Four Mercenaries - The Complete Collection

by K. A. Merikan

  Clover snorted, hiding his face in Boar’s beard. “It’s okay. He doesn’t have a heart, so he doesn’t get it.”

  Pyro laughed but Tank shook his head. “Clover. Disrespect, remember?”

  Drake stepped closer, baring his teeth. “Maybe I should spank him next.”

  Clover squealed and hugged Boar with all his limbs. It was good to see him back in high spirits.

  Tank patted Drake’s shoulders. “I’m sure it won’t be necessary, will it?”

  Clover winked at him. “It won’t, Daddy.”

  Tank took a deep breath, for a moment just staring at the flushed face. “If there are highly skilled people after Clover, he needs to be supervised at all times, understood? He’ll be sleeping with me, and he is not to be out of sight.”

  “Even when I go pee?” Clover asked, with a silly grin.

  “Especially when you go pee,” Pyro said.

  Clover’s gaze softened, and he curled up in Boar’s arms. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Whenever you’re ready, Boar will heat you some water. We’ll find a better place to stay tomorrow, but tonight, it is what it is.”

  Boar took his time, still stroking Clover’s back, his eyes fixed on the pretty face. At this rate, he’d be sulking for weeks once they parted from Clover in New York. “Maybe he could sleep with me and Pyro tonight?”

  Tank raised his eyebrows. “I have a double sleeping bag, you guys barely fit into yours together.”

  Drake tut-tutted. “Trouble in polyamorous paradise?”

  Pyro made a rapid move with his arm, sending a jet of beer from his bottle straight into Drake’s face. It splashed the front of his T-shirt too and made some of the fine hair around Drake’s face stick to his forehead. He blinked, hand shaking slightly, all too close to the belt where he kept some of his knives.

  Tank stood. “Won’t you two stop? We need to eat something, and I can’t be bothered to clean up blood tonight.”

  Pyro scowled. “He shouldn’t stick his nose where it doesn’t belong then, or it’s gonna fall off.”

  Drake cocked his head. “Is that a threat?”

  Tank had had enough bullshit for one evening, so he grabbed Drake by the arm and physically removed him from the argument for a chat in a far-away part of the warehouse.

  “We need to stay put for a while. Can you call your Wyoming guy about a house for us? You can promise to do some bondage with him as incentive.”

  Drake’s lips thinned. For a moment, he looked like he might want to say something adverse, but in the end he just shook his head. “Yeah, fine.”

  Tank exhaled his relief. “Good.”

  Drake met his gaze then, grabbing Tank’s arm and pulling him toward the vehicles. He only let go once they hid behind the van. “Since when are we a charity?”

  Tank smirked. “I’d say he’s pulling his weight.”

  Drake’s shoulders sagged. “Seriously?”

  “Okay, let’s be serious then. If you hate the boy so much, why didn’t you just let them take him and be done with it?”

  Drake’s cheeks flushed. “I don’t trust him. That doesn’t mean I want him to die,” he said through his teeth.

  “But he will die if we don’t escort him. Should I have left you when we met, just because you didn’t exactly inspire my trust? Because you didn’t at the time.”

  Hard truths weren’t what Drake wanted to hear, but it was what he needed. When they had met seven years ago, Drake was a twenty-year-old smart ass with a chip on his shoulder and a lack of discipline, despite his natural talent for fighting. Or maybe he was so good because he didn’t care about the possibility of death. Either way, Tank had seen potential, so he’d agreed to take Drake under his wing and polish that diamond. There weren’t many gay guys in their profession, so he appreciated the camaraderie, even if they weren’t exactly compatible for anything but that.

  He’d even managed to curb the smart-assery. The chip on the shoulder was much more difficult to get rid of.

  Drake huffed and crossed his arms on his chest. “He has no skills, and a big mouth.”

  Tank groaned. “We don’t know what skills he’s got. Either way, stop denying your own dick. I saw you watching him.”

  Drake’s flush darkened, though he wouldn’t meet Tank’s gaze. Clearly in denial, then.

  “My dick’s just fine in my pants. And I’ll be watching him, because I’m telling you, he will do something stupid and endanger us all. And for what? Because he’s a pretty piece of ass?”

