Isaiah (3 page)

Isaiah raked at his hair again. He leaned in closer to the mirror, turning his head side to side slowly, looking for any missed whiskers. His neck felt smooth enough, and he really, really needed to quit screwing around before he was late. Already it was after five.

Outside his apartment, the evening air was humid and he regretted wearing a long-sleeved shirt. It had seemed to him a more professional look, but if he arrived with sweat stains under his arms, then what? He hurried to his motorcycle, a nice enough Yamaha. One day he wanted a Ducati—but what motorcycle fanatic didn’t?

Isaiah strapped on his helmet, hoping he wouldn’t have helmet hair since the drive was short, just a few blocks. He would have walked had he not been worried about being all sweaty and stuff. The motorcycle started up, the sweet engine rumbling, setting the seat to www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

16

vibrating as he gave it a bit of gas. Isaiah’s balls warmed with the sensations. Getting a hard-on from riding wasn’t uncommon for him—and that was something he didn’t need to have happen this time.

Isaiah concentrated on what he was going to say, which was basically,
Hi, Cliff sent me
over to see if there’s anything I can do to help.
He had his suspicions about Cliff’s motives. After all, Cliff had chided him about looking for love in all the wrong places. Isaiah had heard that in an old country song once, and he totally understood the sentiment. Then again, who was Isaiah going to meet at The Heart that he could have a relationship with? The vet?

Damn, there went his cock, trying to do a happy dance. Isaiah ignored the little well of hope because for whatever reason, he’d begun having fantasies about a faceless man who he called Bae. He was building shit up in his mind, which was ridiculous. They’d probably never meet even if Isaiah was volunteering. Cliff was undoubtedly just trying to get more people to help out, and that was fine, Isaiah was cool with it. He wanted to help somehow.

Five minutes later, Isaiah pulled the bike into a parking spot by the kerb. He locked his helmet up and took a deep breath as he looked at the building a dozen feet or so away. It wasn’t too big, two stories and a bland greyish colour. A large, rainbow hued sign hung above the door, The Heart spelled out in scrolling print. The windows on the first floor actually had flower boxes attached to them, and bright purple and red petunias flowed out of the baskets. The windows themselves had drawings and what looked like information taped up in them, but blinds on the inside kept Isaiah from being able to peek into the interior.

Well, if he wanted to know, all he had to do was go through the damn door instead of gawking like a moron outside.

Isaiah stroked the bike seat, just because doing so made him feel better somehow, then he straightened his shoulders, figured he looked like a prick with his chest puffed out, and went back to slouching a little bit. The evening breeze carried a hint of rain and the noxious fumes emitted by passing vehicles, along with the ever-present tinge of pollution that never left the air. He knew his senses were dulled, at least his olfactory senses were, due to the chemicals he worked with almost every day, but he didn’t know if it was a permanent thing or if a week out in the country would clear it up. He wasn’t sure he’d mind either way, although inside, his snow leopard growled at him for his apathy.

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ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

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Fine, I hope you get it back, buddy.
Isaiah tended to think of his leopard as a separate entity in a way. It was a spirit within him, he’d learned, yet also a part of him. Although, according to what Tim and Otto had discovered shortly after they had met, the shifter spirit could up and leave if it was goaded enough, and that fucked up the vessel, or human, who was then left feeling like half of their soul was gone.

Well, that would definitely suck. Maybe Isaiah needed to let his leopard out to run more often. It might not hurt to shift so badly if he did it kind of regularly, and who knew, maybe he’d even stop dreading the actual shifting part of being a shifter.

And he’d stalled more than long enough, a glance at his watch showed him. There were less than three minutes until his appointment, and he wasn’t going to make a crappy impression by being late. Isaiah locked down his doubts and headed for the door. Before he reached it, it was flung open by a boy who looked to be all of thirteen or fourteen. Softly rounded features and wide blue eyes seemed out of place beneath a head of frizzy blue and green hair. The young man didn’t quite meet Isaiah’s gaze, just held the door open.

Isaiah walked in and stopped to turn to the kid. “Thank you.” Did he introduce himself? Isaiah gave a mental shrug and held out his hand. “I’m Isaiah Trujillo. I have an appointment with Sandy Singh. Maybe you could point me in the right direction?”

