Cody (Strauss Bear Shifter Brothers 0f Colorado Book 3)

by Brittany White

  He opened his mouth to speak, uncertain and Jessie said, “No! He’s not going to take you away.” She gave him a wary look and he knew she was lying for their sake. But he couldn’t promise anything until he knew what this was.

  “I’ll make coffee,” she said, and nodded toward the kitchen. Cody followed, slowly walking backward. All the children were staring at him and an older girl hopped up and tentatively followed them.

  “I can make coffee,” she said, and pushed Jessie aside, taking a can off coffee grounds from the counter. Jessie smiled gratefully and motioned for him to sit at the table.

  Cody tapped his fingers and Jessie seemed nervous to start talking. She waited until the girl had set down two mugs and a carton of half and half and some packets of sweetener.

  Jessie shook her head and winced, as if just remembering something. “Gosh, what am I thinking? Cody, this is Molly.” Molly smiled politely at Cody and he nodded. “The little boy who was upset is Jason and the older one is Chris. The twin three-year-olds are Kevin and Mary, the toddler is Sophie.”

  “Okay,” Cody said slowly. “I’ll never remember all that.”

  Jessie chuckled and stirred cream into her coffee before sliding the carton over to Cody. “That’s what I thought too.”

  “Jessie... what on earth is going?”

  She took a long sip of coffee and said, “Okay. I was on a run in the woods with my roommates one day... ”

  7

  Jessie

  Jessie spilled her whole story to Cody and by the end of it, she was fighting back tears. She didn’t want to cry, not in front of the children still warily eying her and Cody from the living room. They had a tendency to get upset if she was upset. The constant fear that they would be found by their abusive sleuth or taken away from Jessie was always on the surface of things.

  Jessie told Cody about finding the kids and sneaking them through the woods until they’d stumbled onto the abandoned cabin that didn't have enough room for seven people and only a mini-fridge for food because all the electricity ran off a generator. She didn’t mean it to sound as tragic as it was. But there was no getting around that, she supposed.

  When she was finished with her story, she sat back and blinked back the tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat and took a sip of coffee.

  Cody wasn’t talking. He frowned and looked over at the kids in the living room. Molly was reading to the younger kids from a book. Most of them were squirming and seemed restless, perhaps because of his presence which no doubt made them uneasy.

  “I’m really hoping that, like you said, you won’t tell anyone,” Jessie said slowly.

  “I won’t,” he said. But she detected a note of uncertainty in his voice that made her nervous. “I won’t yet.”

  “Cody... ”

  “Jess, I... ” He lowered his voice, glancing at the kids. He wouldn’t want them to hear him discussing this so frankly. They already looked so scared. “I want to help you any way I can. I think it’s good they’re gone from the sleuth and frankly, they were lucky to have met someone as brave and good-hearted as you-”

  “Anyone would have done the same thing,” Jessie said.

  Cody barked a surprised little laugh and shook his head. “No, they wouldn’t. But I love that you said that. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound condescending or anything. But it’s true.”

  Jessie pursed her lips, flushing a little under the praise. “There aren’t a lot of options in the shifter world. Bears don’t want to go through the processes of the human world. What if they were found? There are only elders of sleuths and they’re not exactly reliable. I doubt anyone knew these kids were being mistreated and who knows if they’d care.”

  “Yeah,” Cody said sighing. “I agree. There’s not much justice to be had in our world. There used to be firmer institutions among shifter kind but then everyone started assimilating into the human world and we lost a lot of that. You kind of have to find your own justice. And that’s what you did for these kids. But... ”

  Jessie sucked in a breath and the “but.” She tapped her fingers. The thing with Cody Strauss was that, well, he was a Strauss. He had who knows how much money and he probably had powerful friends. He could decide the kids should be living with someone else or change his mind and return them to their sleuth if he wanted to. Jessie suddenly felt powerless and she tensed up, waiting for his verdict.

  “But you’re not going to be able to keep this a secret forever,” Cody said. “These kids can’t stay in here cooped up and cut off from the world forever. It’s not fair to them.”

