by Anya Nowlan
As usual. No one’s telling the people on the front lines anything, she mused darkly, leaning on the railing that overlooked the lower, main pool deck.
The cruise bunnies had shown up in droves and were already in their bikinis, giggling and drinking fruity drinks by the pool, trying to ‘innocently’ catch the eyes of any passing hunks. Amy had to stifle the gentle roll of her eyes that wanted to overtake her expression. It wasn’t her place to judge, even though the reason why those women were there was more often than not blatantly obvious.
This particular cruise was one of the many that SassyDates had begun putting together lately. It would bring together shifters and the people that loved them and see if it could pair them off in a constant party atmosphere. The people that ran the events were particularly scary, in Amy’s opinion, enthusiasm and pure rabid glee at seeing ‘love’ melding into one, but again she’d cautioned herself against judging.
For every wild partier, she’d also seen a person legitimately hoping to find love. Against all odds, she’d also witnessed a few true pairings, where a shifter had obviously recognized his or her mate and they’d ridden off into the figurative sunset together. She’d even gotten to handle a few wedding ceremonies and those were really her favorite things so far.
Her rule for them was that both the groom and the bride had to be perfectly sober and it had to take place no sooner than forty-eight hours after the happy couple first came to her with the request. That way, she could make sure that she wasn’t pairing off anyone who would really, really regret it later.
So far, she’d had nothing but happy customers, and also plenty of cancelled weddings. The previous captain apparently hadn’t adhered to quite the same quality standards, which had resulted in a bunch of both positive and negative publicity for the cruises. There was nothing quite like reading about the heartache someone had gone through on one of those trips after finding out that their ‘mate’ really didn’t think they belonged together at all, but had simply been hammered on tequila shots during their ‘blessed’ ceremony.
Amy smiled privately. The thought had quickly swayed her into thinking about the Renard twins. Though she couldn’t drink tequila anymore, she still remembered the night fondly.
I wonder if they’d think the same, if they knew the whole story, she wondered, touching her hand to her stomach once more.
Despite her best efforts, she hadn’t been able to get into contact with the twins. Their files had suddenly been sealed, along with the rest of Shifter Squad Nine’s documentation. All of a sudden, it was as if they’d disappeared from the face of the earth.
That usually meant one of two things.
Either the person in question had died a horrible death that The Firm did not want to admit to, or for some reason they’d been sent so far undercover that no outside communication could be allowed. Amy knew her own file was similarly sealed at the moment so she tried her best to avoid thinking the worst.
It still gnawed at her, though. She’d been aware of her pregnancy for about two weeks now, though she was barely beginning to show despite the quick progress of shifter pregnancies. Her first instinct had been to tell the fathers, and when she discovered she couldn’t do that, it had opened up a Pandora’s Box of uncertainty that she didn’t particularly enjoy.
A hundred questions had leapt into her head all at once, circling around the gnawing question of what kind of a reaction she’d get from the werewolf twins once they did find out. She’d seen their files before and she knew they were some of the deadliest and perhaps some of the scariest men that The Firm had to offer, but that didn’t really seem to register with her anymore.
Not after she’d spent some time with them and come to the conclusion that they weren’t half as scary as they seemed to be on paper.
One thing was certain, though. She was going to keep the babies – and she already knew there would be two. One didn’t have to be a doctor to figure out that if you’d only had sex with a set of Alpha twins in the last year, and no one else, then they’d definitely be the fathers, and that you were definitely carrying twins as well.
And boys, at that.
As soon as this mission’s done, I’ll let my superiors know that I have to be transferred to a desk job for a while, Amy thought, enjoying the warmth of the sun shining upon her, licking at her tanned skin. Then I’ll have all the time I need to really focus on what’s best for these two, and find their fathers as well. Everything will work out. It has to.
It all seemed so simple at that very instant, though Amy was far too well aware that she had more open questions than she had answers.
All of that changed in an instant, though, and suddenly nothing seemed to make sense anymore the moment she heard a very familiar voice behind her.
“Small world.”
Ten
Amy
Oh my god, this must be some kind of a twisted fairytale slash nightmare, Amy thought as she turned around, her mouth falling agape.
She was staring at the two men who had just very actively taken up her thoughts a second ago, and now here they were, in the flesh. Looking a little different than how she remembered them, but definitely still the same.
Hawaiian shirts didn’t really suit the two men who she could only think of as the sexiest male specimens she had ever met. Though even the garish outfits, along with the matching board shorts, didn’t really lessen their appeal.
“You could say that again,” she muttered as a response to Prowler’s comment, who was grinning wide and staring at her with unabashed hunger.
The way Price and Prowler looked at her made shudders run up and down her body. For one crazy moment, she felt like they were about to hunt her down and claim her right there on the deck, but then she realized two things.
First of all, it wasn’t as if she was going to run anywhere.
And second of all, they already had her, completely. More than they could have ever imagined.
