Hunter

Chapter Twelve

 Hunter ~

It had been two hours since Kenzie had gone to bed, but Hunter tossed and turned, unable to find sleep.

How could someone ever hurt Kenzie?

His protective instincts flared and he felt like he was going to come out of his skin and the thought of her sleeping in the next room. He wanted to go to her and comfort her. He wanted her to stop hiding how she felt in front of him, but knew that made him the worlds biggest hypocrite. 

Hunters emotions were all over the map but one thing was for certain - he cared for Kenzie deeply...but he didn't want to. His feelings for her were visceral and hard to control and he hated that.

Turning over for the hundredth time, Hunter repositioned himself, but froze when he heard her bedroom door open, letting some light spill into the dark living room.

She never turns off the lights.

She tip toed through the kitchen, flicking on small nightlights to light her way, sniffling between steps as if she had been crying.

Hunter lifted his head from the couch to get a better look only to find Kenzie, red eyed and puffy with little wisps of hair clinging to her neck with sweat.

She opened the fridge door with a shaky hand and grabbed a water bottle, gulping at the contents before she even realized Hunter was awake.

"You okay?" Hunters deep voice echoed through the apartment, causing Kenzie to jump and nearly drop her water bottle.

Dammit I scared her.

"Shit." She whispered, clutching her chest as Hunter got up from the couch and moved closer into the light so she could see him.

"I didn't realize you were awake...or shirtless."

Kenzie swallowed hard but quickly regained her self control and brought her eyes up to meet Hunters who was looking down at her with a smirk.

"Can't sleep?" Hunter asked.

"I never can when my anxiety's this high. I get night terrors."

Hunters face filled with concern as he took a step forward, closing the space between them.

"Don't worry it's pretty much par for the course for me. I'm used to it. More of an annoyance than anything else." Kenzie said with a smile, hiding from him still.

Hunter looked down at her soft skin that was beaded with sweat, trying not to notice how unbelievably gorgeous she looked in her crop top and shorts.

Get a hold of yourself Hunter.

He watched as she took another sip of her drink and rubbed at the center of her chest, taking in shaky ragged breaths.

"Heart racin?" Hunter asked, as he reached forward and ran his hand up and down her back.

"Yeah. It'll settle down eventually. This happens to me all the time. It's no big deal. Really."

Kenzie swiped a tear from her cheek and smiled up at Hunter, trying and failing to conceal how rattled she was by her night terror.

"Kenz...it's okay for you to feel things other than happiness you know." Hunter said, taking a small step forward.

"I know that." Kenzie said meekly, realizing he was catching onto her game.

Hunter ran this hand down her arm, letting the pads of his fingers make a light trail down her soft skin toward her wrist before wrapping his fingers across her thumping veins.