Only For You Read online

  Hunter was trying hard to appease me, but no matter what he said, it only made matters worse.

  I started to laugh at him. I laughed until my sides hurt and tears filled my eyes.

  “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  I nodded, unable to answer through my guffawing.

  “I can’t believe you; I was prepared to order dessert now to escape the conversation. That was cruel.”

  “I know,” I smiled, infinitely pleased with myself.

  The server appeared, carrying a tray laden with dishes. She placed each beautifully prepared plate before us with grace before leaving. We dug into the sushi, sashimi, and rolls with gusto. Hunter made a strange sound I could not interpret.

  “You have to try this, it’s amazing.”

  He held a piece of sushi I could not identify by sight. He raised the delicate fish to my lips, waiting for me to open my mouth. As I did so, my lips grazed his fingers and a bolt of electricity shot through my body. Caught in the moment, I gazed into his eyes as he placed the bite on my tongue. I closed my lips too quickly and caught his finger in my mouth. It took everything I had to refrain from circling my tongue around the tip, but I controlled myself. I heard Hunter’s sharp intake of breath when my lips captured him. I slowly retracted my head so his finger slid from my mouth. Focusing on the subtle taste of the fish was nearly impossible. I was too busy searching for the taste of Hunter.

  “That was delicious,” I supplied, not clarifying that I was speaking of my first taste of him. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt me.

  Hunter cleared his throat. “Yes, it was amazing. I’ll have to ask what type of fish it was. I don’t think I’ve tried it before. Perhaps it’s a special from Japan.”

  He was rambling, buying himself time to recompose. I tried not to revel in the knowledge, it wouldn’t do me any good, but it was difficult to forget. We refocused on our food and I struggled to keep up with my half. I had eaten about one-third when I threw in the towel.

  “You quitting on me?”

  “I have to save room for dessert,” I gloated, my earlier triumph still fresh in my mind.

  “You are an evil woman indeed.”

  After Hunter polished off the remaining food, our server returned to take our dessert order. We decided to share, as we were both full. When the trio of ice creams arrived, we both descended on the green tea scoop, our spoons clanked as they met.

  “Ladies first,” he offered.

  “Do you know what I really want to do?”

  “Why do I have a feeling I’ll regret asking this…what?”

  “I desperately want to fill up a bathtub with green tea ice cream and eat my way out of it. That is the depth of my love for it.”

  “I can’t even begin to tell you everything that is wrong with what you just said.”

  “What? It’s that good. You can’t tell me you have never thought about it.”

  “I can honestly say I haven’t. It would melt before you ever finished, you would likely make yourself ill, and you would be sticky from head to toe.” I saw him struggle to break free from the visual he unintentionally created. “You’d probably end up drowning.”

  “Ah, but what a way to go.”

  As we walked to the car after dinner, I leaned heavily against Hunter. His body supported much of my weight and his arm around my waist steadied me.

  “It hurts so badly. Why did you let me do it? I should have never eaten the last of the ice cream. I feel like I’m dying.”

  “You’re not allowed to die. You’re going to be fine, you just need a little time to digest the tsunami of food you inflicted on your body.”

  “I’m not kidding; I don’t think I’m going to make it. All of the different fishies are fighting in here,” I pointed to my stomach.

  “Come on, let’s get you in the car. You’ll feel better soon.”

  I climbed into the passenger seat and immediately reached for the recline button and lowered myself back as far as it could go. Unable to stand the pain I undid the button on my pants and lowered the zipper. It could not have been an appealing look. Wearing a cropped top had been a huge mistake. My food baby must have appeared mammoth, but the pain overtook my vanity and I let it all hang out.

  Hunter’s door opened and I heard him climb in. I could feel him staring at me but I didn’t care. At this point, anything that relieved the pressure in my stomach was worth the sacrifice of my pride. I stretched my arms over my head, trying to finagle a little more space for my intestines. Hunter started the car, but made no move to put it in gear.

