HUNTER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 11)

by Samantha Leal

  Hunter threw his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out with his boot.

  “Okay,” he said. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

  Paige nodded.

  You’re not kidding…

  Hunter reached up and touched her cheek gently. For such a big, frightening man, he had so much tenderness inside of him, and she really didn’t want to let that go.

  “Good night, Hunter,” she said as she turned to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her by the top of her arm and spun her back to face him. He breathed in and out deeply and cupped her face before kissing her longingly on the lips. When their bodies met, it was fireworks. He was hungry and his passion was evident as he ran his hands up her neck and through her hair. Paige moaned as his tongue searched her mouth, taking her breath away and massaging against hers. It was the most passionate kiss she had ever experienced, and her nipples stood raw and erect underneath her t-shirt, skimming against his chest. Her pussy was throbbing, engorged with desire and need for him, and she gasped as he reached around and slowly and roughly grabbed her ass.

  When their lips parted, she was a quivering mess. Her whole body trembled and her heart was racing so hard she could barely hear anything over the sound of the blood flooding through her ears.

  “Good night, Paige,” he said gruffly.

  She moved away from him and practically ran to her doorway. She didn’t look back and when she opened it and closed the door behind her, she breathed in and out so fast she thought she was going to faint.

  She had never had such an erotic moment in her entire life. But now she was even more confused. Could she consider giving up her life as she had it now to potentially put herself in danger? If they didn’t have such a strong connection, both physically and mentally, she knew the answer would most certainly be no, but they did and it was too much to walk away from without potentially regretting it for the rest of her life.

  She rubbed her forehead and turned to peek out the small window to the side of the front door. She could see Hunter still standing there, running his hands through his hair. He looked mad and full of longing, as if he was feeling exactly the same and was just hoping Paige would make the right choice.

  She watched as he climbed back onto the bike and started the engine. Even after traveling on it all night, she still jumped as the loud sounds rang out and he pulled away.

  “Oh man,” she whispered to herself as she rested her head in her hands and let her back slide down the wall. “What the hell do I do now?”

  She stayed there for at least an hour, replaying their kiss over and over, remembering how he had tasted and how his body had felt. She remembered how good it felt to be so desired, to know she had found someone she could imagine a future with, but at the same time, didn’t know how they could possibly make it work. They were from completely different worlds and yet, when she was with him, he felt like the only person she would ever truly need. Wouldn’t she be a fool to let that pass her by?

  She got to her feet and eventually, slinked up to bed with what felt like the weight of the world on her shoulders. As she climbed under the covers and wiped her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling and remembered how he had shown her the stars. No one had ever cared for her like that or made that kind of effort. He was a gentle soul inside, even if his exterior and what he did for a living screamed the opposite.

  Maybe it was time for Paige to reconsider everything she had ever thought she knew. Because Hunter was turning her world completely upside down, and she knew she didn’t want it to end.

  10.

  The morning rolled around after a mostly sleepless night. Paige had lay awake for hours, her mind wandering and feeling churned up inside. She was no further forward with what she felt was the right thing to do, and it was killing her.

  All she knew was Hunter was someone she was never going to be able to forget.

  Maybe that was an answer in itself.

  She rose at around 9 a.m. and shuffled into the bathroom and pulled on the light. The bags under her eyes were heavy and dark after two days of constant action, activity, and staying up way too late. She ran the faucet and splashed her face with water to try and wake herself up and then she patted herself dry.

  Downstairs, she opened up the freezer and pulled out two teaspoons she had on standby. Normally, the only reason she had a late night was because she had stayed up to work, so she hoped the ice cold spoons would at least help her in the same kind of way, even if these particular eye bags were more severe than usual.

  She held them on her face and sighed. As the cold zipped through her, she bit her lip and remembered the sensation of Hunter’s against hers. When he had held her and reached around and grabbed her on the ass, she had never felt such a rush of longing.

  She pulled the spoons away and threw them down on the table. She was completely torturing herself, when all she wanted to do was allow herself to fall. Why should she keep trying to forbid it when she clearly wanted it so badly?

  She had been sure she didn’t need anyone, but now that she had met Hunter all of that had changed. She had found something incredibly powerful, someone who seemed to see her for who she truly was. And he seemed to have a similar edge to hers, they both erred on the side of uncomfortable but it worked. And she didn’t want to lose that.

  “Fuck it,” she said to herself, feeling her feistiness rise to the surface. “You can’t just be the sweet and innocent teacher forever.”

  She had had a taste of what it felt like to be bad. And now she thought she may be addicted.

  As the morning passed, she revived herself with a cold shower, plenty of comfort food and several coffees. When it came to noon, she was sitting outside in her back yard, reading through her lesson plans for the week and grading some of the children’s stories they had written on Friday in class. The sun was shining down on her and she felt completely rested, as if the whole weekend may have finally taken its toll on her, but she was finally beginning to come back down to reality.

  Before she had a chance to let the thought really even settle suddenly, her phone beeped with a text. And when she picked it up to read it, a huge grin spread across her face as she realized it was him.

