16. EION
Chapter sixteen
EION
We got the sow settled in the barn. I would keep her tranquilized for the next few days.
The burns she suffered were going to be painful, and I didn’t want that to translate to her babies.
From what I could tell, she had two cubs baking, and she would give birth in the next few weeks.
The fire must have driven her from her den.
Winter fires were rare, but rangers believed it had been arson, resulting in this sweet girl's snout, ears, paws, and neck being burned and blistered. As I looked at her, I could feel heat rise up my neck, and my shoulders tensed. This was why I didn’t get close to people, because a lot of them sucked.
Not Angus, though. He was pure and kind.
It surprised me how much I liked him. After our talk this afternoon, I realized that Trey never affected me the way Angus did.
All I wanted to do was be near him, get to know him better, spend time doing nothing, and I really wanted to touch him more—all the touching.
Barnaby came over and circled my legs. No doubt he had felt me get angry.
“You okay?” Angus stuck his head over the door.
“Good enough.”
When we got back, Angus offered to feed everyone he knew how to, which included the residents of the small nursery.
I realized we’d have more cubs that would need care, and I’d had to keep them in here.
For the hundredth time, I wished we had a nursery that could handle bigger animals.
I pet the bear a few more times. She would be fine until morning, but I knew I would come out and check on her throughout the night.
I did what I could for her wounds. It would be a tough road, but she would survive.
With this new bear, I might need to allocate more land for them.
The good news was that her cubs might be good candidates to return to the wild.
I guess we would see. Angus needed to give them names.
I smiled to myself. It was nice that he was always there in my thoughts, but it was too soon to accept him as a permanent fixture.
Angus didn’t leave after I answered his question.
He stood there and continued to look at me like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.
“I don’t buy it. You can tell me what has you looking like that. ”
I sighed. He would think I was a bad person for my thoughts.
It was better for him to leave now than when I got attached to him—that’s funny since I was already very attached.
“It makes me mad that this gorgeous bear was injured. Her life and the life of her cubs were put at risk when she was driven from her den. She would have given birth safely and raised them in the forest. If I could get my hands on whoever did this. I’m angry. ”
Angus closed the gap between us, which was the opposite of the response I’d expected. He pulled me close. “I get it. People are terrible, and I hate that she paid the price. Honestly, I would be right there next to you. Were you able to help her?”
His answer made my heart do strange things, like I wanted to cling to him and tell him how amazing that made him. He understood me, and he cared about the animals that came to us. “We’d kick their asses.”
“Yes, we would.” He kissed me gently.
“She will be okay. I will have to tend to her burns. Her paws will need ointment a few times a day, and the burns on her body have been cleaned, and a few small cuts stitched up. She will be giving birth in the next few weeks. I think her cubs are healthy.”
His hands stayed on my hips. He gave me a soft smile. “That’s good news.”
I couldn’t help but kiss him again. “You’re right. It is good news. We will make her feel comfortable and safe. Maybe we can put her cubs back in the wild. If not, they will find a home here, or at another sanctuary.”
“It’s getting late. I fed Bethany, the alpaca, and the sheep. I would like to meet Orlando, then go feed Atlas and the raccoons while you feed the cubs. Then I need to head home.”
Hearing him say he would leave after the day we had together rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like we should never be separated again, but that wasn’t realistic. How could I be so attached to him already? “You are welcome to spend the night.”
He looked at me, clearly pleased with the suggestion. I surprised myself by having him spend a second night at my place. “I’d like that.”
“Come meet Orlando. Don’t believe anything he says, especially if it sounds like a secret he was supposed to keep.”
“Oh, so I should bribe him to know you better.”
“I hope he isn’t that easy.” Together, we walked to the enclosure next to the deer.
Orlando and Annabelle liked being near each other because they were raised together.
As soon as we were next to the fence, Orlando leaned over, his lips tugged my hair, then he tried to get into my shirt pocket.
“Stop, you menace.” I rubbed his head. “This is my friend Angus. He is nice, so no biting.”
Angus gave me a look. He stood far enough away that there was no way Orlando could reach him.
I had created a platform so the giraffe could stand upright and eat.
I made up his food and grabbed Angus’s hand.
“Come up with me, and you can pet his neck. He doesn’t usually bite, but to be honest, I don’t let people near him. ”
“I’m honored?”
“Remember, he was the second animal to join the Sanctuary after Annabelle. It was the three of us for a few years while we all healed. Orlando is special to me.” I hoped I didn’t sound defensive, because I was trying to show him how much I trusted him by letting him meet one of my best buddies.
“Then I genuinely am honored. Thank you.”
He got it. I watched as he petted Orlando’s long neck. The giraffe stopped eating and looked up, stretching his neck out to show he wanted more scritches. “He likes you.” I could see him smile even though he tried to be cool. It seemed all the animals liked Angus, which mattered a lot to me.
An hour later, I found Angus sitting in front of Bethany like he had the first day he was here.
I could hear him talking to her. “I hope you can help her feel at home when you two are put together. She is going to need a friend.” It was obvious he discussed the new bear with her.
The man was incredibly sweet, a gentle spirit I wanted to claim as mine forever.
What the hell? That kind of thinking was dangerous
Stepping more firmly, so my boots made noise as I walked up behind him. “Did Bethany have anything good to share?”
