Jordan

 

 

Jordan woke up the next morning when he heard whispers directly behind him.

“Do you think he’s awake?” Maddison whispered.

“I don’t know,” Benjamin answered.

Jordan cracked his eyes open and peeked at the clock, it was just after six in the morning. Fuck, it’s early. He couldn’t believe he ended up staying over, but honestly, he was happy he did. His bed was so comfortable he felt as if he’d slept on pillows of clouds sewn together. True to his word, Duncan had left some clothes on the bed for him to wear. Jordan hadn’t wasted any time getting ready for bed, and he was exhausted. Even with the short nap he’d taken earlier in the night, he was still exhausted. It was only the first day, and his new job was proving to be more taxing than Jordan realized. It took him less than five minutes before he’d drifted off to sleep.

 “Come on, Maddie, let’s go back to our room,” Benjamin said. “I don’t want him to get angry with us.”

Who the hell would get angry at these sweet kids? Those so-called nannies should be ashamed of themselves. Kids were a handful at that age, they were filled with curiosity and wanted to see, do, and hear everything. It was not easy to keep them focused on one thing too long before some other shiny thing caught their eye.

“But I’m hungry,” Maddison whined breaking into Jordan’s thoughts.

He felt the slight dip of the bed and a finger gently poking him in the shoulder. Jordan let out a loud snore pretending he was still sleeping. He would have chuckled at their gasps but remained still.

“Jordan,” Maddison whispered as she continued to poke him in the shoulder. “Jor—” Before she could finish saying his name, Jordan attacked, turning around and pulling her into his arms tickling her sides.  She squealed with laughter calling for help from her brother.

“How dare you wake the sleeping monster?” he mock growled at her. “Now I will have my revenge for waking my one hundred days of slumber!” He tickled her some more. Benjamin got on the bed and jumped on his back.

“Get off my sister, you tickle monster!” He started tickling Jordan on his neck, he pretended he was affected and gave in easily. Who could be mad at a kid for protecting his little sister? They were having a great time, neither he nor the kids saw the hulking figure standing at the door watching them.

“Well, it seems as if you three are having fun,” a deep voice said from the door. All three of them froze and turned their heads at the same time. Duncan was leaning against the doorframe with his massive arms crossed over his muscular, shirtless chest.  

Holy hell, the man was fucking sexy early in the morning. Beautiful, creamy golden skin, if only the man was gay. Gods have mercy.

Jordan cleared his throat and looked away from his boss, yes boss. His mind was drifting over into dangerous territory. “Um...did the little monsters and I wake you?”

“Hey, we’re not the monster, you are,” Maddison pouted crossing her tiny arms over her chest. She looked like a miniature version of Duncan.

Jordan chuckled and looked down at her. “You’re a monster if I say you are.” He tickled her again causing her to giggle.

Duncan groaned, pulling their attention back to him. He scrubbed his face roughly. “Yeah, sort of, but I needed to get up, anyway.”

“Wait,” Jordan said, looking at the twins. “How did you know that I was still here?”

“We sniffed you out,” Benjamin told him, getting off the bed. He started pulling Jordan by the arm. “Come on, Jordan, I’m hungry.”

“Sniffed me out, do I stink or something?” He pulled his arm lifting it doing a quick sniff check.  “Hey, I will have you know I took a shower last night, buddy.”

The kids giggled when Jordan pouted. He heard Duncan’s deep chuckle and tried not to look at the other man. It did something to Jordan’s body, and he prayed he was not showing how attracted he was to his new boss. Maybe it was a mistake taking the job, working so closely with a man who pushed all his buttons. But Jordan couldn’t pass up the amount of money he was being paid. He would be a fool if he did.

“You three are far too lively early in the morning,” Duncan commented. Duncan’s shoulders were shaking as he tried to hide his laughter.

Jordan crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat getting Duncan’s attention. “What's so funny, Hulk man?” he asked quirking an eyebrow.  Okay, where the hell did that come from?

“Hulk man?” Duncan quirked an eyebrow.

“Hey, it slipped out. Slap some green paint on you and you will look like the Jolly Green Giant.”

