More Exposed (The Exposed Series, #4) Read online

  His blue eyes scan my face very slowly. "Are you ill? Has something happened to someone?" They're both expected questions. He has no idea that I have a clue that he's been lying about Cory's father.

  "It's nothing like that." This is it. I have to just blurt it out. "It's about Cory."

  "Did he do something? What did he say to you?" The questions feel awkward and misplaced. Cory is an innocent, tender little boy. Granted, he sometimes said things that made my heart ache. Things about how much he misses his mommy and wishes he could see her more.

  I pull a faint smile over my lips as I think about the tight hug he gave me before his nanny rushed him off this morning to a playdate. "Cory's perfect." I believe those words. He's human but he's the most amazing little human being I've ever met.

  "You know, don't you?" His voice is deep and low. How can he possibly know that?

  "Know what?" I want clarification. I need to hear it from him. I have to hear the words coming out of his mouth.

  He pulls his gaze down into his lap. "That question I was going to ask you when you were on the bus a couple of weeks ago. You know that I want you to be Cory's guardian, right?"

  The words bowl through me with lightning speed. I fumble to grasp onto them. Did Hunter just say he wants me to be Cory's guardian? "What?" I can't manage anything beyond that right now. How did this go from my needing to know about Cory's biological father to us talking about me being his guardian?

  "Did Donna tell you? I knew she overhead me talking to my attorney about it. Shit. I wanted to tell you myself." His eyes lock on mine and I see happiness deep within them.

  "No." Again, the words just aren't there. I can't form any cohesive thought. How am I supposed to respond to this? It's just another secret that he's kept hidden from me. Cory's nanny knew about this and I didn't? How did this wall of secrets suddenly appear? Everything changed when I moved in or maybe there have always been things he's held from me and now that I'm here and closer I can finally see them.

  "You'll do it, right?" There's so much expectation hanging between us right now.

  I fumble in my mind, trying to claim words that will make sense when they tumble off my tongue. "What does it mean?" I have to understand what he's asking of me.

  His brow furrows. I can tell he's looking for an answer himself. He reaches to grasp both of my hands in his. "It means that if anything happens to me, Cory can stay here and you'll take care of him."

  It's not that simple. What about Christina? What about the man she slept with that night? The man who helped to give him his life? What about them?

  "Sadie? Why aren't you saying yes?" He squeezes my hand slightly and I recoil at the touch. I can't agree to that. I can't agree to take Cory away from his real parents if something happens to Hunter.

  "Who is Cory's real dad?" I wince the moment the question leaps from lips. I was thinking it. I didn't want to pounce on him like this. Not now. Not when we're stuck in the middle of a conversation about what will happen if I lose Hunter.

  He bolts to his feet in an instant as his large hand runs through his hair. "Sadie." My name leaves his lips in a rush. There's anger circling him. I can see it. I can feel it in the air.

  "Hunter. I know." I don't really know. Why would I say that? I want to know. I need to know.

  "You don't know anything." The words are harsh and terse. He mutters a curse before he turns on his heel, pulls his suit jacket from the back of the couch and walks out of the apartment.

  Chapter 14

  "It just isn't working." His voice is low and shaky. "She's not happy so something has to change."

  I nod. Maybe it's a sign from the heavens. Maybe the fact that my brother is moving out of my apartment just a month after moving in is a clear sign that I need to go back there. After our talk yesterday morning, Hunter hadn't come home until late in the night. He'd slept on the couch and raced off to work before we could even talk this morning. He's avoiding me. He actually made a decision not to speak to me. How can I possibly stay there with him and Cory any longer?

  "It's fine, Dylan." I try to smile. "I may be moving back in."

  "Why?" It's something anyone would ask. Anyone but my brother, that is. He's never cared about what happens to me. We've never had a very close relationship. We've always just been two people who happened to share the same DNA.

  "It's not working with me and Hunter." I have to pull in a heavy, measured breath to keep myself from sobbing as I say the words. How can it be? How can Hunter and I be this fucked up?

