Bear Claw (16 page)

Threading his fingers through her long hair, he brushed the strands off her forehead. “I aim to please.”

She pushed herself up off the floor, stopping to kiss him deeply. “I’ll have to make sure you have some more practice after dinner.”

While she pulled her pants back on, Jamie grabbed his jeans. He was surprised that, instead of picking up her bra and top, she yanked his shirt over her head instead.

He lifted an eyebrow at her.

“This is so I can insure that you don’t cover up all those yummy muscles. Plus, I haven’t gotten a good look at the tats on your back yet.”

Jamie gripped the bottom of his shirt, tugging her close. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and nipped it lightly. “I like seeing you in my clothes. And now my stuff will smell like you. I’ll have the memory of your scent at home too.”

She made a pleased sound. “Come on, let’s eat.”

Chapter Thirteen

Dinner had been fantastic. After they’d cleaned up the kitchen, Brandy had suggested they watch a movie. Cuddling on the couch, Jamie found himself paying more attention to Brandy than the action movie she’d picked out.

Normally, he would have loved the film but it was hard to concentrate on the screen with Brandy pressed to his side wearing his shirt and still smelling like their earlier sex.

Once they’d locked up the house and climbed into bed, Brandy had had him lie on his stomach as she’d run her tongue over the ink on his back. By the time he’d rolled over and she’d taken him in her mouth, barely any pressure had been needed before he’d come.

Returning the favor, he’d brought her to climax with his mouth and fingers. As she’d fallen asleep with her head on his chest, Jamie had been sure he’d never been more content in his life.

Now, waking several hours later, Jamie was tired but his mind still whirled with his case. He slipped out of the bed then silently made his into the hall.

He’d seen the downstairs kitchen, living area, library and a small workout space. Brandy had planned to show him the upstairs but they’d reached bed first and hadn’t gotten up.

So he wandered down the hall. The door on his right opened to a guest bedroom done in several shades of brown. A small lavatory was next. That only left one other option to scope out.

Since the entrance was open, Jamie stuck his head inside. A lamp had been left on at the desk. While Brandy’s library downstairs held numerous books, there were dozens more in here.

Stepping further inside, he saw the posters on the wall. They were all of book covers from the same author. One he knew well.

Why did Brandy have all of Lynn Cummins’ book covers on her walls?

Curious, he walked over to the desk and picked up one of the notebooks that turned out to be a plotline for a book. The main character was Drake Knight.

Jamie fell into the chair, unable to believe what he was seeing. His elbow knocked the laptop and it came to life.

He bent over and read what was on the screen. He recognized the writing style. And only one thing made sense. Brandy wrote under the pen name Lynn Cummins.

“I was going to tell you.”

Jamie didn’t turn around at the sound of her voice. “So every time I checked out one of your books you must have had a good laugh.” He wasn’t sure why he was so upset but it bothered him that she’d kept the secret from him for so long.

Her hand came down on the back of his neck.

He peered up at her. “No, I wondered if you ever recognized yourself in the story.”

“If I…?” Then it hit him. Drake Knight, the main character of her series. “Me?”

Brandy settled on his lap and cupped his face. She hadn’t put on any clothes so they were both naked.

“You have no idea how much I thought about you as I would write my scenes. There were so many fantasies in my head. I started this new series picturing you.”

Jamie was beyond flattered. “So every sex scene Drake took place in, you wanted it to be you and me?”

She blushed and laughed nervously. “Something like that.”

“I am going to have to take you for a ride on my bike.”

Moaning, she nodded.

“Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and put you on your hands and knees as I take you right out in the open.”

He’d read every single one of her books and knew what parts were his favorite. Brandy dragged his hand off the desktop and brought his fingers to her wet pussy.

Jamie pulled her firmly into his lap so they both faced the computer screen. “Find the last sex scene you wrote,” he ordered.

