Blake, Her Bad Bear: A Paranormal Bad Boy Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

a pleasant guy—as far as ogres go—when he’s not drunk. I’m sorry about his behavior. You’re all right?”
    She nodded again and held out her hand. “I’m Lily. Lily Walker,” she said, and he shook her hand, surprised at the warmth and strength of it. “You didn’t seem intimidated by him,” she pointed out. “Why was that? I thought he was going to tear you apart. You really surprised me.”
    Not just you , he wanted to say. “He’s one of the brothers,” he said simply, “I’m used to his type—just hard when he starts to get out of control. Name’s Blake.”
    “Blake,” she repeated, “good name. What do you mean he’s one of the brothers?” She seemed to notice for the first time the bikes parked around the entrance of Jack’s and opened her mouth with a little exclamation of ahh before continuing. “The owner of the hotel told me that there was a funeral or something going on, a biker gang. Take it that’s you?”
    He was surprised at her directness. Most women—especially those who were upstanding, the urbanites—wouldn’t give a guy like him a second glance. Must be the suit , he thought, realizing that he was still in formal attire. Any other day she’d be looking at a butch leather clad gang leader with a history of tattoos and scars, each with a story of their own.
    “Something like that,” he offered. “You ought to be careful.”
    “I suppose,” she said. “Probably not a good idea to go back in, heh? I’m going to head back to my hotel, I think have a bottle of wine in my bags somewhere. Suddenly, drinking on my own seems a lot safer.” She waited for him to nod, and then her eyes grew bigger and realized he was waiting for something. “I don’t want to keep you from having fun with your friends.”
    “Think I’ve had enough fun,” he cracked a smile.
    “Well, in that case, do you want to share a bottle of wine with me? I figure it’s the least I can do since you saved my ass back there.”
    Blake eyed her again, trying to make sense of her. Lily was a fascinating woman, and like a puzzle, he couldn’t bring himself to leave it alone until he’d solved it. He looked cautiously back at the bar where music was still blaring through the walls, and shrugged. Why not? he thought—it wasn’t every day that he got invited back to a woman’s hotel. Usually, it was the other way around.
    Maybe it’ll help clear my head, he mused.
    *
    He followed her at a distance, but the whole time, Lily was deftly aware of the fact he was watching her every move with the practiced and patient eye of a predator. And yet, it wasn’t the same sort of predatory instinct she had felt when the so-called Ogre had assaulted her. Rather, Blake’s seemed to stem from some desire to understand her—he was, in a word, trying to stalk out who she was . She had to appreciate the irony.
    She had gone to Jack’s at the warning behest of the hotel owner because the idea of actually being able to interview gang members had stirred in her that fiery reporter passion. Added to the fact that he had mentioned something about a power struggle and a possible coup within the bikers’ midst and it was all the impetus she had needed to investigate. Samson’s article on underage drinking can take a backseat , she thought, gliding into the hotel lobby. If I’m right about this, it might get me into the big leagues even faster . Not only had she found a lead, she’d managed to lure one of the key figures into her circle.
    The hotel owner was nowhere to be seen and the TV was off, much to her relief, and she looked behind to make sure he was still following her. She had to admit that he did have a sort of charm, even if it was anarchical to the sort of charm most women of her station in life would deem attractive—but Lily had always been drawn to the fringe, to the exemplary, and Blake was definitely that. He gave a slight nod, and looked uncomfortable. Probably knows how the hotel owner feels about