“I thought maybe you two hooked up, and then you rejected him afterwards,” he said. “That’s not really his style, but I can’t think of anything else.”
“I’ve never touched him. I barely even know him,” I said. Then I tilted my head curiously. “Why do you want to know, anyway?”
He scrubbed a hand over his chin. “Uh… the guys and I might’ve made a sneaky bet about the whole situation,” he said in a half-guilty, half-mischievous tone of voice.
“Oh? And what’s this bet you might have made?”
“First one to correctly guess why he hates you wins.”
“Ah. So that’s why you lured me here. To get all the goss.”
He grinned. “Hey, you had an ulterior motive too,” he said. “You wanted to be seen with me at the party to get under Hunter’s skin.”
A smile curled up my lips. “Fair enough.”
“So there’s really nothing going on between you two?”
“Nope.” I shook my head.
“And nothing’s happened in the past?”
“Nope.”
“Damn. Guess I lost that bet,” he said, shoulders sagging slightly. “But that means I won something else.”
I frowned. “What’s that?”
He took a step closer. “Well, if there’s really nothing between you and Hunter, then it doesn’t matter if I do this.” He slowly stroked one finger over my cheek and leaned down, lips only inches from mine. “I consider that a win.”
“Wait,” I murmured. “I don’t want—”
I didn’t need to finish my sentence to stop him from kissing me. Hunter did it for me by charging into the clearing and yanking Chris away from me.
He slammed him up against the decaying stone building, eyes blazing. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled.
Chris struggled under his grip. “Hey, get off me, man! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You know what’s wrong,” Hunter practically spat. “You’re out here trying to hook up with her.”
“So?”
“So she’s off-limits! How many fucking times do I have to tell you?”
“Jesus, whatever. I’ll go, okay?” Chris muttered, holding up one hand. “No pussy in the world is worth this amount of shit.”
I rolled my eyes. What a lovely sentiment.
“Guess I’ll catch you later, Laney,” he went on, giving me a rueful smile as Hunter loosened his grip on him. He headed back down the path, boots loudly crashing over twigs and mounds of dead leaves.
I turned on Hunter, cutting my eyes at him as a rush of angry adrenaline slammed through me. “Why am I ‘off-limits’?” I asked, putting the term in air quotes. “Why do you care who kisses me?”
He took a few steps toward me, closing the distance between us.
Before he could say anything, I shook my head and went on. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were jealous,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’d think you followed us all the way out here and pulled him away because you want to be the one kissing me!”
Hunter’s fingers moved to my chin, dragging my face upward before sliding around to lock at the back of my neck. All the air in my lungs vanished. I was trapped in his grip now, lips only inches from his cruel yet beautiful mouth.
“I guess I haven’t been clear enough with you,” he said in a dangerously low voice. He moved his other hand to my throat and ran one finger across my collarbone. His steely gaze told me I might regret provoking him.