Her hand shook as she hurried to obey. It couldn’t have been easy as he continued to finger-fuck her. Finally, when she’d found what she was looking for, she sat back.

“Read it to me.”

Brandy’s voice trembled as she began. Jamie used his free hand to torment her nipple while adding a third finger in her pussy.

Breathless, she pumped her hips, stumbling over the words. Jamie’s cock was already spreading pre-cum over her ass.

Reaching the part where Drake slammed inside his girl, Jamie pushed Brandy up off his lap to land on the desk. Quickly, he replaced his fingers with his cock and started to ride her as hard and fast as his character.

“Yes,” she hissed in encouragement. She stopped reading.

Jamie didn’t need any more inspiration to know exactly how she wanted it.

Each time he withdrew, he gripped her hips a little tighter so he could plunge back into her. His vision blurred, his bear so close to the surface as he repeatedly drove himself inside her.

They came at the same time. Jamie yelled his release as he emptied his seed into her.

His entire body shook and he gasped for breath. Jeez, Brandy was a remarkable woman.

* * * *

With her body sore in all the best ways, Brandy arrived to meet Chris for the protest march. Jamie had learned her secret and everything was all right. Hell, it was more than all right. She didn’t need her fantasies with Drake Knight anymore. Jamie was better than anything she could have dreamed up.

“Hey, cuz.” Chris waved at her.

Brandy waved back and hurried over to him. There were already two dozen people standing around, and there was still time to go before they would begin the proceedings.

Chris hugged her once she reached him. “I’m so glad you’re here. This is going to be huge. Drew called me and he has over forty people on his side.”

“Wow!” She was truly impressed.

More people arrived then, and Brandy could barely see around the large group.

“There is so much support for this. It only proves how right we are.”

Her cousin had a point and Brandy was happy to see it. News vans started arriving.

Chris spotted them right away. “If you want to hide in the back, now is your chance.”

Normally Brandy avoided any kind of media exposure. Not only did she hate the attention, she was always mindful that her last name would be brought up. But after her fights with William and Colby, she wasn’t going to stay in the background this time.

“I’m good,” she said.

Chris turned to her, still blocking her from an approaching reporter. “Are you sure?”

“This is too important. I’m not hiding.”

His grin was so wide Brandy thought his face might split. “That bear of yours has been a good influence.”

She shoved at his shoulder but they both laughed.

“Mr Brooks,” The female reporter called out.

Hooking his arm through hers, Chris spun around, keeping Brandy close to his side. He smiled pleasantly and went into what Brandy also referred to as his ‘press face’.

“Do you have a minute for a few questions?”

“Of course.”

Brandy tried to appear interested and supportive as she kept her attention on her cousin. She wasn’t hiding because she didn’t actually want to talk to anyone.

As Chris spoke, Brandy was once again surprised and pleased by the way he handled himself. He knew exactly what to say and what tone to use.

Chris finished up by thanking everyone for their support.

The female journalist turned to her. “What’s your name, ma’am?”

“Uh…”

“This is my cousin, Brandy Brooks.”

“Ms Brooks.” The woman seemed to perk up at her name. “You are here showing your support to the opposition of any shifter registration. Can you tell me why?”

“It’s the right thing to do,” she responded.

A cheer in the crowd distracted the reporter and cameraman. Relieved, Brandy had said her peace and now wanted to be left alone. Chris pulled her toward the front where the protest would start.

Down the street, Drew had his group with him to join as a unit. Seeing all the people with signs and banners, she was a little overwhelmed. She hadn’t expected such a turnout.

Chris left her to check on things and Brandy visited with those around her. The entire feeling of the scene was upbeat with dozens of smiling faces.

After a while, her cousin came back and grabbed her hand. A poster was shoved at her as she was led to the front.

“Are you ready for this?” Chris asked.

“I guess.”

He whistled and they were off. The first few streets that they passed along were empty, but as they contained their march, more and more people stopped on the sidewalk to watch.

