A New Assignment Pt. 05

Chapter 6

My friend, Rachel, comes to visit me the following week. We go out to have some fun and find ourselves at a bar quite a ways from my home. We have a few drinks and four men saunter over to buy us a round. Rachel, the ever incorrigible flirt, graciously accepts flashing a sexy smile.

The tall handsome men introduce themselves as Lucas, Shelton, Kyle, and Rocky. They are all similar in appearance and are most likely brothers. Dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin adorn the four large well built men.

During our chat, we find out that the guys recently moved to the area to work on several construction projects their boss just contracted. After the job gets started more of their crew will be traveling here to help out. The home office is located in Atlanta, GA but my ears don't register a southern drawl from any of them. In fact, there are no distinguishable accents that I can recognize.

Rachel decides that she wants to go dancing. Lucas asks if they can join us. The only place I know of is the Shire. I do not want to go there or take Rachel or lead these men there, but no alternative option comes to mind, so that is exactly what I do.

As always, the place is packed. The men follow us in although the bouncer has some words with them before they are allowed to enter. When I question them to see if there was a problem, Lucas smiles and tells me is was just macho talk and nothing else. Without even trying, I can tell that he is lying to me, but I say nothing. These are complete strangers and maybe it was really none of my business. I could have easily probed his mind, but decide against it like I almost always do.

Rocky walks off and returns with six beers. I really hate beer. Following him is a waitress who sets down six shots of Gold Schlager. I immediately look around from my stalker, the Colonel. I should have known if I came here mysterious drinks would be showing up. The shots could have been ordered by Rocky, but I know better. No one says anything about the drinks showing up. We all grab one and shot 'em back.

I resume my search for the Colonel. His regular booth is empty and there are no jackets hanging up on the tiny hook next to it. Doing a cursory scan of the dance floor there is no visual of my target there either. Maybe he is actually not here?

I wasn't paying any attention to the men standing near me. Shelton nudges my arm to gain my attention and asks if I want to dance. Before I can utter a single word, Lucas takes my hand and pulls me out to the floor. The song is a more upbeat but seductive tune. Lucas' eyes look lighter than I thought they were earlier and they are gazing up and down my body.

I am wearing a conservative black dress that has a simple v-neck and a flattering length that hits my knees. My Jimmy Choo's are uncomfortable but are the perfect compliment. Plain thin large white-gold hoops dangled from my ears. Simple and understated was the look I was going for.

Tonight was supposed to be about spending time with my friend catching up on her life not out flirting with strange guys. I should have known that when she said she had broken up with her boyfriend that she was interested in scoping for men instead of staying home eating pizza and chatting with an old friend. I return my focus to Lucas. He is being the perfect gentleman as we dance closely without any contact.

I excuse myself to go to the restroom as the song ends. Oblivious to my surroundings, I let out a screech when caught completely off guard as someone grabs my arm and pulls. Once again I find myself in the office of the Shire. I am against the closed door almost ready to scream now that I have my breath back.

The Colonel is there. He is leaning toward me with his hands placed on the door on either side of my head. I am furious with him for grabbing me yet again, but he is hot. He looks angry, but all I want to do is close my eyes and wait for his kiss. His nose is flaring and he is radiating anger. He smothers me with a kiss and pauses. I keep my eyes closed and wait for the next one. When nothing else happens, I open my eyes and see his smile. He is smiling at me.

"Why are you smiling at me? And why did you grab me again? You are really turning into a stalker."

He leans about an inch from my face and says "You came to the Shire, I did not go looking for you. And I'm smiling because you wanted me to kiss you again."

"I did not! I was closing my eyes because you do what you want without ever asking."

"Do you want me to kiss you?" That surprises me.

"Why ask now, you already did."

"I won't again if you don't want me to. There were no complaints before."

He waits for a response. I do enjoy his kisses. I do not want to tell him that. I avoid the question.

"What do you want this time? You are always just showing up and pulling me around." He smirks hinting that he has not missed the fact that I didn't answer his question but leaves it alone.

