Page 18 of Hunter

When I reached the bottom floor, I looked around, surprised to not find Hunter anywhere. His Harley was still sitting in the drive next to the truck, and I hadn’t heard him enter his room. I did know that the bathroom had been cleaned in the three hours I had procrastinated leaving my room, taking my time to brush Adair’s hair until its curly mess was as flat as a board. Okay, I could admit it was still curly, but at least you could run your fingers through it. There was no taming tool for his unruly hair.

The same unruly curls caught my attention as I saw Hunter’s dark head at the bottom of the window. It reached down his thick neck into short curls over his tanned skin. It was long enough to run your fingers through, but not long enough to tie back like Noble’s had been.

I realized right then that, ever since I had met Hunter, all I had done was compare the two brothers. It might have had something to do with the fact I couldn’t believe they were brothers since they didn’t look alike, or perhaps it was because whenever I looked at Hunter, despite the lack of resemblance, I was reminded of Noble. Hunter knew a side of Noble I never had and never would come close to knowing. Noble, the brother. Noble, the son. Noble, the youth. A Noble for Hunter only.

With that thought heavy on my mind, I approached the glass door, digging up whatever courage I had and pushing through it.

Don’t be mad. Oh, please, don’t let him be mad.

Yep, I wasn’t beneath begging if it kept me safe from the big, bad grizzly.

To my surprise, he was calm. Shouldn’t he be—I don’t know—growling or something?

Hunter didn’t look up from where his eyes were cast along his backyard, slouched on a wooden bench, a cigarette pressed to his lips as he took a long drag.

I hated smokers. Or, at least I did until I saw how sexy it was when the soft smoke tumbled over his lips as he let out a breath.

“I, uh, sorry about before,” I began, holding on to my big girl panties for dear life.

Hunter remained silent, but his head tilted, and I assumed that was some acknowledgement on his part.

“I’m sorry you had to clean up my mess and see me like that,” I continued, unsure if my apology was accepted or not.

“I didn’t,” he said at last, much to my relief.

“Didn’t see me?”

Hunter sighed, and I fought the urge to squeak. Something told me this whole relaxed Zen thing he had going on wasn’t as safe as it seemed.

“I didn’t clean it up.”

“You didn’t?” I asked, looking up in the general direction of where the bathroom was. Although I didn’t have x-ray vision, I knew the bathroom was spotless. “Then who …?”

“Mina.”

“Mina?”

“Yeah.” Hunter took another drag before the next words came out, mingled with the smoke. “My maid.”

“You have a maid?” I couldn’t help looking amazed. Money really did make a difference.

While on the run, all I had done was clean. It had been a job that provided the most money for an inconsistent worker like me, so the knowledge that I didn’t have to clean anymore was a gift wrapped in gold and sealed with a kiss from heaven.

Hunter, surprised at my reaction, choked on his cigarette before giving me a dubious look. “You didn’t thinkIclean this place, did you?”

“Well, yeah, I did,” I admitted. There was nothing wrong about a man who liked to clean. In fact, it was up there with men who liked to cook. If it got me out of doing the housework, I would marry them on the spot. Well, not really, but I would consider it. “Besides, it’s not normal to assume someone has a maid, even if they have a really nice house.”

Hunter replied with a grunt, choosing not to acknowledge my compliment.Jerk.

“I didn’t hear her come in,” I said, trying to pick up our failing strands of conversation. If I was going to live with the guy, even if temporary, I needed to be able to hold a conversation with him.

“Yeah, she’s good at sneaking out without anyone noticing,” he answered with a smirk.

Oh. She wasthatkind of maid. I should have known.

At my silence, Hunter asked, “Where’s Adair?”

“He’s napping.” When he turned with that look on his face, I threw my hands up to stop him from speaking. “I locked the doors, and I also have this.” I pulled out the device from my back pocket and shook the baby monitor at him. “I’ll hear him when he wakes up. Other than communicating with aliens, it works as a good child monitor.”

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