Dary jogged up the hotel stairs two at a time to his sixth-floor hotel room, an easy feat with his training. Hell, he’d climbed much steeper heights with a two hundred-pound rucksack on his back under a blistering sun. Five flights of stairs in an air-conditioned hotel didn’t faze.
He still maintained the body he’d developed when he’d been no more than a cub during his Royal Canadian Mounted Police basic-training days. Even with his preternatural abilities, he couldn’t allow himself to grow soft. Being assigned to the PRIDE detachment of the RCMP had been his end game from the moment he heard of it, and he hadn’t let anything get in the way of that. The Paranormal, Research, Intelligence, Discipline & Education department fielded all the unusual cases that couldn’t be explained by normal circumstances. Life was different when an opponent knew an officer had the ability to shapeshift into a bear and tear a car open with his bare hands.
After a couple close encounters with UFOs out in Saskatchewan and a dangerous uprising of fire spooks in Nova Scotia, the RCMP had developed the PRIDE detachment in the early seventies. With Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau dealing with the challenge of uniting Canada, he hadn’t wanted fear controlling the masses. All information PRIDE gathered remained confidential, thanks to the War Measures Act, thus preserving the myth of Dary’s people.
Reaching his suite, Dary dropped his equipment in the main room, relieved to be in the quiet space. A romance convention was being held in the hotel that weekend, and it felt like there’d been mobs of women and men mulling around the lobby. A quick glimpse at some of the erotic-looking banners perked his attention. It wasn’t often he spotted a larger-than-life picture of two men embracing, at least not without idiots holding picket signs nearby. But, his attention switched to something much more arousing; he had a date tonight, not a traditional one, but a sure thing, and, damn, he needed it.
His hectic work schedule over the past year hadn’t given him a chance to meet anyone, let alone go on a date. With the federal election looming on the horizon and the candidates ramping up their campaigns, security had gradually increased in relation to the candidate’s exposure. Dary had been placed in charge of the security detail for the Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, something Dary’s mother bragged about in her quilting circle. As the youngest candidate in decades, Mr. Trudeau tended to take on higher-profile meetings, already earning enemies with his tolerant nature and obvious acceptance of hot topics like legalizing marijuana.
But, Trudeau didn’t need to be coddled like some of the other candidates. The political leader was a trained boxer, and Dary had sparred with him on a few occasions. He pitied anyone who thought to take the candidate on face to face.
I have to stop this.
Tonight began a twenty-four hour vacation, free of work worries, allowing him to have some fun.
He changed out of his uniform and into shorts and a T-shirt. According to his watch, he had just enough time to get to the gym, work out for an hour, shower, and be ready in time for his…date. Even if he had no idea who he would be meeting, Dary wanted to impress the man.
A good session would pump his muscles and, hopefully, cool his libido. The thought of getting some action had left his cock semi-erect all day. Since Dary’s schedule didn’t allow him the time to find a sweet twink to play daddy to, he certainly couldn’t build a permanent relationship. At forty- eight, he wasn’t halfway to his life expectancy yet, but the last couple decades had been lonely ones. It would be nice to come home to someone. He wanted to snuggle a sweet cub in his arms at night.
He’d first learned about the dating service 1Night Stand and its enigmatic owner, Madame Eve, from a fellow officer. Jane swore she’d only been looking for a hot date but ended up marrying the man she’d been matched with.
He didn’t relish the broken hearts and tearing at his soul while searching for his perfect partner, but that didn’t mean he didn’t crave a night of mind-blowing sex. The more he’d thought about using the services of 1Night Stand, the better the idea felt. When he’d managed to swing a couple days off, he contacted the mysterious Madame Eve. Dary knew the odds were slim to none he’d magically have the same luck as Jane, but it didn’t hurt to try.
Five minutes later, Dary jogged down the stairs to the hotel gym. Passing a couple of woman on their way up, he nodded respectfully.
“Well, hello, handsome.”
“Ladies.” He winked and continued on. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as they stared after him until he rounded the corner in the stairwell.
Their voices echoed. “What a woobie! Dammit, I knew I should have gotten out my camera.”
“Don’t worry, I got him.”