  H: I can’t stop thinking about you Paige… x

  She bit her lip and twirled her phone through her fingers, wondering what on earth she could reply. She tapped her fingers on the keys and deleted the line, then she wrote another and did the same. Finally, after minutes of agonizing, she sent him one back.

  P: I can’t stop thinking about you either. It feels as if we’ve found something worth holding onto. I’m sorry I freaked out last night x

  H: I understand why you were wary and confused. It’s a lot to take in and I didn’t exactly make it sound very appealing. What I should have said is that I’m crazy about you, I want to see more of you, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure the club doesn’t get in the way of anything we may do together. The Forsaken is my life, but I’m only human, I need more…

  P: I understand, and I don’t blame you. I would need more too… x

  She put her phone down and thought back to how she had put her whole life on hold to work as hard as she could at becoming a teacher. In a way, it made her and Hunter exactly the same. He had led his entire adult life as a biker. He had put his club and brothers first instead of himself or his own wants and needs. Maybe, like Paige, he hadn’t known truly what he wanted until they had come into each other’s lives. And even with it being early days, it was clear that they both knew it was worth pursuing.

  She bit her lip and wiggled her toes as her nerves started to mount. And then she picked up her phone and hit dial.

  “Good morning, babe,” Hunter said as he answered.

  “Well, technically, it’s afternoon,” she said. “I take it you’re still in bed?”

  “Guilty,” he laughed. “How could you tell?”

  “Because you sound half asleep,” she teased. “If only you could see me, I’ve n
early done a full day’s work over here.”

  “Mmm, I wish I could see you,” he moaned. “I wish you were in my bed with me right now.”

  Paige felt herself blushing.

  “I wish I was there too,” she said, surprising herself with her forwardness.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you last night,” he said.

  “And I didn’t mean to react so badly,” she replied. “I just wanted to call you to say that. I’m so used to being on my own, it seems a little bit scary to think of letting someone in.”

  “Especially someone as wild as me, hey?” he laughed.

  “Well, exactly,” Paige smiled.

  “Well, I can sympathize,” he sighed. “I’m just glad we’re both on the same page.”

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  “Listen, why don’t I stop by tonight? We could head out or just stay in, whatever you want, but I’d love to see you.”

  “I’d like that too,” she smiled.

  “Okay, babe, I’ll see you later. I’ll get to you around eight.”

  “See you later,” she said as she pressed end on the call.

  She lay her cell phone down and breathed in deeply. She was going to have to submit to her fate, whatever was meant to be was always going to find a way. She lay down the books and stared at her cell phone again.

  “Time to come clean with Penny,” she said as she opened up a new message and started to type.

  P: Okay, I have a confession to make… I went out with Hunter last night. And I think I’m seeing him again tonight too…

  It only took ten seconds before she had a reply.

  Penny: Oh my god! I’m coming over RIGHT NOW!

  Paige laughed as she covered her eyes with her hands. It was out there now and there was no taking it back. She and Hunter were officially dating. It felt so strange to say the words, even inside her head, but it also felt right.

  She rose from the chair and made her way back into the house. The day was reaching its peak for heat and it was making her even more hot and bothered. She only had the afternoon to completely blitz her house to make it shining and sparkling like new and prepare herself to see Hunter. How the hell was she going to fit everything in!? This was the most hectic Sunday she had ever had, but it felt damn good. It was a far cry from driving out to her parent’s ranch to collect the dogs and take them on a long walk through the desert and down Main Street, but it was also more fulfilling.

  She felt a pang of guilt as she thought about her parents. Would they be expecting her to show up at any moment and she was just lounging around her house casually getting ready for a date with some mad hunk of a biker?

  She decided to call and make excuses. It was the right thing to do and she knew her mother would only worry if she didn’t hear from her.

  She picked up the phone and hit call…

  “Hey Mom, it’s me…”

  When she hung up, she instantly felt better and reassured. Now she could switch off from her usual duties and focus entirely on herself. It was a strange prospect to be putting herself first so often and so suddenly, but she had to if she was going to give her all. Paige had always been a big believer in going all in or not at all. That was part of the reason she had been so committed to teaching and had put her personal life on hold while she had thrown herself into it full force.

  “Okay then Paige, let’s do this before Penny shows up and grinds progress to a halt.”

  She shook her head and laughed, but she secretly knew she couldn’t wait to tell Penny all about it.

  “Holy shit!” Penny said as she burst through the doorway so fast and hard she almost knocked Paige over. “Okay, get sat down. I need you to tell me EVERYTHING.”

  “Woah, okay,” she laughed as Penny pulled her down onto the couch and took a deep breath. “Jeez, I don’t even know where to start.”

  “First of all, I can’t believe you went out with him without telling me!” Penny grinned as she pretended to punch her in the ribs. “After me being so supportive of the whole thing, I thought you would have come to me before you went out with him for crying out loud!”

