Hunter kissed her, long and deep, as they let themselves get lost in each other. She wasn’t sure how she could have been afraid of this.
“Come on.” They clasped hands and walked together to the bus. Neither of them mentioned the police officer who was following at a polite distance. True to his word, Aaron had parked a cop car right next to the bus. Knowing her overprotective uncle, if he could have found a way, Aaron would have put the car on top of the bus and kept the lights flashing all night as a beacon for Robbie to stay the hell away.
Ailis kept her eyes on Hunter’s face as they entered the bus. His response didn’t disappoint.
“Holy fuck,” he muttered.
She’d grown up on the bus just prior to this one. When they were a family of four roaming around the country, their needs had been different. Once she and her sister had planted their feet on solid ground—Ailis in Baltimore and Fiona in Los Angeles—her parents had downsized on the kid-friendly aspects and upgraded on the luxury.
“Obviously, we won’t be riding around in something as posh as this once you start touring, but I figure it gives us something to aim for.”
Hunter stopped looking around the bus, his gaze locked with hers. “Say that again.”
She frowned, confused. “What?”
“The parts that contained the words we and us. I like the way they sound.”
“So do I,” she admitted. Now that her feelings had found their way to the surface, she was hard-pressed not to tell him she loved him over and over again. “When Fiona and I visit, this,” she pointed to a couch, “turns into a double bed. All you have to do is push that button.”
She continued the tour, enjoying his shocked exclamations as they roamed through the kitchen area, telling stories about learning to cook on a bus. Then they peeked into the bathroom and she discussed some of the epic battles she and Fiona had, fighting for room in that small space. Finally, they wound up in the bedroom. Her parents’ king-size bed filled a lot of the space and looked far too inviting.
“This bus is better than most houses I’ve been in,” he said at last.
“Yeah. It really is. But like I said, the band bus isn’t this fancy. Or spacious. Or nice. The musicians sleep in narrow bunks, stacked like pancakes. And it takes a while to get used to the constant motion while you’re sleeping.”
“Did you ever sneak a boy back onto the bus while your parents were performing and make out on their bed?”
She snorted. “Oh my God, no. I was way too big a nerd for that. Fiona did, though. Plenty of times. She was the wild child, not me.”
Ailis and Fiona had lived on opposite coasts for nearly a decade, and she still missed her sister as much as if she’d packed her bags and boarded the flight yesterday. Growing up, they only had each other, which basically meant they loved and hated each other with equal amounts of passion.
“Seems like a missed opportunity,” he murmured.
She laughed. “Only you would see it that way.”
Hunter pushed Ailis down on the bed, caging her under him. “Pretty sure everyone would see it that way.”
As was becoming Hunter’s standard operating procedure, whenever he thought a conversation was over, he put a period at the end with a kiss.
Ailis loved the weight of his body on top of hers, the way he sheltered her completely, making her feel safe and warm and cherished. It was a unique sensation, something she’d never experienced with Paul. For a second, she tried to puzzle out what the difference was, but then Hunter deepened the kiss and she realized.
She hadn’t ever truly loved Paul. She thought she had, but she hadn’t had enough experience with the emotion to know she was wrong.
Hunter lifted her shirt, his tongue teasing the tops of her breasts along the edge of her bra. Then he sucked one of the nipples into his mouth, lace and all. It was strangely erotic, hotter this way. He turned his head and treated the other to the same.
Ailis ran her fingers through his auburn hair. “We’re both gingers.”
He lifted his head and grinned at her. “You’re just noticing that?”
“It occurs to me that if we ever have kids, they won’t stand a chance.”
Hunter’s responses never failed to surprise her. She’d been making a joke, but his gaze went serious. “Not if. When. I want kids with you, Ailis. A whole bus full of them.”
She giggled. “Trust me. Two kids in a bus will feel like a hundred.” She bit her lower lip nervously, recalling the times she’d made these same plans, dreamed these same dreams with Paul. “Kind of early in the relationship to start planning marriage and kids and stuff like that. I mean, this is sort of like five minutes old.”
He shook his head. “I’m not him, A. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
Her brow creased. The man read her like a damn book. “I know you don’t. Which is why I feel compelled to reiterate that it won’t be a bus full.”
Hunter laughed loudly before pressing his lips against her stomach, kissing it reverently. She could imagine him doing the same thing when she was pregnant. Kissing their baby. Hunter would be an amazing dad. Probably a lot like hers.
When he looked up again, his face reflected pure mischief. “We’re going to right a wrong, mouse.”
“Ooookay,” she drawled, wondering what he was talking about.
