“I will look into this matter further.”
“Should we be doing this?” Phillipe said as he set out plates on Brigid’s kitchen table.
“Why not? I don’t have school, you don’t have work, and everyone else is out for the day. Besides, I wanted to have an actual meal with you, not just diners and cafes.”
“You’re lucky we found a day like this. Patrick’s schedule has been all over the place lately.”
“Same with Michelle’s, but I promise, no one will be home until later. Much later.”
He sighed and grabbed the pop from the fridge. It had been a long couple of weeks. First the drama at Christmas, then making out with Brigid on the couch, then kicking Coraline out of line at the club on New Year’s Eve, something he hadn’t mentioned to Brigid, and then a full moon so close on the heels of the holidays. Bruno had been by the club six times in the last three weeks, each time for a different meeting or errand or just to drink, but each time he’d sought Phillipe out with another job offer, and he was being less and less polite with each offer.
He hadn’t seen much of Brigid lately. In fact, today was the only day in the week and a half between the holidays and the new moon that he’d be able to spend any real time with her. They had snuck in a second date between Christmas and New Years and had ended up on his couch again, ignoring the TV in favor of each other.
It was becoming harder and harder to keep his hands off her. It wasn’t just sex or kisses he was craving, it was casual touch too. He wanted to put a hand on her shoulder or back or elbow as they moved around the kitchen. He wanted to hold her hand when he talked to her. He was afraid of coming across as overbearing though so he kept his hands to himself as much as possible.
She’d made BBQ chicken breast, then grilled it into cheese sandwiches with baby carrots and sour cream dip on the side. It wasn’t any fancier than what they’d been eating at the restaurants, but the fact that it was homemade added something special to it. They sat and ate, talking about day-to-day things and laughing often. A few times he did reach out and squeeze her hand and she smiled at him. When the food was gone, she reached for his plate.
“I can help.”
“Actually, I promised my mom I’d tidy up today and instead I spent the afternoon with you. Could you run the vacuum through the living room for me while I do the dishes?”
“Making sure I’m house trained?”
“I don’t recall seeing any carpets in your apartment.”
“I did have carpet growing up, you know.”
“Mhm.”
He shook his head. “Okay. Where does your mom keep the vacuum?”
“Hall closet.”
He vacuumed the living room and hall carpets, and straightened the throw pillows and lap blanket on the couch. There was a pile of notebooks and text books on the coffee table.
“Hey, what do you want me to do with this?” he called.
“What is it?”
“Your school work.”
“Oh, just put it in my room for me, thanks.”
He jogged down the hallway and opened the door on the far side of the bathroom. He set the stack of books on her dresser and was about to high tail it out of there when something metal glinted in the waste paper basket. He paused.
It’s her room, her space. You have to respect her privacy.
Still, the curiosity and concern ate at him. He took a step towards the door, then stopped and turned back. He nudged a paper out of the way to reveal a needle. Not a sewing needle or a safety pin, but a needle and syringe. Used.
He covered it back up and headed for the kitchen.
“Get lost?” she asked.
“No, uh, my phone went off. I’m needed at the warehouse.”
“Oh, what does Remy want?”
“No, not Remy. It’s not clan stuff. I mean it is, but it’s not. It was Jane. She needs someone to meet her at the warehouse. We don’t spend a lot of time with other bears, not the way the wolves do, so sometimes we need to shift if things get stressful and it helps to have someone there for back-up, helps keep us level.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I hope everything is okay.”
“Yeah. Probably just holiday stress, you know?”
“Okay, well, I’ll see you soon.”
“Friday,” he said. “I’ll see you Friday.”
“Right. Meeting runs until about eight-thirty usually.”
“I’ll be there.” She had followed him to the door so he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and retreated to his car.
She stood in the doorway, a puzzled look on her face. She rubbed her cheek absently, then shrugged. She knew Phillipe wasn’t involved with Jane. She’d heard him talk about her often enough, and had heard Patrick tease him often enough, but there was something about the way he’d left. It felt like a retreat somehow. She shrugged. It’s nothing, I’m sure. Everyone is just stressed. It’ll be nice when everything settles into a routine.
Chapter 10
Phillipe pulled up in front of the house. There was one car on the parking pad, Brigid’s little two-door. Brigid had assured him she was home alone, at least for a few hours until Patrick got home from work. The plan was for Phillipe to pick her up, head out to a local place for lunch, and be back before anyone got home. So far the sneaking had been part of the fun, though Phillipe knew they’d have to make a choice to either be friends or tell everyone about their relationship before long. Secrets like this were dangerous in the long-term. They had the tendency to blow up in people’s faces.
He stepped out of the car and stretched. He glanced at the back yard when he heard her voice. He approached the fence on naturally silent feet.
“No, you can’t do that. I can get it somewhere else, you know. You can’t threaten me like this! I need it. You don’t understand. Please. Isn’t there something you can do. I buy so much from you. No, I know that. I know that, too. Please. Okay. Okay. No, I’ll be down as soon as I have the money.”
