“What makes you so sure that Hudson won't just open fire immediately? Or think it's a trap?” the dark skinned man asked.
“Joe has put out lines of information that one of us shifters has gone rogue and wants a reward for turning over Beth. We think Track fits the description the best.”
Track let out a throaty, rough laugh. “Yeah, I think I do.”
“It should be me,” Clive said. “I was assigned to protect her and this should be my job.”
“Joe says it's going to be Track. Now, Russell, Jace, and Judge are going up to an adjacent rooftop to keep an eye on Hudson. Clive, Derrick, and I will go to the rear of Hudson's building and wait for his location. Once we figure out where he's at, we'll move in.”
Beth held up one of her hands. It was shaking uncontrollably, so she placed it against her side. The world around her was silent except for the steady sound of footsteps. Track strode confidently beside her. He even had a smile on his face.
“You know, Clive's falling for you,” Track said, trying to lighten the conversation. Beth appreciated it, but wasn't sure if it was going to help. They were drawing closer to the building and hadn't seen a soul.
“Nothing can come of it.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked, calm as ever.
“He's a bear shifter. I'm a normal girl. Once he's done protecting me, he'll have no reason to see me any more. I told him that he needs to move on.”
“He's yours if you want him,” Track said. I do, Beth thought. More than anything. But I can't, no matter how much I desire him.
Track suddenly tensed up, his nostrils flaring. He held out a hand and Beth stopped in her tracks. He moved between her and the building. “Fresh, nervous sweat. They're tensing up. I can smell it. They're going to open fire. We need to get into the building, now. Stay behind me!”
Track started to sprint, Beth close behind him. Immediately, a shot rang through the air. Beth watched as blood exploded out of the back of Track's neck, covering her. She screamed, almost stumbling over Track's dropped body. Miraculously, he got to his feet, a hand to his shredded throat. He opened his mouth to her but nothing came out except a stream of blood. He started to shift, his body turning, even as more shots rang out.
Track pushed Beth away and she was running, bullets hitting the pavement and kicking up plumes of dust. She stole a glance backward, seeing Track fully shifted into his bear shape and coming towards her. She knew that he was never going to make it. She reached the doors, finding them locked. Beside the door was a half broken cinder block, which she used to shatter the glass. Carefully crawling inside, she unlocked the door from the inside. Another glance at Track showed her it was pointless. He was on the ground, barely moving forward. His eyes met hers and then closed.
“This is a disaster. Clive was right,” she muttered to herself. She moved through the darkness of the building. It was soon apparent that it was an old office building and she wove through old cubicles, climbed toppled desks, and pushed rusted chairs out of her way. She reached the end of the row and was suddenly bathed in light.
Beth shielded her eyes from the sudden spotlights focused on her. Armed men surrounded her. She stood still, knowing there was nothing she could do against these men. Their plan hadn't worked, after all. It was over.
“That wasn't a very good plan, Beth,” a man said, striding forward through the ring of armed men. “It's over.”
Beth immediately recognized Hudson. He had the same, slimy look he had had back in the courtroom. He looked a little bit more full of life, a little bit happier. Getting off of multiple murder charges will do that to you, thought Beth.
“They'll link this back to you, Hudson. Once you kill me, you'll have the authorities all over you.”
“Ah, I don't think so,” he said, smirking. He held up a pistol and pointed it to her head. Beth closed her eyes. Instead of a gunshot, though, a roar shook the air. Beth opened her eyes, dropping to the ground, just as four bear shifters exploded through the line of armed men. The thugs started to shoot, panicking.
Beth saw Clive diving through the mass of men, followed closely by a bear that looked just like him, and then two others. Within seconds, the men were scattering. Hudson turned to run, but a bear dark as pitch closed in on him. It sank its fangs into his shoulders, throwing him into a mass of cubicles. He screamed as he flew, and then the bear was moving towards him.
Beth watched intently, ready for it all to be over, hating the man that had set all of this into motion. Clive moved towards her on all fours and then shifted, grabbing her and holding her in his embrace. He turned her away from the carnage as the other three bears tore into Hudson. His screams lasted for only moments and then they were only echoes, and then they, too, were gone.
They reached the HQ only a few hours later. Beth would have laughed at the sight of their so-called HQ, except she couldn't find the humor in anything at the moment. Track was dead by the time Russell reached him. Track had sacrificed himself to get Beth to safety, but she didn't feel any less guilty.
When they had heard the gunfire, Clive and his brother had decided to abandon Marcus's plan. He had ordered them to stand down, but they hadn't listened. The other three shifters had also decided to move in despite Marcus's orders. Russell took the time to ensure Track was gone before moving in, but by the time he got inside of the old office building, the carnage was over. He had then tended to the shifter's wounds. Clive, Derrick, Jace, and Judge were all riddled with bullets. None were life threatening and the other three stayed in shifter form to heal faster. Clive was hurt the worst, but Russell was able to take good care of him.
