My brow arches with curiosity as Hunter cuts the engine, and I turn to him slowly.
“A hike?” I ask, hiding my excitement with a smile to show him how impressed I am.
“We're doing this one in human form,” Hunter reveals with a coy smile as he turns toward me, the air dense with tension that I'm only able to feel because my trepidations have been put to rest, flowing with the ease that comes with being in Hunter's presence, the old spice and citrus scent of his masculinity infusing the air I breathe. I decide not to let those dark thoughts steal the joy from our date.
“Had enough of those hikes we did in wolf form during black ops?” I snicker, and Hunter chuckles as he opens his door.
“Yeah, we're not fighting any vile creatures tonight,” he chuckles, stepping around the car and holding my gaze as hecomes to my door. He opens the door and offers a hand, and this time, I'm not reluctant to take it, discovering that my prior insecurities are gone.
It was probably only self-inflicted, since I'm the one who told him we should start with being friends again. But Hunter remains as chivalrous as ever, going out of his way to ensure my comfort as we hike the trail.
When we're a few miles in, Hunter slows down and turns to me.
“Ready for your surprise?” Hunter asks, and I'm momentarily dazed by the way the moon's slanting rays catch his tanned face. Every contour is illuminated in a way that magnifies the curves of his face, making it appear stern and authoritative, as if an esteemed alpha stands before me.
My breath catches when my heart skips a beat, and I realize that it was no mistake marrying him at all.
Through our marriage, Hunter will become Alpha of Shadow Fang because I'm their Luna, and it only strikes me now that there's no one more capable of that role than Hunter, especially with the way he looks tonight.
If only he were interested in being your husband…a harsh voice enters my mind, unlike my inner wolf's voice, which often whispered words of wisdom to me when I needed guidance the most.
Shocked by what I just heard and feeling my insecurities resurfacing, I take a deep breath to compose myself, not wanting to dwell on it. It'll just end up spoiling the night like it did last night, and I don't want to let Hunter's efforts go to waste.
“I thought the surprise was the hike…” I lament as Hunter chuckles, reading my reaction as nervousness again. He steps behind me, his long, dexterous fingers closing around my eyes.
“A hike as a surprise?” Hunter scoffs, chuckling lightly. “I think I can do better than that.”
As I place a hand on Hunter's wrist, I become soothed once again, letting those dark, creeping thoughts slip away as I let him guide me forward. He slows down, and when we stop, he removes his hands from my eyes, opening up the view to a picnic blanket spread out on the grass under a flowering sugar maple tree.
The red and white picnic blanket is set up with a basket overflowing with a bottle of wine and roses hanging out from the sides. A few tea candles are set up to form a circle around the basket, and Hunter rushes forward with a lighter he took out from his pocket to light the candles, while I'm frozen in awe.
“Wow….” A hand flies to my mouth as my eyes grow wide. “This is…” shaking my head slowly, I can barely get the words out, the romantic scene in front of me touching my heart in ways I've never experienced before.
Hunter turns, shifting on the blanket to get into a comfortable position, one knee bent as he stretches out a hand to wave me over. My heart flutters, and I feel all shy again, pushing away my trepidations and taking his hand as he helps me to sit down.
“I remembered how much you liked those chocolate-covered strawberries we had at that motel in Alaska,” Hunter says cheerfully as he reaches into the basket and pulls out a tray.
“Where did you get those?” I ask as he lifts the lid, his ears turning red behind his dark hair.
“I made them,” he admits sheepishly, lifting one by the stem and holding it up to me. “I know that Alaska doesn't have very good, ahem—” he clears his throat and pauses, our eyes meeting for me to see the sadness in the dark brown depths. “It doesn't have very good memories for us, but there were a few good things, right? Like these awesome strawberries!”
The gesture is enough to leave me swooning, but there's lingering dread that twists my stomach into a knot.
Why do things feel so uncertain, like I could easily lose Hunter for good if I merely blink my eyes? Perhaps it's because he hasn't brought up what any of this means, and I'm becoming frustrated that he hasn't made a move, or even touched me.
That's why he holds the strawberry out, instead of feeding it to me like he did on our first night in Alaska, when we raided the hotel kitchen for leftovers and took our snacks back to the room we secretly shared.
Back then, we had reason to hide, but everything is out in the open now, since that night he opened up to me.
There's nothing else standing between us, being together in every way possible, except the truce we called, which I labeled friendship.
Becoming impatient with the bridge neither of us has crossed—the one I built—I decide to take matters into my own hands, leaning toward the happiness that outweighs my anxieties. That's when I grab Hunter's wrist and tug his hand forward, parting my lips around the strawberry and taking a seductive bite as I gaze into his eyes.
His sharp, audible intake of breath fills my eardrums, and it's as if time stands still between us as I slowly release his wrist and lean back on my heels, slowly biting the chocolate-covered strawberry. The moment the hardened chocolate cracks and thejuices are released into my mouth, I become as feral as the glint in his eyes as he watches the movement of my lips.
We both move at the same time, closing the distance between us. I crush my lips to his, sighing from the sheer relief the kiss brings as he drinks in the cocktail of strawberries, chocolate, and my saliva.
The kiss is more passionate than I could have imagined, especially with the way Hunter has been keeping a distance between us. His guttural growl as he kisses me vibrates into my mouth, surging through my bones and pooling between my thighs. My walls clench around nothing but the promise of what lies ahead, and the memory of his cock buried deep inside me.
