Hunter (King’s Men MC #1)

23. Ryleigh

23

RYLEIGH

I carefully carried the six grocery bags between my fingers, three in each hand. My fingers were already starting to feel numb as I rode the elevator up.

One of the best parts about living so close to the grocery store was how convenient it was, but it was close enough that I found it to be a waste of time to take my car there.

I had been carrying these bags from the grocery store, crossed the street, and finally, the elevator up to the apartment building.

I was half-tempted to put the bags down, but I didn’t want to take up too much room on the floor in case someone else entered the elevator.

Xavier had been gone since this morning, leaving me to entertain myself with work.

I was on a little break before starting my next project for a new writer. It was a different story, and though I was excited about the project, I wasn’t in a rush to get back to work.

The ding of the elevator, followed by the doors opening, had me coming out of my thoughts and walking out to the hallway.

I was looking down at the patterned, carpeted floor, trying hard not to drop anything and praying the bag wouldn’t rip so close to my door, when a pair of black boots came into my line of sight.

Right away, I knew these feet didn’t belong to Xavier.

I frowned, my eyes slowly moving upward, taking in the dark jeans, not dissimilar to the ones Xavier wore, to the dark shirt that encased a big, muscular body, and finally, a pair of familiar, shock-filled blue eyes.

I blinked, so sure he was nothing more than a figment of my imagination—although why I would imagine him was questionable at best—yet he was still standing there…

In front of Xavier’s door.

“Kai?”

His blue eyes narrowed on me. I always felt that he didn’t like me, based on the looks he shot my way when we were in school, though I didn’t know what it was that I could have done to make that so.

Unless he knew about my being the witness to Roman Stone’s case, his dislike was uncalled for.

I fought against the sliver of fear trying to worm its way into my heart at the thought.

There was no way he knew.

My father would have made sure of that.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “How do you know Xavier?”

He frowned. “Xavier?”

His voice was deep and gruff, and I realized this was the first time I had ever heard him talk. We never interacted around campus. I didn’t know what his major was, but it wasn’t in Illustration and Graphic Design.

We had shared no classes together .

I pointed at Xavier’s door. “That’s who you’re here to see, right?”

The confusion cleared from his face. “Right.”

“He’s not home.”

He nodded, eyeing me curiously, his gaze unwavering. I tried hard not to shift too much on my feet when it seemed like he wouldn’t say anything. I felt scrutinized, and my cheeks burned for some reason.

“Do you know him well?” Kai finally asked.

“Uh…” How did I go about answering this? That I had mind-blowing sex with him and imagined my future with him, despite knowing my parents would never approve, especially since they had been bugging me to go out on a date with my mom’s friend’s son. Still, I didn’t think I knew Xavier all that well.

I finally just shrugged.

“Right. I’m gonna go,” he said.

He nodded toward me and walked to the elevator.

I watched him for a beat before moving toward my apartment door, my mind racing.

Kai knew Xavier?

Enough to be stopping by his apartment.

How did Kai know Xavier, though?

And why did Kai seem so surprised to see me here?

I closed the door behind me and let the grocery bags drop to the floor, leaning my back against the door and looking around, feeling so confused, I didn’t know what to think anymore.

Trinity’s words ran over my mind, again and again, the next day.

Along with Kai’s visit .

And Xavier’s brother, Micah.

Things didn’t seem so bad when I was with Xavier, but the longer he left me alone, the more I mulled over things, and it might just be my overactive imagination, but there were hundreds of scenarios running through my head on the mystery of Xavier?—

I didn’t even know his last name.

There were a lot of things we didn’t know about each other, and I didn’t know why I didn’t think to ask them before now.

Perhaps I was just too caught up in his addictive presence, but the more time I spent with him, the more enigmatic he’d become, until I wondered if I actually knew who Xavier was.

And if things weren’t too bad, if the truth couldn’t scare me, wouldn’t he open up in sharing them with me?

Xavier was out at work… whatever the hell it was that he really did. As much as I wanted to bury my head in the sand, I couldn’t stop the feeling that he wasn’t telling me the truth about his job, or at the very least, he wasn’t telling me the whole truth.

But what would that be, unless…

Unless the truth wasn’t a pretty one.

Unless the truth would make me run away from him.

