A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House) (47 page)

Curiosity colored Hunter's expression as a smile filled with mischief began to spread across his face. "I think my sappiness is rubbing off on you," he said playfully.

The three words he had denied Hunter were unmistakably screaming back at him through the silver stare.

"You remember our deal?" Cam asked, returning his wandering fingers to Hunter's face.

Hunter nodded against the pillow and turned his head to kiss Cam's palm. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I can wait however long until you're ready."

He watched Hunter scan his face. Within seconds, Hunter's eyes widened and his chest heaved with each breath. Just as he had known so many times before, he understood what Cam was thinking at that moment and what he would say next.

Cameron stroked Hunter's cheek just as Hunter had done to him endless times before to calm him. He slowly smiled and firmly said two simple words Hunter had been waiting to hear.

"I'm ready."

Hunter grabbed his bag and shut the car door. He smiled when he saw Cam's truck and business trailer at the side entrance. Cam usually didn't make it home before him, especially not on Fridays when he tried to squeeze in as much work on a landscaping project for a client before the weekend. In a matter of months, word had spread like wildfire about the new landscaper with the creative flare. Cam had managed to nail a few lucrative contracts which then led to steady opportunities at the local country clubs and golf courses. His work ethic had garnered such a strong word of mouth recommendation that he now had his pick of local and neighboring county contracts.

"Hey, Dad," Hunter said when he entered the house. He followed the scent of a meal to the kitchen. "How was your day?"

"Good," Thomas said.

Hunter raised his nose and sniffed past the seasonings in the air. He smiled. "Am I smelling cookies?"

"He made some as soon as he got home. So you're too late, he already hid the recipe."

Hunter pursed his lips and frowned. "Damn it. He's taking Lucy's promise too damn seriously."

"He's a man of his word. Sounds like someone I know," Thomas said in that proud paternal way.

"What are you making?" Hunter couldn't resist lifting the cover of each of the pots to peek inside. "It smells great."

"I thought I'd make you guys a quick dinner before you went out on your date night. Your movie is at eight, right?"

Hunter nodded and craned his neck to look for Cam in the backyard. "Yeah. I'm surprised he's here already."

"He's been working on my garden for over an hour now. I think he's almost finished."

"Thanks, Dad," he said before exiting the back door to see Cam.

Cam turned when the screen door opened then closed. "Hello, Professor. How was class today?" he asked, turning to finish planting the new flowers in the soil.

"Good. The students are still teasing me about my hot fiancé bringing my lunch in yesterday." He bent to greet Cam with a quick kiss.

Cam returned the kiss then pressed the soil around the last flower before gathering his tools into the box. "You shouldn't have left home without it. I wasn't going to let you starve."

"I'm at the university. How the hell am I going to starve on campus," Hunter said with a chuckle.

Cam stood and took off his work gloves. He laughed in that low rumble way that drove Hunter crazy. "Unless you have the bag in front of you, you'll lose track of time and forget to eat."

Hunter wrapped his arms around Cam's waist and pulled him close. "I love how you worry about me."

"I'm all sweaty, you're going to get dirty." Cam discarded his work gloves then wrapped his arms around Hunter.

"I don't care." Hunter delivered a peck between words. He deepened the kiss when he heard Cam's sharp intake of breath. Hunter pulled Cam closer when he felt the tug behind his neck. They separated, but remained close enough for their breaths to mingle.

"How's your ass?" Cam asked with a devilish smile.

Hunter snorted a laugh. "I had to do most of my classes standing up."

"Sorry. I kinda lost control yesterday."

"Don't ever apologize for taking what you need from me," he said, kiss-biting Cam's jaw.

"You didn't tell me you had so many hot guys in your class," Cam grumbled, looking away.

"You're the only guy I think about."

Cam glanced back at Hunter with a wry grin. "Sap."

"Smart-ass. You know, when the students started teasing me about you, I mentioned that class you were thinking about teaching. Apparently they knew about the mystery artist who did coffee designs at the local shop. I think you'll get most of those guys to sign up. Probably even some of the girls who were mentally undressing you," he said with a grunt.

Cam loosened Hunter's tie and undid the top button of the shirt, a casual habit he had acquired whenever he saw Hunter still wearing his tie at the end of the day.

"I'm not sure if I want to take the vocational school up on their offer. It's only a couple of hours a week but, seriously, a latte art class? It's a nice change, but who the fuck would want to attend? It has no academic bearing whatsoever," he said with a shrug then looked away again.

Hunter stroked Cam's cheek with his thumb. Cam had become stronger than ever and more confident, but he still had random moments where he questioned himself and the interest of others. "Sometimes people take classes just to learn something new without a need to have it be career-based. Besides, do you know some of these high end coffee shops send their baristas to schools where they teach classes on latte art?"

Cam's vision snapped back to Hunter. "Really?"

Hunter nodded. "I know you say it's not a big deal but I see you smile every time someone gets excited about a design."

He brushed the hair out of Cam's eyes, carefully watching a mix of emotions flicker across his expression. They had visited the local café soon after their arrival to the new town. Cam fidgeted when he saw the barista fighting the machine—the same model he had used at the diner. Hunter asked the distressed cashier, who was also the owner, if she'd mind if Cam showed her barista how to work the machine. She immediately agreed and Cam raced behind the counter to rescue the poor teenager before she burned herself. Within minutes, the teenager had brewed her first cup without a burn.

"That's the first time she's made a cup without cursing up a storm," the owner confided. "Thank you."

