Page 58 of X My Heart

“Yeah, too bad I play for the other team.” He snorts.

I grin, taking a sip from my drink. “I didn’t picture you as a Shirley Temple guy.”

He rolls his eyes. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Shorty.”

“I’m starting to figure that out.”

He stares out to the dance floor and I study him from the corners of my eyes. “Did a lot of fucked up things in my life I’m not proud of, but living with Drew and Jay isn’t one of them. I owe them more than my life.” Tim spins Drew around on the elevated dancefloor, and Hunter laughs.

“We all deserve a second chance. Jay got one with you guys,” I tell him.

Hunter nods. “Jay keeps lecturing me about second chances. But living with your mistakes, without letting them consume you, is something entirely different.”

“I know,” I say, taking a sip from my drink. “When are you going back on tour?” I ask, trying to push the conversation in a lighter direction.

Hunter tells me about the upcoming tour, clinics and sponsor events planned. I love listening to the way he talks. And for the first time in weeks, I’m starting to feel better. The numbness in my hands seems to subside, and I’m not so dizzy anymore.

“Look at them,” he says, dipping his chin in the direction of Drew and Timothy, still dancing. Tim has lost his jacket, his white dress shirt straining across his muscled arms and chest. Drew’s hair is tousled and a satisfied smile lights up his face. I grin. The culprit seems to be Tim’s hands. They disappear into Drew’s long locks, and the boys kiss.

“That’s nauseatingly sweet,” Hunter mutters. “You wanna dance? And show those assholes how it’s done?”

“Let’s go.” I smile. He takes my hand and spins me around until we’re on the dancefloor.

I lose my footing.

“Whoa, you okay?” he asks, holding me close to his chest.

“Lost my balance there for a second.”

He pushes my hair behind my ear, the pad of his thumb moving over my cheekbone.

“Hunter,” I whisper, staring into his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then don’t,” he counters, running his knuckles over my jaw. I tremble in his arms, and his eyes go big.

“I want to have some fun,” I confess.

“I know. You’ve told me that a couple of times,” he says, chuckling, still caressing my cheek. “We could take it to the bedroom next time?” he asks, resting his forehead against mine. “Let me kiss you again, babe.”

I swallow hard. “I might let you.”

His cocky grin is gone before I can blink, his lips meet mine and I have trouble standing on my own two feet again. First, he kisses the left corner of my mouth, then the right. His tongue dips in the middle, and his piercing pushes against my bottom lip. The way the metal teases me is intoxicating. Kissing me deeply he takes my breath away. My chest is rising and falling. My nipples stiffen from the sensation. His pupils are wide with lust as his ocean eyes track down my face and back to my lips again. He clutches my hand and closes the small distance between us, until we are stomach to stomach, his erection presses against my belly almost painfully, and I shiver in anticipation.

He tilts my chin up, leaning down his breath feels cool on my wet lips, before he smashes them to mine. I melt into his chest. He tastes like cherries, and I groan, as our tongues tangle.

“Fuck, Sky,” he murmurs against my lips. I moan into his mouth and he deepens the kiss like he feels it too. It’s all consuming, and scary at the same time because I know I never want to kiss anyone else for the rest of my time.

Pulling back, a slow, roguish smile spreads across his lips.

“That was …” I whisper.

“Fun?” he finishes for me.

I’m speechless. I’m in big trouble. Our kiss wasn’t fun; it was life-changing.

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