Page 48 of Faking Ties
I tilt my face up and blink at him, shocked he’s here.How is this even possible? He stamps his lips to mine, full of ownership. And I don’t hate him staking claim of me. Not one bit.
Hunter shifts me so I’m slightly behind him and lifts his chin toward Jax. “Move. You’re in our seat.”
Jax stands and looks Hunter up and down. “When she’s bored of you, I’ll be here with my arms wide open. She’ll always come back to me, won’t you, doll?” Jax asks me, but I shake my head, not wanting to say anything to escalate the situation.
“Watch your back,” Jax says to Hunter, shoulder checking him as he walks by.
We all wait until he leaves before relaxing. Hunter sits on the couch and pulls me down next to him.
“What a fucking douche,” Nina says.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Aria takes a sip of her drink.
Hunter faces me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say. “But how are you here?”
“I was already on my way to the city to surprise you.”
“Really?” I can’t keep the goofy smile off my face.
“I told you, Philly isn’t that far from New York City.”
“But you should be out celebrating with your teammates.”
“I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Nina and Aria say “aww” in unison and introduce themselves as my best friends. The rest of the nightpasses in a blur of drinks and dancing. Of Hunter’s hands always on me. My waist, my leg, my hips, my shoulders. Everywhere he touches, my skin ignites. He only drinks water and seems happy to watch me have fun.
When I catch Nina dozing on the couch, I shake her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“No, you stay,” Nina says sleepily. “You’re having so much fun.”
“I can take her home,” Aria says. “She can stay at mine.”
“Yes, I agree to that,” Nina says. “Then you can have your place all to yourself.”
I roll my eyes at what she’s insinuating, but Nina insists. “Please? Stay and have fun.”
I glance at Hunter, and he shrugs. “I’m okay with whatever you want.”
I’m having fun letting loose for the first time in weeks that I don’t want it to end just yet. I head to the bodyguards and ask, “Can you take Nina and Aria to Aria’s? Hunter and I will stay for a little longer.”
Brian nods and says, “I’ll send Steve with them, and I’ll stay with you.”
We hug goodbye, and once they’re gone, Hunter pulls me onto our makeshift dance floor, my back to his front. He grinds his hips into mine, and my brain goes offline for a split second as need surges within me. Need for him to do that to me without any clothes between us.
“Why does this remind me of your touchdown dance?” I ask.
“Because I was thinking of you the entire time.”
I lean my head back on his shoulder and look up at him. “I like being on your mind.”
“You’re always on my mind,” he says. “I missed you at my game.”
I frown. When he says stuff like that, this doesn’t feel fake. I can’t tell if he really means it or not, especially with so much alcohol in my system. So, I do something super stupid and tell him the truth. Hopefully if I whisper it, he won’t hear my, “Me, too.”
His finger trails up and down my side, at the exposed skin between my ribs and hips, as we dance and dance and dance.
