The Hitman's Baby: A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Novel

by Fox, Kimberly

  “I can’t miss my first day,” he answered. “They’ll fire me. And this is all I have.”

  She was about to say something but she held her tongue.

  He swung his other leg over the bed and breathed heavily, the energy of just doing that drained him.

  “You know that your boss is the one that did this to you, right?” she asked.

  “Well hopefully he got all of his frustration out and we can start over,” he said. He tried to push up but his arms weren’t cooperating.

  She jumped in front of him. Her voluptuous breasts and tempting cleavage was at his eye level. His blood had stained her shirt and jeans. This was not what he had in mind when he pictured himself being in her bed.

  “You can’t leave like this,” she said, placing her hands on his shoulders, bringing her perfect breasts closer to his face. His inner bear grumbled. Haven’t you been through enough tonight?

  “If you stay I’ll let you sleep with me,” she said.

  His cock stiffened just from hearing the words. He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to do all of the work,” he said. “I don’t think I can hold myself up.”

  “Not sex you maniac,” she said, pushing off his shoulders. He winced. The pain was starting to subside but was still there in force.

  “You nearly died,” she said. “I’ll sleep next to you.”

  He glanced at the blood soaked bed. It looked like the scene of a horror movie.

  “I have a pullout couch,” she said. She walked to the closet and grabbed a white towel. “Go shower that blood off and then you can rest.”

  He groaned. A hot shower did sound nice.

  She helped him up and he stumbled to the shower. She walked with him, holding his side. Her breasts brushed against his ribs. He was in pain and he was exhausted but he was still getting hard at the feel of her voluptuous chest. He held in a chuckle. His body was half dead but it still decided to send what little energy he had into an erection.

  They walked across the tiny loft. Dakota had a twin bed, an old sofa, an even older TV, a small kitchenette with yellow appliances but the place was cute. She took care and pride in it, decorating it with nice curtains, freshly cut flowers everywhere and nice pictures on the wall.

  They entered the small bathroom and Dakota turned to leave.

  “I can’t take my shirt off,” Grayson lied. He was a bit more mobile than he was letting on.

  Dakota helped him slide the wet shirt off his body. She tossed it in the garbage can. “I don’t think you’ll be wearing that one again.”

  She swallowed as she turned back to his shirtless body.

  “Can you help with my pants?” he asked.

  She looked at him with a skeptical face. “Was all of this just a plan to get me to take off your clothes?”

  Grayson nodded. “Those guys are actually my best friends.”

  “Well I’m honored that you would get mangled for me,” she said. She unbuckled his jeans. Her arms pressed her breasts together as she worked, amplifying her cleavage and making him harder.

  She slid her hands into his jeans and ran her palms down the area that could be debated whether it was his ass or thigh.

  His jeans tumbled down to his ankles and she sank down, helping to guide his feet out of them.

  “Oh my,” she said, when she looked up. The long shape of his erection could be seen in perfect view. It was at her eye level. She bit her lip and looked up, not moving her face from the closeness of it.

  “Looks like you’re all better,” she said with a grin.

  “No,” he lied, clutching his ribs. “It still really hurts.”

  “I should have left you in that parking lot,” she said with a smile.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I got it.” He leaned down, reached for his underwear and cried out in fake pain. He clutched his ribs. And the Academy Award goes to…

  “Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. She hooked her fingers into his underwear and pulled them down his legs. His hard cock sprang out, so close to her face. Dakota licked her lips as she glanced quickly at it.

  “There you go,” she said, standing up and looking at the sink. Her neck and cheeks were flushed red. She was breathing heavily. “Just watch the water. It goes from ice to lava in the blink of an eye.”

  She rushed out of the bathroom and closed the door before he could say ‘thank you.’ Or before he could invite her in.

  Dakota stared at her light green eyes in the bathroom mirror. It took every ounce of self control that she had not to shove that cock in her mouth. Her bear had wanted it. She had wanted it. So why didn’t she?

