by Lynn Hagen
With a roll of my eyes and a frustrated groan, I followed him. There weren’t any streetlights to help with the darkness, but at least we had the moon.
Nope, it had just been swallowed up by thick clouds.
“Clarence, wait up.” The paw slippers on my feet weren’t very thick, so my feet were getting cold, and the small rocks kept digging in. My tail kept swaying back and forth as I walked, and I was seconds away from tearing it off. The damn thing was almost as tall as I was.
Clarence turned and walked backward. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid of the dark?”
I scowled. “No, I just want to make sure no other jerks come flying toward us.”
Yes, I was slightly afraid, but there was no way in hell I was telling him that. The woods appeared ominous, and I kept hearing small critter sounds. Of course my imagination turned them into fire-breathing demons from hell out to steal my soul.
Clarence turned back around. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been doing just fine on my own.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
He stopped and spun around, his eyes narrowed. “You’re gonna seriously ask me that question?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said with just as much brashness as he was giving me. “Tell me what the fuck I’ve done so wrong to you that you treat me like shit.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He started walking again. I had to jog to catch up to him, which wasn’t easy since I seemed to step on every tiny rock on the road. My feet were gonna be bleeding by the time I made it home.
I was also out of shape. The four and a half miles was gonna kick my ass.
“Talk to me, Clarence.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. He yanked away and kept going. I had no idea what to do or say. He’d been like this since our father had passed away, but lately his defiance had been getting worse.
We slowed when a raggedy truck came toward us. The gears were grinding, and the truck was backfiring. It passed us then slowed. I looked at Clarence. He looked at me.
“No way I’m taking a ride from whoever’s driving,” he said.
The truck slowly backed up. The clouds moved on, and the moon shined down on us. From where I stood, I saw cages piled in the bed of the truck. The tires squeaked until the guy stopped right beside us.
“You fellas need a lift?”
Clarence grimaced, but I kept my displeasure hidden. The guy had a beard a mile long, missing teeth, and squinty eyes. He cackled when he looked me over. I’d forgotten I was wearing that dumbass costume.
“No, we’re good, Three Fingers,” Clarence said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away, heading in the opposite direction of the stranger.”
“Why’d you call him that?” I asked.
“Character from the movie Wrong Turn,” my brother said. “That guy in the truck creeps me out.”
I completely agreed.
The truck took off down the road and disappeared. I hoped the next person who offered to help didn’t look like a horror film character. And what on earth was he doing with all those cages?
Clarence’s jaw dropped when he looked over his shoulder. I looked, too, and saw that truck heading back toward us. More like speeding toward us. The cages were bouncing in the bed, and the truck veered our way.
With a loud shriek, I took off into the woods, Clarence right beside me. My heart was in my throat, and my feet were being abused by the debris on the ground. But I didn’t stop to look back. I was too afraid to see if the old man was after us.
Clarence snatched my wrist and yanked me behind a large tree. We were panting like hell as my brother looked past me. “The truck is parked, but I don’t see the guy behind the wheel.”
What the fuck was going on? Why the hell was that old coot after us? I envisioned him incapacitating us and shoving us into those cages, though I highly doubted we would fit.
“We need to keep moving,” Clarence whispered.
I didn’t want to keep going without sneakers on my feet, but I shoved from the tree, and we moved farther into the woods. It felt as though we walked for miles, when it had only been five minutes.
“So you want to tell my why you hate me so much?” I asked as my tail swayed back and forth.
“I don’t hate you,” Clarence said.
“Then why do you treat me the way you do?” I chanced a glance over my shoulder but didn’t see the stranger anywhere. I prayed he’d given up and gone back to his truck. When we got to civilization, I was making a complaint with the cops.
Even if the guy hadn’t meant us any harm, he sure scared the crap out of me.
“You go off to college then get a high-paying job. You hardly ever come by anymore.” Clarence grabbed a low-hanging branch and shoved it aside.
