Chapter 3 The Kiss

Amber’s P.O.V.

There is an awkward silence inside the car. I sit in the passenger seat, my fingers tightly gripping the strap of my sling bag, completely overwhelmed by the awkward tension stretching between us.

I steal a glance at Hunter from the corner of my eye. I just can't stop noticing how brutally handsome he is.

He is dressed in a perfectly tailored dark suit that emphasises his broad shoulders and massive frame. His jawline is sharp, covered in a light shadow of stubble, and his blue eyes are completely captivating, like deep, frozen lakes. He looks incredibly hot, but his expression is ice-cold as he stares straight ahead at the dark Manhattan road.

Even though he is sitting right beside me, completely dominating the space with his heavy presence, my mind keeps wandering back to the past. In this suffocating silence, the memories of what I've been running from won't stop clawing at my brain. I need a distraction. I need noise.

"Hey, don’t you think it’s getting awkward that we aren’t talking?" I ask, finally breaking the silence.

"What do you wanna talk about?" he replies, his voice deep and completely devoid of emotion.

"Anything. I just don’t like silence."

"And I don’t like to talk," he responds rudely in a sharp tone.

I roll my eyes slightly, trying to push through his wall of ice. "Then what do you like to do?"

Suddenly, the car slows down just a fraction. He leans over toward my side and comes dangerously close to my face. "It will be better if you don’t get to know about it," he utters in a low, husky tone.

His breath brushes against my skin, sending a sudden jolt straight down my spine. My breath goes heavy, and a wave of sexual tension instantly builds in the small space between us.

I swallow hard, my heart pounding. "What do you mean by that?"

He pulls back slightly, his eyes focusing back on the road. "I mean, just keep quiet. It's better for you."

Another rude reply. I let out a frustrated sigh and turn my face toward the window, staring out at the passing streetlights.

God! How am I going to live with this man under one roof? That too for two months.

I just hope his brother, Nathan, isn't anything like him. But honestly, no matter how Nathan turns out, I already have a huge soft spot for him. His voice is absolutely amazing, and his songs are so deeply soulful. I’m a massive fan of his music. I can’t wait to meet him. It’s literally going to be a dream come true moment for me.

Needing to drown out the awkwardness, I reach forward and turn on the car radio. A song begins to play, filling the tense air.

Before the first verse can even finish, Hunter aggressively hits the button, shutting it off. "Stop irritating me."

"I told you, I can't take the silence! It's not good for me," I snap back, losing my patience.

"I don’t care.” His grip tightens on the steering wheel. "Now, don’t let a single word out of your mouth, or else you’ll regret it."

The threat instantly makes my blood boil. What the hell does he think of himself? He can’t just behave like this toward me. I have tolerated his attitude since the reception, but I’m not going to sit here and be bullied.

"Stop the car right now!" I yell, turning fully in my seat to glare at him. "I don’t want to stay here for even a single second more with a rude person like you. I was ignoring your horrible behaviour because you’re my new father’s son, but you’re just an asshole—"

Before I can even finish the insult, Hunter slams his foot on the brake. The car screeches to a violent halt at the side of the dark road.

Before I can blink, his large hand shoots across the console. He grabs a fistful of my blonde curls, yanking my head back with a force that makes my eyes widen in pure shock. He pulls me across the seat, dragging my body against his, and brutally captures my lips with his own.

The kiss is hard, territorial, and completely aggressive, effectively shutting me up. His mouth moves over mine with a terrifying dominance, his grip tightening around my hair to keep me completely still. A wave of raw heat crashes over me, and instead of fighting him, I completely lose myself in the sensation.

My head spins. Instinctively, my hand moves up to grip his blazer, wanting to deepen the kiss, wanting more of his roughness, but the moment I touch him, he abruptly pulls away.

He pants, his eyes dark and wild as he stares down at my flushed face. "You'd better listen to me next time, stepsis, or else I won’t be this gentle with you."

I sit back against my seat, entirely frozen. I’m in absolute shock. I never in a million years expected my stepbrother to kiss me, let alone with such roughness. But what shocks me even more is the terrifying truth blooming in my chest that I loved it.

My heart is pounding frantically against my ribs. I can’t stop staring at his lips, a desperate, dark ache pulsing inside me to feel them pressed against mine again. Just those few seconds of his mouth on mine have turned me on like absolute hell.

What the hell? When did I start getting so turned on by being treated like this?

A sudden, heavy pool of wetness dampens the space between my thighs. The sheer intensity of the reaction causes me to instinctively press my legs tightly together to hide it.

Hunter shifts the car back into drive, but his eyes flicker down to my lap. A dark smirk spreads across his handsome face. "Are you getting wet down there after the way your stepbrother just kissed you, Green Eyes?"

The moment he utters that nickname in his deep voice, my heart stops beating for a second.

Embarrassment and desire war inside me. I quickly look back out the window, ignoring his mocking words.

Even though the wetness between my thighs is growing more, I purposely loosen my legs, refusing to close them, knowing exactly how heavily his eyes are tracking my body.

The car moves in silence for the rest of the drive until we finally pull through a massive set of iron gates. Hunter stops the car directly in front of a dark luxury mansion.

He doesn't get out to open my door. He doesn't even look at me.

"Get the fuck out of my car," he orders coldly, his tone completely detached again. "I have to leave now."

I open the passenger door and step out onto the driveway, my body still trembling from his touch.

Fuck. Why does he have to be so incredibly rude, but at the same time, so damn hot?