Page 56

I stood beside Joe, my fingers brushing against the smooth fabric of the gown he’d given me.

No matter how good it felt or how obsessed I was with it, I couldn’t shake Joe’s sudden silence.

He was so happy to see me, but now his posture was stiff, his jaw tight as his eyes watched the crowd like he was preparing for something to go wrong.

I followed his line of sight, and that was when I noticed that he wasn’t watching everyone else; he was looking right at Hunter.

Hunter cut through the hall effortlessly, looking utterly unfazed by the glittering chaos around him. His dark suit looked crisp, fitting him perfectly, yet somehow, he looked like he couldn’t care less about it.

My stomach was a mess.

“Grace?” Joe’s voice snapped me back, but Hunter was already standing in front of us, his hands casually tucked into his pocket while he looked at me with the faintest smirk on his lips.

“Grace,” he acknowledged me with my name rather than his usual nickname. “Mind if I steal you for a dance?”

Joe stiffened immediately. “Yeah, actually, I do.”

My eyes widened, but Hunter didn’t blink. He just tilted his head slightly, completely unbothered.

“Joe,” I hissed, turning to him. “It’s just a dance. Everyone else is doing it.”

Joe’s jaw tightened. “Do you remember what happened last time you got too close to him? Or did moving dorms wipe your memory clean?”

I flinched. “It’s not like that,” I shot back, lowering my voice. “He’s still my friend.” A friend who was also not a friend and one I slept with on a regular basis.

Joe didn’t look happy about that remark. After all, he seemed to dislike Hunter after the Riftkeeper situation.

He shook his head, exhaling sharply, and motioned a hand to the rest of the Ascendants dancing. “Fine.”

Hunter’s smirk deepened. “Glad we settled that, sir.”

Joe glared at him as I took Hunter’s outstretched hand, his grip warm, steady, and forever welcoming.

Hunter guided me onto the dance floor just as the harp’s final notes faded into the air, replaced by something softer—slower. An orchestral version of With or Without You began to play, haunting and tender, like the song itself had been made for this moment.

We stopped at the center of the floor, the music curling around us like a secret. Hunter’s hands found my waist while my own hands hovered for a second until I finally let them rest on his shoulders.

Everyone else was dancing apart, keeping space between bodies. And then there were us—far too close and aware of each other.

From across the room, I caught Eden staring at us, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. I shook my head as I glanced back at Hunter.

“We should probably try to look less... couple-y ,” I muttered.

“Don’t focus on everyone else, Bambi,” he said, keeping his gaze fixed on me. “It’s just us right now.”

I swallowed, feeling that familiar heat creep up my neck.

We swayed slowly to the music, and for a moment, the chatter around us dulled.

“You clean up well,” I said, breaking the silence.

You clean up well? Who even said that anymore?

Still, he chuckled. It was so deep, so masculine, it had me shivering. “You think so?”

I nodded. “Don’t let it get to your head, though. The last thing I need is for you to become vain too.”

Hunter leaned in just enough that I could feel his breath against my ear. “Too late.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to hide the smile tugging at my lips.

He pulled back slightly, studying me. Something softer lingered in his eyes. “You’re dangerous, you know that?”

I raised a brow. “Shouldn’t it be the other way, considering I’m the helpless little Bambi and you’re the big bad huntsman?”

He chuckled under his breath. “You’re far from helpless, Grace.”

My stomach did a flip. “Oh, but I am. Trust me, I mean, I know. When I was little, I tried to climb this tree in our back garden because I thought if I got high enough, I could touch the clouds—don’t laugh, I was like six—and I got stuck halfway up because I didn’t think about how I’d get down.

Joe ended up having to use his wings just to come get me because I was crying, thinking I’d have to live in the tree forever like some weird forest hermit.

And then, in school, I froze during a presentation about dolphins, and I just stood there, staring at my cue cards like they were in another language.

So yeah, I have a long and unfortunate history of being helpless in many situations. ”

I realized I hadn’t taken a breath and clamped my mouth shut.

