Hired for Heat (The Hired Series Book 1)

by Leann Ryans

  Purr morphing into a playful growl, Austin’s hand gripped her hair and lifted her head, forcing her to look at him.

  “You will never mention another Alpha every again. If you do, you will be punished harshly and left unfulfilled until I forgive you.”

  Smirking, Sandra licked her lips and clenched her core still stretched wide around his knot.

  “I’m not sure that’s the threat you think it is. You wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from taking me.”

  “I never said I wouldn’t take my pleasure from you,” he said with a mischievous grin.

  Faking a pout, Sandra laid her head back on his chest once he released her hair. It didn’t take long for her to begin to drift off to the sound of his purr as he continued to stroke her back.

  Sandra had no idea how long she had slept when she awoke. Groaning, she lifted her head from Austin’s chest, discreetly trying to wipe away the puddle of slobber left behind from where she had fallen asleep on him.

  “Too late, I’ve been watching you snore and drool for hours,” Austin said, eyes still closed and voice husky from sleep.

  “You look pretty asleep to me,” she said, wiping her cheek as she sat up.

  Feeling their fluids rush out of her as his cock slipped free, Sandra grimaced. They both must have slept perfectly still for it to have stayed inside her all night.

  “I need a shower,” she mumbled to herself.

  “Hang on.”

  Wrapping his hands around her waist, Austin lifted her so he could sit up. Depositing her on the couch beside him, he stood. Sandra watched the way his muscles moved beneath his skin as he walked to where he had thrown his clothes, bending over to grab his shirt from the floor. The sight of his powerful body had warmth blooming between her thighs again and she forced herself to look away.

  “Use this for a rag. I can go get another,” he said, getting her attention and handing her the shirt.

  Walking to the sink, she turned on the hot water and waited for it to warm up. After a few minutes she gave up and used the tepid water to soak his shirt. Squirting a bit of the hand soap from the back of the sink onto it, she lathered it up before beginning to wipe the important bits off. It wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing.

  When she finished, Austin took the shirt from her to clean himself up before pulling on his pants. Once she finished making herself presentable, he walked over and gave her a kiss.

  “I’m going to go grab a shirt from my room and I’ll meet you back in the lobby. Give me five minutes.”

  Nodding, she watched him disappear before gathering the last of her things and heading out to the lobby to wait for him. The same beta from the day before was sitting at the desk reading a book.

  “Do you sit there all day and night?” she asked.

  Chuckling, he looked up at her.

  “I live here in the building so that someone can always man the desk. I got my usual six hours of sleep last night before coming back. I’m used to long days. Not like I do much,” he answered with a shrug.

  37. Austin

  Rushing back in the front of the Admin building, he found Sandra waiting for him by the doors. Drawing in her scent, it soothed the frantic beat of his heart as he drew her into his arms.

  “Let’s get this done,” he said.

  Nodding against his chest, she pulled back and he took her hand as she walked towards the stairs.

  “The receptionist said James was already here. His office is the first on the right.”

  Grunting in response, Austin tried not to let his worry bleed through to her. He didn’t think there would be an issue with the director, but he didn’t know how things were going to go with Alpha Control.

  Turning into James’s office at the top of the stairs, Sandra tapped on the open door before walking in.

  “Got the papers filled out?” he asked as he stood up and moved towards them.

  Nodding, Sandra held them out for him to take.

  “Wait here, I’ll go talk to the director.”

  Taking one of the seats in front of the small desk, Sandra looked up at him and gave a tug on his fingers. Looking down at her, he tried to give a reassuring smile before taking the second chair.

  “I can feel you worrying. Stop it.”

  Smirking, he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.

  “I don’t want to be separated again. I never thought I would get the chance to bond, but even the partial one we have is better than I expected as long as you’re near. When you’re gone, it’s horrible.”

  Looking down at her lap, Sandra said, “I know.”

  Hearing voices out in the hallway, Austin leaned to the side to peek out before rising to his feet as James returned with another man in tow. The second man was obviously an Alpha and had the bearings of someone used to being in charge.

  Sandra stood from the chair as he placed his body between the new arrival and her.

  “You are the pair wanting to bond?” came the gruff voice of the person he could only assume was the director.

  Sandra pressed on his arm to move him over so that she could see, and he reluctantly stepped to the side.

  “Yes, Sir. We are actually already bonded, but we need to make it official so he can come live with me.”

  Narrowing his eyes at her, the man’s nostrils flared as he took in their scent.

  “You don’t smell bonded. You smell like you’ve been fucking him all night.”

  Mouth dropping open in shock, Sandra quickly snapped it closed and straightened her spine as Austin let out a low growl in warning. Placing her hand on his arm, she took another step forward.

  “We only have a partial bond right now, but we plan to rectify that with my next heat. It still causes us pain to be separated, so the sooner we can get this handled the better.”

  Snorting, the Alpha looked down his nose at her.

  “How did you end up with only a partial bond? And what is he even doing here if he’s trying to bond with you?”

