by Amelia Jade
The door opened, admitting another patron. There was a group of campers occupying most of his tables tonight, with the rest already having occupants from within town. All that was left was a seat at the bar, so he didn't bother to look up until she sat down.
"I'll take a beer, please," a gruff sounding female voice sounded, as she practically threw herself down on the stool.
Jet looked up, already raising an eyebrow in curiosity. He didn't recognize the voice, so whoever she was, she wasn't a regular. If someone wasn't a regular in his bar, they didn't have the right to treat his chairs like that. The regulars knew better than to do that, which meant she was someone from out of town.
The sarcastic comment he had ready died on his lips as he looked at her. A pair of intense blue eyes were staring directly back at him.
"Draft or bottle?" he asked, the ingrained response taking control as his brain quickly fried itself into mush. His throat was suddenly drier than the drought-ravaged forests nearby.
"Do you make anything yourself?"
To his ear, it sounded like the woman, whoever she was, had almost lost control of her voice as well. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, which was rapidly becoming awkward, even as he continued to process her order while on autopilot.
"I have a house brew, draft only. Five bucks a pint."
"Sounds good. I'm ready for that and some food."
"We don't serve much food here, but the menu's on the wall," he said, motioning behind him with his thumb, never once dropping her gaze.
She made him rock hard.
So hard that it hurt a little. It had been a long time since anyone had garnered such a reaction from him. Not even Sandra could do that. Eventually he tore his gaze away, feeling somewhat embarrassed and angry with himself for staring so blatantly. He busied himself pouring a glass of his house brew for her. She caught him sneaking glances her way more than once he was sure, no matter how hard he tried to be discrete.
He needed to know her name. It was driving him wild already, but he knew it would be inappropriate to flat out ask.
"What's your name?" he said, setting the beer down in front of her. His bear had snuck through his control and forced the question out while he was preoccupied with doing his job. Jet feverishly hoped that she wouldn't treat him like some sort of creep.
"I'm Kailee," she said, sticking her hand out by way of introduction. "I just moved into town. Just finished unpacking as a matter of fact. I saw this place on the way in, decided to come check it out."
She took a sip of her beverage.
"Ahhh," she sighed in contentment, sitting back to enjoy it. Her long brown hair fell off her shoulders, uncoiling down to the middle of her back as she did.
She likes my beer!
His heart was going wild over that, even though it was just a minor thing. Jet glanced across the bar, to where Sandra, his waitress and the only person of interest in his life until just now, was serving one of the other tables.
The comparison between the two couldn't be starker. Where Sandra was on the short side, thin and with near platinum blonde hair to go along with her obviously fake breasts, Kailee was none of that.
She was tall, full-figured, completely natural and absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Right now her outfit was simply jeans and a white t-shirt, through which he could see the black bra that held her large breasts in place. It was a working outfit, which is something Jet could appreciate completely.
"Hey, I asked if I can get a burger and fries?" Kailee was looking at him, eyebrows raised. It must not have been the first time she asked, but the words hadn't reached his ears.
Snapping out of his reverie, he nodded and went back to the grill, turning it on to let it heat. As he did, he pulled himself together.
"You just met her, Jet. Get a hold of yourself." Sometimes he found that his bear listened better when he spoke out loud.
This was not one of those times. His bear was growling up a storm, demanding that he take her into his office, lift her onto the desk and mate with her. That just wasn't going to happen, not in the human world with its complex rules on dating and sex. Unfortunately, his bear did not understand human dating rituals and continued to express its desire to mate.
Besides, you've still got a commitment with Sandra, he told himself and his bear, glancing out onto the floor at her. His face turned sour, as he saw that the mayor of Bear Bluffs, Tom Garner had walked in. Tom was a sleaze, a complete creep. How he ended up in power Jet would never know.
Yet whatever it was, he seemed to have a magnetic attraction with Sandra. As he watched, she sidled right up next to him, getting far more comfortable and in his personal space than Jet cared for.
It was like that every time Tom came in. Whatever she was doing, Sandra would drop it, and rush over to his side. It seemed to Jet as if she craved his power, the authority of the mayor of Bear Bluffs.
He snorted, turning back to the burger, attempting to make it a masterpiece for Kailee. If Sandra thought that Tom had any real power, she was horribly mistaken. A human man attempting to rule over a city of primarily bear shifters had the same amount of power as a dead battery. The office was simply ceremonial, these days everything that needed to happen was authorized by the city council, which was exclusively shifters.
The burger finished, Jet garnished it with a flourish and made his way back to the bar. Sandra's actions made him want to be sick, but the smile that Kailee bestowed upon him as he set the burger down in front of her was a ray of sunshine amidst his internal storm.
It also made his cock harder than steel, which could have proven embarrassing if she could see over the bar. His hands tightened on the edge of the bar until his knuckles went white, doing his best to regain control as she dug into her food with gusto.
His efforts at staying in charge failed and so Jet had to excuse himself once more. He motioned Sandra over.
"I need to go out back for a moment. Take care of things for me, okay?"
"What? Jet, it's busy in there!"
