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My breaths came thicker as I got to the bottom of the stairs. A warm hand enclosed my arm and pulled me forward. Expecting to see Hunter, I was surprised when I found myself face to chest, Seb. He placed a finger to his lips as I heard the guy jog past into the beat of the music.
I pulled my arm back and then remembered that I was meant to be getting close to him. ‘Um, thanks,’ I said and he smiled.
It wasn’t friendly, more patronising. ‘How much have you had to drink?’ he asked and I frowned, trying to smell my breath with my hand.
‘Don’t know, a fair bit.’ I shrugged and then cocked my head to the side, taking in his features. ‘Why?’ He smirked, annoyingly alike his brother, and then glanced behind me.
‘You seemed a bit wobbly on the stairs there,’ he said, smiling.
It was then that I noticed we were in the dark, surrounded by the walls and the hollow beat of the music.
‘Come on, let’s get you some water.’
I shrugged, following behind him as he walked us to the kitchen. He was a bit shorter than Hunter and his shoulders were wider, so much wider that I couldn’t see past him.
‘Juice?’ he asked when I got there.
‘Just water, please.’ He nodded, passing me a glass with clear liquid.
‘How do I know that you haven’t drugged this?’ I asked with a raised eyebrow and he smirked.
‘Unless Kyle’s tap pours out date rape, then I think you’re safe.’
I chuckled, taking a sip and sighing, leaning against the counter.
‘So, Hunter, eh?’ he asked and I nodded, putting the glass down on the counter.
‘Yep.’
‘What’s it like living with the tosser?’ he asked, trying to conceal the fact that his eyes were trained on my lips.
‘So much fun,’ I replied in a sarcastic tone. One side of his mouth quirked and he started walking in my direction. Not missing a beat, he placed his hands on either side of me on the counter.
I glanced at him, trying to think clearly rather than in my alcohol-induced haze. I would say beer goggles, but this guy was good looking without those.
He leaned down and pressed a single kiss to my lips, not sloppy but gentle. I looked up at his dark eyes and he smirked, not moving away from me. There was a strong scent of alcohol on his breath when he breathed out and met my gaze.
‘You know, you guys do actually have something in common,’ I admitted. He leaned back and looked at me with interest, crossing his arms.
‘And what’s that?’
‘Neither of you keep your hands, or your lips, to yourselves,’ I stated and he chuckled.
‘Must run in the family.’
Chapter 9
‘No,’ I countered for the umpteenth time.
‘Are you sure?’ Hunter asked and I groaned, running my hands down my face.
‘No, you know, I’m not. Maybe he slipped it in when I wasn’t looking!’ I exclaimed, causing Hunter to smirk and stop making the omelette.
‘No need to be snarky about it,’ he teased, gently prodding our food with the spatula. One thing that I hadn’t guessed about him was that he could cook.
‘Well stop telling me that I slept with your brother then,’ I said. Hunter only chuckled, shaking his head. What he didn’t know was that I’d spent the night before in the same room with Kenzi, Kyle and Seb. No funny business would’ve been able to happen unless I was happy to get at it like rabbits in front of my two friends. Which, just to clarify, I wasn’t. Plus, after the police had taken our statements and dispersed the party, nobody was in a chatty mood.
‘I wasn’t telling, I was asking.’ Hunter turned and tipped the omelette out of the pan and onto a plate, letting the juice run onto the white china, turning it slowly yellow. Picking up the fork, I cut a bit off the end and took a bite. The flavour erupted onto my tongue, tingling my every taste bud.
Hunter was giving me such a smug smile that I couldn’t bear to tell him how good the omelette actually was. I shrugged nonchalantly. ‘It’s all right.’
He laughed, taking his own bite. ‘It’s amazing, you know it,’ he taunted, leaning against the counter and waving his fork in front of my face.
