Survival Instinct: Brian Book One (Van Zant Siblings 1)

by Roxy Harte

  Brian laughed in the face of the compliment. “I do what I can to please.”

  “Yeah?” Hawk asked.

  Brian smiled smugly.

  Hawk kissed him fast and hard. “Then get on your knees. I want to fuck you now.”

  Brian didn’t waste any time dropping to his hands and knees.

  Hawk walked around behind him and squeezed his ass cheek through the slick fabric of his alpine pants. With a fast jerk, he pulled the pants down over his hips, baring Brian’s pale skin. He rubbed his hand over the smooth bottom, noting the marks he’d left on Brian’s pale skin days before. “You mark beautifully.”

  Brian made a small noise in his throat.

  We could have been in a soft, warm bed tonight.” He slapped Brian’s bottom, leaving a handprint. “I think I want you to remember how displeased I am with having to bunk on a hard, cold stone floor again tonight. What do you think about that?”

  “God, yes.”

  “Yes, what, Brian?”

  “Spank me please, Sir.”

  Hawk closed his eyes, drinking in the pleasure of the moment. He liked to be asked to inflict pain. He really liked hearing the sounds people made when he hurt them, the gasps, the high-pitched whines, deep-in-the-throat growls.

  He spanked Brian, hard, because he wanted it to hurt. He wanted him to cry out, to sob his name, to beg him to stop. He somehow knew Brian wouldn’t beg him to stop. He left his ass rosy pink, and Brian remained completely silent through the punishing blows. When Hawk was desperate to bury himself in Brian’s ass, he pressed his much cooler thighs against the heat rising off Brian’s berry red ass. Brian sighed with relief. An erotic shiver ran down his spine. Hawk pushed the head of his cock against Brian’s anus. “Do you want me to fuck you now?”

  “Please. Fuck me hard, Hawk. I need you to fuck me hard.”

  Remembering watching Brian’s reflection in the mirror, how it felt to lock gazes with him during the intimacy of penetration, Hawk grabbed his hair. “Look back at me.”

  Brian turned his head as far as he could, making eye contact with Hawk.

  “That’s it. That’s what I want. Look at me.” Hawk held his gaze as he pressed slowly into him. Brian’s jaw relaxed and dropped open. He gasped as he was stretched and filled. “Oh God.”

  Hawk maintained the slow slide into him until he couldn’t go any deeper. He withdrew almost completely before pushing back in, knowing the sensation was driving Brian crazy. “God, oh God.”

  He didn’t look away.

  “Touch yourself while I fill you.”

  Brain broke eye contact for just a moment while he rearranged the layers of clothing to expose his cock. Hawk jerked his face around by tugging his hair. “I didn’t say you could look away.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Hawk thrust in hard and fast. “Don’t do it again. Now jerk yourself off while I fill your ass.” He held Brian’s gaze as he thrust. In. Out. Harder and harder. Brain’s own jerks kept pace. His eyes rolled back as he started to orgasm, and the primal growl of release and satisfaction ripped through Hawk, bringing his own orgasm.

  Sometime later, darkness filled the cavern. Neither man had moved to turn on a flashlight. Brian lay stretched out on the earth-covered stone of the outer cave, looking relaxed and at peace, and although he’d adjusted his clothing, he was shivering. And while Hawk knew part of it was an after effect of the scene they’d shared, he knew he also had to be freezing. By the light of a penlight, he rummaged in his pack, pulled out a micro-thin all-weather tarp, and went to work securing it as a flap over the narrow entrance that led to the first in the series of inner chambers. By blocking off the cave from the inner chambers, he created an area to build a small fire. With the larger cave opening allowing in an almost constant breeze, he wasn’t thrilled with the amount of heat he’d be able to build up, but he’d had all afternoon to come up with a suitable alternative to freezing to death. Once the sacred chambers were adequately sealed off, he said, “Now, I make a fire.”

  Brian opened his eyes and started to object, but Hawk stilled, listening. He lifted two fingers to his lips for silence.

  Brian mouthed, What?

  Hawk squatted fast, turning off the pen light and pulling Brian with him. He clamped his hand hard over Brian’s mouth to keep him quiet. He pointed for him to go under the tarp flap and followed when he did so. Leaning close to Brian’s ear he whispered, “Stay here,” and handed Brian his side arm, a Glock Gen4 G29, before disappearing back to the other side.

