Daddy Protector: MC Romance (Pythons MC) by Sadie Savage (22)

“I just still feel a bit dehydrated from being ill. I’d best stick with water for now,” she told him in an effort to come up with a plausible explanation for not drinking.

Though it had initially felt awkward to be here with him, it quickly faded into a familiar comfort as the four of them laughed and joked. Ian and Randy told him embarrassing stories about how awkward she was in high school and she returned the favor.

“So, the teacher, who had a bit of a speech impediment was talking about genetics and the probability of certain characteristics of fruit flies. Goldie kept mumbling to me and I would laugh. Finally, the teacher overheard her and completely stopped the class,” Randy told him.

“What was she saying?” Joshua laughed.

“She kept muttering “magenta” and making a face. He stopped and asked her if she was kin to Daniel Webster and she said no. He asked if she even knew who it was and she guessed that he wrote the dictionary,” Randy continued.

“Not a bad guess, given the name,” Joshua said.

“That’s what he said. He told her that it was close, but that the more accurate answer was that he was a great orator and expert on pronunciation. He asked if she was kin to him.”

“Awh, man,” Joshua remarked, smiling over at her.

“Oh, that’s not the end of it. She tells him no and he tells her that she’s probably not an expert on pronunciation then,” Randy said.

“That’s harsh,” Joshua laughed.

“That’s when it got really funny. Miss Snarky Pants over there looks at him indignantly and said, ‘Maybe not, but even I know that the word is “magenta” and not “mangled” like you are saying. Calling them mangled eye fruit flies is ridiculous!’ The entire class just lost it.”

“Oh My God! She didn’t!” Joshua said, laughing loudly. “What did he say to that?”

“He sent me to stand in the hallway until his class was over. He said he didn’t want to look at me anymore that day,” Goldie finished, now laughing herself at the memory of being put out of class for correcting her biology teacher.

They all laughed some more, sharing stories about their respective childhoods and some of the trouble they had gotten into over the years. Before they knew it, they had been there for hours and it was getting incredibly dark outside, the weather not letting up in the least. Randy and Ian excused themselves, leaving her there to try to excise herself from Joshua’s company. Though she was honestly enjoying it, she still knew she should remove herself soon. She was guessing he sensed it, as he did her work for her.

“Well, it’s been great seeing you, but I guess I better get going. I need to call up some of the guys and find a place to crash tonight. Hopefully, this will clear up and you can get out of here tomorrow at some point,” he told her, standing up and tossing some cash on the table with what Ian and Randy had left to cover their drinks.

Incredulously, Goldie heard a voice that she was quite certain couldn’t actually be coming from her asking him if he wanted to stay with her. He paused, narrowing his eyes at her for a moment before answering.

“Are you sure? I’ve gotten the impression lately that you were doing your best to avoid me,” he said, a note of sadness but no anger in his voice.

“I am just leaving soon and saw no reason to start anything,” she admitted. It was partially the truth, but what the hell. One more night of passion before she left couldn’t hurt. After all, he knew the score and was willing, so why should she turn down hot sex with a man that knew how to make her beg for more?

“Well, if you are sure, it would be a huge help today. I will even sleep on the floor or something if you prefer,” he offered.

“Nonsense. We are adults. We can both sleep in the bed . . . or not sleep in the bed,” she said, feeling a bit brazen,

“I’m guessing that not sleeping is more likely,” he smiled, reaching for her arm and leading her toward the stairs that led up toward the rooms.

She pointed him down the hallway toward the one she was staying in and they went inside, already losing their clothes no sooner than the door was shut behind them.

Chapter Eleven

Lying in the aftermath of a rousing session that left them both heaving for breath, Goldie and Joshua drifted off to sleep on their respective sides of the bed.

His phone, still in the pocket of his pants on the other side of the room, began to ring and he ignored it. After a moment, it began ringing again.

“Ugh. Who is that?” he muttered, climbing from the bed and crossing over to retrieve it. It had stopped ringing, but began to ring again in his hand. He clicked a key and spoke into the mouthpiece. “Hello?”

Goldie listened to his side of the conversation, which was obviously with someone else who had gotten stranded in the weather. She listened to him apologizing to them, telling them that he was staying with a friend and couldn’t really extend an invite. It was obvious that it was a guy from the way he was addressing him and Goldie felt bad about someone else being stranded out in this mess, so she interrupted.

“Joshua, if they need a place to go and need to stay here, they certainly can. It’s a big room and there is a roll away cot in the closet that we can set up for them.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to turn your room into some sort of refugee shelter,” he said.

“Of course, I’m sure. It’ll be fine.”

Joshua nodded at her and told the person on the phone to come on up, giving him the room number. He turned to her once he ended the call and smiled.

“This is very nice of you. I hate leaving friends out in the cold if I can help them at all, but I didn’t want to disrupt our evening together.”

“It’s a crisis. I wouldn’t leave a friend of mine out in the mess either,”

“He will be up in a moment. He was actually down in the lobby trying to get a room and they told him they were all booked up. Seems I wasn’t the only one who decided their only option was going to be to start calling people until I found a free sofa.”

“Oh, God. I need to get dressed!” she said, bounding out of bed, grabbing her clothes and running to the bathroom to make herself a little more presentable.

“I suppose I should too,” he said as she retreated. Someone knocked on the door just a moment later and when she came out, he had only managed to pull on his jeans, standing there shirtless to introduce her to his friend. Goldie froze in her tracks, her mind racing to consider such ridiculous things as whether she could hide under the rug by the bed.

“Goldie, this is my friend, John Sebastian. He owns the general store in town,” Joshua said, seemingly oblivious to the looks on both their faces.

“We’ve met,” John said evenly.

“Oh?” Joshua started to say, then looked back and forth between them, the situation seeming to register with him suddenly. “Oh, you mean you’ve met, as in MET.”

“Exactly what I mean,” John said. “I guess now I know why you couldn’t return my messages. You’ve been busy elsewhere.”

It was too much for Goldie. Though she had never fainted in her life, she suddenly found herself feeling incredibly dizzy. She reached for the bedpost to steady herself, but it was too late. Everything went black. When she came to, she was laying across the bed with both men looking down at her. She was awake, but she felt incredibly ill. This was definitely a nightmare.

“I thought we were going to have to try to find a doctor in this mess,” John said to her, stroking her hair softly.

“What happened?” she said in a raspy voice. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton and she was grateful to see Joshua walking toward her with a glass of water.

“You blacked out or something. I guess it is to be expected considering your condition,” Joshua told her.

“My condition?”

“Yes, your condition. I’m guessing you realize you are pregnant by now?”

“Yes, but how do you know?”

“I’ve known since I saw you downstairs and you confirmed it by drinking just water, but I didn’t realize that it might not be mine.”

“What makes you think it is or isn’t yours?” she asked him wearily.

“Well, while we are nursing you back to wakefulness, John and I had a bit of a discussion and it seems you’ve been with both of us in the past week. I don’t mean to be indelicate, but are there any others?”

“Joshua, don’t,” John told him, though neither seemed angry about the situation. In fact, they were oddly calm about it. It was quite odd.

“I think I have to, John. I know you won’t ask, but we do need to know if there are other possibilities, don’t you think?” he said, giving John a very stern look. John dropped his head and nodded in agreement.

“Not that it is really any of your business, but it was definitely one of you two. Don’t worry, I don’t want anything from you. I had every intention of leaving here and never telling either of you, but the weather stopped me.”

“Yes, this would definitely explain the sudden onset of a flood,” John said.

“What? Now I am the cause of the flood?”

“Something like that,” John said with a little smile.

“Look. I feel better, but this is just awkward. I tell you what. You two can have this room and I will go sleep in Randy and Ian’s room for the night,” she said, trying to get up from the bed.

“Oh, no you won’t. We have a lot to discuss,” John told her, putting his large hand on her arm to stop her from getting out of bed.

“We have nothing to discuss. This is not your problem, either of you. I have no intention of you being involved in this child’s life. I don’t even know which of you is the father, for God’s sake!”

“It doesn’t matter. We don’t care,” Joshua told her.

“What? Are the two of you mental or something?”

“Well, you might think that after you hear what we have to tell you, but we really aren’t,” John laughed.

Goldie pulled herself up in the bed and sat there looking back and forth at the two of them as they stood on either side of the bed. Joshua nodded his head toward John and sat down on one side of the bed as John began to speak. After a moment, he sat down on the other side, holding her hand as he talked to her.

“First, you need to know what Joshua and I are to one another,” he said.

“Oh, Jesus. If you tell me you are lovers, I may just lose my own mind,” she told him.

“What? No. Of course not, but we are very close. More like brothers than friends. We belong to the same club, but it isn’t your ordinary organization. It’s more of a secret society sort of thing.”

“Like Freemasons?” she smirked.

“Older than that. This is going to sound crazy to you and you aren’t going to believe it, but we will show you if you need for us to do so. Joshua and I are bear shifters.”

“Okay. Now you guys are just fucking with me. I guess it’s fair to get in a laugh at my expense considering everything, but if you think I’m falling for something as far-fetched as shapeshifting, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“We aren’t joking and we can show you, but only if you tell us you are ready for us to do so. Given your condition, we won’t risk a shock to your system.”

“Yeah, right. Okay. Show me.”

“Are you sure?” John asked.

“Positive,” she replied sarcastically.

Joshua stood up and walked to the end of the bed and then took a few steps away from the bed. Goldie watched as his shape began to shift into something contorted, his nose pushing forward into a snout and hair sprouting out everywhere on his body. He dropped down on to his hands as his body quickly morphed into a four-legged animal. She found herself looking into the large green eyes of a sandy colored bear. It was much larger than any normal bear would be and she caught her breath as she realized that what she was seeing was real.

“Are you okay?” John asked.

She turned toward him, her eyes wide with amazement and nodded quietly. When she turned back toward the bear, he had begun to shift back into the man she knew as Joshua, his sandy blonde hair and green eyes shimmering just as they had in bear form.

“Neat trick, eh? Told you I was an animal,” he joked, causing her to blush and then feel awkward with John sitting there beside her.

“And you can do that too?” she asked him.

“Yes. My bear form is just better looking and stronger,” he replied, drawing a groan of disagreement from Joshua.

Goldie tried to wrap her head around what she was being told, but even having seen it, she was still having trouble believing it. Even worse, it occurred to her that this baby was going to be some sort of freak. Would it be a shifter? Was she going to be putting a diaper on a baby or putting down newspaper for a bear cub? She began to feel a bit sick again.

