by Lacey Thorn
Stripped Bare
Lacey Thorn
Book 7 in the Bare Love series.
Stace needs help finding her missing sister. What she gets is Donavan Shepard. Shep is everything a woman could ever desire in a man and much, much more. Hell, he reminds her of a Viking; all she wants is to be ravished over and over again.
Shep wants to find a woman who he can bare all with, keeping nothing hidden. Stace seems to be the one. Can he help her find her sister and convince her to give them a chance? One taste of her lush flesh and he’ll do whatever he can to achieve both.
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
Stripped Bare
ISBN 9781419931529
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Stripped Bare Copyright © 2010 Lacey Thorn
Edited by Helen Woodall
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication October 2010
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Stripped Bare
Lacey Thorn
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the fans of the Bare Love series. You are the best fans in the world. Thank you for the outpouring of love and encouragement.
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Coke: Coca-Cola Company
iPod: Apple Inc.
Chapter One
Chloe walked off the dance floor laughing. She loved to dance and really wished that she could find more time to get out and do just that. She looked at her watch and shook her head. She’d been here too long as it was. She had plans tomorrow with her best friend and they had been looking forward to it all week.
“In a hurry?” the deep voice sounded in her ear and though she knew he was only leaning close to be heard over the music she pulled away.
“Yeah, I’ve got to get going,” she replied.
“Well, here, at least take a few minutes to drink the Coke I ordered you,” he said as he handed it to her. She really was thirsty so she downed it in three gulps.
“Thanks,” she smiled at him. He wasn’t that bad-looking. He just gave off a weird vibe almost as if she had seen him someplace before and couldn’t place him. He had sort of stalked her across the floor until a slow song came on and before she knew what he was doing he had maneuvered them into the dance with the other couples.
“Here,” he said and reached for her arm. “I’ll walk you out to your car. There are a lot of crazies out there.”
She laughed. There sure were but still she didn’t want to walk out to the parking lot with a stranger. “I’ll just head to the restroom real quick and then go.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll meet you here and walk you out.”
“Thanks,” she said though she had no intention of walking back to meet him. Her car was parked closer to the back door anyway.
She walked toward the bathroom and the back hall and kept right on walking out the back door. She made it quickly to her car and clicked the key fob to unlock her door, getting in immediately and hitting the lock button on her door before starting the car. Laughing at herself she tossed her cell on the passenger seat beside her and pulled out of the lot.
She had spent too much time dancing and now would be late getting home. Of course who would be there to care? Not her sister who was gone on another rescue mission that Chloe wasn’t supposed to know about. Stace was her hero, she just wished that her sister trusted her more to be open about what her job really was. But for some reason Stace seemed to think Chloe needed protection from that side of her sister’s life. If only Stace realized just how much Chloe had discovered on her own.
She shook her head. She couldn’t believe how blurry the road was getting. She was tired but not enough to be falling asleep and unable to focus on the road in front of her. Her hands couldn’t seem to keep a grip on the wheel. Her heart was racing and yet she felt sick. Something was wrong. It took her brain too long to engage. The Coke. There must have been something in the Coke that guy had given her at the bar. Shit! Her sister had warned her about taking drinks from anyone but the bartender or waitress.
She pulled the car over to the edge of the road suddenly terrified that she had taken the back roads home. She fumbled for her phone and on the third try managed to hit 9-1-1.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” a voice said over the phone.
“Something in my drink,” she slurred out. “Can’t drive home. Can’t stay awake.” She could hear how slow and drawn-out her speech was and wanted to scream.
“Ma’am where are you?” the voice came again. “Are you driving in your car?”
“On side road,” she managed. “Three hundred west. Ta-ta-Tark’s Tavern.”
“Have you been drinking ma’am?” the voice asked, all business.
“Coke,” she managed. “He me Coke.”
“Ma’am stay with me,” the voice sounded far away, so far away.
“Lights,” Chloe said as she began to pass out. “Here.”
“What kind of lights?” the voice said but Chloe couldn’t get her lips to work anymore. “Is there someone there with you? Ma’am are you there? Ma’am?”
There was a sound, a popping noise and then the door was opened. Chloe let the phone slip from her hand. Two voices, definitely masculine but speaking in whispers so it was hard to discern what was being said. She felt hands gripping her, pulling, lifting and then she was in someone’s arms being carried away from her car, away from her phone and help. She tried to say something but could manage no more than a moan. Lips pressed softly against the top of her head and then she felt nothing at all.
