Lover Mine (Blood Brothers 1) (8 page)

"We use the field to expend our aggression
when the teams have too much downtime. Of course, we have several
medics on the team, which helps."

"Why on earth would you need medics for a
football game?" she asked, shocked as she stared up at him.

"Our teams are different, Chayle," he
hedged, trying not to reveal too much yet. "They need avenues to
take out tension and sometimes some of them can get hurt." He saw
her face and quickly added, "No one means to cause harm, it just
happens in the heat of battle."

"Kayne, it's a game, not a war." She shook
her head, reminded of the times her father had tried to explain how
some of his men relaxed during their downtime. It dawned on her
that this had to be very similar, men who were always on the edge
and the many ways they found to take that edge off once they got
back to their base.

"Enough talk about the field, I want to show
you the training facilities. You mentioned you wanted to work out,
but you'll have to wait for the doctor's approval." He pulled her
toward another building, this one closer to the main house but off
to the side. She could see it was connected to the main house,
which she had not noticed before.

"How do you get to the training faculties
from the house? I didn't see any corridors from the inside when we
came out." She searched the exterior but could not see how it
connected from where they stood.

Kayne grinned, waiting for her to figure it
out. When she continued to search the walls he laughed.

"I'll show you once we head back to the
house, how's that?"

"You had better. I plan on spending some
time in there so I can work out this soreness. I miss my
instructor, my muscles miss him!" she huffed, starting toward the
double doors.

"What do you mean, you miss him?" Kayne
growled.

"You need to stop the growly thing," she
turned, pointing her finger at him.

"What do you miss?" he growled again,
getting right in her face and refusing to move.

Fists on her hips, Chayle faced off with her
tall dark lover, watching as his wonderful blue eyes darkened to
almost black. She really wanted to let it draw out a bit,
recognizing jealousy when she saw it, but Chayle had a feeling that
her alpha male just would not see the pure fun in it from her
perspective. When his growling only got louder, she finally gave
in.

"Oh for pete's sake, would you stop it! He's
my instructor . . . he would work my ass off and make me earn each
workout no matter how tired I was, every day." Chayle reached up
and grabbed Kayne's chin, pulling him down to her level.

"There was never anything personal between
us, so stop growling!"

"What kind of instructor was he?" her lover
finally managed to ask without growling, his voice low and
soft.

"He's teaching me kick-boxing now. I've been
taking martial arts classes from him for about five years since
before my dad died, and I love them." She reached up and kissed
him, finally letting him off the hook. "Sometimes his bones hurt
afterward because at his age he hasn't taken a student like me in a
long time but he says I'm worth it."

"How old is he, Chayle?" he whispered,
unable to take his eyes from her lips.

"He was seventy-two years old on his last
birthday."

"What?" Kayne's gasp made her grin.

"Gotcha!" she patted his cheek, turned and
headed back toward the doors of the training facility.

Kayne watched her walk away and groaned.
"You deserved that one, brother!"

"Shut up!"
If he could not growl at
Chayle then he could take it out on Rafe.

When he entered the facility Kayne found his
mate against one of the walls on a mat, stretching. Watching her
gently bend and pull her muscles back into place was a thing of
beauty to his eyes so he leaned against a bar bell stand and just
watched. The bruises were still there but she carefully stretched
hamstrings, arches, hips, the back of the arms, the lower back. He
could tell Chayle was practiced at working each part of her body to
ensure the muscles were warmed up before any exercise she started.
Just as she started for a set of weights Kayne stepped in to stop
her.

"Not yet," he lifted the heavy barbells from
her hands and put them back on the stands.

"But I need to at least work out the
muscles. The doc can't restrict that, can he?" she groused, back to
her hands on hips stance.

"Not only has he restricted it, but forbid
it for at least another week. You can stretch, do some light
workouts, but nothing that will strain the body beyond what it has
already taken." Immediately seeing her temper rise, Kayne grinned.
"Come, let's check to see if my brother is still alive."

"What do you mean?" Instant alarm in her
dark eyes again reminded him of all she had endured in so short of
time.

"Easy," he growled, pulling her against his
chest. "He is just getting the shit kicked out of him, I'm sure.
Let's go watch his humiliation." With a mischievous grin Chayle
followed him through another set of double doors that led to the
right. Instantly she was assailed by sounds of growls and heavy
bodies hitting the floor, and as they rounded a corner partition
that hid the room from the doors she saw why.

Two heavily muscled men were in the throes
of what looked like mortal combat. She watched as each threw
punches and kicks that could have broken bones or killed if they
had connected. Chayle had watched many of the advanced students at
the gym where she regularly trained, workout at the same level but
never with the intensity of the two men on the mats.

"Come on pussy, why are you holding back?"
she heard the bulkier of the two men goad his opponent just before
landing a punishing kick to his ribcage. "See, you can't even keep
your mind in the game when your brother walks in the room."

"Stop playing, Merc, and pay attention."
Rafe suddenly flipped over the top of the taller man and chopped
him between the shoulder blades, sending his opponent crashing to
the ground. "Call me a pussy again and I'll make sure you can't
service one for a while!" The feral grin and gleam in Rafe's eyes
told Chayle the man would relish doling the promised
retribution.

