“Yes,” he breathes, his word fanning hot air onto my neck and sending a wave of goosebumps rushing over my body. “Are you sure?”
Am I?
I’m not sure if this is the best thing for us, but I’m certain it’s what I want.
“I’m scared it will affect our friendship,” I admit. I’ve screwed up so much where Hunter is concerned, that I don’t want to risk losing him.
Hunter tilts his head and giving me a reassuring smile, he says, “Jade, if we could survive the last two years, we can survive anything.”
I never thought of it that way. I’ve put us through hell, and Hunter never backed off. He stayed by my side every step of the way.
A relieved grin spreads over my face. “You’re right.”
His eyes soften as he stares at me for a while, then he whispers, “I want to kiss you.”
Anticipation rushes down my spine. “Nothing stopped you before,” I tease.
“Yeah,” he gives me a sexy grin that has my stomach doing Olympic-worthy cartwheels. “Can I kiss you, Jade?”
I nod, my tongue darting out to wet my lips as the anticipation keeps growing.
Pushing against my body with his, Hunter steers me toward the living room. He sits down and taking hold of my hips, he tugs me forward. I climb onto his lap, resting a leg on either side of his lower body.
Hunter lifts his hands to my face and framing my cheeks, he pulls me toward him. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs. One of his hands slides up behind me, and he wraps his fingers around the back of my neck.
Staring into his blue eyes, I’m caught in their depths. I’m highly aware of the feel of his body against mine, and a cloud of desire begins to drift over me.
“Can’t you feel it too?” he asks, his eyes hooded on me.
“Damn, it’s all I can feel. Kiss me already!” I wrap my arms around his neck, and not wanting to wait for another second, I fuse my mouth to his.
A deep groan escapes from Hunter’s mouth as his lips begin to war with mine for control of the kiss. It’s a new war — One I’ll gladly lose for Hunter.
Sparks zap between us until the air feels electric. Heat sizzles through me, making anticipation and want whirl in my abdomen for this man.
My brain grows fuzzy, and my limbs heavy as Hunter continues to stroke the inside of my mouth with his skilled tongue. I love the taste of him and can easily become addicted.
When I need air, I break the kiss, but I don’t pull away. Our breaths rush into each other, and our eyes lock.
I’m just about to kiss him again when the door opens.
“Fuck,” Jase exclaims when he spots me on Hunter’s lap. “Ookkaaayyy…” He tilts his head and frowns. “I’ve had way too much to drink to deal with this right now.”
Mila bumps into his back and growls, “Move your ass. I need to pee.”
“Hey,” Hunter says, his voice a little hoarse. “You’re back.”
“Ahh, um…” Mila stutters while getting out of everyone’s way. The group files into the suite, each one coming to a stop when their eyes land on Hunter and me.
“Finally,” Fallon yells and rushing over to us, she throws her arms around us. “I’m so happy!”
“Are you guys a couple now, or is this a new way of fighting?” Jase asks.
My eyes dart to Hunter’s, and not wanting to assume things, I leave it to him to answer Jase as I quickly move to sit next to him.
Hunter’s eyes drift over my face, and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. With a sexy grin, he says, “We are definitely a couple.”
Definitely. That’s a solid yes, right?
With my eyes locked with Hunter’s, our friends let out sighs of relief and hollers of joy.
Hunter pulls me into a hug, and when I feel his breath skim over my ear, he whispers, “I’ve fought so damn hard for you. No one will ever fight for you the way I will. Be mine?”
I’m overwhelmed with happiness and pull back a little as tears blur my eyes. I close them for a moment as I take deep breaths while I try to regain control over the happy mess inside of me.
When I open my eyes, it’s to see a worried look on Hunter’s face. Everyone is quiet as if they’re waiting for a bomb to drop, and I can’t blame them.
I clear my throat before I say, “You’ve always been my best friend, who stood by my side even when I tried to push you away. You’re the man of my dreams, I never knew I was dreaming about.” I take a deep breath and can’t keep the tear from falling as I continue, “Hunter, I loved you during the happiest and darkest moments of my life. When my life fell apart, and I dealt the only way I knew how to, you took every blow.”
A sob shudders through me, and it’s all from realizing what I almost lost, and how much I have.
I blink the tears away so I can see his face. “I’ve always cared for you as a friend, but now… I love you with everything I have.”
I don’t care that I just laid my soul bare to Hunter, or that it happened in front of everyone. All I care about is that he knows how much he means to me. I never want a day to pass where Hunter doesn’t know he’s everything to me. He’s the ground beneath my feet, the sun warming the coldest parts of my being.
Hunter takes a deep breath, a look of awe parting his lips, and then he yanks me against him, and our lips crash together. It’s a hard but quick kiss, then he says, “Thank fuck.” Another kiss. “God, you made me work my ass off.” Kiss. “I’m never letting you go no matter how damn angry you get when we fight.” Kiss. “Fuck.” Kiss. “Finally.”
When I begin to chuckle, he pulls back, and with his eyes smiling into mine, he whispers, “You were always meant to be mine, Jade. Love doesn’t come close to describing how I feel about you.” His fingers trail over my face. “Your fire… christ, you’re fire. I live for it.”
“God, I drank too much,” Jase sniffles. “I can’t believe I’m fucking crying.” Disgusted, he wipes a tear from his cheek.
Mila and Hana are clinging to each other, happily smiling at us. Kao and Noah just grin at us.
But Fallon… Fallon’s a sobbing mess, relief coming off her in waves, and I know Hunter and I fighting must’ve been so hard for her.
I reach over to her and give her hand a squeeze. “And we love you for always being the middle man… ah… woman between us.”
“I’m just so glad,” she says. “I feel like a proud mom whose kids finally made up.”
I let out a chuckle and hug Fallon. Before I finish wrapping my arms around her, everyone piles onto us.
“Ahhh…. Get off,” Fallon cries with laughter. “Y’all weigh a ton.”
HUNTER
I’ve hardly slept as the morning sun begins to creep over the horizon.
I kept replaying the previous night in my mind, scared I’d wake up to it all being a dream.
Excitement bubbles in my chest as I throw the covers back. Walking into the ensuite bathroom, I reach into the shower and turn on the water. Stripping out of my sweatpants, I step under the spray and go through my routine.
Done, I dry myself off and wrap the towel around my waist. I brush my teeth and shave, then walk to my closet. My eyes scan over all the outfits, and wanting to look good, I grab a black pair of cargo pants, a button-up shirt to match and black leather brogues from Versace.