It made me realize that my place in the world, in comparison, was so very, very small. Pushing that thought aside for later, I approached the stables. I wondered if anyone was actually inside since there was no light coming from the structure, but I figured maybe Hunter didn’t want to alert the animal to his presence if it came back. I shook my head, agreeing with Mrs. Jones. This was foolishness. Surely, there was a better way to ensure the safety of the horses.
“Kia?” Hunter’s voice called as I stepped inside, a husky whisper in the darkness, sending a shiver of desire through me. “Is that you?”
“Yes.” I squinted through the shadows, trying to figure out Hunter’s location. “Where are you?”
“Third stall on the left.”
I found the stall in question, which was wide open, and as my eyes adjusted more fully to the darkness, I could make out Hunter lying on his back in a pile of hay. “That can’t be comfortable,” I told him, settling next to him on my knees, the container of food still in my hands.
“It’s all right,” Hunter said, sitting up and taking the Tupperware. “But I have to say, it’s become a lot more comfortable now that I have some pleasant company.” He gave me a roguish smile that made my heart flutter like a schoolgirl’s. “I’m talking about the food, of course,” he added as he removed the lid from the container. “Ow!” he cried as I smacked him on the arm.
“Serves you right,” I said with a sniff, folding my arms.
Hunter took a bite of his food, and my stomach rumbled, my body apparently relaxed enough to want food again. Raising an eyebrow, Hunter scooped up another bite of catfish and then offered it to me.
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
He eyed me skeptically. “When was the last time you ate?”
I shifted uncomfortably beneath his stare. “I might have managed a few bites of breakfast.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Eat some of this before you keel over and die.”
He shoved the piece of catfish between my lips before I could protest. An instant burst of flavor made me completely forget about anything but my hunger. Snatching the Tupperware from Hunter, I devoured almost two-thirds of the meal before finally handing it back to him.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly.
Hunter patted me on the back. “That’s my girl. I bet Mrs. Jones heated up this food for you anyway, didn’t she?” he teased.
I nodded, and we lapsed into a comfortable silence as Hunter finished off the rest of the meal.
“You’re looking a lot better,” he said quietly, hooking an arm around my shoulders and drawing me against him. “Did you sleep well?”
“You could say that.” I’d slept heavily, dreamlessly which I was grateful for. “I want to explain myself to you.”
“You don’t owe me any explanations,” Hunter said, rubbing my shoulder in a gentle rotation that soothed me. “Everyone has their moments sometimes, and I don’t fault you for wanting to give Twilight a good burial.”
“Yes, but you don’t understand,” I protested. “When we buried Twilight today . . . well, I wasn’t totally burying Twilight.”
Hunter was silent for a moment. “Then who were we burying?”
I let out a long sigh. “When I told you my mom died of cirrhosis of the liver . . . well, I lied,” I said, my shoulders sagging a little. “Not that she wouldn’t have died from that eventually or from overdosing on heroin or something, but that isn’t what happened.”
“How did she die, then?” I could hear the frown in Hunter’s voice as he tried to figure out where I was going with this.
“She was attacked,” I whispered, my body trembling slightly as the memory of that horrible night took shape in my eyes. “I came home to check on her one night, and she was in her room with . . . a man.” I shuddered. “She often brought men home, usually for sex in exchange for a quick fix, but something wasn’t right this time. I heard screams and someone snarling, and I opened the door to find . . .”
“To find what?”
I laughed nervously. “You’re probably going to think I’m crazy. The police and my neighbors all thought I was crazy too.”
“Try me.”
“Well, the only way I can describe him is as some kind of monster,” I said. “Like a wolf-man or something. He had coarse, thick hair all over his body and bloody fangs that looked as though they could bite clear through my arm.” I shuddered again. “For a moment, I thought he was going to attack me too . . . but he just turned and leaped straight through the window, shattering the glass. When I looked over the side of the sill, I could see him running away in the distance even though it was a two-story drop. I called 9–1-1, and even though my mother’s body was covered in claw and bite marks, they didn’t believe me when I told them what I saw,” I whispered. “Shit. Most of the time, I don’t believe it myself. So, I put it behind me, went back to college, finished my degree, and started working.” I shook my head, consumed with self-loathing. “I didn’t even arrange a funeral for my mother. She was cremated by the state. They offered me the ashes, but I refused them. God only knows where they ended up.”
“Oh, baby.” Hunter dropped a kiss on the top of my head and rubbed my back. “I don’t think anyone would blame you for that, not after the way your mother treated you.”
“My grandparents did,” I said, my voice hollow. “I’d never met them in all my life because they wanted nothing to do with me . . . their out of wedlock grandchild. You see, her parents were deeply rooted and involved in the church. Her father was a pastor and her mother the church clerk. So, they disowned my mother for being unmarried and pregnant, but a month after her death, they came out of the woodwork, scolding and blaming me for what had happened to their daughter. They read about her death from the obituary in the paper and demanded to know why they hadn’t been told or informed about any funeral or anything.” I smirked a little. “I might have said a few unkind things to them in return.”
