Gunner didn’t know why he was hot footing it to the table for a woman hiding in a bush, but something about that velvety voice and sassy attitude teased his senses. He wanted her to come out of that bush so he could see if the body matched that voice. He approached the table cautiously, not wanting to get stuck talking to any of the women his mother had introduced him to. He didn’t want to get sucked into a conversation and not get back to his mystery woman. He was almost finished loading down the plate and making his escape when his mother came up to him. 

“You haven’t seen a young woman with blue streaks in her hair have you, son?” she asked, looking a little worried.

“No,” Gunner said wondering why his mother was asking him. “I haven’t.”

“Okay, well if you do tell her that her mother is searching for her. Margo disappeared over an hour ago and Helen is a little worried.” He briefly thought about telling his mother about the woman who was hiding in the bushes. He had a good idea that the female hiding out by the tree was Margo.

“Will do,” he finally said, deciding that if Margo wanted her mother to know where she was, she’d tell her. He was no snitch. His mother reached out, patting his cheeks.

“You and Lisa seemed to hit it off well. Maybe you should ask her out sometime,” she said smiling, making his insides clench.

“Sure, Mom. I will,” Gunner said easily, because he knew he could ask, but she’d turn him down because she had a boyfriend. He was about to make his escape when a short reed-thin man with beady eyes came up to them. His hair was slicked back with some type of gel and he looked a little shifty, making Gunner step closer to his mother. He didn’t like the man instantly.

“Martha, I wanted to see if you’d found Margo. I wanted to tell her I was leaving, but I look forward to seeing her at the next singles mixer, Helen says she’ll be there.” Gunner was glad his hands were full.

If they weren’t he might have grabbed the little man by the throat just to shut him up. His voice grated on his nerves that badly. It was like nails on a chalkboard, high pitched and nasally. Gunner was glad he didn’t have to listen to that voice often or he’d have to kill the little fucker. Gunner would bet his last dollar that he was the reason Margo was hiding in the bushes to begin with. She didn’t seem like a fool to him, despite her choice to hide in a bush instead of just leaving the picnic.

“No, sorry Kevin. I haven’t found her. I’ll be sure to tell her if I do though,” Martha said, smiling at him. Gunner was torn, he didn’t want to leave his mother alone with Kevin, but he also didn’t want his little bird to fly the coop either. Kevin solved his problem by turning away to look around the picnic.

“I’m going to look around for her for a bit still,” Kevin said, his voice trailing off as he did so. Gunner was glad when he moved away searching for Margo in the other direction.

“I’m going to go eat this, Mom.” He told his mother as he kissed her cheek and stepped away.

“Are you going to sit with Lisa?” she asked, ever the match maker.

“Yep,” Gunner muttered, feeling a little guilty for lying to her as he headed back to the tree where his quarry was waiting. He stood a few feet from where she was hiding, making sure to glance over at the large group of people to be sure no one was watching him. He didn’t want anyone coming over to talk to him. The only woman he was interested in was currently hidden by large green shrubs. Gunner felt a grin tug at his lips. This day was finally looking up and he’d thought that would be impossible unless he had made it back to the clubhouse. 

“Ooh, that smells good,” Margo muttered as her hands thrust out of the bush reaching for the plate. Gunner wasn’t allowing that and he held it just out of reach. He wanted her to crawl out, and that meant she wasn’t getting this plate till she did.

“Come out… then you can have it,” Gunner said, a smile curling his lips.

“Dang it, just give it to me!” Margo demanded, sounding a bit cranky. Gunner couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him when she shook her hands at him in command.

“Not unless you come out.”

“I don’t want to come out,” she stubbornly muttered, earning another chuckle as he watched the bush shake. He’d bet she’d just crossed her arms over her chest like a child would and could almost imagine that she was pouting too.

“You want the food, then you come out. Otherwise, I will eat this delicious plate of dumplings myself.” Gunner made a point of inhaling deeply and licking his lips.

“You wouldn’t!” she gasped and he’d bet her look was truly horrified.

“Watch me.”

“Fine. But if that whiny little jerk finds me, I’m dumping whatever’s left of my food on your head,” Margo muttered as she crawled slowly out of the bush. Having met Kevin, he’d let that insult slide because it seemed fair.

Her blue sneakers came first and then one sexy, creamy leg, then the other. The long length of soft-looking flesh had him licking his lips for real. If the rest of her was as sexy as those creamy thighs, he was damned glad he’d managed to convince her to come out of hiding. There was some wiggling and a bit of grunting as Margo slowly crawled backward out of the bushes. Revealing herself, inch by sexy inch.

