Chapter 17

Hunter was livid. Beyond livid. He was raging. Hunter and his team were at the base being updated by their commander. They were on forced vacation leave while the government went full FUBAR.

"They've taken the case away from FBI Agent Castle, away from Sheriff Fox, and away from South Carolina completely?" Hunter asked with disbelief as his team cursed under their breaths.

"That's right. They said they have intel that all activity was taking place in Millevia and therefore the CIA is in charge of the case overseas with the help of Millevia."

"And the attacks right here in Charleston and Shadows Landing mean nothing?" Freaking government pissing contest.

"It's been quiet for over a week. There's no indication there's any terrorist event planned on American soil. But they did say they are tracking a former terrorist bomber whose last known location was Iran. Plus, all the attacks on American soil were people coming over from Millevia. Your team has a month of R and R coming your way since you've been working overtime. Enjoy it," his commander told them.

That made his team happy, but it didn't make Hunter happy. He'd talked to his brother Kane just that morning and he was trying to hunt down Hamid Saeed. He and every CIA agent in Europe and the Middle East. If Saeed was involved, it was clear whatever was planned would involve bombs, and that was never a good thing.

Hunter pulled into his driveway still fuming over the fact they believed Landry knew nothing and needed no protection. He'd talked to Ryker who had agreed that the threat to Landry wasn't over yet. Blythe had flown home for three days as another bodyguard replaced her. He was a serious man who didn't chat. But he was good at what he did. Blythe was back today and she would start four days on, three off until Ryker was satisfied a threat no longer remained.

Damon leaning against his bike in his driveway was the last thing Hunter needed right now. Hunter loved his big brother, who was more of a father to them since their parents had been so busy working and having kids to give any one kid a lot of attention. Not that they didn't love and respect their parents. They did. Hunter just knew Damon was the one who made ballet classes possible for Penelope and helped pay for college textbooks for Olivia. Then when Stone was drafted and Hunter was finally getting a small paycheck in the Army, they both stepped up and sent money home. It helped the younger kids go to camp, get new sneakers, and so on while their father worked multiple jobs to pay for their house, utilities, and Christmas presents.

"Damon, whatever it is. Not now. I have a date to get ready for."

"Hunter. This isn't hard and won't take long." Damn. Damon's lip twitched just a bit, indicating he was amused about something.

"What's going on? I'm having a shitty day, so just spill it."

"I had an interesting conversation with your girlfriend this morning."

"Maggie and I aren't official yet. I'm taking my time. I'm showing her I can be patient, respectful, and supportive, and I want to get to know all of her. What did Maggie want with you?"

Damon was struggling to keep his face neutral. "Apparently, you've been a little too respectful."

Hunter frowned. "What the hell does that mean? She has to know I'm interested in her. I take her out every night."

Damon bit his lip and Hunter knew he was screwed. "Yes, she knows you're interested. In fact, she's the one who called herself your girlfriend when she was talking to me. However, she wanted to talk to me privately to see if you had any"—Damon paused and tried to regain his composure— "sexual dysfunction she should be considerate of."

Damon almost snorted as it dawned on Hunter what Maggie had asked. "She thinks I have erectile dysfunction?" Hunter yelled in shock. "Why the hell would she think that? It was Forrest, wasn't it? No, it was Olivia getting back at me for her prom date."

Damon shook his head. "It was all you, bro. She said you've only kissed her and never tried anything else, so she worried that maybe you were embarrassed about ED. As your girlfriend, she wanted to help you with it."

Hunter's mouth opened and then closed. His brother was enjoying this way too much. Finally, Hunter took a deep breath and stormed past his brother and into his house. "Try to be a freaking gentleman . . ." Hunter muttered.

"Even gentlemen please their women, Hunter!" Damon called out with a chuckle.

Hunter pulled off his sand-colored athletic top and reached down to untie his combat boots. "Do I even want to know what you told her?"

"Just be thankful she came to me and not to Stone or Olivia. I told Maggie you were trying to show her how much she meant to you by taking things slow and that you had no such problems, down there."

"Have I ever told you that you're my favorite sibling?" Hunter kicked off his pants and headed for the bathroom to turn on the shower while Damon smirked. Damon was quiet, but Hunter knew that he was proud of them all. Plus, Damon liked being the go-to when someone needed help.

"I'll let you get ready for your date with your girlfriend." Damon chuckled again on his way out of Hunter's house.

Hunter wasn't laughing though. Come hell or high water, he was going to be a proper boyfriend tonight and show Maggie why he was worth the wait.

* * *

Maggie was nervous. She'd poked the bear. Technically, she'd poked the bear's penis. Did she need to do that? No. Did it give her a little bit of pleasure in the form of a little bit of revenge for the things Hunter had teased her about? Yes. Did she want to give Hunter a little push to see how he hunted her down to prove his manhood? Hell yes.