Hunter was staring at me, brow raised with that infuriating smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Heat flooded my face, and I looked away. “Please forget everything I said.”

“Never,” he whispered, and my breath caught as I glanced his way again. His eyes flickered briefly over my shoulder. “Come with me.”

I hesitated. “What?”

“When no one’s watching. Slip out.”

The music came to a quiet close, and just like that, we stopped dancing, and he was gone, disappearing back into the crowd.

I hesitated for a heartbeat, pulse thundering in my ears, before casting a glance over my shoulder at Joe. His back was to me, deep in conversation with Sariel and a few other Celestials from the Healers’ Sector.

I released a slow breath, waiting for the perfect moment. When I was certain no one was watching, I slipped away.

Hunter stood outside the hall, leaning against the stone wall as if he had all the time in the world. “Ready to break a few more rules, Bambi?” he asked, pushing off the wall once he saw me.

I chuckled, taking his hand as I followed him into the night, the cool winter air hitting my skin as we left the warmth and noise of the ball behind.

We went past the training grounds and slipped deep into the woods.

Hunter moved ahead, leading us to a small clearing.

There, he found a few sticks, built a small tinder, and set it alight with a lighter.

The flames flickered and danced, casting a soft light against his features and causing something in my chest to tighten.

He turned to me, and I closed the space between us before I could think twice. Our lips met in the middle in a power-hungry kiss.

There was no hesitation this time.

We’d been craving it since we saw each other inside the ball.

His hands slid down my back, pulling me closer.

The cold night air seemed to vanish as Hunter’s lips moved with purpose—slow, deliberate, yet laced with hunger.

His hand found the curve of my hips, gripping me firmly before trailing lower.

I bit my lip, and he broke the kiss just enough to rest his forehead against mine, his breath ragged.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured, but there was enough of a rough edge to his voice like he was barely holding himself together.

I didn’t hesitate when I said, “Don’t.”

That was all he needed.

Hunter kissed me again, rougher this time, backing me up against a tree before he slowly lowered himself to his knees in front of me.

His hands slipped beneath my gown, but his eyes were fixed on me as I watched him lift the hem of my dress, bunching the soft fabric slowly, teasingly, until the cool air kissed my thighs.

“Hold still.” His voice was like pure smoke. I wanted to inhale it.

The next minute, his lips were on me.

The first touch of his mouth was gentle, testing almost, but it sent a sharp jolt of pleasure through me that made my knees nearly buckle.

Hunter’s hands gripped my thighs, anchoring me in place as his mouth moved with devastating precision.

Heat instantly bloomed low in my belly, spreading outward in waves.

I gasped, threading my fingers into his hair, tugging lightly, and he groaned against me—a low vibrating sound that only made the tension inside me coil tighter.

Every slow, deliberate stroke of his tongue pushed me closer to the edge, and I couldn’t stop the whimpering sounds that escaped my lips.

Hunter pulled back just enough to glance up at me, his lips glistening. “I love it when you fall apart for me.”

I didn’t have the strength to form a coherent response. My head tipped back, and I was lost in the way he moved against me, relentless and patient all at once.

The fire crackled ahead of us, and as the pleasure finally shattered through me, it was like falling. It was... like gravity.

Hunter didn’t let go until I was trembling in his grasp, barely able to stand. Only then did he rise slowly, catching me before I could collapse entirely.

His lips brushed my ear as he held me steady. “I could spend forever learning how to make you feel like that.”

The words sank deep, curling around something fragile in my chest.

He wasn’t smirking at me when he leaned back just enough to meet my eyes. He wasn’t trying to tease me. If anything, he sounded as though he was making me a promise.

I swallowed hard as I leaned into him, completely undone.

The world could have ended at that moment, and I wouldn’t have cared.

I almost told him then.

I love you.

The words hovered on my tongue, but I buried them deep.

Not yet.

Instead, I tightened my hold on him and pressed the side of my head against his chest, letting myself fall even harder.