Finding Forgiveness (Finding Series, Book 4) (5 page)

Neither spoke as they stared at the inky sky above them. Roman had been to the most glorious spots the world had to offer and he could honestly say nothing compared to the sight of the canopy of stars above him. And there sure as hell had never been anyone who even came close to making him feel what Hunter did…not that he knew what that was exactly; he just knew it felt fucking perfect.

***

Hunter came awake slowly and knew right away he was alone because there was no warm arm keeping his head off the ground anymore. And while he wasn’t exactly cold beneath the blanket, he missed the warm, hard body that had been pressed against him all night. Sunlight was just starting to seep over the lake and he could see a flock of Ring-necked ducks diving for their breakfast. Disappointment went through Hunter in knowing that Roman had left without even letting him know but he supposed it would have been too much to expect otherwise. He’d read too much into last night. And even if by some miracle he hadn’t, would it really matter what Roman’s motivations for staying were? It didn’t change the fundamental truth that Hunter was beyond fucked up. His actions at the club were proof of that and that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Not to mention what Roman would think of him when he found out the devastation Hunter had heaped on an innocent person because of his own cowardice.

“Hunter.”

Roman’s voice was loud enough to carry but he wasn’t shouting. But Hunter didn’t miss the tremor of concern in his voice so he snatched up the gun and ran in the direction he’d heard Roman calling from.

“I’m coming.”

Fear rattled through Hunter at the thought of Roman having come face to face with a bear and he quickly double-checked the rifle to make sure a round was chambered. He already had the gun raised to his shoulder as he spotted Roman standing near a cluster of bushes just a few dozen yards beyond the campsite.

“What? What is it?” Hunter asked quickly as he scanned the area.

“Please tell me that’s Lucy,” Roman said softly, his eyes at a spot near his feet.

Hunter’s relief was so prominent that his knees actually felt wobbly but he managed to close the distance between him and Roman who was standing perfectly still. A skunk was just feet from him, its dark eyes staring at him as its nose sniffed the air.

“It is,” Hunter said with a chuckle.

“How can you be so sure?”

“See that scar on her face? Gran thinks the coyote that killed her family almost got her too.”

“Thank fuck,” Roman muttered but when he started to move, Hunter snagged his arm.

“Just a second, let me distract her. It’d be a shame if we had to shave all your pretty hair off,” Hunter said with a smile.

“Asshole,” Roman bit out.

Hunter reached into his pocket and pulled out what was left of the granola bar he’d been snacking on last night before Roman’s arrival. Lucy instantly went on alert at the sound of the cellophane and she didn’t hesitate to waddle her way over to him. He broke the granola bar up into a couple of pieces and scattered them around the ground and then slowly stood and reached for Roman’s hand.

Once they were well out of spraying range, Hunter began to laugh. A glance at Roman’s irritated features just had him laughing harder and a second later he found himself being pressed up against a tree, Roman’s big body pinning him in place. All his humor quickly fled and he stifled a moan when Roman restrained his hands by holding them against the tree next to his head. Being at Roman’s mercy should have scared him but it didn’t. Not even a little bit.

Roman didn’t speak or move as he held him in place. His cobalt eyes just held Hunter’s as if he was looking for something. Finally, he whispered, “Morning.”

Hunter’s mouth felt dry as he said “morning” back. His eyes dropped to Roman’s mouth and he wondered what Roman would do if he closed what little distance there was between them and ran his tongue over the seam. Would Roman open to him instantly or would he make him work for it?

It took a second for Hunter to realize Roman was speaking to him because it felt like his heart was pounding so hard that it was all he could hear in his head. “What?” he asked dumbly.

“Would you show me the hot springs this morning?”

Hunter managed a nod. Spending even another second in Roman’s company was an incredibly bad idea but he knew there was pretty much nothing at this point that would drag him away from this man even a moment earlier than he had to.

“And then maybe you can show me some more of the land?”

