Page 78 of Season of Seduction

Chapter One

The beer was cold, the music was hot and the women were willing. Hunter Croft welcomed the first, ignored the second and rejected the last. After thirty-six days back on United States soil, he’d finally sated himself on the parade of tag-chasers. No, that was wrong. His body still wanted it but his head was miles away, already working through the orders he’d gotten today.

He was going home. Not exactly his idea of a perfect Christmas.

He took a swig of his beer but it didn’t help.

After more than ten years, he still had the visual burned in his brain. He’d jacked off to it often enough. Kat and Liam. Kat’s legs hooked over Liam’s arms, pussy wet and flushed, tits bouncing with every thrust. Liam’s ass clenching, leg muscles bunching to press deep. His cock wet with Kat’s moisture, his balls drawn tight against his body. The electric, life-changing moment when Liam turned his head and saw him. Nothing had been the same since.

After that night, when he’d stood frozen in the living room of Liam’s apartment, Hunter couldn’t face himself. Couldn’t face Kat. He wanted her, wanted to be the one pumping between her legs. But that wasn’t all he wanted, and that other want—the one he refused to name—was what had sent him to Parris Island, into the arms of the Corps.

The Corps and the world had changed a lot in the last decade. He’d changed.

He drained his beer and set the bottle on the bar.

Hunter’s home.

Kat Holland’s heart stopped beating as her brain replayed the two words her BFF had just uttered. Her chest flexed around a pang of longing. Nearly eleven years telescoped down to nothing, leaving the pain of his abandonment fresh and bleeding.

Kat forced her lungs to work. Pull it together.

“Earth to Kat.” Adele dropped a pair of chunky turquoise earrings on her desk. The earrings landed with a thunk, drawing Kat’s eyes from the computer screen and the latest convoluted, spelling-impaired update from Liam’s foster-sister. Jen always had some crisis brewing, but Adele’s words trumped anything in the email.

She shut down her computer and looked up at her friend, who held a vintage hat in one hand and a short fur jacket in the other. With a deep breath, she pushed herself to act normally. “Sorry. Distracted, I guess. I’m going to have to pass on those. I’m already working on my spring lineup.”

“Yeah, I figured, but my mother-in-law insisted you’d love them. I’ll break the news over spiced Jell-O or whatever crazy Christmas dessert she decided to make.” Adele stuffed the fur into a canvas tote.

Kat gave the earrings back to her friend. “Are you sure about Hunter? I thought he was in Afghanistan or something.”

“Not according to the latest. Are you going to try to get in touch with him?”

“Probably not. I’m sure he’ll be busy doing his Marine thing.” Kat bit her lip and checked her phone. Did Liam know? If he did, what was he thinking? No new messages. Frowning, she turned off her desk lamp. She and Adele left the room together and walked to the front door.

“I think you should.” Adele paused with her hand on the door knob and looked Kat in the eye. “I know how he left bothers you.”

“I’ll think about it.” Kat locked up after Adele and went into the living room to look out the front window. Her stomach churned. She wanted to talk to Liam, but she didn’t want to be the first to broach the topic of Hunter. Didn’t want to seem too eager. Desperate. Her subconscious provided the word she’d been avoiding. Shaking her head, she checked her phone again.

Nothing since before lunch. She didn’t know what to make of Liam’s uncharacteristic silence. She and her husband kept up a running stream of texts throughout the day, snapping photos and volleying comments back and forth while they went about their respective business. Rarely did an entire hour go by without a word from Liam. Did he know about Hunter’s return?

She turned to fuss with the stocking holders on the mantle. While she was arranging the heavy brass reindeers side by side, a chirp announced an incoming text from Liam.

Picking up dinner.

She let out a relieved breath and replied. Want me to do anything??

Be ready for a three-

way tonight?

Her pulse skipped. Hesitating over her response, she settled on a light-hearted answer. Like I’d turn that down. Anybody I know?

Stop asking questions. You’ll ruin the surprise.

Getting naked was just what she needed. A dirty, sweaty, orgasmic Christmas Eve would kick Hunter’s ghost to the curb.

Kat spent the rest of the afternoon decorating and tidying in anticipation of a guest. They’d bought the lovely row house at the bottom of the market for a steal, and she’d loved bringing it back with Liam. It was a good neighborhood, close to Johns Hopkins and full of wonderful restaurants and shops. With a smile, she double-checked the locks before heading upstairs to pamper herself.

By the time she left the bathroom, night had fallen. Multi-colored lights twinkled through the bedroom window, the 34th Street light display nearly as bright as daylight. The community display was another reason they’d chosen this row house. It had been a real charge to work with her neighbors on the details. The weekend she and Liam had spent hanging precariously from ladders and leaning too far out windows to get the lights up had been a blast.

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