288 His Generous Offer
Hunter pulled himself off the wall as he saw Hera taking a step forward. He stared at her cautiously without blinking, alert and guarded as though watching the predator advancing. Hands still nestled inside his pockets, Hunter took a step back as Hera took another step forward.
He kept walking backwards as Hera slowly advanced toward him. She narrowed her eyes in warning, annoyed that he was increasing the distance between them. Hunter tilted his head to the side, arrogance seeping through his stance as if daring her to stop him.
“Hey,” Hera yelled at him, offended by his cold demeanour towards her.
“What do you want?” Hunter asked, sounding too snappy for Hera’s liking.
Hera grinned, lopsided and calculative. She snapped her fingers before pointing at him.
“You,” she answered, straight to the point and winked suggestively at her boyfriend, who seemed unimpressed by the gesture. He clicked his tongue in disinterest and shook his head slowly, disapproving and displeased.
“How rude?” Bianca voiced Hera’s mind, expressing pity, but the latter detected the amusement lacing her tone. When Hera looked at her friends, they all grinned at her, enjoying the drama unfolding before their eyes. Hera sighed, annoyed at everyone. Eric chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.
“You know, Pixie, other than silent treatment, there’s a way better and interesting punishment,” Eric said informatively. Hera glared at him, scowling because he didn’t bother to elaborate on what he actually meant by that.
“Baby girl, he meant, kick his ass,” Michael helpfully supplied, sounding too cheerful. Hera bit her lower lip, but her grin was too wide to conceal.
“Yeah, go get him, Hera the Hunter,” Evelyn said, “I’m rooting for you.”
Hera giggled happily, blew them all kisses and jogged to reach Hunter. Her annoying boyfriend turned his back to her and increased his pace. Hera moved in front of him and tried to block his way. Hunter moved to his left, and Hera followed. He moved to his right only to get blocked by her again.
Hunter exhaled in aggravation and walked past her towards the back gate. The watchman didn’t stop Hunter, but he did stop Hera, though.
“I’m with him,” Hera said, pointing at Hunter. “Our president asked me to follow him. We have an important mission,” she offered in her justification. As Hera expected, the watchman let her trail behind Hunter without causing any hassle for her.
‘Huh, stupid man didn’t even ask what mission!’
Hera rolled her eyes and ran after her boyfriend.
Hunter was walking towards their secret meeting spot behind the building. Hera blocked his way again. “Can you stop being a child and talk to me like an adult?” Hera snapped in annoyance. Hunter lifted one of his eyebrows at that. He didn’t say anything, but Hera read it in his eyes. His stare screamed, “Look who’s talking.”
He rolled his eyes and walked past her, careful not to let their shoulders brush in the process. Hera groaned in irritation. “I’ll go and kiss someone if you don’t talk to me,” she said bitingly. Hunter paused only to glare at her. Hera bit back a smile. “Oh, not the time to irk him, Hera,” she scolded herself and scowled in mock disapproval. Giving her an unimpressed look, he resumed his walk.
Hera moved in front of him, but instead of trying to block his way, she kept walking backwards. “Ah, he’s being such a brat. God, why is it so hard to please him?” Hera muttered, eyeing the clouds above her head. Because Hera was walking in front of him, Hunter had to curb his pace to avoid clashing with her.
Suddenly, Hera stumbled upon a stone and lost her balance. Her hands flew reflexively in grabby motion. Hunter was too quick to act and caught her hand in time, successfully preventing her fall. He yanked her back, and Hera gladly collided with his chest.
“Careful,” he scolded, scowling at her.
“My hero, you never let me fall,” Hera said exaggeratingly and fluttered her lashes while a fond smile graced her lips. Ignoring her cheesy attempts at luring him, Hunter lifted her into his arms and carried her. Hera wrapped her hands around his neck and tried to kiss him on the mouth, but sadly, Hunter pulled his face away from her.
“You said we should talk like adults,” Hunter reminded her, disapproval dripping from his tone. Hera sighed in disappointment and rested her head on his chest while he carried her to their destination. Upon reaching the place, Hunter carefully deposited her on the makeshift stone bench. Standing in front of her, he crossed his arms and gestured for her to speak. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“I’m listening,” Hunter said, sounding too impatient when Hera didn’t speak immediately.
