Hunter's words touched her heart and she lifted her hand and touched his cheek. "Hunter, you shouldn't say such things," she whispered, caressing his cheeks.
"Why not?" he asked as if struggling to restrain himself. His hand caught her hand which was touching his cheek and placed it over his heart. Rihanna gasped at the rapid pace his heartbeats were thundering in his chest. Her eyes flew up to his.
"See that? Feel that? I want you Rihanna, " he said in earnest.
"Uncle Hunt, are you kissing Miss Anna?" asked a worried Robbie as he stood frozen at the doorway. Rihanna extricated her hand and moved away from Hunter, her cheeks coloring profusely.
"Why? Do you have an objection to it, Robson Bradshaw?" asked his uncle, quirking an eyebrow at him. Robbie giggled.
"No silly, Uncle Hunt. If you kiss Miss Anna, you would have to marry her and make her my mommy. Then she will live here forever," said Robbie as Rihanna's mouth hung open. Hunter chuckled.
"Who stuffed these ideas into your head? They don't seem like they belong to you," he asked suspiciously.
"No one. Gemma didn't tell me," said Robbie as he sat down to complete his ice cream. Hunter laughed and his dimples deepened making her wish to touch them. It was a happy laugh that lit his eyes up which made Rihanna stare at him. He looked so boyish and stress-free. He suddenly stopped and gave her a look. She knew that he had caught her staring at him. It was so embarrassing! She looked away and concentrated on her ice cream but to her dismay, she dropped a dollop of sticky chocolate sauce on her sweater.
"Oh God, now what do I do? This is soiled," she said, looking at her sweater with dismay.
"Why don't you change into something else?" asked Hunter. Rihanna got up. Oh yes, she had forgotten that she had a shop full of dresses here inside Robbie's closet.
"Yes, I'll do that," she said, going towards Robbie's room.
"Where are you going, Miss Anna? Your clothes are in Uncle Hunt's room, " said Robbie. Rihanna turned around to face them. What?
"But weren't they in your room?" asked Rihanna with confusion.
"Not anymore, " said Hunter with a shrug, his face coloring a little. It piqued Rihanna's curiosity. What was going on?
"But why?" she asked, watching the silent conversation going on between Robbie and his uncle.
"He hugs them to sleep when you're not here," said Robbie while Hunter facepalmed. Rihanna blushed crimson at what she had just heard but deep in her heart she wanted to grab Hunter and kiss him. Did he really sleep with her clothes? Did he miss her so much?
"Don't believe him, okay?" said Hunter, and Rihanna nodded, walking away towards his room with a smile on her lips. Her heartbeats accelerated when she went into his room. What would he do tonight? Would he sleep with her or her clothes? She walked into his huge walk-in closet, inhaling the fresh citrus and pine smell of him lingering there. She ran her fingers over his clothes, loving the feel of them. She couldn't stop herself from picking up a shirt of his and hugging it to herself. Was she going crazy? What would Robbie say if he saw her now? She quietly kept the shirt back, feeling a little guilty.
She went towards the shelves where her clothes were neatly arranged. She picked up a red sweater. Why? Was it because red looked best on her? Or was it because red attracted more attention? She shut her inner conscience from meddling with her senses. She would wear red. She wanted to look her best. Taking the sweater, she went to the en-suite to change. She cleaned the chocolate from her clothing and left it to wash later.
As she stepped out of the en-suite, she collided with Hunter's hard chest. She looked up to see his eyes darkening as he pinned her with a hot stare.
"Red suits you," he breathed, his gaze taking her in minutely.
"Thank you," she said with a blush, extremely happy with the effect her red sweater had upon Hunter. She wanted him to want her just like she wanted him, just like she was dying for a kiss. "You're blocking my way, Hunter, " she told him. He lifted his index finger to trace her jawline, watching her with fire in his eyes, ready to ignite a passion deep within her. Rihanna's breath hitched at his hot touch.
"Hunter," came out the soft plea. It sounded almost like a moan and had the opposite effect on him. Instead of leaving her his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush into his hard chest.
