Bury the Hatchet

Chapter Four - Bury the Hatchet

TALLIE

Throughout dinner, Hunter kept casually—yet, in reality, not at all casually—touching my hand and trailing fingers along my arm, all the while sending heated glances in my direction. And calling them heated wasn't an exaggeration in the slightest. They were the sorts of looks that made my girly parts zing and caused my body temperature to rise about thirty degrees or so, meaning I was just this side of spontaneous combustion caused by sexy green fire. I tried to rein my body in, but it was no use. My response was happening even with the knowledge that those looks were only for show and the touches weren't meant to be anything more than an exhibition for anyone who cared to see. He had a job to do, and the man meant business. He wasn't messing around.

The longer we sat at that table, eating course after course, I had to keep reminding myself that what we were doing here wasn't real. There was nothing meaningful or lasting about what was going on.

Damn, but he was good at this, which only reinforced the idea that I had a lot of work to do before I would be capable of pulling off the kind of trickery he was managing as easily as snapping his fingers. I'd thought he was supposed to be a hockey player, not an actor, but he was nearly fooling me, and I knew exactly what was going on. Or at least I thought I did. It was difficult to convince myself I was right about that since his actions were having such a decided and potent effect on me.

Every time he looked deep into my eyes, I felt the intensity of it all the way to my toes. Each brush of his fingers along my bare skin left goose bumps in its wake.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. The relationship between us was supposed to be strictly business, or at least that was how it had been drawn up. There wasn't supposed to be any true attraction here, and my feelings had no business showing up in anything we did. I needed to keep my head in it and my heart out of it, plain and simple. That wasn't happening, though.

I must be hormonal, or possibly the events of the day had simply left me overwhelmed and vulnerable to the charm he was expertly exerting upon me. Either way, I knew I needed to take this as a learning experience. Now I knew the kind of effect he could have upon me, so it was up to me to find a way to gird myself against it.

With my thumb, I spun the ring on my finger, twirling it around and around as I debated my options for guarding my heart against his sensual assault. This whole marriage was going to prove to be a challenge for me, as I had always had a tendency to link physical contact with my emotions, and the plan was to be all over each other in public.

Like he was doing right now.

Hunter slid a finger down the length of my forearm again, and when he reached my hand, he took it in his and twined our fingers together, trapping the diamond I'd been spinning between our palms. My heart fluttered, my pulse skipping the occasional beat and doubling up on some others, and I bit down on my tongue in an attempt to regain control over my body and its unruly response. This wasn't going well. Not at all. And it was only the first day.

Hell's bells, how was I going to come out of this with my heart intact?

"So you're in college?" he asked me, seemingly oblivious to the insanity he was causing to race through my veins.

"Taking this year off, for obvious reasons." Not that I was happy about it. The break from school was something Mama and Lance had insisted upon, saying that I needed to put all my efforts in clearing up my name. Finishing up my degree would have to wait.

Hunter scowled at my admission, but he schooled his features so that no one but me could see it. His hand tightened over mine, though, digging the ring into the meaty part of my palm. It didn't really hurt, but it was more than enough for me to sense his displeasure. I tried to loosen my hand from his grip so I could shift the ring back into the position it ought to be in, but he held it firm, never removing his gaze from me.