Big on Education

by Laurie Ames

  “No, I mean. Do you?” Dylan asked.

  “Of course not,” Amanda said and sighed. “I’m just sick of the fighting. It has to stop. I’m over it. Now, if you’ll give me some space, I’d appreciate it.”

  Amanda turned and kept walking. Dylan fell back in line with Jase. She could hear the two of them murmuring, probably about what a bitch she was, but she just kept walking until they reached the Criterion.

  The elevator ride was almost unbearable. The tension in the air was thicker than fog. Amanda stepped off at their floor and walked down to the room. She let herself and the guys in.

  Once inside, Jase turned on the TV and found a silly cartoon show, not caring what they might want to watch. She could see Dylan rolling his eyes but thankfully he did not say a word. He just accepted it and settled on his own bed.

  Pretty soon Amanda could hear Jase snoring. She wished she was asleep, too. She went to the bathroom and changed into her frumpy pajamas and crawled into the bed, being sure to put as much distance as possible between her and Dylan. She didn’t want him to touch her.

  Dylan turned out the bedside light.

  “Goodnight, Amanda,” he said softly.

  “Goodnight,” she snapped back. She felt him settle in on his side so she did the same. She pulled the covers up around her face and it made her feel safe. Usually, Dylan made her feel safe, but she didn’t want to depend on him tonight. She wished she hadn’t come at all. Dylan was right. She should have stayed in Seattle.

  Amanda fought the sleepy tiredness in her eyes and looked at her phone. She tried to respond to a best friend’s text but instead dropped the phone to the ground as she was taken by sleep.

  Chapter 15

  In a dream, Amanda was sitting on some grass in an open field. There was a tree beside her and the breeze was blowing the hair across her face. It felt like something was fluttering on her neck. Maybe a butterfly. She reached to grab it and couldn’t. She felt herself waking up but the fluttering was still happening.

  Amanda felt Dylan’s lips touch her neck gently and then caress her shoulder. She moaned softly. He continued to kiss up and down her arm. Then he quickly sat up and looked down over her.

  “I’m sorry for everything, Amanda,” he said to her.

  Amanda didn’t feel angry when she looked to see him shirtless and Illuminated in the moonlight. The light bounced off of his skin, coloring him a pale blue. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. She took great pleasure in his loving gesture.

  He lied down beside her again and wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her in to him, sliding her effortlessly across the bed. When he stopped, she could feel him pressing into her, just slightly hard. She ground her ass against his cock and he groaned softly. He started kissing her neck again. He sucked and nibbled, his touch causing her to get goosebumps.

  “We better stop,” Amanda whispered into the dark.

  “Why?” Dylan asked.

  “Your brother is right there!”

  “And?”

  “You would really have sex with someone else in the room?”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  “What? No! I wouldn’t!” Amanda almost shrieked. The pair of them looked over to see Jase sleeping soundly, snorting now and then in his sleep. She looked back to Dylan and they stifled their laughter.

  “Amanda, I said you’re mine tonight,” Dylan growled.

  Amanda wasn’t about to refuse him, not with that tone in his voice. She knew what that meant. She knew what passion sounded like in his voice. She did, however, wonder if Jase was going to wake up. It felt dangerous. But it excited her.

  Dylan ground his hips against her ass. She could feel his length straining to break free of his boxer briefs. Only fabric separated the two of them. She turned to face him and slid her hand down his stomach and onto his cock. She massaged him through the fabric and he groaned into her shoulder. The noise made Amanda crazy.

  She cupped his length and moved her hand up and down, going faster with each stroke. She stopped and massaged just the tip. He groaned more and she felt that there was a little wet spot on the front of his underwear. She loved it.

  Amanda slid her hand into his boxer briefs and freed his cock. She was always astounded at how big Dylan was. She kissed him on the lips, then moved her kisses down his chest stopping to tease his nipple and garnering a hiss of breath from him. She continued further down until her mouth was almost touching him. She breathed hot air onto his length and saw a little bead form at his tip. She slowly extended her tongue to taste him.

  “Amanda,” Dylan whispered, his voice gravelly.

  She looked up from the task at hand and he nodded. She kept going. Amanda licked her lips and made sure they were slick with saliva. She pursed them into a kiss and ran her closed mouth up and down the shaft of Dylan’s cock. He pulsated and reached a hand down to stroke her hair. When she reached his tip, she opened her mouth and took him in.

  Dylan gasped in the darkness. Amanda giggled with his cock in her mouth, the vibrations only making him harder. Amanda took her time and gave him the best head that she could. Finally, he said, “Stop.”

  She knew that meant he was close. She wanted to feel him come. She wanted to be the one to make him come. He reached over and effortlessly pulled her on top of him. His cock slid freely into her pussy, filling her up completely. She gasped as the last inch went in. It felt slightly painful and delightfully sensual. She rocked her hips back and forth and soon got a rhythm. He used his thumb to massage her clit ever so gently. His touch was never too much. He understood how sensitive she was. It was like a butterfly flapping its wings.

