Page 20 of Black Bay Enforcer (Beasts of Black Bay #3)

They were in a holding pattern. August Cleary was currently in Outer Banks, North Carolina.

According to the team monitoring him, he’d stopped at a Target en route and had purchased several items of clothing, shoes, and toiletries as well as several disposable phones.

It looked like he planned to stick around for a while.

The house was owned by James Delroy and wasn’t a rental as far as they could find, though Mister Delroy had another residence where he lived full-time.

It was a red flag that had them thinking the man was the owner in name only.

If it was one of Cleary’s many properties, it was modest in comparison to his other holdings, though all the properties in the area sold for a premium.

Their team was in place, now, all they had to do was wait for Cleary to fuck up. Kong usually hated this part of the job, chomping at the bit to do something, but tonight, he was grateful for the reprieve.

That kiss he’d shared with Katherine… The memory of it had ridden him hard all day. It would have sucked if they’d had to mobilize. Instead, he was going to spend the evening with her, see if she’d follow through on that promise he’d seen in her eyes when they’d said goodbye earlier.

Even if she didn’t, even if she’d changed her mind over the course of the afternoon, he’d be okay with that.

He just hoped she wasn’t regretting that kiss.

That deliciously mind-blowing kiss. Kong groaned as he got hard again.

How many times had he had to mentally talk himself down this afternoon?

He’d lost count. Luckily for him, no one had noticed.

Or, at least, if they had, they hadn’t said anything.

Perrin, with her hawk eyes – she didn’t even need binoculars when she manned the towers – might have noticed.

The woman missed little, but she wasn’t the type to call attention to something that wasn’t a threat to security.

The state of Kong’s dick wouldn’t qualify.

Leo, on the other hand, wouldn’t have hesitated.

He would have thought it was hilarious. But then, if the roles had been reversed, Kong probably would have too.

If Leo had been sporting wood, Kong would have ribbed him to no end, badgering him until the other man fessed up to who had caused it.

Kong consulted his watch. She’d be wrapping things up at the Resurrection hub soon. It was tempting to think he could just go over there and pounce on her but he liked to think he had a bit more class than that, even if he was having a hard time finding it right now.

He should feed her first. Food was good. It was pretty much the answer to everything. If someone is happy, celebrate with food. If someone was sad, commiserate over food. If someone was horny, pour chocolate syrup all over their naked body and lick it off.

Kong groaned again and shot a dirty look at the strained material at the front of his pants. His pixelated camo wasn’t doing shit to camouflage that bulge.

Picking up the phone, he called the mess hall. He’d have them prep dinner for two that he could take to go. If he and Katherine ate there, they’d be sucked into conversations with others, and Kong wasn’t in the mood to share tonight. He wanted to be alone with her. He only hoped she felt the same.

Please don’t change your mind .

Those words became a litany in his head as he jogged out to his Jeep. Jumping in, he cranked the engine. The windshield wipers began flapping, hot air blasted from the vents, and It’s Raining Men at full volume assaulted his ears.

Kong threw back his head and laughed. The general had gotten his payback. Nice.

Not bothering to shut any of it down – he couldn’t let the general think he’d won – Kong stomped on the gas pedal and took off for the Resurrection hub.

Katherine emerged just as he pulled up, a shy little smile on her face that made Kong’s heart beat a little faster. A moment later, her head cocked slightly and her smile grew. Raising her voice to be heard over the still blaring music, she called out, “I didn’t know you liked The Weather Girls.”

Kong grinned and finally turned down the volume, then gave the wipers and heat a break as well before he jumped out of the Jeep to meet her. “The general,” he said, by way of explanation.

She chuckled lightly. “Do you guys do this a lot? Play pranks on each other?”

“Probably more than we should.” He looked down at her, and on impulse, took her hand. She didn’t pull away. “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“I thought we could bring it back to my place?”

This was it. The moment of truth. The moment he’d find out if she’d spent the afternoon regretting what had happened between them.

“Sounds good.”

Kong audibly exhaled. Hallelujah . And thanks to General Davies, he almost finished that thought with It’s Raining Men . He’d have to listen to something else or that song would be stuck in his head all night.

Katherine had to admit she was hungry. Her stomach was rumbling so loudly that she was pretty sure Kong could hear it.

But she’d rather skip dinner so she could jump on him and kiss him again.

She’d thought about that kiss they’d shared all afternoon, absently skimming her lips with her fingers and so distracted that ORION called her out on it. Talk about embarrassing.

“How was your day?”

“Good.” She told Kong about the three rehabilitated Resurrection soldiers. “It gives me hope they’ll all make a full recovery.”

Kong let out one of those gruff, rumbling noises he so often made. “They deserve a life.”

They reached the mess hall and Kong left the Jeep running. “I’ll be right back,” he told her and jumped out.

As Katherine watched him jog into the building, she bit her lip.

She’d also talked to her mother this afternoon.

