Chapter Text
This was supposed to be an amazing experience that you would carry with you for the rest of your days. The chance to work at Eden’s Gate Circus for the Seed family was something not easily offered. Their circus in Hope County was strict on staff members. It didn’t matter who you worked for, there were expectations. John Seed, the showman and the head honcho of the whole shebang offered you a meager job due to your family’s standing. Your family was good friends with Joseph Seed, the Fortune Teller, and your father had put a good word in for you since you were looking for a job.
You never would have thought you’d be allowed the opportunity to work at Eden’s Gate. John Seed said that you could fill in for the Assistant Animal Tamer Staci Pratt until he came back from his trip in Africa. He was there to capture some more exotic wildlife to include in the circus. The main Animal Tamer was Jacob Seed and before John sent you on your way he warned you that Jacob was no easy man to please. Being Assistant Animal Tamer would require you to fill shoes that were twice your size, literally. Despite the nervousness that bubbled in you, you continued through it all.
John was impressed to find you sitting at the back of the circus tent with your luggage ready the very next day. You were too excited to pass up an opportunity like this. The way the huge circus tent was set up was that there was a small space of room for the entertainers to prepare for their acts, a small opening led into the open showing area. It was a giant circle that could hold a number of acts at once, the Henbane acrobats would swing from above, the Whitetail clowns would speak their jokes and pull their pranks. Surrounding the circle were the bleachers that went up in rows to the very top, popcorn would be passed around and cotton candy.
Beside the circus tent was where the animals were kept in there cages, a long row of kiosks for fair games and food went down in rows as well. The entertainers had their own trailers far off to the side where onlookers wouldn’t disturb them.
Joseph Seed had a tent, it was unmistakable as it flowed with purple lights and gave off a mysterious vibe. He spent most of his time there waiting for customers to show up so he could give them their fortunes. Yet, his most popular act would be when he would perform these long monologues in front of the crowd, giving the world their fortune.
Oddly enough, Faith Seed, the main Acrobat for the Henbane flyers lived at the very tip top of the Circus tent. There was a small metal framework of catwalks and such that gave her the ability to hammock up there and live her days in the heights of Eden’s Gate tent.
John Seed also had his own special tent, it was bright red and stood off to the side. It was small, but for the women that he’d share his bed with they had said the place was practically a mansion on the inside.
“You will find Jacob just down there.” John told you as he pointed off towards the cages. You nodded your head and moved without hesitation. If Jacob saw that you weren’t afraid then maybe he wouldn’t have such a hard time getting used to you. The closer you got to where John was pointing you became more and more confused. Jacob was nowhere in sight. You looked up and down the cages; tigers, elephants, chimpanzees, zebras and wolves. You couldn’t find him anywhere.
It was just when you were about to go back and get John that you heard a loud grunt. It came from behind the elephant enclosure. You walked closer and as you turned the corner your entire body froze and your eyes widened. When John had told you about his older brother he had described the man as in good shape for his age, extremely strict, with this resting scowl always on his face. The man you were looking at now surpassed those descriptions. He was shoveling up elephant dung, his muscles contracting and shifting under sheets of tan skin.
Although the smell was rancid and it stung your nose even at this distance, the sight of him shirtless, with nothing more than boots and camo pants on sent shivers down your body. He had a thin sheet of sweat on him, small red hairs scattered across his pectorals and traveling down towards the area below his pants. His red hair was messy and a few strands fell over before his violently blue eyes, a characteristic feature of the three Seed brothers. He had a curly thick beard, perfection at best. You wanted to announce yourself, but you were suddenly unable to speak and the silence was only making things more intense.
“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to actually be of some use?” His sardonic tone sent chills down your spine and you dropped your luggage, scrambling for the second shovel so you could help. “When John told me I was getting a temporary replacement I didn’t expect it would someone weak and fragile like you.”
“With all do respect, Sir. I’m neither.” You stood tall and proud, starting away at the pile of dung that Jacob hadn’t gotten to yet. He snorted at your comment and silently continued on with the work. When it was finished he dropped the shovel off to the side and then walked away like you weren’t even there. Your arms were straining from exhaustion but you kept going anyways. You dropped the shovel off and ran for your luggage to follow after. “So where will I be sleeping? Do you have anything for me to do today? I’m sure there are tons of things for me to do. I love animals and-“
“Just shut up. I have to go feed the lions.”
