Chapter 2: You Stopped

'What are you thinking? Get your head together.'

'You know exactly what you are thinking of right now. And exactly as his name is, he is the Hunter. And you are the prey. At every party.'

'The fact that you subject yourself to this kind of torture is ridiculous. But it hadn't always been that way. Just the past three parties since Christmas last year. Hunter had started to look at Stacey. In an almost chilling way.'

'What? Did he just snap, someday? Waking up one morning and deciding he would suddenly develop a disdain for my existence? Has he lost it?' Stacey was suddenly happy they worked on different floors, since the parties were not often. He hadn't really noticed a pattern before. But there was definitely something going on.

There was definitely a pattern.

Stacey moved his legs and adjusted himself quickly so that when he crossed his legs he wouldn't pinch himself.

He paused, feeling those eyes again. He looked back and sure enough, Hunter was staring. He turned away to look towards the bar where Ēn Chén had gone to get more drinks.

But he could tell those eyes were still on him. He looked back at Hunter.

Who seemed no longer content to merely observe through the periphery of his vision, Hunter turned his gaze squarely on Stacey once more. There was an intensity in his stare, a magnetic pull that seemed to draw Stacey in despite his efforts to maintain composure.

Stacey found himself caught off guard by the sudden focus of Hunter's gaze. It was as if Hunter could see right through him, stripping away the layers of pretense Stacey liked to wear like a shroud. His smirk, that half-hooded, cocky gaze, held a hint of challenge, a silent invitation to meet his gaze head-on.

Unable to look away, Stacey felt a flush of heat rise to his cheeks as Hunter's gaze lingered, weighing him with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine. It was as if he had been undressed, exposed to the raw scrutiny of Hunter's penetrating stare. Every nerve in his body seemed to hum with awareness, electrified by the charged atmosphere between them.

Hunter's smirk deepened, a knowing glint in his eyes that seemed to say he was well aware of the effect he had on Stacey. It was a subtle power play, a silent assertion of dominance that sent a thrill of excitement coursing through Stacey's veins.

Stacey's eyes flicked down. He couldn't help it.

Hunter's long, thick arms were riddled with muscles that bulged and flexed when he reached out to the side, and Stacey watched every one of them with a growing passion he couldn't justify. It was almost like Hunter knew it, and without breaking eye contact, he reached out and pulled someone to him.

Stacey didn't even get a chance to breathe, and neither did the poor person before Hunter's lips had fallen onto their own wet ones. Stacey watched as Hunter dug into them fiercely, as hungry and demanding as his name depicted.

'Why are you looking at me when you are kissing them?' Stacey wondered, staring in morbid fascination as Hunter's lips pressed against someone else's.

'They look plump, strong. Why do I feel like they would be relentless in their pursuit?' Stacey shivered.

Stacey turned away, breaking their game of chicken.

His stomach jumped forward, and his thighs tightened as the normal feeling of excitement buzzed through his entire body.

'What is wrong with me? Why did watching him make out with someone in front of me clearly just turn me on?' Stacey stopped and thought about that for a minute. Before ruffling his hair and shaking his head with a sigh.

'Seriously, what is wrong with me?' He thought.

"You stopped." Hunter's heavy, warm baritone spoke into the noise. Stacey's ears twitched in response, like a happy puppy waiting for the sound of its owner and losing its cool the moment they picked up even the tiniest trace of them.

"Excuse me?" Stacey asked, looking up, only to be staring into Hunter's face from mere inches away.

"You stopped watching."

Stacey blinked up at Hunter, confused. Hunter leaned forward, his suit jacket dangling around Stacey like a big hug.

"Uhm, yeah, that's what all normal people would do when they observe something intimate. They look away."

"Don't"

"What?" Stacey asked, confused, but feeling uncomfortable at how much of a presence Hunter exuded just by being close to him.

"Don't look away."

Stacey fingered the button on his shirt nervously and gulped, trying to clear the thickness in his throat.

"I…"

"You… shouldn't ever look away from me."

Hunter smirked auspiciously and then reached out for Stacey. Stacey told himself to flinch. To pull back away from the predator that had its jaws wide open, ready to devour him. Maybe he had no hope because seemingly he walked forward into the dark cavernous opening that was his doom. Instead of running, was putting up drapes and settling in for the long haul.

"Why not?" Stacey managed to stammer out.

I am a strong believer in paying close attention to your future." Hunter growled.

"My future?" Stacey asked, confused.

"Sorry, I am not asking this to be offensive. But are you on drugs?" Stacey asked him.

Hunter scoffed and then stood back up. His eyes twinkled, but his smile didn't change.

"No." He said strongly. "I believe in the truth. telling the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." He straightened his suit, then buckled the jacket back up before sliding a hand into his pocket.

"So help me, god?" Stacey stated.

Hunter looked at him and let out a low chuckle that bubbled across Stacey's skin. He shivered to try to get rid of the feeling of enjoyment he got from it, but it failed to work and only spread the delectable goosebumps instead.

Stacey licked his lips, watching Hunter as his strong fingers tugged on the bottom of the suit jacket to straighten it out.

'People do keep an eye on the future. For sure, but why is he reminding me of that like some weird fortune teller?'

"You are interesting," Hunter stated.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Stacey asked.

"I am talking to you, that's a compliment enough." He responded.

Stacey stared at him, unimpressed. "That is a poor attempt at flattery."

"I don't have to flatter people," Hunter said.

"Sure tell yourself that, then what were you doing over there when you were schmoozing up a bunch of drunk people," Stacey asked.

Hunter turned. "Hunting."

Stacey scoffed at Hunter, echoing his and Ēn Chén's previous conversation.

"Remember, don't look away." He said before turning his head back to look at him. His eyes running up Stacey's body. He raised his hands and placed his thumb on his own lip, playing with it, before chuckling and walking away.

Stacey sat there for a moment before he realized what the words and the gesture had meant.

"Ugh!"

"Hunter! You're such an asshole!" Stacey yelled after him.

Hunter was already too far away and the loud music and dancing lights all but made him disappear from Stacey's sight before he should have.

'Honestly, where does he get off? Saying crap like that.' Stacey thought, annoyed.

'He is so abrasive. That's why he goes through girls and guys like a shirt. How would anyone in their right mind kiss someone else and expect someone to watch? Expect them to think about it after. To think about a playboy doing stuff like that.'

"Gross… I doubt anyone can love someone who is so full of themselves."

But Stacey really had to shake off that unsettling warmth that crawled across his body in protest.