Hunter: A Reed Security Romance Read online

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Who's who

  Who's who

  Chapter One - Lucy

  Chapter Two - Hunter

  Chapter Three - Lucy

  Chapter Four - Hunter

  Chapter Five - Lucy

  Chapter Six - Hunter and Lucy

  Chapter Seven - Hunter

  Chapter Eight - Lucy

  Chapter Nine - Hunter

  Chapter Ten - Lucy

  Chapter Eleven - Hunter

  Chapter Twelve - Lucy

  Chapter Thirteen - Hunter and Lucy

  Chapter Fourteen - Hunter

  Chapter Fifteen - Lucy

  Chapter Sixteen - Hunter

  Chapter Seventeen - Lucy

  Chapter Eighteen - Hunter

  Chapter Nineteen - Lucy and Hunter

  More To Come

  Hunter

  A Reed Security Romance

  by

  Giulia Lagomarsino

  Hunter

  A Reed Security Romance

  Copyright @ 2018 Giulia Lagomarsino

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2018

  ASIN: B07GLY81PJ

  Self published through Kindle Direct Publishing

  To my book reviewers. Your constant support and encouragement mean the world to me.

  Who's who at Reed Security

  Sebastian "Cap" Reed- owner of Reed Security

  Maggie "Freckles" Reed- Sebastian's wife

  Caitlin Reed- Sebastian and Maggie's daughter

  Training:

  Hudson Knight

  Kate Whittemore- love interest

  Team 1:

  Derek “Irish” Cortell- team leader and part owner of Reed Security

  Claire Grant- love interest

  Lola “Brave” Pruitt

  Hunter “Pappy” Papacosta

  Lucy Grant- love interest

  Team 2:

  Sam “Cazzo” Galmacci- part owner of Reed Security and team leader

  Vanessa Adams- love interest

  Mark “Sinner” Sinn

  Cara Donnelly- love interest

  Blake “Burg” Reasenburg

  Meghan Magee- love interest

  Team 3:

  John “Ice” Peters- team leader

  Julius “Jules” Siegrist

  Chris “Jack” McKay

  Team 4:

  Chance “Sniper” Newman- team leader

  Gabe Moore

  Jackson “Huey” Lewis

  Team 5:

  Alec “Wes” Wesley- team leader

  Craig “Dev” Devereux

  Florrie Younge

  CHAPTER ONE

  Lucy

  “YOU’RE GOING HOME with me,” Hunter snapped at me from the foot of my hospital bed.

  “I am not,” I insisted.

  “You don’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “I’d rather sleep in the gutter,” I sneered.

  “Why can’t you just accept my help?”

  “Because you’re not offering, you’re demanding.”

  “Who fucking cares? You need a place to stay and I have it.”

  “That’s besides the point,” I said, coughing harshly as my chest burned from the smoke that was still affecting me. Hunter had pulled me from a burning building, which I was extremely grateful for, but now he seemed to think he could boss me around. He stormed over to my bed and forced the oxygen mask over my mouth. I breathed in the air and relaxed into the bed. I just wanted some fucking sleep, but that wouldn’t be possible with him standing over me and staring at me with fury in his eyes.

  When the coughing subsided and I could breathe easy again, Hunter sank down into the chair next to me and ran a hand over his bald head. Sighing heavily, he looked up at me and for a moment, I thought he was going to go soft, but then his brown eyes turned harsh and he stood up, pacing around the room.

  “This is ridiculous. You don’t have a place to stay and I have plenty of room. Besides, I already fucking told you that things were going to change between us. You might as well accept that now.” He leaned his large frame back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. His muscles in his arms bulged and stretched his shirt tight across his massive chest. I almost started fanning myself at the sexy sight of him, but that would just prove to him that I wanted him.

  “No,” I said firmly.

  I stared at the sexy hunk of a man across from my hospital bed and refused to give in. He was the most gorgeous specimen God had ever put on this planet and by far the best I had ever had in bed. I wanted him so badly, but I absolutely refused to give in to his demands to go home with him today. If I did that, I knew it would be that much harder to hold onto my heart.

  Hunter thought that I was the same as him, out for a good time and nothing else. To some extent, that was true. While I was working my way through my masters degree, I had no intention of dating anyone that might cause a distraction. I had been working too hard and too long to deal with complications when I was so close to my dream. I was starting to teach at a college outside of Pittsburgh in the fall and there was no way I was messing it up. Since it was my first year, I needed to be doing my job just as well as all the other teachers if I wanted to stick around.

  In reality, I was like every other woman. I wanted to find someone that made me happy and settle down with a family. Hunter was not the man to do that with. He had always been a good lay, but I saw his wandering eyes at the bar and I took it for what it was. Hunter was a man with a voracious sexual appetite that one woman could never fulfill. So, as much as he stood in front of me and insisted that I would be going home with him to be taken care of, I couldn’t let my heart believe that he was serious. Hunter was the one man I wanted and the one man I knew would destroy my heart.

