ROMANCE: Lion Protector (Paranormal Shifter BBW Military Romance) (Shapeshifter Alpha Male Short Stories Book 2) (106 page)

Chapter 7

              Mila didn’t see Aron for a couple of weeks after their night in the hot tub. Not a day went by, however, where she didn’t think of his sexy body pressed against hers, his tongue against her sensitive clit, or his member deep inside of her, making her scream out in pleasure.

              But the day after their lovers’ affair, her husband returned home from his trip to Canada. Now he was home and she had to deal with him. Like always, he was no good to her. He barely paid any attention to her, and when he did it was always to bully her and make her feel bad about herself.

              Theodor Edvin thought he was better than everyone around him, and that was apparent in the way he treated his wife. He criticized her weight and figure at the dinner table, making her eat mere morsels. She would always leave the dinner table hungry after having dinner with her husband. He seemed blind to the fact that every man in town swooned over her, thinking her a genuine southern belle, worthy of being cherished and loved.

              Theodor, however, had never cherished her. He had married her only for the fame of doing so. He wanted the prestige of marrying Ms. Amina, the famous beauty of the town. But after they were married he wasn’t impressed with her. She didn’t know how to cook, clean, or do laundry to his liking. This had forced him to hire house workers, an expense he could have avoided if his wife was good enough to do the chores herself.

              They were now having breakfast together. “You’re not wearing makeup,” he said curtly from across the table. She looked at him, a slight glare on her face.

“I rarely wear makeup, dear,” she said tersely as she took a bite out of her sausage.

“Maybe you should start.  And a diet wouldn’t hurt either,” he said, his eyes judging her harshly. She couldn’t believe his cruelness. They had been married for five years and each passing year he treated her worse and worse. Mila didn’t know how much longer she could take this.

“You have no right to say that,” Mila retorted. There was a sadistic look in his eyes as he examined her. He got up calmly, walking over to her before taking her chin in his hand.

“I’m your husband! You need to learn to respect me.” His voice was menacing as his face got closer to hers. In a flash, his hand swept out of his pocket and made contact with the side of her face. The force of the impact made Mila fly out of her seat, falling onto the carpeted floor. She watched him walk away as she held her burning cheek.

Chapter 8

              Theodor went to work angry. If he couldn’t make his wife listen to him, then he would make his workers listen to him. He made his way to the fields, something he almost never did. In fact, most of his workers barely knew who he was or what he looked like, but today he would make them remember who he was, and who owned the company they worked for, who owned
them
.

              Theodor was well aware of the fact that these workers were all relatively poor, that if they lost their jobs they would be out on the streets begging for money. But he didn’t care. If they wanted to keep working for him, they would have to prove themselves. He was on a personal mission to weed through his workers and prune out the worst, keeping only those who gave him the best bang for his buck.

              As he walked along the rows of corn he yelled at his workers, telling them to work faster and faster until his eyes rested on a well-toned man on a ladder. The man was shirtless and working hard to throw corn into a basket below him. Theodor watched him for a moment, slightly impressed, before walking up to him.

              “Why aren’t you working faster?” Theodor asked harshly, looking at the man. He looked out of place in his well-fitted suit. Aron looked down at him, narrowing his eyes.

              “I’m going as fast as I can,” Aron explained before turning his back and resuming his work. He didn’t need some hotshot in a suit telling him how to do his job. Theodor reddened at the lack of respect he was getting from his worker.

              “Hey! I am your boss, and if you don’t do what I say, I will fire you.” Aron turned around and stared at the man.

              “If you think I can do this faster, show me yourself.” Aron calmly got off the ladder, offering it to his boss. Theodor looked at him and smirked, confident in himself. He was certain he could do anything, and he climbed the ladder with ease, but when it came to actually picking the corn he was clumsy and inaccurate at throwing the corn down, making it bounce out of the basket. Aron watched him, amused.

              Theodor’s ears reddened in embarrassment. This man had disgraced him and he would pay for it. “You are on probation and your pay is docked for two weeks!” Theodor roared, getting off the ladder. Aron looked at him in disbelief.

              “You can’t do that!” he yelled at his boss, getting in his face.

              “If you don’t step away from me, it will be three weeks!” Theodor looked smug as he saw Aron’s face fall. Aron knew he couldn’t afford to lose his pay for three weeks. He would need to pay rent or he would be on the streets. Swallowing his pride he stepped onto the ladder and went back to work as Theodor fixed his suit, smirking to himself.

