Chapter 27 Max
TWENTY-SEVEN
MAX
An hour and a snack later, Hunter leads me to the back porch. There are no lights on out here, and trying to see into the distance is difficult. I’m glad I wore sneakers to the bar tonight, because imagining trying to traverse over limbs and stumps in heels is a recipe for disaster.
“Any rules you want to play by, Max?” Hunter asks, kissing my neck. He ditched his mask back in his room, and he looks casual in his loose-fitting jeans and plain white shirt. “What’s off-limits?”
“I don’t want to get hurt.” I put my hands on the banister of the patio and lean forward, trying to decide what path I’m going to take. “By you, by nature. If I trip and fall or feel unsafe, I want to stop.”
“How much of a head start do you want? Five minutes? Ten?”
I clearly didn’t think of logistics when I shared this is what I wanted to do. The land is unfamiliar to me but something he sees every day, and a head start sounds like a good idea. I need all the help I can get.
“Um. Five minutes? I guess? But you can’t look at where I’m going.”
“I won’t. The edge of the property is fenced all the way around. If you get lost, turn around and walk straight. You’ll end up back at the house.”
“What if I do get lost?”
Hunter pulls something from his pocket and hands it my way. I stare at the small package then glance up at him, confused.
“It’s a glowstick. Open it, crack it, and I’ll be able to find you.”
“How are you this prepared for everything?” My laugh is hesitant, on the edge of excited. “How many women have you chased out here?”
“None. This is a first for me, but I’ve told you I’m always going to keep you safe.” He taps my wrist and smiles. “If I see the glow stick, the game is off. Fair?”
“Fair.” I tuck the glow stick away and take a deep breath. “I think I’m ready.”
“Okay. Before you go, there’s one more thing I have for you.”
“My very own knife?” I joke.
“No. But we can get you one if you want.” Hunter cups my cheeks and kisses me. It’s slow, indulgent, and I sigh against his mouth. “I miss you already.”
“I miss you too.”
“Go on, angel.” He gives my ass a tap and steps away from me. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” I fix my ponytail and start for the stairs that lead to the ground. “I’m a former athlete. I have some speed in me.”
“I can be a very sore loser, and this is a game I want to win. If you make it all the way to the far end and back without me catching you, you’ll win.”
He’s hard to make out under the cloudy night sky. I don’t know if he’s already started the clock or if he’s giving me a second to gather myself, but when my feet hit the grass, I take off.
I run until my lungs burn. Until my calves feel like they’re on fire, an ache settling into my thighs. Until I reach the fence he mentioned on the outskirts of their land before I turn around. I pump my arms, a stitch forming in my side when I reach a large tree.
My heart is beating so fast, I’m afraid it might fall out of my chest.
I’ve never been so terrified in my life.
Or so turned on.
I know exactly what I asked for when I brought this up to him.
The thrill of what’s waiting for me if I lose is so hot, I almost don’t even want to try.
But a larger, more insane part of me knows this will be more fun if I struggle.
If I give it my best effort and think I’m going to get away when there’s absolutely no way I’m not.
Pausing to catch my breath, I listen for any signs he might be close. The air is still. There’s no breeze, no noise. Even the leaves refuse to rustle, and I expect him to be moving like a shadow, seeing me while I can’t see him.
A stick snaps, and I jump. I gather my courage and spot another tree up ahead, off the main path that leads to his house. That’s my next target, my moment of refuge I have to get to before I let myself rest again.
I just have to hope he doesn’t catch me first.
I brush my hair out of my face and take off, sprinting like my life depends on it. I jump over a small stump. I step on a pile of leaves that tickle my calves. When I make it to the checkpoint without being spotted, I start to believe maybe I can outsmart him.
So what if he’s a stealthy serial killer who’s never been caught committing any crimes?
Men aren’t shit.
I’m a badass and can hold my own.
The outline of his house comes into focus off in the distance, and I smile.
Four more trees, then I’ll reach safety.
Four more trees, then I win.
I glance over my shoulder, eyes darting to every possible place he could be hiding: behind the small bench under a large oak. Blending in with the tall hedges on the property line. There’s nothing there but dark night, and I start to relax.
I would know if he was close. I would be able to feel him nearby, his gaze heavy and impenetrable, and I can’t. It’s my sign to move forward and I dart out from behind the trunk of the tree, my destination set out before me.
A large branch almost makes me trip, but I right myself and continue ahead.
The house grows closer. I can see the patio furniture on the back deck, my car in the driveway.
I’m so close to safety, victory within reach, when large arms loop around my waist. A hand slides over my mouth, muffling my screams, and exhilaration races through me.
“Did you really think you could outrun me, angel?” His voice is deep and dark like the night. I struggle against him, thrashing in his hold, and his laugh makes me shiver. “Don’t fight it, baby. We both know this is exactly what you want.”
I try my best to pretend I don’t want this, clawing at his arms and kicking his shins, but Hunter leads me to a tree.
He spins me so my back is pressed against the bark and yanks down the zipper on my jeans.
He ripped my underwear earlier, and the cool air against my warm, bare skin heightens everything around me.
Shoving my thighs apart, Hunter wastes no time pushing two fingers inside me, groaning when he finds out how wet I am.
“Already dripping. You love this, don’t you?”
“No.” I squirm, the movement inadvertently riding his fingers. The bark bites at the back of my thighs. A stick pokes my ass, and I can’t help but groan at the overwhelming sensations. “I don’t.”
“Such a fucking liar.” He digs my discarded underwear out of his pocket and shoves them in my mouth. My eyes go wide but he stares at me, a silent question hanging between us.