“I know it is a lot to absorb and we wouldn’t even tell you if we had time to break it to you gently, but you need to know something about this baby and it can’t wait.”

“Oh, Jesus. I won’t have like a whole litter of cubs will I?” Goldie gasped, the realization that it might be a possibility coming over her without warning.

Joshua laughed and then sat back down on the bed beside her, holding her other hand. It was unusual for him to come across as thoughtful as so it caught her off guard for a moment. She found herself wondering how much more awkward this could get. Two men she had slept with on either side of her, fawning over her at the same time and telling her fairy tales that it seemed might just be true was more than a little surreal.

“You won’t have a litter. You will have one child and it will be a boy. He will be a shifter like us, not human like you. We are more than willing to accept responsibility for the baby without haggling over which of us actually fathered him. In fact, Goldie, we don’t want you to run off and be some sort of single parent. You didn’t get pregnant alone and you shouldn’t try to raise him alone, especially given his special considerations that will unfold as he grows.

“I appreciate that, but neither of you know me very well. I came here to get away for a while and things just happened between us, each of us. I never intended for it to be permanent and I certainly didn’t intend for either of you to be chained to me because of an unwanted child.”

“That’s what you don’t understand, Goldie. It’s not unwanted. Neither are you. Bear shifters are much like normal wolves. We bond quickly and each of us fell for you immediately.”

“I just really can’t choose. I find you both interesting in different ways,” she admitted.

“Then don’t choose. We aren’t asking you to choose, at least not between the two of us. We would like for you to stay here rather than returning to the city. We will both sell our lake houses and buy something we can all share as one big family.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see how that works. We all live together as some open relationship type situation and sleep in separate bedrooms? That’s going to really cut into your dating lives I think.”

“No, Goldie. We live together as a monogamous trio. It would be like having two husbands, both of us completely committed to you.”

“I just don’t really follow how that works. I just roam from one bedroom to the other depending on who I’m in the mood to be with? Do you realize how crazy all of this sounds?”

“It’s not crazy at all, Goldie,” Joshua said, finally speaking up though he had allowed John to do much of the talking so far.

“Then you have an odd sense of normal,” she replied.

“Well, that is true. Both of us do, but we’ve been out of sync with the rest of the world for a very long time. Our ancestors have always existed in the shadows, knowing that others wouldn’t accept us if they knew what we were. It’s important that our son be kept safe from those who might not understand him. It’s even more important that he not be made to feel like he is fucked up in any way. Living here with us will expose him to other children like himself and to two fathers who will make sure he learns to control how and when he shifts.”

“So, basically, this has nothing to do with me at all. The two of you just want to raise your baby bear and you’re willing to take me on in order to make that happen?”

“That isn’t what I said at all. Who did this to you, Goldie? Who made you feel like you aren’t worthwhile? Give me their names and I’ll go pay them a visit. It angers me that you are so down on yourself when you are such an incredible and beautiful woman,” Joshua said, his anger apparent.

Goldie looked at him, surprised. Not only was she caught off guard by his sentiments, but his anger was reflected in John’s face, as well. While she deemed herself just having fun with a couple of guys that wanted to get laid, it would seem she had misjudged their intentions completely. There seemed to be genuine emotion there, though it was hard to accept as being true. Rather than respond, tears fell down her face.

“Let it out if you need to, Goldie, but you don’t need to cry. You don’t ever have to cry again. We promise you that what we feel for you is the real thing and that it will never change. Not many women can say that she bonded with a bear shifter and I don’t know of any other that can claim she bonded with two in the way you have captured the two with you here in this room tonight,” Joshua finished.

Goldie blinked up at him as he pulled her into her arms and held her tightly to his chest. She was aware of John moving closer to rest his head against the back of hers, sandwiching her between the two of them and things suddenly didn’t seem awkward at all. In fact, they seemed quite perfect. Though she didn’t have everything quite sorted out in her head, she at least understood that this might just be exactly what she had needed all along.

Still, something nagged at her. In her experience, threesomes always ended with someone feeling left out and especially when one of them was the actual father of the child and the other wasn’t. This seemed doomed to just be another failed relationship episode in her life. She expressed her concerns to them, apologizing for her inability to just let things fall as they may.

“Don’t worry, Goldie. It will be just fine,” John told her in his soft way. Despite his apparent conviction, she wasn’t sure that she could quite believe that.

In the end, she decided she had nothing to lose. There was no guarantee that her next relationship would be any better, especially with a child now in the mix and what kind of mother would she be if she was subjecting her child to failed experiences with different men? If she was going to do this right, then they were perhaps right, this was the path she should take.

She nodded quietly as they kissed her tears away. Soon, she found herself being undressed by the both of them. Turning toward John, she curled up to his chest as he kissed her hungrily, drinking her in as if she were the last woman on earth. Behind her, Joshua reached between her legs, exploring her swollen pussy lips, already seeming to show signs of pregnancy. She wanted them, both of them. It had always been somewhat of a fantasy of hers to be with two men at once, but she had always thought it would be some sort of one-night stand.

In her wildest dreams, she had never considered that it could be a constant thing, having two men in her bed every night, taking care of her in very different ways. John’s lips drifted down to her tits, sucking at her aching nipples. Thought she was less than a week pregnant, they had already begun to show signs of swelling and had begun to produce drops of milk. She wasn’t sure if it was a result of the pregnancy alone or if Joshua had caused it with his excessive suckling, but as John’s mouth tugged at them, she could feel milk let down and flow into his mouth.

“Your milk is already coming in. It’s delicious,” he told her, breaking away from her nipple for a moment to smile up at her.

“I want to taste it,” Joshua said, pulling her toward him so that she now lay flat between the two of them. She found herself with either man sucking at a single nipple, drinking in her milk as if they were quenching an incredible thirst. Much to her surprise, she found that it was a huge turn on.

Having drank his fill, John moved up to her lips, letting her taste her milk on his lips as he kissed her with more passion than ever. Joshua drifted downward, pulling her legs apart and lapping at her dripping pussy. His tongue felt like velvet against her tender folds. A part of her was having trouble even grasping what was happening, but her body understood it perfectly and reacted to the attention with much anticipation.

John pulled her back to one side so that she faced him with Joshua moving in behind her, sandwiching her between the two of them once again. He continued to kiss her as Joshua spread her ass cheeks and began fingering her asshole, getting her ready for the swollen cock she could feel pressing into her backside. She let out her breath sharply as he wet the tip of his cock with her pussy juices and began slipping it inside her tiny hole.

“Oh yes, that is so tight. I love feeling your asshole close around my hard cock,” he told her. John moved into position in front of her, slipping his own hard cock into her pussy. It was pure ecstasy as they filled her from both sides and began to slowly slip in and out of her in unison.

“Oh, sweet Jesus!” she moaned loudly as they fucked her simultaneously. John’s motions were slow and deep, matching Joshua’s as she whimpered between the two of them. John resumed kissing her passionately as Joshua’s teeth sank into her back, making their way across her shoulders as he fucked her deeply in the ass. His hand found its way to her throat, pressing against it lightly as her sore nipples brushed against the chest hair of John.

Goldie found herself already nearing her first orgasm, her body shaking all over as she exploded over and over, fueled by the way their hard cocks felt inside of her. She felt like a rag doll between them as they began see sawing in and out of both holes, bouncing her up and down like a between them. It was the most incredible experience of her life and she knew without a doubt that this was something she could definitely get used to and spend the rest of her life doing with them.

“Yes, fuck me,” she begged as their passion drove them to fuck her harder, deeper, faster.

Joshua came first, filling her ass with his heavy load of cum before pulling free of her and moving to a chair by the bed to watch as John finished her off. He didn’t seem to mind at all as his friends filled her with yet another sticky load of come and then lay his head on her chest for a moment to catch his breath.

Afterwards, Joshua climbed back into the bed, falling asleep on his own side while she slept curled up in John’s arms. At some point during the night, he awoke and pulled her on top of him, watching her as she rode him like she was in heat. Her cries of delight awoke John, who leaned up on one elbow as he watched her take what she wanted from Joshua and then shake all over with a series of orgasms. He stroked his cock as he got more and more turned on and then pulled her downward to come in her mouth after Joshua was finished with her.

Exhausted, but content, Goldie fell back asleep with her head on John’s chest. Joshua rested against her back for a while, but eventually crept back to his pillow to sleep. She knew this was the difference in the two men and that was fine with her. She definitely had the best of both worlds.

Chapter Twelve

When the morning came, the weather had cleared. The sun was out and the water had begun to recede. She, John and Joshua made their way downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast, where they encountered the curious faces of Ian and Randy.

“Did everyone sleep well?” Randy asked suggestively.

“Best night of sleep we’ve had in a very long time,” John told them with a wink, causing Goldie to blush a bit, even though she felt happier than she had in a very long time.

“Well, that’s, um, fantastic,” Randy replied, looking unsure of what to say next.

“We’re headed to pick up a few things at the store. Is it open today, John?” Ian asked in an attempt to change the subject.

“Yes. My sister was going to open this morning. It should be up and running. If not, give me a call so I can coax her out of bed, but she’s usually pretty responsible.”

“Where did she stay last night?” Goldie asked, suddenly realizing she hadn’t even thought about where his sister might have been during the flood.

“She was with friends. She prefers to hang with them rather than be stuck with her straight-laced old brother,” he laughed.

Goldie laughed too. Randy and Ian said their goodbyes, telling Goldie to call them when she was heading out and taking their leave to see if they could get back to their house and assess the damage after their trip to the store.

Over breakfast, Joshua and John discussed things further with Goldie. Her eyes grew wide as they informed her of some things she wasn’t aware of. Things that made a lot of difference in how she handled things with her pregnancy.

“We will take you to one of our doctors. He understands about the unique nature of this child,” John told her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, the most important thing you need to know is that bear shifters don’t develop at the same rate as human babies,” he told her.

“What’s the difference?”

“They have a much faster metabolism,” he said.

“How fast?”

“Well, watch this.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled a small knife from his pocket. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he reached across the table and sliced the back of Joshua’s hand.

“What the fuck, man?” Joshua snapped at him. He had been lost in checking his work email and hadn’t been paying attention until he was cut. His hand began to bleed on the table. Goldie looked horrified, but John just laughed and picked up a napkin, dabbing at the blood that flowed. Right before her eyes, the wound began to seal itself. Within mere seconds, it was completely healed with no evidence of even a scar.