I grunted, rolling my eyes and taking another big bite, popping it in my mouth. ‘It’s okay,’ I corrected, jumping down from the counter. I brushed my hands on my jeans and was about to turn to go out when Hunter grabbed my arm, pulling me back against his chest. I felt the warmth radiate from his body and onto mine.
I shook my head. ‘Ah, ah, ah. I don’t think so,’ I said, yanking my arm back and stepping away towards the door.
He frowned but continued to watch me with an amused expression. ‘Don’t like my kisses anymore?’ he asked, taking another step towards me.
I shook my head again. ‘Nope. You want me to get closer to your brother, so that is exactly what I am going do.’ Hunter just raised a quizzical eyebrow as I backed out of the flat with my coat, walking downstairs to meet my friends outside.
Little did I know, Hunter had followed me to the lift. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me back to him with a small scowl on his face. I almost laughed but his serious expression stopped any sound coming out apart from a squeak.
‘Andy, promise me that you’ll be careful around him.’ His words had such a sharp edge to them that I nearly flinched.
‘If I’m in so much danger, I’m not sure I should be doing this. Why do you want me to do this?’ I asked and he immediately closed off.
‘It’s not dangerous for you, I just want you to watch your back. You’re not ready to know that yet.’ He started to stroll back to the flat.
‘I’ll see you later,’ I shouted at his back, running my hands down my face. I was just hoping that an afternoon of dance practice would be able to calm me down. I was a little wary and quite scared, so wasn’t sure how well I’d actually do. I could always pretend that I didn’t manage to get close to him and that he was too interested in Kenzi. That seemed like the safer option.
Seb was over by the car having a cigarette (total turn off) and Kenzi was sitting on the bonnet, staring at him adorably (another turn off). Seb acknowledged me with a nod. Kenzi grinned and slipped into the back, barrelling into me when she clipped her seatbelt in.
‘Apparently, Zoe and Kyle did the dirty deed,’ Kenzi whispered when Seb had lowered himself into the car. I was about to ask why Seb was tagging along when he wasn’t a dancer, but that wasn’t exactly the best way to start our ‘budding friendship’.
‘You don’t need to whisper, it isn’t exactly a secret,’ Seb replied, looking at us both through the wing mirror. ‘Who do you think walked in on them in the morning?’ he asked. I shuddered, reaching down and doing my seatbelt up.
‘That’s disgusting.’ Kenzi scrunched her nose up and thwacked the back of Seb’s seat.
All the way to the warehouse, I had to listen to Kenzi and Seb’s god awful singing.
‘I think my ears are bleeding,’ I murmured as I got out.
The music was already pumping in the warehouse by the time that I had dumped my bags by the door. There wasn’t any sign of Kyle or Zoe but I brushed that thought away as Seb dropped his bags next to mine.
***
Finally, Kyle emerged from a cupboard and walked over to meet us. I decided against asking where Zoe was, mainly because I really didn’t care and because if she wasn’t there, I would have one less problem to deal with.
It turned out, Kyle wasn’t one for hanging about; we got straight down to the dancing. Most of the time, I was next to Kyle, mirroring his moves and body rolling, which apparently was what Zoe’s job consisted of most of the time. Being the only girl before Kenzi and I showed up, she was the ‘sex magnet’ or as Seb called her, the ‘STI magnet’. Their crew used to consist of five people, but Kyle told us they walked out when their courses at university got tougher.
Seb didn’t do much, just observed, keeping his eyes on both Kenzi and I as we tried to pick up the moves. It wasn’t exactly hard, the music matched my rhythm, I was moving my limbs with the beat and taking me out of present time.
When we stopped for a breather, I noticed Seb get up to answer his phone. He was pacing outside, running his hands down his face with an exasperated expression. His body language made it clear that he was having an argument. I felt my heart jump when he caught me watching him.
He turned his back on me after shooting me a glare and moved out of sight. He didn’t come back until practice ended to take Kenzi back to the flat.