  Tank had to take a deep breath to shake away the vision of the pale limbs trembling, hole twitching around his dick and pink lips open in ecstasy. “I like the boy, okay? That’s it. He’s cute, clearly a mess, and needs the help.”

  Drake scoffed. “Fine. But I will be watching him.”

  Tank playfully shoved at Drake’s chest. “Good. You’ll be there to protect us from him. Happy watching, perv.”

  Drake spread his arms. “That’s not the kind of watching I meant!”

  But Tank was already walking away, eager to get Clover back into his lap.

  Chapter 9 – Clover

  Clover enjoyed their cabin. So much so that the pressing need to travel north, farther away from Arizona and from Jerry, wasn’t even so pressing anymore. Whatever happened, the people he was with could handle themselves, so he just enjoyed the ride. Hidden away from civilization, from the Internet and even telephones, Clover felt gloriously safe, and even when Boar took him on a much-needed shopping trip to the nearest supermarket and strip mall, Clover wasn’t afraid to face strangers anymore.

  “I’ll pay back when I can. I know shopping wasn’t part of the deal,” he said to Boar as they parked in front of the large supermarket. He knew Boar would say it was fine, but he still wanted to make sure his appreciation was expressed.

  Boar flashed him a wide smile, and the freckles on his face made him look younger despite the thick beard. “Oh, come on. We’re not shopping at Versace. Just take whatever you like and think of it as presents,” he said, rubbing his thumb across Clover’s lips. He then left the car, which was bright blue and the flashiest of the vehicles Clover could now choose from. Tank’s pickup was pretty beat-up, as was Drake’s van. There were the two motorcycles--Pyro’s Suzuki and Tank’s Harley—which traveled in the back of the pickup, but he was yet to ride in the bitch seat.

  “Whatever? Watch out or I’ll get a new TV.” Clover laughed and put his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they walked.

  Boar put a baseball cap on Clover’s head. “Just make sure to keep a low profile. You stand out whatever you do.”

  “Because I’m so pretty?” Clover wiggled his eyebrows and laughed when Boar flushed.

  “Among other things,” he said, picking up a cart and leading the way inside.

  “Maybe I should dye my hair?”

  He’d barely finished the sentence when Boar spoke, “No! Please don’t. It’s so lovely.”

  Clover snorted and shook his head, but it still tickled his ego to hear it.

  Boar hadn’t been joking when he’d said Clover could have whatever he wanted, so Clover chose an entire new wardrobe, as well as a suitcase to keep it in, and the food he liked. It was Boar who suggested Clover got an MP3 player, though he was sceptical about phones, as if he didn’t trust Clover with any device that allowed communication. That was only fair after the fuckup with Jerry.

  While being showered with presents and smiles was all fun and good, the affection Boar unleashed on him teased Clover’s alarms. And it wasn’t just him either. Tank was dominant but always tender, Pyro would openly stare at him as if he’d never seen a prettier guy, and none of them were shy about expressing their lust for him, either.

  Before this wild venture, Clover had never had group sex, nor was he the object of such adoration. He was more than happy to indulge his men, but he could hardly believe that they all wanted him around so much. It wasn’t low self-esteem that pushed him to such thoughts, but th
e gnawing feeling that things were too good to be true.

  Something was amiss, and he was walking into the lion’s den with his eyes closed.

  Even fairy tales warned of such situations, so maybe Clover’s new lovers were like three witches offering glistening red apples that contained slow-releasing poison. They enjoyed his company for now, but once they were done with him, they could leave him behind or even sell him on, since the price on his head was sky-high, Riggs had told him.

  And yet, despite knowing that nothing good lasted forever, Clover loved Tank’s dominance, Boar’s affection, and Pyro’s insatiable lust. He’d given up on trying to crack Drake, but the man was civil, so maybe it wouldn’t be necessary.

  Clover had experienced good sex before with one of his past boyfriends, but what the guys brought to the table was on a whole new level. He loved getting down and dirty with them and quickly lost all inhibitions, happy to walk around their cabin naked, just to provoke the insatiable hunger that proved his desirability. The soreness he was sometimes left with only served as a reminder of the lusty moments that caused it.

