Pure Illusion (16 page)

He
strokes my hair, letting me cry and saying nothing.

I’ve
cried myself to exhaustion. My lungs can’t suck down enough oxygen to soothe
the fiery ache inside my chest and my body is struck with uncontrolled, jerky
spasms.

Hunter
wraps a hand on the back of my neck and shoves my face into his stomach. My
arms curl around his middle as I cry into his abs, my wet flesh sticking to
his. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry…” I trail off,
hiccupping.

His
warm hands cradle my face as he gazes into my eyes. “Baby, it’s okay. I forgive
you. I’ll always forgive you. Tyler loved you. You were the best sister he
could ask for. Okay?”

Lips
trembling, I nod, a new current of tears obscuring his face.

Hunter
leans forward, forcing me to lie down on the bed. The top half of his huge body
rests on top of mine, giving me some of his weight. Our chests are pressed
together. My hands sift through his silken hair as the last of my tears slide
down to my ears. He kisses the wet trail they leave in their wake and my closed
lids. I lock my legs around his hips, holding him so very close to me.

His
heart thuds erratically against my own. Hunter’s mouth touches mine in a sweet
closed-mouth kiss.

A
spark that I’ve never known blooms in my chest and begins to surge through my
veins, searing everything in its path. A moan slides from my throat and his
fingers dig into my sides. Hunter presses his lips behind my ear and his tongue
touches there.

“Hunter,”
I gasp softly, my entire being quivering. My pelvis tilts up towards him as I
shamelessly dry hump him to gain some kind of friction to ease this unbearable
pressure between my legs.

His
vibrating growl ripples through my body, fingers digging deeper into my flesh.

My
hands frantically push him closer and closer to me until I’m breathing his air
but somehow unable to catch my breath. I cling to him with everything I’ve got.
The incredible heat he has inside of him is bursting out and nearly scalding me
to death. But my God, it feel amazing, it’s unbelievable. For the first time
since Tyler’s death, I feel like I truly can breathe, finally breathe, and it’s
only when Hunter is here, holding me in the safe haven of his arms and
smothering with that remarkable heat that chips away at the ice case that
surrounds my heart.

Hunter
delicately traces the features of my face with curious fingers and presses
kisses up my neck, placing a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose.

“I
love you so fucking much, Hunter,” I confess quietly, salty wetness rolling
down the sides of my face and into my hairline.

Our
eyes lock; mine wide and tear-filled, his scrutinizing and assessing.

The
doorbell rings.

More than Okay

Hunter
mutters a curse under his breath and pushes himself off me, storming down the
corridor and jolting down the spiral staircase. I follow him on shaky legs. He
flings the door open with an irritated, “
What the fuck
?!”

“Morning,
Hunter.
Isabel here?”
I hear Max question. The
memories from the night I had with Max overwhelm me. I jump away from the door
and press myself against the wall next to it, sinking down into a
crouching-position, praying he didn’t catch a glimpse of me.

“Why?”
Hunter asks, his patience thinning very quickly.

“Falcon
called. He’s worried. She didn’t come back last night. Rex told me she left his
party with Hero. Checked with your mom, Hero’s there. She told me to check with
you, thought Isabel might be here.”

“Called
you or the station?”

“Me,”
Max says as if offended that the thought ever crossed Hunter’s mind. “Everybody
doesn’t need to know Isabel’s business.”

“She’s
safe.”

“Is
she here?”

“She’s
safe,” Hunter repeats, refusing to answer him.

“Is
she here, Hunter,” Max snaps.

Hunter’s
spine straighten and his shoulders square. I stand, snatching my damp boots
from the floor and sidestep Hunter. They don’t need to fight. Hunter doesn’t
have the best record in the world, and he doesn’t need assaulting a police
officer to the list. I force my gaze to the ground, unwilling to look Max in
the face. I’m dressed in Hunter’s T-shirt and boxers while my hand was down
Max’s boxers only a week ago. I clutch my boots to my chest, keeping my head
down and stepping out the threshold of the door. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Let
me drive you to Falcon’s. They are delirious over there,” Max says, his voice
super gentle. “Everyone is worried about you.”

