Leopard's Spots 2: Oscar (19 page)

Devon’s words and the emotions coming off him got to Josiah. Oscar, too, because the constant, low growling stopped as Oscar sighed. “Okay, so that would suck. That doesn’t excuse what you’ve all been a part of, but”—Oscar glanced up at him—“I do understand some of it, Josiah. I was bullied and tormented at school. They’ve been bullied, tormented, and abused I’d bet, their entire lives. That can fuck a person or three people up. Make them do stupid shit.”

Josiah thought Devon and Clark wanted to be offended, while Chris just bobbed his head in agreement. Eventually Devon and Clark did, too.

“We are sorry,” Devon offered. “Please, we all want to be better people. None of us want the Tavares’ millions, and we sure don’t want to be like
him.
”

“We’ll tell Henry everything,” Clark chimed in. “We knew we would have to anyway, but we just wanted to ask you, Oscar, how hard was it to kill Albert?”

Josiah’s temper spiked right back up. “Of all the fucking twisted, asinine questions to ask.”

“Jo, it’s okay.”

Josiah stopped mid-rant as Oscar explained. “They’re afraid they’ll have to fight another cougar to the death. I guess they don’t know that I sneaked up behind him and ripped his throat out. There was no battle, not fighting, no honour to it or anything. He was going to kill Lyndon. I was the only one who could stop him. So I did. End of story.”

Josiah hoped that wasn’t disappointment he saw in the brothers’ eyes, because he was going to go back into attack mode if it was. He settled for pulling Oscar to him and pointing at the door, forgetting he still had paws, which caused another round of gasps from the other three. “Shut up about it and go get Henry. If y’all aren’t back here with him, and Lyndon, in fifteen minutes, I’ll consider it open season on Tavares men.”

Once they left, hauling their asses out the door at near-record speed, he and Oscar took a few minutes to hold each other before getting ready for the coming discussion. Josiah was sure it’d be all over the place, from why and how did they shift just their hands—because he was trying to shift other parts singularly to no avail, and he’d bet Oscar was too—to plans to defend the homestead, as it were.

Sure enough, it was a disaster, at least at first, because Lyndon and Levi both lost it and managed to beat the shit out of all three of the Tavares brothers before Henry, Cheryl, Josiah, Oscar and even Grandma Marybeth pulled them both off the others.

“That’s not helping anything at all,” Marybeth snapped. “Now all of you sit down and shut up, or I’ll start digging holes out back!”

Josiah felt duly chastised and he hadn’t even done anything wrong. Except he kind of had. So had Oscar. Henry was not happy with them. “Why didn’t anyone tell us about the attack at the rest area?”

Josiah didn’t have an answer for that, but Oscar took over. “It wasn’t Josiah’s fault, he was asleep most of the drive. I meant to tell you. I was going to call, but at first I didn’t want to talk about it and wake Josiah up. I didn’t want to text it. I just wanted to get home, but once we did, we were exhausted. And everyone came over and—”

Henry didn’t seem pleased at all. “And nothing. I was here yesterday while Josiah was asleep. You could have said something at that time.”

Oscar threw his hands up. “I just wanted you to leave. I wanted everyone to leave so I could take care of Josiah, okay? I wanted to sleep with him, in every way you want to take that, and I wanted one day of resting and recovering and not worrying about all of this. I’m sorry. It was stupid and selfish and—”

Cheryl stood and shook her finger at Oscar. “Stop it, Oscar. I will not have you insulting yourself like that. Of course you wanted a little private time. You and Josiah haven’t known each other long at all. It’s understandable, and it isn’t like you knew the plans those three had.”

Then she planted her hands on her hips and turned to Henry. “And what, exactly, would you have done yesterday? Had a fit twenty-four hours earlier?”

Henry didn’t appear to be mollified, but he did seem smart enough not to speak.

“Hmph.” Cheryl sat back down and Henry grunted when her elbow caught him in the ribs. “Men. Half the time you’ve all got your heads up your asses.”

Grandma Marybeth cocked her head to the side. “Men are difficult, but Henry’s been a good son-in-law. Mostly.”

“So what are we going to do?” Levi asked, lifting the ice pack off his cheek as he glared at Chris. “Are we helping these assholes—Grandma,” he started when she turned to him, “you can get me for cussing later. Right now even your ear twist isn’t going to hurt.”