She stifled the urge to put her hand protectively over her stomach, avoiding any questioning looks that way. Though she was momentarily stunned and the Renard twins seemed to be equally as eager to drop their covers, Amy had to still remember that she had a façade to keep up.
“Not here,” she murmured, keeping her voice low as she glanced to either side of her to make sure no one was paying any attention to them having a conversation.
“Oh, we’re sorry, Captain. We were simply looking for a way to the bingo tournament,” Price said, keeping his words slow and languid.
The smirk he finished his thought off with made Amy seriously consider throwing her whole mission to the wind, stepping up to him and kissing him with all her might. Quickly followed by an equal kiss to Prowler, of course.
The pit of her stomach flooded with heat, her body remembering in vivid detail what it felt like to be touched, kissed and lavished with attention by those two. Her knees wanted to buckle inward and she grabbed hold of the railing with one hand.
When she squeezed her thighs together in an unconscious effort to regain some control, she felt the cold, hard steel of her handgun, tucked away in the thigh holster between her legs. It brought her back to her senses, at least a little.
“Right,” Amy said, clearing her voice. “It is two decks down. Follow the signs, you cannot miss it.”
She could feel her cheeks burning up and try as she might, she couldn’t look at either of the werewolves too long. It was like staring into the sun, it would burn her up faster than she could tell if she wasn’t careful.
“Much obliged, Captain,” Prowler said, stepping towards her and offering his hand.
She took it and he pulled her closer to him for a second, his movement forceful but gentle at the same time.
“Meet us down in the storage areas. We know the way. We’ll be waiting.”
His breath tickled the delicate neck of her skin and Amy caught herself biting the inside of her mouth as Prowler pulled back, releasing her hand. Where he had touched her, her skin
burned, just as it had done the last time they had been together. The memory was enough to render her speechless as the twins turned around and left.
She didn’t deny herself watching them leave, though. Even in their ridiculous get-ups, they were still really easy on the eye.
Though they look a bit haggard. I wonder what’s been going on with Shifter Squad Nine since that mission in Montana? Amy wondered, turning around with a frown.
Gathering herself, she spent a few more minutes overseeing the proceedings around the pool. It was to give them time to get down below, but also so she could clear her head a little and regain composure. All her carefully made plans had been thrown topsy-turvy with the sudden appearance of the two men she had been missing and Amy wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it.
Again, she had to wonder if someone knew about her pregnancy and if it had something to do with her reassignment.
It can’t be luck that they’re here with me, right?
Amy gnawed on her lower lip as she made her way through the ship, keeping her steps measured. All she wanted was to break into a run and get to the storage bays as fast as she could, but she knew she had to take her time and look cool and collected. Even if that was the furthest thing from how she actually felt.
Her head swimming with questions, as was becoming the norm, Amy made it down to the decks that were off-limits to the passengers. For a moment, she wondered if the werewolf twins really knew where they were going, but she should have known better than to question what they were doing.
After all, they’d been in the service for as long as or even longer than she had. A certain dose of preparation and common sense came with the territory.
When she used her keycard to get into the storage facilities, she found them deserted. Usually, there were several people manning them because of the constant need to restock the kitchens, the linens, et cetera, but this early in the trip it wasn’t a problem yet. The possibility of the Renard twins having something to do with the curious absence of course popped into her mind as well.
“Hello?” she called out, closing the door behind her.
The storage areas were huge, sequestered into various zones and carefully climate controlled. It was easy to get lost in them if one didn’t know where they were going.
Thankfully, Amy was spared the drudgery of having to navigate the maze soon enough. She got about two shelf units in before a pair of strong arms grabbed her, pulled her out of the makeshift hallway and pinned her against the shelving unit.
Her immediate reaction was to raise her arm and then go for a punch, but Prowler knew her training too well. He caught her hand, pushed it down with the firmness of a man who knows exactly what he is doing, and then kissed her.
All her protests died on her lips as she tasted him again, her lashes fluttering closed. The exchange was too short, though, and she had barely gotten into the kiss when Price took over. She wouldn’t have complained even if she had the option to.
Quickly enough, too quickly in fact, she was released from their hold, left to lean against the shelves and heave for breath. The Renard twins towered over her, looking like two cats that had gotten into the cream. Their amusement and pleasure at seeing her was almost palpable.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” Amy asked, though some of the forcefulness went out of her tone as she licked over her lips.
God, they taste good.
She knew she was flushed and that her eyes had to be hazy with desire. The fact that the twins were both looking at her with gold-tinted eyes and she could see the heavy rise and fall of their chests made her feel a little bit better about her own disheveled state.
At least I am not alone in this.
“We’d ask you the same,” Price said, quirking a brow.
Prowler leaned out into the hallway, looking up and down the endless shelves, before returning his attention to Amy. The desire to throw him against the shelves just as he had done to her and demand him and Price to fuck her was nigh overwhelming.
