“Tell me.”
Kerry inhaled. “My father abused my sister.” She waited for a negative reaction but none came. His hands clasped hers more firmly, urging her on. “It wasn’t until this visit that I learned Susan had protected me from my own father, the man I thought I could trust. All these years, I believed she’d left me to go play with her friends. I thought Susan was like my mom who frequently deserted us to audition for some play, but I had been so wrong about my sister.” Kerry pulled one hand from his grasp and wiped her eyes. “I’ve lost so many years of knowing her. Susan suffered a lot more than I ever did.”
Then the dam broke. Tears gushed from her eyes and down her face. Sobs racked her body. Hunter drew her close and caressed her back with a tender hand, helping to calm her. Kerry struggled to push back the guilt, the betrayal, and the lost time. She sniffed.
“You were young, right?”
“Yes, but I should have f-f-found out about what my dad was doing to Susan. I was so angry when my sister didn’t come to our mother’s funeral, I never stopped to think she may have had a good reason.” Kerry used the hem of her shirt to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I didn’t know she was in hiding from her abusive boyfriend either.” The guilt nearly made her burst into tears again, the vulnerability still raw. “Once my parents died, I balled up all my insecurities and fears and placed them on her.”
Hunter looked upward for a moment, and then lowered his chin. He stroked her cheek. “I can understand why you reacted the way you did.”
She believed him. For the first time in her life, someone understood who she was and how the events in her life had shaped her as a person. “Thank you.”
“It’s not your fault you jumped to that conclusion,” Hunter said. “Abuse is insidious. It causes all kinds of hurt. You did what you had to do and so did Susan. You protected yourself by building a wall around your heart.”
She sucked in a sob. Could the man really see into her soul?
He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. “As long as we’re sharing our deepest, darkest secrets, you might as well hear mine.”
She swallowed, her pulse speeding. “Is it about your wife?”
“No, my sister, Denise.” He gazed at the ceiling. “Man, she was amazing. She had the brains of the family.” He let out a low chuckle. “Ivy League education, followed by Harvard law. She even became a prosecuting attorney at a prestigious, downtown law firm. She was unstoppable when it came to going after the bad guys. Denise was my hero.” His tone came out wistful.
“What happened to her?” Kerry’s heart nearly split from the pain pouring off him.
He cupped his hands behind his head. “Someone broke into her house one night and bludgeoned her to death. He then dumped her body in an orange grove not far from here.” His lips curled. “Left her there to rot. It was months before a migrant worker found her body.”
Kerry gasped and grabbed his arm. “I’m so sorry. Was Denise older?”
“Yeah, by ten years. I was a senior in college when the police found her. That’s when I decided to go back to school and go for another degree, this time in law enforcement.”
Her heart nearly broke at the trauma he’d suffered. “What had you majored in the first time?”
“Math, can you believe it?”
“From the way you analyze every situation, yes I can.”
“I’m happy I moved into law enforcement though.”
For that she was glad. “Did they find her killer?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “No. All that was left of my sister was her bones. It took them quite a while to even identify her.”
The image of the four women skated across her mind. “Oh, Hunter. Seeing those women in the graves must have been so difficult for you.”
The pieces to the puzzle slipped into place. Hunter’s passion and his loner attitude probably stemmed in part from Denise’s death. Toss in a wife who he believed died because of his carelessness, and she could see why he acted so protective toward her.
“Yes. I kept thinking one of them could have been Denise.” He looked over at her. “I think we should go inside.”
“Sure.”
Hunter grabbed the pizza, cut the engine, and jetted out of the seat to come around to her side. He pulled open the door, and she swung her legs out. He cradled his arm around her waist and helped her stand. Their gazes caught. Naked. Vulnerable. Trusting.
Trust? Did she trust him? Her heart screamed, yes. She’d shared her innermost fears and he’d shared his. Both understood each other’s pain.
Hunter set the box on the car roof and then reached behind her to close the passenger door. He guided her back against the cruiser, never taking his gaze off her. His lips parted and her heart stopped. The grief that had speared and shredded her composure raced to the far recesses of her mind. Hunter was hurting, just like she was. They were one.
The wind whistled through the trees. Pine scented the air. She inhaled to enjoy the moment and to forget the past. His hands cupped her chin and raised her face a notch. Kerry sealed her mind from the hurt, from the pain, from the despair, and allowed only Hunter to enter her soul...her heart.
The second his lips met hers, her body melted against him. It was as if she’d finally given herself permission to let go and explore. Her fingers molded over his sculpted chest. The censure in her mind gave a final gasp, and she dared to move her itchy fingers lower. She pulled his shirt from his pants as her tongue dipped into his mouth that tasted of cinnamon, spicy, and everything nice.
After a few tugs and a couple of popped buttons, his shirt drifted downward and pooled around their feet. Hunter undid her blouse and bra and dropped them. She leaned back to catch her breath, to look at his marvelous body that was rippled and tough and amazingly sexy.
He flicked a thumb over her hard nipple. “I think we should go inside. It’s too hot out here—and too buggy.” His voice turned raspy.
“Yes.” The inside of a volcano would be cooler, though she was sure it wasn’t the air temperature heating her core.
The gentle breeze kissed her nipples as she wrapped her arms around his neck and backpedaled into the house. No way was she going to let him go. Not now, not ever.
Over his shoulder, Kerry caught sight of Hunter’s blue shirt and her white lacy bra strewn on the ground.
xxxHunter kissed her all the way into the house. He picked her up and crossed the bedroom threshold. They tumbled onto his bed with the cool, crumpled sheets that smelled like him—all man and musky.
When he nipped her breast with his teeth, a torrent of lust slammed her so hard she couldn’t breathe. She loved the way he kissed and couldn’t wait to explore the hard planes and contours of his body and face. He was all muscle, sinew, and raw power. Kerry’s heart wanted to go slow, but her body wanted warp speed. God, she felt like a nervous virgin.
Hunter pulled off her shoes and pants with ease, and then cupped her hot sex. She sucked in a breath. Not letting him have the upper hand, she grabbed his crotch. Oh my God. His erection peeked above his low cut jeans, straining to get out.
Her eyes widened. Hunter laughed. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
Her mind froze for a moment. How could she go from zero to sixty in five seconds? Was she rushing into something she shouldn’t?
Shut up and enjoy.
Her conscience was right. Hunter was everything she wanted in a man—and best of all she trusted him.
“You okay?” He ran his callused palms over her sensitive nipple. “You left me for a moment.”
She grinned, and then giggled. Actually giggled, something she hadn’t done in years. “Yes, but I’m back.”
Before she had another thought, she shut down all thoughts, and then unbuttoned Hunter’s low-slung pants and struggled to get him out of his clothes.