Gunner's Firecracker Read online

  “Hey, Sloane. Can I get another over here?” Frank, one of the bar patrons asks, holding up his empty glass.

  “Frank, I already told you, you’re cut off,” I scold, shaking my head as I finish wiping down the bar top.

  “Your pops would have given me one,” he says, pouting as he tries to push the empty glass towards me to refill it.

  “Ha, he would have cut you off an hour ago and you know it,” I state, grabbing it from him.

  “Come on girly, I thought we were buddies.” The old geezer has been a regular at Two Hearts since I was in diapers and practically watched me grow up always telling me he would try my new made up drink concoctions.

  “I’ll make you a deal Frank, you eat a burger, have a cup of coffee, and then I’ll think about letting you have one more,” I tell him knowing full well that he will be passed out after his hamburger.

  “Ah, yes. See? You are so good to me girly.” He says triumphantly. It takes everything in me not to chuckle.

  “Yeah, yeah old man. Go to your table. Laney will bring you your burger and fries when they are done.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he says as he slaps the bar and heads to the far corner of the room. By the time Frank's food is out, the bar is buzzing with excitement for the new arrival. I am in the middle of pouring a drink when the door opens.

  “Holy hotness, Batman,” Laney, my best friend in the world whisper-screams as she nudges me in the ribs excitedly.

  “Ow, woman. What are you going on about?” I ask. We have been best friends since we were babies and I know that she is happily married to the love of her life and that is the only man she has ever thought was sexy, and I don't mean that figuratively. I mean it literally. They have been in love with each other since first grade.

  So when I don’t look up; she nudges my ribs a little harder.

  “Psst. Looook,'' she insists. I roll my eyes and look up to see what all the fuss is. "Wow." The word pops out of my mouth before I can stop it. The sexiest man I have ever seen is standing at the bar entrance towering over most of the patrons in the joint. I don't mean to stare, I really don't, but he is absolutely gorgeous.

  He has dark hair that looks like he has been running his hands through it all day. His thick brows are drown in a cute little frown and fuck me, his beard is amazing, I had no idea I had a thing for beards until he showed up because for some reason all I can think about is the meme I saw saying Beards are like tequila, they make your clothes fall off.

  I feel myself blush scarlet at my naughty thoughts. Leave it to me to be instantly drawn to mister tall, dark, and handsome.

  Never, not once have I had a crush on anyone in this town and two seconds after being within a hundred feet of the man, I am already picturing what that beard, those thick full lips and big hard body could do to me.

  I run my eyes over every inch of him drinking in what I can see. His black shirt looks like it is painted on him and there is a tattoo sticking out of the sleeve on his right arm. Fuck me, he sure can fill out a pair of Levi’s. I take my time looking at him. I’m pretty sure he isn't even paying attention to me while I look my fill. That is, until I look back up at his face. My mouth pops open and I am not even sure what the hell kind of noise comes out of me when I realize he is looking right back at me. I should feel terrible for ogling the man and a larger part of me would be, if not for the fact that he is currently running his eyes over my body agonizingly slow, like he is trying to take in every inch of me. When his eyes land back on mine, I feel like I am rooted in place. He is making me feel things I was starting to worry I would never feel.

  His intense stare makes me shiver and I have a sudden urge to fan myself. Our connection is broken when Hawk slaps him on the back and says something pointing back at Laney and me. Mr. McHotty Hotterson raises a brow and turns to look at him. The minute his eyes leave mine, I almost want to sag against the bar.

  What the shit just happened?

  Chapter Three

  Gunner

  When we get to the bar and walk in, I am shocked to see how busy it is. Hawk told me that I should expect a lot of people but I didn't think half the town would be here or that I would be harder than a two by four just by watching the sexy little thing behind the bar unapologetically check me out.

  It’s not the first time I have been ogled and it probably won't be the last but something about her is different. While normally I feel uninterested and meh about it, with her I feel like a fucking king. For some fucking reason knowing that she likes what she sees makes me feel like a god damn peacock, ready to strut my feathers.

  Shit, maybe these sleepless nights are getting to me or maybe I have been living in the cabin too long because I have never had this kind of reaction before. Fuck, she is beautiful. She has a heart shaped face with a small nose, big eyes, thick full lips, and a curvy body that has me picturing all the ways I could bend her over.

  Fuck, I groan internally. I have never had this kind of reaction to a woman before and I don't even know her name. The minute her teeth bite into her plump bottom lip I am a fucking goner.

  I am jolted out of my thoughts when Hawk slaps my back.

  “Hey man, first rounds on me. My Laney is behind the bar.” Laney? Behind the bar? I shake my head and look at him. What the fuck is wrong with me? Did I just picture her checking me out when she was really just looking at Hawk? “Come on I will introduce you,” he says heading for the bar. I reluctantly follow, feeling like shit for checking out one of my men’s women. We are stopped at least ten times by different people congratulating me on the job or asking me about myself. I put on what I hope is my politest fake smile I can muster and prepare myself for a full night of telling people all about me.

