Page 9 of Crossed Paths (The Ramblers of St. Claire #2)

Hunter

T he first thing I register is warmth. The second is her hand.

It's slow, soft, deliberate—stroking my cock under the duvet with a confidence that’s both tender and electric.

My eyes are still heavy with sleep, but the sensation is impossible to ignore.

I let out a breath, rough and surprised, and squint down at her through the early light filtering in around the curtains.

She’s propped on one elbow beside me, sheet draped low across her chest, hair mussed and tumbling around her face in fiery waves. Her expression is focused, but there’s a hint of mischief tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Alex,” I rasp, voice thick with sleep, “what are you doing?”

She glances up at me, and her smile is slow, almost shy—but the way her hand keeps moving says otherwise. “I want a little bit more,” she murmurs. “Before we go back to our lives.”

That hits me in the chest harder than it should .

Our lives. Like this… us is something separate. Temporary. Something to be folded up and put away like a summer duvet.

I reach out, brushing her hair gently back from her face, fingers lingering on her cheek.

Then I roll, smooth and steady, shifting her beneath me. She lets me, her thighs parting just enough to cradle my hips, her hands coming to rest on my chest. I look down at her, and she’s everything—bare, real, watching me like she’s bracing for the moment I turn to smoke.

I press my forehead to hers, close enough to feel her breath catch.

“You know this isn’t just one night,” I whisper. “You know that… right?”

She doesn’t answer straight away. Just studies my face like she’s trying to find the edges of something she doesn’t quite trust yet.

Then, softly, “I’m not sure how that’s supposed to work.”

My thumb brushes along her jaw. “Alex, it’s not complicated. I’m a single man. You’re a single woman. We date. You know… dinners. Cinema. More of this—” I thrust my hard cock against her clit, just enough to make her breath hitch. “There’s nothing unusual about that.”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “You want to date me?”

I lift a brow. “What wasn’t clear when I said, ‘That wasn’t casual for me’? When I told you, ‘I’ve wanted you for longer than I can explain’? And I didn’t just mean that night, Alex. I meant you.”

She goes quiet then. Not pulling away. Just… quiet.

Like she’s trying to absorb it, hold it up to the light, see if it casts a shadow .

I don’t press.

I just watch her.

She exhales slowly, then says, “What about my brother?”

I blink. “What about him?”

“He’s your friend,” she says, not quite meeting my eyes. “Isn’t there… I don’t know. Some kind of code?”

I laugh. “Firstly, I can take Pete any day of the week.”

That earns me the smallest flicker of a smile, which I count as a win.

“And secondly, yeah. There’s a code. You don’t screw with your best friend’s sister. But if you fall for her?” I pause, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek. “Then there are no rules. Not anymore.”

She swallows, something flickering behind her eyes.

And just like that, I go still. Serious.

“What is this really about, Alex?”

She doesn’t answer.

Just lies there beneath me, her eyes unreadable, her lips parted like she might speak but hasn’t decided how yet.

And she lets me hang.

The silence stretches. Not long in seconds, maybe, but long enough for every buried fear to start crawling its way back up my throat.

God. What if this is it?

What if last night, this morning, was just a moment for her? A flicker of something she needed in the dark, but nothing she wants to carry into the daylight?

I thought I could handle this. Thought if all I ever got was one night, I’d take it. Gratefully. Quietly.

But now?

Now I’ve kissed her with everything I’ve got. Now I know what she sounds like when she gasps my name. I know the way her body curves into mine in the quiet, the way she says "Hunter" like it means something. Like I mean something.

And if she walks away now, if she looks me in the eye and tells me this was just… something to help her feel again, I honestly don’t know if I’ll come back from it.

Then, barely louder than breath, she whispers, “I’m scared.”

I lock eyes with her. “Why?”

“Because after my marriage imploded, I told myself I was done with all of this. With feelings. With wanting. Who needs that kind of pain?”

I stay quiet. Let her speak.

“I built a life that didn’t rely on anyone. I made things simple. Safe. And now... I don’t know how to let someone back in. Not really. Not when there’s a chance it could all fall apart again.”

I nod slowly, the lump in my throat thick and sharp. “That’s funny.”

She looks up, surprised.

“Because I’m petrified of you walking away. Of giving you everything and watching you decide it’s too much. That I’m too much. That we’re not worth the fallout.”