  Narrowing her eyes back at him, Austin could feel her irritation stoking his own, and tried to block it so that he didn’t do something to ruin their chances further.

  “Does it really matter how we only have a partial bond? He’s here because of a mix up at The Haven. I have medical documentation to prove the bond is there, we just need you to sign the papers so I can complete the rest to get him released.”

  She continued to hold the director’s stare until he gave a grunt and held out his hand to James. Taking the paperwork, he flipped to a page near the end and leaned over to use the desk. A quick scribble and he handed the papers to Sandra.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, for your own sake,” he said before turning to James.

  “We need to find a new crew chief immediately. Whether or not she gets the rest of the approvals,” he paused and looked over his shoulder at Austin, “he will be replaced.”

  Glowering back at the director, Austin held his tongue. It wasn’t too late for the man to revoke his approval.

  When the director left the office, James turned to them with an awkward smile.

  “Well, that’s done at least. Good luck on getting the rest. Quickly.”

  With a tight smile, Sandra turned and pulled Austin from the room and down the stairs to the lobby.

  “I need to get going so I can make it to Alpha Control and hopefully the courts today too. I’ll be back as soon as I have everything ready.”

  Pausing at the doors, she turned and looked up at him, searching his face. Stroking her hair back from her face, he leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss.

  “Don’t forget me,” he said with a smirk once he released her.

  Chuckling, her gaze lingered on him as she passed through the doorway into the sunlight outside. Hair turning into a golden halo around her, he watched her walk through the gates and enter a waiting AutoCab. Austin wasn’t surprised that it was even harder this time than it had been to leave her in The Haven. Now he knew
what he was losing if he never saw her again.

  Heaving a sigh, he jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. Turning to look down at the receptionist, he raised his eyebrows in question at the old man.

  “She’ll be back. Don’t you worry. Omegas can never resist their Alphas.”

  Turning, he headed back to his desk as Austin faced the closed gates again. He had no idea how long this was going to take, but he knew it was going to be torture waiting.

  Deciding the best way to spend his time, and not piss off the director, was to go catch up with his crew, he took off towards the work site. Maybe if he worked hard enough, he could forget that she wasn’t here waiting for him to return. If he was lucky, she actually might be.

  38. Sandra

  Walking out that gate was the hardest thing she had ever done.

  Spine stiff, staring straight ahead, Sandra climbed into the AutoCab, relieved that it was still there. She waited for the car to start moving before she allowed herself to look back, the gates of the camp already closed.

  Releasing a whimper, she watched it fade into the distance as the cab headed back towards the city. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sandra turned and faced forward, pulling her tablet into her lap and waiting for there to be enough of a signal for her to reach Natashia.

  It was about half an hour before she was able to pull up her emails and scroll through them for the information she requested. Natashia had sent her the name of the sergeant that had sentenced Austin and even scheduled an appointment with him for her. She would be cutting it close if she hit traffic, but hopefully she would make it in time to speak with him, otherwise she would sit there and wait until he had time to see her.

  Trying to distract herself with work, she noticed that her permits had finally been approved as well. With the purchase of the land complete and the permits all approved, she could move on to actually trying to implement her plan. Before anything could really happen, she would have to go see the land in person, and she hoped she might be able to do that when she came back to get Austin since they would already be close to the site.

  Working on the finishing touches, she didn’t realize they had made it back to the city until she saw buildings flashing by out of the corner of her eye. Luckily the Alpha Control headquarters were near the edge of the city because it was almost time for her meeting. The AutoCab pulled up outside of the building with barely ten minutes to spare.

  Scrambling from the car, she made her way into the building, stopping and asking for directions to the sergeant’s office. Knocking on the door, a gruff voice called out for her to enter. The man sitting behind the desk dwarfed it, looking uncomfortably crowded with the two other Alpha Controllers flanking him.

  Feeling a bit intimidated by the solid black masks that showed nothing of the person behind them, Sandra stepped into the office and cleared her throat.

  “Hello, I’m Sandra Weanton, my assistant scheduled an appointment for me to speak with you.”

  Nodding, the man gestured to the seat before him and Sandra hesitantly took it, smoothing her skirt with her hands to try and hide the sudden case of nerves she had.

  Glancing over his shoulder, the Alpha said, “Go take a break,” to the two figures behind him.

  Without a word they both left, and Sandra breathed a bit easier.

  Giving the man a shaky smile, she said, “Thank you.”

  “How can I help you Miss Weanton? I have to admit I was a bit perplexed by the request to meet with me.”

  “I have a bit of an issue. Do you remember an Alpha you sentenced a couple of weeks ago by the name of Austin Nevouto?”

  At his nod she continued.

  “I understand he was taken into custody at The Haven for injuring other Alphas, but I wanted to explain why. I hired him to tend me through my heat shortly before that incident, and during the course of him… performing his duties… we ended up exchanging a small amount of blood. It was an accident, but it created a partial bond between us, so when we were separated it caused both of us to have symptoms similar to someone with a broken pair bond. Pain, irritation, increased aggression.”

