Hunter's Edge Read online

  “Why?” Kel demanded.

  “Because we love you. We want what’s best for you—and for her. Kids don’t always think about the future and we want to make sure the two of you have the best, the brightest future possible. Decisions made in the heat of the moment—” At that, Jake’s face flushed beet-red and it was a wonder he managed to talk at all, considering how tight his voice sounded. “Sometimes, those decisions can have consequences.”

  Kel shifted uncomfortably on the chair, focused on the clear plastic box in front of him. It was a corsage, an orchid with a pale blue bow. Angel had told him she was wearing light blue, and he’d told his mom that, so she told him he needed to make sure the corsage would go with her dress. He’d rolled his eyes and muttered, “Girls…” But he’d made sure he told the florist that his prom date was wearing light blue. Focusing on the silly flower made it a bit easier to speak, a lot easier than looking at his dad while he spoke. So he stared at the flower like it held the answers to the universe. “Dad, Angel and I aren’t really in any rush to…to… Well, you know.” Liar, a voice in his head jeered. Kel was in a big damn hurry to you-know with Angel, but talks like this one were burned on his brain and Angel wasn’t ready. He knew it, without even having to ask her.

  So he didn’t push.

  Desperate to get this conversation over and done with, he rushed the rest of the words out. “Angel isn’t ready. I don’t want to rush her.” He deliberately left off commenting about whether he was ready. Kel didn’t lie to his dad and he wasn’t interested in making this take any longer than it had to.

  Kel was going to marry Angel.

  He hadn’t asked—they never talked about it. But they both knew it. He was even saving some of his money for a ring. It was a few years off, and Kel seriously hoped she wasn’t planning on making him wait until then before they did it, but he could wait until she was ready. Angel deserved that much.

  Risking a quick glance up, he saw the relieved smile on his dad’s face and shrugged restlessly. “Stop worrying about me so much, Dad. I love her. I’m not going to do anything that will mess that up.”

  Age 19, May

  “Your parents are going to wonder where you are,” Angel said softly. She had her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms linked around them. She rested her chin on her knees and focused on the flickering firelight.

  Kel shrugged. “I doubt they’ll wonder too much.” Yeah, they would. He knew that. He might be nearly nineteen years old and finishing up his freshman year in college, but in the eyes of his parents, he was still a kid. They might wonder, they would probably worry, but Kel wasn’t in any hurry to leave just to suit his folks.

  Especially not right now.

  Something was bothering Angel but she wouldn’t tell him what it was. He could feel it, an ugly, nasty weight on his chest and until she opened up and talked to him, he wasn’t leaving. They’d driven to Tennessee to do some hiking and before they’d left, Kel had told his parents he’d probably be back pretty late.

  Angel hadn’t said much of anything to her mom, but it wouldn’t matter. On that front, nothing much had changed in all the years Kel had known Angel and her mother—Ann still didn’t concern herself with her daughter. As far as Ann was concerned, Angel was kept clothed, fed and sheltered. That was the extent of her parenting worries.

  Unless Angel was gone long enough that it interfered with Ann’s life, the woman would never notice. When she came looking for Angel to run some errands, to make some phone calls, then maybe Ann might notice Angel wasn’t there.

  That was it.

  Ever since her dad had died, things at Angel’s house had gotten worse and he knew she was literally counting down the days until she graduated from high school. She’d turn eighteen in July and on her eighteenth birthday, she was getting one whopping sum of money. Paul Pierson had a very large life insurance policy and Angel would receive the largest part of it. A certain amount of money had been set aside to pay off any final expenses and pay off the house so Ann wouldn’t need to worry about that.

  But the rest of the money was set aside for Angel. It came with some restrictions, things like she’d get so much on her birthday, so much for college, and the rest of it upon her college graduation.

  And it was a lot of money. Enough money that she could pretty much pick her college and it was all but paid for. Enough that she wouldn’t have to work a part-time job, that she didn’t have to worry her mother wouldn’t help her out. Paul might have been a pushover, but he’d known his wife and he hadn’t wanted Angel to suffer should something happen to him.

