Page 15

15

HUNTER

I ’m caught off guard when Faith—Luna—calls me mid-afternoon, right in the middle of a CrossFit-style tire-flipping workout outside with Ty. He’s not just my best friend—he’s also my off-season training partner and official bullshit-caller.

I motion for a timeout and take the call, stepping away while trying to shush Ty.

“Hey there, Luna,” I say, breathless. “Everything okay?”

She sighs on the other end, and I quickly hit mute just in time.

“Hiii, Faith!” Ty yells like a jackass.

I glare. “Dude. I actually like her.”

“Who do you like?” he smirks. “Faith or Luna?”

“Both.”

He laughs, loud and sharp. “You do realize every minute you don’t tell her the truth, you’re digging your own grave, right? What’s the long game here? You gonna run a silent restaurant and never speak to her again?”

I wave him off and head upstairs. “I’m done lifting. I need to take this.”

“Cool. I’ll finish your workout for you, pansy.”

I make it to my room, still shirtless, basketball shorts clinging to my sweat-slick legs, and flop on the bed. Afternoon light spills through the balcony window as Faith’s voice washes over me.

“I just needed a guy’s perspective…” she says. “Do you have any experience with total dicks?”

I grin. “Unfortunately, I’ve been known to be one.”

“Really, Thor? I don’t believe it. You’re giving me golden retriever energy.”

Right. Thor.

“I mean, I’m good to my family and the people I care about,” I say. “But if you’re outside that circle… I’m a slow warmer.”

“I like that.”

“So who’s the dick? Unless you’re referring to mine, which I assume you’re still thinking about.”

A pause.

“…I was. Just now, actually.”

God. I bite back a groan.

“I’m glad it brings you joy,” I manage.

She clears her throat. “It’s my boss. It’s weird. He just… handed me a job application out of nowhere.”

I grin. “Maybe he was struck speechless by your beauty.”

“No way. He’s not the type. He’s hot and confident. Cocky. Honestly? He’s a little… much.”

Right. Her boss. Me.

Wait.

She’s talking to me about me … while also kind of trashing me?

Incredible.

“Guys like that can surprise you,” I offer, defending myself.

“Doubt it. He got in a fight with my dad. At church.”

Yikes.

“Maybe your dad had it coming?”

“Excuse me?” she says, mock-offended.

“Sorry. Reflex.” I grin.

She sighs. “I get this tight feeling in my chest when I see him. I think I might have anxiety.”

“Sounds more like attraction.”

“To a guy I’ve never spoken to?”

“I was attracted to you before we spoke,” I point out.

“Oh?”

“Sometimes… it’s just a vibe.”

There’s a pause, then, softly: “It’s just new for me. Feeling this way. And having someone feel it back. If I’d said any of this to my ex? He’d lose his mind. He was… really jealous.”

The ache in her voice hits me hard. I slip in my earbuds, needing to hear her clearer.

“I noticed your ring tan,” I say.

She exhales. “Yeah. That’s the other thing.”

“Tell me.”

She pauses. “Let’s just say… I got caught up trying to be someone I thought I was supposed to be. It was easy. Safe. But now? It feels like I’m living someone else’s life. And eventually, I think it’s all gonna blow up.”

I stare at the ceiling. “Yeah. I can relate… more than you know.”

There’s a weight to this moment I didn’t expect. She's cracking open. And I’m the one she’s trusting.

“I had a fiancé,” she adds.

“Had?”

“It’s… complicated.”

“Who was he?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re on a break now, and I don’t think he’s coming back. Or maybe I don’t want him to.”

Her voice is raw. Honest.

Meanwhile, I’m the guy she’s texting under a fake name, while she vents about the guy she thinks is a total ass—also me.

But hearing her like this? I want her. All of her. And I’m not letting her go.

“And do you feel appreciated now?” I ask quietly. “Luna?”

She lets out the softest giggle. It shoots straight to my core.

“I do,” she says. “By you.”

I close my eyes, grin spreading across my face.

Fuck yes.

“Although I’m still sad we didn’t go on a date this week,” she says.

“Me too.”

“I know I’m probably crazy, but…” Her voice dips, soft and hesitant. “I feel something with you, even though we haven’t even gone on a proper date.”

A splash in the background. Water, maybe. A rock into a creek.

“It sounds like your heart already made up its mind.”

“I know. I… know. I wish it were that simple. But what I’m saying is—I want to keep this up with you. I want to see where it goes. I’m learning things about myself.”

“Like what?”

She giggles—a sweet, breathy sound that makes my cock twitch.

“Like the fact that I can have an orgasm just from imagining being with a man whose face I haven’t even seen.”

Holy fuck.

Blood rushes straight to my dick like it’s responding to a direct order.

“Fa—” I choke.

