Hunter (The Bang Shift Book 2) Read online

  He straddled his bike and pulled out his phone. First, he’d check in with his sister. Then he’d go back home.

  He had a feeling there would be no more breaks from Maya, no matter how much temptation she’d be for him. His only reprieve was ending, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  Chapter Eight

  “I’m bored,” Maya said to Heather as they chatted over the phone, knowing she sounded like a whiny baby, but not able to care. “It’s only been like a week, and I don’t know how much longer I can stand this.”

  Heather snorted. “It’s been four days. Hardly a week.”

  Might as well have been an eternity. There was only so much exercising a girl could do before she couldn’t take the screaming muscles anymore. She’d worked out three times yesterday—once after she’d woken up, finding herself alone—and two more times after Hunter came grumbling back in toting some groceries, only to close himself in his bedroom. A few times, she’d heard the radio blaring in there, and she’d considered going outside for a run, but anytime she’d touch the doorknob, he’d appear out of nowhere. He wouldn’t say anything. Just stare, waiting for her to do something. She was pretty sure the look was meant to intimidate her, but all she saw was heat in his sexy eyes.

  She apparently hadn’t learned her lesson about bad boys because every time she looked at Hunter, she wanted to…she didn’t know. She just wanted.

  So, yeah, she had already worked out twice today, trying to keep her mind off her captor. Because that was what he was. After returning yesterday, he hadn’t left again. He was here.

  He was everywhere.

  He was nowhere.

  An enigma. Always out of her sight unless she considered stepping out of the house.

  “Same difference.”

  “Is not.” Then Heather said, “O-M-G. Is my brother being a punk?”

  “I don’t want to talk about him.”

  “He is. Jeez. I’m sorry. I was worried about that when they made you stay back. But I figured he’d be too busy looking into Jake.”

  Maya sighed. “I don’t want to talk about him either.” He was the reason she was in the mess to begin with.

  “Well, maybe you’d like to know he hasn’t tried anything. I saw him on campus, and he didn’t even acknowledge me. You know how he is; if he’s mad about something, he’s gonna make sure you know it. Doesn’t care how much of an ass it makes him look. So, you know, maybe his daddy talked some sense into him, and he’s gonna be chill now.”

  “Don’t see it being that easy.” But if that was the case, she could go back to school. Get away from Hunter. Get back to normalcy. Hell, she didn’t even like exercising. “How long do you think we’ll have to wait before I get the all-clear?”

  “Not sure.” Heather’s voice dipped lower. “I heard Blade talking to Anna about tailing him. I didn’t get much more than that. I sorta got caught eavesdropping.”

  “Of course you did,” Maya said sarcastically. “Incognito isn’t your style.”

  “Oh, shut up. It’s not like it doesn’t involve me. I have a right to know.”

  “Because you are the one stuck in a cabin in the woods.”

  “C’mon. It’s not a cabin. Civilization isn’t that far away. Fast Internet connection, too, not dial-up.”

  “Do they even make dial-up anymore? Might as well start selling me on the fact that he has one of those new fangled microwaves everyone’s talking about. Give me a break.”

  Heather snickered. “You have your phone and laptop—”

  “I have a burner phone, whatever the hell that is, not my phone. And your brother took my laptop away that first night and did something to it.”

  “Okay, okay, you’ve got cabin—”

  “I swear to God, if you say I have cabin fever, I will destroy your favorite skirt when I get back.”

  “Going stir crazy? That better?”

  “Marginally,” she muttered.

  Heather huffed. “I know this isn’t ideal, but please make the best of it. I’m going to feel really bad about taking you out there if I know you are just completely miserable.”

  “But I am,” Maya groaned.

  “Look, I’ll talk to my brother and see if I can get some idea about how much longer they think you need to be sequestered.”

  “Thank you. I’d do it, but he’s pretending I’m not even here.” From the time he’d gotten home yesterday, she might as well be invisible, except for a few moments of catching him staring at her. It had taken less than a minute to realize the feelings in her stomach had been butterflies at his attention. Was it because he was looking at her at all or because he’d caught her off guard? She didn’t know.

  Heather was silent for several seconds before she asked, “Really?”

  “Why do you sound so surprised? You were the one who always talked about how hard and dangerous your brother is,” she said instead of divulging her thoughts. Hell, she didn’t know what to think, and if those thoughts veered toward how sexy Hunter was, she got irritated and forced herself to stop.

  “His job. You know, with the military. He takes work stuff seriously,” she said, almost rambling. “But he always clowns around. Especially when things get a little hairy. And he’s usually the one to step in and make someone feel comfortable in those situations. I’m just a little surprised he’s not acting like himself is all.”

  “Your brother? A jokester?” Maya laughed. She found that hard to believe. Even when she caught him silently looking at her, there was no humor in his gaze. There was something there, something deeper, something she had no business trying to figure out. But light-heartedness was not it. There was also what little Heather had told her about him since becoming friends. Add to that what she’d found out about his military career on the way here, and yeah, Maya never envisioned him being the life of the party.

  A knock startled her. She covered the phone and looked toward the door. “Yeah?”

