Page 31

31

HUNTER

T he coffee pot is already full when I stumble into the kitchen, shirtless, hungover, and maybe still just a little bit drunk from the wine, whiskey, and whatever the hell that punch was last night.

I rub a hand over my face, pour a mug, and freeze.

Through the back windows, out on the deck, I see her.

Faith.

Wrapped in an oversized cardigan, legs curled up beneath her on a wicker chair, sipping coffee like she was made to be there. The early light paints her in soft golds and pinks, and for a second, my heart actually stops.

And then I see it.

Ten years from now.

Same deck. Same coffee pot. Same soft morning light—but there are little feet padding around the kitchen. Crumbs on the counter. Her voice calling from outside.

A life.

Our life.

My chest goes tight.

I know I shouldn’t tell her any of this. Not right now. Not after everything. She’s been crystal clear about her boundaries. Friends with benefits, summer fling, no strings. No promises.

But still. God, I want to tell her.

Instead, I grab my mug, push open the door, and take the seat beside her.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

She startles just slightly, then offers a small smile. “Oh. Morning.”

“Morning.”

She glances out at the still lake. “It was a fun night.”

“It was.”

“I’m looking forward to today.”

“Slowpoking on the lake,” I nod. “You fish?”

“Never have.”

“Well, that’s what we’re gonna do. You, me, and a couple of stubborn-ass pontoons.”

She sips her coffee again, then turns to me, eyes narrowed in amusement. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be like this.”

“Like what?”

She waves her hand toward the coffee, the porch, the lake still draped in mist. “This. You. All… domestic.”

I tilt my head, amused. “What were you expecting?”

She shrugs, but there’s a glint in her eye. “I don’t know.”

I grin slow, then bite my lip and put on my best over-the-top smolder. “So you thought I’d be more of the Thor, sex-god, bringing-the-thunder-twenty-four-seven type?”

She snorts.

Then completely loses it.

She doubles over, laughing so hard she wheezes, her coffee sloshing in her mug. “Oh my God , stop?—”

I raise an eyebrow, grinning. “That wasn’t a no.”

“I mean, not that you haven’t lived up to the name.”

“You gonna rate my performance now?”

Just then, the screen door creaks open and my mom steps out, holding a cup of coffee in one hand, and shielding her eyes from the sun with the other.

“Well my word,” she says, spotting us. “You two sound like you’re having a time. What’s so funny?”

Faith sits up straighter, trying to collect herself. “Oh, nothing—just your son bragging about being some kind of Norse god.”

Mom huffs a laugh. “Oh honey, I’ve got a better one than that. Did he ever tell you about the Touchdown Jesus incident ?”

Faith perks up. “No… but I absolutely need to hear it now.”

I groan, covering my face. “Mom. Please.”

My mom ignores me completely, full of glee. “He was in fifth grade, and they’d just started letting him play tackle football. This one”—she points a thumb at him—“catches a Hail Mary pass in gym class and throws his arms up like this”—she raises both hands to the sky like he’s signaling a field goal—“and yells, ‘TOUCHDOWN JESUS!’ in front of the entire St. Luke’s school assembly. Principal nearly had a stroke.”

Faith lets out another shriek of laughter.

“I thought it was cool,” I mumble into my mug.

“You were eleven,” my mom says, patting his shoulder as she walks by. “You also tried to baptize your GI Joe in the sink.”

“Okay, Mom. That’s enough.”

“No…I’m actually enjoying this.”

“Well, we’d better get on the lake, soon, anyway,” Mom says. “This time of year, the place is filled to the brim with boats! Early bird gets the worm and all that. And the afternoon worm gets a sunburn.”

* * *

The sun’s rising fast, bright and unapologetic, casting gold across the water. I squint out at the horizon, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my knee—but what I’m really focused on is Faith.

She’s sitting sideways on the bench, legs tucked up, arms bare and glowing. Her hair’s tied back in one of those messy knots that makes me want to undo it just to see what happens. She’s wearing these little sunglasses that make her look like trouble and innocence rolled into one. The kind of girl you’d pray over and sin with in the same damn breath.

