Ties That Bind . Amy Blankenship

been good to me and Ray… even when she had no reason to be. I hate what happened to her,” Hunter sighed knowing that was a lie. If Isabel Hart hadn’t had her heart attack… then Angel wouldn’t be here right now. He cringed inwardly knowing what he had done.

      The Shaman from his tribe had taught him all about herbs and what they did to the body as far as healing or harming. He had taken that knowledge and mixed the right concoction to cause Isabel’s mild heart attack. It had been the only thing he could think of that would make Angel come back.

      “I don’t deserve any praise for finding her,” Hunter admitted with a guilty conscience.

      Angel smiled softly knowing Hunter didn’t have a conceited bone in his body. Wanting him to know just how much she appreciated what he had done, she rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a soft fleeting kiss on the lips.

      As she drew back from him, their eyes met and held. Angel inhaled sharply feeling the little lightning bolts streak down her stomach and up her thighs. This wasn’t the first time he had caused this reaction inside her… but it was the first time she wasn’t supposed to feel this for him. She had a boyfriend now… crushing on Hunter was taboo.

      Angel swallowed as she took a step back. “Thank you for saving my grandmother. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost her.”

      Hunter narrowed his eyes knowing she was denying what they had both just felt. Maybe not denying it… but definitely ignoring it. He had no intention of letting her get away with it… as a matter of fact; he intended to remind her that he was not that easily forgotten.

      Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and started for the front doors. “Come on, let’s get you settled in.”

      Ashton gripped the windowsill so tight he heard the wood make a popping sound. Angel had never given him a reason to be jealous before, but he didn’t like the way she looked at Hunter… the way she had kissed him. He didn’t like it one bit. He hadn’t let her come home only to watch her throw herself at other guys.

      Angel stepped into the elevator shaking off the last of the electricity that kissing Hunter had caused. “So, where will I be sleeping?” she smiled knowing it was a game they used to play.

      The four of them, Tristian, Ray, Hunter and herself, would sneak the register away from the desk and switch people’s rooms around just to cause mass confusion. They used to get in so much trouble for it that it was kind of amusing because now, Hunter was in charge of the very thing that used to get them yelled at.

      Hunter shrugged, “I figured that you would want to be next to your brother.” He reached out and pushed the button for the fourth floor. “So I put you in your old room.”

      “Glad to hear I still get a big room,” she smirked knowing the ones on the top floor where huge compared to the ones downstairs. Plus, it would be nice to feel completely at home again. “Thanks.”

      “I always did think you two were a bit spoiled,” Hunter teased. “That’s why I decided to move in too.” He fished the key out of his pocket. He had taken the room right next to hers when he had moved in last month. It had let him feel closer to her even though she was so far away.

      “When did you finally move into Sanctuary?” Angel asked. He and Ray had always driven back and forth every day so they could stay with their mother at night… even before Ray had gotten his license. He and Ray loved their mother dearly and made sure she was always taken care of.

      When the doors opened, Hunter put his hand on the edge of the elevator door to keep it open for her. “I’m sorry Angel… I told Tristian not to tell you. I didn’t want you to worry about us.” His eyes darkened knowing she would have every right to be mad at him if she wanted to be.

      “So tell me now.” Angel had a bad feeling. Hunter had never kept secrets from her and she wondered if being gone all this time had caused it. “What don’t I know?”

      “Our mother died last month when the house accidentally caught fire,” he swallowed still not wanting to talk about it. “The fire department said it looked like she had been cooking and must have fallen asleep.”

      Angel's lips parted when his dark eyes became luminous with unshed tears. “Oh my god Hunter… I’m so sorry. I wish you had told me… I would have come back sooner.”

      “I didn’t want you to… see me like that,” he confessed as she wrapped her arms around him for the third time in the last half hour.

      Letting go of the door, he let it slide shut as he reached out and touched the stop button. Placing his palms against her back, Hunter couldn’t stop himself as he pulled her flush against him, letting the smell of her hair soothe the ache inside him. This ache had nothing to do with his mother.

      Angel hadn’t meant to do anything other than comfort him, but as soon as their bodies touched, she found herself pressed back against the wall of the elevator and one of his legs pushed between her thighs making them both go up in flames again.

      “Oh God, Angel,” Hunter murmured against the soft skin at her neck as he felt the heat of her center all the way through the cloth that covered his leg. Grinding his thigh up against her, he lifted his head and caught her lips in a frustrated kiss. His hands traveled down her arms to capture her hands. Sliding his fingers through hers, he pressed them to the wall knowing her well enough to remember a little domination was a turn on for her. If almost counted as sex… then they had been lovers for a long time.

      At first, Angel kissed him back, losing herself in the sensations he was causing, but then an image of Ashton flashed in her mind and she turned her head, breaking the kiss. She moaned softly when he breathed hotly down her neck. Pulling her hands from his, she placed them on his chest and pushed.

      “Hunter?” Angel kept her eyes on the floor, suddenly afraid of what she would see if she looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I…”

      “Shhh,” he gently placed his finger under her chin and lifted it so she would look up at him. He already knew why she was stopping. Ashton Fox had already lost… though she didn’t know that yet. His eyes darkened attractively as he listened to her near ragged breathing from only a simple kiss.

      “Don’t be sorry… you should never be sorry for loving me. At least I know you forgive me for not telling you about our mother.” Hunter let go of her, forcing himself to step back and press the button so the elevator doors would open for her.

      Knowing he would talk about his mother when he was ready, Angel turned and fled the elevator, no longer trusting herself to be alone with him. Once she was sure he was gone, she slowed her steps.

      Poor Hunter… and Ray. They had always been so gentle with their mother and she had loved them dearly in return. Angel remembered often wishing she and her own mother had that kind of relationship. But her mother was a stranger to her… always had been.

      When the elevator doors closed behind her, Hunter placed his hands against the same wall he had just held her against… pushing at it in frustration. If counting to ten only worked. Closing his eyes he did it anyway, forcing his breathing to return to something resembling normal. When he straightened and opened his eyes, he was perfectly calm once again.

      Flipping his cell phone open, he dialed Tristian’s number to tell him his sister was settled. Hunter frowned seeing there was no signal on the cell phone.

      Angel walked into her room and smiled seeing they had left everything like it had been before she’d moved. She threw herself backwards onto the mattress with a happy sigh as she closed her eyes. As soon as she did, what she and Hunter had just done in the elevator came back to haunt her and make her body burn.

      She had been gone so long that she’d figured he wouldn’t want her like that anymore. Tristian had started dating someone… why hadn’t Hunter?

      When she’d started dating Ashton… she had tried to block out the memories of Hunter and Tristian. But now that she was back, it felt like her heart was already being pulled apart again. She’d been in love with both of