Yet, even knowing this, I didn’t think I was capable of running from him.

It would have to take something pretty drastic for that to be the case.

He had been gone since yesterday morning.

We had texted back and forth in between, but it wasn’t constant. It seemed that whatever Xavier did, he was busy with it, and I was feeling… restless.

Was I really doing nothing more than setting myself up for heartbreak?

I didn’t know .

I let out a tired sigh.

The sun had long ago set, and it looked like it would be another evening without Xavier.

I quickly got ready for bed and climbed in, looking up at my ceiling.

I should be happy with this new relationship.

Especially since I hadn’t felt this much chemistry with anyone in… forever.

Instead, I was lying here, overthinking. I didn’t want to overthink.

I just wanted to be like other girls.

The ones who could be excited about a blossoming new romance without feeling like there was some deep dark secret lurking nearby?

I wanted to fall in love with Xavier and not question it—if I wasn’t already halfway in love with him, that was.

But could you fall in love with someone you didn’t know?

I let out another tired sigh and turned off my bedside lamp, closing my eyes and praying I could fall asleep quickly.

I had a nightmare.

Worse than my usual nightmare.

This was something else entirely wrong.

I dreamt I was in the woods, barefoot, and running for my life.

The first part of my dream consisted of me running. I didn’t know where I was running to or how I got myself into this situation.

One thing I was sure of?

I was running from someone.

Tears streamed down my face as I heard footsteps coming closer to me .

I knew I wasn’t going to make it, and like one of those dreams where you couldn’t move or run away, I found myself slowing down as if I wanted to be caught.

Faster , my dream thoughts were telling me. Just a little faster.

He was coming.

I stopped in the middle of the woods completely. My feet were bleeding, yet I didn’t feel pain.

Run!

It felt like I was nothing more than a spectator, watching the hunting of my own demise, unable to do anything to stop it.

Run, dammit, run!

My stupid limbs were useless.

I looked around the dark woods, like a deer in headlights, unable to move.

The footsteps grew louder and louder and louder.

It grew in tandem with my heart.

My chest heaved as I cried for help.

I looked behind me, and that was when it happened.

I was tackled to the ground, a huge, monstrous body covering mine, pushing me down.

It took me a moment in a panic to realize I wasn’t hurt, but I was scared out of my mind, and yet, outwardly, in this dream, I didn’t show any hint of fear, save for the tears that covered my cheeks.

The monster turned me around so that I could look into his eyes.

Familiar brown ones stared down at me.

I gasped, and that was when I woke up, feeling so out of it, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

I looked around the dark room.

A quick glance at the clock revealed it was four in the morning .

Still dark outside, yet I didn’t think I could fall back to sleep.

I was scared to go back to sleep.

Was it normal?

To dream of the man you were dating hunting you down in the woods.

Because those brown eyes I saw right before I woke up?

They were unmistakably Xavier’s brown eyes.

Was I too blinded by lust to realize what was in front of me this whole time?

That Xavier was a dangerous man—most importantly, he was a dangerous man to me.

I closed my eyes, feeling wetness seep through.

I was being ridiculous.

It was nothing more than a dream.

I jumped when I heard a small noise coming from outside my bedroom.

What the hell?

I was alone.

Who could be here with me?

With shaky hands, I reached out and turned on the lamp, looking around.

Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Slowly, I got out of bed and walked to the door.

I hesitated and looked out to the empty, dark hallway.

“Is someone there?” I called out, feeling about ten shades of stupid.

If there really was an intruder, would he have answered me back?

Or worse, what if he did? Then what the hell would I do?

I felt vulnerable in my apartment, as fear raked up and down my spine.

I turned on the hallway light before I passed, and seeing no one, I continued, turning on all the lights until there wasn’t a dark corner in my apartment.

Everything seemed to be where I had left it before I went to bed.

Perhaps it was just the dream messing with my mind.

Looking around one last time, I quietly made my way back to my room and pulled the covers over my body.

I stayed where I was for a long time, too afraid to leave the bed, and too afraid to turn off the lights.

I had half a mind to call Xavier, but I couldn’t seem to make myself reach for the phone.

What would he do?

He would still be at his mysterious job, and I would still be here alone, scared out of my mind.

