by Kim Fox
His identical brother Karl was tied up on a chair beside him. He spat out a gob of blood and smiled with a split lip. “Come on in and join the party.”
Hannibal locked eyes with Julius and then Alexander who were both standing behind them on guard. Julius was biting his fingernail, looking worried.
“What did you guys do to them?” he asked Khan. They were badly beaten up with cuts and bruises all over them. Their shifter healing was kicking in but they still looked like they had just come out of the losing end of a brawl.
“Nothing,” Khan said with a shrug. “You know the Ember twins. They’re always at each other’s throats. Alexander heard them fighting behind the stables.”
Alexander stepped towards them. “They took my fun away from me,” he said with a deep threatening voice. “They were both already beaten to a pulp when I found them.”
“Why are you guys here?” Hannibal asked as Khan closed the barn door behind him.
“We came for a beer,” Slate said.
“We wanted to apply for a job on the ranch,” Karl said at the same time as his brother.
“You idiot, Karl!” Slate snapped. “We went over this!”
“Don’t start again,” Karl yelled back, jerking and rocking his chair, trying to inch it over towards his brother. He tried unsuccessfully to kick him with his foot that was tied to the chair.
“You’re just pissed because I got the cool name,” Slate said, sticking out his tongue.
Karl rolled his eyes. “This again? You’re named after a rock! What’s so cool about that?”
“Guys!” Hannibal yelled, interrupting them. God, it’s like dealing with dumb and dumber. “Tell us the truth. Why are you guys here?”
Slate sighed. “You know why.”
Hannibal’s stomach dropped. That’s what he was afraid of. If the rest of the Clawed Squad was on the ranch, though, they’d be breaking down the door already. Their alpha and commander Thorn, or Thornado as he was known in the military, ran a tight crew of bear shifters. It was safe to say that Slate and Karl were here for surveillance only. But that meant the rest of the squad would be showing up any day now.
The Clawed Squad had six members, including the two twins, Karl, and Slate. They were a part of General Samson’s Special Shifter Unit, like the Vega Brothers had been before they were released. It wasn’t a coincidence that they found these two bear shifters sneaking around the ranch. It was part of General Samson’s retaliation.
“What are your orders?” Hannibal asked.
The two twins glanced down at the hay covered floor of the barn.
Hannibal felt his chest tighten. “Kill on sight?”
Karl was the first to meet his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Karl!” Slate snapped, glaring at his brother. “You’re going to get us smoked.”
Karl lifted his shoulders. “It’s nothing personal guys,” he said, looking around at the four brothers. “You know the General. What he says goes.”
“It’s just business,” Slate said like it was no big deal.
“Just business?” Khan said, grabbing the ax that was hanging on the wall. “And so is this.”
He marched forward towards the tied up men and Hannibal jumped in front of him, placing his hand on his oldest brother’s massive chest. “Wait,” he whispered. “Let me try talking to them first.”
Khan lowered the ax and huffed out a breath, his eyes narrowed over Hannibal’s shoulder at the two bear shifters. “You got thirty seconds. Then it’s chopping time.”
“Oooh, I like that,” Slate said. “That could be your new slogan.”
“It’s chopping time!” Karl said, imitating Khan but in a deeper more exaggerated voice.
Hannibal rolled his eyes and then turned towards them. The Vega Brothers had worked with the Clawed Squad a few times over the years and they had always gotten along fairly well with the six shifters, except for a few instances, but that didn’t mean anything now. They all knew that Thorn and his boys would cut them down in a second if General Samson gave the order. That was the kind of power that the general had.
“Do you know why the general gave the order to eliminate us?” Hannibal asked, squatting down in front of them.
“Did you forget his birthday?” Karl asked.
“Hey!” Julius said, slapping the back of his head. “I make the jokes around here.”
Hannibal just ignored both of them. “We got released from service and then he returned a few weeks later, forcing us to fight again. We refused.”
“Bad move,” Slate said, wincing. “No wonder he airlifted us out of Colombia for this.”
“We’re slaves to him and his special program forever,” Hannibal said. He pointed from one twin to the other. “And so are both of you and the rest of the Clawed Squad. Unless you help us put a stop to him and his program for good.”
“You want us to betray the general?” Slate asked with an amused expression on his face.
“No,” Hannibal said. “I want you to help us kill the general.”
Slate and Karl glanced at each other.
“Then what?” Slate asked, turning back to Hannibal. “We have no jobs, no skills, no place to live. The military is all that we know.”
Hannibal waved over his brothers and they all huddled up. They spoke for a few minutes and then walked back to their places.
“We can give you a chunk of the Vega Ranch if you help us out,” Hannibal said, already feeling that it was a bad idea. Who would want these guys as neighbors? But the Vega brothers didn’t have much choice right now. They had to do something to stop the violence from occurring in order to protect their mates.
“Half of the ranch,” Karl said.
“A third,” Hannibal fired back.
“A quarter,” Karl said.
Hannibal nodded. “Deal!”
“You idiot,” Slate said, turning towards his brother. “A third is more than a quarter!”
“Huh?” Karl said, looking up at the ceiling in confusion.