  He takes a sip of coffee from the paper cup I brought him. "I thought you were crazy about that guy? Mom said you were nuts over him."

  I lean back in my chair for stability when I hear him mention our mother. "She actually said something to you about Hunter?"

  "She calls him Zander." He rolls his brown eyes and smiles. "You'd think she'd give that up if he wants to be called Hunter."

  I laugh. "A lot of people still call him that." They do. It's hard for me to see him as Zander but all of Cory's family calls him that. It still feels as though people are talking about a completely different person when they say that name. Maybe he is a different person than the one I thought I knew. Maybe Zander isn't who I wanted him to be after all.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" The question may as well have been asked in a foreign language. It's as if a stranger just walked up to me and asked me to confess my life story to them. I've never confided in Dylan.

  I glance back at the counter to see how many people are waiting. That may be my out. Suggesting that Dylan meet me on my lunch break at the bistro meant I had to fill in almost thirty minutes of time with him. He only just got here and already I'm completely uncomfortable. "It's okay." It is okay. I can't tell Dylan what's going on.

  "We're family." He reaches across the table to rest his hand over mine. "Talk to me."

  I stare at his hand. It's a man's hand. When did my brother become a man? When did he grow up enough that he would want have an actual conversation with me?

  "Mom hasn't told you?" I know the question's answer before I even ask it.

  He leans back in his chair and his hand leaps from mine. "I know Hunter isn't Cory's dad."

  I've never heard Dylan say Cory's name before. He's never acknowledged his existence. "He's not. That's common knowledge." It's not meant to sound so insensitive, but it does.

  "I didn't know until mom told me," he counters. "She said Hunter didn't tell you some stuff about Cory."

  It sounds so simple and innocent when it comes from my brother. I wish that were it. I wish that Hunter was hiding just stuff. It would be refreshing at this point if the biggest secret hanging between us was the fact that he gave Cory an extra serving of dessert or bought him a new toy train engine without telling me.

  "I'm here." He taps his finger on the edge of the table. "Family is everything, Sadie. It's everything."

  "What's going on?" Something isn't adding up. My brother doesn't just blurt out sentimental statements about family and love. That's not the Dylan I know.

  "Leanne is pregnant." His voice cracks before he continues, "I'm going to be a dad."

  My breath catches and I almost leap from my chair. "You're kidding?"

  "I'm not." He shakes his head from side-to-side. "We just found out last night. Can you imagine, Sadie? Me a dad?"

  I can't. I can't imagine it at all. I can't imagine Dylan holding a beautiful little baby in his arms. "Dylan," his name escapes my lips in a rush. "I can't..."

  "We have to fix our family." He stands and moves to kneel next to me. "I want my baby to have a real family. Let me be your brother again."

  I reach to hug him, burying my face in his shoulder. I need this. He has no idea how desperately I need a family right now.

  Chapter 15

  "Where's Cory?" I could tell he wasn't in the apartment the moment I came through the door. The silence is deafening.

  Hunter doesn't turn around as he answers, "My mom took him for a few
hours. He wanted to go down to the park so she said she'd keep him company."

  "I'm just grabbing some stuff so I can study." It was only a half lie. I was actually taking some of my things so I could head over to my old apartment. After Dylan's announcement about the baby and his plans to move out, I'd gotten all the details. They'd left yesterday for a rental house so if I wanted my place back, it was empty and available as of right now.

  "Sunshine, I'm sorry."

  The words hit me all at once. I'm not sure what hurts more. Hearing him call me sunshine or the fact that he says he's sorry even though he still hasn't confided in me about Cory's biological father.

  "I'm sorry too." I'm sorry I'm going to run away. I'm sorry I can't live here with you anymore. I'm sorry I'm not worth trusting. I'm just sorry.

  I wait for any response and he sits silently at the table, his face buried in a stack of documents.

  "See you." I throw the words carelessly at him as I turn to walk down the hallway.

  "He's been in prison."