  “You can’t drive yet, the motion will make me sick. I’m walking a wisp thin line between passive nausea and active hurling,” I pleaded

  “No problem, we can sit here as long as it takes.”

  I felt him lower the temperature of the car’s climate control, for which I would have hugged him if I could move.

  “That’s better. Thanks.”

  “You do realize this is karma. You tortured me inside with your joke about dessert, and now you’re sick. I hope you learned your lesson about messing with me. There is a natural order to the universe and you disturbed it by outwitting me.”

  I laughed at his assessment. Bad move. Really, really bad move. I started panting to stave off the desire to vomit.

  “Don’t make me laugh, you sadist. I’m dying here.”

  “I’m sorry, it didn’t occur to me. You really are looking green. Do you want me to get you some ginger ale? It might soothe your stomach.”

  “No! Nothing else is getting inside me tonight. I’m entirely too full already.”

  I heard his snicker at my unintentional double entendre. I would have laughed too had it not risked the Yukon’s interior. His hand gently caressed my head, relaxing me. He remained quiet, letting me focus on my breathing to fight the queasiness.

  “Are you feeling any better? You still look clammy.”

  Ugh, why was he talking about shellfish? That was not helping my circumstances.

  “No. Not better, worse. I think you need to euthanize me. Be a friend,” I begged, only partially jesting.

  “I’m afraid that is out of the question. A world without Everleigh is an unimaginable place. You will have to persevere.”

  “So I should suffer for your benefit?” I asked with as much indignation as I could muster.

  “Yes, also for the good of all mankind. It’s a noble thing you do now.”

  “God, you’re good at turning it around. It’s one of the things I love about you. So damn quick,” I mumbled, only half-aware of what I was saying.

  “Wow, it’s rare you give me a compliment that isn’t backhanded. I will treasure this moment always.”

  “You don’t need me stroking your ego. You’re perfectly aware of how amazing you are. We need to make sure your head remains manageable enough to fit through doorways,” I volleyed back, but it took effort, causing me to grimace.

  “Shhhh. I’m sorry for making you talk. Just be quiet and rest, you’ll feel better soon.”

  He stopped stroking my hair, which was disappointing, but I heard him riffling around in the back seat. The distinct sound of a zipper opening and closing echoed in the car. A few moments later, I felt a damp cool towel on my forehead. It was heavenly.

  “Don’t worry, it’s my gym towel but it’s clean. I just poured some bottled water on it.”

  As if I would care should it have been used. I was drifting on the waves of nausea, praying for an ending, in whichever form it may come. This was worse than any case of the alcohol induced spins I had ever endured. I kept one knee bent so that my foot touched the floor mat, practicing the drinker’s theory that the spins will stop if you keep a foot off the bed and on the ground. It had never worked for me before, but I was willing to try anything.

  “Make it better, please,” I begged pathetically.

  I felt Hunter’s lips kiss my stomach. At any other time, it would have been wondrously sexual, but right now it was just com
forting.

  I would have sworn I had food poisoning if Hunter had not eaten everything I had. Never in my life have I been this ill where alcohol or virus were not the cause. The sickness intensified, and I started to worry I would lose the battle.

  “Hunter, can you help me sit up? I think I need to get out of the car.”

  He understood my meaning and walked around to my side, carefully lifted me up, cradling my body. He walked to a grassy area that was private and dark. He placed me on my feet and stood behind me. Wrapping one arm low around my hips, so there was no pressure on my stomach, still able to bend over unencumbered. He held me up with one arm, and with his free hand gathered my hair to hold back in preparation.

  “You don’t have to…” I could not finish.

  I bent at the waist, grateful for Hunter’s support and evacuated the contents of my stomach. I heaved several times before the intense waves of sickness began to recede. The cool air against my sweat-dampened face felt amazing. I was weak and tired, too spent to feel embarrassed by what Hunter had witnessed dreadfully up close and personal.