Marcus had exploded on the other shifters for their defiance, but they hardly acknowledged him. He'd screamed about the good of the pack, how important it was to maintain order, but it had all fallen on deaf ears. His orders had gotten Track killed and would have gotten Beth killed as well, if the others didn't intervene. He seemed to understand that, though he wouldn't admit it. His position as second command in the clan wouldn't let him.
So Beth sat in silence for nearly an hour while the rest of the shifters sat behind closed doors and deliberated back at their HQ. There had been older shifters with bone white hair, shifters with skin so mangled she wondered how they had even survived what had given them those scars, and even a couple of young shifters that were even younger than Derrick that had filed into the meeting.
There had been a couple of other women in the building when they had first arrived. One of the women had gone up to Jace the second he came in the door, hugging and kissing him. For once, she saw him chatting up a storm, though she couldn't hear what they had to say. After that, she'd introduced herself as Emma, and had explained how everything really worked between these shifters.
She had explained that she was also a client being protected. She was a police officer, betrayed by members of her own squad and framed for a murder she didn't commit. Other members of her unit wanted her dead, so she'd reached out to the shifter's security firm. If you could pay, they took you under their protection, she said. Jace had been assigned to protect her.
She had also said that they followed a strict code of honor. They held order and the chain of command in the highest regard. Any of the shifters who disobeyed their commander could be exiled, or worse, killed. Together, they had shared a couple of drinks at the bar, but Emma had retired to her room shortly after Beth had arrived.
Unsure of if she even had a room, Beth waited patiently. She'd tried to wipe the blood off of her as best she could, but she still felt disgusting. She considered slipping out the door and leaving the shifters, the violence, and Clive behind and moving on with her life. She hesitated. She didn't like the danger, but she found she liked Clive. Maybe it's even love, she thought, blushing. Was it enough? Would that be enough to make them last?
She got up, finally mustering the courage to leave, when the meeting room door opened. The first out the door was Clive, who came straight towards her. He winced sli
ghtly, still healing from the damage he'd taken in the fight earlier. His long, dark hair was disheveled, but he still stole Beth's breath away when he smiled at her.
“We're not being punished,” he said quietly. “But everything isn't good. Cain’s going to be devastated.”
“Who’s Cain?”
“Track’s best friend. You haven’t met him: he’s on assignment. Come with me so we can talk about it in private.”
Without waiting, Clive grabbed her hand and lead her down a hallway and into his room. He flicked the light on and Beth was greeted by a small, compact room. A bed lay in the corner opposite a TV and desk. There wasn't much else in the room. On one wall was an open door that she saw lead to a bathroom.
He started in immediately, “We're split. Joe, Marcus, and all of the elders think we did wrong by disobeying their orders. A couple of the elders want us exiled. Joe talked them down, though. He knows that we made the right choice in disobeying him to save you and take out Hudson, though he wasn't happy about it. There's some serious tension going on. I think that I –“
“Clive,” Beth said softly, cutting him off. “I was on my way out when you caught me at the door.”
“What? Why would you leave?”
“I'm not right for you. You don't need to protect me anymore. You can protect someone else. Don't let me get in your way.”
In response, Clive came close to her, grabbing her and pressing his lips firmly against hers. Beth found herself immediately kissing back, passion overwhelming everything she'd been thinking. She knew in her heart she didn't want to leave.
“You're perfect for me. You've shown me that life is worth living. That there's more to life than working for this club. I need you more than you ever needed me, Beth.”
Clive swept her off of her feet, taking her into the bathroom and kicking the door closed. Within seconds, Clive had the shower on full blast, hot steam filling the room. He peeled his shirt off of his body, wincing, but the smile never left his face. Beth leaned back on the sink, beckoning, and Clive moved in, ripping her shirt off of her body. He pressed his lips against her neck, nostrils flaring at her scent.
He undid her bra with deft fingers, letting it fall onto the floor. His large hands cupped each of her breasts, his fingers rolling over her nipples lightly. With a moan, Beth felt her nipples stiffening under his touch. He reached down, sliding a hand into her pants, touching her wetness lightly. Beth gasped, body shuddering in pleasure.
Together, they stripped their pants off, lips interlocked. Beth reached down between Clive's legs, grabbing onto his stiffening member while his grabbed her ass and pulled her closer. Together, they moved backwards into the shower, the hot spray of water washing the dirt, blood, and grime from their tired and weary bodies.
Clive's lips wandered down her neck, over his chest, focusing on one breast, sucking gently before dropping to his knees. Beth leaned against the shower wall, feeling Clive's lips and tongue working down her body. His tongue danced around her navel, then moved directly above her wetness before kissing the inside of each thigh. Beth moaned, ready for his mouth to move directly between her legs.
She grabbed his thick hair, guiding him exactly where she wanted him to go. His lips worked slowly at first, sucking and kissing, his tongue darting over every inch of her. Within minutes of bliss, pleasure was overwhelming her body. She grabbed his hair tighter, making sure that he wouldn't stop. Her pleasure built until she could contain it no longer, and then she was cumming, screaming in pleasure, everything over the last few days finally melting away.
