Lord of the Grrr's (3 page)

Jet

Jet bolted upright, his eyes wide as he pulled himself from his sleep. A cold sweat covered his body, the sheets sticking to him with dampness, telling him he’d been doing so for some time. His breath came in huge gasps, his massive chest heaving as he gulped down air, trying to calm his racing heart.

He ran through several mental meditation and relaxation routines he knew, looking for any source of solace. After the third run through he began to feel his heartbeat return to a somewhat normal pace. His lungs slowly stopped sucking in huge gasps of breath, and he was able to lie back slowly into his bed.

The moist dampness of the sheets prevented him from becoming comfortable, and before long he was up, figuring to at least start his day, to try and be productive. After tossing the sheets in the washer, he headed for the shower to clean himself off. It was going to be a long day, and he would need every advantage he could get it would seem.

The warm water flowed straight down from the overhead rainfall shower head. He rested his hands against the wall, head bowed as he let the rushing liquid do its best to take the memories with it. No matter how far in his past it was, Jet would never be able to forgive himself for the things he had done in a prior life.

He consoled himself with the fact that he had done his best to make amends ever since he had quit that way of life. Moving out to the middle of nowhere and doing his best to provide for the town was the start, though one day he hoped to do much more. Even as he tried to forge a new life, occasionally something would remind him of the old one.

Yesterday it had been Kailee. He hadn’t realized it at the time, for he had been smitten with her looks and aura from the moment he first set eyes upon her. But after the ruckus with Tom and Sandra, he had managed to calm down through the evening. It was then that he first clued into the fact that there was something vaguely familiar about Kailee.

It wasn’t anything to do with his new life here in Bear Bluff’s, but it was too vague to tell him more. The only reason he felt it was from his past was through the simple process of elimination, for if it wasn’t his present, it must be his past. He wanted to see her again, to try and understand what it was he was looking for. Curiosity was a double edged sword he knew, for the odds were if he looked, he might uncover something he didn’t want to find out.

He would keep it in mind, he told himself as he toweled off. The thick, luxurious towel draped itself around him several times. It had been expensive, but with his large frame, finding a towel that didn’t leave parts exposed had been an impossible task until he had found this one. The sheer comfort of it brought about his first smile of the day, faint though it was.

Instead of sitting around the house, he got dressed, deciding to head into work. Being there that early might allow him to get a head start on some of the paperwork that always seemed to pile up. He wished that Sandra was more adept or even interested in doing it, so that he could turn it over to her. It would certainly make his life much easier if he could find someone who didn’t mind doing the paperwork. Even for an out-of-the-way bar, he seemed to find himself with an inordinate amount of it.

He did allow himself to take the scenic route to work, enjoying the various rock formations, vast swathes of trees and beautiful meadows that made up the area around the Bluff’s. It was a peaceful drive, so much so that he made a mental note to start taking this way more often. He longed to stop and let his bear free, to spend the remainder of the morning and perhaps even some of the afternoon simply roaming about.

It would have to wait a few more days, however, until Monday rolled around. The first two days of the week he closed the bar down, taking it as his own personal weekend. That was something he took to heart and had never once done anything but take the time for himself, and his bear.

Keeping in touch with his animal side was important to Jet, for in his prior life he had ignored it almost completely. It had taken him a long, long time to realize that what was making him so miserable was the fact that half of his soul felt trapped within a cage, like an animal at the circus. Only after he had moved to Bear Bluff's, to a place surrounded by forest and other shifters, had he truly been able to re-establish contact with his bear.

Jet could not remember a time where he had been happier than these past few years. The two parts of his soul had been able to reconnect and thus flourish, which had then turned into the desire for a mate and cubs. Something he wanted, but now realized had never been possible with the women in his life.

Until Kailee walked through his bar door. While his human half only made a judgement on what he could see and hear, his bear made that call based on what it
felt
. There was much more to the animal half than simply being able to shapeshift into the form of a bear. They could feel things, sense things that humans appeared blind to. After a time, with a close bond, a shifter could pick up on and understand some of those things.

