Page 93 of Vital Signs

I leaned down to bite his collarbone, sinking my teeth in until he hissed in pain. He tasted like salt, his pulse hammering beneath my tongue as I sucked hard. When I pulled back, a fresh bruise darkened his skin.

My jeans joined his on the floor, followed quickly by our underwear. His cock pressed against my stomach, thick and leaking. I wrapped my hand around it, squeezing hard enough to make his breath catch.

"Fuck, Misha," he groaned, head slamming back against the pillows. "You're gonna kill me."

I stroked him once, twice, watching his face contort with pleasure.

He groaned, body tensing. "Wait—fuck—"

And then he came without warning, hot ropes of cum spilling over my fist and his stomach. His eyes flew wide, mouth dropping open in a silent 'oh' of surprise. A deep crimson flush spread across his cheeks and down his neck as his eyes darted away from mine, jaw clenching tight enough to make a muscle jump beneath the stubble.

"Shit," he gasped, covering his face with one arm. "I didn't mean to—and you were so—Christ, I'm sorry."

It stunned me. The sheer humanity of the moment jolted me back into my body. The world suddenly snapped into focus after hours of disconnection.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

Hunter peeked through his fingers. "You laughing at me?"

"Not at you," I managed between giggles, wiping tears from my eyes. "With you. This is... perfect. You're perfect."

"I just came in ten seconds flat. That's not exactly a stellar performance."

Another round of laughter escaped me.

Then silence fell between us. Hunter watched me, his expression changing to something guarded and braced, as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For mockery. For judgment. For me to use this vulnerability against him.

I reached out, cupping his face in my palm. "Hey," I whispered, all laughter gone. "It's okay."

His eyes met mine, uncertainty still lingering there. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." I brushed my thumb across his cheekbone. "I'll take it as a compliment."

The tension in his shoulders eased. "Fuck you," he growled, but a reluctant smile tugged at his lips. "It's been two days, and withdrawal's made me oversensitive. Plus, you were grinding on me like a demon."

I collected myself, though occasional giggles still escaped. "Oh, mon loup. The big bad wolf has a hair trigger."

I lifted my hand to my mouth, maintaining eye contact as I slowly licked his cum from my fingers. His eyes widened, pupils dilating again as he watched my tongue curl around each digit. "Mmm. At least you taste good."

His embarrassment shifted to determination. "Give me ten minutes and I'll show you who's got a hair trigger."

I raised an eyebrow, sliding off him to recline against the pillows. "I’ll hold you to it."

The levity faded as reality crept back in.

"What if this is all we get?" I asked quietly. "What if our plan doesn’t work? What if Wright wins?"

Hunter's arms tightened around me. "He won’t."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I believe in you. In your family." His certainty steadied me. "We've survived worse odds."

I closed my eyes and cringed at the sound of Wright and Roche’s voices bleeding into the moment.Fuck you. Fuck you both. Get the fuck out of my life, and the fuck out of my head.

"Misha?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I studied him sprawled across my bed, this man who'd fought the world his entire life yet had just surrendered to pleasure so completely in my hands. The power of that realization washed over me, displacing the echoes of Wright and Roche with something more immediate, more visceral.