A Fox Between the Bear's Sheets (3 page)

would have, because he felt like a disgusting asshole for the way he led his life, but there was no room

for those thoughts right now. He wanted to screw this nameless, faceless female until he got off as the

momentary bliss of nothingness filled him.

She wore no panties, big fucking surprise, and started rubbing her finger over her clit. She was

already good and juicy for him, so instead of prolonging this, he knelt on the bed between her thighs,

positioned his cock at her pussy, and shoved it in fast and hard. Her yelp of surprise turned into a

groan of pleasure as he started slamming in and out of her. This was meaningless sex, just an outlet to

expel his anger, hatred, and overall shitty attitude over what he harbored for the last ten years. How

fucking pathetic was he that he was still pissed about something that had happened so long ago? Mina

had moved on, and although he had, too, he was still fucking pissed, not with her, but with himself. He

started thrusting in and out of the female harder and harder until he had moved her body so far up the

bed her head was banging on the headboard. Gripping her hips and pulling her down on his dick, Ford

closed his eyes and focused on the feelings only. It didn’t matter who he was with, because in the end

this was just empty pleasure for both of them. She was using him as much as he was using her.

When he had gotten off and lay on his back, his arm behind his head, just staring at the ceiling,

he felt the familiar self-disgust that usually showed its ugly fucking head after he did this. Those few

minutes when he came that brought him the void emotions had since left, and now he was left with

what consumed him. Bram and Charlie slept around just as much as he did, well, not Charlie any

longer since he was now mated to a little ocelot shifter, but Bram was still a fucking whore. But the

difference between him and Bram was the fact Ford did this shit to forget, to make himself less angry,

and more numb. He didn’t give two shits about Mina anymore, not in the way he was sure his brothers

thought. He was over her, wanted nothing to do with her, and didn’t give a fuck that she was getting

married in his fucking town. What he was still hanging onto after all these years was the ugliness of

what he had with her, of the raw and rage filled emotions that wouldn’t leave him. It was those

feelings that kept him on edge, made him feel alive in a sense, and something he wouldn’t fucking

give up on. He liked his life, liked living alone with no one to fuck with him, and only his foul-ass

attitude to keep him company.

After fishing out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lighting the end, he took a long

drag. He really didn’t smoke, not regularly anyway. But when he was feeling especially volatile he

needed that extra punch of nicotine to make him feel a little scuzzier. He was a masochist and a sadist

all rolled into one, a damn magician and expert at making people see something that wasn’t there. He

didn’t let his brothers see this side of him, didn’t allow the ugliness that consumed him to seep out to

the only two people he loved. He could fool the best of them, put on a fake as hell smile, laugh and act

like he enjoyed the life he was living. But in the end, when he was alone staring at the ceiling, it all

came back like a powerful punch to his chest.

Rustling beside him alerted him to the fact the female was awake. She was experienced enough

in these little one-night stands not to ask for anything more than what they had just shared. She stood

and pulled her skirt down, adjusted her top, and was out in a matter of minutes.

Now here he was again, alone and sour, feeling sick as fuck and needing a good hot shower to

wash away the filth he allowed himself to be immersed in. He pushed himself up and off of the bed,

and went into the closet sized bathroom. After turning on the water and making sure it was hot enough

to melt skin, Ford got undressed and stared at himself in the mirror. He hadn’t shaved in a few days,

and he ran his hand over the dark stubble that lined his jaw and cheeks. He was a fucking mess, with

his blood-shot eyes, dark circles, and pinched ass expression. His mouth was a mixture of alcohol and

cigarettes, and he wanted to take a gallon of bleach to it, to his whole damn body actually. Turning

away from his reflection he pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped into the steam filled

enclosure. The instant the hot droplets splashed against his skin he clenched his teeth. Yeah, it was

scalding and hurt like a motherfucker, but that was what he needed right now.

For an hour he stayed in that shower, and it was only until the water turned icy and not at all

satisfying, that he finally allowed himself to get out. He was more sober now, a damn shame, but he

wanted out of this cramped room with the scent of sweat and sex still lingering in the air. It was those

aromas, and those memories of how those scents came to be, that kept Ford in his life of self-

destruction, and he didn’t think he would ever be able to climb out of that dank, dark hole.

Talia Landon stared at her brother’s fiancée and had to grit her teeth or she would have made

some nasty response. Why Luke had chosen some high-maintenance bitch of a female to marry was

beyond her. For the past two years Talia had watched Luke dote on Mina Sheldon in a sickening

display of affection. It wasn’t even about her being a human and them being shifters, red fox and

cougar, respectively, but more so that Mina was an uptight asshole. At every turn she bossed Luke

around, made him run ridiculous errands, and just had this air about her that screamed high-priced

whore. Talia hated her, had ever since Luke brought her to their parents’ house for their Sunday family

dinner.