Chapter 9

              The tension between boss and worker continued for weeks as Theodor frequented the fields more and more often. He enjoyed the power rush he felt when he was able to control the lives of his workers by dangling their paychecks in the air before them. It felt good to be in control, and Theodor abused his power at every possible instance.

              But his favorite victim was Aron. The powerful-looking ex-Navy SEAL gave him the most satisfaction when he bent to Theodor’s will. But Aron was coming to his breaking point. He didn’t know how much more of Theodor’s harsh treatment he could take.

              The only reason he stayed was Mila. He stilled harbored the thought that maybe they could be together if he stayed in the town. If it hadn’t been for her he would have left his job long ago, but even Mila wasn’t enough to stop his serious contemplation of quitting Edvin Edibles.

              The job didn’t pay well and he was treated poorly. He knew that with some persistence he could find a better job, even with his background and scars. All he needed to do was try twice as hard to find work. But as he thought of leaving, he thought about Mila. He didn’t know if he was capable of leaving her twice.

              He had to talk to her. So, with what little money he had left, he made his way to Wild West Whiskey, hoping to find her there. Luckily, she was working, wearing her pale blue bar maiden dress. He sat down in his usual spot and waited for her to walk up to him. It took her a moment, but eventually she approached him.

              “What would you like?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Aron looked up at her curiously.

              “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked her, concerned, quickly forgetting about his own problems. She tried to look away, obviously hiding her face from him. Aron frowned before reaching out and grabbing her hand. “Mila, please look at me.” She hesitated. “Please…”

              Finally, she looked up at him with a sad expression on her face. Aron gasped as he noticed her black eye. She had tried to cover it up with makeup, but it was still obviously visible. Aron could feel his blood boil in his veins. Who would have the audacity to hit a woman like Mila? He could feel bile in his mouth as his disgust grew.

              “Mila, tell me who did this to you,” Aron said through gritted teeth. His eyes were brimming with anger at the unknown culprit. Mila shook her head, her bouncy curls following her face back and forth. He frowned and squeezed her hand. “Mila, you have to tell me. This isn’t right.” She looked at him, biting her lip. She didn’t know what to do. Finally, she relented.

              “My…my husband.” Aron nearly exploded with anger. He ground his teeth in his mouth to keep from an outburst as he looked at her seriously.

              “Tell me his name and I will show this waste of a man that he shouldn’t hit women.” Aron was standing up now. She looked at him for a moment.

              “Theodor Edvin.”

Chapter 10

              Aron went to work the next day with a vindictive agenda. He’d had no idea that Mila was married to his boss, but now he could take out two birds with one stone. Aron climbed his ladder and went to work as usual, waiting for his boss to make his way to the fields. Sure enough, Theodor was walking through the corn rows in a dark tailored suit looking smug as he looked down at all the workers who were breaking their backs for him.

              With a sure step, he made his way toward Aron, determined to make the ex-Navy SEAL’s life miserable. But today would be different. Before Theodor could say a word, Aron was already climbing down the ladder.

              Theodor looked at him, about to reprimand him for leaving his line of work, when Aron shut him down with a look. They stared at each other for a moment. Aron walked up to his boss, squaring up to him, using his height as a position of power over him. Theodor tried to stand his ground as he looked at his worker.

              “What is the meaning of this?” Theodor asked in disbelief. He couldn’t believe the amount of disrespect Aron was showing him. “If you don’t get back on that ladder, I won’t hesitate to fire you!” he growled, angrily, trying to intimidate the muscular man standing before him. Theodor looked into the man’s burning eyes and knew something was different.

              “Save your breath,” Aron smirked. “I don’t waste my time with scum like you,” Aron said calmly as he looked at his boss. Moving away, he grabbed his basket of corn and quickly destroyed it, tearing corn from husk, before walking to the stalks and effortlessly ripping them from the ground.

              Theodor stared, frozen in place. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything as he watched the man rain destruction upon his property. Suddenly, he snapped out of it and yelled, “You’re fired! Get off my property!” Aron looked at him, a smirk playing on his lips.

              “Oh, in a moment, right after I teach you a very valuable lesson.” Theodor was about to phone security when Aron quickly grabbed the phone out of his hand, smashing it underfoot. “In the Navy, they teach us something called honor. It has various rules, but one of the most important ones is honoring women. For example, you should never hit a woman. Ring a bell?” Aron teased cruelly as he looked at his boss. “No? Well, let the lesson begin.”