  But then something happened. Suddenly, everyone was in my room, trying to make demands on where I go. Hunter was fussing over me in an angry, brooding kind of way and when he insisted I go home with him, I couldn’t refuse again. The look in his eyes as he caressed my cheek had me melting right then and there.

  “Humor me.”

  I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that if I humored him, I would end up a gushy puddle at his feet on the floor. But I couldn’t deny him, so I nodded and let him take me home. He carried me down to his truck, which I thought was way over the top, but gave me such happy feels that I let him do it without argument. When he walked around to the other side and got in, he seemed slightly less angry, but I noticed that his knuckles were still clenched on the steering wheel. It was almost as if he was angry with me.

  “Did I do something to make you mad?” I asked.

  His hands tightened on the wheel some more and he didn’t say anything. I shrugged and stared out the window. There was nothing I could do about his brooding mood. My head slipped against the window as the scenery went by. I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night with Hunter pacing my room and hovering over me like I was about to die. I had been in a fire and had some smoke inhalation, but I had been cleared and was fine. All that excitement had worn me out though and I was asleep before we reached the edge of town where his house was located.

  When we got to his house, I jerked upright, wide awake in two seconds. I quickly got out of the truck before he could come around and get me out. I had to keep my distance from him.

  “Lucy, stop!”

&nbs
p; I turned and looked at Hunter, who was running to catch up to me. “What?”

  “You shouldn’t be-”

  “Walking? I’m fine, Hunter. I had smoke inhalation, not a broken leg.”

  “You’re so damn stubborn. Why won’t you let me help you?”

  “Because I don’t need it. I’m fine and I don’t need someone hovering over me.” I sighed and looked longingly toward the door where a bed waited for me. “Look, I’m tired. Can we just go inside so I can go to sleep?”

  His eyes softened and he nodded. “Yeah. You can have the guest room.”

  I nodded, not wanting to show the hurt on my face. The guest room. This was why I had to guard my heart from Hunter. He had demanded all night that I was his and he would take care of me, but then he took me to his house and put me in the guest room. Hunter definitely wasn’t ready to let a woman into his life.

  He led me up to the guest room, which I knew all too well. Whenever Hunter and I had sex, we came to this room. He never let women into his room. It was his sanctuary and he didn’t want it tainted. I ripped off my clothes, not wanting to sleep in sweatpants and a t-shirt and crawled under the covers.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Going to sleep,” I said with a yawn.

  “I see that, but why did you take off your clothes? We’re not having sex, you know.”

  I glared at him, “I know we’re not having sex, but I want to be comfortable. What do you care anyway? It’s not like you sleep in here.”

  I rolled over before he could say anything and closed my eyes. I heard him walk around the bed and go over to the other side. Sinking down on the bed, my eyes flew open when I felt him making himself comfortable.

  “Why are you here?”

  “I’m just making sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m sleeping, Hunter. There’s not much that can happen to me in here.”

  “Look, you don’t have anyone else to look after you. Why do you have to bust my balls over this?”

  I sat up and leaned back against the wall. “If you really felt it was that important to watch over me, why did you put me in here where you don’t sleep?”

  His brows furrowed and he shook his head slightly. “Because this is the guest room.”

  “I know that. But why did you put me in here instead of in your bedroom?”

  “Because that’s my bedroom.”

  “Exactly. You can leave now.”

  “I’m not-”

  “Yes, you are or I’ll go stay in a hotel. I don’t need you to watch me sleep or sit here and make sure I’m breathing. I just want to be left alone and since we only have sex, there’s no need for you to do anything more than give me a place to stay.”

  A growl rumbled through him and he shifted on the bed into my space. “How many fucking times do I have to tell you that you’re mine?”

  “If I was really yours, I wouldn’t be in the guest room where you fuck all your random hookups.”

  “It’s the guest room,” he exploded. “You are a guest, the last time I checked. Guest. Room. Understand?”

  “Perfectly.” I flipped off the covers and picked up my clothes. There was no way I was staying here. He just didn’t get it and I didn’t have the energy to keep explaining it. How hard was it for him to understand that I didn’t want him in my space?

  “What are you doing?” he asked incredulously.

  “I’m going to a hotel.”

  He ripped the sweats from my hands and held them away from me. “You’re not fucking going anywhere.”

  I smirked at him and walked downstairs in just my t-shirt. I had no problem going to a hotel in just my t-shirt. Sure, it would be awkward, but right now, I would do just about anything to get away from Hunter.

  “Lucy! Fucking stop!” He raced after me and spun me around, hauling me up over his shoulder. “I told you that you weren’t going anywhere.”

  “And I told you that I wasn’t staying here!”