The loud, boisterous laughter that came out of Duncan’s mouth surprised the hell out of Jordan and the kids that were still beside him, they looked as shocked as he was. To get their attention Jordan jumped off the bed, forgetting the large shirt he was wearing his legs got tangled in it as he fell out of bed landing flat on his ass. Everything and everyone stopped moving for what seemed like hours, but it was only a second before they all started laughing once again. Jordan could not help it, he was embarrassed, but his laughter outweighed his embarrassment.

“What the hell is with all the noise, it's too damn early in the morning.” Jordan stopped laughing and looked at the door just noticing another hulking figure standing beside Duncan. Hell, how the fuck did I miss him?  He was a couple inches shorter than Duncan, wearing a T-shirt and sweats. His dark hair was neatly styled in locks with honey blond tips that complimented his milk chocolate complexion, and manicured beard and goatee. The minute the twins saw the stranger, they got off the bed and ran over to him.

“Uncle Ry!” Duncan watched as the newcomer picked up the twins together with ease. Their little arms circled around his neck.

“Hey, little cublets, man you guys have grown since the last time I saw you.”

“No, we didn’t, we still can’t reach the cookie jar on the shelf,” Benjamin pouted. Maddison cosigned by nodding.

“Uncle Ry, do you think Uncle Duncan looks like the Jolly Green Giant?” Maddison asked. “Jordan said he did. Is the Jolly Green Giant real?” Maddison continued innocently.

“Who’s Jordan?”

Duncan turned and looked at the stranger beside him, and that was when Jordan saw it. The large black shaded wolf tattoo covering his entire back. With intense blue jeweled eyes that seemed as if it stared right back at him. Jordan’s attraction for his boss went up even higher. He could never explain it, but seeing a guy with a tattoo did something to him.

Clearing his throat, trying to dispel thoughts or feelings of arousal from his mind and body. “That would be me,” Jordan answered getting off the floor. That time he was mindful of the large T-shirt. He walked over to the newcomer and was about to extend his hand, but remembered that he was holding the twins.

“Jordan Sutton, the little monsters’ new live-in caregiver.” He reached up and ruffled both their hair, noting that Benjamin needed a haircut, his bangs were starting to cover his eyes.

Another thing to add to the list of things we need to do for the day.

“Ryland Burnett, this crazy guy’s best friend,” he said, tilting his head in Duncan’s direction.

 “I hope you got a lot of sleep, Ryland. Because we have a lot of things to do today,” Duncan stated. “I plan on going into the office late.”

“Yeah, I might need a few cups of coffee around noon to function for the rest of the day. I also made a few calls before I dropped off to sleep.”

“Good, since we are up, I see no problem with us getting our day started. I still need to see Sammy before heading into the office. What time will Sebastian, Charlie, and Parker be here?”

Duncan and Ryland spoke to each other, seeming to forget that they were still in his room.

“I told them around seven thirty,” Ryland answered.

“Good, I need to get in touch with Blayze as well.”

“Cool, we get to see Uncle Parker today!” Maddison cheered, still held in Ryland’s arms.

Jordan had no idea who Uncle Parker was, but he was in desperate need of a bathroom and needed everyone to leave, that included the kids. “Uh...excuse me?” Everyone turned and looked at him. “Not that I’m not curious about what you guys are talking about, but I would like to get dressed and start my day.” He looked at the twins.  “I will meet you two in twenty minutes to begin our day; you know what you have to do. We talked about it yesterday,” he told them.  

They nodded and struggled to get out of Ryland’s arms. “Okay, Jordan,” Maddison obeyed. “Come on, Ben, let’s race and see who can get dressed faster.”  The tall male set them down.

“I bet I can beat cha,” Jordan heard as the twins thundered down the hall to their separate rooms.

The two taller males turned to look at him. “Okay, who are you and what did you do to my sweet pups?” Duncan asked, and Ryland shook his head. “Yesterday, they would readily terrorize anyone that walked through the door. And in less than twenty-four hours they are model kids.”

