by Ava Hunt
"No problem, fella. Won't happen again," Ian laughed as he tested the empty beer cans to see if there was any liquid left in them. He fidgeted and twitched and Alexander was unsure if it was from the effects of the alcohol or from his presence there.
"No, see, I don't believe you. I do know, however, that after tonight, you won't be anywhere near her again."
"Brooke? This is about Brooke?" Ian asked as he erupted in laughter.
"Partly. She's much too good for you or for any man that beats her," Alexander said as he drew near Ian. Brooke, he thought to himself, her name is Brooke. How beautiful.
Alexander walked toward the man, making as little sound as possible. He got within inches of him and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, the wildness was taking over and Ian saw the bear start to push to the surface.
"You need to learn how to respect women, how to respect people," Alexander growled as he swatted his large paw down onto the man. His left paw speared Ian's thigh enough to pick him up and slam him down onto the floor. Blood poured from the open wounds. Fear gripped Ian as he saw Alexander flash in and out of bear form.
"Goddamn man, don't kill me! I'll leave. I'll pack my shit tonight and leave. I swear," Ian pleaded with the man-bear.
"I promise you Ian, if I hear of you here, if I see you around, if you even say 'hello' to her again, I'll eat you alive," Alexander growled, hoping Ian would be true to his word and would leave Brooke be.
"I swear, dude. She's not all that. She's not keeping me here. I'm gone tonight, I promise," Ian pleaded again as pain coursed through his body. The fat bitch isn't worth this shit, he thought to himself.
"Oh Ian?" Alexander spoke inches from his face, his breath hot and ragged. "That fat bitch? Not only is she worth this and so much more, she's the one I've sought for years, so kindly refrain from commenting on her further or I won't be so nice to you. Understand?"
He heard that? Ian thought again without having spoken.
"Yeah, I heard that," Alexander said as he walked out the door and into the fresh night air.
Chapter Four
A few days had passed and Alexander was running a bit early for a client meeting. He walked a while and stopped at a local coffee shop to kill time with a bagel and a soy caramel macchiato. He wasn't paying much attention to the crowd come and go, nor was he fixated on anything except the meeting coming up. It was important for his company, and while he had never failed at anything in his life before, he was worried; an emotion that he rarely had.
About ten minutes after he arrived, he heard the bell on the door ding for a new customer entering. His ears immediately perked and his neck snapped around toward the doorway. Her, he thought to himself, it is her again. Brooke.
She looked bruised, tired and unhappy. He hoped she wasn't in too much pain from the other evening when he had found her lying on the cold, hard parking deck. She had her arm bandaged, but didn't appear to have any other injuries other than her swollen lip and bruised eye. Every fiber in him wanted to rush up to her and protect her from the world, but he knew humans didn't understand the instant bond that can form when a werebear found its mate.
Alexander walked up beside her as she got to the counter and said to the barista, "This order is on me, Jessica. Anything the lady wants."
"Why, thank you," Brooke replied, "I really needed a pick-me-up today."
Brooke had ordered a biscotti and a cafe au-lait and walked back to a booth far in the corner of the room. Alexander followed, sitting down beside her.
"I'm Alexander. I just wanted to do something nice for you since you seemed so....unhappy," he said, trying to offer support, while realizing he was still a complete stranger to her. There was no way she could have remembered him while she was barely conscious.
"Thank you, Alexander. I'm Brooke. Just been a really bad week. My boyfriend took off, and while that's probably good for the relationship it really threw finances for a loop and I'm struggling. There's so much and I..... Goodness, I'm rattling on and there's no way you want to hear all this," she said, even cracking a laugh at the end of it. It did Alexander good to hear her laugh. He wanted to hear that more often. She looked healthier than she did scattered on the pavement days earlier. While you could tell the damage that had been dealt to her, you could already see her body coping, adjusting and healing. He wanted nothing more than to stay here with her, learn everything there is to know about her, if only life wasn't getting in the way.
"I'd love to get to know you, at your own pace. I'm already late for a meeting so, if you don't mind, I'm going to leave you my card and hope to hear from you. Please enjoy your biscotti and have a better day, Brooke," he said, getting up from the booth. He gave her a broad smile and a silly phone gesture to signal her to call him; something very unlike Alexander to do.
Chapter Five
The meeting ran late and Alexander had his cell phone off for much of the day. As he loosened his tie and slipped behind the wheel of a lemon yellow split-window Corvette, his first reaction was to get his phone fired up and see if Brooke had contacted him. While he knew the chances of her calling this early were slim, he didn't want to miss it. After a few moments of the phone's initial start-up, his phone stayed silent without an alert to any missed calls.
"Ah well, I'll see her again somewhere and try again," Alexander lamented.