“Nothing new. But I did ask her to be nice to the new bear, and I think she will be even though they won’t really hang out together once they are in the enclosure.”
“We have a lot of bears. I might need to give them more land.”
“Hopefully, the new cubs can go back into the wild. What about the mom?”
“Hard to say until she gives birth and the burns heal. We’ll watch her and hope for the best.”
“We?”
I pulled him against me. “Yeah. You are part of her life now.” I kissed the side of his head. “And part of mine,” I said much quieter.
Oh fuck what am I doing?
“I like that.”
We walked back to the trailer with our hands together.
It had been a very long day, but a good one.
Being with Angus all day probably made it unforgettable, even with the injured bear.
We stepped into my small living space, and Angus pulled me tight, giving me a hug that made everything tingle.
It definitely aroused me, but there was more to it.
With my arms wrapped around him, I rubbed his back with my right hand.
My left shoulder and bicep ached. I needed to get my prosthetic off my residual limb. “Do you mind if I shower?”
“I’d ask to join you if I hadn’t seen the size of that shower.” We both chuckled.
When I got out of the shower, Angus was setting a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon on the table. I stopped in my tracks. Something inside of me crackled. “You. Food.”
He turned and smiled at me. “I was starving, so I figured you would be hungry too.”
I sat at the small table, unable to say anything.
Blinking a few times, I tried to say what I felt.
He thought about me, did something nice for me, and wanted nothing in return.
I shook my head, getting myself back together.
“Thank you so much. Yes, I am quite hungry.” We didn’t talk while we ate, and I enjoyed sharing the silence with him.
“That hit the spot.”
“I’m glad. Do you mind if I shower?”
“You go ahead and shower. I will clean up here and meet you in bed.” Before he left, he gave me a quick kiss.
It felt like we had known each other for years, not only a few weeks.
Those now familiar sparks skittered over my skin.
It was time that I figured out how to accept that he would be in my life for a while, and I couldn’t wait.
Angus walked out of the shower wearing only his underwear.
His body was beautiful, with hard muscles and smooth skin.
I wanted to lick his abs, then kiss my way down that happy trail to the amazing treasure between his thighs.
When his tongue licked his bottom lip, I groaned, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.
He turned off the kitchen light and walked the few steps to the small area that served as a bed. “What are you looking at?”
“You are so sexy.” Oddly, it was easy for me to say that to him. Usually, I felt weird giving compliments, since it always seemed to backfire. He put his knee up to climb on the bed, but stopped.
“What are you wearing?” It was a curious question. The sheet was pooled around my waist, and I had made a choice that I hoped I wasn’t about to regret. With a blush, I pulled the sheet back to show that I was naked.
“Oh. That’s an excellent choice.” He said and smiled.
Then he took off his underwear and climbed in next to me.
His choice to join me without clothes made me happier than it probably should have.
There was barely enough space for two adult men to lie together in the space, but I didn’t mind because we overlapped our legs.
It was so good to be like this with someone, but it was Angus, which made it incredible.
Once we got comfortable, I kissed him. Even though I was exhausted, my body really wanted to have a play date with his.
“I had a great day with you today. Thank you for helping with the bear. I’ve never enjoyed spending time with someone so much.
” The way I said that sounded odd to my ears, but I wanted him to know just how much I liked being with him, hanging out with him.
Being unable to speak clearly was on-brand for me, though.
I wanted to make sure he knew he had been the most important part of my day.
It surprised me that he was even more important than the animals.
It was getting close to 11:00 p.m., and I had a great guy in my bed—my very small bed.
Angus’s body, hard and warm against me, wasn’t something I could ignore.
His hand was trailing up and down my arm, then over my chest, where he dipped down my stomach, teasing dangerously close to the crown of my cock, which was painfully hard and leaking.
“A-n-gu-s.” I started to shudder, and could no longer form words.
It was easy for me to roll on top of him, and then I caged his head with my elbows.
My mouth was on his in seconds, my tongue searched for his, and I groaned when we tangled together.
The way he moaned into my mouth made the hair on my body stand up, and my hips rutted against his hip on instinct.
When my cock rubbed over his, my eyes rolled back.
Using my hips, I repeated the action. This time, when our cocks moved against each other, sparks ran from where our skin made contact throughout my body.
Making sure we were aligned, I rolled my hips, enjoying the feel of him.
Both of us leaked steadily, which created enough lubrication that I moved easily along his length, and it felt better than anything ever had.
“Shit. You are so hard.” That solid heat felt so good.
“It’s incredible. So. Fucking. Good.” He offered.
We rutted against each other, our kisses intense.
Coming up for air, my mouth moved to his neck, then across his shoulders.
I sucked, then ran my teeth over the muscle under his ear, knowing I'd left a mark. Then I repeated it several more times down toward his shoulder. If someone sees him with his shirt off, it’s going to be clear that he had been claimed.
When I could feel my orgasm build, I stilled my hips and focused on his body.
The game we started to play was fun. When our bodies calmed, we would start again, our cocks slick against each other.
I knew it teased us both, but it was totally worth it.
The sensitive glans stimulated with each thrust, and pleasure crackling throughout me.
“Christ. I’ve never felt something so good.” His breath on my neck made me shiver
“Well, wait until you feel this.” He easily flipped our positions. I looked up at him, and he smiled at me. “Let me make you feel really good.”