The Hunter's Angel

The Morning After

Hunter and I had been up for hours, waking long before the sun in each other's arms. 

I usually grew uncomfortable from silence, but with Hunter, it wasn't like that. 

It was peaceful, laying in his arms, my head on his shoulder as he drew idle circles along my back. As if we had done this for years when in truth, it was only the first time we had truly shared ourselves with one another. Felt wholly calm together. 

Things had changed between us. I could feel it. 

It was as if what we had shared, me opening myself up to him and Hunter breaking down my walls, had cracked down the final barrier between us. 

Evidently, that wasn't the only thing that had changed. Physical barriers had been broken too. 

I had thought I would feel jarringly different after losing my virginity. Maybe more mature, more experienced. 

When I woke up this morning, I had felt relatively the same. Changed in a sense, but not in the way I had expected. It was like I had freed myself of all the fear that had been holding me back. As though I had finally shed the final layer of the obstacles surrounding me. 

I was also sore as shit. Hunter sure knew how to work a woman. 

I watched the sunrise paint his arm a soft gold, the arm that was wrapped loosely around my waist. I couldn't stop the smile that curved my lips or the flutter in my chest. He felt like...home. 

The thought of that terrified me, the thought that someone could matter so deeply to me. I could have allowed myself to freak out about it. I could have let myself mull over the question of what our label was, if there was one, now that we had slept together.

Hell, I could have got myself worked up over what was next, namely in regards to the fact that we had almost been shot last night. On top of that, the fact that we still needed to find the man who had killed Hunter's father. 

But I didn't. 

I merely laid in the arms of the boy I liked, the boy I more than liked, as the sun coated our skin. And for now, that was enough. 

I traced the tattoos decorating his arms, admiring their intricate detailing. Weaving my fingers through the patches of skin that remained bare, I took my time studying all of the details I never allowed myself to. 

Hunter planted a soft kiss on my head as he shifted behind me, whispering, "If you keep teasing my skin with your fingers like that, you're going to get a good repeat of last night very soon." His voice was still throaty from slumber, sending a shiver up my spine. 

I shuddered a breath, hit with a wave of heat at the thought of experiencing that again. At the idea of feeling him again. Everywhere.

A small grin appeared on my face as I slowly realized that there was going to be a whole lot more of what went down last night in our future. A hell of a lot more.

Forcing my pulse to settle down and pushing away the dangerous thoughts crowding my mind, I turned my focus to the tattoo on his arm that had grabbed my attention.

It sat right above the crook of his arm, enhancing his bicep with the complex needlework , and I couldn't bring myself to look away from it.

It was a wolf, stunningly designed with striking eyes and waves of billowing fur. Its head was tilted up slightly as if looking to the moon, and I could just make out the edge of its fangs, signaling the danger that came with its beauty.

"I love this one," I murmured gently, turning to look at Hunter as he followed where my hand was tracing. 

Hunter's eyes gleamed with a bitter-sweet look. "Of course you do, Angel. You never fail to get me, do you?"