Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(40)

“But…my gift basket,” she mumbled sadly, as she glanced wistfully back at the elevator doors as they slid closed.

There was a heavy sigh and then Hunter was taking her hand in his and pulling her into the suite that he was supposed to be sharing with Ryan, whose job it was to keep him out of trouble.

“I’ll buy you a damn gift basket,” the grumpy man said, as she was pulled into an incredibly beautiful suite.

“What if it’s not as nice as the one waiting for me downstairs?” Kylie asked, somehow managing to bite back a smile when he leveled a glare on her and bit out, “It will be better.”

“But, what if it’s not?” she asked, blinking innocently only to laugh when he picked her up with a growl and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her to the nearest bedroom where he tossed her on the bed with a, “Stay out of trouble, brat,” and a mock glare as he headed for the door, leaving her lying there, debating what she should do now.





Chapter 22

“Are you going to buy me a drink?” the beautiful brunette with a body that was made for sin asked, giving him the sexiest coy smile that he’d ever seen as she moved closer so that the medically enhanced assets that were barely contained in the hot red dress that looked painted on, brushed against his arm.

“No,” Hunter said, as he grabbed his soda and headed towards an empty table outside the bar and sat down, already bored out of his fucking mind.

He should be in there, talking that brunette into helping him make the next week memorable instead of sitting here wondering how long before he could-

“I thought you’d be happy to get out of your cage,” Ryan said, as he joined him.

“I’m fucking ecstatic,” Hunter drawled, as he finished off his drink.

“I don’t know how Kylie puts up with you,” Ryan said with a sad shake of his head as he held up his hand and gestured to the waitress for two beers.

“Probably has something to do with the fact that she doesn’t annoy the shit out of me,” Hunter pointed out, waving away the beer the waitress went to put down in front of him.

Ryan watched the move with a curious look in his eye. “Not drinking tonight?”

“No,” he said, not bothering to mention that Kylie didn’t like the smell of alcohol. She never complained when he drank, but he knew the scent bothered her, which was why he hadn’t had a drink in a while.

“I see,” Ryan said, looking thoughtful as he took a sip of his beer.

“There’s nothing to see,” Hunter said evenly, as he glanced towards his right and couldn’t help but wonder what his assistant was up to when he spotted her cutting through the large atrium and heading towards the hotel gift shop.

“Of course, there isn’t,” Ryan murmured.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, as he watched Kylie head right for the junk food, making his lips twitch as he watched her carefully consider her options.

“You seem more relaxed lately,” Ryan said, shrugging it off.

“It’s the therapy,” Hunter said dryly.

“Yeah, that must be it,” Ryan said, chuckling as Hunter watched Kylie give up trying to choose a snack and grabbed a handbasket, loading it with every snack she could get her greedy little hands on.

“I thought she was on a diet,” Ryan said, following his gaze.

“It’s a cheat week,” Hunter said, pleased when he saw Kylie grab several Snickers bars and dropped them in the basket. Kylie wasn’t a big fan of Snickers, but since they were his favorite, she always made it a point to grab some for him.

He’d been raised on frozen dinners, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, junk food and the occasional school lunch when he’d decided to go. The Marines had given him three squares a day, mostly in the form of MRE’s, and an unhealthy dependence on Pepto Bismol. When he left the Marines, he’d lived on take-out, room service, and whatever was convenient. Since Kylie started cooking, he’d started looking forward to her homecooked meals. He was afraid that when this was all over that he was going to end up going through withdrawal from her cooking. Then again, that would just give him an excuse to see her, he realized, as he watched her make her way to the coolers in the back.

“I think Tim is smitten,” Ryan said, sounding amused.

“And why would you say that?” Hunter asked, watching as Kylie brought her basket to the register.

“Because he wouldn’t shut up about her,” Ryan said before leveling a glare on him. “Thanks for kicking me out of the suite, asshole.”

“You’re welcome,” Hunter said, sighing when he saw Kylie pull money out of her pocket instead of charging everything to their room. God, she really was a pain in his ass, he thought even as he had to admit that was one of the reasons why he liked her so much.

He liked everything about her and that was the problem.

“You know, I could always watch over Kylie for you if you want to switch rooms,” Ryan offered as Hunter watched the woman in question pick up her shopping bag and head back towards the elevators, carefully avoiding coming into contact with anyone as she went.

“And why would I want to do that?” Hunter asked, as he glanced to his left to find the beautiful brunette watching him.

“Because you care deeply about my well-being?” Ryan said, sounding hopeful.