“Over here,” he called as he began walking towards the flash of light. It suddenly went out completely and he heard a muffled curse. “Just stay put, I’m coming to you,” Hunter said as he picked his way through the trees. It took just minutes to reach Roman who was stuffing what looked like his phone into his pocket.
“Forgot to charge it,” he muttered as he lifted his hand to keep the light from the flashlight Hunter was holding from hitting him square in the eyes.
“Sorry,” Hunter murmured as he dropped the light so it was pointing at their feet. “What are you doing here?” He could see Roman was holding something bundled in his arms.
“You mind if we talk by the fire,” Roman responded.
Hunter could tell Roman’s coat wasn’t heavy enough for the elements so he led him back to the fire and pointed to his sleeping bag. He sat down next to Roman and bit back a groan when their bodies brushed as he reached for another log to toss on the fire.
“You expecting company?” Roman asked as he glanced at the gun Hunter didn’t realize he was still holding.
“Bears come down here every once in a while,” he answered as he put the gun down. “What are you doing here, Roman?”
“Hell if I know,” Roman muttered as he began unfolding the blankets that had been bunched up in his arms. Hunter helped him spread the blankets over both their laps. He could tell from the material that they were the kind of blankets you’d find in a cheap motel.
“Are these from your hotel?”
“I don’t know if the Dusty Spur qualifies as a hotel but the owner was quick to reassure me it was Dare’s finest accommodations,” Roman answered.
“It’s Dare’s only accommodations,” Hunter interjected. “That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” Hunter reminded him.
Roman was quiet for a long time. “I didn’t like how we left things this afternoon…how I left them. And then I realized that I didn’t even have your number so I couldn’t call or text you. I didn’t know how long you’d be in town for and I remembered you saying how much you liked coming out here so I took a chance…”
When Roman didn’t say anything else, Hunter pulled out his phone and handed it to Roman. “Put in your number.”
Roman glanced at him and then took the phone and did just that. When he gave it back, their fingers briefly brushed and Hunter nearly shook his head. How the hell could one innocent touch make his whole body feel like it was on fire? He forced himself to concentrate on the phone and typed out a quick text message to Roman’s number and hit send.
“I owe you an apology,” he heard Roman say softly.
Hunter wanted to laugh. “You don’t owe me anything. What you did for me last night…”
“I wish I’d gotten there sooner…” Roman suddenly whispered and Hunter turned his head and saw that Roman was staring at him. Even with the little light that the fire offered, Hunter could see the other man really meant it and he felt his insides do a crazy flip-flop.
“I wish I’d met you first,” Hunter heard himself admitting and for once, the truth didn’t feel so wrong.
***
Roman knew that if he leaned down just a little, he could get another taste of Hunter. Maybe if he did, he’d discover that last night was some anomaly – that whatever emotion had twisted and rolled through his body last night as Hunter had sealed their mouths together was the result of a waning adrenaline rush and nothing else. But then again, if it were that simple, would he really have spent the whole afternoon feeling like a complete and utter asshole for the callous retort he’d thrown at Hunter before calling off the hike? Would he have spent most of the evening pacing the floor of his crappy motel room before trekking off into the dark Montana night to find Hunter so he could apologize for his behavior?
And Christ, that fucking admission that Hunter wished he’d met him first!
There was no doubt in his mind that if he’d met Hunter last night in the club, he would have done anything and everything to get him back to his hotel room, his youth and inexperience be damned.
Roman forced himself to tear his eyes from Hunter. One more kiss would just fuck everything up. For him, for Hunter. He needed to get things back on track.
“That thing you said about some kid and his mom tearing out pictures of my resorts-”
“I didn’t mean anything by it, Roman. I swear.”
“I know. It’s just…I never even realized it until you said it.”
“What?”
Roman felt sick even voicing it. He’d spent the whole day obsessing over how he’d become so sidetracked by money and prestige that he hadn’t ever made the connection himself.