He wondered if the hunters believed his pride infected Riley. Wouldn’t be the first time something stupid like that happened to a group of shifters.
So yeah, he knew why Sheriff sent his wife to North Dakota, very far away.
They all sat down, and Brenton saw Sheriff watch Riley carefully. She always sat next to Andrew on one side of the table with him on her other side, at the head of the table.
They had to squeeze Sheriff in with the leopard brothers. He didn’t look comfortable, but their table just wasn’t that big, and they were all big guys.
“Why can’t I sit by kitten? She’s got plenty of space over there.” Sheriff laughed.
“Because Andrew needs the space to serve everyone,” Troy grumbled.
Riley stuck her tongue out at the guys on the other side of the table and Brenton quickly snatched it.
“I think we have this conversation once a week, but please quit that,” he whispered, leaning over to her, holding her tongue outside her mouth. “We have company.”
He let go and she gave a very fake glare at him which made him chuckle. But when looked back to Sheriff, he was glaring.
“No reason to do that to her!” Sheriff growled. Brenton sighed, and Riley laughed.
“Ha! Someone on my side!” Riley fist bumped Sheriff, and Brenton began plotting her after-dinner punishment. Maybe something with a paddle. He looked to Zachary, who was also thoughtful. Yeah, they were both thinking the same thing. She was going to have trouble sitting down when they were done with her.
“Andrew, you let your Alpha do that to her?” Sheriff turned his glare to the cougar, who stopped what he was doing. Fuck, Brenton thought, Sheriff was running them over in father mode.
“I…” Andrew tried to search for an answer, and Brenton couldn’t think of a way to save him this time. Andrew’s ears were turning red, and Brenton knew he was trying to stop thinking about what they normally did when Riley stuck her tongue out at one of them. Which was make out with her and hold the damn thing with their teeth. Or put it to use on their cocks. And they damn sure couldn’t tell Sheriff that.
“Well?” Sheriff huffed.
“I think what Riley did was a bit rude with company over, and Brenton is in charge of this table. We hold nightly pride meetings here, and Riley knows how to behave herself during those times.” Andrew tried to sound diplomatic. Sheriff looked back to Brenton, who was leaning back in his chair. There wasn’t challenge in Sheriff’s eyes since nobody here wanted a fight, but it took a very long time for Sheriff to break eye contact with Brenton.
“Fine,” Sheriff growled softly. “Riley, if these guys ever get too rough with-”
“Call you and leave the mansion,” Riley recited, rolling her eyes. Brenton felt the urge to grab her by the hair and drag her from the room and show her how to put that attitude to use. He needed to stop himself from going caveman. They all needed to keep themselves from giving the Sheriff a very good idea about how the pride worked. “I know, Sheriff.”
“Good.” Sheriff nodded, satisfied with her response. Brenton knew Sheriff liked her attitude and bite. Hell, so did Brenton, but it was how they each liked it that made this a powder keg ready to explode.
Brenton only knew one thing as they began to eat, he should not have offered Sheriff a spot at the dinner table. And common courtesy meant he would need to offer coffee and maybe a spot for movie night after dinner to the bear.
They chatted harmlessly during the meal, talking about work and how this lockdown was boring as shit. Brenton knew. He wanted to run and lay in the sun but the hunters being in town made that a no-go.
At one point, Riley went to grab seconds and Brenton had to kick Troy’s leg to get him to stop staring at her tits in the tank top she wore while Sheriff was there. Fuck, they were all a bunch of perverts, and Sheriff would fucking kill them if he knew they were all Riley’s partners.
Finally, he could get up from the uncomfortable meal, and Sheriff followed him.
“So, what’s day to day life around here? I think this is the first time I’ve been to the mansion since you were a boy.” Sheriff’s question sounded innocent. It wasn’t.
“We’re normally locked away due to work. Zachary and I have been teaching Riley business management. She goes to the diner with Andrew a lot of the time, as well. Troy and Gabe are normally working on the next bike.” Brenton stayed simple and casual. “We go on runs as often as possible, which all pride members attend no matter what.”