“What do you want me to do though?”
“Go home.” You stopped following him, feeling a stubborn streak coming on. He obviously needed help, there were over a dozen zoo animals that were not only presented in the show on a daily basis but they also needed to be attended to. You found a spot that you felt was safe to place your luggage, your clothes and some parts of your skin were dirty but you figured you would shower later. You looked around, not bothering to follow after Jacob, you would find your own work to do. You knew how to care for animals, your mother was a veterinarian and you had six dogs at home.
You noticed that the wolves hadn’t been fed yet so you looked around for any sign of where their food might be kept. You came across a small trailer and realized that there were several items that could be of use to you. Knowing that there wasn’t much time in the day, you grabbed as much as you could and went to work. You fed the wolves, then the Zebras and the chimpanzees. You cleaned their cages and groomed the Zebras because they were utterly filthy. You organized some of the things in the trailer into sections so that everything was fixed up for Pratt when he returned, or Jacob if he ever came back from wherever he was.
You figured he hadn’t gone to feed the Lions because they were starving when you made it to their cage. So you fed them and made sure that you did it in a safe fashion. By the time you had finished with what you assumed were some of your daily tasks it was already a little past lunch time. You didn’t know where the employees got their food for lunch, so you opted for the crackers that you kept for snacking in your luggage. For the remainder of the day you simply paced around the cages and you talked to the animals. You ended up taking a nap with the chimpanzees and when you woke up it was to a banana being shoved in your face. You made a few friends with some other employees that had passed by, they were curious as to how your were doing.
It was odd to you that you hadn’t seen Jacob again all day but that whole prospect hadn’t bothered you one bit because you were having a good time. It was nighttime when you decided that you were just going to pick a spot by one of the cages and sleep there for the night. You could just shower in the morning. On your way towards the elephants you saw Jacob walking down the path towards you. You thought you could make it past him unnoticed but he was obviously looking for you because he intersected your path like he was on a mission.
He didn’t have to say anything, the look on his face said it all, he didn’t look happy in the slightest. He crossed his arms, only seeming to distract you from the situation with those huge biceps of his. He had scars and a tattoo here and there, he had indents of muscle and he had unique freckles around his stomach and shoulders. Not to mention he was just towering over you, almost as if you were a tiny toothpick in comparison to him (and you both were as close to that comparison as two human beings ever could be). You gulped, resigning yourself to a fate that would soon be your end.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, Sir...” You realized that you didn’t care if he was going to step all over you. You had a damn good day working around here and he wasn’t going to ruin that. You finally met his gaze, hard with your own glare. “You didn’t give me any work so I made my own. If you want me to leave then I will, but I promise that you won’t find anyone as hardworking and as efficient as me.” He seemed unfazed by your little show of confidence. You weren’t going to be thrown around like some toy, you worked hard to get John Seed to notice you enough to give you a job here.
“You smell like shit. Let me take you to my tent so you can clean up.” Of all the things he could have said you hadn’t expected that to be one of them. He simply walked past you, yet again, expecting you to follow this time. You carried your luggage after him, stumbling here and there because you were so dumbfounded. You bubbled with excitement, perhaps your hard work had truly gotten you his respect and attention.
He led you to his tent, which you hadn’t even known he had. There had been stories about how Jacob Seed was one that liked to sleep with the wolves or the lions. That he was so connected with his animals that sometimes he would even let them out of the cages to follow him around. The tent was a dark green, a small light flickering out of the flaps. Upon entering the tent you noticed that it only contained a few pieces of furniture; a table with some chairs, a couch for sitting and relaxing, a water basin for bathing and a large bed in the far back with an end table beside it. There was clutter everywhere, books stacked up onto one another, mugs of cold coffee sitting around, papers and writing utensils. It had this orange glow about it on the inside and everything was lit up with lanterns and such.
“You already know there is a water spigot out towards the cages. You can fill a couple buckets and bring them back to bathe. I will be outside to give you some space. Are you hungry?” You didn’t know what to say, you didn’t expect this type of generosity to come from the impolite man you had met earlier that day.
“Um... I’m starving if you don’t mind.”
