Chapter 6 – Developing an Interest

  The following weeks were trying at best. Stephanie was insulting and taunting Hunter every chance she got. Hunter lost his number one contender spot for WrestleMania to Kurt, and then regained it in another match against Kurt. To add further insult to injury, Stephanie aligned herself with Chris Jericho. Hunter commented that it would be only natural that she would hook up with someone who was just as much of a bitch as she was.

Evie was leaning against the wall in the hallway, talking on her cell phone, when Stephanie walked up. She stood there and stared at Evie, trying to aggravate her. Evie simply ignored her and continued her conversation.

Stephanie waited until Evie was done, then started in on her.  "Planning to ruin another marriage?"

This was old. Ever since Stephanie's marriage to Hunter started failing, she had been accusing Evie of chasing after Hunter, trying to ruin her marriage, sleeping with him; whatever her twisted little mind could concoct.

Stephanie walked closer to Evie. "It was you wasn't it?" She stopped right in front of her. "I bet it was."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Evie asked as she tucked her phone back into her pocket.

Stephanie continued as if she hadn't heard Evie. "Who else would it be? You've been the closest to him lately."

Evie had a confused look on her face. "Stephanie, what the hell are you talking about?"

"That videotape, the one that was 'mysteriously' sent to my mother. It was you," Stephanie spat out.

Evie realized what Stephanie was babbling about; the videotape with the actor on it that had played the doctor for Stephanie in her little scheme.  She shook her head. "You're crazy."

Stephanie started waving her arms.  "You're jealous. You want him for yourself. So you had to find some way to stop the ceremony. You ruined everything for me."

"If anyone knows anything about ruining marriages Stephanie, it's you," Evie shot back.

"You bitch!" Stephanie's hand swung around to slap Evie. But before it could connect, Stephanie found herself facing the cement wall, her arm behind her back.

Evie tightened her grip on Stephanie's wrist and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I would be very careful if I were you Stephanie. You're messing with the wrong person." She pushed the arm up enough to hurt. "I had nothing to do with that tape, so I suggest you go back to whatever, or whomever, you were doing and leave me alone." She let go and stood back.

Stephanie stood there for a few seconds, regaining her dignity. She turned to face Evie as she rubbed her arm. "You tramp! You just made the biggest mistake of your life! Don't you know who I am? I'm a McMahon! No one lays a hand on me and gets away with it! Ever! You'll pay for this!"

Evie smirked. "From what I hear, quite a few people have laid a hand on you, so I wouldn't talk about being a tramp if I were you."

"No one talks to me that way!" Stephanie growled.

Evie stared directly into Stephanie's eyes.  "You so much as roll your eyes at me and I'll do more than twist your arm. I guarantee that."

"We'll see." Stephanie flounced away.

Damn I need a vacation, Evie thought as she headed back to Hunter's dressing room. As she turned a corner, she almost ran into someone. She looked up into the face of Chris Jericho.  "Oh wonderful," she said sarcastically.

Jericho flicked his hair over his shoulder, an arrogant look on his face. "Yes I am aren't I? Wonderful, fantastic, a living legend…

"In your own mind," Evie finished for him as she tried to move around him.

His hand shot out and stopped her. "Running back to Hunter's dressing room?" His tone became suggestive. "Does he need some sort of 'service' performed?"

Evie didn't answer him. She moved his hand out of the way and walked past him.

Jericho turned to watch her. "Oh and sweetheart, when you're done with him, I may need your 'services' too. So why don't you drop by and see me later."

"Why don't you drop dead!" she shot back over her shoulder.

Jericho grinned as she disappeared behind some packing cases. She wants me. He walked off in the other direction.

****************************

Several altercations took place between Hunter and Jericho in the time leading up to WrestleMania. Not only did he have to deal with Jericho, but with Stephanie as well. Their divorce was being filed and they were continuously at each other's throats regarding personal belongings.

Evie had gotten a good chuckle at Stephanie's expense when Hunter had brought her a box of her things, including a particular lotion that she had been demanding. Stephanie had immediately put some on and with in twenty minutes, had an itchy red rash covering the skin on her arms, neck and face. Apparently Hunter had slipped in an extra "ingredient". Evie's side hurt from trying not to laugh as he gleefully described Stephanie's distress at her skin.

On the afternoon of WrestleMania, Evie heard a knock on her door. She glanced at her watch. It was probably Hunter. He said he would be by to pick her up at 5:30. She opened the door.

He stood on the other side, dressed in black slacks with a black leather jacket over a white shirt. "You ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she answered.  She grabbed her bag and coat and stepped out into the hall, letting the door to her room close behind her.

"Wow. You look good," Hunter observed.

Evie was wearing a black satin skirt that fell to the top of her knees, a matching, fitted, sleeveless top with dragons embroidered in gold, and black knee-high boots. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a loose knot, held with two decorative sticks.

"Well you said to look nice, being that it's WrestleMania." She turned around to let him have a full view. "Will I do?" she asked as she slipped on her coat.

"Yeah you will," he said and grinned. "Let's go."