Right. Because last night hadn’t changed the reason Roman was here.

Hunter tugged his hands free of Roman’s hold. “Sure. Um, can you call my dad to let him know you want to see it? He thinks I spent the night at a friend’s house.”

If Roman thought the request was strange, he didn’t say so. “I have a charger for my phone in my rental. How about we check out the hot springs and then we can head back to my car and I’ll call him from there? Maybe we can head back to town to get some breakfast?”

“There are some fast food places about twenty minutes from here. They have drive-thrus.”

Again, if Roman thought his behavior was odd, he didn’t call him on it. He simply said, “Sounds like a plan” and began walking back towards the campsite.

***

Roman pulled his car into the spot next to Hunter’s car. Hunter got out of his own little beat up Escort and fidgeted on the curb as he waited for Roman to get out. Once he did, Hunter extended his hand and murmured, “It was nice to meet you. Have a safe trip home.”

The impersonal gesture irritated Roman and just served as icing on what had turned out to be a disappointing day. And it had all started as soon as he’d grabbed Hunter and pinned him to that tree. It had been an impulsive move on his part. One second Hunter had been laughing at him and the next second Roman had needed to feel Hunter…needed to drink down the vibrancy that was written all over his beautiful features as his shallow chuckles had to turned to a full-on laugh that had pervaded his entire body. In that moment Roman had finally seen his first glimpse of the real Hunter – the one who wasn’t terrified of being outed or facing a future that wasn’t of his choosing. So he’d grabbed Hunter and as soon as he’d felt Hunter’s lithe body lined up with his, Roman had gotten lost in himself, in Hunter, in what he wanted and what he was doing. And when he should have been trying to find a way to distance himself from Hunter, he’d found himself voicing an excuse for them to spend another day together.

Roman had no need to see any more of the property outside Dare. There was no doubt that it and the additional, adjoining acreage the state of Montana was selling would be perfect for what he had in mind. And he had no concerns that his investors wouldn’t feel exactly the same way when he flew them out to take a look at the place. There’d been no reason for him to spend another day in Dare – in fact, he could have left yesterday afternoon and put the past two days out of his mind. But instead, he’d woken up this morning with Hunter wrapped around him and he’d lain there for nearly two hours enjoying the feel of the other man’s body clutching his like it was some kind of lifeline. He would have been content to lay there all day like that but his body had had other ideas and he’d gone off to find some privacy to take a piss. Then Lucy showed up along with Hunter with his infectious laugh and his plan to distance himself from Hunter had been shot to hell. But just like that, Hunter retreated into himself and turned into the consummate tour guide as he showed Roman the hot springs. By the time they reached the fast food joint to grab some breakfast, Roman had given up on trying to draw Hunter out of his funk.

But being dismissed like he was just some stranger off the street was just too fucking much so instead of taking Hunter’s hand and wishing him well, Roman coolly said, “I’d like a quick tour of the town if you don’t mind.”

Hunter’s look of surprise and then downright horror had Roman felling a twinge of guilt but he steeled himself to remain silent. Hunter glanced over his shoulder at his father’s realty office and then back at Roman. Then he scanned the town’s city center and finally nodded. There were only a couple of people near the park in the center of the square and Roman guessed that was the biggest driving factor in Hunter’s acquiescence. Roman fell into step next to Hunter as they began walking along the sidewalk. Hunter nervously scanned their surroundings as he rattled off details about each little store and office they passed and when a person either walked past them or exited one of the shops, Hunter hung his head. By the time they reached the opposite side of the square, Roman was fed up and was about to ask Hunter what the hell was going on when Hunter stopped so suddenly that Roman actually continued several steps before he realized Hunter wasn’t next to him anymore. He turned to glance at Hunter and saw that all the blood had rushed from his face and when Roman turned to see what he was looking at, all he saw were two men walking out of one of the buildings.