  Propped on his elbow, Kel stared into the fire and wondered if Angel was going to spill or if he was going to have to drag it out of her. The fire crackled and popped and a shower of sparks went flying into the air as one of the flaming logs split into two parts.

  “Mom’s getting married.”

  He glanced up at Angel and then looked back into the fire. “That’s what you’ve been worrying about?”

  She made a face at him. “I’m not worried—exactly.” Shifting around, she moved her shoulders in a restless shrug. “Dad’s been gone four years now. And it’s not like she ever really loved him. Hell, the day we buried him, she acted like it didn’t matter he was gone. She went and redid the whole damn house less than a month after he died. Now she’s getting married and I’m expected…” Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “Forget it.”

  “Expected to what?” Kel asked, narrowing his eyes. He didn’t like that look on her face, the grim cast to her gaze.

  “You’re going to get mad.”

  Shoving himself upright, he drew his legs up and braced his elbows on his knees. “I’m already mad and I don’t even know what it is you’re talking about.”

  Her pretty mouth twisted in an ugly smirk. “She’s kicking me out, Kel. Naturally, not until I’m eighteen, but she’s already told me that she wants me gone before her new husband and his kids move in.” With a loose, easy grace, Angel shoved herself upright and started to pace around the fire. “I don’t know why in the hell I’m surprised. And it’s not like I won’t be okay. Dad made sure of that.”

  Rising to his feet, Kel followed her and when she turned around, she plowed straight into his chest. Gently, he reached up, closed his hands around her arms and studied her face. She was crying. Firelight flickered off the tears on her face and Kel felt his heart break a little. “Angel…”

  “I’ve lived in that house since I was seven years old, Kel. The summer I turned thirteen, Dad painted my room and he did everything exactly the way I wanted. And now I have to leave it.”

  Brushing her hair back from her face, he dipped his head and kissed her. “I’m sorry, Angel.”

  She slid her arms around his waist and snuggled in closer. “She doesn’t care about me at all.” It was a flat, emotionless statement—there wasn’t any self-pity in it and Kel knew she wasn’t feeling sorry for herself or trying to make him feel bad for her. Although he did—he was pissed off, hurt and disgusted. But just like Angel, Kel knew what she was said was the simple truth.

  Ann Mathis didn’t love her daughter. She’d dropped the Pierson from her name as soon as her husband was buried. She hadn’t loved her husband and she didn’t mourn him.

  And when Angel left that house, Ann probably wouldn’t even miss her only daughter.

  Cradling the back of her head in his hand, he held her close, breathed her in—Angel always smelled of honeysuckle. Even in the dead of winter, she smelled like summer and he loved it. He nuzzled her neck, stroked a hand up her back. She snuggled in closer and Kel gritted his teeth when her lower body pressed up against his.

  “Kel…”

  He lifted his head, forced a smile. She slid her hands between them, tugged up his shirt. Her hands were cool against his flesh. Kel stared at her face, his heart beating so hard he thought it might explode out of his chest as she slid her fingers along the waistband of his jeans.

  But when she went t
o his belt buckle, Kel caught her hands. His body was going to make him pay for this, he knew it. Still, he caught her hands, lifted them up. Dipping his head, he kissed her knuckles.

  She tugged against his hold, a strange light shining in her eyes. Whatever their weird connection was, it wasn’t anything that let him know what she was thinking, just what she feeling. Right now, there was a weird desperation inside her.

  Desperation…and determination.

  It was enough to lay Kel low, feeling the hungry need inside her, knowing she had made a decision he’d been praying she’d make soon. And it was an unlucky sucker punch, because there was no way Kel was going to let their first time happen when she was miserable.

  “No, Angel,” he whispered, dipped his head and kissed her lips. “Not when you’re pissed off at your mom, or when you’re hurting.”

