Rugger: The Huntress (The Grey List #3)

Chapter 5

FIVE

Silence.

Warmth.

Passion.

Persuasion.

Together, they provided the moment’s serenity. Beads of water poured down onto Rugger’s dark skin. Her head fell backward as she pushed the drenched hair out of her face.

The distance between us had begun to feel incredibly discourteous. The designers of the pad could’ve saved time and material by lessening the space between the showerheads. They were worlds away.

Underneath mine, I gazed across the canvas where the art truly began. She was oblivious to her level of unhinged beauty, carrying on as if it didn’t exist. Stilled paintings of her around my home began to peak my interest.

My obsession was quickly growing with her right in front of me. She was the full package. Brains. Body. Beauty. Bravery. There wasn’t much more a man of my caliber could ask for.

My softness began to stiffen as Rugger turned around, exposing her small, perky breast, long torso, chiseled abs, widened thighs, the gap that split them, and those mile-long legs. I ran a hand down my face, clearing it of water while simultaneously making sure I wasn’t seeing shit.

And my feelings were valid. And my craving was valid. And my reality was valid.

Because, since the night I’d met her, each time I closed my eyes she was behind my lids. Tonight, she was behind them, between them, in front of them, and underneath them. She was everywhere. All over me. Overwhelming me completely.

You took something precious to me. You don’t deserve courtesy.

Her words stung. The pain intertwined in every syllable, I’d never rid my mind of. I’d hurt her feelings. Learning that I had hurt mine. Aches slowed my heart to a creep. The very last thing I’d ever wanted to do to her was the very first thing I’d done and I’d never forgive myself for it. Though it wasn’t under circumstances she deemed truthful, she’d been bruised nonetheless.

I subtracted the distance between us, not stopping until her breasts were against my chest. A hand caressed the back of her neck.

I’m sorry .

The words never exited my mouth, but they were ingrained in every movement I made. I leaned in and took her lips into my mouth. I located her most sensitive flesh and the bulb that turned on the heat throughout her frame.

Diligently, I massaged her plushness. Water cascaded down our bodies as our kiss deepened. My hunger for her was unbearable. Even with her at the tip of my tongue, I thirsted for more. I’d developed an insatiable appetite that only lifetime access could begin to cure.

I inserted two fingers, taking a dip in her pond. Her heels lifted from the shower’s floor. I brushed against the ridges of the most tender spot on her body.

“Uhhhh,” Rugger moaned against me.

Her arms slid up my shoulders and connected behind my back.

“Uhhh– Psal– Uhhhhhhh.”

Just like this . To stay here, in this moment, for the rest of the night would bring me utter pleasure. I didn’t need much else. Just her. Her sultry voice against my lips. Her pussy at arms-length. And, her softness on full display.

Because, though she’d never admit it from her mouth, I knew she felt safe. Her demeanor told me so. Her posture told me so. Her pussy told me so.

I circled her clit with my thumb, bringing her to that place I was beginning to love taking her. The first two visits were monumental. She began to grind against my fingers, assisting in her climax until the intensity shook her core.

Wobbly legs threatened to give in. At the realization of her unsteadiness, I pushed Rugger backward until her body pressed against the shower wall. I pulled away just as her eyelids slammed shut.

“Open your eyes, Gazelle,” I muttered. “Open your eyes.”

I wanted her to understand the magnitude of this moment. Of her presence. Of my presence. Of our actions. She’d signed her body away with her sweet pussy juices. It was no longer hers. It was mine to do as I pleased.

She obliged, gazing back at me under hooded eyes. Amongst ten other things, the lust and longing were prevalent in those orbs. I kissed her lips, unable to tame my ravenousness, then pulled back immediately. She was hypnotizing.

“Hear me clearly– when I say that any man that touches you is a dead man, Rugger. It’s not a threat, baby girl. It’s a promise.”

Her lids lowered as she mounted. Her orgasm nearly knocked her unconscious. She was limp like a ragdoll in my arms. When her eyes opened again, there I was, waiting to pour the life I’d just stripped back into her.

“Understood?”

A slow nod was all she could muster. Satisfied with her response, I hoisted her into the air and buried my bone. She perked up, instantly. Her head rested on my shoulder. Her claws penetrated the skin of my back.

