The Bear’s Blind Date: A Howl’s Romance

by Bowlin, Chasity

  “Just hurry,” she said. “I need you.”

  “Then come for me,” he urged, and once more teased her to the breaking point. But then he slid two fingers deep inside her as his mouth closed over that sensitive nub again.

  It wasn’t her first orgasm. It was just the first one she’d ever had with anyone else. That feeling of intimacy, of being connected to him, only made it more intense. Her hands were at his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh as the pleasure crested and then finally receded. Only then did he move over her, kissing his way back up to her mouth and then kissing her fully so that she could taste herself on his lips. Reaching between their bodies, she fumbled with the fly of his jeans until finally, it released. And then she slid one hand inside, cupping the rigid length of him.

  Jack grasped her wrist and pulled her hand away. “You keep that up and this will end a lot faster than either of us wants.”

  He reared up on the bed and shoved his jeans down, tugging them off and tossing them aside. Then they were skin to skin. Completely naked, she could feel the heat of him all over her, the firm press of his muscles and the crisp hair on his body as it brushed against her smoother skin. Then he was parting her thighs, easing between them. As she watched, he closed one hand around the base of his erection and pressed against her, easing inside her. Pushing in one inch at a time, stretching her, filling her. Lacey closed her eyes, shuddering at the sensations. It wasn’t just the pleasure, though that was indescribable. It was the rightness of it. Feeling him inside her, it was like she was whole, like she’d been waiting for him all of her life.

  Hitching her legs higher around him, Lacey locked her ankles behind him, holding him closer as he rocked into her. A sound escaped her—guttural, animalistic. It was as if that sound spurred him on. The rhythm changed. He began to move faster, each thrust harder, more fierce. And she was lost. Her body clenched, her muscles drawing taut, and then she was shattering all over again. Crying out his name, she gave herself up to that release, trembling beneath him. Then he withdrew and turned her over, placing her on her knees. And when he entered her from behind, his body covering hers, all those overstimulated nerve endings made the pleasure of that almost unbearable. Collapsing onto her arms, she sobbed with the overwhelming feeling of it all. His hands were digging into her hips, the thick length of him spearing into her, and then she felt his breath hot on her neck. The slight scrape of his teeth on her skin as he drove into her one last time. She felt the hot rush of his release, felt the shudder that rippled through him. Then they were collapsing on the bed together, breathless, their bodies covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

  “Wow,” Lacey murmured.

  “Yeah,” he said with a grin. “That was a wow.”

  9

  Friday

  The following morning, Jack was in the shower. Lacey was already up. She’d showered first and it had taken everything in him to say no when she’d suggested they shower together. He’d seen her wincing in pain that morning, how slow she’d been moving. She was feeling all the bumps and bruises from the accident and he wasn’t going to make that any worse, no matter how much he wanted her. That he’d given into temptation the night before was bad enough. Still, he hadn’t bitten her. He hadn’t mated her to him fully. But he’d wanted to. As they’d made love the night before, he’d been poised on the brink of it. His teeth on her neck and her body clenching around him, it had taken every last shred of control he possessed not to make her his completely. She wasn’t ready for that yet. It was too soon and they still had too much to sort out before that could happen.

  And that day, they’d be going to Asheville. He needed clean clothes and he wanted to pick up the info that Grey had texted him about. He’d run background checks on all of Brittany’s families and they were apparently doozies.

  Stepping out of the shower, Jack wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom. Lacey was seated on the edge of the bed. She hadn’t bothered with makeup, but her hair was done up in a soft, pretty braid and she wore a simple green sweater with jeans and boots. There was an ugly bruise on her hand, more on her neck and he knew that beneath her clothes, her pale skin was covered with them.

  “If you don’t feel up to it, I can call Grey. He can bring the stuff here,” he said.

  She smiled. “And then I won’t get to see your place… which I am super curious about. Or are you trying to hide something from me, Jack Carter?”

  Jack let the towel drop. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

  Her gaze dropped, taking in everything, including his rapidly growing erection. “Well, you certainly don’t have anything to be ashamed of. Now, cover that up before you get us both in trouble.”

