Releasing the Hunter

Chapter 32

The jerk, she thought. He’d done it to her on purpose.

Every night for the past week since seeing him on the street in front of the club, she’d been waiting for him to show up at her house.

She would eat dinner, watch some TV, dress for bed then sit in her dark bedroom waiting for the knock at the door or at the window. It wouldn’t have even surprised her if he slipped into the house unseen and unheard to take her by surprise.

But he hadn’t shown and she was growing more impatient and frustrated with every passing minute.

Just the way he wanted her, she suspected.

She could’ve called him on his cell phone, but she didn’t want to seem desperate. She didn’t want him to have the upper hand. She was supposed to be trying to find ways to forgive him, when in reality she’d forgiven him the second she’d seen the hanging necklace glinting in the moonlight. She would’ve welcomed him back into her arms gladly.

Tonight, she’d met Jake for some prep on a new job. He’d had information she needed. He’d also informed her that the Crimson Hall Cabal was after her and to watch her back. Once they’d met, they’d talked, had a drink, then she’d left with Jake’s warning fresh in her mind.

Jake hadn’t asked her about Ronan, but she could tell he’d wanted to. Maybe it was the angry glare she’d given him when he started to open his mouth. Or the sadness that she couldn’t stop from enveloping her when she thought no one was looking.

She’d had no real idea how truly empty her life was until Ronan had come into it and messed it all up. And now that he was gone, she felt not just empty but hollow. Like he’d taken all the good stuff with him.

She parked her newly acquired vehicle in the carport, turned it off and got out. She was tired and thought about nothing but climbing into bed and sleeping. She slipped inside and locked the door behind her. She toed off her sneakers and padded across the living room toward her bedroom with every intention of stripping off her clothes and sliding under the sheets.

But the second she stepped into her dark bedroom, she sensed something was wrong.

She unsheathed a blade from her back harness and held it out defensively. Her breathing slowed and she tilted her head to hear. A rush of movement came from her right, and she swung her arm but it was blocked. She was grabbed around the biceps and pushed up against the bedroom wall. A warm sensation stroked her skin.

She growled, “What took you so damn long?”

Ronan smiled. “I was giving you time to forgive me.”

“Yeah, well, time’s up buddy.” She dropped her knife, and wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling his mouth even closer. “Kiss me before I change my mind.”

He did. And it was good.

A rush of delicious shivers raced down her spine. Her other hand found purpose under the hem of his shirt, as she feathered her fingers over his stomach and up to the hard planes of his chest. He moaned into her mouth as she rolled one of his nipples between her fingers.

“Damn, woman, you’re killing me.”

“Get used to it,” she said as she licked along his jawline. “I plan to kill you for a long time.”

“Promise?”

She looked up at him, met his gaze, saw the question there and the answer. “Yes, I promise.”

“Good, because waiting for you has been torture.”

“Torture?” She nipped at his chin. “You’re the one who was torturing me. Saying you’ll give me time. You knew I would be waiting for you to show up. Not knowing if you would.”

He laughed. “I thought that was what you loved about me. My unpredictability.”

“Maybe.”

He released her one arm, then cupped her face in his hand and looked into her eyes. “It’s okay to say it, Ivy. It’s okay to love me. Because I love you.” He brushed his lips against hers. “For as long as I live, demon blood and all, I will love and protect you.”

“I don’t care about the demon blood, Ronan. You are more human to me than any other man has ever been. I love you, all of you, because of how you chose to use the power it’s given you.”

He found her mouth with his and kissed her hard and long. It had her head swimming by the time he was done. He released her other arm, then streaked both his hands down to her behind. He picked her up effortlessly and carried her across the room to the bed. He tossed her onto the mattress.

He started to strip off his T-shirt, pulling it up over his head. Ivy perched up onto her elbows to enjoy the show. He smiled as his fingers worked at the zipper of his pants, and he slowly pulled it down to reveal he’d gone commando.

“What about Quinn and the rest of the hunter community?” he asked.

“Screw them. I don’t care. They’ll just have to deal with it. Besides, you’re a better hunter than most of them, so they should be thanking me for letting you hang around.”

“Letting me hang around?” He quickly zipped up his pants. “Hmm, I think I’m insulted.”

This had Ivy scrambling to the edge of the bed, grabbing for him. “Where are you going? You can’t just tease me like that.”

She tugged at his hips, pulling him closer to her. When he was situated right in front of her, she slowly unzipped him again.

“You’re just using me for my extremely awesome body.”

“Yeah, duh.”

Laughing, he pushed her back onto the mattress and after quickly shedding his pants, he covered her body with his. He wrapped a hand in her hair. “Okay, you can use me for a while. But then I get to use your extremely hot body for the rest of your life.”

“Deal.”

With one mighty yank from his hand, her clothes were in pieces on the floor. He covered her mouth with his before she could protest and kissed her with every ounce of passion inside him. This was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Or ever wanted to.

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