Primal Heat (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

I pulled the seatbelt across my lap just as Bas’s tires squealed and I
was rocketed back into my seat when he drove away from the curb.

“Are you all right?” he asked, nostrils flaring as he tore down the
street, taking turns fast and hard.

I didn’t know how to feel. My body thrilled at the nearness of him. I
couldn’t stand not touching him. And yet, I also felt like throttling him. He’d
gone AWOL for nearly two weeks after everything that had happened. I could be
indignant. Maybe I should have told him to drop me off at the nearest corner
and keep right on driving. Except, I couldn’t. No matter what happened, there
was no point trying to hide what was happening inside of me. By the looks of
his white-knuckled grip and the furious pulse beat in his temple, he couldn’t
hide what was going on inside of him either.

“I needed you.” There it was. A strange thing to say maybe, but it was
the truest thing I could think of.

He squeezed his eyes shut tight for an instant then stared back hard at
the road. “I’m sorry. I had to take the pack north for a little while. We’ve
had some . . . trouble. I wasn’t really in a position to carry a cell phone.
And I swear to God I didn’t think it was going to take as long as it did. Plus,
I don’t know. I thought maybe you needed some space.”

I don’t know why, but I barked out a laugh. He didn’t have to explain
for me to understand what he meant. Whatever pack trouble kept him away, Bas
had stayed in his wolf for most of it. It also explained the intensity of his
stare. He seemed more animal than man right now, and I can’t deny how it
thrilled me. Still, I had questions. Lots of them. And there was something
else. I’d kept myself under control for as long as I could up in the conference
room. Now that it was just the two of us alone in that car, I had to touch him.
I reached across the console and laid a hand on his thigh. A frisson went
through me, making my heart jump. A tremor went through Bas’s right hand as he
gripped the wheel.

I don’t know where he intended to take me, but he made a sharp,
screeching turn and parked behind an abandoned gas station beneath a highway
overpass. He jammed the car in park then turned to face me, his eyes flashing
fire.

“God. You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to be with you. I
am
sorry. I would have gotten word to you, but everyone I trusted was with me.”

“Is everything all right? With the pack, I mean?” I kept my hand on his
thigh. I tried to focus on his face, his words, but desire coursed through me.
It was as if I’d been starving and Bas was some sort of buffet. I could pretend
the things we said to each other mattered, but the simple truth was, I craved
his touch more than anything.

Bas searched my face. He reached out and slid his palm along my jaw. I
closed my eyes and turned into it. He was flame and light, heat and life. I
brought my hand up and placed it over his.

“It’s fine for now. But, I’m going to have to leave again sooner than I
want. Abby, I don’t want you here by yourself. Dale is dangerous. More than I
realized.”

“He hasn’t
done
anything to me. If that’s what you’re asking. I
mean, he’s made some threats.”

“Tell me,” Bas’s voice dropped an octave. This was a command, not a
question. Some primal part of me flared to life and went to war with the ethics
of my situation. Bas was Bas, but I worked for the congressman. I’d signed a
confidentiality agreement as part of my internship contract with him. Although
I hadn’t pieced together the specifics, I knew Dale wanted to make trouble for
Bas and interfere with Wild Lake. I could see Bas’s point on the conservation
bill. It looked good in theory, but it would put large swaths of Wild Lake’s
natural forest under federal control. I also knew he had an even more drastic
plan if the bill fell through. Dale hadn’t come right out and said it, but he
had me researching grounds for a federal takeover through eminent domain. So
far, my research had turned up nothing. No compelling government interests that
could circumvent private property ownership.

“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t put me in the middle of the two of you. I need
this job, Bas. It’s important. My career matters. I can’t tell you everything.
Just know that, for right now, I don’t think any of the congressman’s plans
pose an actual threat to you.”

I expected him to get angry. He didn’t. Bas let out a sigh and dropped
his hand. “God, I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was make things
impossible for you like this. Dammit. The thing I hate the most is how all of
this played right into Dale’s hands.”

“What do you mean?”

“He knew. That first time I saw you when I stormed in there with that
leg trap.”

“He knew what?”

Bas’s smile churned my insides. It was full of sex and secrets. A wave
of heat bled through me and settled in my core. God, all it took was that one
look and he had me panting for his touch again. And touch was simple. So much
easier than trying to grapple with ethical dilemmas or all the reasons I had to
walk away.

