by E A Price
Penny smirked. “You’re overreacting. He probably just wanted an escort.”
“No, you didn’t see the leer on his face.” Ira definitely had lascivious intentions towards the penguin that would probably match Diaz’s in their dirtiness.
She rolled her eyes and walked away, chuckling.
“Just because he’s old doesn’t mean he’s not a man! They prescribe Viagra like it’s fucking candy these days!”
Her peals of laughter could be heard throughout the entire building.
*
Cecile woke up, choking. The air burned her eyes. Her bird squawked in terror. She tried to speak but smoke clogged her throat. She felt herself being lifted. Familiar, strong arms held her close.
“I’ve got you,” rumbled the brusque, yet soothing voice.
She clutched at his shoulders, closing her eyes, gritting her teeth as she felt flames licking at her body. He was moving fast through her house, and soon enough she felt the cool breeze of the night air caressing her heated skin.
“You’re safe now,” he muttered.
She dared a peek and saw his stony face staring down at her. The buzz of cops and firefighters sounded around them. “What happened?” she gasped.
“Fire in your house.” He glared at the offending house. “Don’t know why.”
A crash sounded, and a firefighter yelled at everyone to get back. Boris took some steps back as the second floor of her house collapsed.
She splayed her hands on his skin, finally noticing that he was once again naked. Dark brown hair dusted his magnificent chest, as well as a few more tattoos. In spite of her terror, her agitated beast took a moment to enjoy her position. He must have shifted to his bear to run into the house and save her.
“Saving my life is starting to be a habit,” she said, sadly.
He grunted and then nodded at the ambulance. “This time, no argument.”
*
The cashier tried not to look at the gun as her hands shook.
“Hurry up!” snapped the robber.
Maria blinked back tears. Why had she taken this dumb job? She should have just taken the money for college from her boyfriend when he offered it. But no, she had to be independent and a modern woman. Humph. Carlos had tried to forbid her from taking a night job at a Speed-E-Mart, but she just laughed and said it would be fine. The worst part about getting killed in a robbery over sixty-three dollars? The fact that it proved Carlos right.
“Never fear! Wolfman is here!”
Maria gasped as a man in a black costume with a wolf symbol on his chest appeared from behind the stand of chips and dips. His face was partially obscured behind a mask, and his cape appeared to be twisted into a knot, but he was grinning. At least, he was until the robber, startled by his appearance and proclamation, spun, shot the gun, narrowly missing Wolfman and hit the giant Smushee machine.
Cold, blue, icy drink shot out of it, smashing into Wolfman and sending him careening into the chips and dips display, which knocked over the popcorn, which knocked over the candy and so on.
Maria yelped and dropped to the ground on hearing the gun. She cringed holding her hands, still clutching the money over her head.
Her heart almost stopped as the robber jumped over the counter and grabbed the money out of her hand. She gladly let it go and was relieved when she heard the beep of the door as he left.
Tentatively opening her eyes, she got up and peeked over the counter, finding Wolfman trying to stem the flood of the Smushee machine without much success.
“Almost got it,” he said with an effort before a big blast hit him in the chest.
That’s it. As soon as she got home, she was going to beg Carlos to give her the money for college.
*
Penny slipped on her sunglasses. Diaz was just overreacting. It was cute really, him being all grumpy and jealous.
Men were not looking at her any more than usual. She flung her skates over her shoulder and started a slow amble to work. Usually, she liked to skate, but her ankle was still a little sore from when she went over on it slamming into Big Bertha at her last roller derby game. They won, so it was worth it, but she was trying to take it easy.
Course, Diaz had been all paranoid and grouchy, insisting she stay home from work because of her apparent newfound popularity with men. Barf to that. She relied on her tips from her waitressing job. Besides, if he really wanted her to stay home, he should have objected while she was turning his alarm off and sneaking out of his apartment.
