Loud snoring woke Gunner and he jerked his pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound. Who the fuck had crashed in his room this time? It wasn’t uncommon waking up to find one of his brothers in his room. Or hell, in his bed, when they were really drugged out or drunk. He really did need to find the time to repair the lock on his door, it would save him from uninvited guests. Another loud snore escaped from whoever had woken him as an arm smacked across his chest. He let out a loud sigh, this had to be Chaos. He was the only one who snored that loud. Gunner pulled the pillow away from his face because there was no way he was going back to sleep.

Once he was up, he was up—cat napping had never been something he was good at. He opened his eyes, staring at a hot pink ceiling fan. Wait, what the hell? He glanced around the room noting the sheer explosion of color that was splashed across the room. There were red and blue bean bag chairs near the wall, paint rags everywhere, neon yellow curtains, and each of the walls were a different color. It seemed like whoever had decorated couldn’t decide on a single color, so they put them all into the room.

Shit, now he remembered that he’d fallen asleep after carrying Margo to her bed last night. He hadn’t however turned on the light, and now he was glad he hadn’t. Geez, he was never sleeping here again. His cock rose like a flag as he glanced at her form covered in a mountain of blankets. Fuck, who was he kidding. He would sleep here, but he might lose some eyesight staring at all these bright colors. After watching her sleep for a long moment on the couch, he’d decided to stay, even though he fully expected an angry outburst over his choice, he’d done it anyway.

Another loud roar escaped her and he stared in shock. He couldn’t figure out why she was suddenly snoring like she brought a chainsaw to bed with her, when last night it had been cute little snuffles. Propping himself up on his elbow, he stared at her, seeing that she’d turned on her back, but surely that wasn’t why she was snoring so loud, was it? He decided to test it and see. He slowly rolled her onto her side and two seconds later the little huffy snores he’d thought were cute last night were puffing past her pursed lips. Gunner couldn’t believe those loud sounds had been coming from the woman lying next to him.

Shaking his head, he climbed out of the bed and headed into the living room. Upon seeing the mess they’d left on the coffee table last night, he decided to clean up. Yeah, his OCD was kicking in again because fifteen minutes later he found himself sitting on the floor trying to get all the paint rags from under her couch. All the tables were cleared and he’d started a load to wash the rags, and done the dishes. He’d also taken her trash bag and set it beside the door. He’d take it out when he was finished. 

 

 

Margo rolled over eyeing the clock with a little groan. It was only seven thirty and she wanted to go back to sleep, but she could hear a vacuum running in the apartment. Margo wracked her brain as to who might be vacuuming her floors at seven in the morning, but she came up empty. Crawling out of bed, she stumbled to the door opening it to see a half-dressed Gunner running the vacuum. She stared, a bit shocked for two reasons; one, she didn’t know why he was still here and two, he was cleaning her apartment and had been for a while because it was cleaner than it had been when she’d moved in.

She knew she was a bit of a slob, but she lived alone and didn’t worry about cleaning unless she was having someone over. She was typically working in her studio or watching her shows and she didn’t feel like spending all day cleaning shit up just so it could get messed up an hour later. She never left food around for more than a day, she washed her clothes, and washed the dishes, that was it. Well, she did change her sheets once a week. Gunner was even sexier half-naked than she’d thought he’d be, the tattoos only adding to the appeal.

He had one on the side of his neck of a spider web, complete with a small spider, and tribal bands on his arms. He looked damn fine. Margo grabbed a sketch pad from a shelf sitting down on the footstool nearby and began sketching like mad. Gunner continued vacuuming, unaware that she was sketching his chiseled abs for future paintings. She was almost done with her second sketch when he shut off the vacuum and turned seeing her perched on the footstool with the pad balanced on her legs and her charcoal etching pencil in her hand.

“You're awake.” Gunner said, looking sheepish. “I guess the vacuum woke you, huh.”

Margo noted with surprise that he was looking around the room in a sort of dazed awe, as if he had no idea what had happened. She had a feeling he’d somehow ended up cleaning her living room on some sort of autopilot. Huh, he had OCD. She’d bet her life on it.

“I—shit. Well, sometimes I do this.” Gunner said, motioning to the clean room as if a little bewildered as to what had happened. “The cl—um, yeah so you want to go somewhere with me today?”

Margo thought about that for a long moment before answering as she watched him wind the cord on the vacuum up a few times, then stopping to unwind it because it wasn’t perfect. He did it three times before he managed to get it wrapped up to his satisfaction.

