replied.

You can't say things like that to me. I'm going to start blushing. I sent the message with a picture of me covering my cheek with one hand and tilting my head in a bashful pose.

I'm supposed to be working but you're distracting me. You're much more interesting than doing admin. she responded.

I liked that I was a distraction for her. That meant she was thinking about me when we weren't together.

You know the best way to get me to do something more is to tell me to stop doing it, right? I sent.

Fuck, now I was the distracted one. Hunter and I traded messages back and forth until I had to go out on a call. Thankfully just a fender bender. The passengers were taken to the hospital as a precaution, but no one was seriously injured. We were just wrapping up from that call when we had to rush to help with someone who had a medical emergency in a grocery store and then it was just one of those days. Third call was a guy who'd been trying to cut down a tree with a chainsaw and managed to drop the tree on himself and get stuck. The last call was a potential missing kid who we managed to find hiding in the bathroom in a store.

By the time I got home, I was absolutely beat. All I wanted to do was shower, eat, and lay on the couch until I passed out.

There was a new message from Hunter that I read as I was stripping out of my clothes and heading for the bathroom.

Is your shift over? I hope you didn't have to deal with anything awful.

I didn't answer until I was clean and wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and laying with Buck on the couch. I was definitely ordering something. Even pulling something from the freezer to heat up was too much effort.

It was busy, but not too bad. How was your day?

A warm feeling took up residence in my chest as we spoke about mundane things until I decided to call her.

"Hey," she said, but she didn't sound annoyed.

"Hey. I'm too tired to type tonight. So if you want to talk to me, this is what you get." My voice was tired too, but not as much as everything else.

"You do sound exhausted. Have you eaten?"

I sighed. "No. I'm so hungry I think my stomach is currently digesting my spine. I'm going to order something, but I hadn't gotten around to it."

"Okay. What were you going to order?"

"Hmmm, let me think. Birria beef tacos from Casa Julia and queso and chips and churros and tortilla soup. I think that's it."

Hunter was silent for a moment. "So, the entire menu?"

"Yeah, basically. Ugh, I need to order."

There was silence on the other end, and I thought the call had dropped.

"No, you don't. I'm going to pick it up and I'll be there in, say, thirty minutes? Can your stomach hold out until then?"

I sat up, jostling Buck, who glared at me.

"Wait, really?" Did she think she had to pay me back for last night?

"Yes. Don't make a big deal out of it. I'm simply feeding a public servant. Or something. Aren't they supposed to feed firefighters at the station?"

I explained to her that ours was so small that we didn't really have the space or the budget for that. Small department.

"I still think they should feed you, but for tonight, I'll be in charge of it."

Fuck, the authoritative tone of her voice was doing it for me. I knew she didn't want to be a lawyer, but if she used that voice in a courtroom? She'd come out on top every time.

"Okay fine, you win," I said, as if I was going to put up a fight.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me before I feed you," she said, and I snapped awake again.

"Sorry," I said through a yawn.

"No, take a nap. Do you have a spare key or anything? I could pick up the food and let myself in?" She really was going out of her way tonight and I liked it. I really liked it.

"I'll leave it for you in the plant pot by the entry. Hopefully no one will steal it." I managed to get myself upright and get my spare keys into an envelope and shove it in the back of the pot behind some leaves. Not the best strategy but I didn't know a better one.

Staggering a bit, I made it back upstairs and headed straight for my bed, collapsing before I was absolutely dead to the world.

A soft voice woke me up and I came awake with a jolt. Fuck. What time was it? I was still on my stomach on my bed, so I fished my phone out of my back pocket and checked the clock. I'd been asleep for almost an hour.

Rolling over, I rubbed my eyes and tried to find enough energy to stand.

"Hunter?" I called out.

She appeared in the doorway.

"Hey. I found the keys. Are you hungry or do you want to sleep more?"

She looked rumpled and soft in a sweater and yoga pants with her hair pulled back into a clip. Her feet were bare, toes painted a very light pink.

"No, I need to eat," I said, and my stomach chose that moment to scream so loud that I bet my neighbors heard it.

Hunter laughed. "I made a plate for you and kept it warm."

Why was that so sexy? Hunter bringing me dinner was just so domestic.

"Thanks," I said, putting my feet on the floor and shoving to my feet. I was still tired, but not as bad as I had been. Food would perk me up even more.

