Sex, Not Love

He leaned in and kissed me. As it happened, I found myself focusing on the mechanics of the kiss. Almost as if I needed to think about what to do with my tongue, my lips, even my hands. It was the exact opposite of a kiss with Hunter. With him, I was unable to think. Raw passion took over, and I had zero control. Marcus’s kiss was…nice. Pleasant.

I definitely was not panting when it broke.

“I’ll see you Sunday?”

“Sunday it is.” God, the entire thing felt awkward, and I couldn’t wait to hide in my apartment. “Thank you again for dinner.”

I knocked on the door to Mrs. Whitman’s apartment across the hall to let her know I was home. Izzy was fifteen, pa

st the age that she felt being left with a babysitter was acceptable. But I still asked the neighbor to check in on her when I went out.

Izzy was fast asleep on the couch with the TV blaring when I walked in. Rather than wake her, I covered her with a blanket. Her laptop was open, so I went to shut it, but when I moved it, the screensaver turned off, and the last thing she must’ve been working on came up. It was the results of a Google search of her father’s name.

I’d caught her doing that on a few occasions after he was arrested. At the time, I figured it was natural for her to be curious what was being said about him. But this was more than two years later. It made me realize Hunter’s presence tonight had probably made her miss him. As much as he’d lied to me and kept things from me, he’d been a good father to Izzy. He’d never missed a game, and they used to play basketball often together.

I sighed and shut the laptop before flicking off the TV. Why did the men in my life have to be so difficult?

***

The buzzer rang half an hour early. Considering I was running late and had just gotten out of the shower, I hoped it was my neighbor in 4D who’d forgotten her key again.

“Hello?”

“Morning, sweet pea.” His voice was extra gravelly through the intercom. My nipples perked up.

I looked down, and spoke to them. “What am I going to do with you guys? Haven’t we talked about this? You get your hopes up too fast, and then you’re sorely disappointed.” I pressed the intercom. “Fourth floor.” I buzzed the front door open.

A few minutes later, Hunter stepped off the elevator and sauntered down the hallway toward me. He had a natural, confident swagger that made even his damn walk sexy—not to mention he had his work boots on again today. Those things really did it for me for some odd reason. And since I was standing there doing nothing but holding the door open, I couldn’t help admiring the rest of the package. Unfortunately, that didn’t help my nipple situation any.

Hunter’s eyes dropped and took lingering note before his gaze returned to mine with a triumphant smile. I rolled my eyes and stepped aside for him to come in. Of course, he stopped in the doorway so we were toe to toe. Leaning down, he kissed my cheek and then leaned in—it seemed to be his thing, a few words that made the hair stand up on my neck after a superficially innocent kiss.

Only this time, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he took an audible, deep inhale and groaned out the exhale. I felt the rumble from it shoot down to my toes, making some interesting stops on its way.

Seriously? I was a puddle from a fucking sniff. I needed an extra thirty seconds to collect myself after he walked inside.

“You’re early.”

He held up a bag I hadn’t noticed. “I brought breakfast.”

I read the logo. “Jamba Juice?”

“Steel-cut oatmeal with bananas, shredded coconut, and brown sugar.”

My eyes widened. “That’s my favorite breakfast in the world.”

“I know. Bella told me.”

“You called my mother to ask her what I liked for breakfast?”

“No. She called me last night to invite me for dinner on Sunday, and I mentioned we were going to Izzy’s game. She might have suggested I pick up breakfast on my way and told me what you liked.”

I spoke under my breath. “Of course she did.”

Hunter smiled. “Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

It would’ve been stupid to let a perfectly good breakfast go to waste as a form of protest against my mother and Hunter’s new-found friendship. So I sat down and dug into the awesomeness.

I hadn’t realized I’d been quiet for so long while I shoveled oatmeal into my mouth until I caught Hunter’s lip twitching while he watched me.