STORY EXCERPT

“Alpha one,” the voice came over the mic on his shoulder.

“Go,” Hawk spoke into his radio.

“We see the hostages. They have them together in the back room with one man guarding them. There’s a side door to the alley,” Blade relayed the information through the radio.

“Are you able to extract without casualties?” Hawk asked as the sheriff and deputies listened for his reply.

“That’s  affirmative Alpha.”

Hawk looked at the other men around him. He would have the final say on whether his team would go in to extract the hostages.

“That’s a go, Blade.”

“Affirmative.” Then the radio went silent.

He knew his team would get the hostages out without any of them getting hurt. His men were the best in all of the ex-special forces. All of them bear shifters with heightened senses, heightened reflexes fifty times more than humans.

He waited along with the police officers for his team to get the hostages out before they went in after the criminals. After about ten minutes Blade’s voice came over the radio.

“Hostages secure.”

Hawk gave the okay to the sheriff that the hostages were safe and secure.

“Move in, men,” the sheriff told his men. The officers positioned themselves around the bank. He spoke through a loudspeaker, demanding they come out one at a time without their weapons and their hands up.

Hawk knew he and his men did not need to stay around for the rest. Their job was over. He made his way over to his men. A faint sweet scent made him stop and sniff the air, but the bewitching fragrance soon faded. He shook his head after a moment then continued to walk toward his men already in the SUV.

“Let’s go,” he said to Ink, who was in the driver’s seat, when he shut the passenger door. Blade told him about how they got the hostages out of the bank and took care of the man who was watching them.

“Amateurs,” Midnight snorted out.

“Yeah, pros would not have put them all in the same room with just one man with a door that opened up to an alley,” Blade said, shaking his head and agreeing with his friend.

“Yeah, that guy almost pissed his pants when he saw a three-hundred-pound black bear charging at him.” Doc chuckled when he remarked about the guy they left to guard the captives.

Hawk grinned at his comment. This was one of the straightforward assignments for them. His team were often called in for more complex situations. His security company and men was one of the best in the country. But living and working in an area of the country surrounded by small towns, they were sometimes called to assist in certain cases local law enforcement wasn’t trained for.

But Hawk’s mind drifted back to the faint sweet smell as his men discussed the operation, comparing it to some of their other jobs.

Where did it come from? Who did it come from? These questions went through his mind as Ink drove them back to the company.

* * * *

“I will never again volunteer to do bank deposits,” Jess mumbled to herself as she sat on the cold floor in one of the backrooms of the bank. Her boss at the grocery store was sick so she volunteered to take yesterday’s sums to the bank. The one thing she didn’t know was the money needed to be deposited into the bank account in the neighboring town.

The second problem occurred while she was standing in line. Some men came in with guns to rob the bank. She dropped to the floor after the first shot rang out. She lay on the floor, hands on top of her head as the men grabbed the money from the cashiers.

“I will never again volunteer to do bank deposits,” she muttered as the bag she was holding was snatched from her hand. One of the men was screaming to the others to hurry. Alarms could be heard in the distance, coming closer. A few minutes later she heard screeching tires and the sirens sounded like it was right outside the bank. Now the men were screaming at each other in a panic.

Minutes later they yelled for the customers to stand. The thieves shoved them toward one of the backrooms. So, now here she sat, her butt freezing from the cold floor. They left one of the men in here with the hostages. The others were in the main area of the bank talking to the police. They were negotiating to let the hostages go after their escape. She didn’t believe they would leave anyone alive to identify them.

If she wasn’t in the middle of all this, she would swear it was like a movie with inept bank robbers who just decided today would be a good day to rob a bank.

Her head jerked up when she heard an animalistic roar. The back door splintered, and a three-hundred-pound bear charged at the man with the gun. Jess covered her face with her arms as wood fragments flew through the room. The man dropped the gun in his haste to run away from the predator charging him. Two other men came in behind the bear, wearing vests with Security written in big yellow letters on the front with balaclava hoods over their faces.

ADULT EXCERPT

Jess buried her face in his neck, panting. He took the stairs as fast as he could without them falling in his mad dash to the bedroom.

He shouldered his way through the doorway. He stepped forward without slowing, hitting his legs against the bed, and toppling them onto the soft surface. Hawk released her before they hit the mattress to catch himself on his hands, so his weight didn’t crush her. Jess clung to him. Her breasts mashed against his chest. Her hard nipples felt as if they were burning holes through his shirt into his skin.

Desperate with need, Hawk took her mouth again, thrusting his tongue inside. Jess moaned and sought his tongue with hers. His lower body flattened hers against the bed. He shifted his hips, pressing up between her thighs. Her skirt was bunched up around her hips. The hard bulge of Hawk’s cock rubbed against the crotch of her panties, sliding against the wet cloth, pressing it to her folds.

His breaths came in quick gulps as he felt the dampness, the heat of her excitement. Jess’s arousal made his erection throb. With his weight balanced on one arm he reached between their bodies to grasp the edge of his shirt. Jess moaned and tightened her arms to pull herself against him, but Hawk resisted, yanking at his shirt. Fabric tore but the shirt clung willfully together. She must have realized what he was trying to do because she released his shoulders to help lose his shirt.

Jess dropped against the comforter that covered the bed. She fumbled, tugging at the fabric. The last button popped free, and Hawk’s shirt hung open. Jess pushed the edges back, tugging it down his arms. She moaned as she ran her hands over his chest.

Clenching his teeth, he pulled away from her to sit up and unbuttoned his pants. Jess untangled her legs from his hips and scrambled to her knees, facing him. She helped him pull his pants and boxers down to his thighs. They paused, staring at each other, chests heaving, then Jess touched his chest with both palms.

She slid her hands downward, her touch electric as she smoothed over the dampness of his skin. Jess curved her fingers and lightly scraped him with her short nails as she moved her hands farther down to his stomach. Jess bent her head and kissed him slightly above his bellybutton. Her chin grazed the head of his cock, her hair brushed against the tops of his thighs.

Hawk’s control snapped. He shoved Jess onto her back. His weight flattened her into the bed. His hands fisted in her hair, holding her head still as he ravaged her mouth. Not taking his mouth from her, he released her hair to tug the cups of her bra down, pulling her breasts free.

He left his hands on the soft mounds, holding them as he moved his mouth downward, kissing her chin and throat. Teeth scraped the side of her neck.

Hawk pushed her breasts together, touching his tongue to her nubs. Jess twisted her hips and hooked a leg around him, opening herself to his body. His breath puffed onto her wet nipple.

Jess strained toward him, arching her back. He lowered his head and drew her nipple into the hot depths of his mouth. Hawk sucked hard, pulling at her breast. One hand massaged her neglected breast while the other kneaded her hip beneath her wadded-up skirt. Hawk pulled his mouth off her slowly, closing his lips and allowing just the slightest pinch of his teeth on the point of her nipple, drawing another moan from her.