Chapter One
Hunter Dex tuggedhis girlfriend down onto his sweat-slicked body and gave her a deep, searing kiss that he hoped told her just how amazing he thought she was. She melted into him and he felt himself rising to attention all over again.
“Wow,” Serena breathed, sliding off his naked body. “That was incredible.”
“Give me another minute and we can have a super fun repeat,” he rumbled, circling her wrist with his fingers. He wanted to tug her back against him and get as deep inside her as he possibly could.
As good as it was—and it was incredible—he couldn’t help but feel like there was a part of her he hadn’t reached yet.
She kept moving away and he tightened his grip on her. She glanced back at him over her shoulder. He didn’t miss how her breath stopped as she caught her lower lip between her teeth.
He squeezed.Yeah, baby. Come back to bed.
They’d been dating for six weeks and with each passing day, he just found himself wanting more and more Serena Bradley in his life.
“That’s hard to say no to.” She gave him an apologetic smile and he released her hand. “But I warned you when you came over that I have work to do. And I still do, no matter how good you look in my bed.”
She knew how to work him, that was for sure. He grinned and flexed his pecs. “Look good, do I?”
She just laughed and patted his arm before moving across the room and pulling on her robe.
He watched the sweet curve of her ass disappear behind silky black fabric and sighed.Can I hang around and soak up your awesomeness?“I get it. Will you be up all night?”
Serena was an artist. She did a bunch of different things, all amazing, and from time to time she took off to parts unknown with her makeup case. She’d done that disappearing act twice since they started dating.
When he’d arrived tonight, she’d been working on a mask. Too heavy to practically wear, the sensual piece of art would be hung on someone’s wall.
Soon, apparently.
“Not all night,” she tossed over her shoulder. “If you want to stay over…”
He wanted all right. He followed her out of the bedroom, tugging on his boxer briefs. She lived by herself in a small bungalow she’d inherited from her grandmother, so there was little chance of being disturbed, but Serena had never wandered around naked and he got a vibe from her that she’d find it strange if he did.
As much as he liked this woman, found her fascinating and craved her more and more every day, she was still an enigma in many ways.
“Love to,” he said as she settled at her drafting table in the spare bedroom-turned-art studio. “Should I order delivery?”
She nodded, already not paying full attention to him. “Something with rice?”
“Done. Can I plug my phone in somewhere? The battery was low when I arrived.”
“Mmm,” she mumbled. Her eyes narrowed, concentrating hard on some delicate detail on the mask. “Laptop’s in the living room. There’s a cable attached to it.”
He watched her for a minute, cataloging the way she held her breath as she loaded her paint brush with thick, inky blackness, then exhaled carefully as she applied it to the mask. He knew that type of control well—he used the same breathing pattern when he was behind a rifle. It was a good way to trick oneself into thinking what you were about to do was no big deal, but the creations that came out of this studio were definitely a big deal.
She didn’t talk a lot about her work, either the masks and paintings she created, or the elaborate make-up artistry she flew around the country for, either.
Client confidentiality—another thing they had in common, although Hunter’s client was the United States Navy. More lord and master than client, really. He’d been a SEAL for nine years. He’d recently transferred from the east coast teams to the west coast, and the last thing he thought he’d fall into after arriving in San Diego was a serious relationship.
Not that Serena had given him any clue that was what she wanted.
But their connection…in less than two months, she’d taken ownership on a piece of his heart—real estate he didn’t even know was up for sale.
They’d met almost by accident. He’d been invited to a bar by some of his new Team 11 teammates, and since he was still new to the area, had gotten the address wrong and walked into an art gallery instead.
Best mistake he’d ever made.
He’d blown off his friends that night with an apologetic text, and chatted up the beautiful artist instead.