  “Why not?” she demanded, jerking back. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and jerked the navy blue cotton up, over her head. Letting it fall to the ground, she reached behind to unhook her simple white bra.

  Kel swore and turned away, but the image was burned in on his mind. It wasn’t just seeing her stripping naked. They hadn’t had sex yet, but they’d come close. She was so pretty, soft white curves, golden curls, pink nipples that had gone hard and tight in the cool night air.

  “Because it’s not how this should be,” Kel said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He hoped he wasn’t going to do something embarrassing—like come inside his shorts just from looking at her. “We haven’t waited this long to do it because you’re pissed off at your mom and you’re hurting and you need to know somebody loves you.”

  She came up behind him, slid her arms around his waist, pressed her naked breasts against his back. “I know somebody loves me—you love me. I’m doing this because you love me and because I love you and because I don’t want to think about anything but that.”

  Kel caught her hands as she once more started to tug at his belt buckle. Turning in the circle of her arms, he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her up. “I’ll make you stop thinking—but we’re not doing this tonight,” he said gruffly. “When we do this, it’s going to be because you’re already thinking of nothing but us. We deserve that much, Angel.”

  July

  Kel found Angel at the top of the stairs, staring into the huge room. It didn’t look that big right now, considering it was packed with boxes, Angel’s bed and a couple other pieces of furniture. Along the western wall was a small kitchen area and there was a bathroom just behind the staircase.

  “Not bad, Angel.” He smirked and added, “It’s a hell of a lot better than my dorm, that’s for certain.” Of course, a shoebox might be an improvement over his dorm.

  His freshman year at Georgia State University had been the first time he’d spent so much time away from Angel. She was a year younger than he was, and while she was finishing up her senior year, he’d been an hour away, only able to see her on the weekends.

  It had been hell.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, a faint grin on her lips. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  His arms were full of boxes and he took a minute to lower them to the ground before going to her. Standing behind her, linking his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

  Angel laid her arms on top of his and leaned back into him with a sigh. “I don’t think I’m going to be the type to move around a lot. I hate this.”

  “You could have let your mom hire those movers,” Kel said, grinning.

  “And let her kick me out that much sooner?” She wrinkled her nose. “Nah. Besides, I hate letting other people touch my stuff.”

  Sliding one of his hands up over her waist, he teased, “Hey, I touch your stuff all the time.”

  Angel arched, pressing against him as he cupped one breast in his hand. “Hmmm. You’re welcome to touch anything you like.”

  Kel groaned and dipped his head, nuzzled her neck. “Don’t tell me that.”

  Turning in the circle of his arms, she slid her hands up and linked them behind his neck. “Why not?” she whispered against his lips.

  Kel cupped one hand over the back of her neck and angled her head back, taking her light, teasing kiss deeper. He circled the outline of her lips with his tongue and then teased her until she opened for him. Trailing the fingers of his free hand down along her side, he slid a hand under the hem of her T-shirt, curving his fingers around the soft, warm weight of her breast.

  Caught up in her warmth, in her heat, Kel slid his lips down her neck and bit her softly. Angel shuddered in his arms, lifted her hands to his waist. Sliding them under the worn fabric of his T-shirt, she touched him, running her palms over his sides, up over his back—then up in between them, pushing against his chest until he fell back a step.

  With a wry grin, Kel started to respond, “That’s why not.”

  But the words ended up drying to dust on his tongue as she reached for the hem of her shirt, dragging it off. Under it, she wore a white bra dotted with little red flowers.

  “Why not?” she murmured, stepping back up against him.

  “Angel?” he asked hoarsely.

  She tipped her head back, smiled at him and then as he stood there, she fisted her hands in the bottom of his T-shirt and stripped it off, tossing it down on the floor beside hers. That secretive little smile on her lips told him everything he needed to know. For a minute or two, Kel didn’t know if he could even move.

