Page 53 of Cruel Expectations

The tension bowed her back. She whimpered what he thought sounded like his name. Then she left no question in his mind as she screamed it.

“Hunter!”

“Oh, Ivy. Fuck!” He yanked her down on top of him and claimed her lips as he rocked his hips and brushed her hard nubbin until he felt her jolt of release, followed by rhythmic tightening of her inner walls around his cock.

He thrust hard—high. The angle, the expression of ecstasy playing over her beautiful face, stole the last shred of control he had.

On a muffled roar, he let go. Spurts of cum exploded from his cock, showering her pussy as she orgasmed around him. He swept his tongue over hers, tasting her surrender.

It was sweet. Intoxicating.

Addicting.

He sank his tongue into her mouth and stole the little keening noises she made.

With a final jerk of his hips, he filled her pussy with his cum.

Fuck. Twice now he’d taken Ivy bareback. The sensation was exquisite—and the protectiveness it triggered stunned him.

This feeling in his chest…the hard knot in his throat that made him want to roar until the mountains shook with the force…came from him and him alone.

He closed his eyes and floated on the fog of lust. Ivy collapsed on top of him, her breathing harsh in the silence of her room.

Slipping his arm around her back, he drew her tighter into his arms. She snuggled against him, fitting like the piece of a missing puzzle.

What the hell happened to the SEAL who functioned without emotion? Who disconnected from any and all feelings that actually touched his soul?

Friends, he could do. Hell, friends with benefits too.

Ivy didn’t check either of those boxes.

After a long minute, she rolled off him. As she climbed out of bed and headed toward the en suite bathroom, his football jersey rode high on her curvy hips. When she walked away, he got a fantastic view of her rounded ass cheeks peeking from beneath the bottom of the shirt.

His still-stiff cock twitched against his abs.

Hell. Twice he’d fucked Forest’s sister. While his respect for Forest knew no bounds, even in the realm of death, Forest wasn’t here to object.

Forest. Dammit, his friend would want him to watch out for Ivy.

Seeing her phone cast off on the floor, he grabbed it. “I hope I never have to explain this…” He tapped a few buttons to get around the lock code. In seconds, he had a tracking GPS on her device.

He really shouldn’t trifle with Ivy at all.

Colton saw him sneaking out of her bedroom window and even if he’d warned Hunter off her, what he thought didn’t matter either—Hunter did what he wanted, and few people in the world had ever been able to stop him.

The bombshell beauty sauntering out of the bathroom to rejoin him in bed was separate from his job on the ranch. He was here to ensure that no more attacks befell the Gracey family or anyone else.

His focus shifted from his inner turmoil to the stunning woman climbing into bed. Ivy’s eyes were softened by the smile she wore.

Suddenly, she stopped mid-crawl. Without seeing her face, he knew she was staring at his scarred leg.

Very slowly, she leaned down and brushed her lips over the worst of the puckered scar. When she straightened and met his steady gaze, his heart pounded.

He had two choices. He could reject her, get up and leave and never return. She’d seen too much—things that had nothing to do with the physical appearance of his leg.

Or he could accept that unutterably tender kiss as a stroke of solace and acceptance.

He opened his arms. She stretched out on top of him. Cupping her head against his chest, he buried his nose in her soft hair. For a long minute, she was silent.

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