Romance: Wanted by the Alpha Lion (A BBW Paranormal Suspense Romance) (Heroes of Shifter Creek Book 2) (31 page)

Chayla was not finished and she grabbed his still-hard length and climbed over his body. She settled down on top of his, groaning as he filled her. It felt too good to stop and Chayla started to move her hips slowly, squeezing him back to life. It grew inside of her, soon thrusting deep against her bottom. Her eyes closed and she touched her stomach where it pushed outward from his inner penetration. Charles moved his hand to hers and moved her fingers to her quim. They rubbed together, the dual stimulation bringing her to new heights.

She was soon lost to his upward rutting and playful hands, tugging on her dark tips. Chayla tried to keep up, but her body practically collapsed against him when another wave of bliss moved over her. She slid off of him before he was finished and Charles mounted her from behind, pulling her ass high to slide back in.Chayla moaned and buried her face into the mattress as his body slammed her over and over again from behind.

When he finally pulled away and released her, they were both breathing hard. She nestled against his chest and was quickly asleep, wrapped in his safe arms. Sleep took longer for Charles, holding her tightly against his chest. He felt like he had been given a second chance and he was never going to let her go.

THE END

I.

              Voices bounced off the walls of the metal vehicle filled with men and women in uniform. Two of the men - one with effortless black hair and brown eyes, and the other with wiry, messy dark brown hair and blue eyes hidden by glasses - pushed each other playfully as a beautiful woman with dark auburn hair braided into a bun laughed next to them. On the other side of them sat a mousy, lean young man with brown hair already streaked with grey and hazel eyes reading a book, as well as a stocky young man with light red hair and brown eyes who leaned over the reader to get closer to the action.

              In the opposite corner sat a man younger than the others, but with the same effortless black hair (cut shorter though) and similar handsome features as the playful man. He watched the group across, focusing on them instead of the three others next to him - nameless, plain faces he didn’t recognize or want to examine. He knew those across from him, but did not belong with them. He sat with the outcasts.

              “We’re going to be arriving soon,” the reader said to his compatriots. “Orion and Jimmy should probably stop clowning around.”

              “Ugh, call me Ryan. I don’t want people to know my name is Orion. So stupid,” the handsome one said with a frown, briefly glancing to the beautiful woman next to him but not letting her see his stolen look.

              “You can talk to us like we’re in the room, Leo,” Jimmy, the wiry haired one, snapped playfully.

              “We’re in a car,” the leaning man said dumbly.

              “Your adeptness is alarming, Petey.” Orion rolled his eyes.

              “I don’t know what that means.”

              “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

              “Leave him alone,
Orion.
” The woman smacked him. “You’re being a bully. Cassius, how are you doing over there so far away?”

              The outcast sat up, his plain seat mates looking over at him with interest. “I am just fine. Thanks for asking, Nina.”

              “Of course.” She smiled warmly. “Do you want to be called something else instead of Cassius like your vain brother?”

              “He likes to be called Cassy.” Orion smirked.

              Jimmy laughed. “Good one, O.”

              “Cassius is fine,” Cassius responded. “It is my name.”

              “He has a love affair with our parents still.” Orion zeroed in on his brother across the way. “He hasn’t realized how awful they are. That’s the only reason he’s here, isn’t it baby brother?”

              “I’m here because I’ve worked for it, just like you did,
big brother.
”

              “I’m sure Mom and Dad’s money helped too.”

              “Did Mom and Dad’s money help you?”

              “I don’t know what money has to do with anything.” Petey frowned.

              “Shut up, Petey. Don’t you have some donuts you can stuff your face with?” Orion snapped. Jimmy laughed uproariously.

              “I’m on a diet.”

              The group on the other side laughed again, leaving the outcasts in silence. One of the nameless chuckled, but the chuckle quickly evaporated when no one else on his side even pretended to be amused. Nina stood, unbuckled her seatbelt, and cautiously moved to the other side of the car. She introduced herself to the others (though Cassius didn’t listen to their names because “why?” - he didn’t want anything to do with them), then turned to Cassius.

