Claimed by Her Bears

by Doris O'Connor

  It was clear that Goldie and about two thirds of the other staff were the hard workers that kept the company together, whereas the likes of Heidi here, simply took the credit for their hard work, and barely lifted a finger themselves. The mixed messages that had come through in reports from their UK branch had prompted the siblings’ relocation from the US to London. In truth Cat in particular, had always wanted to visit England, so it hadn’t taken much convincing to get her and Jacob to agree. Especially as they’d bought out the exclusive BDSM club located in a private forest an hour’s drive from the city.

  Close to work and play—what was not to like, and with Goldie now thrown into the mix—life was certainly going to get interesting.

  First though he had to deal with the viper in front of him. The woman finally took the hint, and Jason sighed when she slammed the door shut behind her with so much force that the window frames rattled.

  Goldie looked between him and the shut door and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. It made him groan, and before he even knew what he was doing he was in front of her, grasped her chin and pulled the flesh she was abusing away from danger.

  “Don’t do that.”

  Her startled gaze sought his, and he let his thumb linger. Time stood still as he traced the fleshy pad along the contours of her lips, and she opened to him on a sigh.

  “Why?” she whispered, and he smiled, and fisting his free hand in the chignon at her nape, tilted her head up until his mouth hovered over hers. Her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing sped up, and Jason drank in the sight of her.

  “Because it makes me want to kiss you, and that wouldn’t be appropriate behavior for the office, now would it, Miss Lockwood?”

  Her eyes snapped open, and he chuckled at the confusion in her cornflower gaze before she pushed against him, and a flash of anger replaced her earlier uncertainty.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t undress in front of me then, Mr. Stanhope.”

  The intonation she put on his name made him chuckle, and she glared up at him, and crossed her arms under her chest. It only served to emphasize her impressive cleavage, barely hidden by her wet blouse. She would no doubt be mortified if she knew that her lacy black bra was lovingly outlined. It made his bear rumble his approval, and some of her anger fled when she heard his beast.

  Oh, yes little Goldilocks was far from immune from him, and unless his senses were completely off, she was also a natural submissive. He could have so much fun with that back at the club, but all in good time. He would have to earn her trust first, especially as nothing in her file suggested that she had ever dabbled in the lifestyle. He knew a lot of the employees did, especially on the factory floor, and design, but it was by no means a requirement for employment at Sexations.

  “Point taken, Miss Lockwood, and I really should let you go, so that you can do the same.” He pointedly looked at her chest when he said that, and raised one eyebrow, and Goldie gasped, when she, too, looked down. The most delightful blush spread down her exposed skin into her cleavage, and he idly wondered how far that would go. No doubt she would look like that when she came, and this time he didn’t even try to hide his body’s reaction, as he adjusted his raring erection away from the zipper.

  A strangled sound escaped her when she noticed, but she didn’t run for the door either, and renewed visions of bending her over his desk while he took her from behind assaulted his brain.

  He desperately tried to think of unsexy things, and when he was reasonably sure that he would not pounce on her like the mad grizzly he harbored inside of him, he smiled at her.

  “Now that we’ve got that out in the open, and acknowledged that nothing will happen between us.” He paused when she chewed her lip again, and promptly stopped, when he raised an eyebrow. It made the dominant in him grin from ear to ear. Yes, definitely submissive, and he would so enjoy training her when the time was right.

  “At least not in the office,” he continued, and her gasp was utterly delightful to witness. “Tell me what you really think of Heidi Symmond.”

  Chapter Two

  Of all the things Goldie thought he would have said to her that was the last thing she’d been expecting. She was still reeling from the shock that her boss wanted her in that way. Far more shocking was the fact that she couldn’t shake the feeling she would let him do whatever he wanted to, as well. Never in all her life had she been this attracted to anyone.

  He’s your boss for fuck’s sake.