I stopped him from taking another step. “You think I abandoned you?”
“Does it matter?” He kept moving, forcing me to do the same.
“Yes, it matters, Clarence.” It mattered a hell of a lot. I’d been so busy creating a life for myself that…wow. I looked at things from my little brother’s perspective. We’d lost our dad, and then I’d taken off not too long after that, leaving him and our mother behind.
“You think I’m lazy and just sit around the house,” he said. “If you were involved in my life, you’d know I bust my ass to help out Mom. Why should I lift a finger when you come over? You want to look like the good son, the hero? Fine. Whatever.”
“Wait.” I moved in front of him and held out my hand. “I had no idea.”
“That’s my point.” Clarence stepped around me. “We need to keep moving. We don’t know if he’s following us.”
I let out a long breath, and we kept going. Then I saw it. Up ahead were lights. I pointed them out to my brother.
“What if that’s the freak’s house?” he asked.
“I doubt it. The house looks well maintained, and the backyard is beautiful. Does that seem like something that old coot would own?”
I stilled when I heard twigs snapping behind us. Clarence glanced at me then we took off, racing toward the house.
The closer we came, the more I saw the details. There were witch’s cats and skeleton heads hanging up, and more Halloween decorations scattered throughout the backyard.
We hurried down the driveway and went to the front then rang the doorbell.
The guy who answered stole my very breath. He was tall, dark haired, and handsome as fuck. He eyed me then my brother. “Aren’t you a little old to be trick or treating?”
His voice was deep and sensual. I was at a loss for words.
“We crashed our car on Old Mill Road, then some weirdo came after us,” Clarence said. “I think he followed us into the woods. We just need your help.”
The guy looked past us, as though the stranger was behind us. He furrowed his brows. “You guys can come in, but just so you know, I’m the chief of police, and I have weapons. So if you’re planning on—”
“No funny business,” Clarence said. “We’re not tricking you.”
With a nod, the stranger stepped aside and allowed us in. When I passed him, my tail whacked the guy in the face.
“Oh shit!” I gasped. “I’m so sorry.”
Clarence groaned and yanked me inside. The guy’s house was immaculate and cozy. He had a fire going in the fireplace, and the house was lightly decorated for the occasion.
“I’m Hank Duvall,” he said.
“I’m Brad, and this is my little brother, Clarence,” I said.
Hank kept looking over my outfit, as if he was waiting to see if this was a trick instead of a treat. I couldn’t blame him. If some guy had shown up at my apartment dressed as a squirrel and claimed some insane man was after him, I’d be skeptical, too.
“Can you describe the guy?” he asked as he waved toward his sofa. Clarence took a seat, but I remained standing. It was very hard to sit when you had a tall tail behind you.
Clarence described the guy, and the truck
, as Hank strode to the open kitchen. He poured us some hot apple cider and handed us a cup.
“That sounds like Ansell Hackly,” Hank said. “He’s not right in the head, but he’s harmless.”
I felt a rush of relief as I took a sip of my cider. “Wow, this packs a punch.”
“I tend to go a little heavy on the cloves,” Hank said.
“I like it,” Clarence said.
Hank kept looking my way, and I couldn’t stop my blush. I knew when a man was checking me out, and Hank was definitely checking me out.
“Why don’t I give you guys a lift to where you’re going?” Hank asked. “Or at least Clarence. Brad, you can take me to where your car is, and I can have it towed for you.”
Alone time with the hot chief? I wasn’t going to turn that offer down. But I was also determined to repair my relationship with Clarence. I vowed right there to spend more time with him, to find out what he was into, and help mold him into someone who wasn’t so bitter with life.
I’d created this mess, and I would damn well fix it.
My second goal was to get into Hank’s pants. From the way he was eyeballing me, that just might be tonight.
After dropping Clarence off at Jesse’s, Hank and I returned to Old Mill Road. My heart dropped when I saw Ansell’s truck still there, only it was now parked behind my hatchback.
