Taking Him (Lies We Tell) (6 page)

“You need a place to stay, sweetness?” Hunter’s deep, husky voice came from behind her.

Her mouth closed, her teeth digging into her lip. Silently she wished her brother to hell. “Uh…yeah,” she said eventually, gearing herself up to actually turn to look at him.

He was back from the bathroom, standing on the other side of the reception desk, a thick paper towel held in one fist, black eyes unreadable. “You can stay with me if you like. Vin’s right. I’ve got plenty of room.”

And he did. He owned a big old historic villa, situated on a bush-clad hillside in the suburb of Titirangi, and currently in the process of being done up with an eye to selling. She’d been there lots of times, hung out on the wide veranda with its views over the smoky blue of the Waitemata harbour, drinking beer and talking crap with him. Eating Chinese on the floor of his lounge while he and Vin argued about sports. Going to the occasional party he’d thrown and sitting in the corner, feeling shitty as some gorgeous woman flung herself at him while he smiled that lazy, sensual smile of his.

Oh sure, she’d love to stay. Not. And most especially not after what had happened that night in her kitchen.

Ellie stared at him, searching his face for any kind of sign that he understood what he was doing to her and coming up with nothing. “Seriously?”

“Of course seriously. Why not?”

She could think of several reasons. But if he wasn’t going to mention them, then neither was she. “I don’t know….” She broke off, realising Vin was frowning at her, puzzled. And of course he’d be puzzled. Refusing Hunter’s offer wasn’t something Ellie would normally do.

Which meant she either had to accept his offer now or come up with some good reasons why not. And there weren’t any good reasons. At least, not any believable ones.

Shit. She was going to have to accept, wasn’t she?

Why is that bad? You’ll see him every day. Be near him. And remember, you don’t have anything to lose…

Ellie’s breath caught as a slow realisation filtered through her. No, it didn’t have to be a bad thing. Okay, so he’d told her nothing would ever happen between them and that she wouldn’t be able to change his mind. But that hadn’t been the whole of the story.

Her palm burned with the memory of the heat she’d felt beneath the denim. The flash of desire she’d seen in his eyes. Oh, he might have told her no, but that’s not what his body had said.

Hunter had been sidelining her for years. Keeping her in the little sister box. Perhaps it was time she broke out. She had nothing left to lose, right? Because in another three weeks, she’d be gone.

Ellie leaned against the desk and smiled at him. “Okay, Hunter. You’re on.”

Chapter Four

Ellie sat back in one of the old, worn armchairs Hunter kept on his veranda and watched as his black truck powered its way up the steep, gravel driveway. The hazy summer twilight had started to set in, long spears of sunlight lying over the veranda and glinting off the front window of his truck as he swung it into the parking area near where she sat.

Great. He was home early for a change.

In the two days she’d been staying there, she’d barely seen him. He seemed to spend a lot of time at work, and when he wasn’t at work, he was out running or on the phone or fiddling around in the garage underneath the house. In fact, if she hadn’t run into him the past couple of mornings and evenings in the kitchen, she’d have thought he was avoiding her.

Then again, those moments they’d met he’d been his usual self. Giving her his typical lazy smile and a greeting. A few questions about her day. Some observations about this and that. Gentle teasing.

It annoyed the crap out of her. In fact the way their whole relationship seemed to be going annoyed the crap out of her.

She narrowed her gaze, shading her eyes from the sun as he got out of the truck.

Oh boy. He’d come from a site in his jeans and a dark green, close-fitting T-shirt. Sweat-soaked and sexy. Dammit.

Ellie shifted on the seat as a fit of nervousness went through her. She’d never gone out and seduced anyone before. Never openly tried to attract anyone’s attention.

Even with Cam it had happened gradually, working on a few university assignments together, sharing mutual interests. Only after a month of them being a couple had she found out he really got off on her Goth look.

Hunter, she knew, didn’t care what she wore because he’d never seen her in those terms. Until, of course, she’d worn her Dark Shadow costume and then she’d made him. Which was kind of why she’d gone all out today. She was sick of being ignored. Sick of being avoided.

She wanted him to look at her again. Look at her and see.

So she’d put on some of her more outrageous clothing—with a few minor adjustments. A tartan mini that barely grazed her thighs, but instead of the two sets of tights she normally wore with it—a coloured pair underneath her black fishnets—she’d left her legs bare. Along with her feet, exposing freshly painted copper toenails. She’d spent ages deciding which top to put on because, shit, she didn’t have the cleavage Kara had. Then again, for the brief half second he’d actually looked at her breasts when she’d undone her jumpsuit, his jaw had gaped, so obviously they weren’t a total loss. She’d settled for a black see-through mesh top with a bright red push-up bra underneath.

She shifted on her seat again, watching as Hunter came up the stairs of the veranda. He gave her a lazy grin. “Hey, sweetheart. Getting into my beer again?”

He didn’t even look at her legs, which she’d stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankle. Bugger it.

“Yeah,” she said. “But I got you one too.” She tipped her head toward the armchair next to her and the second beer bottle sitting on the little table between the chairs.

Sit down, Hunter. Sit down and have a beer with me.

He leaned against one of the pillars near the stairs. “A beer after a hard day’s work? How did you know?”

“Oh, just a wild stab in the dark.” She took a sip of her own beer, her mouth suddenly dry. Debated whether or not to come out and ask about the whole avoidance aspect or be circumspect. A strange thing to have to decide with Hunter since she’d never worried about or second-guessed anything she’d said to him before.

He remained where he was for a second, that smile still playing around his mouth. Then he lifted a shoulder and came over to the chair beside her, sitting down in it with the same lazy, athletic grace with which he did everything.

