Jack was impossibly proud of her. A lot of the stuff she’d overheard, but a lot she’d pieced together on her own. He was starting to think that having her only be a secretary for them would be a waste of her obviously natural aptitude.
Kenney nodded. “Very well. We don’t really an option but to trust you. I hope you’re right about what you think Hartman will do when confronted.”
‘We’ve got some other aces up our sleeves, as well,” Jack assured him.
When Kenney and his campaign manager left the room, Lacey leaned against the desk. “One down, one to go.”
“Two. Brandon and Brittany both have their own crimes to answer for,” Jack reminded her.
“Does it always go this smoothly? I mean normally?”
He laughed at that. “There’s nothing normal about this situation.”
She looked chagrined. “I know that… but this is being resolved fairly peaceably. I guess I’m just trying to gauge how dangerous your work really is.”
Jack shrugged. “That all depends on the cases I’m working. And who the clients are. Nothing should be taken for granted. We don’t know what Brittany will do. I’m way more worried about her than about Brandon. I don’t think he’s the sort to get violent.”
“Probably not. He never did to my knowledge,” Lacey admitted. “He was more apt to engage in character assassination than overt aggression.”
As if their conversation had summoned them, Brittany’s strident voice reached them. “What do you mean they’re here? Brandon, you were supposed to tell her how special tonight was going to be and that she should stay home!”
“Brittany, baby, I can’t deny her the right to come here. And she’s with that neanderthal. We both know she’s not really dating him!” Brandon sneered.
“You’re jealous!” Brittany accused. They had moved and were standing just outside the door to the small lounge, arguing loudly.
Jack moved toward the door, opening it. “Mr. Hartman, Miss Davis. We need to talk.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Brittany snapped.
Jack smiled. “In that case, I’ll call the sheriff and tell him to go ahead and place your mother under arrest along with your uncle. It might be a stretch, but we can probably get her on conspiracy for murder and him on attempted murder since they are both responsible for the accident that could have killed Lacey.”
Brandon gaped at him then turned to Brittany. “What did your crazy ass redneck family do?”
“You really might want to discuss this privately,” Jack pointed out.
Brandon huffed out a breath, but he walked away from Brittany and strode into the small lounge, leaving her to follow or not. In the end, she fell in step behind him, shuffling her stiletto clad feet and hanging her head like a kid in trouble.
“Now what is this all about?” Brandon demanded, puffing his chest out and acting as if he were the one in charge.
“It’s about extortion, about obstruction of justice, about coercion of witnesses, perjury, racketeering.” Jack rattled off the list absently, as if they were everyday occurrences. “And that’s just you, Hartman. Your girlfriend there, when you add her crimes in, there’s also stalking, and while it might be a stretch, I’m a damn good detective and I can probably find proof of your involvement in that little murder plot your mother and uncle hatched.”
“You can’t prove anything,” Brandon bluffed.
“I can actually. I can prove that those huge cash deposits you’ve been plunking down at the bank didn’t come from any casino at Cherokee… and then there’s the matter of your flash drive. The one you had hidden in Lacey’s desk? We’ve got that. It all stops now, Hartman. From this point on, you either make it on your own or you don’t make it.”
“You can’t do that!” Brandon shouted.
“I’ve already done it. Had a talk with Robert Kenney just a few minutes ago. And my business partner is getting a signed affidavit from the woman you bribed to photograph him that will fully implicate you,” Jack said with satisfaction.
“What about your political career?” Brittany asked forlornly.
“That’s done too,” Lacey piped in. “The only thing giving him a shot at that was the favors people owed him. And secrets that he could trade for support.”
“You won’t be mayor or governor?” Brittany asked.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Brandon said stiffly.
Brittany turned on Lacey then. “You did this! You vindictive, conniving bitch! You did this because you’re jealous of me.”
Jack stepped between them and pointed to Brandon. “You’re gonna want to get her under control.”
“Or what?” Brandon snapped.
Jack felt the ripple under his skin, felt the slight crunch of bone as his claws sprang free. He didn’t have to look in a mirror to know that his teeth had extended and his eyes had taken on that strange yellow glow. That was apparent in the terrified look on Brandon’s face. “Or I will.”
Brandon stammered for a moment, backing away until he tripped over one of the chairs and went sprawling backward.
“Do you understand me, Hartman?”
“Come on, Brittany. We’re getting out of here!”
“We can’t leave! You were supposed to propose!” She said, stamping her feet.
“Brittany! For Christ’s sake! Can’t you see that our whole lives are falling apart?” Brandon snapped at her. “Stop thinking about your fucking Instagram posts for five seconds!”
Brittany gasped in outrage and then turned on her heel and teetered toward the door.
Jack looked at Brandon one last time. “Don’t make me have another conversation with you.”
Brandon shook his head. “No. No, I won’t.”
With that, Brandon scrambled towards the door and the two of them were alone.
“It’s kind of anticlimactic, isn’t it?” Lacey asked.
Jack laughed. “They’re not exactly master criminals. None to them were. Greedy, lazy, desperate. Not a damn one of them too smart,” he mused. “But I think it’s over now. I think Brandon will leave you alone, Brittany’s mom ill keep her in line to avoid going to jail herself. I think it’s all wrapped up.”
“Then you should dance with me,” Lacey said. “You should dance with me, so everyone here can see this ridiculously expensive and amazing dress… and then you should take me home.”
