Authors: Brittany White
Brandon shook his head. "I haven't. Again, Mary suggested it, since it's cold outside."
"Does she know about your, uh, abilities?" Alyse asked him.
"No, she doesn't," Brandon told her. "I should probably hire somebody who does know, so that way I don't have to keep making up excuses about why I understand the animals so well, but for now I don't really have a choice. I can't just fire her. She's a good worker and a good person."
They had reached the cashier where they placed their order. Alyse ordered a white hot chocolate with peppermint flavoring in it and Brandon ordered dark chocolate with hazelnut. While they waited, the two talked more about their lives. Alyse told Brandon how she lived with her brother, Ben, whom she described as a protective teddy bear.
Brandon told her that he had sisters who were twins. They all lived in their city, but usually only saw each other on holidays, birthdays, or other family occasions. His parents were both shape shifters, so when he and his sisters were born, it was only a question of which clan they would take after. Brandon took after his father's side while his sisters took after their mother's. She was a cougar shifter and so were both of his sisters.
"How does that work?" Alyse asked him. Their drinks had finally come and she took her first sip.
"What do you mean?" he asked, taking his own sip. "Oh, this is good."
Alyse nodded. "Mine too. I'm glad I went for the peppermint. I mean how does it work with one side of your family being wolf shifters and the other side being cougar shifters?"
He shrugged. "I could see that it might have been a problem longer ago, but these days people are more open-minded. They don't care that you marry in a specific clan, only that you're happy."
"That's nice," she said. Even though she was also a shifter, she didn't have any family that may care whether or not she married a cat or a wolf. She had always assumed that other clans were more strict.
Once they had finished their drinks, Brandon drove Alyse back to her house. They stood on her porch, and Alyse looked up into his eyes. "Will it be too much if I call you tomorrow?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not at all. I'd love it if you did."
A smile spread across his face. "I had a wonderful time tonight."
"So did I," she replied.
Brandon leaned in toward her and lightly pressed his lips against hers. Alyse sighed into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close against him, kissing her deeply for a moment. When he pulled away, he smiled again. "You really are beautiful, you know that?" he said.
Alyse felt herself blush, even though her dark skin probably didn't show it. "Thank you," she said.
"Okay, I should go now," Brandon told her. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Alyse nodded and he walked away. She watched as he climbed into his car and drove down the road until he turned the corner and disappeared. Smiling, she turned and walked into her house to find Ben pacing the floor in front of the door. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
He walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I was waiting for you."
She pulled her coat off and hung it up on the wrack behind the door. "Why? I told you I was going out tonight."
Ben nodded. "I know. But I wanted to warn you...Jack is here."
Alyse froze. Jack was the man who had gotten her pregnant and then bailed once she told him, accusing her of sleeping around with so many men that she didn't know who the father really was and wanting to stick him with the responsibility.
Chapter 4
"Why in the hell is he here?" she asked.
Ben shook his head. "He showed up a little while ago, saying he wanted to talk to you about the baby."
Alyse fumed. He would show up just as she had finally met someone who was incredible. "Well, tell him I don't want to talk to him."
"I think you should talk to him, Alyse," Ben said. "Otherwise he's just going to keep on trying to see you until you finally give in."
She heaved a great sigh. "Fine. But will you stay in the room with me? I really don't want to be alone with him."
Ben nodded. "Of course I will."
Alyse smiled gratefully. "Thank you." Together they walked into the living room where Jack waited to talk to her. As he stood, Alyse's stomach did a flip. "What are you doing here?" she asked the second he looked at her.
Jack held his hands up. "I just want to talk about the baby," he said. "I've had some time to think and I realize that maybe I made a mistake in leaving so quickly. If it is my kid, then I want to be there for it."
"If?" Alyse said, angry. "IF? This child is yours and you refuse to accept it. You're a coward!"
He shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to get stuck raising a kid if it's not mine."
Alyse laughed. "You really think I'm such a slut that I would sleep with so many men and wouldn't know who the father of my child is?"
"If the shoe fits..." Jack said, trailing off.
"That's it," Ben roared, stepping in for his sister. "No one gets to call my sister a slut. If she says the baby is yours, then it's yours. But you're never going to know for sure, because you will not come back here. Ever. Get out." He pointed to the door, staring Jack down.
"All right. I can see this was a mistake," Jack said. He grabbed his coat from the back of the couch and stalked past them, slamming the front door behind him.
Alyse sat on the couch and began to cry from her anger. She couldn't believe his audacity to accuse her, once again, of sleeping around. It took her a few moments, Ben sitting next to her rubbing her back, but she finally calmed down. "Thank you for stepping in," she told her brother.
"Of course," Ben said. "You're my baby sister. Nobody will hurt you and not hear from me. He's lucky I held myself back."
Alyse laughed. "Love you, Ben."
"I love you, too, Alyse," he replied.
Deciding she was tired from the day, Alyse went up to her bedroom and got ready for bed. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, dreaming of Brandon and their time spent together on the beach.