“Where? Because I don’t want to go where there are a lot of people. I’m likely going to get larger blisters sometime today, if these haven’t already turned into them.” Margo gesturing to the pink spots on her face.

Gunner walked closer, looking down at her face, tilting her head by cupping her chin in his hand so he could evaluate the places she was indicating. He frowned a little as he inspected the areas where she’d gotten the oil from the poison ivy on her the day she’d hidden in the bushes. It was a little-known fact that oil was why you didn’t see results for several days to a week sometimes. It took time for it to work its way into your skin.

“No large blisters yet. Are you that allergic to it?” Gunner asked, still frowning.

“Yes, last year I helped the church clear out a playground on the west side of their property and got into it. I didn’t go to the doctor for several days after they started and the blisters were awful.” Margo shrugged, her eyes staring up into his, her heart picking up speed as her breath came in little pants all of a sudden. Gunner was a beautiful man and his hands on her skin felt like brands. His thumb was rubbing absently across her cheeks where he still cupped her face.

“You need to see a doctor today then,” he ordered. His hands tightened as if he was preparing for her to argue with him. Margo rolled her eyes.

“I already did. As a matter of fact, I need to wash my face and reapply the steroid cream she gave me.” She didn’t move though, she just stared up at him, her lips parting slightly. Margo’s body was almost liquid, as the desire for Gunner roared through her reminding her it had been a really long time since she’d gotten laid.

“You haven’t answered my question yet,” Gunner said, his head lowering as his lips neared hers, making her racing pulse speed up; hearing a roaring in her ears as desire assaulted her.

“What question?” she asked, her eyes focused on his lips hovering a few inches from her own, her mind unable to process what he was talking about.

“Are you going to allow me to take you somewhere?”

“Sur—wait, where?” Margo asked, her mind still hazed with her desire for this man to touch her.

“It’s a surprise.” Gunner enticed, his mouth moving another inch towards hers.

“I don’t know,” Margo said, trying to break free from the spell his nearness was casting over her runaway libido.

“You do know. Now say yes, babe,” Gunner murmured as his lips came closer, almost brushing over hers, his breath teasing her lips.

“Yes,” Margo found herself whispering, caught in the pull he was using to entrap her.

He smiled, “Good.”

Gunner’s hand moved to the back of her neck and his lips crashed down on hers. His tongue speared through her lips caressing her mouth in a commanding stroke of dark desire that promised her nights of hot passion and multiple orgasms. She couldn’t help the light moan that puffed past her lips as he continued to assault her lips with hard little nips and searching thrusts of his tongue. Their tongues twirled, fighting for dominance in an ancient language of desire that had her body leaning into his as she lost herself in the need that he unleashed inside her. Her hands rose to grip his bare shoulders, feeling his hard muscles tense, as she gripped them. The intensity of his assault on her mouth increased, making her head spin. Margo was consumed by her need for a man she barely knew and shouldn’t want. She should have more willpower than this because she wasn’t typically this easy. Only as she stood there accepting the rough kiss he was bestowing on her, did she realize that if he’d lifted her and carried her to the nearest hard surface, she’d let him fuck her brains out. The desire burning between them was searing.

That was the moment Margo realized that Gunner was definitely dangerous. He was the type of man she normally avoided, the type who wasn't likely to create a lasting relationship and had a fear of commitment. She really should know better, being as she had already been down this road before. Even as these thoughts pushed past her desire, she pressed her body into his, feeling his hard chest press against her hardened nipples through her thin shirt. Her hands clinging to his hard, muscular shoulders, with her nails digging into his skin slightly as she moaned again. Her body was flooding with heat and burning needs so strong they frightened her, and he’d only kissed her.

What would happen if he actually fucked her?

Gunner groaned and jerked away from her, reaching down to adjust his cock as he stepped back from her. A look of need crossed his face as his eyes swept up, then back down her body and landed on her hardened nipples. He licked his lips as he tried valiantly to pull his eyes back to hers but couldn’t manage it. His hand rubbed against his hardened dick without shame before he spoke in a dark gravelly tone that sent desire skittering down her spine.

“Go get your shower and whatever, we need to leave—,” his eyes moved over her again and he squeezed his thick cock through his jeans. “Soon, now go before I change my mind.”

Margo didn’t argue despite her already thrumming body, because she knew if she didn’t leave the room, one of them would lose control. She didn’t want to sleep with a man before they’d even went on a single date because that was just too slutty for her to handle. She turned and rushed back into her room, ignoring the sketch pad she’d dropped on the floor when she’d stood up to stretch after he’d finished with the vacuum.