Page 40 of Bad Love

Instead I kiss him back as if he’s life and I’mdying.

I thought I’d scraped the bottom of my desire in those guilty looks at Hunter earlier. I was wrong. The bottom was a delusion, one that stretched and gave way under the force of Hunter under me, around me. Hurtling me deeper, farther, faster toward some destination I’ve neverseen.

The box in the darkest corner of my brain gives way, and it’s as if Bad Kendall was waiting there all along to catch me in a moment ofweakness.

I'm grabbed by strong hands and hauled into his lap. My squeak of protest fades as my legs settle on either side of his hips. His thighs are hard, and betweenthem…

He's harderstill.

I grind my hips against his erection as my hands stroke down his shoulders, lingering on his chest, finding the hard ridges of muscle I’m suddenly desperate to touch without soft fabric impeding myhands.

He groans his approval of all of it, dragging me closer, holding me tight tohim.

I'm on top, but Hunter's driving this freight train. He grabs the back of my shirt and twists, pulling it tight over my breasts, making it stretch and drag across my sensitiveskin.

His hand cups me through the thin T-shirt, finding my tight nipple and twisting it hard enough to send sharp twinges that make me buck againsthim.

My teeth sink into his lip and he half laughs, halfgroans.

It's not foreplay. It's a destination of its own, this burning world halfway between heaven and hell. It's a gateway to a biggerdesire.

And it terrifies me how much I wantit.

Hunter's mouth traces a hot line up to my ear, his tongue ring flicking against my lobe and making me gasp. When his hands reach inside my yoga pants to grab my ass, rubbing me on his impossibly hard groin, I'm reduced to a pile of pantingneed.

"Say the word," Hunter murmurs against my skin. "Say it and we'll make memories,Peach."

My eyes squeeze shut. He's temptation incarnate, and I'm desperate to hand over the reins and let himgo.

But noise in the hall outside captures myattention.

The creak of thedoor.

"Bloodyhell."

I shoot off Hunter's lap a moment toolate.

Because the door's open and my kid's standing in the doorway with his friend Mitchell and Mitchell’s mother, Nadine, behind him, her mouth a perfectly paintedO.

9

Icameto Kendall’s place to get her to know her better. To convince her to like me because we’re working together and we need to be on the samepage.

Our conversation was not supposed to take a sharp turn towardpersonal.

But the things she said aboutme…

They’re wrong. I know exactly what I want—to keep doing what I’mdoing.

I’m the poster child for reckless fun, but she makes me want to take another look at what I’m doing and whom I’m doing itwith.

Sometime in the last thirty minutes, sitting across from her in her Heart T-shirt and yoga pants, looking fresh-faced in her modest apartment, I realizedsomething.

She’s not only smart and serious andcute.

She’sperceptive.

Andstubborn.

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