Hunter (King’s Men MC #1)

14. Ryleigh

14

RYLEIGH

I woke up with a start, and for a moment, I couldn’t remember anything from the night before or where the hell I was, but I knew for certain, I was not waking up in my own bed.

I looked around the room.

It was similar to mine, but the furniture was all wrong.

The bed didn’t feel like mine.

My heart raced as fear took hold, and I nearly jumped out of my own skin when I felt arms squeezed around me.

I turned and found a sleeping Xavier beside me.

I blinked, the memory slowly penetrating, and I remembered all of it up until I fell asleep in his arms.

That explained why I was in his bed, but it didn’t explain why he was sleeping beside me.

A gentleman would have taken the couch, or hell, left me on the couch.

Not sleep in the same bed as me, hugging me close as if he was afraid I might disappear sometime in the night.

My lips twisted a little, and I didn’t know if it was amusement or something else, when I thought there was nothing gentlemanly about Xavier.

He was a force to be reckoned with, and he had the kind of confidence that told me he was used to doing whatever the hell he wanted, and apparently, what he wanted last night was to sleep in the same bed as me.

I shook away the thought.

That sounded way too arrogant on my part.

I was sure he saw me as nothing more than an unwanted guest.

He had to play my dark knight with rough armor, and I thanked him by commandeering half of his bed.

He probably wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible.

I knew I should be tougher than that and strive for my independence, but the thought of being here and making him say those words was enough to make me want to cry.

I shifted away from him, trying to get out from under his hold and out of bed, when he tightened his arms around me, sending a bolt of heat and electricity down my stomach and much further down.

Oh, God.

I turned back toward him, surprised to see his eyes open and clear. He hadn’t been asleep for a while, which was shocking, considering how early in the day it was.

“You’re awake,” I said in a whisper.

His lips twitched. “Have been for a while.”

“Uh… Then what are you doing, holding me while I sleep?”

He didn’t pull away like I thought he would. Instead, it seemed he might have tightened his arms around me marginally.

“I thought it was obvious.”

I angled my head to the side in question.

“Protecting you. ”

Oh.

“Oh.”

He smiled.

That was kind of sweet. In a totally invasive way—of course—and I didn’t know how I was supposed to react to that.

Or to him.

And he was still holding onto me.

I looked down at his tan arm, coming to a stop on his huge hand settling on top of my stomach.

It was so big, he nearly covered me whole.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“What do you want for us to be doing?” he asked, his eyes glinting in mischief.

I had been right the first time I’d seen him.

Xavier was trouble.

And judging by his eyes, he knew it too.

I couldn’t stop the blush that formed on my cheeks as my mouth opened, and nothing came out.

He laughed, and I couldn’t help but look at him, taking in the sight of him looking so carefree. The sound that was coming out was absolutely addictive.

He had a nice laugh.

His laughter died away slowly, and what was left were soft brown eyes I wanted to get lost in.

“Go out on a date with me,” he said suddenly, getting me out of my thoughts.

I blinked.

“What?”

He sat up on the bed and moved closer to me. My skin tingled with awareness, and I forced myself to hold still.

“Go out on a date with me,” he repeated.

I frowned. “What about Trinity?”

He mirrored my expression. “Who? ”

Did he really not know her name? Was he the kind of man who would sleep with a woman and not even know her name? And did he consider the fact that he knew mine as a step up?

“Our neighbor.”

“Okay. I don’t understand what she has to do with me asking you out on a date.”

“Uh, I saw her bring cookies over to you.”

The confusion cleared from his face.

“Ah,” he said, smiling a little. I wanted to slap the smirk right off of his gorgeous face.

I scowled at him, and he lost the battle and laughed. Unlike the first time he’d done it, I didn’t find this laugh beautiful?—

Oh, who was I kidding? I still found his laughter beautiful, even if I was annoyed with it.

“Do you think because she brought me store-bought cookies that I’d invited her to have sex with me?”

Well, when he put it that way…

“So you didn’t have sex with her?”

“Baby, what kind of man do you think I am?”

Uh…

Good question.

I didn’t know what kind of man he was.

All I knew was that he was unbelievably gorgeous. That he was in bed with me. That he saved me from an assault last night and possibly rape, took me back to his place, and held me while I cried, obviously not turned off from a woman’s tears. I also knew he had a nice laugh, and he was rough around the edges, and he wasn’t the kind of man I would ever have thought I’d want to bring home to my parents.

I’d always thought I would end up with someone similar to the people in my parents’ circle.

People who were similar to my parents .

My dad’s mentee and friend, Brent Ledger, came to mind.

He was a lawyer who studied under my father’s tutelage and had been around while I was growing up.