  “I know,” Jessie said softly. It was her biggest problem, she supposed. She worried about it every day.

  “However... I won’t be the one to tell anyone,” Cody said. “If it’s okay with you though, I’d like to help if I can. And maybe we can decide what happens next together. At least then you won’t be on your own. And if not, you can tell me to go screw myself and I still won’t tell a soul.” He smiled, casual as anything. “I promise.”

  Jessie had to turn her head away because this time a few tears spilled over and slid down her cheeks. She had been hoping for, at best, a begrudging agreement that Cody wouldn’t say anything. She figured he’d stop talking to her. No more pleasant chats about books over free gourmet lunches. Why would he want to get close to a woman taking care of six kids who weren’t even hers?

  She had not expected him to want to help. But the idea of help... That alone made her want to fall into his arms. She could hardly remember what it felt like not to be exhausted.

  “That would be nice,” she whispered. “That would be everything, Cody.”

  Cody finally left Jessie that night, promising they would talk more the next day. She agreed to go to Cody’s residential suite before going home. She resisted at first. She always felt bad leaving Molly, who was only twelve, to watch over the kids all day even if she was used to it. But they had taken to shifting and spending time in the woods close to the cabin together. The cubs were always stronger and more independent as bears and that made things a little easier during the day, even if Jessie never stopped worrying about their well-being while she was at work.

  Once Cody had left, Jessie found herself in a bit of a daze. He had been so helpful and sweet. It was enough to make her think that something could happen between them. But she shook herself out of that fantasy. Cody was being helpful because he was just that good of a person. It was very unlikely that he would want a romance with her now. She just had to keep reminding herself that.

  That night, Jessie put the kids to bed and curled up with the book Cody had given her. There was something comforting about reading about a doomed but passionate romance in a world so unlike her own. She pictured Cody reading it too and it made the simple pastime more exciting.

  The next morning, she went about her usual routine with the kids, rousting them out of bed and fixing them breakfast. She did a quick sweep of their rooms, picking up scattered toys and gathering dirty laundry. The laundry pile was intimidatingly high. She’d had no time to get to the laundromat. She hated to think of the kids wearing dirty clothes and, on a whim, she tossed half the laundry in a duffle bag, hoping she could get away with using a washing machine at the lodge. There was a laundry room for guests. Employees weren’t supposed to use it but maybe just this once...

  “Jessie!” Jason padded up to her just as she was on her way out, feeling as anxiety-ridden as always at the thought of leaving them all alone for another day. At least she had a day off coming up. She could catch up on some housework then and take them for a run, read to them for a while. She loved reading to the children. Jason handed her a fruit roll-up. She’d brought them for the kids. They ate like absolute fiends. She could not believe how much food six kids could eat. “Here! This is your snack for today.”

  “Oh!” Jessie chuckled and reluctantly took the fruit roll-up from Jason. This was new. “Thanks, Jason. That’s really nice of you.”

  “You need snack
s,” Jason said firmly. “It’s important. Molly says you work really hard and when you work really hard, you have to eat a lot!”

  Jessie sighed and tousled his hair. “You’re not wrong. Thanks, bud.”

  She tucked the fruit roll-up in her purse and took her duffle bag and headed out to the car, bidding goodbye to the kids. Her maid’s uniform was looking a little wrinkled. It needed a wash and ironing. The Strauss brothers were kind employers but they wanted their staff looking as presentable as possible. Details like that meant a lot to them.

  Yet another thing she had to do today. She wasn’t sure when she’d find the time.

  Down at the lodge, the day blurred by she was kept so busy. She had agreed to go to Cody’s suite after work but she didn’t get a chance to see him the rest of the day. Every time she stopped to breathe, it seemed like somebody was asking her to go clean-up some guest’s mess in a suite. It was supposed to be slow in summer. But it didn’t feel that way.

  She took an early lunch and ate cheap ramen, spending the half-hour in the laundry room, cleaning and pressing her uniform while wearing sweats in the meantime, and daydreaming about Cody Strauss while she ate her dollar soup.