  When I had managed to go several minutes without dry heaving, Hunter swept me back into his arms and carried me to the car. Once he had helped me in, he wiped my face with the damp towel, cooling and cleaning me. He gave me a bottle of water to rinse my mouth and sip. When I was finally settled, I chilled as my body temperature dropped after the stress, causing me to shiver. Hunter covered me with his jacket and adjusted the climate control.

  “Angel, how are you?” Hunter asked with concern.

  “Better. I’m so sorry I—”

  “Hush, it’s fine. I’m sorry you’re feeling so ill. Your color is starting to come back and you’re shivering less. I think it’s passing now, but you’re going to be as weak. Just rest. I’ll take care of you.”

  And he did. I don’t remember anything about getting home or into my bed. I have a faint memory of Hunter placing a sweet kiss on my lips, but even that may have been a figment of my imagination. At some point during the night I heard him enter my room to check on me, his hand touched my face and forehead checking for a fever before I drifted back under.

  When I awoke in the morning, Hunter was gone. There was a glass of water and a note on the nightstand.

  Angel,

  I hope you’re feeling better when you wake up. Drink water and eat something mild for breakfast. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay. I was called into work for an emergency.

  Text me when you wake up and let me know how you’re feeling. I will be worried until I hear from you.

  Do not be mad, I called Marty (found her number in your phone). I explained you were sick and would need the day to rest. I also texted Sam to give her the heads up and she promised to be home from Robbie’s by 11 am should you need anything.

  Hang in there and rest.

  -Hunter

  I should be furious that he called my boss without my knowledge, but I wasn’t. He had taken such great care of me; there was nothing to justify any complaint. He was right, I was still wiped and needed to rest today and recuperate. I must have succumbed to a twenty-four hour bug because there is no way last night was the result of overeating. I have never been that violently ill in my life. If Hunter had not been there to hold me up, I would have been laying on the ground wrecked.

  I flipped back the blankets to find my shoes, jeans, and cardigan gone. I was still in my comfy cropped top, and I was also wearing a pair of old boxer shorts. Evidently, Hunter had prepared me for bed. I was still too fatigued to care.

  Other than my mother, no one had ever taken such tender and meticulous care of me. I had a lot to thank Hunter for.

  I texted him I was awake and feeling better. I also told him he was once again my hero and I was eternally grateful.

  After eating a few slices of toast, I crawled back to bed and slept the rest of the day, recovering from the strain on my body. The long night had taken its toll, but it was all worth it to experience Hunter’s unfettered tenderness just once in my life.

  Chapter Fourteen

  * * *

  "In a lot of cop shows, because they have the restraints of having a new case every episode, the victims often become these kind of nameless, faceless plot points, and as an audience we don't feel anything for those people.” -Mireille Enos

  Monday continued the return to the status quo. Everyone at Hensley seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when no murders were reported. We had all made it through the weekend safely. Our group resumed our routine, enjoying lunch together on campus. I was without a partner at Krav Maga due to Josh’s absence, so all of the guys took turns pairing with me to continue my lessons in response to varying assailants. Sensei Alex hovered while I worked the weight bag and instructed me on proper technique for forward and reverse head-butts. It was one of my hardest workouts to date, and I was certain I would be sore. I relished the sore muscles, knowing I earned each one. I had noticed a subtle tightening of my body after weeks of class and I carried myself more confidently. I felt accomplished, having mastered many of the basic skills and progressing through the more complex throws and combinations. Hanshi Rosati walked me to my car after class.

  “Ev, you’re doing well. You should be proud of yourself.”

  “Thanks Hanshi. I love Krav and I can’t thank you enough for having me.”

  “You’re welcome here anytime, free for life.”