A long, silent breath went out of her as he stretched out. A breath she hadn’t even realised she’d been holding. Would have been even better if he actually looked at her though.

“I like your thinking, sweetness.” He picked up the beer bottle and undid the cap with a powerful twist. “Very intuitive.”

Ellie tried not to notice the way he opened that bottle, the play of muscles in his wrist and forearm. Or the strong, brown column of his throat as he put his head back to drink.

She shifted her legs instead, crossing them. They were very white. Perhaps he preferred tanned skin to pasty. Perhaps she should have put some fake tanner on them or something.

“Not particularly intuitive. You’re a guy. And you just got home from work. Isn’t beer mandatory or something?”

He gave a soft laugh. “True.”

A silence fell between them.

Hunter took another sip of his beer, his gaze on the view the veranda afforded. The lush, green Titirangi rainforest, and beyond it, the blue of the harbour in vibrant contrast.

An amazing view. One of the reasons he’d bought the house, or so he’d told her.

But Ellie didn’t give a shit about the view. Or at least, not the scenery in front of her. All she cared about was the man sitting next to her.

And what she wanted from that man.

“So,” she said, feeling suddenly awkward and not as sure of herself as she had when she’d thought this was a wonderful idea. “How was your day?” Then added, “Dear,” in an attempt at irony.

“Fine. How was yours?”

“Great. The company I’m going to work for in Tokyo emailed me to say they’re going to find an apartment for me and will send me the details so I can choose. Which is really great.” Her awkwardness intensified, making her angry. Crap, she’d never been like this with Hunter before.

And isn’t that your fault?

Ellie swallowed. Yeah, it was, no escaping that fact. She was the one who’d changed things between them, so she couldn’t feel all pissed about it now.

“Glad to hear it.”

Her grip tightened on her bottle. “Will you miss me?” The words came out sounding almost cross, his black gaze flickering over her in surprise. “When I go to Japan, I mean.”

“We’ll all miss you, sweetness.”

Ellie bit her lip. “That wasn’t what I asked. Will
you
miss me?”

“Of course I will.” A pause. “You think I wouldn’t?”

“Actually, it kind of feels like I’m gone already.” There. She’d said it.

One dark brow rose. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, it feels like you’re avoiding me, Hunter.”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

She stared at him. Was he telling the truth? She couldn’t tell. An uncomfortable feeling shifted inside her. She’d spent years studying him, watching him. Fascinated by him. And yet she had the weird feeling that for all that study, she hardly knew him at all. That the laidback Hunter she was familiar with was a mask, and another man lived behind that mask.

A man who had, for one brief, incandescent moment, revealed himself to her that night in his truck. When she’d touched him.

“I think you are.” She took a gulp of her beer. “I’ve been here for two days and the only times I’ve seen you have been in the mornings at breakfast and in the evenings at dinner.”

He shrugged, a lazy movement of his powerful shoulders. “I have a busy job. I work long hours.”

“Yeah, but…” She stopped, closing her mouth against the words that were only going to sound pathetic and needy.

“But what?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. It’s not nothing.”

“Okay, I just…I thought that since I’ll be away for probably a couple of years, that you might want to spend a little bit of time with me.” Yeah, shit. That did sound pathetic and needy. Like the child she’d once been, always hanging around Vin. Wanting attention. Wanting to be seen. God, she was ridiculous. That’s what her whole life had been about, hadn’t it? Wanting someone to notice her? And now here she was again, doing the same thing. Only this time with Hunter.

She took another gulp of the beer, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. A part of her wanted to get up and walk away, leave those pathetic, needy words behind her. But another part was desperate to stay here and see what his response was.

Ellie looked over at him and her heart slowed and nearly stopped in her chest.

He was watching her fingers play with the hem of her skirt. And the look in his eyes burned.

Fuck. He’d been doing so well. He’d got over the initial shock of seeing Ellie’s long, elegant white legs stretched out in front of her, bare and not covered up as they usually were in coloured nylon. Had even managed not to be aware of all the pale skin beneath that very see-through mesh top. Or of the red bra that cupped her small, round breasts.

In fact, he’d been doing well the whole time she’d been here. Making sure she remained nothing but Vin’s little sister. Excising the whole sorry episode in his truck from his brain.

Yeah, so he’d spent more time at work than was strictly necessary. Had extended his runs from an hour to an hour and a half. Had found himself down in his workshop, fiddling around with the vintage Norton motorbike he was in the process of restoring. But that wasn’t to do with her. Not in any way.

Her staying with him had been what any friend would offer.

A test.

No, not a test. Because he had nothing to test himself against.

Yet still he could not seem to drag his eyes away from the movement of her fingers on the hem of her skirt. Christ, he’d never realised how short her little minis were until she’d taken her tights off. Her fingers were painted in metallic polish, a copper colour that reflected her hair. A colour that seemed so bright next to the smooth, pale skin of her thighs. All she’d have to do is shift slightly, flip her skirt a little more and he’d be able to see what colour underwear she had on…

His cock began to harden. And then he realised she was staring at him. That she’d seen him staring. Her smoky gray eyes had gone wide, a stain of pink along her cheekbones.

Jesus, this was all so wrong. What was he doing getting hard for her? Again? What was wrong with him?

He put his half-drunk beer back down on the little table and pushed himself to his feet quicker than was strictly necessary. “I need a shower.”

“But…but we haven’t finished our conversation.” A deep line appeared between her fine red brows.

“Yeah, we have.” He turned and went to the front door.

“Hunter.”

“Later, Ellie.”

In the en suite shower in his bedroom, Hunter leaned his forehead against the tiles. He’d spent a lot of money on those tiles. They were blue glass. Italian. He’d laid them himself.