I didn’t go back to sleep.

And it wasn’t until the sun rose that I was finally brave enough to step out of bed and get ready for my day.

My eyes felt tired from the lack of sleep, my body too high-strung, too wired from all the adrenaline of the early morning, yet I had no energy in my system to try to work out the stress.

I knew I hadn’t imagined the noise from this morning.

Yet it had been soft enough, subtle enough to have me questioning whether it was real.

And if it was real, what the hell could have caused the noise to sound like it came from inside my apartment?

I stumbled my way into the kitchen after I brushed my teeth. I hadn’t changed or brushed my hair, considering I had no energy to do anything today, and what was more, I didn’t know if Xavier was going to come home or not, and that just pissed me off.

Shouldn’t I have known, more or less, about his schedule?

If I was someone important in his life, or someone he wanted to make important in his life ?

I couldn’t even put on the label of boyfriend and girlfriend, afraid that might be too presumptuous of me, and yet, if that wasn’t it, what the hell were we?

All I knew was, I was in a bad mood from the lack of sleep, and I felt a sharp pang of annoyance bounce through me when I heard a knock on my door and knew it was Xavier.

I stomped my way over to it and opened the door to his perfect face.

Despite having such erratic work hours, he still looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

It was fucking irritating.

He took one look at me and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

I didn’t answer him. I didn’t know how to open my mouth without demanding answers from him. Instead, I shot a glare his way and walked back into the apartment, leaving the door open. He could decide if he wanted to come in.

He came in.

I heard him close the door and then his heavy footsteps coming after me moments later.

The sound just reminded me of my nightmare, and I resisted the urge to shudder in fear.

He wrapped his hand around my middle and pulled me toward his body. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice low, his lips pressed close to the side of my face.

As pissed off as I was, I was still affected by him.

And how I hated it at this moment.

I was always affected by him.

Was he the same way?

Or was this nothing more than a game?

Tears stung my eyes at the thought, and I shook my head, trying to get away. He tightened his hold on me.

“No, baby. I’m not letting you go until you tell me what’s wrong. ”

Wrong thing to say.

I kicked my leg back, my foot connecting with his shin.

He let me go, though I thought that was more from the shock than because I really hurt him.

“What the hell?” he asked. “What was that for?”

“For pissing me off,” I said, looking back over my shoulder at him.

One eyebrow raised at that. “Okay, you’re going to have to fill me in on that, princess. Before I left, everything was okay. And now you’re saying I pissed you off? What did I do?”

Instead of denying it, he was asking me. He was validating my feelings. That should have made him the perfect man for me, but so many things weren’t adding up. I didn’t know how to connect this image of him to the image I was slowly forming in my head.

The image of the monster in my nightmare.

I shook my head. “Where were you?”

“Ah,” he said, as if that answered everything. “Are you feeling neglected, baby?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “No. I just want to know where you were. What is it that you do?”

I could see a shutter coming on his face. I knew he wouldn’t tell me anything even before he opened his mouth.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I already told you,” he said calmly. “I’m a contractor.”

“Working such odd hours?”

“I have very demanding clients.”

I shook my head. “Don’t lie to me.”

He stepped closer to me.

I looked at him with wide eyes. I knew the moment he touched me, I would be done for.

I took a step back. He kept coming forward .

My eyes bulged out, practically begging him to stay away from me.

He didn’t listen. He walked toward me until he had me back up against the wall.

He placed two large arms on either side of me, trapping me against his body.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

“Do you think I’m lying? Why do you think I’m lying?”

I opened my mouth, to say what, I didn’t know.

The truth was, I didn’t have any reason to distrust him. This was pure instinct without any evidence to back it up.

He cupped my cheek.

Check. Mate.

I lost.

My eyes fluttered shut when his thumb started to swipe back and forth against my bottom lip.

“Look at me,” he said softly.

I shook my head.

“Ryleigh, look at me. Please.”

It was the please that did it. I opened my eyes and looked at him, my bottom lip trembling, something I was sure he didn’t miss.

His eyes roamed over my face, as if he was trying to figure out what I was thinking or feeling.

“What are we?” I asked, finally caving.

I had to know.

I couldn’t go on with this uncertainty anymore. I had to know what I was fighting for, as I was sure there would be a lot of fighting once my parents caught wind of this.