  I almost trip over my feet as my body lurches to an abrupt halt. "What?" I whisper through the pained silence that engulfs the room.

  "That man. The one who slept with Christina, he's been in prison," he says the words so slowly that I wonder how much control it's taking him to temper all of his emotions.

  "Cory's father?"

  He stands and turns all in one swift movement. "Don't call him that. I'm Cory's father."

  I feel my heart drop at the sight of him. He hasn't shaved, his hair is a mess. It's obvious that he's been stuck in worry judging by how tired he looks.

  "I'm sorry," I whisper. "You're Cory's dad."

  He nods as he walks past me. "I only found out when Cory was ill months ago."

  Only months ago? Cory was in the hospital before I even knew he existed. Hunter had told me then that he didn't know who Cory's father was. "You found out then?" I want to understand. I need to.

  He sits in a chair in the living room, his knee shaking slightly as he talks. "A few weeks later."

  I move to sit across from him on the couch. I can sense that he doesn't want me close. I can see that he's struggling. "How did you find out?"

  "The doctors had so many questions when Cory got sick. It's happened before." There's a veiled sob within the words.

  "I didn't know." Of course I didn't know. I barely know anything about Cory's past other than the few fragments that Hunter has thrown in my direction.

  "When we were living in California last fall I found out who he was." He doesn't raise his eyes. He still won't look at me.

  There had been weeks then when we didn't talk. He'd wanted to make a clean break from me when Christina forced him to take Cory to live with her in Los Angeles. "Christina told you?"

  He nods. "She knew all along."

  "What?" I spit the word out much louder than I want to. I hate that Christina was manipulating things again. I hate that she is still causing Hunter so much pain and frustration.

  "Did he know he has a child?"

  He instantly pulls his gaze to mine. "He doesn't have a child. He donated his sperm when he fucked her that one time."

  The words are too harsh coming from Hunter. He doesn't talk like that. He's not that way. I can't respond. I don't know what I'm supposed to say.

  "She gave in and told me his name because we needed to get to the bottom of what was wrong with Cory. I contacted him and he gave up his family's medical history. That should have been the end of it." His tone is clipped and decisive.

  "But it wasn’t." It's not a question. I can tell by the look on his face that this is far from over.

  "No." There's sarcasm skirting the word. "It's not over. That fucker is trying to ruin my life."

  Chapter 16

  "How?" I leap from the couch to kneel before him. "Hunter, please. Tell me what's going on."

  He leans forward, his hand cupping my jaw. "I've only ever tried to protect you and Cory."

  I nod. I reach to cradle my hand over his. I've been so desperate for his touch. I've missed feeling his hands on me. "I need to know."

  "I'll never let anything happen to you." He closes his eyes briefly as if he's chasing away an image of something dark and sinister.

  "I know." I do know that he's always tried to protect me. I also know that by keeping this from me, it's created a wedge between us that is slowly destroying both him and me.

  He pulls his hand from my face and balls it into a fist in his lap. "Once he realized that he had a son, he started demanding things from me."

  "Things?" I correct myself immediately. "You mean money?"

  "He's a greedy bastard, sunshine." He pushes my hair from my forehead. "He's so much like Christina."

  "You gave him money to stay away from Cory?" I don't want the question to sound as judgemental as it does. I don't want him to think that I'm assuming anything. I can't really understand the position he's in. All I can understand is the depth of his love for Cory.

  He caresses my cheek again. "I just want him to go away and leave me alone."

  "You said he was in prison?" I shudder at the thought of Hunter dealing with anyone in prison. "Why? What did he do?"

  "Armed robbery, assault, there's a lot." His jaw tightens. "The guy was a fucked up mess from the start. He thinks he's hit the lottery now that I'm Cory's dad."

  I feel a rush of anger course through me. I know that he had to pay Christina a lot to get her to agree to let him adopt Cory. I can't imagine what this other man was asking of him.

  "What about the adoption?" He hasn't spoken of it since he first mentioned it months ago when he came back to Boston.