  Let him take you out for dinner first.

  She turned around and hopped in the shower. She had set Grayson up in the other room on the pullout bed. All of his clothes were ruined and he was naked under the sheets.

  Dakota let the water run over her face and moaned as she pictured him lying there. Naked. That was her mate. She could do whatever she wanted with her mate. Couldn’t she?

  She finished her shower and towel dried her hair. She slipped her robe on and opened the door.

  Grayson was lying in the bed on his side, sleeping. Dakota flicked the lamp off turning the loft into darkness.

  She walked up to the empty side of the pullout bed and slipped off her robe. She crawled in between the sheets as naked as him. She knew that she would regret it in the morning and be scrambling to cover up but right now she just wanted to lie beside her mate with nothing between them.

  His presence beside her felt nice. Dakota hated sleeping alone.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “Thank you,” she whispered back, “for not dying.”

  He turned around and faced her. They both laid on their pillows gazing at each other in the darkness.

  Grayson’s body convulsed and the white part of his eyes began to cloud over as she watched in horror with her night vision. What the?

  Oh. She smiled warmly. He was bonding back to her. A warm shiver shot through her body as she watched him. He was transfixed on her. His head jerked back and the blackness in his eyes floated away like clouds being blown away by the wind.

  He stared at her with a new look in his eyes. She knew what he was thinking because she had been thinking the same thing.

  “That…I…You…” he said, not making any sense.

  She stroked his cheek, leaned in and kissed his lips. Their tongues brushed against each other in a slow, tender kiss. It was soft and deep. It was the most intimate kiss that Dakota ever had.

  “Did your bear?” he asked after they finally pulled away.

  She nodded. His eyes, which were lifeless only an hour ago were bright and sparkling. “We’re mates.”

  “That’s awesome,” he said, his face lighting up in a smile.

  She kissed him again in a full bodied kiss full of passion and heat. Their hands slid over each other’s bodies as they inched closer. Her nipples hardened as they brushed against his chest.

  His cock was hard and ready. It poked her thigh, drawing a moan from her.

  Their hands explored each other’s bodies as their mouths molded together. Dakota’s insides were on fire. She wanted him more than she could handle. Her pussy was wet and throbbing, her breathing fast and fierce.

  She raised her knee over his leg and he arched his hips up, guiding his cock up to her pussy with his hand. He shifted his hips and drove into her with one long, quick stroke. She pulled her mouth away from his and moaned as he filled her.

  Fuck that feels good.

  There was no shame. No thoughts of this is too soon. He was her mate and this was the most natural thing in the world.

  She tightened her leg around his thigh as he found a quick, steady pace. Their chests vibrated and purred as their bears spoke to each other.

  Grayson grabbed her ass and tilted her hips up to drive in further. Every thrust hit the right spots as if their bodies were perfectly designed for each other.

  Hi
s body was so hard, his muscles jacked. Male bear shifters were carved out of rock where the females were made softer.

  Her heart was thumping and her toes curled as she felt the beginnings of an orgasm. She rocked her hips into him, slamming her aching clit into his hard pelvis. She wanted to come. It was all she could think about.

  She didn’t have to wait long. She screamed out as a pulsing orgasm slashed through her. Grayson released at the same time as her, filling her with his hot seed. The flood of heat consumed her; body and soul. She dropped her head letting the high take her.

  When it finally subsided they held each other, totally spent and barely able to keep their eyes open. They had been through a lot and were utterly exhausted. They fell asleep in each other’s arms with the alarm clock on poor Grayson’s phone about to go off in thirty six minutes.

  four

  Grayson hurried out of Dakota’s place and ran to his company issued trailer that was a ten minute walk away. It was still dark in the early morning. He had slept about half an hour but it was worth it. It was always worth trading in sleep for sex. Especially with a smoking hot cowgirl slash mate.

  He jerked his arm, trying to stretch out the snug shirt. Dakota had run down to the bar and found some clothes in the employee break room that belonged to the bartender. They were a little tight on Grayson but hey, bleeders can’t be choosers.

