His Kiss and His Bargain

CHAPTER 5

Chloe had no idea how she made it back to her room. After the door was slammed shut in her face, it had only been enough to get her moving, but her mind had remained in a state of confusion.

As much as she tried to sieve through her thoughts, the biggest hurdle remained, eating at her. He had kissed her, and she hadn’t stopped him. Why had she not stopped him?

Her hand unconsciously rose to her swollen lips. A shudder ran through her body. She had to stop herself from letting out a moan as her body remembered the feel of his hard muscles pressed against her. She hadn’t been so drunk on the kiss that she hadn’t noticed how much he had wanted her.

Heat rose from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears. Oh God, if he hadn’t stopped it, would she have returned to her senses and stopped him before things went too far? It was a question she wasn’t sure she could answer. At least not honestly.

She opened her door and stepped into the room she shared with Brooke. Unlike the state of affairs hours ago when she had returned from classes, this time the room was clean and Brooke was not drunk and crying on the floor.

Her friend wasn’t even in the almost incoherent stupor she had left her in earlier. No. Brooke was actually much more sober and pacing the room like a caged wild tiger.

The moment Chloe’s eyes landed on her friend, an unexpected wave of shame and guilt suddenly washed over her. She had allowed her friend’s ex-boyfriend to kiss her. The very guy Brooke had been so heartbroken about. 

Chloe mentally cringed. She was a terrible friend. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be in the same room as Brooke. She didn’t want to face her friend while she could still taste the man on her lips. And crave for another bite.

Unfortunately, Brooke saw her mere seconds after she opened the door and the girl moved like a tornado across the tiny space until she could grab Chloe’s arm and drag her fully into the room before hastily closing the door and locking it. Clearly, Brooke had been anxiously waiting for her to return.

“What took you so long? I was beginning to lose my mind. Did you do it? Are they deleted? Are they gone?”

Chloe sighed and pulled out of her friend’s hold. She moved and dropped onto her bed like a sack of potatoes. Every last grain of energy just drained out of her. “They are not deleted,” she answered in a tired voice.

Brooke let out a horrified gasp. Her hand grasped the front of her shirt as if she was suddenly in pain. “What! How come? I told you where the camera was. Wasn’t the window open?”

“The window was open. Just like you said it would be,” Chloe admitted.

“Then what? The camera wasn’t in his room?” Brooke was beginning to sound hysterical and close to a breakdown again.

Chloe stared at her friend, wishing there was a way to tell Brooke that they could discuss this after she’d had a few hours of sleep because she was just so tired. But she knew that would never work. Brooke would never leave her to sleep until she had answered every question.

With another sigh, she sat up and prepared to tell her friend what had occurred. The faster she was done, the sooner she could rest, Chloe reasoned.

“I never made it to the bedroom because your ex was in the apartment.”

“s**t!” The blood drained out of her face. Brooke paced the short length of the room again. Her hand came up to her mouth, and she bit on her nail. Taking out all her anxious energy on it. “Hunter was there? Did he see you?”

“He caught me just as I got inside the apartment.”

“This is bad.” Brooke looked like she was about to have a full-blown panic attack. “He is now definitely going to post those pictures… Just to teach me a lesson.”

Despite all the mixed feelings she had on the matter. Chloe felt bad for her friend and felt the need to calm her. She shook her head. “He doesn’t know I was there for the pictures. In fact, he doesn’t know me. So he has no reason to teach you any lessons.” 

Chloe paused for a moment, then quickly added just in case Brooke got any more funny ideas. “But I am done helping you with that mess. Just call him or go and see him and demand he delete the pictures.”

Her roommate continued to pace. Chloe wasn’t sure what Brooke would do, but one thing she was very sure about was that Brooke would take care of her problem alone. She was not going to jeopardize her education because of her friend’s wild lifestyle. Since Brooke chose to party and have fun, then she had to be prepared to face the consequences.

Chloe wished she’d had so much wisdom before she allowed herself to be talked into climbing a tree and meeting the famous Mr. Hunter. 

Suddenly, Brooke stopped mid-step and faced her. The crease on her forehead hinting at deep thoughts. “How did you get out of there? I am sure he was pissed.”

Chloe’s mind immediately went back to the kiss right before the guy practically threw her out of his apartment and warned her never to return. Her body flashed hot and cold simultaneously, rightly not able to decide how to feel about it. She shook her head. “He definitely wasn’t too happy with the visit.” She straightened her back instinctively before adding, “He just asked me to leave and never come back.”

The brows on Brooke’s face drew together as she frowned. “Just like that?” Incredulity dripped from every word like she just couldn’t see that happening.

Considering the man she had met, Chloe could understand why it was hard to believe such a simple explanation. But there was no way in hell she was going to tell Brooke that she had kissed Hunter. She gave her friend a firm nod. “Just like that.” Then she laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes.

The image in her head immediately went to Hunter’s face. It would be a very long time before she forgot it, or the kiss. It wasn’t like she hadn’t liked it. She had swallowed it up like it was going out of fashion. A sigh escaped her lips before she could suppress it. She hoped Brooke hadn’t heard it. And she hoped like hell her friend had no more questions she wanted answered on the subject. 

Chloe was so tired. Her dedicated brain reminded her that she still had the assignment to complete. David’s offer came back to mind, looking more and more attractive by the second.

