“I guess you don’t have to sleep with stinky old me tonight,” I observed as I tried to keep my tone controlled.
“Nope, you can take a shower and not smell anymore,” Hunter retorted, and I tried not to notice that he hadn’t said we weren’t sleeping in the same bed. I wasn’t sure if it was an invitation, but I knew I was blushing at the thought.
“Yeah, as if you’re just a bushel of roses,” I teased as I tried to stop my brain.
“My sweat smells sexy,” Hunter commented with a smirk as I flopped on one of the beds. I couldn’t help but stare as he lifted his shirt off and tossed it in the pile to be washed. I had known he had defined muscles just from the way he looked in a t-shirt, but without his shirt on was a whole different story. His chest was defined in a way that almost left me breathless and his stomach was flat with a slight definition of the individual muscles that lead to his striking hip bones.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a guy without a shirt on?” He teased with a slight, yet painful smirk.
I stood and stepped forward in the silence.
“What are these from?” I asked, placing my hand on a large scar on his chest and looking at the many more that marred his perfect body.
He placed his hand over mine as he bowed his head, his eyes darkening. His Adam’s apple rose and fell before he managed to speak, “I told you war wasn’t glorious.”
“I thought generals only gave the orders.”
He shook his head again, his skin hot against mine, “I’ve fought on the front lines. I’ve killed too many people without a thought. My hands are permanently covered in blood.”
“War leaves its mark on everyone,” I said, looking into his eyes as the whole world blurred around me.
“I’ve killed a lot of people Kate, and these marks are all I have to show for it,” his hand tightened around mine, “The more you know about me the less scared you seem to be when you should hate me and run away as fast as you can.”
“Is that it? You think I’ll hate you if I know who you really are?” I replied our faces inches apart.
“You should…”
“I won’t. No matter what you tell me…I won’t.”
His eyes dropped, “You can’t know that.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know what I’ve done,” he said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath his hand still tight over mine, “I don’t even know why I’ve done the things I’ve done. I’ve done them because I was told to. I could have killed you…”
“But you didn’t Hunter. It shows that you are still a good person. I don’t understand these wars…or what they are about--” I began.
“I wish I could explain to you what they are about, but I can’t because I don’t know. My father and your father shared the same opinion about whatever happened—that forming a tribe, and their own personal armies was the only way to stay safe—to keep what they thought was theirs,” Hunter sighed, “but I never had to go along with it…I should never have gone along with it.”
“You’re a victim of these wars. You did what you had to do. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done Hunter. You are who you are,” I reassured him as my heart raced It felt as though our bodies were magnetically charged, reaching for each other subconsciously.
“Being a victim is only an excuse that we use to justify our own cruel actions. I’m a beast, Kate. Everyone sees it but you,” his eyes searched mine for a realization that would never come.
“Hunter, you’re not a beast, and I will never be able to see you that way no matter what you tell me,” I clarified, my breath catching in my throat and the words coming out breathless.
“Why?”
I bit my lip and looked away, “You’ll never understand what you saved me from.”
“I could Kate, if you would only let me in,” he pushed, and our eyes met again as his other hand went to my face. I jumped away before the heat of his palm could set in, as I heard the basement door open.
“Did I interrupt something?” Collin asked, his glasses rising as he looked between Hunter and I.
