Page 11 of Crossed Paths
“My cars at the hotel,” I say, eyeing the puddles already forming. “I’d be drenched by the time I got there.”
“You could wait it out. Might ease up.”
We linger in the doorway. Close now. The kind of close where I can hear her breathing if I let myself listen. Her T-shirt smells faintly like lemon and something warmer underneath, maybe rosemary or something from earlier in the kitchen.
She hasn’t moved. Neither have I.
A loose strand of her ginger hair has curled near her cheek, just catching the damp.
I reach up and tuck it behind her ear. My fingers brush her skin, and I linger longer than I should.
She looks at me—steady, wide-eyed—and the space between us feels impossibly small. Charged. Her breath hitches, and I feel it in my own chest like a pulled thread.
I take a slow step closer.
Her back is against the doorframe now, the rain still falling steadily outside the door, the scent of wet stone rising between us.
My voice is low when I speak. Rougher than I mean it to be.
“Don’t you want me to stop?”
She doesn’t answer.
She just looks at me. Grey eyes locked on mine, chest rising faster now.
I lean in, just enough to feel the heat of her. “Alex,” I say, barely above a whisper. “I need this more than you can imagine. But one word from you and I stop. Tell me now.”
Her lips part, and for a second, I think she’s going to push me away. I’m already stepping back, trying to gather the self-control I’ve been clinging to all night.
Then her hand catches the front of my jacket. Grips it.
Her voice is a whisper. “Don’t stop.”
And I don’t.
I move in slowly, deliberately, my lips brushing hers with a tenderness that belies the urgency building inside me. Her mouth is soft, warmer than I remember, and I savour the shape of it. The way her lips part slightly, inviting me in. Her breath mingles with mine, carrying the faint scent of something uniquely her—something I’ve craved for years. I’ve imagined this moment a thousand times, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of it.
Alex leans into me, her body pressing against mine, and I feel her curves, her strength, herher. She’s always been this force of nature, this woman who commands attention without even trying. And here she is, in my arms, surrendering to something she probably didn't know she needed.
My hand slides up her back, tracing the curve of her spine, feeling the warmth of her skin through the thin fabric of her T-shirt. She’s solid, real, and I’m acutely aware of every inch of her against me.
“Hunter,” she murmurs against my lips, her voice shaky, uncertain. But I don’t let her pull away. Instead, I deepen the kiss, my tongue brushing hers, tasting her fully for the first time. She gasps, and I take advantage, exploring the wet heat of her mouth, the softness of her lips, the way shemelts into me like she’s been waiting for this just as long as I have.
Years of unspoken feelings, of glances across crowded rooms, of moments like this one that never quite happened—they all converge in this kiss. I’ve loved her from afar, watched her laugh, cry, live her life without me, and always wondered what it would be like to be the one she turned to. Now I know.
Her hand comes up to my face, her fingers brushing my stubble, and I feel a jolt of electricity at the touch. She’s always been so careful, so guarded, but now her walls are crumbling, and I’m the one she’s letting in. I pull back slightly, just enough to look at her, to see the raw emotion in her grey eyes. They’re stormy, like the sky outside, but there’s something else there too—something soft, vulnerable.
“Alex,” I whisper, my voice hoarse with need. “Tell me to stop. Now. Before I can’t.”
She searches my face, her breath coming in short gasps, and for a moment, I think she might. But then she shakes her head, her hand tightening in my hair, pulling me back to her. “I can’t,” she says, her voice barely audible over the rain. “I’ve wanted this for too long.”
Those words are like a spark to gasoline. I’m on fire, burning with a desire that’s been simmering for years, and I can’t hold back anymore. I guide her backward, my hands firm on her waist, and she lets me lead her, her body moving with mine like we’ve done this a hundred times before. I push the door closed with my foot and guide her to the backroom. We stumble, lost in our kiss, barely registering the pool table in the centre of the room until Alex’s bum hits it with a soft thud.
I step back just enough to pull her T-shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor. She’s wearing a black simple bra that contrasts beautifully with her pale skin, and I take a moment to appreciate the sight of her, the curves of her body, the way her nipples peek through the soft material, tight and begging for attention. She’s stunning, and I’ve never wanted anyone more.
“You’re going to ruin me for good,” I murmur, my hands cupping her tits, thumbing her nipples until she arches into my touch with a soft moan.
“Hunter,” she breathes, her head falling back against the pool table. “Don't make me beg.”
