by Codi Gary
“God, Penny, yes.”
Chapter 20
Penny would never get tired of the way he said her name.
She continued swirling her tongue around the head of his cock, tightening the grip of her hand as she worked him. She felt his fingers slide between her legs and cried out around him. He pressed into her clit, rubbing in a fast, tight circle until her hips were jerking against his hand and she lost track of what she was supposed to be doing to him.
When the throbbing between her legs burst, her voice rose with every wave of pleasure that crashed over her. “Oh. Oh. Oh!”
His fingers left her and she sat up to find him searching his wallet, pulling out the little silver package. Although his face was shadowed, his eyes were practically glowing in the dark. She climbed up over him, straddling his lap as he ripped the condom open with his teeth.
“Hurry,” she whispered.
He smiled, a flash of white in the moonlight, and she noticed the tiny beads of sweat at his temple. “Doing my best, baby.”
“No girl wants to hear that during sex,” she teased.
He finally rolled the condom down his length and when he grabbed her hips hard in his big hands, she gasped. He lifted her up and angled his hips toward her, the tip of him teasing her entrance excruciatingly. Impatient to have him inside her, she reached between them, adjusting him until he slid inside, sighing as she sank down onto him.
He didn’t waste any time. Using his grip on her, he moved her rapidly, and she grabbed on to his shoulders. She hung on for the ride as he brought her up only to slam her down. Her mouth hungrily found his, whimpering against his lips as he worked her over him, practically reading her mind as he sped up and then slowed down their tempo. He rolled her hips in a circle and it was pure, blissful torture.
Taking back some of the control, she rocked her hips, riding his movements until the pressure built once more. Their mouths still fused as they moved faster, her nails pressing into the muscles of his back as her grip tightened.
Finally, his cock rubbed just the right spot. When she cried out against his lips, he did it again. And again. She was writhing and slick with sweat as she climbed higher and higher. The car was spinning until she finally reached a peak. She threw her head back and hollered as she came, pitching every time he slammed her down on his length. When his mouth covered her nipple, she was done. Trembling with the force of it, she sagged forward, her lips brushing the dark hair on his head.
He released her breast, and rubbed his thumb over her mouth. “Climb off.”
Still dazed, she did as he asked.
“Turn around and hang on to the back of the seat.”
With her knees on the soft cushion and her back to him, her heart sped up again as he kneeled behind her, the hard heat of his body pressing into her back as he pushed back into her. His teeth nipped the sensitive flesh at the base of her neck. She bit her lip, sure she didn’t have another one in her.
His motions behind her picked up, becoming unsteady, and it was then he curved one long digit against her, rubbing just the top of her, and her brain liquefied. She gripped the back of his car’s seat and shook.
Hunter’s lips pressed against her ear, his hot breath against her skin, and the nerves running along her back quivered.
“When I come, you come.”
Penny released a breathless laugh. “It’s not something I can control.”
“But I can.”
She was about to say something smart and snarky about cocky sex gods, but then his fingers did something magical against her and she was screaming. He nipped the side of her neck, his lips closing over her rapid beating pulse and sucking as she broke once more.
But as she felt him flex and jerk with her, his groan turned into a roar. It was enough to make her want to keep going, to never stop hearing the way he shouted her name. She loved the way his hands branded her and made her his. And how his lips moved gently over her skin.
Maybe he was a sex god, after all.
Hunter stretched across his backseat. Penny was lying on top of him and their clothes were rolled up behind him, while his fingers traced over the skin of her back, her sides, and down over the round curve of her ass.
Damn, that had been amazing. He should have felt a little bad that their first time together was in the backseat of a car, but it was hard to regret something that had felt so extremely good.
Suddenly, Penny sat up and slapped his chest.
“Ow, what was that for?”
“We could have been doing this for the last five years if you hadn’t been such a moron. That is what that was for.”
Hunter pulled her closer so he could kiss her, tracing her lips with his tongue. “Then I’ll accept my punishment. You know what that means though, right?”
“Hmm, what’s that?”
His mouth moved along her jaw to her neck. “We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”
Her hand slipped between them and he felt her circle his cock with her warm fingers. “I don’t know. Somebody doesn’t feel quite ready.”
Hunter laughed. “Hey, I’m old. You gotta give me at least a half an hour to recover.”
Penny rolled her eyes and started to climb off him.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I figured we’d head to your place since my brothers are still at mine. You know, for privacy. Would that be enough time, old man?”
Hunter sat up and pulled her across his lap, scowling down into her laughing face. “Somebody ought to paddle your ass for disrespecting your elders.”
“Oh, spanking? Sounds kinky.” She wiggled her ass against him and Hunter wondered if he would even need that full half an hour.
But suddenly, the cab of his SUV lit up with high beams and flashes of red and blue.
“Please tell me that isn’t Luke again,” Penny said.
Hunter turned in his seat. “Wanna hand me my pants?”
