It’s a little unfair now that I think about it. When Hunter showed up at my studio, I was alone, and nothing stopped me from running into his arms. Drake is busy spotting Silla and ensuring her safety, so he’s stuck on stage with her. And you can tell by the way he’s fidgeting and how his wide-eyed expression keeps drifting toward us that he’s anxiously awaiting the moment to do the same.
Not even a minute later, he’s helping her down, undoing her ropes carefully, so she doesn’t fall. The crowd claps for them, and Drake doesn’t waste a second.
Bounding off the stage, he bolts across the room toward us. His arms go wide to bring Hunter in for a hug, but Hunter doesn’t take the hug. Instead, he grabs for Drake’s neck, and fiercely pulls him in for a rough kiss. Their mouths fuse together, and I notice the brief look of shock on Drake’s face before he melts into the kiss, pressing Hunter against the wall, letting his body express just how much he missed him.
Rule #38: Distance makes the heart grow fonder—and hornier.
Hunter
I don’t want to talk. Isabel and I already talked enough. I know we should talk. I know that Drake probably needs to hear me say a lot of things, but talking isn’t really my strong suit. I’d rather show him.
Our kiss lasts longer than I intend it to. The point of the kiss was meant to prove that I’ve made progress. I’m not done…but I am better. And I’m not afraid to show anyone how much I want this man.
Now it seems the kiss is turning into something else entirely. His tongue glides against mine as we taste and explore each other’s mouths. In a way, it almost feels like our first kiss.
We’re both panting by the time we tear our lips apart.
“I made some modifications to room twelve,” he mumbles against my mouth, and I pull back to look into his bright blue eyes.
“You did?” Why didn’t I know about this? I might have been doing most of my work from Maggie’s house these past two months, but surely, I would have known about room changes. Room twelve is basic with an extra-large bed, made mostly for parties of three or four. It’s roomy but basic. Not equipped with anything extra, so I’m curious to know what sort of modifications he could have made.
“Yeah, I told the team not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
The deep timbre of his voice is so familiar to me, but not having heard it for two months means that now it’s sending shock waves of warmth and excitement through my body. How did I go so long avoiding this attraction? It wasn’t Pandora’s box we opened. It was like breaking a dam. Now that these feelings are flowing, they will never be put back. Never be hidden. Never be ignored again.
“Well, I’d like to see it,” I reply, a slight shake to my voice. It’s hard to hide the emotion from this moment. He should be furious with me, and I expect him to rage at me for leaving, but he’s not. He’s as happy to see me as she was, and to think I was ready to grovel. I want him to make me pay, but it turns out, he just wants me.
“Come on,” he replies, pulling me out of the room. Room twelve is only two rooms down. The light above the door is off, which means it’s not in use, and Drake is faster with his master key than I am.
When he opens the door, I’m anxiously waiting to see what changes he’s made, but as we step in, I try my best to hide my disappointment. My eyes search the room for anything, but I can’t seem to find a single thing that’s different.
The door closes behind us, Isabel at my side. She takes my hand as I turn toward Drake.
“What—" I ask, but my voice is cut off as the room goes dark. In fact, it’s pitch black. I’m struck speechless by the bright green spots scattered throughout the darkness. Two lines lead a pathway around the room. The hard edges of the furniture are all glowing so that the only thing we can see is what was in this room to begin with, but we can’t see each other at all.
My mouth hangs open as Isabel’s fingers wind with mine. The loud music from the main room carries into this one, through speakers installed in the ceiling, to muffle the noises from the other rooms, and it’s so surreal, I can hardly move.
Drake’s hand touches my back and I lean into it.
“We still have plans to do something bigger, like a whole section of the club like this, but for now…I thought you’d appreciate this,” he says.
Flanked on both sides by these two people, I’m hit with a sudden emotion that I didn’t see coming. “I don’t deserve you,” I murmur, and his hands feel their way up to my face, pulling me closer until our mouths meet. Isabel’s fingers slide up my spine until she digs them into my hair.