The Untamed Hunter
Page 15
For the longest time afterward, Maggie lay in Shep’s arms. She didn’t want to move. She wanted to savor the satiation she felt only with him. Time meant nothing. When she finally opened her eyes, she realized the slanting sunlight had shifted and the room was gray, but she felt like a vibrant rainbow inside. Her heart sang. Her body was fulfilled as never before. Shep’s fingers grazed the damp lock of hair against her brow and she gazed up at him, her eyes soft.
“I love you, did you know that?”
Shep smiled down at her, placed his mouth against her wrinkling brow and whispered, “I’d have never guessed by the way you attacked me. You always wake a sleeping man up to get what you want out of him?”
Chuckling indulgently, Maggie sighed luxuriously as he moved his fingers down the side of her face, her neck, to capture her breast. Moving her hand upward, she slid her fingers against the roughness of his jaw. “With you, yes. That’s the only thing you understand—a frontal assault.”
It was his turn to chuckle. Gazing down at her, Shep lost his smile. “I’m lying here beside you wondering why the hell I ever left you in the first place, brat.”
“Stupid, huh? On both our parts.”
“Yes,” he agreed quietly. Moving his hands tenderly down her ribs, Shep captured her hip more tightly against him. They remained within one another, the intimacy strong and incredibly beautiful to him. “What I share with you now, I’ve never had with another woman, Maggie. Not ever.”
Sobering at his honesty, Maggie realized she had never felt her femininity more strongly than in this moment. Shep was very male, but tender in his own masculine way. He knew how to be intimate with a woman; he always had. “I don’t know which of us was crazier, you or me. What we share is so good, Shep. I’ve never experienced what I have with you with anyone else, either.”
Moving his hips reflexively, he watched her eyes close with pleasure. Her lips parted. “You’re so easy to love,” he murmured. “You make me feel good and strong, Maggie. You always did.”
Maggie gave a shuddering sigh. It was tough to talk when he moved so provocatively within her. He knew his power with her, and she enjoyed savoring him. “So what are we going to do, Hunter? Keep talking in past tense or make what we have present and future tense?”
Grinning a little, Shep eased reluctantly from her warm, inviting form. He didn’t want to, but there were other things to talk about. When making love to Maggie he didn’t want any interruptions. No, when he loved her, he wanted her full, undivided attention, and right now, he knew there were other topics that had to be talked out between them.
He sat up, the sheet and blanket pooling around his waist. “Come here, brat,” he told her gruffly as he leaned against the bed’s antique brass headboard. Gathering Maggie into his arms, he pulled her up beside him. She lay against him, her head nestled in the crook of his right shoulder, her arm curved languidly across his torso. Pulling the sheet up around her, he shut his eyes and savored having her against him. “Now, isn’t this better?” he rumbled near her ear. With his left hand, he moved his fingers lightly across her small shoulder and down the smooth indentation of her spine.
“Being with you at times like this is always better,” Maggie murmured contentedly.
“So you want a present and future with me? Or did I hear wrong?”
Opening her eyes, she gazed up at him. His icy-blue gaze had thawed and she absorbed the warmth that he kept so carefully closeted from the rest of the world. Threading her fingers through the hair on his chest, she said, “You didn’t hear wrong, darling.”
“I think we’re mature enough to handle our differences now, Maggie,” Shep said quietly as he eased his own fingers through the soft strands of her hair. He felt her tremble and completely relax against him. “I can see what I was doing back then. I wasn’t treating you, or what you brought to the table, with respect. I always thought my way was best.”
“And it isn’t, not always.”
“No,” Shep agreed as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, “it’s not.” His eyes narrowed as he looked around the dim room, filled with antebellum antiques. “Last night I thought I might lose you. We survived because we worked together, as a good team should.”
“You listened to me,” Maggie agreed gently. “And I listened to you, too. We each brought strengths to one another, Shep. And thank goodness you listened! When you were younger, you wouldn’t have.”
“I know,” he said miserably. He struggled with the words and the feelings. “Damn, Maggie, I feel sad. When I stop and realize my arrogance, how my know-it-all attitude kept us apart all these years…And seeing now what we have and what we missed, it makes me miserable.” His hand stilled on her cheek, and Shep looked down at her. “I really screwed up. And I’m sorry. I’m not good at putting how I feel into words, brat, but I want you to know that I want a second chance with you. It will be different this time around. You’re my equal. We don’t need to fight and argue like we did before. I think those twenty-four hours of hell proved that we’re pretty good at listening and taking direction from one another, don’t you agree?”