  He didn’t take any time getting out onto the main ledge, but he was too late to help the two dead guards. Hawk knew they’d been taken out from a distance away and never saw their deaths coming. Knowing he would only have one shot at stopping whoever was trying to come in, he watched from the cover of low-growing scrub, he watched the helicopter move closer. It wasn’t the copter from the morning run; it was the stealth flyer he’d seen several nights before. It had been bothering him that the men they’d arrested with Erik weren’t the two men he’d seen on the ridge. They weren’t with the three left collecting artifacts in the cave either. That meant Erik’s main buyer was still waiting and had knowledgeable guides to escort more artifact gatherers right to the front doors. He guessed this was the next wave.

  A spotlight scanned over granite, and Hawk pulled in tight against the rock. He had a plan. It was a one-shot do-or-die plan, but if it worked…

  The light sighted on the entrance of the cave, and four ropes dropped, two from each side of the bird. Men braced on the sides to drop. They would have to rappel simultaneously or risk putting the helicopter off balance. That’s what Hawk was counting on.

  He kept his eyes on the men as he slipped out of his hiding place. They had assault rifles strapped to their backs. For treasure hunters, they knew how to arm themselves. He knew the moment he was sighted. Rapid popping of automatic fire filled the air, and ice sprayed by his feet as bullets sank into the snow-covered ledge, but he didn’t stop moving. He grabbed for the two nearest ropes, swinging in a far arc off the cliff and circling over the second set of ropes on his return fall. He dropped hard on the ledge, still holding the ropes. He ran, pulling the ropes into the scrub. He looped them around the base of a pine and tied off, anchoring the helicopter. He didn’t stop moving. He ran back onto the ledge, drawing fire. The men were trying to maintain their timed rappel, but the machine was already swaying.

  Hawk ran, bullets raining down around him. Jumping off the ledge he grabbed the second set of ropes and kept arcing, pulling the ropes in an opposite direction as he hit the ground on a farther ridge. He tied off on a boulder while the helicopter tried to lift. The rotors whined, the vehicle in obvious trouble. A second later the helicopter fell from the sky and crashed in a ball of fire. The repercussion of the explosion slammed Hawk against granite, knocking the wind out of him. He hit his head hard and saw stars.

  Through the shadow of black clouding his vision, he saw one of the men climbing up the ice covered rock face. He was injured, but not so injured he wouldn’t reach the mouth of the cave before Hawk could get back.

  He tried to stand and weaved, dizzy. He forced himself to keep walking, keeping his eye on the treasure hunter.

  ♥

  Brian backed into the farthest corner of the rear chamber, a natural indentation he fit perfectly inside. Huddled and waiting, he listened for the rotating arms of a helicopter. Damn, how did Hawk do that? Hear what couldn’t be heard?

  He hated hiding, but preferred not to think of himself as hiding, but rather waiting. Holding down the deepest of the chambers, the space was true dark until a light source was introduced. No one would know he was there even with a quick sweep of light. Fear for Hawk’s safety made his blood turn to ice. There were no voices, only the rotation and then gunfire. “God. Hawk.”

  Several times, he started to leave his hiding place but didn’t. Revealing himself would only get him killed sooner rather than later. Fuck!

  A shrill scre
am rent the darkness—not human, metal. An explosion followed. Brian stood, no longer caring if he was discovered. Feeling his way around the dark cave, he found the narrow passage that led to one of three over chambers. He repeated the process of feeling around and moving in to one chamber and another until he reached the tarp-covered opening. He ran to the cave’s main opening. “Hawk!”

  Brian lifted his arm to shield his eyes from the bright red flames of a fuel fire. Beyond the brightly burning fuel, the mountain was wrapped in the silent darkness of deep night. The only sound the fire’s roar. Nothing, no one could survive that. His heart leapt to his throat as his stomach sank. He couldn’t lose Hawk too.

  He screamed, “Hawk! Where are you? Answer me! Hawk!”

