Possessive Hunter Read online

  “I can’t believe you’re…here,” his completely puzzled tone letting me know my brother must not have let him know I was on my way. Then again Hunter isn’t exactly reachable by phone like the rest of the modern world.

  “I had to come,” I say, feeling better already, but still a bit dazed. No way I’m ready to stand up on my own, not that that’s going to happen anytime soon anyway, considering the small size of his tent.

  “Why?”

  Because of you, you big oaf. But I can’t say that. Not yet. I don’t want to scare him off. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about animals is that you let them get comfortable around you first before you attempt to enter their space, and right now the two of us, in these tight corners, are definitely animals in the purest sense.

  I feel completely feral, and if it weren’t for the outdoor water source I stumbled upon this afternoon I’d smell pretty savage too.

  But Hunter, oh my god. You would think he’d smell like a beast, but he smells like the earth, like the minerals found in these parts mixed with sunscreen. His scent, plus the fresh smell of the rain is absolutely intoxicating.

  I want to jump him right now, and I’m not sure if it’s in the crocodile bite him right in the face kind of way, or in the jackal sneak up from behind and hump him kind of way.

  But there’s no way a woman, let alone someone my size, would ever hump Hunter. He is the humper, not the humpee. A man that size takes what he wants, when he wants. And damn do I ever hope that’s me…soon.

  “I wanted to help the cause,” I tell him.

  “You could have joined VETPAW, like Kinessa Johnson did.”

  “Who’s Kinessa Johnson?” I ask, feeling jealous when another woman’s name comes from his mouth.

  “A former Marine who is hunting poachers out in these parts.”

  “With VETPAW?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s VETPAW?”

  “An organization, started by a U.S. Marine veteran, that hunts poachers in Southern Africa.” He pauses, looking at me curiously. “You’ve never heard of them?”

  I shake my head. “But you know this Kinessa Johnson?”

  “Only read about her and that organization. I keep to myself. I rarely see people and when I do it’s not the kind of people I’m looking to invite to dinner parties.”

  I exhale, not realizing I was holding in so much tension at the thought that maybe Hunter already had another woman in his life, someone like him.

  A woman like this one he’s mentioning would seem to be a perfect fit, although I know I’d be better…the best. And that’s why I’m here, to show him exactly that.

  “I doubt you have many dinner parties these days.”

  He holds completely still, then his lips start to slowly turn up before he flashes me a genuine smile. Damn he’s so sexy like this, just as sexy as he is when he’s Mr. Serious.

  “Unless you count canned beans and wieners, and when I’m eating those I’m the one who’s avoiding becoming the dinner party for a pride of lions or some other predators that lurk in these parts.”

  I’m up for some “beans and wieners,” Hunter style right about now.

  And as if he’s reading my mind he leans in close to me, putting his weight on his forearms as one of his forearms rests against my arm.

  “Tight fit,” I say.

  He nods. “The tightest I’ve ever seen,” he says.

  “You ever had anyone else in your tent before?”

  “You’re the first…ever,” he says.

  I smile, watching his pupils dilate at the visual satisfaction I display upon hearing him say this.

  “It’s not something I’m used to at all,” he says.

  “I bet if we wiggle around a bit things will fit perfectly…no matter how tight it seems at first.”

  I watch his Adam’s apple rise up in his throat before dropping, a large swallowing sound accompanying its descent.

  His eyes narrow as his gaze steels. It’s like he’s looking through me, more than at me.

  The tables have turned as now it’s his eyes that have glossed over, but not like mine…not from a sedative.

  He looks completely alert, not mentally checked out, but completely locked in instead.

  And when he does find out just how tight a fit it is in here, and how we can work to make things fit…well then I’m going to be the one who locks him in…forever.

  CHAPTER 5

  Hunter

  The sexual innuendos hang in the air of the tent, making it feel more humid and sticky than it already is.

  This whole situation is still so surreal. It’s all happening so fast that I don’t even have time to process it, and I’m hanging on by a thread when it comes to taking what I want.

  “When was the last time you ate?” I ask.

  “A couple of hours ago.”

  I pull a couple chewy granola bars from my pocket, surprised the heat from the sun earlier in the day hasn’t melted them.

  I hand her two and keep one for myself.

  “You’re kidding me?”

  “What?”

  “You’re giving me two and only eating one yourself?”

  “I ate not long ago. I’m good.”

  She looks at me like she doesn’t believe me, but I completely play it off and she relents.

  Good.