  “I’m close,” she whispered.

  “I want to feel you come,” Dylan said in the darkness.

  Amanda moaned in agreement as he thrust upwards. She felt herself reaching the point of no return. Her muscles clenched and she contracted around his hard cock. Waves of pleasure sent her body into rapid convulsions. She almost collapsed on top of Dylan from the intensity of cumming. She gasped for air when she was finished but Dylan was eager for more. He flipped her around so that he was behind her as she perched on her hands and knees.

  He slid back into her with ease, groaning at her tightness. He thrust slowly in and out as Amanda fought the urge to cry out with each movement. She knew that Jase was right beside them in the other bed. She almost hoped that Jase was watching and right now she didn’t care. All she wanted was Dylan deep inside of her, filling her up.

  Dylan thrust harder and harder, slapping his flesh against hers, making what seemed like the loudest sound that Amanda had ever heard. She moaned as he rolled over her G-spot time after time. She felt a different sensation then. Pressure was building in that spot and she felt herself getting close again.

  Amanda shuddered as she felt Dylan’s slick cock. Hot liquid rushed down her legs. She wasn’t in control and it felt so good to be out of control.

  “Oh, fuck!” Dylan growled. He pumped in and out of Amanda harder and harder. She felt his rhythm change and she knew he was cumming. He groaned loudly and she felt him pulsate inside of her several times. They collapsed exhausted in the bed.

  Dylan reached out and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

  “I love you so very much,” he said as he gasped for air.

  “I love you, too,” she said back.

  Suddenly, Amanda looked over Dylan’s shoulder. The color in her face drained away and changed to ghostly white. There was Jase, leaning up in the bed and staring at them with that crooked grin. She started to burn inside with humiliation.

  “How’s a guy to get any damm sleep around here?” Jase said, now beaming a big sarcastic grin on his face.

  Chapter 16

  The next morning was very ackward as the three took turns showering and getting ready in the bathroom. Amanda was feeling embarrassed about the previous night but didn’t want to talk about it. Jase was walking around with a smirk on his face that was bugging Dylan to no e
nd. Dylan was acting grumpier than a sow mother bear. The two brothers were barely talking to each other and looked like they were ready to start brawling any moment.

  Amanda wondered how necessary it was to look nice since she had an inkling that this day was going to end with leaves in her hair at the very least. Well, maybe not leaves, but she knew that the snow was going to wreak havoc on the frizz level of her hair.

  While the guys took turns getting ready, Amanda watched the TV news. There was a report that a Kodiak bear had killed someone on Kodiak Island. Most of the Kodiaks lived there and the timing of this news report couldn’t be worse. That’s where they were going to search for Jase and Dylan’s brother. She swallowed as the reporter went over the details of the attack.

  She got out her phone and Googled the size of a Kodiak bear. They are twice the size of a black bear, she read.

  Amanda was horrified. Suddenly she seemed to comprehend the level of danger that was involved in this journey. The guys had to know; this was their culture. She wondered if she would even be safe on Kodiak Island. They were going to need some kind of protection. Well, at least some bear spray or better yet a weapon. For the first time in her life she felt a desperate need to buy a gun. She wondered how easy it was to get one in Alaska.

  “We’re meeting with a friend of Edgar’s, right, Dylan?” Jase asked.

  Dylan hollered out from the bathroom. “Yeah!”

  “Apparently, they go way back,” Jase said to Amanda as he tied the laces on his large brown boots.

  Amanda remained quiet while she contemplated this frightening predicament. She didn’t want Dylan to know she didn’t believe he could protect her. But in this situation, she truly didn’t believe Dylan or anyone else could take care of her. She had a horrible premonition of the two brothers getting their heads placed on spikes.

  “So what’s the deal?” Amanda asked. “Your other brother, do you know his name?”

  “It’s Virgil,” said Jase. “I knew him when we were younger. That was before he got caught up with the Kodiaks. Unlike Dylan and I, Virgil and I weren’t separated at birth. He’s quite strong and always had a temper so I can see why the Kodiak life might appeal to him.” Jase laughed a little. “Hell, I can see the appeal of it for anyone. Don’t follow rules. Kill people you don’t like. Take what you want. Certainly simplified.”

  Amanda cringed at the thought of being one of those people being killed. Unlike the two brothers, she had no special abilities to shift into animal form. Right now, the only thing she wished was that she had stayed home.

  Dylan finally emerged from the bathroom fully clothed. Even in his clothing, his muscles rippled against the fabric. His long hair was clean and shining in the sunlight that poured through the suite’s window.

  Amanda smiled up at him as he walked over to where she was on the bed.

  “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he said, touching her nose.

  “What makes you think I’m worried?” she asked, feigning bravado.

  “Oh, I can tell,” Dylan said with a smile.

  Amanda only smiled back at him, trying to keep him from knowing the true extent of her fear. She tried to keep her mind from wandering back onto the topics of death and destruction at the hands of a Kodiak shifter.