“Tonight, you’re going to be the wild child.” He stood up and flipped on some music, searching until he found one of her parents’ albums. He adjusted the volume, then glanced over his shoulder as if looking for someone coming. Facing her again, she marveled at how he seemed to change, his expression almost nervous. “How much longer is this concert going to last? Don’t want your folks walking in on us.”
She smiled, falling into the role without hesitation. She listened to the music for a second, pretending to consider his question. “They have five more songs in this set. Then they’ll do two encores.”
Hunter tugged his T-shirt over his head. “Then we’ll have to be quick.”
Ailis quickly amended her dialogue. “Actually, we probably have more time than you think. I bet they’ll do four encores. It’s a great crowd tonight.”
He chuckled. “How much trouble will you get into if your dad catches us?”
She sat up on the bed and pulled her shirt off, loving the way his eyes drifted to her breasts and lingered appreciatively.
Ailis adopted a shy, uncertain voice, realizing the role wasn’t much of a stretch for her. “I’m sort of surprised you left the concert to be with me instead of Rory. She’s gorgeous.”
Hunter shrugged, unimpressed. “Rory’s not you. Pretty sure I couldn’t pick her out of a lineup right now.”
Ailis laughed. “Liar,” she whispered.
“Will you take your bra off too? I understand if you don’t want to, it’s just…”
She was used to Hunter being confident in the bedroom, taking charge, driving her wild. But there was something endearingly sexy about this Hunter too. She bet he broke a million hearts back in high school with that charming, earnest smile.
“Okay,” she said. She reached behind her to unclasp the bra, heat rushing to her cheeks. The role-play suddenly felt too real. While it had never happened, it was easy to imagine her parents onstage singing while she snuck away with a boy to make out. God knew Fiona had done that enough times to make up for Ailis’s eternal goody-two-shoes lifestyle.
When Hunter sat next to her on the bed and cupped her cheek, her life was upended. She’d always thought herself the smart one, her sister the fun one. Fiona had clearly been the smarter one. Because fun was way better.
“You’re blushing.”
She lowered her face, trying to shield the damning color with her hair. Hunter tilted her face up, refusing to let her hide.
“I like it. You’re so pretty, Ailis.”
He leaned closer to kiss her, but unlike his earlier ones, this one was softer, more innocent, almost exploratory. The man was one hell of a role player.
She wasn’t sure, but she thought his fingers might have trembled a little when he reached out tentatively to touch one of her breasts.
Ailis pulled away from the kiss to suck in some much-needed air. She actually felt nervous. As if this was the first time she’d ever gotten to second. “Hunter,” she whispered.
“I just want to touch you, Ailis. I swear I won’t go any further than that. Just touch.”
“Okay.”
His fingers were still too gentle. Ailis wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her own innocent kisses to his chest. She kept her face pressed against him so he couldn’t see her when she made her request. “Harder. Squeeze them harder.”
Hunter complied, then dropped character for just a moment when he pinched one of her nipples tightly. She groaned, then mimicked his rougher touch by biting his nipple.
He jerked away, surprised by her action. “Wild child,” he murmured. “Will you take off your jeans? I won’t put it in if you don’t want me to.”
Ailis unfastened her jeans, tugging the denim and her panties off. She was completely naked, while Hunter had only lost his shirt. The shyness she’d worn around for so many years fell away too. His words had taken root. She did feel wild, reckless.
Rising, she twisted on the bed, straddling his lap. Hunter’s hands flew to her waist when she bent her head and kissed him. Hard.
With the element of surprise on her side, she pushed him to his back on the bed, following him down, refusing to give up on the passionate kiss. Hunter’s hands roamed over her back, pulling her flush against him, her breasts crushed against his hard abs.
She cradled his erection, covered by his jeans, against her opening. Unable to resist, she began to rub herself against his crotch, seeking stimulation.
Through it all, they kissed. One of Hunter’s hands rose to her hair, twisting the strands around his fingers and using his grip to hold her where he wanted her.
Ailis ran her fingernails along his sides, enjoying the shudder her scratches evoked.
“Goddammit,” Hunter grunted, when he used his grip on her hair to tug her away. “You’re playing with fire, little girl.”
She gave him a seductive grin that told him his warning had fallen short. “Seems to me you’re the one who’s in over his head.”
All pretense fell away as Hunter—her Hunter—returned in full dominant fashion. He rolled them both in one swift motion that put him back on top. He rested on his elbows, his face inches from hers as he pressed his covered cock against her clit harder.
“You sure you can handle that?” he taunted.
Rather than respond, she lifted her head. And bit his shoulder.