  Hunter cracked it open and peeked in. “I’m going for a run. Need to check some things around the perimeter. Stay put.”

  “Yes, sir,” she drawled. Heat flared in his eyes before he cursed and slammed the door shut, leaving her staring at the painted wood. Her spine tingled at the fleeting look he’d given her, but the tingle was followed quickly by irritation. Why did he think he could just order her around?

  “Hello?” Maya heard coming from her lap.

  “Oops. Sorry. That was Mr. Happy, ordering me to stay like a good little puppy.”

  “I’ll talk to him—”

  “No. Last thing I need is for another man to think I’m weak. Just…let me know if you find anything out, okay?”

  “You know I will.”

  They said their goodbyes, and Maya tossed the phone onto the bed once the call ended. What was she supposed to do now? She exhaled slowly as she considered her slim options. She’d logged into her classes this morning and finished those assignments, knowing she had to stay caught up. After all the crap with Jake had gone down, she’d thrown herself into school, working ahead in her classes, scouring over each syllabus and doing what she could. She couldn’t depend on schoolwork to keep her distracted, now.

  Reading was her go-to thing when she had extra time, but she’d re-read her book twice now—that would teach her not to delete them from her library when she got finished. If she read it again, she’d be able to recite it, so that was out.

  She could exercise again, but the thought of doing another round of sit-ups and push-ups totally depressed her.

  She gasped, sitting up straighter as an idea hit her. She could always go for a jog. Hmmm.

  Outside.

  Fresh air, new scenery. Yeah, she was liking that idea a lot. So what if Hunter had told her to stay put? She wasn’t some lapdog. She was a person. She had free will. What crime had she committed to warrant this kind of treatment? None—that was what. Besides, it wasn’t like she was leaving the property. And Hunter was still here.

  She was tot
ally going to do it.

  After grabbing her sneakers, she quickly slipped them on and jumped up. She looked at the bedroom door and slowly opened it. She pushed away any feelings of guilt over not minding him away. He wasn’t one of her parents, and she wasn’t sneaking out to go to some party. She was well within her rights to do this. As she walked down the hall, she couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take before Hunter realized she’d left the house. He seemed to have some weird sixth sense about that. When the backdoor came into view, only one thought came to her. There’s one way to find out.

  As if in a trance, she threw open the door and bolted down the back stairs. The cool air warmed by the sun’s rays washed over her face, making her smile as she jogged a few steps. It was invigorating. She would never take the outside for granted again. Maybe she should take up this form of exercise when she got back to campus. Let’s not get hasty. She smiled even wider. But as she turned the corner, she saw something that would’ve made her stop short if she wasn’t so shocked.

  Hunter, darting out of the trees, barreling toward her. The look on his face was one of panicked determination.

  “What’s wrong?” he roared right before he tackled her, rolling them to the ground against the side of the house.

  She was too stunned to answer. The fact that his hard-as-steel body blanketing her hadn’t even registered right away was proof of how shocked she was.

  His panting breath bathed her neck, making it even harder for her to form words. If she opened her mouth, incoherent nonsense would spew. Or worse. She’d make some noise she knew would sound suspiciously like a moan.

  Oh god, he was so big. The heat radiating off him was making her weak. She grabbed his arms to steady herself. She was either going to pass out or the world was literally spinning—and faster than it was supposed it.

  “Did you get some kind of threat?” She tried shifting, but couldn’t. “Stay down,” he whispered heatedly. “No alarms went off. No one should be past the fence line.” He scanned the area. His neck corded as he gritted his teeth. It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever seen. Her heart raced, the air completely gone from her lungs.

  Spots danced in front of her eyes as she tried to focus on him, realization dawning as to why her body reacted so strongly, at least partly. “Can’t breathe,” she wheezed. He was crushing her.

  He cursed as he lifted a little. “Sorry, darlin’.” The endearment rolled off his tongue as if without effort, and heat rushed to her face. She liked the way it sounded, him calling her that. Which was crazy. This was the South. She could’ve been an eighty-year-old grandma and he would’ve said the same thing. It wasn’t something special to him. It shouldn’t be to her.

  “It’s okay.”

  His gaze finally met hers. “I’m tracking zero threats. What happened? Why were you running?” he asked, still all business.

  “I-I—” Crap. She hadn’t considered what her running from the house would look like to him if he’d been watching the door. “Sorry,” she said meekly. “I wanted some fresh air.”

  He moved again, the pressure of the rocky ground easing a little more. Her back and leg stung something fierce, but she couldn’t bring herself to push him away. Not that she’d be able to do much good in that department. He was a wall and wouldn’t be going anywhere unless he wanted.

  That so shouldn’t have turned her on.

  She watched as the calculated look in his eyes slowly changed. Oh shit.

  “You mean to tell me you ran from the house like it was on fire because you wanted to? I told you to stay put.” He rolled off her, cussing up a storm, and then muttering words that were unintelligible.

  A snotty retort was on the tip of her tongue, but the burning in her leg got stronger. When she opened her mouth, all she managed to utter…was a wince.

  “What–fuck.” He jumped up. Before she could ask what his deal was, he scooped her into his arms.

