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“I’d give anything to go back and treasure that time with him. I wish I had known those were going to be the last mornings I’d ever have with him. I wish I’d talked to him, hugged him, and just…savored those last ordinary moments instead of playing that stupid game and barely answering him when he tried to talk to me. Because they turned out to be the most precious moments of my life. And I wasted them.”
My eyes brimmed with tears, and I held on to him tighter, wishing I could take some of his pain and put it on my heart to ease his suffering.
Hunter kissed me, and once again, everything shifted between us, because he was being so raw and honest with me, giving me a glimpse into his most complicated emotions. I felt honored and privileged that he was sharing something so deeply personal with me.
When he eventually pulled back his kiss, he stroked my cheek with his fingers.
“I want you to move in here permanently,” he said, taking me off guard. “I want you to bemine, Little Leopard. Onlymine.”
I smiled.
“Move in with me.”
I couldn’t believe that his proposition of living together didn’t freak me out. Yes, I loved Hunter, but moving our relationship to the next level was a big deal, one that left me vulnerable.
“You don’t want to move in,” he surmised, based on the hesitation reflected in my features.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…I guess the fear of getting hurt is still there, even when you’re with someone you trust.”
Hunter’s eyebrows furrowed into pain. “And you think I’ll hurt you.”
There were many ways in which to hurt someone. And not fully supporting me in my quest to exonerate my dad topped the list.
“I believe in my father’s innocence, but you may not, and as I go through these court dates with him and I continue to research his case, I can’t handle it if you betray me the way everybody else did when he was found guilty. I can’t handle one more person betraying me like that, Hunter. Especially you.”
In his eyes, there was a blend of compassion and empathy, as if Hunter wished he could protect me from the painful memories of my past.
“I’m scared too,” Hunter admitted. “That once you see how broken I am, you’ll walk away from me.”
I had already seen some broken parts of him. The possessive part who literally carried me into his kitchen after getting attacked at the prison. The man who’d put up cameras around my property against my will. I knew Hunter might have some boundaries we’d have to work on, but that was what love was about, wasn’t it? Loving someone despite their flaws?
“I won’t leave you,” I said.
Something flashed through his eyes, and he broke his gaze with mine as despair cascaded through his features—despair that made my heart wrench.
“Luna, I have something to tell you.”
My heart spasmed in fear as my mind raced for clues to what it might be. Hunter Lockwood had a reputation for being a playboy. Had he been dating another woman on the side?
Or far worse, when he’d been looking into my dad’s case, had he found some pretty damning evidence?
“Mr. Lockwood?” Maria called out from the kitchen.
Holy crap. I jumped up before Maria could see my nakedness, but Hunter was more subdued with his movements, slow, even. I charged up the stairs and into the guest bedroom, where I waited for him to arrive a few seconds later. Still completely nude, still with that somber look on his face.
“What is it?” I asked, my heart firmly lodged in my throat again.
He swallowed. “We need to leave in a few minutes for work. Let’s have dinner tonight, and we can discuss a few things.”
“Just tell me now,” I pleaded.
He cleared his throat. Looked down. “This isn’t something I want to rush, Luna. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything until after work.”
The morning sun streamed through the windows, reflected on the clock’s screen. Crap. I had a court case starting soon.
It scared me that in a few hours, he might say something that had the power to change everything.
CHAPTER47
