Bears of Burden: HUTCH

by Candace Ayers

  Chapter 12

  Blake stood outside the apartment building where Jakob's mate lay on the couch, waiting for her to come down. He'd been waiting since Jakob revoked his status as second in command. There was no reason for the bitch to stay up there so long. He could hear her crying through her window, but whatever pity he might have had was lost against the tyranny enforced on him by Jakob.

  Blake was to have no contact with the pride for thirty days. A sort of temporary exile. When he returned, he must submit to the wanI'vammo, an ancient release of dominance. He would essentially be giving up everything about himself that could be considered alpha. It was a heavy thing to ask of a lion. How would human men feel if they were asked to cut their balls off?

  The only other option was to remain in exile. At least, that's what Jakob thought. What he failed to realize, however, was that by exiling Blake, he had lost some control over him. Kings could only control their pride. Blake hovered in the chasm between pride and individual. As an individual, he had free will. Free will meant choices. It was not exile or nothing. It was exile or death... just not his death.

  ***

  Bree woke in the morning and forced herself to put on shoes and a shirt. Pants were also not optional in this case, she reminded herself, and slipped on some khakis. She looked in a mirror and decided that she really did look like she'd been sick. Her skin was colorless, her eyes lackluster. Her hair was matted to her face. She didn't want to scare off her clients, so she at least ran a comb through it.

  When she got to work, sans latte, her co-workers told her how much better she was looking, which was strange because they hadn't seen her when she was "sick."

  Someone handed her a cup of coffee and she inhaled the bitterness of it, letting it refresh her, before moving into her office. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a man watching her through her window, but when she stepped over for a closer look, he was gone.

  "Paranoia's kickin' in. Good thing I got out of the house when I did."

  She sat on the plush leather sofa she offered her patients when they came in, and let her body sink back into it. It felt good, like cool hands wrapping around her. See, I can do this. She urged herself on. That's right! I don't need whatshisface. Screw him.

  It took her a second to remember why she was so mad with Jakob to begin with, but when his cruel words flashed back— You're not fit to be my mate. Bree knew she'd made the right choice. There was a knock on the door and Mary and Peter Ableman came in. "Hi," she said, glad, for once, to have company. Even the Ablemans.

  She watched them a second before realizing something was different about them. They were holding hands. Not just because they were in Bree's office and felt like they had to put on a show, it looked like they actually wanted to clasp their fingers together and cuddle against each other.

  "Why don't you guys tell me what's been happening. You look," Bree paused, almost coughing on the word as it sprang from her throat, "happy."

  Mary beamed at Peter. "We are." He kissed her gently on the lips and Bree's insides pinged. She turned her head quickly before they could see the nausea roll over her. When she turned so abruptly, she saw the same man she'd seen earlier outside her window. She squinted, trying to make him out, but he was already gone.

  "We're in love again," Mary said.

  Bree snapped her head back around, annoyance registering in her voice. "What?"

  Mary and Peter looked at each other. "We are," Peter said, defending themselves.

  "Love? Each other?" Bree knew she should stop the outburst that was frothing over, steeped in the memory of her last few days without Jakob, but couldn't reign it back. "Since when? Last week you two could barely be in the same room. I'm supposed to believe all that changed overnight?"

  "Yes," Peter said, daring Bree to defy him. He and Mary clasped hands tighter, Mary eyeing Bree with a new suspicion.

  "How?" Bree asked.

  Mary spoke up now. Timid to start, her voice rose with each word. "I found a lump in my breast. It turned out to be nothing. But..."

  Peter finished the thought "...it made me realize what I might have lost. I just never considered it before. That she might not be here. Might not exist." When he looked back at Bree his eyes were moist.

  Bree scoffed, but to them she said, "Well, that's great. I'm happy for you two." Apparently, Bree's outburst hadn't offended them enough to leave. Of course not, Bree reasoned. They were idiots. They thought they were in love? Just wait till the next time Peter cheated on her. Still, their faces glowed with the intensity of a first crush. Whatever they felt tomorrow, today they were very much in love.

