Sex, Not Love(36)
“For starters, when the guys and I play golf and one of us has to take a leak, we walk over to the brush and take a leak. When we rock climb, there’s no better way to celebrate getting to the top than peeing off the side of the mountain.”
“So men and women can’t be friends because of your need to publicly urinate?”
“Last time we were diving, Derek sliced his hand on a coral reef. We tossed him electrical tape to wrap around his hand to keep the cut shut and went back for another dive. He probably needed a stitch or two, but if he’d gone to the hospital, we would’ve called him a pussy for a month.”
“And if I was diving with you, you wouldn’t toss me electrical tape?”
“Nope. Would take you to the hospital for stitches.”
“What if I didn’t want to go for stitches?”
“Wouldn’t give you a choice. You get hurt, I’m gonna take care of you.”
“But you won’t take care of your best friend, Derek?”
Hunter smirked. “Nope.”
“You’re really a chauvinist, you know?”
“Taking care of a woman is being a gentleman.”
“Not when you do it because you think your sex is superior and the woman can’t take care of herself.”
“Didn’t say that. You cut your hand, I’m sure you can get yourself to the ER for stitches. But I’d want to take you, nonetheless.”
I sipped my drink and smirked. “Chauvinist.”
Hunter leaned in. “Bet you can give yourself an orgasm. But I’d rather be the one to take you there with my mouth. Does that make me a chauvinist, too?”
The thought of him going down on me had me squirming in my seat, chauvinist or not. Of course, he couldn’t be a gentleman and let it go unnoticed. Instead, a dirty smile curled at the corners of his sinful mouth.
I was glad the waitress appeared and interrupted. Despite my protest, Hunter paid the bill and then held out his hand.
“Come on, I’m taking you home and coming in while that asshole Damon fixes your sink.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Give me this gentlemanly act since you won’t let me have the one I’d really prefer to do for you.”
Chapter 16
Natalia
Turned out I didn’t need to call Damon when I got home. Because the asshole was sitting on my couch when I unlocked the front door.
Startled, I jumped back. Hunter, who was close behind me, caught me and immediately shifted so I was behind him.
Every muscle in his body tensed as he growled, “Who the fuck are you?” Hunter was not a man I’d want to meet in a dark alley.
Damon stood and glared right back. “Damon Valente. Who the fuck are you?”
I squeezed Hunter’s shoulder. “It’s fine. This is Damon. I just didn’t expect him to be in the house.”
Hunter responded to me by speaking to Damon. “He shouldn’t be. How’d you get in here?”
Damon was such a smug asshole. “I own the building. We have keys to all the apartments. Who is this guy, Nat?”
Feeling the need to diffuse the situation, I stepped back in front of Hunter and tried to play it off. “This is Hunter Delucia.”
Damon overtly sized him up. “Yeah? I’m the landlord but also a friend of Nat’s husband, Garrett.”
I put down my purse and corrected him. “Ex-husband.”
Hunter closed the door behind him and walked to extend his hand to Damon. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Hunter was going to make nice. I should’ve known he just wanted to get closer to get his point across.
He waited until Damon’s hand was in his and looked him straight in the eyes as he spoke. “You shouldn’t be in here when Natalia’s not home.”
“Nat doesn’t mind.”
“Actually, Damon, I do.”
The two men were still hand in hand, but it was more akin to the shake before a prize fight than an introduction. Concerned at the tension in Hunter’s face, I diverted attention to the problem at hand. Although something told me Hunter would not think the problem at hand was the kitchen sink.
I walked to the kitchen and opened the double cabinet doors beneath the sink, revealing the now-half-full bucket I’d put inside.
“It’s filling up even without running the water. It’s worse when the water’s on. The first time it happened, I didn’t realize until my feet were getting soaked. It had filled the cabinet and leaked out in less than a minute. So I’m guessing there’s a hole somewhere or something.”
I let out an unsteady breath when the two men released their shake and Damon walked to the kitchen. He put his hand on the small of my back, with his fingers splaying down mighty close to my ass, as he stood next to me. I reached around and quietly removed it.
Damon turned on the water and crouched down to watch beneath the sink. “Your seal is leaking. Strainer is old and corroded. It needs a new one and some putty.” He stood and twisted the water back off. “I’ll pick one up and come back tomorrow morning to install it.”
Hunter stood in the doorway, his shoulders occupying almost the entire space. “I’ll take care of it.”
Damon turned. “It’s part of her lease. Landlord takes care of plumbing, electrical, and heat. Plus, I promised my friend I’d take care of his wife while he wasn’t around.”