No reply. Only the muscle in his jaw ticks.
“Hunter…”
“Piper, shut your fucking mouth. I’m barely holding it together as it is, not to pull this car over and fuck you raw to remind you exactly who you belong to. And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you let another man put his filthy hands on you. Your arse deserves a spanking for that alone.”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I refuse to examine what that says about me.
“Stop the car.”
He ignores me.
“Stop the car!” I shout.
This time, he does.
He slams on the brakes without warning, and the tyres screech against the road.
I unfasten my seatbelt and climb out of the car.
Tilting my head back, I stare up at the night sky as the wind catches my hair.
A moment later, I hear Hunter leave the car too.
I keep my eyes closed as I speak.
“Why can’t you just let me be?”
He says nothing.
“Hunter, too much has happened.”
“Your point?”
I turn to face him.
“I was married to your father while I slept with you. I lied to you. I kept the truth from you. People don’t simply recover from something like that. You say you want me now, but one day you’ll resent me. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But eventually, you will.”
My voice breaks into a shout by the end.
“You killed him because of me. You might not feel it now, but youwillresent me.”
He simply stares at me.
“I killed him because he touched you. And because he murdered my mother.”
I freeze.
Shock slams into me.
“Hunter,” I whisper.
He doesn’t let me finish.
“Tell me, is this about that absurd notion that I can’t love you? Because, for fuck’s sake, what do you want me to say?”
A tear rolls down my cheek.
“I do fucking love you, Piper!” His jaw tightens as he says it. “More than anything in this world. And love is a pathetic fucking word for it. It doesn’t begin to cover what I feel for you.”