The room was quiet as everyone looked at each other, excluding the Tavares men.

“We could…we could threaten to expose him,” Clark offered, adding quickly, “not as a shifter, but as an abusive father who has a bunch of kids and wants them to kill each other off. Or, you know, just as part of that?”

“He’d just demand blood tests,” Devon said, his voice thick with disgust. “He has the money and the means to skewer the results.”

Clark nodded. “Devon’s right. I’m afraid the only answer is to kill him. He’ll send someone to kill Oscar just to retaliate for Albert’s death, even if he wanted Albert dead in the first place. Oscar interfered, messed up the game, so to speak. He may send more than one person to kill everyone, for all I know. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“And who is going to kill him?” Josiah asked.

Oscar stiffened on his lap. “
No
!”

“Grandma Marybeth, do you remember anything about there being a family or clan guardian? Someone who watched out for the other shifters?” Oscar shot Josiah an apologetic glance.

Marybeth frowned. “I can’t remember, why?”

Josiah sighed and squeezed Oscar’s hip. “We have them, sort of. Shifters who are born into the pack, who as they mature, feel it’s their nature to protect. Usually they’re the betas, sometimes they’re alphas who aren’t conflicting with the pack alpha for reasons we’re not clear on. They keep invaders away, and keep the stragglers from getting lost, physically and on their life journey.” He took Oscar’s chin in hand and tipped his head down. “They do
not
go hunt down people and kill them, no matter how dangerous said person is, understand?”

“Oscar?” Cheryl got up and walked to her son. She hugged him and peppered his face with kisses where she could. “We would never expect you to do such a thing, nor would we allow it, honey. As Mom has said, killing takes a toll on the soul. We all saw you suffering after Albert’s death. It’s only now that you have Josiah that you seem happy. And we are going to talk about your school years, young man. Don’t think we won’t.”

Oscar groaned but Josiah detected the relief he felt at not being sent to kill someone, even someone as despicable as Cole Tavares.

“Do any of you have a tracker?” Henry asked Clark, Chris and Devon. “Was that a lie, too?”

Devon’s expression darkened. “We probably do have a tracker, but our father told us we didn’t. Although we’ve never found one on each other and we’ve checked the best we knew how. So I honestly don’t know, but I would lean towards yes, just because of what a bastard our father is.”

“So leaving now wouldn’t make a difference,” Josiah mused. That sucked.

Oscar sat up straighter. “Or maybe it would, if only one of them went back.”

Two weeks went by, and Oscar was ready to give up on his plan. For one thing, Clark and Chris were driving him batshit nuts with their whining about missing Devon. He got it, he did, but this was the only plan they could come up with. Either Devon would step up and end his father’s life—a horrible option but about the only viable one—or maybe, if he got mad enough, Cole Tavares would show up here.

It wasn’t looking likely. Instead it seemed Cole Tavares would just keep sending more of his offspring to cause trouble. That was the case with the two idiots from the rest area. Drake and Orion had captured them both when they were found lurking in the woods not far from Oscar’s cabin. On the one hand, Oscar was relieved he’d not done any serious damage when he’d hit the one named Gregg with the bumper of Josiah’s truck. On the other hand, it sucked because Gregg and his brother Jason were both surly, uncooperative assholes who now had to be guarded. They were definitely not to be trusted.

If there were trackers on his sons, Tavares had to know where they were. Or had Devon turned on them? Yes, he had seemed loyal to Chris and Clark, but who knew if it had been an act, or if Cole Tavares had convinced Devon to follow his orders. Devon might even be dead.

It was possible Cole had killed Devon. No one had heard from him since the day he’d left. They didn’t expect to at first, but now, two weeks later? Chris and Clark were ready to leave and go find him, and damned if Oscar wasn’t ready to tell them to get the hell gone. They were freaking annoying.

“Don’t tell them,” Josiah advised. Their mental bond had strengthened to the point where they shared thoughts effortlessly for the most part. Because they still needed privacy, though, they had established boundaries that weren’t to be crossed. And they trusted each other to respect those lines.

“I won’t, yet. But so help me, if Clark starts crying again, I’m going to deck him.”

Josiah snorted and slapped Oscar’s ass. “Be nice. He’s just concerned about his brother.”

“Mmm,” Oscar hummed and stuck his butt up. “Do that again!”

“I’ll do you one better.” Josiah sat up on the bed. “We can start the morning off like this.” He patted his lap.

