Contracted: Mercenary Shifters (Mercenaries for Hire Book 3) Read online

  I smiled at them, glad that Dominic would finally claim his mate tonight.

  Reaching up, I fingered my healed scar, and Quinn noticed the movement. Of course he would. A sneaky smile tugged at the left side of his mouth. He was proud of his mark, and even when he got mad at me I knew he was proud of me. I was the free-spirit, he was the stuffy tiger. We shouldn’t work but goodness ever did we. I couldn’t imagine life without him.

  The ceremony ended and the couple led us out. The ceremony had been in the later afternoon and the reception was going to be set up outside at night. We all went almost immediately to our rooms. Dom refused to let Eden go, which I couldn’t blame him. It wouldn’t be long before we had to go back to the party, but I think our guys needed to cool down.

  Moss didn’t return after disposing of Brady, and Dominic’s only other guest had left almost immediately as well. Lucas sat with Mazy on his lap in one of the lounge chairs in our room. I was pretty sure the boys had put in a bit of money to buy this place last minute as a wedding location for Dom and Eden but also a little getaway for all of us. Or I preferred to think of it that way.

  “Winifred, a word please.” Quinn’s breath touched the shell of my ear, making me weak in the knees. That sexy growl rumbled in his throat and I couldn’t wait to see what he wanted to talk about. I followed him out of the room. His blinding blond hair was neatly combed back; it was a bit longer than he normally kept it and I loved seeing a little wild on his otherwise perfect appearance.

  “You’re annoyed with me.”

  I followed him out of the door of the room us girls were using last night. He had me against the wall in a blink of the eye. It wasn’t painful but his hips pressed against mine. My lynx purred and urged me to rub against him. But with his eyes stark cold I resisted the temptation.

  “I’m not annoyed, I was scared. Moss is one scary fucker and you could have drawn his attention.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt a girl … hell, a fly.”

  “Winifred, look at me.”

  I met his gaze even though I hated the idea of doing so. He would look at me with those hesitantly worried peepers. Quinn liked to act like the calm, cool, collected guy, but I knew after everything we had been through he was overly protective of me. And admittedly … I did stupid things once in a while.

  Quinn’s eyes had softened and he lifted his fingers to brush against my cheek. “I love you but, woman, you make me want to slap your ass.”

  Oh I should not be as turned on by that as I am. His other hand played with the short hem of my dress. It barely touched my knees, and the warmth of his strong hand pressed against my flesh. A light tingling delight went throughout my entire body as I swayed into him.

  “Quinn …”

  “Winifred.”

  I lifted up to capture his lips, but he pulled back last minute and swooped down to my fully exposed neck. His lips sucked on the tender flesh at the crook of my neck. My knees went weak and I gripped his biceps to hold myself up. His teeth scraped against my skin as he gently nibbled farther downwards.

  Breast! Breast! Breast! My mantra from earlier definitely took a different turn now, but it definitely wasn’t any less enthusiastic.

  “Seriously, Winifred?” Quinn mumbled.

  Oops, said it out loud.

  He pressed his forehead on my sternum, his hot breath caressing my heavy breasts. He was such a tease and would drive me bonkers if he didn’t do something soon.

  “It’s our friend’s wedding, we have to join them.”

  “Oh, I know you like your quickies.”

  “Not with you. For you I will always take my time. Bent over that fucking couch of yours, in our bed, in the shower. Anywhere you want me, but never a quickie.”

  “I love you, Quintin.” I stretched up on my toes and kissed him slowly on the lips.

  Chapter 4

  Quintin

  Our group made our way down the stairs and outside in the back where the reception had been set up. Winifred’s dress was rumpled from our moment together out in the hallway.

  Moss was a mystery. None of us really knew what his beast was, but knew you didn’t mess with him. One didn’t own a bar like his and not have some major power.