Her eyes search mine, wide and uncertain.

“And yet,” she says quietly, “you still want more.”

“Yes.” I don’t hesitate. “Because you are worth the risk.”

Her eyes scan my face like she’s searching for cracks, for signs I might not mean it. I hold her gaze, steady as I can, letting her see everything.

Then, slowly, she leans up and presses the softest kiss to the base of my throat, right over my Adam’s apple. Her lips are warm, lingering there just a second longer than necessary.

She mumbles against my skin, “Okay. Let’s give it a try.”

My chest tightens—relief, disbelief, something close to joy.

“But you tell my brother,” she giggles.

I let out a laugh and tip her chin up so I can kiss her. It’s not rushed. Just firm. Certain.

When I pull back, I rest my forehead against hers.

“I promise,” I say steadily. “I’ll talk to Peter.”

"So, I think I was busy when you stopped me," she says, her hand reaching out to stroke my length.

I feel a jolt of anticipation as her fingers trail downward, coming to rest on my cock. She gives it a gentle squeeze, and I let out a soft groan.

" You were, " I agreed my voice hoarse with want.

Alex’s smile widens as she pushes me to my back, before she leans down, her lips brushing against the tip of my dick. I shiver as her tongue flicks out, tasting me, and then she takes me into her mouth, her lips wrapping around me in a warm, wet heat.

I moan, my hands tangling in her hair as she begins to move, her mouth sliding up and down my length.

She knows exactly what to do, using her tongue and lips to tease and torment me, driving me to the brink of ecstasy.

Her hand reaches down, cupping my balls, and I gasp as she gently rubs the spot just behind them before her fingers trail up between my arse cheeks.

"Fuck, Alex," I groan, my hips bucking upward as she continues her explorations.

But I can’t last much longer and I need to taste her, to feel her body against mine. With a groan, I sit up. My cock pops from her mouth and she gives me a little pout. I pull her to me, my hands gripping her hips.

"Sit on my face, Alex," I commanded, my voice thick with desire. "Let me taste you before I make you ride me."

Her eyes darken with passion, and she nods, straddling my face and lowering herself onto my mouth. I waste no time, my tongue delving into her wetness, tasting her sweetness as she moans above me. I lap at her, my tongue flicking and probing, driving her wild as she grinds herself against my face.

Her hands tangle in my hair, holding me in place as she rides my mouth, her hips moving in a steady rhythm. I can feel her getting closer, her body tensing as she nears the edge.

"Oh, Hunter," she gasps, her voice breathy and desperate. "I'm close."

I smile against her, my tongue working overtime as I urge her on. "Come for me, Alex," I murmur. "Let me taste your sweet release."

And then she falls apart, her body shuddering as she cries out, her juices flooding my mouth. I drink her in, savouring her flavour as she rides out her orgasm.

As she collapses onto the bed, breathless and sated, I take the opportunity to reposition ourselves. I roll her onto her back, kneeling between her thighs as I gaze down at her.

I tap her clit with my hard cock and coax another little moan out of her before positioning myself at her entrance. I tease her with the tip of my cock and then slowly push inside. She is wet and tight, her body welcoming me with a warmth that makes my head spin.

I begin to move, my hips snapping as I thrust into her, our bodies moving in a steady rhythm. Alexandra calls out, her hands gripping my shoulders as she meets my thrusts, her heels digging into my back.

"Fuck, you feel good," I groan, my voice hoarse with need.

"You too," she pants, her eyes rolling back in her head as I hit a particularly sweet spot.

I lean down, capturing her lips in a fierce kiss as I continued to move inside her. Our tongues tangled, our breaths mingling as we lose ourselves in the sensation.

But I want to see her, to watch as she comes apart beneath me. I break the kiss, gazing down into her eyes as I increase my pace, my cock driving deeper into her.

"Look at me, Alex," I command. "Come for me. Let me see you fall apart."

Her eyes lock onto mine, and I watched as her body tenses, her walls clench around me as she nears the edge.

"Oh, Hunter," she gasps. "I'm –"

Her words are cut off by a cry of pleasure as she comes, her body shuddering as she climaxes around me. And that’s all it takes. It’s my undoing. With a groan, I follow her over the edge, spilling myself deep inside her as I ride out my own orgasm.

And in this moment, I promise myself: whatever happens, I will make this work between us, because this woman is my life.