He rolled his eyes, because the Quencher only seated twenty or so people. She was just whining because the mayor would likely turn his attention elsewhere for a moment if she was busy.
"Just handle it," he replied, pushing his way out the back door, ignoring the sigh of disgust that made its way to his ears.
Outside he paced back and forth, trying to relax. Glancing over at the forest that started only a short distance away, Jet dreamed about shifting and letting his bear out to exercise. If he did that, however, he knew he would be gone for more than the five or ten minutes he intended to grab.
Finally, he managed to get his bear under control and calmed down. For the moment at least, as both halves of him knew that the instant Kailee was close to him again he was going to lose it.
The key, he told his bear, trying his best to get his thoughts across coherently, was not to drive her away by acting too swiftly. Firstly, he would have to come to a decision about Sandra.
Jet was many things, not all of them wonderful and kind. What he wasn't, however, was a cheater. Even though whatever was going on with Sandra was all kinds of messed up, he would end things there before he began to pursue another woman. That was one of the rules he tried to live by.
Besides, he told himself, pulling open the door to head back in, if she just moved to town, it's unlikely that she's going anywhere. The odds were that nobody else in town even knew she existed. So Jet would have some time to decide just what he planned to do.
Fuck! Fuck! That sonofabitch!
The first thing he saw upon walking back inside was Sandra practically melting into the mayor again. While that was bad enough, what made it worse, was that she had brought Tom over and was practically pushing him at Kailee.
Jet couldn't decide who he was angrier with at first. Tom, for trying to weasel his way into her pants, without taking the time to know her first, or at Sandra, who clearly had caught on to his feelings for Kailee, whatever they may be. She shot him a qu
ick glance before turning back to laugh at one of Tom's jokes, a smug look on her face.
Kailee, at least, was stone-faced, betraying no emotion at all as he tried to flirt with her. It appeared, from his first impression, that she was not interested in his bullshit. His thoughts were confirmed when she turned away from Tom, doing her best to ignore him and finish her meal.
Instead of taking no for an answer, Tom threw an arm over her and leaned in closer after Sandra whispered something in his ear. When Kailee tried to shrug him off and continue eating, Tom began to get a little irate.
Something flashed in her eyes, confirming what Jet had suspected at first, that she was a bear shifter, too. The above average height, curves and brown hair were all indicators, but it was the feral look of an annoyed animal that was a dead giveaway.
He wondered how his nose had missed her smell until he realized he hadn't gotten any sort of scent off of her at all. Perhaps he had missed it because he had been so preoccupied with the rest of her. Either way, he needed to get the scum away from Kailee.
"Hey Tom, I tried a new mix on my brew. Can you come taste test? On the house, of course, I just need to make sure that the mayor of the Bluffs approves it."
Although it was obvious that Tom had absolutely zero interest in coming down to the part of the bar Jet was at, he had no choice. Jet had called him out in front of everyone, offering a free beer and using his title. He countered Tom's glare with a big, overly-friendly smile, pretending to be completely innocent of his actions.
He pushed the chilled glass into Tom's hand, wondering if he would taste any difference. It seemed unlikely since Jet hadn't changed the recipe for his house beer in years. But, Tom was already several drinks in, so who knows what sort of comment would come out of his mouth.
"Why Jet, I think you've gone and outdone yourself this time. That is some delicious beer. Everyone, order yourself a round of the house brew, you'll love it, I guarantee!"
The other patrons all nodded their approval and raised a hand, indicating they wanted a round. Jet had to give Tom credit, he had found a way out, keeping Jet busy for the next few minutes as he poured all the requests.
By that point, however, Kailee had gotten up and was already moving toward Jet.
"Where can I find the little ladies room," she asked dryly, looking around the bar.
"Back by the entrance. Quarterbacks is for men, Receivers is for ladies," he said with a smile.
She quirked an eyebrow at him at that, but turned and headed off, escaping Tom's clutches for the moment.
"What the hell is your problem?" he hissed at Sandra as he beckoned her over, forcing her to help hand out some of the rounds.
"What the hell do you mean my problem? What is your problem?" she replied just as sharply.
"You don't even know that woman, and you're trying to set her up with fucking Tom? What kind of cruel, sadistic person are you? Tom is a sleazeball. What did she ever do to you?"
Jet was getting pissed at Sandra and the way she had been acting lately. If there had been a bigger power figure in town, he was sure she would have found her way over to them by now.
"Tom is a great man. If you could only see that, see what great things are in store for him, perhaps you could move up and onto something better than running this, this dump!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, her long blonde ponytail flapping around crazily.
"You help run this place too..." he replied, not quite sure how to respond to her insult.
He quite enjoyed being his own boss. The Quencher didn't make a whole lot of money, but that had never been Jet's dream. Besides, he had money if he needed it, lots of money, from a prior life.
For now, he was quite content to enjoy his life as a barkeeper. He met a lot of amazing people, got to hear their stories and tales, all while helping to ensure that the residents of the Bluffs were well relaxed with their beer. It was a simple life, a good life.
"You're hopeless Jet! You need to think bigger, think better. But since you can't seem to do that, I need to find someone who can. I'm going home with Tom tonight, Jet, and I likely will tomorrow as well. It's over."