“Oh, my God,” she muttered.

“You’re a dick,” Joshua told him, returning to his email.

“Now, don’t be upset. We’re going to be co-mates with this beautiful creature at the table. We will have to love to learn on another too,” John teased him.

“Fuck you,” Joshua retorted with a laugh.

“Anyway, the baby will grow fast. You aren’t looking at a nine-month gestation,” John continued.

“How long?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“Four weeks,” he told her.

“Four weeks? No way. I can’t have a baby in four weeks!” she said.

“You can. You will. It’s just the way it is,” he said.

Joshua lay his phone to one side and nodded at her as if to confirm it. He smiled at her in an almost apologetic fashion as if to say they were sorry they were completely fucking up her life. Goldie wondered if they truly were though. In one way, maybe they were, but in another, they were freeing her. This might just be the best thing that had ever happened to her.

“Okay. We have a lot to sort out in short time,” she said, trying to remain calm.

“Yes, we do,” Joshua nodded, leaning forward to look at her. His eyes grew very serious as he looked into hers and asked his next question. “But before we begin making formal plans, there is one question you need to answer to yourself, Goldie. Forget what John and I want. Is this what you want?”

Goldie looked at him for a moment before glancing over at John, who was looking at her with equal intensity, awaiting her answer. She thought back to last night, how wonderful it had felt to have them both. Her mind wandered to consider how nice it would be to live with two men who could provide her with such different emotional and physical experiences. She couldn’t imagine any single man ever coming along that could make her feel quite as complete as the two of them combined.

“Yes,” she replied simply.

“Are you sure?” Joshua asked, still studying her face.

“I’m very sure,” she replied, not feeling an ounce of reserve. She really did believe that this could work and she could be happy.

“Well, then I guess we should make plans to move forward then,” John said.

After a hardy breakfast, the trio convened to the back room of John’s store to hash out their plans. The hardest decision was for Goldie to quit her job on the TV series and relocate to Bear Lake, but the upside to that was it would force her to finally take a chance on becoming more of an entrepreneur and consulting on costume design in her own capacity. John and Joshua were perfectly willing to support her until after the baby was born and she could focus on setting up her own business. In fact, they weren’t really concerned with whether she worked at all.

A visit to the doctor the following week made things just a bit more interesting. John and Joshua had told her she would not have a litter, but they hadn’t counted on what the doctor had to say about her pregnancy.

“Well, Goldie. I’ve completed my exam and gotten the results back from the tests we did,” he told her on the phone. “Are you sitting down?”

“Yes. Why? What’s wrong?” she asked, feeling an impending sense of doom.

“It looks like you won’t be having just one baby,” he told her.

“What do you mean?” she replied, envisioning quadruplets or some such nonsense.

“Twins. You are carrying twins.” he told her.

“Really? Twins?” she repeated.

“Yes. Two boys,” he told her.

“Thank you doctor. I appreciate your calling,” she said, feeling a bit speechless. Even twins were more than she had banked on.

“No problem. I’ll see you next week for your checkup,” he told her.

Hanging up the phone, Goldie felt like she was in some sort of a daze. She made her way to the bedroom and lay down on the bed, trying to gather her thoughts. Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep and was being awakened by John as he came in from work. Because Joshua worked longer hours, she had been staying at his place while they sold their places and looked for one more suited to their rapidly growing family.

“How do you feel?” he asked, rubbing his large hands across her massively pregnant belly.

“The doctor says we are having twin boys,” she told him.

“Really? That’s fantastic news!” he replied.

“Is it? Maybe for you. You don’t look like you swallowed a beach ball,” she replied.

“Don’t be silly. You look beautiful. Joshua and I couldn’t be happier. We both love you so much,” he told her.

“I love you too, but twins? How are we ever going to manage that?” she said.

“Just like anyone else that has twins. Plus, you have two fathers to help you with them,” he reminded her.

“I suppose,” she said.

“Have you told Joshua?” he asked.

“No, not yet. I was going to call both of you, but I feel asleep.”

“You should call him. He’s going to be through the roof excited.”

“Are we talking about the same man? Joshua is the poster child for calm, cool and collected.”

“Trust me, when you get to know him better, you will see so much more of him. He might be reserved, but he feels just as deeply as the rest of us. Joshua was raised in an orphanage. He doesn’t express himself like we do, but he is full of a passion that is just as breathtaking as yours and mine,” John told her.

“You know him well,” Goldie replied, wondering how her two loves had become so close and feeling just a tad envious that, in some ways, they were closer to one another than they were to her.

“Yes. I do. One day, you will know him just as well. I’ve just had more time to see behind the walls he puts up. Don’t underestimate him, Goldie,” John told her, kissing her on the cheek and handing her the cell phone. “Call him and tell him the exciting news.”

Goldie hit speed dial and waited for Joshua to answer. He sounded a bit preoccupied with work at first, as if he had picked up his phone without looking at the caller ID, but then looked at it and realized it was her.

“Well, hello gorgeous. What’s up?” he said after an initial answer that had consisted simply of “Joshua here.”

“I was calling to tell you that we are having twins,” she told him.

“You’re shitting me!”

“I shit you not,” she replied with a laugh.

“That’s fantastic! I’m even more excited now. I would offer to bring home some champagne to celebrate the good news, but I know you can’t drink. I’ll buy a bottle for after the birth instead. Tell John that he and I are having celebratory beers at least,” he told her.

Two weeks later, Goldie gave birth to twins boys. They were fraternal. One had a full head of black wavy hair and the other was sandy haired. Both had the most incredible blue eyes just like their fathers. Goldie couldn’t help but wonder if it was possible for them to have two different fathers, but as it turned out, she didn’t have to ask.

“Fascinating,” the doctor said as he tended to their new sons.”

“What is fascinating?” she asked, Joshua and John both completely involved in fawning over the boys once they had determined that she was fine.

“It would seem that multiple births born to humans are just the same as those born to bears out in the wild, but I’d need to run tests to be certain,” he told her.

“I don’t understand,” she told him.

“Bears mate with different suitors when they are in heat. As a result, it is not unusual for them to bear cubs that are the offspring of multiple fathers. While I can’t be certain just from looking at them, their coloring and facial characteristics reflect that your sons are quite possibly of two different fathers. In other words, one looks exactly like Joshua and the other looks exactly like John. Do you care if I do DNA testing to be certain?” he asked

“I appreciate your curiosity, doctor and if you would like to put your theory to rest, then I will allow the testing, but I ask that you keep the results to yourself. As far as I am concerned, these children belong to both fathers and always will. I don’t want to differentiate between them in any way,” she said.

“That seems fair to me,” he said with a wink, turning to retrieve the babies from their doting fathers and finish checking up on them before leaving them to start their lives with their parents.

Joshua and John stood on either side of her bed, beaming down at her with pride.

“Aren’t they beautiful boys?” she asked.

“Almost as beautiful as their mother,” Joshua replied, a rare sentimentality from him. She smiled at him and then over at John before closing her eyes and resting for a while. This was the beginning of what would be a very long and interesting life with two of the most perfect men she could have ever hoped to find. Somewhere, her search for what felt good had ended in something that felt just right.

THE END

Back to the Bear

Chapter 1

 

Walking on her tiptoes, carrying her shoes and stepping over the squeaky spot on the floor, Joy moved slowly and cautiously towards the front door. One wrong move would wake up Aris, and she couldn’t risk waking him up again. Several giant beer bottles were strewn around the room and all of them seemed to be pointed at her, ready to tell Aris who had dared wake him up from his always light, fitful sleep.

In order to get to the door, she would have to walk right by him. Aris had insisted on moving the couch right next to the front door of their cabin style house. “In case you get any ideas,” he’d explained, and now going out often meant stepping over at least one corner of the couch. Luckily, some of his awful friends had come by last night so he’d had to move it about halfway out of the path to the outside world. If she was very careful, she might just be able to open the knob, slip out, and make a run for it.

She stepped over an overturned chair, and as her foot came down the floorboards squeaked just a bit. She froze. Aris shifted on the couch and turned towards her, but after a few moments he went back to snoring. She waited anyway, hesitant to keep going, but once she was sure he was asleep she continued walking as silently as possible.

The door was now within reach; all she had to do was squeeze between the end of the couch and the massive bag of empty cans sitting precariously on a pair of sneakers long abandoned by the door. Joy reached out to twist the doorknob and gave the door a little push, but it wouldn’t budge. She pushed again; nothing. Something was blocking her way out.

Carefully moving alongside, the couch, Joy was careful not to let the hem of her dress touch any part of Aris. Even though he snored on, she had a chilling sensation that he wasn’t really sleeping but rather allowing her to believe he was unconscious so that he could lure her closer. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

The large bay window was behind the couch, but Joy couldn’t see the porch with the couch in the way. She would have to lean over it to see what was going on. Very carefully, she put a hand on the back of the sofa and leaned like a plank directly over her snoozing husband, her skirt tucked between her knees. Through the window, she could see the enormous body of Joe Hatchet, Aris’ largest and drunkest friend. He had passed out right by the door and would be dead asleep for most of the day.

The sight of Joe’s mountain-shaped frame made Joy let out a little sigh and the sound of it immediately woke up Aris.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his barefoot wife Joy standing and smiling like a happy recruit to his army of anger. He rubbed his face, thinking he was dreaming, but no; she was there with a big smile on her face.

“Hi honey! I just came down to check and see if you wanted any coffee.”

Aris smiled back. “Hey, this is how I like to wake up.” He reached for her hand and held it gently, swinging it a little. “A happy wife, ready to make me coffee. You know how I like it. I think Joe’s around here somewhere.” He looked around, a little confused.

“I haven’t seen him hon.” She moved into the destroyed kitchen, started the coffee, and then desperately started washing the dishes. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Today had been her day to get out. She had been sure it would happen today. There was still a chance; if Aris and Joe went out fishing she could get out then. Assuming he would leave her behind, which he only did occasionally. She knew if she was extra chipper, his good little wife, he’d let his guard down. Maybe.

Aris stumbled around the living room, kicking things out of the way. “Joe! Joe, my man. Where’d you go?”

From outside came a “What?” and Aris headed to the door.

Through the door, Joy could hear the two of them laughing about how adorable they were; getting drunk, passing out—weren’t they crazy? They were always quick to congratulate one another any time they overdid it, sure that they had been hilarious and fun the whole time they were destroying the furniture, breaking the TV or the refrigerator, or whatever they got their hands on. Joy always wondered at how a person could be happy about waking up in a pile of refuse over and over again. She honestly didn’t get it.