“And when is a young woman supposed to date and have a life while y’all are doing all these pride meetings and such?” Sheriff leaned against a wall, and Brenton looked at the painting next to him. Riley had done it, a black and white of a wild deer they ran across on the property. They ended up eating the deer. She later said she painted it out of tribute to the food chain. It was an eerie piece, like the deer knew what waited for it on the other side of the clearing.
“I’m not talking to you about Riley’s personal life, Sheriff, and you need to stop asking. It’s her business, ask her.” Brenton crossed his arms over his chest.
“She won’t tell me,” Sheriff grumbled.
“Maybe you should treat her like an adult and hold her to adult standards instead of the teenage daughter you never had.” Brenton kept his tone mild and soft. “I’m also not sure why you are so interested.”
“It was easier when she was living alone,” Sheriff growled. “Keeping her out of trouble and keeping an eye on her. I knew there were no guys hurting her and it was fine but now…”
“But now she lives with five single feline shifters?” Brenton raised a brow.
“She lives with five more dominant male feline shifters,” Sheriff rumbled with another growl, glaring at Brenton.
“Well, that’s incorrect,” Brenton chuckled. “She’s more dominant than Troy and Gabe. So, it’s only three more dominant male feline shifters. And two less dominant.”
“Excuse me?” Sheriff’s eyes narrowed.
“You haven’t noticed? Well, I guess you wouldn’t since you don’t live here. But yes, she’s over Troy and Gabe in the pecking order.”
“So, I don’t need to worry about those two,” Sheriff mumbled, looking away.
Oh Sheriff, Brenton chuckled to himself, you definitely still need to worry about them.
“So, what’s next?” Sheriff looked back at Brenton. “I have nothing to go home to except a beer.”
“Movie night in the den. You can stay for it, we are watching a movie Riley picked out tonight.” Brenton gestured to the den’s door. Everyone else had already gone in and sat down. He knew that Andrew would be sitting with her since the bear kind of knew about them. He hoped everyone would be able to keep it in their pants while Sheriff was around.
“Lovely,” Sheriff grinned and began to walk for the den. “What did she pick?”
“The Runaways, about the band with Joan Jett and the rest of them.”
“I don’t know ‘em,” Sheriff frowned.
“You are about to because she loves this movie and knows everything about the band even if the music isn’t quite her favorite type of rock.” Brenton grinned and stepped into the den first.
“Wonderful,” Sheriff chuckled.
Brenton looked over the scene. It was completely innocent, and he thanked God for it. Riley was sitting in the middle of her favorite couch, with Andrew leaning on the armrest to her right. They must have realized Sheriff might be staying. Troy and Gabe were in their regular positions on the right couch and Zachary was hanging out on Brenton’s left couch.
“Move over, you fat fucking tiger,” Brenton laughed, walking over and falling down on his couch. Zachary barely had the chance to move before Brenton pinned him down. Zachary moved to sit at Brenton’s feet, glaring.
“Ass hat,” he growled.
Brenton watched Sheriff try to decide where to sit until Riley patted the open third of her couch.
“You can sit here,” Riley smiled at Sheriff and then
propped her feet on the coffee table in the middle of the three couches. Sheriff shuffled over to the spot and fell in, trying to seem comfortable.
The Runaways was boring in Brenton’s mind, but they put up with watching it at least once every couple of months for Riley, who adored it.
The movie did not go without incident as Brenton had hoped. Riley got up at one point to get a drink from the mini-fridge they had put in the corner and tripped, falling on Andrew, who then felt her up because none of them had any self-control it seemed. Their life was becoming a bad rom-com with guns and a very angry father figure.
Her gasp of pleasure made the room very quiet. She quickly jumped off Andrew, who couldn’t contain the grin on his face. Brenton glared at him and Brenton saw the Sheriff was, too. He moved into the middle of the couch and forced Riley to site on the other side of him. Then the Sheriff glared at Brenton. Andrew just shrank as far into the couch as he could, putting a pillow over his lap.