She picked up a tray of mugs and headed out to the tables.
Jet watched her go, trying to interpret how he felt about what she had said. The first word that popped into his head seemed to decidedly describe everything.
Relief.
He was now free to both ignore her disgusting sycophantic actions toward the mayor and also to explore what his bear seemed to see in Kailee. It seemed the other parts of him had come to the conclusion some time ago that he should have ended things with Sandra, but his mind had not accepted that. Jet didn't like being alone, it was boring. He wanted to find his mate.
"Can I get a refill?"
Even Kailee's voice was perfect, a lustrous and strong tone that indicated confidence and intelligence. As he poured, he tried to come up with a way to engage her in conversation again. He wanted to know more about her, who she was, why she was here in town.
As it turned out, he didn't have to come up with anything.
"Next time, I'll handle it myself," she said gruffly, practically growling at him as he placed her refill in front of her. The words caught him so ill-prepared that he almost dropped it in surprise.
"I'm sorry, what? I don't let anyone pour their own drinks," he replied, not understanding at all what she meant.
"Not that," she sighed, jerking her head off in the direction of Tom, who was talking excitedly with Sandra.
"Him. I didn't need your help to pull him off of me. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."
Damnit! Calm down!
Even her anger was sexy, he found. The way she got all fired up at how he had tried to help her out made her seem even more attractive to his eyes. He loved a feisty woman, one who wasn't afraid to speak her piece.
"I know," he said calmly, catching her off guard with his response.
"Just because you didn't need it, however, doesn't mean that I'm not going to help out if I can. That's the way I am, and that's just something you're going to have to learn to deal with."
He clamped his jaw shut after that, hoping she didn't completely take it the way it came out, even if that's how he meant it. The odd look she gave him told him he might be wishing against the wind there, that she was likely to have understood the context precisely.
A call from a nearby table saved him thankfully, and he rushed off to see what they needed.
***
Chapter Two
Kailee
Kailee watched him go, fighting down the urge to call him back, to beg him to wrap his arms around her.
She wanted him. Badly.
So badly that she had to fake going to the washroom to calm herself down. Everything about the barkeep drove her absolutely wild. He hadn't even flirted with her, and yet that first, long look that he had given her, had caused Kailee to melt.
Warm honey had flooded her panties, threatening to soak through them as the evening wore on. She was surprised that he hadn't focused on her chest more, for it seemed impossible that her nipples hadn't been visible through her shirt as they stood at attention under his gaze.
If he asked, it seemed likely that whatever he wanted from her, she would have given him. Yet Kailee knew he wouldn't, since men like him just weren't interested in women like her. She had learned that the hard way, which is why she was in this town in the middle of nowhere in the first place.
Big, strong, attractive men were more interested in little things like the waitress. Even now she could see that there seemed to be something between the two of them. Despite all of her confidence, she knew it would be no contest between her curves and size, and the thin waist and perfect makeup of his employee. Not many men could handle someone like her, and even fewer wanted to try. It made for a very lonely lifestyle, which is why any sort of attention always drew her suspicion, for so often there were ulterior motives to it.
No, the best way to deal with him wa
s to keep him at a distance. As far a distance as possible. Otherwise, Kailee was going to be spending all of her time fighting off her bear, instead of focusing on relaxing, which was impossible in his presence.
Her bear had clued her in to the fact that he seemed to be having some sort of tiff with the lone waitress. She wondered what that was all about, watching as they once again spoke, both of them obviously agitated with the other.
As she watched, she couldn't help but admire him some more. He was tall, very tall, towering over her, even though she was but an inch shy of six feet herself. If he wasn't six and a half feet tall, she would be extremely shocked. His dark brown hair was cut short on the sides, finger-length on top, and he had it pulled forward, teased into a point with just the barest minimum of hair product.
It wasn't a common look, but on him it made her drool. It complimented his large, muscular arms as they rippled beneath his black t-shirt. She could see evidence of some tattoos, longing to run her hand up his arm, pulling back the sleeve to examine him.
The thing that grabbed her attention the most, however, were his eyes. They were an extremely piercing set of hazel orbs that she wanted to stare into forever, losing herself in the swirls and flecks of orange that were mixed within the beautiful brown.
It was clear to her that he had seen a lot, even if his years didn't indicate him as being that old. She figured him to be in his mid-thirties, no more than a handful of years older than herself.
All of the factors added up to tell her that there could be something wonderful between them. Kailee had fallen for a man who made her weak in the knees and wet between her legs once before and it had led to the single worst period of her life. It was not something she was interested in trying again, so she had held Jet at arm's length, despite the obvious attempts by him and his bear to get closer.
He had made it easier for her by interfering with the beer-bellied man with the comb over. By doing so, she had been able to tell him that she could handle it herself, that she didn't need any help.
Which was true. Kailee was a bear shifter, and seldom were they troubled by humanity. Most things that would lay a human out simply irritated her. It would have been an easy feat to put the annoying man on the flat of his back with one hit. Not that she was interested in starting a fight after just having moved to this town, but being a bear shifter, she understood how to assert her dominance and claim her own territory.