  He placed his hand on my shoulder, in a fatherly gesture. “I want you to know if you ever need any help, if you ever find yourself in trouble, you can call me. You still don’t know me well, but you remind me of my daughter, and I want you to know you have someone you can trust. It’s difficult to hold everyone you meet under constant suspicion. I’m a retired marine and police officer, you can check me out and know you’ll be safe. My wife would welcome you at our house anytime. Just know you have a safe haven if you ever need one.”

  “I appreciate your offer, and if I ever need help I will take you up on it. I have a couple of people in my life I trust implicitly, but it’s always nice to have another. I don’t have a father, so I may just adopt you.” I smiled my appreciation.

  “You’re crazy, girl. Okay, get.”

  Hanshi watched as I drove away, ensuring my safety in the small way he could.

  As I walked from my car to my apartment, I felt someone’s eyes on me. I glanced around quickly, but saw nothing. I hurried to the door, positive I heard footsteps behind me. My fear was overwhelming, but I remained focused on my goal. As I approached the door, it swung open and another tenant exited. I didn’t know him well, but we exchanged courtesy smiles as we passed. I ran to my apartment door and rushed inside, slamming it in my haste.

  It was possible the eerie feeling of being watched was my imagination, but I had the same sensation several times over the last month. I hoped Drew wasn’t persisting in his quest to reunite. I hadn’t seen him since the day he tailed me home, and I had hoped he moved on. I considered calling Hunter, but I didn’t know what I would say. ‘Hi Hunter, it’s Ev, I got the heebie jeebies tonight and want you to come hold my hand.’ I needed to stiffen my spine and stop fretting over every little thing. Being cautious was a necessity, but I couldn’t allow fear to paralyze me. I continued to scold myself silently as I prepared for bed, promising to be less anxious tomorrow.

  When I arrived at school Tuesday morning, Hunter was waiting for me.

  “You, Miss, forgot to text me when you left your house this morning,” Hunter chided while hugging me tightly. “Don’t make me worry more than I already do, please.”

  “Can’t we stop the crazy ‘text your friends incessantly so everyone knows where you’re at all time’ plan yet?”

  “That is quite the plan name. You may need to go back to the drawing board.”

  “It’s just the working title,” I laughed.

  Hunter sounded lighter, but I could see the strain around his mouth and the dark circles beneath his eyes. The schoolwork and job stress had accumula
ted over the semester and were taking their toll on him. He was still gorgeous, positively stunning, but he was depleted. I didn’t want to add to his burdens by causing him to worry about me.

  “I’ll remember, promise. This is the first time I have forgotten. I swear Sam texts me every move she makes, even potty breaks.”

  “Well Sam is a good, obedient girl. Maybe she will rub off on you,” Hunter poked.

  “Har, har, har. I’m essentially a good girl.”

  “Whatever you say, angel. Whatever you say.”

  I heard Sam enter my room on Wednesday morning while I was lying in bed, gathering the will to rise and collect my first cup of the day. I knew the news would not be good. She laid down next to me and put her head on my shoulder.

  “Another murder?” I asked, knowing the answer.

  “Yeah.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  The fear that had slightly receded over the past two days was crashing down hard on Sam.

  “No,” she answered in monotone.

  “Okay.”

  We laid there for a while, hiding from the world and the dangerous reality that waited outside my bedroom door.

  “I don’t know why I’m so upset. It should not be shocking anymore. You would think I would be desensitized to the carnage by now,” Sam finally shared.

  “Thank God you aren’t desensitized. Then you would be some callous, self-absorbed bitch. I would no longer be able to call you my bestest friend.”

  I had upgraded Sam’s title to bestest friend when she teased that Hunter was trying to compete for her title. After she suggested a ‘Hunger Games’ style competition, I understood the need for distinction of Sam’s special status. Hunter may be a badass martial arts guy, but Sam could be cutthroat. I feared for Hunter’s life in a death match against Sam.

  “You’ll continue to be a bitch no matter what, but I’m glad you aren’t a callous, self-absorbed one,” I ribbed to make her smile.