Hunter's Rose (First Draft)

Chapter Fifteen

I awoke the next morning to a soft knock on the door. Hunter shifted slightly, his hand coming up to run through my hair as he slid out from under my body. I groaned softly, my mouth pulling into a smile as his lips touched my forehead. I rolled over and curled into the blankets as I heard him open the bedroom door.

"Yeah?" He gruffed out.

"Hunt, we got a problem." My eyebrows scrunched at Arthurs words. 

"Give me just a minute." Hunter sighed "I'll meet you downstairs." 

I sat up, rubbing my eyes, as I heard the door close. "Is everything ok?" Hunter turned and gave me a soft smile. 

"Yeah darlin, Arthur just needs me for a little bit." He came over to sit on the edge of the bed, his hand came up to cup my neck. "You should get some more sleep." 

I stared at him for a moment before nodding. He gave me a soft look, accompanied by one of his rare smiles, before he leaned in and touched my lips with his own. My breath hitched softly before my own hands came up to the back of his head, deepening the kiss. He let out a groan before slowly pulling away and pressing his lips to mine again, and again, and again. I let out a small laugh before pushing him away. 

"I'll see you when you wake up." He cupped my cheek as he gave me a playful smile, leaning in and pressing another quick kiss to my lips. I rolled my eyes and laid down as he stood up and walked towards the closet. 

It was a few hours later when I woke and made my way downstairs. I stepped into the kitchen, pausing as I noticed the tension in the room. The guys were all sitting around the table, with Dan. Ace glanced up, shooting me a sympathetic look, as I walked in.

"Hey shortcake. You hungry?" I watched Hunters back tense and glanced around in confusion before shaking my head no. 

"Umm, is everything ok?" I asked cautiously. I glanced over at Jackson, my heart dropping at his hard face. It was odd to see him look so serious. 

Dan let out a rough sigh, making my eyes shoot to him. "You might want to take a seat Rose." I swallowed roughly and made my way towards the table, pausing when Jai moved to give me the seat next to Hunter. 

Hunter turned to look at me as I got closer to the seat, sending me what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. There was too much anger in his eyes for it to work, causing me to glance away as I sat down. 

"That looks not for you." I looked up at Ace's words, sending him a questioning look. Hunter let out a gruff sigh as his hand grabbed mine, causing my gaze to move back to him. 

"We didn't really get to dive too much into my background last night," He started, I felt my face scrunch up as multiple thoughts ran through my mind. "I can tell your mind is racing, I don't do anything illegal." He said with a slight chuckle. 

"So...what do you do?" I asked cautiously. 

"I...well, actually all of us, are bounty hunters." I couldn't stop the relieved laugh that escaped. 

"Sorry, I just feel like that was a big build up." I admitted, feeling accomplished when they let out small chuckles, the tension fading slightly. "Did you think I wouldn't approve? That's a pretty admirable job." And just like that the tension was back.

Hunter cleared his throat. "There's more. It's not the job that makes us worried. I don't think I'm doing the best at explaining this." He admitted, running his free hand over his face. "Dan?"

"Now that we're past their job title." Dan teased, I gave him a small smile at his attempt to lighten up the room. "I'm sure you know the basics of a bounty hunter?" I nodded.