“So why don’t you wear it?” Toby asked Briggs. Briggs saw his eyes looking at his arm that ended just above the elbow.
“I don’t need to,” Briggs said. “I’m complete without it. Your sister taught me that.”
Toby rolled his eyes, but still smiled. “How much longer until the food is done?”
Briggs glanced at the grill. “Won’t be done until around five.”
“What?” Toby asked. “I’m going to starve!”
He went inside and came back with a bag of chips, ripping it open without any ceremony. Kat shot him a glare, but didn’t say anything.
“What?” he asked, chips crunching in his mouth. “I’m hungry!”
“Sometimes, Toby, you act like a child.”
Briggs couldn’t help but laugh at their bickering.
“Did you guys hear about the HDF?” he asked around another mouthful of chips. Briggs felt his blood run cold. Kat shook her head. Briggs did the same. They hadn’t dealt with the HDF since that night six months ago, and for that, Briggs was thankful. Still, they were always on the back of his mind. Their bill they had tried to pass in January had failed spectacularly, but that hadn’t stopped them.
Toby started to smile. “They’re done for. Dissolved. It was on the news this morning. They had some last rally to try to garner support, and it backfired miserably. Those guys aren’t going anywhere, but they won’t be rallying behind the Human Defense Force idea any longer.”
“That’s great news,” Kat said.
“It is,” Briggs agreed.
There would always be hate out there, but he was glad it was unfocused now. There was no longer an organization devoted to killing all Shifters. He smiled.
*
They sat outside all day long, chatting about how life had changed in the past six months. No one was more surprised than Kat. She touched her stomach, smiling as she watched Toby and Briggs chat about the most random stuff. They were like best friends. She couldn’t be happier.
Eventually, Toby went home for the night, carrying a massive plate of leftovers. Despite moving out, she still hoped that she would see him often. She’d been skeptical about him when he had shown back up in her life – disorganized, reeling from a week long drug binge, and his life complete chaos. She’d feared he would take her down with him, ruining her perfectly organized life.
He hadn’t, though. Between Toby and Briggs, she had come to learn that there was more to her life than just working and keeping everything organized. In a few short months, organization would be impossible, but she found she was ready for it. It would be tough, but she was ready, as long as she had Briggs by her side.
As Kat climbed out of the shower, she couldn’t help but think of how everything had been before she’d met Briggs. She hadn’t been happy, though she thought she had been. And she knew he wasn’t happy, living completely alone and depending on only himself. They were good for each other – maybe perfect – and she loved him more than she could express.
She came into their new room, towel wrapped around her body. Briggs was already in bed, shirtless, the covers pulled up to his waist. He was reading a book, but sat it on the nightstand when she entered. He smiled. No matter what she was thinking, when he smiled, her thoughts and worries melted away: all she could think about was him.
Seductively, she dropped the towel to the floor and jumped into bed next to him, crawling under the covers. She rolled her body over his, wrapping a leg around him and kissing him on the cheek. His arm wrapped around her body, pulling her close to his warmth.
He leaned down, placing his lips over hers. He kissed her, slowly and passionately, focusing only on her lips. She let herself be drawn into him, only his lips on hers. He grabbed her breast slowly, his arm wrapped around her, and squeezed. She let out a low moan, his fingers dancing over her nipple softly. She felt it harden like a diamond under his touch.
He broke the kiss, moving downwards, kissing neck, chest, breasts, stomach, and then moving down towards the place between her legs. He kissed the tops of her thighs, dancing just below her navel, then kissed the inside of each leg. She felt a quick kiss on a kneecap then his lips were between her legs, kissing lightly for only a split second. She moaned, grabbing his hair and pushing him down to exactly where she wanted.
His lips kissed her warmth wetly, his tongue sliding into her wetness. Her moans filled the air, carried away by the warm breeze, as his tongue dipped deep into her. She felt his fingers parting her lips, letting him go deeper into her, tasting her. She closed her eyes, one hand in his hair, the other grabbing the headboard of their bed.
His tongue pushed firmly against her clit and she jumped with pleasure, wrapping her legs around Briggs’ head. She knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere, but she couldn’t help it. She moaned again and again, her breaths coming in quick, short gasps. Between her legs, she could feel an orgasm building. She pushed it away as long as she could, but Briggs’ tongue and lips were quick, insistent. Finally, it washed over her in a wave of pleasure, her orgasm peaking and then exploding across her body.
She was catching her breath when Briggs pulled himself out from underneath the covers, his body directly over hers. She could feel her breasts pressing against his firm chest, her legs wrapping around his, and his member pressing against her slit. He pressed his lips to hers and pushed his length against her body.
