Highest Bidder (A Bad Boy Romance)

by Mia Carson

  “Right here… Look at this,” he said and turned it around to show Joe.

  Joe’s eyes narrowed over the page. “This is an arrest record for… Derrick Drayer? Arrested for money laundering.”

  “In 1946,” Alec pointed out. “Then the next page… Look who’s the new mayor barely a week later: Derrick Drayer.”

  Joe rubbed his tired eyes. “There was always confusion when it came to how the Drayer family took control of the town. They were the wealthiest, probably had half the town on their payroll and most certainly the sheriff. Whatever happened back then, I doubt there’s any real record of money changing hands to ensure he stayed out of jail and in charge of the town.”

  “And no one in the town stood up to him?”

  “Not back then, no. They were probably too busy welcoming home soldiers from the war, getting their lives back together. Half the town might not have even realized he’d been arrested first.”

  “Well, not long after that, there’s a list of the new families who moved to Lundy.”

  “Miller, Thornton, Dickson… There they are, the Newton family.” Joe set the pages down and leaned back in his chair. “So they did do it. They bought the town right out from under them. They took over the deeds to the land rights and everything else, and Astrid and Jim… I think they knew.”

  “Didn’t you say the mayor didn’t want them to open the museum?” Alec asked. “Could this be why?”

  The two men stared at each other across the table. As the hairs on the back of Alec’s neck stood on end, he and Joe turned to stare at the photograph at the end of the table. Gyda Lundy’s eyes reminded him so much of Iris, there was no way they could not be related, but a DNA test would take months, at best.

  “We need proof,” Joe said quietly, voicing exactly what Alec thought.

  “We can’t even tell what happened. One day the Lundin family is there, and the next, they just disappeared from the town.”

  “I know several people at City Hall,” Joe told him, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. “And they all owe me at least one favor. I will see what else I can dig up on that arrest date. In the meantime, I suggest you head to the bank before they close.”

  Alec stood, stretching his back and arms, too. “The bank?” He’d almost forgotten what they were trying to do for Iris and smacked himself in the head. “Jesus, what time do they close?”

  “In about two hours, and that is when Iris will be closing up shop, so I suggest you hurry.”

  “You think they’ll actually sell it to me?”

  Joe laughed, a sound that echoed around the house and filled Alec with a strange sense of calm, as did every other aspect of this man. “If you give them enough incentive, they will sell the shop to you. No more leasing from those cheating bastards.”

  Alec nodded firmly and walked towards the door. “Mind locking up for me?”

  “I will,” Joe said, shuffling files together. “You know, you can walk away from all of this.”

  Reaching for his keys off the small table by the door, Alec turned to study Joe’s face and try to understand what he meant by his words. “I could, but I won’t. Not ever.”

  “Love is a funny thing, is it not?” he murmured quietly before waving Alec along.

  Grinning excitedly, his heart pounding in his chest and discovering that the idea of Nikki no longer bothered him, Alec darted out the door, realizing there was no more hiding it. He was meant to come to Lundy not to escape his old life but to find the woman who would help create his future. A future filled with laughter and love instead of bitterness and betrayal.

  Before Iris got home she knew something was up with Alec. Sam texted her an hour before she closed the pawn shop to say Alec was stopping by for dinner though they hadn’t made plans. Iris asked what he was doing, but her brother never texted her back, a sure sign that he was involved in whatever Alec and Joe had been up to the past two days. They thought she didn’t know, but she overheard them yesterday on the phone. Whatever Alec was doing was big enough to involve Joe, and she was going to demand answers that night.

  “At least Nikki isn’t here,” she muttered quietly to herself as she parked her car and gave Alec’s rundown, black truck a smile.

  The front door was unlocked, and she spotted Alec and Sam in the kitchen. “There you are,” Sam said and jumped out of his chair. He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the kitchen where Alec stood holding two tiny boxes in his hands. “Alec has something he would like to tell you.”