“Are you serious?” Oscar’s stomach tingled. He’d woken up horny, and apparently, he’d woken up a top, too.

Instead of answering, Josiah pulled him across his lap. “I promised you I’d spank you like this. Did you forget? Or did you change your mind?”

Oscar bit the outside of Josiah’s calf. “You know I didn’t, so quit teasing me. My dick’s already getting hard. I”—
thwack
—”Mother fucker!” Oscar yelped. He grabbed onto Josiah’s calf just as a second spank landed. “Fuck!”

“Too hard?” Josiah rubbed where he’d swatted. “No, not too hard. Harder, is that right, Oz?”

“Yes, you tease.”

Oscar’s breath hissed from between his lips and he barely had time to draw another one before Josiah landed another spank. They came down faster, burning his ass and the tops of his thighs. Oscar squirmed and kicked and pushed into each swat, and soon his cock was leaking on Josiah’s leg. He was just about to beg to be fucked when Josiah lifted him and tossed him on the bed. Oscar mewled. He loved the way Josiah wasn’t afraid to get rough with him.

Josiah grabbed him by the hips and pulled him halfway off the bed. “Stand up!”

Oscar did so and Josiah pushed at his shoulders until Oscar complied, standing ass up and palms down on the mattress. He purred, knowing what was coming next.

Except he was wrong, because the swat Josiah landed caught him close to his balls. Oscar screamed and arched his back, spreading his ass open as much as he could without using his hands. Josiah palmed his balls with one hand and squeezed. He pressed his wet dick into Oscar’s opening, slowly since he hadn’t been stretched, but steadily, knowing Oscar wanted it and could take it. Would demand it, soon.

Very soon. “Fucking fuck me already!” Oscar tried to slam his butt back, but Josiah held him at the hip and shoulder and he couldn’t move. Not like he wanted to, anyhow.

Josiah, the smug bastard, chuckled and withdrew his cock. Slowly, almost painfully so for Oscar at least, Josiah worked about half of his length back in then he started tormenting Oscar all over again. Oscar begged, he cursed, he threatened, and still Josiah kept the pace slow and steady, never quite fully sheathing himself. Oscar shook with a need so intense he couldn’t think to do more than babble incoherently.

Then finally, blessedly, Josiah thrust and filled Oscar completely. “Better, baby? Ready for me to fuck you and make you scream?”

Oscar was pretty sure he’d already done that, but probably more out of frustration than pleasure. He nodded and whimpered in gratitude as Josiah started riding him hard and fast. Every other stroke or so Josiah would slap Oscar’s ass and scratch either his back or chest. Oscar’s nipple was swollen and throbbing from being caught beneath Josiah’s nails, and his prostate was rubbed often enough he thought he was going to lose his goddamned mind.

He was going to blow his load without even touching his dick. It happened sometimes, especially when Josiah fucked him like he was doing. Oscar couldn’t even make a grab for his own shaft because of the forcefulness of the fucking he was getting, but Josiah, sweet man that he was, gave him a reach under than made tears form.

And fall, when Josiah came down on top of him and bit. Oscar screamed just like Josiah wanted him to, screamed until his throat ached as his inner muscles convulsed around Josiah’s dick, and as he shot wads of cum all over Josiah’s hand.

They collapsed onto the bed, Josiah still buried dick and teeth in Oscar. “That was…” Josiah sighed and hugged Oscar to him as he turned them onto their sides. “Thank you.”

Oscar would have scoffed at that if he hadn’t been so fucked out. He was the one who should be thanking Josiah. Maybe even building an altar at his feet or something.

“Right.” Josiah had the energy to scoff. Oscar found the energy to elbow him in the ribs. “Oomph! All right, you can build me a fucking altar!”

“Or an altar to fucking.” That sounded better.

“Yeah, that’d be okay, too.”

The bedroom window shattered with an explosive noise. More likely from an actual object, but Oscar didn’t know what because he was too busy tumbling with Josiah. They hit the floor, glass cutting them in too many places to count. Oscar heard Josiah calling him, realised it was through their link.

“I’m right here, Jo. I’m okay, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Oz, except for having glass in places that it’s gonna suck picking it out from. But someone shot at us. Or at our window. I’m not sure which.”

“I didn’t hear the shot.”
Oscar even rolled his eyes mentally.
“Suppressor, like a sniper rifle.”