by Sway Jones
All Mine
By Sway Jones
Text copyright © 2017 Sway Jones
All Rights Reserved
Chapter 1
Hank was bone tired weary. The snow had finally stopped but the animals were extremely restless. He and his brothers had to stay on top of the herd that refused to settle in for the night. The heifers kept trying to jump fences as if there were no snow on the other side of the fence as well. Overall Hank had a hearty respect for cows but sometimes they could be the stupidest animals on the Goddess’ green earth.
Jai, Jonathan, Ryan and he had spent all night mending fences or dislodging cows from barbed wire. Thankfully no one was cut badly but tending to all those small wounds had been exhausting.
As the eldest he had sent all his brothers home beginning with Ryan who now had a mate to take care of waiting for him. Next he told Jonathan and Jai to head home. They needed to be rested to take the next shift in a couple of hours.
After stitching up a few more cows, he settled in to feed the calves. Before long, Waverly showed up to do the same. This was one of her jobs on the farm, along with preparing all the meals and feeding the chickens.
“Hey darling,” Hank drawled when he saw her bright smiling face.
“Good morning Hank,” she replied back sprightly. “How are things out here?”
“Everybody’s hungry. So I’m glad you are here.”
They spent a comfortable thirty minutes feeding several calves silently, each lost in their own thoughts. Hank was thinking about what he wouldn’t do to have his mate with him. He was happy for his little brother for finding his mate, but he was also jealous.
He wanted the contentment that Ryan had with his woman Waverly. They had been married for less than two weeks but already they acted as if they had been together forever. That was how the mate bond worked, he supposed. Having never felt it himself he wasn’t sure.
Seeing them always touching each other and smiling at one another, made his heart ache for that kind of love in his life. No woman he had ever dated made him look like his little brother Ryan did after being kissed by his mate – stunned and blissed out. The man was also happy as a pig wallowing in the mud whenever he came out to work in the middle of the night. He was tired as hell but he was cheerful.
Making love to a beautiful woman every night could do that to a fella, Hank supposed. He had his fair share of sleepovers but somehow he thought having one with his mate was bound to be extraordinary.
“That was a big sigh,” Waverly commented as she put away the formula. She looked over at him an eyebrow raised.
Hank smiled sadly and then shook his head. “Nothing to worry yourself about,” he finally told her. “I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
“Oh really? About what?”
“The usual,” he answered evasively.
“Well maybe I can help divert your attention from the usual,” she went ahead, letting him be vague and non-communicative.
“How’s that?” he asked intrigued.
“My best friend Delilah is coming over tonight for dinner. Would you like to join the three of us?”
“Like a double date?” he asked dubiously. He didn’t need a pity date.
“No. It will be like friends getting together for dinner and good conversation. I think you’ll like Delilah a lot. She’s a little shy at first but once she gets to know you, she’s hilarious!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Come over. I’m making your favorite, pot roast!”
“Well for that alone I’ll be over!”
Hank liked hearing Waverly laugh. It made him feel special. It had been a long time since he had made a woman laugh so innocently. Most women he dealt with laughed at his stupid jokes and comments not because they were funny but because they felt like they had to in order for him to be interested in them at all. They laughed to hook a Garrison man.
But Waverly was genuine in her interactions with him and the rest of his brothers. Even though she now lived with them, it didn’t seem to dawn on her that they were filthy rich and owned nearly two counties.
If she knew she didn’t seem to care. Every morning at three am she would get up to feed the calves. She tended to the chickens and the dogs like they were her own children. She tried to do more but Ryan wouldn’t let her, preferring to keep her in the house where it was warm so she wouldn’t get sick.
“Are you heading off to sleep?” she asked as he stood up to leave the barn.
“Yeah I think I’ll try and catch a couple hours before the next shift.”
“You are so dedicated,” she said in awe of his stamina. “You always are the first one out here and the last one to go to bed. You take very good care of your brothers.”
Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her. No one had ever noticed that was exactly what he was doing by “bossing” his brothers around. They often grumbled about his authority but got over it when they realized he was letting them sleep a little longer than usual or eat a little bit more than had been planned for them.
The Garrison family was well off but they still worked hard for their money and weren’t quite ready to sell off their herds for retirement yet. Until that time, Hank wanted to ensure the smooth running of the family farm, the biggest asset in their portfolio.
“Thank you for noticing,” he said shyly. “I love them but sometimes they chafe under my leadership.”
“You are a good big brother. I’m glad you’re my big brother now.”
Tears pricked his eyes at her words and the sincerity of them. The woman was one in a million. She was authentic and open. It had been a long time since he had a women like her in his life.
“Well if I don’t see you before then, supper’s at 7 pm,” she told him brightly. “I’ll finish cleaning up in here. You go on to bed, if you can make it. Hit our couch if you need to.”
“I just might do that darling. Thanks. I will definitely see you at 7 pm.”
Chapter 2
Delilah wondered at the beautiful houses she had driven up to. Each was decorated for Christmas. The one in the middle was her friend Waverly’s home now. Delilah shook her head wondering what Waverly had gotten herself into. Delilah had been so busy at the hair salon these last two weeks she hadn’t had the energy at the end of the day to text or call her best friend. Evidently Waverly had taken this time to meet a guy, fall in love with him and then marry him!