  “Ooph.”

  “You’re bleeding.” He carried her into the house while she twisted some, trying to see what he was talking about. “Your leg,” he said, answering her silent question. How he managed to get up the stairs, through the door, and her deposited onto the bathroom counter without so much as another jostle, she didn’t understand. But the moment he grabbed her inner thigh, she no longer cared about his superhuman abilities.

  Or the fact that she was bleeding somewhere on her leg.

  He pushed her knees farther apart and she suppressed a gasp as she gripped the edge of the counter. When he moved closer, she had to look up. The image of his head between her legs had blood rushing to other parts of her body, and she had to manually control the speed at which she breathed.

  He moved, his arm brushing against her side before she heard the squeak of something and then water.

  “I need to clean it. It might be deep.”

  His voice was smooth with apparent concentration, but all she could think about was how the word deep slipped off his tongue and all the other meanings that tiny word could signify.

  Jesus, was it a thousand degrees in here? She was burning up. She was so attracted to this man. There was no denying what he did to her, how she reacted to him. She wanted him. His scent taunted her, making her wonder if he tasted just as good.

  “W-where is it?” she asked, finding her voice.

  The pause was palpable, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut him off from her senses. All that managed to do was heighten her hearing; his heavy breaths might as well have been screams.

  “Here,” he murmured, circling an area on her left inner thigh toward the back. She swallowed and nodded, not knowing why she bothered asking. Maybe she just wanted him to touch her there again.

  When a cool cloth grazed her skin, she let out the gasp she’d swallowed earlier. “Cold.” She smiled, looking down at him.

  He glanced up from his task and smiled. He looked at her for several seconds longer than necessary before clearing his throat and looking down again. “Just a scratch. Must’ve caught it on a rock or something.”

  “So no trip to the E.R. then?” she quipped.

  His lips tugged at the corner as if he was fighting a smile. “No. You’re good.”

  “Always good when a man tells a woman that,” she said softly.

  His head snapped up.

  Oh crap, why did she say that? What was wrong with her? It was bad enough she couldn’t deny her body’s reaction to him, but that didn’t mean she should flirt with the man. With him standing between her legs. His hand on her bare skin. Body heat scorching the air.

  “Maya,” he breathed. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and any will she pretended she possessed came crashing down. Her hand rose as if it had a mind of its own, and she stroked his stubble-roughened cheek. The sound that rumbled up from his chest set her core on fire. Rational thought? Gone. Nowhere was reason in this room. She leaned in instead of thinking about it. She could do nothing else. She watched his Adam’s apple bob before her lips finally touched his. He moaned, angling his head. The heat of his mouth bathed hers. She had to stop herself from shoving her tongue down his throat and kissing him as if it was her first time and she had no skill whatsoever. But she wanted, needed to feel the wet heat of him.

  She moaned as their noses bumped, a signal the kiss was milliseconds away from fully happening, and she wanted it more than her next breath.

  But suddenly, Hunter jerked away from her.

  His gaze darted to his watch right before a deafening sound screeched all around them.

  What the hell?

  Maya’s hands flew to her ears, but before she could ask him anything—not thinking right then that he wouldn’t be able to hear her—he pointed at her, then to the floor before putting his finger to his lips in the universal sign to keep quiet.

  He eased back from her as he fiddled with his watch. Now that she really looked at it, though, it didn’t look like a regular timepiece. It was digital with all kinds of blinking lights o
n it.

  The sound stopped. Hunter slowly opened the door, but before he left, he looked at her again. “Stay. I fucking mean it this time.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked hurriedly.

  “That was the alarm. Someone set it off. I’m going to kill whoever it is,” he whispered as he left, though she wasn’t sure if that last part was meant for her ears or not.

  A new kind of adrenaline rushed through her. Gone was the excitement of feeling Hunter’s lips against hers, replaced with something much starker.

  She could be in danger. Like real danger. But battling that fear for dominion was another bleak possibility.

  Hunter’s instinct had been to protect her at all costs. Would he shoot first and ask questions later? Her naive, sheltered brain couldn’t wrap around any of those thoughts.

  Yeah, she might be in danger, but the look on his face right as he left was one of irritation, not really fear. Could he easily kill somebody out of irritation? Or was the bad boy who’d just left her arms joking? She wasn’t sure if that was the case—or if he had every intention of killing whoever had penetrated his home fortress.

  She didn’t know this man, what he was capable of doing. Just because he fought for the country didn’t mean he wasn’t just another bad boy, hell-bent on getting what he wanted no matter the cost. Or worse, willing to kill someone for no real reason.

  One thing was for sure–she wasn’t going to sit around, waiting to learn just what kind of man he was. Oh, no.

  She was going to find out, starting now.

  Chapter Nine

  “What the hell, man?” Hunter barked when he yanked open the door. “You set off my alarm.”

  Gauge smiled at him, but the prick didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “Wanted to test your security system.”

  “Bullshit. You’re lucky I don’t pop a cap in your ass right now.”

  “Dude,” Gauge said, taking a wide berth around Hunter as he stepped in. “You need to chill.”