Page 53 of Gunner

The incident with Brian was suspect. But again, we were on a public street. He was already sitting in the booth at The Diner. I was already in the bar when he came in the night Aspen was attacked.

Every interaction could be explained.

Except this one.

I quickly checked on Aspen to be sure she was still napping. She hadn’t been sleeping well at night. The nightmares of a faceless man woke her many times through the night.

Slipping my feet in my shoes and throwing a sweater over my shoulders, I opened the front door and stomped across the street. It was time to confront the sexy giant and get some answers.

When he saw me coming, he straightened up on his bike and tossed his cigarette into the street. He spread his legs wide, and I walked right between them without thought.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

I tried to sound angry; I really did. But my words came out more of a breathless wonder. Gunner didn’t answer me; he just grabbed my hips, pulling me closer, and slammed his lips on mine.

That was the end of any rant I had running through my brain. In fact, that was the end of my brain as I knew it. There wereno more thoughts about him following me. No more questions about why he was there every time I left the house.

The way his lips moved seamlessly over mine left me praising fate for putting him in my path over and over again.

Missy always told me I would never find someone hiding away in my house. That my person wouldn’t just knock on my door and say here I am.

No, but he did pull up outside and wait for me to come to him.

I slid my hands up over his broad chest. When my fingers reached his full beard, I couldn’t help but run them through the coarse hair.

His large hands moved from my hips around my back and covered my ass, pulling me harder against him. One hand slid up my back, his fingers lightly teasing over my neck before fisting in my hair. The tight pull at my scalp had me gasping, and immediately, Gunner took advantage, thrusting his tongue deep into the recesses of my mouth.

I leaned further into him, getting lost in his all-consuming kiss, when suddenly I heard a piercing, terrified scream coming from the house.

Pulling back, I whispered, “Aspen.”

Turning to run back to the house, Gunner flew past me, his long legs eating up the distance of the street. Without hesitation, he slammed the door open. By the time I reached her bedroom, Aspen sat on the bed, tears pouring down her face. She pulled the blankets tightly under her chin as Gunner stood at the open window.

I climbed onto the bed, pulling Aspen into my arms. Whispering soothing words into her hair as I rocked her gently, hoping to calm the fear trembling through her.

Giving Gunner a look of helplessness, I continued holding Aspen as she sobbed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket andwalked out of the room as I heard him say, “King, we’ve got a problem.”

I could hear his voice on the phone outside the room. Still not knowing what had happened, I whispered to Aspen, “What happened? Was it a nightmare?”

She shook her head, but didn’t speak.

“Aspen, I can’t help if you don’t tell me what happened.”

I kept my voice soft but firm. I needed her to tell me what had scared her.

“Someone was in here,” Gunner said from the doorway.

“What?”

Aspen tightened her arms around me.

“Was it him?” I asked into her hair as I laid my head against hers.

She trembled in my arms, too afraid to speak.

Looking up at Gunner, I said, “She can’t stay here.”

“No, she can’t. I want to take her to the clubhouse.”

---