Sex, Not Love(44)

“The view is sensational,” I said. “Yet it feels serene at the same time.”

Hunter smiled. “That was the goal. Each project has an essence statement. This building was an oasis in the jungle. It opened five years ago. After I graduated, I did my internship with the architect who designed this building at Khaill. The initial design was done, but the architect winds up doing a lot of revisions while the building is going up. So this was the first project I ever worked on.

“Wow. That’s really cool. Honestly, most of the time, I don’t even think about the buildings I’m walking past every day. It must be amazing to walk by one and look up, knowing you designed it.”

He nodded. I’d become plenty acquainted with conceited Hunter, but I’d never met the humble side of him before. I liked it.

Come to think of it, I liked conceited Hunter, too.

“You warm enough to have a glass of wine out here before dinner?”

“Sure. I’d love that.”

Hunter went inside and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of merlot. He came up behind me, handed me my wine, and leaned both wrists on the rail on either side of me, caging me in as we took in the sunset and sipped. The silence was comfortable, although the feel of him so close behind me, and the profound effect it had on my body, was unnerving. After a few minutes and the feel of his warm breath tickling my neck, I felt my breaths coming quicker and deeper.

“Turn around, Natalia.”

Hunter’s voice was low and so damn seductive. I waited for him to step back so I could maneuver around to face him. After a few more heavy breaths, I realized he had no intention of giving me space, so I turned while locked between his arms. Between the close proximity, his light blue eyes, and his intoxicating smell, I needed more wine. Raising my glass to my lips, I proceeded to down the half-full glass.

When I was done, Hunter raised a brow.

I held up the empty glass and shook it back and forth. A snippet of the conversation we’d had in the car replayed in my head. “I wasn’t going to try to have sex with you tonight. But if you try to have it with me, by all means, you’ll be getting fucked.”

I bit my lip, and Hunter seemed to read my mind. Taking the empty glass from my hand, he set it down on the floor next to us, along with his own half-full glass. When I unconsciously wet my lips, he muttered a string of curses before planting his mouth over mine.

The taste of wine on his tongue was enough to make me feel like I’d drunk the entire bottle myself. My head was woozy, my body tingled, and I wanted to climb the damn man like a tree. He pressed his body even tighter to mine, and my back arched from the railing toward his as my fingers clenched a fistful of his hair.

He groaned when I yanked. “I can’t wait to be inside you. You make me hard as a rock.”

With a thrust of his hips, he demonstrated that he wasn’t exaggerating. Oh God. I was so desperate I could probably come from just dry humping with this man. Resisting taking things further was a challenge I wasn’t sure I could endure for too long.

When the kiss broke, Hunter looked just as bamboozled by our chemistry as I was. We stared into each other’s eyes for a while.

“You’re really good at that,” I told him.

His smile was playful as his brows drew down. “What?”

“Kissing.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips with mine. “I’m good at kissing other places, too. Just say the word and I’ll show you.”

I laughed. “Seriously. Why don’t you have a girlfriend, Hunter? You’re handsome, smart, have a great job, own a beautiful house, you’re an amazing kisser, and you can fix a sink and build things. You’re prime boyfriend material.”

His playful look turned serious. He also pulled back a bit, though he didn’t release me from the confines of his arms and the balcony rail.

“I don’t want that type of relationship.” He studied me carefully. “I like you. You’re beautiful and smart. We enjoy each other. But I’m not looking for anything serious.”

Even though he’d been upfront since we met, and I was not looking for a relationship at all, somehow it stung to hear him say that.

“What does that mean, exactly? That I’ll be in your bed one night and someone else the next?”

“Absolutely not. We’d be exclusive. To be clear, that’s a two-way street. My expectation, once you’re in my bed, is that you won’t be fucking anyone else either.”

“Okay…and we’d spend time together outside of the bedroom, too?”

“Of course. I’ll always make sure you eat before I eat you.”

I squirmed a little at the thought. “So the difference between what we’d be doing and a relationship is…”

Our gazes locked. “Expectations.”

Since we were laying our cards on the table and having a little heart to heart, I figured I’d push a bit further. “You said you had one serious relationship that lasted years.”

Hunter nodded. “That’s right.”

“I married my only real serious relationship. That disaster is the primary reason I’ve been avoiding anyone with real relationship potential. I lie to myself and others by saying I don’t want a relationship because I need to focus on my work and Izzy. While that’s partially true, if I’m being honest, it’s also because Garrett burned me pretty bad, and I haven’t fully gotten over it yet.” I paused for a few seconds. “Does your not wanting a relationship have to do with the one serious one you had?”