She’d been putting off calling her because one, all her calls were monitored but she couldn’t exactly say that, and it didn’t feel right not telling her mother that someone else was listening.

And two, she hated lying to her mother. Since she couldn’t disclose where she was working or what she was doing, it was easier just to skip it altogether.

But her liaison had messaged her that Harper Knox was adamant that Katherine call.

Her mother hadn’t been happy and the guilt had been laid on thick.

You gave me this new number but you never answer. I always have to leave a message with someone else and you never call me back. Are they even giving you my messages?

I don’t understand why we don’t talk anymore. Did I do something wrong?

What are you doing that is so important that you can’t take five minutes out of your day to call your mother?

Katherine had fielded the questions as best she could without disclosing too much.

She’d speak to her assistant (who happened to be her liaison).

You haven’t done anything wrong. Things have just been crazy with the relocation and the new job.

She’d try to do better.

Then, in what could only be termed a moment of insanity, Katherine had blurted, “I met someone.” She’d been dying to say that out loud to someone who’d be rooting for her.

Her mother had gasped, then squealed before she’d announced, “Oh, that’s fantastic, Katherine! What’s his name?”

“Kong.”

Her mother chuckled. “What a fun nickname. You’ll bring him to your party, of course, so that everyone can meet him.”

Katherine ignored the nickname part and focused on her mother’s other statement.

She’d already been toying with the idea of asking Kong to go with her.

She’d love his company. Having him with her would make her birthday even more special.

But she also knew how her family and friends were.

They had no boundaries. They might start out with the usual questions like, How did you two meet?

But all too soon they’d be asking things like, So when’s the wedding?

Or asking how many kids they planned to have, then piggybacking that with helpful “advice” that would have Katherine red-cheeked and wanting to hide under a table.

She didn’t know if she wanted to subject Kong to that. If he’d even want to go.

Did Kong want kids?

Whoa. She was getting ahead of herself. Way ahead. Maybe her family’s unique brand of crazy had rubbed off on her and she hadn’t noticed until now.

He came out of the mess hall just then, and seeing he had her attention, he smiled that big smile of his and held up two large bags.

Butterflies danced in her stomach. Her family would love him.

The table they’d eaten dinner at the other night was still in Kong’s apartment though minus the tablecloth and dishes. Their food was in handy little to-go trays, so all they’d need were utensils and drinks. He could manage that.

As he unpacked the food, he shot a surreptitious glance at Katherine. He’d gotten the feeling she wanted to ask him something but was holding back for whatever reason. He had to admit, he was curious, but he didn’t want to push her.

“I probably should have asked you what you wanted for dinner, huh?” He did that sometimes. Just barreled ahead without thinking.

She drew closer to look at the assortment of trays he was pulling out. “I’m sure whatever you got is fine.”

She was so nice. Anyone else would have gotten after him for making decisions for them. Lark probably would have called him a big oaf. But not Katherine.

Kong breathed in her scent which was even better than the food smells currently filling his apartment and felt a stirring in his pants. Dinner first, he told himself sternly. Playtime later.

“Do you want something to drink? I have wine.” There was still a bottle of red left from when the women had dragged him shopping. Did red go with the dinner? Kong knew jack shit about wine pairing or whatever the hell you called it.

Katherine cleared her throat and she suddenly looked nervous. Kong’s chest squeezed. That can’t be good…

“Speaking of wine.”

Kong waited, watching as Katherine seemed to wrestle with her thoughts. What was he missing? She was twisting her fingers nervously, so on impulse, he reached out and held her hands. “You can tell me anything.”

Finally, her eyes met his and she licked her lips. “Would you like to come to my birthday party with me?”

His eyes widened with surprise, but Katherine rushed on before he could say anything.

“It’s a little over three and half hours away by car. When my mom found out I was working in Virginia, she started looking into venues and found this place called Bull Run. It’s a winery. Mom’s theme this year is wine tasting.”

She took a quick breath. “Most of my family lives in Connecticut, but they don’t mind traveling. They say it gives them an excuse to break out the party bus.”

She laughed nervously and Kong gently squeezed her fingers.

He didn’t quite know what was going on inside his chest just then, but it tightened almost painfully.

Katherine wanted him to meet her family.

He was a Beast. A genetic hybrid. He may not wear it as plainly as some of the others, but the signs were there in his height, his build, and especially his teeth.

In the early years, when they’d all first been freed, he’d been called a freak, an abomination, and an animal by the intolerant. General Davies had done his best to weed those people out of Black Bay, but he couldn’t do shit about how the rest of the world viewed them.

Insecurity flooded him. What would her family think of him? Would they be scared of him?

“Would your family be okay with that?” He cleared his throat, hating this feeling of vulnerability. “With me?”

Katherine looked up at him with eyes that shone with an emotion that made his throat feel thick. “They’re going to love you, Kong.”

Fuck dinner . With a gruff rumble, Kong picked Katherine up in his arms and kissed her.