The coffee finished brewing and she poured out two extra big mugs, adding a tablespoon and a half of sugar to Aris’ mug and keeping Joe’s black. For the finishing touch she gave Aris’ a tiny splash of heavy cream just at the top, no stirring. Then she rushed around the living room—sure the two party boys would be back in any moment—picking up furniture, bottles, and garbage. She shoved it all into garbage bags and suddenly realized, she would have to walk these out to the curb. She could dump them and make a run for it.

The two men stumbled in, arms around one another, talking about some girl that Joe had been flirting with the night before.

“She wants me, I know it and you know it.” The two of them sat at the counter on the restaurant-style stools and drank their coffee. “It won’t be long until she’ll be making me coffee the way your little Joy does. Lucky bastard.” Joy continued cleaning. There was no reason to wait for a thank you or an invitation to join them; it wasn’t coming.

Joe watched Joy whip around the house, picking up, getting the spilled beer off the floor, anything to put things back in order so that Aris wouldn’t have anything to fault her for. “How did you get this little angel to marry you, Aris? How come a jerk like you has such a great little woman and I’m still single?”

Aris watched his wife over his cup’s edge. “She knows I love her no matter what. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Joy stopped for a second to flash him her best smile. “That’s right.”

Joe just grunted and raised his eyebrows. “She sure works hard.”

“She likes it.” Aris put his cup down and watched his wife for a moment. “Hon, come over here for a minute.”

Oh no. She tilted her broom against the wall and walked over, the two pairs of eyes boring into her. “Your coffee okay?”

Without a word, Aris smacked her across the face. “I just thought you needed a little color. Seeing as you didn’t bother to put any makeup on.” He turned away from her and went back to his coffee. No one spoke. The only sound was that of Joe loudly slurping his coffee.

Joy stood, not quite sure what to do next, her face on fire from Ari’s slap. Finally, she shuffled back to her broom and quietly swept, the broom making a soft hush, hush on the wooden floor.

The two men focused on their mugs and their contents, neither looking at the other. Aris finally turned to Joe. “You going fishing today?”

“Can’t. My truck needs some work. Remember, I came here with Tully.”

“Oh yeah.” Aris picked up his cup and looked into it. The bottom of it was visible. “Joy, get over here and get me a second cup. Do not make me get it myself. I’m in no mood for your tricks.”

Walking fast, Joy swung around the two and into the kitchen, grabbing the pot and carefully pouring Aris his refill. She put it back and grabbed the cream, giving him a little dash in the top. Joe still had plenty so she moved around the counter again, but Aris grabbed her arm.

“None for Joe? What is this, national women’s lib day? Don’t be so rude.” He dropped her arm and she returned to her post by the coffee maker, settling in for a long wait. Joe glanced at her and she tried to send him a mental message. Help me. Be on my side, just once. Tell him to take it easy on me. Unfortunately for her, Joe’s alcohol and drug-soaked brain was unable to pick up pleas for help.

“It’s okay. I should mosey on home. Take a shower, give my own little cutie a call.” Turning to Joy, he added, “Sorry, doll. Be off the market soon. Hate to crush your dreams but a man’s gotta follow his heart.” At the word heart he thrust his pelvis at her and then laughed hysterically. He waited for Aris to laugh with him, but his friend was silent.

The long, awkward pause didn’t affect Joe in the least. He just chuckled to himself, put on his hat and went out the door. Aris turned to Joy, his eyes deader and blacker than she’d ever seen.

“What was that about?”

“What hon?”

“You’ve been waiting for Joe? Carrying a torch for him? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea why he said that.”

Aris picked up his mug and threw it at her hard and fast. She ducked and it shattered against the wall.

“Don’t lie to me! What is going on between the two of you? Why are my friend and my wife keeping secrets?”

Joy stayed crouched near the floor, her hands up in surrender and her eyes squeezed shut. “It was just one of his dumb jokes, I don’t know why he said it!”

“Come here.” Joy stood slowly, already sobbing. He always said if he ever caught her cheating, he’d kill her. She believed it and she felt confident today was the day. “Faster. Do it. You know better than to lie to me and then hide in the kitchen. Get your butt over here, Joy.”

Joy glanced up and saw her purse hanging on the coat rack. It was only a few feet from the door. Aris was still sitting down and she had a clear path to freedom. She moved slowly, trying to keep her face blank, but angled her feet to the living room.

She only had a millisecond to do it, so she just didn’t think. At the last possible moment, she faked Aris out and sprinted for the door. Her bare feet flew across the now-clear floor, her left hand grabbed her purse and she flew out the door.

Behind her was a screaming, irate husband breaking everything in his path. He was massively hungover but angry enough that he was like a hurricane coming after her. “I’ll kill you! You stupid bitch, you think I won’t? Get back here!” She didn’t look, just focused on jumping over the steps and then racing around to the car port behind the cabin, one hand digging in her purse for the extra set of keys Aris didn’t know about.

She threw herself into the car and started it up as fast as she could. The engine sputtered from the cold and now Aris was on the porch, throwing furniture and howling with fury. Splintered pieces of her grandfather’s rocking chair flew into the air off to one side of the porch as she tried and tried to get the engine to turn over. “Come on, come on.”

Then she saw him. He was right behind her, trapping the car between the big tree they parked under and his body. She would have to run him over.

“Joy, you steal this car and I won’t call the police. I’ll hunt you down myself. Don’t be stupid. Just turn it off and come out.”

Just then, the car started. Joy floored the gas pedal and reversed right into the spot where Aris was standing. He leapt out of the way, falling onto his back as he did, and she sped away in reverse. As she left, she had a clear view of him jumping to his feet and walking after the car, his stare drilling into her. He was still yelling, but she couldn’t hear him. She made it to their little dirt road, whipped the car around and sped away as fast as she could.

Commanding herself not to look back, she gripped the steering wheel hard and went far too fast for the first fifteen minutes. Only after she had about sixty miles between herself and her murderous husband did she relax and drive normally. After a few miles with the radio on, the window open and Aris far behind her, she allowed her shoulders to relax and took in the landscape of the surrounding forest. It was beautiful.

 

“I told you I’m not interested.”

Joy’s father stood in front of her at his door. The sight of his daughter in a wrinkled dress, messy hair and bare feet did nothing to jog his memory. She was desperate for him to recognize her, but she knew if she argued with him that he would just get angry.

“Yes, you did tell me that. Which is why today, I’m here to offer you something new; I’d like to be your roommate!” She smiled a chipper smile despite being bone tired. The thought of Aris finding her in a hotel room had kept her driving most of the night. She had pulled over for the night, but her car wasn’t that comfortable and she’d only slept a few hours.

“Well, a roommate might be nice.”

Joy stepped a little closer to him. “I’m clean, I’m a hard worker, and we already like all the same TV shows.”

At that, Drew Granger’s eyebrows gave a little wiggle of delight. “You like Judge Hunter? She’s a pistol.”

“Love her!” The two went in and Joy made a beeline for the bathroom. She cleaned up as much as she could while her dad settled down in front of the television. She left him to it and went to check out her old room. There she found some boxes full of old her clothes and got a new outfit, grateful for once that her dad hated to throw anything out. It was a little chilly so she pulled on an old black sweater she had always liked and then walked back out into the living room.

“Joy, honey.” She turned to see her father fully lucid, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “When did you get in? Gosh it’s nice to see you.”

“I flew in yesterday, Dad. Remember, I told you I’m leaving Aris.”

“I told you not to marry that son of a bitch. I always knew he was trouble.”

She smiled and rubbed his hand. “You did, Dad. Thanks for trying. I’ve always had a hard time seeing other people’s bad sides. I just…” She shook her head. “I just want everyone to be good, you know?”

He patted her hand and smiled at her. “That’s because you’re the most innocent little soul on earth. I always said so.”

Her dad’s words brought little pinpricks of tears to her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Will you stay long?”

“I thought I would stay here a while and help you out with everything. Would you like that?”

He guffawed. “I don’t need any help. I’m fine.”

Her father turned to the TV as the theme music for Judge Hunter started. He snatched his hand away from Joy and scowled at her. “I don’t hold hands with anyone anymore. Except my daughter Joy. So please don’t do that anymore.”

Joy nodded and swallowed hard. “Sorry about that, Steve. I’ll be more careful.”

 

 

Chapter 2

 

“Joy? Joy!” The gum-smacking, bottle-blond cashier at the Swing Through Gas Station ran out from behind the counter and threw her arms around Joy. The smell of green apple shampoo and vanilla perfume jogged Joy’s memory—it was Coco.

“Coco, hi.” The two regarded each other for a second, Coco with a knowing smile and Joy with an awkward grimace. “So, you’re working here now?”

“Yeah.” Coco gave a little shrug with an eyebrow raise, her signature expression. “It’s okay I guess. I mean, you know, it’s easy. What about you? You here on a visit or are you finally coming back?”

“I moved back home.” Joy put her milk and bologna on the counter, praying the question and answer session was over.

“Oh.” Coco nodded knowingly. “Your dad.”

“Unfortunately. I just don’t feel like he can live alone anymore.”

“I get it.” Coco rang up Joy’s purchases and took her money. “Remember when your dad was our English Lit. teacher and everyone hated him? We were awful! Do you remember the stuff we used to do in his class? It must have taken all his strength not to kill us.”

Joy gritted her teeth but kept a smile on her face. “I remember.” She grabbed her stuff and walked out, not bothering with a goodbye. Behind her, Coco was trying to say something but she couldn’t quite hear it. The door dinged as someone else walked in and Coco quickly switched gears.

“Terry! Hi. How are the kids?”

Outside, Joy looked around at her little hometown of Stottard, Wisconsin. She could almost take in the whole place with a couple of glances. There was the auto shop full of trucks and tractors, the cafe with the same food they’d served for as long as she could remember, the two traffic lights. All the homes were scattered in different directions, the empty space a leftover from the days when Stottard had been a haven for farmers. There were still a few farms, but now they grew an ugly, hard corn that was ground up into a weird mush used by fast food places and food processing plants. To get actual vegetables a person had to drive about thirty minutes out of town to a big chain store just off the freeway.

A big sigh came out of Joy. She could hear her younger self on the phone with her friends. They’d all been so glamorous and beautiful back then. They could spend all day putting on makeup, dreaming of big city life, assigning each other future careers like impressionist painter and the next country music star. None of them had wanted to stay here, they’d all wanted to run away as quickly as possible, but only Joy had made it out and she’d only gone as far as the surrounding mountains.