  Before she knew it, the day was over. She checked the time on her phone and ran back to the most deserted laundry room in the lodge to do the kid’s laundry before she headed over to Cody’s suite. Her feet were aching. She’d needed new shoes before she’d even started her job at the lodge. But the kids needed shoes first.

  “Next paycheck,” she muttered to herself as she trudged up the stairs in the direction of Cody’s suite in the opposite wing. She was carrying the duffle bag over her shoulder. She was hungry and tired and the good mood lightening things the night before had dissipated after a long day of hard work.

  Sometimes she actually liked her job. She didn’t mind cleaning and she could listen to music or podcasts on her phone as she went about her day. But today had been exhausting and she’d skipped her own breakfast. She’d ended up eating that fruit roll-up on a break, she was so hungry.

  At five-thirty, Jessie knocked on Cody’s door.

  She felt disheveled and unattractive in her maid’s uniform, with her hair up in a messy bun. But when Cody opened the door he smiled at her and waved her in like she was an important guest and not somebody on the staff.

  “Hey, I was worried you wouldn’t show up,” Cody said. “Come in, I got dinner for you. You must be tired. I know how hard you work. Please relax! Take off your shoes. I’ll get you a drink. Make yourself at home.”

  Jessie dropped her duffle bag on the floor and blinked, feeling a little dazed.

  Cody’s suite was... fantastic. All the suites at the Black Bear Lake Lodge were luxurious. She had been expecting luxury.

  But this was something else. She should have figured the Strauss brothers who actually lived in their giant suites all the time would have pretty swanky accommodations. Cody’s was the first suite she’d seen with a hardwood floor and plush designer area rugs artfully placed under mid-century modern pieces. There was a fully stocked wet bar in the living room and a full kitchen with granite tops. The curtains were open on French doors that went out to a wide balcony looking out on the lake beyond and there a hot tub out there to top it off. The decor was modern, but eclectic and somehow still homey, even cluttered with books and papers and coffee mugs sitting around. Jessie spotted an empty take-out box on a side table and found it sort of endearing that Cody’s place was not pristine.

  “Come here,” he urged her. He took her hand and led her to a plus mustard-colored couch, gently prodding her to sit down. “Please. Relax a minute. Or come and eat dinner whenever you want. I wanted you to be able to take some time to yourself. Sort of the real reason I invited you over.”

  “You invited me over to make me relax?” Jessie said. She blinked at him, dazed.

  “Well... yeah.” Cody shrugged, looking almost embarrassed. But Jessie could see the dinner laid out on the table in the dining area right by those French doors. She smelled steak, shrimp scampi, garlic potatoes... Her mouth watered.

  Cody tugged on her hand and Jessie tugged back. Her skin tingled where their fingers were tangled. He raised an eyebrow, letting her pull him toward her.

  She was probably misinterpreting this. He’d asked her out, yes, but that was before he’d known about her six adorable little problems.

  But just now she didn’t care.

  Neither of them spoke as Jessie stepped forward and pressed her lips to his.

  8

  Cody

  Well, I didn’t see this coming.

  The last Cody had known as far as anything romantic with Jessie, she’d turned him down. That was fine, even if it was a big disappointment. It didn’t make him any less willing to help her. He’d spent the entire day wondering what she might need and resisting the urge to text her a million questions.

  Instead, he’d decided that if he had the opportunity to have her over, he’d treat her like a queen. She deserved that much. Connor had told him he was grinning like a dope. He’d even been nicer to his kitchen staff than usual, all because he couldn’t stop thinking about Jessie and how she’d adopted six children who had nowhere else to go to escape their abuse. Jessie, who had a Care Bear on her car and lit up from the inside just talking about the book she’d just read.

  Ah, Jessie...

  When she kissed him, he gasped a little against her mouth. But inwardly, his bear roared.