“SONNIE.”

My name rolling from her tongue sent chills down my spine.

“Say it again,” I pled, knowing my undoing was near.

I dug deeper. Stroked harder.

Fuck! She was blissful. Her pussy was the definition of insanity. It pulled me back in each time I retracted my stroke. It wasn’t ready to part ways and neither was I. However, it left me with no choice but to chase the high it was providing until I reached the point of no return.

“Sonnie!” She called out, again.

I lost control.

“Urgh. Fuck.”

With vengeance, I fell into her pussy again and again and again. Semen traveled the length of my shaft and made itself at home in Gazelle’s womb. Together, we stilled, attempting to catch our breath.

“Easy. Easy,” I pled.

Rugger was tightening the gauze around my leg at a much faster rate than required. Though pressure was key, my wound’s ability to breathe was part of the equation.

“Quiet down. It was a straight through. You should hardly feel this.”

“Easy, Gazelle.”

“Why do you insist?” She asked, stopping to look up at me with softened eyes and a less abrasive approach.

In a matter of thirty minutes, I’d begun to see a different side of Rugger. It was one that I was enjoying experiencing. Though she wasn’t absolved of her guard, completely, I’d gotten through the gates. Or, at the very least at their entrance.

“Because, that’s what you remind me of.”

Silently, she peered up at me. The many thoughts running through her head, I wanted access to. I’d return every body I’d snubbed her of to know exactly what she was thinking. Right here. Right now.

“Tell me–” I encouraged.

“Tell you what?”

“How you missed… was it intentional?”

She was a trained marksman. From a half a mile away, she managed accuracy, piercing my guard with a bullet ready to penetrate my flesh. Blindly . She never even turned her head. There had to be an explanation for her performance tonight.

I had an idea, but not everything one believed was true. It was better to hear it from the source’s mouth and that’s exactly what I was waiting for. Rugger was in no hurry to tell. Her shoulders curved inward. A deep, contemplative sigh left her body.

“Make no mistake. If I wanted you dead, you would be.”

She wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t already known, but it was good to have clarification.

“I’d never make that mistake,” I admitted.

“I wanted you injured, not unalived.”

“Why?”

Rugger was trained to kill. She wasn’t paid to consider, she was paid to react. And, according to her background, she did her job well.

She secured the gauze and patted the point of impact. I clenched my ass cheeks and grinded my teeth against each other. She was well aware of the pain she’d caused.

“Ask me another question about my lack of– of– logic tonight and I will finish the job. I have no reason to keep you alive. I’ve gotten what I wanted from the encounter.”

I laid my head back on the arm of the couch and stared down at the most complicated being I’d ever encountered. She was as soft as she was solid. As delicate as she was deranged. As sugary as she was shitty. As calm as she was chaotic.

“Stop looking at me that way,” she mumbled, wrapping the remainder of the gauze around the plastic tube it had been attached to.

“Is that all?”

She stopped, peering up at me with uncertainty in those engulfing, dark eyes. They nearly swallowed me whole each time they were on me. But, fortunately, they were only after a few things.

My mind.

My heart.

My soul.

The rest I could have, but they made it perfectly clear they’d own the rights to each of those with time.

“Another question,” she sighed, trying to deflect.

“Answer it.”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Psalms.”

“Sonnie sounds better from your mouth.”

“Then, Sonnie .”

“Is that all you wanted? To feel me inside of you? Was that all?”

She paused for a second time. This time, her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth as she began computing a response in her head.

I wondered if there would be truth to what she decided to expose or if she’d do what she’d done all her life. Protect herself. Protect her feelings. Protect her truth.

“Don’t, Gazelle.”

“Don’t?” She batted, pulling me deeper into her trance.

“Don’t suppress the truth.”

“The truth has no grounds, Sonnie. I know it and so do you. Just like these questions, this moment is pointless. We live lives that don’t permit this type of– this, whatever it is that’s happening right now. I hunt for a living and if you ever appeared across the database, I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt you down and claim your life.

“That’s who I am. That’s who I was born to be. You aren’t the exception and neither am I. This was good, but this doesn’t last. Not for more than a night. That’s how long you have me. When the sun rises, we go back to our respective corners of the world and we continue our jobs.