Hera smiled at him in return.
Hunter looked away, annoyed at himself because it was too hard for him to resist the temptation.
‘How am I supposed to hold back and pretend angry when she looks so cute and sweet?’
Hera snapped her fingers to get attention. She pointed to the empty place beside her and made a poking gesture, demanding him to sit beside her. Hunter obliged without any protest. Hera instantly moved and settled on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hunter hardly had time to object when she kissed him full on the mouth. He didn’t kiss her back, though, much to her dismay. He instead groaned in annoyance.
“Is this what you meant when you said we talk like adults?” Hunter scolded, removing her hands from his neck. Hera’s lower lip protruded in a sulky pout.
She moved swiftly, trying to steal a kiss, but Hunter was faster. He placed his hand right below the hollow of her throat, palm flat against her chest and held her in place, not allowing her to come any closer than she already was. Hera swatted his hand away in anger and glared at him.
“Just so you know, dumb ass, it’s called kiss and make-up. I was trying to resolve our dispute,” Hera reasoned defensively. Hunter snorted in ridicule. “Sure, you are,” he muttered sarcastically. “When you get angry, I’m not even allowed to stay in your proximity, let alone kiss you,” Hunter pointed out sharply. Hera furrowed her brows, frowning at what he said.
“Liar, we always kiss after our fight,” Hera argued.
Hunter scoffed in disagreement and shook his head.
“No, we don’t,” Hunter said bitingly. “Only you get to kiss me even though we’re fighting and I’m angry. I can’t kiss you when you’re angry, but you can kiss me whenever you want and make up? How is that even fair? Why do the rules fly out of the window when it’s your turn to say sorry?” Hunter shot question after question while Hera’s mouth fell open, and she silently gaped at him.
“You’re not allowed to kiss me until I say otherwise,” Hunter declared, much to Hera’s displeasure.
Hera let her shoulders fall as she exhaled through her mouth. She sighed again before leaving his lap to sit beside him, a bit too dramatic for Hunter’s taste. He knew she was putting on a show to make him give up and let her kiss him. Hera pouted, blinking at him cutely, pulling a perfect puppy face. However, Hunter wasn’t buying it.
Pretending to be unbothered by her cuteness, Hunter rolled his eyes, adding more to her already irked mood.
“Alright, Lucifer, let’s do the talking,” Hera snapped, gritting her teeth in anger. Hunter bit his lip to hide his smile.
It was quiet for the next few minutes, except for the rustling of the leaves hanging above their heads on the wide tree as the evening wind turned a bit harsh. Hunter let Hera take her time while she gathered her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, I misjudged everyone,” Hera started with her apology. “I’m sorry I took Noel’s side. Evie told me what happened,” Hera said, casting her eyes down in shame. “Bianca and I talked and resolved all our feuds,” she spoke without looking at Hunter, her gaze fixed on the grass beneath her feet.
Hera paused to take a deep breath and looked up when suddenly Hunter scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He knew she was struggling inside while the guilt and shame swallowed her soul. Hera hugged him tightly, hiding her face in his chest when he pulled her into his arms.
“It’s okay, Goddess, it wasn’t your fault,” Hunter stated without an ounce of doubt or hesitation and kissed the crown of her head.
“I’m so ashamed to admit that I believed Nathan was innocent and blamed everything on Bianca without knowing the truth,” Hera admitted. She tried so hard to keep her tears at bay. She didn’t want to cry anymore. Hunter tightened his arms around her middle and pulled her back onto his lap.
“If it makes you feel better, you can kiss me now,” he offered as though he felt her distress. Hera knew he did. A breathy laugh escaped her lips at his generous offer. “Bianca had to go through that hell because of Nathan, and unintentionally I contributed to her misery,” Hera said and lifted her head off his chest to look at him. Her teary eyes conveyed how much she regretted everything.
Hunter cupped her cheeks and softly kissed her eyelids, one after the other. The tears rolled down her cheeks as soon as she closed her eyes. He wiped them with his thumbs and kissed her cheeks too.
“Can I cash on that generous offer now?” Hera asked, staring into his purple eyes.