And the way she laughs with Daphne? Like she’s known her for years. Like this is all normal.

Except it’s not.

I shouldn’t be in love with someone who doesn’t trust me. But I think I am. And now I’ve got a front-row seat to watching her become part of this little world I always thought was just mine.

She leans closer, stealing a strawberry from the cooler. Her elbow brushes my bicep, and a shiver zips through me like a live wire.

“You okay?” she asks, low enough that Daphne doesn’t hear.

“Yeah.” I force a grin. “Just making sure this high-end vessel stays on course.”

Faith glances at the old boat. “Oh yeah. It screams ‘precision engineering.’”

I nudge her with my shoulder. “Don’t disrespect the Slowpoke.”

She laughs. God, that sound.

We idle past a quiet cove where the water’s smooth like glass. I make a last-minute turn, guiding us toward it.

“Shortcut?” she asks.

“Swim stop,” I reply. “This place is perfect. No one around. Water’s warm this time of day.”

Daphne glances up. “I’m down. I even brought the floaties.”

I cut the engine, and the boat drifts to a peaceful halt. I grab the anchor and drop it in.

Faith looks around, then back at me. “We’re just gonna…jump in?”

I nod, peeling off my shirt. Her eyes flicker down my torso and linger just a second too long.

“Unless you’d rather I go first and show you how it’s done.”

“Thor energy,” she mutters under her breath, making Daphne laugh.

I wink and dive in, the water cool and perfect. I come up, slicking my hair back. “Come on, goddess.”

Faith sighs dramatically, then stands and peels off her shirt and shorts. I get a full view of her teal bikini—the one she clearly packed with intent. My cock twitches beneath the water.

“Don’t ogle,” she warns playfully, stepping up to the edge.

“Too late.”

She dives in next to me, surfacing with a shriek. “Oh my God, it’s colder than I thought!”

I swim toward her, slow. “You’ll warm up.”

She kicks toward me, bumping my shoulder. “Don’t even think about dunking me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

But I’m dreaming about other things. About pushing her against the side of this boat, water trailing down her skin while I kiss her until she forgets we’re not alone. About tasting her with the lake lapping around us, her legs wrapped around me under the surface.

But instead, I let her swim past me, pretending this is just another summer day. Pretending I’m not unraveling from the inside out, wanting her in ways I have no business wanting anyone.

Friends with benefits. That’s what she said.

But God help me, I’m ready to break every rule she made.

* * *

We get back to the house soaked, sun-warmed, and grinning like idiots. Faith’s hair is half-dried from the wind, cheeks flushed, and she keeps brushing water droplets off her collarbone like she doesn’t know it’s driving me crazy.

“We’re gonna pop into town,” my mom says, tossing her keys into her beach bag. “There’s this new place with wood-fired slices the size of your head.”

Daphne waves her hand. “Back in thirty!”

The door shuts. Their car crunches down the gravel driveway. And just like that, it’s just us.

I glance over at Faith, and she catches my look—half smirk, half something I don’t even want to name.

“Well,” I say, stepping toward her slowly. “Looks like we’ve got some alone time.”

She stretches slightly, arms overhead, tank top riding up just enough to reveal the sliver of that blue lace waistband again. “I need to rinse the lake off.”

“Mind if I join you?” I ask, trying to keep it casual—but my voice betrays me. It’s rough. Needy.

She tilts her head, eyes glinting. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She walks off without waiting, already peeling off her tank top, her hips swaying like she knows I’m watching.

God help me.

Upstairs, water patters against the tile. Steam curls around her bare shoulders as I step into the shower behind her.

Her back’s to me. That lace is gone now. So is every damn thought I had about keeping my cool.

I slide my hands around her waist, pulling her gently against me. She sighs, relaxing into my chest, tilting her head so I can kiss the side of her neck.

“You know,” she says breathily, “this lake house fantasy just keeps getting better.”

I trail my lips over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Mmhm.” She turns, water cascading between us, and her mouth meets mine—hungry, slick, open.