‘Need a ride?’ I heard a voice when I had made my way about half-way down the road. I glanced over my shoulder to see Hunter in his car, leaning out of the window and shooting me a smirk.
Instead of answering him, I carried on walking with an annoyed expression. ‘Nope! God gave me legs to walk, not just to look good,’ I shot back and I heard him chuckle before the engine roared again, this time coming level with my walking speed.
‘And they do both very well. Get in the car.’ I glanced over to see that one long, muscled arm was hanging out of the window and the other was lying lazily over the wheel. He wasn’t wearing his usual leather jacket, which only exaggerated the muscles on his arms.
‘I’d rather not. For all I know you could kidnap and torture me. I’d never be seen again,’ I replied snottily, deliberately trying to annoy him. He sighed and pulled the car onto the pavement in front of me. ‘I’m pretty sure that the cars are meant to stay over there. This is pedestrian turf,’ I said, gesturing towards the road and crossing my arms over my chest. Hunter raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused. Either I wasn’t as irritating as I thought, or he just had a soft spot for loons.
‘Andy, if I was going to kill you and torture you, I’d do that in your sleep. You also have pepper spray apparently. I’d rather that stayed in the bottle and not in my eye sockets.’ He paused to trail his eyes over my body in my dance gear. ‘The quicker you get in the car, the quicker you can get home.’ I shook my head, making a move to walk around the car but the engine roared in protest. ‘I’ll give you three options, okay?’ Hunter said, holding three of his fingers out. ‘One, you can get in the car. Two, you can avoid getting in the car and I’ll drive home quickly before locking you out or three, I’ll just run over your legs so that you have no choice in the matter.’
I groaned, clambering into the car. Hunter’s eyes never left me as I slammed the door shut and put the seatbelt on.
‘After a short time of living with you, I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t do anything gently,’ he mocked, pushing the gear stick forward and backing off the pavement and back onto the road.
‘That’s because I like it rough,’ I purred, tapping his thigh.
His large hand latched around my wrist, pulling it up from his leg. His eyes were trained on the road ahead. ‘Don’t even bother. I’ve had enough cold showers thanks to you; I don’t want to go through another.’
I sniggered and took my hand back, resting it on my own thigh and tapping out the rhythm of the dance song.
‘Did you find anything out about Seb?’ Hunter tried to ask casually but the tension in his voice was a bit of a giveaway.
‘Yep, I found out that he has a top secret lair below the warehouse and there are all sorts down there, nuclear missiles, guns, hell, I even saw human test tube babies.’ I noticed that Hunter was attempting to glare at me but his lips were slowly curving into a smile.
‘Seriously, Andy, did he say anything?’ Hunter pushed and I rolled my eyes, looking out of the window.
‘I’ll tell you what he did if you tell me why you want to know,’ I countered and he shook his head with a smirk.
‘Keeping you in the dark is best.’
‘You’re making this sound like something out of the Godfather,’ I mumbled, earning a small chuckle from the driver’s seat.
The rest of the drive went by in silence, so did the walk back up to the apartment. I left Hunter to lock up his car and grab his bag while I jogged up the stairs – avoiding the death trap of a lift – and unlocked the door.
Dumping my bag on the armchair, I slumped down onto the sofa, feeling something sharp dig into the back of my leg. Hunter’s feet were making an echoing noise through the passage and when I shifted to see if I could see him, the sharp object pinched my leg.
I grunted, picking up the sofa cushion. I found myself staring at an object that I’d only ever seen in films. The metal was cold against my fingertips and my stomach dropped to my feet. I felt Hunter’s presence by the door and I turned to face him, holding it between my fingers carefully, making sure not to touch it properly.
‘Hunter, why the hell do you have a gun?!’
Chapter 10
Hunter didn’t say anything; he just rubbed the nape of his neck nervously, causing me to narrow my eyes on his speechless form. The gun was heavy and I suddenly realised I was holding A GUN!