  ***

  Blake was tired of watching Bree. She was boring. He didn't understand Jakob's attraction. She was too plump, and her hair was too short. She was everything Blake despised in a woman.

  He hummed to himself while he watched her. He didn't have anything better to do. But the more he watched Bree, the less he wanted to. When that loveless couple walked into her office, doting on each other as if their affection were real and not just the probable onset of a drug induced euphoria or too much alcohol, or whatever it was people like them took to make themselves high on love, Blake thought he might actually die from boredom.

  He removed himself from Bree's window and the spot he'd nestled into beside a shrub. It didn't matter what he did right now, he'd realized. He was still a part of the pride, and although Jakob's powers over him were limited now that he was in exile, it was enough to stop him before he could finish what he wanted to start. He'd have to fix that before his plan could work.

  Chapter 13

  Bree arrived home from work more tired than she'd ever felt in her life. Her body ached. Her head hurt. She had a small handful of sleeping pills her mother had given her months ago, when Bree had a tooth pulled. The pain had caused her to have a number of sleepless nights until her mother had slipped the little blue gem inside her palm and told her to take two and call her in the morning.

  Bree flipped her head back and swallowed the pill with a bit of water. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  The first dream she had was only slightly scary. A small man in a large room was watching her. As he watched, he smiled. Only his teeth were too long and too gnarled to be human. The man followed Bree into her next dream. She stood in her kitchen, cooking eggs. They smelled delicious, and Bree wondered if she had any hash browns to go with them. She needed her latte. She turned around to grab it off the table and the man with the teeth was there. His teeth grew longer and longer until they reached across the room and slashed Bree's wrists. Blood poured from her in a steady stream, forming rivulets of red around her feet. She began to run.

  ***

  Jakob dropped his scotch and doubled over. Bree! She was in trouble. He could feel it in every fiber of his being—he must protect his mate. The hairs on his neck stood up and grew into a thick dark fur. Jakob shifted without a thought to the separation between them of late. None of that mattered. His mate was in trouble. She was hurt. She was bleeding.

  Please God don't let me be too late.

  Jakob ran through his house and out the door, a fire under his tail. William watched him run by and didn't ask questions. He'd seen that look on a lion before. Trouble.

  Jakob ran down the street, taking the fastest route allowed him. He didn't care if he was seen by motorists. Pedestrians were irrelevant. Besides, it was late. Darkness lingered over the city and the drunks coming out of the bars on a Tuesday night wouldn't be believed if they claimed to have seen a lion running down the street.

  He followed Bree's scent, relying on its strength to lead him through shortcuts. He ran down an alley and cut his paws on something sharp. He didn't stop until he reached Bree's building. The door to the building wasn't shut properly. A crack revealed light from inside and it only took a nudge from his nose to push it open all the way. Jakob slipped inside and barreled up the stairs.

  Bree's door was locked. Jakob heard her screa
m from inside. "No! No please! It hurts!" He didn't waste a second. Bree's door stood at the end of a long hallway. Jakob backed down it and ran full speed. The size, weight, and sheer power of his lion was no match for Bree’s door, and when he slammed against it, it opened without protest. He ran into her bedroom and saw her writhing under the covers. He jumped on the bed, ready to rip apart whoever was hurting her, but there was no one.

  He sat back on his haunches, watching her. A nightmare. She was having a nightmare. She was safe. Jakob was so relieved, he licked Bree's face and she woke up startled. When her lids fluttered open, she saw a huge lion head staring down at her. She thought she was still dreaming at first, but then she smelled him. Scotch and sweat mingled in the air, acting like an aphrodisiac. "Jakob?"

  He transformed in front of her. One second he was a great beast, impossibly huge, fangs exposed. The next, he was her Jakob.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked. It was too dark to see all of him, but she knew he was naked. Her heart pounded in her chest.