He paused for a second, his ego boosted. Though not interested in women in a sexual way, he appreciated knowing his age and the bit of gray that had started to develop in his beard hadn’t had a negative impact on his appearance.
He reached the gym on the bottom floor and loaded a playlist on his phone. Tucking his earbuds in, he kept his head down and continued on his mission. He would meet his date at 1800 hours. Madame Eve had been very clear on the times, which he appreciated. Nothing drove him crazier than someone without respect for schedules.
Jogging on a treadmill, he lost himself in the strenuous activity, letting his thoughts drift, but the endorphin high he craved eluded him.
***
Rhoo clutched conference swag to his chest while he waited in line to get his favorite author’s autograph on one of the books he’d brought from home. This might just be one of the most exciting days of his entire life.
He took a lot of teasing from his friends because of his taste in reading material—love, romance, and happily ever after. It didn’t matter the sex of the characters, he had a good enough imagination to insert himself into his favorite books. Who wouldn’t want to read them? The world was so depressing sometimes, but people still managed to fall in love. Rhoo wanted that—to fall in love, and share everything with his lover for their entire lives.
At least here, he got to pretend. Surrounded by so many authors, he looked over the large purple-tinted man in the banner next to EveLynne Lamour. Yummy! He’d read and reread her Capture series so many times, inserting himself into the role of heroine being ravaged by an arrogant mercenary. Rhoo loved large, powerful men, and if they had a chest of furry softness, then all the better. One of his fantasies included a bear of a man snatching him away from his mundane life and fucking him till his knees wobbled.
A soft clearing of someone’s throat snapped him back to reality. A couple minutes later, he stood frozen in fanboy glee in front of EveLynne Lamour.
“Oh my God, I love your books.” It was the only intelligent comment to come out of his mouth as the mother of all things hot, hard, and purple autographed his book. She’d probably heard it a thousand times already that day, but, hopefully, he’d managed to make it sound a bit different. Ms. Lamour was kind and shared a couple jokes with him before he moved on. The entire meeting might have only been a minute or two, but felt so surreal. Rhoo couldn’t remember exactly what he said to her, but he had proof—an autograph in his book. And, he’d managed to meet almost every author attending, spending a bit more time with those who wrote gay romance and weren’t afraid to wave a rainbow flag in solidarity.
He checked his watch and almost fell over in shock. Where had the time gone? I’m going to be late for my date. Shit! Pulling the strap of the swag bag over his shoulder, he headed to his room, double-checking the email on his phone to confirm the details of his date. His cock twitched in anticipation as he reread the email from Madame Eve.
Finding dates wasn’t something he’d had much trouble with, but being in a hotel and outnumbered by women at the conference, he’d figured he’d be forced to enjoy the evening with his hand and a new book. When his best friend invited herself along, he knew he’d have to behave. He and Suzie were as close as friends could be without him actually sticking a body part in her, but even she wouldn’t let him rub one out in the same room. I’ll wax your junk with duct tape, had been her exact wording.
In one of the private chat rooms he frequented online, he’d heard rumors about a dating site that offered one-night dates. Anyone who’d ever taken part in its services had nothing but wonderful things to say about the owner, Madame Eve, and her ability to make extraordinary matches.
After registering to go to the conference, he’d decided to make a full experience and contacted 1Night Stand. The service required an intimately detailed questionnaire, asking what Rhoo wanted in a partner. One question that surprised him—Do you believe in love at first sight?”
He’d answered with a big yes and added exclamation points.
Falling in love had never been a problem for him. The problem lay in the fact no one fell in love with him, or were put off by his exuberance in bed. Rhoo loved sex, and playing stupid games seemed pointless...unless they were sex games, of course.
The other surprising question—do you believe in the supernatural? Sure, why not? Suzie routinely talked to her great-Aunt Kate and swore her aunt replied back. He’d been raised on stories of ghosts and respecting the spirits of his ancestors.
A family legend about one of his great-great-great-something grandfathers had possessed the ability to change into a dragon, and, to this day, routinely harassed everyone living in a small village in Japan. Rhoo’s mother had taken him to there as a boy, and he’d wanted to see the dragon he’d heard so much about, but she’d told him it slept in a mountain.