Page 71 of Hunter

When I came back down, I was breathing heavily and feeling boneless.

I didn’t want to move.

I wanted to lie there and think of Xavier and touch myself…

Or better yet, invite him over to touch me.

I was becoming slightly obsessed with him, and I didn’t think this would go away any time soon.

Or at all.

I was in way over my head.

15

RYLEIGH

The day passedby in a blur.

With all the excitement that had happened this morning, I almost forgot that the man who attacked me lived in this apartment building.

And considering I stopped Xavier before he could kill him, I imagined the man was probably back in his apartment, recovering. The thought that I might run into him was unnerving.

It almost made me want to stay holed up in my apartment for the rest of the day, but the thought just pissed me off.

The chance of me running into him today was nil, and I wasn’t going to be made to fear my own place of living.

Besides, I still had to go grocery shopping.

I couldn’t possibly stay holed up in my apartment, and I refused to let him take anything else from me, least of all, my peace of mind.

I had wanted to call Xavier, but I remembered I never asked him for his number. Which I supposed was a good thing, considering I didn’t want to come off as clingy when we were still getting to know each other.

I frowned.

I didn’t know what he did for a living, only that he would be gone for most of the day and night because of it.

I should have asked him, but that was the last thing I was worried about.

I should just try to get him out of my mind and focus on my day.

Everything would be fine.

I tried to shift my thoughts as I put on my shoes and got ready to go grocery shopping after finishing my work quota for the day.

Most of my work consisted of meeting with the writers and re-editing the work I had already submitted, so it had been an easy workday. It helped to take my mind off of things, including how things were going with Xavier. Still, now that I no longer had my job to distract me, I was a mix of conflicting emotions—excitement, fear, and anger.

It didn’t help that I turned on the news earlier, and most of the reporting was about the activities of the King’s Men MC. It was mostly focused on the club president, Dominic Madden, and how he bought up businesses all over Sacramento. Most of them were related to the party scene, from nightclubs to bars and restaurants, though there was a report that he purchased a salon in the mix.

To the more naïve population, he might seem to be a savvy businessman.

But I knew better.

Fortunately, there had been no reporting about their VP. It seemed he was staying out of the limelight since his release, and I counted that as a blessing. I had only seen a brief picture of the man before his sentence, but it was so long ago that I barely remembered his appearance.

It would be best if he stayed as far away from my life as possible.

I didn’t want to hear about the King’s Men MC anymore.