  I may be hungry as hell, but a good military person knows that you lead by example, and troops eat before the brass. I may not be brass, a slang term for an officer, but I definitely have more experience in the bush than she does.

  Fuck! What’s up with all the sexual innuendos running through my head?

  “These are surprisingly tasty,” she mumbles as she gobbles the first one down.

  I make some mumbling noises with my mouth as I look at her, making fun of her observation which she said with a mouthful of food.

  She laughs, the granola bar all going to her cheek, and then she slaps me on the arm…her hand staying a little longer than what’s needed, but way less than I want it too.

  “You look like a squirrel.”

  “With a couple nuts in my mouth?”

  I roll over on my side, my dick hammering against the base of the tent, bringing me immense pain. I need relief, and that’s as much as I can get right now.

  “Speaking of nuts, what’s your brother up to?”

  “Are you calling my brother nutty?”

  “He’s my best friend. We’ve call each other much worse, believe me.”

  “He’s good. Just back home, ya know. Regular job, two point five kids, white picket fence. He’s…living the dream!” She says that last part kind of sarcastically.

  “You don’t agree with his decision?”

  “It’s not that I don’t agree with it, it’s just.” She pauses. “Ya know what?”

  “What’s that?”

  “If I’m being honest with myself, maybe I’m a bit jealous.”

  “Jealous? You’re only twenty-two.”

  “I know, but when you find the one, like he did, and everything is so perfect and I see that all the time, it’s difficult not to want it for yourself.”

  “You’ll find the one…one of these days,” I comfort.

  She nods like she’s beyond pissed off. “One of these days, huh?” she mumbles under her breath.

  “I don’t mean it like it’s never going to happen. You’re young. You’ve got time.”

  “Or maybe it already has happened.”

  “What?” The sound of that pisses me off. I didn’t know she was with someone, as a matter of fact I was sure she wasn’t.

  “Never mind. I mean…guys are just so blind to the facts sometimes,” she says, throwing her head down on my jacket as she continues chewing her dinner. I’m embarrassed this is all I can offer her right now, but there’s no point in going out in the rain right now as the air isn’t something that I want coming into the tent. She doesn’t need to be breathing that in. She hasn’t been in the country for long, and
I know it takes a lot of newbies awhile to get used to it…although I’m getting used to this little banter I’ve got going on with her real quick.

  This is too good, too fun, and something I never really knew was possible for me to experience with a woman.

  “Your brother never told me about any guys,” I say, sitting up as best I can.

  “You were asking my brother about me?” Her eyes light up. Am I giving myself away that much?

  “No, I mean…no! I just ask him how the family is doing sometimes but he doesn’t mention you.”

  “He doesn’t mention me?”

  “No. Getting information about you is like pulling teeth, now that I think about it.”

  I watch as her face reddens, a flash of lightning illuminating the tent and I see just how angry she is.

  “My brother’s going to get some information the next time I talk to him. That’s for sure.”

  “What kind of information?”

  CHAPTER 6

  Charlize

  So, my brother knows I ask about Hunter all the time, but he doesn’t relay that information to him, huh?

  I see how it is now.

  He’s trying to keep us apart, or at least keep me away from him.

  No wonder he didn’t really give me any good intel on him before I came down. Sure, Charlie told me about where Hunter was, but he tried to discouraged me from coming, by telling me his general vicinity, when he’s in the middle of one of the biggest game reserves in the world his general vicinity isn’t exactly pointing me in the right direction.

  “I’ll let him know we found each other,” I say.

  I’m getting annoyed and it’s getting dark fast. It’s hot in here and my need for Hunter is very apparent. I need to get this top off, but the last thing I need is for him to see my pebbled nipples underneath my T-shirt once I get out of this shirt. All it would take was one streak of lightning piercing the sky and my need for him would be obvious.

  The truth is part of me doesn’t even care. I’ve been saving my first time for him and only him, and I’d be more than happy letting him take me here in the tent, because I don’t care about the when, why, or how…only the who.

  “It’s been a long day,” he says.

  “I was just thinking the same thing.

  His hand moves down and grabs at the base of his T-shirt, pulling it up and over his head, causing my jaw to drop.

  He turns and looks at me, and after a half second where my eyes focus in the lack of light and I realize he’s caught me gawking, I fold up my granola bar wrapper, fiddling with it like that’s what’s distracting me.

  And then he turns it up another notch.

  He lies on his back, lifts his butt off the ground and unbuckles his pants, sliding out of them…and doing nothing to hide the massive erection he’s sporting. The one that’s so damn big I can see it in the dark.