  Terror wrapped a fist around his throat, blood roared in his ears and Kel couldn’t quite manage to take a breath. Nerves had his hands turning hot and sweaty and he knew, he just knew, he was going to end up doing something that would totally humiliate him.

  But then Angel leaned in, pressed her lips to his jaw and whispered, “I love you…”

  Her soft, familiar voice soothed the tangled nerves wreaking havoc on him, and the feel of her body pressed against his own took care of the rest. Abruptly, he picked her up and when she giggled, a foolish grin spread over his face as he carried her to the bed.

  It was bare, not even a sheet on it yet, but neither of them cared. Settling back on his heels, Kel untied her tennis shoes and tossed them on the floor. Her socks, then her jeans followed. Then he slid off the bed to stare down at her as he took care of the rest of his clothes.

  The panties matched the bra.

  For some reason, the sight of her wearing those skimpy white panties dotted with red flowers turned him on even more than if she’d been completely naked. And a naked Angel was probably a damn fine sight. He wasn’t in any hurry to see that picture just yet, though. They’d seen each other wearing pretty damn little and even if Kel didn’t have a vivid imagination, he could have easily filled in those small gaps just fine.

  But he wasn’t ready to see her naked yet. Once their clothes were gone, it was pretty much all over with for him. He already knew it.

  Still wearing a pair of boxer-styled briefs, Kel crawled back onto the mattress and knelt between her legs, staring at her. Those red flowers were going to kill him, he thought. Especially the ones on her panties. There was one that was just where he was going to be in a couple of minutes and he lowered his head, pressing his mouth against it. His penis throbbed demandingly and he had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to last very long at all once he did get inside her.

  Kel was still a virgin—he thought about sex plenty. What nineteen-year-old guy didn’t? But he was also a nineteen-year-old guy in love with a girl who seemed to know his every thought—a girl he had loved and adored for years. Even during the past school year when he’d been separated from her, he hadn’t thought about messing around. He wanted it so bad, wanted it to the point of obsession, thinking about it when he was supposed to be working, thinking about when he was supposed to be studying, sleeping…

  Seemed like he thought about sex all the time. There’d been a couple of times he’d get to his dorm room and his roommate would be making it with some girl, and a coupl
e of times, the girl would bring a friend along, thinking Kel would be looking for action.

  Kel wanted action, all right.

  But he didn’t want it with some coed he didn’t know. He wanted it with Angel. Up until now, she hadn’t been ready and Kel would have chopped off an arm before he did something to hurt her. Until she was ready, thinking about sex was about all he’d do.

  Well, think about it. Dream about it. Jacked off—a lot. And listen to friends from school. Listen quite a bit. Listen, read about it. A couple of times he’d gone to a friend’s room to study and there would be a porn flick on. It had left him feeling kind of dirty—his strict upbringing, no doubt.

  But there had been things on those flicks, things that he might not really care to watch, but things he was dying to do with Angel. Like kissing her through those white cotton panties, like pulling them aside and staring down at the pale blonde curls covering her, licking her there and grinning when she bucked against his mouth.

  Turned out that imagination and dreaming about sex could come in pretty damn useful, because she was wet and hot under him when he finished. Panting and whimpering. She lifted her arms to him and he started to crawl up her body—only to freeze and swear. “Damn it, Angel, I don’t have anything…”

  But, just like she so often did, Angel knew what he was thinking. She smiled. “There’s something in my jeans.”

  Something turned out to be a couple of foil-wrapped condoms and Kel slid her a look. “You planned this.”

  “Yep.” She sat up, glanced at the condoms in his hand and then down between his thighs. He blushed a painful shade of red, but she was too busy staring at his erection to notice his blush. “You know how to put that on?”

  “I think I can figure it out,” Kel muttered. His fingers trembled as he tore it open and he had a feeling all his nerves wouldn’t be so damn acute if she wasn’t watching so closely. But Angel was going to watch, no matter what—and he wasn’t about to wait until he wasn’t so nervous about all of this.