“No. You asked if I knew a place nearby, and I said yes. I do. My place.” He used a foot to swing the truck’s door shut.
“I’m not staying with you.”
“It’s six o’clock in the morning. Check in at hotels is the middle of the afternoon. Even if I found a place with a vacancy—which in this area is not as easy as it sounds—you’d have to wait to check in or pay for last night when you didn’t sleep there.”
He had a point. But still… “I can’t stay here.”
“I have a guest room. You can crash in there for a few hours. I’ll take you to a hotel this afternoon, if that’s what you want. But I have plenty of room, and you’re welcome to stay.”
A part of me wanted to argue. But the man had been shuttling me around since he’d picked me up from the airport, and he had to be as exhausted as I was.
“Okay. But no funny business.”
Hunter grinned. “Never.”
Chapter 9
Natalia
A warm stream of light shining directly into my eyes woke me up. Disoriented, I had no idea where I was or what day it was. I sat up in the comfy bed and looked around the familiar room until the morning came back to me. Hunter’s house. I’d left my phone in my purse, which was still in the kitchen—I think—and there was no sign of a clock in the guestroom. So after a quick trip to the ensuite bathroom, I headed out to quietly retrieve my cell, hoping not to wake Hunter if he was still sleeping.
Only…Hunter was definitely not sleeping.
I froze as I turned the corner from the bedroom hallway to the open kitchen and living room. He stood with his back to me at the stove, cooking what smelled like bacon—shirtless, while dancing to Billy Joel.
As far as wake-ups go, this view was up there. Hunter wore gray sweatpants that hung low on his narrow waist, and the muscles in his back rallied together to form a V that led up to broad shoulders. There was no doubt the man worked out—a lot. I stood in silence, taking in the way his hips swayed to the music and remembering how good his rhythm was when we’d danced together at Anna’s wedding. Damn.
“Hope you’re not a vegetarian. I don’t make tofu anything, especially not bacon.” I jumped at the sound of his husky voice. He’d never turned around to see me, and still hadn’t when he spoke.
My heart raced in my chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”
He finally turned around. “Me? I didn’t sneak up on you while you were frying hot bacon to ogle your ass.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I wasn’t ogling your ass.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“I wasn’t ogling your ass.”
Hunter turned back around to the stove, reached up to the cabinet on the right to grab a dish, and then used tongs to pick the bacon from the frying pan.
“The more we deny the truth, the more power it has over us.” He set the plate on the table before returning his attention to me with a cheeky grin. “On second thought, keep denying it. It’ll just make you focus on it more.”
“You’re really a big ass, you know that?”
Hunter held a hand to his ear. “What’s that? You really dig my ass?”
“Are you always this obnoxious in the morning? No wonder you live alone.”
“It hasn’t been morning for hours. It’s almost three o’clock. Come. Sit and eat. Your eggs will be done in a minute.”
“Three o’clock?” I walked to the table forgetting about his ass comment. “I slept the entire day away.”
“You needed it.”
He poured a mug of coffee and held it up to me. “Cream and sugar?”
“Yes, please. I can’t believe how long I slept. What time did you wake up?”
“Around eleven.”
Hunter brought me coffee. “Thank you.” As he handed it to me, my eyes did an involuntary sweep of his chest. It would have been fast and harmless, had the jackass not watched me do it. God, the man didn’t miss a beat. He quirked a brow and smirked.
“Shut up. Go put some clothes on if you don’t want me to look.”
“I never said I didn’t want you to look.”
“What are you, a peacock? Walking around fanning your tail feathers, trying to attract a female?”
“That’s not a bad idea. Let me show you my tail.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s start over. Good morning, Hunter.”
His smile was genuine. He nodded. “Good morning, Natalia.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did. You?”
“I can’t remember the last time I was out that cold. That bed is really comfortable.”