“Okay.”

“Sure
you want to leave with him, Isabel?” Hunter asks cautiously.

I
keep my eyes on the wet ground and nod. I just confessed I loved him. I can’t
afford to look at him yet and see
nothing
back in return. “Yes. I’ll call
you later.”

“Wait,”
Hunter whispers. He briefly disappears in the house and comes back to put his
gray jacket on me, zipping it all the way up to my neck.

“Thank
you,” I mumble. Without another word, I dash to Max’s cruiser.

It’s
silent as we pass the vast areas of wilderness. Cherry Creek is such a lovely
place to live. Open fields, streams, and cherry trees that go on forever. The
scenery takes my breath away.

I
feel Max’s eyes bore into me. I think he’s upset with me; he has every right to
hate me.

God,
I’m such a fucking mess.

“Max…?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m
sorry…for
everything
.”

We
stop at a red light and watch as a herd of wild deer gallop across the street
and into the other part of the misty woods. “You know, Isabel, pain is a greedy
and vengeful thing. It doesn’t care who it burns. The inferno you have within
you will char people; some might not be able to endure the blaze. Just remember
that when you feel like going off the deep end,” Max says, as if speaking from
experience.

My
throat tightens. “I’m so, so, sorr—”

“Enough,”
he says firmly, cutting me off. “All is forgiven. I was worried about you when
you disappeared from my house, thought you ran off to the nearest football
player—” he teasingly wiggles his brows and I shake my head, smiling “—but Hunter
stopped by and we had words.”

I
lift a brow. “You had words?”

He
nods, idly tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.

“Words,
really?”

He
glances over at me, his lips lifting up at the sides and an amused expression crosses
his face. “He basically told me to stay away from you or he’d break my neck.
Since Hunter is Hunter, I know that he’s
very
capable of doing it. But
the way I see it, you’re worth more than a broken neck.”

The
herd clears and we’re moving again, heading back into the inhabited part of
town. “I don’t think I am,” I mumble sheepishly.

“You
are,” he replies earnestly.  

“I
don’t know if you have noticed, Mr. Officer Man, but I’m really sick,” I say in
a sugar sweet voice of innocence.

“Oh,
I have no choice but to notice, Pumpkin. You’re terribly ill,” he teases.

“Possibly
deranged,” I add, laughing.

“Certainly
deranged, no doubt about it,” he jokes, laughing with me. His violet eyes
twinkle when they meet mine and he smiles in a way the leaves me breathless.

My
heart flutters. “I don’t get it, Max. You were such a jerk in high school.
You’ve changed, drastically. What happened?”

“I
was young and stupid, still young but a little less stupid,” he answers
truthfully.

“I
thought you hated me.”

“I
did, or I thought I did,” he confesses matter-of-factly.

I
sag back in the passenger seat, my brows snapping together. “What?”  

He
looks at me briefly, raises his brows. “I did, only because I wanted you and
Hunter made sure I
never
had you. We fought so damn much back then. He
protected you from every single guy, except Falcon. I think in his mind, he
owed you Falcon if he couldn’t have you in that way. I was an ass and took out
my frustrations on you. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”

“
What?
”

“Yeah.”

“B-but
I was there in the bathroom when you guys rushed in. He said I didn’t exist. I
was invisible, I still am invisible.”

“You’re
anything but invisible, Isabel. It’s all an illusion with Hunter. He wants you
to see what he wants you to see. It’s a major game of deception, know the rules
and play it the best you can.”

“So
he wants me, or wanted me?”

“Positive.”

“Do
you want me?”

He
glances at me warily. “After the other night, I’d be lying if I say no.”

My
stomach does a somersault. “I had no idea.”

His
stunning eyes roam my face and he smiles.
“Clueless looks
cute on you.”

I
smile back, but Derrick’s voice creeps from the corners of my mind.