The moment is electrified, seeping with lust, and my silly little heart stumbles over itself at his check-in. At the softness behind his gaze, so different from the forcefulness in his movements.
God.
I like him so much.
Hunter waits for me to give him an answer, and my subtle nod makes him grin. It makes him lift my arms above my head and spin me, my front pressing into the tree.
“I can’t wait to take what’s mine, sweetheart. I’ve been waiting a long time to feel your cunt around me.”
It’s barely been an hour, but when he grips my neck and hitches one of my legs up, my ass canting back as he does, it feels like maybe it’s been years. I’m panting against my underwear, tasting my arousal from earlier on the fabric, and I try to cry out when he slides his fingers back inside me.
“You can take them,” he murmurs, and I sink into the exquisite bliss he brings me. Facing this way, I can’t see his face, but I can feel him; the hard press of his cock against my hips. His teeth leaving marks on my neck, soft nips of my flesh. “Should we try four?”
I shake my head but my body betrays me. My legs open wider. I feel myself getting wetter, more turned on as the seconds pass, and I jolt forward at the addition of two more fingers.
“Need to get you stretched out for my cock.”
His tempo is quick, matching the pace from earlier in his bedroom, and I try. I try so goddamn hard not to fuck myself, to not ride his hand, but I can’t help myself. Not when he holds my throat so tight, I start to see stars.
The tree bark is rough under my hands, scratching up my palms as I fidget and swivel my hips in time with his movements.
The only thing that would make this better is if I was completely naked, my whole body exposed and belonging to him as he had his way with me.
Hunter lets go of my neck, and I hear the zipper on his jeans. His pants hit the ground and he spins me again, a gasp escaping when my back connects with the tree. Hoisting me up from under my thighs, he lifts me, determination in his eyes.
“I’m going to fuck you, Max. And when I finish, I’m going to come inside your tight pussy.
If you let any of my cum slip out of you, you’re going to get on your hands and knees and lick it off the ground.
Because that’s what needy sluts do, isn’t it?
” He grunts and lifts his hips, the head of his cock pressing against my entrance.
I groan at the stretch, at the thickness of his length compared to his fingers. “They listen, and they don’t argue.”
I nod my head, tears springing to my eyes at the brief burst of pain before it melts to pleasure.
I’m sore from earlier, the squirting Hunter got me to do using muscles I’m not used to using, but that doesn’t stop him from thrusting into me.
The first half of his shaft disappears in my pussy and I try to yell, but no noise comes out.
I scratch at his shoulders, his neck, anything I can reach.
Each time I do, he chuckles and rocks his hips, harder and harder until he’s buried to the hilt inside me.
It’s far from the first time we’ve done this but it feels different out here in the open.
Like he’s claiming me, once and for all, and I melt into the glorious sensation of being full.
Of wanting this but loving every single second, ecstasy behind the way our bodies fuse together.
“Hell. I can never last long with you, Max. Your cunt is too amazing. I want to stay in here forever. I’ll wake you up like this every day.
” Hunter closes his eyes. A bead of sweat rolls down his cheek and he groans when I roll my hips against him.
When I squeeze my thighs together. “Fuck. Keep doing that and you’re going to make me come, angel. ”
I want him to come more than I want to come.
I want to know I had a part in it, the sole reason for his bliss and wonder.
I move with him, thrust for thrust, exhilarated.
I feel sexy. Invincible, and he puts a hand on the tree, right next to my head.
He leans in close, mouth inches away from mine and I smile, breathing through my nose.
“You drive me wild.” Another grunt from Hunter, followed by a whimper when I lift my shirt and press my breasts together. His eyes flash with desire and his cock swells inside me, thickening to the point of deliriousness. “Is it okay if I come?”
I nod, frantic for it, but he doesn’t make the moment just about him.
He includes me, too, a thumb on my clit at the same time he drives into me with force strong enough to shake the whole tree.
I screw my eyes closed. I explode into a world of color and sensations as he plucks me apart, again and again until his cock twitches.
Until he roars and buries his face in my shoulder, warm spurts of his release filling me up.
We stay there, frozen in time for what could be hours. Slowly, with languid movements and delayed reaction, Hunter leans away from me. He blinks, eyes glassy, and smiles my way.
“I think I need to call you Tornado Max, because you rock my fucking world.” His fingers touch my chin then my lips, opening my mouth. He pulls out my underwear and balls it in his fist, humming at how wet it is. “Repeatedly.”
“Every time is always so good,” I pant, glad to be able to breathe normally again. “But that was double the workout.”
“And you didn’t have to use your glowstick.” Hunter winces when he pulls out of me, and slowly lowers me to the ground. “You have some speed in you, angel.”
“So do you. Did you see me right away?” I ask, reaching for my jeans. “Please tell me you had to work for that.”
“I was searching very hard,” he says, but I know he’s appeasing me. He had his eyes on me the entire time. “We’ll have to play it again soon.”
“I can see why you’re a serial killer. I didn’t even see you coming.” I fasten my jeans and put my arms around his neck. “You’re good at your job.”
“Shucks, baby. An unbelievable orgasm and your flattery? I’m a lucky asshole.” He grins and pinches my cheek. I’m taking you inside and cleaning you up.”
“Did I make a mess? Is there any cum on the ground?” I ask, and Hunter glances at the leaves and sticks under our feet.
“I don’t see any. Nicely done, Max. I’m proud of you for not wasting a drop.”
I beam at the praise. “I’d never waste anything from you.”
He leads me to the house and I groan, knowing I was so close to winning. A hundred feet and I would’ve made it, but when he keeps his hand in mine and looks over at me with a wide grin, I decide I’m the happiest loser there’s ever been.