Page 54 of Wretched Heart
Hunter and I are captured by each other’s stare and don’t respond.
“Right. I’ll take that as a no,” he says awkwardly, and slips out the door.
Mace mutters a curse under his breath. “Glad to see marriage put an end to the sexual tension between you two,” he mutters.
“You noticed?” I say, dragging my attention from one brother to the other.
“It’s my job to notice,” Mace says. “You know, Maddie, if Hunter can’t satisfy you…”
Hunter jumps up, sending his office chair spinning back. His face is heated, but his words are like ice. “I’m warning you now, Mace. Don’t ever talk to my wife like that again.”
Mace simply shakes his head as he steps around his brother and heads for the door. “I know what she is to you, brother. Count this as a rehearsal for when Ash gets here. You need to find a way to work out your frustrations. As if it wasn’t fuckingobvious.”
I’m frowning as I stare at the door Mace closes behind him. Was he actually advocating that Hunter and I deepen our relationship? Having Mace push Hunter into action certainly does no harm to my cause.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I say as I watch my husband settle back in his chair. “I can take care of myself.”
“So you keep fucking saying,” he mumbles as he hits what I’m guessing are just random keys on his keyboard.
He doesn’t want to talk to me. Fine. He can just listen. “At least I have my books to keep me occupied,” I muse. I tap the pencil against my teeth so he knows it’s in my mouth. “But if I’m honest, the only words that could turn me on right now are the ones you said to me while I was sucking you off.”
“Maddie. Don’t,” Hunter warns. He’s refusing to look up from his computer screen.
“Do you still want to know how wet I am?” I ask. I don’t have to force my voice to sound throaty. There’s a thrumming along my spine that’s tightening all my muscles.
Pursing the pencil between my lips, I lift one of my knees up and over the arm of my chair. I unbutton my pants, but it’s when I pull down the zipper that Hunter’s gaze flicks in my direction.
“Stop it. Now.”
It’s my turn to ignore him as I guide the yellow pencil inside my open zipper. I keep my eyes downcast as I slip it beneath the elastic of my panties and watch it disappear between my legs. I bite down on my lip and groan as I rub it against my clit.
I hear Hunter stand, but if he’s about to stop me, he pauses long enough to take a good look at what I’m doing first. I move the pencil up and down my slit a couple more times before taking it out.
Looking up, I trail my gaze from his visible arousal to his flushed face. Why does his torture have to turn me on so much? “You said you wanted to know how I tasted,” I remind him. I trail the tip of my tongue along the pencil and smile. “I bet it’s just like you keep imagining. Fine dining.”
The door handle rattles and I have just enough time to drop my leg back to the floor before Mace opens the door. Reid follows him in carrying a tray of coffees and slices of cake.
“Sorry, Connie insisted on feeding you two,” Reid says.
When he comes over to me, I drop the pencil and pull my chair in tight against the desk so Reid can’t see that my pants are undone. I take one of the coffees from the tray and send him away, while I try to figure out how to refasten my pants without the others noticing.
I don’t like the way Hunter’s smiling as he prowls towards me. I grip the edge of my desk, but he manages to pull out my chair. “Stand up, wife,” he whispers, grabbing hold of my open pants and yanking me to my feet. He pulls me close and kisses my nose as he discretely fastens me up. “Don’t do that again.”
As I drop back down into my chair, it feels like he’s won that battle. Until I notice the yellow pencil he puts behind his ear as he returns to his desk.
Chapter 17
Maddison
My stomach is in knots when we arrive at the paper mill, but as I climb out of the SUV, I take a deep calming breath. The mill was always my safe space. Whatever abuse and neglect I faced at home, my family and their allies presented another image to the outside world. I was still expected to behave in a certain manner while at work, or else face punishment later, but it felt freeing at the time.
Hunter looks at me curiously as I savor the familiar scent. “This place stinks of steamed cabbage, and you look like it’s making you hungry.”
“What can I say? I like the smell,” I admit. “And count yourself lucky. According to Amos, the mill used to smell like rotten eggs. That was back in the days before we tightened up our environmental controls. It’s the chemicals we add to the wood pulp to bleach it.”
“I think Ash had the better idea of investing in distilleries,” he grumbles, but he’s smiling as he takes my hand and we walk towards the entrance.
The main office is the only brick-built building in what is a small-scale production plant compared to the giants of the industry. There’s steam and noise coming from the mill itself, and from a casual glance, operations are continuing as normal. My gaze travels to the row of luxury cars parked nearby. Hugo’s isn’t amongst them. According to Mace, who’s sending regular updates to Hunter, he’s only just left home.