* * * * *
“So what did they find?” Donovan Shepard known as Shep, asked as he and his partner Griff Daniels were filled in on the missing person case their company had just taken on.
“An empty car,” Jack Madigan, owner of Midnight, Inc. said as he shut the copy of the 9-1-1 tape off. “By the time the first officer arrived the car was deserted on the side of the road.”
“They opened the door and took her,” Griff stated. “They didn’t leave anything behind?”
“Not that has been found at this point,” Jack agreed.
“Date rape drug in the Coke,” Shep said. “She must have slipped away from the bar before it kicked in.”
“They followed her,” Griff said. “They either knew what she was driving or they followed her out to the lot.”
“What do the police notes say?” Shep asked. “Someone at the bar had to see something.”
<
br /> “Bartender vaguely remembers her being there but he can’t account for who she was with. Waitress can’t place her or who she was with. It was a busy Friday night at Tark’s,” Jack said.
“Doesn’t matter how busy it was,” Griff said. “Someone saw something.”
“Someone scared? Or just hiding what they saw for a reason?” Shep queried.
“She’s been gone how long now?” Griff said.
“Four weeks,” a new voice said as a woman entered the room with another member of their team, Roman. Shep and Griff both sat up a little straighter in their chairs. She dropped her purse onto a desktop as she walked farther in.
The woman was a vision to look at and they were both looking as she moved closer into the room. She had to be close to six feet tall with legs that went forever encased in well-worn jeans. She had a fitted v-neck t-shirt on that showed a great view of her more than ample cleavage. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail so that her flawless face was the focus, her deep brown eyes like pools of chocolate.
She crossed to them and both men stood. She let her gaze slide over Shep from head to toe before moving it to Griff.
“You must be Griff,” she said and held her hand out to him.
“Yeah,” Griff replied giving his trademark grin as he took her hand in his. “Griff Daniels at your service.” Then he did a typical Griff move and bowed, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing the back of her fingers. Shep could have smacked him.
She was charmed just as any other woman would be by Griff. Shep could see it in her eyes. But he also saw the way she skimmed those beautiful orbs back over to him before bouncing back to Griff.
“You must be the charmer in the family,” she said.
“How do you know the family?” Griff asked. “And how do I not know you?”
She smiled and Shep felt that smile all the way to his groin and almost groaned as his cock twitched with interest. He knew exactly where he would like to feel that mouth on his skin. That thought had his cock twitching again.
“My name is Stace Anders,” she said. “I served for a bit with your brother Gil.”
Damn! Shep thought. She was, or had been, a Marine. That only made her all the hotter as he thought of all she might be capable of. Nothing was more exciting to him than a woman who could kick ass. At this close range he could see the well defined muscles of her biceps and triceps. The woman had fantastic arms. He’d like to feel their power on his skin.
“Ahhh, so that’s how you know I’m the charmer,” Griff said nodding. “Gil is not known for his personality.”
Stace laughed. “Maybe not,” she agreed. “But I felt comfortable knowing he had my back.”
Shep knew that was important, especially if Stace and Gil had been in combat situations together in the Marines. Shep understood firsthand from his stint as an Army Ranger and then with most of the guys he now worked with when they formed up and took on some missions not sanctioned. Griff was the only one who hadn’t been a part of that former life. But Griff’s brother Gil was married to Jack Madigan’s daughter Moira. So that made Griff family. Plus the guy was a lethal machine, having mastered several forms of martial arts.
Finally Stace turned to him and he wasn’t mistaken when her voice seemed to catch as she said her name again and held her hand out to him. He took it between both of his and just held it loosely letting the heat of his skin wash over her. He was rewarded when he felt the slight tremble and turned on even more when she quickly controlled it before letting go and pulling her hand back.
“Donavan Shepard,” he said holding her gaze as her hand slipped from his. “But call me Shep.”
“Shep,” she said and nodded before moving back to where Jack and Roman stood. “I’m very appreciative that you have agreed to help me with this. The woman on the tape is Chloe Anders, my sister.” She made her way back to her purse and pulled a picture out to pass to Jack who then passed it toward Shep and Griff. “She is five foot nine with short brown hair and brown eyes. She is in her third year of nursing school and was heading home from class Friday night when she stopped at Tark’s for a little dancing. Chloe loves to dance.” Shep saw the brief glimpse of fear in Stace’s eyes before she quickly controlled it and moved on. “I was out of town when she was taken and didn’t return for another three weeks.”
“You didn’t know about this until you returned?” Shep asked.
“I wasn’t exactly in a place where it was easy to reach me,” Stace said and offered no more than that. “When I got back the house was empty, the mail piled up and no sign of my sister anywhere.”