She moaned, breaking the kiss, gasping in delight as he sank into her. The head of his cock had spread her lips wide, and she moaned again, loving the feeling of being entirely filled up by him.
He pushed slowly, carefully, both of them kissing and pulling each other close, making love. Their bodies moved in perfect tandem, working together to bring each other the maximum pleasure possible. Briggs pushed himself deep and Kat pushed herself against him.
After what seemed like hours, Briggs’ breathing started to pick up. Even with his slow strokes, it was too much for him to bear: she could tell he was going to cum, and soon. As if in answer, she could feel her own orgasm, which had been building slowly, reaching a crescendo.
“Cum for me,” she whispered, and with one final stroke and a loud growl of pleasure, Briggs pushed himself into her deeper than he had the entire time they made love. She felt his cock leap inside of her, his seed shooting deep into her, and she came with him, tightening around him and losing herself to her pleasure.
When both of their orgasms had passed, Briggs slowly pulled out of her and rolled over next to her. They were both breathing heavily, the covers half on, half off. They lay on their backs, his arm underneath her head, their legs intertwined together.
They didn’t say anything, instead, they just lay there, silent, enjoying the presence of each other. There wasn’t anything else in the world she wanted more right now than to be with Briggs. She was looking forward to starting their family with him. She touched her stomach again. They didn’t know what they were having, but Briggs insisted it was a boy.
She knew he would be the best father possible to their child. It was just the kind of man he was. He no longer needed to be alone, and she no longer needed to keep everyone out. They were a family.
“I love you, Briggs Dawson,” she whispered.
“I love you, Kat Dawson,” he whispered back, and pressed his lips to hers.
Bear Fallout
by
Becca Fanning
It shouldn’t be possible for a hospital to be this deserted, but here she was, dreadfully alone in the bowels of Grady Memorial. Even in the best of times, the hospital had always been severely understaffed, but this was pushing it too far: one doctor, one nurse, and one secretary up in the phone room ignoring calls. The rest of the hospital staff was gone.
Gina Flynnt stood over the body, scalpel held steady in her right hand. Alone. It had bothered her when she’d first come in to work today to find out that everyone else had the day off to celebrate, and she would be stuck here in the morgue, but now it didn’t bother her. She had work to do.
Work was work, and money was money. Besides, it wasn’t like she had anyone to celebrate the 4th of July with, anyway. She didn’t have friends; no one she would actually hang out with outside of the hospital, so it was fine that she was here and they were out there.
The morgue was buried deep below the hospital, only reachable by going through an old door, down a rusting staircase, and finally into a hallway lined with leaky water pipes. The light down in the hallway was bad, but the morgue room was lit up like a spotlight.
The body lying in front of her was Edgar Nash. 47, from a little town a couple of hours north of Atlanta. She’d glanced at his file after she’d wheeled him into the examination room: an architect with a loving wife, two kids, a dog, and a big fenced-in backyard with a big house to match. He’d been getting ready for the celebrations tonight: cleaning the house, mowing the yard, sweeping out the gutters.
That’s what had killed him.
Well, the ladder was what had done him in really, but it was while he was cleaning out his gutters that it had happened. He’d climbed to the top, a leaf blower on his back, determined to make quick work of the leaves clogging the drains. After he’d finished, he’d tried climbing down – and the leaf blower had thrown him off balance, so down he went. Right onto his neck.
It had been instantaneous. He’d barely had time to scream before he’d landed. It was a tragic event, but now that he was gone his tissues could be harvested for a good cause, if Gina was quick. The body had been held up somewhere along the line by the local police, so instead of going to the far better-equipped, but farther away hospital in Haysberry, Edgar Nash had been brought to Grady Memorial.
It had bothered her once, long ago. When she’d first started medical school she’d been squeamish around the bodies. Now, though, it was just like any other day: work. And her work could save lives. She took pride in that, despite her working conditions.
She took a deep breath, the smell of stale air barely filtered out by her mask. She’d hardly noticed it before, but now with all of her senses at their peak efficiency before the autopsy, everything came to her. The smell of old machinery, leaking vital fluids one sludgy drip at a time. The sound of the machinery churning through the walls, a constant, dull rumble. The occasional echoing drop of water. The sound of far-off fireworks.
The feel of the warm metal underneath her gloved fingertips. The vibrations of each distant machine shaking the table ever so slightly. The chafing of her apron and doctor’s uniform, a size too small and well-worn, but all she had. She’d put in a requisition for new uniforms months ago, but she’d heard nothing back. She knew they were closing Grady Memorial down, though they would never admit it until she was out of a job.