He moves away from me and says "Who are the men that you came with tonight?"

Oh. He is jealous. Again. Very insecure. Yet I don't sense insecurity. I want to try to probe again but don't want to risk him sensing it like he did at the hospital.

"My friend and I met them tonight at a bar a few towns away. Rachel, my friend that is visiting, wanted to dance and this was the only place I knew of in the area that had a dance floor. I'll look for another place in the future." I said that last part a little rudely but I did not apologize.

The Colonel says nothing but appears to be in deep thought.

"Is your friend, Rachel, staying with you?"

"I don't think that is any of your business but she is here on business so her company put her up in a hotel."

"Good. I would like to escort you two young ladies home this evening when you are ready to go."

Is he actually asking for permission before doing something? It was not technically a question but rather a statement.

"I think we'll be fine. My house is not far from here as you might recall."

"I have told you before that it is not safe for you to be out at night alone. Don't be stubborn. Please just let me do this."

"Fine." My mouth is moving before my brain comprehends what he just said. It is the first time I ever heard him say please to anyone. "Wait. What about my car?"

"We can take your car."

He walks toward me again. I realize that I am still against the door and have not moved an inch since being pulled into the room. I feel a sense of deja vu. He leans back toward me again putting his hands against the door on both sides of my head. My pulse quickens involuntarily.

"I am going to kiss you again Dr Sloan."

I am about to tell him that a statement was not the same as asking for permission but his lips are once again pressed against mine. God he is a good kisser. His lips are so soft and warm. They mold to mine perfectly. His nose gently brushes mine and his scent is intoxicating. I reach up to wrap my arms around his neck, but he steps back before my arms touch him.

"Not tonight love." he says through clenched teeth. "It's time for you to go back. Have fun with your friend but remember our deal. When you are ready to leave, let the bartender know and then head out to your car. I will meet you there. No matter what you do, do not let your four guests leave at the same time as you. Do you understand me?"

I nod obediently having no clue why he is being so crazy. Is it protectiveness? I risk being caught and attempt a quick probe. His thoughts are focused on something and it is making him very angry. He is worried about....me. Why is worried about me? I get a quick flash of the four guys that I met this evening standing next to me and Rachel. It must have been when we first came in the bar. This snapshot in his brain is what is causing his anger. It is not jealousy. It is almost as if he wants to tear the four men to shreds. I stop the probe before I am caught.

If he is this mad then I will just cooperate. Hopefully I can get more answers from him later. I don't know him well, but I do know that he has never hurt me. The men I met tonight are complete strangers and Lucas already lied to me once.

Leaving the office, I continue to my original destination. Rachel is in the ladies room when I enter.

"There you are! I have been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been?" She yells at me as she leans on the counter touching up her makeup.

"Oh, I was on the dance floor and then played some pool." How long was I talking with the Colonel?

Rachel looks like she is not buying my story, but she changes the subject.

"So those guys are pretty cute. Don't cha think?"

"Yeah I guess. There are a ton of cute men on base. I guess I have gotten used to seeing them everywhere." We laugh at my comment.

"Shelton asked for my number." she smiles.

"Did you give it to him?" I asked trying to sound uninterested. I am not sure if I trust these guys after all.

Rachel continues touching up her makeup and smiling at her reflection.

"Oh stop worrying. I gave him my date number."

"What date number?" I ask surprised.

"Oh when I started dating again, I got a special line that I use just for dating. It is a phone number forwarded to my cell phone. That way I can ignore it if the guy was a loser." Smart girl.

I follow a similar setup with my pager and cell phone for work. I keep business and personal separated by giving out a personal number that is forwarded to my business number.

"Well I think that maybe we should head home. You just flew in today and didn't you say that there were early morning meetings tomorrow?"

"Yes." she sighs. "Work. It gets in the way of life." Again we laugh. She wraps her arm around my shoulder and we stroll out of the restroom giggling.

"I don't want these guys following us and finding out where I live. I don't need any problems."