As the car weaved in and out of traffic, he thought back to that second meeting. She had looked like a radiant angel, with a few broken feathers on her wings. He had wanted to take her home so badly, hold her, and keep her from harm's way. At least Ian had stayed true to his word and left. He hadn't thought far enough ahead to think of the ways that his leaving might have negatively affected Brooke, but at least she wasn't being abused any longer. The money issue can be worked on, he thought to himself, perhaps I could hire her for some consulting work or something.
It was about midnight when Alexander's phone started to vibrate off the table. He was channel-surfing on the couch and had given up on calls for the evening. He rose up off the fine leather, grabbed the phone, and saw a text come in.
Tomorrow, 3pm, Coffee house. I'll be there. You? -Brooke.
Without a moment's hesitation or checking his business calendar to make sure nothing else was planned, Alexander texted back:
I'm there. Wild horses and all that. -Alexander.
For the rest of the evening before he lay down to rest, there wasn't anything Alexander could think of other than her smile, the curve of her ample hips, or the way her eyes danced in the light.
Upon waking the next morning, Alexander spent a little more time than usual picking out what to wear. He knew he'd be leaving work early to be able to go to the coffee house by her designated time.
The morning seemed to fly by with Alexander having a much brighter mood than normal. He had spent so much time in solitude that meeting Brooke opened up a new world for him; one where he might be able to share his life with someone.
When 2:30 ticked on the clock, Alexander started to make his excuses at work and shuffled down to the parking deck. Choosing the green Jaguar today, he hopped in and tried to make it to the coffee shop in time. With traffic, red lights and one good growl at someone that cut him off, Alexander arrived at 3:03 and got in line. He saw her in the same corner, waved, and after receiving an iced coffee, made his way over to her.
She stood to greet him and he kissed her lightly on the cheek while saying hello. "I was so glad you contacted me," he said to her.
"I'll be honest, I tried to text or call a few dozen times before I actually hit send. I just didn't know if I was ready to meet someone, you know?" Brooke looked conflicted and still in pain from the events of that evening. It broke Alexander's heart.
"Well I'm very glad you did, I wanted to get to know you better and had to run the other day."
They spent the next hour and a half learning about each other. There were small laughs, casual sighs, everything that signaled to both of them that there would be a
nother date. Eventually, they both needed to be somewhere, and rose to leave.
"I'll call you, okay?" she told Alexander.
"Better yet, let's go ahead and agree to dinner this Friday. Cafe Stevens. 8pm?" Alexander offered, dangling a very expensive and tempting carrot in front of Brooke's social calendar.
"Deal. I'll see you there." She smiled, leaned over to kiss him gently on the cheek, and walked out of the coffee shop.
That woman is going to be trouble for me. I'd do anything for her, Alexander thought to himself.
Chapter Six
It seemed to take forever for Friday to arrive. Both Alexander and Brooke spent the days texting each other and getting closer. While Alexander knew she was to be his lifelong mate, he knew she would need convincing. Humans were like that, unfortunately.
They pulled up to the gate of the restaurant and the valet took over the yellow split-window Corvette, one of Alexander's favorites in his garage collection. When he had first started making his money, it had been his first car purchase. While his collection had grown considerably, it was this Corvette that still held a special bond with him.
They sat there silent as the waiter brought their wine, water and bread basket. Alexander was nervous for the first time in his life, having been an overachiever in every arena but love. Brooke was the first to break the ice.
"How was your day?"
"Boring. Meetings every hour. I'll be very glad to get into something comfortable later." He laughed, as he tugged his tie. While he knew he looked good, there was nothing like the supreme comfort of coming home and slipping on clothes that barely stayed on your body and weren't like a second skin.
"Oh I can completely understand that; try walking in heels all day. That moment you get in the door and they come off is one of the best feelings in the world." She said through a smile, her head thrown back just barely noticeable.
Without a second thought, Alexander's hands went under the table to take one of her ankles and bring it up to his lap. He undid the thin strap that held the shoe in place, casually letting it drop to the floor. His strong fingers worked her foot, massaging it while her eyes closed instinctively.
"You should always be comfortable, Brooke," he whispered to her, not letting up in his foot rub. His thumb trailed down from her toes to her heel down the middle of her sole.
For a man that does corporate work all day long, his hands are so rough and strong, Brooke thought.
Their meals came and they ate a mix of spring vegetables and roasted Cornish hens. There was a fine difference between the meals she was used to with Ian and that thought wasn't lost on Alexander. While he knew that Ian was no longer competition for Brooke, he still wanted to set himself apart from him.
"I'm so comfortable around you. I don't know why that is, to be honest. Typically, I'm very jaded about men." She sounded almost embarrassed.
"Well, I'm glad. You're safe with me. You will always be safe with me Brooke, I promise you that." Alexander put his hand on top of hers on the table and looked deeply into her eyes. He only hoped she could see the complete truth to that statement.