“It may not have been the best idea to become a SEAL with your brother,” she said softly to him. Orion watched her with hawk precision, but kept talking to Jimmy and the others.

Cassius shrugged, “I didn’t do it to be with him.”

Still, he looked over to his brother (who now pretended disinterest on the other side) with a longing look. His eyes spoke of a sadness, but his mouth wouldn’t admit it. Nina patted his knee, garnering Orion’s interest again.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” She smiled. “I remember getting to know you when we were kids before my dad got married and all.”

“Hey, Nina, how’s Daisy by the way?” Jimmy asked, his eyes lighting up. “I didn’t see her at the airport when we left.”

“Oh, my mom didn’t want to see me off, so Daisy didn’t come,” she answered, then turned to the nameless others. “Daisy is my sister. Jimmy is my step-brother. He’s in love with her.”

“You’re in love with your step-sister?” one of the nameless asked.

“She’s not related to me,
Ted
,” Jimmy answered. “I have every right to be in love with her.”

“My name is Rick.”

“I don’t care.”

My thought exactly,
Cassius thought.

The vehicle slowed down and came to a stop. As soon as it did, the door slid open to reveal a tall, thin man with a stern look.

“Out, SEALs,” he said calmly, but with frightening conviction. “Line up.”

They all rushed and lined up completely straight. The man walked in front of them with his arms folded behind his back. He looked each of them in the eye, his hazel eyes cold with leadership. For some reason, terror filled Cassius’s heart. He’d managed to keep his cool with other commanders or sergeants, but something about this man hit him. The commander didn’t appear to be much older than them, but looked somehow both war-weary and strong.

“I am Commander Jones,” he said, looking over them. “Welcome to our Russian base. We have a precise mission to hunt down secret agents who are helping kill civilians and enemies of the government, as well as working for the mafia. These are dangerous individuals, do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” the SEALs said together.

“This is a complicated mission. The first step has us all together here where we’ll be training. The next step may require us to be separated, but it is essential we stay united. This portion of the mission has us going undercover as students studying abroad. If you blow your cover, you will be dishonorably discharged. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“We will be training extensively before you go out into the world; however, if urgency requires, we will be fighting. You all have trained hard to get here, and I expect your best, even if action comes earlier than planned. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Cassius took in his surroundings as much as he could while being at attention. Orion stood next to him, straight as a board and slightly taller. Orion looked like a perfect soldier - handsome, tall, broad-shouldered and strong. Cassius felt inferior next to him - he’d always felt lankier and weaker than his brother ever was. Even as children, Orion stood as the favored son. Their parents adored him, but he always had to be a rebel.

It feels strange sitting next to him even now
, Cassius thought. The two hadn’t been in the same room for years, even before they each joined the Navy. Orion ran away from home at sixteen, lived with Jimmy Canton and his blended family with Nina Baldwin. It even felt strange to stand in the same line as Nina - the Baldwins had been close with Cassius and Orion’s family. In fact, Nina herself had been a mainstay at the house. She and Orion were “thick as thieves,” as their mothers used to say.

When the Baldwins divorced and the matriarch quickly remarried, Nina decided to stay with her father. Things changed after that. Orion met Jimmy when Nina’s father remarried Jimmy’s widowed mother, and quickly the two boys became best friends. Cassius felt left out - he and his brother had never been as close as Orion and Jimmy. It didn’t seem fair. And when Orion left, their mother acted as though he never existed at all.

Until Cassius wanted to join the Navy as well.

“Morello!” Commander Jones yelled straight in Cassius’s face.

“Yes, Sir,” the brothers answered together.

“Obviously I’m in front of
one of you,
” he snapped to Orion. “
Both of you
don’t have to respond.”