What had happened to that confidence she’d had not so long ago? She looked back inside to see Coco in her gas station shirt and her over-treated hair. Coco had been a queen bee back in high school. Everyone wanted to be her, to be near her, to get an invite to her parties. Joy and her friends had never been in the popular group, but they’d created their own little universe full of books about other worlds. They’d spend all day dreaming about kings and queens, building castles in the air so that they could climb inside. She remembered feeling so special, so ill-suited for a town like this.

And yet, here she was, right here with all the people she’d sneered at for so long. Well, that’s what a body got for making plans. She turned and walked down the path to her father’s house, wondering if he would remember her this time.

Her dad was having a good day; for the most part he knew who Joy was and why she was there. She was arranging her old room and going through her stuff while he wandered in and out of her doorway, leaning in to ask the same three questions again.

“You’ve really left him?”

“Yes, Dad. Aris and I are through. I can’t take it anymore.”

“You have a lawyer yet?”

“No, not yet. I’ll find one in a couple of days. I just need to rest. And spend time with you.

“How long are you staying?”

“I really don’t know, Dad. I hope a long time.”

When she said that, he would smile and wander away, singing a little tune to himself. Joy found herself singing along as she made her bed.

Take my girl

And you’ll take my world

Wreck my heart and

You’ll tear my soul

You don’t know how hard

I’ve fallen...

She remembered listening to that song with her high school crush, Zak. What had ever happened to that guy? One day he just wasn’t at school. Joy could still recall how shocked all their teachers had been that he seemed to have just dropped out.

“Has anyone seen Zak? Anyone know if something happened?” They had all been genuinely concerned that such a sweet, smart student could just vanish without anyone knowing why or how. Joy had always lived with the guilt of inspiring him to disappear. She was sure she was the reason.

The two of them had gotten together and had a madly romantic couple of weeks kissing in the back of the movie theater, driving around the open country roads outside of town and telling each other their secrets. Then, suddenly, Aris had come into Joy’s life and something in her snapped. While Zak was gentle and genuine, Aris just had that bad boy edge that made Joy’s heart pound. In a few days she’d made her choice.

“Zak, you’re great. Really. But, I just want Aris. I can’t help it.”

“What?” The poor kid. He was so shocked he hadn’t said anything after that, just ran off into the night and left her on her porch. She’d felt awful, but she was sure she’d made the right decision. She couldn’t be with one guy if she was in love with someone else, right? It had seemed so clear to her at the time.

The next day, he was gone. Just like that.

Her room finished, she decided to make lunch for herself and her dad. He only ate bologna sandwiches these days. She didn’t mind, but she also really wanted to get some vegetables in his diet. She wondered how nurses went about sneaking carrots or greens into their patients’ food. It couldn’t be easy.

“Hey dad, you hungry?”

Her father walked into the kitchen with a scowl. “Why are you asking me? Aren’t you in charge around here, Brenda? If you’re hungry, make some food. Just leave some out for me and I’ll get to it.”

“Sure thing, Steve.”

“And let me know if my daughter calls. I’ve been waiting to talk to her.”

He stomped out and sat down in a huff. Joy wasn’t sure who Brenda was, but she was suspicious it was the name of a nurse dad had hired a while back. He would only be so short with a stranger.

She made herself a sandwich and then one for her father, then joined him in the living room for an episode of Judge Hunter. The show was a reality program about a small claims court where the judge would get fed up with the people who would come to see her. She often told people they were ridiculous or irresponsible, much to her father’s delight.

Just as she got settled, a noise started up outside. At first, it sounded like a weird buzzing, maybe a swarm of bees. After a moment, Joy realized it was the sound of motorcycles all revving and speeding down the street. She tried to ignore it but the noise filled the living room. Her father cranked up the volume on the TV but it was no use, the roar of the bikes speeding past was too much for even the loudest setting.

“Damn kids! I hate those biker sons of bitches. I’ve called the police a hundred times. Never does any good.”

“Bikers?” Joy stood and went to the window, too curious to let the moment pass. She pushed aside the curtain just as a gang of bikes turned the corner on their street. The big, gleaming motorcycles careened around the corner like a parade. The air throbbed with the power of their engines and the drivers made sure to rev their engines as much as possible, announcing to the whole town that they were present and powerful.

She stared at the man who led the group. His deep black hair and bright eyes were incredibly familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Had they gone to school together?

Her father joined her at the window, scowling again. “I just hate to see that nice boy throw his life away like that. His parents didn’t raise him that way.”

“Who?”

“What do you mean who? The leader! Your ex-boyfriend, Zak. That’s his gang and that’s him right there in the lead. I tell you, he is not the kid I remember. No, sir. For a long time, I hoped you’d marry him. Now I hope you never go near Zak Mansing again.”

Joy’s heart stopped. Zak? No, it couldn’t be. Zak had loved reading, had spent long afternoons in the woods watching the birds and keeping an eye out for deer. Zak had been a volunteer at the church, a good student, a nice son to his parents. Now he was in a gang? She could hardly wrap her head around it.

The gang came back around and Joy stared out the window to get another look at the man who, long ago, had been her first boyfriend. For just a moment, he turned and saw her in the window. Did he give her a little smile, or was that her imagination? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that her heart was going a million miles an hour. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had made her so excited.

Over the next few days, the mood of the town shifted. Apparently, the gang wasn’t there all the time, just once every few weeks. Everyone was a little more jumpy, a little less smiley when they were close by. Joy saw the difference instantly. Even Coco from the gas station seemed like a different person when she went in to buy some juice and eggs one morning.

“Hi Coco. How are you?”

“Good, thanks. That will be five dollars and eighty cents.”

Shocked at Coco’s poker face, she put the money down. Then, she heard them. The motorcycle engines revving like crazy as they drove straight for the station. She turned and hoped she’d have time to leave before they came in, but no such luck. By the time Coco had passed over her change, they were there. They parked so that they blocked the door and no one could leave. The group walked in with a tough swagger, throwing the door open and stationing one member in the doorway so no one could get in.

A bearded man in a black leather jacket approached the counter. “Hi Coco. How’re you?”

“You guys have to pay for your stuff. You don’t get to come in here and loot my store. It’s not okay.”

Joy backed up and tried to make herself as small as possible as the two had their stand-off, Coco demanding money while the bearded man insisted she worried too much. All around Joy, members of the gang were helping themselves to packaged cakes, bottles of soda, hot dogs from the spinning cooker and burritos from the fridge. All the food went right into their pockets or straight into their mouths. No one reached for their wallets.

Seeing a free corner, Joy made her way towards it, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. Without meaning to, she bumped into a shoulder and mumbled a “sorry.”

“That’s okay. Hey, wait a minute.” A hand grabbed hers and stopped her. “Joy? Is that you?”

Zak’s eyes looked just like she remembered, blue as a summer sky and just as clear. To her surprise, the sweetness she remembered was still evident in those eyes. She smiled back.

“It’s me. I just came back to town.”

“Wow. You know you look exactly the same.”

“No! You’re flattering me.”

“I’m not.” He smiled and squeezed her hand a little more. She didn’t pull away. The two stared at each other for a long moment, then started laughing. Joy wasn’t sure what about; although Zak and his friends robbing a store while they played catch up was kind of funny.

“Hey,” he said, still holding her hand. “What are you doing tonight? You want to get together and catch up?”

She looked around at his crew. All of them looked pretty rough. Even the pretty ladies in the group had a hardness in their eyes that made Joy very nervous. The ripped up jeans, the leather jackets, the shirts proclaiming their love of different brands of alcohol, all of it seemed to add up to a bad idea.

“I don’t know, Zak. My dad needs a lot of help. I better stay in tonight.”

“Alright, you’re playing hard to get. I understand.” He picked her hand up and looked at it, then looked her in the eye. “But you know you’ll go out with me one day. I don’t know when, I just know it’s going to happen. And so do you.”

He gave her hand a kiss, then gently lowered it back down to let it go. “Alright, troops! Let’s roll out.” He signaled for their exit by making a big circle around the top of his head with his hand and without protest the group filed out, got on their bikes, and roared off. Joy and Coco watched them leave, Coco with her arms crossed and red-faced. Joy’s eyes stayed on Zak. She couldn’t seem to look away. He looked back at her and they held eye contact for a long time, both of them smiling. She watched until he pulled away, and he and his crew disappeared into the distance.

Of course, she wasn’t going to go on a date with him; that would be massively stupid. Just the thought made her shake her head at the absurdity of the idea. But she couldn’t forget those beautiful eyes. They followed her everywhere she went for the rest of the day.

 

Chapter 3

 

Joy’s father had good days and bad. Sometimes, he wanted to dance in the living room, stay up late and eat chocolate ice cream or sing songs with his daughter. He seemed delighted to have her back in his life. Today, however, was not one of those days.

“Brenda, call my daughter, will you? I haven’t heard from her in ages. I’m worried.”

Orders to call herself were always given without eye contact. She hated it when she had to be Brenda. Brenda was unwanted, unrecognized. If Dad experienced any joy, he was loathe to share it with her when she became this other person to him. It made her heart sink down into her stomach.

Tonight, she thought she would try something. She walked over to the phone on the wall and picked up the receiver, covertly unplugging the connection so she could press the numbers without calling anyone.

“You remember her number?”

“Sure thing, Steve. I’ve got it memorized.” She waited a few seconds, then put on her little performance.

“Hello, is Joy there? Oh great, could I speak to her, please? Yes, I can wait.” In the next room, the volume on the TV got lower and she could hear her dad leaning so far back in his lounger that it gave a big creak. “Joy? Hi! It’s Brenda, your Dad’s helper. Oh, we’re fine. We just wanted to call and see if you could manage a visit sometime soon. Really? You don’t say! Well, that would be just wonderful. He will be thrilled. I’ll tell him right now. Bye, Joy.”

She hung up and saw that her father’s head was peeking around the doorway, anxious for news. “Well?” His eyebrows were almost all the way up his forehead. “What did she say?”

“She was missing you so much and so happy to hear that you were thinking of her that she’s coming to see you. She’ll be in first thing tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful.” He put his hand on his chest, warming the space around his heart. When he looked up, he had the beginnings of tears in his eyes. “She was the best thing that ever happened to me, you know? We didn’t plan her, we just went for it. Being parents. She was my one impulsive decision and I don’t regret it. Not for a minute.” He looked up at her and instantly got annoyed. “What are you crying for? She’s not your daughter!” He huffed and stormed out of the room like a little boy, leaving Joy to hold her own heart.