That appeared to be the only answer he needed. He shoved away from her for the eternal twenty seconds it took for him to kick off his shoes and shed his jeans. Rather than resume his place above her, he gripped her ankles and tugged her ass to the edge of the bed. He knelt on the floor, placed her legs over his shoulders, then gave her a much better brand of French kiss.
She wasn’t the only one who’d been stripped bare of control. Primal was a much better word for how she felt. Eager. Grasping. Clawing.
Hunter nipped at her clit before applying a powerful stroke with his tongue as he drove two fingers inside of her. Her back arched.
“Finally,” she growled, her fingers gripping his hair, holding him to her pussy as if he were her very own concubine.
Two fingers became three and Hunter moved faster, sucking harder on her clit.
Stars erupted as she screamed, coming with the force of a freight train.
Hunter ignored her climax, continuing to finger fuck her as if it had never happened. Her body didn’t have time to recover, to adjust. In the past, she’d been a one-and-done girl, but Hunter didn’t play that way.
“Hunter,” she protested.
“Do it again,” he demanded.
“I—” She was on the verge of telling him she couldn’t, but the words never made land. They couldn’t because the second orgasm took her down even harder. “Holy. Fuck!”
She trembled, the pleasure of it so intense, it sort of fucking hurt. “God,” she gasped.
Now, like before, Hunter seemed oblivious to her response as he cranked up the sexual torment. He drew his wet fingers out of her pussy, so that he could use her body’s juices to press one thick digit into her ass. Three thrusts—two shallow and then the one that lodged it deep.
Her breath was ragged and so loud it was drowning out the music. Her gaze found Hunter’s. His name suited him at the moment. He’d stalked his prey and now, the all-powerful hunter was going in for the kill. The finger in her ass started thrusting at the exact same time he drove the thumb of his other hand into her pussy. She was doubly penetrated and her nerves were too sensitive from the first two climaxes.
When he bent his head once more and sucked her clit into his mouth, she erupted like a volcano before things went gray.
Ailis wasn’t sure how long she’d been out of it, but when she opened her eyes, Hunter was above her once more.
“There she is.”
“What the fuck was that?” she whispered.
Hunter chuckled. “Foreplay.”
If she’d had an ounce of strength in her body, she would have laughed. But in truth, his words also provoked a fair amount of panic. “There’s no way I can take any more of—”
Hunter cut her off. Not with a kiss, as she was accustomed to. But with something that packed a much bigger punch.
He thrust inside her in one hard shove, his cock buried to the hilt. Her inner muscles quivered at the invasion.
“Fuck,” she grunted. “Seriously, Hunter—”
He retreated, halting her complaint with another rough thrust.
This time, her body adjusted, softened. Responded.
Hunter sensed the change, because he stopped giving her time in between each retreat and return. Instead, he took her the way she’d always fantasized about in her raciest daydreams. He fucked her like she mattered, like she was sex and passion and love and everything he needed in the world.
It was beautiful. Perfect.
He paused for a second, his eyes narrowed with concern. “Jesus. Am I hurting you?”
She was surprised by his question…until he reached up to wipe away a tear.
“Oh my God, no. Not even close.”
He didn’t seem to believe her and he rose, pulling out as he went.
“No.” She panicked, rising, desperate to drag him back inside. “Please. I mean it.”
His gaze raked her body, landing on the damn bruise from the hit-and-run. “Ailis,” he started.
“You’re not hurting me. I’m not crying because I’m in pain. I’m crying because every single dream I’ve ever had just came true. In case you’re wondering, that’s kind of an earth-shattering moment in a woman’s life.”
He bent his head, his chin falling to his chest so that she couldn’t see his face. Then his shoulders started shaking, and she realized he was laughing.
She narrowed her eyes angrily. “Seriously? You’re laughing.”
Hunter set loose the sound he’d been trying to hold back, howling with mirth, and her temper spiked even more.
“Unbelievable!” She started to climb out of the bed, but he grasped her waist, halting her escape.
“Hey. If you get to cry when you come to that realization, then I’m allowed to laugh when I come to the same one.”
She froze, trying to make sense of his words. It sounded like…
“I’m your dream come true?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, I wasn’t smart enough or brave enough to dream up anything as perfect as you, mouse.”
“I feel like you should be writing this down.”
“What?”
“Do you know what those words would sound like in a song?”
Hunter started laughing again. “Ever the manager. Do you mind if we finish where we left off before I start composing you symphonies?”
“I’ll wait.” Ailis reached out, pulling him over her body once more, her thighs parted, ready to welcome him back.
He slid in easily, but the entire tenor changed. They both recognized the importance of the moment. Hunter made love to her, kissing her, caressing her, cherishing her.
Ailis ran her hands over every part of his body she could reach, wanting to ensure he knew she loved him. Now. And forever.