He paused, his eyes studying me. “You’re mine.”

I scoffed. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” he said seriously.

“Does that mean you’re mine? ”

He shook his head, smiling a little. “Silly girl. Don’t you know I have been yours long before you were even mine?”

Tears sprung to my eyes. “You make it sound easy.”

“Oh, it’s very easy. Falling for you is as easy as breathing. Natural.”

I shook my head. “This doesn’t erase all of our problems.”

It was his turn to scoff. “We don’t have any problems.”

I nodded. “Yes, we do.”

“No, we don’t,” he retorted. “Now kiss me.”

I was startled in surprise over the sudden topic change.

“You really think a kiss is going to solve everything?”

He didn’t answer me. His smiling face was the last thing I saw before he leaned in close to me, his lips pressing against mine in a sweet, quick kiss.

I didn’t open my eyes when he pulled away. He pressed his forehead against mine.

“Doesn’t it feel like all of our problems are disappearing because of this?” he asked.

My eyes jumped open as I realized what he was trying to do.

Distract me.

And it was working.

I shoved him away with two hands on his chest, and I must have surprised him enough to give in because he didn’t even put up a fight.

I didn’t think.

I took my chance and moved away.

I had to get away from him.

I couldn’t think with him nearby, though my freedom was short-lived.

He caught up to me soon enough.

He grabbed my hand and turned me around to face him.

I opened my mouth to yell at him when his lips crashed against mine in a brutal kiss that stole my breath and scrambled my senses.

I tried to fight him off…

At first.

But he was much stronger than me, and the more he kissed me, the less I wanted to push him off until, finally, all I could do was surrender to the spell he had put me under.

I wrapped my arms around him, and I kissed him back.

Lord help me, but I kissed him back, just as brutally, just as desperately, just as passionately.

He nipped at my bottom lip before deepening the kiss. I moaned against him, taking in the hot velvety feel of his tongue moving around, playing with me, teasing me.

He shoved my pajama pants down without hesitation, then my panties, until I felt cool air tease my wet pussy.

His hand found my center, and he cupped me, squeezing gently, driving me crazy, before he plunged two thick fingers inside.

All the while, he continued to kiss me.

I didn’t know what to focus on.

His tongue or his fingers, and that was okay because Xavier seemed to like it when I handed my control over to him.

My arms tightened around him, and he lifted me by my butt. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked us to the nearest wall and pushed me up against it.

He pulled his fingers out of me, and I felt the loss of him instantly. I whimpered my protest, but he only kissed me harder.

He fumbled with his jeans, and I peeked my eyes open to see him pushing them down his muscular legs, along with his black boxer briefs. He grabbed his tip and directed it toward my entrance, letting my weight go, so I fell on his hard cock.

We both moaned at the same time, and Xavier gave me no time to get used to this position before he grabbed my hips, moving me up and down his length, showcasing his strength in the hottest way possible.

He moved me as if I was nothing more than a rag doll and fucked me. I didn’t mind being used like this.

My head fell back, and my eyes closed from the feeling of him forcefully slamming me down against him.

“Fuck,” I breathed out.

He grunted. “You feel so fucking good. So fucking right. It’s like you were made just for me, weren’t you, baby?”

I could only nod, tears stinging my eyes.

I was made just for him.

He moved me faster against him.

I wasn’t doing anything, but I could feel the strain in my muscles, and I grabbed his shoulders, my nails trying to claw their way into his skin when it became too much. I wanted to feel his skin. I wanted us to be naked and pressed up in a way without space separating our bodies.

I wanted it to be hard for anyone to tell where his body ended and where mine began.

I wanted to burrow myself in deep, until he couldn’t fucking breathe without me.

Couldn’t fucking live without me.

Couldn’t be without me.

“Look at me,” he gritted out.

I looked at him, unable to resist the command in his voice.

And looking into his eyes, I plunged forward, screaming my release for all the world to hear.

Black dots danced behind my eyes, and I might have blacked out for a moment. I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t take me long to realize something.

He never finished.

For a brief moment, I thought it was because it wasn’t as good for him as it was for me, but I remembered the look on his face from before.

He couldn’t fake that.