“Forget my brother,” Slate said. “This is above our pay grade anyway. We have to talk to the Thornado about it.”
Khan stepped forward, gripping the ax with white knuckles. “We can’t let them go,” he hissed. “They’ll return and put a bullet in the back of our heads when we’re sleeping.”
Hannibal held up his hand to Khan. “A chunk of our land in payment for our freedom, and yours. You boys can start your own ranch on the north side of our land. There’s trout the size of whales in the river, acres of pristine forest, beautiful views. Three thousand acres of prime Montana land. What do you say?”
“I say we send them back to the general with their heads in a box,” Khan said, scratching his cheek with the blade of the ax.
“I don’t know about this,” Alexander said, looking like he was agreeing with Khan.
Hannibal ignored them and tried to read the twin’s faces. They weren’t giving him much.
Slate shrugged. “We can deliver the message to Thorn. That’s all we can do.”
“You know us,” Hannibal said. “We always got along well with the Clawed Squad.” He glanced up at Alexander and grimaced. “At least most of us did. We’re the ones with the targets on our backs right now, but one day it will be you guys.”
“That day is right now,” Khan said, stepping forward with the ax.
Hannibal grabbed it and yanked it out of his hands.
He walked over to the twins with the ax in his hands. “We all have mates now living with us. There’s an innocent four-year-old in the house, two pregnant women, and two other humans. They have nothing to do with this.” He stood in front of them and stared Slate in the eyes. “If you guys don’t accept our deal, I want your words that they won’t be harmed when you come back.”
“Kill ‘em,” Khan urged from behind him. “Don’t take the chance, Hannibal.”
“Deal,” Slate said with his eyes locked on him.
He turned to Karl. “Deal,” the second shifter
said with a serious face.
“Alright,” Hannibal said, holding a nervous breath as he walked around the chairs. He bent down and cut the ropes with the blade of the ax.
Khan groaned as the two shifters rubbed their wrists and stood up.
“Three thousand acres?” Slate said, holding out his open palm.
Hannibal shook it. “Three thousand acres.”
“Can you two not kill each other before you return back to the base?” Julius asked.
Karl and Slate glared at each other and then started laughing. “No promises,” Karl said.
Alexander ground his fist into his open palm. “If you guys come back as anything but friends you better come in hot,” he warned with an intimidating voice. “You make sure you tell that to Thorn. I’ll be waiting and next time, I won’t be denied my fun.”
Karl looked at the huge polar bear shifter and cringed. “You got it. We’ll do our best.”
“Get it done,” Khan said in a voice that sounded like a growl. “Or next time my brother will be handing me the ax instead of taking it away from me.”
Hannibal opened the barn doors and the twins nodded at the Vega brothers before leaving. “Thanks, Hannibal,” Slate whispered as he walked out.
Hannibal took in a tight breath. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Slate nodded and disappeared into the night.
Hannibal wasn’t usually wrong with most things but he was praying that he was right about this. Or they would all suffer.
“Is everything alright?” Mikki asked, sitting up on the bed as Hannibal walked back into the room. She had been worried sick the entire time he had been gone.
“Yeah,” Hannibal said, not looking her in the eyes as he answered. “The wolves were back trying to get into the horse stables. We scared them off.”
“Oh no,” she said, hoping that they wouldn’t return. Poor horses.
Hannibal walked over and sat beside her on the bed. He looked tense and worried like he had a weight on his shoulders that wasn’t there when he had left.
“Come here,” she said, positioning herself behind him. She placed a leg on each side of his body and started to massage his shoulders. They were so big and hard. She dug into the round ridges with her fingers making him groan.
“That feels good,” he whispered as she moved her hands down, massaging his back.
“You sure that everything is okay?” she asked, digging her fingers in deep. “You’re so tense.”
He exhaled long and hard. “It’s just been a weird night.”
Mikki knew exactly what he meant. She had never had a bear shifter bond to her before. She felt different since it happened. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Hannibal sighed. “It might be a better idea if you stay at your place for a while.”
She removed her hands from his back, bringing them close to her stomach as her heartbeat seemed to slow down. “Okay,” she whispered, feeling a painful tightness in her throat.
“It’s for your safety,” he said, turning quickly and grabbing her hand. “I’m worried the…wolves will come back.”
Mikki took a deep breath and continued rubbing his shoulders. She was surprised at how intense her reaction had been. She had known that she liked him but she didn’t realize how much until just now.
“I’ll be okay,” she said. Actually, she was more worried about him. The men in her life seemed to mysteriously disappear once she got close to them.
She rubbed the tension out of his shoulders, feeling her nipples harden under her bra as she massaged his big muscles. “I’d like to stay here,” she whispered. “With you.”
Hannibal turned and smiled warmly at her. He always made her pulse race and her body warm up whenever he looked at her like that. His eyes were so full of love and desire. She wondered how her eyes looked when she gazed back at him. Probably the same way.
“You don’t have to sleep on the floor,” she whispered as she slid her hands down his back.
“Really?” he asked, his eyes full of building passion.
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “You can sleep in the bathtub.”
“So cruel,” he said, dropping his head in defeat.
