“And he’s Vargos.”
A race Hunter was sworn to hate. Too shaky to stand, Hunter remained seated at this revelation.
“I might need your help to protect him one day.”
Because there wasn’t a single being in existence who wouldn’t love the opportunity to kill the fledgling. Hunter included.
“How did you manage to—” Hunter broke off on a grimace. Sex with a Vargos female was dangerous. Get eaten type of danger.
“I can’t go into it now. I just want to be clear since you asked. At some point, I’ll need you to help me like I’m helping you.”
***
Judging by the crowd at The Zone and Hunter’s relaxed attitude, no one would ever guess anything had occurred last night. Seated at the bar where he’d told her not to move, Narelle watched him being his usual charming self with customers.
He caught her eye and strolled in her direction to set a drink on the counter between them. “Keep crossing your legs and I’ll give you what you’re asking for.”
Narelle jerked upright, her feet falling flat to the floor. “I’m not asking for anything”
His lips curled, but he ignored her to wait on a customer several seats down. Narelle let out a sigh of relief and unobtrusively gazed at his bulky form behind the bar. A man shouldn’t be that ripped at his size. He should look awkward and ungainly.
Too bad Hunter was so far from those two descriptors she found herself sighing once more and propping her elbows on the counter to rest her chin on her palm. He looked her way, but never stopped his conversation as he filled a glass and served some drink with a curl of smoke to the man in front of him. Next Hunter waited on a trio of females, each doing their best to flirt with him. He appeared to miss their com hither signals and began mixing and shaking their drink orders.
Working for the Retriever Association on bounties, Narelle didn’t often allow herself to be fascinated by a man. But now with Hunter she was not only fascinated, but intrigued. Spending time with him showed her a completely different side and smashed all her preconceptions.
She wanted to watch his smile and listen for his deep chuckle. All of those things made her feel good and increased her enjoyment of his company.
A short burst of laughter rolled up from his chest. The deep timber of his humor did something to her and she crossed her legs to still the restless ache. At that exact moment, he looked up and his gaze smoldered. Narelle flushed and attempted to downplay her arousal.
It was going to be a long night unless she got her libido under control. Leaving the drink he’d made her untouched, Narelle lifted her hand and Hunter was across from her in an instant.
“What’s wrong?”
Other than her sudden desire to jump over the counter and kiss his full lips while burying her hands in his full hair? “Nothing. I’m going to head up.”
The lack of sleep was catching up to her if she was fantasizing about dragging Hunter to the floor for sex. Her nipples peaked at the idea. Right. Time to go.
“I’ll be up as soon as I close down.” He rubbed a thumb over her bottom lip then went to take a customer’s order.
Narelle slid from the stool and ignored the leers she received on the way. She reached the door to Hunter’s apartment above without issue. At her side, Bogan’s head bumped her thighs. Another Hunter dictate. Narelle scooted aside and waited until Bogan searched the place before locking the door.
Hunter had given a command which kept the animal by her throughout the night. Narelle ran her hands over the black tipped ears. At least he was good company. Bogan licked her fingers and Narelle chuckled. “It’s just you and me, buddy.”
A quick shower later found Narelle wearing another one of Hunter’s shirts from his closet. She made her way to his bed where the sheets smelled of him, the pillows scented with his masculine essence and sighed.
Bogan padded over and nudged her arm closest to the edge of the bed. “Right. You’re going to watch the place until he gets back.”
Narelle snuggled deep into the covers, smothering her yawn. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she’d tell Hunter it was time for her to leave. As she dozed off, Bogan settled with a groan somewhere on the floor and she fell into a deep sleep with the sounds of canine snores in her ear.
What felt like moments later, her eyes blinked open in the dark. The bed shifted beside her and the warm weight of a male presence squeeze in beside her. Narelle considered protesting, but lacked the spirit. Her lids lowered on the cusp of dozing off when lips pressed to the curve of her shoulder where the shirt dipped.
“Hunter?”
The weight of his arm curled about her waist and tugged her against his nude body. Narelle stiffened and her eyes flickered open.
“Shh. Let me hold you. We’ll fight tomorrow if you like and have make-up sex after. It will give me time to have a nap before opening The Zone.”
Narelle crammed a fist in her mouth to muffle her laugh. When she had her mirth under control she spoke into the darkness. “What makes you think I’m having sex with you again?”
Hunter nuzzled the back of her neck and Narelle’s body did the melt-y thing once more. “Because I plan to make you mad in the morning.”
Shameless. Hunter Gils was shameless, but Narelle admitted to looking forward to how he’d execute the fight and the make-up sex. Exhaustion pulled at her and instead of saying anything else, Narelle found herself falling to sleep while being held by the man she should be running from.
Chapter 16
Hunter considered himself a man of his word. The artificial light of morning barely cut a swath through the sheet he’d used to cover his broken window. He decided to skip the proposed fight and go straight to make-up sex. It was a safe bet that Narelle would forgive him for the shortcut.
Starting with the tiny scar at the corner of her mouth, Hunter placed a soft kiss there. She squirmed in the bed, rolling away and onto her back. The covers slipped away, revealing what he recognized as one of his shirts. The collared top was too big and her smooth collarbone and shoulders received his second kisses, one after the other.