My hand slides down her back to that curve of her ass and I give her a firm, playful smack. She gasps—then lets out a wicked little laugh.

“Oh my God,” she grins, water dripping off her nose. “Did you just spank me?”

“Little throwback,” I murmur, crowding her against the tile. “Felt appropriate.”

“Still bossy, aren’t you?”

“Still bratty, aren’t you?”

She whimpers when I grip her hip and nudge my thigh between hers. I drag my lips down her neck, tasting the salt of her skin and the steam between us. One of her hands fists in my hair, the other dragging down my chest.

"You going to be good this time?” I growl near her ear.

"Definitely not," she breathes.

I spin her gently so her back’s against the wall now, and drop to my knees on the slick tile, gripping her thighs and spreading her open.

“Oh my God, Hunter—” she gasps as I lower my mouth to her, lapping slowly, possessively, like it’s the first and last time.

Her hands slam against the tile behind her, head thrown back, moaning so loudly I have to lift a hand to press over her mouth.

“Shh,” I whisper. “You want my mom walking back in and hearing this?”

She bites down on her own fist, eyes wild with heat.

“Good girl.”

She’s still panting, clinging to the tile like it’s the only thing keeping her upright when I stand. Water rushes down her body, and I drink in the sight of her—flushed, trembling, eyes heavy with satisfaction and hunger.

I curl a hand behind her knees and another under her back.

She gasps as I lift her effortlessly.

“You didn’t even dry off,” she laughs, breath hitching.

“Didn’t want to waste a single second.”

I carry her out of the bathroom like a man possessed, water dripping from both of us, leaving a trail across the hardwood as we move through the lake house.

Her arms wrap around my neck, wet hair clinging to her skin, lips brushing my jaw.

By the time I lay her back on the bed, she’s giggling—and panting—and biting her bottom lip in that way that drives me absolutely feral.

“Hunter—”

“I need you,” I cut in, voice thick. “Again.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

She reaches for me but I catch her wrists, pinning them over her head with one hand as I crawl over her. Her eyes widen, breath stuttering in her throat.

“Don’t move,” I growl, and she freezes beneath me, pupils dilating.

I lean down, tongue tracing the water pooling in her collarbone, then lower to suck one nipple into my mouth, hot and wet, while my hand finds her between the legs again.

“Still so ready,” I murmur against her skin. “You’re insatiable, baby.”

Her thighs part instinctively, and she rocks against my hand. “Then stop teasing.”

I pull back slightly, lining myself up, pressing just the head of my cock against her entrance. She’s already dripping for me, but I can feel how tight she is—how much her body is trying to figure out how to take me.

“You sure about this?” I murmur, voice rough. “You really want it like this?”

“Yes,” she gasps. “Just like this. Don’t you dare stop.”

I grip her thigh, throw her leg over my hip, and push in—slowly. The resistance is immediate. Hot. Tight. Fucking perfect.

She sucks in a breath, her fingers clutching at my back.

“Oh my God,” she whimpers.

“I know, baby. Just breathe. Let me in.”

I ease forward, inch by inch, her body gripping me like a vice, fluttering around me, struggling to adjust.

She gasps again, hips twitching.

I pause. Wait for her to relax.

“You’re doing so fucking good,” I whisper, pressing kisses to her temple, her neck. “Let me know if it’s too much.”

She nods, swallowing hard. “I want all of you.”

I slide deeper, her slick heat dragging over every inch of me until finally— finally —I’m buried to the hilt.

We groan in unison, like our bodies just survived something holy and dangerous.

She’s tight as sin, warm and pulsing around me like her body was built to break me.

She claws at my shoulders now, desperate, hips lifting to meet every slow, deep thrust.

“You’re everything,” I breathe, forehead pressed to hers. “Everything.”

She’s so warm and wet and perfect beneath me that I almost say it— I love you —but I bite it back.

Because this is just sex.

Right?

Right?

Then she grabs my face between her hands, pulls me down for a kiss so consuming I forget how to breathe, and whispers, “Please don’t stop.”