To Jet, it was crystal clear that his bear believed it had found its mate. He wasn't one to argue with it, for he had felt the connection the night before when their hands had touched for the first and only time. It had been a wondrous moment, something that he hoped to replicate the next time he saw her.

Thus it was, with Kailee on his brain, that he pulled up to his workplace, whistling a song he had heard on the radio. Walking around to the front from his personal parking space, he raised an eyebrow at the white piece of paper stuck to the front door. He was up to date on all of his bills, that being something he forced himself to do as soon as they came in so that he had a clean slate.

As he got closer, it became clear it was just a single standard piece of paper taped to the door. Ripping it off he unfolded it, his eyes skimming the text. With a snort, he crumpled it up, throwing it into the trash bin nearby as he went inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Well, I guess I'm hiring," he muttered to nobody in particular.

Sandra had left her resignation letter for him to find, using as few words as possible, with a few politely worded insults and threats as well. The language was slippery enough that he figured Tom must have had his fingers involved with it as well. The two of them were in cahoots, but she had no idea as to what their plan might be. He hoped it didn't involve anything too sinister, especially if he was going to be the recipient.

Part of him wasn't surprised to see the note, for she had been quite upset the night before. Still, it frustrated him that he had to go out and hire somebody now, spend all that time training them up, all because she had delusions of grandeur. Tom was mayor, but of what? A town consisting of perhaps a thousand people under his jurisdiction? It certainly didn't scream power to Jet, but perhaps he was just too uncaring to understand.

He would have to print off an ad and take it into the general store. It would be the easiest way of seeing if anybody was looking for work. Bear Bluff's was about evenly split between shifters and humans, even if the shifters were the ones in command of the public sector. While the two crowds rarely had any issues with each other, they tended to keep their own company, simply because humans couldn't relate to anything with the shifters.

By posting his ad at the store, all of the normal's would see it, and perhaps he would get a solid candidate without it taking too long. The Quencher wasn't overly busy even in its peak hours, but Jet had learned the hard way that he absolutely had to have the one assistant for the long term.  Perhaps, he mused idly, this one will be competent enough to help with the paperwork. That would be a huge boon, he knew, so he made sure to include a line about it on the job ad.

As he printed off a few copies of the ad to post elsewhere in what passed for downtown Bear Bluff's, another image of Kailee flashed through his mind. The way she wore that simple outfit the night before, with complete confidence, had him fighting to keep his raging cock under control. All morning he had been in a semi-hard state, but now, with a picture of her on his mind, it was much harder.

His bear was constantly growling at him, urging him to track her down and claim her. It knew she might resist at first, just like a female bear, but in the end she would accept his claim. It was useless trying to explain the idea of consent to his bear, but Jet was well aware he did
not
have it from her at the moment. He would have to seduce her the proper way if anything was to happen at all between them.

Locking the door behind him, Jet was caught off guard as a very flashy grey SUV pulled up to the front door. He hadn't expected to see Tom here so soon, especially not after the way Jet had bodily thrown him off the front porch that wrapped around the Quencher. Yet, it seemed that Tom was willing to forgive and forget, for he had a smile in place, and Jet had to admit, it looked genuine.

"Hey Jet, sorry about last night my friend. I just wanted to come by and say that."

Jet tried not to let his jaw drop in surprise as he acknowledged the apology, waving it off and telling Tom he didn't need to worry about it, that these things happen.

"Anyways Jet," the mayor continued, moving on to the next subject so easily that Jet began to wonder what his real motive was for coming down to the bar.

"I wanted to ask if you knew where that beautiful brunette, Kyla, or Kiera, was staying? I'd sure like to track her down and have a word or two with her." The expression on Tom's face made it clear he had anything but talking on his mind.

"No Tom, I'm sorry, I actually haven't the faintest clue where she lives.