I carefully shoved my hand in his direction, holding the butt of the gun between my fingertips. There was no way that my hand was going near the trigger, I didn’t want to go to jail for manslaughter, even if the guy was an absolute arse. I doubted that excuse would hold up in court.
‘Self-defence,’ Hunter said at last, taking the gun from my trembling hand and shoving it in the waistband of his jeans. I stared at the area he’d placed it and I could still see it protruding from the top of his jeans.
Opening and closing my mouth a couple of times, I attempted to formulate words. ‘Self-defence from what, exactly?! Those girls that you can’t remember hooking up with?’ I exclaimed, standing up from the sofa to try to intimidate him. What I didn’t account for, was his height. If anything, his gaze intimidated me. I suddenly didn’t feel so safe around him.
‘You’d be surprised at how strange they get,’ he replied and my eyes widened. His hands immediately shot up defensively and he grinned. ‘Relax, I was kidding.’
On instinct, I slapped his arm. He didn’t even flinch so I rolled my eyes and took a few steps back, trying to stay still. The sight of it and the feel of it was going around and around in my head. It was then that I realised I definitely couldn’t stay there with him.
‘So, why do you have a gun?’ I tried again.
Hunter sighed, perching on the arm of the sofa. ‘Like I said, self-defence.’ I huffed, shifting to face him. His green eyes shot me a warning to shut up, so I decided to take it. Getting up, Hunter cleared his throat and I took a few steps back instinctively. ‘You don’t have to be scared of me,’ he said softly and I almost found myself sinking down onto the seat next to time. Almost. Instead, I shrugged as if it was nothing and continued on my route to the kitchen.
It was when I got there that I began to freak out. There was no way that my mum or dad could find out about this, but I’d have to tell them if I decided to move and then I’d have to explain why I was moving. Moving wasn’t an option. Getting rid of the gun seemed too Mission Impossible for me and even then, where would I take it? Just arrive at the police station and tell them that I randomly found a gun? I didn’t think so. Confiding in either Seb or Kyle didn’t seem like a good idea either. What if the gun was defence against Seb? The guy could be a maniac and I had a horrible feeling that I’d walked into something way over my head and the only option would be to leave as quickly as possible.
In the end, to calm myself down, I attempted to cook and nervously gnawed on my lip.
‘Is something burning?’ Hunter asked, sauntering into the kitchen in his jogger bottoms and vest top. I groaned, opening the oven and swatting away the smoke that erupted from the gap. I coughed, opening the oven fully to take out my burnt attempt at chicken burgers. Hunter skilfully reached up and blocked any smoke from attacking the smoke detector and setting it off.
‘Well, there goes my dinner,’ I grumbled, tipping the plate into the bin and watching the burger flop into all of the rubbish.
‘Pizza?’ Hunter asked and I nodded, sighing as I walked towards the phone and ordered the food.
***
When I returned to the front room, I found Hunter sitting on the sofa with a bottle of vodka. I kept my distance from him and he sighed, running his hands through his hair.
‘Nothing has changed, you know, I’m not going to hurt you,’ he said and the tone of his voice was so serious, it was strange coming from his mouth. I nodded and folded my arms over my chest nervously.
‘Fancy playing a game?’ Hunter asked wearing a mischievous grin.
‘You sound like that guy out of Saw,’ I replied, dropping into the plush arm chair. He chuckled, shifting down from the sofa to the floor. I followed and Hunter placed the bottle between us. I hoped something like that could relieve some of the tension. As soon as I’d slept on the whole thing and wasn’t as panicked, I would be able to think more clearly.
‘Never have I ever?’ He asked and I shrugged, crossing one of my legs over the other and stretching.
‘Never have I ever kissed someone of the same sex.’ Hunter kicked it off and I grabbed the vodka, taking my first small swig. I tried not to wince as the liquid burnt down my entire throat, setting it on fire. Hunter raised his eyebrows quizzically and I smirked.