  He’d expected they’d be going straight home after the shopping, but Boar stalled once they packed the back of the car full of bags, and he pulled his fingers through Clover’s hair. “Are you hungry? Wanna have lunch before we go back?” he proposed, leaning against his vehicle.

  "Or a picnic? It's so nice today.” Clover looked at the sun, hidden behind shades and an SPF50 sunscreen. “I love the outdoors, but I rarely got a chance to go anywhere.” He hesitated. Boar was the cutest freckled killing machine Clover had ever met, and his body felt so soft when he wasn’t in fighting mode. “I can’t drive. Because of the eye thing.”

  Boar stopped Clover when he attempted to give him back the baseball cap. “So that you don’t burn,” he said, but when he adjusted the hat for him, it seemed like yet another excuse to touch Clover.

  If he didn’t know better, he’d assume Boar was falling for him. “It’s so hot I might have to take my new shirt off in the woods. You ready to get your hands dirty with sunscreen?”

  Boar rolled his eyes but opened the passenger door for Clover. “Tease. Better tell me what you want to eat. My treat.”

  Just like everything else. Clover had never felt so pampered.

  He didn’t know how Boar felt about affection in public, so he only entwined their fingers once they were in the car. Boar’s hand was so massive and hot around his own. Would those fists ever turn against him? He couldn’t imagine that happening, but what if they did? Men could be unpredictable when things didn’t go their way.

  “Burgers and milkshakes. The simple life.”

  For now, Boar tightened the thick fingers on his hand, as if they were a pair of lovers about to go on their first real date.

  There were no fancy drive-throughs in the area, but the burgers smelled good enough once they drove off from the restaurant and toward their hidden cabin. They could have also taken hot food for the others, but it seemed Boar was intent on hogging Clover for the afternoon. He parked the car by a narrow road about ten minutes away from where they were all staying. The grass here was so green it looked unreal. Succulent, he’d call it. Nothing like dried-up patchy lawns around where he’d used to live.

  The sun shone so brightly Boar spread their brand new blanket in the shade. Nature looked pristine, with butterflies and other small insects flying between colorful flowers, and birds singing serenades in the trees above. Clover felt as if he’d stepped into a Disney movie, even if his prince always had a gun on him and was one of the three men who used Clover for sexual relief—because that was the truth of the matter, regardless of how much they all tried to cover it with niceties.

  Clover tried not to think about it too much and unpacked the food while Boar smoothed out the edges of the blanket, and they settled close to a tiny stream, hidden from the road by trees and bushes. If it wasn’t for all the packaging and their clothes, Clover could have believed he’d traveled in time.

  “So… Pyro’s not gonna be jealous?” Clover asked, watching Boar from behind the coffee-flavored milkshake, which contained so much sugar he was feeling high already.

  Boar’s brows twitched, and he chewed on a piece of his burger before answering. “Why? He knows I’m with you.”

  “But does he know you’re courting me?” Clover winked at Boar with a grin, trying to adjust his behavior to his partner’s needs. He should enjoy the good times while they lasted. Breathe in the scent of nature, feel the breeze tangle his hair, enjoy the adoring gaze that was already stripping him. Despite the fears scratching at the back of his mind, he hadn’t felt this relaxed in years. He hardly minded being the object of such intense lust.

  Boar shifted closer, until their arms touched, which sent a jolt to Clover’s stomach. He couldn’t remember anyone approaching him with so much hesitation. Maybe it never happened. Nobody had ever wooed Clover, and while he couldn’t quite get his head around it, the fact that Boar was trying so hard to win his favor put a smile on Clover’s face.

  “He likes you, too,” Boar said, like a seasoned diplomat, not a mercenary.

  “He definitely likes putting his dick in me,” Clover snorted, hiding his face behind the burger, because he wasn’t sure how to act anymore. People weren’t nice for no reason.

  Boar chuckled. “Yeah. He’s very toppy. That’s why... yeah, we like having a third with us, because I also prefer that. I mean… love is hard sometimes.”

  The word ‘love’ rolled off Boar’s tongue as if it was the easiest thing to say, while Clover had never confessed it to anyone. “Y-yeah. This thing with you guys is new for me. I don’t even know what to call it, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. All of you make it so. Like all this stuff you do for me is no big deal, and the sex itself is great. Makes me relax.” But the more he spoke and the more Boar’s smile grew, the less in control Clover felt, so he changed the topic. “How did you meet Pyro?”