  He grinned and reached into the overnight bag for fresh underwear, socks and a fresh shirt. But he was stuck with the same jeans he’d worn the day before. When he was dressed, he tossed his dirty clothes into the bag and then retrieved his laptop and the flash drive from the living room. Even though the images had already been uploaded to his laptop, he intended to leave the original flash drive with Grey for safekeeping.

  When he’d packed up, they headed out the door of her apartment and to his truck. He opened the door for her and helped her climb up into it. They were approaching the edge of town when his gaze fell on a billboard. It was a campaign sign and the blandly handsome face was very familiar. The name on the sign was Robert Kenney. And Jack had seen him in a series of photos featuring a woman who wore a great deal of black leather and wielded a riding crop with a vengeance.

  “I think I’ve found the person who as the most to lose from Brandon’s blackmail scheme. It’s hard to be elected governor when your BDSM lifestyle is on the verge of exposure,” Jack commented.

  Lacey nodded. “I kept thinking he looked familiar, but I didn’t place it immediately. This is way bigger than I thought.”

  “You and me both,” Jack agreed.

  They made the rest of the drive in companionable silence. It was just over a half-hour to Asheville. They went to his house first. It was just outside of town. A chalet-style cabin with mature trees, it wasn’t a showplace but he was proud of it.

  “This is nice,” she said. “It’s not exactly the bachelor pad I was envisioning.”

  He laughed at that. “You haven’t seen inside yet.”

  “Let me guess… zebra print, velvet, mood lighting?”

  “I’m a shifter, Lacey. Not a time traveler from the swinging sixties,” he commented.

  Unlocking the door, he ushered her inside. Leather sofas, an embarrassingly large flat-screen TV, a farmhouse style table. There weren't a lot of personal touches, though. Most of his family photos and other memorabilia were still in boxes in the spare bedroom. He hadn’t found the time to unpack them. Or hadn’t made the time, more accurately.

  “You’re pretty tidy,” she commented.

  “I am. I try to be…. I also have a lady who comes in and cleans every week. I’m not that good,” he admitted with a laugh.

  He gave her the tour—kitchen, spare bedroom, office, master bedroom. She sat on the bed and watched as he repacked his overnight bag after depositing the dirty clothes from it in the hamper. From the closet, he also grabbed a garment bag that contained his suit.

  “You’re not here very much, are you?” She asked.

  “No,” he admitted. “It’s usually in and out like this. Long enough to grab some clothes or to get a little sleep. I’ve not been very motivated to cut back my work hours… not till now, anyway.”

  With his bag packed, they exited the house, locked up and climbed back into the truck to head into his office. In downtown, Asheville, the office was actually in the upper floor of an old building that once housed a bank. It was long on character but short on amenities. As they walked in, Grey was on the phone. He waved a hand in greeting and Jack waved back as he ushered Lacey in ahead of him. It was just one wide open space with a file room in the back.

  “No receptionist?” She asked.


  “We had one for a while, but she wasn’t a very good one,” Jack admitted. “She lost things. She took really long lunches… like three and four-hour-long lunches.”

  “Okay, yeah. That’s bad,” Lacey said with a laugh. “Did she quit or did you fire her?”

  “Not me,” Jack said. “I couldn’t. Grey did it. He’s the bad guy.”

  Grey hung up his phone just then. “I resent that… even if it’s true. And you’re welcome, by the way. I just found out that Brittany Davis’ stepfather has a seven-year-old black Nissan Altima registered in his name.”

  Lacey shook her head. “You think her stepfather did this?”

  “I think if he did,” Jack replied, “That it was because her mother demanded it. According to Peggy, and I quote, ‘they’re all crazier than shit house rats’. And she’s clearly got it out for you.”

  Lacey sank down onto the chair in front of his desk. “So the accident and the person who has been following me… assuming that’s what was happening, that had nothing to do with the person who broke into my apartment?”