  These things never ended well, and knowing Heidi she would make Goldie’s life even more of a misery now¸ which brought her convoluted thought processes back to the question he’d asked of her.

  “I’m …errr, well…”

  His hand help up in the air stopped her babbling, and his frown made her want to squirm. He didn’t look pleased at all, and when he stepped ‘round his desk and sat down, she felt the dismissal as acutely as though he’d slapped her.

  Whatever had occurred between them previously seemed erased, and she could almost see the professional wall going up brick by mean brick. It made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest, which was a ridiculous notion. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Distance…

  “The mere fact that you’re struggling for an answer, tells me that you’re not going to be honest with me, so don’t even bother saying it, girl. I value honesty above all else, and I thought—”

  “She’s a bitch.” As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth Goldie wanted to take them back, not least because she’d interrupted him. Instead of looking displeased, however, a small smile spread over Jason Stanhope’s features, and Goldie’s heart resumed its overexcited rabbit impression inside her chest.

  “Now that wasn’t so hard, now, was it, Goldie? Care to tell me more about why you feel that way about your superior?” he asked.

  “I …er, well, are you sure you want the truth?”

  A shiver of apprehension went down her spine as his warm gaze turned hard. Try as she might, Goldie couldn’t move a muscle under his heated intensity, and when he finally nodded, she let all her frustrations pour out of her.

  By the time she’d unburdened a year’s worth of injustice onto Jason Stanhope’s huge shoulders, Goldie felt decidedly lightheaded, and worn out to boot. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she was all too aware of her cuts and bruises, and when she winced and shifted from foot to foot, Jason shot to his feet. Before she could even blink he was standing in front of her. Dwarfed by his size as she was, she had to crane her neck to look up at him, and the concern she saw in his eyes wrapped itself around her.

  “Thank you for your honesty, pet. We never did look at those cuts and bruises. Be a good girl and head down to the company nurse.” At her confused expression he smiled and put his large hands on her shoulders.

  “She’s on the factory floor. I was surprised to hear we didn’t have one, so she was one of the first changes I made before I even set foot in the building. Get her to check you over, and only return back to work once she gives you the all clear. In fact, take the rest of the day off.”

  “There’s no need. I’m fine—”

  “Are you arguing with me, girl?” His voice had taken on that edge that meant Goldie would have done anything for him. A most curious sensation, and with it came the unbidden certainty that Jason Stanhope was a Dom. It was there in every line of his body, and that realization really shouldn’t turn her on more. She was so out her depth with him, it wasn’t even real. Mindful of the few bits she had read though, she murmured her answer.

  “No, Sir.”

  The instant flare of lust in his eyes took her breath away, and his hold on her shoulders tightened imperceptibly.

  “Don’t call me that unless you mean it.” The deep growl in those few words meant her knickers gave up the fight to hold in her arousal, and he inhaled sharply, while he seemed to grow even bigger in front of her, and his amber eyes took on a golden glow. When he blinked and stepped away, they were back to normal, and Goldie wonder
ed if she’d imagined the whole thing.

  After all, her emotions were all over the place today, as witnessed by the next words that tumbled out of her mouth, as though she had no control over that body part at all.

  “And if I do mean it?”

  A slow smile spread over Jason’s features, as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

  “Then, my sweet little Goldilocks, that’s something we’ll have to explore, but not at the office. Go and see the nurse, and send the next person in, please.”

  Just like that the professional mask was back in place, and taking the hint, Goldie hurried from the room. She took a certain amount of satisfaction from the nervous way Harry Golding wrung his hands as he entered Jason’s office. Not that the man would have anything to worry about. He worked as hard as she did, but at least she wasn’t the only one who felt all discombobulated by Jason Stanhope. Head down she hightailed it out of the office, and narrowly avoided a furious looking Heidi.

  By the time she had tracked down the company nurse—a lovely and maternal lady called Wilma—had her cuts fussed over, cleaned and dressed, and been sent away with a flea in her ear about the dangers of wearing high heels, it was lunch time.