Chapter 11

              With one well-aimed punch, Theodor found himself on the ground. His world was spinning around him and his jaw felt like it was dislocated. He groaned and curled up in pain, the dirt soiling his hundred-dollar suit. Aron looked down at him in disgust, thinking him down for the count.

              But Theodor’s pride couldn’t let him lose that easily. Taking a cheap shot he swept Aron’s legs out from under him before pouncing on the man. He tried to keep him down and punch him, but Aron managed to dodge the blow by moving his head to the left. Before Theodor could manage another punch, Aron tossed him off.

              It was apparent that Aron had the upper hand in this fight with his countless years of combat experience. Theodor, however, did not want to lose, and kept trying to fight, throwing punch after punch in Aron’s direction. Aron grinned at Theodor’s lack of skill before pinning him to the ground and pulling his arm harshly behind him. “One more move and I break your arm. Your choice.” Theodor growled underneath the ex-Navy SEAL in anger, but didn’t move. Aron finally let him go and got up, leaving the farm. Forever.

              Aron made his way to Mila’s home, looking disgusted at the large house this time. Now that he knew who the real owner of the home was, it didn’t seem as impressive as he originally thought. What was the point of having a fancy home if it was built on the cruel treatment of others?

              Making his way to the front door, Aron banged on the door loudly. A maid greeted him, looking a little surprised. She stared at the man standing there covered in dirt and sweat, wearing a ripped shirt. She was about to call for security when he walked into the home, tracking in dirt with his muddy boots. The maid looked at him in a state of disbelief as he made his way up the grand staircase.

              Soon enough, he was in front of Mila’s bedroom door. He opened it quickly to find her there, shaking. There was something in her hands, and he looked at her curiously. She looked pale.

              “Mila…?” he whispered softly as she continued to look at the object in her hand. He moved closer to her, trying to see what it was. “Mila?” he said again, a little louder, but still she ignored him. He wondered what was wrong with her. Had Theodor done something to her?

              “Mila!” he finally yelled at her, shaking her a bit. This broke her out of her trance, making her look up at him. As she did she burst into tears. Aron frowned. What had happened?

              He kept looking at her as she wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her, gently running his hands up and down her back, trying to calm her down. “Shh…shh…it’s okay. He won’t hurt you anymore,” Aron whispered softly into her ear as he smelled the strawberry scent of her hair.

              “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed into his chest. His face scrunched in confusion as he pulled away and looked at her.

              “For what? Mila, tell me. Please,” he pleaded with her, his hands on her shoulders. Slowly, she held up the thing in her hand. Aron’s eyes went big as he recognized it as a pregnancy test. His world fell apart around him. Was she pregnant with Theodor’s child? Mila didn’t deserve this.

              “Is…is it his?” he whispered softly, looking into her hazel eyes. She shook her head. Aron looked at her, confused. If it wasn’t Theodor’s baby, then whose was it? In a moment, his eyes grew as he remembered their time in the hot tub. Could it be?

              “Is…is it
mine?”
His voice was barely a whisper as he looked at her. Slowly she nodded her head, her eyes red and puffy from crying. He suddenly smiled wide and picked her up, hugging her tightly to his chest.

              “Even more reason to get you out of here!” he said softly, looking at her. She looked at him, confused.

              “What do you mean?” she asked.

              “I had a fight with Theodor. I couldn’t let him hit you without hitting him back. So I lost my job, but I’m moving to the coast. I want you to come with me.” Mila stared at him for a moment. Was he being serious? She looked around her room.

              Soon enough she nodded her head. There was no point lying to herself. She lived in a miserable marriage where she hated her home and her husband. There was no point in staying in her grand home if it meant living a depressing life. Smiling big, she kissed him deeply, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

              “Let’s go then!” He picked her up and carried her downstairs to her car. He revved it out of the driveway. Mila looked back, seeing her house disappear behind her as Aron drove down the street.

              Soon they were on the highway making their way to the coast. Aron didn’t know where he was going, but anywhere was better than his hometown. The memories there were dead and gone, and the only thing that mattered in his life was sitting by his side, her hand gently placed on her stomach.

              It took them about an hour to reach the coast. Aron parked the car near the beach as they looked out at the water, the sun slowly making its way toward the horizon. Mila smiled over at him before kissing his cheek. They got out of the car and took off their shoes before making their way to the seaside.

              With their toes in the wet sand and the beautiful sun setting behind them, they had a hopeful outlook on their new life together. They wouldn’t have much, but they would find some way to survive and provide for the baby to come.

              Maybe one day Mila would even find herself in a quaint little home with a vegetable garden in the back and a little one running around by her feet.