  Iris dropped her purse to the floor and swallowed hard, staring at the two small boxes. “Alec? I know we’ve hit it off this week, but… uh, but I think this might be… I mean… just…” Words failed her and she stared into his eyes, trying to plead with him mentally that they needed to slow down. His brow scrunched, and then he burst into laughter.

  “Oh God, Iris, I’m not proposing,” he said, and she planted her hands on her hips, instantly silencing his laughter. “Not that I haven’t thought about it.”

  He raised one brow, and her heart pounded even harder. “Good. I thought maybe you’d gone off the deep end after the visit from your ex.”

  “Nope, not yet, but I do have something else for you,” he said and handed her the box in his left hand. It was small and she shook it, but nothing sounded inside. “Just open it.”

  Iris eyed Sam to see if he would give anything away, but all he did was smile excitedly. She tore the paper from the box and lifted the lid off to find a silver key surrounded by torn strips of paper. “It’s a key,” she said slowly and held it up. “The key to what, exactly?’

  “That one is a key to my house,” Alec informed her.

  She lifted her face to see the range of emotions filling him as he smiled sweetly and held out the other box to her. He had given her a key to his place, and she could barely get out the words to say what that meant to her. Tucking the first key safely back in its box, she handed it to Sam and took the second. Again, she shook it, and Alec crossed his arms, annoyed. This time, she heard the slight clink of metal against metal, but this box was a bit larger than the last.

  When she pulled the lid off, she found another key—a key she would never forget. It was bronze and old fashioned, just as her dad had wanted so it would match the shop. The heavy key fell into her palm, and all she could do was stare at it in wonder and confusion.

  “Look what else,” Alec urged.

  She wiped her eyes before the unshed tears could fall, and holding the key tightly in one hand, pulled out the manila envelope it rested on. Iris opened it and pulled out a stack of papers, signed and dated from the bank. She read the words quickly, and her knees buckled as she sank to the floor of the kitchen.

  “You… you… Oh my God,” she breathed, staring up at Alec as he joined her on the floor. “You bought my dad’s store?”

  “Bought it completely,” he stated. “No more owing money to the Drayer family, ever. It’s yours. I’m gifting it to you as of first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Iris didn’t know what to say. Her gaze fell back to the key she never thought she’d hold again and the papers in her other hand saying Alec Wolf officially owned the shop and was giving it to her tomorrow. The papers said it was paid in full. In all her years of trying to keep those damn doors open, no one had ever shown her such a kindness except Joe, but she’d never been able to take money from him. He had his own business to run.

  “I know you said no charity,” he told her hesitantly, “but you can’t refuse an outright gift—”

  She tackled him to the floor, kissing him fiercely, unable to get her arms wrapped around him enough. Sam cackled nearby, but she didn’t care. All that mattered in that moment was Alec and what he had done for her when he didn’t have to. His telling Nikki to go away had done much to show her how deep his feelings ran, but for him to buy the shop—a place that meant so much to her and her brother—was beyond anything she’d hoped for. Part of her was annoyed, but he was right. It was a gift, and sh
e was taught to never refuse a gift given out of love.

  “Thank you,” she said through her laughter, kissing him again.

  Alec ran his fingers down her cheek and drew her closer, letting his lips brush over hers. “Want to go see it?”

  “Tonight?” she asked, sitting up.

  “Why not? You have the key, and I was told no one’s been in there since you closed it.”

  She clambered quickly to her feet, key in hand, and reached for her purse. “Sam?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, you two go ahead. I have a feeling I might be in the way,” he said with a wink. Iris reached out to poke him in the shoulder before she wrapped her little brother in her arms. “Alright, you’re squishing me. I get it, you’re happy, now go away,” he muttered, giving her a shove towards the door. “And Iris?”

  “Yeah, kiddo?”

  Sam rubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks reddened. “Tell Dad hi from me,” he said quietly. Iris squeezed his hand and promised she would. Clutching the key tightly, she walked towards the front door where Alec held it open for her.