***********************

  Evie was putting away her laptop as Hunter changed into his wrestling gear. She had told him that she was going to watch the match on the monitor out in the common area. She stood up as soon as she was done.

"Hunter!" she yelled so he could hear her in the bathroom. "I'm heading out. Is there anything else you want?"

"Did you get my water?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Nothing else needed then.  All set."

"Good luck!" she shouted as she left the room.

She walked into the common area and took a seat in front of the monitor. As the match progressed, she became more and more engrossed. She cringed every time Jericho worked on Hunter's left leg. When they moved outside the ring, Jericho attempted to put Hunter in the Walls of Jericho on the announcers table, but Hunter managed to turn things around and just as Hunter was about to Pedigree Jericho, Jericho put Hunter through the Spanish announce table. Evie held in a breath as Hunter lay there for a minute before he was thrown back into the ring. Her lower lip started bleeding at one time from biting down on it every time Jericho tried to pin Hunter. When Stephanie tried to get involved to get Jericho disqualified, Evie almost leapt to her feet. A hand on her forearm restrained her. She looked over to see who it was.

Bradshaw glanced at her. "Just calm down," he said softly. "Hunter'll pull out of it."

Evie turned her attention back to the match. Sure enough, he had. Hunter and Jericho went back and forth for a few more minutes, then Stephanie somehow managed to get into the ring with a steel chair, but it was taken away from her by the referee. Hunter was coming up behind her and when Stephanie turned around to face him, became the recipient of a Pedigree from her husband.

A yelp of triumph came from Evie's mouth and she promptly clapped a hand over it while Hunter talked trash to Stephanie. She glanced at Bradshaw. He had an amused expression on his face. She watched as Hunter Pedigreed and pinned Jericho for the win.

As soon as Hunter made his way backstage, he walked to the triage area where a couple of trainers checked his leg. As soon as they determined that there was no real damage besides some bruises, they released him. Evie stood at the door to his dressing room, watching as he walked towards her, a grin of triumph on his face. She opened the door for him and followed him in, the door closing behind her.

He dropped the titles on the couch and turned to her as she came up to him. He reached out to take her face in his hands. "I did it Evie." He leaned in and planted a swift kiss on her lips. "I did it!"

Her hands grasped his wrists in surprise. "Congratulations," she whispered huskily.

His lips came down on hers again, but this time he lingered a bit. She felt a current of electricity travel down her spine at the feel of his mouth on hers.

Breathlessly, she broke the kiss. He looked at her with a confused expression on his face. When he realized what he had done, his hands fell to his sides.  "Oh damn.  Evie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

She waved a hand dismissively as she caught her breath. "It's okay."

"I'm really sorry," he apologized again.  He looked like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Hunter, don't worry about it. It's okay."

He looked closely at her, slightly flustered.  "I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't scare you did I?"

She shook her head. "No. But you surprised me." She smiled at the expression on his face. It was the first time she had seen him like this.

His eyes narrowed. "What are you smiling for?"

"I've never seen you like this. You'd think you'd broken some rule or something."

He grinned. "Well it wouldn't be the first time." His smile slowly disappeared. "I am sorry though."

"If you apologize one more time I'm gonna knock you on your ass," Evie threatened playfully.

He leered at her. "I might like that."

She mock punched him. "Go get changed so we can get outta here."

He winked at her as he went to shower and change. While he was in the shower, he thought about what he had done to Evie. He had kissed her without thinking; no doubt about that. It was the exhilaration of finally beating the crap out of Y2Jerko and shoving it in Stephanie's face.

Now that he thought about it, he kind of liked the kiss. She hadn't protested, and he thought that may have had to do with the fact that she had been caught off guard, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable for him. He started wondering how she would react to some flirting. They had made casual remarks to one another before, but it was mostly harmless and nothing like Hunter was thinking right now.

He smiled as he finished showering. Well you already kissed her, might as well see what happens when you flirt with her.

Evie sat down on the sofa and waited for him. Absentmindedly, she let her fingers trail over the championship belts that were laying there as she thought about what had happened. No doubt he had been excited over his win and just acted without thinking. She wasn't lying when she said he had surprised her. A kiss was the last thing she had expected. Her finger traced her lips as she continued to think about it.

  The sound of his voice startled her out of her reverie. "You okay?"

"What?" She looked up to see him standing there, dressed to leave.

"You okay?" he repeated. "You looked like you were really thinking about something."

She brushed a few strands of hair away from her face as she stood up. "I'm fine. Are you ready to go?"

"Sure. I just wanna get one last look at you in that outfit though," he said as he hoisted his bag up on his shoulder.

"Why?" Evie asked warily.

"Cause it's probably the only time I'll see you this dressed up," Hunter teased.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Knock it off."

A smirk appeared on his face. "Do that little twirl for me again."  Evie shook her head and he chuckled. "C'mon Evie, humor me." He circled his finger in the air. "Turn around."

She sighed in disgust then quickly spun around. "There."

"No, no, no," he protested. "Slower this time."

"I hate you." She turned around again, slower. As she came around and faced him, she flipped him off.