He’d finally gotten his jeans buttoned and Penny had wrapped herself up in his shirt when someone knocked on the window.
“Is there a reason the two of you can’t get a room?” Luke asked through the door.
Chapter 21
By the next day, everyone was talking about Luke discovering Hunter and Penny pulled off the road and half naked…again. But the couple didn’t care, because they had taken the sentiment “making up for lost time” and turned it into a marathon endeavor. Aside from work, and a quick trip to the airport to drop off Penny’s brothers, they’d hardly left the bedroom.
Which is where they were on Tuesday morning, snuggled up in Hunter’s king-sized bed, and Penny drawing little hearts on his chest with her finger.
“So, I’ve been thinking about our first date,” Hunter said.
Penny lifted her head, and gave him a puzzled look. “Our first date? Don’t you think we’re a bit past that?”
“Hey, if I want to take you out on a date, then I don’t want to hear any sass about it. I owe you dinner. Maybe even a movie if you don’t chew with your mouth open.”
Penny kissed his chest slowly, making her way down over his abs. “You know, we don’t have to go out to dinner. We could just stay in and I could eat off of your—”
“Damn it, woman, is that all you ever think about? I am not a piece of meat.”
Her lips hovered right above the sheet, which was tented, and she grinned. “Apparently, someone didn’t get the memo and is very interested in my idea of dinner.”
Hunter grabbed her, and rolled her beneath him, his handsome face fixed into a mock scowl. “He is not in control. I am and I want to take my beautiful, amazing girlfriend out to show her off.”
Penny’s heart stuttered at the g-word. “Well, who in their right mind would argue with that logic?”
“Good. Now, when is your last day at the Grizzly?”
“I’m going to work there until Vince can find a replacement.”
Hunter pulled up, and she waited for him to ask about San Diego. They
hadn’t talked about whether she was taking it, hadn’t talked much at all, actually. She was pretty surprised he hadn’t brought it up.
“So then you’ve decided which job you’re taking.”
“Yep.”
“And…”
“And what?”
Hunter squeezed her hips and shook her against the mattress. “Don’t toy with me.”
Penny traced the outline of his full lips with her fingers, enjoying the suspense. “I’ve taken the job in Red Lodge.”
Hunter let out his breath. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear—wait a second! You’ve already taken it?”
“Yep.”
“And you didn’t tell me sooner?”
“Nope.”
He laid his head down next to hers with a groan. “You are pure evil, you know that, right?”
“And yet, I’m still here in your bed. So you must have a thing for evil.”
“I have a thing for you. Evil or sassy, I’ll take you any way I can get you.”
Penny would never get tired of hearing him say that.
“But I don’t like you working all day in Red Lodge and coming home to work until two in the morning at the Grizzly,” he said.
“I know, but I couldn’t leave Vince in a lurch. He’s been good to me.”
Hunter grumbled a bit. “You’re going to be working at the sanctuary and coming home to work at the Grizzly indefinitely?”
“No, I told him I’d give him three weeks.”
“So, the only time I’ll be able to get a date with you is on…”
“Well, I am working Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so the only day I have free is Sunday.”
Hunter kissed her, and she slid her hands into his hair, enjoying the tingles his mouth always created.
“I’ll take Sunday, but it’s going to kill me not being able to see you now that you’re mine.”
“Hmmm, I love it when you get all possessive.”
“Really? I remember something about you not being a prize.”
“Well, I don’t want to be treated like an object, but I do enjoy that growly tone in your voice when you say my name or call me your girlfriend.”
“Hmmm, you do, huh?” His mouth traveled down until it brushed the top of her breast. “Since we got the plans for the first date out of the way, I’d like to revisit what you were talking about earlier.” His tongue dipped into her belly button and her toes curled. “Only, I’m thinking I eat breakfast off of your…”
He buried his mouth between her legs and she arched off the bed. “I am totally okay with that.”
Chapter 22
On Sunday evening right after six, Hunter knocked on Penny’s front door. In one hand, he had another bouquet, pink and white roses this time, and in the other, a little jewelry box. It wasn’t anything big, just a pair of sapphire earrings.
She opened the door, wearing a simple navy-blue dress and gray flats. Her dark hair was set in loose waves around her shoulders, and her lips were glossy and spread into that bright, happy smile he loved so much.
“Hey, there.”
Hunter stepped into her and took her mouth in a fast, hard kiss, because he couldn’t seem to help himself. If the other men of Bear Mountain had realized how much fun kissing Penny was, he would have lost her before he smartened up.
The thought made him deepen the kiss until she was pressed back against the open door with one of those long legs wrapped up around his hip.
Before he did something crazy, like carry her back into her bedroom and forget all about dinner, he pulled away.
“Sorry.”
“I can’t say I’m complaining,” she said.
He held out the flowers between them, taking a shaky breath. “Thank God for that. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of kissing you.”