Cam handed the owner a cup with a heart design, sealing the deal for a job offer. Cam respectfully declined but asked if he could swing by the coffee shop and help if he had an itching to do more art. The owner enthusiastically agreed and Cam had made random appearances every month when he needed to do something creative, outside of the landscaping.

Small town with people so open and nice.
A quick invitation like that would have never happened in Miami. They were still getting accustomed to the slower pace and new life.

"People spend their hard-earned money on those coffees, they should get something nice," Cam said, jolting Hunter back to the present. "I'll think about it. They gave me until the end of the month to give them an answer on the class for the next semester."

Hunter looked over to the newly planted flowers along the perimeter of his father's area of the house. "This looks really good. I can't believe you finished it so quickly." He lifted Cam's shirt and stroked his lower back.

"I wanted to make sure Pop had his garden nice before Father's Day."

Hunter smiled at Cam's endearment. Cam had refused to call Thomas by his new name and said it was too weird to call him Dad.

"Pop's making dinner. Do we have time for a quick shower before then?"

Hunter smiled wickedly. "Our showers are never quick."

Cameron laughed. "C'mon, perv," he said, dragging Hunter by the hand to their room. "We've got about thirty minutes before it's time."

After a quick shower with mutual blowjobs and a promise for more post-date, they returned to the backyard again for their daily ritual.

The sunrises, Cam said, he had shared with his mom.

The sunsets, Cam declared, belonged to Hunter.

Hunter lay in their hammock with Cam resting against him as they waited for the sun to begin its descent. He pulled Cam closer, enjoying the body heat and the smell of fresh soap mingled with the scent he had fallen in love with instantly almost a year ago. Cam inched closer and rested his head on Hunter's shoulder, pressing his nose against Hunter's neck.

Cam reached under Hunter's shirt and splayed his hand on Hunter's chest, running his fingers through the sprinkling of hair.

Hunter closed his eyes as his chest tightened with each puff of warm breath that skated across his skin. "How did your meeting go?"

"They hate me," Cam mumbled.

Hunter slid his hand under Cam's shirt and ghosted his fingers along Cam's lower back. "You have a bunch of contract options. Not getting this one—"

"I did get it."

Hunter stopped stroking Cam's back and tried to sit up. "I thought you said—"

"I have to wear a polo shirt uniform while I'm on the golf course. Me, in a fucking polo shirt. Even though I'm a contractor, they're making me stick to the damn staff dress code. Fuckers hate me."

Hunter tightened his lips as he held back a smile. Cam had become accustomed to rebelling against imposed structure and requirements. It was what drove him to want to start his own landscaping company.

"Polos aren't bad," Hunter said, sitting back in the hammock.

"They're yellow and black."

"Those colors work well together," he said, resuming the circular patterns on Cam's lower back.

"The polos are striped. I'm going to look like a fucking bumblebee."

Hunter bit the inside of his cheek and screwed his eyes shut, holding back a laugh.

"You're my bumblebee."

"You'll pay for that later." Cameron laughed.

"Mmm, I'm looking forward to it," he said, kissing Cam's temple. Hunter sighed, enjoying the rumble of Cam's laugh. That beautiful sound came more easily than it had so many months ago. He would never tire of hearing the melody of Cam's laughter, especially when it echoed throughout the walls of their home.

"You could always decline the contract if you really hate it."

Cam shifted, lifting his weight on his forearms to lean over Hunter. "Hell no. I've been itching to do something with all that green space they have. I'll have everything finished there in a few months. After that, I want to take you on vacation somewhere."

Hunter smiled. "Where do you want to take me?"

Cam shrugged. "I don't know yet. But I want to do something for you."

"You always do something for me," Hunter said, staring into Cam's fierce gaze. He reached up and rested his hand against the side of Cam's face.

The corner of Cam's lips curved upward in that teasing way that always seemed to make Hunter's breath hitch. "I always do something
to
you, not
for
you."

Hunter pulled him down for a slow kiss, the ones that still drew the sounds from Cam that drove Hunter crazy with need.

Cam withdrew and laughed. "Later. I promise," he said, returning to his spot pressed against Hunter.

Cam stroked Hunter's chest while Hunter grazed his fingers along Cam's lower back. Hunter would never get tired of the way Cam's body contoured perfectly against his. They patiently waited in their hammock for another ten minutes until the sun decided to make its descent. The bright orange rays cast their light on the bottom of the clouds, leaving a hint of darkness to border the moon's new home for the night. The sun fought through the clouds, trying to paint its colors wide before it disappeared leaving a wash of deep blues, purples, and pale pinks to illuminate the sky against the dark silhouette of the mountain edge.

Hunter heard Cam sigh. He held him closer and rested his cheek against Cam's hair.

"I love you," Cam said quietly, nuzzling into the crook of Hunter's neck.

Hunter closed his eyes and let the words fill the silence between them. Since the day they left their other lives behind, Cam had made every effort to open up to him—yell when he was angry, talk about the nightmares that still haunted him, and share a memory, however difficult they were to relive. Not a day had passed without the three words spoken. It seemed Cam needed to hear them just as much as Hunter craved saying them.

"I love you, too."

~The End~

About the Author

Jaime Reese is the alter ego of an artist who loves the creative process of writing, just not about herself. Fiction is far more interesting. She has a weakness for broken, misunderstood heroes and feels everyone deserves a chance at love and life. An avid fan of a happy ending, she believes those endings acquired with a little difficulty are more cherished.

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