Hunter didn't speak as he led her away. His grip was firm, his pace fast, as if he were afraid if he let go, the world would pull her from him again.
They didn't go far. Just across the field, behind the equipment, shed a place hidden enough to steal a breath, yet open enough for the wind to remind them they were still on school grounds.
He stopped abruptly.
Eden bumped into his chest.
Her heart was still thundering, but not from fear anymore. Not now.
She looked up, and the moment she met his eyes — dark, furious, aching — she saw it.
Something primal.
He wasn't just angry.
He was possessed.
"Are you okay?" he asked, but his voice was rough, almost shaking. "Did he touch you?"
"No," she whispered.
"Say it again."
"He didn't touch me."
He exhaled harshly, but it didn't calm him. He still looked like he wanted to kill something. Or claim something.
His hands moved to her waist. Not roughly. But not gently either.
His fingers spread wide, dragging her closer. Her body responded before her brain could.
"I told myself I'd wait," he muttered. "I told myself I'd let you come to me when you were ready."
"Hunter…" she breathed, but her voice was already trembling.
He leaned in, his lips ghosting her ear.
"But seeing him near you… thinking about what could've happened if I was a second late…"
His mouth brushed her jaw.
"I'm done pretending, Eden."
She gasped as his lips found her throat.
"I want you. All of you."
And then his mouth claimed hers — not with violence, but with intensity. Like he was starving, and she was his only cure.
She whimpered but didn't pull away. Her fingers tangled in his hoodie, anchoring herself to the one person who made her feel both exposed and safe.
Hunter's hands slid down her hips and stopped just at the hem of her oversized shirt.
"Are you wearing them?" he asked.
"What?" she whispered.
"The panties." His voice was low, dangerous, seductive.
Her cheeks flamed.
"Yes."
He pulled back just enough to look at her. His eyes burned like sin.
"Take them off."
Her breath caught.
"Here?"
His lips curled into a smirk — dark, dominant.
"Right here."
Her fingers trembled, but she obeyed. Slowly, deliberately. Lifting the shirt, hooking her thumbs under the waistband, sliding them down—
He watched.
Every. Second.
When she stepped out of them, he picked them up… and slipped them into his pocket.
"You won't be needing these tonight," he said.
She shivered.
"We're at school…"
"I don't care," he growled. "You think I can wait after watching him look at you like that? After you looked at me like that?"
Her eyes widened. "How did I look at you?"
"Like you already belonged to me."
She opened her mouth, but his lips crushed hers again, deeper this time. His tongue teased hers into submission, and her knees nearly gave out.
"Say it," he whispered against her mouth.
"Say what?"
"That you're mine."
She stared into his eyes.
"I'm yours."
And that's when he lost the last thread of control.