Hunter bustled around the kitchen as if she'd been here dozens of times. Before I knew what was happening, I was sitting on the couch with a plate of food, a paper towel covering my lap, and a cold drink in my hand.

"I haven't had birria tacos in forever, so I got a double order. I assume you're the kind of person who eats leftovers," she said, joining me on the couch. Buck was doing his best to hover while pretending he wasn't hovering and waiting for crumbs.

"Buck, place," Hunter said before I could open my mouth. Buck looked at her for a second with a shocked face, but he knew the command, so he went and lay down on his bed.

"Wow, he listened to you. Good job," I said.

"Sorry. I wasn't sure if I should, but I was practicing with him while you were asleep."

If she wasn't careful, I was going to fall even more, and I was already in so deep.

Hunter looked up at me, uncertain. "Was that okay?"

"Hell yeah it's okay. He should learn that you're an authority figure too. If you're going to be around." My voice hitched on the last part. I hated how much I wanted her to say that she was going to be.

Hunter was quiet for a moment as I let my food get cold again and waited for her to answer.

"I think I'd like to be around." She said it quietly, as if the words scared her.

"I'd like to have you around. And I know Buck would too." At the sound of his name, he sat right up.

"Lay down," I told him, snapping my fingers. He did but huffed in irritation.

"Thank you for bringing dinner." I finally grabbed my first taco and dipped it in the bowl of consommé that came with my order. Everything was lukewarm, but so good that it didn't even matter.

"Fuck me, that's good," I said, moaning. My stomach yelled again, but in victory this time that I was putting something in it.

Hunter also let out a satisfied sound that made me wish we were both naked so I could try and get her to make it again for different reasons.

Hunter must have been hungry too, because we both went mostly silent as we devoured tacos and chips and queso and split the tortilla soup. She had hers with a spoon and I basically tipped back my head and drank it.

By the time we were down to the churros, I was starting to feel less murderously hungry.

Casa Julia gave you chocolate and caramel sauce with the churros, so Hunter and I took turns dipping the churros in the sauces before licking the sugar off our fingers.

"Okay, I think I'm done." I sat back and stared at the empty plates.

"I'm a mess," Hunter said, and I turned to look at her. She had sauce on her face and hands too, and she'd even spilled a little bit of consommé on her sweater.

"Wow, so you can spill. I didn't think it was possible."

She glared at me. "Shut up. I'm going to wash my hands." She headed to the bathroom and I decided to use the kitchen sink. I'd spilled on my shirt, so I went to my bedroom to swap it out for another. I'd just pulled it over my head when I heard a little intake of breath.

I turned around, the new shirt in my hands. I hadn't meant to leave the door open, but I had and there was Hunter, standing in the doorway and staring at me.

She blinked and looked away. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, I pulled the shirt over my head and waited for her to go back to the living room. She didn't. She stayed, even if she wasn't looking directly at me. I hadn't been wearing a bra under my shirt, so she'd seen my entire back until I turned. Then she could see everything and I'd let her.

"I did leave the door open, Hunter," I said. She didn't need to know that it wasn't intentional.

"Sorry," she said again and disappeared. I pulled the hem of my shirt down and went back into the living room to find Hunter in a cleaning frenzy.

"I should probably get going," she said, sounding breathless.

"Hunter." She froze with the plates in her hands, her blue eyes wide.

"What?" she said, her cheeks flushing.

Walking slowly, I approached her and took the plates from her hands, setting them on the coffee table.

She looked up at me and I wanted to kiss her so much that I dug my fingernails into my palms so I wouldn't grab her and push her up against the wall.

"Did you like what you saw?" I asked. Her attraction was obvious, but I still wanted to hear her say it. Hear that she wanted me. That she was thinking the same kinds of thoughts that I was. That this thing that pulsed between us consumed her too.

Hunter closed her eyes like she was trying to shut me out.

"It's not that simple," she said.

I decided to go for it. To see how far I could push.

"I think it is," I said, moving even closer so we were almost touching. Raising my hand, I tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears. Delicate, lovely ears. Nothing like my giant jug handles that I'd been teased for.

She inhaled sharply but didn't move. She also didn't open her eyes.

"Hunter? Can you look at me?" I asked.