  “I know, I know…” she said. “It just all happened so fast and part of me couldn’t even believe it was actually happening. I was so nervous and I thought that if I talked it over I would only end up talking myself out of it. Know what I mean?”

  “I hate to admit it, but yeah, of course I do. There’s nothing worse than psyching yourself out.”

  “And we both know I would have…”

  “You sure would have… So come on then, tell me everything,” Penny leaned back into the soft seats of the couch and made herself comfortable.

  Paige’s mind swam with the hot, fevered memories of Hunter holding onto her, of how he had led her out into the desert night and shown her the stars and kissed her so deeply it had taken her breath away. Of how the fear had rippled through her when he’d told her about the upcoming threats to the motorcycle club and to Slate Springs. How could she even begin to relay that kind of information? It was the kind of thing that was un-repeatable, it was private and raw and so sexy that she didn’t even think she would be able to find the words.

  “Okay,” she took a deep breath. “I’ll try…”

  And she leaned back into the couch too, pulled her knees up beside her and tried to recount everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

  “Wow,” Penny said with her mouth half open. “I don’t know what to say, it’s like… it’s like, there’s just something electric between the two of you!”

  “Yes!” Paige nodded. “That’s exactly how it feels. It’s as if there’s an invisible chord holding us together that’s sizzling hot.”

  Penny clapped her hands together and squealed.

  “I better get out of your hair then if he’s coming over.” She jumped to her feet and leaned down to hug Paige. “Keep me in the loop.” She winked as she walked quickly to the door.

  Paige felt rooted to the couch and nodded and agreed.

  When Penny closed the door behind her, suddenly the house felt very much empty, and it was the first time it ever had. She rose to her feet and rolled out her shoulders. It was time to perform miracles.

  11.

  The doorbell rang even before eight o’clock hit, and when Paige opened it and saw Hunter standing there, all six foot four of him, dripping with sweat and looking rugged with his five o’clock shadow, her pussy pulsed and she gripped her legs tightly together.

  “I’m early,” he said as he took a long striding step inside. “But I couldn’t wait.”

  “That’s okay with me,” she smiled. “It looks like you’ve run here.”

  She reached out and ran the tip of her finger down his sweaty, bulging bicep that was peeking out of the short sleeve of his t-shirt. When she felt his skin again, she had to stifle a gasp.

  “I did,” he smiled wryly as he moved closer to her and took hold of either side of her face.

  He was big and strong and as he held her there and looked into her eyes she could have melted along with him. He leaned forward and kissed her, opening her mouth with his tongue and pushing her back gently against the wall. He was red hot and full of passion, and his kiss woke her up in so many ways she had never felt so alive.

  “Wow,” she whispered as their lips finally parted.

  He looked down at her, his chest heaving and he smiled.

  “I’ve been thinking about doing that all day,” he said.

  Paige couldn’t help but grin. They looked at each other in a way only two people who wanted to fuck each other senseless could look at each other. Their pupils were wide and consumed with lust and it was unnerving.

  “I want to take you out,” he said into her neck as he breathed her in. “But I may need to shower first…” He let the words hang there and Paige’s heart felt like it was going to explode.

  Naked Hunter. In her house.

  “Sure,” she croaked and he looked at her with a mischievou
s smile.

  “This wasn’t some big bad plan,” he assured her. “I got a ride to Main Street and I ran all the way here, the heat fucking killed me.”

  Paige bit her lip.

  “Come on,” she said as she walked toward the stairs. “I’ll show you where the bathroom is.”

  Hunter followed her and when they reached the top landing and she pushed the door open, he looked around and nodded his head in appreciation.

  “You’ve got a nice house here,” he said. “For some reason, I was half expecting it to be covered in unicorns and rainbows.”

  “Are you kidding me?” she laughed. “Why the hell would it be like that?”

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You’re a kid’s teacher, I figured maybe you would have to be into the same stuff as they are.”

  “And you say I have a lot to learn.” She shook her head with a laugh and handed him a towel. “I’ll be downstairs.”

  It took all of her willpower to leave him there alone, but there was no way she could give herself to him. Not yet. She was thriving off the sexual tension between them, the way he looked at her hungrily as if he wanted to rip off her clothes and have his wicked way with her. She didn’t want that feeling to end.

  She heard the water running above her and she rubbed her neck as she imagined him removing his clothes and revealing his body. The thought of him being naked only feet away from her made her pussy throb and she had to walk across to the sink and run a glass of water. As she drank it, she traced the coolness of it over her chest and breathed in deep. This was all so familiar, as if they had known each other for years. For the first time in her life, she understood what it meant to want someone around. To be comfortable with them in your own home. To imagine a real life, a future, and all of the possibilities that went with it.

  The shower shut off and she heard him step out. Paige moved to the island in the kitchen and sat down, she was going to have a nervous wait until he joined her again. She twiddled her thumbs and looked in her pocket mirror to check her makeup. She still hadn’t put her glasses back on since she had left school on Friday and she wondered what he would think of her if she put them on to show him.