“I will bring you some food, just get cleaned up.” He left the tent without another word and you were grateful that he was being so kind to you. You placed your luggage down and grabbed the stack of four buckets sitting by the basin. You quickly went to work, not knowing how long Jacob was going to give you in privacy. It was difficult having to carry the buckets of water back and forth between the tent and the spigot all alone and even more difficult not to spill anything once you were inside. Jacob had a tarp put down for the floor and god forbid you got any water on it, it would make a huge mess and then he would truly kill you.
It felt so nice to get all of that dirt and crud off of you, the water was no longer clean when you finished bathing. When you got out you forgot that there weren’t any towels, you fanned yourself like some idiot to become somewhat dry. You threw a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on, hoping that Jacob wouldn’t be upset with you for taking a bit too long. You peaked your head out of the tent and you saw he was sitting in a chair with a plate of food on his lap.
“I’m done.” He stood up and stomped towards the entrance, almost like a machine. You stepped back awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. He placed the steaming plate of food at the table and stomped over to the end table beside the bed. He pulled a book and a pair of reading glasses out of the top drawer and plopped down onto the mattress. It was almost like you weren’t even there anymore. He began to read.
He didn’t bring any silverware, so luckily the only thing you needed a spoon for was the beans. You ate the sandwich like a savage beast, starving your brains out cause you hadn’t eaten anything substantial all day. You scooped up the beans with your hands, not caring because it didn’t seem like Jacob was paying attention anyways. When you finished you sat there quietly, eyes looking around the tent with curiosity, wondering why it seemed so empty compared to Joseph’s or perhaps John’s. You wanted to ask Jacob what to do next, but he seemed extremely involved in the book he was reading so you remained silent.
“What made you want to work here?” It was random, the question hanging in the air and taking you by surprise.
“I love animals and my parents talked to John to see if he could get me a job here after they heard Staci was out.”
“Hmm...”, was his only response. You exhaled a huge sigh, your brain trailing to the idea of sleep now that you were full and done for the day. It was really late and your entire body was sore, you just wanted to relax.
“Look. Where am I sleeping?”
“Anywhere you want, I don’t give a fuck.” He was nothing like Joseph or John, the only similarity were those beautiful eyes... and maybe the beard... and the muscles. John had a very toned and lean body, Joseph too, although Jacob was bigger than them that was. You were thankful that Jacob had decided to let you use his water basin and give you food, but you weren’t going to let him treat you like you weren’t there whenever he wanted to. Maybe he just didn’t like talking much.
It was then as you were trying to figure out where to sleep that an naughty idea came to your mind. You thought that really you should just go find Pratt’s trailer and sleep in there, but this idea was too fun to pass up. Technically he said you could sleep anywhere. You stood up and faced him, he was so intently focused on the book that your movement hadn’t even drawn his eye. You were quick to just go through with it, so you did. Not because Jacob Seed was hot or you were expecting anything, but because you were tired and his bed look really damn comfortable.
You walked over to the other side of the bed, calmly hunching over and folding the covers up on that one side. Jacob didn’t even flinch, and you continued doing as you were. Once you were snug under the thick covers and the soft pillows had engulfed your head like a sponge you were almost half asleep. It was so comfy. It wasn’t long before you were gone, off into sleep land and snoozing quietly to yourself.
Sleep had never came and had never gone as quickly as it did in that moment. You awoke to shuffling behind you, loud snoring in your ear and a heavy heat fanning at the nape of your neck.
Your eyes fluttered open and the tent was dark, the early morning sun just barely creeping through the front flaps of the tent. You felt something tighten around you, pulling you closer to this hard surface at your back. You shifted around, hoping that you could break free but only then did you remember that you weren’t alone in the bed. This wasn’t a dream and you weren’t at home, sleeping away. Jacob fucking Seed, THE Jacob fucking Seed was spooning you against his firm and masculine body.
You shuffled around once more, wiggling your hips and whispering his voice softly to awaken him. It wasn’t that you were uncomfortable, simply that you were extremely turned on in that moment and perhaps he didn't realize what he was doing. It was then that you felt a plush but firm lump pressed up against your ass, your eyes widened and you only groaned as you tried to escape his vice grip. How could a man be so strong even in his sleep? Or so you thought.
“If you move one more fucking time, I swear little lamb.” You entire body tensed up and you were shocked yet again by the great and powerful Jacob Seed. His voice was husky against your ear, his breath still so hot and humid, you were dying for some friction between your legs. That was when he held you tighter and that was when he pressed against you further. There was no escaping this. You weren’t playing fire, you were playing with Jacob Seed.