Page 67 of Behind the Scenes

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

Hunter looked at him, confused. “What are you talking about? I’m trying to find the person who’s stalking her. Did you forget what the hell we’re working on?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Gideon said, staring at him with a strange look in his eyes. “You can’t stop looking at her. Are you two…”

“Stop. This is the job. I’m supposed to keep my eye on her, remember?”

Gideon turned to look at Alexis, and Hunter saw her glance over and smile, knowing she probably wanted him to come over. He didn’t want his friend to think anything was going on between them, though.

Turning back to face him, Gideon studied him for a moment. “I’m seeing something here, man. She looks at you like you’re some kind of hero to her, her knight in shining armor, and you’re practically climbing out of your skin with the need to go to her. What’s going on with you two?”

Looking away to hide how he truly felt, Hunter said, “Nothing. Don’t be stupid. I’m doing my job.”

In a voice he was sure both Alexis and Persephone heard, Gideon said, “Holy shit! You slept with her? You dog!”

Hunter cringed at how loudly he said that. “For Christ’s sake, keep your voice down.”

“Damn! You didn’t even know who she was before you got this case. I’m impressed, man. I wasn’t sure you had it in you. So what’s going on?”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Gideon, who at the moment sounded more like a high school kid than a grown man. “Nothing. Just do your job and stop acting like a teenage girl. She doesn’t need you getting into her business.”

Gideon’s smile spread until it practically reached from ear to ear. “You sound pretty protective there, buddy.”

Hunter looked over at Alexis and she smiled at him. He couldn’t help but be happy, but then Persephone turned around to face him and scowled.

Gideon watched the whole thing and mumbled under his breath, “Damn, she looks pissed.”

Why wouldn’t she be? Hunter understood he’d broken one of the group’s cardinal rules. It was bad enough that he’d gotten involved with Alexis, but by bringing her here, he’d definitely stepped out of line.

And he knew he’d pay the price for it.

Persephone patted Alexis on the arm and then turned toward the two men. “Gideon, I think you’ve had enough time to get Hunter caught up on what you’ve found out so far. Time to get back to the lab and see what you can find from that delivery we got. Alexis, it was a pleasure to meet you. Please be sure to stop at the main house before you leave so we can have that tour I promised.”

With that, Persephone motioned to Gideon that he needed to leave, and Hunter was finally alone with Alexis, at last.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Your boss seemsreally nice. She obviously thinks the world of you,” Alexis said sweetly.

Hunter arched a single eyebrow and chuckled. “I think she was putting on her nice face for you. I’m guessing I’m one of her least favorite people right about now.”

“Is she angry we’re here?” Alexis asked, worry making her frown.

Shaking his head, he smiled and pulled her to him. “No, she’ll be fine. Her boyfriend likes how I do the job, so even if she’s upset, Nick will smooth things over.”

That wasn’t exactly the truth, but she didn’t need to know just how much trouble he was in.

She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “I’d hate it if you got reprimanded because of me, Hunter. Why didn’t you tell me no when I asked? I wouldn’t have been mad. We could have gone anywhere. I wouldn’t have cared. As long as I was away from that penthouse…”

Alexis didn’t finish her sentence and looked down, avoiding his gaze before adding, “…and with you, that’s all it would have taken to make me happy.”

As he watched her cheeks grow pink, he knew Persephone had been wrong. He wasn’t the only one too attached. For now, he wanted to let himself enjoy the fact that a beautiful and famous actress wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. They’d deal with the reality of their lives later.

This moment was reserved for them to be happy.

Tilting her chin up, he looked down into her dark brown eyes and felt himself begin to get lost in her beauty, both inside and out. If he’d found out he’d been right about her being just another Hollywood diva, it wouldn’t have mattered how stunning she looked. But in the short time they’d spent together, he’d seen something in her he hadn’t expected.

A sweetness and goodness he didn’t think existed in people anymore. All she wanted was to be happy and make movies her fans would love. That girl from Minnesota Lauren told him about right after he arrived at the penthouse still lived inside Alexis. Unlike with other stars, she hadn’t shed who she was before she became famous.

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