  Boar’s mouth was full, but he still brightened like the sun itself. “I had nowhere to go, and found him sleeping in the street. He invited me to this place where he was staying. We hit it off, and he pulled me into the shit he was doing. Dealing, burglaries, and all that. It was a whirlwind romance,” he said, gazing at the sky.

  Clover couldn’t help but smile at the blissful expression on Boar’s face. He wasn’t sure what Boar meant when he said he’d had nowhere to go, but he didn’t feel it was his place to pry. “Go on, spill the details.”

  Boar slurped more of his milkshake. “Once, for New Year’s Eve, I told him I never used fireworks myself, so he stole some from a neighbor to impress me. But when he set them off, he fucked up. You noticed he’s got one finger missing? That’s why. Called him pyromaniac ever since.”

  Clover curled his knees up to his chest. He’d love for someone to do that for him. Maybe it was a morbid story, with the finger loss and all, but also weirdly romantic in a way only Pyro and Boar could be. “The most romantic thing my ex ever did for me was remember I don’t like pickles on my burgers.”

  Boar laughed but continued to eat. “That’s how you know they really care. When they remember the little things. When they do nice things for you. Pyro might be bat-shit crazy sometimes, but he cares for his people. You can trust him.”

  Clover shrugged. “If I learned anything about the world, it’s to trust no one. The pickle guy cheated on me, and Jerry, my boss, landlord, and friend, sold me to human traffickers, so yeah, I don’t expect much of people anymore. No expectations, no problem.”

  Boar’s arm rested across his shoulders, providing warmth that couldn’t close the wounds Clover had sustained, but it did make him feel better in the moment. “People are dicks. My family were. They rejected me when I came out.”

  Clover turned to him and put away the cup. “I’m so sorry.” He leaned against Boar and hugged him. At times like these he was happy to be an orphan, because being rejected after growing up with a family would have been so much wo
rse than being abandoned as a baby.

  Boar laughed and patted Clover’s head. “It’s fine. I don’t need them anymore. In fact, I have all the people I need with me at all times,” he said, finishing his burger. We even have this place in Oregon. It’s... well, it’s Tank’s. But also ours.”

  That piqued Clover’s interest. He crawled into Boar’s lap. “What place? A gay oasis you have constant orgies at?”

  Boar’s arms closed around him, as if he’d been waiting for this all along. He still smelled of the hot chocolate he’d had in the morning, and Clover briefly shut his eyes, listening to the whisper of the leaves around them, and to Boar’s breathing. This arrangement was too good to be true, yet Clover wanted nothing more than to fall into this dream where all of them lived together in bliss and he wanted for nothing.

  “It’s this house out of town. Close enough to all the bars and shopping but far away enough that we have space. It’s... large and modern. You’d enjoy it,” Boar said, petting Clover’s thigh.

  Clover knew he’d never get to see it, that they would part sometime soon, but why not indulge in the fantasy? “I could visit you one day. I love to travel. I’ve got this whole list of obscure museums I wanna visit.”

  “Then you need a driver,” Boar said, gently hugging Clover while their milkshakes melted. But that was okay. The tender embrace was sweet enough to satisfy Clover’s cravings. “I love going to see new places.”

  Clover denied the butterflies in his stomach when Boar looked at him with so much affection. The mean voice at the back of Clover’s head told him what this was about.

  They’re empty promises.

  He just wants to fuck you.

  He doesn’t mean what he’s saying.

  He wants to manipulate you.

  Clover swallowed and wrapped his arms around Boar’s neck, slowly rocking in his lap. This was easy. This he understood. He leaned in for a kiss. He’d never kissed a bearded guy before he met Boar.

  He swallowed Boar’s moan, and the expert way with which warm hands danced up and down Clover’s sides proved that he understood where Clover was going with this. This was probably his reason for taking Clover here in the first place, but the touch still felt nice. In the shadow of the tree, the sun wasn’t as adverse to Clover, but Boar’s body heat was enough to make the T-shirt he wore obsolete.