Ahem ahem! Sorry to break your trance but.. Were you hoping that the chapter continued???? 😈 I'm so excited to write the next one. Are you too? Comment and let me know;)
74Claire was rooted into her spot, her heart picking up crazy speed. She didn't try to hide the color whipping into her cheeks or how her breathing doubled. She crossed her hands on her chest and stared at him. The back of her eyes were dry. She was thankful. She had shed more tears on this man compared to what he deserved. She focused on his face. It was not a stoic mask. His jaw was tensely clenched, his eyes looking at her with emotions she didn't want to acknowledge. There was something about his lips that suggested he had a shit load of stuff to tell her, but that he was quiet as though it was not the right time.He was still. Too still, like a predator indolently waiting to pounce. His dark eyes increased the level of adrenaline in her body. The silence in the cabin caused her back to soak with sweat. Though her face was hardened, her body was discreetly mourning over the fact that this gorgeous man, sitting across from her in a chair that wasn't his, was once hers. He had a
75 Her throat contracted with nerves, and she felt herself drowning, choking. Tears trickled out of her eyes. The fact that Hunter was literally behaving like they were one body with two souls made her knees buckle.She was not going to fall though. He had her tightly held after all. So tightly held as if she was his safe haven. As if she were his anchor, and god forbid if he let loose, then not only will he drown but also won't have the strength to come up on the surface as though the currents in the ocean were powerful. Claire quietly lowered her trembling face. She caught only the sight of his ear and the skin around it. He seemed to have rested himself at peace. Fully relieved... Like there was no better place than her embrace. She could feel his soft and unrushed breathing. The warmth of it. Her neck numbed under the warmth of his hot breaths. She couldn't see it but she could bet that his eyes were close. He could fall asleep in that position, with her in his arms, standing
76Hunter stared pointlessly in the air as he let Claire's words sink in.There. Is. Nothing. Between. Me. And. Tyler.She literally hissed those words out with contempt only a woman steadfast on her determination would. Not to mention Claire would never lie. She was a simple woman with a heart made of pure gold. She stated it herself already. Even if it was the best way to fuck his senses up and turn the course of his world around, she would never do it.Because she was Claire. The woman with love in her heart. The woman with deep compassion for every living creature on this earth. She didn't know how to be bad and hence she decided for his fate to punish him for his sins. For the injustice and wrongdoings he committed towards her. "Fuck!" Hunter ran a hand through his hair and stormed out of the cabin restlessly to go after her. This was punishment. Claire wanting to get away from him... This was real punishment. And it was worse than he could imagine. Even the thought of having
77Hunter walked back to her. This time he felt her shudder when he pressed his chest into her back. Claire hugged her arms but didn't try to move away. Hunter touched her mouth to her ear, not kissing her, but not trying to move his lips away. His hands remained suspended to his sides as if he knew she was praying in her heart for him to keep his hands to himself. "I realized it that day we had our divorce. Specifically when we were handed our divorce certificates. I was looking at your face. I knew it's wrong. I didn't want to let you go." He paused, his face coming closer so his lips would touch her jaw. Again, he wasn't kissing her, just keeping his mouth in contact with her skin. Emotions choked Claire's throat. Clogged her mind as misery ran through her veins, causing her skin to turn cold like the surface of a car during tough winters. "But you still did." Claire stole his chance to speak along with his breaths as she continued, "Not only that... You also let your slút snatc
78With heart in her throat, Claire returned back to him."What did you say?" Her body was trembling.Considering how brokenly Hunter was gazing at her, she knew he wouldn't try to hold her. So she had to take the support of a motorbike beside her to stand still."You heard me the first time I said it." He said, grazing her face longingly."And how do you know that?""Maury told me."Claire squinted her eyes in doubt, "And how did you get acquainted with Maury?""I had him picked up from the club along with his two men. He confessed it in my custody."He said without remorse. But the darkness clouding in his eyes provided her answers of questions which wouldn't have come to the surface had he not revealed what he said previously."You followed me into the club?" She cringed."After I was told how dangerous the man and the place is.""So you accept that you've been stalking me."Hunter's jaw tightened, he gave her a look that made shivers erupt within her, "It's not wrong to protect th
79The cab stopped in front of black iron gates guarding a big villa. Mr. And Mrs. Murphy stayed here with their younger son. Although Claire wasn't sure, she guessed this is where Typer may stop by while he was here for work. That's if he was really here for work. The guard opened the small gate carved into the left huge gate for her. He didn't ask her who she was and why she was there since this was not the first time. She came here earlier to drop her brother at Shawn's. Everyone working on this estate knew her well. Hence, she made her ways inside the villa without so much as waiting to ask for permission. She was moving so confidently that she wasn't anxious of encountering Tia Murphy either. Claire came to the living room where Shawn was sitting with his mother. He was busy on his tab while his mother was knitting something like a baby sweater. For who it was Claire didn't bother as she knew the woman was a social butterfly with an army of friends. She went to kitty parties mor