“Because, avoiding situations like this, suppressing the truth, and protecting my heart is imperative to my survival. Love isn’t. Love is what has torn me fa–”

At once, her words stopped and her head lowered. A smile pulled her lips upward as she shook her head. I allowed her to take her time recalibrating. When her eyes were on me, again, the urge to continue encouraged me to lift up and wrap my fingers around Rugger’s arms.

I pulled her up onto the couch and onto my chest. When she settled and found comfort, I smoothed her slightly dampened hair back out of her face. Her scalp was warm and tender to the touch. I massaged it, gently. She began to relax against me.

“I heard you. I understand you. And, I want you to know that you are not wrong. The points you’ve made are valid. But, you didn’t answer my question, Gazelle. Tell me, was that all you wanted?”

Her chest rose and then fell. She pushed out a slow, shaky breath of air. Seconds passed before the rasp of her voice blessed me.

“No.”

“Then, I suggest you kill me now, because I will not stop until you have everything you truly want from me. From this. From us.”

I retrieved my gun from between the cushion of the couch and placed it in her hand.

“Sit up.”

She obliged, sitting up and resting her bare pussy on my stomach. The shower had cleared her face of makeup. Yet, she was still flawless.

With my gun in her hand, she stared back at me. I directed it towards my forehead, right in between my eyes. I wouldn’t survive the shot. Not at this angle and not with a bullet released by a trained assassin like Gazelle.

“Take the shot,” I demanded.

“Sonn–”

“Take the shot.” Softly, I egged her on.

“I–”

“You’re asking me to forget your existence as if it’s that fucking simple. You’re asking me to ignore the longing I see in those pretty, dark eyes of yours. You’re asking me to disregard the way my heart beats ferociously in my chest at the mere thought of you. You’re asking me to act as if tonight never happened… I was never inside of you… and you never told me you wanted more than that from me. The only way is through death, Rugger. That’s the only way, so end me now because these things I’m feeling aren’t going to go away. And, I won’t be able to rest at night knowing that you feel something, too. Take the shot.”

She was unmoving. Unblinking. Unraveling. Right before me. The gloss that coated her eyeballs shared her untold truth. She wasn’t opposed to the idea of us. She was afraid of it. And, she’d spent her entire life avoiding it. But, that ended with me.

“Damn you,” she grunted.

I pushed her arm away. The gun fell to the floor and her lips fell onto mine. Feverishly, she kissed me. Our tongues roped around each other. Our limbs interlocked with each other until finally she pulled away.

Breathlessly, she pressed her lips against my shoulder blade. And, without warning, she bit down. Her teeth pierced my flesh, locking me in place. Still, she continued to bear down. Her frustration was valid. Her fear was valid. Her hesitancy was valid. I wouldn’t discredit it.

Neither would I discredit her. Because, in all honesty, I felt it, too. Everything she felt, but I’d been alone far too long to allow any of it to stop me from claiming her as my own. She felt so real. So right. So rare. I had to have her, even if it cost me my existence.

As she released her transgressions, I lifted her slightly. Her slipperiness allowed me to enter her without issue. I parted her sea and found the bottom of her ocean. And, it wasn’t until then that she released my shoulder.

“Oh God,” she purred in my ear.

He’s the only one who can save us , I reasoned, driving into her again.

The sun penetrated the glass that covered almost every inch of the living room. I patted the empty space beside me, longing for the woman who’d kept it warm through the night. There was no doubt in my mind that all that would be left of her was her scent and her secretion on my dick by the time I opened my eyes. If I opened my eyes .

Sparing my life was the clear indication of Gazelle’s desires. Hadn’t she wanted to be hunted as I’d promised, she would’ve ended me before she stepped foot outside my home.

My home .

I inhaled the fresh morning air, peering up at the sky. A blanket of snow covered the branches of the trees. Together, we’d witnessed the first snowfall of the season. Though it wasn’t yet winter, this wouldn’t be the last of Clarke’s unpredictable precipitation.

I’d never had a stable dwelling, one to truly call my own. Real estate was one of my many interests, and though I’d acquired and sold several properties over the last ten years, none were truly mine. They were all temporary structures and a means of increasing my retirement fund.

This purchase, however, was personal –just like almost every move I’d made in the last month. It would serve as the capital of our affairs. Our median. The place we fled to when we were ready to shut everything and everyone out except each other.