Over the past year, staff had been transferred slowly out of the aging hospital. The most desirable were transferred to Martin Memorial in Haysberry, the rest were let go. She’d had a sinking feeling that when the hospital finally closed down, she’d be out a job. Still, she held out hope. She lived in Haysberry, and transferring to the hospital only five minutes away from her house was one of her dreams.
She couldn’t blame whoever was in charge, though. Grady Memorial was an ancient building, a relic of the past; a bygone remnant of a time long gone. Grady had been built back during the early years of the Cold War, when tensions were still high. At its inception, it had been a shining example of American pride.
Now, it was just a dilapidated hospital that had no patients and was little more than a prescription dispensary. Still, it was serviceable as a morgue.
She took another breath, this time through her mouth to try to avoid the stale taste, but it was pointless: she could taste the faint hint of oils, rotten machinery, and the body in front of her. She almost coughed, but kept the urge at bay.
Her eyes travelled over the man: every single hair on his head, a day’s worth of stubble, the bruising where his neck was broken. What a way to go, she thought. Dead on the 4th and brought to Grady. She had an inkling the man would have wanted to go anywhere else, but it didn’t matter now.
Thump thump thump. She couldn’t see the fireworks from down below where she was, but she could hear them, very faintly. The morgue was an old fallout shelter, designed to keep everyone safe when the nukes started to fall. When they hadn’t, the room was converted to what it was today. Luckily, the aesthetics of the fallout shelter perfectly matched what a morgue should look like, so it was an easy transition.
Her breath frosted as she pushed the scalpel down, cutting through Edgar Nash’s flesh with ease. She used to be squeamish, back in med school, but that was long past her now. She examined the body as she cut it open.
Gina was more than just a doctor, and it always amazed her how she’d wound up at Grady Memorial. She’d graduated med school as a forensic pathologist, one of the most promising in her class. She’d had a bright future in front of her, so many job opportunities that she couldn’t even count them all – and look where it had gotten her.
She pushed the thought away; it wasn’t something she liked to dwell on.
She focused instead on doing her job, however pointless it might be. Determining the official cause of death in this instance was definitely pointless, considering that it had already been determined. An autopsy had already been done. But regulations were regulations, and Gina was the final stop for Edgar Nash, at least until he went to the funeral home.
Thump thump thump.
She figured she would go upstairs after this was over and sit at the front of the hospital with Bobby. He was supposed to be answering the phone, but she knew exactly what he’d be doing: watching sports with his legs up on the desk, beer in hand. When she’d shown up earlier and given him a look, he’d just shrugged, as if to say, It’s the 4th. What else do you want me to do?
Maybe she would go up there and steal a beer from him. Sit down and watch the fireworks. Find Charlaine, the nurse, and chit-chat with her. If she had any friends in the hospital, Charlaine would be the closest. Still, they kept things work related and never hung out except when in the break room.
The autopsy went quick. The cause of death had already been determined, and Gina saw no reason to argue with their findings. Gina let her mind wander as she finished up: what was everyone else doing today? Were they having as much fun as she was? How was Petey dealing with the fireworks?
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
The whole room shook. What the hell?
She couldn’t be sure what kind of firework that had been, but it was big enough to swing the hanging fluorescent lights over her head. When the light swung away from her, it cast the other side of the room in a sickly half-glow and threw her temporarily into darkness. Edgar Nash looked like a zombie, lit up like that. But zombies weren’t her problem; she was done here. She bent down, unlocking the wheel blocks, and pushed the body into another room for storage. She locked him in, completing her final task with the body.
Boom! BOOM! BOOM!
She scribbled her final notes onto the clipboard. That was it - she was done with her work for the day. Still, something was definitely not right. As she left the morgue, she made sure to flip off the still-swaying lights and close the door behind her. Without that light, she realized, she was bathed in complete darkness. The lights in the hallway were off.
“What is going on?” she whispered. She opened the door back up and turned the light back on. The light didn’t even reach a quarter of the way into the hallway, but it was something. She headed forward, slowly, unsure. She’d walked down this hallway over a thousand times and could do it in her sleep, but something here just felt… wrong. She couldn’t explain it any other way.
It took only a few steps to completely leave the cold safety of the morgue light again, and she had to feel blindly to stop from stumbling. The building around her was almost silent – she couldn’t hear any of the usual sounds she had come to expect from Grady - but for one thing. Some other sound, coming from one of the rooms off of the side of the hallway. She’
d never been in it before, but she stopped in front of it, wondering what it could be.
MARS (BBW Bear Shifter MC Romance) (MC Bear Mates Book 1) Page 36
