Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (57 page)

****

The spectacle between Dean Longstrider and Red Bantam was
the main topic of conversation for only one day before the story shifted. While
Dean and Marisol slumbered, there had been another bear attack. As Dean had an
airtight alibi and the Longstrider twins were well out of town before the
attack, Sheriff Walker redirected his investigation. He still didn’t trust
Dean, but he was more interested in bringing in the wild bear attacking
tourists than harassing a man that most were calling a hero. They set traps and
called in Fish and Game to handle the situation.

Despite Marisol’s relief that Dean’s theory was correct and
that there was another bear in town guilty of the deaths, a black cloud hung
overhead every time she came to visit Dean. He understood, but he didn’t know
how to tell her that she didn’t need to feel guilty or upset on his behalf. He
was a man who made his own decisions. He had no regrets, and that’s what he
told Ernie when the man stopped by his hospital room a week after the rodeo.

“I hear they’re discharging you today,” Ernie said.

“Yeah, that’s what they tell me.”

“Where will you go?”

“The Cody Motel, most likely. Least until I get a car or
figure something out.”

“Why don’t you come stay with us?” Ernie asked.

“I...I couldn’t impose.”

“It’s not an imposition. You saved my life. It’s the least I
can do.”

“Thank you, sir, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t do
that.”

“Why not?”

He took a deep breath and paused. “Because I’m in love with
your daughter, sir. I know that you and Mrs. Vargas don’t approve of me, and I
respect that, but I don’t want to cause any tension or strife in your family.”

“Does she feel the same way about you?”

“Yes, sir, I believe she does.”

“Well my offer stands. Mari’s my little girl. She always has
my approval and I trust her judgement.” Ernie held out his hand, offering a
permanent truce between them. Dean gripped it with a smile.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Mari doesn’t know, but they’re discharging me this afternoon,
too. We’ll surprise her together.”

And surprise her they did. She ran out of the house to meet
them in the yard, first throwing her arms around her father’s neck, and then
pulling Dean into an exuberant embrace. Her smile was as bright as the sun, her
eyes twin flecks of glorious amber. Once Dean had her in his arms, it was
difficult to let her go. He had a lot of time to think while he was laid up in
the hospital, and he spent all that time thinking about her.

Once Anna commandeered Ernie’s time and attention in the
house, Mari took Dean’s hand and tugged him away from the front porch. “Come
on. I have something I want to show you.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. I’ve been dying to tell you about it for the past two
days.”

“Lead the way.”

They walked hand in hand until they reached the far corner
of the park and were suitably shaded from sight by the trees. She released his
hand and began to undress.

“Hold up, now. What are you doing?”

“I’m showing you what I can do,” Marisol answered with a
grin. She tossed her shirt aside and kicked her shorts off, giving Dean a
totally unobstructed view of her naked body. He’d always known that she was
luscious, but the sight of her made his knees weak and his heart rate triple.
He barely had a chance to take in her full radiance before her delectable form
disappeared, replaced by the far more intimidating body of a grizzly bear.

Dean gaped at her, stunned and still, strangely enough,
turned on. Her lips pulled back, exposing a row of long, deadly teeth, and when
she stood up on her hind legs, she was well over six feet tall. She dropped to
all fours and closed the distance between them, pushing her muzzle against his
chest. He smiled and stroked her head, running his fingers through her long,
lustrous fur. She nuzzled closer to him, deep growls of contentment vibrating
from her chest.

“Can you shift at will?” he asked.

The question was barely out of his mouth before the bear
disappeared and the girl was in his arms once again. “I’ve been practicing for
the past week. Every day and every night. What do you think?”

“You’re amazing—that’s what I think. You’re amazing and I
have to kiss you.”

“Oh, please do.”

Dean didn’t need to be asked a second time. While he was in
the hospital, he didn’t let himself linger over the memory of her soft,
inviting lips, but he couldn’t do anything about his dreams. The few kisses
they had exchanged fueled a thousand dreams—but the fantasy was nothing like
the reality. The taste of her, the feel of her, the heat and pressure and solid
reality of her made him ache and rejoice at the same time. The way she held the
back of his neck, her nails pressing into his skin with the force of her
hunger, only made him want her more. Within seconds, his hunger was whipped
into a passionate frenzy.

His hands roamed freely over her naked body, learning every
inch of her sweet curves. Her skin was flushed, her body warmed with passion
and by the sun. She smelled so good. Dean’s nose was always sensitive, but her
scent was overwhelming as it imprinted on him. When he couldn’t take it
anymore, he broke away from her mouth and continued his exploration with his
lips, kissing her jaw, her throat, her neck, her ear. She dropped her head
back, fingers clutching at his shoulders as he continued traveling down her body.
When he reached the twin globes of her ample breasts, he dropped to his knees
and buried his face between the mounds, pausing for a moment to truly enjoy the
beautiful bounty at his fingertips.