The kid turned beet red but reached for his hand. “Keegan, and okay.”

Isaiah wondered about Keegan’s last name, but considering what Cliff had told him, that a lot of the kids here had been kicked out of their homes when they came out, there was no way Isaiah was going to ask. If it hurt Keegan to claim his last name, or pissed him off, then Isaiah had no desire to prod.

He followed Keegan down the hall from the lobby then up a flight of narrow stairs.

Keegan obviously wasn’t a chatty kid and Isaiah sure didn’t know what to say. The second floor seemed to be dorms, or whatever the rooms where the kids lived were called, because there were over a dozen teens hanging around. Some were in the large game room that also seemed to be a lounge which they entered from the stairwell, and others were darting in or out of rooms that held bunk beds.

“Hey Keegan, who ya got?” one girl called out, waving at Keegan while studying Isaiah.

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“Someone to see Sandy,” Keegan answered. He waved back. Isaiah noticed another boy, this one with long, reddish-blond hair, watching Keegan from the corner of his eye as Keegan passed. Isaiah bit back a smile. He wondered if Keegan knew the boy had a crush on him.

It wasn’t a long walk before they stopped in front of an open door. Isaiah saw a pretty, dark haired woman with small rectangular glasses on, sitting at a desk.

“Sandy, there’s a man here to see you, an Isaiah Trujillo.” Keegan stepped aside and Isaiah found himself smiling automatically at Sandy Singh. It was hard not to when she looked truly thrilled to see him.

“Mr Trujillo!” She hopped up and rushed around her desk as Isaiah walked into the room. “I’m so glad you made it!”

“I’m a couple of minutes late,” he admitted. “I’m sorry about that. I was here, just stood out front with my head in the clouds until Keegan came out.”

“Keegan’s a blessing. He’s also my part-time assistant. I’d sent him down to check if you were here.” She offered her hand and Isaiah shook it, impressed with her firm grip. “So.

Cliff tells me you’re a brilliant mechanic. Have a seat.”

Isaiah did, and Sandy moved back to her chair. “There are so many options for what you could do here. I saw the Camaro. The paint job was amazing, and the way that car runs—you could offer a shop class, if you’re interested. I know at least six kids would be jump at the opportunity to take any kind of mechanics class. It could be taught in blocks, like basic auto maintenance, body repairs—minor, major, et cetera, paint, interior work and refinishing, restoring old cars—” She stopped and shook her head. “Sorry, I just get so excited about these kids getting some time and attention, and learning something useful. Too many have really bad experiences behind them. I want them to have great experiences now.”

Isaiah didn’t know what to say, he was still trying to process all the options she’d thrown at him. This was sounding more like a long-term commitment and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. “Maybe we should try one thing, see how I do at it?” Isaiah offered.

He knew he was blushing, embarrassed by his reticence. “I just don’t know how good a job I’ll do. I’ve never been great with words. I might not be good at this.”

“All you have to do is talk to these kids like you give a damn they’re here,” Sandy said.

“I think you’ll find that most of them are more mature in some ways than other kids their www.total-e-bound.com

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Bailey Bradford

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ages. Some of them have some very deep-rooted issues that crop up, but we deal with it and help teach them how to deal with it. You’ll be more than a volunteer, more than a teacher.

You’ll be part of a support system, and a role model.” Sandy gestured at him. “You’ve got broad shoulders. I think you can carry all that.”

Could he? Isaiah fought the urge to gulp. Sandy was right. This was a lot of responsibility. He couldn’t just pop in for an hour or two then be done with it.

“Cliff never would have sent you if he didn’t think you were capable, or a good person.”

Isaiah quit doubting himself and let his heart have its rein. “Cliff is an amazing man, and I would like to do this. I’m not sure about what classes, but maybe we could start with something basic, like personal vehicle maintenance. Staff and the kids here could attend, and if the first few classes go over good, and I don’t totally mess ‘em up, then we can plan more.”