Her penguin clucked in disapproval, but Penny shrugged and grinned. She was sure he’d find a way to punish her for her naughty antics. Just like after the time she pilfered his bathing suit at her sister’s pool party. She didn’t expect him just to walk around naked and nonchalant like there was nothing wrong. But when her grandma fainted – with what Penny suspected was girly delight – it had been worth it. The blush extended over his whole body.
Oh, it was a beautiful day, she had a gorgeous hunk in her life and every couple of weeks she got to pulverize a bunch of people on skates. Penny was so busy enjoying life that the bag coming down over her head and being manhandled into a van came as a complete surprise. She did take a moment to chastise her inner animal. Some guard penguin you are!
*
Cecile remained in the truck until Boris jogged round to open the door for her. He was very clear on that point. She was not allowed to get out without his help. She wanted to blanch at his high-handed behavior, but she and her swan were too busy enjoying it.
Boris didn’t say it, but she suspected he thought someone was out to get her. She was putting it down to her family’s chronic bad luck. Bad luck that started when her parents declared bankruptcy when she was ten. It encompassed, but was not limited to, three – count ‘em, three! – pet dogs running away, her grandmother’s houseboat sinking and two ex-husbands that both cheated on her. Male swans didn’t appear to be built for monogamy. Someone trying to mug her and then the fire at her house just seemed par for the course. Bad luck was the reason why she kept three changes of clothing in her car. She was very grateful for them at that moment.
But when he turned up at her hotel in his sexy, tight security guard uniform, and insisted that if she must go into work, he was driving her, who was she to argue?
Of course, what happened to her house hadn’t quite sunk in yet. She was going into work so that she could ensure her job was covered for the next few days at least while she sorted that whole mess out. It would be okay; it was just stuff. She had insurance – they were replaceable. All her photos were in the cloud, and irreplaceable items like family jewelry were kept in a lock box at the bank.
He opened the door and held out a meaty hand. She slipped her own into it and allowed herself to be assisted out of the vehicle.
“You are very kind,” she said, walking toward the door.
“Cecile!” he yelled, grabbing her and hurling her against his body.
A black car zoomed past her, missing her by inches and tearing out of the garage, straight through the security barrier.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, shaking as his huge arms enveloped her. “I didn’t see it. I didn’t even hear it!”
“No.”
Her swan flapped her wings and honked in anger and fright. She twisted around to face him. His hands settled on her back, and she placed hers on his chest. “Thank goodness you were here.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not feeling very well,” she said in a breathy voice, fighting between arousal and shock. “Perhaps I should call in sick today.”
“Yes.”
“Can you take me back to my hotel room?”
“No. You’re coming home with me.”
Cecile blinked at him. “I beg your pardon?”
He half dragged and carried her back to his truck. Settling her into the seat and pulling the belt over her. It wasn’t until he was actually driving that he answered. “I’m taking you home with me, where I can protect you.”
“Don’t I get a choice in the matter?”
“No.”
And that seemed to be that.
*
Penny’s penguin squawked at her to wake the hell up. With a concentrated effort, she forced her heavy eyelids open and blinked around the room. “Somebody likes Dolly Parton,” she murmured taking in the extensive memorabilia.
Her penguin huffed at her to be serious, and Penny tried to figure out just what the heck was going on. Okay, she had been kidnapped, she was in a strange house, and she was tied to a chair. Yep, that about summed it up nicely.
Ugh, Diaz was so going to say ‘I told you so’ after this.
A fairly familiar man with large liquid eyes, slightly thinning hair and dry lips sidled into the room. She’d definitely met him somewhere…
“Oh good, you’re awake,” he said, beaming maniacally. She hadn’t seen a worrying grin quite like that since she last watched the ‘80’s Batman movie. She didn’t care what anyone said, Michael Keaton was still the best Batman.
“Uh, yeah, what’s going on?”