  “No,” Jack said. He hadn’t believed they were connected. “I think whoever broke in is being blackmailed by Brandon and they wanted out from under his thumb. Maybe they saw us out that night and decided it was finally an opportunity to search your place.”

  “My social life has been pretty sad… outside of work, I don’t really go anywhere,” she admitted. “And during the day when I’m working, there are usually people at the house. The pool man comes by, there’s a landscaper that comes several times a week to check on things. My grandmother knows I have a black thumb and doesn’t trust me anywhere near her plants.”

  “Well, it’s not the stepfather,” Grey said. “He had a stroke, a small one, about five months ago and can’t drive.”

  “But I don’t think Brittany or her mother were standing out there with an acetylene torch, cutting through the guard rail,” Jack pointed out.

  “Her uncle,” Lacy said. “Her mom’s brother owns a junkyard on the edge of town.”

  “Ding ding ding,” Grey smirked. “I think we’ve got a winner. I’ve already run him and he’s got quite the temper. In and out of jail, a couple of stints in prison. He’s a bad dude.”

  “What for?” Jack strolled over to Grey’s desk and looked over the other man’s shoulder. “That his rap sheet?”

  “Yep. Reckless endangerment, assault, a couple of battery charges. Destruction of property. The big one was vehicular manslaughter. He ran off the road and killed his ex-wife, who was in the car with him… and probably not in it by choice. But they couldn’t prove that.” Grey reached for a stack of files on the corner of the desk. “Those are the financial records for Hartman. Lots of cash payments without any real obvious point of origin. They’re being reported as ‘winnings.’”

  “He claimed to be spending weekends in Cherokee at the casino. But he never won anything. In retrospect, I don’t think he was ever there,” Lacey stated. “I’m pretty sure those were weekends he was spending with Brittany.”

  “It’s easy enough to track,” Jack replied. “I’ve got a contact there. Any winnings of significance and he’d have to give them his social security number.”

  “Already checked it,” Grey said. “And they have no record. Additionally, nothing on his bank statements indicate cash withdrawals in Cherokee. No credit card usage at Cherokee hotels. There is, however, a lot of activity at a hotel right here in Asheville. Although, about three months ago, his biweekly stays at this less than savory establishment stopped altogether.”

  “And that was when I caught him and Brittany together. So he wouldn’t have any reason to keep hiding it,” Lacey said.

  Jack pulled the flash drive from his pocket. Find out all you can about the people in these photos. Some racier than others.”

  Grey accepted the flash drive. “Is this a bunch of fat old white guys with hookers?”

  “Not all of them,” Jack grinned. “But enough.”

  “Alright, but you owe me.” Grey flipped a rubber band at him, and Jack dodged it.

  “Alright then,” Jack said. “A pizza, a six-pack. We’re heading back to Cupid’s Point. I want to ask around with a few people in town about Brandon… and I want you to find any connection you can between Brandon Hartman and Robert Kenney.”

  10

  It was late afternoon. They’d been to the diner to talk to Peggy, to the bar to check in with the bartender about Brittany’s movements on Thursday night, to the sheriff’s office to discuss the accident and the possibility of deliberate vandalism of the guard rails to increase the extent of the damage. The sheriff had promised to look into it and get in touch. For what it was worth, he’d seemed quite sincere about it. There’d been a few other stops as well, including the bank and a confrontation with Farmington about Brandon’s blackmail scheme. Then they’d made a stop at the campaign headquarters for Robert Kenney. No surprise that Kenney hadn’t been there, but Jack had left a very pointed with the campaign manager about being in possession of some incriminating photos. The man had blanched and clearly knew exactly what was being referred to.

  All of that was followed up by a trip to her grandmother’s dress shop. Lady Julianna’s, named after Lacey’s own mother, was a bridal and formal wear shop. Almost every girl in Cupid’s Point had bought either prom, pageant or their wedding gowns there. Lacey’s own evening gown for the Valentine’s Ball had been ordered from the shop and had just been altered for her. She tried it on the fitting room while Jack stood in the middle of the store looking like a fish out of water.