Admittedly, I had a huge crush on him when I was twelve, and that crush persisted for a few years, up until he’d moved to Chicago for a prestigious job.

Na?vely, I had thought I would end up with him, despite him being ten years older than me.

Xavier looked like he was older than me by about that much.

I pulled back.

I didn’t even know how old he was.

“How old are you?” I asked.

His lips twitched. “Thirty-two.”

“Oh.” I looked off to the corner. “That’s a lot older than me.”

He laughed. “Is that a problem?”

I thought about it. There was a fourteen-year age gap between my parents. A ten-year age gap shouldn’t really be a problem for me, except that meant he had ten more years of experience over me, and I was…

Terribly inexperienced.

I had a feeling he probably had more experience at my age than I did right now.

I looked him over.

Oh, yeah, I was sure of it.

He cupped my chin and turned my attention back toward him. “Don’t overthink it, Ryleigh. You just do what you want to do.”

“You say it like it’s simple.”

“It is simple. Are you attracted to me?”

I flushed.

His eyes danced as he looked at me over. “That’s an interesting color red, baby. I didn’t know someone could actually blush like this.”

I pulled away from him. “If you’re just going to make fun of me, then I should go.”

I made a move to climb off the bed when he grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward him until I settled slightly on top of his body.

I froze, taking in the hard feel of him beneath me and imagining what it would feel like had he been on top of me instead, moving his hips and pushing… and grinding…

I let out a small moan.

“Fuck,” he said under his breath. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to read your thoughts right now.”

“You mean you can’t read minds?” I asked, only half-joking.

His chest shook as he laughed, and I pressed the side of my face against it.

He pulled me away and looked me in the eye. “I was teasing. I didn’t mean to make you feel insecure or think I was making fun of you.”

I bit my bottom lip and looked down at his shirt-covered chest, wishing he had been one of those men who went to bed shirtless.

“It’s okay,” I said.

I had already forgiven him when he pulled me back into his arms.

“No, it’s not,” he said, astonishing me. “You shouldn’t accept my apology so easily. You should be expected to be treated as a princess.”

Treated as a princess? By him?

Something told me it would feel amazing if that were the case.

“I know you didn’t mean it in a mean way. I guess it’s just my insecurities talking. ”

“And that’s okay. You are allowed to feel how you want.”

Wow. Was this man for real?

There was this darkness that surrounded him, sure, but he was also incredibly sweet. It almost felt too good to be true.

I reached out my hand and poked him on the cheek. His brows lowered in confusion. “What are you doing, baby?”

“You’re real,” I said.

His lips twitched. “Did you think I was a figment of your imagination?”

“More like a dream,” I answered honestly.

I had expected him to laugh. He surprised me when he didn’t do that. Instead, he said seriously, “I’m not a dream. I’m like a nightmare, but you never have to worry about that because I’m your nightmare. You can unleash me to fight away all the monsters keeping you up at night.”

That was… actually really sweet.

I smiled shyly. “So, what happened with Trinity yesterday?”

He waited until I looked at him before he answered me. “She came over with cookies, trying to pass them off as something she baked. When I told her I don’t eat sweets, she tried to invite herself into my apartment. I refused and closed the door.”

“Oh.”

And I missed that!

Man, I should have stayed and watched a while longer. It would have saved me half a day of turmoil as I imagined all the ways they could have sex in his apartment.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling a little. “Oh. So what do you say? Go out on a date with me.”

I let out a small breath of air and looked into his brown eyes, seeing nothing but sincerity.

Was this really happening ?

Was this gorgeous, sweet, amazing man really interested in someone like me?

And unlike the dates I had in college, I had a feeling it would affect me more if he suddenly left me without an explanation.

Yet, something told me it wouldn’t be happening.

But there was also an uneasiness that settled in my heart that told me there was more to this man than meets the eyes.

I just couldn’t bring myself to not take the plunge with him.

So I did the only thing I could do at that moment.

I said, “Yes.”

His smile widened as he pulled me in closer to him, burying his face in my neck. “Thank fuck,” he said as if he really thought I would say no to him.

I wasn’t blind or crazy.

For the first time in a long time, I felt not a flutter of excitement but an explosion.

I was smiling when he pulled away to look at me.

“I have some work to do this morning and late tonight, but I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning for our date, deal?”

Oh, that meant I wouldn’t see him for the rest of the day. And I knew tomorrow wasn’t too far away, but it felt like it then. Something like disappointment settled in my stomach.

“Oh, okay, that sounds great.”

I tried to turn away, but he wouldn’t let me. He cupped my cheek, his palm warm and calloused, and it felt so good against my skin.

