Hunter

Chapter Twenty Two

What did I do to deserve sweet friends like them?

"Hunter asked me to stay at his place." Kenzie said.

Both Lexi and Natalie exchanged glances and grins.

"Wanna take bets that he puts someone on protection duty?" Lexi said.

"I don't think so. He said he had security cameras. I'm sure that's enough."

There were angry male voices echoing from down the hall which sobered the women instantly, pulling their attention.

"Lots of tension when things go wrong with a mission." Lexi offered quietly as she took Natalie's hand in hers.

Kenzie took in a breath and blew it out slowly, keeping her own nervous energy in check.

"What's goin through your head sis? You don't have to hide how you feel from us." Natalie asked.

"My um...my brother went through three deployments and went on dozens of missions for my fathers teams. I remember this feeling well...I just haven't felt it in a while and I'm a little rusty." Kenzie admitted honestly.

Lexi took Kenzie's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"You're doing great. Just calm his mind and feed his soul before he leaves. That's all you can do and we'll help each other through the rest." 

Nodding her head Kenzie found comfort in Lexi's words. Hunter needed a clear head if he was going to lead the team somewhere dangerous and it was a big responsibility to try to provide that level of calmness when every nerve in her body was firing at a hundred miles an hour.

The feelings coursing through her veins and heart were familiar and foreign all at once, like she'd felt them before but never this intense.

She didn't have much time to pick apart her own feelings because the second she started to get lost in her emotions, Declan and Pierce appeared from around the corner. Their serious hardened expressions softening the second they laid eyes on the women they loved who greeted them with smiles and kisses

Hunter hadn't emerged, but Declan made eye contact with Kenzie over the top of Lexi's head and motioned with a nod of his chin for her to go into the conference room.

Giving Declan a grateful nod and a smile Kenzie cautiously made her way down the hall toward the conference room where she found Hunter sitting in a chair staring intently at a map that was on display. He looked pissed with a deep scowl and irritated breaths as Kenzie quietly approached him.

Her self doubt tried to take hold and she stalled in the doorway, suddenly questioning if he'd want her to intrude.

Stop it Kenzie. He asked you to come. Look at him. He needs you, even if he won't say it out loud. Trust your gut.

Approaching him from behind, Kenzie slid her arm across the top of Hunters broad shoulders, feeling his muscles initially tense, then melt at her touch. She leaned over and wrapped him up in a hug from behind as he sat in the chair still facing forward with his eyes glued to the map.

Burying her head in the crook of his neck, Kenzie placed several kisses against Hunters skin, hearing him let out an audible sigh. It wasn't his usual sigh of irritation or frustration, it was relief - of calm.

She smiled at the sound letting her lips brush against his flesh and felt him reach back and place one of his large hand behind her head, hold her there gently as a nonverbal indication that he not only liked what she was doing, but he wanted more.

Loving the way he tilted his head to the side to give her more room, Kenzie kissed and tongued sweet lazy trails up to Hunters ear then back down to his collarbone, feeling his tense muscles unwinding and relaxing beneath her lips.