Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(48)

Chapter 26

Sunday

Maybe she was losing her mind? Kylie wondered as she risked a glance up from her iPad to find Hunter double-checking the sensors that he’d installed on the patio doors this morning. Really hoping that he wasn’t about to test the alarm that he’d decided to install this morning, again, she sat there, watching as the man who’d acted like nothing happened last night continued to work.

Definitely losing her mind, she thought, biting back a sigh and returned her attention to the article that she’d been trying to read for the past hour only to find herself thinking about that kiss that had kept her up most of the night. It had been…

Amazing.

It had been the kind of kiss that she’d always dreamed of and apparently that’s what happened, she realized, biting back a groan and decided to put herself out of her misery and call it a night. Setting aside her blanket, she climbed off the couch and after a slight pause, said, “Goodnight, Hunter,” sounding hopeful only to feel her shoulders slump when he absently mumbled, “Goodnight, Miss Potts,” as he continued working.

Deciding that she could add “Pathetic” to her resume, she headed upstairs to her bedroom, proving that she was definitely pathetic several times along the way by sending a hopeful glance over her shoulder only to find the hallway empty. When she reached her bedroom, she glanced at her closed bedroom window and-

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Kylie said to herself with a snort of disgust, because this was beyond pathetic.

Obviously, that kiss hadn’t meant as much to him as it did to her and that was fine. More than fine, she told herself as she headed to her bathroom where she continued to berate herself in the shower while she washed her hair, telling herself that it was no big deal when she grabbed the conditioner and decided that she was better off forgetting about that kiss by the time she wrapped a towel around herself.

After reminding herself of her decision to forget that kiss several times while she brushed her teeth and applied lotion from the gift basket that Hunter had given her, she walked back into her bedroom and finished getting dressed. With one last look at her closed bedroom door, because she was pathetic after all, she headed to bed, sighing tragically along the way and-

“Damn it,” she muttered as she went to grab her cellphone off her nightstand, wondering who was calling her this late only to end up wondering where her phone was.

Frowning, she looked around her bedroom, searching for her phone only to realize that she must have left it downstairs. For a moment, she debated letting it go to voicemail only to head to her bedroom door when she realized that it might be someone from the Orlando office calling about a problem with the convention. Groaning pathetically, because that’s apparently what she did now, she opened her bedroom door and found herself being pulled into Hunter’s arms.

“Took you long enough, Miss Rose,” he said, smiling as he leaned down and reminded her just how good it felt to be in his arms.

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Monday

“I think I’m going to call it a night,” Kylie said, biting back a yawn as she glanced at the man who was enjoying screwing with her head.

“Goodnight, Miss Sawyer,” Hunter said absently, as he adjusted one of the many security monitors that he’d suddenly felt the need to install today.

Nodding absently, she glanced out the window at the large security gate that his men installed today and couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t telling her something. After she woke up yesterday to the ear-shattering sounds of an alarm going off, she’d stumbled downstairs to find Hunter working on what he was calling his “Pet Project.”

Assuming that he was just trying to stay busy, she hadn’t thought much of it and focused on searching for a bottle of Advil, but that all changed when his men showed up bright and early this morning to install a state-of-the-art gate and surveillance system. When she’d asked him about it, he’d told her that he wanted her to feel safe, but…

She just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to it.

Lost in thought, she headed upstairs, unable to help but wonder if this had something to do with the convention only to tell herself that she was making a big deal out of nothing. Hunter was stuck on house arrest for four more months and needed a distraction. She couldn’t really blame him, she thought as she walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She started heading to the bathroom only to turn around and open her bedroom door, half expecting to find Hunter standing there, waiting to steal another kiss. When all she found was an empty hallway, she closed her door with a disappointed sigh.

God, he was driving her crazy, she thought even as she couldn’t help but smile as she headed to the bathroom. Last night, he’d pressed her up against the door and kissed her until her legs threatened to give out. Once he’d had her trembling, he’d kissed her one last time before saying goodnight only to once again act like nothing happened this morning.

Definitely driving her crazy, Kylie thought as she finished getting ready for bed only to head for her bedroom door when the smoke alarm chose that moment to go off and—

Found herself being pulled into Hunter’s arms.

“We should probably get that looked at,” Hunter said, dropping the smoke alarm on the floor so that he could wrap his arms around her.

“We probably should,” she readily agreed as Hunter pressed her against the wall and took her mouth in a hungry kiss.