Page 124 of From Now On

I’m blushing, no doubt about it.

And I’m no longer embarrassed by my flushed cheeks. I don’t care if Hunter knows he’s affecting me. “You know you are.”

Hunter smiles. “It’s still nice to hear.”

“It was the best sex I’ve ever had,” I admit.

He no longer looks amused.

Oftentimes, Hunter appears detached. Not superior or uninterested, but remote. Hard to entertain. Hard to reach. Hard to affect.

I’m not sure I’ll ever become accustomed to how it feels to have his full attention. And it was one thing to know that I canaffect Hunter’s body. But having power over his feelings? His emotions?

It’s a rush like none I’ve ever experienced before.

I bite my bottom lip, recalling what he said last night, and his eyes track the motion. “Did you want to stay?”

Hunter shakes his head. “I just came to see you.”

I lift a hand and run my thumb across his eyebrow. The one with the thin white scar. When I smooth the short hairs, it’s almost invisible, but I can feel the raised line. “Take me home?”

He nods immediately. His blue eyes appear especially bright as he straightens, hands dropping from my waist. He takes one of my hands before heading toward the stairs, interlocking our fingers together.

Several heads turn as we cross the porch, but I keep my attention on Hunter slightly ahead.

We descend the stairs and walk along the driveway. I glance to the right, toward the garage.

Clayton’s height is easy to spot. He’s standing, talking with two girls. When we make eye contact, he lifts his cup in a silent salute.

Thank you, I mouth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

EVE

It takes us less than five minutes to reach Hunter’s SUV parked down the street. Most people walked to the party. This entire neighborhood is rentals where students live, and most of the street seems to be at Clayton’s, judging by all the dark windows of the houses we walk past.

A streetlight flickers overhead, buzzing softly. Aside from the sound, the road is silent. We’re far enough from the party that all the noise has faded.

Hunter opens the car door for me.

“You bit your lower lip” is his only explanation before he kisses me.

We make out until my head is spinning.

And I’m glad he’s the one driving, not me, because I’m still dizzy when I climb inside his green SUV a few minutes later. Relaxing against the soft leather seat feels familiar, like embracing an old friend.

I run my tongue back and forth along the undersides of my upper teeth, watching Hunter walk around the front of the car, backlit by the quiet street. My blood buzzes with impatience, wanting to touch him again.

An idea forms in my head. The kind of thought that’s occurred to me before, but I never would have dared to actuallydo.

Hunter had fantasies about this top? I lay awake on a motel mattress, wondering what he would have done if I’d been bold enough to step into that shower with him and sink to my knees.

Once he’s in the car but before he’s started the engine, I lean over the center console. Fist his shirt and kiss him again, the warm press of his lips alarmingly addictive.

It’s never long enough, no matter how many seconds our mouths stay pressed together before separating for essential breaths.

My hands move down his chest, relying on feel to find my way since my face is too close to his to see anything south of his shoulders.

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