Gunner’s eyes fixated on her firm derrière as her dress pulled tightly against it. The dress slid up a few more inches to reveal her upper thighs and a low growl escaped him. Every inch revealed, only made his cock twitch and grow inside his pants. When she was finally free from the bushes, she turned revealing heavy breasts encased in the high necked, modest dress, which she tugged down over her creamy thighs.

Gunner noticed that the dress was a little too tight around her cleavage—not that he was complaining. He liked the way it accented her figure, but it surprised him considering the modest choice that she’d buy something that was tight. When his eyes finally met hers, he was properly hard and his mind had shut down. Gunner’s cock throbbed as he stared, almost panting, he was so turned on.

He couldn’t help his intense reaction to her. There was just something about her slightly off-center button nose and dark blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. It was streaked with blue and looked soft and silky, making him think of holding it while she sucked his cock. His gut clenched at that thought as he took in her creamy skin and soft red lips. Everything about her seemed to push his hot button. Damn, this woman was his wet dream come to life. He’d always liked a woman who had something he could hold onto while he slammed his cock into her. It just made the experience more pleasurable.

Gunner didn’t stop her as she grabbed the plate and plopped down on the ground next to the tree. Huffily with her spoon she began digging into the plate of dumplings. Gunner found himself somehow mesmerized by the way her lips closed over the spoon. Her eyes closed and a look of pleasure fell over her face making him almost swallow his tongue as his cock ached with a need that ripped through his entire body like lightning. Her little moan as she ate made his already stiff cock tighten. Damn, he hoped she moaned like that while he fucked her. Gunner didn’t question his need to take Margo long and hard. He wasn’t like most men in the club who avoided good girls. If they agreed to have sex with him, it was their choice, and he never promised them anything.

Why should he feel bad if they got hurt? It wasn’t his responsibility to take care of the world. It could damned well take care of itself. He never slept with women under twenty-one and he didn’t pretend they were a couple. He didn’t force them and if they said no at any moment, he walked away. He refused to feel guilty for being a man with needs. If a woman cried about sex after agreeing to have it with him—well then that was on her.

“You know it's rude for you to stare at my tits,” Margo muttered. Gunner’s eyes snapped up to hers guiltily. He didn’t really care that she wasn’t happy with him staring at her tits, but shit, he was usually smoother than that.

“How is it rude? It just means they’re nice tits,” Gunner stated, sitting down beside her after finally peeling his eyes off said tits.

“Yeah, no. Don’t you know anything about women? Thought a guy like you would be smooth like melted butter or something,” Margo muttered again between bites.

Gunner frowned at her as she lifted another dumpling to her lips eating it erotically. His body ached as he drooled over a freaking dumpling for fuck's sake. What the hell was wrong with him? He shouldn’t be this horny with so little stimulation but he was. Maybe it was being here with all these stuffed shirts. Maybe all these repressed dudes had infected his brain with lust for anything that moved or some shit like that.

“I know they don’t normally hide in bushes unless they’re five,” Gunner countered.

Margo raised a brow, her face turning a little pink before she nodded, “Touché.”

“You haven’t explained that completely yet. I know hiding had something to do with that little weasel, who has likely already left by the way, but I don’t get why you hid here instead of just leaving.” Gunner reached over intending to steal a piece of her biscuit, but she growled and jerked the plate away, glaring.

“No,” Margo snapped, earning a raised brow. “Mine, you brought it for me and I intend to eat it all. Don’t care if you think I don’t need it either, so keep that to yourself.”

Gunner didn’t like the tone she used. He didn’t know exactly what she meant by stating that she didn’t care what he thought about her not needing to eat, but he could guess. Some idiot had called her fat at some point and whoever he was, he deserved to be gutted. Margo was gorgeous and her body was almost perfect for him. He lost himself in sex and didn’t rein in his rough handling unless it suited his mood. Not that he’d ever hurt a woman while having sex, unless you counted a few bruises from gripping their flesh too hard.

“I never said that. I was just going to steal a bite. I did do the work to go and get it you know.”

“And I thank you for being such a gentleman, but I’m not sharing, go get your own.” Margo gestured with her spoon to the table still laden with food.

“You’re kind of mean, aren’t you?” Gunner asked, tilting his head as he watched her eat, his cock still fully engaged in his conversation. He wanted to push her back into that tree and tear that ugly as fuck dress off her so he could see if her nipples were pink or brown. He’d bet they were a nice medium rose like her lips.

“I’m just not sharing my food, get over it.”

“Wow, I saved you from Kevin, Margo. The least you could do is share your biscuit with me,” Gunner growled. He honestly wasn’t interested in the food, but since he didn’t want to frighten her away with his intense need to shove his cock into her hot pussy, he acted as if it was.

“How do you know my name?” she demanded, her face suddenly weary and a little frightened.