“I got reassigned,” Amy said, tucking a lock of her honey-caramel hair back into the bun she’d so carefully made in the morning and that the twins had nearly destroyed by running their hands along her hair.
Not that she minded.
“To a cruise ship?” Prowler asked incredulously, echoing the sentiment that Amy had had the first time she read through the mission statement.
“Well, I was in the Navy,” Amy offered with a weak smile, shrugging her shoulders. “Okay, honestly, I do have captain’s papers from before the time I joined up for the Navy. Smaller vessels than this, obviously, but The Firm seems to firmly believe in faking it until you make it. I received a grueling three day course on how to be the best captain I could be, though, before coming here.”
The sarcasm was dripping off her words and Prowler chuckled. His laughter stuttered through her but unlike the comments she had gotten from her former squadmates, stating that they found his laugh eerie, Amy found it soothing in a way. Then again, there wasn’t a lot she didn’t find appealing about those two.
Get those rose-tinted glasses off! she chided herself. You can’t be distracted now!
Oh, but she totally could. It was simply a question of how eagerly she was willing to fight it. Considering her body was telling her to screw her career and her mission, Amy was getting the feeling that saying no was going to be hellishly difficult.
“Well, that really makes me feel a whole lot better,” Price commented, his eyes rowing over her as if he was trying to memorize her as she stood. “Nothing like knowing that the people in charge for your health and safety are properly trained, after all.”
“Smartass,” Amy huffed. “How about you tell me what you’re doing here?”
“What, can’t two perfectly virile, handsome men be on a singles cruise without an ulterior motive?” Prowler asked, waggling his brows.
Oh, if you only knew, Amy thought, biting down on the inside of her mouth.
“Sure, they could, but I doubt that’s the case with you two,” she retorted, trying to keep as much of the snark out of her voice as she could. “Is the rest of the squad with you as well?”
“They are,” Price nodded. “So I guess we can stop wondering who our contact is.”
“And I guess I can stop wondering who my elite team is,” Amy said with a sigh, smiling.
It was a double-edged sword. On one hand, she couldn’t be happier to have the Renard twins there. If nothing else, then it would at least give her a chance to tell them about her pregnancy. But on the other hand, they also posed a very real and problematic distraction. There was no way she was going to be at the top of her game with those two around her.
Can I even tell them? Wouldn’t that break their focus as well? she wondered suddenly, cold fear gripping her for the instant that it took for that thought to travel through her.
“Guess so,” Prowler nodded. “So, got any good intel for us? Who the baddies are, all that?”
He looked like he couldn’t care less about that information and was simply trying to keep her talking. It wasn’t as if she minded.
“No, sorry,” she admitted with a shake of her head. “I was going to start looking over the surveillance camera footage tonight, though I doubt we’ll know anything this soon. The Arctics are smart enough to keep a low profile in the beginning, scope the area out.”
“You’re sure no one can spot the surveillance tech?” Price asked, pursing his lips.
“I can only tell you what the techies told me. That it’s highly unlikely, but not impossible. Most of it was set up to look like your run of the mill ship security stuff, though we have heat detection cameras, night vision and stuff like that set up,” Amy explained.
“I’d love to take a look at some of it, then,” Prowler said, scruffing his hand through his hair. “Make sure that everything’s up to snuff, if that’s alright by you.”
“By all means,” Amy agreed. “If anyone knows about that stuff, it would
be you.”
“So you’ve been checking up on us?” Prowler asked with a grin. “I’m touched. We’re touched.”
Amy didn’t even try to hide the way she rolled her eyes at those two jokers. They knew very well she had read their files, she’d told them as much. But it was not surprising in the least that they’d go out of their way to find a compliment that wasn’t even hidden.
Prowler coming to check on the feeds also meant that she’d get some one on one time with him. That certainly wasn’t something she had any problems with.
“I think someone should be monitoring the feeds at all times, if we can,” Price mused, his brow furrowing as he rubbed his chin.
Amy’s gaze tracked every motion he or Prowler made, mesmerized. She couldn’t help it, nor did she want to.
“That sounds reasonable,” Amy said, feeling her throat getting dry.
They were running out of work stuff to talk about and that made Amy antsier than she cared to admit. Their kisses still burned her lips and it somewhat bothered her that they could go so easily from exchanging passionate kisses to talking about work, like it was no big thing.
Yet something about their demeanor as they stood before her, a little nervous, a little uneasy, told her that she might not be the only one feeling the effects of their surprise meeting.
“How have you been?” Prowler asked finally, taking a step closer to her.
Amy stood her ground, though her rational mind was telling her to head for the hills. There were too many things at stake all of a sudden and juggling them all seemed like far too much work for one person alone. She relaxed her shoulders almost forcefully, putting on a smile.
“I’ve been alright. I’ve been here, mostly, really. Got transferred pretty soon after Montana. And you two?”
“Here and there,” Price said, budding in. “Rio was out for extended medical and Dice wasn’t too great either, but we’re back in the swing of things.”
“That’s good to hear.”