“That’s the truck,” I said. “He came barreling at us like he wanted to run us over.”
“Let me handle this.” Hank got out and looked into the driver’s window.
I sat there checking out Hank’s tall and sculpted frame. The guy had to be at least six feet three inches, and he was built like a brick shit house. Anyone would be insane to tangle with him.
Then again, Ansell wasn’t completely sane.
Hank came back to his pickup and radioed in for a tow. I didn’t care how much I had to pay for the repairs. I just wanted to get out of there.
“Did you see Ansell?” I asked.
“He’s probably off trapping squirrels.” Hank smirked. “You might’ve confused the hell out of him in your getup.”
“I was heading to a Halloween party,” I said. “You know, the kind for grownups.”
One of Hank’s brows rose. “Still going?”
“I want to,” I admitted. “But only if you’ll be my plus one. Besides, I need a ride, anyway.”
Hank chuckled, and the sound was like warm honey. My cock hardened, and it was difficult to hide my erection in the flimsy costume. His green-eyed gaze lowered to my groin then he looked up at me.
My face was on fire, but I wasn’t going to hide what he did to me. I wanted Hank to know just how much I wanted him.
“Let’s take care of this, then we can go to your party.”
“For real?” I bounced with excitement.
“Only if you agree to come back to my place afterward.” He winked, and I nearly fainted.
“You got yourself a deal, Chief.”
“I’ll just wear my uniform. How does that sound?”
“Perfect.” Now I was wishing the party was already over. I wanted to say to hell with it, but I’d already promised my best friend, Chester, that I’d be there, and I wasn’t one to break my word.
The tow truck finally showed, but Ansell never did. We stopped at Hank’s so he could put on his uniform, then we were off.
My jaw dropped when we walked into Randall’s home. Talk about sparing no expense. The decorations were glamorous, and I eyed more than one stripper.
“See anything you like?” Hank asked. “There’re a lot of hot guys here.”
“But not as hot as you.” I turned and looked at the large punch bowl in the middle of the foyer. “Why don’t you get your fill of checking out the handsome men while I get us something to drink?”
Hank nodded as I left him by a group of male models. I couldn’t believe my luck tonight. It was as though fate had guided me to Hank’s house. Or that lunatic. Whichever, I didn’t care. I had my very own cop, and that thrilled me. It didn’t even bother me that Hank was older. I’d felt the chemistry between us the moment I’d laid eyes on him.
“Hi.”
I turned and found Dr. Caleb Morgan standing behind me. He was in his scrubs. He was the last person I wanted to see. Everyone seemed to fawn over him, but I knew the real Caleb, and the guy was a total dick with a god complex. He had a lot of people fooled, but not me. “Hey.”
“So, I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk and maybe talk.”
I couldn’t believe he was asking me that. Twice in the past I’d evaded his advances, and the guy acted as though he couldn’t comprehend anyone turning him down.
“I talked with your friend, Chester,” Caleb said. “He was supposed to put in a good word for me, but he never called.”
I didn’t want to rock the boat. Caleb was a well-loved doctor at the hospital, and I worked maintenance. He could stir up trouble for me, and I wanted to avoid that.
Words failed me. How could I tell Caleb to go fuck himself without losing my job?
Hank strode over and slid his arm around my waist. “Friend of yours?” he asked.
I wanted to kiss the shit out of Hank for the save. I slid my arm around his thick waist and smiled. “This is Dr. Morgan. He works at the same hospital as I do. We were just saying hi.” I turned to Caleb. “This is Chief Hank Duvall, my boyfriend.”
Hank took the claim in stride. He didn’t even flinch. “Nice to meet you.”
Caleb simply stared at Hank’s extended hand as if it were diseased. I wished Chester, Ezekiel, and Will knew the true Caleb. They wouldn’t think him so hot if they did. Caleb liked to pretend he was shy, awkward with small-talk. That was such bullshit.
