Page 42 of Baked

Needing another taste of his lips, she released the abused skin on his neck, but before she could reach his mouth, she was being flipped onto the gray cushions. Hunter easily slipped between her thighs as he put all his weight on one elbow and hovered over her.

“Honeybun,” he panted, “if you want me to take care of you, then you’re gonna have to explain what you said earlier first.”

No fucking fair.

This was madness. He was just as turned on as her. She not-so-subtly looked down at his bulging jeans as if to make her point.

He was smirking by the time she met his eyes again. “Something up, baby?”

“Something is definitely up.” She grinned back at him. “Want a hand with that?”

“Oh, I want more than your hand.” His voice had dropped, making her actually quiver. “But I can wait.”

An exasperated huff slipped out. “You really wanna do this now? While you’re in between my legs?”

“Yep.”

Infuriating.

“Fine, Hunter, but I don’t know what you expect me to say. You sneak up on me and overhear myprivateconversation with the girls, and now what? I’m just supposed to divulge every single insecurity I have because you demand it?” It was really hard to be mad at him when she was this turned on, but she was trying.

“Pretty much.”

Oh, she was going to hit him.

She tried to push him off her, but he didn’t move. So she glared, willing her eyes to do what her body couldn’t.

“Honeybun, I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy, but I can’t take back what I heard. You have to understand that having you think for one single second that I’m too good for you breaks my heart. How can you even think that? You’re the beauty and I’m the beast in this relationship—you know that, right?”

Okay. So she didn’t want to hit him anymore, but it didn’t mean he didn’t deserve a scoff for that comment.

“You arenota beast. You’re a freaking six-foot-five muscley firefighter with an annoyingly symmetrical face. You’re like a living, breathing fantasy. Add in who you are and how you treat me, and we might as well call it quits now ’cause there’s no way in hell I’m ever gonna be enough for you.”

He should at least look a tiny bit flattered, but no, he looked pissed again.

“Have you lost your mind?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Not that there was much to say to that. “How can you not know how fucking incredible you are, Rachel? If anything,I’mthe one who’ll never be enough foryou.”

She shook her head profusely. “Don’t do that. I know who I am; I’m not ashamed. I’m the girl who dropped out of high school. The girl with the alcoholic dad and the mom who didn’t even bother sticking around. And, apparently, I’m the girl whose first proper date was at the grand old age of thirty-three.”

Hunter tried to interrupt, but Rachel’s fingers covered his mouth. She wasn’t done.

“And that’s my point. I’m not the kind of girl a guy takes to nice restaurants or buys expensive jewelry. I’m the girl guys hook up with for a few months and then dump. Or ghost.”

There was more, but Hunter copied her and covered her mouth. “What does you dating assholes have to do with anything?”

“Does it count as dating if there are no dates?”

“Honeybun,” he warned, clearly getting impatient with her.

“I’m just trying to tell you that I know who I am. And I’m okay with that. I’m not the prettiest girl in the world, but I’m not the ugliest either. I’m on the average side, whereas you’re on the really fucking hot side.”

“Yup. I was right. You’ve lost your mind.”

Hunter didn’t even get a good look at her narrowed eyes, because he was off the couch just a second later. And she was airborne, slung over his shoulder. She did have time to appreciate the irony of being in a fireman’s lift though. Literally.

“What are you doing?”

“Fixing this,” he said as he took off out of the living room.