  Walking out of the dressing room with her gown covered in a plastic bag, she smiled at his completely discomfited expression. Across the way, a group of supportive bridesmaids were making eyes at him more than watching their bride in her potential gown. “Are you being sized up as a potential wedding date… or as a groom?”

  “I don’t know. But lets get the hell out of here before they hog tie me and toss me in the back of someone’s truck.”

  “I think we’ve been busy enough for one day, don’t you? It’s time for some relaxation,” Lacey suggested.

  “I’m listening.” Jack opened the door for her and took the plastic bag with her dress in it as they walked towards his truck. He hung it up in the back of the cab, and then helped her into the front seat.

  When he came around and climbed into the driver’s seat, Lacey offered, “You know my grandparents have a heated pool, right? And a hot tub?”

  “I didn’t bring any trunks,” he replied.

  Lacey smiled. “Did I mention that’s completely fenced in and very secluded? All I have to do is go inside and turn off the security cameras.”

  “Security cameras? Do they have any of them on the garage?”

  Lacey frowned. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure they do on the bays, but probably not my apartment.”

  “But anyone walking up to the stairs from outside would be visible on them,” he pointed out.

  “Maybe. I guess it would depend on which direction they approached from.”

  “Security footage first, then hot tub,” Jack said.

  When they reached the house, Lacey used her keys to let them into her grandparents' house. The security footage was stored in the cloud, but could be accessed via her grandfather’s computer in his office. Logging in, Lacey opened the app and selected the date and time they wished to view, then went camera by camera until they found one that sowed the stairs leading to her apartment. There was footage of her leaving to go to the bar. And about an hour later, there was a man in a dark hoodie climbing the stairs.

  “Go back three frames,” Jack said.

  “He’s moving too fast,” Lacey said.

  “Trust me,” Jack said.

  Lacey rewound the footage and then selected frame by frame mode. Sure enough, in the third frame back, the man had raised his head and looked directly at the camera for a split second. “That’s Robert Kenney’s campaign manager!”
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  “So it is,” Jack said. “I know Robert Kenney will be at the Valentine’s Ball. It’ll be a fundraising opportunity he can’t pass up… will his campaign manager, though?”

  “He’d hardly fundraise without him,” Lacey said. “Kenney will depend on him to follow up on promises of donations.”

  “Then we confront them both tomorrow… along with Brandon. From the point forward, he’s going to have to depend on his actual skill as an attorney to get through life.”

  “And to get himself elected mayor,” Lacey said. “That’s the goal, at least according to Brittany, and eventually governorship himself.”

  “We’re gonna let the air out of that balloon,” Jack promised. “Download that into a file and email it to Grey.”

  Lacey did so and then Jack gave her the email address. Once it was sent, she shut off the security cameras by the pool and set a timer for them to come back on at eight. That would give them several hours in the pool or hot tub without anyone being able to observe them. When that was done, she shut down the computer. “Hot tub.”

  “Hot tub,” he agreed.

  They went through the house and out through the French doors onto the terrace that overlooked the pool and the hot tub. There were towels in the pool house and Lacey grabbed several for them, which she placed on the nearby chairs. Jack was already stripping to climb in and she stopped where she was just to watch him.

  “I hope you’re not shy,” she said.

  “I’m not, but if you get to enjoy the view so do I,” he warned.

  Lacey smiled as she watched him shedding his jeans. “I think I can handle it.”

  Naked and semi-erect, he grinned at her wickedly. “I really hope you mean that in the way that my dirty mind is hoping you do.”

  “We’ll just have to wait and see.” Lacey began removing her own clothes then, pulling off her boots and jeans, then her sweater. With everything piled up by the chair, she reached for the clasp of her bra and when it was free, let it drop. Shyness started to creep in, but she met his heated and daring gaze and decided not to chicken out. Hooking her fingers into the elastic band, she tugged her panties down and let them drop until she could step out of them entirely. Completely nude, she walked across the cold pavement and eased one foot down into the steaming hot water. Stepping in slowly, she let out a groan of pleasure.