Jordan would have snickered, but his face remained expressionless when he stated, “I'm not sure what you mean by that. We simply came to an understanding about a few things,” he told the two men. While getting to know the kids, Jordan came up with the idea of using a schedule and an award system, for doing their chores without being told. In just the short time with them Jordan was learning something about both kids.  

Maddison, although the youngest of the two, liked being in charge. He also promised the twins that they could help him to make breakfast every morning if they wanted; simple things to keep them engaged and the focus on them. Benjamin loved to show how grown up he could be and that he’d happily follow his sister’s lead.  Other than their gender differences they were also different in personalities.  They weren’t so bad either, they loved being helpful and having someone listen to them.  

“What kind of things?” Duncan asked.

“That’s classified,” Jordan answered, biting on his lips hiding his smile. “You don’t have proper clearance for that information.” Duncan smiled, and again Jordan felt something loosen inside of him. The man really was too gorgeous for words.

“I see,” Duncan said nodding. “As long as it does not put the pups in danger, I’m trusting them in your care.”

“I would never harm them in any way, besides, they want to show you how responsible they can be,” Jordan explained. “I have a question though, why are you calling them pups?”

“It’s just a nickname,” Duncan answered. “Didn’t you have one growing up?”

Jordan blushed, he would never tell anyone that Bronx called him “little bit” because of his height or that his parents referred to him as “Jordy-Bear.” It was just too embarrassing to say the least. “Again, that’s classified.”

“I do have my ways of getting information, Jordan.” Duncan’s voice deepened and to Jordan it sounded as if his boss was flirting with him. “So you might as well tell me now and avoid the consequences later.”

Good gods, does this man know what he’s doing to me right now?

 “I welcome the challenge, Mr. Pryde.” Jordan emphasized Duncan’s last name that he meant more than just business. Two can play at this game.  

Ryland, whom Jordan had forgotten was still there chuckled but masked it with a cough. Duncan turned to look at him and shook his head.   “Now, I need to get to work, after all, that’s why you pay me the big bucks.” He shooed them out, not caring about the surprised expression on their faces.  As he closed the door, Jordan heard Ryland ask how long had he been working for Duncan and who exactly was the boss. He shook his head, as much as he liked the kids he still wanted to pursue his career goals working for Pryde Industries.

Maybe if I can impress him with the way I care for the kids, he’ll offer me a job fully in the company.

Fifteen minutes later, Jordan walked into the kitchen and started the coffee machine. In truth, he was up earlier than he wanted to be. He got dressed in his clothes from the day before, noting that he’d need to find sometime during the day to go to his apartment and pack a bag. An idea popped into his head, later once he got the kids settled after breakfast, he could send a text to Bronx to pack a bag then meet him somewhere and give it to him.

He wasn’t comfortable having another person in Duncan’s home, especially not after he was just hired. Maybe he could ask Duncan for permission to have Bronx bring him a few things. Jordan poured himself a cup of coffee, taking his first sip, moaning at the taste of the bitter liquid. He spied the document that his boss wanted him to read and sign. Jordan understood exactly why he needed to keep the existence of the kids a secret.

He picked it up and scanned it, noting certain important facts on what would happen if he were to reveal the existence to gain money or fame. Loss of income and reputation being on the top of the list.  He had no reason to talk about the kids to anyone, but he would have to think of something to tell his parents and Bronx. Maybe he could ask Duncan for permission to tell his parents about the nature of his job. Jordan put his coffee and the contract down, he picked up the pen and signed on the bottom line.

He didn’t feel that dread of signing his life away. He couldn’t get over the fact that for the second morning in a row, instead of going to an office where he would work among his peers, he was an all-day babysitter. Not only that, but he couldn’t tell anyone what he was doing. If he thought about it, the job was nothing to brag about. He was not closing the doors on his dreams, but merely putting them on hold temporarily.

The doorbell rang just as he walked over to the cupboards to start breakfast and heard voices coming from the other room. There was a lot of activity going on early in the morning and he didn’t know if that was the norm for the Pryde household. But Jordan was more curious than a cat having the sweetest milk.  He had no idea what he was doing, but it was his new life now for a while.