And I don’t.

“Look me in the eye,” I growl. Well, fuck, if she wants to keep it casual? I’m going to make this worth every second.

“Still hate me, don’t you.”

“So much,” she whimpers, but there’s that smile again—playful, teasing, like she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.

I grab her ass with both hands and start thrusting harder, deeper, until I’m buried to the hilt and she’s crying out my name— both of them.

“Fuck,” I hiss through clenched teeth, grinding into her. “You feel too good. You feel like mine. ”

She moans loud enough that I have to slap a hand over her mouth. “Shhh. Gonna get us kicked off the lake,” I whisper, even though the smug satisfaction in my chest is louder than her cries.

Our rhythm grows frantic. Desperate. The only sound is skin meeting skin, her muffled moans, my panting breath.

And then I feel her tighten around me—hot, pulsing, slick.

“I’m coming,” she gasps under my palm. “Thor. I mean…Hunter. I mean…ohmygod?—”

Her whole body trembles. She arches, clenching and fluttering around me as she comes hard, wet, and wild. And it’s too much—I’m right there with her, nearly undone by the way she calls out my name like it’s a prayer.

“Fuck,” I grunt, muscles seizing. “Where do you want me, baby? Tell me.”

She whimpers, looking me dead in the eye as she reaches up and grabs my ass to pull me in deeper.

“Inside,” she begs. “Please… I want it all. Just—don’t pull out.”

My vision blurs.

I slam into her once, twice more—and then I’m gone.

I spill inside her with a groan so deep it sounds like it was dragged up from hell. My hands are gripping her hips so tight I might leave bruises, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s still trembling, still clinging to me like she never wants me to leave.

And honestly?

Right now?

Neither do I.

She’s curled into me afterward, legs tangled with mine, her cheek resting on my chest like she belongs there.

And I say it.

Quietly. Just above a whisper. I don’t care if she wants casual. If she thinks on some level, she can’t trust me. I have to tell her.

“I love you.”

But right as I do…

SLAM.

The sound of the front door closing.

Faith lifts her head, blinking. “Hey sorry, what did you just say?”

I force a small smile, heart thudding like a jackhammer.

Like I didn’t just put my whole soul on the line and have the moment ruined.

“Oh… nothing. Looks like the pizza’s here.”

She laughs and rolls off the bed, reaching for her clothes.

But I stay where I am, staring at the ceiling, wondering if I just blew the one moment I should’ve spoken louder.

“You okay?” She says as she pulls her jeans on.

“That was just…that was really good.”

“You’re telling me.”

I shake my head and finally jump out of bed. I’m not sure when Faith freaking Easton became this girl who’s okay with casual. But here we are.

I am so screwed.

I throw my board shorts back on, and head downstairs to join them, while Faith freshens up for a few minutes upstairs.

“Well hello there,” my mom smiles at me, a little too much.

“Well hello there to you,” I echo, pretending I don’t notice something is going on with her tone, as I open the slice of pizza she got for me.

I look between Daphne and my mom. “Okay. What’s going on here?”

“I told her,” Daphne says.

“Told her…?” I ask.

“She told me about you and Faith,” my mom says. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on yourself? Or...?”

I wonder what I could say that would make any sense.

Falling in love so hard I can’t stand it.

Picturing my family with this girl.

The sex is out of this world.

None of which are things I can say to my mom.

So instead, I roll with a tongue-in-cheek, “She said it’s just a casual summer fling. So I guess that’s what it is.”

The words taste like ash as I say them.

Then I hear a step behind me—the shuffle of someone trying not to interrupt—and I turn.

Faith’s standing there.

“Oh. Hey there.”

“Hey.” Her smile’s faint, off. “Is there a cheese slice? Not in a toppings mood.”

“Yes, of course,” my mom says, already reaching. But her eyes? They’re on me. And they are blazing .

I force a smile. Faith grabs a plate. But I swear I see it—that flicker in her eyes like maybe, just maybe, she did hear me.

And now I’m wondering which one of us is going to break first.