 

The next morning, she woke up excited to see if her father would be back in Dad mode or if he would be her cranky patient again. She jumped up to make his coffee and get his bagels in the toaster. Dad really needed to cut back on bread. Well, that was for another day; today she prayed he would be happy.

He shuffled out of his room and gave her a big smile. “Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep alright?”

She ran over and gave him a big hug. “I did, Daddy. Thanks.”

He hugged her back. “Aren’t you sweet? You know, I had a memory come back to me last night.”

“What was that?”

“Do you remember that time we missed each other so much that you just dropped everything and came out here for a visit? All it took was one quick phone call from that cow, Brenda and you ran out here like a shot.” He patted her cheek. “That’s what I always loved about you, dear. You’ve always known just when you’re needed.”

The rest of the day was a nice one. The weather was mild and great for puttering around in the garden, so she and her father tooled around outside. When he asked her if she would go and pick up some chocolate ice cream at the store outside of town, she went happily, checking to make sure nothing had been left on or locked before she went.

“Anything else you need, Dad?”

He handed her some cash. “Get something for yourself. You’re a sweetheart, you deserve it.”

She ran out to the car and flew down the street, hoping if she hurried that Dad’s memory would hold out for the rest of the night.

As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she saw them. The line of motorcycles right at the entrance. She swallowed and parked as far back as she could, uncertain what to do next. Then she saw the gang’s guard posted outside the door. They looked at each other for a moment, then he turned to the inside of the store to talk to someone. When he turned back to her, he gave her a big, come-on-over wave. She pointed to herself; me? He nodded. Gulping, she walked towards the big, carefully guarded doors and the big, bearded man standing with his hands in his pockets.

She could see herself reflected in his shades, the two women in his dark eyes looking pale and shaky as he stared at her, expressionless.

“Zak says come in and take what you want. You have the protection of The Beasts.” He stepped aside and let her through.

Inside, the small group of customers who had been cornered by the gang were standing in the back of the store near the pharmacy, doing everything they could to blend in with the wall. One of the women in the group of nervous shoppers looked at Joy and then quickly looked away. Joy recognized her, but wasn’t sure what her name was. She was about to join her and her silent cohort when she got a tap on the shoulder.

“Hey! Nice to see you again.” Zak opened his arms and gave her a big hug. She couldn’t help inhaling his warm, country-boy scent while they hugged. He smelled like dusty roads and pine trees, like old, beat-up trucks and barbecues. When he pulled away, he gave her his signature, bad boy smile. “So, you need something?”

“I’m just here to get some ice cream for my dad.” She pointed a finger into his chest. “And I intend to pay for it. I appreciate the invitation into the store with your… friends, but I’m here to buy, not take.”

He immediately put an innocent look on his face and his hand on his chest as if he were deeply offended. “Hey, we keep this town safe! Do you know how many rival gangs would be here if we weren’t? We’re unarmed and friendly, but the neighboring crews know better than to cross us. And hey.” He gestured to the store. “Everybody needs to eat.”

He took her by the arm and walked her by the vegetables and snacks, then around the corner to dairy section. “How have you been? You and Aris get married?”

“We’re divorced, actually.” She quickly crossed and uncrossed her fingers as she said it. After all, it wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Sorry to hear that.” He sighed and stared off into thedistance. “Aris was such a great guy. I mean, great enough for you to leave me for him.”

“Zak, I want you to know that I’ve never forgiven myself for—” The sight of his smile and the twinkle in his eye stopped her. She smacked his arm. “You really had me going! You big jerk.” She laughed as he feigned a seriously injured arm. “Alright, knock it off.”

He stopped her and turned her so she faced him directly. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up about something that happened in high school. You were just following your heart. Most people don’t have the courage, but you went for it. So what if he wasn’t the right guy? You still have time to meet someone.”

He turned and continued towards the freezer section before she could respond, still leading her by the arm as if they were walking down the red carpet. All around them were members of Zak’s gang, all of whom were careful to give them a wide berth as they walked past the glass doors filled with a rainbow of ice cream flavors. Joy noticed how reluctant everyone was to approach or even cross paths with Zak as they perused the flavors. What had he told them about her?

“So,” Zak asked, leaning against one of the freezers, “we’re looking for ice cream for your dad.”

“Yes.”

“And you insist on paying for it?”

“I do.”

He gave a little shrug. “I can’t remember the last time I passed up free food. But, if you insist on paying, you should at least get something good. What does he like?”

She smiled as he seriously considered all the different flavors. He was so incredibly good-looking, and his face looked so young. It was hard for her to believe they were the same age.

“He loves chocolate. Any kind of chocolate.”

Zak opened a glass door and took out a tub of Death by Chocolate. “Well, this is chocolate with about five other kinds of chocolate and chocolate crunchies swirled in. Will that do?”

“Perfect.” She held it and smiled at him for a moment and he smiled back. “Zak, I know you’ve got this whole motorcycle gang thing happening and I have no idea what your personal life is, but I just want you to know…” She cleared her throat, suddenly nervous. He took one of her hands and she let him hold it for a moment. “I want you to know that I always wonder what my life would have been like if I’d stayed with you. You know what I mean?”

He looked down at the ground, swinging her hand back and forth like a teenager. “Well, I don’t know that you would have been happy with me. My life took an interesting turn just after we broke up.”

Leading her by the hand, he pulled her away from the freezer and down towards the only operating cashier. Joy couldn’t help but note how gently he touched her. She didn’t feel nervous around him at all but rather trusted him immediately. Her nerves felt as if they had been smoothed down by a strong hand, allowing her to let Zak take control of the conversation without feeling as if he was bossing her around or threatening her. It was like learning to breathe again.

“So what was it that drove you away?”

“Joy…” Zak pulled her in for a hug as she pulled out her wallet to pay for the ice cream. “If I told you, I doubt you’d believe me.”

“What do you mean?”

He started to say something, but then stopped himself and just shook his head. Unsure what was happening, Joy handed her money over to the fuming cashier and didn’t say anything, just looked at Zak. There was something in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure how to define it. Who was this crazy guy she was looking at? The leader of a motorcycle gang, or something else?

The cashier, a scrawny teenager, bagged the ice cream and thrust it at Joy, glaring at Zak. “See? Your friend can pay for food and whatever. You and your lackies can do the same.”

He didn’t react, just stayed relaxed with his hands in his jean pockets. He blew a kiss to Joy and then chucked the cashier under the chin. “Bye ladies.” He went back into the depths of the store, leaving the both of them to watch him go back into the mayhem his crew was creating. Joy turned to leave, the doors only opening for her because the guard at the door reactivated the censor as she approached. Behind her, the door locked, holding in the gang and keeping the rest of the world out.

Joy drove back and focused on the scenery on the open road; the farms, the fruit stands, the small houses. She found herself unable to stop smiling as she remembered her romantic walk through the grocery store. The whole thing had felt like an elaborate set-up, as if she’d been on the set of a romantic movie and played the leading woman being seduced by the handsome young man.

Maybe one day they would go on a real date. Of course, she was technically still married and Aris could show up at any minute, and her father would string her up by her toes if she went out with a man who ran a motorcycle gang. Still… a date with Zak might just be worth risking her ex-husband’s wrath and the possibility of being disowned by her only remaining family member. It would be just perfect.

The next morning, Joy went out on a mission; she had the name and address of a small law office and she was shopping for a divorce. She drove to the small office, which turned out to be near the same grocery store where she’d last seen Zak. Her heart sped up for a moment; would she see him again? Today it was quiet; normal shoppers who felt no need to set up guards at the door streamed in and out of the automatic doors. The Law Offices of Bramble & Bramble sat quietly in the tall grass and when Joy walked in she was greeted by a receptionist who put her finger to her lips, asking her to respect the silence. She nodded her head in deference and then took a seat.

After being escorted in, she was greeted by a chubby lawyer with wild, curly hair and five o’clock shadow on his face. He wiped the sweat from his brow and regarded her for a moment. “So,” he started, tilting his head. “I’m guessing we’re drawing up some divorce papers today.”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Hmm…” He took out a couple of forms and started shooting questions at her.

“Did he cheat on you?”

“Yes, many times.”

“Ever hit you?”

“Constantly.”

“You ever call the police on him?”

“I tried a couple of times, but they’re all his drinking buddies. He’d just invite them out for a drink and they’d look the other way.”

This continued for a long while, Bramble asking questions and Joy answering yes to almost all of them. By the time they were done, they had an impressive list of reasons for Joy to leave Aris. Seeing all the boxes ticked yes made her marvel at the marriage she’d just left.

Bramble stared at it as well, not speaking. Finally, he cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Honey,” he said, his face falling. “How did you last one day in this marriage?”

Joy laughed at loud at the question; how indeed? Looking at this long list of reasons to leave and perfectly good causes for divorce really made her wonder what had kept her in Aris’ clutches.

She shrugged. “I guess I just loved him. That’s all.”

“Do you still?”

Joy shook her head no, slowly. “No. Not at all. Now that I’m away from him, I never want to see him again.”

Chapter 4

 

“Joy? Joy! Phone for you!” Joy’s dad let the receiver hang from the landline phone in the kitchen and shuffled away. Judge Hunter was on so his attention was devoted to the TV. Joy walked to the phone, heart pounding. Was this an old friend? Aris raging at the divorce papers that had arrived at his house? Or someone else? She lifted the phone to her ear, biting her lip in anticipation.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Joy. It’s Zak. Can you talk for a moment?”

“Zak!” There it was again, that thrum in her chest. How was he able to do her in with just a hello? “Hi. Yes, I can talk. How are you?”

“Good, good. Listen, we’re all getting together at a bonfire tonight. I thought I could take you out on my bike, introduce you to some friends and show you the stars. What do you think?”

She giggled like a teenager, then blushed at how silly she sounded. “You think I haven’t seen stars?”

“Well…” Now it was his turn to giggle. “I think you’ve seen some of those second-rate stars, but I know where the best, most beautiful stars are in the sky. You won’t believe it.”

Joy curled the phone wire around her fingers, already mentally out with Zak. “I guess I could go out for a while. As long as you don’t get me home too late. You know my dad can’t be on his own all night. He might, I don’t know, go for a random drive or something.”

