The Secrets We Keep

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hunter secured the cellar, his movements activating the sensor lighting which had been installed over recent weeks. There was also the addition of steel gates at the entrance of the property, activated by remote control, open during the day but secured once the last of the staff left in the late afternoon. The late autumn days were becoming shorter now and in just a few short weeks, it would be dark by five o’clock. By the time he was in the house, Izzy was busy in the kitchen, humming to herself while she cooked dinner. She looked up and smiled at him,

“Hey, Dad!”

“Hi there, sweet pea, something smells good.”

“Olivia gave me the recipe and I hope you don’t mind but I invited Leo for dinner and Olivia. Is that okay?”

There was an uncertainty about her features that made him want to wrap her up and tell her how much he loved her while forcing himself to admit he didn’t say it enough. At least not to Izzy.

“No problem, kiddo. How was school today?”

“Okay. I’m enjoying it much more now that I have Allegra as a friend. Tabitha went to stay with her aunt in Hamilton and although her two minions are still awful, they’re awful to everyone.”

“You like Allegra?”

“Yeah, she’s nice and kind. She misses her dad though, he lives overseas.”

“That’s tough, isn’t it?”

“I know. I mean I’d miss you if I couldn’t see you every day.”

Warmth filtered through him, “I’d miss you too, Bizzy Izzy because I love you so much.”

“You haven’t called me that in forever.”

“No? Hope you’re not too old for that, don’t want you thinking I’m turning into a daggy dad.”

 Izzy laughed and the sound of it brought a tightness to his chest, how long had it been since Izzy had laughed like that?

“No, it’s all good and I wouldn’t care if you morphed into a daggy dad.”

This time it was his turn to laugh, “Pretty sure you will, I’ll try and keep myself under daggy dad control. Say, do I need to release the gate for Olivia and Leo?” he asked her.

“No, they’re walking and will be here in about ten minutes.”

“Where’s Mason?”

“Tidying his room, it was disgusting.”

“Huh? You asked him to tidy his room?”

“Yep.”

“And he didn’t argue?”

“Well, I didn’t say that, but he’s doing it. Besides, it gives him a chance to work off his annoyance about the weird internet guy.

That piqued Hunter’s interest,

“Weird internet guy?”

Izzy had her back to him, pulling a tray from the oven, “You’ll have to ask him for the details, to be honest it sounds a lot like someone I was talking to online.”

“Your friend?”

“Not anymore. She was nuts,” Izzy turned to face him, “Can you check and see whether Leo is here because I need to dish up.”

Hunter left the kitchen, his head buzzing as he stepped out onto the deck. Olivia and Leo were coming up the stone steps at the bottom of the garden, the solar lights illuminating them. At the sight of Olivia his heart slammed into his ribs. He walked out to meet them,

“Dad!”

“Leo, how was your day?”

“So, so. Apart from some moron on our chat, Mum can tell you about it.”

With that he darted up the remainder of the stairs and into the house, leaving Hunter alone with Olivia. He grabbed her hand and moved into the shadows,

“What are you doing Hunter Lewis?”

“This,” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, his lips brushing hers then resting his forehead on hers, “I missed you,” he murmured.

“I missed you too. Are you sure we can’t be seen?”

“Positive. Does that mean I can do it again?”

“I think it does.”

“You only think it does?”

She laughed and he claimed her mouth.

“Dad!” Izzy called, “Dinner is ready!”

“Where is she?” Olivia whispered.

“Right above us on the deck. Come on, before we get into trouble for being late.”

Izzy had pressed Mason and Leo into setting the table while she was dishing up. When Olivia entered the kitchen, she gave Izzy the sweetest smile,

“Mm Izzy, that smells fantastic!” she praised, and Hunter couldn’t fail to notice the effect it had on Izzy.

“It’s the recipe you gave me, well one of them.”

Hunter watched Mason and Leo sorting out cutlery and he saw Mason giving Olivia a coy smile which he didn’t know what to make of.