I tell her hoping that she will understand. Living alone as a female is much riskier than living alone as a male. We have to maintain some sense of security. Any lunatic can walk around disguised as a normal guy.

"Oh I understand. Is there a rear exit to this place?"

"Good question. I never noticed."

I was considering telling her about the Colonel and how he was going to be our escort, but decided it was better not to say anything. We needed to get free and clear from our new found friends first. My skin was being irritated by this strange buzzing sensation. This was not something I have ever experienced before, but instinctively I knew it was not good.

"Why don't we try to walk around the other side of the bar and hope they don't notice us?" I suggest rubbing my arms to relive the tingling sensation.

"Oh Sam! That is so rude. Just tell them the truth. We are tired and have to get up early so we are heading home. If they offer to escort us, and I doubt they will, tell them that we have it covered and say good night. Why would they want to follow us back when they have their own car? You are getting paranoid moving around all the time. It's really no biggie."

I am feeling nervous, but take Rachel's lead. She has always been better with the men then I have. She can talk her way into or out of anything depending on her goal. This was something I have yet to master.

We make our way back to the bar and the men are laughing at some joke Rocky just told. Rachel announces that we are calling it a night and will be heading home. Lucas looks like he is planning to say or do something, but then the thought fades.

I lean over to the bartender to see if we have a tab to handle. I know that there is no tab, but that was the only thing I thought of in order to tell him we were leaving so he could notify the Colonel. The bartender tells me there is no tab and Lucas touches my shoulder. His touch surprises me since he has been hands free until this point.

"Everything is all taken care of darlin'. It was our pleasure to meet you both and spend some time getting to know you. I'd like to see you again. I'd like to give you my number and ask that you call me sometime" He hands me a business card with a number scrolled on the back. Wow. I did not expect that.

I nod, accepting the card and then put it in my purse. He winks. I wouldn't mind seeing him again. He was polite and funny. And of course there are his looks. He is plain gorgeous, tall and brooding. He is what I would categorize as a typical "BDG" (which stands for big dumb guy). Years ago my friends decided that I was always attracted to those guys that looked big and dumb but were really intelligent.

We say good-bye to the guys and manage our way back to my Jeep. I unlock her door and then go around to the driver side. The Colonel is leaning against the side. I knew he was going to meet us but I was not expecting him to be standing there. I jumped and let out a tiny squeal. Oh I was brave and tough. The Colonel laughs and holds out his hands.

"Keys my dear."

Again I notice he doesn't ask a question but just gives orders. Maybe this was a hazard from his job. When one has to give orders all the time they probably get used to telling and not asking. That was my current working theory anyways.

I hand him the keys. He opens the doors and introduces himself to Rachel as Taylor. He cleverly leaves out the Colonel part. I have to climb in the back. I am wearing a dress and now I have to climb into the back. How does one do that gracefully? Luckily my dress was long enough that I managed to get myself in back without exposing anything.

Rachel and the Colonel talked the whole time we were driving toward the hotel. It was the most I ever heard him say. And if I didn't know better I would think he was trying to impress her. He was polite and pleasant and the complete opposite of how he was with me. I was somewhat offended. It made me wonder why he was so different and aloof with me. One could develop a complex from something like that.

When we reach the hotel, the Colonel pulls the Jeep right up to the front entrance. He gets out and holds my hand as I got out. Cautiously moving, I manage to get out without falling on my head or embarrassing myself. I walked around the car to hug Rachel.

She whispers "He's a keeper. Don't lose this one." I roll my eyes at her and she nudges me and nods up and down with a knowing look in her eye.

She tells me she will call me after her meetings tomorrow and see if I have time to get together again. She will be in town for the week. We talk about trying to shoot for getting a massage later in the week.

I get back in the Jeep and the Colonel drives me home. He is quiet during the ride. This ticks me off since he was so chatty with Rachel. I am back to overanalyzing his mood swings. He parks the Jeep and follows me inside.

"Well. I'm home. Safe and sound. Are you happy now?" I ask.

