Page 75 of Regret

Chapter 23

Hunter leaned his head back against the wall. He had been sitting outside the bedroom for an hour waiting for her to open up the door, to give him something. Anything. Just a clue as to what the fuck was going on, and what he needed to do to make it better.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew they lived in one fucked up world, and that bad things happened to good people all the time. It didn’t take being a genius to figure out that her so-called cousin had done something to her—something that broke her, hurt her. The way she thrashed and screamed in her sleep that morning, scaring the shit out him, all pointed to one thing—and it scared him.

He wasn’t so sure if he wanted to know the truth anymore. Just thinking about what that son of bitch had to have done to her that had her so messed up made his blood boil. It was like he had this deep rooted need to protect her, but also to defend her, to make this man pay for whatever the fuck he did to her.

While thinking of at least fifty different ways to make this asshole pay, the bedroom door opened and Hunter jumped up.

Scarlet stood by the door looking…looking fucking hot. Her hair was sleeked down over her shoulders, lips painted cherry red, blue eyes framed with dark eyelashes. And the red sleeveless dress she wore showed more skin than it covered. The high heeled boots coming up to her knees were like the fucking cherry on top of the sexy.Good God. His cock liked it too.

“Where are you going?” His gaze moved up and down her body, unable to get enough of the sight.

“Out.”

He looked up. “What?”

“I can’t sit here anymore. I need to get out.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. There’s a bar I saw yesterday just around the corner.”

“Scarlet, how can I put this in a way that you would understand?” He rubbed the back of his neck then stared her straight in the eye. “No. Fucking. Way.”

With her hands on her hips, she stared right back at him. “I’m going. And you can’t stop me.”

His head was still spinning, trying to figure out if this damn woman was psycho or just plain fucking stupid, when she turned around, her heels clicking down the stairs.

“Scarlet! Are you insane?”

“No. But I do have cabin fever.”

He stomped after her. “Cabin fever? We’ve only been here for two days.”

“I get cabin fever pretty quick.”

“You’re not going anywhere, you hear me? I can’t protect you when you’re out there on your own.”

She turned around and glared at him. “Then come with me. But either way, I’m going. I can’t breathe here. I need music. I need people. I need to let go, even just for a fucking night. Okay?”

He noticed she was biting her bottom lip, and something inside him settled a little, telling him to back off and let her do what she needed to do.

“Fine. But I’m coming with.”

She smiled. “Great.”

“Fuck me,” he muttered to himself, and watched as she walked out the front door.

With a long sigh and a few F-bombs he grabbed the keys and walked out behind her. She was standing next to the car with her back toward him and all he could think about was how damn hot she looked. The way that dress hugged her curves like a second skin, her hips accentuated perfectly under the red fabric. It felt like she was born for no other reason than to torture his dick.

He stepped up beside her. “You look nice.” And he opened the door for her.

“You need to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Being nice.” They looked at each other, her blue eyes cold and hard. She was first to break eye contact, and slipped into the car before he closed the door.

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