Page 106 of Hunter

“‘You are strong. You are kind’,” Mallory whispered then turned the pin over. “‘You are brave. And you are loved’.” She laughed softly, pulling the pin close to her heart. “It was the only thing he used to say to me that wasn’t from the Bible.” Her tears began again, her shoulders racking with sobs.

I wrapped my arms around her, ignoring the ache of my bruises as I pressed her tightly into my chest.

“I thought he’d be here,” Mallory cried out onto my chest. “When I walked down the aisle, I always imagined him being here, and when he died, I couldn’t picture it anymore. But now you’re here and my mom and the club and Adair … We’re all here, but—” Mallory choked, burying her head closer to my neck.

From what I had seen, Mallory’s father had been an idol to her, even during her waywardness as a teenager. And even though it had been years since he had died, it was still the day every daughter needed her father, especially someone like Mallory. Someone who had gone through so much and had now reached her happiness at last.

“I was a good girl, you know.” Mallory’s shoulders fell still. She sniffed into my shirt, her sobs having slowed to soft hiccups. “I went to church every Sunday, sang in the choir, donated to charity. I even had a chastity ring.” She laughed. “But when he was diagnosed with cancer, I couldn’t help blaming God. I wanted to know why He had given my father a death sentence when all he had ever done was dedicate his life to Him. All my father kept saying was that God works in mysterious ways, but I didn’t care. I hated God. I hated Him even more when my dad died. I was eighteen; I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. I needed him. But God didn’t care and took my father anyway.” She stepped back enough to bring her hands up between us.

She held up the pin, and the blue stone glinted up in the light. “He had this made when he was diagnosed. My mom told me he had it made so that, when the day came I was ready to marry a good man, I could wear it as an apology for him not being here. And that I could look at this and know he was looking down at me and smiling on my wedding day.”

Mallory’s quivering lips pulled into a soft smile as she stepped away from me. She wiped under her eyes with her fingertips and took a deep breath. She then held the pin out toward me. “Do you mind?”

I took the pin out of her hand and, without breaking her gaze, I pushed one side of her hair behind her ear and slid the pin into place. The azure glinted off the sun and glowed against the bright red of her hair.

“Beautiful.”

Mallory’s face transformed with a dazzling smile.

I thanked her for her heels as I bent down to give her a long, gentle kiss.

As she broke away, her smile only grew. Her forehead was still pressed against mine as she looked up at me with those beautiful, brown eyes.

“I love your eyes,” she whispered, cupping my cheek.

“Hey. You’re not allowed to read my mind if I’m not allowed to read yours.”

Mallory’s innocent smile turned into a wicked grin. Her voice was breathy as she tightened her fists around my suit collar and pushed her body against mine, whispering, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Fuck,” I hissed, pulling away. Then I grabbed her hand and hauled ass across the graveyard and back into the church.

The bridesmaids turned toward us with relieved smiles, and the men gave me a cheer as we came back into the back room.

“Let’s hurry up and get this wedding over and fucking done with already,” I snapped, marching my way out of the room and into the church before I turned my ass around, took my woman, and fucked her out back, which was anything but saintly.

And I did, with Mallory’s laugh following behind me all the way. Just like it would for the rest of my life.

Epilogue

Mallory

Hunter pushedin so hard and fast that I could barely quiet my cry.

“If you’re not quiet, someone will hear you,” Hunter said into my ear as he drew out and pushed straight back in, forcing me to cover my mouth.

“Hunter …” I whimpered, feeling him slow inside of me, drawing me nearer to my climax, and then pulling back.

The thought of someone catching us stirred my libido. Having him tease me was going to drive me mad.

“What’s this?” Hunter growled, slipping his hand down to my clit where he began rubbing in slow, tormenting circles. “Do you want someone to find us, Mallory? Didn’t take you for the exhibitionist type.”

“And what happened to a quiet night swim?” I retorted.

He pressed my back into the cold tiles of the pool’s wall, causing the water to slosh over the side. “We’re in the water, and it’s dark outside. All you need to do is stay quiet.” Hunter punctuated his words with a slow withdrawal, and then a quick thrust.

I cried out, slapping the edge of the pool to hold myself up as Hunter began to pull back before pushing into me with a force I couldn’t resist. Then he began to quicken.

Each time he thrust forward, I begged not to cry out. And each time, I found it harder to keep it tamed.

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