She looked at Tony. She didn’t want to leave him.
“Tony will be all right. I’ll stay with him and bring him home.” Jase gave her a smile.
“And we’ll bring food. Since the restaurant will be blocked for at least part of the dinner rush, we won’t have a problem with that,” Tony said in a quiet voice.
From the way he held his head, the words hurt. Chloe stepped forward and nudged his cheek and shoulder with her snout. He brought his hand up and touched her face.
“All right, bear, time to go. I’ll open the back and you’ll climb in.” Logan patted her on the back. “And there will be no freaking out on the way home.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
If she could have rolled her eyes, she would have. She’d been in a car before. It wouldn’t cause her to go crazy. She wished she could communicate in some way. She wanted to tell Jason to make sure Tony went to the doctor. She had a feeling he might try to get Jase to bring him home.
“Move it, Chloe. In spite of the fact that this is a whyr town, we don’t normally shift while we’re in the middle of town unless it’s an emergency.” Logan strode over to the SUV and lifted the back hatch. “I’ve folded the seats down, but no nosing around up front while I’m driving.”
Chloe walked over to the SUV. She stepped up and shifted her weight. It was a little different getting into the vehicle on four legs. She couldn’t quite get enough momentum to get into the back. On the first effort, she dropped back down onto the pavement. She huffed and tried again, succeeding on the second try.
She looked back at the men. If they laughed at her, she would get them back. Some way, somehow. They all had straight faces. Maybe too expressionless, but there wasn’t time to worry about that.
Logan closed the hatch and walked to the front of the vehicle. She settled down near the back. Although she’d love be near him, she couldn’t stand up and trying made her feel more cramped.
She wanted this over with. With luck, she would be able to turn back to herself and talk, soon. She had so many questions.
Logan climbed in and drove to their house. She had to resist the compulsion to dig her claws into the carpeting of the vehicle. The urge to hold on when the SUV turned or accelerated grew with every moment.
She didn’t think he’d changed the way he drove, but the movement seemed more noticeable. Maybe the difference felt greater, because she rode in the back. She didn’t think that was the only reason.
He didn’t pull into the garage. Logan stopped the car in the driveway and strolled around to the back. That slow pace stretched her nerves taut. She growled and tried to stay calm. She wanted to rip at the doors and seats with her claws and teeth. She had hit her breaking point when he lifted the back gate. She scrambled out.
“Come on. We’ll go in the backyard.” Logan led the way to a side gate.
When he opened the door, she walked into the lush hideaway. She enjoyed the space and fresh air, but she wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to be human again. The only problem was she couldn’t make it happen.
The frustration burned through her. It enhanced the feeling of restlessness growing within her. She sprawled on the grass, hoping that she could manage to calm herself down. Maybe someone would give her a clue about what came next.
Logan finished locking the gate and walked around her. He strolled over to the door and let Odin out. Chloe tensed. She wasn’t sure about how her dog would react or how her bear would react to the dog. The animal within had a problem with a cop who she’d known her men trusted.
Odin walked over slowly. He hesitated, whining, but she could see him inhaling. He sniffed at her, sat, and tilted his head. Somehow, he must smell her within the bear. The bear took one deep inhale, but remained relaxed. Chloe realized the bear considered Odin as part of them.
“Go play for a while, Odin. We’ll get her back in her normal form.” Logan waved at the animal. Odin ran over and picked up a rope that had been left out the last they’d played with him.
Logan strolled over and stopped in front of her with his hands on his hips. He stared down at her for a moment. She didn’t know what had him frowning unless he was worried about Tony. Chloe wasn’t concerned about anything except how badly he was hurt. Jason would take care of Tony. With that reassurance, she could focus on Logan and hopefully turning back.
“Up. You’ll be a bear all night if you don’t burn some energy.” Logan gestured upward with his hands. “Time for some walking and swimming.”
She stared up at him. What did he mean she’d be a bear all night? What did walking and swimming have to do with it? Not being able to ask any of those questions sucked.
“The first change lasts a long time. In normal circumstances, we’d take you out to the forest and let you wander and run. Not possible when someone is trying to attack you. You and the bear need to get accustomed to each other.” Logan gestured for her to get up again.
She grunted.
“While it will take longer to become accustomed to each other than you will be a bear this time, you have to tire her out. She doesn’t want to recede within you yet. It’s frustration and eagerness.” Logan shrugged. “Now, why don’t you go get in the pool and spend some time swimming? That should help you relax.”
If she could have, she would have flipped him the bird. Swimming was the last thing she’d like to do. She followed him to the fence surrounding the pool and then through the gate he opened for her. Since there wasn’t much else that would burn energy other than running circles around the yard, she headed for the pool.
For a moment, she stopped at the side and contemplated wading in using the steps. She jumped in and began swimming.
Logan dragged a chair near the edge of the pool and sat down, watching. She swam for a while and began to tire. The bear seemed strong and determined to stay in this form. She pushed herself to do a few more laps. Logan stood.