Hank dropped his hand and led me away. Maybe now that Caleb thought I was dating the chief of police, he’d leave me alone.
“Thanks for the save,” I said when we were far enough away.
“You looked uncomfortable,” he said. “I felt a need to rescue you.”
Aw, wasn’t that the sweetest thing? “Okay, I’m ready to ditch this party.”
Hank eyed me then smiled. “Back to my place?”
“You don’t have a god complex, do you?” I couldn’t deal with anyone else like that.
“I’m just a humble guy who likes to protect and serve, and I’m ready to serve you.”
* * * *
“Get this damn costume off me,” I said when we made it through Hank’s front door. I wanted to soak my feet, but I also wanted to ride Hank until we were both sweaty and sated.
He unzipped the back and peeled it off me. When I was wearing nothing but my boxers, I scratched everywhere I could reach. I was throwing that damn squirrel out. Never again would I buy leftovers. Now I saw why no one had wanted it.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Hank said. “I’m gonna get us something to drink.”
I curled up on the couch in front of the fire. This was the perfect end to a very strange evening, but I was glad it was over. At least the crazy parts.
Now it was time to get to the sexy parts, and I was more than willing to get naked for Hank.
He returned with two mugs and handed me one. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He sat and kicked his shoes off then removed his shirt and undershirt. Fuck, he had a rocking body. I wanted to climb his mountainous frame and conquer him.
“So, who is Hank Duvall besides a humble man and a cop?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I was born and raised in Wyoming. I moved here after my divorce.”
“You can’t be straight,” I said.
“Bisexual,” he admitted. “My family didn’t take that news so well, and neither did my wife. We’ve been divorced for a while.”
“Kids?”
“None,” Hank said. “Though I’ve mentored a lot of youth, mostly LGBTQIA. It was a struggle for me to come out to those I loved, and I wanted to help others who found themselves in the same situation.”
This guy was
a damn gem. “Do you still mentor?”
He nodded. “You should come to the youth center with me some time.” He smirked. “Wear your squirrel costume.”
“I’ve already mentally burned it.” I laughed.
“What about you?” he asked.
I told him about my dad, college, work, and Clarence. I planned on stopping by tomorrow evening to check on my little brother. We needed to strengthen our bond again. I hadn’t realized how much I’d failed him until tonight, and that weighed heavily on my mind.
“Sounds like a busy life.” Hank set the remote aside and pulled me into his side, careful not to spill my cider. “I’d like to be a part of that,” he said. “You seem like a great guy.”
“You do, too.” My bare skin against his had my heart pounding. I loved sinking into all those muscles. I leaned forward and set my mug on the coffee table then grabbed Hank’s and set it aside, as well.
I slid up his chest and took the kiss I’d been dying for since I first saw him. Hank’s hands pressed against my sides as he thrust his tongue into my mouth. The apple cider tasted better on Hank’s lips, and I lapped at them, so turned on I wanted to burst.
I kissed along his bearded jaw while I tweaked his nipples, eating up the moan that rumbled through his chest. It was as though I had my own personal bear. Hank’s chest had hair, and I teased the strands as I moved from his jaw, to his neck, then to his pecs.
He watched me with heavy-lidded eyes. Bedroom eyes. The green had grown darker as I used the tip of my tongue to circle the hard nub. Then I bit down, and a long, drawn-out hiss escaped him.
Clearly his nipples were ultra-sensitive, and I used that knowledge to torture him. But I needed more. His pants were still on, and I wanted them gone.
I stood and unfastened them, stripping them away as Hank gave a hearty laugh. The sound was deep, rich, and oh so masculine.
“That’s better,” I said. I’d even removed his underwear, and his thick cock slapped his stomach, a trail of clear liquid pooling at his navel. I lapped it up like a kitten needing cream, teasing his bellybutton with my tongue and lips.
“Go lower,” Hank groaned. “I need to feel your mouth on my dick.”