Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3) (3 page)

"Congrats, Penny," Matt said. "My parents
wanted me to give this to you," he handed me an envelope.

"What is it?"

He shrugged. "A gift I guess. Later, James," he
said and they did one of their weird handshakes.

"Are you going to open it?" James asked as Rob and
Matt left our apartment.

"Do you know what it is?"

He shook his head.

I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the card.

Penny,

We have known James his whole life. He was at our house
growing up almost as much as Mason and Matthew were. He's like a son to us. And
we can't think of someone more perfect for him than you, Penny. We would be
honored if you'd let us throw you a late engagement party at our house. Just
something small, to officially welcome you to the family. Call us so we can
arrange a date. And congratulations on your graduation!

-Mr. & Mrs. Caldwell

I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. James' parents
didn't want to meet me. But I already knew the Caldwells. I had spent a lot of
time with them since moving to New York. Every time they saw me they always
asked if I had gotten to meet Mr. and Mrs. Hunter yet. I tried to act as
optimistic as I could, but everyone knew I was upset about it. Mr. and Mrs.
Caldwell clearly cared about me and James. Maybe it was okay that James'
parents didn't want me to be a part of their family. Maybe everything I had was
enough.

I looked up at James. "That's really sweet, isn't
it?"

"I didn't know they thought of me like that." He
had a weird look on his face. It wasn't confused exactly. He almost looked sad.

I moved so that I was straddling him. "James, I love you
so much. You are the sweetest man I have ever met. But you are just terrible at
telling when people care about you."

He smiled at me. "I know that you care about me."

"Mhm. And all the people that came tonight. And Mason
and Matt's parents," I said and held up the letter.

"I think everyone just likes you."

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"Like Tyler."

I laughed. "Oh God. You know that's not true."

He shrugged. "Now that I'm friends with him, I don't
think it matters one way or the other. He's a good guy. He won't try to steal
you away now."

"Apparently he likes Melissa. So you have nothing to
worry about."

"I wasn't worried." He kissed my cheek and then the
side of my neck. "Let me go get your present."

I reluctantly moved off his lap. I had only been half joking
when I was talking to Rob earlier. I was definitely planning on enjoying James
tonight. When he disappeared into his office, I looked back down at the note.
They wanted to welcome me to the family. My body felt warm, and not just
because of the mixed drink Rob had made me. I had tried so hard to fit in here
in New York. But at first I had really missed the suburbs. I had missed passing
strangers on the sidewalk that were nice, having grass everywhere, and not
being worried I was going to be mugged if I stepped outside at night. It was a
hard adjustment. I wasn't sure when it had happened, but suddenly I fit. James'
friends had become my new family. And New York had become my home. James'
parents not wanting to meet me was the last thing that made me feel like I
shouldn't be here, like I didn't belong in this new life.

But this could be enough. I stared at the note in my hands.
It was going to have to be.

Saturday

James sat down on the rug in front of the chair I was in and
handed me a manila envelope. He put his hand on my knee, rubbing the inside of
my knee with his thumb, not looking at my face.

I had gotten pretty good at reading him. Whenever he did
something he knew I wouldn't like, he rarely ever looked me in the eyes.
Whatever was in the envelope, he thought I wasn't going to like it. My heart
started to beat faster. "What is this?"

"Your present." He tore his eyes away from my knee
and looked up at me. "Open it." He leaned down and kissed my kneecap.

I moved my leg away from his hand. Now he was just trying to
distract me. I tore open the top of the envelope and pulled out a small stack
of photos. They were pictures of really beautiful rooms. Really beautiful, huge
rooms. Each room was elegant, yet modern at the same time. It was exactly
James' style. Which had become my preference as well. I let my eyes meet his.

"Now, before you say anything..."

"I don't want to move." We had discussed this in
length. And I thought we had agreed to stay here for at least a while longer.
Graduating, starting a new job, getting married, it was all too much at once. I
didn't want to move on top of everything else.

"Baby," he said and grabbed my hand. "When we
get married, we're going to need a bigger place."

"This place is big. It's way too big actually."

James laughed. "It's cozy. That's why we picked
it."

"I think I remember telling you that it was too big to
be cozy, but this was the place you wanted. So I said yes."

"And now you love it here."

"Exactly. So I don't want to move."

"But we're going to be a family."