* * *
Three months went by and Alyse and Brandon were still dating. Brandon still hadn't met Ben, in spite of Alyse's brother insisting repeatedly that they meet. Finally, Brandon and Ben were able to plan a time when they could all have a dinner together at Alyse's and Ben's house.
It was a Sunday evening and Brandon had volunteered to do the cooking, but Ben vetoed that idea. He was going to cook everything, though he had consented to allow Brandon to help. As they worked together in the kitchen, Alyse sat at the counter, picking at the food they chopped or set aside.
Brandon had been worried that Ben would grill into him and be the protective older brother that Alyse had said he was. However, Ben seemed laid back and while he did ask a lot of questions, Brandon felt very comfortable around him. As the evening wore on, he found himself liking the man. They had a lot in common, including a love of animals. Of course it helped that they were both shifters, but not all shifters had the same, deep passion that the men seemed to share.
After dinner, Ben told them that he had to run to work for the night shift and quietly left, allowing Brandon and Alyse to have some time alone together. They sat on the couch, talking for a while. Alyse leaned against him after lighting a fire, allowing the warmth to spread over them as they sat on the couch in front of it.
As they talked, Brandon wrapped his arms around her, placing his chin on her head. He knew that his feelings for Alyse had grown much stronger than he would have expected for their time together, but he thought she felt the same. For days, now, he had been debating whether he should tell her he loved her, but the timing never seemed right. Now, as the fire crackled behind them, he decided it was the right time. He used a finger to turn her head toward him and pressed his lips lightly against hers. When he pulled away, he looked into her eyes and whispered, "I love you."
A smile spread across Alyse's lips and he saw her eyes begin to fill with tears. "I've been wanting to tell you the same thing, but I was so scared that you'd run away if I did. I love you, too, Brandon."
He wrapped his arms around her waist even tighter, smiling. Alyse turned in his arms so that she faced him, reaching one hand up and winding it in his hair while her other hand began to work on the buttons on his shirt. They kissed, deeply and passionately and Brandon slowly laid her down on the couch. Alyse watched him as he unclasped his pants and pulled them down, along with his underwear. Her eyes hungrily devoured his already hardened cock as it was revealed.
After pulling his shirt over his head, Brandon pulled Alyse's pants off and lowered himself onto her, taking care not to put too much pressure on her stomach so that he didn't squish her or the baby. He placed the tip of his cock at her opening and watched her eyes fill with pleasure as he pushed inside of her. Alyse moaned, moving her hips in motion with his as he thrust in and out.
Even though she was pregnant, she still felt so tight around him that he was surprised each time they were intimate. He groaned as Alyse hands ran up and down his back, tracing her finger nails across it. Brandon began to push harder into her as her hips moved with his.
Leaning down, he swirled his tongue in a circle around her nipple. It was already taut and he used his teeth to very lightly bite it, causing her to gasp. He smiled, loving her pleasure as his tongue worked on her other nipple. After a moment, he began to suck and within seconds Alyse was moaning even louder.
Placing a hand on his chest, Alyse pushed him backward so that he moved off of her and laid back on the couch. After taking her shirt off, revealing her perky breasts, Alyse climbed on top of him, straddling his waist and pushed herself onto him. Tilting her head back, Alyse placed her hands on his chest for support and began to pull herself slowly up and then back down his shaft.
Brandon loved the way she felt around him and moaned as she began to move faster. After a few moments, she started to move her hips forward and back and Brandon knew that her clit would rub against his pelvic bone with a little help. He pushed his hips up in the air slightly and could immediately hear the difference in her moans.
A smile broke across his face as he saw the pleasure pass across her face and she moved faster and faster. Watching her pleasure helped him and he felt the tension build in his body as his own orgasm grew. Within a few moments he knew he would come, but he wanted to wait for Alyse. Placing his hands on her hips, he helped her move forward and back more quickly. It didn't take much longer before Alyse was crying out as the orgasm swept across her body. Brandon kept his hips moving, helping the pleasure to last longer and within a few seconds, his own orgasm wracked over him.
Together they allowed the pleasure to encompass them as Brandon pumped his load inside of her. He pushed into her harder with each spasm of his orgasm until he was finished. Alyse was also done, so he kept himself inside of her and rolled so that she was underneath him once more. Then he pulled out of her and headed into the bathroom to grab a towel.
When he returned, Brandon helped clean Alyse before cleaning himself off. After placing the towel in the washer with some others, he collapsed on the couch beside Alyse. She laid just where he had left her, still naked. Her stomach was just starting to poke out and he ran his hand across it before tracing his fingers down her leg. Alyse watched him, studying him with her eyes.
"What?" he asked after a moment, flashing her a half-smile.
Alyse shook her head, returning his smile. "Nothing."
"Why were you watching me like that?" he asked her.
"I was just thinking," Alyse said, sitting up.
Brandon cocked his head to the side, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he prompted her again. "About...?"
"I was thinking that you'd make a great dad," she told him, watching his reaction.
He was surprised. While it was obvious that she was pregnant, they had never discussed what would happen if they were still together when she gave birth to the baby. "What makes you say that?" he finally asked.
She shrugged. "You're kind, patient, and caring. You take care of me and help me every chance you possibly can. Those are great qualities to have as a father."