  Everything seemed to be coming together in that moment. Any interest and attraction was now intensified tenfold. His bear wanted more. His blood was hot. Jessie had pressed her hands against his chest, leaning in, her soft, sweet mouth sliding against his as he found himself automatically responding with fervor. He clutched her arms and nudged her lips apart and she melted against him.

  Dimly, he thought that she must be tired and hungry after her long day. But just now, she seemed hungry for something else... He wasn’t about to turn her away.

  Still, it seemed worth checking in and, summoning all his strength, he pulled away and whispered, “Jessie, are you-”

  “Yes.” She spoke against his lips and her hands slid up to rub the back of his neck as she kissed the corner of his mouth again. “Yes, I want this. Don’t you?”

  “Yes.” He growled it more than he said it, and pulled her closer.

  Dinner was forgotten as Cody’s mouth covered hers. He touched his tongue to hers and she was tentative until he deepened the kiss, gently probing and tasting Jessie as she locked her wrists around his neck. They kissed fervently, lazy kisses turning quickly to heated plundering and when Cody swallowed Jessie little moan of pleasure, Cody’s cock jumped and filled in his trousers. He shifted, not wanting to assume too much but Jessie would not let him push her away. Instead, she nudged him along to the couch and sat down, pulling him on top of her as she lay back.

  “I still want to make you feel good,” Cody murmured. She kept rubbing the back of his neck and twirling his dark hair around her fingers and it was driving him absolutely crazy. It was a simple thing but he’d always loved the sensation of a woman rubbing the back of his neck. He’d always found that particularly sexy and when her sharp little nails gently scratched the sensitive area just under his ear or his scalp between his thick dark hair, his bear wanted to throw its head back and roar its approval. But more than anything, he wanted to please Jessie and he knew exactly how. “Let me make you feel good, Jessie,” he said, his voice low and husky.

  “Yes. I mean... ” She bit her lip and squirmed, her stomach pressing up against his erection through his pants. “I’m not going to stop you. Please, yes... ”

  He grinned at that. He liked that she could still keep things like. The woman was like sunshine and he’d never known that was what he wanted until the first time she’d greeted him with her trademark toothy grin. If he was honest with himself, he was doomed to fall for Jessie from that moment.

  “I will then,” he said. He licked his lip
s in anticipation. He kicked off his shoes and Jessie followed suit. She was wearing her maid’s uniform. It was a slim fit charcoal dress with a rectangle of an apron. The design was sleek and modern while still looking like a proper maid’s uniform. He reached around Jessie and tugged on the bow of her apron in the back and the knot gave easily, letting him whip the apron off and toss it to the floor. “I will make you feel so good, Jess... I will make you come until you can’t stand it.”

  Jessie was apparently receptive to some dirty talk. She threw her head back, grinning, her cheeks a rosy pink. It was both hot and cute and it spurred his desire.

  In winter and fall, the maids all wore stockings. But in summer, it was so warm they went bare legged and the Strauss brothers allowed the break in dress code. They didn’t want their staff to be uncomfortable. So Cody’s hot hand met smooth bare skin as he slid his palm up the back of Jessie's leg.

  “I’m going to taste you,” Cody whispered. “And I’m not going to stop until you can’t take any more pleasure.”

  It was bold maybe but Cody had never been shy in the bedroom. His bear had always run hot and right now it wanted a feast. Beneath him, Jessie shuddered and he felt her feet slide up his leg, urging him on.

  “Please,” she said, her voice cracking a little. “Yes, do it. Cody, I’ve been dreaming of it.”

  He reached around and easily flicked open the snap of her dress behind her neck and unzipped her uniform. Jessie took her arms out of the sleeves, fumbling a little in a mad scramble to undress but he stopped her after she pushed the dress down her chest, revealing her pert breasts encased in blue lace. Cody licked his lips, but he forced himself to take his time. He sat back and slowly pushed Jessie’s dress up her thighs. Few sights pleased him more than the slow reveal of soft, plush thighs as you pushed up a woman’s skirt. The dress was all ruched up around her waist but he was impatient now, leaning down to kiss her once more before working his way down her throat.