  I can’t help but stare.

  “You probably won’t want to wear much to bed.”

  “Why is that?”

  “You should let your body breathe, especially after being in those clothes all day. It’s much healthier.”

  “Right,” I answer.

  “Plus it’s going to be burning up in here later with two people.”

  “Do you have another blanket to put over the top of us?”

  “The sleeping bag we’re lying on is all we got. You can kind of cocoon yourself up in that end, but there’s not much extra.”

  “I sometimes get cold at night.”

  “I give off a lot of heat. Don’t worry. You’ll be warm.” He pauses for a minute before rolling over. “Night.”

  I just stay there in the same position, trying to figure out how this man has such broad shoulders. As he lies on his side, there’s the shoulder he’s lying on and the one he’s not. The one he’s not is half as high as I am, and I’m sitting cross-legged just next to him.

  No wonder this man fears little, if anything, in these parts. He’s a beast himself.

  And his rock hard cock gave me a preview of just how much of a beast he can likely be.

  I slowly slide out of my shirt, and then remove my T-shirt, only sporting a sports bra at this point.

  I do the same move he did, sliding out of my pants and suddenly I’m in my sports bra and some damp panties, and it’s not because they got hit with any rain.

  There might just be a flood in here tonight, and it will have nothing to do with the location of our tent.

  My desire for this man is so damn strong, and I know he can surely smell it.

  The man is trained to track and hunt his prey, and a lot of that is sight and smell.

  I try and get situated in the tent, but it’s so tiny in here and he’s so big.

  I bring my hands to my chest and roll away from him, our backs touching.

  I feel his big body moving up and down as he breathes, the huge surface area of his back is like a giant heater next to me.

  I grind my feet down and try and put as much of my back as I can against his.

  He’s so warm I want to just turn around and cuddle up to him, or better yet he could do the same thing to me.

  I stare at the side of the tent, barely able to see much in the dark.

  It’s warm, I’m in a small space, and it’s raining…perfect sleeping weather.

  Except not tonight, not when the man of my dreams is lying so close to me we’re touching. The last thing that’s on my mind is drifting off and catching some zzz’s.

  The only thing that’s on my mind is getting caught, by this stalker of the Serengeti. Okay, the Serengeti is way north of here, all the way up in Tanzania, but I’ve heard he’s stalked that area too.

  But this time it’s his turn to be the prey. I didn’t come all the way down here just to get this close. If he’s not going to be the prey then I will, and I’ll make it so that he’ll have no other choice but to swallow me whole.

  CHAPTER 7

  Charlize

  Everyone’s heard the saying “let sleeping dogs lie,” but this isn’t just some sleeping dog. This is the Rhodesian Ridgeback of dogs, the silent but deadly kind. The kind you take with you when you know you might encounter a pride of lions. The kind that rarely makes a sound, preferring to save all its energy for when the time may come to save your life.

  And the only person on earth who can save me from a failed existence is him.

  Am I happy with a lot of the parts of my life? Absolutely.

  Will it ever be complete unless we’re together? Absolutely not.

  I’ve served my country and now I’m doing my part, albeit a very small part at this point, to serve animals, creatures that can’t fight for themselves…at least not against modern man made weapons.

  And what Hunter has is like a weapon against me. Everything about him is so magnetic, pulling me halfway around the world just to be with him. He doesn’t need rifles or anything like that when he’s winning the game of psychological warfare.

  I can’t sleep with him this close and the two of us not doing what we should be doing, or at least basking in the glow of completion of such an act of passion.

  I roll over so I’m facing him, and nothing about him changes. His body just keeps moving up and down as he breathes in and expels air.

  Is he asleep? Is he dead tired from being in the sun all day? What was it like when he was tracking me?

  I’m soaked just thinking that this man was out there, following me, hunting me, and he didn’t even know it was me.

  I had no clue. None. And I’m trained with some of the best infantry skills the world has to offer, yet he was twenty yards from my campsite and I had no clue whatsoever.

  My eyes rake over his body, thankful for the heat he omits, and that this big strong man saved me from a night of hell, which I would have been experiencing right about now.

  It’s still raining hard, the pitter-patter on the top of the tent is loud, but it’s dry as a bone inside.

  I want to slide my hand over his body
and down his underwear, and see if he’s got a different kind of bone for me right now. How I would like him to bury it inside me, even my mouth so I could suck it until the marrow came out.