I moved first. I couldn’t stand it another second. I leaned across the
center console and slid my hands up Bas’s solid biceps. I tugged at his cobalt
blue tie and pulled him down to kiss me. His groan melted me, and he pressed
his lips to mine. I meant to leave it at that. Just a kiss. It was stupid of me
to think that would be enough. The instant we touched, my senses flared to life.
He tasted of sin, spice, and everything male. He tasted like mine.

“Fuck, Abby.”

Yes. Fuck.

Bas slid out of his suit coat and pulled at the buttons of my blouse
with deft fingers. He spread the thin silk, exposing my lace bra. My lips
locked with his, I shifted, climbing over the console until I straddled his
lap, his tie still clutched in my hand. He slid my skirt up over my thighs and
hooked one finger through the thin cotton crotch of my panties. He tore them
away as if they were made of tissue paper. I felt his hardness against my
sensitive flesh.

Where I became wild and reckless, Bas was still in command. He reached
down and pressed the button on the side of his captain’s chair, reclining it
and shifting it backward. He kept a strong hand on my waist, holding me steady
as we sank down together.

I unfastened his belt buckle and slid it out of the way. Then, I undid
the button of his trousers and felt the hard outline of his erection, straining
beneath the wool. Carefully, I slid his zipper down, and all the while he
devoured me with kisses.

He pushed my skirt even farther up so it bunched around my waist and
raised his hips to let me slide his pants out of the way. There was nothing
between us now. I brought myself up on my knees and gripped the solid shaft of
him. Bas’s eyes flashed silver as I hovered over him. God, he owned me. Even
now. But he let me take control.

My sex throbbed with anticipation as I stroked him. He was solid heat
between my fingers. There might be time later to take it slow, but not now.
Now, my body cried out for his. I never wanted to wait so long to feel him ever
again. I rose up and guided him between my legs. He held me with one hand on my
waist, the other at the nape of my neck as he nipped my earlobe.

Then, I couldn’t stand it another second. With one, quick, downward
thrust, I impaled myself on the length of him. He filled me, his cock throbbing
inside of me as I started to ride him. I took him deep and hard, and he tore at
my bra to free my breasts.

We were out in the open. Although the gas station was abandoned, a
dozen cars whizzed by on the overpass. All anyone had to do was look down and
they’d see me bucking and writhing as I fucked Bas with abandon. I didn’t care.
None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was the feel of him deep
inside me. I wanted more. Though he grasped my bare nipple between his fingers,
we had too many clothes between us.

My whole world became the feel of him stabbing into me, filling me
completely, the rise and fall of my hips as I tried to take him even deeper.
This wasn’t lovemaking. This was raw, primal need. I didn’t care if he took me
in the middle of a busy downtown street, bent over a park bench. I would have
let him. The wanting consumed me and drove out all reason.

My hair fell around us like a blonde curtain. I arched my back and let
the surge take hold of me. The first edges of a rising orgasm took hold. Bas
felt it too as my walls gripped him tight. Again, I felt that burning ache at
the back of my neck and wished I had room to turn. I wanted him from behind. I
wanted his teeth. The instant I thought it, he hissed and I saw his front canines
lengthen a fraction of an inch. It only made my juices flow more.

This. All of it. I wanted the wolf. I wanted the man. I wanted that
wild heat that rose within me and called out for him to claim me. I felt made
for it. Born for him. Again, though, Bas held back. Even when I gathered my
hair to the side and turned my head far to the right, exposing my neck to him.
I didn’t fully understand the need, only that I wanted more of him so
desperately.

He reached up and pulled my hands away, letting my hair fall down
between us again. And I couldn’t control my desire for a second longer. I
reared up and arched my back as Bas held me steady. An explosive wave of
pleasure rocked through me. I screamed his name. The traffic noises drowned it
out.

Bas growled and rose to meet my thrusts. He twitched inside of me,
giving in to his own crescendo of desire. We came together. Wave after wave as
I bucked and thrashed while Bas held me in place. He reached up and locked his
hands with mine, letting me get the angle I needed for maximum pleasure. He
exploded inside of me. His heat joining with mine. On and on it went. He left
me panting, gasping for air as I finally crested down.

My body went limp, but still Bas held me up. He stayed inside me even
after both of us were spent. I felt him jerk and twitch where we joined. A part
of me wanted to stay locked like that forever. It was simpler. Better. Bas
reached up and cupped his hand around the curve of my skull, then brought me
down to kiss him again.

