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Lexi
That was so brutal. I never expected Hunter’s family to be so cold. Mind you, I can see where he gets it. But it’s more than that. He maintains a façade but I see behind that. He feels—very much as it happens, as Harry demonstrates. Thinking about my own situation, I kind of understand what happened back there. On the flight home Hunter told me about the conversation with his father and having met his mother, I can’t blame him.
However, there are demons behind Hunter’s eyes that I am keen to help him with, so as soon as we get back, I say firmly, “Let’s grab a drink. I want to know about your real father.”
Hunter looks shocked and I stand firm. “If I’m going to protect you, I need to know what I’m dealing with. He could be the one we need to find, so don’t fight me on this, I never lose.”
The spark in his eyes excites me as he stares at me with a look that could melt the Arctic. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You stay in my room from now on, after all, I need much closer protection than I first thought.”
“Is that a fact?”
I can’t disguise the smirk on my face, or the desire in my eyes apparently because he flashes me a triumphant look and says quickly, “Agreed.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t need to.”
He steps a little closer and wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close. “I unburden my soul to you and I own you for the night, anything I want.”
“Anything?”
My knees feel suddenly weak as I see the purpose in his eyes and he nods, the intense look in them burning a trail to my rule book and setting it on fire.
“Only if the information is worth it.”
“It will be, trust me.”
Sighing, he pulls away and I feel disappointed already. For some reason, I want to be close to him at all times and that surprises me more than anything. As I follow him inside, I curl up on the couch as he pours us a couple of brandies and sits beside me with a deep sigh.
“Mom has always been the same, ambitious and not afraid to take what she wants. I believe she met my father in the social circles they mixed in. He was the most eligible catch in the city and she had her eyes on the prize.”
“Sounds familiar.” Taking his hand, I smile and he nods. “Not by choice, honey, in my case, anyway.”
He leans back and pulls me against him, and I love how intimate this feels. I’ve never had this before, not really, not with someone who intrigues me as much as he does.
“He had his sight set on someone else and mom was unhappy about that, so she made it her business to split them up and after a few favors called in, she succeeded.”
“How?”
“She blackmailed a guy she caught fucking an underage girl at a party one night. She told him to set up the other woman and take photographs at a party they went to. The evidence was sent to the press and the guy she wanted - my father was humiliated. Mom was on hand to pick up the pieces and it turns out he fucked her to hurt his girlfriend.”
“Why would it hurt her?”
“Because the other woman was my Aunt Jasmin.”
I stare at him in horror, and he nods. “Mom’s sister no less. I told you she was ruthless.”
“Anyway, as it turns out they never used protection and I became a big problem.”
“Some things never change.”
I smile to lighten the atmosphere, and he shrugs. “Guilty as charged. Anyway, mom thought that was all she needed to do. Get pregnant and he would do the decent thing. He didn’t. He never wanted my mom, and his family were way more powerful than hers. So, he cut her off and gave her money for an abortion.”
His words make my heart bleed and I say sadly, “I’m sorry, Hunter.”
