Page 168 of My Treasured Obsession

“Do they hurt?”

“No.” I pecked her forehead, taking a moment to breathe in her familiar vanilla and red roses scent. “I’m okay.”

I cleaned myself as best as I could and zipped up my pants. Then I dragged Gabriela into my arms and grabbed my jacket from the ground. “Ready?”

“Ready.” Her arms and legs vined around me, and I walked us out of the woods. “I had fun, Hunt. Best party ever.”

I laughed and she chased the sound with kisses all over my throat. “Me too, Gabby.”

Now I just wanted to take her home so I could wash us properly, make her a hot tea, see our Luna, and tuck them both into bed.

The clothes we’d thrown in front of my car were a rain-drenched mess, but at least I had an extra football jersey and blanket in my trunk that Gabriela could use. I’d crank up the heat on our drive so she could get warm.

A ruby red nail drew between my pecs before she pressed a kiss to my sternum. “I’m sorry for marking you, Hunter.”

“I’m not,” I said. “But if you do want to apologize, let me hear it in your language.”

As I neared my car, Gabriela bent her head and kissed each one of the scratches, taking her time and smiling in between. “Scusa, bello. Perdonami.”

Longing unfurled in my chest. I pressed her against the side of my Jaguar, peering down into her eyes. “Are you going to do it again?”

Understanding dawned in her gaze. “Yes.”

“And why is that?” I rasped, touching my forehead to hers.

“Because you’re infinitely mine, Hunter,” she murmured. “You always have been, since the moment we laid eyes on each other.”

You’re infinitely mine, Hunter.

There weren’t enough words to describe what that statement did to me.

I murmured back, “Finally, you caught on, doll.”

CHAPTER 38

Bone Of Contention

Gabriela

Friday afternoon, I was in the spacious WIB student association’s office on the eighth floor of Vesta University’s business school. Everyone was gone for the day, including Hera, who left a few minutes ago after handing me some cheques from our sponsors. I needed to pass by the bank before closing time to have these deposited, since we’d be using the funds to cater food for our upcoming event.

I was answering a last-minute email from my teammate, who asked if we had the budget to purchase customized USB flash drives to hand out during our next team bonding activity, when I heard the unmistakable sound of keys jingling on the other side of the office door.

A few seconds later, the door swung open and Morgan Huxley entered.

My spine stiffened.

The particles in the room shifted to accommodate her infuriating energy. All the previous tranquility I felt was siphoned out. Now I was tense and doing my best not to glance away from my laptop screen.

I pressed send on my email while she headed for the desk opposite mine.

Of all the places she could have situated herself in, she chose the one closest to me…

Ignoring her, I opened up my spreadsheet with an overview of our upcoming expenses.

“Rude,” she remarked with snark, throwing her bag loudly across the desk and stationing herself on the office chair. “You don’t even say hi.”

My temper flared.