"You have to come live with me." His lips press against my forehead. "I ache for you at night. It's almost unbearable, sunshine. Please."
It's the same conversation we've had for weeks. His incessant desire to have me in his apartment is shadowed by my fear. I'm scared everything will change if I pack up my life and cart it over to his place.
"I can't." It's a weak argument. I know he'll press. I know it's coming.
"Why, Sadie?" He rolls me over so I'm flat on my back and he's leaning over me. He knows he's intimidating. He knows I can't resist him when I see him like this.
I run my tongue over my bottom lip. I want to reach behind his head, pull his hair and glide my lips over his. I want that. I want to go back to five minutes ago when he was buried deep within me and the world beyond our bodies didn't exist. "You know why, Hunter."
His intense blue eyes scan my face slowly. "You're going to tell me it's because of school." He cocks a brow and waits for me to respond.
I only nod. Part of it is school. It's easier to get to campus from here. It's quicker and more convenient.
"I'll buy you a new car." The offer is sweet and genuine but it only brings up the core of why I don't want to live with him. He'll insist on taking care of me. I'll become too dependent on him.
I smile sweetly as I cup his cheek in my palm. "You're so generous." He is. He's the most generous and giving person I've ever met. I want to show him that I can make it on my own. I want to savor our relationship just as it is.
"Sadie, sunshine, tell me what it is." He's different tonight. He sees within me. He knows I'm holding back.
"It's just that..." I stop myself. If I open this up for discussion, I'm going to lose.
"Do you love me?" It's a question that he doesn’t need to ask me. He knows it. He feels it. Anyone within ten feet of us can feel it radiating from my body.
"More than anything, Hunter." It's the truth. He owns every part of me. My heart, body and soul are his. They'll always be his.
He leans down to claim my lips in a hungry kiss. "Come be with me. I can't waste another day away from you. Please. Do this for me."
"Will you let me help with the rent?" I need to feel valuable. I have to contribute so I don't become like my mother.
"I own the place, there's no rent." A sly grin pulls the corners of his full lips.
"I can cook for you." My face brightens at the thought.
He shakes his head slightly. "You're amazing, sunshine. You're so smart, brilliant, really, but you can't cook."
I stifle in a giggle. He's right. I've tried. "I'll do anything to earn my keep."
"I can think of so many things." He effortlessly shifts his body so he's hovering over me again. I can feel he's aroused
. "We'll start now."
Chapter 2
"I love, Cory." It's a simple statement, but it's pure and true.
"He loves you, sunshine." Hunter slips his feet back into the shoes he kicked off before he carried me to my bed.
I tie the sash of my robe around my waist before I settle onto the corner of a chair in my cramped living room. "Have you talked to him about me moving in?" I grimace at the question. The last thing I want is to come between Hunter and his son. If my moving in with them is going to pull them apart in any way, I can't do it.
"He's the one who sent me over here to ask you." He leans down to brush his lips across my cheek. "He told me to come back with you."
I giggle at the idea that Cory is the mastermind behind Hunter's never ending crusade to get me to move in. "Don't put all the blame on him."
Hunter raises a brow and then slowly kneels until he's directly in front of me. "His birthday is next week. He'll be four." He holds up four fingers. "Do you know what he wants for his birthday? There's only one gift that he keeps asking for."
"Another train set?" I ask the question half-jokingly.
"You." He softly pushes his index finger into my chest. "Cory wants you."