  “So you’re not mad about this?” he asked as they drove to the shop. She didn’t answer right away, and he sagged in his seat. “Look, I just wanted to do something nice for you,” he explained firmly. “And I’m not taking it back, no matter what you say, and I’m not about to run it myself, so you’re stuck with it. That’s final, end of story.”

  “Alec?”

  “What? I’m serious, I won’t take it back.”

  She leaned over and kissed his cheek, leaning into his side. “It’s perfect, and I meant it when I said thank you. I didn’t think I’d ever get the shop back on my own.”

  “You up for running it again?” he asked and draped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head as he held her against his side.

  “I think I can manage. Do you have any idea what you just did for me?”

  She felt him smile against her head as he pulled the truck alongside the curb outside her shop and parked. “I gave you hope that there is a future for you here,” he said, and she moved so she could see his face. “That life isn’t so bad anymore, I hope.”

  “Not with you in it,” she replied and laughed, thinking about the first night they’d met. “I can’t say I’m over all my issues, but I definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel now.”

  “And I have never felt so free to be myself,” he remarked with a crooked grin.

  They kissed briefly. She held up the key, and they exited the truck and walked towards the door to her dad’s shop. She breathed in the cool night air, remembering that the last time she was here was when she’d run into Alec and saw the pain and sadness in his eyes. Now, standing in front of the door again, she glanced over her shoulder to see the sadness gone, replaced by the same stirrings of love pooling like a river of fire in her body, spreading to her toes and fingers until every inch of her warmed at the sight of him.

  “Here we go,” she said on a breath and stuck the key in the lock. It fit perfectly, and she took another deep breath before she turned it and the deadbolt clicked open. Iris pulled the key free and pushed the door open. It creaked as it always used to, and a dull bell chimed overhead. The sound grounded her in all the memories she had of this place, and a longing to see her parents again filled her. “God, I miss them.”

  Alec’s hand slipped into hers as he followed her inside. “I’m sure they know that.”

  “No,” she whispered and hung her head. “I was terrible after they died. I screamed at them, ranted, blamed them for everything.” She stared around the shadowy shop, picturing her dad standing behind the counter as he and Joe talked about the latest finds. “I hated them for so long.”

  “You never hated them,” he assured her and pulled her around. “When my dad died, he left me to deal with a controlling mother who wanted me to live a life of high class and luxury. Dad always got me, but she never did. For months, I’d go to his grave and split a bottle of whiskey with him, and in the beginning, I was angry, too, but then… Then one day, I realized everything my dad taught me over the years made me a stronger person than I thought I was.”

  “So you left home?”

  He nodded and held her hands tighter. “And came here to find you. We all have our pasts, remember? Things we wish we hadn’t done, but the longer you hold onto that guilt, the worse you feel.”

  Iris slipped away from him, running her hands along the dust-covered shelves, and made her way slowly to the counter. The sun had set, and the dim light from outside disappeared. “Dad always kept a few candles in here somewhere,” she said and dug around behind the main counter.

  “You never moved them?”

  “Nope,” she said sadly. “Never had the heart to change anything.” Her fingers bumped into something hard and waxy, and she let out an excited yell, dragging out three large candles and a box of matches. Once they were lit, she spread them out along the counter, lighting the open space of the shop.

  “This is a good sized place,” Alec said. Iris watched his shadow bounce along the walls as he moved. His head tilted back as he looked at the walls, the unique curve of the vaulted ceiling, and the few items still hanging from the rafters, old wagon wheels and parts of a plow.

  With each step, his shadow followed, his broad shoulders defined in the flickering light and his hair loose, hanging down to his shoulders, swaying with his movements. Iris blinked, and the shadow on the wall shimmered only for a moment before she stared at the form of Alec again. In that moment, though, she swore she saw the outline of a wolf, a true predator in nature. Something Joe told her one day in the shop came back to her, from many months ago when she’d gone in to sell yet another heirloom.

