Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt: Hunter x OC

Explanation

"I probably should have led with this, but I'm Luci."

"Yeah..." Hunter said, brow furrowing at Luciana's strange behavior as he scrutinized her closely. What game was she playing now?

She ambled to her feet, her outfit from the night before hopelessly wrinkled as she tried to smooth it around her curves. The tight black dress and cropped leather jacket looked wildly out of place against the neutral colors and dainty floral patterns of Lyra's cottage. Hunter stood quickly, hand still hovering near the holster that was deliciously strapped around his muscular thigh that sloped so gracefully away from his snatched waist. Luci didn't notice, instead walked over to the windows above the kitchen sink, leaning on the counters to inspect the lush garden outside.

"This is gorgeous," she murmured softly, rubbing her eyes again as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "This your place?"

"What are you doing?" he finally asked, eyes hard with suspicion. He didn't want to offer more information that was needed, but this was an entirely unexpected response. She wrinkled her face in confusion, still smiling coquettishly.

"What, is this an awkward kind of thing?"

A presence in the hallway caught Hunter's attention, and he cast a quick glance behind to see Lyra standing still, tense with apprehension as she clutched her fluffy robe around herself, unable to tear her eyes from Luciana.

"Ohhh," she said, noticing Lyra as well before looking back at Hunter with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Looks like it really was a good night." She laughed and shrugged, glancing between the two of them with a delighted confidence that was starting to make him angry.

"What's going on?" Lyra whispered to Hunter, taking a few steps to stand closely behind his shoulder.

"No idea," he said quietly, still watching the redhead.

"Ah, the shameful morning reckoning," Luciana guessed, smiling at both. "Well, unless you all want to have breakfast together, I'm gonna bounce. For what it's worth, y'all probably needed to spice things up a little and I wouldn't overthink it. No regrets, you know?"

"What..." Lyra was dumbfounded, but Hunter's rapt attention didn't waver. He couldn't sense any signs of deceit in Luciana – her pulse was steady, hormones free of adrenaline and catecholamines, movements calm and intentional, eyes leisurely focused. There was an ease about her, as though she'd done this before, and flickers of sheepish satisfaction were the only other discernible sensations. The strange blue light came to mind, and a significant sense of peace and reassurance settled on him. He wondered... No, that was ridiculous.

"Well, I'm not seeing any freshly baked goods or anyone cracking eggs over a pan, so I'll leave you guys to your breakfast." Luciana glanced around the room, scanning for any of her things. "If I left anything here, you can find me at the office. Bentley will be at the front desk so you can leave them with him."

"The office?" Lyra asked, stepping out slightly from behind Hunter.

"Man, you're a shy one now considering what you were probably like last night," Luciana teased, making a kissy face at Lyra. "Anyway, yeah – the Galactic News Network. I guess I didn't share about that. I'm a journalist. I get to write about a lot of crazy stuff... but if I told you, I'd have to kill you!" Both Hunter and Lyra stiffened, filling the room with palpable tension. "Kriff, I'm joking!" she laughed, shaking her head at them fondly. "Okay, I can see you probably have a lot to talk about considering the rancid vibes in here. Thanks for the fun and have a lovely day!"

She ventured toward the hallway with curious eyes, finding her way to the door and turning to wiggle her fingers at them in a playful wave before slipping out.