Page 126 of Resurgent

“Hunter…”

He pulls back just enough to look at me, breathing hard.

“Tell me to stop.”

I should. But I don’t.

A low sound catches in his throat as his hands tighten at my waist, lifting me onto the counter in one smooth motion and pressing himself between my legs.

His mouth moves from mine to my jaw, then pauses just beneath my ear, “Say red if you want me to stop, okay?”

For a second, I try to remember where I’ve heard that before, then go wide with recognition. My room. My dream man who instructed but wouldn’t touch.

But he’s more than happy to touch now, and so am I.

“Ooh! Aren’t you two looking all dark and daring?” Mattey calls, walking into the kitchen as if he can’t see what he’s obviously interrupting.

“Now I know I locked the doors,” Hunter groans into my hair.

“Yup! You did—so proud of you! But…I’m hungry, and since Lee wasn’t in her room, I figured she was out here cooking up something delicious.”

“Mattey—”

“What? I’m a hungry boy, Lee. And you can’t expect me to eat alone.”

“Alone? Literally all of our friends eat lunch in the dining hall.”

“Well, yeah…but Theo’s eating with them, and you know I can’t stand that guy.”

A response is just on the tip of my tongue when Hunter turns around, joining Matt in turning lunch into a Theo bash session as they list all the things they find weird and annoying about him, and I go back to stirring the boiling pot of noodles beside me.

Chapter thirty-seven

Annalise

"Please come out with us," Emily begs for what must be the tenth time already this morning.

Sasha grimaces, but only I can see it from her spot behind Em,

"It's okay if you aren't feeling up to it yet," she offers.

"Uhm, nooo. It isn't!" Emily argues, bumping my shoulder as we walk into the courtyard. "I haven't seen you in weeks because guard dog Matt hasn't let anyone near your room while you were healing. But you're all better now and that calls for a celebration!!”

"Fiiine, I'm in," I concede, "but remind me why we can't invite Matt?"

"Because it's GIRLS night and last I checked, he's not a girl."

"But it's Matt. It's not like he's going to do anything, and I'm sure Lee would feel more comfortable," Sasha tries to argue on my behalf.

"I don't think she's at risk of a rockslide in downtown Ravenwood, Sasha...Unless I'm missing another reason Annalise would need her bodyguard?" Emily asks, eyebrows raised, waiting for us to argue.

"Are you sure it's not too soon?" Tyr asks. None of his personal feelings on the matter leaking through, just a straightforward question.

"I'll be totally fine," I say, both to Tyr and to Emily as we part ways for the night.

"Matt is going to lose his shit when I tell him, though," I tell Tyr, and now, his amusement pours through.

"Oh, I know, and I can't wait."