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“Sure.” She nodded toward a sitting area. “Did you and Hunter have fun yesterday?”
“He was just walking me out,” I said. It wasn’t my place to tell her what Hunter had been doing. If he wanted her to know, he’d tell her.
The door opened and a young man, who couldn’t be much older than twenty walked out with Hunter behind him. When Hunter saw me, he smiled, and my heart did cartwheels in my chest. I really needed to get control of my emotions around him.
“Hi,” he said. “Give me a minute, will you?”
I nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Yvonne, this is Jacob. He’s going to work with me on a project. I need you to arrange for a place for him in one of the empty offices up here and get him fully set up with computers. Here’s a list of what we need. I need it by tomorrow morning.”
Yvonne took the list. “I’ll have it ready even if I have to stay late to do it.”
Oh, gag, I thought at her obvious attempt to lure Hunter into an after hours romp. What a cliché; the boss and the secretary.
“Have HR email him paperwork too, please.”
“I’ll do that now,” she said. At least she was efficient.
“Jacob, fill out the paperwork and bring it with you tomorrow. No paperwork, no job,” Hunter explained.
“I’ll do it as soon as I get home, Thank you so much Mr. Raven.”
“Glad to do it,” Hunter said shaking his hand. “I’ll see you later.” Then he turned to me. “I’ll see you now, Ms. Reynolds.”
I followed him into his office and watched as he went to his desk. His shoulders were relaxed, and his expression was missing its usual scowl.
“Want water or coffee or something?” he asked me.
“No. Who was that young man?”
Hunter sat in his chair and motioned for me to sit in the one in front of his desk. “Jacob. I met him yesterday.”
Similar to AA, members of counseling groups generally kept mum about who was in attendance. But I knew what he meant. Jacob had been in the veteran’s group. And now, he’d hired him.
“You gave him a job?”
“I did.”
I smiled as I remembered Sara telling me how Hunter was more likely to engage in something if it meant he’d be helping someone else rather than himself.
“You’ll be going to group again?” I asked, hopeful that he would.
He nodded. “I’ll try it out again.”
Relieved, I handed him a piece of paper. “Meet me here after work.”
“What is it?” he looked at the paper where I’d written down an address and a type of clothing to wear.
“Trust me on this.”
I saw a little bit of tension and wondered what that was about. “Are you alright?”
“I don’t like walking into the unknown,” he said.
That gave me pause. Was I triggering something from his time in the military?
“It will provide you peace and calm.”
His eyes turned wicked. “A hotel where we’ll fuck all night?”
I rolled my eyes at him while all my girly parts flared to life. “No.”
He frowned. “War was hell, Doc, but not being able to touch you is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
I grinned. “Self-control. Good.” I stood. “See you at six?”
He nodded as he rose from his desk to walk me out. “I’ll be there.”
At six in the evening, I stood outside the building waiting for Hunter. He emerged from the dark car wearing black sweatpants and a white t-shirt pulled tight over his chest. My mouth watered to lick his pecs.
“Down, girl,” I said to myself.
He smirked at me like he knew my dirty thoughts. “Yoga?” he asked looking at the sign on the building marking the yoga studio.
I nodded.
“At bootcamp we got strong, but not necessarily flexible.”
“Don’t worry. Yoga is a do-what-you-can exercise,” I explained.
“I thought we’d go running. Didn’t you say you run?”
“We can do that another time.” I ushered him into the studio. I wasn’t his therapist anymore, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t direct him to activities that would help his healing, such as the group last night and yoga today. I stopped him just before we entered the room where the yoga class was taught. “I like that you’re much more agreeable now.”
He grinned. “I keep hoping I’ll get laid.”
I smirked. “Good thing yoga can strengthen your hands.”
He laughed. It was a glorious sight.
“The point is, Hunter, I want to thank you for trusting me.”
His eyes narrowed a little bit, and I realized that he probably wasn’t aware, until now, that he was following along with me without resistance. Not wanting him to linger on that too long, I walked into the class. It was a small beginner class designed specifically for vets.
I took off my oversized sweatshirt. Underneath, I had on a lycra exercise top and yoga pants. Hunter’s gaze raked over me, and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t like the sensual gleam in his eyes.
