Shifters of Grrr 1 (2 page)

That southern drawl coupled with his hung head gave him the look of a whipped pup. Talia's heart melted.

"You said landscaping?"

"Yes Ma'am, I need a bit extra on the side to keep our bills paid."

"You may be in luck, Gunnar Gray." Talia smiled at him as she flipped through her desk papers. Just prior to hiring Gunnar she was tasked to find someone to work out at the Harris homestead as Lyle's former groundskeeper had left.

"This is a home that needs attending to once a week, I've written down the address and the date/time. You'll see to it to keep it well maintained for, say $200 a week?"

"Yes Ma'am, I think I can do that just fine. Thank you." Gunnar grabbed the paper and rose to leave. "I do seriously appreciate it."
 

Once outside the room and as he headed back toward the desk that he'd been using to gather his daily workload, he undid the crumbled paper.

307 East Chandler
 
T------

He couldn't quite make out the day, but with a T it had to have been Tuesday or Thursday, and he made the decision to try Tuesdays. There was no way he'd ask her and show, what he considered, incompetence on messing up the paper so quickly.

And besides, if Tuesday wasn't the day, whoever lived there would surely tell him and he could come back on Thursday.

"307 East Chandler, damn," Gunnar shook his head, knowing the area. He remembered when he first came to the city of Kingston Downs for college going along the back roads to see the landscape. East Chandler was known for high end estates on insane acreage. He realized now he didn't think to ask about the size of the landscape he needed to attend to before agreeing to the payment.
Just hope I'm not mowing and edging 20 acres of grass and shrubbery
, he thought.

He sat there at his desk and toiled through the mound of paperwork, readying for the end of the day. He was so engrossed in completing this one email blast and reconfiguring a better mailing list for the company, that he didn't even hear his boss approach him.

"Working late I see, Mr. Gray?"
 

Lyle's voice boomed over him like a tidal wave and Gunnar jumped a bit at the sound.

"Is it past time to go? I was finishing up that email mailing list and lost track. Sorry Mr. Harris." Gunnar scrambled to get his files together, dropping a folder in the process.

They both reached to pick it up. Their hands briefly connected, sending shock waves through Gunnar as he looked into the hungriest set of eyes he'd ever seen. He quickly put his head back down, avoiding his boss's stare.

"I'll be right out, sorry if I kept you here Mr. Harris."

Lyle laughed deeply and the hearty thunder rolled through the small office. "You're apologizing for initiative and working past your paid time. That, my boy, doesn't need a 'sorry', and call me Lyle from here on out."

He brought his hand down on Gunnar's shoulder, giving it the slightest squeeze.
 

That night when Gunnar was finally back home and freshly showered, he thought of those piercing eyes that held so many secrets. A darkness that danced through his boss like lightning bolts. By the time he started thinking about the shoulder squeeze and the close proximity he held next to the buff gentleman, he was already fast on his way to an explosive orgasm.

Scene Four

The sun was just peeking around the early morning clouds when Gunnar arrived at the address. Pulling into the gate he saw "Harris" written in scroll and realized he was cutting his boss's grass. No wonder Talia didn't tell him more about it. He snaked the car through the winding driveway and pulled up next to the large cabin home. Vines and assorted shrubbery adorned the front of the building, while the yard was mainly small decorative trees and a few patio stones. Looked to be about 5 acres or so, Gunnar assumed.

He started to unload the trimmers, gas-powered blowers, and the lawn mower from the pull behind trailer fixed to his Tahoe. He'd cut the grass first, trim up the edges and around the trees, and then blow the extra grass and trimmings into a corner so that he could tarp them and remove them from the property. Good thing Tuesdays were his off day, else he'd never make it in time to work.

The day was proving to be a hot one, with a heat index of at least 95F. After a few acres of cutting in the more shaded areas of the yard, Gunnar stripped off his tee shirt.
I really should have brought some water or something
, he thought. It had been ages since he'd been called to work on a yard that was more than a small city lot.

After a couple more hours, he was finishing up the last of the edge work and getting ready to tarp the trimmings to go in the back of the trailer. He lugged the machinery back next to the trailer and eased the tarp into the trailer, trying not to spill its contents all over the clean driveway. Last thing Gunnar needed was to screw up this gig that he desperately needed to help his Mom out.
 

The trailer gate raised to its position, while Gunnar fastened the locks. After making sure everything was secure, he went over the grounds one last time to make sure he didn't miss anything.

He walked near the house, along its corners and edges, checking behind the flower beds and the hanging baskets. Nothing seemed out of place and there were no stray mounds of grass and hedge trimmings to be found.
Looks like a professional job
, he thought.

If only he'd seen the exposed root in time to avoid tripping over it and come crashing face first into the picture window next to the back bedroom. The sound was enough to startle Lyle as his head snapped back to see what the commotion was. The sight Gunnar saw, however, invoked a blood-curdling scream. In the excitement, he loses consciousness; his head hitting the ground hard.

OMG, what did Gunnar see?
Lyle thought moments after shifting back from his silverback state. His gorilla was getting restless and he typically set aside one day a week, Tuesdays, to let him out and free. In the comfort and privacy of the bedroom, no one gets hurt and no one sees. It had been this way for years. Only his family knew of his shifter ways. He'd been able to keep it a secret from every person who came into his life. Everyone now, except Gunnar.

Now back in human form, Lyle raced outside to see Gunnar lying on the ground, a small trickle of blood from his temple. He scooped him up and carried him inside to rest on one of his living room chaise lounges. He went and wet a wash cloth and returned to clean the wound, trying to assess his injury.
Heart rate good,
he thought. He'd wake at any time.

It didn't take too long before Gunnar's eyes fluttered open and saw Lyle tending to him. He gasped and began scooting back on the chair, trying to back away from him. Lyle merely held his hands and kept him still.
 