I stared back at him. We rarely ever talked about having
kids. Whenever I brought it up, he not so subtly diverted our conversation to a
safer topic. Was he changing his mind? I squeezed his hand. "James, I
thought you didn't..."

"You're going to be my wife." He cleared his
throat. "We're going to be a family."

Oh.
Me and him. Of course that's what he meant. And
that's all that I wanted. He was always all that I had ever wanted. "Since
we're going to be married, you want more space to escape from me?" I
smiled at him.

James laughed. "No, not exactly." He grabbed my
waist and pulled me to the edge of the chair. "More rooms to have you in,
maybe." His hand slid up my thigh.

I laughed. "Are you sure that you don't want to just run
away from me because I have so many flaws?"

"Hmm." He leaned down and kissed the inside of my
thigh.

God was he good at distracting me.

He slowly pushed up the bottom of my dress, following his
fingertips with a trail of kisses. He hooked his thumbs in the sides of my
thong. "Baby, you don't have any flaws."

And he knew exactly what to say to wear me down. I lifted my
hips and let him remove my thong. "Okay, fine. We can make an appointment
with your realtor and go look at it together. Happy?"

He smiled. "We don't need to make an appointment. I
already bought it."

"James!" My exclamation quickly changed to a moan
as he thrust his tongue deep inside of me.
Fuck.
"James, you
can't...God!" I let my head drop back against the cushion as he spread my
legs farther apart. I couldn't possibly think straight like this.
Damn it.

He pushed the bottom of my dress up over my waist and I
quickly pulled it over my head. My anger had been replaced by a more primal
need, somehow making my want for him even stronger. I unhooked my bra as his
mouth moved to my clit, sucking on it hard.

"Yes!"

His fingers replaced his tongue, plunging deep inside my
aching pussy. His tongue on my clit matched the rhythm of his fingers, pushing
me closer and closer to release. Why did I always give into him? Why did I
always let him manipulate me with sex? He curved his fingers, hitting that spot
that always made me lose control.

Oh God.
My whole body felt warm from the combination
of the alcohol coursing through me and the building desire in my stomach. I
moaned again as his hand slid up, pinching one of my nipples. The sensation had
a direct line to my groin.

I grabbed the back of his head as he sucked hard on my clit
again. "James!" My orgasm crashed down on me. But the high didn't
last long. The reality of what he had just done quickly returned.
Jesus.
I pushed on his shoulders.

After one last stroke against my wetness, he pulled back and
stared at me.

I knew why I always let him have what he wanted. Because I
could never resist him. Not when he looked at me like that. Who was I kidding?
I could never resist him.

He started to unbutton his shirt.

My chest rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath. I stood
up and pointed my finger at him. "You can't just buy a new apartment and
not tell me about it. We're getting married. We need to make these kind of
decisions together. And we had already discussed this. It's too much change,
too fast."

He stood up too.

"I'm really mad at you," I added, when he didn't
say anything.

Ignoring me, he slowly removed his belt and unzipped his
pants, letting his erection spring free.

I quickly looked back up at his face. "What are you
doing? James, we need to talk about this."

His eyes were ablaze. "I like when you're mad at
me."

Fuck it.
I grabbed the back of his head and pulled his
mouth to mine. He was always right. When I was mad at him, it just made me want
him even more.

***

James propped his head up on his hand and looked down at me.
"I think I know what you like, Penny."

I tried to suppress my smile and shook my head. After
everything he had just done to me, I didn't have any energy left to talk about
this right now. I winced slightly as I turned to face him. The odds that I
didn't have rug burn on my ass were slim to none. "It still would have
been nice to be part of the decision."

"I'm sorry."

I smiled up at him.

"But it was a present and I..."

I put my finger against his lips. "Don't ruin your
apology."

He grabbed my hand and kissed each of my knuckles.
"You're going to love it. I promise."

"As long as you're in it, I will." I ran my fingers
through the contours of his six pack. "So where is it?"

"Closer to where we'll both be working."

"You're impossible. You do realize that, right?"

He shrugged and smiled down at me. "We can walk to work
together every day. And we can walk to our new home together every night. We
can make detours through Central Park whenever you're missing the suburbs. It's
going to be wonderful."

"Thank you, James."

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Why
does it feel like you aren't thanking me for the new place?"