“Yes, Sir,” Orion answered. Cassius could sense his brother’s friends fidgeting with inward laughs while still trying to stay at attention.

“Morello,” Jones repeated, facing Cassius. “Have you been listening to anything I’ve said?”

“Yes, Sir,” Cassius answered.

“So what did I say?”

“It’s a complicated mission, Sir.”

“And?”

Cassius froze.
Maybe “Yes, Sir” wasn’t the correct answer to the question.

“Everyone drop and give me fifty. Thank Little Morello here.”

The group dropped to do push-ups. Orion stretched out his fingers and dug his nails into Cassius’s after Commander Jones passed them. Cassius tried to keep his composure, but fell from the pain. Commander Jones didn’t like this.

“I expect better of you,” Commander Jones said, leaning down to Cassius. “You have twenty more.”

Cassius took big, deep breaths, trying to keep his cool with the mountain of push-ups. He wondered if he’d made the right decision joining the Navy, and especially the Navy SEALs. Maybe he really was out of his element; maybe he wasn’t ready.

II.

Cassius thought the training might literally break his back and kick in his ribs (well, maybe the training wouldn’t literally do that, but perhaps Orion would.) He’d leave for the day feeling completely exhausted and aching. No one else expressed their distress except for Petey, which didn’t make Cassius feel any better. It seemed they’d train from too early in the morning to too late at night - he wasn’t sure he was made for such hard work week in and week out.

“Why did I do this to myself,” he asked himself early one morning.

“I think because you’re crazy,” Nina replied as she passed with Orion.

“I think he wanted Daddy to be proud of him,” Orion teased.

Cassius frowned.

“I doubt that’s the cause since Daddy’s not happy about you being here.” Nina rolled her eyes. “Stay strong, dear Cassius.”

Cassius watched them go, Orion glaring behind him before having a whispered conversation with Nina. The problem with their living arrangement was that they all lived in separate rooms, yet still were so close to each other. The walls were paper thin, and anyone could step into another’s private moments just by walking into the hallway. He wanted to be alone - or, at least, not be with his brother so close to criticize him.

When he thought about sharing space with Orion, Cassius thought it would bring them closer. For some odd reason, he thought his brother would be happy to see him; unfortunately, his brother only seemed annoyed about his presence. Cassius didn’t understand why Orion would blame him for something their parents did. In that, he wasn’t even sure
what
his parents had done to make Orion so angry. Maybe, sometimes Cassius thought when ruminating on the dilemma, he’d wanted so badly for Orion to want him there that Cassius convinced himself he would. But Orion had his own life and his own friends; Cassius didn’t fit in.

The SEALs lined up as usual, prepared (though weary) for more training. Commander Jones walked before them as he usually did, looking stern and terrifying. Cassius almost wanted to just lay down and die instead of do the normal overwhelming number of push-ups.

“I know you are all dying to do more training today,” he started, “but we’re going to be doing something a little different. Follow me.”

He led them to a small multi-purpose room with chairs set up. It looked like a college classroom with a projector screen pulled down and a podium set up to the side of it. Commander Jones instructed them all to sit, then took his place behind the podium. He opened up a computer while a projector on the ceiling heated up.

“We have intelligence that some of the rogue Russian government agents will be meeting tonight at Hugo’s Bar,” Commander Jones said as pictures of serious men with their names printed beneath appeared on the screen. Cassius chose not to take the names in - if he had to kill them, he didn’t want to be that familiar. “These are the men we are looking for. Know their faces - they are dangerous. Keep an eye on your drinks in case they are poisoned, and don’t turn your backs on these men. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” the group answered.

“Another important thing to remember is discretion. If we can take them down, we will, but we cannot start mass hysteria. This will be a full bar with people everywhere. Don’t pull out your gun and shoot in the crowd. Stalk them like you’re on the hunt. And if you don’t have to kill them, don’t. We need information too.”