The entire walk would take them fifteen minutes to reach the courthouse.

A chant started up, filling the air as Chris jumped around and waved. Brandy held her sign up high and couldn’t help but laugh and enjoy herself.

* * * *

Jamie pressed his back against the brick building about a block from the courthouse. Not only was his team scattered about looking for any sign of trouble, but every available unit had been dispatched for today’s protest march.

Such an open and well-televised event would be the perfect place for someone to try to make a statement. He hadn’t heard from Zak so Jamie was hoping that his group was behaving themselves. Ray had called him earlier and informed him that a large crowd they’d been watching was taking part.

He kept Ray on them and had called in Aubrey too.

Brandy had informed him that she intended to march along with her cousin. Jamie had almost told her not to attend but he could see how important this was to her.

Over breakfast, she had finally filled him in on everything that had been going on with her family.

Feeling a little guilty about causing her more problems with her parents wasn’t enough to keep him away. But if he ever met the couple, Jamie had a few things to say to them.

He also wanted to see her brother. William sounded like a Grade A prick and Jamie would love to take him down a few notches.

That didn’t help his worry for her, though. Earlier he’d called Aubrey and asked her to stay close to Brandy—his friend had eagerly agreed to help. He knew Aubrey was already feeling left out of her own investigation so his call did more than help his peace of mind. It also gave Aubrey a mission.

He could also trust Aubrey to do whatever was needed to protect Brandy. He hoped and prayed that nothing would happen. However, he couldn’t get rid of the burning in his gut that something big was coming.

Running his gaze over the throng that had assembled in front of him, Jamie kept an eye out for any suspicious behavior. There were three older gentlemen to his right. Their expensive suits made them stand out in the casual gathering.

Taking a deep breath, Jamie concentrated on overhearing their conversation.

“This may be a bigger problem than we first thought.”

“Let them have their silly marches and protests. In the end, it won’t matter. We have the support we need from the state.”

“If too much awareness is brought into this issue, it could cause us a lot more scrutiny than we can afford.”

“We’ll be fine.”

Jamie shook his head. He truly didn’t believe that the proposed legislation would ever pass. With the Coalition and the different shifter structures that worked closely with the federal government, he knew they couldn’t afford to have anything like this pass.

It would be too dangerous for people like himself to reveal too much. Even after the shifters had announced their presence, many of their abilities had remained hidden.

For the protection of all the shifters, they’d come out of hiding. Hunting had reached an all-time high and too many shifted humans had lost their lives as a result.

While Jamie had never known anyone who had been killed that way, he’d heard some very sad stories. He was lucky that he didn’t have any family he had to worry about.

After moving to Lake Worth, he’d been surprised to see a few factions had banded together as bear shifters. At one time he’d considered contacting them about joining. But as soon as he had approached them as an agent with the Coalition, he knew it wouldn’t be possible to join since he was a government official.

The groups of bear shifters in the area were a little more fanatic than what he was comfortable with. Their anti-human stance bred their children to be open for groups like those that Zak was currently investigating.

He’d had Ray look as deeply as he could at the different factions they knew about but Jamie had nothing he could use as leverage to see if they knew more than they were saying.

The fact that they hadn’t contacted the cops or Coalition when the two boys took off concerned him. He still wanted to tug on that line for the investigation.

A loud chant brought his attention to the street. The three men stopped talking as the large mass of protesters came into view.

Right up front, just like he’d feared, he saw Brandy holding up a sign. She looked beautiful in her black jeans and pink V-neck shirt with tennis shoes in the same cotton-candy color.

She laughed, waving the message about equal rights. Two people behind her and two to the right was Aubrey. Instead of relaxing, he tensed as his heart sped up.

The group was almost at the courthouse. If something was going to happen, it would be soon.

At that moment, Brandy turned her head and their gazes met. Her smile faltered and she seemed confused. She started glancing at various people and things.