Gasping, she leaned against the shower wall, her body wracked with pleasure. Clive stood up and came close to her, kissing her, pressing his body against her own. She felt his thickness and lifted one leg, lowering herself down onto him. With a gasp of pleasure from her and a moan from Clive, he entered her warmth. He went slow at first, letting her adjust to him, then together, they moved into a rhythm.
The warm water washed over their bodies and they became as one. Beth rocked her body against his as he pushed, and soon, the pleasure was at its peak for both of them. Beth pushed it off for as long as she could, but it was too much. It hit her, hard, and she bit into Clive's shoulder as she came. She felt his member throbbing inside of her, filling her up with his seed. He let out a bestial roar of pleasure as he came.
Together, they collapsed onto the floor of the shower. Clive's large arms wrapped completely around Beth's body. For once, she realized, she felt safe. Protected. Clive would never let harm befall her. She snuggled up against his large body and let the warm water wash all of her worries away.
Road Bears
Grit and Growl Book I
by
Becca Fanning
Carrie was screwed. It was her first night on the job and she had no idea what she was doing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t gone through the training. She even took notes! But something about moving through a training scenario and actually dealing with customers and their orders and the rush and loud music just made her feel frazzled.
A week ago she had applied as a waitress at a dive-y bar. She had no previous waitressing experience, and the woman who took her application looked at her resume dubiously.
“I, uh, don’t have a whole lot of experience.” Carrie, who was usually the epitome of cool, calm and collected, felt ill. Her stomach rolled as the tattooed woman looked down the list of jobs.
“I can see that.” The woman’s voice was rough, like she was a big smoker.
“I do have a lot of customer service experience though!” She tried to sound positive. Carrie had been working a fantastic administrative assistant job for the last three years. They hired her when she was fresh out of college and she loved the company. It was a start-up that worked to promote literacy in low income areas. She got to talk to publishers to convince them to donate books, she convinced authors to donate time to go to schools and read to kids, and she helped organize tutoring programs.
It was a dream come true for an education major with a desire to change the world. And then it ended. Three weeks ago all of the major investors backed out and Carrie was left jobless. She needed to pay rent. So there she was. Applying for a job at what was basically a biker bar.
The woman pursed her lips. “Yes, you do.” She put the paper on the bar top and Carrie could see her long, talon-like finger nails. They were painted bright red. “Here’s the truth, darlin’: I need a waitress immediately, and you’re the only person who has applied. So I’ll take you on only if you promise to take your training really seriously.”
Carrie nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. Thank you so much. You won’t regret this!”
In retrospect, perhaps she shouldn’t have said that. She must have jinxed herself.
From almost the moment her shift started people kept walking in. And Jeanette, the woman who had hired her, wasn’t lying. The bar really was understaffed. Jeanette was at the bar, and an enormous man named Tiny was the line cook. Carrie was the only waitress. She hadn’t had a minute to catch her breath during her whole shift. She was only three hours in and her feet were aching, her back hurt, and her cheeks were sore from all the smiling she was doing.
She loved being busy but this was a whole new type of busy. The bar was large, probably the biggest one she’d ever been in. There was the bar counter top at the far end of the room, away from the door. Between the door and the counter, there were at least two dozen tables. There was a jukebox that was constantly playing loud music, and there were televisions turned to sports channels, and pool tables.
She heard the door open and a blast of noise met her. A group of bikers had just walked into the bar. There were quite a few of them, and they were all huge. One of them waved her over and she pulled out her little pad. It was hard to hear over the blasting music, and she couldn’t even read his lips very well because the lighting was so bad. But the order was simple enough: a bunch of beers.
Carrie smiled and headed over to the bar to fill
the glasses. She piled five glasses onto a tray and carefully balanced the tray on her hand. She started across the bar, hell bent on making the trip across the large room without spilling a drop.
Her arm was aching with the weight of the drinks, but she was halfway there.
“Carrie!” Jeanette called her name. Carrie slowly turned around to look at her boss. Jeanette pointed to the food sitting on the bar. Another order was up. Carrie nodded to show that she understood, and turned around, ready to head back to the bikers.
“Brian! Watch out—“
Carrie barely had time to take in the frantic warning before she suddenly slammed into the broadest chest she had ever encountered in her life. Her tray went flying and her ass connected to the hard, sticky floor.
“Shit!” The expletive ripped from her lips before she could stop it.
The sound of glass shattering and liquid sloshing caused the bar to go silent. Carrie slowly opened her eyes and surveyed the damage surrounding her. Broken glass was everywhere, and her legs were soaked with beer. And one of the bikers was on the floor too. His chest and jacket were soaked with liquid.
John (BBW Country Music Bear Shifter Romance) (Bearly Saints Book 4) Page 61