It was likely the sheets would hardly get any use, but they were the least of my worries. Convincing Gazelle to revisit was. It was rare that we visited the same place twice. And, a third time was impossible. Not unless it was a core part of our existence. Not unless family or friends were involved.

It was too risky. And, that was the sole reason I kept my distance from my father. His life was too precious to toy with. Rugger, on the other hand, was born into a family of murderers. They could hold their own.

Each one of them, down to the one they promised a brighter path. She, too, could end a life without batting an eye. It was part of her makeup, even if she hadn’t had the opportunity to exercise her birthright.

I stood on my feet in all my nakedness. I stretched my arms in the air to loosen up.

“Urgh.”

The pain in my shoulder and leg forced me to lower them. My eyes found the imprint of Gazelle’s teeth. She’d broken the skin and hit the flesh underneath. To my surprise, her mark was one of beauty. I leaned over onto the couch and grabbed my cell phone.

I snapped an image and saved it in a private folder. When the healing completed its tour, I’d be at the tattoo shop with a needle to my shoulder. It deserved permanent residency on my body. So did she.

Feeling energized and refreshed, I stood in the middle of my living room floor. For once, the future was clear for me. For once, there was something other than death to look forward to. There was life. There was her. There was life with her. Even in secrecy, it was a life worth exploring.

“Let the hunting begin.”

Showering was the first thing on my agenda. Work was the next thing. I gathered my belongings and headed out of the door. I took the expressway to Isis Road where I exited. Two miles down the street, I pulled into the storage facility that was also part of my real estate portfolio. I entered the eight-digit code and gained access to the unit dedicated to paying customers. The wheels of the van I was in didn’t stop rolling until they reached the last unit. I pulled inside and lowered the automatic gate behind it.

With each step I took, across the 1600 square foot, two story build-out that occupied nearly an entire block of units, lights illuminated the space above and beneath me. Eight two hundred square feet units had been combined to create my workspace.

In the confinement, I managed to labor for a tech company that paid well. My annual salary of two hundred and sixty four thousand dollars helped me keep my father’s savings account out of the red. It was also the key to my real estate investing.

The coffee station was my first stop. Black and piping hot is how I preferred my coffee. As it began to brew, I powered up the tech pad I’d destroyed the operating system on to create my own and completely obliterate my digital footprint.

With a few swipes, I was inside the database of the Triad of Ara . The contractual work was optional, but I enjoyed it most. My superiors assigned new contracts at a much slower rate than I appreciated. Though I was under their umbrella, contractual work was not prohibited completely. As long as it didn’t interfere with their assignments, reputation, or operations, all was well.

The sound of hot coffee colliding with the inside of the glass mug garnered my attention. Patiently, I waited with my eyes trained on the constant flow of caffeine infused liquid. I’d had an eventful night. It was well-deserved.

I exhaled at the thought of the things I’d done to Gazelle. The things she’d done to me. I could still taste her sweetness on my tongue. I could still feel my dick deep in her womb. The night was perfect. There wasn’t a single thing I’d change about it.

I looked down at my injured leg and flexed my sore shoulder. A chuckle pumped my chest –in and out.

“Beats death,” I confessed, “I survived with my life.”

That was good enough for me. I fully expected a gunshot wound of some kind to remind me of the risk I’d taken by luring Rugger to my residence. But, I wouldn’t allow it to rob me of the experience, so I pushed those expectations to the side while silently embracing the reality of who I was seeking.

I grabbed the cup of fresh coffee and headed upstairs to my desk. As I made the final step, the tablet in my hand alerted me of an incoming notification. I tapped the red icon with my pinky. An unfamiliar face appeared on the screen with details beneath.

Anthony Reeves.

Clarke City, Huffington

38

$175,000

Immediate Termination

Deadline: 24 hours

Last Known Location: Jupiter International Industries

Known Acquaintances: H–

Just as I began to read the details, the screen blackened.

Fuck .

I shook my head, realizing I’d just missed important information and the opportunity to claim the contract. Just as swiftly as disappointment settled in my spirit, contentment evicted it.

“Fucking Gazelle.”

Agile.

Swift.

Nimble.

Graceful.

Elegant.

Adaptability .