  “You guys ready?” Jase asked, standing.

  “As ready as we’re gonna be,” Dylan replied.

  Jase nodded and the three of them grabbed their coats and bags, getting ready to check out of the hotel and meet up with Edgar’s mysterious friend named Louis.

  Amanda followed the guys out of the room and took one last look around, making sure that nothing had been left behind. She let the door close behind her and they went down to the lobby. She checked them out and Dylan paid for their room. After that, they got a taxi and went to the address that Edgar had given them. It seemed to be in a rundown neighborhood. Amanda looked around as they passed house after house and she noticed missing shingles and siding peeling off. It looked like many of the houses had been abandoned for a long time.

  The cab came to a stop at one of the houses. It was brick with white siding, peeling in places and missing in others. The roof looked like it might have a hole or two in it. The three of them got out and Dylan asked the cab driver to wait for them. They walked up to the door and Dylan knocked.

  There was no noise coming from inside. Amanda looked around as though she was somewhere she didn’t belong. She felt like there were eyes peering out of every darkened window and secretly watching their movements. The thought sent shivers down her spine. She could feel their gazes raking up and down her flesh. It creeped her out.

  Finally, there was some shuffling from behind the door and it opened up just a crack. A short man started peering out at them from between the crack. He looked old, much older than Edgar. His eyes were ice blue and he had a pot holed wrinkled face. He opened the door a little wider.

  “What do you want?” he asked Dylan, looking around to see if it was only the three of them.

  “Sir, are you Louis Gregg?” Dylan asked the man.

  Jase and Amanda exchanged a look. Jase didn’t look so sure of himself at this point. That gave Amanda some pause. Jase always seemed to be so very sure of himself. If he was nervous, maybe she was right to be worried. It was hardly a reassuring thought process.

  The old man seemed to think about Dylan’s question as though he didn’t immediately know the answer. Finally, he spoke.

  “Who’s asking?” he asked.

  “We’re friends of Edgar’s,” Dylan said. “This is my girlfriend Amanda and my brother Jase,” he said, pointing to each of them in turn. Amanda smiled at the old man but was greeted only with a grumpy suspicious look. “Edgar said that you could help us. We’re trying to find our other brother, Virgil. He’s taken up with the Kodiak clan.”

  The old man mulled it over for a moment.

  “Alright, fine,” he said gruffly and opened the door all the way. “Come in.”

  Amanda stepped over the threshold and found the house in shambles. He was a hoarder. There were boxes and papers stacked to the ceiling in the living room, which was completely unusable in its current state. There was a little path that Amanda assumed led strategically from the front door, to the kitchen and to the bathroom.

  He led them into the kitchen and offered them a seat at his tiny dining room table. There was no room at all to pull out the chairs. Amanda fought with hers until she could barely sit down. She had to put the back legs on a stack of newspapers.

  The three of them sat down and gave each other a puzzled look. The old man sat down with them.

  “What do you want to know?” Louis asked.

  “Well, do you know my brother?” Dylan asked hopefully.

  “Yes,” he said. “I knew Virgil. He was a good guy when he first came up here. I never would have thought a young man like him would get involved with the Kodiaks. Bloodthirsty killers, they are.”

  Dylan looked at Jase and then spoke.

  “Edgar said you could help us. We need weapons,” he said.

  “And why should I give you my weapons, boy?” Louis asked, suddenly getting slightly hostile and suspicious once more.

  “Sir,” Amanda spoke up. “I’m not a shifter like all of you. The only way I can defend myself is by using a weapon. I won’t stand a chance against them without one.”

  Louis listened and pondered for awhile. He sucked his teeth and looked around the room as though he was contemplating this new information.

  “Alright,” he finally said. “I’ll give you kids some rifles, but if you get in any kind of trouble, you didn’t get ‘em from me, alright?”

  He looked around at the three of them and pointed to each of them until he got a nod in agreement. Louis got up from the table and meandered through the winding path in the house. He was gone for several minutes. Jase looked at Dylan.

  “Do you think we can take them on?” Jase asked, suddenly not living up to the bravado he’d shown before. />
  “Dude, I hope so,” said Dylan. He seemed to immediately regret his choice of words when he looked at Amanda, whose eyes had widened at his statement. “It’ll be fine,” he corrected himself. “You can stay here if you want.”

  Amanda looked around dubiously at the house. She didn’t want to stay here anyway. She wanted to be with Dylan. She wanted to be there for him if she could. She wasn’t completely confident in her ability to shoot a gun or in her ability to protect herself, but she wanted to do her best. She had a sick feeling that she was going to find out soon whether she was a good marksman or not. She swallowed hard.

  Louis came walking back into the room with several rifles and a couple of handguns. He also had a bowie knife in tow. He threw them onto the table rather recklessly, Amanda thought. The two guys picked up a couple of guns and began inspecting them. Jase sighted down the rifle and seemed to think it was an appropriate choice. He slung it over his shoulder.