He says nothing but continues to look at me with those luscious eyes that could easily hypnotize. He sniffs the air like my house smells bad. It makes me self conscious so I sniff the air too.

"What? Do you smell something?"

"Yes."

"What?!" I ask impatiently.

"Nothing you can smell. Don't worry about it."

I walk toward him and poke him with my index finger "Look buddy. I am not going to put up with this anymore. Didn't the marines teach you any manners? Why can you be so pleasant to everyone else when you are off duty except for me?"

"So you want me to nice to you?"

I sense him going to lean in to kiss me and divert quickly to my right. He seems to read my move and counters to his left and kisses me. He takes my arms and puts them up by his neck like I had attempted to do before at the Shire. Always on his terms.

Even in my frustration I continue to kiss him. My hands grab his short soft hair and move back and forth enjoying the sensation. His body gently pushes mine backwards. He grabs just under my butt cheeks and lifts me up so that my legs are wrapped around him and he is holding me. Our lips firmly together the whole time. My mouth is on fire. His tongue is sliding in and out and my mouth gladly accepts each movement.

He finally sits on the over-sized chair taking me with him and I end up straddling him. My hands move from his hair down to his shoulders and then chest. His hands are on my waist. He takes his right hand and touches my knee. His hand slowly moves up my thigh until he touches the hem of my dress.

I keep trying to remind myself that I do not date coworkers. There is an internal struggle between him not technically being a coworker since he does not work in the hospital and him being a coworker since he works on base. His left hand brushes against my cheek and I lose all train of thought.

Just when I want to ask him what we are doing, I hear "It is not always on my terms Dr Sloan." I know I hear the words, but we are still kissing. I realize that he just pushed those words into my head. I can hear him laugh. He knows that I can hear him and he can hear me. What is he? How long has he been able to hear my thoughts?

"What are you?"

"It doesn't matter love. All that matters is that we are here together."

His mouth leaves mine and travels down my neck gently kissing as he moves along. He settles on the curve between my neck and shoulder and rubs his nose playfully. His tongue barely touches my ear lobe and I let out a quiet moan. He feels so good. It has been so long since I have been with someone.

He leans back just a little and says "Sam, we need to talk." I don't want to talk. Right now I want you butt naked in my bed making love to me. How quickly I forget that he can listen to my thoughts. His face is serious but he raises an eyebrow that lets me know he heard my inner desires. I blush.

"What? And how can you hear my thoughts? Stay out of my head!"

"You started, at the hospital. And I am not sure how you can do it either. But that doesn't matter right now. Those guys with you at the Shire are bad news. They are into some deadly activities and you need to stay as far away from them as you can. I am going to be keeping a close eye on you, so don't think you can run from me."

"How do I know that you are not the bad news and maybe they will protect me from you?"

"You're a very smart doctor. I am confident that you can tell good from evil given enough time. I am just speeding up the learning process." He pauses briefly before continuing.

"Look, I am going to tell you some things that you may not be able to understand. You need to trust me. I know that you can tell my true intentions so I will open up and let you probe without being blocked once I am done talking. I am a lycanthrope or some would say a werewolf."

I didn't need to hear anything else. The guy is a lunatic. This has me tensing and moving as far back as I could while still straddling his legs.

"I can feel your tension. I am not a danger to you or anyone for that matter. I have been this way for a long time and do not feed from humans. My wolf does come out at least once a month usually during the full moon, but the change is something I control. There are others like me on the base.

I am what we refer to as the Alpha or leader of the pack. We have a very rigid organizational structure much like the Marines. That is why we are drawn to the military. We can understand the chain of command and the violence. We are also much stronger than the average human and we have a longer life span. As you saw in the hospital, we have the ability to heal ourselves as long as we are not injured with silver. That is our weakness...our kryptonite if you will.

I know this is a lot of information thrown at you, and I would not normally tell a human. But you are different. I don't know what you are, but I can sense there is something special within you. You are definitely human. I can smell that much. Yet you can heal and hear my thoughts. I would like to know what you are and what you can do when you are ready to share.