Phillipe took a step back from the fence before Brigid could see him. Out of sight, he tried to calm his breathing. The phone calls, the needle in the waste can, the money, and now this? He’d seen it too many times before with bouncers and bartenders at the club. Bastien didn’t bat an eye at dope or even most pills, but as soon as needles were involved he drew the line.
Taking a deep breath, Phillipe approached the fence again. “Hey Bree, ready to go?”
She was sitting on the lawn chair, elbows on her knees, face in her hands.
“Bree, are you okay?”
“No.”
“What’s going on?” He wasn’t expecting a straight answer.
“Apparently I’m back at square one, out of money, out of time, out of options.”
“You’re probably not out of options. What can you do to get money? Or cut corners somewhere?”
She sighed and looked up. Her face was tear streaked. “My parents have already loaned me a lot of money. Patrick and Michelle don’t have money to spare. I could get a student loan but I might not qualify because this isn’t tuition related.”
“But it would pay your tuition for next year.”
“Sure, that’ll help me later, but I need money now.”
“Sell your car?”
“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to. That’ll tie me over for a while at least, but then there’s the extra cost of bussing.”
“It’s cheaper than driving.”
“And less reliable. And it’s actually not my car to sell. It’s still in Dad’s name. Look, I know I said just once, but I really need the money and I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You want more money from me?”
She grabbed his hands. “I’ll pay you back, I promise.”
He sighed. “How much?”
“A thousand would help, two would …”
“Two grand? What happened to a couple hundred?”
“The couple hundred didn’t last long and it didn’t pay off what I owe. I was afraid to ask for more befor
e, we hadn’t been dating very long, I didn’t know how you’d react. I know it’s a lot but I have no one else to turn to.”
Her eyes were wide, pleading. Her hands squeezed his. Her lip was starting to tremble.
He brushed the hair from her face, his fingers trailing down her neck, then behind it. He pulled her forward and kissed her hard. Desire exploded deep inside him, mixed with possessiveness, the likes of which he’d never felt before. He devoured her, trapping her on that chair, kissing her with a passion he hadn’t realized he’d been keeping chained.
Crouching was hurting his legs, so he rocked forward onto his knees and then dragged her out of the chair to sit on his lap. His free hand caressed her arm and back.
Brigid trembled. So far in their relationship they had kissed a handful of times and only a few of those times had gone further, but none had felt like this. She was acutely aware of how large Phillipe’s arms were, how trapped she was, sitting on his lap, and how desperately she wanted him to keep kissing her.
He turned her so she was straddling him and grabbed her ass with both hands. She bit his lower lip and he growled.
“You know,” she managed to say between the kisses. “The neighbors can probably see us.”
He was about to say that he didn’t care, but something possessive leapt at the idea of anyone else seeing Brigid like this, or with her clothes off, which is how he wanted her. He scooped her up as he rose to his feet. It was awkward but he managed not to dump either of them.
He carried her in the back door and across the house to her room. He set her to the floor, still kissing her, hard. Her lips were starting to feel tender. When he stopped, she thought she’d have a chance to catch her breath but he started to undress her. Soon their clothes were a mixed heap on the floor.
This was further than she’d ever gone with him. She’d imagined sex with Phillipe quite a few times, even before they were dating, and she was sure she wanted to have sex with him, but the way he grabbed her wrists when he kissed her, and the way his fingers dug into her hips when he moved her further on the bed made her heart flutter in a way that was closer to fear than arousal.
He turned her around, his hands travelling up and down her body, his caresses firm, almost too firm. He pressed up against her, her back against his chest. He walked her forward until her knees hit the bed and then she had to bend forward to catch her weight. Her heart was racing. She was starting to panic.
She was kneeling on the bed now, her body trembling in anticipation of what she knew was coming next. He was close, so close. She shut her eyes tight.
He bent over her, his body arching to cover her, and he let out a ragged, shuddering breath. There was a long pause and then he started kissing her shoulders and back. His hands slid over her, gentle now, making her skin tingle. They stopped at her hips and he gently rolled her on her back.
“Tell me to stop,” he said.
“What?”
“If you want me to stop, tell me.”
“I – you were scaring me.”
“I want you. Do you want me to stop?”
“Come here, just hold me, please.”
“Maybe I should go. Maybe …”
“Please stay.”
“I don’t think I can just cuddle.”
“I just need a minute. Come here. Please.”
He crawled into bed beside her and she curled up in his arms. He focused on his breathing and tried to ignore the scent of her hair. She kissed his jaw and his next breath came out with a shudder.
“Don’t,” he said.
She kissed his neck. “I thought you wanted…”
He cut her off with a powerful kiss and broke off just as suddenly. “I want you. If you don’t want me to do this, don’t tease me.”
She touched his cheek. He felt peace wash over him and he breathed deeply.
“I want you, too,” she said and then she kissed him.
He rolled over, trapping her beneath him, and slid inside her. He was already so revved up and she felt so good that it didn’t take him long before he felt his climax building. She wrapped her arms and legs around him as a moan escaped from between her perfect lips.