“Another dip in the hot tub?” He asked. “That could be my new favorite pastime.”
“It better be more than a pastime.”
Jack took her hands in his. “Let’s go show off that dress.”
13
Lacey awoke slowly. It was still dark. They’d been home for a few hours. He’d made love to her. But she’d sensed that he was holding something back from her. She didn’t know what it was, but she could tell that something was bothering him. Getting up from the bed, she started to reach for her robe. But then she saw Jack’s shirt draped over the footboard. On impulse, she reached for it instead. It hung to the middle of her thighs and was a little tight over her chest. Leaving several of the top buttons undone, she walked out into the living room and found him sitting on the sofa. He was staring out the window and had a pensive look on his face.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” She asked.
“Am I that obvious?” He fired back.
“You’re working on some serious frown lines. It’s a good thing they only make men look distinguished instead of old,” she teased.
“I was thinking about you… about us.”
She tried to ignore the knee jerk fear response, that internal voice that immediately told her he’d found her lacking in some way.
“There’s a lot we’ve not talked about… like being mated. Whether or not you want to get married. Whether or not you want to have kids,” he said. “Whether or not you’re okay with having kids with someone like me?”
“You mean a wonderful, caring, amazingly smart and kind and touch and brave man?
Why wouldn’t I?”
Jack shook his head. “You know what I mean. If we have children, they’ll be like me. Can you handle that?”
“I can handle anything as long as it’s with you,” she said. “I don’t care what’s involved in becoming your mate… whatever it is, it’s worth it.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“What is this, Jack? Are you having second thoughts?”
“No… but I hadn’t planned to rip the bomb on you about what I am so early on. I wanted you to know me, to trust me, and then I would tell you. The worst thing I can imagine is for you to look at me one day and regret this—regret us.”
Lacey closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m glad I know. I’m glad I found out and that we won’t have any secrets from each other… What you talked about Jack, about being committed to one another that way, about building a life together—that’s all I want. And I only want it with you. Maybe it’s only been a few days, but I was with Brandon for years and I never felt this. I love you, Jack. I love you and I want to spend my life with you.”
His arms tightened about her, and then he was lifting her up. Instinctively, Lacey wrapped her legs around him. He spun them around so that she was pressed between the hardness of his body and the wall behind her. And then he was tugging the shirt from her, buttons popping from it skittering across the floor.
It was raw and untamed, powerful. They came together quickly, fiercely. Their bodies straining together as the pleasure built. With each thrust, the movements became rougher, more primal. And as she hovered on the brink of release, he drew back from her. She could see the golden glow of his eyes in the darkness, and then his mouth was at her throat. There was a slight sting, his teeth sinking into the soft flesh where neck and shoulder met. But that sting was washed away by waves of pleasure—hers and his. She could feel what he felt, the need, the craving. It was so unbearably intimate. They weren’t just sharing their bodies, but their innermost selves.
The orgasm that wracked her robbed her of the ability to think. It was hard, intense, spiraling on and on. Even when she felt him shuddering against her, his breath hot on her skin as he found his own pleasure, her body continued to quake with it.
Even when he pulled back from her, she could still feel that connection. Like a thousand threads stretching between them. “This is what you meant about being connected to your mate, isn’t it?”
“It is,” he said. “And it’ll only grow stronger.”
Lacey kissed him. “I love you, but this is so much more than that.”
“It is… And you’re mine for the rest of our lives.”
“We’re each others,” she insisted. “But don’t think for a single second that this gets you out of having an actual wedding.”
“Whatever you want, Lacey… I’ll give you anything you want,” he vowed. “And I love you too. More than I’ll ever be able to say.”
She stroked his hair, running her fingers through the brown and gold strands. “You don’t have to tell me. Just show me. Every day.”
Also by Chasity Bowlin
SHIFTER ROMANCE
Purrfect Santa (A Howl’s Romance) co-written with Jessie Lane
Two Tickets to Bearadise
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Making Merry (A Holiday Romance)
PARANORMAL HISTORICAL ROMANCE:
THE VICTORIAN GOTHIC COLLECTION
House of Shadows
Veil of Shadows
Passage of Shadows
DARK REGENCY
The Haunting of a Duke
The Redemption of a Rogue
The Enticement of an Earl
A Love So Dark
A Passion So Strong
A Heart So Wicked
COMING SOON:
An Affair So Destined (preorder)
REGENCY ROMANCE:
STANDALONE
The Beast of Bath
The Last Offer
Worth the Wait
From Dragonblade Publishing:
The bestselling LOST LORDS SERIES:
The Lost Lord of Castle Black
The Vanishing of Lord Vale
The Missing Marquess of Althorn
The Resurrection of Lady Ramsleigh
The Mystery of Miss Mason
The Awakening of Lord Ambrose
A Midnight Clear: A Lost Lords Holiday Novella
The Pirate’s Bluestocking (A Pirates of Britannia World Novella)
And Introducing THE HELLION CLUB SERIES:
A Rogue to Remember
Barefoot In Hyde Park (preorder)
And the collections:
The Midnight Hour: All Hallows' Brides: A Gothic Regency Historical Romance collection
Dastardly Dukes and Randy Rogues
The Bear’s Blind Date: A Howl’s Romance Page 8
