“Don’t you have any elevator etiquette?” I asked. “Turn around and stare at the numbers like a normal person.”
“Why would I waste my time looking at that when the view is so much nicer facing this direction?”
“I’m not sleeping with you, you know.”
“Why not? You were gonna sleep with Adam.”
“That’s different.”
“How so?”
“I’ve met Adam before. He’s a nice guy.”
“I’m a nice guy.”
“I don’t know you.”
Hunter slipped his hands into his pockets. “Hunter Delucia, age twenty-nine, single, never been married, no kids. Went to Berkeley for undergraduate and grad school. Degree in architectural engineering. Grew up next door to Derek, been friends since we were in the carriage. He’ll vouch for me as a decent guy. Own a home in Idyllwild, about an hour from the happy couple, with no mortgage. I also built it myself and have lots of trees on my property—that should get me extra points, by the way. Last doctor’s appointment was a month ago—clean a
s a whistle. And, most importantly…” He took a step closer to me; our bodies were practically touching. “I think you’re extremely sexy. There’s some insane chemistry here, and I think we should explore it.”
I swallowed. Luckily, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open on the top floor. Needing some air that didn’t smell like Hunter Delucia, I sidestepped around the tree of a man and exited. He followed right behind me. When I abruptly stopped, realizing I was going the wrong way, he walked right into me. His hands caught me, fingers pressing into my hips to stop me from falling forward.
“Wooo. You okay?”
“What the hell? You almost knocked me over.”
“You stopped short.”
“If you weren’t up my ass, you wouldn’t have walked into me.”
We were still standing in the middle of the hall, and he still had a firm grip on my hips…and it felt really good. God, it had been a long time for me. More than two years.
Those fingers squeezed a little harder, and his head dipped to whisper next to my ear. “You smell incredible.”
A fire burned under his touch. I shut my eyes. Hmmm…. He and Derek have been friends since they were little. He can’t be that bad of a guy. Maybe—
Thankfully, the other elevator saved me from doing something stupid. A few of Derek’s friends stepped off and didn’t seem to notice what was going on between Hunter and me.
“Hey, Delucia!” An arm wrapped around his shoulder. “Shots in our room.”
I shook some sense back into my head and used the opportunity to escape, practically running down the hall toward my room. Of course, my room had to be the last one at the end. Hunter yelled my name as I fumbled to get the key in the door. I ignored him and rushed inside. Leaning against the closed door, I let out a breath of relief.
What the hell am I doing? Get a grip, Nat. Literally running away from a man instead of just declining his offer or telling him to screw off? But something about this man made me feel restless and nervous—like I needed to run the other direction.
A soft knock at the door I was still leaning against made me jump.
“Natalia.”
Why the hell did he have to call me that? “I’m sleeping.”
I heard him chuckle. “Just wanted to tell you, my room is right next door. Even the hotel thinks we should sleep together.”
I shook my head, but smiled. “Goodnight, Hunter.”
“’Night, Natalia. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
Chapter 2