Not that I'd tell you even if I did, you scumbag.

Tom gave him a long, appraising look as if trying to evaluate his honesty. Not only was Jet telling the truth, but he had years of experience in a much harder life learning to sound like he was telling the truth. He had become good enough at it that even those people who had a knack for sniffing out liars had had a hard time with him. Tom had grown up in Bear Bluffs, he had no hope of calling out Jet.

Finally, with a nod of acceptance, Tom thanked him and rolled up his window, pulling away from the bar. Jet watched with disdain as the flashy grey SUV sped out of his parking lot, barely taking a moment to ensure there was no oncoming traffic. The Quencher was right on a throughway, that ran from nearby King City up to the campgrounds and beyond to other towns. It was no city highway, but for a road out in Bear Bluffs, it certainly classified as busy.

Getting into his own pickup truck he pulled the bright red door closed behind him. Jet wasn't into too many flashy things, but he had spent some of the money he had acquired in his prior life on several nice, new trucks over the years. The residents sometimes gave him grief that he didn't drive them into the ground, until they were rustbuckets, like was common in the area, but he didn't care. This was his pride and joy, and Jet didn't give a damn what others thought. The new model truck roared to life as he softly admired the dual horns of the logo on the dash.

The fact that some very nasty people had been the ones to pay for it, whether they knew it or not, made his ride all the sweeter.

***

Kailee

Kailee looked around, familiarizing herself with the main strip in town. For a small community there were a surprising amount of shops and business, but she had to remind herself that the shifter community was large, and the population surrounding Bear Bluff's itself added up to several thousand, many of whom simply did not want to work in King City or elsewhere. So they set up shop in the Bluffs.

Along the main road, she noted the general store, heading in that direction as she looked at some of the other places. There was an eatery by the name of Bluff's Burgers, which seemed to be a fancier spot than the name indicated if the outside appearance was anything to judge. She made a mental note to check it out one night.

The general store had a faded green and white sign labelled
Kieran’s Country Goods
. It appeared to be somewhat rundown, but the instant she stepped inside, Kailee realized her judgement couldn’t be more wrong. The store was immaculate, brightly light, looking freshly cleaned and without all the clutter that seemed to adorn similar stores. She looked around, impressed at the selection of foods and the overall décor of the building.

“Hi there Miss, welcome to
KCG
, how can I help you today?” The cheery voiced sounded from her left, startling Kailee back to reality.

She looked over to see a much younger man standing behind the proprietors desk than expected. He must be the hired help, she mused, for he looked no more than a few years older than her.

“I’m actually just new to town, so I’m looking around, checking out all the various places. This seemed to be the logical place to start although I have to admit to being surprised by how clean it is.”

“Thank you, I work hard to keep the ole girl looking pretty.” His voice had a certain sense of pride in it as if it was something he did to show off, not because he was ordered to.

“You own it?” she asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

“Sure do ma’am. Kieran Gammage is the name.” He walked over to her, sticking out his hand as she told him her name.

“Do you guys have a job board around here? I know most things are done over the internet these days, but I know sometimes small communities are different…” she trailed off, not sure what else to say that wouldn’t completely betray her big-city ways.

“Sure do Kailee, just over in the back corner.” He began to walk over there with her when the phone began to ring on the wall behind him. “Sorry about that, I’ll come find you when I’m done, make sure you get the full tour.”

She nodded, fully confident in her ability to navigate the store. It only had a double handful of aisles, it couldn’t be that hard to find what she needed. The board itself, as she found out, was rather empty. Unsurprisingly, there were not that many places hiring.

There was one that stuck out, however, and not just for the nice formatting and detailed information on it. It was for the Quencher, the same bar she had been at last night. It appeared that Jet needed a new waitress. Kailee hoped that her presence hadn’t had anything to do with that.