Sandy’s smile was almost blinding as she stood. “That would be incredible, and I know you won’t mess ‘em up. You have a very honest, easy-going way about you. So, when can we get this set up? And do you want to try to do it here, in our parking lot around back maybe, or is there any room at your shop?”

They worked the details out, agreeing to start the classes in two weeks. Isaiah wasn’t sure if that would be enough time for him to get everything planned out, but he knew if he gave himself too long he’d start panicking and doubting. The classes would be once a week on Tuesdays, which would put a crimp in him attending the family reunion, but this was important, too, and he’d still make it to half of the get together.

Isaiah was even looking forward to it.

Sandy stopped him before he left her office. “We have a Wednesday evening dinner for the volunteers at Ziti’s Italiano across the street at seven. It’d be great for you to meet the others, if you’re interested, and Cliff will be there too.”

Thinking about the card in his shirt pocket, the name on it that Isaiah had traced over and over, his cock twitched and his leopard woke inside him. “I’d like that very much.” If his voice was gruff, hopefully Sandy would attribute it to allergies or something similar.

“Good,” Sandy said, shaking his hand again. “We’ll see you then.”

Isaiah couldn’t wait. It was Friday now, and it was going to be a very long five days.

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ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

20

Wednesdays were exhausting. Bae would swear there was some Wednesday curse that made emergencies crop up like crazy. His mobile vet clinic was a moderate success financially, probably due to all the horrible things that happened in the middle of the week.

Bae would gladly trade off some of that success for less grievous injuries to his patients.

Today one of his favorites, a sweet Yorkie named Buffy, had been hit by a speeding car.

Nothing he could have done would have saved Buffy, yet Bae felt like the biggest failure.

He’d hated to write up the bill for Mr and Mrs Jackson, but he had staff to pay, too.

Bae had felt so awful he’d almost blown off the volunteer dinner. It was only at the last minute he’d decided he needed to go. Staying at home and brooding wasn’t going to do him any good at all. And besides, Cliff had called and told him Bae really needed to be there tonight. Why, he didn’t say, just tittered like he knew the best secret ever.

The drive to Ziti’s took twice as long as usual, due to what looked to be a horrible wreck on the highway. There was almost another one involving Bae, thanks to the big black SUV that had ridden his ass up until Bae had managed to cut over into the right hand lane and exit early. He wasn’t in the mood to have some dumbass driving a big vehicle try to bully him in his little Nissan Leaf. It wasn’t the first time Bae had had a moron in a gas guzzler try to intimidate him on the road. There were just some people in this world that had serious anger issues.

Exiting early made the drive a little longer since Bae caught more lights, and by the time he’d parked his car further away from Ziti’s than he’d have liked, it was a quarter after seven. He checked his phone, unsurprised to find texts from Sandy and a couple of the other volunteers asking if he was coming. Instead of answering he walked into the restaurant. The familiar scents of Italian food had him salivating until another more intriguing aroma made his nose twitch and his cock stand at attention.

Thank God I didn’t tuck my shirt in.
Bae trusted his senses, although he didn’t understand what was going on. He was aroused, suddenly and almost violently, his dick going from soft to erect in the time it took him to inhale. There was something he couldn’t quite place, an oak www.total-e-bound.com

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and fresh grass odour tinged with a musk that made him want to fuck. It was mind-boggling, and nothing had ever happened to him like this before. The leopard that was a part of him growled deep in his chest. Bae barely kept the sound from spewing past his lips.

Then he saw him, a handsome man talking to Cliff. Tall, thickly muscled, with broad shoulders and gorgeous auburn hair. Brown eyes, flecked with green and gold, widened when the man looked his way. Bae swore he felt the air in the restaurant heat up and snap with an electrical current. He was already thinking of ways to get the stranger naked and under him when Sandy appeared at his side.

“Bae! I was worried about you.” Sandy elbowed him, knocking a grunt from him. “Quit eye-fucking our newest volunteer. He was nervous enough when I interviewed him. Don’t scare him off.”

“I’m not interested in scaring him.” No, what Bae wanted to do wasn’t eye-fucking, either. He wanted to sink his dick as deep into that muscular ass as possible, then find a way to bury it even deeper.