“You sure know how to turn a girl’s head.” Penny stuck her nose in the roses and breathed in. “You didn’t have to do this. I have plenty of flowers left from before.”
“Oh, so I guess you don’t want these, either?” Hunter popped open the jewelry box and showed her the little blue and diamond studs.
She gasped and reached for the box. Suddenly, a frown marred her pretty face. “You know you don’t have to buy me things.”
“I know. I bought them because they reminded me of your eyes.”
Penny held the box in her hand, staring down at the earrings. She was so quiet, he wondered if she didn’t like them.
“If they aren’t your style, we can exchange them—”
She clasped the box to her chest as if she thought he would snatch it away. “No, I love them. They’re beautiful.” She cleared her throat and met his gaze, her eyes teary. “I’m not used to people doing things just because, you know? I’ve done things on my own for so long.”
Hunter’s hand came up to cradle her chin, his thumb gliding over her lower lip. “If I do something for you, Penny, it’s for purely selfish reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
He bent his head, resting his forehead against hers. “I like doing nice things for you so I can get one of those special Penny smiles.”
“I don’t have a special smile!”
Hunter kissed her, softly this time, in a tender brush of lips. “That’s where you’re wrong, Penny. And selfishly, I want all of them.”
Penny laughed and shoved him away. “You’re ridiculous. Take me to dinner, weirdo.”
Penny wouldn’t admit how nervous she actually was. She’d spent so long imagining what it would be like to be with Hunter, to have him look at her as though she was the most beautiful woman in the world and the only one he wanted.
But being out with him in Bear Mountain, and having every eye in the room watching them, put her completely out of her element. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention. Especially when it was because she had gotten everything she’d ever dreamed of.
Since it was Sunday and the Grizzly was the only place that was open, they went there. But Hunter had gotten them one of the booths against the wall. The high backs gave them a little privacy from the other patrons, but the people playing pool and sitting at the bar kept glancing over at them.
Especially the women.
“I think people are wondering what we’re doing together,” Penny said.
Hunter set his menu on the end of the table and reached across for her hand, which she slipped into his. “If I was sitting next to you, they wouldn’t have to wonder.”
Penny’s cheeks burned. “Stop it.”
Hunter squeezed her hand. “I don’t care about anyone in this room but you.”
“I thought you wanted to take me out and show me off.”
“I do. But if you’re uncomfortable or not having fun, we can leave.”
Hunter’s concern for her comfort made her relax a little. “I’m okay.”
“So what are you thinking? I’ll go put in our order.”
“I’ll have a beer and a bacon burger with steak fries,” Penny said.
“Be right back.”
Penny sat back, watching him cross the bar. He was wearing jeans and a green-and-black plaid button-down, and he was completely unaware of the fact that every unattached woman’s eye was on him. An old feeling of inadequacy crept up when Trish sidled up next to him at the bar.
Penny didn’t know what was said, but she was tempted to see how far she could toss the glass salt shaker.
When Hunter ambled back toward their booth, she was more than a little surprised when he slid in next to her, his arm going around her shoulders and pulling her close.
“What are you doing?”
“Sitting across from you felt too far.”
His other hand came up to cup her cheek and when he kissed her, she pulled away. “People are watching.”
“Really? ’Cause all I see is you.”
And this time, when his mouth closed over hers, she let herself melt into him and forgot about everyone else.
Chapter 23
Two weeks later, most of the town crowded into the Grizzly to celebrate Trent’s recovery. Although he still had to wear a cast for another three weeks, his burns were healing nicely and everyone, especially Virginia Dorman, was calling him a hero.
Penny wrapped her arms around Trent, who was sitting at the bar surrounded by Darynda, Mike, and several other firefighters.
“I am so happy to see you up and mobile,” Penny said.
Trent put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her close. “And how happy? Happy enough to dump the doc and sneak out back with me?”
Hunter, who was standing next to Penny, glared at Trent. “Careful, Bush. Don’t make me regret patching you up.”
Penny ducked out from under Trent’s arm and went to stand next to her boyfriend. Boyfriend. The last three weeks had sped by. She’d been busy getting used to her new job, saying good-bye to the Grizzly, and sneaking in time with Hunter. She knew that he was still a little jealous of Trent, but hoped that time would bring him around. Especially when he realized that Trent was such a good friend.
“Hey, as long as you treat her well, Doc, you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Penny felt Hunter tense next to her, so she rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, both of you need to zip up your pants. I appreciate the support, but I’m a person. You don’t need to mark your territory.”
“But I—”
Penny ruffled Trent’s hair and said, “Glad you’re feeling better. I can’t wait until I can hurt you without feeling guilty.”
Before Trent could reply, Penny led Hunter away, kissing his neck. “He’s only messing with you.”
“And someday it won’t bother me, but right now, every time he flirts with you—”
Penny grabbed his face between her hands. “Every time he flirts with me, I’m not flirting back. I am thinking about you and how soon we can say good-bye to everyone else so I can have you all to myself.”