“Why don’t you come on out? We’ll walk around the yard a few times. It takes a few hours for the bear to get tired enough. I’d bet you could use a break from swimming.” Logan walked toward the end of the pool with the stairs. He stopped short of the corner though.
She made her way there and climbed out of the water. The liquid rained from her fur onto the concrete edging. She couldn’t resist the urge to shake.
Chloe realized then why he hadn’t been waiting right at the stairs for her. He hadn’t wanted to get wet. She wished she would have thought of turning and shaking at him. If she had to suffer, he could suffer, too.
He led the way through the gate. She trudged around the yard, skirting the trees. Logan walked beside her.
“I would have loved changing and exploring the forest with you.” Logan drew his hand over her back in a slow stroke.
That would have been great. She’d like to be with them in this form and learn about being a bear. She wondered if bears could communicate with each other when they were in bear form. Yet another thing she had to put on the list of questions to ask. She hadn’t realized how much she didn’t know about the transition.
The sound of a door opening drew Chloe’s attention to the door from the house. Jason walked out followed by Tony. The two men glanced around and spotted them. Jason led the way over.
“Guess who managed not to get a concussion?” Jase smiled. He came to a stop beside Chloe.
“What did you expect? The man played in the whyr football league for eight years. Not one concussion there, even though there were times when they slammed him to the ground or three guys piled on him.” Logan chuckled.
Chloe looked at Tony. The whyr football leagues played a rougher game than the human professional organization. That might be why he’d seemed familiar to her when they’d first met. She might have seen an advertisement with him on it. The whyr players received some lucrative advertising contracts.
“Let’s get you moving again, baby. We have to exhaust that bear.” Logan patted her back.
That wouldn’t happen easily. Aside from tire
d legs right after she’d gotten out of the water, she felt fine and ready to go. She heaved out a sigh. With her luck, she’d spend the night in this big body. Walking and swimming didn’t seem to be doing much good.
She trudged back to the pool and around it. Lap after lap around the yard and yet she didn’t feel tired. This exercise wasn’t working. It bored her. With every lap, she felt grumpier. She stopped and sat on the ground.
“We need to walk more.” Logan put a hand on her head.
She felt her ears go back and glared up at him. He could talk all he liked. She didn’t want to walk around this damn yard any more.
Boredom and irritation pulsed through her. Her stomach felt as if she hadn’t eaten for days. This damn walk until tired strategy wasn’t working.
“Don’t give me that look. We have to tire your bear out. You need to eat and get some rest. The change back will exhaust you.” Logan frowned down at her.
She grunted and watched her dog run over to Tony, not budging at all. Logan moved around her and knelt in front of her. He put his hands on her face.
“I know you’re bored with walking the same path over and over again. You have to keep going. I intend to see you back in your beautiful human skin before dawn. Your bear will hold on as long as she can. Come on. Push her. Show her that you have a strong will.” Logan stared into her eyes.
She wanted to be with him in her normal form. The way he touched and looked at her reinforced that desire. She exhaled and came to her feet. No other way to get back to her form except to keep trudging.
Chloe didn’t know how many times she walked around the yard. Jason and Logan stayed with her. Tony sat at the table near the pool because of his head injury.
After a long while, her legs began to feel heavy and every step took effort. She forced herself to go on. When she felt like she couldn’t go on another step, she sat down and heaved a big sigh.
“Let’s try changing now, Chloe.” Logan said.
She gazed up at him. Hopefully, the transformation worked this time. She had to rest. Sleep the entire night and into the next day. Her hunger had disappeared at this point. Was she supposed to think about changing?
“Think about your human form, Chloe,” Jase urged.
She took a deep breath and concentrated. She thought about returning to her normal body. Energy burst through her and flooded outward, before drawing back in. For a moment, she didn’t know if it worked. She glanced down and saw her legs. Not fur. Thank you!
“Well, I’m glad to have you back, baby. Let’s get you inside and into some clothes. Maybe a nightgown or something. You’ll crash soon. First, you have to eat though.” Jason picked her up and carried her into the house.
“No food. I want sleep.” She wrapped her arms around Jase’s shoulders and rested her head against his chest.
“You will eat.” Logan turned back. He led the way into the kitchen. “You don’t realize how much energy you’ve used today.”
“I’ll be fine without it. Do you realize how tired I am?” She sighed.
“I remember my first change even if it was some time ago. It happened at night. I was tired afterward, too, and I’ve always had the higher metabolism of a whyr.” Logan shrugged. “We told you that you’d have to see to both of your needs. If you don’t eat now, you’ll wake as a bear. She’ll go out to try to fulfill her hunger.”
“But you three are here. She couldn’t get past you.” She frowned. She felt certain he simply wanted her to follow his suggestion with an outrageous tale.
“Baby, there might be three of us, but you don’t get between a bear and food. That is not a good idea.” Tony shook his head. “If she can’t get outside, she’ll rip up the house and tear into the food here. That’s if she doesn’t do that in the first place. The outside will be tempting your bear though, because she hasn’t explored much.”
“Really?” She had to lift her head up to look at Logan.
She had to see if he was telling the truth. Movement drew her eyes. Tony left the room without a word.