  He saw a rifle barrel rising above the rock edge before he saw the man and left the cave. He grabbed the barrel and jerked up hard and fast. The man screamed from pain, not surprise as Brian pulled hard enough to jerk the shoulder strap holding the weapon in place from the man. Brian squinted at him, realizing the man’s arm was dislocated and he was attempting to scramble over the rough rocks exposed as the ice quickly became water and evaporated. Was using his one good arm and feet to climb.

  Disarmed and injured, he was definitely at a disadvantage, but Brian stepped backward and sighted him. “Let’s take the rest of this climb real slow.”

  The man glared at him.

  “You speak English?”

  “Yes.” The man’s accent was thick.

  “Anyone else flying in tonight I need to worry about?”

  “Go to hell.”

  Brian nodded, keeping the rifle trained on him. He scanned the ridge, but Hawk was nowhere in sight. The man in front of him grunted, sliding on the frozen steep grade. Brian backed up, rifle aimed at the man with a solid hold on the granite. He’d stopped trying to hauling himself up and had his head laying on the ground. He was panting, blind with pain. Brian approached a second time, holding out a hand. “Let me help you.”

  The man growled then repeated, “Go to hell.”

  Brian closed his eyes. As far as he knew, he and the injured man in front of him were the only two men left alive on the mountain. The thought squeezed his chest painfully. Heart racing, he shouted into the darkness again, “Damn it, Hawk. Where are you?”

  He couldn’t allow himself to believe Hawk was part of the burning wreckage on the side of the cliff. A gunshot fired and echoed. Brian fell backward, led by his left shoulder. He hit on ground hard, stunning his body and jarring his head with the impact.

  He laid on the ground, literally staring up at the stars. Sudden white hot pain seared through him. I’ve been hit.

  In his peripheral, Brian saw two men coming out of the shadows. One keeping his weapon trained on Brian, the other assisting his injured comrade. Brian lay still and staring upward into the inky black, afraid to even take a breath. Suddenly a knife sailed through the air and landed in the armed man’s chest.

  He dropped like a stone, leaving the lone man helping his fallen comrade. A twig snapped to the far right, drawing Brian’s gaze from one danger to the next. Hawk came into sight. He was limping and had his hand pressed to the back of his head, but he was alive.

  A scream rent the air, distracting both Brian and Hawk, as the man on the cliff hauled one of his injured man’s legs onto the edge, leaving his body straddling the edge. Much screaming and cursing ensued.

  A good rant of cursing is understood regardless of language used. The injured man was pleading to be left behind. That too was clear, despite the language barrier. Silence fell between the two. Brian looked to find Hawk in the darkness and noted only then how gingerly Hawk was moving.

  “My God, are you okay? I thought—”

  Emotion clogged his throat, leaving him unable to finish the sentence.

  The injured man shouted above the roar of the fire. Whatever he said caused the uninjured man to flee. Brian tried to stand, intending to chase him down, but the pain in his shoulder was excruciating. Pressing his palm hard against his damaged shoulder, he managed to roll to the balls of his feet and lift himself with the power of his legs. He gave up on any plan to chase down anyone, but managed to get to Hawk’s side.

  Concerned, Brian wrapped his uninjured arm around Hawk’s waist and assisted him to just inside the mouth of the cave. “How injured are you?”

  “I’m okay, I took a hard fall, but I don’t think anything is broken. Adrenaline and fear got me from the neighbor ridge to here.”

  “Neighbor ridge? Jesus! Even in good weather and a hard run—fuck!” Shaking with the rush of adrenaline and fear, Brian’s first tears fell. Hawk held open his arms, “Come here.”

  Brian fell against him. Hawk wrapped him in his arms and kissed his temple. “I’m okay. We’re both okay.”

  Stepping back, Brian understood there would be plenty of time for tears and there was no guarantee more men with guns wouldn’t arrive any moment. He helped Hawk to the ground and handed him the rifle he’d taken off the enemy, keeping the Glock for himself. “You rest, I’ll radio for assistance.”

  Brian gathered both sleeping bags and wrapped one around Hawk’s shoulders and the other over his legs.

  “I think that fireball pretty much assures help is on its way.” Hawk nodded with his chin to the man still trying to lift himself over the edge one-armed. “Are we gonna help him?”

  “Nope. He told me to go to hell, so I thought I’d give him a chance to get there ahead of me.”