  She had seen a beautiful wolf figurine, carved from wood with such intricate detailing, if she didn’t look at it straight on, she would’ve sworn it was a real one watching her. Joe noticed her admiring it and took it off the shelf.

  “Here,” he’d said handing it over to her. “A gift.”

  “No, I can’t,” she’d said roughly, still a little hungover from the night before. Her drinking had gotten worse when Sam had to go back to the hospital. “Not after everything you’ve already done for me.”

  Joe had pursed his lips and held the wolf up, examining it. “Wolves are pack animals by nature,” he’d told her seriously. “They care for one another deeply, and when one wolf in the pack is in pain, the others know. They find a way to comfort it.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” she’d asked, exhausted and worn out from fighting so hard to keep the house and food on the table.

  “Because it is important for you to know,” he insisted. “Wolves are able to sense pain from miles away, and they would come to the aid of their loved ones, to those who needed them, and woe betide any beast who stood in their path.”

  She remembered staring at that wolf statue every time she walked by his shop afterwards, dreaming about someone coming to save her and ease her pain before she was consumed by it. And just when she was ready to give in, ready to give up and watch everything her parents built disappear to the family of the man she hated, she stopped by this shop and bumped right into Alec.

  The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the candle flames flickered and a draft blew through the room.

  “That’s strange,” Alec said and turned to the windows. “I thought they were boarded up.”

  Iris did too, but a draft wasn’t what was on her mind as she walked across the shop, stopping in the center to stare at the man who had saved her life. He was her wolf. Even miles away, he’d sensed her pain, and though he didn’t know it, he rushed to this small town in the middle of nowhere to save her. And maybe, just maybe, she was meant to save him, too.

  Alec had his back to her as she stood in the center of the room and tugged off her sweater, letting it fall to the floor at her feet, followed by his t-shirt. All day, she’d been surrounded by his masculine scent of mahogany and sandalwood, an
d now, she wanted to be surrounded by him. He was looking for the draft and didn’t notice when she slipped out of her boots and jeans next, standing in nothing but her lacy black bra and thong.

  “Huh, I’ll have to tear this down tomorrow and really check them over when I can see,” Alec called over his shoulder. “We'll get the power turned on then, too. What do you…” He swallowed hard enough for her to hear across the room, and his hands curled at his sides.

  Seductively, Iris ran her hands up her sides, highlighting her curves and cupping her breasts through the thin lace. She licked her lips slowly, and Alec took an unsteady step towards her, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he fought for control. Iris didn’t want him to be in control, not with so many intense emotions robbing her of any more doubts or fears for the future. She wanted Alec with every fiber of her being. She wanted all of him as he was, nothing more and nothing less. Standing in the place that would lead her back to the right path, she wanted to feel him move within her, touch her soul, and turn her inside out.

  Jenson had nearly broken her. Months ago, she thought she was beyond fixing, but she wasn’t broken, just damaged, and Alec was the balm to soothe her, just as she would soothe the hurt left in his heart from Nikki. Loving him, that was how she would do it, and she would prove that this night.

  Iris massaged her breasts and pinched her nipples, a sigh escaping her lips as the candlelight flickered behind her. When she slid one hand across her stomach and down between her legs, her eyes never leaving Alec’s, filling her with an insatiable hunger that burned her very core, he covered the distance between them with a guttural growl and buried his hand in her hair at the nape of her neck. His kiss was hot and demanding against her lips as his tongue penetrated her mouth and explored its depths. As it glided across hers, he ground his hips and the bulge of his swollen erection made her thighs clench in want of him buried in her warmth.

  She moaned as he rubbed against her through the thin fabric of her thong, and she grew wet, begging for him to touch her, to hold her in his palm. Her fingers found the hem of his shirt, and she tore it over his body, letting her hands caress every inch of exposed back they could find. This was love, this feeling right here, this insane hunger only Alec could quench for her. Every touch was a demand and question at the same time, seeking permission to conquer her body as he had not done their first time together. This was so much more, and the fire grew to an inferno between them, stoked to life by the release of raw desire.