Nodding, Maggie threaded her fingers between his. Kissing his large, skinned knuckles with small sips from her mouth, she whispered, “So, when are we going to get married, Hunter?”
That was his Maggie: bold and beautiful. A rumble of pleasure reverberated in his chest. His skin tingled where she was placing delicate, tiny kisses across his badly bruised and lacerated fingers. Did Maggie know how healing her touch was to him? He didn’t think so.
“Do I have time to call my family? Could you stand getting hitched at my parents’ home in Denver? Say, maybe in a week or two? It would give my other three brothers a chance, I hope, to make our wedding.”
Eyes glimmering with tears, Maggie looked up at him. “Hunter, I’ve waited all these years for you to get your head pulled out of the sand. I don’t think a couple more weeks are going to stress us out, do you? Besides, I need to call my family and tell them the good news.”
His mouth pulled into a deprecating grin. “No, my redheaded woman, I don’t think it will hurt anyone.”
A knock on the door startled both of them. Instantly, Shep went into his mercenary mode. He slipped from the bed and reached for his pistol, which lay on the bed stand. Locking and loading it, he gestured for Maggie to remain where she was. Her eyes were wide with terror. Grimly, he went to the door, the pistol held high.
“Yes?” he called.
“Hunter? It’s Preston. I need to talk with you.”
Looking out the peephole in the door, Shep could see that it was the FBI agent.
“It’s okay,” he told Maggie. “It’s Preston. Go get that hotel robe on?”
Maggie nodded and scooted out of the bed. She picked up a robe and then hurried over to him and handed him one.
“Just a minute,” Shep told him through the door.
Maggie belted the thick, white terry cloth robe, pulled the covers across the bed and smoothed them out and then hurried to the windows and opened the drapes. Late evening sunlight flooded the room. Turning, she saw Shep had put the pistol away and was already in his robe and heading into the other room of the suite, which had several chairs, a couch and a coffee table. Maggie followed him.
Preston nodded in greeting as he stepped inside. “I was hoping you two were awake by now.”
Shep looked down the hall both ways, then quietly shut the door behind him. “You’re looking a little better around the edges, too,” he told the agent.
Maggie ordered coffee from room service as the men made themselves comfortable in the living room of the suite. She closed the entrance to their bedroom and came and joined Shep on the couch opposite Preston.
“You’re both looking better,” the FBI agent said.
Maggie smiled and slid closer to Shep. Slipping her arm around his shoulders, she tucked her knees beneath her, content to remain close to him. “Sleep works wonders,” she agreed, smiling at the agent, who was wearin
g a dark blue suit, a starched white shirt and red paisley tie. He looked like an FBI agent, Maggie decided. There were still dark circles beneath his eyes and the stress was still apparent in his features.
“So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?” Shep demanded. He slid his hand across Maggie’s robed thigh and savored their natural intimacy.
“I had some good news I wanted to share with you,” Preston said, smiling a little.
“We can use it,” Maggie whispered, and traded a smile with Shep. She saw contentment in his eyes. He was at peace, all the tension from moments ago dissolved. Absorbing his closeness, she liked the fact that his large, thick arm was draped across her lower body. Preston’s eyes had widened a little at the gesture. Perhaps he didn’t know of their past with one another and was astonished at their intimacy. Shep could clue him in later.
“It’s about Black Dawn?” Hunter guessed.
“Yes.” Preston sat up and gloated a little. “You’re going to be very pleased to know that we’ve captured one-quarter of the entire Black Dawn contingent. What we didn’t know was that six other operatives were here, waiting in Charleston, to hook up with Dr. Tennyson and his group. The people you took out when you shot down that helicopter were four in number, and were all DOA at the scene.” Holding up his hands, he said, “In total, we’ve captured ten members of Black Dawn.” He smiled even more. “And Tennyson is singing like a canary. He’s agreed to spill his guts on the upper echelon of Black Dawn in exchange for immunity. He’s giving us names, addresses and countries where other Black Dawn terrorists are living or hiding.”
“Wonderful!” Maggie breathed. She grinned at Shep. “We’re a pretty good team, aren’t we?”
Just the way Maggie flushed, Shep found himself smiling in return. The triumphant look in her shining gold-and-green eyes made him go hot with longing for her all over again. He wanted to capture that smiling mouth once more. He wanted to hold her spirit, her vibrancy in his arms while he loved her.