  The man laying on the ledge said loudly, “Fuck you.”

  Hawk laughed, then clutched his head. “Oh God, that hurts.”

  He laughed harder as the man dragged up his other leg and rolled onto solid ground with a loud groan. He lay prone and unmoving. It didn’t appear he was going to try to run away.

  Brian searched and finally found a radio on one of the fallen. He held down the call button. “Ranger needs assistance, officers down. I repeat, officer’s down.” There was no response, just static. He gave out the same call on the remaining channels then depressed the emergency beacon button and was relieved when the small red light started blinking.

  “Get the first aid kit from my pack, Brian.”

  Brian hurried to do so. “What can I do? Where are you hurt?”

  He was surprised when Hawk commanded, “You. Sit.”

  “I’m fine.”

  In the glow of the huge fire, Brian saw Hawk’s arched brow and determined expression. He sank to his knees beside him. Hawk made a tsking sound as he peeled back the bloody layers of Brian’s clothing. Holding a penlight with his teeth, Hawk examined his shoulder. Hawk went to work cleaning Brian’s wound. “You are one lucky man, went straight through.”

  Brian tried to push his hands away. “This can wait.”

  Hawk persisted, gradually losing patience and commanding gruffly, “Be still.”

  Brian flinched and it was all he could do to bite his tongue to keep from whining about how much it hurt.

  “The biggest danger for a wound of this type is infection and blood loss. The bleeding has mostly stopped, which only means the bullet didn’t hit a major artery. Like I said, you’re a lucky man, but now there is a higher risk of infection. So let me do this right and we’ll prevent gangrene later.”

  Brian cringed. Gangrene?

  When Hawk finally had him completely bandaged and made a satisfied grunt, Brian met his gaze and realized how much toll it had taken on Hawk. He helped him recline. Hawk nodded toward the downed treasure hunter. “He isn’t moving.”

  Frowning, Brian went to him and immediately discovered the man was gravely injured than he’d believed. Seeing his lower half was drenched in blood, he moved his clothing to reveal that something sharp had ripped into the man’s pelvis. The smell of a torn intestine filled the air. The man reached for Brian’s hand and Brian yelled for Hawk’s help.

  There must have been enough panic in his voice to draw Hawk quickly, despite his own aches and pains. Brian watched helplessly as
Hawk tried to stabilize him, but in the end Hawk shook his head.

  Brian held the dying man’s hand. In thickly accented English, the man insisted, “Tell my wife that I said I’m sorry. I ruined everything and now…I want her to be happy. She’s wonderful person. She deserved better than the likes of me. Tell her for me.”

  “You tell her yourself. We‘re going to get you off this mountainside.”

  The man shook his head and closed his eyes. “I didn’t always show her, but I loved her.”

  “Nooo! Stay with me!”

  Chapter Twelve

  ♥

  “HE’S GONE, BRIAN. He’s gone.” Hawk pulled Brian away from the dead man. Jerking away from Hawk’s grip, Brian disappeared around the edge of the cliff. Hawk didn’t chase him, knowing it would be reckless at these altitude. So he listened, hearing Brian sobs. He leaned around the ragged rock edge just far enough to see Brian on his knees pounding his fists into the ground. He understood what was happening. Release was what Brian needed more than anything else. Closing his eyes, Hawk asked the Great Spirit to use this day’s events as the catalyst to bring Just Brian fully back to the land of the living.

  A few hours later the FBI and local police finally arrived to rescue them. Brian and Hawk had been arguing about whether or not Brian was going to leave the mountain. “I’ll leave once a steel gate is up.”

  “That isn’t going to stop a dedicated treasure hunter. They’ll just blow through the bars.”

  “You’re not helping your case for getting me off the mountain.”

  “The type of gate you’re suggesting could take days, maybe weeks.”

  Brian didn’t give an inch. “Then I guess I’m going to need more supplies.”

  “God! Are you always this stubborn?”

  “When it comes to my job, I am.”

  Hawk closed his eyes, remembering he’d used almost the exact same words when Brian handed wanted him to scope out the mountain. He didn’t care. It was time for Brian to understand he didn’t play kinky bedroom games. If he wanted Hawk to top him, it was going to be in all areas of his life.