“Not sure if you know, Hunter but Mason has been nominated to take part in the Auckland high schools science project, Leo too.”

“When did this happen?” he asked once he’d picked his jaw off the floor.

“Today,” Mason supplied, “I was kind of surprised with the nomination to be honest.”

“Table!” Izzy insisted.

Hunter pulled out a chair to sit, “What did you have to do to be nominated?”

“Write up a proposal, like you would for a tender except it had to be science based.” Mason said, “I’m working on environmental science.”

“And Leo?”

“Mine is climate.”

Hunter shook his head, looking at Olivia, “I never realised Mason was interested in science, I feel embarrassed to be honest.”

“Relax, Dad!” Mason laughed, “It’s no big deal.”

“Yeah, it is, Mason. Congratulations, to both of you. And to you Izzy, for making such a fabulous meal.”

“Dad, you haven’t tried it yet,” she replied.

“Don’t need to, just look at your brothers, that’s how I know it’s fabulous.”

Olivia laughed and once again he was having to recite the fermentation process of grapes to stop his thoughts moving into X-rated.

“Actually Dad, Leo and I are having some trouble with a crazy guy who keeps crashing our online chat.”

Hunter’s gaze zeroed in on Olivia, noticing a small frown creasing her brow,

“You never mentioned anything to me,” she said looking at Leo.

“I just thought he was a nut job, but he did ask some weird questions, that’s for sure.”

An icy shiver worked its way down Hunter’s spine,

“What kind of weird questions?”

“About mum, about you, he wanted to if know you were together, I lied and said you were because he was getting creepy and I figured if he knew my parents were together, he might just bugger off.”

“Did he?” This from Olivia.

“I blocked him.”  Leo returned to eating his dinner and Hunter had to admire his laid-back attitude.

“I blocked him as well, Lucas and Jack did the same,” Mason buried his fork in the mashed potatoes, “Pretty hard to take a guy seriously when he calls himself Moon Boy.”

Leo and Mason laughed, but when Hunter looked at Izzy, her eyes were wide, and he thought he saw fear.

“Iz, are you okay?”

“Sort of,” she set her knife and fork down, “I had a friend on the internet, she called herself Moon Girl, that’s super weird, don’t you think?”

“Moon Girl?” echoed Mason, “Iz, are you still talking to her online?”

“No! She was mean, told me I sucked because I was spending the weekend with a friend and that you were sending me away because he didn’t want me talking to her. How stupid is that?”

“I probably would have been worried if that were the sort of conversation you were having, Izzy. I’m proud of you standing up to her though and for making the decision to terminate the friendship, although I don’t think friendship is correct. More of an acquaintance and now a non-acquaintance.”

“Having Allegra as a friend seems to be working out well for you Izzy,” remarked Olivia.

“It is. Thanks for encouraging us, Allegra is kind of lonely too. She hated her old school, all those girls sounded like a bunch of snobs.”

“Have you blocked that girl?” Olivia asked and Izzy nodded.

“You guys need to let us know when crap like that happens, okay?” Hunter insisted, “There are too many trolls and other weirdos out there online, the internet is great for gathering information and marketing, even keeping in touch with friends,” he looked at Izzy, “Real friends and you need to be careful.”

“I tried to get Moon Boy’s IP address,” Mason said, “But it’s hidden so he’s probably using a VPN, which means he’s probably dodgy as all get out.”

“What’s a VPN?” Izzy asked.

“People use it to mask their private details online, like in chat rooms, that sort of thing,” Leo replied, “Do you want to check whether Moon Girl has one?”

“Sure, why not. How do I do that?”

“After dinner we can check your hard drive,” suggested Leo.

“You know how to do that?” Olivia asked.

“Yep.  Can I have some more, you did a good job with this meal, Iz. I like having you as a sister because when I’m older I know I can drop in for a visit and you’ll take pity on your bachelor brother and feed me delicious food!”