“The base of the drug was a synthetic aspirin in his system, but aconite was mixed in, whoever synthesized the drug knew exactly what they were doing,” Blayze explained. “The kids probably thought the drug was harmless and wouldn’t hurt them.”

“Shit, so we have nothing?” Duncan cursed.

Blayze was an excellent doctor, his knowledge on shifter physiology had kept them alive. “That’s not what I’m saying. I missed it the first time because I chalked it up to kids being kids, trying out new things. As shifters we are not affected by human drugs or ailments.  Kids, even adults, are always looking for ways to get some kind of high and we can’t negate shifters from that thought either.”

“But wouldn’t they die the minute aconite is introduced to their system?” Parker asked.

“That’s what we all assume,” Blayze answered. “How many of us have somehow come in contact with a small amount of aconite and lived? We get it out of our bloodstream as quickly as possible, but as far as we can tell, nobody has ever died from touching it for a short period.”

“So, what you’re saying is that this happened over a long period of time?” Charlie asked.

“It might be an assumption on my part, but yes,” Blayze answered.

“Blayze, can you tell how long you think they were using the drug?” Duncan asked.

“No, I can’t. I’m sorry, Duncan,” Blayze answered. “It could be a couple of days to a couple of weeks.”

The news was troubling. Aconite was known to be deadly to lykosians when concentrated, but finding out that even at a low diluted dose over time it was just as deadly? Shit, we need to get that drug off the streets.

“Thanks, Blayze, get back to me if you find out anything else,” Duncan instructed.

“Yes, Alpha.” They hung up the phone and Duncan looked around the room at the four other men.

“So, we have more than one problem,” Sebastian said, breaking the short silence. Nobody disagreed with him.

“Where the fuck do we start?” Ryland asked.

“First, we need to find the supplier and the drugs and get them off of the fucking streets. I don’t want more of our pack getting their hands on this. It’s obvious it’s someone who knows about our existence,” Duncan said. “What’s troubling me is that the Blackburn Organization could be involved in this.”

“You’re thinking they could be the one supplying the drugs?” Charlie deduced.  

“I wouldn’t put it past them to find a new way of getting rid of us without getting their hands dirty,” Duncan answered. “We’ve been plagued by their existence since the beginning of time.”

“I asked around town this morning and no one saw signs of the car you described. I also checked the license plate and it’s not registered in this state, or anywhere else for that matter,” Charlie told the group. “I think it was a fake.”

“So a fake license plate and we’re still at fucking zero,” Ryland said angrily.

“Not necessarily,” Duncan reasoned.  “I have a feeling they’ll be back; we just need to keep a lookout for them.  Also, check with any of your human contacts and see if they know anything about a new drug hitting the streets.” They nodded their heads and got up just as there was a knock at the door, he instructed whoever it was to enter.

Jordan poked his head in and looked around before his eyes landed on Duncan’s. “Breakfast is ready,” he told him.

“Thank you, Jordan.  I’ll be finished in a bit,” Duncan answered with a smile.  

“Okay then, I’ll let the kids know.” He looked at the occupants in the room and Duncan saw curiosity cross over his face before closing it.

Sebastian, Charlie, and Parker turned to look at him. “Who's that?” Parker asked pointing to the door.

“And where have you been hiding him?” Sebastian asked.

“The twins’ new nanny,” Duncan answered.

“Is he single?” Sebastian asked, looking back at the closed door. “Does he bat for our team?”

Charlie whistled. “I sure hope he does, because that cutie is just my type.”

“Not if I get to him first,” Parker told his brothers.

For some unexplained reason, Duncan did not like the way the Baxter brothers were talking about Jordan. The smile he had on his face from the time Jordan poked his head into his office disappeared. “He's off-limits.” The words spilled from his mouth before he could stop himself.  He also didn’t miss the growling as he spoke.  “As long as he is working for me and taking care of the twins, he is not to be touched. Is that understood?” The three looked at him in shock, usually Duncan did not put limits on his pack members when it came to who they fucked.  His enforces especially, they worked hard to protect the pack, often times putting themselves in danger.

“Yes, my Alpha,” they answered together.

“Good, now get the hell out of here. And be safe,” he told them as they walked out the door. Duncan leaned back into his chair and sighed.  