“Yes,” he admitted, “we’re a damn good team.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you two.” Preston sobered. “Maggie, I’m sorry you got kidnapped. That was no one’s fault.”
“How did Tennyson get the code from you? He told me that there was a mole in the FBI feeding him the information.”
“Yes, that’s true. He’s already given up the name of the mole,” Preston told her grimly. “The man is under arrest. And he did know the codes on this mission.”
“I would never have opened that door without the code,” she told them. “I really wouldn’t have.”
Shep patted her leg gently. “We believe you, brat. You followed protocol.”
“Well,” Preston murmured, “I’m really sorry, Maggie. I had no idea we had a Black Dawn mole in our midst. It explains in part why we haven’t, over the last couple of years, been able to trap and capture them. This agent has been feeding them information all along.”
“When my brother Dev found that lab on Kauai with the help of Kulani Dawson, this whole thing broke open. It forced Black Dawn’s hand,” Shep said.
“No doubt about it,” Preston agreed. “If it hadn’t been for Morgan Trayhern, or Perseus, we would never have cracked this case. It goes to show us how private enterprises like Perseus are worth bringing in under the government tent. I’m glad Morgan works with us. He has incredible people.”
Maggie brushed her fingers delicately against Shep’s thick, corded neck. “Yes, he has incredible people who are completely committed to him,” she agreed.
Preston cleared his throat. Rising, he adjusted the knotted tie at his throat. “Well, I’ve got to get back to the Charleston office. You have our thanks.” He shook their hands. “I’ll be talking to Morgan, too. Dr. Harper, your heroism may never be known publicly, but for what it’s worth, I think you’re one of the most courageous women I’ve ever run across.”
Maggie flushed beneath the agent’s sincere praise. “Thanks, Agent Preston.”
“I know,” Shep growled, “and that’s enough.”
“I’ll let myself out. You two enjoy the night and get some rest.”
“Couldn’t you stay and at least have coffee with us? I’ve got it ordered,” Maggie offered.
Preston smiled tiredly. “I’d like to, but I have to get back to the office. Thanks anyway. You two enjoy a well-deserved quiet evening together.”
As the door quickly closed, Maggie turned her attention back to Shep. “How about that? A happy ending.”
Shep patted her calf and slid his fingers around her dainty foot. “A partial victory,” he warned her. “Terrorist groups will always exist. In this case, it sounds like we chopped off the head of the snake. Black Dawn may be gone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other factions out there waiting to take its place.”
“Humph,” Maggie said, her skin tingling where Shep touched her, “no rest for the wicked?”
Shrugging, he released her foot and slid his arms around her. He maneuvered Maggie across his lap so that she lay against him, her arms resting languidly around his shoulders. “Right now, my world, my existence, is centered on one red-haired lady. Black Dawn is crippled. We did some good work. The world is safe for a while, at least.” Gazing into her sparkling eyes, he whispered, “I love you, Maggie Harper. And I’m going to keep loving you with a fierceness that will last until we draw our last breaths.”
Framing his face, she smiled brokenly. Shep was a man of few words and she knew the gift he’d just given her. “You’re one of a kind, darling. My kind.”
“Even if we fight like cats and dogs?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll have our moments.” Maggie laughed gently. Moving her fingers tenderly across his flesh, she watched his eyes burn that darker blue color that warned her of how much he desired and loved her. It sent a wonderful tingly sensation up and down her spine.
“Partners can disagree without hurting one another with words and actions,” Shep promised her.
“And we’ll both give each other the respect and the space we need when we hit those bumps in the road, Shep. I know we will.”
Sighing, he said, “I’ve been too long without you, brat. And if this mission did nothing but point that out, then that’s enough.”
Smiling tenderly, Maggie leaned over and grazed his mouth with her lips. “You’re more than enough for me, Shep Hunter. The war between us is over. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives learning peaceful coexistence with one another.”
Moving his mouth against the sweet softness of her lips, he rasped, “And I’m going to enjoy learning from you, sweet woman of mine….”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4029-6
THE UNTAMED HUNTER
Copyright © 1999 by Lindsay McKenna
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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*Kincaid Trilogy
*Kincaid Trilogy
†Love and Glory
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†Love and Glory
**Women of Glory
**Women of Glory
**Women of Glory
††Moments of Glory Trilogy
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††Moments of Glory Trilogy
‡Morgan’s Mercenaries
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**Women of Glory
°Men of Courage
°Men of Courage
°Men of Courage
‡‡Morgan’s Mercenaries: Love and Danger
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