This would be Delilah’s first meeting with the both of them since they had met each other. She hoped that this was the real thing for her friend. She really didn’t want to have to make Waverly take off those rose-tinted glasses of hers, if it wasn’t. Her friend deserved some happiness. She hoped that Ryan was the man to give it to her.
Delilah got out of her car and quickly made her way up the front porch stairs to have the door thrown open by her best friend before she could knock.
“Delilah!” Waverly squealed holding her arms out to the woman who was like a sister to her.
“Would you both get inside while you do that,” Delilah heard a rough voice growl as the two women hugged. “You’ll get sick sweetness.”
Waverly led her quickly into her home. A very large, gorgeous man closed the front door shutting out the cold and snow. He held an arm out to Waverly and she immediately snuggled in close to him. He wrapped both arms around her and kept her close.
Delilah loved seeing her friend so happy. The smile on her face was one of deep contentment. If Delilah had any doubts about this new relationship they markedly went away at seeing how wonderfully blissful her friend was in the arms of her new husband.
“Hi, you must be Ryan,” Delilah introduced herself holding out a hand.
/> Ryan smiled at the beautiful woman standing in his foyer. He managed to pry one of his hands off of Waverly in order to shake the other woman’s hand.
“Hello Delilah,” Ryan said. “It’s good to finally put a face to the name. Waverly here has been talking up a storm about you and her. Thank you for being such a good friend to my woman.”
Delilah felt an involuntary shiver run up her spin at Ryan’s words. His woman, he had said. She liked the sound of that for Waverly. Her friend needed somewhere to belong. Delilah knew that Waverly’s parents hadn’t been the most demonstrative people. Waverly wasn’t one either. But everyone needed intimacy once in awhile. When she had come into Waverly’s life, the woman had been wrapped up tight inside herself, unsure of how to interact with people in general and men in particular. They had worked on that but it was still tough for her to open up very much to strangers.
Which was why this marriage was such a surprise. But having met Ryan, Delilah could see now why Waverly had agreed to the proposal. He seemed like an incredible man. Not scary and needy like the men she usually dated. They had wanted a mother not a lover.
“It isn’t hard to do with such a sweet woman,” Delilah replied smiling at Waverly, who flushed with embarrassment as she always did with compliments.
“I know what you mean,” Ryan concurred hugging his wife in tighter to his hard body. “She is my sweetness.”
“Oh that’s so cute,” Delilah cooed. “I wish I had a great nickname like that. What’s your nickname for Ryan, Waverly?”
“Bear,” Waverly said without thinking.
Delilah chuckled. “I can see that,” she said. “Big and cuddly huh?”
Waverly laughed relieved. She was glad Delilah hadn’t asked her why she called Ryan her “bear.” She wasn’t sure if her friend knew about shifters or not. It had never come up in their conversations about men.
“Very,” Waverly agreed and threw a look at Ryan who barely stopped himself from frowning. She hugged him fiercely and then looked back over her shoulder.
“Hey you!” she exclaimed, happy for the distraction. “Come on over here and meet my best friend!”
Chapter 3
Mine!
It took everything in Hank to not shift into his bear and roar loud enough for every bear in the state to hear him declare the woman in front of him as his mate and therefore off limits to everyone else. He squeezed his hands into fists and stopped breathing in order to cut off any energy to his bear to shift. His eyes however were a different story. He couldn’t keep them from glowing golden.
He looked away when she gasped. The image of her was etched into his mind’s eye. She was taller than Waverly, probably five feet nine inches. She had a voluptuous body that was all curves and valleys that went on forever it seemed. Her pale skin went with her iridescent red hair that flowed around the face of an angel. She had the prettiest green eyes; cute button nose and full lips that made a man want so much.
When he thought he had his bear under control, he looked back at Waverly’s friend. She continued to stare at him even though Waverly was calling out to her softly. She looked stunned. And scared.
His bear growled in a disconcerting way. It didn’t like that it was frightening her. It didn’t want to scare her. It wanted to mate with her and make little cubs with her. The man wanted that too.
“Delilah,” Waverly said anxiously, finally leaving Ryan’s embrace to wrap an arm around her friend. “Are you ok?”
The question seemed to snap Delilah out of her terrified stupor. She looked down at Waverly and smiled tentatively. She looked embarrassed now.
“Sorry,” she said softly. “I – I thought … never mind. Sorry. Hi! I’m Delilah.”
She turned to Hank and held out her hand to him. She wore a bright, fake smile on her face. It made his bear chuff in confusion. Why was she acting this way? Didn’t she understand that he was her true love, her mate?
No, Hank told his bear. She’s not a shifter. She’s 100% human. That’s why you’re scaring her. She’s not like Waverly. She doesn’t know about shifters.
Why not, his bear wanted to know? She was their mate. What were they supposed to do now?