He laughed at the gesture. "Maybe later."

Evie swung her hand up to deliver a playful slap to his shoulder.

He caught it before it hit him. "I said, maybe later."

She raised an eyebrow at the insinuation. So you wanna play games? Well then, two can play this one. "So you like it rough?"

Hunter wore a predatory grin.  "Baby, I prefer it rough, but I like it anyway I get it."

She choked out a laugh as he let go of her. "You haven't been getting it anyway."

Suddenly his attitude changed from playful to annoyed.  "All right, all right. Let's get going." He leaned over to pick up his belts.

"Aww. What's the matter Hunter?" she mocked. "You can dish it, but you can't take it?"

"I haven't got all night, smart ass."

Evie stuck her tongue out at him and picked up her bag.

His eyes gleamed mischievously.  "Are you a child? Am I gonna have to put you over my knee and spank you?"

That remark was completely unexpected. "I... You ... What?" she spluttered.

Now it was his turn to smile. "You know I will."

She recovered quickly. "You'd enjoy that wouldn't you?"

"You're damn right I would." He moved closer to her looking her up and down appreciatively. "And if you don't get your ass outta this room, I will."  And what a nice ass it is, he thought.

"Promises, promises," she joked as she walked out the door.

"You have no idea," he muttered as he followed her out.

They continued the innuendo from the arena to the hotel and from the car to the elevator. He was in unusually high spirits due to his victory over Jericho. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. They headed towards their rooms.

Hunter fished his key out of his pocket as Evie leaned against the doorframe to his room.  "What time do you want to leave tomorrow?" she asked.

"Early," he answered and then cursed as he dropped the keycard on the carpet.

He bent down to pick it up and as he was straightening up, he glanced at Evie's legs encased in those black boots. The fabric outlined the contour of her calf, the top of the boot stopped just below her knee. He never realized how nice her legs were as she almost always wore pants.  He followed the line of her legs up to her knees, over the skirt, over the black top that was wrapped snugly around her ample breasts and followed the curve of her neck up to her face.

She was watching him with a bemused expression. "Seen enough?"

He licked his lips. "Not quite."

"Too bad," she scoffed.

"I never realized you have such nice legs. You always wear pants," he said as he turned the keycard over in his hand

"You've seen me without long pants on before."

"Well yeah, but I never really looked," he confessed.

An evil little thought entered her mind. You wanted to play games, you asked for it. Evie reached down and pulled the hem of her skirt up to mid-thigh. "Well get a good look."

He tilted his head slightly to get a better view. She did have nice legs; very nice. In fact, he could think of no better use for them right now than to have them wrapped around his waist. He vaguely wondered if the rest of her looked as good as her legs.

"Hunter?"

"What?" he asked in a distracted tone.

"Are you finished?"

He still had his head tilted to one side. His eyes met hers and she was startled to see the desire in them. A lazy grin appeared. "If I had my way with you, I wouldn't be finished until morning."

That remark was unexpected. She let her skirt fall back and before she could think of anything to say, he had unlocked his door and walked into his room.

She put her foot out to stop the door from closing completely. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he answered simply. He set his bag on a chair and turned around.

"You're awfully sure of yourself." She folded her arms across her chest, her foot still holding the door open.

"Are you gonna stand there all night or come in?" he asked.

"I think I better go to my own room before something happens," Evie said with a hint of a grin playing across her lips.

He walked over to her. "And what do you think is going to happen?"  He stood as close as he possibly could. 

Evie smiled suggestively.  "You have to ask?"

It took all of his self-control not to pull her into his room, strip her and throw her down on the bed. "Either come in or go to your room. If you don't do either then I'll make good on the spanking."

Her tongue slipped out to wet her lips. "Really?"

"If you haven't made your mind up by the time I count to three, I will."  He could feel the building tension in his own body.

Evie simply laughed as he held up one finger.

"One... Two... " A second finger came up.  Just before he reached three, she adjusted her bag, removed her foot and backed out of the door, laughing softly.  As the door closed, he faintly heard her say goodnight to him. A heavy sigh escaped him as he turned away from the door.

I need a cold shower, he thought wryly.

The banter between the two of them had started him thinking things about Evie; things that might possibly earn him a slap across the face if she ever found out. All though, judging from the things she had said, she might be thinking the same things too. The image that followed that thought caused him to groan and he quickly shed his clothes and ran the water for a cold shower.

Evie flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes. Images of Hunter doing what he said he would, paraded through her mind. It was bad enough she had carried on with him, now she had all these thoughts in her head. She wondered if he was thinking about her in the same way. Briefly, she allowed herself to indulge in a fantasy and then laughed at herself for being absurd as she sat up.

Just because he flirts with you like that, doesn't mean he actually wants you. C'mon girl. He can have any woman he wants. What would he want with someone like you?

***************************************************

Author's Notes: Thanks again for the reviews! I'm glad all of you are enjoying this so far. I'm trying to update as much as possible, but have been doing some much needed rewriting on the next few chapters, so it may take a little longer for the next update. Thanks for your patience!!