The thought of his control snapping had been the focus of her very hot dreams these past couple of days. The idea of it made her smile. Could she, sweet, petite Maggie Bell, make a man so strong and controlled as Hunter Townsend lose control? She certainly hoped so. She dreamt about it every night, yet every night ended with only a kiss. A very hot kiss, but a kiss and not the hot, sweaty, heart-pounding sex she wanted.

Maggie checked herself out in the mirror and nodded. She was dressed for a reaction. She wore a skintight, mid-thigh length dress with no underwear. It was practically a red flag for a bull.

Maggie pulled her hair back into a slick low ponytail and headed down the stairs in her high heels. She heard Hunter arrive the second she hit the first floor. Maggie opened the door, stepped out onto the porch, closed the door, and gasped.

The look in Hunter's eyes answered every question she had. He devoured her as he stalked up the steps.

"If you had a question on whether you make me hard, you could have felt for yourself instead of asking my brother." The way Hunter growled that between clenched teeth would have made her panties wet if she'd been wearing any.

"I wanted to be respectful in case you had an issue," Maggie said, holding on to the front door handle behind her for support as Hunter stopped inches from her and towered over her.

"No, you didn't. You wanted to find out what happened if you pushed me." Busted. "Well, hang on sweetheart, because you're about to find out."

Hunter's mouth devoured hers. It didn't start off slow and sweet like his other kisses had. This one smeared her lipstick, stole her breath, and set her afire. His mouth demanded her submission, and as Maggie clung to him, she was happy to submit to anything Hunter wanted.

Maggie let go of the door and flung her arms around him, holding on to his neck for dear life as he shoved her against the door. Hunter definitely did not have ED. She felt him, large, hard, and eagerly pressing against her.

His hands were no longer stationary, as they'd been during prior kisses. Hunter's hands moved confidently over her body as if knowing he could bring her to her knees with his touch and he was right. Her knees were slowly turning to goo.

"Ack!" Maggie's world tilted. Literally. The door behind her that had been holding her up was suddenly opened and she was falling.

Maggie prepared to hit the hard ground, but it never came. When she landed, she landed on Hunter who had somehow twisted as they fell so that he took the brunt of the hit and she landed safely on him.

"Eww, were you two making out?"

Maggie turned and looked up at her brother. "What the hell, Gage?"

"I thought someone was knocking on the door."

Hunter rolled to the side, stood up, and in one quick motion, had Maggie on her feet. Maggie caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her lipstick was gone. Her face was flushed. Her eyes were so bright she hardly recognized herself. Now that was how a man should kiss.

"What time will you be home?" Gage asked as Hunter began to pull her from the house.

"She won't," was all Hunter growled as he almost dragged her down the steps.

"Aww man, that's my sister!"

"And she's my girlfriend. See you tomorrow."

Maggie couldn't have hidden her smile if somebody offered her a million dollars.

Hunter was barely in control of himself as they ate dinner at Harper's. The plan had been dinner, some drinks, some pool or darts, and then he'd respectfully take her home, kiss her goodnight, and spend the night talking to her on the phone.

Hunter had been so proud of himself for his self-control until Maggie had talked to Damon. Now, knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her, the self-control was gone. She'd pushed and now she was going to find out how Hunter responded.

Instead of taking the seat across from her, Hunter slid onto the bench beside her. Their table was in the back. It was the most private one you could get in the bar. He waited until she had a sip of her drink in her mouth and leaned over, placing his lips against her ear, making her shiver. "I see you forgot to get dressed all the way. Did your panties not have a monogram reminding you to put them on?"

He smirked when she coughed on her drink, but because their sides were plastered against each other, he felt her shiver of excitement.

"You seemed to be having trouble finding your way there, so I thought it better to leave them off so you wouldn't get lost. Should I draw you a diagram?"

"I'd love to see a picture instead. Or better yet, why don't you show me."

Hunter placed his hand on her thigh and began to move it upward as he turned his body to shield her from the rest of the bar. He slid his hand under her dress and then paused the second her eyes began to glaze over and her legs widened in invitation. "Let's skip dessert. I know what I want to feast on."

"What's that? Because Kerri makes the best desserts that we can also serve here."

Hunter didn't move. He saw Maggie's eyes go wide, but he ignored the intruder. "Go away, Harper. Or better yet, bring us the check."

"So bossy," Harper said with a little mischievousness in her voice. "Lucky Maggie."

"I'm going to freshen up," Maggie said in a whisper as Harper slowly took her time clearing the table.

"Here," Hunter said, handing Harper more than enough cash to cover dinner.

"I'll get your change."

"No need," Hunter said, standing up and following Maggie to the back.

He waited for her in the dark hallway. The second she came out of the bathroom, he had her in his arms, his mouth to hers, their bodies struggling to get closer to each other.

"I want you so bad," Hunter told her as he kissed his way down her neck. "Ready to get out of here?"

"Where are you going?"

"Dammit, Olivia. Get lost," Hunter snapped.

"It looks as if you're the one who is lost. This is a hallway in a bar, not your bedroom."

"Hurry up and take me to your bedroom," Maggie whispered in his ear. Holy hell, that was hot. They were both panting with need and his sister was standing in the freaking way.