****
Alexander spent the next three weeks in constant contact with Brooke. From lunches, to texting their way through watching their mutual favorite show, even showing up to each other's work just to say hello. They'd taken it slow in their physical contact, not progressing much past making out. Every time it started to get close to consummating the relationship, Alexander would stop. He didn't want to push her and knew with her history it would be best to take it slow.
This particular dinner was going much differently than the others. Brooke had chosen a particularly revealing dress and Alexander was worried that he'd not be able to turn her down.
Brooke was not the bold one, typically. She would always go where her friends wanted her to go or do whatever Ian needed to do. She wasn't one to take control of any situation and yet she found herself doing so as she said, "If you don't have plans after dinner, I'd love to see your place." In Brooke's mind, she had just asked him to take her on the dinner table and she blushed down at her toes because of it.
"I wouldn't mind that at all." Alexander smiled at her as he helped her slip back into her shoes. They strolled back to the car, arm in arm, her head resting on his elbow. Even in her highest heels, Alexander towered over her.
It was then that Alexander was grateful for the Corvette as he cornered through the turns and made record time getting back to his place. He was relieved that there were no guests staying there or servants around tonight. Brooke and Alexander walked inside. She sat on the leather couch by the closest window and slipped off her shoes, letting them rest by the door frame. Her coat and purse were folded neatly on the couch cushion as she looked up at him. Rising from her seat, she reached up to kiss him as he wrapped his arms around her. Lifting her off the ground, he held her at eye level, kissing her face all over.
He kept holding her, walking her to the furthest back bedroom, one that he never used. He kicked open the door and laid her gently down on the goose feather comforter. He hooked a finger into his tie to get it to loosen and removed it and his jacket. He could already feel the growing excitement as his pants were uncomfortably tight.
Alexander stripped her bare of clothing, taking his sweet time to tease and touch her everywhere. His fingertips played over her delicate skin as if she were a fine vintage instrument, ready to be played and mastered. Carefully, he moved beside her, knowing his size was an issue. He toyed with her nipples, leaned over to breathe warmly on them, causing Brooke to prickle from the goose bumps. His hand went to her soft folds. His finger slipped inside and he slowly rubbed her clit in small circles as he watched her lie there and squirm. He raised himself over her just enough to be able to get a nipple into his mouth, sucking it as he fingered her.
The more he kept up his endeavors, the more excited she grew. She moaned and sighed, causing him to bubble over with a wanton need for her. He had to keep it calmer, else he was going to shift and scare her.
Her back arched and her skin was flushed as a low growl slipped out of him before he could stop it. He quickly recovered and buried his face in her wet mound, licking and sucking on her soft nub. Her curves spilled over creating beautiful softness everywhere. Alexander realized how tired he was of stick-figure girls and rail-thin models. Here he had delicious flesh in abundance to taste and love, and he was ready to feast.
After bringing Brooke just to the edge of climax with his tongue, he teased her with just a bit more tongue in her delicate places, nibbling on her thighs. He wanted to mount her, flip her over and mate with her like he had with no other. He'd never had sex in any way but missionary style in human form just to make sure he never mated. He was diligent, careful. There were no surprises. With Brooke he found himself overcome with the desire to claim her as his own.
Instead of caving in to his wants and needs, he held back. He was still deeply into the foreplay, the kissing of her neck and the soft, gentle strokes of his hands on her body. Brooke, however, had other thoughts in mind, firmly taking his rigid member in her hands and guiding it to her core.
"Brooke, I..." he began, before she plunged him deep inside her, resting on top of him so that she could ride him as she saw fit. She rocked back and forth on his cock, slowly, methodically, just barely keeping him in motion. There were times she rose up so much, he was nearly fully outside of her, only for her to sit back down on him and start riding again. Her hips started to grind into him, her breasts hung down and brushed against his chest as she leaned over him to lick his ear, whispering, "You what?"
That was all it took from her. A flash flickered across his eyes and the lust took over his heart. He picked her up off of him and flipped her over, brushing her hair back to bare her neck to him. He rested his teeth down easily onto her neck, trying to hold her without hurting her, trying to temper the primal instinct against the growing need inside him.
"This," Alexander growled, as he plu
nged himself inside her, growing much larger than he was a moment ago. He thrust hard against her, holding her steady, hearing her breathing start to catch. She was panting with the fullness that was within her, nearly overtaking her. She was so close.
Alexander couldn't hold back, and his teeth started to sink in, breaking the skin in a few spots. She gasped as he came inside her, grunting hard against her body and his thrusts still deepening afterwards.
She turned around just in time to see the wildness in his eyes and a shimmer where she saw him as both bear and human, like a flicker of lights going off and on again.
Chapter Seven
She couldn't stop the scream that burst out of her as she scrambled to get her clothes and rush out of the house into the night. Alexander went after her, but her screaming at him to go back and get away from her made him hesitant to keep pursuing her. He didn't want to have to explain anything to any wayward officers that may be on patrol.