Chapter 45

Hunter’s speech left me stunned. I had never experienced someone that didn’t expect me to please him, especially after focusing on me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, after I had stared at him for a couple of minutes.

“Yes. Thank you,” I said. He smiled at me and gave me another kiss.

“You don’t need to thank me for something like that,” he told me and urged me towards the cupcakes. As I walked over to have a look, Hunter washed his hands before joining me. The cupcakes weren’t perfect. As we didn’t have a cupcake tin, they had not kept the perfect round shape but moulded themself around each other like pieces of a puzzle. I would usually have an issue with it. But those were not cupcakes I had baked to sell, or to give away. These were mine and Hunter’s cupcakes and even thought the two of us also had flaws we seemed to fit together. So it was right the cupcakes did the same.

“They came up perfect,” I told him. He reached out a hand to take one, but I swatted it away. “They need to cool down and then we can add frosting,” I said.

“I bet they taste amazing as they are,” he objected.

“But they will taste better with frosting. Come on. I need those biceps of yours to cream the butter,” I told him.

“I can think of something else I can make cream,” he whispered in my ear and then happy chuckled as I turned red. Together we made the frosting and let it sit while we cleaned up. “Can we put the frosting on now?” Hunter asked as they put the last thing in the dishwasher. He sounded like a child and it made me laugh.

“I think we can,” I told him and took out two spoons. Of course he didn’t have piping bags, so spoons would have to do. I took one of the cupcakes and showed him how to use the back of the spoon to spread the frosting on top of it. He gave it a try and we worked side by side until all the cupcakes had been frosted. Hunter took the pan and spoon that had been used for the frosting and put them in the dishwasher and turned it on. When he came back, I had peeled the paper of a cupcake and held it up to him. He smiled and took a huge bite. I giggled as I placed what was left of it in my own mouth.

“Delicious,” Hunter said with his mouth full. I nodded in agreement. “Almost as tasty as you,” he added after he had swallowed.

“Don’t say things like that,” I scolded him as I felt myself blush.

“Why not, it is only the truth,” he teased and kissed both of my cheeks. It felt nice to laugh and relax with him after the start of the day we had. “I suggest we order dinner,” he said, opening a drawer full of take out menus.

“But we just bought loads of things to cook with,” I objected.

“We spent the afternoon in the kitchen, baking. I say we get a free pass on dinner,” he insisted. “It’s your choice this time.”

“It looks like you have every take out restaurant’s menu in here,” I told him as I shuffled through them.

“It’s important to have a varied diet,” he told me. I giggled.

“I don’t think this is what they meant with that.” He just shrugged. I finally settled on Chinese and Hunter placed the order. It didn’t take long for the doorman to deliver it to the entrance room and Hunter brought it in and set it up on the coffee table.

“Can we talk about tomorrow?” he asked as we got started on the food.

“Sure, is there something special that will happen?”

“No. But I need to go into the office,” he said. I nodded, I had expected as much. “I can help you set up in my office before I go,” he added.

“Are you sure about that? I can sit anywhere,” I told him. He shook his head.

“No, it’s more comfortable for you to sit there. It has a proper desk and chair. I also need you to not leave the apartment.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s not safe. Inside this apartment you are safe and you have anything you will need,” he explained.

“And if I want something from the store? Or fresh air?” I asked.

“If you can’t wait for me to get home, you can order it and the doorman will bring it up when it arrives. And when I get home we can go for a walk or go to the park if you feel like it.”

“I’m not a dog,” I pointed out. Hunter frowned at me.

“Are you going to make this difficult?” he asked. I sighed. I understood why he was telling me to stay put, and I would be working most of the day so I didn’t have time to go around the city. But it felt stifling to know I didn’t have a choice.

“No, I will stay put. I just feel helpless when I sit around and let everyone else solve my problems for me,” I said.

“It’s just one part of solving it. There may be situations where you can help. But for now, your job is to stay safe,” he told me. I nodded. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but I didn’t want to cause a situation where Hunter had to spend time tracking me down as I wasn’t where I should be. Or even worse, risk his life because I had placed myself in a situation I needed to be rescued from.

“But you will tell me what is happening, even if it’s not good news?” I asked.

“I will,” he promised.

“Does this mean I can’t go outside even if I’m with someone else?” I asked. I needed to understand the rules.

“Unless it’s someone trained to handle a dangerous situation,” Hunter confirmed. I nodded. “You were thinking about Wictor?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s fine, at least if it’s not for long. We can FaceTime, it’s not a big deal,” I told him.

“Or you can just invite him over if you want to meet face to face,” Hunter said.

“Really? I don’t want to intrude too much in your life,” I asked.

“Don’t worry about that. He is more than welcome to visit whenever the two of you want. Just give me a heads up so I don’t walk around in my boxers or something,” he chuckled.

“Are you planning to walk around in your boxers often?” I teased. Hunter got a look in his eyes and just smirked without answering. “I will let you know,” I finally told him and he laughed. After dinner, we ended up back on the couch, watching a nature documentary. I was snuggled up against Hunter with his arm around me and from time to time we forgot about the show and made out. I felt like a teenager and enjoyed the feeling. Hunter didn’t make any demands, he just seemed happy with what we had. He made me relax and even start to want more. The more he didn’t ask or demand, the more open I became to giving him more. As the clock started to move towards bedtime, I was both nervous and a little excited. Would Hunter ask me to join him? Did I want him to? As we walked upstairs my mind was spinning in its attempt to figure out what I wanted and what I should do if he asked to spend the night with me. We stopped outside my door and Hunter drew me into a long, sweet kiss. It seemed to last forever and it calmed my racing mind until all I could think about was Hunter and the kiss. When we drew apart, Hunter placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Good night, sweetness. I’ll see you tomorrow. I won’t leave until you wake up,” he said.

“Good night, Hunter. Thank you for today,” I answered and we separated and went into our rooms. As the door closed behind me I felt a little disappointed. But I also knew that if I had such a hard time with coming up with what I wanted, it would be better for me to spend the night alone. There was time to get to the other things later on. As I got ready for bed, I wondered if Hunter was as conflicted about the choice as I was. He always seemed to know what he wanted, but even I could see that it was an image he projected outwards.