I offer the handsome man a warm smile and follow it up with a slow, tender kiss. Time has only gotten better with Hunter. I didn’t think it was possible to be any happier than when I initially got home, but he’s proved me wrong. I was head over heels for him fairly quickly, and now I’m hopelessly in love with him. It was a shock to learn Hunter has killed people in the past, but after witnessing the situation with Diana and her accomplice, there was no holding it back. Who am I to judge him? He saved me, took care of me, and makes me smile every day, so he’s a good man in my opinion. He says mine is the only one that counts anyhow.
“Who, my love?” I ask, heading for his beloved coffee maker to make us a cup. We share most things—foods, drinks, showers, our time. If it can be done together, then we’re doing it. The only time he strays away from me is if I’m spending time alone with my parents or he has a job. I usually use his work as time to spend with my family, though, so we hit two birds with one stone. I keep trying to talk him into letting me come with him on a job, but he never budges. It’s dangerous, and he wants me safe, so I respect his reasons.
I pour a steaming cup of the strong, dark liquid, add in a dash of Almond Joy creamer and two small spoonfuls of sugar. He doesn’t like it too sweet, but I don’t like it plain ether, so we compromise and meet in the middle. I blow on the steam and set the cup beside us as he responds.
“Your friends… Laura, Luna, and Mary.”
I nearly fall over as I wasn’t ever expecting to hear him utter those words. “Oh my God,” I whisper. “Seriously? Wait… are they alive?” Heart pounding in my chest, anxiety for their wellbeing hits me full force. I’ve thought of them every single day since I’ve been here. This has become my home, and I’ve wanted more than anything to show them. I know they would be both proud and thrilled for me. I’ve wanted to go back to the island several times to try to find them, but my family begged me not to. I hated to give in and agreed not to go, but it’s killed me not knowing how my friends were doing.
Hunter pulls me in, wrapping his strong grip around me. He makes me feel loved and cherished, especially when he holds me like this. He nods. “Yes. Not only are they alive, but they’ve come back home. They were so happy when the team found them. Well, they were terrified at first. Once they were reassured you were safe with pictures and their mother’s been waiting, they jumped at the chance to return.
“They made it home?” I ask, wanting him to repeat his words. Tears crest as happiness consumes my soul. Everything feels right in the world now, finally. My friends are home and safe, Hunter loves me and is with me, I have my parents and a home, and lastly, Diana has paid for her crimes with her life.
He nods, and I tuck my face into his chest, squeezing him tightly as I’m overcome with emotions. “You really are a knight in shining armor, my prince.”
He laughs but catches the seriousness in my tone. Pulling me back enough to meet my watery gaze, he says, “Only if you’ll be my queen someday?”
I nod, lips trembling. Of course, I’ll be his. I already am in my heart and soul. “Yes. I’d love to marry you.”
He squeezes me tightly, pressing a loving kiss to my lips before asking, “You want to go see them?”
“Of course! Let me slip on some shoes, and then I’ll be ready,” I say and follow it up with a yawn.
“My beautiful woman, you’re always so sleepy if you don’t catch a quick nap. We can wait an hour or two.”
“There’s no way I’m wasting time sleeping when I could be visiting with more people I love. I’m too excited to sleep anyhow, so let’s go.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “You got it, but you should probably switch shorts. You’re covered in dirt.”
I glance down, laughing. I hadn’t noticed, and he’s right, I’m a total mess from the garden. “Okay, so five minutes, tops, and we’re out the door.”
“Waiting on you,” he calls as I take off in a jog to our room—another thing we share since he hasn’t left my side from the moment he checked himself out of the hospital. I wanted him to move into my parents’ house, but he wasn’t having it. I can’t blame him. I enjoy our privacy and love our home out here in the mountains. We still have my room at the mansion, so if there’s a party or something else where we don’t want to drive home, we can sleep over. I think the house creeps Hunter out after what happened, though, and I understand completely. I refuse to go back to the lower level. I wish my parents could destroy it without messing up their house, but it’s not an option. I asked my father, and he looked into it. I think they’re going to convert it into a bunker or storage sort of place where you’ll need a special code to get in, so no one can hide someone down there ever again without one of us knowing.
I’m ready in record time. I’ve tossed on a pair of clean jean shorts, my leather jacket, favorite cowboy boots and have my hair thrown up into a messy bun. I grab my sunglasses on our way out, and we head for his bike, hand in hand.
Another first for both of us—a woman on the back of his bike and me riding. I love it. It makes me feel free, gliding along the open road with the wind in my wild hair. I begged him for a while, and once he finally gave in, our rides became a usual thing. Sometimes we’ll meet up with his club brothers and ride together. He’s even taken me to a few other clubhouses to visit with various presidents and their women. It’s an interesting lifestyle, but overall, I’m glad Hunter has chosen to remain a Nomad. I like having him mostly to myself with the occasional visitor.
I climb on his big, shiny white beast, sliding behind my man, and wrap my hands around his trim waist. I never knew riding a motorcycle could be sexual, but with Hunter, it’s hot, and we’ve had plenty of sexy times. Usually, we’ll get so pent up for each other, he’ll pull off on the side of a random road so we can have a bit of naughty fun before making it the rest of the way. Other times, he’ll make me wait, and after holding him closely for a time, along with mixing in the adrenaline from the ride, it’s a natural aphrodisiac for me. I basically end up attacking him the moment we’re in the door.
His bike thunders down the windy road, the sound echoing in the endless array of trees. It’s peaceful out here away from everyone else, and after living on the island for most of my life, it’s exactly what I need. I wasn’t meant to be in a lavish mansion, living the life of a socialite. I could always have it if I change my mind, but I won’t. Hunter and nature are all I need to be fulfilled in life.
In no time, it seems, we’re pulling up in front of a small house. I don’t remember it, so I don’t think I ever came here when I was little. I know now I was on my parents’ property playing with the three girls when we were all taken. I never knew much growing up, thinking our island life was normal in a sense after a while. I knew I had a family out in the world somewhere, and we all talked about missing them, but in a way, they never seemed real. I was a toddler, so I’m sure it was confusing for me, but children are resilient, and the four of us proved as much. It’s a miracle we survived at all, and if the three girls hadn’t been forced to grow up so quickly before their adoptions, we probably wouldn’t have made it as long as we did.