“Oh, of course. I would never get in the way of that. Don’t worry.” He took a breath and calmed himself down. “I mean, I’ll have you home by eleven. Can I pick you up around seven thirty?”

Joy looked at her dad, thoroughly absorbed in his show and yelling at the screen. She’d have time to make him some sandwiches before she left and there was ice cream in the freezer. He would be okay. “Sure. Seven thirty. And you better deliver on those stars.”

He laughed, smiling so big she could almost see it through the phone. “You got it. I’ll pick you up at your place.”

Before Joy could ask him not to drive his bike to the house, he hung up. There was no way her dad would be okay with a loud motorcycle pulling up to the house and her jumping on the back. How was she going to play this? She bit her lip and moved to the living room to join her dad in the extra recliner.

He looked over at her with a scowl. “What’s eating you, Brenda?”

Her breath caught for a moment—he thought she was Brenda. Maybe she could swing the motorcycle chauffeur after all. “Oh, it’s my brother. He’s supposed to pick me up today, but he traded in his car for a motorcycle. I’m just a little nervous about riding on it.”

Steve dismissed the comment with a gesture. “Don’t be such a baby. Just take my leather jacket and wear a helmet.” He turned to look at her with a wicked smile. “That way, if you crash, at least your top half won’t get scattered all over the road.” He laughed loudly at his own joke, then turned back to the show.

Joy stood and walked to the closet. She remembered that old jacket; it was her dad’s favorite from the sixties. In the hall closet, she flipped through the winter coats and fall parkas, hopeful this beautiful old jacket really was in there. Just as she was about to give up, she found it. It was shoved into a corner on the top shelf. She took it down and shook it out. It was a little dusty and had some odd folds in it, but overall it was in great shape. She slipped it on and found that it fit pretty well; the style at the time was a slimmer fit, so the jacket didn’t have any bulk to it but rather hung well from her small shoulders. She went to the bathroom mirror and admired her reflection for a moment, turning from side to side. She grabbed a tube of red lipstick and dabbed on a bit of color, then fluffed her curly hair a bit to make it look like she’d just been out on the road.

“Hi Zak,” she said to the mirror. “Oh, this? It’s just an old jacket I found in the closet. No one was using it so…” She posed with an arched back, her legs apart. I look good, she thought. Like, biker chick good.

“Brenda! You find my jacket?”

“Yeah, I did. You sure you don’t mind if I wear it? It’s a classic.”

Harrumphing his way up from his chair, her father walked into the bathroom to see for himself. He looked at her for a long while, mouth open. “Brenda,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so lovely.”

Joy fought the urge to throw her arms around her dad, hugging herself instead. “Thanks, Steve. I mean it.”

As promised, at seven thirty on the dot, a huge, gleaming motorcycle pulled into the driveway. Joy practically squealed at the sight; she hadn’t been on a date in years and now, here she was, living the dream. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

There was Zak with his gleaming back hair, his shades propped up on the shock of hair so that she could see his blue eyes. She waved to him from the kitchen window and he waved back, all smiles.

“Bye, Steve! I’ll be back tomorrow!”

“Bye, Brenda. Be careful.”
Free from all responsibilities for the moment, she ran out to meet Zak and the two threw their arms around each other and held on tight. Joy marveled at how good and how natural it felt to hold him in her arms, as if they’d been specifically designed for the job.

“Hi,” she mumbled, still holding on.

“Hi. Good to see you.” Hi lips brushed her ear as he talked and she could smell that familiar, wild country boy scent again. Her knees turned to liquid for just a moment, then she collected herself. It was just a date, after all.

“Okay,” she said, swinging her leg up and over the seat, the wrapping her arms and legs around Zak. “Let’s get to this bonfire.”

He revved up the engine and tilted his head back, yelling something to her, but she couldn’t make out a word. She opened her mouth to ask what he’d said, but they tore off down the road and her “What?” turned into a “Woohoo!”

The fire was out in the foothills just between Stottard and the next town. They had a beautiful view of the woods below and all around them from the high vantage point on top of the boulder where they’d built the fire. The flames made the rock below them glow like a lantern and the smoke rose and twisted into the air as if it were a natural part of the scenery, as if this rock had just been waiting for a fire to come along. Below the boulder was a ring of motorcycles and some gang stragglers yelling up to the main group on the top as they grilled kabobs for the group. The smell of charred meat wafted all around the party and smelled even more tempting as it mingled with the scent of the woods. Joy sat and took it all in as she leaned against Zak who propped her up like a chair. The two of them listened to the raucous conversation around them, laughing at the crazy stories of the gang and their adventures and their bawdy jokes.

Joy turned to ask a man named Greg for another beer, and as she turned her head, she saw something. She wasn’t sure what she saw, but suddenly Greg seemed huge and hulking. His face didn’t look human, it seemed wild and vicious. Joy almost screamed, but then everything turned back to normal just as quickly. Greg looked like himself, but there was an odd glow to his eyes.

“Greg?” She reached out for him and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“What’s up, buttercup?”

“I, uh, I was just wondering if I could get another beer.”

Greg gave her an exaggerated bow. “It would be my honor.” He yelled down to the food crew below and a beer flew up towards him; he caught it mid-air. “Here you are.”

“Thank you, sir.” She nodded in appreciation, but as she cracked it open, she felt odd. What exactly was this motorcycle gang? Was there a reason they stayed so separate for everyone else? She couldn’t be sure.

She turned her attention back to the gathering and members Petunia and Lisa who were re-enacting a bad date one of them had been on recently.

“Hey baby. How about we find out if your clothes look this good on my floor?”

Gasping in shock, Lisa slapped Petunia away with a big show of melodrama. “Oh, you cad! You horrible man! Get away from me this instant.” She flounced away while her pursuer stood, mouth open in dumbfounded shock, much to the amusement of the group. While everyone was laughing, Zak leaned down to whisper something in her ear.

“Hey, I promised you some juicy stars. Want to go see them?”

Smiling, she nodded and let him take her by the hand over to the side of the boulder with a metal ladder going down the side. They went down carefully while the group let out a loud chorus of oohs and aahs as they went, teasing them for slipping away.

“Watch yourself, honey. He’s a heartbreaker!”

“And a pelvis breaker, if you know what I mean.”

They walked away giggling, leaving the group behind to speculate as to their actions.

Zak led Joy through a bramble of low-hanging branches, over a small brook, and then around a quick switch back in the path. They emerged into a small meadow tucked away in the trees. The ground was covered in soft, feathery grass and, as promised, the stars and the moon were clearly visible from here, even a little brighter.

“Wow!” She stepped out into the center of the opening, taking in the sky and the air around here. The space felt so magical. She felt as if a fairy would fly up to her face or an ancient god was about to pass through.

Her date hung back, watching her. She turned around and looked at him, her face animated with the moment. “Zak, this is so beautiful.”

He stepped in and took her hand. “Then it’s a good place for you.” He stared at her face for a long time, his soft eyes taking in every detail of her face. “You always were so lovely. Back in high school you were the prettiest thing I’d ever seen and you still are today. It’s amazing.”

She blushed and squeezed his hand. “Stop it.”

“I won’t.” He pulled her into to his side and pointed to the sky. “You see those three, extra bright stars over there that make kind of a stretched out triangle?”

“Yeah. That’s the tail of Ursa Major, the bear.”

He looked at her in surprise. “You know it?”

“Again, you act like I’ve never seen stars before.”

He raised his hands in a mock surrender. “Hey, I stand corrected. Anyway, I wanted to show you this place because it’s one of the best places to see this constellation. It’s always been my favorite.”

“It’s beautiful. I can see why this place and this constellation is your favorite.” She turned to him, remembering the moment back at the party when Greg had suddenly changed. “Hey, I need to ask you about something.”

He put his arms up on her shoulders, listening. “What’s up?”

“I don’t really know. I think you’re going to think I’m nuts.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve always believed you were crazy.”

She gave him a little punch in the chest, laughing. “Well, then I guess I’ll just tell you. I was talking to Greg and for a moment, he looked like a massive animal. Like, he seemed to change for a moment.”

Zak didn’t laugh, but rather got a serious expression on his face and focused on the grass below him. “Joy,” he said, not looking at her, “there’s a lot about me that I want to explain to you, but I don’t know if I can. Life really did change for me when I left town, in a lot of unexpected ways.” He looked at her and sighed. “I guess, I don’t really have the words to describe what’s up with me.”

Joy took in the moment, sure that Zak would tell her if he could. She looked into his pained face; what was he carrying inside him? “Maybe,” she said, stepping closer to him, “you can’t tell me because, we don’t entirely trust each other yet. It has been a long time.”

He moved his hands into her hair, sliding his fingers into her blond curls. “Maybe. Maybe, we could change that.” Pulling her head towards him, he brought her in for a deep, passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, so excited that a loud moan escaped her.

Zak sank down to his knees, pulling her down with him. He covered her neck in kisses, making her tilt her head back and open the neck of her shirt so he could go lower. His hands slid up underneath her bra and cupped her breasts. She shrugged off her jacket and pulled her shirt up over her head, her bra following quickly behind.

His own jacket and shirt followed and he held her to his naked torso, his searing skin almost burning hers. The two of them kissed like they’d never felt the lips of another person before, both of them mad with the feel of the other’s mouth on them. Zak grabbed her hair and pulled, arching her back so that her breasts pointed out and she was looking up into the sky. Above her, Ursa Major glowed so brightly that she could see the bear in the sky, growling down at the earth, pawing the ground with a passion of its own.

When he released her hair, Joy was taken by how bright Zak’s eyes were. They appeared to be glowing just as brightly as the stars. She was about to ask him what was happening when he kissed her again, harder this time.

“Joy,” he whispered. “I want you right here, right now.”

“Here? In the meadow?”

“I can’t think of a better place.” His fingers traveled up her rib cage and then moved over to her breast. She thought of stopping him, of making him wait, but it felt too good to be touched like that. His other hand was in her hair, grabbing her long, blond locks at the roots and pulling back just a little. “Joy… Joy… I need you…”

Without a word, she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Take me then.”

He quickly lowered her down onto the grass, pulling her onto his lap. “God, you look amazing,” They wrapped their arms around one another, pressed their chests together and just let the heat between them intensify. Gently setting Joy on the ground, Zak stood, pulling off the rest of his clothes. Joy sat up at the sight of him completely nude; his body was taught with square, defined muscles that made his shoulders extra wide and his arms round and hard. Zak’s waist was small and his butt was surprisingly round, almost as round as hers. Even his ankles and his toes looked extremely strong, as if he could scale huge boulders or tall oaks with just his firm digits.