“Leo!” Olivia exclaimed, “That is an extremely sexist comment, you can’t assume someone will feed you just because you’re a bachelor. How about if Izzy drops by your house and feels like having a meal because her lazy husband doesn’t cook?”

“Pizza delivery. And Izzy isn’t someone Mum, she’s my sister.”

Hunter searched Olivia’s face and saw the recognition that they needed to deal with Izzy’s paternity because it the secret was becoming more and more difficult to conceal. If she hated him for it, he’d no doubt have to consult Tom for advice.

“Hunter?” he looked up to find Olivia watching him with concern.

“Just thinking, got a bit deep with it.”

“Can we stay here tonight, Mum?” Leo asked and Hunter laughed.

“Bit rough putting your mother in a tight spot, Leo. She might need prior notice about something like that, because you know, pyjamas, toothbrush, clean underwear, that sort of thing.”

“Sorry,” Leo muttered, “I guess you’re right.”

“Having said that, I wouldn’t be averse to a bit of adult company and it is Friday. Liv?”

She gave him a long hard stare, “I don’t know, I’d have to go and collect all of the things you mentioned.”

“I’ll come with you,” he said smoothly, “Is that a yes, then?”

“Oh, alright then, yes!”

Olivia entered her house with Hunter close behind her, kicking the door closed and pushing her against the wall, his breath fanning her face, pressing his body against hers.

“Do you think they’d coming looking for us if it took a while to get back?” he murmured. He was rock hard, and she let her hand slide between them to caress the bulge in his jeans.

“Liv!” he growled, arching his neck.

Deftly, she slipped out of his embrace and pushed him against the wall, pulled his shirt up, while taking the opportunity to release the buckle on his belt and lower his zipper.

“This is for you, Hunter Lewis.” She dropped to her knees, easing his jeans over his hips”, and taking his underwear with them. His c**k sprang to life, grateful to be free from the confines of his clothing.

“No! Not that, what about you?”

“There are two teenage boys in your house, so I can’t let you go home like this, Mr b***r. Now, let me do my work, please.”

A small pearl formed at the tip of his c**k and she flicked it off with her tongue before drawing him into her mouth, letting her fingernails scrape the underside of his swollen shaft.

“Jesus, Liv! I’m afraid to ask where you learned how to do this.”

“Some guy I knew a long time ago.”  She replied then flattened her tongue under the sensitive tip, letting her tongue glide over his c**k with rasping strokes that made him groan her name. Watching his reaction was a huge turn on, taking delight in mixing up her loving attention to him, licking and sucking his c**k then taking his loaded balls into her mouth. His fingers knotted in her hair and she knew he was close. His head lay against the wall, the veins in his neck standing out and triumph surged through her.

“Liv!” he groaned, “I’m going to come!”

She took him deeper, sucking him hard and cradling his balls until he came with a shuddering cry, volley after volley of his life force filling her mouth. She waited until she felt him relax before getting to her feet.

“Olivia Wainwright, you are without out doubt the sexiest, hottest woman on the planet.”

“Well, thank you. I’ll brush my teeth; grab a few things and you can put Hunter junior away.”

He laughed, “I owe you one, lady. Big time. Are you sure I can’t work some magic for you with my fingers, are you close?”

“Watching you, making you come in my mouth was a huge turn on, I won’t lie about that. Let my brush my teeth and gather some things and we’ll see if I’m still on the boil.”

She showed him to Leo’s room to get his laptop and a change of clothes while she brushed her teeth and collected what she thought she would need. He entered her room and backed her against her bed, his hand making its way under her dress, creeping up her thigh.

“Am I going to find you nice and wet?”

“Check it out for yourself.”

And he did, his fingers slid into her, making her gasp,

“Oh yeah! Firing on all cylinders, you like this?” His thumb grazed her c**t, and instinctively she arched her hips, urging his fingers deeper, a low throaty sound of pleasure came from her, taking her by surprise. When had she ever made a noise like that? Bucking against his hand, she urged him for more until his mouth claimed hers in a long, hot, and hard kiss, silencing the scream of pure pleasure that erupted from her, her whole body on fire with pleasure. Her orgasm hit at full force; her last sensible thought was how would she ever walk after this.