  The backyard had been decorated with small white Christmas lights that were strung along the large tent that Dominic had rented for the reception only. The sky was dark and filled with stars. The bear Clan, Eden’s family, already started the party and dug into the food. It was what we had intended, the six of us were going to eat inside alone, but Eden insisted on coming out to see her family. I believed she wanted to thank her father for his part in getting her ex out of the party.

  Winnie practically skipped away from me, latching her arm around Mazy and dragging her along to the food tables. Lucas went to take his seat at our table. There were differences between a normal human reception and ours. Dominic and Eden had insisted there was no need for presents or for a cake part. The organizers had left a spot open for a grassy dance floor, which I internally cringed at. The moment Winnie realized that’s what it was for she would be out there. Shaking her luscious body for all the bears here.

  My tiger moved under my skin; my muscles rolled forward, tight, and burned with the desire to shift. There was a good chance she would not be dancing tonight unless it was in the privacy of our own room. My mate was too desirable and she didn’t realize what her endless curves did to any male with a pulse. But especially me.

  Winnie drove me to a certain level of crazy that I wasn’t sure I enjoyed, but she was worth it. Her long hair bounced against her back in soft curls. The bridesmaid’s dress didn’t do her body justice, but clothes didn’t really suit her either. My tiger purred in pleasure at the thought of her naked with me upstairs. My dick grew tight in my pants.

  Lucas snorted at me from his seat at the table.

  “What?” I growled.

  “You. Ya can’t take your eyes off your girl even for a second.”

  “You’re not much better.”

  “That I am not,” Lucas said, watching his red-headed mate as she moved down the line with Winnie.

  Winnie threw her head back, her sexy neck exposed, showing off my mark. A deep, primal pride surged through me at the sight.

  “Never thought we’d be here.”

  “What, at Dominic’s human wedding to his human mate, that he was hired to kidnap and instead kept her?”

  “Well, if you put it that way … that too. But all three of us mated. Down like dominos.”

  I hummed my agreement. It had been a fast fall for all of us. It was quite like that when we met as well and decided to expand our endeavors and partner up. Not a lot of mercenaries did what we did and together we were practically impossible to beat.

  “Wonder who is next.”

  “Who is next for what?” Winnie asked, joining us at our table. Still standing next to my seat near Lucas, I pulled out Winnie’s chair. She gave me a grateful look and sat down with two plates in her hands. She set one at my place and the other in front of her. I was not a fan of public displays of affection, but my tiger demanded it of me. I leaned down and nuzzled my nose against her cheek, and back to the sensitive place behind her ear. She squirmed in her seat, swatting at me.

  “Don’t try to distract me! Who?”

  “No one, Winifred, let it go.”

  “No. Who, Lucas?”

  Mazy sat next to her mate who shot me a triumphant smile. He was way too damn proud right now and it annoyed me.

  “Winifred.”

  “Quinn.”

  I growled. I was not going to play this game with her again.

  “Now, Lucas, you were saying.”

  “Don’t worry about it, cher.” He winked at my mate.

  My tiger lunged forward, my gaze pinning to my friend’s. He was a brawler of a bear but it was my mate and I didn’t think I could back down. He was doing it to get a rise out of me; him and Winifred together would be my downfall. They both seem to enjoy gettin
g under my skin.

  “Winnie, I think the music is supposed to start soon. You need fuel to dance the night away.” Mazy came in as peacekeeper. The little mongoose shifter was a predator in her own right, but she was smart about her attacks: quiet and cunning. I was grateful for her presence tonight.

  Winifred perked up at the thought of dancing and started in on her food. I watched her as she ate, knowing that after what had happened with her ex-boyfriend she had lost some weight. She hadn’t been eating properly, and didn’t sleep as much as she should; she still had nightmares. However, she was slowly recovering. Winifred was quite good at hiding her true feelings from others, but not from me.

  Catching me watching her, she started to eat with exaggerated movements, opening her mouth wider with each bite so that I could see inside. I finally dropped my sights to my own food. Under the table her hand sought out mine. I gave her a quick squeeze, reassuring her.