“Please don’t stop,” Mari whispered, running her fingers
through his hair.

There was no chance of stopping. He was all out of willpower
and all out of excuses. There was nothing in the world he wanted the way he
wanted her, and it seemed like that had been true for his entire life. He
couldn’t get enough of her taste, of the silky texture of her skin, or the way
she moaned his name. He cupped one breast while he licked and kissed and
suckled and nibbled the other, his dick getting harder with each second that
passed.

“Please, Dean...I need…” She wasn’t able to finish the
sentence, but her hips thrust forward and that was all the direction he needed.
He pulled away from her breasts to move over the swell of her belly and bury
his face in the fragrant heat between her thighs. He lapped at her flesh,
gathering up the sweet nectar of her arousal, pushing his tongue between her
thick lips to find her clit. It trembled beneath his tongue, and even the
lightest pressure had her gasping and jerking her hips. Her fingers twisted in
his hair, and he welcomed the tingling in his scalp—it served as a minor
distraction for the intense throbbing between his legs.

In the back of his mind, he recognized that this was
probably Mari’s first time. He wanted her first time to be on a big,
comfortable bed, unhurried and perfect, not out in the open where anybody could
see them, fueled by raw passion and desperate need. He wanted her to have the
best of everything and he wanted to be the one to give it to her. He lifted his
head to try to tell her as much, but she sank to her knees and pressed herself
against him, kissing him with the same fervent passion he had for her.

“Please...I’m going crazy here,” Mari said against his
mouth. “I need you.”

She reached between their bodies, fumbling with his fly, and
pulled his cock free. Dean tried to say something, but only a low, whimpering
moan escaped him as her hand wrapped around his shaft. She gave him a slow,
almost languid stroke, and his balls pulled tight almost immediately.

“Oh God,” he gasped. “Wait...let me…” Somehow he managed to
fumble his wallet from his back pocket and locate the condom he kept tucked
away there. It was almost a relief to slide it on—at least it provided a small
barrier between his burning flesh and her silky skin. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes. Very sure.”

He gently lowered her to the grass, and she hooked her legs
around his waist. He paused, staring down at her, almost incredulous that she
was there like that, with him. She was so open, vulnerable, and giving, and
soon she would be
his
completely. He took a deep, steadying breath and
aligned himself with her body, the tip of his cock nudging her opening. Dean
eased himself into her, taking his time. She was so slick, wet and ready for
him, but she was so, so tight. His fear of hurting her intensified and made him
hesitant.

Marisol didn’t have the patience or the time for his fear,
though. Instead of letting him set the pace and keep it slow, she thrust her
hips up to meet his, sheathing him completely. They both gasped as she took in
every inch of him, and before Dean could even choke out her name, their bodies
were doing what they were built to do, following a rhythm older than time
itself.

“Tell me...if I’m hurting you.”

“Doesn’t...hurt. You’re perfect.” She dropped her head back
and arched her spine, meeting him stroke for stroke. “Oh God...perfect. It’s
perfect. Feels...feels…” As she spoke, she moved, quickening the pace. He
didn’t want to go any faster, but he couldn’t help himself from getting caught
up in her tempo. The friction, the heat, the glorious reality of her body was
too much to withstand. “Oh...
Dean
.”

He felt her shake apart the moment his world exploded. They
clutched at each other, entwined and frozen as they rode out the force of their
mutual pleasure together. It felt like an eternity before he had the strength
to lift his head and gaze down at her. She smiled back at him, shy and
alluring—and satisfied.

“Mari...God, I love you.”

Her smile widened. “You do?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I love you, too.” She pulled him into a slow kiss. He lost
himself in the caress, caught up not in raw passion but in the pure, sweet
pleasure of her mouth. During his stay in the hospital, he felt like a man
without a purpose, but now he understood how foolish that was. He had the money
from all the purses he’d won over the past several years, he had his life and
his health, and most importantly, he had Marisol. The brightest light in his
world. The axis on which his entire universe rotated. The heart on which he
could place his faith, his hopes, and his fondest dreams.

THE
END

The first thing Natalia Hyde
noticed when her taxi drove her past the sign that said,
‘Welcome to
Riverdale
,’ was that everything seemed exactly as it had been the day she
left. The streets were all the same, the lovely suburban arrangement of
roundabouts that had been fun to ride around on bikes. The
twenty-eight-year-old had expected to find some changes, maybe expansions or
even a few changes on a few stores but nothing… it was as if someone had
grabbed a huge remote control and pressed pause on the whole town.

