His beautiful eyes glint with mischief. “Do I get a kiss hello?”
“No,” I say sweetly.
His smile only widens. “I think we should talk alone for a few minutes.”
“I don’t know about that,” Ray interrupts, looking to me for some sign of how to proceed. “What’s going on here, Riley?”
“This is the Scorpio,” I tell him, since that he’ll understand.
His expression clears, understanding dawning and shifting his vibe from businesslike, to… well, a different kind of businesslike. “Ah.”
“Wow, I’m known as ‘the Scorpio’ in this house? That sounds ominous,” Hunter remarks. “No wonder your mom doesn’t like me.”
“Yeah, that’s why,” I say dryly, but I don’t want anyone to mention any of the other reasons in front of Ray, so I move on quickly. “It’s your fault for sending that damn necklace.” I take his hand and start dragging him down the hall toward my bedroom. “We’ll be right back,” I tell Mom and Ray.
“The walls are thin,” Mom calls as a reminder, making me blush.
“Oh my God, we’re just going to talk,” I tell her.
“Are we?” Hunter whispers.
I shoot him a look over my shoulder as we walk. “We’re certainly not going to do anything else with my parents in the other room. You have a lot of explaining to do, mister.”
“Ray’s not your real dad, is he?” he asks, trying to piece together our odd family portrait. “His name’s not on your birth certificate.”
I stop walking outside my bedroom door and stare at him. “You’ve seen my birth certificate?”
Hunter pauses for a suspicious length of time, then says, “No?”
“My God, you are such a stalker.” I push open my bedroom door and he follows me in.
“I wasn’t trying to be, I was just trying to figure out how permanent a fixture this guy was before I approached him about investing in the gym. It would only accomplish what I needed it to if you and your mom had strong ties to him.”
I close my bedroom door and turn around. Given the clear calculation in what he just said, I prop a hand on my hip and look at him expectantly. “And what, exactly, were you trying to accomplish?”
Instead of answering, Hunter closes the short distance between us. Once he’s near enough, he drags my hand off my hip and slides both of my arms around his torso.
With a faint sigh, I let him distract me for just a moment. I wrap my arms around him for a hug and let him pull me into his strong arms.
“I like this dress you’re wearing tonight,” he tells me.
“Oh yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.” He kisses the side of my head, one of his hands dropping to the small of my back. “White lace. So innocent.” His hand slides lower, grazing the curve of my ass right before he cups it and squeezes. “Are you wearing panties like a good girl, or are you feeling a little naughty tonight? If I reach under this pretty lace dress, will I have access to your bare pussy, or is there something in my way?”
A breath rushes out of me. Between his words and his touch, heat begins to spread through my veins. I certainly don’t feel innocent.
I try to pull away, but his embrace tightens, keeping me close.
Regarding him with open suspicion, I demand, “Are you trying to tempt me, Hunter Maxwell?”
“Maybe.” He dips his head, brushing his perfect lips across my temple. “Do you feel tempted?”
Yes.
I try harder to pull away from him. “Let me go. I am not going to hook up with you when my mom is almost certainly straining to hear what we’re talking about in here—and keep your voice down, you dirty talker.”
“Is that the only reason?” he teases.
I shoot him a look. “And then there are the other dozen or so, but I wasn’t even going to mention those.” He finally lets me go. I take a step back to help clear my head. “What is this, Hunter? What are you doing?”
“Playing with my girlfriend,” he says, his whole demeanor more relaxed and playful than I’ve seen him lately.
“I am not your girlfriend,” I tell him.
He smiles. “Oh, yes, you are.”
There’s something I don’t like about the way he says that. He sounds suspiciously sure of himself, so I lift my chin in faint defiance, but I don’t argue. I wait to see what else he says.
“See, you told me to be creative.” He takes a step toward me and grabs my hip, pulling me close again.
I let him, since at least I can be sure he’ll keep his voice low if he’s right on top of me.
“You told me to find a way around your resistance. Well, I have, and I think I’ve done better than you expected me to.”
The way he says that sends a slight chill down my spine. “What do you mean?”
He’s warm and loving despite the declaration he just made. Gazing down at me fondly, he caresses my jawline. “You’re mine, Riley. I want everyone to know it. I want to effectively own you,” he murmurs, bending to press his lips against mine.
I let him kiss me, but I don’t kiss him back.
I swallow, my heart racing. I have a sinking feeling I know where this is heading.
“And you want something, too,” he murmurs against my lips. “Your motivation is much nobler than mine, but that doesn’t matter.” He pauses, then says, “Your family needs my money, and I’ll give it to them. But I’ll want something in return.”
“What do you want?” I ask warily.
“You,” he says simply.
I don’t trust that answer. It’s too simple. “You have me.”
“No. Not the way I want you. I want full access. I want all of you. I want the word no to fall out of your vocabulary. You’re going to be my girlfriend—no asterisks. No holding back. I also want you to quit your job at the diner.”
“Hunter!”
“Sherlock knows you work there,” he says before I can argue. “I don’t want him to know where to get you alone.”
My heart sinks. I hadn’t even considered that.
“Now, I think you should take advantage of not having to work right now. Use that time to focus on your studies, and your last year at home with your mom, and your boyfriend. But if you’re dead set on working, I have a better idea. Once Ray opens the gym, we’ll need people to work reception. You could work there a couple of days a week. It wouldn’t be a terribly demanding job; half the time we’d probably be paying you to sit at the desk and do your homework or read a book.”
My eyebrows rise with interest. “That does sound better…”
“In the meantime, I’ll give you a credit card. You can use that to pay for whatever you need.”
His insistence on fostering dependence on him still makes me uneasy. “You’re asking for a lot of power over me, Hunter.”
“I’m not asking for it.” He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it, holding my gaze. “I’m demanding it. But I won’t abuse it,” he promises.
“You have before,” I remind him.
“I won’t again. Remember I told you about my dad and his wife?”