There was just no way, and I refused to believe it. Otherwise, his words from before would be meaningless.

I tried to control my breathing as he put me back on my feet, and I looked at him. He pulled out of me, his cock still hard and jutting between us, as he knelt on the floor and licked my pussy.

I gasped, my fingers automatically seeking out his hair, pulling on it roughly as he continued the swift and gentle assault.

“Xavier,” I said, pulling him closer to me. I wanted more friction. More roughness. More…

Just more.

I wanted more, and I didn’t care if I was probably smothering him.

“Please,” I said.

He chuckled against me, the vibration messing me up a little, just as he pressed a kiss on my clit.

The inside of my pussy clenched from the move as he stood up to his full height once more, his brown eyes dancing mischievously just as his lips latched on the skin of my neck.

“That’s one,” he said.

My eyes clouded in confusion. One what?

I didn’t have time to ask.

He entered me once more, pressing up against me so that I was trapped between the hard wall and his hard body, and he lifted one of my legs to deepen the penetration.

Then he fucked me against the wall.

My head thudded against the wall as he pounded into me brutally .

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a small outline of my body against the wall by the end.

My hands came up to his chest, and I pushed him away—or tried to—when it became too much. But Xavier seemed to like it when I fought him, and he only fucked me harder.

Until I couldn’t do anything anymore but stand there and let him hold on to my weight because my legs had felt like Jell-O while he fucked me as if he couldn’t help himself.

Tears stung my eyes as he carried me up once more, letting my back press in against the wall, and he moved his hips in quick, animalistic precision.

He leaned forward and bit my shoulder hard enough that I was sure I would bear his bite mark for days to come, and the pain pushed me over.

I closed my eyes, and I let myself fall into blackness.

I was only vaguely aware of what was happening, could only sense that he was moving me again, but I didn’t care enough to find out.

My pussy quivered from the orgasms, my skin sensitive, and I didn’t think I had ever come that hard before in my life.

I made a small noise when I was put down flat on a cold surface.

It took me a moment to figure out it was my coffee table, and by that point, he already had my legs wrapped around his shoulders.

He looked over at me from where his face was, almost pressed up against my pussy.

Pure devilment danced in his eyes.

“That’s two,” he said.

My eyes widened as I finally caught onto his game, but before I could say anything, he buried his face in my pussy and ate me, leaving enough room for his fingers to seek out my entrance, and he plunged them in .

My back arched as he pumped his fingers, his tongue coming out and lapping at my clit.

“Xavier, please. I don’t?—”

I shook my head, trying to get away from him.

“Be a good girl for me,” he muttered against the inside of my thigh as if it was easy.

“I can’t?—”

I let out a small moan when he curved his finger upward, pressing in against the front wall of my pussy.

I twisted my legs against him as I came once more.

“Three,” he said.

I pulled my leg back and kicked his chest, surprising him enough to leave room for me to sit up.

I watched him on the floor for a beat, his eyes widening in shock over my little move as I tried to get my breathing back under control.

At this point, I didn’t think I had the energy to do anything more than sit there.

He seemed to have come back from his stupor quickly enough, and before I knew it, he was kneeling in front of me, his lips glistening from my— me .

He licked his lips when he noticed me looking, smirking, and resting his hand on the outside of my thighs.

“So fucking addictive,” he said, sliding his hands up and down my side, making me shiver.

I was robbed of speech.

There was nothing I could say or focus on, not when his hands had made their way inside my shirt, and he left them there when he got to my ribs, just below my breasts.

“How many more do you think I can wrench from you?”

My eyes widened at his words.

Was he trying to kill me?

I pushed him away and stood up, trying to put enough space between us so that I could think .

He caught up to me when I reached the hallway that led to my bedroom.

More like tackle me.

I didn’t even see that coming, but the next thing I knew, I was on the floor with Xavier on top of me.

He had cushioned most of my fall, and I barely felt it when I hit the ground, though the move still jolted me, and I could only look up at him in disbelief.

He smiled.

It wasn’t a very nice smile.

He was a hunter toying with his prey.

I stared at him as he ripped off my shirt.

I gasped, taking in the tattered fabric, but he didn’t give me time to say anything.