“And you,” Joy reached out to his chest and touched it gently, “you look incredible. You’re so, I mean, you’re in such great shape.” She looked up and down his body without any sense of shame.

“Think so?” He stood in the moonlight and she propped herself up on one side to see him pose. He stood with authority in the space in front of her, flexing his arms and legs, every part of his body in full view. Even his cock was strong and tall. Joy couldn’t help noticing that it was so erect that it pointed straight up at the trees.

“Yeah. I do.” She stood and slipped off her shoes. Unbuckling her jeans, she let them fall to the ground so she could step out of them. Her panties were lacy white and glowed a little bit in the moonlight. She hooked her thumbs in the waistband and pulled them down, then stood naked in front of her former boyfriend so that he could take her in. It amazed her, how good it felt to be seen as a sexual creature, to be looked at with so much lust.

Looking at her, a low, animal growl came out of him. She stood there across from him without moving, spread her hands, and closed her eyes. She heard those powerful feet walk across the grass to her, then felt his big arms sweep her up and then float her down to the ground. Without opening her eyes, she opened her legs and felt him push himself into her.

She arched her back, snapped her eyes open and let out a big gasp as thrust into her. She took him in with the earth under her and the sky below her, moving her body with his as they rocked against both, him holding up the sky on his shoulders and her feeling the gently spinning earth below her. Zak lowered his head to hers and kissed her gently. They kept moving together, their love making shifting between gentle, loving union to wild, animalistic rutting. It took Joy a long time to feel herself start to climax, but when she felt it building she bit Zak’s ear.

“Let me get on all fours. I want you to take me from behind.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He sat up on his knees and Joy turned so she was facing the earth. She looked at him over her shoulder with a hungry expression. “Come here,” she said. “I need you.”

He moved behind her and kissed the back of her neck, felt her rounded ass with his hands and gave her a little spanking. She froze. “Don’t do that. I don’t like that.”

“I won’t.” He kissed the small of her back and his mouth travelled down to her buttocks as if offering them an apology. She giggled and he straightened up to make love to her again, sliding his big, hard cock into the wet space between her legs.

“Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.” He moved in and out of her and she moaned louder, her orgasm building up from deep inside her. She hadn’t experienced a true climax for a long time; not since her first year of marriage. She could feel how much Zak wanted her, how badly he wanted her to feel sexy and worshipped and that turned her on even more. The cock sliding in and out of her was rubbing against a particularly sensitive spot inside her, a little patch of skin that begged to be touched and now it was practically singing.

She felt her arms shake underneath her. Behind closed eyes, she could see little pings of light jumping and growing into small bursts, and then giant explosions. “I’m coming! I’m coming!”

He pumped his cock into her harder and deeper. “I want to feel you come, Joy. Come for me.”

Her voice built up into a high, wild scream that went up to the trees. She could feel Zak driving into her, his hips smacking her ass in a fast rhythm. Her voice came out in little cries as her climax took her over and then crashed through her body, lighting up all of her nerves from her toes to the top of her head.

“Yes! Yes! Oh, yes, yes, yes.” She laughed as the sensation of the orgasm took her out of her body. She’d forgotten how wonderful it was to just surrender to sex, to feel the amazing sensation of her whole body letting go of the entire world, even the one inside her in constant turmoil.

Zak grabbed her tightly, pressing her back into his chest. She felt his cock pump up and down inside her as he came and he let out a loud, savage growl. Then, he went slack against her and kissed the back of her neck and shoulders. They were both sweaty and spent and blissfully happy.

Joy turned her head back to look at Zak. “Lay down with me.” She turned around, laying down in the grass, and Zak fell on the ground beside her. They held hands and stared up at the stars. Each of them could hear the other one breathe, could see each other’s chests rising and falling. Joy closed her eyes and let go of everything she thought she’d known about herself. She wasn’t a wife or a battered woman or a little girl lost. She was a sexual being who took her pleasure in the woods and called up to the stars when she climaxed. She was an incredible creature and right at that moment she knew she’d never go back to being the woman she’d been before.

 

Chapter 5

 

Zak bit into Joy’s shoulder, making her gasp out loud. “Oh, yeah, bite me. Bite me!” He pulled back and grabbed her face with his hand, looking at her intensely for a moment. He went back in for a deep, passionate kiss, pulling her hair with his strong hand.

She moaned deeply and ran her fingers through his hair, loving the feel of his strength, his muscles shifting under his skin. He let her go and slipped out of his leather jacket and then whipped off his shirt, revealing his beautiful pectorals and biceps. Was it her imagination or did his eyes just light up for a moment? No, they couldn’t have. Joy laid back in the surrounding, feathery soft grass and reached up to stroke his chest. He smiled back at her, then slowly unbuttoned her blouse.

The two of them had been making love almost constantly since their first night out together. Joy couldn’t explain it; she was like a woman possessed when it came to Zak’s physical affections. He waited until she called him from the house, then roared up to get her on his bike and the two of them would take off to another little hideaway in the woods. He seemed to know where every clearing, every little creek and treasure trove of wild berries could be found. He appeared to be just as desperate to be with her as she was to be with him; the two of them ran to each other, tore one another clothes off and fell into one another’s arms without a moment’s hesitation.

Zak took a breath and laid down on top of Joy for a moment, their stomachs sticking to one another in the summer heat. They snuggled like that in the afternoon sun as it scattered through the leaves and across their faces. Zak kissed her cheek and then her eyelids.

“Joy,” he whispered, “I don’t know what’s happening to me. It’s like you’ve melted my brain. You’re all I think of all day long.”

“I know.” She pushed him off her and turned onto her side, tracing her fingers along his shoulders and neck, smiling warmly at him. “I’ve never been so…” She paused, watching his face. He raised his eyebrows and she quickly stole a little kiss before going on. “So, taken with someone. It’s like, when you’re away from me, I actually ache. I can’t stand it. I just need you to—” She kissed his neck all over. “—to keep—” She moved down to his chest, sliding her tongue all over it. “—making love to me. As much as you can. You’re my drug, Zak. I’m addicted to you.”

She kissed her way down the center of his torso, exploring his sculpted muscles with her fingers as she continued lower and lower. Zak rolled onto his back and put his hands behind his head, letting her unzip his pants and pull his cock out so that it stood tall and proud in the sunlight.

Zak had a lot of reasons to feel confident and sure of himself, but one of those reasons was definitely his large, perfectly shaped penis. Joy was a little embarrassed at how much time she spent thinking about it. She’d never seen anything like it. A porn star could only wish for the genital perfection that Zak had in his pants.

She stroked the shaft up and down for a moment, the tilted her head forward and took him into her mouth. Her head pumped in a steady rhythm, making Zak’s eyes roll back in pure ecstasy. He arched his back and grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it tight.

“Oh. Oh my god. Oh, Joy!” She went a little faster, the cock in her mouth as hard as the boulders around them. She knew he would maintain that erection for a long time, longer than she could hold out, but she liked doing this for him nonetheless. It had never appealed to her before, but with Zak she wanted to have every kind of sex she could imagine; she had no boundaries or inhibitions. She sucked harder and loved the sound of Zak groaning more, feeling his fingers in her hair as they struggled to get control.

“Joy, Joy, stop. I want you on top of me.”

She kissed her favorite penis in the world before sitting up to slide off her shirt and unhook her tiny, pink bra. Standing, she slid out of her shorts and threw them onto his face. Naked, she stood in the sunlight and the woods for a moment, enjoying the feel of the warm sunshine on her breasts and stomach, her shoulders and legs.

Zak stared at his naked paramour smiling down at him. She looked like a wood nymph standing on the grass, surrounded by dogwood trees and their soft, pink flowers. He laid back and smiled. She snapped and pointed down at him.

“Pants off. Now.”

“Yes, my love.” He slid his pants down and kicked them off. She stood with a foot on either side of his pelvis. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him.

“Now,” she said. “Tell me I’m beautiful.”

“You’re so beautiful.”

She lowered down directly towards his cock, stopping just above it. “Tell me you want me.”

“I want you,” he complied, his heart pounding with the promise of sex being so unbearably close. “I want you more than you know.”

She gently guided his cock into her, still in a perfect squat above him. Gradually, he disappeared into her and their bodies met. She took a moment to grind her hips into his. “I want you, too. I want you to fuck me hard.”

“You want it hard?”

“Yeah.” She started moving up and down on Zak, loving the feel of his cock going in and out of her, the earth below them and the blue sky above them.

Below her, Zak surrendered to her, letting her bounce up and down on top of him and take over the situation. She grunted on top of him, her breasts jostling as she moved, her thighs slapping into him. After a moment, she swung a leg up and over him and turned around so that she was backwards on top of him.

The sight of her perfect ass put Zak over the edge. He stopped her with a hand on the small of her back and lifted her off of him, quickly getting into position behind her. With the both of them on their hands and knees, he took over, holding her by her hips and driving into her as hard as he could.

“You’re mine. You’re mine. I love you and I want you and I need you. Say you love me!”

“I love you! I love you, Zak!”

The both of them felt a huge climax building up inside them and then crested over it together. Joy leaned her head back into Zak and he tilted his head to the sky. She screamed with the orgasm that took over her body and he roared into the sky. Joy was too wrapped up in the moment to realize that he sounded exactly like a bear.

Done with their lovemaking, the two dressed and jumped on Zak’s bike. They never had more than few hours together as Zak constantly had to organize his crew; they needed goals to meet every day, plans for future travel and of course, food.

Joy was floored by how much the group ate. They seemed insatiable, constantly on the lookout for their next meal, their next big barbecue or party. Joy swore she could hear their stomachs grumbling on an almost constant basis. Once she was standing next to Clay, a younger member of the motorcycle crew, and she actually saw his stomach tremble with hunger.

“What is it with you guys and food?” she had asked once.

Zak just shrugged. “We’re out in the fresh air all day. You know how mother nature can build up an appetite. Don’t worry.” He had changed the subject right away, but Joy never forgot how reluctant he was to discuss the matter. She tried to push it out of her mind.

Other things tickled her mind every now and then. Why were they so nervous about winter? Didn’t they have a place to stay? As far as she knew, the group had a kind of break over the holidays. She’d assumed this was so they could be with their families, but no. None of them had any plans to be with parents, children, or anyone. The group went quiet and wandered off individually to wait until spring returned.