The Hunter Brothers Complete Box Set

by Parker, M. S.

  A tall brunette walked past, and my eyes followed. As always, my brain analyzed everything about her, from her height to the asymmetrical shape of her hips, and then returned an approval. I crossed the room, barely even seeing anyone else in the crowd. I stepped into her personal space, and her head immediately dipped.

  “Are you here with anyone?” I asked.

  She shook her head, making her dark hair fall forward to cover her face.

  “Would you like to be with me tonight?”

  She nodded without any hesitation, which was good. I didn’t like it when a sub was too tentative. Submissive was good. Timid wasn’t my thing.

  I looked toward the back of the club where the room information was displayed. It was still early enough that only one room was occupied. My preference would have been to take her to a hotel, but I couldn’t bring myself to justify the cost for a single encounter that wouldn’t take the whole night.

  “Come.” I held out my hand, and she put hers in it. Her fingers were long and slender, her skin warm.

  The sign-in process was quick, with each of us giving only a single name and initialing the space regarding consent and safety. In only moments, we were heading for the second door.

  Once inside, I ordered Lissa to strip, and she did so with an efficiency that pleased me. She was naked beneath her simple sheath dress, but her body was far from bare. Both of her nipples were pierced with small bars, and the right side of her ribcage was decorated with an elaborate rosebush, complete with bleeding roses. Her navel was also pierced, and a thin gold chain ran from the ring down between her legs where, I assumed, it attached to a piercing through her clit or labia.

  “On your back on the bed,” I ordered.

  She complied without a word. I was beginning to wonder if she was able to speak at all.

  “Play with yourself, but don’t come.”

  She spread her legs, revealing hairless skin that was pink and glistening from her arousal. Her fingers dropped down, spreading her lips and showing me the gold hoop through her clit. Slender digits stroked the damp flesh at a leisurely pace, and I unzipped my pants. I moved closer, sliding my hand under my boxer-briefs to grasp my half-hard cock.

  “Faster,” I said. “But don’t come without my permission.”

  Her fingers made small circles over her clit before slipping inside her body. Her movements remained smooth, a rhythm that said she’d done this, many times before, likely at the request of other men.

  The thought didn’t bother me. I would use protection, and we would go our separate ways. I could see her in another man’s embrace as soon as we stepped back into the club, and it would only bother me if she had been left unsatisfied by the experience.

  “Play with your nipple piercings,” I said. “However you like them to be touched.”

  Her free hand went to her breast, squeezing once before flicking and twisting it. A moan escaped her lips, and her eyes flew open, seeking mine.

  I nodded. “It’s all right. You’re allowed to make noise. Just no climaxing until I say.”

  She sighed, her expression almost frantic. Her hips were starting to move, seeking additional pressure, and a fine red flush was moving across her chest. She was nearing orgasm.

  I freed my erection, pushing my pants open enough for me to be comfortable but without hindering my movement. “Don’t…” I warned.

  Her gaze dropped to my cock, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. As much as I enjoyed oral sex, I wasn’t in the mood to give or receive. What I wanted was to have absolute control, and nothing accomplished that more than getting to decide when someone else climaxed.

  Without taking my eyes off the fingers working her pussy, I took a condom from the pocket of my pants, removed it from the wrapper, and rolled the smooth latex over my cock.

  I moved so that I was standing at the end of the bed, close enough to see how swollen and wet she was. I reached down and grabbed her ankles, pulling her toward me.

  “Not until I say so,” I reminded her.

  She let out a whimper, and I dug my fingers into her hips. I lifted her, bending her body until my cock was right at her entrance and only her shoulders and head still touched the bed. I held her weight easily and saw no sign of discomfort on her face, save that of a woman desperate for relief.

  I buried myself inside her with one thrust, and she screamed. Not one of pain, though I’m sure she was experiencing at least some discomfort as her body adjusted. No, that had been a sound of pure frustration.

  An aphrodisiac to be sure.

  I didn’t draw it out, although another time I might have enjoyed torturing her a bit longer. At this moment, however, I was ready to find release. I used my arms as well as my hips, lifting her and pulling her back even as I rocked forward, driving myself deep with each stroke.

  “I didn’t tell you to stop,” I said as I bottomed out for the third time.

  She made a sound of protest but didn’t argue as her fingers moved again, one set twisting and pulling her nipple until it was red and swollen, the other rubbing her clit in time to my thrusts.

  Her muscles began to quiver beneath my palms and around my cock. I could see the strain on her face, but she still didn’t stop or complain.

  When she finally spoke, it was a single word, her voice cracking and breaking as she repeated it over and over. “Please, please, please, please.”

  Her body shook with the effort it took to hold back, and as the pressure in my balls tightened, I finally gave in.

  “You may come.”

  She let out a wail, and her body convulsed, her pussy squeezing me so hard that my own orgasm had an edge of pain to it. I fell forward, releasing my grip on her as I caught myself on my hands. I held my body over hers, eyes closed as I enjoyed the nothingness that came with the pleasure.

  Maybe I’d actually sleep tonight.

  Four

  Addison

  I was going to throw up.