80Back in the hospital,After Claire left, Zara took the elevator back to her floor. She walked with blood now soaking her gown till her knees. The wound no longer hurt. The pain no longer made her dizzy because her entire body was numb in anger and annoyance.The streams of tears remained on both her cheeks, her skin blanched, and the touch of innocence she carried on her face was replaced with fury a mad witch would have for losing the potion that keeps her young. "How could he? How dare he?" were the only words Zara continuously chanted as her memory burned with the images of Hunter smiling lovingly at Claire's retreating figure.The man looked infatuated. He was completely in Claire's grip. Love dripped from his dark eyes. Though there was no mark of brand on his body, should someone ask him who he belonged to then it would be Claire's name he'd take.In her angry state, Zara came to Enzo's room which was also on the same floor. Hunter had booked the entire floor for her, and sin
81Enzo was counting seconds. He had accepted that this was his end. This day was the last day of his life. He wished he had touched Zara better, and kissed her more passionately. That would have at least helped him die without remorse. Alas, he was going to lose his head for doing nothing... Yet doing everything to his boss' woman. As for Zara, she showed patience. She didn't jump to the conclusion that this was her last day. Rather she encouraged herself to get ready for a blissful life that was coming ahead after Claire's death. She believed in her luck, and her brilliant acting, as she ran towards Hunter while sobbing hard as if she was denied oxygen for a while. "Hunter, I'm glad you came!" Zara got out of Enzo's hold before their position made his mind jump onto any conclusion. She turned completely towards Hunter and made a run for him. Her colorless face and the tears in her eyes had distracted him already. Then whatever suspicion he may have developed subsided as he saw t
273Hunter's POV She stopped just a hand's distance away and blinked her doey eyes at me, "I know we've been through so much, and our past is complicated. But I don't want to rush into anything this time. I want to love the good part we missed before. I want us to take our time, to enjoy each other's company, to fall in love all over again. I want you to make me feel special.""I want our second chance to be different. I want it to be about us, about our love, about our connection. I want it to be real, and true, and raw. I want us to be vulnerable, to be open, to be honest with each other. I want this time to be our time. Our time to love, to laugh, to live. Our time to be us." Her lips trembled. She was having a war with herself whether to tell it to me or not. She chose to do it anyway and risk it all... Because, by sharing her feelings with me, she was exposing how desperately she wanted me. "I want us to create new memories, to make new mistakes, to learn from each other all o
272Hunter's POV "Claire, what's wrong? I thought we cleared our misunderstanding in the elevator." I said as I tried to move closer to her. It compelled her to take three, long steps away and put distance between us that overwhelmed me. A feeling of dread made my stomach heavy. What happened to her? Did I do something wrong? Was it because of Penelope? Yeah, it could be her. They have been friends for years, and while Claire didn't stop me from chasing her away, it doesn't mean she appreciated it. "If it's about Penelope then I can call her and apologize. I'm sorry, I didn't think it would hurt you to see me sending her away. But I did—" "It's not about Penny, alright." The heaviness in her voice made me stare at her. We've been so good. I was starting to believe it wasn't a dream. But we're going back to square one. I ran my fingers through my hair. My body was burning from heat and sweat. The suit was suddenly too tight for me and I had to undo the first few buttons and fan
271Hunter's POV"Why are you following me? Go! Don't you have a meeting to attend?" She feigned a glare, but the playfulness in her gaze and the excitement in her voice told me she loved me trailing after her."The biggest challenge at hand is just accomplished. Why would I bother about work? My PA will take care of it. It's time to celebrate!" I said smugly, walking behind her like her shadow. Claire tried not to blush but the way she lowered her gaze, I swear it took everything in me to not grasp her and kiss her on the lips. I can't believe she's doing it again. Can't believe that I could be forgiven so quickly again.She had been so mad at me. She had expressed her disgust loudly and made sure I felt every bit of her loath. But look at me, I'm following after her like I did earlier and she was happy. Her smile told me she was pleased. She liked it. She enjoyed it. Could I really be this lucky? Or is Claire stupid? She can't give me a second chance despite the pain she suffered
