The Hunter's Angel

Cold Showers

I took a moment to decipher if I had heard Hunter correctly.

"You found him," I repeated slowly, trying to recover from my initial shock.

Hunter just nodded curtly as he sat next to me as if this wasn't something huge.

I shook my head in disbelief. "You found the man you've been trying to track down for years, and you just decide to tell me now?"

He cast me a look out of the corner of his eye. "You weren't exactly in the most welcoming spirit when I first walked in."

Couldn't argue there.

"And after that, well..." His eyes blazed as they trailed down my body, soliciting a shiver out of me. "Let's just say I got a little distracted."

I let out an unsteady breath and met his gaze, trying to focus on the matter at hand. "Hunter, that's amazing. This is what you've been wanting, right?"

He turned away and shrugged, but I could sense the tension in his body. "I've never had a lead this specific, so it's good news, but I just don't wanna get my hopes up. Thought it'd be better if I just played it down so I don't get disappointed if I can't find him."

I peered at him with sympathy. I couldn't imagine how tough it had to be to constantly prepare for the worst.

"Do you have a name?" I asked.

"No, just the location. Apparently, he ran off to San Fransisco after he...you know." His voice grew tight as he spoke. "And now he spends half his time there and half of it in LA. So it's really a gamble, but I guess we'll see."

There was no mistaking the anxiousness in his tone.

Placing my hand on his arm, I brushed my fingers over his skin tenderly. A wordless whisper that I was here for him.

He glanced down at my hand, and then met my eyes with an expression I couldn't read.

"I don't think I can come with you," I uttered, breaking the heavy silence.

His eyebrows drew together slowly. "You're coming," he asserted.

"I want to, believe me, but I have the internship, and all my classes, and midterms pretty soon, and-"

"Layla," he intervened sternly. "You're coming with me. End of story. There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here alone with the cartel on your tail."

I blew out an exasperated breath. "I'm a grown woman Hunter. With a bodyguard on duty pretty much 24/7. I think I can handle being on my own for a couple of days - kind of been doing it for most of my life."

"This isn't up for debate."

My mouth gaped. Who did he think he was, my father?

"You're right, it's not. Because you don't tell me what to - "

My last word was cut off.

In a matter of seconds, Hunter had me flipped onto my stomach with my arms pinned to my sides. His warm body was pressed against my back, and I almost let out a moan at the feel of his hardness against me.

Almost.

"As sexy as it is to watch you get all upset," he rasped into my ear, "I'm not budging on my decision. So, we can stay like this until you get on board."

"And trust me," Hunter whispered, right over my pulsing neck, "I don't mind this position in the slightest."

A hot shiver rolled through me as I thought of all the things we could do in this current position.