For a brief moment, she considered applying, but then dismissed the idea brusquely. Although she had waited tables when she was in college and then had been a secretary and office administrator in several different fields, she didn’t want to work for Jet. There was just too much tension between the two of them already. Forcing herself to work in the same confines would just be too much, she felt. Still, it would be nice to be able to stare at his muscular physique day after day.

Stop that, right now!

“Considering taking it?”

The voice came from behind her, breaking through her mental conversation and causing her to jump. She couldn’t attribute the sudden warming between her legs to the surprise, but instead the deep baritone of
his
voice. It had the same effect on her in the morning as it had had the other night. Every time he talked she simply wanted to stare at him and drool. There was something so…so… manly, about it. She couldn’t convince her brain to find a better word, for it was also turning to mush in his presence.

“I’m considering all my options currently,” she said diplomatically, not wanting to confirm or deny her interest if there was any. Was there? All of a sudden she was having seconds thoughts, adjusting her position from being dead-set against it, to on the fence.

Jet seemed to ponder her words for a moment before speaking again. “It starts immediately. It would probably be helpful for you since you just finished moving in.”

“Thank you for the consideration,” she growled out, “but for your information, my finances are more than adequate. I don’t need any handouts.”

She turned to go, letting his comment fuel her anger, even as the rational side of her brain cooled it off. It was clear he had only been analyzing the situation as best he could see it. He had a point as well, which was part of what irked her. Although her father had given her a lump sum to combine with her own savings to pay for the house, she still would need a job to be able to eat.

“Hey, hold on a minute,” he called out, his long strides quickly closing the distance between them, until he grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around as she came to a halt.

His hand was so warm she nearly melted. She should have been mad at him for touching her, but instead she wanting nothing more but to mold herself against his body and absorb the wonderful heat, soaking it all in. With a savage mental snarl, she reigned her bear in, detaching herself from the feeling of euphoria that it was trying to envelope her with.

“Look, there’s something else I needed to tell you,” Jet said, acting as if he was completely unaware of the titanic battle going on within her head.

“Well, spit it out,” she urged when he didn’t continue.

“You remember Tom, the mayor, from last night?”

“No, I was so drunk that I completely forgot the entire evening,” she drawled out sarcastically, arching an eyebrow at him as if to ask if he was serious.

“Well,” Jet pushed forward, his expression darkening ever so slightly in response. “He stopped by the Quencher today, trying to get more information on you.”

“Did you give it to him?” Kailee wasn’t worried about the mayor, but it would be annoying if he had been given help by Jet.

“I don’t have any information to give…” he trailed off, looking at her with what she could only imagine was the same expression she had just given him. Sending a mental
touché
to him, she nodded in response.

“That being said, he seemed overly insistent in wanting to get to know you. Intimately.”

When Kailee didn’t blink at this reference to sex he continued on.

“I actually think he may be planning something not entirely legal. I want you to be careful. I know that sounds cliché, but he’s up to something, I’ve never seen him as shifty as he was today. Take that for whatever it’s worth.”

“Yeah, not worried about some norm, thanks. I can handle myself, been dealing with them for as long as I can remember now.” Normals, or ‘norm’s' in shifter slang, were simply regular humans, those who were not shifters. Jet hadn't so much as said it, but he gave off every sign and scent of being a bear shifter himself, so she figured he would understand.

She turned to go once more, doing her best to ignore his sign of frustration. It was much harder to ignore what happened next.

One moment she was striding purposefully towards the door, the next she was rebounding off of his rock hard chest. He caught her shoulders and held her fast, looking directly into her eyes, forcing the eye contact.

He didn’t say anything, simply staring at her as their wills went to war. He tried to beat down her defenses, to push past the walls she had erected to guard against unwanted intrusion. The only problem was, a full half, if not more, of her soul,
wanted
him there. Her bear and her throbbing, pulsating clit both wanted to succumb to him.

She fought against the images of him, naked, pressing down from above, his cock a solid length of unbelievably warm steel as it pushed inside of her, taking her however he wanted. It was such a vivid image that she felt her body react, preparing itself to take him right here. All she had to do was bend over the rack that held the fruits, and let him take her. It would be so easy, and she knew he would please her, more than any man had before.