One of the men was close to his age and dressed in a police officer’s uniform while the other man was considerably younger, Hunter’s age probably. The two men were holding hands and talking to each other in low voices.

“Do you know them?” Roman asked.

“Hunter?”

Roman snapped his attention back to the two men and saw that the younger one was now looking just as stunned as Hunter.

“Hunter?” the cop asked, his voice going cold as his eyes settled on Hunter.

“Rhys, don’t!”

The young guy shouted and grabbed for his boyfriend but the older man shook him off.

“Hey, buddy…” Roman said calmly as he tried to step in the man’s path but he was shoved out of the way. He managed to catch himself before he fell but it gave the guy several seconds to reach Hunter who hadn’t moved at all. The guy punched Hunter in the face without any kind of warning and then grabbed him by the throat and shoved him back against the brick wall of one of the shops.

“You worthless piece of shit!” the man screamed at him. He pulled his arm back to hit Hunter again but Roman managed to reach them in time and he shoved the cop off and placed himself between the two men. Not once had Hunter even lifted a finger to defend himself. Even now, he only had eyes for the young man who’d managed to grab his boyfriend by the arm and hold him back.

“Don’t!” the young man said as he got into his lover’s face. His voice seemed to penetrate the rage the other man was in because he finally stopped trying to get past his boyfriend.

“Rhys, what the hell?” came another voice and Roman saw a second cop trotting down the sidewalk towards them.

“Finn, what’s going on?” the second cop asked the young man. He was a big guy with dark hair. Roman used the temporary distraction to turn and check on Hunter who was standing pressed up against the wall exactly where the cop had left him. Blood trickled from a small gash on his cheek.

“You okay?” Roman asked as he gently tipped Hunter’s face to the side to examine the injury. Hunter didn’t answer him – he just stood there shaking violently.

“You have any idea what you did you little prick?” Rhys suddenly shouted.

“Rhys!” Finn shouted.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” the second cop asked as he got in Rhys’ space.

“It’s that little fucker, Hunter Greene!” Rhys snapped.

The second cop stiffened and then glanced over his shoulder at Hunter. Luckily he stayed where he was because while Roman had no doubt he could take on Rhys, two armed guys were another matter entirely. The cop turned his attention back to Rhys and said something in a low voice that Roman couldn’t make out. When he seemed satisfied that Rhys was staying quiet for the moment, he turned on his heel and walked towards him and Hunter.

“I’m Deputy Jax Reid,” he said quietly. He didn’t bother asking Roman to move which was good since Roman wasn’t about to let anyone get to Hunter again. Instead he studied Hunter’s face and softly said, “Hunter, do you want to press charges?”

“Yes,” Roman instantly said.

“No,” Hunter whispered. “No,” he repeated more firmly and shook his head.

Jax studied him for a long moment. “Are you sure?”

Hunter nodded vehemently and Roman could tell he was barely holding it together.

“Deputy Tellar won’t bother you again,” Jax said as he turned and went back to Rhys and Finn.

“Take Finn home, Rhys,” he said firmly.

Rhys was still seething but appeared to be more in control of himself. He reached down and wrapped his hand around Finn’s but his frigid eyes were still on Hunter when he said, “Stay the fuck away from Finn, do you hear me?”

“Rhys, now!” Jax bit out.

Rhys turned and led Finn to an old pickup truck sitting at the curb and it wasn’t until the truck peeled out of the spot and headed out of town that Roman finally relaxed. Jax gave him a brief nod before striding back to the police station.

Roman turned to check on Hunter and saw that he was still in a state of shock from the attack.

“Hunter, talk to me. Tell me what that was about.”

Hunter just shook his head again and when Roman reached for him, he dodged his touch and then hurried across the street. Roman managed to catch up to him when he reached his car but he was so agitated that he yanked himself free of Roman the second he touched him. The distress was written all over his face but he had yet to utter a sound or shed a single tear. He simply climbed into his car, started the engine and calmly pulled out of the parking spot as if nothing had happened.