“Sir, what do we do if our cover is blown?” Orion asked. “I have a feeling Petey doesn’t know what discretionmeans.”

Jimmy held back a chuckle as Leo rolled his eyes. Nina showed no emotion at all, and Petey didn’t appear to be listening, staring down the men on the screen.With everyone looking at him, he turned and surveyed the room.

“What?” Petey asked.

“My point exactly, Sir.” Orion leaned back in his chair with a smirk.

Commander Jones took a deep breath in and out, examining Orion and Petey wearily. “Firstly, part of being a SEAL is dedication and loyalty to the others in your squad. Big Morello, Farson is your teammate here. Treat him with respect.”

“Yes, Sir,” Orion answered glumly.

“Secondly, Farson, you should be paying attention. This mission requires careful action. You aren’t giving me a lot of confidence.”

“I was trying to memorize their faces,” Petey answered. “I wanted to know them.”

“Well, there’s more to the presentation than memorizing faces, Farson. I’d like you to do laps until we’re done.”

Petey’s face grew from guilty to impossibly sad. “Yes, sir.”

              He rose and left the room. Commander Jones didn’t watch him go. He only continued. Cassius swallowed away nerves in his throat. Commander Jones meant business.
Of course, that does come with being a Navy SEAL - best of the best.

              “Remember, we are supposed to be college students,” he said. “Act like you are college students. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” they all answered.

“All right. I want you all to join Farson for five laps, then bathe yourselves and get ready. We’ll meet out front at 9:00 sharp.”

“Isn’t that kind of late?” Leo asked.

“They like to arrive inconspicuously when the bar is full of people, so we are going to get there a little early to keep an eye out just in case,” Commander Jones answered. “People don’t start getting to the bar until 9:30 or 10. Now, enough questions and six laps.”

“I thought it was five,” one of the nameless said.

“Seven laps. Get going.”

I’m definitely not learning that guy’s name now
, Cassius thought. He hadn’t actually considered learning the boy’s name, but that wasn’t the point. He pushed himself as hard as he could, hoping Commander Jones would notice. Cassius wanted to come out as the most valuable recruit; unfortunately, Orion, Jimmy, and Nina were still faster than him. Nina coasted in front of all of them with Jimmy close behind, but Orion kept speed with his brother.

“How’s it going, little brother,” Orion asked as they ran. “Looks like you’re working pretty hard.”

“Leave me alone,” Cassius answered. “I’m not in the mood.”

“I’m just checking in on you. I care about you, you know.”

“No you don’t. Leave me alone.”

“All right, I don’t. I am mostly wondering why you had to come here and ruin this for me.”

“I’m not ruining anything for
you
; I would say you’re ruining it all for
me.
”

“If I could punch you, I would.”

“Why don’t you just get me poisoned tonight and be done with it.”

“Whatever, man.”

Orion ran ahead, catching up with Jimmy, but not quite making it to Nina. Cassius watched him, wishing they’d had a better interaction. He’d really wanted to Orion to be happy to see him. Maybe they’d embrace on their reunion like in the movies.
Stupid to assume such a thing - movies aren’t real.

Nina finished her seven laps first (naturally) but jogged a little longer "for solidarity." She kept pace with the slow unknowns, kindly pushing them to make it the rest of the way. Orion and Jimmy jogged in place at the finish line laughing while Petey lay on the ground, exhausted. Leo talked with Commander Jones, discussing strategies. After they all were done, Commander Jones instructed them to clean themselves up and go over the plan he'd printed out for them.

Petey wasn't invited and had to do more laps since he couldn't do the mission. Cassius felt both bad for him and didn't - it really had nothing to do with him, but was too bad for the guy. Petey's actual friends didn't seem to care - they only focused on themselves and how they'd act as college students.

Cassius felt left out. He considered talking to one of the nameless, but it seemed like too much effort. Part of him just wanted to meet a girl that could keep his interest.

The other part wanted to quit and go home.