He waved a hand at the table in front of her. There was a roast, vegetables, napkins and candles. “We’re going to have a romantic candlelit dinner,” he announced excitedly.
Her penguin flapped in horror. “Aha, except you kidnapped me, I’m tied to a chair,” she squinted at the bright daylight pouring through the window, “and it’s like what, 11 am?”
He clucked his tongue. “Details like that are not important for a love like ours.”
“With a what like what now?”
“A love like ours,” he repeated slowly.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said,” she muttered testing the strength of the rope. Perhaps if she could loosen it a little, she could shift. Although, in the circumstances, she couldn’t exactly do much as a penguin other than waddle around and squawk at him.
She gave him a long look. “Don’t you come to the diner where I work?”
“Yes, of course!” he exclaimed.
Penny nodded. “Right, double cheeseburger and, ah, cherry coke float – I thought I recognized you… you.”
“It’s Ted.”
“Right, of course, Ed.”
“Ted!” he snapped. “With a T!”
“Right.” T for tantrum. “And you think we’re in love because…”
“Well, because of our special moments.”
“You mean like the time I brought you the wrong order, and you yelled at me in front of all my other customers and insisted I go get my manager?” She’d been trying to repress that.
He, on the other hand, seemed to think it was worth cherishing because he sighed and gave her a dopey smile. “Yes – we do have a special connection.”
“Hmmmm.”
Someone banged on the front door. “Open up in there!” yelled a furious, loud voice.
“Who’s that?” hissed Ted.
Her penguin jumped for joy. “Oh, thank heavens. That would be my boyfriend. I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the stage where you made dolls out of my hair, but my ride’s here. In here, babe!” she called. “He's unarmed, come on in.”
“No, no, no, no!” whimpered Ted, running his hands through his remaining hair.
Diaz crashed through the door, knocking it clean off its hinges.
Ted stood in front of her, in spite of all reason and logic, defiantly standing up to the raging jaguar shifter. “You can’t have her; I love her.”
“No, you can’t have her, I love her!” roared Diaz.
“Wait, you do?” asked Penny as her penguin fluttered in delight.
Diaz took hold of Ted by his shirt and tossed him at Wes, coming in the door behind him. He knelt next to Penny and brushed a thumb over her cheek. “Of course, I do, Pingu – you rock my world. Baby, I want you to bond with me, I want you to marry me. I don’t want to go another freaking second without you being mine.”
Penny giggled. “Aww, you’re so sexy and corny, I love you, too. Kiss me.”
She puckered her lips and leaned forward as far as the ropes would allow. He moved in to meet her lips but froze as rainbow colored light shot out of her chest.
Penny blinked. “What the heck was that about?”
“What’s going on?” shouted Ted, trying to wriggle out of Wes’s grip. “Who are you?” He looked at Diaz before his eyes alighted on Penny. “What is that incompetent waitress doing in my house?”
Penny harrumphed. “Typical, undying love one minute and insults the next.”
Diaz looked at the hopping madman. “You’re saying you’re not attracted to her in any way?”
The man snorted, and Diaz held up a finger to shush him. “Bearing in mind, that this is the woman I love and just about any answer may have an adverse reaction on my inner jaguar.”
He flashed his fangs and Ted gulped, taking a moment to decide on what he wanted to say.
“She’s an attractive woman,” he started in a slow, strangled voice, only trembling slightly at the growl emanating from Diaz’s chest. “But she is not for me.”
Diaz’s nostrils flared before he nodded. “Decent answer.”
The man looked mightily relieved.
On the other hand, Diaz looked thoughtful. “I think I know who’s to blame for this for all this.”
*
Boris watched her sleep for as long as he dared before he forced himself to leave the bedroom. He never imagined he’d ever get such a perfect, beautiful creature in his bed. Even if it wasn’t in the way he hoped.
He and his bear had been drooling over her since the moment he saw her. It wasn’t just her looks that attracted him. As well as being beautiful she was nice, caring, considerate… fuck! She made him so hard. He awkwardly sat on his couch, willing his unwanted erection to go away.