“I told you I wanted the white lace accents.” Mina tossed the fabric aside and turned to stare at

herself in the full-length mirror before her. She opened up her tube of cherry red lipstick and applied a

generous amount to her overly plump lips. Ever since they announced they were getting married, a

new level of hell for Talia to live through, Mina had been in Bridezilla mode. Nothing was ever right,

and it was Talia’s brother who suffered her wrath. It made no difference though, because even when

Talia had brought up her concerns to Luke he had gotten so upset and offended that he had shut her out

until she had been the one who felt guilty for even bringing it up. It wasn’t that she wanted to hurt her

brother, but how anyone in their right mind would want to be saddled with a woman that bitched

nonstop was beyond her. But whatever, if Luke wanted to subject himself to that kind of abuse who

was she to get in the way? Talia realized that if her older brother wanted to live his life with a banshee

and didn’t want to see reason, then he could suffer in his own personal hell. And there was no doubt

Mina would deliver on that. He was an adult, knew that his choices would affect him in the long run,

and would have to deal with the consequences. At least Talia was pretty sure they wouldn’t have

children, at least not for a good long while, because that would require Mina to actually gain some

weight. God forbid her wraith-like appearance actually looked healthy, or that she went bigger than a

size two.

Talia looked back at Mina, with her perfect hair, and her perfect body, and everything else that

was just too damn perfect to be real. But what made this day even more of a nightmare was the four

equally gorgeous and fake women who gathered around Mina. Their catty laughter, hushed whispers

behind their hand covered mouths, and the aristocratic air around them made this day especially

lovely, just like getting her teeth cut out with a rusty razorblade.

There was no doubt one of the main reasons Mina was with her brother was because he was a

renowned surgeon, and she loved to spend his money, hence the Prada pumps and Tiffany earnings

that dotted her earlobes. Mumbling more to herself than anyone else Talia stepped outside the small

boutique in Sweet Water, Colorado. The breeze was warm and smelled fresh. It wasn’t like the smog-

filled air that she was familiar with.

Originally from California, she had been excited to come to Colorado even if the reason behind

it was less than pleasant. When Luke told them the wedding would be held at Mina’s parents’ in Sweet

Water, no one had showed their concern that their home and the rest of their family were in LA. So,

instead of voicing their opinions on how it made a hell of a lot more sense to have the wedding in

California since the majority of the guests lived there, everyone had packed up their shit and headed

over to the boonies. Talia wouldn’t lie and say Mina’s parents’ estate wasn’t gorgeous, because it was.

But then there was the irritation that came when Talia usually thought about her brother’s fiancée. She

needed a stiff drink, but it was only ten in the morning, so it seemed a cup of coffee would be her only

option unless she wanted to look like some kind of lush. She certainly didn’t want to start some kind

of small town gossip about the new drunk stumbling around. Lord forbid Mina get mixed in by

association.

Looking left then right, she finally remembered passing a bistro/coffee shop when they had

come into town for Mina’s dress fitting. Heading down the sidewalk that was still cobblestone, she

rounded the corner and came across the small café. The little bell above the door jangled when she

opened the door, alerting everyone to her entrance. The scent of coffee beans and fresh pastries filled

her senses, and she couldn’t help but fall in love with the small town a little more, despite the fact

Mina was from here. It certainly wasn’t like LA with the cars packed back-to-pack, the overly tanned

residents walking around, and the posh shops lining the streets. For the hundredth time since she had

come to Sweet Water, Talia wondered how a quaint and gorgeous little town could produce such a vile

and obnoxious creature as Mina.

An upbeat song played overhead, and the sound of laughter and hushed voices filled the small

interior. After ordering the biggest latte they made, she took a step back and people watched while she

waited for her order. A human couple sat close together at a table. The man held both of the woman’s

hands, and they stared lovingly at each other. There was a coyote shifter sitting alone in the corner, his

laptop in front of him, and his black framed glasses perched high on his nose. A snow leopard shifter

held a crying baby on her hip and tried to calm the child. All Talia could do was smile at each of them.

What she wouldn’t give for something like that: normalcy and blissful chaos. As it was, she had

immersed herself in her studies over the past six years. Finally acquiring her Master’s Degree in

education, she was ready to start her life. It wasn’t as if she had much time during school to date, but

it also didn’t help that her bright, wild red hair and pale blue eyes, compliments of her mother’s red

fox genes, made her slightly off in the appearance category. So basically that meant she hadn’t exactly

had guys beating down her door to take her out, but that was all right because it gave her the time to

focus on her schoolwork. Her looks tended to steer men away, as if she was some kind of freak. She

also wasn’t the tiniest thing, not with a figure pushing size eighteen, and a height of only five-foot-

five. She felt like an Oompa Loompa on the best of days. Damn Luke for taking after their father’s

cougar genes. With his blond hair, dark eyes, and muscular, six-foot-two frame, he was quite a catch,

and not to mention wealthy and intelligent. He was every female’s dream guy, and here she was, his

fat, ginger sister.

When her order was up she took the steaming oversized latte and started making her way

toward the front door. A beeping noise from her purse alerted her to a text, most likely from Mina

asking her where in the hell she was. Reaching into her purse and digging around for her phone she

slammed right into a wall, or at least that was what it felt like. The jarring motion of her suddenly

coming to a halt had her arm slamming back into her chest and her latte spilling down the front of her

white blouse. Of course the lid popped off, and the scorching liquid splashed against her chest, causing

her to cry out in pain and surprise. She instantly gripped the material of her shirt and pulled it away

from her body.

“Oh shit. Are you okay?” The deep voice had chills popping out along her flesh instantly even

though pain like no other spread across her chest. Looking up and seeing a wide, ridiculously chiseled

chest hidden behind thin white cotton, Talia continued her ascent until she was looking into bright

blue eyes and dark brown hair shaved close to his head. The light coloring of his eyes mixed with the