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She swallowed down her initial humiliation as the sincerity in his eyes made her pause. “So... if not sex, what will your move be?”
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “To make you trust me.”
“I... do.”
“On the surface, but I mean every part of you trusting me. I’ll never hurt you, I’ll always be here for you, and I’ll make sure the hot sex we have, when we finally have it again, will blow your mind. But that’s only a small part of it. My move isn’t about burying my cock into your hot, sweet center and hearing you scream my name until your throat is raw. I’m here to make you happy. And I need you to know that.”
Cleo’s breathing grew shallow. That wasn’t fair. Hunter was undoing her with his words. His touch was delicious and his kisses were intense, but it was those words that hit her heart.
If only she hadn’t heard the same thing before, from someone she once loved and trusted. Someone who promised he’d never betray her, but then let her down and ruined her, tearing apart the fantasy she’d built for them.
“Hey, I’m right here. I’m never leaving your side, and I’m never giving up on us. But I’m done hiding from this. We both want it,” Hunter said softly.
Cleo tensed in his arms. “I’m not sure what I want. How about we focus on staying alive and getting rid of this damned poison? We need to deal with our immediate problems first.”
“You see me as a problem?”
“I see you as a challenge. A... puzzle.”
Hunter’s lips grazed hers, but she didn’t miss the flicker of disappointment in his eyes. “I’m hiding nothing from you. There’s no mystery with me. But you’re right. We’ll defeat the Siblet. That must come first.”
Cleo ignored the stab of regret that Hunter didn’t push her for more, or stroke her skin again, or press that tempting mouth to hers. Work had to come first.
“Before I let you go, I need you to be crystal clear on what I want and that I won’t wait around for much longer.”
A tight sensation filled her chest. “What do you want?”
“You, Cleo. I want all of you.”
“And if I don’t want that?”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “If you can truly convince me you have no interest, and you don’t want to be my partner, then I’ll walk away.”
Panic flashed through her mind. There was no way she wanted Hunter gone. “I value you as my work partner.”
He shook his head. “Not that. I don’t care about work. I care about you finding a space in your heart for me. No, not a space. I want you to long for me the way I do you. I need you, Cleo. And I can smell your desire and taste it when we kiss. You want this, and you can only deny me for so long.”
She leaned forward until they were almost nose-to-nose. “I’ve done pretty well so far.”
“That’s because I wasn’t trying. I figured I would wait you out, slowly chip away at those defences. But now you’re determined to put yourself at risk, and it would kill me if I’d never really tried with you. If I’d never told you how I felt and how much I wanted you. Only you. No one else. Not ever.”
Cleo forced Hunter away with a firm thrust of her hand. She stood, not entirely trusting her shaking limbs, and took a step away. This was terrifying, but also incredible. She shouldn’t let him in, but how could she stop this, when it sounded so amazing?
Hunter arched an eyebrow. “Are you ready?”
She turned away. “Let’s get to work.”