  From the moment I received the call saying I’d been chosen for the internship, I’d been dealing with butterflies, and it hadn’t gotten better. Then, yesterday, one of our neighbors brought over a letter that’d gotten into their mailbox by mistake. A letter from the CDC confirming my internship.

  And telling me that I’d specifically been assigned to Cai Hunter.

  That’s when my stomach decided that it didn’t want to hold anything ever again.

  I scrubbed my palms on my thighs, hoping they’d stop sweating when I shook Dr. Hunter’s hand. I was probably going to make a fool of myself anyway. I didn’t want to add gross to strange.

  I was ten minutes early and standing outside with the sun shining down on me was only making everything worse. With my luck, I’d end up with a sunburn to make me look like the gangly, freckle-faced, small-town geek I’d always been. I took a slow breath to steady myself, reminded myself that I’d prepared for this, and then went inside.

  The place was huge, but I’d looked at every picture and layout I could get my hands on, so I knew exactly where I was going. I’d expected someone to be there waiting for me, but no one was, so I paced and tried to look like I knew what I was doing.

  “Addison Kilar?”

  I turned around to see the owner of the voice glowering at me. She was close to my height but carried some extra weight that her wardrobe hadn’t been adapted for. She was probably in her early thirties but was trying to look younger. Her light brown hair was teased into some strange hairdo, and her mouth was painted bright red.

  I processed all of this in just a few seconds, then smiled and walked over to her. “That’s me.”

  She didn’t smile back and gave such a cold look to my outstretched hand that I pulled it back in a hurry. “Well, I’m Ms. Kemyss, and you’re late.”

  I frowned. “I thought I didn’t start until eight o’clock.”

  She inhaled deeply, one of those deep sighs that mothers or teachers gave when they’re irritated but are trying to not explode. She pointed at the
clock on the wall. “It’s five after.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. “I think your clock is fast.” I smiled to lighten what she clearly took as a reprimand because the disapproval on her face grew. “We don’t allow phones. You’ll need to leave yours with security, and you can collect it at the end of the day.”

  That hadn’t been mentioned in the online code of conduct and expectations, but I wasn’t going to argue with her about it. She looked like the sort of woman who’d slap me if I dared question her.

  “Oh, okay.” I looked around for the security person I needed to give my phone to, but no one else was nearby. “I was told I’d be working with Dr. Hunter. I’m sure he has something he needs me to do.”

  A smile finally appeared, but it held no warmth. It was worse than the blank stare she’d been giving me. Damn. I thought people in the South were nice.

  “I’ll be telling you what you need to do.” She eyed my clothes, a slow examination down to my shoes and back up to my hair. Her lips pressed together. “And I’ll get you the employee handbook to read over.”

  This wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was my first day in a new place, and it was a place I really wanted to be…which meant this wasn’t the battle to fight.

  I smiled, trying to warm her over to me. “Sure thing. Lead the way.”

  Less than an hour passed before I realized that Pansy Kemyss wasn’t one of the doctors or scientists here. I didn’t know what her actual title was, but she basically recorded information for the scientists. After taking me on a tour and introducing me to all the scientists – well, almost all, since I had yet to see Dr. Hunter – she then sent me to drop off my phone at the security desk, then go around and ask if anyone wanted coffee.

  I was one thesis away from achieving my doctorate in infectious diseases while also working on a thesis about a link between genetics and infection.

  And I was getting coffee.

  But I ground my teeth together and worked to impress everyone by getting everyone’s orders perfect without writing anything down. For all I knew, this was the sort of thing every new intern had to do, something to keep them humble. I could do that.

  Besides, it was one day. Once I got my bearings I’d decide how to improve the situation.

  “Hey, kid,” Pansy called from her desk.

  I bit my lip and didn’t take the bait. Even if the activities were normal, my gut told me that the way Pansy was treating me was personal. I just didn’t understand why. I’d never had someone take such an instant disliking to me, and the scientist in me was curious about the cause.

  “Run these down to Dr. Lodge, then start taking lunch orders.” She held out a stack of papers. “On Mondays, we usually order from the bodega down the street. If it’s raining, there are extra umbrellas in the break room.”

  I took the papers and headed down to Dr. Lodge’s office. I’d take the opportunity to introduce myself by more than just my name. Pansy hadn’t told anyone that I was an intern working under Dr. Hunter, just that I was new.

  Unfortunately, Dr. Lodge wasn’t in his office, and I didn’t want to waste time waiting for him. Lunch was a way to make a good impression, and breaking bread with someone was always good. Besides, I had time to show them all I could do.

  My feet were hurting by the time I was done distributing everyone’s meals, but I still smiled and scurried off when Pansy sent me to get yet another coffee. If the super-saccharine, double foam mocha shit she sent me out for could even be rightly called coffee.

  As I hurried back, I reminded myself that it was better for my career to be getting coffee for someone at the CDC than it was to be sitting at home in Minneapolis, staring at the screen of my laptop and wishing that I didn’t have insane writer’s block.

  Maybe I could use the time I was doing inane tasks to do some mental preparation. I had a specific gene sequence that was giving me some trouble. If I could just figure out…

  My thought process was interrupted as I ran into something solid. And then it was interrupted even more as hot coffee exploded all over me…and all over the person I’d run into.