Her sweet moan wafted on the air. Hunter grinned and undid each of the buttons down the front until he could spread the sides apart. Perfect. Her toned body with its enticing curves was perfect to him. He cupped her breasts, pleased with how her nipples crinkled. Denying himself was a wasted effort. Hunter leaned down and laved the tips. Back and forth, he sucked and kissed until a dark green flush stained her skin.
She twisted beneath him, eyes still closed. Hunter smiled and ran a hand down her side. Narelle’s body undulated and her legs spread, inciting him to taste. Easing down her torso with nips and kisses, he made his way to the tiny tuff of hair at the apex of her thighs. Moisture already glistened on the folds, the light scent of feminine pleasure teasing his nostrils.
Hunter palmed her mound and parted her lower kips with his middle finger as he settled on his side to relax and take his time.
***
Narelle would never be able to pinpoint at which moment she awakened. Delicious sensations followed her from the dream world into the real one. Hunter was licking her horns and trailing kisses along her hairline. That alone would have left her short of breath.
Instead she was drowning in sensation from another area.
“Please.” Her eyes opened to slits to see Hunter staring at her lower half.
His fingers slid through the softness made wet by her desire. Puffy and full, her sex throbbed beneath his magic strokes. Hunter repeated the touch, each intimate swipe sending her higher and higher. His hair roughened thigh thrust between her legs. The rasp of his jaw along her sensitized collarbone almost undid her thin hold on control.
Narelle shifted about and reached for his hard cock. Hunter groaned and pumped his hips. She stroked his swollen length and arched her neck. “Kiss me, Hunter.”
“Any time.”
Their mouths touched and detonated. Hunter withdrew his hand from between her legs. He twisted
above her and entered her on a smooth glide.
His big body bunched and Narelle quivered beneath him. It was like trying to contain a wild beast and Narelle didn’t take the task lightly. He slid in slow and steady then pulled out in measured strokes. He repeated the move, no sign of rushing. The mattress bounced and squeaked filling Narelle’s face with heat, but she strained against his body seeking the one final touch to set her off.
“Right there,” he groaned in triumph.
Ribbons of pleasure lashed at her. Hunter increased his pace and Narelle cried out as the orgasm hit her with gale force. Satisfaction gleamed from behind Hunter’s heavy lidded gaze.
“My turn.”
***
Hunter knew he would never have enough of Narelle. If she left him he’d follow her to the ends of the world. His climax wrapped around his balls and dragged him to the edge. He might have held out. He might have been able to beat back the power trying to pull him under, but then Narelle begged him to do it harder. To give it to her deep and Hunter was lost.
She called his name in little broken whispers and the spasms in his lower region increased. Hunter jerked and slammed her hips down over him until he emptied himself. When he collapsed backward on the bed, he struggled to catch his breath.
This wasn’t a game, a bet or a dare. Lust shifted, became more. He muttered a curse under his breath for once not fighting what he’d always known deep inside. He’d fallen in love with the feisty female. Now he needed to protect her and make sure they both survived long enough to defeat Lukain.
With her warm soft body draped over his chest, Hunter hooked an arm about her waist and closed his eyes. He intended to make sure no one hurt her even if she tried to play the fool and thought she could walk away from what they had.
No one was getting to Narelle. Not as long as he could shelter her in his arms. He buried his nose in her hair, the scent one he recognized because she’d used his cleansing solution at some point. Didn’t matter. Beneath it all she smelled like his. Now he only had to convince her of that.
“What just happened, Hunter?”
She asked the question from his chest. Hunter stalled, unsure if she was ready for the truth. He’d made love to her, trying to convey his feelings with each stroke. “What do you mean?”
“End goal, Hunter. What’s your end goal in all this between us? Maybe if I know what you want, we can end this here and now.” Her head lifted and her lips pursed.
The corner of Hunter’s mouth curved up. If she wanted to do this now, he’d do it. Give her the truth he’d only just realized. Hunter caressed her cheek with a blunt finger. “You’re heart. I want your heart, Narelle. So, there won’t be an end for us. That’s my goal.”
She had no words and he didn’t expect any. She was wrapping him up in undeniable bonds and didn’t even know it. Not that Hunter cared. He was all in now that he accepted his feelings for her.
“My h-heart?”
Her stutter was adorable. Hunter rolled her over and braced above, his forearms on either side of her head. He wanted to see her face clearly when he said the next bit. “I love you.”
There, it was in the open. He didn’t need her sharp gasp to know he’d surprised her with the admission.
“How can you say that? You don’t know me.” Frantic, she scooted backward on the bed, out from under him.
Hunter held his position. He didn’t grab her ankle and draw her close, didn’t crawl forward and cover her again like he wanted to.
He kept his gaze on her face, hoping she’d read the truth in his eyes. “I don’t know how I know. It’s just the way I feel. It’s grown with each time you’ve stopped in my bar and exchanged flirty barbs with me.”
“I did not flirt,” she huffed in indignation.
Hunter smiled at her denial. “Of course you did. Our interactions were filled with flirting. And getting to know one another. You learned about me during those times you turned me down just as I learned about you.”
