And when he looked at my lips, I felt that same fire coursing through me. His semi-naked body was imprinted on my brain, and I knew he was not faring better than me.
“I’m keeping my name, Hunter. I’m building a reputation for myself at the firm and among clients, and I don’t want to confuse anyone by changing my name,” I said eventually, stepping away from him. He didn’t reply, which I considered a victory.
During dinner, the tension between us escalated. He touched me constantly. Brushed his arm against mine when he served the steak, rested his ankles against mine under the table. I just couldn’t cool down.
After dinner, I helped clean up, trying to stay out of his way as much as possible.
“Josie, you want to talk about earlier?”
Damn. I’d been too obvious. I was at the sink, rinsing our glasses.
“What do you mean?” I schooled my voice to sound neutral.
I felt him right behind me when he spoke next. “You’re avoiding looking at me. Is it because I saw you naked or because I sported a raging hard-on for you?”
Holy shit. Energy vibrated through me. My hands trembled lightly. His breath on the shell of my ear was messing with my senses. He wasn’t touching any part of me, but I felt the heat of his body. There couldn’t have been more than an inch distance between us.
I stopped the water, drawing in a deep breath. “I don’t... I don’t know. I don’t know what to think or how to explain anything.”
“Let me put you at ease and explain myself. You’re fucking beautiful, and—”
I whirled around, thinking it was the easiest way to interrupt him. Unfortunately, that put me face-to-face with him. I hadn’t miscalculated. He was close. And now he’d moved one hand on my waist. I felt every finger press against my rib cage as if they were touching my bare skin.
“Stop with the flirty lines.”
“Why? They’re true.”
I swallowed. “Hunter... just, don’t.”
He watched me as if he was about to hoist me up on the counter, but after a few seconds, he reluctantly let go.
We slept in different bedrooms, but I didn’t think even that could cut through the sexual tension. The lease to my apartment was still running until the end of the month. Maybe I should spend the night there? I was just about to broach the subject when he abruptly said, “I’m going for a run.”
“Oh. But the treadmill wasn’t delivered yet. And isn’t the gym in the condo building closed for quality check tonight?” We’d gotten a memo about this.
“Yes, it is. I’ll just run around the neighborhood.”
“You hate running on pavement.”
“I need to release all this tension somehow.”
“What tension? Ohhh....”
My face felt on fire as I realized what he meant. Scratch that. There was so much heat in his gaze that my entire body was on fire.
He smiled, not taking his eyes off me as he pulled away. “I have a hunch I’ll have to get used to it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Josie
The next morning, I was giddy. The wedding might be fake, but my excitement wasn’t.
I was determined to block out any negative thoughts and fears. The list of things that could go wrong was endless, but I wasn’t going to dwell on that today.
I was far too excited to even be able to go through my yoga routine. Clearing my mind was impossible.
First things first, I called an Uber and headed to the hotel where my family was staying. It was right next to Hunter’s ballroom, where the reception and ceremony were taking place.