“That’s unbelievable.” Hunter’s voice was dark with anger, and I looked at him in surprise to see a thunderous scowl on his face. His expression softened a little when he saw me staring. “You deserved better than that, darling.”
A lump formed in my throat in response to the compassion in Hunter’s voice, and I turned away before I started tearing up. “I don’t know,” I said slowly. “I’ve never believed that people deserve anything other than what they make for themselves in life, and I’ve worked hard to live up to that ideal. But I guess I must have felt guilty in the back of my mind, about not honoring my mother’s death, because when I saw Twilight, covered in those scratches and bites . . . it reminded me of my mother, and I just lost it.” I took a deep breath then, and as I let it out, I felt some of the weight on my heart dissipate. “I guess, when we buried Twilight, I was really burying my mother.”
Hunter nodded. “Mrs. Jones thought as much, though she didn’t specifically say anything about your mom. She just said she figured you were probably grieving about more than just Twilight.”
I smiled a little. “She’s a wise woman.”
“Yes, she is.” We sat in silence for a moment, simply enjoying each other’s presence, before Hunter spoke again, “You know, I’ve never met a woman like you before.”
I arched a brow. “You mean, a crazy person?”
Hunter laughed. “Oh no, I’ve met plenty of those. I mean someone as fiercely independent as you,” he said, smiling down at me. “Or as hardworking.”
I shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise even though the battered part of me wanted to soak it all up. “There are other women out there who are more successful than I am.”
“Maybe. But how many of them would have dropped everything they were doing to come down here and take care of a ranch owned by an uncle they’d never met? You probably could have just hired a Realtor to sell this place off to the highest bidder without ever setting foot on the property,” he told me, his expression serious now. “But instead, yo
u showed up to see the place with your own two eyes, and you got your hands dirty even though you had no idea what the hell you were doing.” He laughed again. “That might have been fool-headed of you, but it’s still admirable.”
I finally smiled. I couldn’t help it. “Well, that might be the closest thing you’ve given me to an apology for yelling at me that day.”
Hunter kissed my forehead. “I am sorry,” he whispered against my skin, “for giving you such a hard time in general. You’ve risen to every challenge I’ve given you so far, which is saying something, considering there are women in this town who would turn up their nose if you asked them to do so much as clean out a stall. You’re more woman than any woman I’ve ever met . . . and, believe you me, I’ve met quite a few of them.”
I opened my mouth to make some kind of snarky retort, but Hunter suddenly reached up to stroke my cheek, his touch featherlight and tender.
There is so much . . . I wondered, gazing into his eyes. Is it lust? Love? Compassion?
I didn’t know, but whatever it was, the emotion dragged me under his spell, drawing me closer to him until our lips were a breath apart.
“Kiss me,” Hunter whispered, gazing at me with half-lidded eyes.
I did, pressing my lips against the sensuous curve of his mouth. I kissed him with soft strokes of my mouth against his at first and then grew bolder with tiny nibbles and the sucking of his bottom lip. Hunter groaned in response and then dragged me onto his lap, sliding his hands up the back of my shirt. Adrenaline rushed straight to my brain, making me light-headed and giddy as I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely. He kissed me back with an intensity that should have scared me. Instead, it sent thrills rushing from my head to my toes.
His hands fumbled with the clasp of my bra between my shoulder blades, and the undergarment slid forward. “Let me see them,” he demanded, pushing me back so that he could lift my shirt and bra over my head. His eyes glowed in the darkness, and the stark hunger in his irises made me shiver in anticipation. “I love your breasts,” he whispered, taking one in each palm, squeezing them gently.
“You do?” I asked before I could stop myself. Normally, I didn’t show any kind of weakness in the bedroom, but we were making love in a horse stall, and I’d always thought my breasts were a little on the small side.
“Yes.” He licked my right nipple, and I gasped. “They’re perfect.”
I slid my fingers into Hunter’s hair as he lavished my breasts with attention, biting, sucking, and nibbling on my sensitive nipples until I was squirming in his lap. His mouth was hot against my skin, sending molten tendrils of heat into my core until I was throbbing with the need to have him inside me.
“This is no fair,” I gasped, pulling away. “You’re having all the fun.” I scrambled back a few inches from Hunter, and I grinned at his befuddled expression before reaching for his belt. “It’s my turn to have some fun.”
Hunter relaxed a little, leaning back against the wall. “All right,” he said casually, but the gleam of hunger in his eyes betrayed him. “You can give it a go.”
His eyes brightened a little as I freed his cock from his pants. I paused to admire the thick, rigid length of him for a moment.
“Like what you see?” Hunter asked, pumping his hips suggestively.
He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I rolled my eyes, grinning.
“I’d answer, but I have a feeling you don’t really need your ego stroked,” I teased, wrapping my fingers around his cock. “Let’s see if I can stroke something else instead.”
I started stroking him, slowly at first, working up to a steady rhythm. I made sure to slide my thumb over his mushroom tip, a particularly sensitive spot. Though Hunter’s face tightened a little and he watched me avidly, he gave no other sign that he was feeling anything.
