She trusted him.
The admission jolted her.
He was seemingly the most untrustworthy of men and yet somehow she knew better, somehow she knew that in his hands she was safe, that in his own way he actually did care about her.
‘I like my new toy.’ He was staring down at her, soft dark hair flopping over his forehead, his eyes squinting in concentration, fiddling with that damn army knife again. Lily gave a little gasp as he opened up a tiny pair of scissors, could feel a bubble of moisture welling between her legs, nervous, excited all at the same time.
‘This is my favourite set of underwear.’
‘I’ll buy you some more,’ Hunter answered, catching her tentative eyes with his supremely sure ones. ‘You’re beautiful, Lily.’
She felt it.
Not just in herself but in them. The time spent with him was completely unregrettable, the instincts that had led her to bed with him last night had been so right. And Lily was glad, so glad she’d captured the amazing energy that had engulfed her and gone with it, because today was surely the best of her life and one she’d remember for ever. He was the teacher, showing her herself, the woman inside, and she wanted to learn, wanted to explore with him her body and all its capabilities.
‘Do you ever think of going back to your studies?’
He was trimming the silk ribbons that held together her panties with the tiny scissors, and she could only laugh that he could carry on a normal conversation while doing something so incredibly intimate. But it made it easier somehow to answer him, easier to stare up at the sky, feeling the warm sun on her face and his tender hands on her body. She gave in to the moment and revealed a little more of herself.
‘Sometimes.’ Lily closed her eyes as she thought about it, but Hunter didn’t wait for her answer.
‘Do you regret giving up?’
‘I had no choice,’ Lily countered.
‘I asked if you regretted it?’
There was the longest silence, Lily’s heart thumping in her chest as she admitted what she never had before—even to herself.
‘Every single day.’
‘Would you do it again?’ Hunter pushed. ‘I mean, if you could rewind the clock.’
‘Don’t.’ Screwing her eyes closed, Lily tried to block out his words.
‘Why don’t you go back now?’ Hunter’s questions were relentless, his instincts spot on.
‘I’ve thought about going back part-time—but I need to work.’
‘Not if you marry me!’
His statement forced her eyes open. ‘Hunter.’ Lily swallowed as her eyes locked with his. ‘It couldn’t work out.’
‘It’s only for a year,’ Hunter pointed out. ‘A year that could change a lot of things for both of us.’
It could. Lily blinked at a future that was financially secure, of saving her mother from the indignity of losing her home—of chasing dreams she had let go for all the wrong reasons. But her wonder turned into a frown of confusion as she stared back at Hunter.
‘I just don’t get why you need to do this,’ Lily attempted, aching for insight into this most complex man. ‘I understand Emma’s problems, but why does it have to be you fixing them?’
‘Because I can,’ Hunter said simply, then gave a very wicked smile.
‘There has to be more.’ Lily tried to continue the conversation, to understand, but the subject was closed. She felt a stirring inside as she looked at him looking at her body with pure lust. ‘Pass me your glass.’
‘I thought you didn’t drink.’
‘Sometimes I make exceptions.’
She knew what he was going to do, bracing herself, drenched in arousal, her breath coming in tiny gasps just at the thought of him, watching as he poured the pale liquid, feeling its icy coolness, replaced in a second by his warm tongue, stroking her, making her giddy. Confusion flickered in as he stopped for a moment and it was like they were reading each other’s minds, the question answered before it had even been asked.
‘There could be so many perfect days, Lily.’ Another skilful stroke of his tongue beguiled her as she begged her mind for logic.
‘You don’t have to sell your home…’ Another decadent kiss, his hair tickling her thighs as she quivered in his mouth, tears streaming down her face as emotion ripped through her, her neck arching as he teased her with possibility. She didn’t want him to stop, her body begging for him as again he looked up. ‘You can finish your studies, even work occasionally, have a few one-on-ones with your patients in that study.’
Her head tightened as she fought to keep him out, as he crept in and exposed her hidden hopes, unveiled dreams she hadn’t even dared envisage. ‘You can be everything you want to be, have everything you’ve ever wanted—if only you say yes.’