His suit was wrecked. My panties were shredded. We righted ourselves
and somehow, I managed to get back over the console on rubber legs and pulled
my wrinkled clothes together as best I could. Going back to the office without
a change of clothes was pretty much out of the question.

Bas took my hand and brought it to his lips, brushing my knuckles with
a kiss. “Sorry,” he said. “I thought I’d be able to control myself a little
better than that.”

I laughed. “Why would you want to?”

He looked at me, his face cracked into a wide smile. “You’re right. I
didn’t. God. Abby. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”’

With any other man those next few minutes might have felt awkward. With
Bas, everything felt like it had just fallen into place. Simple. Solid. Real.

“When can I see you again?” he asked. It seemed a strange question.
Forever. Now. Whenever he wanted. I could try to pretend he didn’t have some
hold over me, but he did, and he knew it. Still, I had enough caution to think
about my answer.

“Soon. I don’t know. Tomorrow? You know, I wouldn’t mind trying
something like an actual date.”

Bas’s wide smile made my heart jump again. I wanted to lean over and
kiss that mouth. He pressed his thumb to his bottom lip and I noticed the
slight swelling where I think I’d bitten him.

“Yeah. I guess we’ve taken things slightly backward haven’t we?” I
turned the key in the ignition and put his hand across the back of my seat as
he looked behind him and pulled out of the lot.

“I haven’t minded. Truly. But yeah, let’s try something normal if
that’s even possible with you.”

“How about I cook for you? Is that normal enough? I can pick you up at
six and take you back to the lodge. You like Chinese? I’ve got mad skills with
a wok.”

I cocked my head and raised a brow. Somehow, the image of Bas stir
frying anything made me laugh. “I’d like to see that. And here I was thinking
you’d come up with a wild game dinner or something. Chinese sounds so, normal.”

“Good. Normal is just what you need.”

As he merged back into traffic, I shook my head. “How come I suspect
normal with you is going to turn out to be anything but?”

Chapter Sixteen

I found the perfect reason not to go into the office the next morning.
After yesterday’s meeting, I didn’t hate the idea of steering clear of Dale for
a little while. I took the opportunity to head to government offices in
downtown Wild Lake. So far, the land ownership research he’d given me hadn’t
kicked up anything interesting. For Bas’s sake, I was glad. But, I still had
one more stone to turn. Dale wanted title research on two large tracts of dead
center on the wooded lands surrounding Wild Lake itself. The land had stayed in
one family for so long the property records were still on microfiche at the
Register of Deeds office. So, I headed there.

Bas texted me twice this morning and once last night. Each time his
name popped up on my phone, my heart swelled. But, I needed to focus. I
couldn’t afford a single misstep where Dale and the congressman were concerned.
I had ten long weeks left with them. After that, well, I’d figure out my next
step.

The Register of Deeds office was deserted when I got there. They issued
marriage and birth licenses out of the same office, all run by a single clerk
named Kathy. Kathy was round, pleasant, and about eighty years old. She slid
her Coke bottle glasses up her nose when I handed her the stiff, pink request
card for the records I needed.

“Hope you don’t have asthma or bad allergies,” she said in a voice that
seemed scrubbed with sandpaper. It was incongruous to her bright smile and the yellow
carnation pinned to her sweater.

“No ma’am.”

“Good. You’ll have a little bit of dust to contend with on some of
these canisters, but the machine’s just been fine tuned. You know how to work
it?”

I didn’t. Kathy came out from behind the counter and walked me down to
the hulking, ancient microfiche machine and showed me how to thread the tape
and advance the screen. It was easy, and actually a little fun once I got the
hang of it. Kathy gave me a pat on the back and wished me good luck as I started
scrolling through the records, each frame blurring as I turned the knob.

I grabbed my pen and notepad once I found the record I needed. Two
deeds more than sixty years old. I marked the records for printing and took
pictures of the screen with my smartphone too.

“Hmm, that’s strange.” I squinted at the screen.

“What’s that, honey?” Kathy peered over my shoulder and slid her
glasses down her nose.

“Oh, it’s nothing. This property is held in a life estate.”

The Wild Lake property had been transferred to Patricia and Harold
Bonner from what looked like the estate of maybe Harold’s father, or at least
some other relative. But, they only had the right to stay there and use the
property during their lifetime.

“Are they still alive, do you know? Mr. and Mrs. Bonner?”