  The most common question is why I came up here which brings up the thought of Davis and Winters. For a flitting second when I was staring at the beautiful brunette, I forgot about all the pain and heartache which makes me feel like a fuckface. When I moved up here, I found a new therapist in Park City, about an hour away from Two Hearts. I have been going to see him every week. Over the last couple months, I have had my ups and downs and while I thought I was doing better, I just came to the realization that survivor's guilt is a real thing. It is something that I am afraid I am going to deal with for the rest of my life. I don't notice the redhead standing next to the brunette until she squeals and runs around the counter, practically throwing herself at Hawk.

  “I missed you today,” she gushes. I should not feel as relieved as I do that, he isn’t kissing on the sweet little number currently blushing scarlet and tucking her hair nervously behind her ear, but I am and I am not sure what that means.

  Now that I am closer, I can make out more and see what she was hiding behind the bar. No one should look as hot as she does in just a pair of well-worn jeans and a white polo shirt.

  “Hi, I'm Sloane. What can I get for you?”

  You, on your knees begging for my cock.

  What the fuck? Where did that come from? She is looking up at me so innocently its driving me fucking wild.

  "Gunner King," I nod my head, introducing myself. "I'll have whatever you have on tap," I say sitting down on the barstool.

  "Sure thing, King." I almost groan out loud when she calls me that. I keep picturing her screaming it as I make her come over and over again. I shake my head, hell maybe I really have been living in my cabin too long.

  Over the next thirty minutes everyone in the bar has been coming up to me and it is just too much. I need a breather so once I see the chance, I make a beeline to the back of the bar and make my way outside. I lean against the building trying to let the cool breeze calm my pounding heart.

  “You okay?” Sloane asks curiously. I didn’t see her already out here, doing the same damn thing.

  “Yeah, just needed a minute,” I tell her. Somehow, she manages to calm my anxiety with just her presence and makes my heart feel like it is pounding a million miles a minute at the same time. She nervously tucks her hair behin
d her ear and kicks an invisible stone with the toe of her shoe.

  “Oh, well, I will let you be then,” she says ducking her head.

  “Wait,” I say a little too loudly, as I grab her hand to stop her from leaving.

  “You don't have to go.” I clear my throat and run my hand around the back of my head. “Uh, if you don’t want to, that is.”

  Smooth King, real fucking smooth.

  She grins and it’s like I have been struck by lightning. Fuck, her smile could light up a room.

  “Okay, I am a great listener and I know that everyone can be a lotta bit overwhelming."

  "Lotta bit?" I ask, chuckling. She digs in her pocket and pulls out a piece of gum.

  "Yep." She nods as she pops the gum into her mouth. “Wanna talk about it?” She asks, offering me a piece of gum.

  “Just a long day, plus I didn't sleep that well last night,” I hedge, taking the gum from her. We talk for a couple more minutes before she sighs.

  “Guess I better go back in.”

  “Yeah,” I agree, not wanting to go back inside. For those few minutes, it was just me and her. I have to admit I like the thought of her and I alone together a little too much. I follow her to the door when she turns around abruptly.

  “I know that it can get overwhelming in there with everyone and their twenty questions, so if you need another break or just to take a breather, we can come up with a signal so you can get outta there.” She is so sweet thinking about me. I don't know how she knows that I am so uncomfortable around everyone but just her offering to help me out makes me feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I lean down and kiss her softly on the lips. It was just meant to be a quick peck but the minute my lips touched hers, everything else in the world completely disappears. There is a quick inhale on her part and she slightly stiffens for a fraction of a second before she melts into me.

  I step closer to her, my hands on her hips, she softly whimpers and her hands fist into my shirt. When I finally pull back, we are both breathing heavily.

  “Is that our signal because I could get used to it,” she says breathlessly. I chuckle before giving her a quick kiss.

  “Definitely going to need to be our signal.” She giggles and I can’t help but grin.

  Sounds like a perfect plan to me.

  Chapter Four

  Sloane

  There are three things I have learned in the last three hours.

  Gunner King can kiss like nobody's business .

  He is a lightweight when it comes to liquor.

  He’s an absolute flirt but only seems to have eyes for me.

  He is on beer number three and two shots in. Hell, he is drunker than a skunk but in a sexy growly way that gets me all tingly. I am pretty sure everyone has come up to introduce themselves and welcomed him here. He looks like he is getting a little ready to bolt so I run my hand over his and give it a light squeeze of reassurance.

  It started off as something nice like I was just trying to help a friend but slowly the touches last a little longer and his eyes start to get hungrier every time I look over at him. He has touched my hand, run his finger over my wrist at least twenty times making my heart skip a beat each time. I love the way his calloused fingers feel against my skin and I can't stop imagining how they would feel pushing my thighs apart while he demands I ride his face.

  What the fuck has gotten into me? I'm not like this, I swear! I've never thought about doing those kinds of things with anyone else and now I'm practically ready to jump a man I don't even really know. For fuck sakes, I've only ever kissed one boy before and that was a freaking junior high, spin the bottle type situation. I've never dated and I sure as hell haven't lost my cherry yet. Now, I can’t stop picturing all of the ways those hands could make my body feel good.

