Page 31 of Altered

Knotting his fingers in my hair, he gently pulled my head back, forcing me to crane my neck up and look at him.

With my fingertips digging into his hips, I forced myself to open my eyes andlookat him.

Exposed and vulnerable, I braced myself for the horror I was sure I would see in his eyes.

It never came.

I watched him watch me, taking in every stitch, cut, and bruise on my face.

Finally, when I couldn’t take the intensity in his blue eyes a second longer, he lowered his forehead to mine and kissed a hard, territorial kiss to my lips.

The heat from his mouth burned a hole straight through me, and in this moment, I drew strength from his presence.

"What happened?" I forced myself to ask, unsure whether I truly wanted to know, but needing to hear it all the same. "The body?"

"It's taken care of," he replied, tone gruff. "We're in the clear."

An immeasurable amount of relief coursed through my body.

We're in the clear.

In the clear.

We had so much that we needed to talk about, so many things to clear up, stories to line up, but when he looked at me like that, I lost all track of reality.

"Come on." Hunter kissed me hard once more before stepping back and holding his hand out for me. "Let's get out of here."

Without a second thought, I placed my hand in his and let him guide me out of the house.

When we stepped onto the front porch, and were faced with Max and Noah, I watched as Hunter stretched his free hand out to Max.

"I understand the position we put you in tonight," he said. "You didn’t have to help us. But you did, and I'm grateful for it."

"Yes, well, I didn’t do it for you," Max grumbled. "Her father's an old friend of mine."

"Your motives don’t matter to me," Hunter replied curtly. "I still owe you."

Max looked between me and Hunter for the longest moment, before releasing a weary sigh. "Have whatever happened to her tonightneverhappen again, and that will be recourse for me."

Hunter nodded stiffly. "Don’t worry. It won't."

"Words are cheap," was all Max replied before turning around and disappearing back into the house.

"You calmed down yet?" Hunter asked Noah, who was still scowling at him.

"Nope," Noah shook his head. "Not one fucking bit." His words said one thing, but the resigned tone of voice in which he spoke them told a different story. "Jackass."

Hunter smirked. "You'll get over it." He threw his arm over my shoulder and tucked me into his side. "You ready, HC?"

"Yeah." Wrapping my arm around Hunter's waist, I melded my body to his as we walked down the porch steps. "I'm ready."

"Stay safe, asshole," Noah called after us.

"Always," Hunter called back, tightening his arm around me as he led us to his black Ford Explorer parked across the street.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we reached the passenger side of his truck.

He unlocked his truck and yanked open the passenger door, gesturing me inside. "I'm taking you home."

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