Page 18

Chapter 18

Hunter

A gentle, rolling wave washes over me as I hover in the space between sleep and alertness. Drowsiness and a deep ache in my low belly urge me to rest. To lay down my defenses. To give up the fight, at least for a little while.

It’s no use.

My mind is awake, unwilling to allow the rest of me to remain in that dreamless state.

I crack my eyes open, finding a dark room. A large hand encircles my bare hip, anchoring me to the mattress as prominent hardness presses into my backside.

Sione .

Wordlessly, I weave my fingers with his and bring our hands to the front of my body. His enormous frame engulfs me. In this moment, I feel so warm. So safe. So wanted and loved.

With a sweep of my hair to one side, he kisses my bare shoulder.

“What time is it?” I ask through a yawn.

“It’s the between time,” he whispers back.

With my free hand, I search the mattress in front of me but find nothing but cool, smooth fabric. Greedy and Levi must be up already. They’ve been rising early to work out before everyone goes their separate ways for the day. Spence hasn’t come to bed yet—if he plans to at all. I swear he has to be sleeping in Decker’s office or maybe just sticking to the upstairs bedroom. He’s barely set foot in here since his surprise reveal.

“What’s the between time?”

Sione nudges his nose along my neck, cuddling closer.

“Hundreds of years ago, our ancestors slept in two shifts. There was the first sleep—the deep, restful slumber that happened around nightfall—then there was the second sleep. It usually occurred from first light to sunrise. There weren’t specific times assigned to the sleeps, but they existed in all cultures all over the planet. This was before electricity and artificial light.”

Levi was right—everything Si says sounds like poetry. I could listen to him whisper in the dark all damn night.

“The between time isn’t widely recognized anymore. But it was universal then. It was a time for having a small meal or stoking a fire. For checking on the children. Making love in the moonlight. It was a time to connect in the ways that weren’t possible during the hustle and bustle of the day.”

“Do you want to make love, Si?” I ask, vulnerability coating my every word. I didn’t wake up needy and wanting—I woke feeling warm and safe and loved—but if that’s what the between time is for, who am I to argue?

He lifts our joined hands and kisses my knuckles. “I do not. I just want to hold you and give our souls this quiet time, when the demands of the world and the others don’t feel quite so loud.”

His rejection soothes rather than stings. Sione has a way of making me feel loved and cared for well beyond the physical needs of my libido.

I don’t need the same attentiveness I get from Levi or the insatiable longing I feel with Greedy. I don’t need him to connect with my darkness the way Spence is so keen to do. With Sione, I don’t have to overthink anything. Our souls intertwine and soothe each other with little conscious effort.

I curl into him, not stopping until I’m met with the hardness of his bare chest and thick thighs. “Hold me, please.”

“Always, Mahina. Always.”

We fall asleep like that. For how long, I couldn’t say. When I wake next, I roll over and prop my head on my hand.

Sione’s eyes are still closed, but I know he’s awake. Present and ever attentive.

“Can I ask you something?” I whisper.

“Of course.”

“Do you like it here?”

He slowly opens his eyes, the brown of his irises so deep it’s almost impossible to distinguish in the dark. “I like being with you,” he says, his word choice as deliberate and thoughtful as ever.

“But not here? In North Carolina?”

He rolls his lips, considering his answer.

“This place—it feels like a stopover.” He takes my hand and plasters it over the center of his chest. “Nothing is settled. The uncertainty of what lies ahead clouds my ability to like it or dislike it. I do like the people,” he murmurs. “Your other men. Your friend and her cohort. I really like being part of something bigger than myself. This group dynamic—whatever we are and whatever we’re going to be—I like it a lot, and one day, I may even grow to love it.”

Not a single part of his confession surprises me. I expected this kind of response, though I couldn’t have articulated it on my own. I can always count on Si to be fully transparent and steadfast. It’s why I feel so secure in our relationship.

For long moments, we study each other in the darkness, letting the reality of the situation somber the mood. With a sigh, I roll to my back.

He follows and rests a hand on my cheek. “Please don’t be upset, Mahina. It’s not a good use of my energy to form feelings about something so temporary.”

Without my permission, his words take root deep inside me, and dread washes over me.

“Temporary?” I breathe. I can’t shut down. I won’t. We need to be honest with each other now more than ever.

Despite my brave determination, a single tear still rolls down my cheek.

Sione catches it with a thumb, then pops the digit into his mouth.

“This place. These hardships. They’re all temporary, Mahina. They’re temporary, but they’re no match for our love. Nothing could tear me away from you.”

Understanding soothes the unraveling edges of my anxiety. I wiggle my way close, and he settles on his back again, holding me and letting me shed a few more tears as I come to terms with the reality that it’s not over. We’re not done. We still have a fight ahead of us, one way or another.

Eventually, he drags me so I’m sprawled over one side of him, his hands finding my low back, his strong knuckles digging into the tense muscles there.

Tension seeps out of me as he works. With every exhale, another pound of stress drops away. I’m not ready to rise and greet the day, but I’m not sleepy, either.

“Have you talked to Kitty lately?”

Though it’s dark, Sione’s entire soul lights up with joy at the mention of his grandmother. “I have. Two days ago when you were at school. My sister arrived last week. All is well, and she sends her love.”

An idea springs to mind then. Something to look forward to. Something to hope for.

“Could we go there soon? All of us? Together?”

He splays a hand between my shoulder blades. “You want to go back to Lake Como?”

“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. “I miss it so much.”

“You are aware there’s a lake right outside the steps of this house, yes?” he teases.

I nip his tatted arm, latching on and biting.

“Okay, okay!” He laughs. “Don’t break the skin.”

He flips me onto my back, pinning me to the mattress with his hips, and tickles me senseless.

Our caresses turn needy, our bodies reacting to one another as we twist and turn in the sheets.

“I’ll take you to Lake Como this summer, Mahina. As long as the others agree.” He brushes his lips against mine. He finds my neck next, then my collarbone. He peppers kisses down the center of my chest until his head comes to rest on one hip, his hand cradling the other.

“Do you require more sleep?” he asks.

I stretch my muscles, giving myself a moment to consider.

“No.”

“Good.” He springs off the bed and offers me his hand. “I want to walk along the beach and explore the shores of these waters.”

I take his hand, allowing him to help me out of bed. “I’m pretty sure it’s so early the moon will still be out.” A quick glance at the bedside clock shows it’s only 6:10 a.m.

“Even better.”