  I tipped my head back and looked up, up, at one of the tallest men I’d seen. And gorgeous. Golden blond hair. Bright blue eyes.

  Shit.

  Cai Hunter.

  I’d just spilled coffee all over Dr. Cai Hunter.

  Fuck my life.

  “I am so sorry.” I grabbed tissues from the nearby desk and started trying to clean Dr. Hunter’s jacket. “I can’t believe I did that. I’ve been carrying coffee and food all day and haven’t spilled a drop.” I sighed, rubbing harder and muttering faster. “It’s not like I can even blame not knowing where I was. I’ve already walked this same path ten times today, and I have a perfect memory, so I know every detail along the route. It was stupid. I was trying to think through my thesis, and it distracted me, and I just ruined your jacket–”

  “Were you burned?”

  His voice jolted me out of my babbling. “What?”

  “You look like you got the worst of it.” He gestured at me, his blue eyes filled with concern. “Did it burn you?”

  I looked down.

  “Shit on a shingle.” A laugh burst out of Dr. Hunter and color flooded my cheeks. I swiped at my shirt with already soaked tissues. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t do any good. “Sorry about cursing. It’s just my first day, and I thought it was going to be this great experience, and I’ve been getting coffee and running errands, and I can’t even get that right.”

  I needed to stop talking, but my mouth wasn’t getting the message.

  “At least Miss Kemyss likes it less than scalding. Otherwise, I’d be in pain right now instead of only wet and embarrassed, though maybe if I’d been burned, I’d feel less like an idiot.”

  “It’s just coffee,” he said.

  I looked at him, wondering if maybe this awful experience could have something good come out of it.

  And then I saw what he had been holding when I’d thoughtlessly run into him.

  A beaker.

  Which was now empty.

  “Shit on a shingle!” I said again. This time, however, all the color drained from my face. “Did I just start the zombie apocalypse? Coffee introduced into what had been a stable environment causing a mutation that could end the world as we know it?”

  Would someone please shut me up?

  “Or maybe it didn’t need to mutate. It could’ve been the kind of thing that was completely harmless when kept in an airtight container, but as soon as it was exposed to air, it became airborne and transmittable. I’m like that guy at the beginning of that book The Stand where he sees the virus is loose but runs like an idiot and ends up destroying the world when he should’ve been paying attention to what he was doing and maybe–”

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” He reached out and touched my arm.

  A jolt of electricity ran across my nerves, and my mind went blissfully blank.

  Five

  Cai

  I’d left my lab to take a walk and clear my head. Getting laid last night had helped me sleep, but it hadn’t done anything to help me focus on the problem I ran into this morning. That problem had been circling in my mind over and over, and all my walk had done was given me a rhythm to mull by.

  Then I walked straight into someone who’d been paying as little attention as I’d been, and everything changed.

  I stared at her as she talked, fascinated by the rapid-fire way she spoke, as if her thoughts were connecting on a level that her mouth couldn’t quite keep up with. I knew how that felt. I rarely tried to articulate my ideas because I always seemed to be skipping things and then having to go back and re-explain, and that never went well. People always ended up being confused. I couldn’t even really write them well. My brain worked great when it came to numbers and chemistry, but communication, not so much.

  It was one of the reasons I didn’t often have conversations with women. Simple commands were easier.
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br />   Normally, people who talked a lot bothered me. It seemed a waste of time using so many words when just a few would suffice, but I didn’t get that impression from the pretty redhead. She was nervous, and the words were a result of that, as much a part of her unconscious response to stress as someone who tapped their toes or chewed their fingernails. The biggest difference was that her nervous tick revealed a lot about her, and I found it fascinated me.

  Once she started rambling again, this time about zombies and ending the world, I was tempted to see how long she would go before she realized that no one else was panicking, but then I saw that she was truly distressed, and knew I couldn’t do that to her.

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” I touched her arm, and her head jerked up, eyes meeting mine.

  I’d never seen eyes quite that shade of pale green before, and something about them quieted the chaos in my mind. Or maybe it wasn’t her eyes as much as it was her. Whoever this young woman was, she managed to do what little else ever had.

  She distracted me.

  “I was cleaning some things in my lab,” I said, my hand still on her arm. “The beaker just had some soapy water in it.”

  She gave me a strange look. “You were carrying a beaker of soapy water?”

  I shrugged and gave her a half-smile. “I forgot I had it, honestly.”

  She smiled, her cheeks flushing prettily. “I’m glad it wasn’t some sort of flesh-eating virus that was going to turn us all into brain-munching zombies.”

  I laughed, wondering if it was me making her nervous enough to babble this time. I couldn’t say the thought was a bad one. “I’m Cai Hunter.”

  She stared at me for a moment, like I’d said something strange. “I know who you are, Dr. Hunter. Anyone with an interest in infectious diseases or the cutting edge of science today knows who you are.”

  She looked down at my hand on her arm, and it was my turn to flush. I’d been moving my thumb over her skin without even realizing it. I had a moment to register how soft it was before dropping my hand. I didn’t want her to get the wrong impression.