"I am. But it's not just that. Thank you for not getting
annoyed when I stayed up late studying so many nights. And for waiting to get
married until after I graduated. For putting your life on hold here while I
finished school. And for not getting mad at me when I'm stubborn for no reason.
And for just being you."

"You're awfully sentimental tonight." He pulled me
into his chest.

I'd never get enough of the sweet scent of his skin. "You've
given up so much to be with me."

He ran his fingers through my hair. "That's not the way
I see it."

I knew it wasn't how he saw it, but that's how it was. The
past few years I had been a burden. "There is no other way to see it,
James. I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done.
Everything you've given me and everything you've given up."

"Penny, it goes both ways. What's mine is yours. And
what's yours is mine."

"But I don't have anything."

He rolled over, pinning my back to the rug. "You're
everything that I've ever wanted. These past two and a half years have been the
happiest of my life. We're getting married in a few weeks. You're the one
giving me everything."

"I'm worried that I'll always be a burden. I don't know
what I want to do now that I've graduated. I don't know what I want to
be."

He smiled down at me. "Well, you can start by working
with me at Hunter Technologies. And by becoming my wife. Does that really sound
so bad?"

I pursed my lips. Of course he was right. Even if I just
worked there until I figured out what I really wanted to do. He knew me better
than I knew myself. "It sounds perfect." I put my hand on the side of
his face, running my palm along the scruff on his jaw line. "I can't wait
to be Penny Hunter."

"God I love the sound of that." 

Sunday

My phone buzzed just as the car pulled up to the J.F.K.
Airport. I quickly pulled my phone out of my purse, expecting to see James'
sister, Jen, calling me. Instead, I saw Melissa's name. I swiped my finger
across the screen. "Hey, Melissa. I just got to the airport to pick up
Jen. It'll be at least forty minutes before we get to you."

"Actually, that's why I'm calling. I'm just going to
meet you there if that's okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Great. I might be a little late. I just have a bunch of
errands to run first. Trying to get everything settled." Tyler said
something in the background, but I couldn't hear what it was.

 "The appointment is in an hour," I said. "How
late are you going to be?"

"Not very. I gotta go, I'll see you all there."

"Melissa?" I said, but she had already hung up the
phone. It didn't sound like she wanted to come at all. I couldn't force her to
tell me whether or not she was dating Tyler. But now it felt like she was
trying to avoid spending time with me altogether. We'd have to have this
conversation eventually. The longer we waited the more awkward it seemed.

My phone buzzed again and this time it was Jen. "Hey,
Jen!"

"I'm coming out now. Are you already here? Never mind, I
see Ian. See you in a sec." She hung up the phone.

I looked out the window. She was already running over to the
car. She dropped her bags, threw her arms around Ian, and kissed his cheek as I
stepped out of the car. Ian always looked happiest whenever Jen was in town. It
was pretty clear to me that he had a crush on her. I just didn't know if it was
apparent to Jen. I waited a second before getting out of the car, letting them
enjoy their moment.

Jen squealed and threw her arms around me. "I can't
believe you're marrying my brother in less than a month! We really should have
looked for dresses sooner, you know. The consultants are going to have a
fit."

Ian opened up the door to the car for us and we both climbed
back in.

"I know," I said. "I was just hoping I'd get
to meet your mother before I went dress shopping. I pictured her coming, you
know?"

Jen waived her hand through the air. "She'll come
around. Don't let her ruin this for you. This is going to be so much fun."
She squeezed my hand.

"I know, I am excited. I just have absolutely no idea
what kind of dress to get."

"And that's why I'm here."

We were heading to Kleinfeld's. Jen swore it was the place I
had to get my dress from. Melissa usually gave me all my fashion advice, but
Jen knew elegance better than anyone else. I needed her help making this
decision, because I had no idea what James expected me to wear.

"How's the west coast been treating you?" I asked.
She looked tan and much more content than the last time I had seen her a few
months ago. She had just called it off with her boyfriend and was debating
whether to buy a ticket to escape to the other side of the country. I had my
doubts, but it looked like it was working for her.

"Amazing. I've been working on a new book, and there is
literally nothing better than writing when you have a view of the ocean."

"That does sound amazing. I miss the beach. I used to go
every summer with my family."

"Tell James to take you. God knows he needs a
vacation." She shifted in her seat. "How is he by the way? Is he getting
nervous?"

"For the wedding? I don't think so. We're both just
really excited. Why? Did he say something to you?"

