“I don’t know,” I whispered.
He ran his hand up my face, cupping my cheek. “What’s your name?”
“Daniella. But everyone calls me Dani.”
He extended his thumb, wiping the bottom of my lip. The rough skin of his thumb brushed against me and I shivered, craving more of the sensation.
“Daniella. Such a pretty name.” He looked into my eyes like he was staring straight into the depths of my soul. I wanted to ask his name and where he had come from, but it was like I had forgotten how to talk. I was already having trouble remembering to breathe. “You’re shivering,” he said, as he extended his arms to run down my shoulders. “Are you cold?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out, so I shook my head. He was standing so close, and I shivered again, but not with cold.
He smiled again, a knowing grin. It was starting to infuriate me.
“Who are you?” I blurted out, before I could stop myself. I moved my hand to my mouth, already shocked at what I had just said.
Still smiling, he took a strand of my loose hair and tucked it behind an ear. “I’m Hunter,” he said. “Dani, what are you doing out here, all by yourself?”
My mind was going a mile a minute, trying to decipher what he was doing here and why he was talking to me. Nothing about me was special. There were many girls inside who were way prettier than me – heck, I could even see a few of them through the glass. No guy had ever paid attention to me at high school. It was like I was invisible. Maybe it was because of how I was dressed – Justine had been right.
“I just wanted some fresh air,” I said finally, looking away from him to the side. Staring at him for too long was like staring at the sun. He was brilliant and blinding and I couldn’t stand it.
“Too loud for you back there?” he said as he pointed inside.
I nodded my head. “It was a bit stuffy. I just wanted to come out and clear my head.” As I stood looking at the rest of the backyard, he stood next to me.
“It’s all a bit overwhelming,” I said, not really knowing why I said it. Something about him just made me want to tell him all my secrets. “I’m not from around here.”
“I gathered that, from the way you were looking at everything, like this was the first time you have been in such a big house. Where are you from?”
Although I wanted to tell him all my secrets, I also knew that from the stylish way he was dressed and the way he carried himself, he was way out of my league in every way possible.
“Um, Northern California,” I said. “My cousin lives here.” I bit my lip and stole a glance at him, trying to read his face.
He chuckled. “Well, that’s somewhere, isn’t it? I like Northern California,” he added in a smooth voice that sent a shiver down my spine.
It was insane – we were having the most mundane conversation I could imagine, and yet it was like the words held a deeper meaning. We were saying something to each other that wasn’t captured in the inane sentences.
We stood there for a moment, my heartbeat sounding loudly in my ear. “Don’t you want to go back inside?”
“Nothing interests me inside,” he said, before taking my hand and twirling me around. “When I saw you inside, I only had one thought in my mind.”
His words made my heart leap into my throat.
“And what was that?” I asked breathlessly.
He stared into my eyes. “That I had to know how you taste.”
Before I could react, his mouth was on mine. Flames engulfed our bodies as his lips pressed against my own. I reached up, stretching my arms around his neck. He nudged my mouth open with his tongue. As the man pulled me closer, kissing me deeply. I felt that I couldn’t get any closer to him. He crushed my body against his and held me securely in strong arms.
A small whimper of passion escaped my lips.
My mind was running wild. It shouted at me to pull away, to run away, to grab Justine and go home. The sane part of me wanted to leave the party and forget about this man. But the horny, crazed part of me wanted to stay right where I was.
I stood in the dark and let the handsome stranger swallow me whole, the darkness descending over my head.
Chapter Four
Hunter
I don’t know what came over me.
She was just so close and she smelled so good: vanilla and lavender. I wanted to act noble. She was beautiful, and she looked like she deserved more than me mauling her out on my sister’s patio.