Page 53 of Regret

Chapter 16

Present

Hunter gave a sideward glance toward Scarlet, who was silently sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window. Ever since they got in the car, her usual loud mouth that seemed like it never shut up was oddly quiet.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Without looking in his direction, she answered, “Why do you think there’s something wrong with me?”

“Because you’re quiet. And I was convinced that you and that mouth of yours are incapable of being quiet.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

Silence.

Complete and utter, deafening silence.

Well, shit.

Maybe she was right. Maybe he was wrong about her. Thinking she was nothing more than a stubborn, hard-ass, ungrateful woman with no filter and a dirty mouth was wrong. Maybe there was much more depth to her than he initially thought. That there was more to her than just enticing curves, kick-ass heels, and that stone-cold bitch look she had down to a T. After all, Hunter should be the last person to judge. God knew he had shit of his own, and some fucked up ways to deal with it all. The world was a screwed up place, and everyone had their own demons to fight—some just more than others. And he knew right from the get-go that this woman had her own demons to fight…just like him. What he wondered was how big those demons were. What was she running from? Why did she pretend to be this hard-ass woman when Hunter saw glimpses of a softer, more vulnerable Scarlet?

Maybe that was how she coped with everything, pretending to not give a shit in order to protect herself from getting hurt.Just. Like. Him.

Dammit. Now he felt like a complete asshole over what he said to her back in Adam’s garage. Sure, the only reason he kissed her was to get her to calm the fuck down. But did he have to be such a douche about it? Probably not. And truth be told, kissing her felt real fucking good. Too good. Those full, soft lips of hers kissed the oxygen right out of him. Kissing her was hot and wild, like there were no limits, no reservations, and no rules. Just take it all and give it back just as hard. It made him wonder what it would be like to be with her, to have her body in every way.

Then there was the whole pinning Scarlet against the window of his apartment thing. Touching her, pushing his finger inside her, feeling how ready her body was to take him had his cock throbbing with the need to fuck her. It had been years since Hunter experienced that kind of need, that kind of pressing ache to be inside a woman, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t feel awesome experiencing such a powerful sense of desire again.

He snuck another glance her way. She still hadn’t moved an inch in her seat.

“Scar—”

“Don’t. I’m not telling you anything more, so don’t even try.”

“If you want me to help you, you have to tell me.”

Finally, she turned to face him, but her expression was nothing but cold, hard stone. “I’m only going to say this one more time. I did not ask for your help. Neither do I need your help.”

Abruptly, Hunter slammed on the brakes, and Scarlet barely managed to not hit her head on the dashboard.

“Let’s get one thing straight, shall we. I am sick and tired of you pretending you don’t need my help when you and I both know that if it wasn’t for me, your ass would have been back to wherever the fuck this Wolfe guy is by now. You might think you had everything under control, but think again. I saved your ass while putting my own ass on the line. Yet here you are giving me nothing but shit about helping you.”

Scarlet snorted. “I don’t think kissing me in a damn elevator after finger fucking me against your window qualifies as helping.”

Hunter held up a finger. “The kissing in the elevator part was helping, actually. I got you to get a fucking grip on yourself, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. And you made it perfectly clear that was all you were doing. Helping me get a grip.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,Blanchette. Did I hurt your feelings?”

And then she punched him in the face. Granted, it wasn’t the best punch ever, but it was good enough to make him shut up.

He looked at her, her eyes shooting sharp daggers straight at his forehead. The amount of anger oozing out of her was downright toxic…and fucking wild. Suddenly, all Hunter wanted to do was kiss her again. He wanted to kiss her until he didn’t know where his lips ended and hers began. He wanted to kiss her so damn hard that both of them would be unable to fucking breathe. But this time it wouldn’t be to help her get a grip over herself, to settle her anger. Oh no. He wanted it all directed at him, her anger, her fury, and he wanted her to go fucking crazy wild while they screwed each other senseless.

Without taking her eyes off him, she whispered through clenched teeth, seemingly seething with anger, “Do not call me that again.Ever.”

That was the moment Hunter realized this woman had so many secrets, so many demons she carried around inside her, she was basically the female version of him.

After a long moment of just staring at her, thinking about where this strong need to help her came from, it dawned on him that maybe it was because he couldn’t helpher—Blue. The one person he had vowed to always protect—but failed. Maybe Scarlet was his chance at redemption, to finally atone for letting down the love of his life so many years ago, and in turn losing her. Maybe this was the universe’s way of letting him find the forgiveness he was never willing to give himself. A way for him to not feel like shit every goddamn day of his life.

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