“I am on your side. But I gotta be honest, Clark. I’m on Billy’s side, too. Have you thought about what Nina’s doing while you’re out drinking and picking up women?”
“I didn’t pick her up.” Clark began pacing again. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Nina won’t talk to me. She said I need to grow up. Grow up!” He scoffed, shook his head. “I work my ass off to keep her and Billy in a nice house, to put food on the table…”
“Listen, Clark, I don’t claim to know much about relationships, but maybe Nina needs to feel like a woman as much as you need to feel like a man.”
Clark stopped pacing.
“Think about it.” Hunter leaned against the workbench. “I know it’s been forever since you guys have had sex, but take that further. When’s the last time you had wild, crazy, uninhibited sex with your wife?”
Clark shrugged. “I don’t know. Before Billy, maybe?”
“Well, maybe you don’t need to flirt with other women. Maybe you need to flirt with your wife. When was the last time you told her how beautiful she was? Hell, when was the last time you looked at her like you couldn’t keep your hands off her?”
“She doesn’t talk to me, Hunter. I’m sure I look at her like I’m trying to decide if I need to walk on eggshells or not.”
“That’s an even better reason to put forth more effort, man. You married a woman who used to make you hard when you heard her voice. Remember? You told me that she owned you. Owned you, Clark. She’s the same woman, only now she’s also the mother of your child.”
“She’s even more beautiful than the day I met her, but—”
“No. Stop. No ‘buts.’” As he said it he knew just what Clark needed to do, and it surprised the hell out of him that he was the one who realized it first.
“Let me babysit Billy tonight while you go out with your wife. Call her up and ask her out on a date. Show her you want to try to remember the couple you once were. Flirt with her. Let her know you think she’s beautiful.” The more he thought about it, the more he wanted this to work. “I’ll even do you one better. Take her to a B&B for the night. I’ll stay overnight with Billy.”
Clark scoffed again. “You? Babysit overnight? I can ask my mom or something. You don’t need to do that.”
“Do you want your mom knowing you’re having trouble in your marriage?” Hunter knew he wouldn’t want that. Clark’s mother was a primo meddler. “Let me do this for you. Go make plans to fuck your wife until she can’t remember why she was mad at you in the first place. You’ll both feel better.”
“Really?”
Hunter nodded.
“Who knew that you had marriage advice in you?” Clark slapped him on the back and headed toward the front office. He stopped halfway to the door and turned back. “When you talk about me and my wife, it’s not fucking. It’s making love. There’s a huge difference. When it comes to Nina it’s all about love, man, nothing less. Thanks for reminding me.”
Hunter smiled to himself, and he realized that he was no longer pissed. He zipped off a quick text to Jana, then set aside the rods he’d been working with and started up the forge.
***
AFTER TEACHING HER classes and organizing her thoughts for the next day’s classes, Jana filled in at Undercover, finally arriving at the little cottage she rented at a few minutes after eight. She was tired from being out so late again last night, and as she retrieved her mail, her arm muscles burned, a gentle reminder of what she and Hunter had spent their time doing before the bonfire.
She rifled through the mail on her way across the seashell walk that led to the front door. She loved the cozy cottage. It wasn’t in walking distance to any beaches or tourist attractions, and she liked living tucked away at the end of a dirt road. The cottage had only one bedroom, with a kitchen barely big enough for one, a living room–dining room combination, and one full bath, which was perfect for her. As much as Jana loved being with people, hanging out and listening to music, when she was home, she wanted privacy.
The owners of the house had a landscaper who maintained the yard, and she loved having her first cup of coffee sitting at the kitchen bar while the sun crept over the backyard. That first morning light gave the yard a magical feeling as it shined down on rosebushes, rhododendrons bursting with large blooms, and tall pitch pine trees surrounding the lush green lawn.
As she stepped onto the front porch, she thought of Hunter again, standing in her doorway with his helmet under one arm, looking like sex personified. She smiled, then quickly wiped the grin from her face as she remembered his earlier text. Ready to admit it yet?
