Jumping the Bull - Jenn Burke Page 0,3

from the startling and unexpected noise.

“Damn, I guess they’ve moved up the time for the recruits to arrive,” Noah muttered.

Each class at FUCN’A was made up of only 18 recruits, but put 18 shifters and some family members into a small space and you got a whole cacophony of noise. Oliver let Noah drag him through the crowd, silently thankful for the other shifter’s hand on his elbow that kept him from giving in to the urge to shift and fly. They’d almost made it through the jam of people when someone suddenly stepped in front of Oliver. He stopped quickly and Noah’s hand slipped from his elbow.

“Shoot! I’m sorry.”

Oliver looked up to make eye contact, which was a rarity. At six-two, he normally towered over everyone, but this man was a behemoth. He was well over six feet tall, and everything about him was broad. Broad face—topped with brown hair no longer than a millimeter or two, and a matching close-cropped beard—broad shoulders, broad chest, tiny waist, broad thighs.

Oliver wondered if his cock was just as broad…

Oh boy. Don’t go there. He was done with complicating his life with men. His job was fulfilling enough—and even better, predictable and undemanding. He liked teaching yoga to recruits. He liked being part of their growth. He wouldn’t go back to what he used to do for all the fish in the world.

“Hi,” the man said with the slightest glimmer of a smile. He held out a hand that was almost as big as Oliver’s head. “Ben Beaufort.”

Oliver stared stupidly at the meaty palm, wondering if it would be callused and rough, or smooth and gentle, or—

“There you are.” Noah grabbed Oliver’s elbow and dragged him away from Ben before Oliver could protest. “Let’s get out of this sea of people, okay? I’m getting the urge to gnaw on legs to bring some of them down.”

Oliver shook off the thoughts of Ben. “I don’t think Director Cooper would appreciate you treating recruits like trees in a forest, Mr. Beaver.”

“They shouldn’t grow them so tall, then,” Noah grumbled. “Come on. Coffee and food. If the recruits are here this early, you know what that means for us?”

Oh. Ugh. “Meet and greets.”

“Exactly. I’m not doing those without a ton of caffeine in my system.”

For once, Oliver was in complete agreement.

Ben was glad that today was focused solely on orientation. The FUCN’A facility was huge, but with a guide pointing out what amenities were on which floor, it became clear that it was well organized. That reduced some of his anxiety about getting lost. Really, it was pretty simple: the basement was for working out, with the gym, firearm range and pool; the first floor had the cafeteria and the student rec area; the second floor was for learning, with classrooms and labs; and the third floor was for sleeping. Outside was another rec area and firearm range. The delineation between activities and areas soothed Ben and made it a little easier to breathe.

It didn’t hurt that his roommate was a chatterbox and didn’t seem to require Ben to say anything.

“Dude, I am ridiculously excited.” Kellan grinned at the T-shirt he was folding. He was younger than Ben by at least ten years, his face still carrying a hint of baby fat. He had a similar build to Ben’s, but was shorter, so he looked even broader. He was a longhorn cattle shifter, but didn’t seem to care he was a cow in a class made up mostly of predators. “This is a dream, man. A real dream.”

“You always wanted to join FUC?” Ben tucked away his own clothes, folding them in the Marie Kondo way. That woman was a genius.

“Absolutely! Since I was a calf. My uncle was a FUC agent in Texas and whenever he visited, he had great stories. How about you?”

“Doesn’t every shifter kid dream about it?”

Kellan’s grin widened. “Yeah. But—don’t hate me—this isn’t your first rodeo, is it? What’d you do before?”

“Human resources for a tech company.”

“With a build like yours? You were a cubicle monkey? Seriously?” Kellan shook his head. “Glad you came to your senses.”

“Ha. Yeah.”

A call to gather in the auditorium interrupted their unpacking, and Ben and Kellan tromped downstairs with the rest of their class. The auditorium was large, easily able to accommodate their entire class with space left over. Ben stuck close to Kellan, and let him do the talking with the other recruits. He’d always been one to keep his own counsel as he