Page 57 of Hunter

“I do understand. You’re such a caring person. Thank you for your due diligence. I’ll have a Medal of Honor made for your contributions to this Earth right away.”

She feigns excitement, placing her hand dramatically over her chest. “A medal?” she exclaims. “That is such an honor. I’ll cherish it and guard it with my life.” Her voice drops lower, and she bites her bottom lip. “Will that be the only reward I’ll receive?”

Her lips part slightly, and she presses her body closer to mine. The contact has my cock jerking awake in my pants, a visceral reaction that’s impossible to ignore.

“What else did you have in mind?” My voice lowers an octave, thick with unspoken promises.

She looks at me through her lashes, her lips curling into a knowing smile. “If I have to tell you, it wouldn’t be a reward anymore, would it?”

“You sure you want to leave such responsibilities to an egotistical man like me?” I whisper in her ear, my breath warm against her skin. Goosebumps appear on her neck, and I can’t help but watch as her body reacts to me.

“There’s no one better than you to be responsible for such a reward.” The words leave her mouth with a hint of challenge, and I feel my cock pressing harder against my pants. It’s getting harder to concentrate on anything other than ripping her clothes off right here.

“Danny,” Sophia squeaks in surprise, her blush deepening as if she’s been caught doing something naughty. Her reaction makes me chuckle, my amusement cutting through the tension.

“If you two are done dancing, we’d like to cut your sister’s cake now, Sophia.” The tone Danny uses and the way he says her name has my body tensing instinctively. To anyone else, it might seem casual, but to me, it sounds like a predator circling its prey. I turn my body, placing myself between Sophia and him, shielding her from whatever threat he might represent.

I size him up. He’s two inches shorter than me, probably in his late thirties, with slicked-back black hair that screams arrogance. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes—it’s vicious, not friendly.

“To my understanding, it’s considered rude to cut a cake when,” I make a dramatic show of looking around the backyard, “there are still people dancing and eating. Not to mention, it’s very disrespectful to interrupt a conversation between two adults. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

Danny’s jaw ticks, the façade cracking, and I allow myself a small, satisfied smirk. He doesn’t like being called out.

“Hi, Danny.” Sophia’s voice breaks the tension as she steps forward to stand at my side. Her body’s stiff, her energy uneasy. I drape my arm over her shoulder, pulling her in , letting her feel the protective barrier I’ve created around her.

Danny’s mask returns almost immediately. It’s so subtle, Sophia doesn’t notice it, but to someone like me—a monster in the art of masks—it’s glaringly obvious.

“This is Maxim, my boyfriend.” She glances up at me, her eyes worried, but she tries to mask it with a soft smile.

We shake hands, the contact cold and businesslike. The small talk that follows is forced, each word thick with unspoken tension. I try to remain civil, but the desire to take a swing at this guy is overwhelming. I’m not sure if it’s the way he looks at Sophia or the condescending aura radiating off him, but either way, I don’t trust him, not for a second.

We make our way back to our seats, and as soon as we’re seated, I can’t help but ask the question that has been gnawing at me.

“Who is he?” I whisper, my eyes not leaving Danny, watching him like a hawk.

“Who?” Sophia looks up from her piece of cake, not quite following my train of thought, expecting someone else to be standing in front of us.

“Danny.”

She puts down the spoon, turning to face me fully. “He’s a long, complicated story.” She pauses for a moment, her eyes distant as she gathers her thoughts.

“Danny was Jenny’s first boyfriend. They had this…toxic, intense relationship. They loved each other; I can’t deny that. You could see it when they weren’t yelling at each other. When they were happy, it was like…a fairytale. They were inseparable, the best of friends. People wanted what they had, but no one sawhow much they drained the life out of everyone around them.” She exhales sharply, as if the mere thought of them exhausts her.

“My whole family loved him, especially my mom.” The shift in her tone makes my stomach tighten. There’s a history there, something unspoken but heavy. My instincts scream to dig deeper, but I force myself to stay quiet, to let her tell it in her own time.

“He was part of the family, going on trips with us, spending every holiday with us. He didn’t have a good relationship with his own family, so my mom practically adopted him. He stayed at our house all the time, in the guest room—every single night.” She shakes her head, as if trying to rid herself of a bad memory.

The tension in my body rises, my nails digging into my palms. I want to act on the rage I feel building inside me, to march over to that bastard and make him regret ever laying a hand on her, but I control it; the thought of making a scene in front of her family keeps me in check. There’s something about him—something I can’t yet put my finger on—but I can feel it deep in my bones. He did something to her.

She stares down at her cake, her focus lost in the past. “It was always me and Dad who were hesitant around him.”

That’s the confirmation I needed. The blood starts to rush in my ears, anger surging through my veins. I swallow hard, forcing myself to keep calm. I want answers, need them.

“They broke up after Jenny got accidentally pregnant by her now-husband. Danny kept coming around after that, using the excuse that he was just helping my mom out, but once he found out about the pregnancy, he stopped showing up.”

I lean forward, my voice low but filled with a dangerous calm. “What did he do to you?”

Sophia goes pale at my question, her eyes shifting uncomfortably.

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