God fucking damn it, this was why they never had company.
Once the movie was over, Andrew ran from the room before Sheriff could corner him. Riley was right after Andrew the moment Sheriff turned to her. The rest of them moved a bit more slowly and Brenton knew he had to finish this visit out.
“I’ll walk you out, Sheriff,” Brenton tried to keep his composure.
“I can’t you believe you allow him to-” Sheriff growled as they walked.
“Allow him to what, Sheriff?” Brenton finally snapped, turning to face the bear. “Flirt with her? You might be mad at him, but she was fucking into it too. You stand there and assume Andrew was fucking accosting her against her will and ignore the fact that she liked it. She’s a grown-ass woman who makes her own decisions. None of us have taken that away from her when it comes to her fucking love life.”
Sheriff stood angrily for a long moment. Brenton watched his shoulders rise and fall with each breath he took.
“You’re right,” he finally growled. “I have yet to see anything that is wrong from this situation. She can make her own decisions, and I just want to make sure-”
“That they are her own decisions, yes. You’ve made that very clear, Sheriff.” Brenton gestured to the bear’s truck. “Thank you for letting me know about how many hunters there are. Be safe, since there might be more. We also don’t know if they are watching the mansion or not. We haven’t seen or smelled anything, but I’ll let you know if we do. Have a nice night.”
“You too, Brenton,” Sheriff nodded to him and then got in his truck. He pulled out slowly and drove off, leaving Brenton in his driveway.
He turned and stormed back into the house.
“RILEY,” he bellowed. “Get the fuck down here!”
She skipped down the stairs in front of him, smiling. She was completely unfazed by his yelling.
“Yes, Brenton?” She just watched him patiently.
“Your cute little attitude at dinner?” Brenton snarled at her, grinning. Now he was going to do exactly what he planned at dinner.
She ran for it, and he took off after her. He caught her before she made it to her room.
By the time he fell asleep in her bed, she was thoroughly ‘punished’ and purring into him.
ANDREW
The lockdown was killing him slowly. Nothing to do, Andrew just puttered around the kitchen all day waiting on reports from his managers. He tried new recipes, but they needed groceries. They didn’t have enough food for six people over several weeks.
He was dying of boredom. He watched Brenton walk in and finally grew the balls to say something.
“Boss, we need food. It’s been a week and we have little to nothing left,” Andrew leaned on the counter as Brenton sighed and nodded.
“Yeah I know.”
“And the hunters haven’t been seen around town the entire time we’ve been on lockdown except that party Sheriff caught them having,” Andrew raised his hands in a nearly begging fashion. “Let me go out and buy some food.”
“Alright,” Brenton jumped on the counter. “I’ll go with you, and let’s get Riley out of the house. She’s getting cabin fever. Zachary will be in charge of the mansion with Troy and Gabe, making sure no one attacks us here while we are gone.”
“Really?” Andrew couldn’t believe it. Brenton must have been considering this already.
“Yeah. Go get her and make sure she’s decent for the public,” Brenton gave a small smile.
Andrew ran up the stairs at top speed. He knocked on her door and tried his best to be patient. When she opened it, he picked her up and swung her.
“We can leave the house to buy groceries! We’re going to Joey’s! Get dressed!”
She was sputtering when he finally let her down.
“Come on!” He ushered her into her bedroom and went to her closet to grab jeans, a tee, and a jacket for her to wear. When he handed it to her, she had a bemused smile on her lips. He couldn’t resist kissing her, slow and hard.
“Well, Andrew,” she laughed. “I’m happy for you. This is wonderful news.”
“Brenton is coming with us. He’s got it planned out, so hurry up.” He smacked her ass, and she squealed. He grinned as she dressed and pulled her in for another kiss once she was ready, playing with her tongue until she moaned.
They met Brenton downstairs and were off. It was a fun ride. Andrew had never been more excited to go grocery shopping.
“I’m so happy to be getting out of the mansion,” Riley sighed, staring wistfully at the town as they drove through. “I hate being cooped up.”