“That was a bit harsh, don't you think?” Duncan turned and faced Ryland.

“No, I don’t.  There is a time and place for everything.”

Ryland stared at him for a few seconds, as if he was searching for something but couldn't find it, before shrugging his shoulders.  “I need to get out of here myself, I have things I need to take care of and an assistant who will no doubt have my ass handed to me if I’m late again.”

“I've told you many times to come and work for me, but you keep refusing my offer.”

Ryland sighed.  “I love you, honestly, I do. But I love working for myself. If I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Well, the offer is on the table whenever you want a change in occupation.”

“Thanks, man.” They were more than just Alpha and Beta, Ryland was more than just his best friend, he was his brother in all but blood.  He trusted the man with his life and the lives of his family any day.  They walked out of Duncan’s office, going their separate ways; he went to the kitchen and Ryland headed out the front door. When he got to the kitchen he stopped again, it was a different scene from the day before. Maddison and Benjamin were waiting for him with no Jordan in sight.

“Where’s Jordan?” he asked them.

“He went to his room...” Benjamin started.

“Can we start eating now? Jordan said not to start without you,” Maddison added.

“We sure can,” he said, rubbing his hands together as he walked over to the table and sat down. There were a lot of dishes set out and he couldn’t help but wonder if Jordan knew they were werewolves and that they burned off a lot of calories. Hopefully, Maddison and Benjamin hadn’t spilled about them being shifters. He’d already had that talk with them to not reveal their secret to anyone, not without his permission. The kids were smart and understood the implications of keeping the family secret, even from someone they liked. But it wouldn’t hurt to have that talk with them again since they were alone.

“Hey, kids,” he said to them as he plated their meals. They looked up at him with blue eyes that reminded him so much of his sister. “You remember what we talked about, no telling Jordan or anyone else about our family being werewolves.”

“We remembered, Uncle Duncan,” Maddison told him.

“We haven’t said anything,” Benjamin added.

“We don’t want to see him leave,” Maddison spoke again. “But I want to tell him.”

“Besides, we like the way he smells,” Benjamin said with a bright smile.

“Oh yeah?” he asked sincerely curious.

He also noticed Jordan’s scent permeated the entire house, and he’d only been there for twenty-four hours. Duncan still couldn’t find the perfect word to use to describe the scent.

“Uh huh,” they chorused together.

“How does he smell?” he asked out of curiosity.

“Like Mommy,” Benjamin answered.

“And like pack,” Maddison said right after.

They went back to their meal as if they hadn’t said something a bit earth shattering. Duncan knew the twins missed their mom and it might’ve been the main reason they latched onto him so quickly. He decided to change the conversation and talk about other things while mentally checking off all the things he needed to do that day.

It will be another late night for me.

For the remainder of the week things fell quickly into a routine for Jordan and the three Pryde members. The kids enjoyed helping in the kitchen while they made breakfast, he would help supervise as they prepared the meals. Duncan would eat with them each morning before going to work. Jordan was right to request that Duncan sit and eat breakfast with the kids, since it was the only meal they had together. Duncan worked late, sometimes coming home in the middle of the morning. The kids didn’t seem to mind all that much, but Jordan could tell that they wished their uncle would spend more time with them. Six months after losing their parents wasn’t enough for them, they wanted more. Jordan was happy with his decision to leave the three of them alone in the mornings.

During those times, he would go to his room and do his yoga exercises. He loved the balcony that faced the thick woods, the trees were tall and thick with leaves. Jordan hadn’t been back to his apartment since the first day he started working for Duncan Pryde. He had Bronx meet him at the park not far from the mansion with a bag filled with change of clothes. They ended up getting into a small argument when Jordan refused to tell him why he needed a bag and why he couldn’t go home and get it himself.

Remembering the confidentiality clause he signed, Jordan refused to tell him, which his best friend definitely did not like. He’d never kept anything from Bronx before. Jordan also couldn’t understand why Bronx was being so overprotective of him, it wasn’t as if he was being kidnapped by Duncan. They also hadn’t spoken since that day.  

