Holding On (Wildcreek Ranch Series Book 3)

Chapter Fifteen

Rihanna backed away to escape, but Hunter's hand shot out and caught her by the wrist, pulling her into his arms. There was a barely suppressed, raw hunger in his eyes, which made her realize that he had lost control. His hand caught her pinning her to himself while his other hand cupped her cheek and crashed his mouth to hers. 

The kiss was deep, powerful, and possessive, leaving her with no air to breathe. His tongue plunged into her mouth and dominated the kiss, devouring her to the point of no return. For an entire week, Rihanna knew that this was exactly what she had wanted, what had been missing from her life. The kiss had her floating on air, making her realize Hunter had crept into her system and had become her new drug. His kisses induced a new form of ecstasy in her. His tongue was warm and forceful, igniting a similar response inside her, making her kiss him back with equal fervor.

His hands began exploring and the way they roamed all over was a clear indication that he wanted more. He held her tight against his hard and hot body making her acutely aware of his hardness pressed against her. Rihanna felt her knees weaken and turn to jelly. She had to wrap her arms around his neck for support, pressing herself more into him. The kiss continued, with both of them not getting enough of the other. He pulled away reluctantly, leaving them both breathing heavily.

"Hunter, I...," she started but his thumb touched her lips to quieten her.

"No, I won't stop," he said, imploring with her.

His mouth trailed to her neck and to her throat, pressing hot kisses, marking her with his teeth and tongue. Realization dawned upon her that she had left Robbie alone.

"Hunter, Robbie's all alone, stop please," she breathed when she came back to her senses. She knew that this was sheer madness. She couldn't stay away from Hunter even if she wanted to. His kisses made her come alive and it seemed like he was all she ever wanted.

Hunter's hands dropped to his sides and he closed his eyes, releasing her all of a sudden. "Go," he ordered, clenching his teeth, fisting his hands to control himself.

"Hunter," she started again. She couldn't just leave him like this.

"Just go," he opened his eyes and she could see him battling in his mind to restrain himself. She couldn't go despite his order. She raised her hand and touched his cheek. It was a tender touch to calm him down. He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. He picked up her other hand and did the same to it. Then he wound both her arms around his own neck, his hands going to her waist as he embedded his face into her neck.

"Don't I mean a thing to you, Rihanna?" he asked in a tortured voice.

Robbie's scared scream rang through the house and Rihanna jumped away from his arms and ran inside the house in a panic. Even Hunter followed her expecting the worst. They saw him standing on the couch watching the TV with frightened eyes. Rihanna rushed and pulled him into her arms.

"It's okay sweetie. I've got you. Why did you scream?" she asked with concern.

"There was a monster on TV and it was coming at me," he whispered. Hunter rolled his eyes and switched off the TV.

"Why do you watch such programs then?" he said in a displeased tone, walking back to his store room. Rihanna sighed. Why was he behaving like an impossible and jealous child? He had become worse than Robbie at the moment. She concentrated on making dinner while Robbie sat at the kitchen counter doing his school homework that she had assigned to the children in class. Her mind was on what Hunter was up to since there wasn't any noise of hammering coming from the store room. She couldn't leave Robbie and go and find out. Throughout the time that she made dinner, he didn't appear even once. It made her think that he was ignoring her on purpose. It hurt her immensely. Why was she here if all he wanted to do was ignore her?

Afterward, she served Robbie his dinner. "Won't you eat Miss Anna?" he asked innocently.

"I'll go and call your uncle first, Robbie. God knows what he's up to. Dinner's ready and he's vanished already," she said with an eye roll. Robbie giggled.

"He's sad, I think," said Robbie, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Really? But why?" asked Rihanna curiously.

"You and I are friends but Uncle Hunt has no friend. He feels lonely. Miss Anna, why can't you be Uncle Hunt's friend too?" asked Robbie. Rihanna smiled at his innocent question. She couldn't tell him that she and Hunter could never be just friends. With such a wild attraction devouring the two of them, it was impossible to be just friends with him. Then what were they? It was a question that Rihanna pushed away to the back of her mind, unanswered.

"I can be if your uncle Hunt wants me to, " said Rihanna with a shrug. Robbie considered her answer and then his face brightened up and he looked up at her.

"I think he wants to marry you," he explained like it was the obvious reason for his uncle's strange behavior. Rihanna blushed a little.

"Oh, maybe. I'll just go and get him. Okay?" He nodded.

"Come soon, Miss Anna. I don't like being alone for long," he said and Rihanna nodded.

"I'll be back in a jiffy, " she said with a grin, rushing towards the store room again with a rapidly beating heart. She had no idea why Robbie said that. Did Hunter really want to marry her? She peeped into the store room. He wasn't there. Now where did he go?

"Hunter? Dinner's ready." No answer. She went into the next room which looked like an office room. She walked into the office room hearing some noises coming from the adjoining washroom. As she walked towards it, her glance fell onto the floor. She froze seeing drops of blood trail all the way from the door towards the washroom. She panicked. What was going on? Did Hunter injure himself? She rushed towards the washroom and saw that it was slightly ajar. Pushing it open, she tried to get in when Hunter growled.

"What the f*ck are you doing here?" He looked mad at her as he stood at the wash basin, washing the gash on his thumb and palm. Rihanna gasped seeing him injured.

"Oh my God, you're bleeding," she said as her eyes filled with tears.

"It's nothing, just a scratch, " he said, gazing at her tear-stricken face. She caught his hand and brought him out of the washroom. She made him sit on a chair in the office room. "Where's the first aid kit?" she asked him, sniffing through tears.

"In the bathroom, there," he said pointing at the cabinet inside the bathroom. Rihanna went to get the first aid box. She came back and saw that he was sitting at the desk. She went closer and picked up his injured hand.

"Why do you do such things to yourself? Can't you be more careful?" she scolded him as she picked up the antiseptic and dabbed at his wound, tears pouring down her face. Hunter didn't once look away from her. He sat hypnotized as if he didn't even feel the sting of the antiseptic, as if he didn't even feel hurt by the wound. He lifted his right hand and wiped her tears away.

"Why are you crying, Rihanna?" he asked in a soft whisper.

"I'm not crying," she said impatiently, blowing into his wound to reduce the sting of the antiseptic. "Is it hurting a lot?" she asked him, her eyes going to his with concern.

Hunter shook his head. "That's not hurting at all. I'm hurting here, " he said thumping his heart. Rihanna lowered her eyes, as a faint color stained her cheeks. She applied some medicines and bandaged his wound to stop the blood flow.

"Dinner is ready. Please come and eat," she whispered. Hunter nodded and followed her out. Robbie had finished his dinner already. He was very concerned seeing his uncle's injured hand.

"You need someone to take care of you, Uncle Hunt, " he concluded wisely, glancing at Rihanna. She quietly served dinner for Hunter and herself, acutely aware of the conversation going on at the dining table. She was curious to know what answer Hunter would give him.

"I already have, " said Hunter with a chuckle.

"Miss Anna? Have you and Miss Anna become friends now?" he asked excitedly.

"No, she's your friend. I was talking about you. You can take care of me," said Hunter. Robbie pouted. He had wanted his uncle to be friends with Miss Anna and marry her already. That way she could stay with them forever. Rihanna felt disappointed by Hunter's answer. She had no idea what she had expected to hear, but not this. So what was she to Hunter?