  Winifred was far from what I had expected in a mate but she was more than I could have ever dreamt of.

  Chapter 5

  Mazy

  Winnie continued to torture her poor mate. It was nice to be able to see her again after everything had went down with the shifter slave traders and our old manager and friend being part of it. And then Lucas and my own little adventure. Worry threaded through me and I propped my elbow up on the table. Bringing my fingertips to my lips, I considered nibbling on my nails. I hadn’t since I was a very young child and my mom had broken me of the bad habit saying that my nails needed to be strong. She was a mongoose like me and I took her advice to heart.

  Thinking of my mom brought me back to my first concern right now. Mallory. My sister was still comatose in the hospital, and though Lucas was certain no one would come after her to get to me I still worried. How could I not? Lucas insisted on helping me pay back Asher, a loan shark, who had helped me with Mallory’s bills. I only let him because I knew it was the best thing for her.

  “Cher.”

  “Hmm …”

  “Cher.”

  “Huh?” I blinked, looking at Lucas who held a fork up to my face. “Oh.”

  There was a bit of dessert that I had grabbed on the fork, and when I realized he was trying to feed me I opened my mouth. I took a bite, not really tasting the food.

  “Mallory is safe with Apollo. Moss trained him, I trust him to protect her.”

  Yes, the mercenary that Lucas said owed him a favor. Apollo was acting as her bodyguard until we got back from our trip down to New Orleans so I could met Lucas’s adoptive mother. I was excited to meet the woman who had a hand in crafting my mate into being the wonderful male he was today, but I hadn’t been away from my sister longer than a day in … well, since our parents passed.

  “Moss knows him?” My mind finally processed that. The allusive, quiet, and almost terrifying bartender from the Leviathan—which was a merc bar—trained someone? That was surprising to me. He didn’t seem like the kind to take someone under their wing. Even though Moss stood on the edge of the party, honestly looking like all he was trying to do was escape, scared me. My animal shrunk with him nearby, and during the wedding my normally fiery little beast wanted to run and hide.

  “Yeah, it’s how I met Apollo. He was living with Moss.”

  That was interesting information.

  “I’m going to run to the bathroom.” I stood up from the table. Winnie was trying to drag her reluctant mate onto the dance floor. I would normally say opposites should never attract and those two seemed like the poster children for it, but the love in his eyes was undeniable. As much as she might get on his nerves, he would do anything for her.

  I glanced down at the soft brown eyes that stared up at me. His eyebrow piercing hit the light just right, which made him look like he had a twinkle of mischief brewing. And knowing my mate, he did.

  “Don’t antagonize him,” I whispered, pressing my lips against his for a brief kiss.

  “Me? Never, cher.”

  I made a sound of disbelief in the back of my throat. I wouldn’t have long before I would have to get back and make sure Lucas didn’t do something extremely stupid. Moss had moved farther back, getting closer to the exit, but I was determined to catch him before he left.

  Moss stood with his arms crossed, his gaze on the newly married couple dancing together. I joined him and stood next to him, leaving space between us. I watched Eden and Dominic dance; the love was clear on her face, with a soft smile and eyes that were bright behind her glasses. Dominic’s arm was wrapped around her waist, and he pressed his forehead down to hers.

  “They are a lovely couple,” I whispered as if I could interrupt their moment even this far away. Moss didn’t respond, but I hadn’t actually ever heard him speak before either. I was curious if he had lost his tongue, but I knew he was a shifter—he would have healed from that eventually … it would have been painful, but would have healed.

  I wondered if he was born mute but I suppose I would never know unless he wrote it down. That was another thing about him: he had to be intelligent, I had seen in his eyes, and he owned and ran a bar. No, Moss was a mystery I didn’t think any of us would never solve.

  “My sister means everything to me. Well, besides Lucas now. But she is the only family I have left. Lucas told me that you trained Apollo. Would you trust him with someone you loved?”