"Excuse us, Liv."

Hunter tried to move past his sister who smiled and he knew it wasn't going to be easy. "Actually, I'm so glad you're here. I've been meaning to talk to you about this interesting legal history I read on civilian versus military courts. See, the Supreme Court was established in the Judiciary Act of 1789 in the Constitution—"

Hunter could feel Maggie's arousal dying, so he did the only thing he could. He reached out, picked his sister up, spun around and set her down behind them. He grabbed Maggie's hand and rushed off as Olivia began spouting something about the court-martial being established by the Continental Congress and the first hearing was in 1775.

Hunter looked up and cursed under his breath. There were cockblocking mines in the form of supposedly loving family members between him and the door. "Don't make eye contact. Think of how many times I'm going to make you orgasm," Hunter told Maggie as he put his head down and plowed forward.

"Hey, Hunter. Maggie, how is training going?" Rowan asked.

"Good," Maggie called out as Hunter darted around his brother.

"You all should come to WET," Wilder said of his nightclub in Charleston. Wilder had some of the best nightclubs all over the world.

"What do you think I'm trying to do here?" Hunter grumbled, causing Maggie to smack him as she giggled.

"Bro!" Stone called out. "Thought we could get a workout in. How's tomorrow morning at five?"

"Show up at my house in the next twenty-four hours and I'll shoot you," Hunter called out, taking a sharp right to try to find his way around the bar toward the front door only to be stopped by Forrest.

"You can't go out there," Forrest warned.

Hunter pushed past his brother, opened the door, and stopped in his tracks.

"Told you so. We're waiting for Gator to get here because Mean Abe is pissed about something. Oh, and he took a bite out of your tire and you now have a flat," Forrest told him as Mean Abe, the town's problem alligator, opened his mouth wide and hissed.

"Back door," Hunter said, turning around, only to be blocked by a grinning Harper.

"I heard the back door is jammed," Damon told him.

"It's okay," Maggie whispered. "We can wait. We've waited this long. We can wait until tomorrow."

"You're not wearing underwear. You questioned my manhood. We've waited long enough."

"Hunter, it's Mean Abe," Maggie warned.

"Yeah, well, I'm Sexually Frustrated Hunter. Hold on and think of me eating my dessert." Hunter grabbed someone's shot glass from the nearest table, tossed it back, and flung open the door.

Mean Abe hissed at Hunter as he spat the alcohol onto the sidewalk, held his lighter to it, and watched it flare up. Mean Abe hissed, but backed up. However, not enough for Hunter and Maggie to safely leave.

"Dammit," Hunter muttered before jumping to the side, grabbing Mean Abe's tail, and giving him a hard yank. Mean Abe turned around to snap, but Hunter jumped behind a light pole. He pulled as Mean Abe fought him, but eventually Mean Abe was facing away from the door to the bar.

"What in tarnation are you doin'?" Gator asked as he hooked his thumbs in his overalls.

"Getting Mean Abe out of the way," Hunter grunted. Alligators were crazy strong.

"Looks like he took a bite out of your tire. That would make me right ornery too, if I were you."

"I'm not ornery," Hunter said. "I'm hor—"

"Gonna hurt yourself. Here, let me handle this." In a quick move, Gator had a bag over Mean Abe's eyes and the alligator instantly calmed down.

Maggie clapped. "Good job, Gator!"

Hunter was too busy looking for a ride to do anything other than quickly thank Gator. "Let's take Forrest's car."

Hunter went to open the door, but found it locked. Was the world against him tonight? No, just interfering family members and alligators. Hunter stuck his arm down the partially opened window to unlock the car—he'd hotwire the damn thing just to piss off Forrest for cockblocking him tonight.

Suddenly a bright flashlight showed in his face. "Step away from the vehicle and put your hands up."

"Granger, what the hell?" Hunter groaned. "I'm just borrowing Forrest's car since Mean Abe ate my tire."

"Borrowing involves a key, not hotwiring. Now, hands up."

"Granger," Hunter said, his voice low. "What are you doing?"

Maggie was watching from the sidewalk, so she didn't see Granger's face. Only his back. His face split into a grin as he leaned forward and whispered to Hunter. "I told you I'd pay you back for trying to stop me from dating Olivia." Then Granger leaned back, and pulled out his cuffs. "Do I need to arrest you?"

"Granger Fox," Maggie said, her voice annoyed. "So, help me, if you mess up my night, I will tell everyone about that night."

"What night?" Hunter asked.

Granger put the cuffs away. "Have a good night."

"I'm guessing you won't give us a ride?" Hunter asked.

"Don't you have a spare tire?"

"He ate two tires," Hunter said through clenched teeth. "I'm sure you can see that."

"Huh. Will you look at that? Sorry, I'm too busy taking a police report on a suspected car thief to drive you home."

Hunter turned, glanced at the sexy as hell high heels Maggie was wearing and made up his mind. He walked over to her, tossed her over his shoulder, and ran away before any other family member, supposed friend, or feisty alligator made an appearance.