“I agree,” Andrew grinned at her. “It’s why I love having the diner so much.”
“I’m sorry we’ve had to do this,” Brenton sounded only a tiny bit apologetic. He mostly sounded like a guy who thought he knew best. Andrew sighed and shook his head.
“I think we let them win by going on lockdown,” Andrew retorted.
“You have made that very clear,” Brenton growled. Riley looked between them. Andrew knew she hadn’t known about their fight over it.
“I just-”
“I know, Andrew,” Brenton cut him off, Andrew growled softly. They were all sitting in the front of his pickup, but Brenton was driving. Riley was sitting in the middle, sinking a little to stay out of it.
They pulled up to Joey’s, and Riley was the first in the door.
“Hey Joey! Long time no see!” She ran to the older human and hugged him.
“Look at you,” Joey held her shoulders, grinning. It had been a couple weeks since they last went grocery shopping, and Andrew knew this was the scene every time they came to Joey’s Grocery. Like Sheriff, Joey had informally adopted Riley when she landed in Wild Junction. Luckily, he was much easier going than fucking Sheriff, who was cool and all, but a bit too intense for Andrew. And nosy as shit.
Brenton and Andrew both took a cart and began moving up and down the aisles while Riley ran around and grabbed whatever she wanted, dumping it into both carts to keep them confused.
“Riley, do you really need Oreos, Chips Ahoy, and Pepperidge Farm?” Andrew heard Brenton growl softly. He smiled at the playful tone in it. “They are all cookies.”
“Yes, because they’re all three different types of cookies, and,” her voice dropped to a low whisper, “my fucking period is in like three days.”
“Fuck, let’s buy all the chocolate too,” Brenton suddenly didn’t sound like he was having a good time.
They avoided talking about her time of the month. Not because it grossed them out, but because she had really bad cramps and they couldn’t fix it. Nothing drove them crazier than a problem they couldn’t fix. Her doctor said the birth control shot she was getting should lessen those problems, but they were still waiting on that particular side effect.
Andrew was still chuckling to himself as he heard more stuff fall into Brenton’s cart. Riley was suddenly next to him, tossing in strawberry cake mix.
“Riley, I can just bake a cake.” Andrew tried to grab the mix, and she sla
pped his hand.
“I want to bake the cake.” She stuck her tongue out, and Andrew got her. He dove in for a long kiss, taking that tongue into his mouth and playing with it. When they separated, he had the cake mix. He put it away on a random shelf and pointed at her.
“I will teach you how to make a strawberry cake then,” Andrew grinned. “From scratch.”
“Ugh,” she gave her favorite fake groan. “Fine!” She threw her hands up.
“You might convince Brenton to buy you the entire store’s worth of sweets, but you won’t get me,” Andrew laughed. “And I’m ashamed you like all the processed stuff more than my cooking.”
“That’s not it! I can’t have you baking cookies all the time, we work.” Riley laughed. “And I want cookies.”
Andrew kissed her one more time, pulling on one of her lip rings, and looked around. People were going about their business, but a few were looking at her and Andrew. He frowned a little at the looks.
They met back up with Brenton at the fresh produce, and Riley let him pull her into his arms. Andrew thought it was a bit cute how Brenton really enjoyed just holding her all the time. It was the softest thing about their Alpha, that craving for physical contact. He also gave the most hugs to all the guys, believing that physical contact reinforced their family bonds. Andrew couldn’t find a way to fault the idea: sometimes hugs were just nice. Andrew liked hugs just as much.
He watched Brenton lean down and kiss her slowly, sensually. A promise. And heard a few gasps around them. He looked around and saw some of the staring people from earlier. Fuck.
“Hey, let’s hurry and get out of here,” Andrew whispered to them.
“I got one more thing I want,” Riley took off, ignoring the stares and condemnation in some of the faces around them. She probably didn’t even hear the gasps, too wrapped up in Brenton.
Wild Fire (The Kingson Pride Book 2) Page 6