  There is no way he is going to be able to drive himself home right now and if he stays here everyone is going to keep trying to buy him more rounds. So, being my logical self, I decided the best place for him to sober up would be upstairs in my apartment. It seemed like a great plan until we went into my apartment and the door shut. Then he had to open that sexy mouth of his and make me feel some kind of way.

  “You’re so pretty,” he sighs running his eyes hungrily over my body. I know he is drunk but hearing him say that makes me feel like a giggly schoolgirl.

  “Thanks,” I say, tucking my hair behind my ear, a nervous habit I picked up when I was younger, one that seems to never want to go away.

  “Sexiest woman in the world,” he growls, making another sweep of my body. It's so intense, I swear it feels like he is really touching me. My nipples turn rock hard and I am so going to need a new pair of panties.

  “You're drunk,” I state. You can’t pounce on a drunk guy, Sloane, I remind myself. No matter how much you want to. He probably isn't even going to remember this conversation.

  “True, but I thought you were smoking hot before I was drunk so… ha,” he says, giving me a drunken smile. I need to get out of this room before I jump on him. Trying to play it cool, I chuckle.

  “Okay, Casanova, I'm going to get you some coffee. Why don't you go sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable?” He nods his head and goes over to the couch. When I get back into the living room, he’s head is leaning against the back of the couch and his eyes are closed.

  “I like your place, it smells like you.” he states, not opening his eyes.

  “Thanks, you still want this coffee?”

  “Yeah,” he says, opening his eyes. I hand it over then sit on the opposite side of the couch. “Did you paint that?” he asks, looking at the picture hanging up over my TV. I throw my head back and laugh.

  “Yeah, that would be a no. I can draw a wicked stick figure though.” He chuckles.

  “What do you do when you're not working?” I ask, wanting to get to know everything I can about him.

  “I like working with my hands. Always have. I really enjoy carpentry.” We spend the next three hours just talking about anything and everything until he is sober.

  Then we stand, facing each other. I had every intention of walking him out my front door, telling him good night, that is until he steps closer to me and tucks a stray hair away from my face and I get a whiff of his amazing cologne. He smells like what I imagine the forest smells like. Standing this close to his hard body has my libido in overdrive.

  “Thank you for tonight Sunshine.” His deep, yet equally smooth voice goes all through me. Fuck no man’s voice should be this sexy.

  “Anytime, King.”

  “I like when you call me that,” he growls, moving closer to me. His finger loops through the belt loop on my jeans and he pulls me even closer until my chest is against his and his hard cock is digging into my stomach.

  “King…” I gasp looking up. His eyes are full of lust and the promise of more pleasure than I can possibly imagine.

  “Tell me you want this as much as I do, Sloane.”

  “I want you so bad, I ache,” I whimper.

  “Do you, baby?”

  “Mmm,” I moan, wanting him more than I’ve ever wanted anything before. Then his lips are on mine and I am lost. He moves to my neck before pulling my shirt over my head slowly. When he pulls my bra off, he gently licks and sucks my nipples until I am a puddle of need and angst.

  “Fuck, you are so beautiful,” he groans as he opens my jeans and pulls them down my legs. Then I am naked before him. His gaze makes me shiver.

  “You have me at a disadvantage,” I reply, wanting to see him too. He strips so fast, I almost giggle, but I can’t. I am mesmerized by him. He is all hard abs and thick muscles. The tattoo I saw peeking out of his shirt earlier actually wraps around his bicep and over his shoulder and onto his left pec. It's not the only tattoo he has either; he has one on his other shoulder too. I about swallow my tongue when I run my eyes over the rest of his body. His abs have abs and he even has those sexy v lines that are drool worthy. I about swallow my tongue again when I see his
cock. My eyes shoot back up to him and I am momentarily distracted by his tattoo. His shoulder tattoo is amazing. I wanna lick it, but first things first.

  “Where’s your bedroom,” he growls before picking me up, effortlessly.

  “Over there,” I say, gesturing behind us. When we get into the bedroom, I see the mess I forgot I left it in this morning. Shit. There are clothes everywhere. “Sorry about the mess,” I say as he tosses me on the bed.

  “What mess? All I see is you,” he growls as he pulls my legs apart. He kisses my thighs before licking my clit, in small figure eights. He puts a finger inside for a split second, but he must change his mind because he doesn’t keep it in there for very long.

  “Oh, God,” I scream.

  “You are so fucking responsive,” he says before burying his face in my pussy again. I bury my hands in his hair and hold on for dear life. What else can I do? My legs start to shake and instinctively, I grind my pussy on his face. My head falls back onto the pillows and my stomach starts to flutter. He growls into my pussy at the same time he sucks my clit into his mouth. My eyes roll into the back of my head and my toes curl as I scream out the most intense orgasm I have ever had.

  I just want him to be as close to me as possible. As if he can read my thoughts, he moves up my body, kissing as he does, then he reaches my lips and I taste myself and for some depraved reason, that turns me on more.

  “Is it always like that?” I say, when he lets me up for air.

  “No, sunshine. You’re special, and you're all mine. Are you ready for me?” he asks, pumping the baseball bat between his legs.

  How the hell is that going to fit inside of me?