Every word used to describe the beautiful creatures could be used to describe the one I was still reeling because of. There wasn’t a doubt in mind she’d evade my advances just like a gazelle evaded their predators. However, she’d just given me her location without knowing it. Within twenty-four hours she’d strike and when she did, I’d be there waiting.

The thrill of the chase drew my lips together. The sound of Chris Brown’s old junt erupted.

What if the sky was turning red…

I sipped from my coffee as the lyrics continued in my head.

Girl I love the way you sound…

When you rain on me .

I took the seat at my desk and powered up my computer. Rugger was recovering. And, likely, she was studying the target she’d just been assigned to. I didn’t have to worry about her making a move right now. By the time I finished my work for the day, she’d be ready.

I’m gone kiss your other set of lips .

The four monitors in front of me all gained power at once. I typed in my credentials and began to analyze my work for the day.

And we gone do it like it’s about to be the end of the world

And they depended on us

To make earth-shaking love

Gradually, I lended my thoughts to the screens in front of me. The work I did every day had once been my great escape. Gazelle had successfully dethroned it in a matter of hours. Tonight would be much of the same whether she knew it or not.

Won’t you come on over

And we can treat it like…

It’s the motherfucking end of the world .

“Barrel. Stock. Bolt. Forend. Magazine. Trigger. Safety. Chassis. Barrel. Stock. Bolt. Forend. Magazine. Trigger. Safety. Chassis. Barrel. Stock. Bolt. Forend. Magazine. Trigger. Safety. Chassis.”

Satisfied with the assembly of my weapon, I stood on my feet and placed my binoculars in the chair four feet from the window. Behind a desk that didn’t belong to me, I lowered into a chair that didn’t belong to me either. I unraveled the deli sandwich and gripped it between both hands.

One .

The first quarter was accompanied by pleasurable thoughts of the previous night. It would be a while before I could accurately describe the serenity it provided. Since I was seventeen, I hadn’t experienced that amount of peace.

Two .

My father’s face halted the chewing. He’d told me a dozen times how he’d bumped into my mother and how he knew she was destined for him at first glance. My heart ached at the thought of how distinctive the very moment I laid eyes on Rugger was from any other I’d encountered. We’d hardly gotten to know each other during her visit and I still couldn’t fathom losing her. Not now. Not ever.

Three .

Disdain for the future had me chomping on the sandwich as if it had done something to me. Losing Gazelle, even in the premature stage of our union, was too much on my head. Too much on my heart.

Four.

I promised to do everything in my power to make sure that never happened. Because I knew that was almost anything, my worry quickly subsided.

I folded one corner of the wrapper down over the other and repeated the same movement twice more. When it was small enough for my liking, I stuffed it into my pocket and headed toward the chair waiting by the window. I removed the binoculars and pressed them against my face.

“Mr. Reeves,” I uttered, “There’s a bounty on your head and there’s a beautiful, vicious woman who wants to claim it.”

The office complex was full of buildings occupied by the sharks of this world. One had a death wish. By the time his colleagues entered their offices at eight sharp, he’d be cold and lifeless on the floor of his.

With a single light illuminating his space, he burned the late night oil. Everyone else had gone home except the janitorial staff who had already visited the floor he was on and was headed to the next one. That’s what she’d been waiting on. She wanted time to spare, time to make a smooth escape. By the time they discovered the body, Gazelle would be long gone.

Anthony was oblivious. A cell phone was pressed against his ear as he made love to the keyboard in front of him. His life was slipping away slowly and he was completely clueless.

At any second, a bullet would pierce his window and then likely pierce his skull. To increase my chances of being the person who fired the life-altering shot, I traded my binoculars for the scope that sat atop my weapon.

I activated the beam. A red dot lightened the pigment of his dark brown hair, slightly. The second he ended his call and sat the phone on his desk I pulled the trigger and watched his head jerk from impact before he fell over onto his desk.

“Night. Night.”

Quickly, I took cover, removing myself from harm’s way. I brought my weapon along with me. In the shadows of the deserted office, I disassembled it and loaded it into the case.

Shattering glass shifted my attention toward the broken window. My skin tightened as my lips curled upward. The paper I’d taped to the window had a hole on the right side where the response I was hoping for was located.

Then, a date it is .