  He ran down the line of trailers as the loggers began to come out of their tiny homes. They watched him run by like they were watching a ghost; with wide eyes and open mouths. One guy even spilled his coffee on his pants.

  Grayson didn’t have time to explain. He ran into his trailer, which wasn’t more than a tiny propane stove, cot, bathroom and seating area for one and changed. He had to be at the bus stop on time. He threw on a pair of faded jeans that went past his ankles unlike the bartender’s pants, grabbed an old Ramones t-shirt and slipped on his flannel jacket. He grabbed a handful of beef jerky that he bought on the drive up and away he went.

  He merged into the wave of men making their daily commute to the bus stop. It sure was different than the bumper to bumper, morning traffic in Detroit. I can get used to this.

  “Do you have a twin?” someone behind him asked.

  He looked over his shoulder at a guy walking behind him. He had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and looked harmless enough. Grayson sniffed the air. Grizzly bear.

  “No,” Grayson grunted.

  “I’ve never seen anyone survive something like that,” the guy said, catching up to him and walking beside him. “I’m Wyatt,” he said holding out his hand.

  Grayson looked at Wyatt’s open hand. So far everyone he had met up here with the exception of Dakota had wanted to kill him. He reluctantly shook his hand. “Grayson.”

  “You look like you need some coffee,” he said. “Hunter. Pour this guy a cup.”

  Two more guys came up on Grayson’s other side. “I’m Hunter,” one of them said pouring a cup of coffee from his large Thermos and handing it to him. His arms were covered in tribal tattoos. “Sorry we don’t have milk or sugar.”

  “The grocery store in town only gets a milk shipment once a week and they go fast,” the third guy said. “I’m Jack by the way.” Jack had a long beard with a reddish tint to it.

  Grayson nodded at him. He sipped the warm, bitter coffee. He hated it black but this was much needed this morning. It warmed his insides on the way down.

  “Where did you learn to fight like that?” Wyatt asked.

  “Wyatt needs some pointers,” Jack said, laughing. “He got his ass handed to him by a lion last night before you arrived.”

  “Shut up Jack,” he barked back. “At least I had the guts to go up there.”

  “I have the guts,” Jack said, trying to put a band-aid on his wounded ego. “I just…had better things to do.”

  “Like what?” Wyatt asked. “Drink?”

  “Exactly,” Jack said with a smile. “There’s nothing more important than that.”

  The wave of men came to a stop as they bottlenecked on the way into the bus. Large, faded, blue chips of paint were curling off the old bus, showing the coating of rust below. There were bars on the windows and it said Reekham Correctional Facility in barely visible block letters along the side.

  “Does this remind you of something?” Jack asked, nudging Hunter’s tattooed arm with his elbow.

  “Every morning?” Hunter asked, opening his arms. “You’re going to make this joke every morning?”

  “Only until it stops being funny,” Jack said.

  “It stopped being funny four months ago,” Hunter said. “Actually it was never funny.”

  Wyatt leaned in close to Grayson. “Hunter was in the big house.”

  “The big house?” Grayson asked. These guys seemed like they fit into a frat house more than a prison.

  “Oh yeah,” Wyatt said, raising his voice. “Hunter was one of America’s most wanted.”

  “Shut up,” Hunter said shaking his head.

  Jack was laughing.

  “What did you do?” Grayson asked.

  They were getting closer to the bus. Jack was the first on.

  “Robbery,” Hunter said, stepping on the bus.

  Grayson followed him up the three stairs. Maybe these guys weren’t the boy scouts that they seemed to be.

  “Tell him what you were robbing,” Wyatt said, getting on last. The four of them sat on two benches one behind the other. Wyatt sat beside Grayson.

  Hunter rolled his eyes. “I was nineteen and trying to steal back a radio that someone on my street stole from me.”

  “Tell him how you escaped,” Jack said, laughing.