He tried to hold it, tried to wait, but he tipped over the edge and exploded inside her. The release flipped a switch inside him.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He rolled off her.
“Why?” she said. She was smiling. She snuggled down into the pillow deeper. “That was great.”
“I didn’t use a condom.”
“I’m on the pill.”
He nodded, relieved, and pulled her into his arms.
“That was intense.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that, too.”
“For a moment there I thought you were just going to bend me over and take me.”
“I almost did, but I didn’t want to hurt you, or scare you.”
“Well, maybe another time then, when emotions aren’t running so high.”
He stared at her, his eyes wide, but she met his gaze with a mask of innocence and then kissed him.
“Shit, is that the time?”
He turned and looked at the clock. “Yeah, I guess so. Why?”
“Uh, your friend is going to be home very, very soon and we’re naked in bed together.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess that’s a reason to swear.”
She shoved him. “We have to move!”
Phillipe jogged out to his car. They were cutting it close, he knew, but they’d managed to both find all their clothes and tidy her room without any sign of what they had done. He started the car then, clipped his phone to the blue tooth pad. When he straightened, he saw Patrick’s car in the rear view. He grabbed his phone again and turned the car off.
He stepped out of the car with a big grin on his face. “Perfect timing, man. I was just about to leave.”
“Why were you even here?” Patrick said, frowning. “You knew I was at work.”
“I thought you got off at one, not two. I thought we could catch an hour together before I had to head off to work.”
“When do you have to leave?”
“Just after three. We could still grab a match or two.”
“Sure. I could use the unwind time before my parents get home.” He eyed the two-door in the driveway. “Brigid is home?”
“Yeah. She was more than happy to point out my mistake.”
“I’m sure she was. Come on.”
Brigid was in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of water when the boys came in. Her eyes went wide. “You’re back,” she said.
“Yeah,” Phillipe said. “Ran into Patrick outside. Looks like we’ll have a chance to go a few rounds after all.”
“Don’t you have homework?” Patrick asked.
“Why yes I do,” she snapped back. “Have fun with your stupid games.”
Patrick stormed off down the stairs.
Phillipe shot Brigid a smile. She shot him a wink in return.
Patrick was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. “So you had a chance to visit with my sister?”
“I wouldn’t call it a visit. I stood on the door mat while she teased me for forgetting your work hours. I swear you said one. You said one just to make me look stupid, didn’t you?”
“No, you’re just stupid.”
“Damn.”
“Brigid seemed really surprised to see you.”
He shrugged. “I don’t understand how women think.”
“I’m with you on that one. Did you see Coraline’s last post?”
“No. I don’t follow her or friend her anywhere. You know what happened.”
“Still, getting her fired for hitting on you? And right before Christmas? That’s cold, man.”
“I didn’t get her fired. I got mad at her for hitting on me. Bastien fired her. I never once said, ‘Bastien, fire her’. This was her doing. I tried to tell her off.”
“Would it have been so bad?”
“She’s not my type.�
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“When was the last time you had sex?”
Phillipe felt his cheeks heating up. “That’s not important. I wasn’t into her. I wasn’t going to have sex with her. No amount of flirting was going to change my mind.”
“That’s not what she’s saying.”
“She can say what she wants. There were witnesses that saw her, and I was complaining to Michael for weeks.”
“Well, she’s out of your hair now at least. Come on, we’re wasting time.”
Chapter 11
“You! Hold it right there.”
She turned to face them and then mentally kicked herself. She owed them nothing and she could tell by the tone of his voice that this wasn’t a polite conversation. You’ve already stopped. Just play it cool. There were three of them, all around her age, lean, lanky, dressed in jeans and t-shirts. A modern day suburban gang, she thought.
“Hey, you shift, you’re a dainty thing with a silver face, right?”
She nodded, though she’d never labelled herself as dainty before. “Why?”
“Took us a while to find you,” the ring leader said. His two buddies, both brunettes to their leader’s blonde, smirked.
“You’re Alan Mack, right?”
The blonde nodded, grinning. “Heard of me?”
“Sure, my mom knows your mom. We’re pack, remember?”
“You think being pack means we’ll let you off easy?”
“I don’t even know why you’re looking for me.”
“Aw, how cute,” he said, his words directed at his friends. “She’s playing dumb.”
“Maybe she’s not playing,” said the buddy on the left, snickering.
“Naw,” Alan said. “This is Brigid O’Leary. I heard she was the smart daughter.”
“She’s Patrick’s sister,” the third said. “How smart does she have to be to earn that title?”
The one of the left piped up again. “Why are we bothering with her? Michelle’s cuter and she likes boys.”
Alan sneered and looked her over. “I don’t know. She’s not so bad. And you like boys, don’t you, Brigid?”
“I’m straight, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said. She was trying to gauge possible escape routes without taking her eyes off the boys long enough to let them get the jump on her. It wasn’t easy.
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