"Say that you want me just like I want you," he said in a hoarse voice filled with raw desire. Rihanna nodded but he was relentless. "Say it," he said, dipping his head to kick the spot beneath her ear. A shudder went down her body.
"Uncle Hunt, where are you?" said Robbie's innocent voice from outside his room. Rihanna pushed at his chest with a pleading look.
"Robbie's coming, please Hunter, " she pleaded when he didn't release his hold upon her.
"Say what I want to hear," he continued stubbornly.
"Yes, I want you, now please, let me go," she pleaded. He released her with a smirk. Rihanna pushed past him towards the door of his room just in time to see Robbie appear in front of her.
"I was looking for you, Miss Anna, " he said. Rihanna smiled.
"I'm right here, Robbie. Tell me what you need?" she asked going out with him. Her cheeks flamed at the possibility of being nearly caught by Robbie. At the door she turned to look at Hunter who was leaning against a wall, watching her. He winked seeing her look at him. She blushed more at what she had just admitted to him. Only she could fall into such situations!
Robbie led her to his room and they sat building castles out of a Lego castle set. "Where's the prince?" she asked once the castle was made. Robbie took out a Lego figure. They made a princess for the prince. Robbie built a horse-drawn carriage. Rihanna wanted Hunter also to join them but he had already left for work. It seemed he didn't have any days off. She and Robbie played, she told him stories, and they watched his favorite program on TV. It was a fun time and Robbie grew close to her.
"Miss Anna, can't you stay with me forever?" he asked her. Rihanna didn't know how to answer him. She closed her eyes and started thinking how it would feel to marry Hunter and live with him and Robbie forever. Being a die-hard romantic at heart, she loved the idea. Was Hunter the one for her? She might have dozed off to sleep when Robbie woke her up quickly.
"What is it, Robbie?" she asked him.
"I'm hungry, Miss Anna. Can you make something for me?" he said.
"And me too," said a voice from behind her. Shocked Rihanna turned to look behind her. Sure enough, Hunter smirked at her as he lay down behind her with his arms behind his head.
She got up quickly. "When did you come in?" she asked, shyly. Had he been watching her while she slept?
"Ten minutes back," he said, looking up at the ceiling. Wasn't he weird? Once he was breathing fire and now he's coldly staring at the ceiling! She would go crazy.
"What would you like to eat?" she asked Robbie.
"Mac and cheese, please, " said Robbie.
"And you?" She looked at Hunter but he just stared at her with a look as if she was asking him a dumb question. "What?" she asked now feeling impatient.
"Isn't it obvious what I want?" he asked with a groan, getting up and walking out of the room.
"He just wants his bad water. Leave him, Miss Anna, " said Robbie with an eye roll. Rihanna chuckled and walked off to the kitchen followed by a very excited Robbie.
"Will you teach me how to make Mac n cheese? Uncle Hunt can't cook anything. Someone has to learn," said Robbie.
"Sure, c'mon let's learn, " said Rihanna. The next few minutes, she made Robbie's food as he chatted with her non-stop sitting on a kitchen stool. Hunter didn't come into the kitchen, but she could hear him, hammering something somewhere. What was he hammering? She had no idea.
"Uncle Hunt, stop your noise. I can't enjoy my food. Miss Anna, can you make him stop, already?" pleaded Robbie.
"I don't know where he is," said Rihanna.
"He's in the store room building a shelf," said Robbie pointing towards the back of the house. He switched on his TV and started to eat when Hunter again started hammering. "Please Miss Anna, make him stop. My brain is rattling, " said Robbie.
"Okay, okay, chill. I'm going," said Rihanna, walking towards the back of the house where Hunter was busy with his hammering. She opened the door and peeped inside to see that Hunter had discarded his shirt and was hammering a shelf together.
"Can you stop that, please? Robbie can't eat with all that noise, " she said but Hunter got up, leaving his stuff. He wiped his hands on his shirt and turned around towards her.
"I can only stop if you give me what I want, " he said, his eyes blazing with fire. He strode towards her like a predator towards its prey.