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Chapter Sixteen
Hunter
“I need all the details, Hunter,” Saylor said, once we were settled in the back of the hotel SUV.
“Sparknotes version because I swear, once I get you inside the house, our naked bodies will be doing all the talking.”
“Cheesy, but I like the idea. We’re about ten minutes away. Talk fast.”
“Gerard lost his shit when he heard about Rex cheating. He doesn’t like scandal, and he wanted his son married, so he insisted Rex do everything he could to get you back. But you’d blocked Rex so that wasn’t working. Then, my darling uncle sent one of his ‘men’ to check out what you were up to and the charming fellow got photographs of us kissing when we went to town.”
“He had us followed!”
“You have to understand, Gerard always gets what he wants. Well, he usually does. So, Gerard sent me the photos and said if I didn’t back away from you he’d not only send the photos to Matt, but he’d pull the seed money his investment company had put into Flexecutive. Matt and I had just signed contracts for big purchases in the New Year. If our funding was pulled, we’d go under. So, first I contacted Matt and owned up to the fact that I’d fallen completely in love with you. He blew a minor artery at that so I had to calm him to break the next piece of news.”
“My god, and you’re still friends?”
“And partners. And soon to be in-laws, so everything’s cool. Between running around trying to pull new finance out of the ether, I enlisted Casey and Dani—who, by the way, are awesome friends—to not only keep you under control, but to help organize everyone to get to Aspen for Christmas for your little ceremony.”
“The ceremony you hijacked?”
“That’s the one. Though I don’t recall feeling much resistance from you.”
“That’s true. Continue.”
“Gerard doesn’t back off easily when there’s something he wants. When I dropped you at the hotel I noticed a car in the parking area that I’d seen before. It was Gerard’s henchman still tailing us. That call I was on when you came back to the car was Gerard, saying he was pleased to see I’d got you out of the house and up to the hotel. I had to let him believe he’d won. He said he trusted that was the end of you and I and any ridiculous ideas we might have about making this thing between us more permanent.”
“Gerard’s man must have been the guy who paid for our drinks the first night in the bar.”
“That would have been him. I had to keep Gerard believing you and I are no longer an item. He could easily have put the sort of obstacles in the way of our financing that would stall things past a critical date. Flexecutive would have been in deep trouble. The loss of our company reputation would have been devastating. That’s why I couldn’t contact you at the hotel. I knew Casey and Dani would take good care of you, and I convinced them they had to trust I was doing the right thing by you.”
“You must have really charmed them. Why didn’t you go to New York?” Saylor asked, just as we pulled up in front of the house.
I thanked the driver, and helped Saylor from the vehicle. “Because I didn’t trust the weather. I had to be here today, with you, whether you accepted my proposal or not. Matt wanted to be here, too, so he flew in. That’s why I had to make triple sure you wouldn’t return to the house.”
I took her hand, led her inside, then spun her around as I closed the door. “Look at you. Such a beautiful, bewitching creature. We’ve got a lot of things to discuss, decisions to make, but first I want to fuck you, then we can make love, then we can take a week off, away from everyone. We’ll go wherever you want to. Name the destination, and we’re there.”
“We do have a lot to discuss,” she said, “and I want you to promise me something.”
“Anything.” I grinned. I couldn’t help it any more than I could help running my finger along the furrow of worry creasing her brow.
“Hunter, I’m serious. You should have trusted and confided in me this week. I know you wanted to surprise me, but I want you to promise that from now forward we discuss everything that concerns us. I need to be part of the decision making process, and if it’s something at work that’s bothering you, no matter how bad, I want you to share that with me.”
“I was trying to protect you.” I slid my fingers down to her jaw, and she used a slow blink to block the effect I know my touch was having on her. The dilation of her pupils didn’t lie.
Saylor swallowed. “I appreciate that, but we’re in this partnership fifty-fifty. If it troubles you, it troubles me, and we can lighten the load for each other. If there’s a problem and you hide it from me, that would make me feel weak and untrustworthy.”
“Saylor, you’re so hot when you have your serious face on.”
She thumped my shoulder. “I mean it, Hunter. Promise me.”
I took her hand to my heart. “Much and all as I want to protect you from anything bad in this world, I promise, with this heart that you own, that I’ll share everything.
She kissed my hand and when she’d finished, I cupped her cheek and kissed her mouth. My hand slid down the curve of her neck, along her shoulder and around her back. I tugged the zipper of her dress and it fell to the floor.
“Oh, fucking hot lingerie, Saylor, but I want it off.” I reached behind her, releasing the tiny hooks on the bra and slid it off. Her nipples were puckered, pointing at me and I flicked them and watched her shiver.
“Do that again. Harder.” Shallow breaths, eyes ablaze, Saylor was perfect.
“I will. But I need to unwrap my Christmas present before we get to play.” I dragged her panties to her ankles, crouching to remove her shoes. “Step out.”
I shifted back so that I could look at her properly. “I must have been a very good boy this year because Santa brought me exactly what I asked for. I love this color on you,” I said, running the back of my knuckles across the soft skin of her stomach.
“I’m naked. This is my natural color.”
“It’s perfect, don’t change it. Unless you want to tan on a remote beach in the South Pacific.”