Her heart was pounding as he took a step closer, closing the distance between them. He had entered her personal space now, the air thickening around them as the tension heightened. She tried to calm her shaking hands, the power of his gaze taking control and projecting his wants and demands onto her. It was intoxicating, so much so that she felt herself falling into it, a long, slow spiral towards ecstasy.

She was ready to explode with desire, knowing now that all he had to do was speak the words, and she would do whatever he said. Jet had complete and utter control over her, and Kailee was loving every moment of it. It didn't scare her anymore, she simply accepted that it was going to happen and that it was easier to accept it than continue to fight. Jet leaned in towards her as she tilted her head in response, opening herself up to his kiss.

Then the door opened and the chime went off, shattering the illusion.

Inhaling sharply, Kailee stepped away from Jet, terrified of what she had been about to do. This man whom she had barely met was invading her mind and if it hadn't been for a random person stepping into the store, she would have given in. The ease of it all set her heart to pounding in a different way, panic setting in as she looked around for a way out.

Jet must have sensed the change in her, for he stepped out of the way, clearing her path to the door. She eyed him, hating that he knew exactly what she wanted
and
gave it to her without complaint. He was a good man, but she wasn't ready for this, it was too soon after Donald.

The fresh air washed over her as she plunged through the door, not stopping to look back as she went around the corner to the additional parking at the side. Leaning back against the faded brown paneling of the building she closed her eyes, lungs heaving as she tried to calm herself.

It was her third day in town, and she was already falling for someone. It was happening all over again, but this time it was with a shifter. Years earlier Kailee had moved from her hometown to another city for work. In her first week there she had met a man called Donald. She had fallen wildly in love with him and ignored all the warning signs. The more she did for him, the more he tried to take. She gave herself up to him, letting him do whatever he wanted to her in the bedroom.

Then it had all fallen to pieces. She had finally clued in to just how abusive he was when she woke up one morning to find bruises on her arms and her eye swollen shut. It had never come to that before, but perhaps not being able to see clearly had allowed her to see the truth for once. A whirlwind divorce had followed, but by then Kailee had lost most of her twenties to an asshole. There was no way in hell she was going to make the same mistake twice.

While she wasn't going to be stupid about it, she was also not going to blind herself to reality. It was clear something was going on between her and Jet. She just needed time to understand it, and to get to know him. She wasn't against that, but it needed to happen differently than it had been.

Slower.

Yes, that was what she was searching for. Something slow, so that she could understand what was happening along each step of the way. That way she could analyze it to make sure she didn't repeat any of her past mistakes. That would be the proper way to do it, if she decided to do anything at all. Kailee was confident enough in herself that if she chose to deny any sort of interaction with Jet, she could do it. It would be tough, but she was tougher now, a grizzled veteran of the dating game she thought, laughing silently to herself.

Then her phone rang, bringing her back to reality as she dug into her small purse to find it. She looked at the number and grimaced, pondering if she still wanted to pick it up. With a sigh, she realized it would be easier to just face it head on, instead of dancing around the edges.

"Hello Father," she said after hitting the accept button.

They talked for a little while, but even that short conversation was more than Kailee was interested in. She and her father got along okay, but they had never been huge on communicating. So phone conversations were extra painful between them, and ever since he had convinced her that a move to somewhere like Bear Bluff's was a good idea, he had been calling more often, ostensibly to check in and make sure she was okay.

Kailee felt there was more to it than that, but whatever it was didn't seem to involve her, so she just tried to ignore it and get off the phone as fast as she could. This time around, he wanted to come visit at some point. She wasn't overly excited for that, but could hardly refuse him now, not after he had given her so much money to help buy her house.

"That sounds fine father. Just call me when you have a better idea."

"Sounds good. Yes, clearer than a captain's sightglass sir."

"Bye, father."

***