  "I thought you were in trouble," he said, standing at the edge of her bed. She could make out his outline now. The moon shone through the window just enough to highlight his muscles... all his muscles.

  "I was dreaming," she said. Then the dream returned, and so did her sobs. "He was killing me," she said through mouthfuls of tears. Jakob was by her side in an instant.

  "No one will ever hurt you while I'm here," he said. He was so close. It was impossible not to feel his breath on her face. Bree's own breath flowed out of her in rapid waves, her heart struck thunder in her chest.

  "You came here because I had a bad dream?" she whispered. His massive hand reached out and stroked her neck. The covers were off her and Bree's curves glowed full and round as starlight passed through her open curtains.

  "I didn't know it was a dream," Jakob said. He felt silly for that. Embarrassed not to have differentiated between a dream and reality, but it was worth it to see Bree again. Her flesh was pale in the dark of her room, and when he touched the smoothness of her leg with tentative fingers she didn't push him away.

  "I've missed you," she said. Having him here, so close, it was impossible to deny her feelings. If she'd never seen him again, she might have stood a chance, but the second she opened her eyes she knew it was pointless to deny the truth.

  She was his.

  Chapter 14

  She grew more conscious of his naked body as he sat on her bed. Even this close, he was still too far. She didn't think she could breathe without him nestled against her. There was so much of him to see, so much of him to touch.

  "Come here," she said, moving to the middle of the bed to give him room. He slid next to her, his blood running thick and hot in his body. Bree ran her hand up his arm and he shivered.

  "I should never have left," she confessed.

  "I should never have let you go."

  He leaned into her and when their lips met it felt like a sizzling explosion of sensations. His lips were firm but tender, and almost too hot to touch. Bree pressed harder against him, hoping to get burned.

  "If we start this," he said, conscious now of his own nudity and of the thin silk nightgown covering Bree's skin, "I don't think I can stop." His voice was deep and velvety with a hint of a growl.

  "I don't want you to stop," she whispered back. Her lips were delicate wings floating kisses up to him. He swallowed them like a hungry man swallowing dinner. His hands wrapped around her waist and he half lifted, half swung her around so that her breasts pressed tightly against his chest and her legs spread, one on either side of him. She instinctively wrapped them around his body and felt him harden as her core pressed against him.

  "You're not wearing panties," he whispered.

  "Neither are you," she teased.

  Their kisses grew harder, volatile. The passion they'd both kept at bay over the last week finally surfaced and began to sizzle.

  Bree reached a hand out and touched Jakob's chest. She'd imagined this moment. His muscles were everything she'd fantasized about. Even more. They bulged from his chest in thick ripples, forming a solid six pack that she rubbed her face against, inhaling his scent. It was stronger than the ocean, laced with honey and eucalyptus. Her tongue reached out to taste him. Jakob's muscles tightened and she sensed more than saw how much her touch affected him.

  His hand slid over her thigh and down her leg. He'd always been a leg man, and Bree's were the best. Her skin was smooth, her thighs were firm and round, not like the stick figures models had these days. Bree was a real woman, and Jakob's appetite for her grew by truckloads as she took his hand and leaned back, leading him back up her legs, over her thighs, and to the soft mound that throbbed between her legs.

  "Touch me," she commanded. "Don't stop."

  Jakob slid his fingers through her wet folds, feeling her blood pulse as his hand drew small circles left, then right. She closed her eyes and let the fears and frustrations melt away. She had no idea what she'd been so afraid of anyway. She could barely concentrate as Jakob worked his thick fingers around her pussy lips, but she longed to touch him back. She licked her lips and reached out. His cock was even bigger than she'd thought, and for a second she pulled away. Jakob took her hand and brought it back.

  "I won't hurt you," he promised.

