Zero

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

One of the rooms, the one that Squirrel and Bambi have obviously been sharing catches my attention, it's door wide open. The girls are out back with Atlas, enjoying the day, I guess, while he tries his best to teach to Zoe and her sister some semblance of self-defense. I should go in that room and lay down, but instead I walk further down the hall to the closed door I know Hunter is behind.

It's stupid and irrational, I know, to need him like I do, but I can't help it and honestly, I'm so sick and tired of trying to. I push open the door and peek in the room where is long figure is spread out across the bed. Quietly, I slide in and shut the door behind me walking to the bed. I know he's slept about as much as I have over the last few days, less even, so when I climb into the bed, I try my best not to wake him up.

It doesn't work. It's not exactly easy to sneak up on someone like Hunter. He is the very definition of sleeping with one eye open. I'm sitting in the bed, carefully trying to crawl under the blanket with him and then I'm suddenly on my back, with a rather intimidating knife aimed at my face and a very tall, very fit man on top of me. The second he registers who is underneath him, his eyes soften and he lowers the blade flashing me an apologetic grin.

"Sometimes I feel pretty awesome about how quick I am," I whisper lightly. "And then you have to go and one up me."

He smiles and reaches over to let the blade fall onto the nightstand, but he doesn't move away from me like I expect him to. He's always been careful about giving me just enough space without giving me enough to run, but this is not that. There is practically no space between us now and the length of his body is touching me without putting too much weight on me.

"I was trying not to wake you."

He smiles, but it's no longer sleepy. It's confident, a little cocky even as he leans closer to me – something I didn't think was possible but apparently is.

"You were just crawling into bed with me?" That much is obvious. I don't dignify such a silly question with a response. "To... cuddle?"

"I wanted to be close to you," I tell him quietly and sounding more vulnerable than I'd like. He raises and eyebrow, but instead of pointing out my neediness his expression turns downright wicked and his lips brush mine as he whispers, "How close?"

I let him kiss me then. Our mouths move together and his body presses deeper into mine, but instead of needing to push him away my hands wrap around his body, digging into his shoulder blades as I pull him closer to me. Then his teeth nip at my lip sending tingles through my body.

When his fingertips slide under my shirt and trail gently up my waist that's all that I can focus on. All thoughts of the last couple of days. Worries about Braces and about allowing three new people to join us. The stress and fear of nearly dying. It all fades away and the only thing left is the way Hunter's hand feels sliding against my skin.

His lips move down my jaw line in soft kisses while his hands tickle at my ribs. Hunter pulls away, his green eyes staring into mine as his fingers move to curl around the hem of the shirt I'm wearing. He inches the fabric higher and higher, watching me like he expects me to stop him at any second. I don't plan on that though.

"What you said earlier," he says as the bottom of my shirt settles against my breasts and his knuckles brush against the sensitive skin. "Did you mean it?"

It takes me a minute to remember... well, to remember anything really. After I realize there's really only one thing he could be asking about, I lift my head from the pillow and press my lips against his, letting them linger for a long moment, before whispering, "I love you."