“Yes. Since we’re close to town, she’d go for the easy supply of food in trash cans.” Logan shrugged.
“Oh my god, trash? Does the bear not have any standards? The thought of raw meat is bad, but I expected the animal to want that. Trash… Gah, it makes my stomach heave.” She shuddered and tried to hold back a gag. Now she wasn’t hungry at all.
“Bears are opportunists, baby. If it’s available and easy to get when they’re hungry, they’ll take it.” Jason put her feet on the floor.
She saw Tony return and realized he’d gone to get her something to wear. He held a large blue T-shirt. It wasn’t one of hers. She had a few cutesy nightshirts that hadn’t gotten much use since she’d moved in with them. She pulled the blue top over her head. It enveloped her. The sleeves hung past her elbows and the hem of the shirt fell to midthigh.
She blinked. Exhaustion pushed aside any concerns about clothing. If she had to sit at a table with them, she couldn’t be naked when they were dressed. Not when sex was off the table.
“You come over here and sit down. It will take a moment to warm your food.” Tony gestured to a seat at the kitchen table.
She trudged over and dropped into the chair. Her head lolled forward. With effort, she raised it. The tantalizing lure of sleep had her eyeing the table.
She could rest her head on her arms and drift to sleep in moments. The thought of rifling through trash in her bear form made her resist the urge. She didn’t want to experience that when she still wasn’t comfortable with the bear. Hopefully, she’d come to the easy acceptance of the animal that she’d seen in her men.
Tony heated her food and put it in front of her along with a tall glass of water. At the sight of that glass, she realized how thirsty she was. She lifted the glass and downed half of its contents before she stopped to take a breath.
Chloe felt a little embarrassed at gulping down her water. She put the glass down and focused on her food. The smell of steak made her mouth water. The big piece of meat along with the array of veggies on the plate looked like enough food to feed two people.
She clenched her fork and knife in her hands. She cut one small piece at a time and ate it before moving onto the next. The precise, controlled movements helped her resist gulping her food.
She concentrated on controlling her pace of eating. When she speared the last piece of meat on her fork, she realized that she’d eaten almost everything on the large plate. She stared at it in astonishment. She’d known she was hungry, but hadn’t thought her appetite would stretch to eating that much.
“Finished, baby?” Tony reached across the table and put his hand over hers.
“I think so.” She nodded. “With any luck, it will be enough to keep the bear happy.”
“I’ll shower with you. I don’t want you to collapse in there.” Jase put an arm around her, urging her out of the chair.
“The way you three take care of me is just another reason why I love you so much.” She leaned her head against his chest, so tired that keeping her eyes open was taking more and more effort.
Jase stared at her for a long moment before a wide smile spread across his face. With a short chuckle, he leaned down and kissed her. He guided her back to their room.
She went without argument. Her mind couldn’t come up with good reason to say no to the shower. Her thoughts came slowly. Most of those focused on getting to bed.
Once in the shower, she let him wash her. She barely even remembered getting out. When she crawled into bed, she was exhausted. She fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chloe worked in Tony’s office. She didn’t plan to get involved though, because Jason would arrive soon to take her home. He should be off shift and calling to tell her he was on the way.
It had become normal routine when she went to Tony’s restaurant for one of them to get her. Tony couldn’t be with her the entire night. They didn’t want h
er alone even if she stayed in a locked office. Not that they always managed to be with her. Sometimes, they both had to work. On those days, she stayed with Tony all night.
She worked some more and peeked at the time. She narrowed her eyes. If it took this long, they called. She shook her head. They were police officers.
Sometimes they couldn’t call. Other times, they’d get busy. She shouldn’t worry over nothing. She decided to focus on her work. Maybe she could stop thinking about how she hadn’t heard from him.
When the door opened, she looked up from the image she created. Tony stood at the door. A wild glint in his eyes had her sitting straight in her chair. Something was wrong. She knew it before Tony said the first word. A huge knot pulsed in her stomach.
“What happened?” She rose to her feet.
“We have to go. Jase has been taken.” Tony held out his hand.
Chloe gaped at him for a moment. When the shock eased, she rushed over to him without a thought to anything else. Tony took her hand and led her out into the restaurant.
She didn’t ask anything until they reached the car, although the need to know everything ate at her. How had he been taken? Did the police know who had him?
She buckled the seatbelt without thinking and watched while he circled the vehicle. Once Tony climbed into the car, she turned to him. His jaw tightened. The strain showed in his eyes and in the tight lines at his cheek.
“How did they get him? Who did it? Where is he?” She fired off the questions, wanting to get those answered first.
“They took him when he left work. Someone found his car door open and his phone on the pavement. They suspect the same one who’s tried to dart people around the city.” Tony didn’t take his attention off the traffic. He took a deep breath. “We don’t know where he is.”
Fear settled in her gut as if a hundred-pound weight rested there. She swallowed hard. The thought of what they might be doing to him made her mouth dry. A spike of fear hit her. She couldn’t lose him.
“What will they do to him?” She stared straight ahead and fisted her hand on thigh. Why? Why did they do this?
Latent Desires (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 21