She laughed. "No, no, don't worry. I just know how much
he worries about everything. This thing with my parents has been just as
upsetting for him."

"I know. I think I'm finally at peace with it, though. I
can't force them to meet me. So I'm just going to try and not think about
it."

"They're being so ridiculous. I bet they're going to
love you when they meet you too. Maybe I can do some nagging of my own while
I'm in town."

"It's fine. Please don't on my account. I'm not sure
James even wants them to come to our wedding at this point. So I'm done
dwelling on it. Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are going to throw us a late
engagement party thing at their house on Friday." James and I had called
them this morning to set up the date.

"Really?"

"Yeah. So I'm just focusing on being excited about that.
I hope you'll stay for it."

"I wouldn't miss it."

***

I sat down on a velvety couch and looked up at the chandelier
above my head. Everything about this place screamed elegance. It was going to
be ridiculously expensive. I don't think I was ever going to get used to
spending exorbitant amounts of money like James liked to do. Our wedding alone
was going to cost more than my tuition at NYCU.

"When's the maid of honor getting here?" Bee asked
with a smile as she sat down beside me.

I had picked up my mother and Bee after getting Jen.
"She's running late, but I'm sure she'll be here soon." I hoped Melissa
would be here any minute. I didn't want whatever weirdness was going on between
us to continue. She knew how important it was that she helped me pick out a
dress. I couldn't even think about doing this without her. She was my best
friend.

A young woman in a black dress walked up to us. "Hi, I'm
Anna, and I'll be your bridal consultant today. Which one of you is the
bride?"

I raised my hand awkwardly. I was still used to being in a
classroom. "That would be me," I said and immediately dropped my
hand. "I'm Penny," I said as I stood up and shook her hand.

"And who is with you today?"

"This is my mom and my two bridesmaids, Bee and
Jen."

"Nice to meet all of you," Anna said.

I looked over Anna's shoulder to the door. Where was Melissa?

"Are you ready to get started?" Anna asked.

I pressed my lips together.

"We were waiting for one more person," my mom said.
"But I guess we might as well get started, right Penny? We don't know when
Melissa will get here."

"Yeah." I sat back down on the couch. "Let's
do this."

Anna laughed. "Okay, well, what silhouette were you
going for?"

"I don't really know. What are the different
options?"

"How about we try one of each kind to give you a feel
for what you like? Anna said and gave me a sympathetic smile.

"That sounds great."

"When is your wedding?"

"June 30th."

Anna stared at me for a second. "Wait, you mean
this
June 30th?"

"Yes?" I wasn't sure why I said it as a question.

"That's less than three weeks away!"

"I mean, just one day less than three weeks. So pretty
much three weeks."

She just stared at me, not at all effected by the
particulars. "I'm so sorry, but I don't know if we're going to be able to
help you."

"What? Don't you have anything? Couldn't I buy a sample
dress or something?"
Shit.
I had waited too long to look.

Jen laughed. "You're not buying a sample dress, Penny.
That's ridiculous. Anna, your designers always make exceptions under certain
circumstances, right?"

Anna looked at Jen and then back at me. "Yes, under very
limited circumstances. But what is your budget? Rush orders start at..."

"She doesn't have one," Jen said.

I could feel Anna's eyes on me. I was wearing a simple blue
sundress and sandals. She was probably thinking there was no way I could afford
a rush delivery. She probably didn't even think I could afford to be here to
begin with.

"It's not an issue," Jen said.

Anna turned back to her. "Okay, well there will only be
a few designers that will be willing to work with us. Let me talk to my manager
real quick." She looked slightly embarrassed as she rushed away from us.

"I don't know," I said, turning toward Jen.
"Maybe we should go look somewhere else? I don't want to spend a fortune
on a dress I'm only going to wear once."

"No way, Penny. I'm under strict instructions to make
you get whatever dress you like the best here, regardless of the price. He said
to just put it on the credit card he gave you. It's fine." Jen waived her
hand through the air like it wasn't an issue at all.

I bit my lip. James had given me a credit card when I moved
to New York with him. I had only ever used it a few times to buy fancy dresses
for functions that I attended with him. I didn't even know what the credit
limit on it was. And I certainly didn't want to reach it. "You talked to
James?"

"Yes, I talked to James."

Bee laughed. "I feel for you, Penny, but I'm pretty sure
there's no way James is going to budge on this. Geez, I can just picture this
happening to me too."