“Was about to send a search party,” Mason said, giving them both a look that had Olivia feeling as though she’d been sprung by her father, kissing a boy. Hunter, however, was up to the task of deflection and excuses.

“Sorry guys, had some trouble with the alarm and the sensor lights.” It wasn’t complete fabrication because Hunter had noticed there was an issue with one of the sensor lights.

“Oh yeah,” Leo piped up, “I forgot to say that one of them was out of sync the other night.”

“Is it fixed now?” Mason asked, “We could give you a hand, Dad.”

“Tomorrow will do,” Hunter replied, “It’s working now, but maybe we can look at the control tomorrow when we have daylight.”

“Sure. Are you coming to our game tomorrow?” Mason wanted to know.

“Of course, I’ll be there.”

“I was meaning will you and Olivia be there? Together, you know like a family sort of thing.”

Olivia hadn’t seen that coming. Mason the student was quite different to Mason the young man. At school he was polite, but according to his teachers, a lot of fun. Out of school, she sensed he wanted more from her but didn’t know how to get that which was something she needed to work on but without being too forced or overt at gaining his confidence.

“I think that’s a great idea, Mason. I’ve only been to one game so far and I don’t think you played that week because of that head knock.”

He nodded, giving her a shy smile. That was when it hit her, this is a boy who hasn’t known a mother’s softness, she realised. His grandmother had done a fantastic job with both Mason and Izzy, but it wasn’t a mother’s touch, a mother’s perspective and she wondered who Mason went to if he had an issue his father couldn’t handle.

“Leo, we have your things and Mason can show you your room or you can bunk in with him although he does snore quite loudly so you might want to give that some thought,” Hunter winked at Leo.

“Gee, thanks Dad. For the record, I don’t snore. I’m too young for that, it’s more of an old man thing.”

Mason and Leo walked off laughing together and Hunter turned to her,

“Is he calling me old?”

“I’d be more concerned about the snoring than being old.”

“Witch,” he growled.

“You’re welcome.”

Izzy bounced into the room, her laptop under her arm,

“Oh yay, You’re back! Guess what? Moon Girl has one of those VPN things too. Do you think they’re the same person or just a couple of weirdos?”

“One person, super weird,” her father supplied, “Now we need to get a room sorted for Olivia.”

“I was thinking she might prefer the peace and quiet of being in the part of the house Gran and Pop lived in. No boys there and it’s just the same as this part of the house, I guess it’s two houses in one.”

“That’s lovely Izzy, but I can sleep on the sofa, you don’t need to go to any bother.”

“No bother at all,” Hunter said, a wicked grin on his face, his thoughts completely obvious, “As Izzy said, it’s quiet so no snoring and you won’t have to queue for the bathroom and best of all the beds are made up.”

“All right, I’m sold on it.” Yes, she was because that small pulse beating between her legs was becoming an all-out drumbeat.

“I’ll take your things down and show you around,” Hunter picked up her bag and Izzy grinned happily at them, Olivia’s heart turning a somersault.  She followed him as he walked along the corridor, past the beautifully appointed kitchen, two smaller bedrooms and then at the end a large master bedroom where he flicked on the bedside lamp. He picked her up and dropped her on the bed, settling himself over her, feeling the unmistakable ridge of his c**k,

“Hunter, I thought we’d attended to that,” she admonished playfully.

“Looks like he needs a bit more attention. I’ll tidy the kitchen, invite Izzy to watch a movie with us in the living room and then you can attend to me.”

“Sounds good, although I’m concerned you might not last through an entire movie.”

“Don’t worry, Izzy probably won’t accept my invitation but if she does, the anticipation is always worthwhile.” His mouth swooped in to steal a kiss and then he was gone.