No, she wasn’t ready to admit anything to him. Why did he even want her to?
She shook her head as she unlocked the door, stopping cold when the memory of his cologne hit her. She couldn’t remember him ever wearing cologne before, and it dawned on her that maybe he’d worn it for her.
No way.
She thought of his freshly shaved cheeks.
Maybe…
She realized she hadn’t heard from him since that text early this morning, which confirmed in her mind what she’d been thinking all day. Last night when she’d seen him with Bea, she’d seen him through girly goggles, those invisible lenses that make men appear like something they weren’t simply because of the presence of a baby, or puppy, or kitten.
She set her things by the front door and sank down on the couch with a sigh, glad to be off her feet. She toed off her shoes and tucked her feet beside her, still thinking about last night. She’d let Hunter bind her wrists, and she’d loved knowing he was in complete control of her pleasure and her safety. Why had it been so easy to trust him? She should probably feel embarrassed by what they’d done, or worry that he might tell someone like Grayson or Sawyer, when he was out with the guys. Oh, she hated that idea, but she couldn’t hold on to the worry, and she realized that she had a strong sense of trust when it came to Hunter. She tried to dissect where that trust came from. Was it a false sense of security that she needed to let go of? She hadn’t trusted a man in years—if ever—other than her brothers and father, but that was a different type of trust.
She tried to slough off the worry. Of course she trusted Hunter. He was Hunter, the guy who always tried to make sure his family and friends were happy. The guy who had dropped everything for Sky too many times to count. The guy who made beautiful art and looked at her like he wanted to devour her.
Ugh. That was what was wrong with the equation. He was Hunter: The guy who looked at lots of women like he wanted to devour them—and made good on that desire.
As she leaned back and closed her eyes, she wondered why that should matter. Hadn’t she done the same thing with men? Well, maybe not lately, since she and Hunter began hooking up more regularly, but she was definitely the girl who didn’t go home alone if she didn’t feel like going home alone.
Why was she thinking about what he did with other women anyway? It wasn’t like she was looking for a boyfriend. If she were, she would walk away from him in a hot second, because he was not boyfriend material. But she was only looking to have fun, so…She didn’t see a need to walk away just yet. Not when everything he did when they were alone made her feel more alive than any man ever had. Not when every kiss set off a five-alarm fire inside her and every touch made her crave the next. And especially not after the way he’d carried her into the bedroom and held her until she’d stopped trembling last night.
She’d been trying not to think about those tender moments, because she didn’t believe they meant anything, but every few hours the feel of his arms around her crept back in. The look of compassion that had washed through his eyes returned.
She had to stop thinking about those seconds—and that’s really what they were. Seconds. Flashes of something she’d probably imagined.
She fixed herself a salad and ate it while flipping through a gossip magazine. She was looking forward to taking a long hot bath to soothe her aching muscles and relax her into what would hopefully be a long night’s sleep. She was having breakfast with Sky and their friends at Seaside, and she was excited to have some girl time. Sometimes her days flew by so quickly she barely had time to think.
At nine she filled a glass with wine and ran a hot bubble bath. She stripped out of her clothes, then thought better of the one glass of wine, wrapped a towel around herself, and grabbed the bottle, bringing it with her into the bathroom. She slid into the divine warmth and closed her eyes.
The ache in her shoulders was just beginning to diminish when her cell phone vibrated from within her jeans on the floor by the tub. She ignored it, determined to relax. A few minutes later it vibrated again. She gulped down her wine, and when her phone vibrated a third time, she gave up and reached for it.
Despite herself, a smile tugged at her lips when she saw DO NOT RESPOND! on the screen. She wondered what Mr. You Know You Want Me would say if he saw that. She read the first text. What are you doing? Then the second. Missing me? And finally, the third. Guess what I’m doing?
She wiped her hands on the towel, wondering why he was suddenly texting her, and sent off a quick reply. You’re texting me.