  Nervously, I shifted my weight as I brought my gaze to meet his. Glowing green eyes met mine. The power in those eyes scared me; my mongoose hid and demanded that I take my gaze from Moss. Slowly, the glow faded some and barely noticeably he dipped his head in a nod.

  “Thank you, Moss. I appreciate your honesty.” Without a second thought on the matter, I touched his elbow and walked away. I felt the sting of his gaze until I returned to Lucas who watched us with a veiled worry in his eyes. My heart started to slow from its rapid flutter after touching Moss.

  “Is he gone?” I whispered, stepping between Lucas’s legs, which he opened for me.

  He tugged on my hips. His lopsided, mischievous smile made an appearance. “Ya touched Moss. I think you’re the only person who ever has and didn’t die afterwards.”

  I smacked Lucas’s shoulder and left my hand there, needing the extra support. “You should have stopped me.”

  “Nothing would have stopped you, mon cher.”

  I sighed, and Lucas tightened his hold on my hips.

  “He wouldn’t have hurt you. Moss might be a mystery to us all, but I have never seen him harm a female.”

  I licked my lips and nodded, my forehead still pressed against his.

  “Come on, cher. Let’s dance.”

  Lucas pushed his chair back and took my hand, leading me to the dancefloor. As soon as our feet hit the green patch that was meant for dancing, Lucas swung me outwards. He spun me back to him and I carefully tucked my elbow so I didn’t get him in the chest. His hand rested causally on the small of my back as he swayed with me.

  Dominic had his arms fully wrapped around his mate now; she smiled through it all and attempted to jokingly slap at the hand that dipped too low. Winnie was trying the same with Quinn, who kept grabbing her hand in his and holding it from its goal. I smothered my smile. A quiet happiness grew inside of me. So long it had been me and Mallory. Even then she was distant, and we—my parents and I—had been the cause of that. We babied her, sheltered her when she needed a bit more freedom, but it was hard to let her go when she was a latent in a shifter world. She was very human like Eden and our boys felt overly protective of her.

  Quintin had asked for help from both Dominic and Lucas when he realized the danger his mate was in. Dominic immediately swept his mate away for a little “privacy”. She knew what he was doing, as did the rest of us; he wanted her safe and out of danger. If there was something he didn’t think my mate and Quinn could have handled, he would have been back to help without Eden. She’d been tucked away.

  The little sprite that she was, though, I didn’t think she would ever let him get awa
y with leaving her behind. She might be petite and human but she was raised by bears. And I was quite familiar with the fortitude of bears.

  Chapter 6

  Lucas

  “What’s that smile for?” I tucked my chin in to get a better look at my beautiful mate. Her long red hair had been done in some sweeping up-do that I couldn’t wait to pick apart later back in our room. I loved her hair long and free flowing while she preferred messy buns, and quick ponytails. As soon as I acknowledged the smile it melted from her face. The subtle glow in her cheeks stifled. It hurt me to see her lose the bit of light in her life.

  “Aww, cher.”

  Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her flush to my body. I turned my chin up and set it on her head. She was normally too tall to allow me to do this, but she had hunched down to tuck her nose against my neck. She sought out my scent, her animal obviously needing reassurance.

  “I want her to wake up. I want her to be able to be part of all this with us.”

  She spoke of my new sister, Mallory. Claiming Mazy didn’t happen fast enough for me. We had spent far too many months dancing around each other, pulling from our animals’ desires, and in mating her I had gained more family. Ma mere had taught me the importance of family. A good portion of my money made its way back to her. She took in the shifter children who were left behind for whatever reason. Even mingled with the humans now, they couldn’t truly understand having a shifter child and what it entailed.

  “She will. And you know she will always have a place with us once she does wake.”

  And I meant that. Mazy’s sister was my sister now and I felt fiercely protective of the young latent shifter who was comatose and didn’t have the full use of her legs. I had an old acquaintance that had owed me a favor watching over her. Shifters took their favors very seriously … honorable ones did at least. Apollo was practically raised by Moss, who was an honorable male.