  Now dressed in a new blouse, and having got rid of the torn stockings, and back in her trusty flat court shoes, which were her normal work attire, she returned to the office with a certain amount of butterflies in her tummy.

  As predicted the place was deserted, as everyone was out at lunch. Everyone bar Jason Stanhope, it seemed. She could hear the deep rumble of his voice even through the closed door to his office and while she couldn’t make out what he was saying it was clear that he was far from happy. Her stomach churned in apprehension, even as the deep growl made her insides tighten in need. Her clit clenched in response to that rumble, and when she found herself clenching her thighs in rhythmic waves to soothe the ache in her pussy, she rolled her eyes at herself, plugged in the earbuds to her iPod and turned on her computer.

  She might as well get to work, because there was no way she could eat anything, and Heidi would be on her case about the report she wanted. Never mind the fact that Heidi herself should have completed that particular report last week, but then that was her supervisor all over.

  Goldie was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t notice the office filling up with people, until the way the fine hair on her neck stood to attention told her she was being watched.

  Sure enough, when she took her earbuds out and swung her chair around, it was to see Heidi glaring her at from across the office. Jason Stanhope leaned against the wall, and her heart jumped in her throat when his gaze connected with hers briefly across the distance. He’d rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, exposing tanned, hair roughened, and sinewy forearms, and when Heidi clapped her hands together the general din of a busy office quieted down.

  “Right, now that I have your attention, Mr. Stanhope requires everyone to line up. He has an announcement to make. Set to it, you know what to do.” Turning to Jason she smiled up at him, and Goldie’s stomach churned when that blasted woman put her hand on his curled biceps, and shimmied closer to him, especially when Jason didn’t shake that hand off.

  “I told you, we have a well-oiled team here, and my methods work. Look at them responding. It’s my leadership that brings the results you’re used to seeing. Of course there are some people we can definitely lose.”

  She threw a venomous look toward Goldie, and when Jason gave a tight nod, her heart sank. So that’s how it was going to be, was it? She should have known. Management always stuck together, after all, and when all was said and done, she was just another number. No doubt his seeming interest in her had been just a ploy to get her to pour her heart out. He now had all the ammunition he wanted to fire her.

  Well, if she was going to get sacked then she would hold her head high. Shoulders pushed back, she joined the line of nervous office staff, and fixed a polite smile on her face. Not for anything in the world would she allow anyone to guess how she was truly feeling, especially not that smirking Heidi.

  ****

  Goldie’s bubbling fury made his gut churn. It almost matched his own, when he’d realized she hadn’t followed his earlier diktat of going home, but had instead returned to the office. It said a lot for his state of mind that he hadn’t scented her the minute she had done. Then again, he’d been in the middle of a tense conversation with Jacob at the time.

  Once he’d filled his five minute younger sibling in on the clean-up he was intending to do on the office staff, Jacob had cut right down to the heart of the matter. As triplets they shared a connection stronger than most, and it had been too much to hope that Jacob and Catalina would not pick up on his bear recognizing their mate.

  “Cat wants to know if she’s hot, and she says she’d better be, ‘cause if you’ve saddled us with an ugly mate, she’ll crush your balls.”

  Jason had winced automatically and growled down the phone. He wouldn’t put it past his sister to make good on that threat. Cat was not known for her tender side, not with the male of the species, anyway, and a cold sweat broke out between his shoulder blades at the thought of her with Goldie.

  “She’s not our mate yet and might not ever be.”

  It had been Jacob’s turn to growl down the phone, and Jason had pinched the bridge of his nose to calm down his agitated bear.

  “Of course, she’ll be ours. That’s the way this works, you know that.”

