“You didn’t,” he said, his voice dropping low, a delicious thrill running through me as I looked between Boone and Hunter.
“What are you going to do about it, Sheriff? All these talks about handcuffs and still I have yet to see them. If you’re not going to share you could at least let Boone and I use them.”
“Why you little…”
He darted towards me, his sudsy hands going for the kill as he began to tickle me in earnest, the action so surprising I couldn’t help the peals of laughter that rolled from my mouth.
“Boone! Save me!” I pleaded between squeals as the other alpha looked upon us with amusement, a wide smile beneath his beard.
“You started that one, baby girl,” Boone said, finally rising from the table and bringing in his plate.
“Hunt!” I exclaimed, trying to get the alpha back and finally getting the spot behind his knee.
“That does it,” he said, his hands finding the underside of my thighs and lifting me on the counter in front of him, holding me in one place.
Our breaths came quicker, our hands stilling as we realized the position we found ourselves in. Hunter’s eyes were blown, his pupil almost entirely encasing his iris as his salty ocean scent swelled and left me leaning closer to him.
“Autumn,” he breathed my name like a prayer. We both took a long, shaky breath, as if we hadn’t already committed the scent to memory.
I didn’t dare move as he rested his head against mine, his hands tightening on my thighs as he wrestled for control of himself for a second.
While every part of me wanted to nudge him over that precarious edge he was balancing on with his self control, I knew I’d rather he come to me free and clear of the issues he was working through and I didn’t begrudge him that.
Our relationship had developed into something deeper than sex and I cared about him enough to give him an easy way out without making him explain himself.
“It’s okay, Hunt,” I said, nudging his nose with mine.
His eyes closed then as he whispered, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said, nudging him again so he’d open his eyes. “Just think of how much ammunition this gives me for teasing you in the future.”
Those blue eyes found mine and the relief in them was astounding as a laugh left him, the tension draining from his shoulders as he stepped away.
Boone was next to us, putting a pot on the stove, as he looked between us.
“Early shift tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Hunter nodded. “I’m going to probably wind down and turn in too. You need anything else?”
“I’ve got it, brother,” Boone said, the two of them exchanging hugs before Hunter excused himself, leaving a lingering glare for me.
“It’s something special the way you all care for one another,” I said, swinging my feet as I sat on the counter.
“I’m grateful you brought us back together,” Boone admitted, his openness warming my heart.
Every day he seemed to be coming out of his shell more and more, he didn’t try to make himself smaller when I walked into the room anymore and he actively sought me out, both for conversation and affection.
We had a heart to heart not too long ago where he opened up about the frankly horrifying situation that Heidi had weaved. I was more than glad to hear that she had moved out of Holiday Hollow to say the least.
I respected that Boone did what he needed to do to put himself back together, and between learning of that and the anxiety that he’d been battling since his parents’ boating accident, I admired the man even more.
While I had only lost my mom, it was nice to have someone who understood what kind of hole that left sometimes.
“You keep saying it was me, bear, but you did all the work,” I said, the scent of rich chocolate and warm spices filling the air. “Please tell me you're making our favorite cocoa.”
“I’m making our favorite cocoa,” he confirmed, grabbing down two mugs and setting them near the stove.
“You’re too good to me.”