“Oh, my mom asked me if I’d seen a woman with blue streaks in her hair when I was getting you food. Apparently, your mother is looking for you,” Gunner explained, seeing the panic that immediately covered her face as she jerked her head left, then right.

“You didn’t tell her I was hiding in the bush, did you?”

“Nah, I’m no snitch. I just said I hadn’t seen you.” Gunner watched her settle back with a relieved sigh and wondered at the reaction. He knew pushy mothers were a pain, but he didn’t like the panicked look.

“Thanks,” she said, looking relieved. “Well, you know my name, what’s yours?”

“Gunner,” he said without thought.

“Seriously? That’s your name? And I thought Margo was strange.” Margo said, tilting her head.

“Nickname,” he finally allowed. Even though it was more than that, he’d let her think it was a nickname because he wasn’t ready to have her running away. He wanted to get to know her. His cock twitched because it was likely laughing at his get-to-know-her thought. His cock wanted to know her alright—it wanted to know how tight she’d be when she was wrapped around it. 

“Ah, that makes more sense. What’s your real name?”

“Not important,” Gunner muttered. Margo snickered.

“That bad, huh.” She finished her food and sighed as she set it aside. She watched him carefully, her eyes deep green and trained on him like lasers, as if she were trying to see inside him.

“No, just isn’t important.”

“Uh-huh, ok then,” she said dryly. He knew she didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter.

“Want to go out with me?” he asked, suddenly again acting like he didn’t know how to talk to a woman. Fuck what was it about her that fried his brain?

“Uh. No thanks,” Margo said, but she’d posed the answer like a question.

“Why not?”

“Well, for one, I don’t want to go to this church and you’re—well you,” Margo explained looking a little pained as she indicated his clothing.

He jerked back, his face covered with a shocked look, realizing she thought he was one of these repressed fuckers who didn’t know how to find their own ass in the dark.

“I don’t go to this church,” Gunner denied, noting how angry he sounded and tried to tone it down. No need to scare her away before he got what he wanted—and what he wanted was to sink balls deep into her hot little quim.

“Well, still. I’m— Well, look, this isn’t really me.” She pulled at her dress as she spoke, unwittingly making him a much happier man. If she wasn’t typically in this style of dress then he could move a little faster than he’d thought to get what he needed.

“Good, this isn’t me either,” Gunner told her tugging at the annoying collar again. He’d been periodically pulling at the restricting material but he’d also been distracted from the uncomfortable confinement by his intense focus on her.

Margo tilted her head and watched him for a long moment as if she were thinking hard. He wanted to lean in and take her lips beneath his, but he refrained. Gunner allowed her to study him for a long moment before she finally nodded.

“Okay, give me your phone. I’ll give you my number and you can call me. Not promising I will go out with you, but maybe.” Margo took the phone he held out to her. His eyes were still on her lips thinking about them wrapped around his cock.

He wanted to fuck that pretty mouth and finish on her tits. He wanted to push her back against that tree, lift her skirt, and fuck her hard. Or maybe push her onto her hands and knees while he got behind her and pounded into her. He wouldn’t even care if someone from this stiff picnic watched and fuck anyone who protested. So many dirty fantasies played through his mind about her that he almost couldn’t hold himself in check. He’d never been this attracted to a woman before.

Gunner couldn’t deny the dark need that poured through him, he’d never felt like this before. As if he’d die if he didn’t stick his dick into the tight wetness he knew lay between her smooth thighs. He was a simple man with needs. Currently, she was the center of those needs.

“Here.” She handed him his phone, which he took back without looking at it. Margo rolled her eyes, “You’re staring again.”

“Can’t help it.”

“Right. Well, it’s been fun.” Margo got up brushing off her ass giving him another hot fantasy image of her rubbing those curves after he’d spanked them. He watched her begin to move away and he jumped to his feet catching her arm stopping her. He released her when she stopped, she then turned to look at him.

“Wait,” he growled and tapped a few buttons on his phone.

“What?” she asked, but her question was cut off by her phone ringing. She pulled it out and looked at the screen.

Frowning she answered it, “Hello?”

Her voice echoed out of his phone, as did a loud high-pitched squeal that made them both wince. She hung up her phone shaking her head.

“Did you just check to see if I gave you the right number?” Margo demanded.

“Yep, you’re not getting away that easily. I’m taking you out—soon.” Gunner told her and his cock throbbed in agreement. 

“Maybe,” she said, tilting her head as she looked at him again silently before she turned and walked away shoving her phone into her pocket as she went. Gunner felt his body tense as he watched. For some reason, the sight of her retreating back made his muscles harden. He realized he didn’t like it. He wanted her and seeing her walking away wasn’t what he’d wanted, but he understood some patience was required. He moved away from the tree, walking toward the area where his mother was standing with two other older women. It was time to gather her up and get the hell out of here.