Page 132 of Obsession

But Hunter has other plans for us.

He slides his key card into the elevator of our building and hits the PH button, never once asking me if I wanted to end ourdate in his home. Hell, the last time I was here, both he and I were almost shot by a sniper who is still out there for all I know.

“I didn’t say I was going to your house.”

“It was assumed.”

“You assumed that I was going to put out simply because you bought me a lobster dinner?” I say incredulously.

“You’ve already put out.” He smirks. “Repeatedly.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Oh, I’m definitely going to remind you.”

”The elevator doors glide open directly to Hunter’s penthouse, and I suck in a breath at what I see.

“What did you do?” I ask in awe.

There are candles.

Dozens and dozens of ivory-colored candles of varying heights, strategically placed throughout the apartment, all lit. All for me.

It’s beautiful.

Like a fairytale.

He presses a button on the wall that I thought was a security panel but seems to control the entertainment system in his home. Soft music plays, like the kind you’d hear on an old 70s station. I think they call it yacht rock.

I’m speechless because this is a very calculated plan of seduction. Is Hunter trying to seduce me? This isn’t like him. This is...different and maybe kind of nice.

“Have you ever danced to slow music?” He asks as he pulls me into his body in the middle of the living room.

“Well, not really. They didn’t play a lot of slow songs at school dances. In fact, they didn’t play any.”

“You went to school dances?”

He’s so damn perceptive. Of course, I didn’t go to any dances. I'm only saying what I believe an ordinary woman my age would say.

“No.”

“Why?”

He places my arms around his neck, and he wraps his around my waist.

“I didn’t live with the kind of people who supported that. A dance means I would have needed a ticket, maybe even a dress. No one in my house was paying for that. Not for me.”

“When will you tell me more details about your past?”

“I’m not giving those people any energy. Talking about the past would do that.”

“And who arethosepeople?”

Both he and I have complicated pasts. He has a few ghosts from his past, whom I think he's desperately eager to find, and I have several I’m determined to avoid. I wonder if he’s already started fishing around in my past. He’s got the resources to do it. I’m just not sure if he’s that interested in me to go digging.

“I’d rather not get into any of that. They’re nobody.”

Hunter grunts in response but says nothing else. It’s clear what I’ve told him has angered him, but there isn’t any point in getting worked up about the demons of the past. I’ve learned that lesson many times.

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