‘It was Kenzi and it was a game of spin the bottle.’ I shrugged. ‘Never have I ever fired a gun,’ I retorted. Hunter’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t hesitate in picking up the bottle and taking a drink.
‘It was self-defence,’ he informed me and I scrunched up my nose.
‘That’s getting old.’
He shrugged, preparing himself for his next remark. ‘Never have I ever mooned someone,’ he replied and I stayed well away from the bottle. He didn’t seem surprised, he just watched me with his mystifying eyes, waiting for me to speak.
‘Never have I ever been arrested.’ Unsurprisingly, Hunter reached forwards and took a long swig of the drink, shooting me a smug grin. When he didn’t speak, I raised an eyebrow. swallowing the lump of bile in my throat.
‘I was done for beating someone up, no big deal,’ he said with a shrug. I sensed that there was more than that but I didn’t push it.
‘Never have I ever been to church,’ Hunter remarked with a smirk and I sighed, annoyed that I was living up to his assumptions. I took a drink and moved to sit back against the armchair.
When I was younger and my parents had just divorced, my dad used to make me go with him every week. It had to be the dullest day of the week, especially when I wasn’t religious.
Just as I was about to open my mouth for a snide remark, the doorbell went and I got up, leaving him hanging. I walked to the door and took the money that Hunter had left on the table to pay the pizza guy.
I put the pizza box down on the sofa just as Hunter reached up and grabbed my hips, pulling me down onto his lap. His lips grazed the sensitive spot between my neck and my collar bone.
‘Church girls just so happen to be very sexy,’ he whispered into my skin, gently pressing a kiss there before working his way up my neck. My blood started to power through my veins and any resistance that I had towards him melted. His fingers were tracing circles on my hips and I let out a small noise from the back of my throat, moving my head down to kiss him. He smiled against my mouth and deepened the kiss, taking over and moving us back against the floor. Hunter gently ran his hands down my sides under my shirt, pressing his lips to my neck. He ground his lower half against me and I breathed out through my lips, feeling the weight of him above me. Whenever he got this close, all thoughts of his arrogance disappeared and I couldn’t think of anything but how he made my heart race. I ran my hand through his soft hair and then down the warm, firm skin of his back, feeling it against my fingertips. Just as I felt the hard fabric of his jeans, I remembered what he’d put in the waistband a mere few hours before. I pushed back gently and Hunter immediately went with the push, backing up a bit. He opened his mouth to ask me something, but I cut in first.
‘I can’t live here,’ I said and he pushed himself back, rolling his lower lip into his mouth.
‘I told you that when you first got here,’ he said and I huffed, wiggling out from beneath him to distance us.
‘I know you did but I didn’t know quite how dangerous you were,’ I countered.
Hunter’s eyebrow rose and he sighed. ‘Is this still about the gun?’ he asked and I nodded, folding my arms tight against my chest.
‘You have a gun, Hunter, that’s illegal and all this shit that is going on between you and your brother is dodgy. I don’t feel safe,’ I said and he sighed.
‘If I tell you something, you promise not to freak out?’ he asked. I gave him a single nod and watched with interest.
‘The gun was given to me by my father,’ he said and I frowned.
‘Why?’
‘That’s not important,’ he said.
‘What type of dad gives his son a gun?’ I asked incredulously.
Hunter’s eyes shot to mine and behind them was a mixture of emotions. More prominent than any other was fear. ‘I have never fired it and I don’t plan on firing it. It’s unloaded and I keep it there to keep it safe, okay?’ he clarified.
I nodded again and rubbed my eyes. ‘I don’t know if I believe you, but okay,’ I said and he sighed.
‘I wouldn’t hurt you,’ he added and I nodded for the third time. I got up and evacuated the room, running my hands down my face with a sigh. I had no idea what to do or how to handle this. University was meant to be simple, studying and a bit of fun on the side. It was beginning to turn out to be more trouble than it was worth.
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