“What was that?”

Shit.

I clear my throat. “I meant… you’ve got to have faith , Luna. Faith that there’s a master plan for you. One that makes you happy.”

She’s quiet for a beat. Then: “Oh. For a second I thought… never mind. Just sounded weird.”

You’re not Thor. You’re not Hunter. You’re a man drowning in your own web of lies.

“So where are you trucking today, Mr. Sexy Long-Haul?”

I wipe my brow, my palm brushing the obvious bulge now forming in my shorts.

“Oh, you know. Somewhere halfway through the panhandle.”

“Panhandle of which state?”

“…Florida.”

“I thought you were in Kansas yesterday?”

Goddammit. She’s better at geography than I am.

“Got rerouted. Routing algorithms. The glamorous life of transport.”

“Happens a lot?”

“From time to time.”

“Are you driving right now?”

“No, no—pulled over at a rest stop. Real classy one. VIP-level.”

“VIP, huh?”

“Yep. This truck’s got a bed in the back. Best mattress on wheels.”

“A VIP bed,” she repeats. “You should show it to me.”

My heart slams against my ribs. “I’d love to. Sounds like that fantasy you had, doesn’t it? Fogged-up windows. Wet skin.”

“Mmm. God, yes,” she whispers. “I probably should want to hook up in some ritzy skyscraper like a respectable woman. But that was never my speed.”

Her voice drops an octave, breathy and rough. “What would you say if I told you I was looking at that photo you sent me right now?”

Jesus.

“Luna… I’ll be honest. I’m getting really turned on.”

“So am I,” she whispers. “It’s so unfair how your voice does that to me.”

“Guess that makes two of us,” I murmur, slipping my waistband down to free my cock, already hard as stone.

“What are you thinking about?”

I groan softly. “I’m picturing you in my truck bed. Naked. Kneeling. Waiting for me. A gift at the end of a long trip.”

“Keep going…”

“You’re blindfolded. The cabin’s dark, but the moonlight kisses the curves of your body. I walk in and you’re trembling, thighs slick, begging for me without saying a word.”

“Yes, I have,” she moans. “I’ve been so bad. So turned on.”

I wrap my hand around my cock and start to stroke. Just the sound of her voice has my balls tightening.

“I run a hand over your ass, grip your hair gently, and whisper into your ear—‘Not yet. No coming yet.’”

“But I want to…”

I stroke slower. Torturous. The pleasure curling hot and thick through me.

“Then I reach around, find your nipples. Pinch them. First soft… then rougher. You gasp.”

“Mmm… Thor.”

“I position myself behind you, and say, ‘You want to be spanked. Just like that girl at the club.’”

“Yes… I do.”

Slap. Slap. Slap.

I mimic the sound, smacking my palm against my thigh. Her breath stutters in response.

“Have you come yet?” I ask.

“Not yet,” she whimpers. “I’m so close.”

“Good girl.”

I stroke faster now.

“Then you hear the sound of my belt unbuckling, my zipper sliding down. I press the tip of my cock against your slick entrance. I push in slow—inch by inch—until you’re full. Ruined.”

“Please,” she pants. “I need it.”

I growl. “You’ll take every inch. You’ll beg for it. And I won’t stop until I feel you come all over me.”

“Can I please come?”

“Not yet.”

“You’re so bad,” she moans.

“I’d fuck you deeper. Reach around and rub your clit just right. Make you tremble. Make you scream my name.”

“Oh God, I’m?—”

“Let go, baby. Come for me.”

She does.

I hear it—the stuttering breath, the choked-out whimper, the shiver of release that crosses time zones.

And it’s all I need.

I explode, moaning her name, spilling hard across my stomach and chest, pleasure short-circuiting everything else.

She’s still panting on the other end. “You came outside,” she murmurs. “My naughty, naughty trucker.”

I grin, chest heaving. “My naughty goddess.”

A pause. Then she giggles. “So when do I get to see your face?”

“You will,” I say. “Promise.”

“I think we should go on a date.”

“A proper date?”

“Maybe one in your…VIP trucker bed,” she teases.

“Done.”

“When will you be back?”

“Monday,” I lie again.

“It’s a date then. Just tell me where your truck’s parked.”

“Until then… talk soon, Luna.”

“Thor.”

We hang up. I stare at the mess I made—on my sheets, in my life—and sigh.

I jump in the shower, rinse off, and head back outside where Ty is still flipping tires like a lunatic.

“Hey,” I say. “Know where I can get an eighteen-wheeler with a VIP sleeper in the back?”

He blinks. Then snorts. “You’re completely insane.”

“Yeah,” I say, stretching my arms. “And I need it.”

“Do I even want to know why?”

“Probably not.” I grin. “But I’ll tell you when the time’s right.”