Chapter 18

Maggie gasped as suddenly her feet were off the ground, her ass was in the air, and her head was hanging over Hunter's side. "Hunter! Put me down!"

"Nope," he said as he jogged down Main Street with her draped across his back in a fireman's carry. "You can't run in those heels and I'm not about to let Olivia beaver dam me, or Bubba gator block me, or one of my brothers cockblock me."

Maggie laughed. This was not how she imagined their first time, but it was actually incredibly sexy. He carried her as if she weighed nothing while he jogged with her over his shoulders. Cars honked. People whistled and somehow Hunter wasn't even breathing hard.

"It's a mile, Hunter. Put me down. I'll take off my shoes and walk."

"No way, Mags. This is faster. A mile is nothing. You should see what I have to carry on missions. I've been training for years just for this romantic gesture. Let me have it."

Maggie heard the humor in his voice and laughed along with him. It was a sight, she was sure. But she appreciated that instead of ruining their night, it seemed to only bring them closer.

"When I get you home, we are dead bolting the doors. Checking the window locks, drawing the curtains, and disconnecting the garage door."

"Why?" Maggie asked flirtatiously.

"Because, then I'm going strip you naked, kiss your body in the kitchen, make you come in the living room, and then scream in the bedroom. And I don't want anyone interrupting us."

"What will we do in the dining room?"

"Feast," Hunter answered immediately. "You did promise me dessert."

"Then hurry because I can't wait to show you what I can do in the pantry."

Hunter slammed the door shut, set Maggie on his countertop, locked every window and door, and returned to find Maggie with her dress hiked up, barely concealing what was underneath, as she leaned against the cabinets holding a glass of water.

"You're not even breathing heavily and you ran for over a mile carrying me."

Hunter tossed back the glass of water and set the glass down. "Imagine what I can do and for how long when I'm not running."

"Oh, trust me. I've been thinking about it since I first met you."

Hunter stepped between her legs, which she automatically wrapped around his waist. He leaned down, stopping a breath away from her lips. He loved how Maggie closed her eyes and tilted her lips up, offering them to him. However, he didn't take them. He kissed her jaw, just under her ear before skimming his lips down her neck.

Maggie arched her back, but Hunter didn't take her up on the invitation. She pulled him close with her legs, but Hunter didn't budge. Instead, he picked up her hand and placed a kiss in the palm of her hand, on the inside of her wrist where he felt her pulse flutter under his lips.

It was torturous to go slow. Painful to kiss up the smooth skin on the inside of her forearm as Maggie made these cute panting noises mixed with frustration. He moved back to her neck, up and over her jaw, but refused to meet her lips. He taunted. He teased. He tasted.

Until she fisted her hand in his hair and yanked his mouth to hers. There was no more teasing then. Except that every touch of hers, every sound Maggie made, every rock of her hips were the biggest turn-ons Hunter had ever experienced.

Hunter slid his hands until they gripped her under her upper thighs, lifted her up with one hand, and shoved her dress up to her waist with the other. He had a promise to fulfill and that started with stripping her in the kitchen.

Hunter broke his kiss only long enough to pull Maggie's dress over her head. He tossed it behind him, not bothering to look where it landed. "You're so freaking beautiful," he told her before kissing her shoulder, using his teeth to pull the straps of her bra down her arm before feathering kisses along the swell of her breasts still covered by the bra's cups.

Maggie's hand was in his hair, her legs were clasped around his waist, and her head was tossed back as he kissed his way down each arm, over her hip, behind her knee, and only stopping to slip off her shoes.

Hunter kissed his way back up her body before capturing her mouth in his as his fingers flicked the bra's hooks open. He peeled the bra from her body and tossed it in the vicinity of the discarded dress.

Maggie's smell, her taste, and the velvet softness of her tongue were unlike anything he'd ever experienced. It was warm and welcoming yet had him so on edge he could barely control himself. Sweet, yet fierce. That summed up Maggie perfectly. She was all goodness, yet all backbone. She took, and she gave. She pushed, and she pulled. She was his perfect balance.

Hunter slid his arms around her back, holding her close to him, and picked her up from the counter. She tightened her legs around him and he thought twice about holding true to his promise. It would be so easy to make love to her right here and now.

"I believe the living room was next."

Hunter laid her down on the couch and grinned. She was splayed out just for him and it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.

Maggie's body tightened, her eyes squeezed shut, and the wave of pleasure rushed through her body. She was still catching her breath when Hunter, still fully clothed, picked her up from the couch.

Eventually she'd tell him how great that was, but right now she was trying to catch her breath as he carried her up the stairs.

"Sorry, I combined the living room and dining room."

Maggie smiled, and placed a kiss on his shoulder. "I can walk, you know. Well, maybe. That was . . . wow."

Hunter nudged the bedroom door open and then used his foot to close it. His room was how she imagined it. Clean, organized, and smelled just like him. The bed was large for a bachelor, but the pillows were soft and fluffed. Hunter set her down on the dark gray bedspread and smiled down at her as he pulled his shirt free of his jeans.

"Finally," she teased. She'd been dying to see Hunter naked and it was worth the wait.

He dropped his shirt on the floor, but Maggie didn't notice. She saw the muscles, a couple of scars, and then the washboard abs that ended in a V by his pants, which were quickly being pushed down.

Maggie licked her lips and Hunter groaned. "Not tonight, sweetheart, but soon. You're all mine now."

"I think that goes both ways. You're mine now too."

"Always."

Maggie rolled over onto her hands and knees to scamper up the bed, but suddenly she felt Hunter's hands on her hips. "You have a tattoo?"

"So do you," Maggie pointed out, looking over her shoulder as he ran his finger over the Olympic ring tattoo she, and the whole team, had gotten four years ago.

"Yeah," Hunter said of the tattoo on his bicep and the one on his chest. "But mine aren't hidden so adorably on my ass. It's sexy as hell. You're the last person I would expect to have a tattoo."

"I guess there's still a lot for you to learn about me."

"There's one thing I'm going to learn right now. How you feel when I make love to you."

The second the condom was on, Hunter was behind her. He held her hip the entire time, not letting her move up the bed. Instead, he bent down and kissed the tattoo. That was the last coherent thought Maggie had before he fulfilled his promise. He made her scream in the bedroom all night long. However, Hunter forgot one thing. She was very competitive, which led to him cursing in the middle of the night when she woke him up in the best possible way.

Maggie fell asleep in Hunter's arms, naked, sated, and completely besotted. By the way Hunter wouldn't let her go, the way he kissed her, and the way he made love to her, Maggie knew she wasn't the only one feeling that way. It was just one more reason to go to bed that night, well, early morning, with a smile on her face.