“That proves you wrong. It wasn’t until Bogan that you told me anything about your past.”
Her eyes glowed with a triumphant light even as her breasts quivered with her rapid inhalations.
Hunter tried to keep his gaze up, but her naked sprawled body made that hard. “You didn’t need to know any of that stuff to know me, Narelle. I still don’t know more than the fact that you’re a bounty hunter but I know you. I know you scrunch your nose when irritated. I know you’re sweet underneath the tough outer layer. I know you care about animals. You only take bounties on objects and rarely do you accept assignments that involve hunting an individual.”
Her mouth parted and she stared wide eyed.
“There’s more, but all of it is why I fell for you.”
Hunter waited allowing her the time to take in everything he’d said. To understand he wasn’t blithely throwing out the word she seemed intimidated by.
“You really love me?”
Uncertainty hovered right below the question.
“I love you, sweetheart and that’s not gonna change any time soon.”
***
Down to her very bones Narelle was frozen. Hunter meant every word he said and putting his feelings out there he removed the last remaining barrier holding her back. There was no longer a reason for her to resist his allure. She cared about Hunter. Maybe love wasn’t a far step behind. She wouldn’t k now unless she gambled and gave this a try. If it fell through and she walked away with a broken heart, he’d be in the same shape as well.
Neither of them would come out unscathed if they saw this through. “Well. Um...alright.”
His grin was all smug humor. She added a glare which he ignored. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means you belong to me.” Hunter crawled forward, caging her body in. He dragged a finger down her cheek. Narelle tried to bit his finger, but he pulled back in time with a smirk. “And I belong to you.”
Somehow his claim made it all better and her heart settled. “I agree.”
***
“What do you agree?” Hunter asked, cautiously afraid to let hope unfurl in his chest.
She faced him, eyes going straight to his. Nothing but honesty shone from the gray depths. “I agree we have feelings for each other.”
Pressure in his chest made breathing difficult. “And?”
She walked toward him, a knowing glint in her gaze. “Nothing more to say.” Her shoulders shrugged upward. “We have ...something between us.”
“It’s not something. I love you,” he corrected.
Narelle rolled her eyes. “We want one another. And...I’m willing to see where it goes.”
Hunter’s breath released on a woosh and the knot in his chest eased. She was within reaching distance so he looped his arms about her waist and tugged until she fell against his chest, hands braced on his shoulders. “Alright then. I have one more request.”
Wariness flashed. “I’m listening.”
Hunter smiled inwardly, but kept his expression dark and forbidding. “If you ever feel the need to run, talk to me. Don’t make any rash decisions without us talking.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed as if annoyed but he knew better. “I’m not going to run, Hunter. When I commit, I commit.”
Nothing could have pleased him more to hear.
Chapter 17
The message was delivered to Hunter via an audio chip. Narelle stood next to him as they listened to Lukain request a meeting with Hunter. The ex-soldier promised he only wanted to resolve things.
“You know this is a trick.” Narelle fisted her hands on her hips.
A week had gone by since the shock bombs through his window. They’d heard nothing more from Lukain and Narelle was starting to get antsy with her desire to return to work. Hunter wanted to keep her under his watchful gaze, but realized the futility of this. She did have to go back eventually.
They just needed more time to figure out how they’d make what they had last. Time. It always came
back to time.
“I think I have to see what he wants. Put an end to this once and for all.”
“I’m going too.” Her look dared him to protest.
He didn’t. Hunter trusted Narelle to be smart if he let her be in on the meeting with Lukain, trick or not. Granted it scared him to death and worrying for a woman was new for Hunter. But you couldn’t have someone like Narelle by your side and not respect her strength.
“He’s not leaving enough time for chance.” The audio stated Hunter needed to be at the spot where Lukain had originally attacked Narelle within the quarter hour.
“What about Ezra?” she asked.
Hunter was one step ahead. He tapped out a hasty message on his comp. “I’ll leave him a message on our secure line and tell him the latest. We can’t wait for him though if we’re to make it.”
He wouldn’t even be able to officially close The Zone. Hunter signaled his lead bartender and informed him that he was stepping out. Ven would lock up as soon as possible. Hunter grabbed the two lasers he kept under the bar and tossed one to Narelle. “Let’s go.”
Bogan’s ears flickered, awaiting a command. When this was over, he’d have to put Ezra to the task of returning Bogan.
“Komm.”
Bogan came to his side and together they headed out.
“I’ll hang back to make it look like you’re going alone. I can cover you from a nearby shop.”
Though he wished for different, Hunter agreed with the solid plan. He gripped Narelle’s wrist before she could part from him. The kiss he planted on her mouth was full of the love he had for her. “I need you safe, alright?”
Her scar twitched. “Same.”
She melded into the darkness and Hunter was tempted to send Bogan after her. Lukain would probably be suspicious if Hunter appeared to follow his instructions too closely.
When he drew near the familiar spot that would forever be associated with one of his worst nightmares, the tall form of his former team mate stepped forward. “Huh, I didn’t think you’d really show. I guess you can still surprise me.”
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