“I’m kidding,” she said, touching under his chin and lifting his head back up. “You can sleep with me.”
“You mean sleep next to you?” he asked, staring into her eyes.
She shook her head slowly. “You can sleep with me.”
He leaned forward and she closed her eyes as their lips met. Her heart raced as she parted her lips and let his tongue in. She moaned as he caressed her tongue with his. He was a good kisser and she was excited to see what else he was good at.
She was dizzy and swelling with a passionate heat when he finally pulled away. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” he said, licking his lips.
“You did it this morning,” she said with a grin. “Remember?”
“How could I forget?” he asked, kissing her again. “It’s been on my mind all day.”
“Mine too,” she admitted. He had been on her mind all day and with the sexy way his tongue was sliding up against hers, he would be on her mind all week.
She touched his muscular chest with her hand and slid her fingers down to his hard abs. Her fingers crept up under his shirt and her pussy pulsed as she felt the deep ridges of his stomach.
He was so fit and muscular and she was so soft with a few too many curves, a few too many rolls, and a few too many extra pounds. She was nervous to show him her body. How could she get naked in front of someone as hot as him? Mikki was suddenly wishing that she had drunk more of her wine at dinner. A little liquid courage was exactly what she needed right now.
She took in a fast nervous breath as he slid his hand over her stomach. She leaned back on her hands, trying to flatten it as best she could. He groaned as he caressed her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, feeling her cheeks redden. “I haven’t been hitting the gym lately. I’ve become a bit soft.”
Hannibal snapped his head back. “Don’t even,” he said, with a fierce expression. “You are beautiful. Spectacular. I love your soft skin and your supple body.” Mikki exhaled and relaxed as he slid his hands up her ribs. “Your curves drive me crazy. Your body drives me crazy. Every time you touch me, every time I look at you, I get rock hard.”
She gasped as his hands slid over her breasts and he squeezed them gently, making her nipples ache. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin, she wanted her clothes on the floor.
His hands fell away from her breasts as she dropped down onto the bed. Hannibal slid up next to her, gliding his hand up under her shirt. Mikki was starting to breathe heavily as she felt his hands all over her body. She was already so wet and her pussy clenched as she felt his hard cock press up against her thigh.
“Do you really like my body?” she asked, gasping as he slid his hand under her bra.
He groaned as he cupped her bare breast from under her bra. “I love it,” he whispered. “I want to see it. I want to taste it.”
A whine escaped her throat as he pulled his hand away and reached for the belt buckle on her jeans. She ran her fingers through her black hair with the blue streaks and licked her lips as he slid her belt off and tossed it over his shoulder onto the floor. It landed with a clatter. Her pulse was racing as he unbuttoned her jeans and slid down her zipper.
The only light in the room was coming from the lamp on the nightstand behind her. It was casting shadows over his face making him look even hotter and sexier than before. Or maybe it was the desire pumping through her as he slid her jeans down her legs.
Hannibal took her feet in his hands and gently guided them out of her pants as if they were made of glass and he was afraid to break them.
He dropped her jeans onto the floor and turned back towards her with parted lips and a relaxed posture. She closed her legs, suddenly feeling self-conscious of being in her underwear. He didn’t seem to mind. He just kept
moving his eyes all over her bare legs up to her thighs, enjoying the view.
“No more pretending,” he whispered, meeting her eyes. “I like you. A lot.”
A slow smile broke out across Mikki’s face. “Good. Because I like you too.”
“A lot?” he asked, matching her smile with his own.
She chuckled. “Getting there. Ask me again after I get my check.”
“Oh did I forget to mention?” he said, sliding his hands up her body as he came forward. He grabbed her shirt and pulled it up to her neck as his gorgeous face hovered over hers. “I’m actually broke.”
“Well, I’m actually a man,” she teased.
“Let’s see,” he said as she leaned up and he pulled her shirt off over her head. He smoothed her hair back that was covering her face and kissed her lips as she unclasped her bra and slid it down her arms.
He removed his lips from hers and gazed down at her naked breasts. “Wow,” he whispered, seeming to forget what they were just talking about. Her nipples hardened to the point of aching as his eyes fixated on them.
Hannibal licked his lips as he lowered his head. “Hey wait,” she said, grabbing the shirt off his back and pulling it up. “No fair. How come you get to keep your shirt on?”
He grinned as he came back up and crossed his arms, grabbing the bottom of his tight gray shirt. She watched, lightheaded, as he dragged it up in one smooth motion, turning it inside out as he pulled it off his head.
“Fuck you’re hot,” she just blurt out as she looked up at his muscular chest and ripped abs. He looked like a God as he knelt over her with a sexy smirk on his face. She reached up and dragged her fingertips down his stomach as she admired his body. He had several tattoos of writing phrases and passages but it was nothing like Julius had joked that it was. They looked good on him, just adding to his sexiness.
“Ready for the rest of me?” he said, stepping off the bed and unbuckling his jeans.
She let out a quiet moan as she watched him. He unzipped his jeans and let them drop down to the floor. He was wearing white boxer briefs and Mikki let out a moan when she gazed down at the huge erection pressing out against his underwear. Is that a trick of the light? It was huge.