The only viable change that
Natalia noticed was that people were older, and the kids now running around the
parks and streets had faces she didn’t recognize.

The taxi drove her toward the
town’s only known hotel, a measly Hilton Garden Inn at the edge of the highway.
She remembered seeing this same little place for years and was pleasantly
surprised to note that it looked like it had been renovated. It was much bigger
than she remembered.

Paying her fare and pulling her
bag out of the back of the car, Natalia strutted through the mechanical doors,
feeling a cool draft yank at her clothes and long black hair as she entered. It
was definitely different; maybe that pause button didn’t affect everything
after all.

When Natalia entered the lobby,
she was surprised to find it rather busy; several people were talking with the
concierge, a young woman with thick blonde hair styled in large ringlets. She
looked rather out of her league, appearing absolutely nervous as she assisted a
man with immense shoulders. The back of his head had a particularly large scar
that Natalia recognized instantly.

“Brad?” She spoke before she
could hold her tongue and the broad man turned around. There was a moment when
he appraised her, broad face and broad eyes that gave him a certain brutish
appearance. Still, she remembered him, he had been one of Nathan’s friends
throughout high school. A jock and a pretty decent football player, Brad had
been the sort to follow rather than to lead, yet he had a hidden cruel side
that only came out whenever Nathan had grown bored.

To her surprise, Brad beamed up
at her brightly. “Natalia!” he exclaimed, urging her closer and glaring at all
the other people waiting in line. She recognized a few other faces and
instantly wished she hadn’t brought attention to herself. Most of the people
there had seen some of Nathan’s bored side and remembered her for how she just
stood by, doing nothing.

“It’s been years,” Brad
insisted as Natalia approached. “You’ve grown taller!”

“My last growth spurt since
high school,” Natalia replied dryly. She was only wearing platforms but leave
it to Brad not to notice. “You haven’t changed much yourself.”

“I’ve been working as an
engineer,” Brad announced, puffing his chest. “Nathan helped me get the job
actually.” At the mention of her brother, Natalia perked up and met Brad’s gaze
curiously.

“You’ve seen Nathan?”

“Yeah, I bumped into him about
four years ago. He kind of helped me get out of my parent’s basement before
allowing me to find a spot in the city. I haven’t seen him since, though.”
Deflated, Natalia felt her shoulders slump slightly. Everything had hit the fan
eight years ago…tensions that could no longer be tolerated in that small house
exploded so thoroughly, that it resulted in all of them going their separate
ways. Once upon a time, Natalia had been exceptionally close to her twin,
practically playing along to the silly stereotype that all twins were halves of
the same whole.

Four years ago was around the
same time he sort of just disappeared; since then, Natalia hasn’t really
stopped searching. Brad helped her check in with the concierge, giving the
woman a nasty look when she tried to make Natalia wait at the back of the line.
Paying for the next few nights, Natalia received her room key and prepared to
walk off.

“Hold on,” Brad called with a
wave. Natalia felt a touch of disdain when he jogged up to catch up to her.
“Our rooms are pretty close together. I’ll walk you there.”

Shrugging, Natalia tuned Brad
out as he continued to speak about his life since he left Riverdale, focusing
more on the path to her room and finding a good point in the conversation to
brush him off. Eventually, they arrived at their rooms and when she began to
slide her card into the slot, she noticed he was hovering.

“Bye, Brad,” Natalia said,
fixing him a certain glare that he had responded to well enough in the past. He
didn’t leave, though. Brad gave her a soft smile, leaning against the door
frame with a confidence she hadn’t expected.

“Are you sure you don’t want me
to keep you company, Natalia?” Brad asked suggestively. “I’m actually rather
good in bed.”

Snorting with disgust and some
surprise, Natalia slipped her door open. “No, thanks. Bye, Brad.”

“Oh come on, give me a chance!”

She didn’t spare him another
glance before she pushed inside her room, slamming the door right in his face
with finality. Brad may have been a bumbling giant back in high school, and
while he had been pretty happy to jump into crueler plans, he lacked nerve when
he didn’t have someone to shove him around. Natalia wasn’t interested in
filling the role Nathan had had back in high school.

She remained holed up in her
bedroom for a few hours, focusing on completing a few spreadsheets for work and
ordering room service for dinner. She wasn’t interested in meeting up with
anyone anytime soon. Of course, staying holed up in an unfamiliar space for any
period of time was enough to make anyone claustrophobic. So, after changing her
wardrobe and tying her long, dark hair into a low ponytail, Natalia snuck out
of her room and headed out of the hotel. The last thing she needed was to bump
into another familiar face, but she needed a drink.