270Claire's POV Hunter is a man with a lust for revenge. He won't abandon his enemies unless he's seen them grasping for breath and bleeding in every way possible. What he's done to Tyler is somewhere unfair too. And though Tyler could fight back, he's been the bigger person between the two. All he's done is defend himself and avoid Hunter's attacks. But it should come to an end. I know both men. While one openly declares war and strikes mercilessly, the other one observes everything silently and creates his strategies. Tyler may look non-violent, but that's only on the surface. He's holding it together because of me these days. But when he'll snap, the explosion will be catastrophic. "And please stop being so abrasive and return his company shares back to him."Hunter sighed as he moved closer to me, "So, your friend wasn't lying about it." "About what?" "Second chance." A soft grateful smile seeped into his lips like honey.On the other hand, my jaw dropped in stupor. I gave h
269Claire's POV I could think of nothing else except for his hard body and how it felt under my belly when I was on his shoulder. My eyes lingered on his throat. There were crimson patterns my nails carved on his skin. In the reflection they looked hot on him. Suddenly an urge to trace them with my tongue throbbed through me. I stared at his throat before raising my eyes to his mouth— his mouth that I loved kissing. I think I'm the first woman in this world who desires a man more than a man would do to a woman. But can you blame me? When the man is Hunter MacIntyre, lust and arousal personified, sense and wisdom stops working. He had a strange kind of animal magnetism that drew me to him. I felt sixteen all over again and my thighs trembled. "I saw you burning Tia Murphy's car." I spoke to ease the tension between us. "It was not needed if you ask me." "Not needed?" My breaths hitched when he spoke. His voice was hoarse and it felt like he was going through the same painful mome
268Claire's POVA new variant of anger pumped through my veins, one that has never plagued me before. I was seeing red everywhere I saw and the desire to feel Hunter's blood on my fingers made me clench my teeth to control whatever crazy fit was taking over my body.I have been jealous before, but this was beyond my imagination. My heart was smoldering outrageously and my breathing was ragged. Hunter's expressions and his words worked like a dose of stimulant, triggering my indignation to another level of madness. How dare he say that? I've been thinking about him, non-stop, since we separated. I never had the chance to shift my focus on another man— he had always been on my mind, and yet he had the guts to say those things to annoy me. I stormed outside the mall from the main gate through which Penny and I had entered. It was dumb because Penny's car was parked in the opposite direction. I stopped to exhale a breath. People around me peered at me curiously. Some stopped to gossip
267The look of possessiveness on Claire's face made Hunter's heart whirl. He'd been praying to see this look in her eyes. Praying to know whether her heart still beat for him. Guess, it never fell out of love from him. The realization whipped smugness into his looks as Hunter amazedly grinned. He was loving seeing his Dove deal with the trouble that was Mona Rocha. "You bítch, what do you want? Weren't you kissing his enemy a few days back to insult him. So why this sudden show of possessiveness? Back off, he's mine now." Mona sneered as she managed to free herself from Claire's grip. She scooted towards Hunter and wound her hands around his arm. He wasn't happy by her sudden closeness. Hunter was about to pull away when Claire let out an animalistic cry before grabbing the front of Mona's top and shoved her aside. "You aggressive whóre! What the fuck is your problem?" Claire snickered, "It's you who have a problem understanding that you're greatly loathed by him.""Loathed by
266As they stole a glance from behind the wall, their faces went pale because a woman was pinning Hunter against the wall, trying to touch him desperately. On the other hand, he had a hateful scowl on his face as he aggressively held her arms to keep her away from him. "What part of 'I don't like you' was clear to you? What is your problem, huh? Stop coming after me, Mona. I've told you many times I'm not interested either in you or your twin sister. Can't you see the ring on my finger? I'm fucking taken." He gritted those words out as his eyes hardened in detestation. The woman, nevertheless, moved closer and pressed a hand on his crotch, causing his eyes to freeze on her face. Claire's heart nearly stopped at the shock as her fingers trembled on the wall where she had placed them. Her teeth clenched as her stomach fluttered in a fit of rage, watching the woman touch Hunter inappropriately.Her gaze lingered on her hand for as long as it was there. She didn't know that she was hol
265Even though the girls had a head mask that completely covered their faces, they chose to take cover behind cars as they closed in on Reggie stealthily. They crouched down to become smaller and avoid their reflections getting caught in the side mirrors of the parked car.Reggie was best in his field. His circumspection earned him the position he worked on. He wouldn't be the country's wealthiest man's chief bodyguard if he was lazy or sloppy. His confident stance said that he knew what he was doing, and the way he kept looking around from time to time, it showed he was multitasking between avoiding spectators and carrying out the order given to him.A point came when Tia suddenly halted in her tracks to rummage something in her purse. A low curse came from her mouth which was quite audible in the empty parking lot. She turned around and that's when Reggie's heightened senses kicked in. He leapt behind a car so smoothly that Claire and Penny's jaw unhinged, eyes stared unblinkingly a