I’m still recovering from all the talking we did last night.
I don’t say anything and let Hunter lead the way. We grab the basket, which I hope is filled with a lot of food, and begin to make our way down the trail I ran this morning.
I try to peek into the basket, but Hunter catches me and blocks my view with his body. “It’s a surprise.”
I pout at him, but then a smile wins out.
We reach the lookout point, and I sink to my butt, ready to eat.
Hunter sits down next to me and opening the basket, he unloads a world of goodness. He hands me a bottle of water, and I take a sip.
“We can talk after you’ve eaten. I’m scared you’ll beat me up to get to the food,” Hunter teases.
“Me? Never.” I reach for a sandwich and take a huge bite. “Mmhhh…” I groan. “So good.”
“Yeahhhhh.” My eyes dart to Hunter’s, and I see that he’s staring at my mouth.
Wiping over it in case I have some crumbs stuck, I say, “Sorry, but you know I eat like a pig. I’m not about to become a salad girl.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “I don’t expect you to.”
I shove the rest of the sandwich into my mouth and close my eyes as I savor the buttery goodness. Opening the water bottle, I take a sip and then look at Hunter.
There’s an intense expression tightening his features, his eyes locked on me.
“What?” I ask, placing the bottle on the grass.
“I wanted to talk first,” he growls, “but… fuck…” The next second, Hunter moves over me, forcing me to lie down with his body hovering over me, and his mouth collides with mine.
Okay, kiss whenever we want to… I guess Hunter wants to… and yeah, I’m all for it.
When his tongue slips into my mouth, my thoughts scatter away, and I bring my hands to his jaw. I kiss him back, matching his intensity until we’re both breathless.
When he breaks the kiss, he continues to lie half over me. His eyes drift over my face, and then he murmurs, “I wish you knew what you’re doing to me.”
Oh, shit. I thought we were in a good place?
Frowning, I ask, “Did I do something wrong?”
A slow smile spreads over his face as he shakes his head. “The opposite. You’re doing everything right.”
My frown only deepens as confusion sets in. “I’m not following. What am I doing to you, then?”
Hunter’s head lowers again, and he presses a tender kiss to my lips. Pulling back, he admits, “You’re driving me wild, Jade. It’s hard to not touch you… and Christ… I just want to kiss you all the time.”
A grin spreads over my face. “I’m not going to stop you.”
“Good.” He gives me a quick kiss before pulling me up in a sitting position, then he asks, “Are you really okay with us?”
I nod but still feeling apprehensive about certain things, I say, “I’m just not sure what to do. This is foreign territory for me.”
Hunter tilts his head, a questioning look on his face. “What do you mean?”
Not wanting to bring up Brady to Hunter, I skirt around the truth, “I just have to get used to the idea.”
Hunter’s eyes sharpen on me, and I can literally feel him searching for the truth. “If you’re not direct with me, I won’t know what you’re comfortable with and what not.”
My shoulders slump, and I begin to pick at a blade of grass. “I didn’t want to bring it up because you must be sick and tired of it, but I’ve only dated Brady.” When Hunter doesn’t look annoyed with me, I continue, “We only held hands and hugged, Hunter. This past couple of days, I’ve done more with you than I did with Brady.”
I can feel my cheeks heating from having to admit how inexperienced I am to Hunter.
His eyes soften on me, and lifting a hand, he brushes a finger lightly over my cheek. “Then we’ll take it slow. I never want to pressure you into doing something you’re not ready for.”
“I know you won’t.” I give him a thankful smile. “But…”
“But?” His eyebrow lifts in question.
“It’s not that I’m not ready,” I admit. I lower my eyes to my hands and swallow hard.
Just say it, Jade.
“Take your time,” Hunter murmurs.
“It’s just…” I swallow hard and force my eyes up to his. “I’m sure you’re more experienced than me in a lot of things. I’m scared I won’t meet your expectations.”
Hunter moves closer to me and pulls me into his arms. With his hand on the back of my head, he holds me to his chest, and then he presses a kiss to the top of my head and says, “I have zero expectations, Jade. I just want to be with you. This isn’t a race.”
I wrap my arms around his waist, snuggling closer to him, and whisper, “I just never want to disappoint you again.”
He rests his chin on my head. “As long as we’re honest with each other, we’ll be fine.”
God, how did I ever get so lucky?
“You’re a freaking saint,” I admit, and it draws a chuckle from Hunter. “I make everything so damn hard.”
“Yeah, you have no idea,” he teases.
I pull back and playfully scowl up at him. “Now, you’re looking for a beating. You’re not supposed to agree with me.”
Hunter begins to laugh. “But I meant it. You make everything hard, and I mean everything.”
Oh shit. He’s talking about his cock.
Oh. My. God.
My face lights up like the fourth of July, and I shove it against his chest to hide, which only makes him laugh more.
HUNTER
She’s so fucking cute that I can’t resist teasing her.
Yeah, I was referring to my cock, and it took her a while to catch on.
I’m surprised by what she told me, though. I was under the impression Jade and Brady were hot and heavy, seeing as they were ready to take the next step. But after what she just told me, I now know Jade’s way more innocent than I thought.
With her leaning against my chest and my arms locked around her, I ask, “Just so we’re on the same page, what’s the furthest you’ve gone?”
Jade shoots up and turns her face toward the landscape, stretching out into the distance. “Oooh, and here I thought we were done talking about that part.” She lets out a chuckle, still not looking at me. “With you, Hunter.”
“We’ve only kissed,” I clarify for her unless we did something I’m not aware of. Which is not a possibility at all.
Letting out a miserable sigh, she turns her body toward me and finally meets my eyes. “You knowwwww.” Her eyes widen like she’s trying to tell me to read between the lines.
Shaking my head, I say, “I’ve got nothing. What else did we do?”
“When I was straddling you at the gym,” she whispers between clenched teeth, “You… uhm…” Shutting her eyes, she blurts out, “You got hard.”
Laughter bursts from me when I finally realize what she’s on about. “I wasn’t sure you felt that.”
“I did,” she blurts out.