  Hunter glared at him before shaking his head and continuing. “I escaped up the chimney.”

  “And?” Jack said.

  “And I got stuck. For eleven hours.”

  Jack and Wyatt burst out laughing. Grayson couldn’t help but join in.

  “They had to break the chimney,” Hunter said, releasing a chuckle himself.

  “We call him Santa Claws,” Wyatt explained.

  “How long did you go to jail for?” Grayson asked, laughing along with the three guys.

  “One year,” Hunter said.

  “For robbery?” Grayson asked. “You must’ve had the worst lawyer.”

  “I represented myself,” he answered.

  “Of course you did,” Jack said, stroking his long beard.

  The bus started and bumped along as Grayson’s new friends took turns insulting and teasing each other. He tried to listen and join in but it was hard. He kept thinking of Dakota.

  He had found his mate. In this shit town of all places.

  The sex had been incredible. Unlike anything that he had ever experienced before. It was so intimate. It felt so right. They were making love rather than just fucking. He swallowed hard, wondering when he’d get to do it again.

  “We’re here,” Hunter said, looking out the window.

  They stepped off the bus and Grayson looked around. They were in a loading zone in the middle of the forest. There were fallen trees strewn about everywhere with shifters dragging new ones to the growing pile.

  “Where is all of the heavy machinery?” Grayson asked, looking around and seeing nothing.

  “Right here,” Jack said, slapping Grayson’s arm. “Why do you think there’s only shifters up here?”

  “Later boys,” Hunter said taking off.

  “Bye Santa Claws,” both Jack and Wyatt said together.

  “Where’s he going?” Grayson asked.

  “To the river,” Wyatt answered. “He’s a log driver.”

  “Like those old time videos of the guys walking on logs as they fly down the river?” Grayson asked.

  “Welcome to the nineteen twenties,” Wyatt said, walking with him. “We do things the old school way up here.”

  A dozen men at the tree line burst into enormous gorillas. They ran into the forest, jumping onto the trees and crying out. “
HOO HOO HOO,” they bellowed as they disappeared into the thick forest. The treetops were shaking as they moved.

  “Wow,” Grayson whispered. It was like shifter heaven here.

  Wyatt pointed to the crooked mobile trailer that was resting on muddy cinder blocks. “That’s the bosses’ trailer.” He glanced down at Grayson’s stomach. “You’ve met him before.”

  “Thanks guys,” Grayson said. It was always nice to know someone on your first day of work.

  “Good luck buddy,” Jack said, slapping him on the back and walking off.

  Grayson took a deep breath and walked up to the trailer. It was leaning heavily to one side, the other side stuck in the air like a sinking ship. The window was open and cigar smoke was snaking out. He knocked on the door.

  “What?” a deep voice yelled out.

  “It’s my first day,” Grayson said. “I don’t know where to go.”

  The door opened and Brad stood in the entrance looking down at him with a grin that was just begging to be smacked off his weaselly face.

  “Who is it?” the voice barked from inside the trailer.

  “You’re gonna love this Daddy,” Brad said. He stepped to the side. “Please come in.”

  Grayson gritted his teeth together as he walked in. The huge rhino shifter who sucker speared him last night was sitting behind a tiny desk smoking a fat cigar between his even fatter fingers.

  Grayson brought his bear close. Be ready buddy.

  He wasn’t about to face the rhino again in his human form. It didn’t turn out to great for him the last time.

  “So you’re the new bear,” Walter, the rhino, grunted. He bit down on the cigar in his mouth as he smiled the ugliest smile Grayson had ever seen. A big piece of ash fell off the tip of the cigar and exploded into gray powder on his protruding stomach.

  “I got hired last week,” Grayson said. His contract was on the desk in front of Walter. “Should I just go?”

  “No, no,” Walter said, scanning the paper. “You’re on contract. This is work. Let’s not let a little after work shenanigans get in the way of our business agreements.”

  ‘After work shenanigans’ was an interesting way to describe attempted murder.