But I don’t. I keep my grip firm, locking eyes with him—his dark brown searing into me. There’s heat in his stare, full of anger, pain, and something else simmering beneath. Something dangerous. Something I want. My gaze travels down to his mouth, and an ache throbs in my chest.
The pull between us feels magnetic, inevitable, like the tide being drawn by the moon.
Hunter’s breath hitches as his lips twitch. He looks up at me, uncertain. I wonder if he can hear how loud my heart is beating in my chest, pounding against my ribs.
“You’re such a dick,” he says again, softer this time.
“I know,” I concede before closing the gap between us.
The kiss is messy and rough and fucking perfect.
My hands frame his face, thumbs brushing his smooth cheeks as I tug him closer. His lips are plush and sweet, parting under mine as my tongue glides past them, hungry to taste all of him. He exhales sharply when my tongue slides against his, and that sound—the low, desperate groan in his throat—sends fire ravaging through my chest.
I press forward until his back hits the rough bark of a tree, the thud breaking the rhythm of our kiss. He gasps, and I take advantage, deepening it, devouring him like I’ve wanted to since the moment I first saw him.
He grasps at my shoulders, then the back of my neck, fingers tugging on my hair. The world around us fades—the rustle of leaves, the lapping of the lake—until there’s nothing left but the two of us, burning in the quiet.
My knee slides between his legs, and he lets out a soft, helpless sound that makes my heart clench. He’s already half-hard, straining against those impossibly tight shorts, and when he groans into the kiss—fisting my shirt and grinding down against my thigh—it takes everything in me not to lose control right there.
Fuck, this is even better than I’d imagined. I wantmore—but not here.
“Hunter,” I breathe against his lips, forcing myself to pull back. My pulse pounds in my ears as I drag in a shaky breath. “Wait. We can’t do this here.”
He blinks up at me, dazed and flushed, pupils blown wide. “Why not?”
“It’s… public,” I manage, glancing over his shoulder toward the trees. “Someone could see us.”
His eyes dart around the empty trail, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. “Who’s gonna seeus? A squirrel?”
I shake my head, teeth clenched. “I can’t risk it.”
He swallows hard, chest rising fast. “Fine. Then let’s go somewhere private. I know a place. Come on.”
Before I can argue, he grabs my wrist and pulls me down the trail, our footsteps crunching over gravel and fallen leaves. My chest tightens as we stop in front of a small shed, its walls swallowed by moss and vines. A weathered sign hangs above the door:D.N.R. Personnel Only.
He extracts a key from his pocket and unfastens the padlock.
“What is this place?” I ask, still breathless.
“The park rangers keep equipment in here for maintaining the trails and first-aid supplies. They lent me a key this summer for emergency purposes,” he explains, pushing open the door.
The rusty hinges creak. I peek inside, eyes squinting through the dark. It smells like dirt and rust. Rakes, shovels, and coils of rope hang from the walls.
I hesitate at the threshold. “I don’t think this counts as an emergency.”
He turns back to me, something dark and daring in his eyes. “I beg to differ,” he growls before pulling me inside.
With more force than I’d expect from someone his size, Hunter shoves me against the door. My back thuds on the wood and rattles the frame. His hands slide beneath my shirt, exploring the valleys and mountains of my muscles.
His mouth finds my throat, trailing with hot kisses. His fingers press into my hips, and the sight of his yellow-painted nails digging into my skin makes my dick jolt. He grinds against my thigh, needy, and the friction tears a sharp and strangled moan out of me. I slam my head against the door and bare more of my neck to him.
“Fuck,” I groan as his lips trace along my sensitive skin. “Please, kiss me.”
I hate how desperate I sound, but Hunter doesn’t hesitate. He crashes his mouth into mine, lips fierce, tongue slick and demanding. He whimpers into the kiss, body melting against me, and I can’t get him closeenough—
Until suddenly, he freezes and breaks the kiss.
“Wait,” he pants. “Is this your first time? With a guy, I mean?”