  Bree trailed her hand up and down his erection, tracing each vein that popped out as her fingers explored him. Jakob was conscious of the silk that clung to Bree's body like a wet tissue. The dark pink of her nipples poked through, and Jakob's mouth watered. He leaned into her, tasting her through the fabric. She moaned as he clamped his mouth over her, making her rose petal nubs stand at attention.

  Bree's body ached for more of him. The deep buzz that filled the room seemed to emanate from inside them. She pulled off her nightgown and Jakob finally saw the full breasts that had till now only teased him under her clothes.

  "Like what you see?" she asked.

  Jakob's answer was to lean down and run his tongue over one in a rough lick like the giant cat he was. Her skin was different without the silk of her nightgown, and his tongue rolled over her pink and perfect nipples, sending convulsions of heat up Bree's back. His tongue circled her breasts, then slowly trailed down, over her stomach, past her hips, to find the center between her thighs. Her toes curled as he moved his tongue against the soft folds of her pussy, tasting her in a new place.

  "You're perfect," Jakob said. His appetite for her was insatiable. He breathed her in and each lungful of air was like a shot of passion. His body pulsed above hers. He lapped her up, trying to memorize the way her body quivered as his tongue circled her.

  Bree fought the impulse to let herself go; it was too soon. Her need to have him inside her was overwhelming. Jakob didn't need her to say it. The way her thighs shook as his tongue slid between them was answer enough. He climbed over her, his face inches from hers. She parted her legs for him, more than ready for his cock to slide in and ease the burn that had grown deep in her belly.

  Jakob moved his erection against her, teasing her, letting her feel the fullness of it before thrusting himself inside her and filling her up. Her head tilted back and she moaned at the ceiling. He felt her clench and paused.

  "Are you alright," he whispered.

  "God, yes," she screamed.

  He moved deeper into her, adjusting his tanned arms so that he wouldn't crush her with his weight. She looked up at him and smiled. "So, are we mated now?" she giggled. He laughed with her, but then his blood began to swelter. Bree's back arched. He rocked back and forth, moving slow to let her get use to his size. Her eyes were bright and she licked her lips, leaving a shine on them that somehow made Jakob's cock jump and throb that much harder.

  She propped herself onto her elbows and reached around Jakob, putting her hands on his ass, which was as tight and tan as the rest of him. She urged him to move faster. Her sex throbbed as he pulsed more quickly between her legs. Her breasts bounced and Jakob reached out with one hand, s
troking them as his hips continued to move against her.

  Bree's back tightened and lifted off the bed. Lights from outside flickered on the ceiling above them. She was close, so close... Jakob's pelvis rocked into her with a deep, quaking move that made her dizzy. When he reached down and circled his thumb around her clit, the lights on the ceiling pulled together and formed a massive sun that exploded inside Bree's head.

  Jakob felt her go off and followed suit, ripping the covers from the bed as her body spasmed under him. His muscles melted into her and his blood boiled as the combined heat of their bodies almost burned him. Bree felt Jakob ride the lights with her, his heat spreading into her like a steaming cup of coffee. She dug her nails into his back, knowing he could take it. Together, they reached Everest and found an ocean at the top.

  They lay limp. Panting. Exhausted. "Now, will you marry me?" he asked.

  She laughed. "Now I won't think about killing you every time you ask me that."

  Chapter 15

  Bree's eyes fluttered under her lids. Jakob watched them, searching her face for any sign of discomfort. Her nightmare had been violent, enough to call him to her, and he was glad of it, but Jakob didn't want her to feel that frightened ever again. She turned onto her side and her eyes slowly opened. She smiled at him.

  "Hi," she cooed.

  "Hi."

  The sun was just coming up and Bree looked at the clock on her nightstand. She still had an hour before she had to get ready for work.

  "Breakfast?" Jakob asked, reading her mind. "Latte and eggs? You know what they say, you never truly know someone till you've watched them eat eggs."

  Bree giggled. She felt like a school girl. Her body was a little sore from last night, but in a good way—like the burn you feel after a good workout. She was eager to try it all again, but her stomach grumbled under the covers.