“Hey. I’m sorry I can’t do our date earlier.”

I nodded. “I understand. I know this is unexpected.”

I certainly hadn’t expected it.

“You okay?” he asked.

It wasn’t a big deal that I had to wait a bit longer, and there wasn’t really any reason to whine over it. Besides, I was going to see him soon. Only yesterday, I had been feeling so lonely. This was a huge improvement.

At least I now had something to look forward to.

I nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. I can’t wait. I’ll get out of your hair.”

I moved to climb off the bed when he tightened his arms around me.

“I didn’t say that because I want you to leave.”

I pulled away. There was something wrong with my mouth. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“I know. But I also have to get ready for my day and work.”

He nodded, something like regret in his eyes. “All right.”

My breath caught when he leaned forward slowly, giving me time to change my mind, but when I held still, he pressed a small, chaste kiss against my lips and held it there for one, two, three, four long seconds.

When he pulled away, I found myself out of breath.

He smiled arrogantly when I couldn’t say anything.

“Go, baby. Before I do something rash, like tie you in my bed for the rest of the day.”

I knew he was only joking, but the dark note in his voice made me shiver, and I couldn’t decide if it was in fear or… excitement.

I nodded and climbed out of bed.

I was still in the same clothes I had been in last night, so I didn’t have to do anything. I found my purse hanging on the doorknob of his room, and I walked toward it, the awareness of his eyes on me making my movement awkward.

I nearly bumped into the doorway on my out. I turned when I realized I hadn’t said anything to him. Waving—and feeling like a complete dork after—I walked out in a hazy fog of happiness, excitement, and need. It surrounded me as I stumbled my way back into my own apartment .

After spending the night away, this place felt even more empty and cold than it had been when I left.

My preparation for the spaghetti dinner was still left on the kitchen counter from the previous night.

In an alternative universe where Xavier hadn’t gotten to me in time, I might have been stumbling back into my apartment—maybe at this time, perhaps earlier—but I would be feeling something completely different.

I imagined this apartment would have felt just as empty and cold, but I wouldn’t be riding on this high.

I made my way into the bedroom, face-planted the bed on top of my covers, rolled to my back and looked up at the ceiling.

My legs shifted around on the bed restlessly, and a part of me wished I had been brave enough to ask Xavier for more than just a kiss.

Was I ready for that?

There was just something about imagining what it would be like to be with a man like him.

It would be like nothing I had with Rhett, who had fumbled his way in the dark and hadn’t known what he was doing.

We were each other’s first, and though I hadn’t expected much that first time around, I had expected more than two measly pumps before he exploded.

It hadn’t been a very satisfying experience all around.

Something told me it wasn’t going to be that way with Xavier.

My hand moved up to cup my breast as I imagined Xavier doing it.

His hands were huge, and I was sure he would cover me whole.

And he wouldn’t be gentle about it .

There was something rough and exciting about him that told me he would be that way, even in the bedroom.

He would dominate me, tell me what to do, how to please him as he pleased me.

I kicked my shoes off, my hands drifting downwards. Unbuttoning my jeans, I pulled down the zipper.

My sex clenched at the feel of the zipper against my mound, and I gasped slightly.

How would he react to seeing me naked for the first time?

Would he like it?

I pulled off my jeans, throwing them on the floor.

My underwear came off next. The cool air teased the exposed skin as I spread my legs, imagining him in the room with me, standing there and watching as I stripped off my clothes.

I sat up, pulled off my shirt and bra, and dropped back down on the bed.

My back arched as I cupped myself, closing my eyes.

I was wet.

Would he want to taste me?

More wetness gushed out at the thought of him kissing his way down my body, spreading my legs and letting them rest on his shoulders just as he buried his face between them.

His calloused fingers would glide aimlessly across my skin, causing goosebumps to form.

My head tilted back as I used my other hand to pinch my nipple, letting my fingers move roughly, quickly across my slit until I found my clit.

I let out a loud moan as I rubbed the bundle of nerves over and over again, feeling a slight tremor that rocked my body, telling me I was close…

So close.

I shut my eyes, and Xavier’s face popped in, the way he would look after he’d eaten me out, his lips glistening, and he would shoot that arrogant smirk of his…

“Oh, God. Xavier!”

I plunged off the cliff with a boom.

My hand moved faster, trying to prolong the orgasm for as long as possible. My mind focused intently on the image I had created of him.

When I came back down, I was breathing heavily and feeling boneless.

I didn’t want to move.

I wanted to lie there and think of Xavier and touch myself…

Or better yet, invite him over to touch me.

I was becoming slightly obsessed with him, and I didn’t think this would go away any time soon.

Or at all.

I was in way over my head.