  "He was going to petition the court to get his name on Cory's birth certificate." He bows his head down. "We're still negotiating that."

  Negotiating that. They're negotiating Cory. The thought makes my stomach turn.

  "He belongs with you." I rest my head in his lap. "He's your boy." I just want the world to disappear. I don't want to think about how these people are trying to manipulate Hunter by using the love he has for Cory.

  He strokes my hair. "No, he belongs with us, sunshine."

  I feel a rush of emotions as the gravity of the situation hits me. "That's why you took him to California? It was because of all of this?"

  "Christina demanded I bring him." I feel the tension in his thighs as he says her name. "She told me if I didn't, she'd give Peter my address here."

  "Peter?" I repeat the name back. "That's his name. The name of the man..." I can't call him Cory's father anymore. I can't. A real father wouldn't use his son as a bargaining chip.

  "He's out now." Hunter reaches down to pull me up so I'm resting in his lap. "I don't want him to find us."

  Suddenly all the pieces are falling into place. "That's why you want us to move?"

  "We're going to move." He runs his hand over my shoulder. "I want us in a place that Christina doesn't know."

  We're running. We're hiding. He must feel real fear. "We can stay at my apartment." It's a weak offer but it's something.

  "Your apartment?" He shifts his body so he can see my face. "Your brother lives there, doesn't he?"

  "No. He moved out," I whisper. I don't want to do this. I don't want to talk about Dylan when we're focused on what's going on with Cory's parents.

  "You were leaving me, weren't you?"

  "What?" I pull my gaze up to his.

  I feel his hands tighten around my waist. "Just now. You weren't getting things together to study. You were going to go back there, weren't you?"

  I won't lie. I can't. "Yes."

  "Sadie. No. Please." He pulls me into his chest. "Never. You can't leave me."

  I reach to cup his cheek in my hand as I rest my lips against his. "I'm not. I won't. I promise."

  He glides his lips over mine and I melt in the sensation. I've missed kissing him. God, how I've missed this. I love the taste of his lips, of his breath. I need this so much.

  "Sadie, sunshine,"
he groans into my mouth. "I want you."

  "Hunter." His name leaves me lips as he unbuttons my sweater and pushes it from my shoulders.

  "Let me fuck you." It's not a request. I can feel how aroused he is. I can feel his steely erection pressing against me.

  "Please, Hunter," I say in a breathless whisper. "I need it."

  He growls as he picks me up and stands in one swift motion. "Now." It's one word but it contains all the pent up need and want we've both been feeling for weeks.

  He pushes me onto the bed before he pulls the remaining clothes from my body. I don't have to time to reach for him before he's on his knees at the edge of the bed, my calves in his hand. He pushes my legs up, bending them at the knee, spreading me wide.

  I gasp as he plunges his tongue into me, lapping at my wetness. He's not gentle. He's hungry and needy. My hands drop to his hair, pulling at the roots, controlling his tempo. I grind my hips into him, needing to come. I have to orgasm. I feel it building inside of me. It's so strong, so much.

  "I've missed this," he purrs into my folds before he pushes a finger deep within me.

  "Eat me, Hunter," I moan through clenched teeth. "Like that."

  He groans and I'm rewarded with him sucking hard on my clit. He slides another finger into me and I circle my hips to take it in.

  "It's so good." I can't control it all. I feel the pleasure rush through me. I feel so close already.

  "Come." It's a single command.

  I arch my back as the rush pulls through me. I almost cry out because it's so much. It's been so long since I've come like this. It's been so long since I've felt Hunter pleasing me.

  "I'm going to fuck you." His voice is unrecognizable. It's so deep. There's so much want in it.

  I watch him race to get his clothes off. He's so hard, so ready. He lunges at me. His body hovering above mine. His dark hair falling into his face. He looks so needy. He wants me so much.

  I moan uncontrollably when he plunges fully into me with one buck of his hips. The biting mixture of pleasure and pain almost takes me over the edge again already. "Hunter," I scream out his name. "Hunter."