Rio's Fire

Brac Village 4

Rio’s Fire

Rio LaBlanc is the kindergarten teacher at Brac Elementary. Sadly, his friends are all under the age of six. He loves his job, but feels there has to be more to life than teaching and letting his black panther run free in the bordering forest. When the new art teacher shows up, Rio feels a pull that sets his blood on fire.

Fire can’t believe Maverick is making him teach art to a bunch of children. Has the alpha lost his mind? What does Fire know about kids? But when he spots the teacher in the classroom next door, Fire thinks that maybe art class has just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

But Fire is a gambling addict. He may have had his wings clipped when the Shadow elves refused to take his bets, but Fire finds a way. Unfortunately, trouble once again is hot on his heels. Can Rio save Fire from his addiction, or will the stakes become too high?

Genre:
Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length:
38,650 words

RIO’S FIRE

Brac Village 4

Lynn Hagen

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RIO’S FIRE

Copyright © 2013 by Lynn Hagen

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-871-7

First E-book Publication: May 2013

Cover design by Siren Publishing

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RIO’S FIRE

Brac Village 4

LYNN HAGEN

Copyright © 2013

“And here I thought you were already on full-tilt crazy.” Fire paced manically back and forth over the carpet in Maverick’s office, wondering if the alpha had truly lost his mind. What he was asking Fire to do was insane.

He stopped pacing and turned his head, glaring at the man who was sitting behind his desk, looking unfazed at Fire’s outburst. “A freaking art teacher? I’m not even qualified. What do I know about art? I’d be lucky to draw two stick figures correctly. And trust me, when I finished, they would be in a
very
compromising position.”

“Have. A. Seat.” Maverick pulled at the soul patch under his lip, staring at Fire with warning in his light-grey eyes. The alpha no longer looked unfazed, but pissed.

The man was intimidating as hell, but a teacher? There was no way in hell Fire was going to do it. No, he was going to refuse. He didn’t know a damn thing about kids. They were messy, noisy, and always had goopy stuff stuck to them.

He shuddered at the image.

Although he’d obtained roughly sixty hours of credits before leaving college, teaching had never entered his mind.

10 Lynn

Hagen

“Ruttford told me you attended college. That’s qualifying to me.

You have no direction in life, Fire. You skate through thinking you can get by with good looks and charm.”

Fire smirked.

Maverick didn’t look impressed. “Trust me. You are the least charming man I have ever met.”

Fire bristled at the insult. He wasn’t sure if Maverick was attacking him or trying to help him. Either way he didn’t appreciate the alpha’s criticism—constructive or not. He waved a hand toward Maverick. “And I’m pretty sure you have charm oozing out of you.”

Maverick gave a half snort, half laugh as he sat forward. “Hell no, but I don’t try to use it as a tool to get what I want. I don’t pretend to be charming.”

Fire had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to get out of this. The commitment in the alpha’s eyes was rock solid, and Fire knew he was doomed. He tried one last time to plead his case, to try and let Maverick know he wasn’t the right man for the job. “When we were kids, I accidently knocked Ruttford down into a mining shaft. I turned, bumped him, and then he went flying. What do you think would happen if you stuck me in a classroom with little helpless kids?”

Instead of considering what he had just confessed, Maverick looked pleased. Maybe he shouldn’t have used Ruttford for his example. Fire knew the alpha couldn’t stand the havoc-causing elf—

Maverick’s words, not his.

“It’s final, Fire. You start Monday morning. Principal Fishman will show you to your classroom and give you the rundown.”

Maverick stood, telling Fire he was done with this conversation.

Well, Fire wasn’t. “I won’t do it.”

Maverick’s fist slammed down onto his desk, making every item placed on the mahogany wood jump. Hell, Fire had jumped. “You’ll do this or I will hand you over to Myne and Yanyte with a fucking purple ribbon wrapped around your throat. Do I make myself clear?”

Rio’s Fire

11

Fire clutched his arms to his chest, feeling his stomach roll. He needed to get out of Maverick’s office. He needed air. Although he knew he had a gambling problem and hated himself for it, teaching wasn’t going to solve anything. The two had absolutely no correlation. As he stood, Fire found it difficult to swallow. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If one of them falls down a shaft, call Lassie.”

Maverick curled his upper lip as Fire stormed from the office, pinching his lips together before he said something that would really piss the alpha off. The wolf shifter had threatened Fire with the one thing he feared the most—the Shadow elf bookies. Even the thought of seeing those two oversized baboons again made Fire want to find a dark place to hide.

He was no longer in debt to them—which he was grateful as hell to Melonee for that favor—but that didn’t mean he wanted to be anywhere near the two. They were scary as hell. Oh yeah, they were charming to a fault when first meeting them. But as soon as a person lost a bet, the two turned into anyone’s worst nightmare.

But of course, they wouldn’t be in business if they were two nice guys. Myne and Yanyte had definitely found they niche in life. They excelled at being bad guys and collecting what was owed to them.

Fire began to climb the steps to his bedroom when he saw Oliver heading down the hall from the kitchen. He briefly thought about heading outside, but Fire wasn’t allowed to go anywhere unattended.

Maverick had some crazy notion that Fire would take off.

The man was smart. Not that he would go gamble, but damn, he missed his freedom. Fire hated having a babysitter everywhere he went. He was done with gambling. Having those two goons after him…again had taught him a lesson.

He was swearing off gambling for good. Too bad the alpha didn’t believe him.

If only he could get the bracelet from around his wrist, Fire would ditch this place. But no matter how hard he tried to cut it off, pull at it,
12 Lynn