  Sandra’s voice trailed off as she tried to calm the heat in her cheeks from the embarrassment of having to explain this to the stern Alpha before her.

  “Once I figured out what happened I tried to find him, and I have. We are trying to get him released from the camp he went to and would like to complete the bond, but we need the approval from Alpha Control, and he was concerned that with his recent infraction, we might have an issue. We decided the best idea was to come speak with you first to see if there was any way you could approve it or help us get it done.”

  Leaning back in his chair, the sergeant studied her for a moment before speaking.

  “So, he was suffering from a strained bond when he attacked the other Alphas?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “And you’re willing to complete the bond and permanently bond with him? Are you aware a partial bond can be broken by bonding with another?”

  “I am, but I would rather complete the bond with him.”

  Watching her in silence for a few moments, the Alpha finally leaned forward with a sigh.

  “Well that at least explains his actions, and he didn’t try to lie or make excuses for what he did. I can’t sign off on your form, but I can take you to who can, and give it my approval. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Oh, thank you so much,” Sandra said, heart leaping in her chest.

  She had expected this to be harder but was glad the Alpha seemed to understand.

  “When would we be able to see them?”

  “We can go now. The sooner your Alpha is reunited with you, the better. Otherwise, he’s just a ticking time bomb.”

  Standing as he did, she followed the sergeant down the hall where he stopped at a desk, telling the person there that he would be gone for a little while, before leading her on into a different wing of the building.

  Stopping at another desk outside of a closed corner office, he spoke to the woman there as Sandra waited a few paces behind. The woman picked up her phone, making a short call before standing and gesturing for them to follow her.

  Opening the office door, she stepped aside for Sandra and the sergeant to pass through. Where the office she had just been in was tiny and cramped, with a desk too small for its occupant, this office was large and open. Clear spaces dominated the room where a balding man smaller than her sat behind a desk large enough to easily seat two Alphas the size of the one escorting her.

  Looking up at them from his computer, he simply raised his eyebrows and waited. The sergeant explained the issue to him quickly as Sandra extended her arm across the wide expanse of the desk to hand him the paperwork.

  Flipping through it to the page he needed to sign as the officer finished up his explanation, he briefly looked up at the Alpha before his gaze flicked to her.

  “You agree you are entering this bond of your own free will and are aware this is a lifetime, unbreakable arrangement?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Scribbling his name on the line before placing a stamp over it, he waved the paper to dry as he said, “I agree with Sergeant Quicole. The sooner you are together and fully bonded the better for everyone. A partial bond can be a dangerous thing, and he has already used his free pass. If he is taken into custody again, he will be punished to the full extent, and if you have not fully bonded by then, the approval will be revoked.”

  “I understand,” Sandra responded as she accepted the papers back from him.

  Heart feeling light, she thanked the two men and quickly left the building, hoping to make it through the courts as easy as she had Alpha Control.

  39. Sandra

  Walking into the courthouse, Sandra let out a groan. There were people milling about everywhere and each courtroom she passed was full. Her only hope was that since it was before lunch, they would all clear out by the afternoon session and she could be seen then.

>   Walking into the filing office, she had to wait behind four other people before she could pay the fee to make copies and file. The scheduling office was much worse. The line went out the doors far she couldn’t even see how many people were ahead of her.

  Sandra tried her best to be patient, but the sick feeling was spreading again, and she couldn’t help but despair that she wouldn’t be able to be seen. The lunch hour came and went as she stood in the line, slowly creeping towards the desk. By the time she made it to the front of the line to schedule, afternoon court had already begun, and she was simply hoping to be seen this week.

  “What are you scheduling?” the person behind the desk asked. The woman didn’t even look away from her computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard as Sandra struggled to push the words past the lump in her throat.

  “A bonding approval and release of an Alpha from camp.”

  Turning a smile to her, the woman pushed her glasses up her nose and said, “Oh, how nice!”

  Attempting to return the smile, Sandra passed over a set of the paperwork. Glancing through it to be sure she had the prerequisite signatures and proof of filing, the woman turned back to her screen, typing away again at a speed that Sandra envied.

  “The afternoon is already full, but I could get you in tomorrow morning if you can be here first thing. The judge likes to start his day on a good note.”

  Sandra nodded when the woman turned back to her, relieved that the wait wouldn’t be as long as she had feared.

  “What time would I need to be here?”

  “He starts at eight sharp and is very strict about being on-time. He will skip you and make you wait until the end of the day to see if he has time to come back to your case if you aren’t there and prepared.”

  The woman leveled a stern glare at her through her lenses, and Sandra quickly nodded, agreeing to be there on time.

  Leaving the office, she was both relieved and disappointed. She would have loved to be able to return to Austin tonight and bring him back to her home, but at least she only had to wait until tomorrow as long as everything went well with the judge. Knowing most judges barely looked at the paperwork for this kind of thing besides to check signatures, Sandra felt sure that everything would work out.