“So, you think you’re going to hold out on me, huh, cowboy?” I raised an eyebrow as I stroked him faster. “Well, I’m getting kind of hungry now, and you’re looking pretty tasty to me.” I leaned down and flicked the tip of my tongue across his head, giving him a seductive smile when he jerked.
“Do your worst,” he challenged, a gleam in his eye.
Without breaking eye contact, I settled onto my elbows between his legs and began licking his shaft. I started by flicking my tongue across the head again and then slowly dragging my tongue from base to tip, covering his cock from all sides. Hunter trembled a little each time I licked him, but he stubbornly clenched his jaw to keep from making any sound.
Well, that’s about to change real fast.
I gently bit down on the head. He gasped, and without warning, I took the entire length of him into my mouth, sucking hard. The response was instantaneous. Hunter bucked beneath me, his hands fisting in my hair as he hissed. I showed no mercy, thoroughly sucking him and massaging his balls with my free hand. His sac grew tighter in my hand until I knew he was on the verge of exploding.
“Stop,” Hunter gasped. “I’m not ready yet. I need to be inside you.”
I considered resisting his wishes, but he reasserted his dominance by yanking me up by the hair and tossing me to the ground. In seconds, my jeans and panties were down by my ankles and then thrown somewhere into the darkness. Then he reached into his wallet, yanking out a condom, tearing it open, and sheathing his huge cock. He eased it inside me, filling me completely.
“Oh God,” I gasped, clinging to him.
He pulled out and thrust back in, sending another spark of pleasure through me.
“You’re so big.”
“Shit!” Hunter stilled and then pulled out a little. “Am I hurting you?”
I shook my head, sinking my hands into his ass so I could push him back inside me again. “No. You feel good. More,” I encouraged.
He began thrusting inside me again. The throbbing inside me eased and then increased with every thrust, pushing me closer and closer to the edge of bliss. But I held on, wanting this moment to last as long as it could.
“Your pussy feels so good,” he rasped, staring down at me.
I gazed into his gemlike eyes, sucked into the storm of emotion and hunger I saw there that mirrored my own feelings so well. Wanting more, I increased the pace, forcing him to match my thrusts as we raced closer to the end. All too soon, it came, but the blinding rush of pleasure was so all-consuming that I was filled with bliss from head to toe, something that had never happened to me in my entire life.
When I finally came back to myself, Hunter was lying on top of me, pressing me into the dirt and hay as he caught his breath, and I realized he must have come too. Gently, I stroked his back through his shirt, and we lay there for a long while as our heart rates evened out.
“That was incredible,” Hunter said finally, levering himself up onto his elbows to look at me. The raw hunger in his face was replaced by a peaceful expression, his facial muscles relaxing.
“Yeah, it was.” I stroked the side of his face, enjoying the way his stubble teased the backs of my fingers.
“Especially the hellacious light show,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?”
“Nothing, darling,” he answered with a smile. “Just a hallucination I had while experiencing the best sex of my entire life.”
“Your entire life, huh?” I arched a brow.
“Hell yes!”
“Well, goddamn! I feel special.”
“You are special,” he answered before kissing me hard on the lips. “To me,” he finished before pulling back to stare at me.
My heart raced, and my tummy got tied up in knots from his unexpected compliment.
“You know, Hunter . . . you’ve seen me naked twice, and I haven’t seen you naked yet.”
Hunter laughed and then reared up onto his knees. “Well, I can’t promise you a full show right now,” he said, his eyes twinkling as he discarded the condom and buttoned up his jeans, “on account of wanting to be prepared and everything, but I guess I can take my shirt off for you.”
<
br /> He slowly unbuttoned his flannel shirt, revealing a tawny expanse of chest and washboard abs that I could definitely do laundry on. He allowed the shirt to slip down his broad shoulders and then stood still as I came closer, enabling me to inspect him by the light of the moon.
“Do I meet your standards?” he asked, his amusement evident.
I ran my fingers through the curls on his chest and then followed the happy trail disappearing down beneath the waistband of his jeans. His lower abs tightened a little as my fingers hovered there, barely dipping below, and I swore I saw his manhood swell a little beneath the denim.
“I think you’d meet most male-model industry standards, yes,” I teased. Then I smoothed my hands back up his chest and down his shoulders, running them along the dips and valleys of his triceps. “Shit, would I love to photograph you sometime,” I murmured, entranced by his muscle definition.
“Maybe you can.”
“Huh?” I glanced up at him in surprise, but there was no mockery or sarcasm in his expression.
“Maybe you can photograph me sometime,” he said, smiling. “I’ve never posed nude before, but I’d be willing to do it for you,” he said, waggling his eyebrows again.
I laughed. “I haven’t had to photograph a nude male in a while, but I have a feeling I’d enjoy doing you.”
Hunter raised a brow. “I’m pretty sure we’ve discovered that you already enjoy doing me,” he said as he snagged me by the waist, covering my mouth with a bone-melting kiss.
“Smartass,” I muttered against his lips before he lowered me to the hay-covered ground again.
Operation Wolf: Hunter ~ Sedona Venez Page 9