On the Rocks (Last Call #1)(2)

Turning around, he uttered a small curse. “Where the hell did Casey go?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I scanned the area filled with buzzed and frolicking teenagers, but I couldn’t spot Casey. She was most likely off in a dark corner making out with a cute boy. Casey was high-octane wildness times ten, and she owned her sexuality. She made no apologies for the trail of broken hearts she left behind, and always had at least three condoms in her purse at any given time. Casey had it tough the last year, what with her brother and Hunter’s twin, Brody, being sent to prison. She’s been sort of acting out ever since then, and I spend much of my time letting her cry on my shoulder or listening to her shout out curses to the heavens for taking her older brother away.

“I’ll look out here for her,” Wyatt said with a grin. “You look inside on your way out, and I’ll meet you at the car.”

Hunter nodded, his teeth gritted. “I hope to God you find her, man. If I catch her with someone, no telling what I’ll do.”

I shivered again, this time from the menace in Hunter’s tone, because it was just plain hot the way he was so protective. Grabbing my hand, he said, “Let’s go, Gabs.”

And yes, I shuddered once again because of the way he said my name and the feel of my hand in his.

Hunter led me through the house, weaving his way among the indoor partygoers. He nodded at several people, fist bumped a few guys, and gently removed the hand of one whorish girl that tried to grab him by the neck to pull him down for a kiss. I muttered the word “skank” under my breath as we walked past her, and I heard Hunter chuckle.

We never did find Casey inside, so we assumed she was out on the beach somewhere and Wyatt would find her. Hunter led me down the front steps, and we walked along the narrow beachfront roadway to where he had parked his parents’ car a few hundred yards down.

As we walked in the dark on the uneven pavement, Hunter grumbled, “I swear… Casey better not be…”

He trailed off, not wanting to voice what he hoped Casey wasn’t doing. The disappointment rang clear in his voice.

“Give her a break, Hunter,” I said, stumbling slightly over a crack in the road. Luckily, he still had a hold of my hand and steadied me instantly. “She’s having a hard time because of Brody.”

I could feel the tension in his body when I mentioned his twin’s name, and he practically growled, “It’s no excuse.”

He pulled me along faster, and I doubled my pace to keep up. “I’m just saying… she could use some understanding from you.”

Hunter immediately stopped and spun around on me, and of course, I barreled straight into his chest. He released his hold on my hand and immediately gripped my waist to keep me upright. The beers I had swimming in my gut and clouding my head caused me to sway, fortuitously, in closer to his body. My hands came up of their own volition and rested against the hard muscles of his stomach, and I internally sighed over the fact I was touching Hunter Markham.

The moon was bright, and I could see its reflection in his blue eyes as he looked down at me in anger. “I don’t want her to do something stupid. I’m traveling so much that I can’t look after her.”

Yes, he was angry, but I also saw something else. He was scared for his little sister. Scared she would become lost and he wouldn’t be able to reach her, and my heart broke for him at that very moment.

I’m sure it was the alcohol that made me daring enough to do it, but I pressed in closer to him and whispered, “I’ll watch out for her. You don’t have to worry.”

He stared at me hard for a minute, and then his features relaxed a little. He even raised one hand and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear in a move so tender… so loving, my heart at that very moment decided that it would never belong to anyone other than Hunter Markham.

I could no sooner stop myself than I could stop a herd of gazelle stampeding the Serengeti to get away from a ravenous lion in hot pursuit. My hands smoothed up his chest and wrapped around his neck. I felt him flinch in surprise, and his eyes widened with uncertainty. It didn’t stop me though. I stood on my tiptoes and brought my lips up, gliding ever so softly over his.

When I pulled back, I saw an array of emotion filter through his irises. Shock, dismay, and maybe a little bit of disgust. My heart sank, and I started to pull out of his grasp. But just as quickly, I saw something else fill up his gaze and it slammed into me hard.

Lust.

There was no warning… nothing that could have prepared me for what happened next.

Hunter’s arms wrapped around me tightly, and he brought his mouth back down on mine with a groan that was carnally seductive and had my stomach tightening with desire.

His lips pressed in hard and opened up, causing my mouth to follow suit. His tongue immediately filled me, and he tasted of spearmint and cherry Chapstick. I thought my heart would burst out of my chest it was hammering so hard.

So yes… here I stand on a darkened road with Hunter Markham kissing the hell out of me, and I never want to forget a single detail of this magical moment. It is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life and can only be surpassed by his continued kissing and his fervent declaration that he feels about me the way I feel about him.

I’m inexperienced… a virgin, but I can’t help the way my body wants to now know all the things I never thought I’d be considering this very night. Images of Hunter naked, his body moving over mine… in me… flood my head and before I even know what I’m doing, I press my hips inward.