"Wait, Bee," I said. "Did Mason propose?"
I could feel the huge smile spread across my face and I hoped I didn't look
like a lunatic.

She immediately blushed. "No. I mean, we've talked about
the future. I think he will at some point, but not yet."

I loved Mason and Bee. They were perfect together. When I had
first met Mason, I wasn't really sure what to think of him. He had this edge
that I couldn't quite explain. Since he was James' friend, I had pushed that
thought aside and become good friends with him too. But when he had started
dating Bee, he seemed different. She balanced him out somehow. It reminded me
that I really needed to talk to her about what she meant about Mason planning
James' bachelor party. Because I was almost positive that he had taken the
wheel for the plans. It would be better if I talked to her about it in private
though. "I know he will, Bee. And when he does, you think he'll make you
buy a dress that is as expensive as a new car?"

Bee laughed. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Well, maybe there aren't any other options," I
said. "I waited too long."

My mom ran her hand up and down my arm.

"I heard about the party that Mason's parents are
throwing you next weekend," Bee said, trying to lighten the mood.
"That's going to be so much fun."

"It's going to be a blast. They're both so sweet. I
really wish you could come though, Mom."

"Your father and I already took off time this week to
come up. And time off for the wedding at the end of month. I'm so sorry that we
have to miss it."

"It's okay, you'll meet them at the wedding."

Anna walked back over with a smile on her face. "Okay,
I'm sorry about that. How about you come back with me and we can get
started?"

I looked over her shoulder once more but Melissa was still
nowhere in sight. "Sounds good." I stood up.

"And if you ladies would like to look around for dresses
you think Penny will like, please feel free."

Jen was up, searching through the racks before I even took a
few steps to follow Anna. I wound my way past some of the dresses and followed
her into a fitting room.

Anna closed the door and gestured for me to sit down. She
jotted something down on the clipboard she was holding. "Do you know what
size you are, Penny?"

I tried to think of the most recent event I went to. "A
two I believe?"

"Okay, you'll probably be a four in wedding dresses
then. Don't ask me why they make the sizes smaller. It seems like the absolute
worst time to do that to someone."

I laughed. "Designers don't want you to feel good on
your wedding day?"

"Apparently not." She smiled at me. "So, I
know you don't know exactly what style you want, but are you opposed to anything
in particular?"

"I really have no idea."

"Like poofy, shiny, lacy..." her voice trailed off
when I didn't have any reaction.

"I'm sorry, we're probably going to be here forever. I'm
just so indecisive."

"It's okay, dear. Let me go grab a few dresses to get us
started. And what is your bra size?"

"32 B."

"Great, I'll be right back."

As soon as she left, I pulled my phone out of my purse and
clicked on Melissa's name. The phone rang a few times and went to voicemail.
"Hey, Melissa, it's me. I know you said you'd be a little late, but I'm
about to start trying on dresses." I paused. Maybe I should just confront
the issue. "I feel like you're upset with me, and I don't really know what
I did," I said, chickening out. "I want to fix whatever it is. But
right now I need you. Please don't make me do this without you." I paused
again. "Hopefully I'll see you soon." I hung up before I could say
anything stupid. I had this urge to go all bridezilla on her and demand she
come because she was my maid of honor. That was probably not the right way to
go. If it really was that she felt uncomfortable telling me about her and
Tyler, that was ridiculous. Tyler and I had been together one night two and a
half years ago. We were over before we even really had a chance to begin. I
didn't see how that could be the issue.

Anna came back in with a few dresses in her arms and hung
them up. "Are you ready to get started?" she said with a huge smile.

"I guess so."

She laughed. "There's nothing to be nervous about. We're
going to find the perfect dress, I promise. Is there one in particular that you
wanted to try first?"

"Let's start with this one," I said and pointed to
the one that was the most simple.

"Good place to start. I'll help you get into it. Do you
want me to step outside while you undress?"

"Oh, no, it's fine." I turned away from her and
pulled off my sundress. She handed me something that almost looked like a
corset.

"Trust me, it does wonders," she said as she got
all the small hooks together on the back.

I looked down at my breasts. She was right. They looked
amazing. I wanted to wear one of these all the time. Minus that fact that it
was super uncomfortable.

"Now, how did you meet your fiancé?" She asked as
she helped me step into the first dress.