“Pat and Harold? Oh, yeah. They’re alive and kicking those two. But
they’re not married, hon. They’re brother and sister.”

“I see. Well, I thought I could put this to rest here. But, it looks
like I need the probate records. Are those on microfiche too?”

“Lloyd Bonner’s estate? Oh, no. Those would be across the hall in the
archives.”

“Perfect! Thanks so much for your help, Kathy.” I gathered my things
and went to the Probate office. Once I showed the clerk the case file I needed,
she wrinkled her nose and pointed me to a cubicle around the corner. The
records themselves were old and brittle, on account of water damage from a
courthouse flood back in 1978. I had to put on white gloves before they’d let
me handle the fragile documents. The ink on them was blotched and faded, almost
impossible to read. But, I found what I was looking for. My heart stopped cold
when I did.

“Son of a bitch.” I meant to whisper it, but the building’s high arched
ceilings carried the sound all the way down the counter.

“Sorry,” I said, sheepish. I spread Lloyd Bonner’s estate filings out
on the table and snapped a few pictures with my phone.

“Can you make me a certified copy of this one?” I pointed to one of the
pages and the clerk smiled.

“You betcha.” She picked up the delicate paper and hustled over to the
copy machine. Checking the record against the copy, she stamped her seal on it
then handed it to me. I slid the copy into my messenger bag along with the deed
Kathy printed for me and thanked her again for her time.

“Oh, don’t mention it. It’s kinda fun rooting around in the archives.
Makes me feel all
Da Vinci Code
.”

I laughed and said my goodbyes then made the brisk three block walk
back to the congressman’s office. The place was quiet; Grace had the day off. I
set my messenger bag on my desk and walked toward the break room to get a
midday cup of coffee. My phone buzzed from the breast pocket of my suit coat
and I fished it out. My heart skipped when I saw the caller I.D.

“How’s your day going?” Bas asked.

“Interesting. Almost done. I just have to type a few things up, then
I’m heading home.”

“I can’t wait to see you. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“Good. And I hope you bought lots of food. I’m starving already.”

“Don’t you worry. I plan to keep you well fed.” Heat shot through me at
his wicked double entendre. I pulled the phone away from my ear and checked the
time. It was only 2:30. I still had a few hours before I could see him again.

“Pick me up at six?”

“Unless you’re ready sooner.”

God, I wish I could be. I still had to write up a summary of what I’d
found. I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, but I had a sick feeling in my
stomach it wasn’t good. Whoever Pat and Harold Bonner were, their father had
only granted them the right to live on the Wild Lake property during their
lifetime. After they died, it reverted back to his estate. Under his will,
another man named Willis Gaither or his heirs would get the land then. It
seemed a strange way to set things up, but without knowing the family history
it didn’t mean much. It surprised me that Bas himself wasn’t in the mix of
ownership somehow. But, I couldn’t ask him about it. Not without breaking
confidentiality.

“I’ll try to get things finished up at the office, but I doubt I’ll get
out of here anytime before five.”

Bas grew quiet on the other end. “Is Dale there?”

“Foster’s office door is closed, and I haven’t seen him. He and Foster
had some meetings this morning down in Lansing. I don’t know if they were
planning to drive back up or stay down there overnight.”

“Hmm. Well, just hurry. It’s driving me crazy not having you with me.”

I knew the feeling. “I promise. I’ll be greased lightning. Can you pick
me up at Kendra’s apartment? I’ll text you the address. I’ve been staying there
sort of house sitting while she’s back home in Atlanta.”

Bas positively purred on the other end of the phone. I made a cat joke
and he promised to pay me back for it. The idea of it made
me
purr. When
we hung up, I went to the fridge and opened the freezer door, fanning myself
with the cold air.

There was nothing left in the coffee pot but the dregs, and I actually
contemplated drinking that. Anything to keep me focused as I pored over the
documents I’d gathered and the last bits of research I needed to pull it all
together. If I could bang it out in the next hour or so, it would leave me free
for the whole weekend. He hadn’t asked, but I hoped I might be able to spend
all of it with Bas.

I opted for cold bottled water and made my way back to my desk. The
heat coursing through my blood at the thought of a whole weekend with Bas leached
straight out of me when I turned the corner.

Dale stood at my desk pulling documents out of my bag and reading them
with a cold, calculating eye. When he looked up, he gave me a wide, ominous
smile that made my blood run cold.