  “Stop being so damned difficult. I’ll stay out of your fucking room.”

  “Now wasn’t that simple?”

  I let him carry me upstairs and put me back in the room, glad when he plopped me on the bed and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I was finally able to drift off and get some sleep, knowing that at least for the moment, I had successfully kept Hunter at bay.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  When I woke up, it was after dark and I was starving. I got dressed and went downstairs to find some food in the kitchen. Hunter was in there, brooding at the table with a beer. His eyes raked over my body as I walked in and I could see the hunger there. It couldn’t happen though. Now that I knew exactly what Hunter wanted from me for the moment, I knew I had to stay away from his bed.

  “You hungry?” he asked.

  “Starved.”

  “Sit down. I’ll heat up some dinner for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, I was thinking that I could take you shopping in the morning for whatever you need. Maggie dropped off some stuff for you earlier, but I’m sure it’s not enough.”

  “I’ll need to swing by the bank tomorrow and get out some money.”

  “That’s not necessary. I can get you whatever you need.”

  “Hunter, we’re not together. You need to get that through your head. I appreciate the place to stay, but I’m not going to let you buy me new things.”

  “Why can’t you let me fucking help you?” he said, slamming his hand down on the counter. “You’re so damn stubborn. I’m trying to show you that I want to be there for you and you just can’t fucking let me in.”

  “Am I really supposed to just believe that all the sudden you want me for more than a quick fuck? That’s all we’ve ever been, Hunter. I was in a fire and now you want me?” I shook my head at him. “I don’t think so. It doesn’t work that way.”

  He walked over to me and sat down in front of me, pulling my hands into his large ones. He stared at them for a minute and I saw a flash of a vulnerable side to Hunter. “My best friend was in a fire and I thought he was dead. When I saw your house on fire…you can’t imagine how fucking terrified I was. And then I saw you passed out on the floor and I could have sworn my heart was going to pound out of my fucking chest. It was like seeing Knight dying in that building all over again. Only this time it was worse because it was you and I didn’t even have a chance at something real with you. That’s all I want is a fucking chance.”

  I was speechless. I didn’t think Hunter would ever say something like that to me. We had never had any deep, meaningful conversations or anything that was remotely serious. This was a new side to Hunter and it gave me hope that just maybe we could have something more.

  He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “I know that’s not really our thing, personal stuff, I mean. I just wanted you to know that I am fucking serious about this thing between us. I don’t know the first fucking thing about how to be in a relationship, but I want to try with you.”

  He looked up at me and I could see it in his eyes. He was serious and I was finally ready to give him the chance he was asking for. “Okay, let’s try.”

  A faint smile touched his lips before he stood and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. When he turned away to get my dinner from the microwave, I couldn’t help but place my fingers to the spot he had just kissed. It was so tender and so unlike Hunter and made it all the more special.

  I ate quietly and then let Hunter lead me back upstairs. This time, he took me to his room, seeming to struggle with actually letting me in there as he opened his door. The room was masculine and cold, exactly what I would expect from Hunter. There were no signs of life in his room other than a few pictures on his dresser from his days in the military.

  His bed was huge and looked like the only thing he truly cared about in the room. There was a fluffy comforter that looked so cozy I could wrap myself up in it and sleep for days. I walked ove
r, running my hands along the comforter and sank down onto the mattress. A sigh escaped my lips when I was enveloped by the comfort of the soft mattress. It was heaven. My eyes slipped shut and that was the last thing I remembered.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  A strong arm was wrapped around my waist, pulling me back against a hard body that I knew to be Hunter’s. I smiled dreamily as I thought about what he said to me last night. He wanted to try. Things were finally looking up. I was going to be starting a job in the fall and I now had a man that truly cared about me. Someone that I found myself equally attracted to, but never thought I would have something more with.

  The sun was shining brightly through the windows and putting me in the best mood I’d been in for days. I stretched my arms above my head, ready to relax back into the comfort of the bed when I felt a sharp bite over my exposed nipple. I had gone to bed last night in clothes, but this morning I was naked. When had that happened? Hunter was watching me intently as he laved my nipple and sucked it hard into his mouth. I moaned and thrust my chest up higher into his mouth.

  His hand slipped down my stomach, gliding smoothly across my skin and dipped down beneath the covers. I shuddered when his fingers slipped through my folds and pinched my clit. My eyes drifted closed as he pleasured me and brought me to orgasm. Hunter knew exactly how to take my body from zero to sixty and always gave me an ending with fireworks.

  His lips trailed up my breasts to my neck as he slid between my legs. His erection pushed at my entrance as he rocked against me. I moaned as I begged for him to thrust inside me, but he just kept teasing me, making me wetter with every thrust.

  “Hunter, get inside me.”

  “I don’t think so. I wouldn’t want you to overdo it. You just got out of the hospital,” he teased.