  Jacob’s tense reply had made Jason get up from his desk and pace his office. That’s when he’d spotted her sat at her desk, ear plugs in and fingers flying over her keyboard. Her little pink tongue had darted out in her concentration as she frowned at something on her computer screen, and Jason had hardened again. It was rather disconcerting the way he’d suddenly lost the ability to control that wayward body part of his. He hadn’t had that problem since his teenage years, and Jason prided himself on his control.

  “You’re looking at her now, aren’t you?” Jacob’s voice had dropped an octave as his bear picked up on Jason’s emotions, and Jason had sworn.

  “Yes, I fucking am, and the damn woman seems incapable of doing as she’s told.”

  Jacob had laughed.

  “Ah, a bratty sub. We’re gonna have barrel of fun.”

  Despite the predicament they were in Jason had to smile at the excitement in his brother’s voice.

  “One problem with that, well two. One, she’s human.” The sharp intake of breath confirmed the fact that his brother had reached the same conclusion that Jason already had.

  “I see, so we have to tread carefully. Human mates are …well, ya know,” Jacob had said, and Jason had given a short humorless laugh.

  “Two, she’s our employee, and while that’s not a huge problem, I’m pretty sure she has no lifestyle experience whatsoever.”

  “Fuck, you know how to pick 'em, bro.” Jacob’s frustration had fed into Jason’s own. “Still, we can teach her, right? Tell me she’s at least submissive. Bratty we can deal with, hell, I love the bratty ones, but…”

  Jacob hadn’t needed to continue that train of thought. This would never work if their mate wasn’t ready and willing to submit to all three of them. A hell of a tall order for anyone, let alone someone as innocent as Goldilocks appeared to be.

  “On that, at least I can reassure you. She fights it, but she’s a natural submissive, and by God, she’ll get a taste of what it means to not do as she’s told, the minute I get off this fucking phone.”

  Jacob had chuckled down the line.

  “Well, have fun with that, buddy. Go easy on her, though, if she’s as new as you say. I know how you can get.”

  “Fuck off, Jacob.”

  Jason had hung up on him, but by that time the office had started to fill up with staff, and the moment had passed.

  Narrowing his eyes he watched her now, and while his palms itched to put her over his knee, he couldn’t single her out. Besides, she looked as th
ough she hated him right now, and with good reason.

  His bear wanted nothing more than to go over and erase the hurt in his mate’s eyes. She must think him the worst bastard ever, but he had to allow Heidi to bury herself. Just as he thought the woman was playing right in his hands. It took every ounce of willpower Jason possessed to not only shake the woman’s hands off of him, but to not throw her halfway across the room while he did so. Somehow that display of his inner animal would not go over well, he feared. Instead he forced himself to listen to the woman’s inane spatter, and fixed a polite smile on his face.

  When she finally stopped jabbering on, having reduced everyone in that line of staff to a quivering wreck—everyone but Goldie—that was, Jason pushed away from the wall.

  “Thank you, Heidi, for that most enlightening talk.” He scanned the room, and allowed his gaze to rest briefly on Goldie. She studiously ignored him, and continued to stare out of the window. It was only the way her breathing kicked up a notch that told him how aware she was of him.

  “As Ms. Symmond so aptly explained, I’ve had a close look at the working structure in the office, and decided to implement some changes.”

  A murmur went through the assembled men and women, and Heidi’s grin grew. She clearly thought herself safe from retribution.

  “Those of you who have proven themselves to the company have nothing to worry about.” He let those words sink in, as he slowly walked along the line of his staff, and stopped in front of Goldie. She showed no outward reaction, just continued to stare straight ahead, which meant she was eye level with his chest. His bear growled low in his throat. Being this close to her with her sweet scent engulfing him, he wanted to touch her fragrant skin, run his fingers through her hair, and worship every bit of skin he could find. She’d let her hair down, and the long blonde tresses now hung halfway down her back, and looked silky smooth to touch. The blouse she had changed into strained against the buttons on her chest, as her breathing picked up, and her eyes widened as his bear growled again, just loud enough for her to hear it.