She wanted to convince herself to just stand up and walk over to David’s room and take him up on the offer. But her gut twisted at the thought. 

Besides, she was dead tired. She wouldn’t be able to spring two sentences together even if she went to him. Sleep was the best solution. Then she would deal with her school work after. 

She just hoped Brooke would keep her drama to herself and allow her to finally grab some rest.

***

When the door of the apartment finally unlocked and opened, Jaxson was not asleep. He wasn’t even laid back and relaxed on the comfortable couch. 

On the contrary, he was standing at the offending window with his arms clasped together at his back. Feet apart and looking like a drill sergeant about to come down hard on an insolent recruit.

Hunter locked the door and threw the keys on the table as he reached for the remote that switched on the lights. He only became aware of his brother’s presence once the room was flooded with light from the six different bulbs located strategically around the space.

“f**k! Jaxson! What the hell, man? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” He drew a deep breath and held his chest like his heart needed help to get back to its right position.

Jaxson wasn’t fazed. His frown deepened. In fact, now he had two issues to address his brother over. “I thought I told you to be more careful and conscious of your environment. If I had been a bad guy, you would be dead right now.”

Hunter humphed and walked towards his kitchen. He retrieved a bottle of water and drank half of it before speaking. “Don’t start with that again. This is a campus. The most dangerous thing here is the cheerleaders. Nobody is going to break into my room and try to kill me.”

The nerves at Jaxson’s temples throbbed. He really didn’t want to get into it again. It was difficult to explain his concerns when he was keeping his brother in the dark about everything.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to let that one go for now. He went on to address the other matter. “A girl climbed through your window while I was waiting for you.”

That seemed to get Hunter’s attention. But not in a concerned way, like Jaxson had hoped it would. Hunter looked more amused.

“Seriously? Which one?”

Jaxson’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. “I didn’t get a name. We didn’t exactly sit down and chat over a cup of tea. Which of the skirts you have been chasing fits the bill of desperate monkey?”

Hunter shrugged, looking a little too proud of himself. “After one round in my bed... they all seem to transform into something desperate.”

Hunter was only twenty-three. Two years younger than him, but Jaxson felt like he was a decade older and he was talking to a teenager who had just discovered what the thing between his legs was really used for. 

The fact that Hunter hadn’t always been like this was what made the whole transformation hard to swallow.

Jaxson gave the watch on his wrist a quick glance. It was almost one in the morning. He didn’t have the energy to deal with his brother’s childish gloating. 

“I am heading home. I will see you some other time.”

Hunter’s face sobered almost instantly. “Already? But we haven’t even spent ten minutes together.”

“And whose fault is that, Hunter?” he snapped. “I have been here for almost six hours, waiting for you. I wanted to spend time with you, but you were not here.”

“You know there is this thing called a phone? You are supposed to use it when you are looking for a person. What? Was I supposed to have some sort of sixth sense to know that you are here waiting in my apartment? I know we are brothers and really close, but I don’t think we have developed some supernatural abilities to locate each other yet.”

All the sass aside, his brother sounded angry, and Jaxson knew Hunter had a point. He hadn’t called. He had sat there in the dark feeling guilty about kissing his brother’s girl, and he had not been able to make the call.

Jaxson rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Sorry. I am just exhausted.” 

The younger man’s shoulders visibly relaxed and a warm smile tagged on the corner of his lips. “The more reason for you not to leave so fast. You are working yourself to the bone, Jaxson. I know you are trying to keep it all together so we don’t lose anything, but I don’t want to lose you in the process.”

Jaxson suppressed the urge to grimace. Hunter was so close to describing the reality of things without knowing it. But Hunter didn’t have to worry. He had already made a vow to himself. He wouldn’t allow Hunter to lose anything else. Not what their father had left them and definitely not another family member.

He nodded at the bottle of water in Hunter’s hand. “If I am staying, I need something better than a bottle of water. I will also need some food and fresh sheets to sleep in. I don’t want to wake up covered in mysterious body fluids.”

Hunter laughed. “s**t! Should I also give you a foot massage while I am at it, sir?”

Jaxson shook his head. “No... I actually prefer a shoulder massage.”

“Ha! You wish. I am ordering pizza. I will grab you a beer. We can throw some blankets on the floor, watch some TV, chat, and sleep right there.”

“Is that how you charm all your ladies?”

Hunter was already typing on his phone ordering a large pizza. He shot his brother a look. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to, bro. Unless you need a few pointers to improve your game?”

“I don’t need pointers.” Jaxson’s jaw clenched for a second before he forced himself to loosen it and relax. He definitely didn’t need pointers. The evidence still lingered on his tongue despite the many hours passed.

As if his thoughts had provoked it, Jaxson snapped out of his musings when Hunter suddenly asked, “What happened to the chick that climbed in through the window, anyway?” 

Jaxson made sure the neutral expression on his face never changed as he answered, “Sent her out through the door and told her never to get back here.”

Hunter laughed and shook his head. “Oh man, I would have paid to see that interaction.”

Jaxson thought of all the details he was leaving out. He doubted Hunter would be so amused if he knew just how much interaction had actually taken place. And of a different sort than what he was picturing.

He received the beer Hunter offered and took a greedy sip. This was just one more secret he was going to keep away from Hunter, Jaxson thought. What his brother didn’t know definitely wouldn’t hurt him.