Jordan was a bit bummed he was supposed to have his first weekend off, but Duncan would be on a business trip for the weekend. He got out of bed and went to the kitchen to get a snack. He was standing at the sink washing the dish he used when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It felt as if he was being watched. He turned and looked behind him and shrugged his shoulders when he saw no one behind him. The kids were already in bed, and Duncan was on his trip. Turning back around, he looked out the window and again he saw nothing, but he still had the feeling that someone was watching him. The backyard was surrounded by tall trees and was very dark, so even if someone was out there he still wouldn’t be able to see them, even with a full moon shining bright.

Jordan turned off the faucet and shrugged off the feeling. He dried his hands and walked out of the kitchen. His friends had always thought he was strange that he loved the full moon as a kid, he remembered camping in the woods and falling asleep listening to the wolves as they howled at the moon. There were many times he imagined that werewolves existed, and they weren’t just in the movies. Jordan chuckled at his childish thinking. The image of tall, muscular men who had the ability to turn into beautiful beasts because of magic and the blessing of the moon. Being the perfect mate for one.

Wow! No wonder they laughed at me. There’s no such things as werewolves.

Duncan woke up and looked around, he was in the woods and he had no idea how he got there. Last night was the first full moon of the weekend. The last thing he remembered was running with the pack before shifting back to human and going to the den and falling to sleep. He must have shifted again sometime while he slept.  He hadn’t done something like that since he was a teenager going through his first shift. Duncan looked around to see just how far he was from the house. He didn’t need to look too far to see he was only a couple feet from the backyard. He stepped out from behind one of the branches and looked around it just in time to see Jordan step out onto his patio.

Duncan groaned, Why now? And why in view of Jordan’s room.

They’d worked around each other for the past week. He was proud to see the twins happy after so long. They talked more and were even willing to play with other kids their age. Duncan also heard Jordan’s name whispered at the pack meeting in a good way. It seemed his friendly nanny had made an impression on some of his pack members without realizing it. He realized he needed to speak with Jordan and find out how he was adjusting to everything so far.

Duncan watched Jordan lift his head up to the sun and take a deep breath as he took off his robe and began doing some yoga stretches. He wondered exactly when he was going to be finished and go back inside. Duncan didn’t want to move and be seen, he was supposed to be on a business trip for the weekend. About twenty minutes later Jordan finished his exercise and pulled his robe back on leaving it open and untied. Duncan expected him to go back inside, giving him the opportunity to finally leave. He was surprised when Jordan leaned against the wall and put his head back, licking his lips.

Duncan concentrated on Jordan’s breathing and realized what he was doing and gasped when he figured it out. He shouldn’t have been surprised, after all Jordan was young, and good-looking and could have any man or woman he wanted. But Duncan would bet it would be a man.

I shouldn’t look, I need to leave now that he’s distracted.

That’s what his brain was saying, but his feet refused to move and his eyes wouldn’t look away. He couldn’t see Jordan’s hands touching himself, but his breathing and flushed cheeks said it all. Duncan had never thought of himself as a voyeur, or thought of hiding in the woods watching another man jerk off, but Jordan’s face was captivating. He ignored his own hardened cock and continued to watch Jordan. He could tell that Jordan was about to come, his breathing had changed and he moaned. Duncan bit on his bottom lip and closed his eyes, but snapped them open the minute he heard Jordan whisper his name.  

What the fuck? Did he see me?

Duncan looked closely and noticed that Jordan’s eyes were closed. He was about to move but stopped in his tracks when Jordan brought his hand to his lips and licked the cum from his fingers. Shit, Duncan mentally cursed. That was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. He wanted to stay and watch more, but he had to leave before he was spotted by the other man. It was his chance to make his move, he’d evaluate what he just heard later. Slowly, he backed away into the thick of the woods and shifted into his beast who seemed more resistant to leave.

What the fuck is going on?

Jordan snapped his eyes open, having the same feeling from the night before that someone was watching him. He wrapped his robe around himself and peered out into the thick of the woods as much as he could. There’s nothing out there.  He felt disappointed rather than relieved. Taking another look, he shrugged his shoulders and walked back into his room to start his day.