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“Hunter?” Just from her voice, I know Presley is gone and my Cat is back. “You’re finished already?”
Rather than answering, I pull her into my arms, needing her close to me. She doesn’t hesitate when her arms wrap around my waist. Behind her back, I shove the piece of paper between the cushions of the couch.
Since finding out the truth about Presley, Scarlett, and Athena, Cat hasn’t pressed for the reason why she is the way she is. In the back of her mind, she knows, but her subconscious is still protecting her. I haven’t forced the issue because I’m not ready to face what the truth will do to her.
One day I will be, but not yet.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Caterina
Isnap awake, a loud piercing scream filling my ears. I slap my hands over them, trying to block out the horrible noise. My throat feels scratchy and raw, and it’s only then that I realize I’m the source of the eerie sound.
“Cat!” A voice barks and then a face appears in front of me.
Hunter.
He’s so close I can feel the heat of his heavy breathing. My mouth snaps shut and the screaming abruptly stops.
“Jesus Christ, baby,” he mutters, pulling my hands down from my ears.
“Hunter,” I croak. Even just that single word makes my throat ache.
He turns the lamp on and it momentarily blinds me. Then he’s back in front of me, his big, rough hands framing my face.
“What in the fuck was that?” he asks, his own voice hoarse. “You’ve never screamed like that before.”
Tears start streaming down my face like rivers as my bottom lip wobbles. Visions from my nightmare flash through my mind. Visions I don’t want to see and refuse to acknowledge. Ones I’ve fought so hard to hide from.
I shake my head hard, dislodging his hands from my cheeks. I put my hands on his chest and push him back. Catching him by surprise, he falls to his back, and before he can sit up, I’ve crawled my way on top of him, straddling his waist.
“Cat?” he questions. “What are you doing?”
I lean down until my face is only inches from him. “Fuck me, Hunter.” A tear drops and lands on his cheek. “It hurts. Make me forget. Make everything go away again.”
His expression softens as understanding dawns. He lifts a hand and curls it against the side of my face, sliding his fingers through my hair. “Baby,” he whispers. So much feeling is in that single word.
“P-please,” I whimper. “I’m not ready yet. I need more time.”
I know my time living in a blissful make-believe world is coming to an end. The whispers of memories have been trying to push past the wall in my mind more and more lately. I’ve hidden from them for so long, refusing to allow them to see the light of day. I’m afraid to let them out. I’m afraid they’ll drag me down into a black abyss from which I won’t be able to escape. But no matter how much I fear them, I know I need to let them out. It’s time for me to release them and face them. It’s the only way I’ll ever be whole again. It’s the only way to be the wife Hunter truly deserves.
Grabbing my waist, Hunter rolls me so that I’m on my back and he’s hovering above me. He’s barely settled between my legs when I jerk my tank top off. My movements are frantic as I reach for my sleep shorts.
“Slow down, Cat,” he says calmly.
“No,” I shake my head heedlessly. “I can’t wait. I need you right now.”
He sits back on his heels, his hands moving to mine as I wiggle the shorts down my legs.
“Baby, I’ll give you what you want. Just give me a minute.”
I shake my head again. “No. I don’t want to wait. I don’t want soft. I don’t want slow. I want you to fuck me. Take me like you take Scarlett.”
He frowns and a small amount of surprise fills his eyes. I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud, but now that the words are out, I don’t want to take them back. I want Hunter raw. Unrestrained. So delirious with lust that he loses control. It pains me to know Scarlett has had him that way when I’ve secretly fantasized about it for years. I love Hunter’s gentle side, especially because I know for most of his life he’s been forced to be hard, but sometimes a woman just wants to be manhandled. To be taken roughly by her lover.
I want that right now. I crave it so badly that I ache for it. And I need it to rid myself of the demons in my head.
“I will not take you like I take her,” he says, his tone harsh, as if just the thought of it is abhorrent to him. “It’s brutal, Cat. Nothing Scarlett and I do is loving. It’s pure, raw need, with no emotion.”