"Gunnar, I'm going to explain to you what you saw, but you have to promise to be still. You can't be making sudden moves right now, you hit your head pretty serious."

Gunnar looked around the room, focusing on anything that wasn't his boss, but he didn't try to back away any longer.

"What I'm about to tell you has to stay between us."

Lyle rested his hands on top of Gunnar's own instead of holding him down. Gunnar didn't resist, still feeling the electric tingle that happened whenever his boss touched him. For a moment, his eyes closed and he could almost feel a storm approaching.

"Gunnar, I'm a silverback shifter. Now what that means is that while I'm human most of the time, there are times when I have to become a silverback. It's why I'm stronger than most men. What you saw you shouldn't have seen, I don't let him out when I know I could be viewed. Why are you here?"

"Talia sent me here to do landscaping once a week. I didn't even know it was your address. The note had the day on it, but it was smudged and started with a "T", I took a guess."
 

"She is under explicit orders not to disturb me on Tuesdays. She must have written Thursday."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I just made a mistake." Gunnar kept reaching up to his head, a massive throbbing was beginning to make his vision blur. For a moment, he felt as if he'd lose consciousness again.

Lyle sensed this and steadied the man against the chair, bringing his own body against Gunnar's. They were inches apart; both staring into each other's eyes. Against all better judgment, Lyle kissed him. Warm and wet, the kiss was deeply sensual, and Lyle could feel it down to his toes. He'd never had a man affect him like this in all his 43 years.

He broke free just in time to evaluate the situation. Gunnar was his younger intern, who had just seen him as a shifter, and who he was now kissing. There were so many things wrong with the bigger picture that Lyle was temporarily in fear, an emotion he rarely ever felt.

"Gunnar, are we going to be able to keep this silent? Can I offer you a raise?" Lyle was grasping at straws, realizing the error of everything that had just occurred.

"Keep your money, you're not buying me." Gunnar spit out at him as he stormed out of the cabin and drove out of 307 East Chandler. In his head he knew he still needed to work at both SoftShift and this side job, so he made a mental note to make sure to only come on Thursday, where he would avoid any more accidental scenes.

Throughout the rest of the day, Gunnar couldn't get the day's events out of his head. Sure he knew shifters were around, but he'd never met one. He'd never worked for one. And if he were being honest, he didn't know what to make of him being attracted to one. That kiss was so much more than a kiss. What was it about Lyle that made him weaker and stronger at the same moment? It was becoming too much, he had to wash everything out and find something to numb him.
 

It was then, he headed to Watered Down, a local bar on the outskirts of town. He wasn't inside a minute when he heard his name yelled from the corner of the room from his old college friend, Tucker. Tucker had been Gunnar's experimentation after years of frustrating dates with women in high school. Once in college, Tucker showed him what being with a man was about and Gunnar felt more calm than ever. It had ended badly, but Tucker seemed not to hold grudges.

As they reminisced about lost loves, college exams, and outing neighborhood married men, the beer and tequila flowed freely. Gunnar, coupled with his new injury, was feeling the affects more than normal. His tongue was going to get the better of him if he didn't watch it.

"So tell me what's new with you?" Tucker slurred at him.

"Working too damn hard for not enough money. Some rich guy hired me to intern, not bad. Weird fellow."

"Weird, how?"

"I cut his grass"

"That's not weird, you said weird."

"Does him being a gorilla count?" Gunnar was barely coherent as he fell off the barstool and faded into black.

Scene Five

Gunnar hadn't drank like that in years and woke to a haze of pounding head and aching muscles. He barely remembered bumping into Tucker at the bar. Somehow he'd managed to get home and fall into bed, still fully clothed. The next few days flew by with him only having to see Lyle every so often. While he could see that Lyle looked at him a little longer than the other interns, the boss man never spoke of the incident with him.

The following Thursday Gunnar showed up at the Harris estate. He carefully knocked on the door to make sure that Lyle knew he was there this time around. He didn't want any strange events this time. While he had accepted what Lyle had told him and didn't fault him for it, he was going to have to warm up to the idea of seeing him in that form.

The sun beat down on him throughout the work day. The hedges needed trimming again and it seemed there was a slight overgrowth of dandelions that weren't there previously. All in all, the day dragged by slowly, and Gunnar was there much later than normal. The sun was just starting to fade by the time his trailer was loaded and he walked to the steps to tell him he was finished.

Lyle greeted him at the door before Gunnar's fist made contact. Freshly showered and wrapped in a robe, it was Lyle that spoke to the young intern first.

"You did a fabulous job out there, sorry it had fell in such a state after only nine days." His voice like butter melting, Lyle waved him inside as he said, "You are covered in grass and leaves, wouldn't you like to shower before leaving?"

"I'd appreciate that, Sir." Gunnar replied, stepping inside the massive foyer.

"Sir? I told you to call me Lyle. I thought we were at least friends now."
 

He seemed hurt and Gunnar had the feeling surge inside him to go to him. He was so conflicted by his emotions. No man had ever made him feel the way that Lyle did, and in that, he kept pushing him away when all he really wanted was to stay with him and get to know him.

"I appreciate the gesture, Lyle. A shower would be nice."

Lyle motioned for Gunnar to follow him as he led him to the bathroom. Gunnar had never seen a shower so ornate. He stripped off his dirty and dusty clothes and stepped inside as the jets worked their magic. Water came from all directions and massaged his sore muscles as the grime of the day rinsed away and circled around the drain. After he was thoroughly clean and relaxed from the water massage, he emerged realizing there were no towels present.

"Ummmm, Lyle? There aren't towels." He yelled. A bit unrefined in this home, but he didn't know what else to do.