Hunter's Rose (First Draft)

Chapter Eleven

I woke up to a knock on the door. I groaned and snuggled deeper into the bed, it was so warm and comfortable. There was a light rhythmic thumping sound in my ear, lulling me back into my slumber. 

"Come on, shortcake. You need to eat before we start training." Ace's voice yelled, pounding on the door again. I groaned in annoyance and pulled the cover over my head.

The soothing sound in my ear was interrupted by a chuckle, making my body freeze. I slowly pulled the blanket down and peeked up, my body relaxing and my stomach fluttering as my eyes met Hunter's blue ones. I was laying on top of his chest, our legs tangled together and his arm around my waist.

"Hi." I whispered, keeping the blanket up enough to cover my heated cheeks. The smile he sent me made my breath stop for a minute.

"Hey darlin." He murmured back, his voice rough from sleep. His arm that was around my waist tightened, pulling my body even closer to his. His free hand came up and pulled the blanket down from my face, before his thumb rubbed over my cheek. "You sleep ok?" He asked, his eyes roaming over my face. I nodded as I gazed up at him. He was beautiful.

"Damnit shortcake, don't make me come in there." Ace's voice sounded again, accompanied by a knock, shaking me out of my daze. 

"Calm your tits." Hunter yelled back, sending me a quick wink. "We're up."

"Calm my tits?" Ace's voice came back with a slight offence. "Coming from you tha-wait a minute, did you say we? What are you in there doing to that poor girl?" 

"Nothing she doesn't want me to." Hunter shot back, sending me a lopsided grin that made a laugh burst from my lips. 

"Uh huh." Ace's voice teased through the door. "Don't keep her too long. Food is ready and she has stuff to do today." He said sternly before his footsteps receded. 

"The drill sergeant has spoken." Hunter said playfully as he removed his arm from my waist, I glanced away to hide the small frown that formed on my face. "You didn't get a chance to go through them, but I brought the bags from last night up." He said as he motioned to the foot of the bed. I nodded and climbed out of the bed, watching as he grabbed the bags and dumped their contents on the bed.

"I thought you said it was just a few things?" I asked, shocked as I watched multiple pairs of clothing fall out of one bag. The next bag he dumped was full of basic womens toiletries. 

"I should have clarified, I got you a few things." He said as he sent me a grin, making me shake my head in disbelief. "I'll get dressed out here, you take all the time you need darlin." He walked into the closet before I had a chance to argue.

I glanced at the items covering the bed again. There were three pairs of leggings, two pairs of sweats, two pairs of black shorts, two sports bras, a handful of different colored shirts, a pack of colorful socks, a pack of hair bows, a pack of bobby pins, and deodorant. I shook my head as I grabbed an outfit, the deodorant, and a hairbow and made my way into the bathroom. I threw my hair up in a messy bun, tossed my clothes in the laundry basket, and took a quick shower. I quickly threw on a new set of underwear and sports bra before pulling on a black shirt and a pair of grey leggings.

I glanced in the mirror, happy to see that the bruise was almost gone. My knee didn't bother me as much as before and had scabbed over enough that I would be fine without a bandage. I walked out of the bathroom, noticing the room was empty, and headed towards the door.

I took a deep breath before entering the kitchen, the guys were all in the same positions as last night. Except this time Jai and Jackson were arguing about which body wash was better, and Hunter was sitting at the table with Ace and Arthur- who was lacking his computer. Hunter waved me over with a smile on his face, motioning to the empty seat beside him. I started that way before being stopped by Jackson.

"Rosie! "He exclaimed. "What's your favorite-" He started, before pausing as I let out a small laugh.

"It's the same answer as yesterday, pyro." I teased as I walked past him, his eyes narrowed but a smile played on his lips.

"Good morning little wolf." Jai said with a smile. I paused for a moment, tilting my head to the side at the nickname.

"Good morning." I said, giving him a soft smile before making my way over to Hunter. 

"Hey darlin." He said as he stood up to pull my chair out, his gaze moving from my head to my feet, making my cheeks burn. "I'm glad the clothes fit, I wasn't sure about your size. I'll need to get you some shoes too." He murmured as I sat down. 

"Thank you, but you really don't need to. You've already spent too much." I said softly, narrowing my eyes as he let out an unbothered hum in response.

"You should eat." He said, changing the subject as he pushed a plate in front of me. I felt my forehead crease more as I glared at him, his gaze not meeting mine.

"So, Arthur, how goes the search for Lisa?" He asked, my glare dropping as I glanced over at Arthur. He looked between the two of us with an amused smile before his gaze settled on me.

"Actually, I found her number this morning. I figured I would give it to you after breakfast and you could call her?" He offered, letting out a small laugh as my head nodded vigorously.

"I can't believe you're in that much of a rush to leave us." Ace teased, my mouth opened to argue. "I'm just kidding shortcake, but after your phone call we start training." He reminded me. I nodded in response, sending him a sheepish smile. I glanced over at Hunter to see his eyes narrowed as he stared at the table. 

"Are you ok?" I asked softly. His gaze softened as he looked over at me, nodding.

"I'm fine darlin." He said with a small smile, motioning his head to my food. "You better eat before your food gets cold." I watched him for a moment before nodding and moving my gaze back to my plate.