Free Burned by Sarah Morgan

crowd.’
    I didn’t think talking was what either of us had in mind.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Hunter’s apartment was spectacular and the crazy thing was I hadn’t even known it existed. I’d worked at Fit and Physical since I finished my degree in physiology and sports science and I’d never once wondered what was on the floor above us.
    The answer was two floors of real-estate nirvana.
    The living room stretched across the whole of the building, open plan with huge glass walls that looked across the river. Cream sofas were grouped around an ultra-modern fireplace enclosed by glass and in one corner was a dining table positioned to make the most of the spectacular views.
    ‘Nice.’ I thought of our little apartment in Notting Hill. We loved it but you could barely do a scissor kick without knocking something over. Here you could have held a tournament and still not filled the floor space. ‘It’s huge. Who are you living with? There’s space for the whole of the British karate team.’
    He gave a faint smile. ‘Just me. I like space. I don’t like feeling enclosed.’
    ‘Who lived here before you?’
    ‘A banker. He moved out when I bought the building.’
    ‘So Hollywood pays well.’ I strolled to the windows and stared out across the river. ‘It reminds me of Nico’s apartment.’
    ‘Nico?’ His voice was a little cooler and I smiled. I still had my back to him, so I thought the smile was between me and the window but it turned out I wasn’t as clever as I thought, because he was standing behind me and the window acted like a mirror. ‘You’re trying to make me suffer just a little bit for what I did to you.’
    ‘No. I don’t play those games.’ I could feel the warmth of him behind me and watched as his hands came to my shoulders.
    ‘Who is Nico?’
    ‘He’s a lawyer. He’s seeing Hayley.’
    His grip on my shoulders eased. ‘So who was the guy you were with the other night? The one who wants you to join a book group and bake cakes.’
    ‘Brian.’
    ‘What were you doing with him, Rosie?’
    ‘Having dinner.’
    ‘He’s so obviously wrong for you.’
    I could feel his hands, strong and sure on my shoulders. ‘You’re not the expert on me.’
    ‘I know you.’
    ‘No.’ I turned so that we were face to face, so there could be no mistake. ‘You knew me. I’m a different person now.’
    ‘Why was he breaking up with you?’
    ‘He finds me scary. Unfeminine.’
    Hunter told me what he thought of that in a single succinct word that made me smile and then he slid his hands down my arms and suddenly I wasn’t smiling anymore. I felt his palms, warm and calloused, brush against my skin. Knowing what those hands could do, I shivered.
    I’d been badly burned, and here I was playing with fire again.
    Was I doing the wrong thing?
    My courage faltered. ‘Maybe I should go. Are we being crazy?’
    ‘No.’ His voice was rough and raw. ‘I really want you to stay.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because I can’t get through my day without thinking about you. Because I can’t focus. All I can think of is you, naked and underneath me.’ His jaw was tight, clenched, and it was obvious he was suffering as much as I was.
    For some reason that made me feel better. Not that I wanted to suffer, but I didn’t want to be trapped in this cycle of sexual torment alone.
    ‘Who says I’d be underneath?’ I shot him a look. ‘Maybe I’d be the one on top.’
    His eyes gleamed. ‘Maybe you would.’
    My breathing was shallow. I still didn’t know what was going on in his head. ‘I’m not some project.’
    His eyes narrowed. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
    ‘Nothing.’ I decided this wasn’t the time to think about it. It didn’t matter anyway.
    ‘I don’t blame you for hesitating. I hurt you. I’m sorry for that and I’m sorry I made you wary about men.’ There was a raw edge to his tone that caught my attention as much as the hard bite of his fingers and I realized I’d never really thought