He leaned down and took my nipple in his mouth, sucking mercilessly. I pushed my hand against his head, trying to get him to lessen up, but he only watched me with vicious mirth in his brown eyes.

My eyes rolled in the back of my head when I felt his fingers against my entrance, and he massaged my pussy lips as he continued his assault on my nipple.

My muscles convulsed when he swiped his fingers across my clit, and let my nipple go with a pop of his lips.

“So fucking beautiful. And mine. Aren’t you?” Xavier asked.

Was this what it was about?

“If you’re trying to prove a point, let me just say, message received.”

He laughed. “Not even close. Now spread your legs and show me that wet little pussy that belongs solely to me.”

I shouldn’t listen to him. Just out of principle, but when he sat up, I found myself doing just that. My arousal clung to the skin inside my thighs, and I knew he didn’t miss that when he licked his lips .

He grabbed my legs, spread them out wider, and drove fully inside me without warning.

My head rolled back from the sudden move, and Xavier rocked his hips against me without stopping.

I shook my head, unable to say more. This felt so good, but it also felt too much, and I didn’t know what I wanted, for him to bring me into another earth-shattering orgasm, or for him to let me go.

He made the decision for me when he said through gritted teeth, “You’ll take what I give you, won’t you, baby?”

I nodded. A part of me still wanted to please him.

Please him as much as he pleased me.

I grabbed his shirt and tugged on it.

He pulled it off for me, showcasing his beautiful body.

I fucking love the difference in our bodies. The way he was hard, where I was soft. The way he was big, where I was small. The way he was almost fully covered with colorful ink, and I wasn’t.

I took in the way his muscle strained as he grabbed my hips to keep me still, thrusting inside me with quick, shallow thrusts that clouded my vision until all I saw was him.

He grabbed my breasts in both hands, squeezing and playing with them before tugging on my nipples harshly.

That drove me over the edge.

“Four,” he uttered.

I let out a small cry in protest and turned, trying to get away from him.

He let me for a moment until I was on my front, with back to him, before pulling me back to him and sinking inside me from behind.

He pulled my hips up so my ass was positioned in the air as he knelt behind me.

This was a new position.

Somehow, it felt much more intense than the other ones .

Sweat clung to my skin, and I wiggled my ass on the third thrust, which had him slapping the side of it.

The sting only added to the pleasure.

“Oh, God. Oh, God.”

I turned my head to look back at him.

He grinned, slapping my ass again.

I crossed my arms on the floor and buried my head into it, just trying to ride this out.

He reached around me until he found my clit, and he rubbed the swollen nub around in circles until I was wiggling my ass against him as well.

“Fucking come,” he commanded.

And that was all it took.

I came a fifth time, the small of my back spasmed over the release, and it didn’t take him long to come.

Wet, messy liquid poured out between us, and I cried out, letting my body fall to the floor and unable to do anything more but lie there and take it all in.

I couldn’t believe how many orgasms he had gotten out of me, and now…

I was completely and utterly useless.

I let out a small whine in protest when Xavier pulled out of me, feeling more liquid heat spurt out, but he was only adjusting our position so that he was lying on the floor, and I was on top of him.

I buried my face in his sweat-coated chest, trying to breathe along with him, counting down every time his chest pushed in and out from his heavy breathing.

When I didn’t feel so useless, when I was sure I could speak, I looked up and met his warm brown eyes.

There was the Xavier I knew.

As much as I liked the Xavier from before, I didn’t think I could handle him without this sweet Xavier as well.

“Okay?” he asked softly .

I swallowed before I answered. “What was that?”

He moved strands of my hair away from my face, his eyes taking me in intently. “What do you think it was?”

I looked off to the side. “You want to prove that I belong to you.”

He nodded. “Just as much as I belong to you. Don’t you see? Don’t you feel how good it is between us? Even when I’m trying to make this about sex, I can’t. You think we have to put a label on our relationship? Call me your boyfriend, baby, if that’s what you want, but boyfriend is just too tame of a word, don’t you think?”

I swallowed. “Yeah, I get it.”

He smiled.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “But this doesn’t mean I like it to always be like this. If that’s the case, I won’t be able to walk in the future.”

He laughed. “I can carry you.”

I slapped his chest. “I’m being serious.”

He retaliated by slapping my ass. “So am I.”