She deserved better than him, though. His life before now had hardly been exemplary. He’d been arrested numerous times but never charged. Mostly because he terrified anyone who could testify against him into keeping quiet. He’d worked as hired muscle for anyone who would pay him, uncaring who he hurt.
But when his foster sister got sick, she begged him to turn over a new leaf. It being a deathbed plea, he couldn’t say no. When she actually pulled through and lived, she gleefully made him stick to his promise.
It was hard work, because no decent company wanted to hire him, and he was lumped with a crappy job being a night watchman in a rough area of town. Course, he did a good job. None of the drug dealers who did business stuck around after they met him on a dark night. That helped him to get his next job, which in turn helped for the next one, until he was contracted to a fancy security firm and actually found himself guarding the freaking SEA – people he went out of his way to avoid in his previous life.
He enjoyed his job. For the most part, it was easy, and he got to crack a few heads now and again. Course, when fucking leprechauns found their way past him – that was a little challenging.
But there was one thing that made it the best job in the world – Cecile. His bear growled in agreement.
He wasn’t usually attracted to women like her, preferring sassy, stacked brunettes with mouths that could make sailors blush. Cecile was a lady. She was willowy and tall – not a patch on his size, but tall for a female, with fine, delicate features, pale skin and hair like spun gold.
Everything about her called to his beast. But she was far too good for him. She was elegant and refined. Hell, she wore silk pajamas to bed, read books for pleasure and did flower arranging in her spare time. What the heck would she see in a cruel bastard like him?
With his beast yearning for the delicate swan, he couldn’t help but moon over her, veering dangerously into stalker territory given that his late night runs always ended at her house. Although, he couldn’t regret that indulgence. If he hadn’t been there last night….
When he saw the fire, his heart almost stopped. He thanked every fucking deity he could think of that he was there. The thought of his swan being
burned to a crisp - it haunted him, had his beast edgy and pacing constantly.
Maybe someone was trying to kill her, but he couldn’t see a connection between the incidents.
After she was almost mugged, the attacker hadn’t been found – there was no trace of him anywhere. There was no evidence to suggest the fire had been arson or an accident for that matter. The fire investigator was scratching his head over this one. And as for the car in the garage, it had no plates and seemed to disappear after it careened out of there. All the incidents were odd and separate, and the only two common things about them were the two of them.
So, he’d done the only thing he could do to appease his bear and brought her home to his den, surrounding her with him. Now, he had her napping in his bed, in his t-shirt, and it still wasn’t enough. His bear urged him to go in there, strip, duck under the covers and show her just what she’d been missing these last few months.
He heard a yawn and stilled as he watched Cecile saunter into the room. She stretched, and the t-shirt rose dangerously high up her thighs. Her long legs proved to be too much of a temptation, so he focused on a point just above her ear.
“Mmmm, how long was I out?” she murmured.
“An hour,” he muttered, shifting slightly on the couch. The sight of her half-naked was doing nothing to quell his rampant desires. Good job she couldn’t scent how turned on he was.
Cecile twisted her hands together. “I hope I’m not cramping your style being here.”
He cocked his head at her but said nothing.
“I mean, I hope you don’t think you can’t do what you normally do while I’m here.”
Boris frowned. “Watch MMA fights?”
“I mean, if you have a girlfriend…” her voice trailed away as her alabaster cheeks heated.
“I don’t.” His beast grumbled about that. There was only one woman he wanted and he was looking at her.
“Oh.” She fidgeted awkwardly before flitting across the room to sit down next to him. She folded her legs under her, and he held his breath at having her so close to him. Her knee grazed his thigh and he gulped.
“Thank you for allowing me to use your bed. I’m sure I’m not the first woman you’ve had in there.” She was trying to be flirty, but it came out shy and embarrassed.