“Everyone
says that Max raped Lily and that’s why they’re not together anymore.”

Max
pulls into Falcon’s driveway. He reaches for the switch on the main console to
unlock the doors, but before he does, I blurt out, “Did you rape Lily, Max?”

His
spine stiffens and he turns to look at me, eyes narrowed and darkening. “Did,
Hunter tell you that?”

The
first initial emotion that surges through me is fear, fear because Max didn’t
immediately deny it. “No,” I whisper, my hand reaching for the door handle.
“Just forget I asked.”

He
gives his head a slight shake, dragging his hand down his face and then sags
back in the seat, staring straight-ahead with a faraway expression in his eyes.
“I never meant to hurt Lily,” he murmurs almost too low to hear.

In
shock I grip his knee. “Did you? Did you hurt her?”

His
brows frown and his forehead creases with wrinkles. There’s a strong
desperation and pleading in his eyes that turns my blood cold. “I did, but it’s
more than what you think. She forgave me so long ago. But still. After all this
time, I can’t find the strength to forgive myself. I gave up college. I gave up
football and I
lived
for football, but I didn’t deserve it, not after
what I put her through.” He drops his head, shutting his eyes, his face
contorting into a mask of pain.

I
give his knee a supportive squeeze. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about
it.”

He
places his massive hand over mine, flicking his eyes open. “I feel like I can
trust you.”

“You
can,” I assure.

“Then
you deserve to know. Maybe we can talk about it over lunch or coffee.”

“Dinner…at your house.
Pick me up at
nine?”

He
jerks his head. “Isabel, maybe we should meet at a public place.”

“Why?”

“I
want you to be comfortable around me. A public place will be better in case you
aren’t.”

“Don’t
be silly, Max. I am comfortable around you. If I remember correctly, I was the
one that had my hand shoved down your pants.”

He
grins and I grin too.
“So nine?”

I
nod, agreeing.

“What
do you like?” he asks as he pushes down on the switch that unlocks the doors.

I
shrug. “Doesn’t matter, surprise me.”

“Surprise
you? I think you are a little loony, Isabel,” Max laughs, a sad and cheerless
tone underneath it.

“Only a little?”
I tease,
opening the door and scooting out the seat.

My
bare feet hit the wet, cold pavement and fidget morning air cuts right through
Hunter’s jacket and boxers, leaving my chilled to the bone. I shiver and run up
Falcon’s sidewalk that leads to his porch. I jog up the four steps but turn to
wave at Max. “See you at nine!”

He
gives me a small smile and a salute before he backs out and disappears down the
road.

The
doorknob turns before I can open it. Harmony swings open the door, eyes puffy
and red, dressed in her matching pink pajamas. She stalks out and slaps me
clean across the face.

My
eyes screw shut and my hand files to my stinging cheek. I blink the tears from
my eyes, stunned and perplexed.

She
releases a soul-shattering sob, a stream of wet flowing down her face. Harmony
throws her arms around me, knocking my boots from my hand and sending them
soaring in the air. I have to hold her up as her entire body trembles against
mine. “Don’t
ever
do that shit again.”

I
stroke her hair and then her back. “I’m sorry.”

“You
ran, lovebird. I tried to follow you, but you didn’t leave a trail. There was
nothing to follow. God, I was sick. I thought you…” she doesn’t finish her
sentence as she stuffs her face in my neck and weeps.

Thought
I killed myself.

Seeing
her in so much pain and knowing I’m the sole cause of it, makes my soul ache.
“I’m sorry, Harmmy. I got scared and bolted. I didn’t mean to hurt you. If you
haven’t noticed lately, I’m sort of fucked in the head.”

She
snorts and leans back, holding me at arm’s reach. “Are you okay? And I don’t
want a bullshit answer. No rainbows and gumdrops.”

“But
I like rainbows and gumdrops,” I joke.

She
gives me a tight smile, wiping at the moisture on my cheeks.

“I’m
okay, Harmmy. Really, I’m more than okay.”