“Once I found out exactly what was going on from Chloe’s best friend I headed straight to the police station,” Stace said. “The local sheriff’s department has moved on from this case though it is still open. They have no leads, no suspects, and nowhere to look at this point. That’s not good enough for me.”
“So what’s the plan?” Shep asked.
“We’ll start at the bar, Tark’s Tavern,” Jack stated. “Somebody had to see something. We just need to find out who and why they haven’t spoken up. You and Griff are pretty good at getting people to talk.”
Shep snorted. What Jack meant was that Griff was good at getting people to open up and talk, especially women. Women just seemed to love Griff, which was really funny to the rest of them. Griff was six foot six and lean. He wore his hair long, pulling it back into a ponytail most days. His blue eyes were intense. But it was his boyish charm that just seemed to pull women to him.
Shep had been working with him for a while now and they had become pretty close friends. Shep knew that no matter the smile on Griff’s face he was not happy. Shep had seen the tension the moment Roman had entered the room. Shep had focused on Stace. Griff had focused on Roman, the man who had married Griff’s mom, something Griff still hadn’t come to grips with. But Griff was professional and didn’t bring his issues into the office with him. And Roman didn’t push. The issue was between Roman and Griff and no one could fix it but him. Not even his mother, Catherine.
“So when do we leave?” Griff asked bringing Shep out of his thoughts.
“Today,” Stace said. “You can stay at the house with me. It’s a big farmhouse. Lots of space and everything is up-to-date.”
No ring on her finger which may or may not mark her single. He was hoping she was available and if luck was with him she wouldn’t stay that way for long. Staying under the same roof with her would play right into his plan to seduce her. Any woman who made a man’s blood hum the way she did his, required seduction. He let his glance bounce over to Griff and saw from the twinkle in Griff’s eyes that he knew just what Shep was thinking. Which meant that Griff would make it his mission to be in the way as much as possible. Shep wasn’t worried though. Stace was interested. That was all he needed.
“What about the current case we’re working?” Shep asked.
“Chetan has it,” Jack said and Shep nodded.
Chetan was another member of their team. His name was from his mother’s native Sioux and meant “hawk”. The name suited him to perfection. Nothing got past Chetan. The man was lethal. He didn’t talk much, and when he did most knew to stop and listen. Women were drawn to him and terrified at the same time. Quite honestly it often seemed like there was very little the man couldn’t do.
“All right,” Shep said. “Griff and I will need at least an hour to throw a bag together and wrap things up so that we can be gone indefinitely.”
“I didn’t think about it,” Stace said looking at Shep. “But if either of your wives or girlfriends want to come stay that would okay as well.”
Shep grinned. “Not an issue. For either of us,” he added just to include Griff in the comment. “But we do have other commitments that we need to take care of. Let’s say we meet back here in an hour or so?”
“Sounds good,” Stace said and Jack nodded.
Jack walked over and shook Stace’s hand again. “I’m giving you two of my
best for this. I hope you find her,” Jack said. “I’ll leave you three to talk over the specifics. Roman and I have a security check to do for a new client. So if you’ll excuse us.” He nodded at them and left the room. He stopped at the door glancing back at Shep before letting his gaze turn to Stace. “You’re in good hands with these two. If your sister can be found they’ll help you find her.”
“Thank you,” Stace said and Jack and Roman left the room.
“I’m going to head out,” Griff said heading toward the door. “I’ll meet you guys back here in an hour.”
Shep nodded but his eyes were on Stace.
“So,” she said when it was just the two of them left in the room.
Shep grinned. He made her nervous. He liked that.
“Why don’t you grab your purse and come with me,” he said.
“Come with you?” she parroted and he could tell that it annoyed her when she realized it.
“Yeah,” he said. “I need to head home and get a bag together and you can fill me in on more of what you’ve found out while I do. Tell me more about your sister and what your thoughts are on what might have happened.”
“Okay,” she agreed, reaching for her purse and preceding him to the door.
Shep glanced down at her rounded ass as she walked. Damn he wanted to bend her over and fuck her hard and fast, then slow and easy, then who knew. Maybe she would let him spread those cheeks and slide his cock into her ass. His cock was growing just thinking about sinking into her, anywhere.
She turned around at the door placing her back against it as she looked at him. “I want you,” she said and stole the air out of his lungs. “And at some point I plan on having you. But I won’t let that want interfere with finding my sister.”
“Okay,” he agreed. Hell she’d surprised him with her honesty and turned him on more than ever.