“Hi,” Hank greeted her shyly, hiding all the tumultuous emotions rolling through him at the moment between him and his bear. “I’m Hank. Ryan’s older brother.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said her smile wavering when his hand took hers. He was gentle but starting in her hand a shock of electricity shot up her arm throughout her body at his first touch.
Hank saw her eyes widened and felt her tremble delicately. He wondered if she felt the mate pull with his touch. He could definitely feel it much stronger when he came into physical contact with her. His need for her exploded throughout his body. Quickly he dropped her hand lest he pull her in closer and maul her.
She frowned when he pulled away from her so fast. Had he felt disgust at her touch? Her body had craved more from him. She had wanted to feel his paws all over her self.
Paws, she thought incredulously. Well he was as big as a bear like his brother. He was well over six feet tall. She felt like a pipsqueak next to him. Those broad shoulders of his dwarfed her own wideness. They tapered to a narrow waist and then to some seriously tree trunk like legs.
His hair was a darker brown color than Ryan’s and his eyes were brown too. His face was carved out of tanned granite and he looked to be in his forties but was still incredibly handsome and fit.
He looked awkward like he was thinking something he shouldn’t have been. She felt awkward not sure what to do about her feelings for the big guy. Never had she felt like this before with a man, this immediate sexual attraction that seemed to indicate something more beneath the sensual need.
“Pleasure to meet you,” he said shyly.
Waverly had never seen Hank so – guarded. She frowned wondering what was the problem. Walking over to him, she grabbed his hand and looked up at him.
“Is everything ok?” she asked quietly.
“Uh – yeah, yeah,” he stuttered out, plastering a smile on his face. He was worrying his sister in law, the last thing he wanted to do to the sweet woman. “Just a little tired. And hungry!”
Waverly stared at him a moment longer with concern and then broke into her own smile. “Well I can help you with that,” she said cheerily. “Everyone let’s sit down to eat in the dining room. Hank can you help me bring out the food?”
“My pleasure,” he said happy for the change in mood.
Ryan led Delilah to the formal dining room that had a table that could easily sit the entire bear clan when it gathered together. Now that it was only the boys, they rarely used it.
As he brought in the food, Hank was glad for the extra space the room allowed. If they had to eat in the kitchen they would have been on top of each other.
Hank almost growled out loud when his bear became consumed with the image of being on top of their mate. Hank managed to calm the beast by wrestling with it and finally just manhandling it into a corner of his mind, behind a locked door. After a while it stop scrabbling at the door and laid down quiet.
After Hank said the grace, everyone was busy passing the food around. Yet Hank noticed that his mate wasn’t eating very much. He frowned wondering if she was on some diet. As far as he was concerned she didn’t need to lose any weight. Her hourglass shape begged for his hands to caress her. Lord knew he wanted to do so but recognized that he had to take things slow. This was Waverly’s best friend and if he didn’t fuck this up, she might be a great addition to the family.
“Do you need some more?” he asked holding onto the scalloped potatoes and looking directly at Delilah. She stared back at him in surprise.
“Uh – yes, thank you. I would love some more,” she stuttered out. She held out her plate to him. He noticed a fine tremble in her hand. He wondered if that was his fault or something she suffered with all the time.
Delilah tried to stop trembling but being so close
to the big man was doing weird things to her body. She couldn’t seem to control it as well as she did before she met Hank.
Get a grip she scolded herself. He’s only a man. A good-looking, sexy, seemingly sweet kind of guy but still only a man. Well not quite all man but quit acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush. You’re a grown woman.
“How is it?” Waverly asked with slight trepidation. “It’s a new recipe I haven’t tried before.”
“Very good sweetness,” Ryan told her heartily after his first bite of the pot roast.
“Very savory,” Hank concurred.
“Waverly you’ve been hiding your cooking skills,” Delilah teased. “If I’d had know you were this good, I would have had more meals over at your place.”
“It’s pitiful to cook just for one,” Waverly explained. “But now that I have four big men who need food, it feels great to pull my keep on the farm.”
“Sweetheart I am glad you have chosen this way to contribute to our lives!” Hank exclaimed with much appreciation.
Waverly blushed at all the compliments and looked embarrassed at how well she had done. She wasn’t used to people acknowledging her achievements or appreciating her presence in their lives. That had all changed when she met Ryan. Staring up at him she wondered for the millionth time what she had done to deserve this special man.
“She’s getting all doe-eyed,” Hank warned with a grin.
“Doe-eyed?” Delilah asked not getting the reference. She looked at Waverly and then at Hank.
“Waverly loves Ryan,” Hank began. “And sometimes she can’t help but let all that love shine through her eyes. They get all gentle and big like a deer’s.”
Delilah looked at Waverly and saw her staring at Ryan with such adoration on her entire face. A spike of jealous stabbed her heart. She wanted a man worthy of all her love. In her best friend’s face she could see how much Waverly trusted Ryan. That had always been the thing they had in common with one another. They both found it hard to trust others, especially men.
“I can see that,” Delilah commented drawing another blush from Waverly who managed to pry her gaze away from her husband for a few seconds to look at her best friend. “Is it like this in all shifter relationships?”