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Hunter
This is most inconvenient.
I am so angry at myself. Why did I allow myself to be controlled in this way? Lexi looks worried as she sits beside me, and I am in a dark place right now. I always am when I have to see them.
After what was probably the most intense sex of my life, I wanted nothing more than to wrap Lexi in my arms and spend the rest of the day in bed, but a certain phone call made it impossible and so here we are, side by side in my helicopter, heading off to the Hamptons because my mom told me to.
Lexi’s fingers are laced with mine, which is becoming like oxygen to me. Some form of contact is a necessity with this woman and now everything has changed between us.
As soon as we dropped onto the bed in satisfied exhaustion, I loved how she curled up beside me, her head resting on my chest. It would have been so easy to close my eyes and sleep before waking up and doing it all over again. Then the phone rang, and we heard the clipped tones of my mother on the answerphone demanding our attention, so reluctantly we showered, dressed and are now flying into hell.
“It will be fine.”
Lexi’s soft voice wafts toward me and I squeeze her hand a little tighter.
“Keep telling yourself that, I’ll ask you again on the return trip.”
“Surely they’re not that bad.”
“They are, trust me, I’m an angel in comparison.”
“Then we are screwed.”
She laughs softly and I wonder what she’ll make of them. My earliest memory of mom is not a good one, and they never got any better. My father has been missing in action ever since I can remember, mainly working to maintain distance from the woman who runs this family like a dictator. My siblings crawl up her ass on a daily basis and nobody dares go against her. Nobody but me. That’s why we have a fractured relationship. She can’t control me, and she hates every fucking minute of it. She hates that I’ve made my own way and risen out of her control. She still tries though and the fact she learned of Lexi from a so-called friend will not improve her mood.
As the helicopter sweeps over the impressive estate my parent’s own, I taste the bitterness of a life spent here trying to measure up. I never did. The cuckoo in the perfect nest who made it his mission not to get along with his siblings.
Adam hates me, Bea is fascinated by me, and I wonder what Lexi will make of that.
We land on the lawn and wait for the rotor blades to stop before thanking the pilot and heading off to purgatory. Lexi is mainly quiet, probably concerned about my shitty mood, and yet I can’t drag myself out from under the cloud that always engulfs me when my family calls.
Grasping her hand, I tear across the lawn to the house and see we have a welcoming committee, drinks in hand, watching us from their seats set on the terrace.
My eyes immediately catch my mom’s and I don’t miss the sharp look she drags over Lexi as we approach.
“Nice of you to honor us with your company.”
Mom stands and looks at me with derision before turning her attention to the woman beside me.
“And you are?”
Before I can deliver my reply to that, Lexi steps forward and smiles so brilliantly, mom should be reaching for her shades right now.
“Hi, Mrs. Blake, it’s so lovely to meet you. I’m Lexi and please accept our apologies for flying in so late. Unfortunately, something came up, and it was an extremely hard decision to delay our arrival.”
Mom almost rolls her eyes as I smirk and just nods. “I’m sure you have your reasons; the details are irrelevant.”
She turns to my father. “Aren’t you going to welcome our guest?”
He nods to me and smiles at Lexi. “I’m interested to meet the woman who has chosen a difficult path in life.”
Lexi holds out her hand. “If you’re referring to your son, what can I say, I love a challenge and somebody has to do it, after all.”
He half smiles and drops her hand and I couldn’t hate my parents any more if I tried right now, which is surprising because I thought I had already reached the maximum level of hatred for them.
Adam heads across and takes Lexi’s hand and smiles, his eyes undressing her as he rolls his thumb over her hand and squeezes it just a little longer than necessary. Lexi stiffens a little and I’m almost hoping to see him laid out cold just for the thoughts in his head, but am satisfied instead when she pulls her hand away sharply and nods. “You must be Adam, I’m sorry, that’s all Hunter has told me.”
“Well, he’s told us nothing about you. I wonder why that is?”