"In your dreams, rookie!" The man called
Mercury flipped up from the floor using only his massive legs and
neck muscles, rising to his full height.

"I stopped being a rookie a long time ago
and you of all people know it!" The two continued to bait each
other, landing punches and kicks that Chayle knew would leave
bruises later. However, watching the two men was a thing of beauty.
The way they moved, knowing and recognizing each other's
weaknesses, it was evident they were evenly matched.

"Won't they hurt each other?" she whispered
to Kayne as he leaned against a wall watching the men spar. He
tucked her close to his side, continuing to watch his friends on
the mat.

"A warrior needs to know their limitations,
Chayle. Where they are vulnerable and how to combat those
vulnerabilities in the event they are caught. The harder we train
the better we are." He sounded so confident, so sure of the
outcomes that she did not have the heart to mention the possibility
that one of them could be killed.

Suddenly, there was an inhuman growl and
Kayne's brother did another flip, this one out of Mercury's reach
just as he sent a crushing chop to the man's neck just below the
ear. Merc went down, breathing hard and did not get up.

"Enough!" The shout echoed in the now quiet
room, the boom ringing in Chayle's ears. When Rafe moved in again
against the downed man a blur moved from her side, his huge arms
around his twin's neck to stop further harm. "Rafe, he's down!
Stop, brother, before you kill him!"

Kayne shook his brother harder, forcing the
battle rage back from the edge. It appeared to take several deep
breathes before Rafe finally realized where he was and what was
happening.

"Damn-it!"

Only when Rafe felt his brother's voice
penetrate the red haze controlling his mind did he realize what he
had done to their friend. Instantly, his body language relaxed, his
hands coming down to his sides, eyes closing.

"I have not lost control like that in a
very long time,"
he told Kayne silently.
"Will you see to
him? I need to go calm myself before I apologize to Merc and your
mate."

"You know there is no apology needed,
brother"
Kayne watched him, worried because Rafe was the calmer
of the two of them and if the stress of the situation was getting
to him then it could crack any of them.

"Take care of him,"
was all Rafe
could manage before he abruptly turned and strode out the doors
toward the showers. Kayne closed his eyes, praying to any entity
that would hear that things were different.

"Where is he going? Shouldn't he help your
friend?" He had momentarily forgotten Chayle but quickly shook off
his worries.

"He went to cool off." Bending down, Kayne
felt for a pulse, knowing before touching Merc that he was alive
but thankful it was strong and steady. Rafe was one of the
strongest warriors they had and he could easily kill an opponent
with that particular technique, and had when necessary.

"Is he alright? Do we need to call a
doctor?" Chayle bent down next to him, filling him with her scent.
Kayne immediately felt it all the way to his cock. He looked up at
her and grinned before answering, a dark simmer in those beautiful
eyes of his, causing Chayle's stomach to clench.

"He's good, but out cold. Rafe has taught
that particular maneuver to many of the men and some of the women
who have the strength to pull it off. Mercury just forgot to duck."
Walking over to a corner she had not seen before, Kayne pulled a
small bottle of water from a cooler, twisting the cap off as he
came back.

Chayle watched in amazement as he slowly and
deliberately poured the entire contents over the injured man's
head. Mercury instantly rolled over and came up sputtering, ready
to fight.

"Have a nice nap?" Kayne teased, watching
the murderous glare in Mercury's dark eyes.

"Your brother is a . . ." he suddenly
stopped, realizing the two of them were not alone.

"You were saying?" Kayne goaded him, knowing
exactly what he was going to say, since he had called his brother
many such names after a particularly hard work out.

"Where is he?" Mercury growled, shaking his
wet hair.

"He went to cool off and calm down." Chayle
said, watching the huge man standing in front of her. Without
realizing it, she had automatically moved closer to Kayne as soon
as Mercury came awake and stood up. His size and the look in those
angry eyes terrified her.

Mercury closed his eyes for a few moments,
then shook his head. "He won't answer," he whispered.

"Leave it, Merc." Kayne handed the huge man
a towel that Chayle had not seen him retrieve earlier with the
water. "Let him cool off and then talk to him."

"What do you mean, he won't answer? You
haven't talked to him yet." Chayle watched the two men pass a
silent look between them before she realized they were not going to
answer her. "Well, at least tell me if I'm in the crazy house or
not?"

Mercury's grin was instantaneous and
infectious. "Of course you are, didn't Kayne explain all of it to
you yet?"

With a hard slap on Kayne's back and another
growl as Mercury moved toward the doors of the shower room, Chayle
could have sworn she heard her lover growl.

"Stop the growly thing!" she whispered,
gently slapping his huge arm.

"You need to stop ordering me around,
woman!" Before Chayle knew what was happening Kayne picked her up
and threw her over his shoulder, head hanging down his back. She
had a perfect view of his tight ass and long legs. Damn, it was a
long way down to the ground from where she was.

"Put me down, you moron! You cannot just
decide to cart me around anytime you get the urge!" she screamed,
slapping those tight buns.

"Wanna bet?" came his only reply.

"But I want to see the rest of this place.
You promised!" she continued screaming, hoping someone would stop
them, but of course, there was not a soul in sight. She did hear
male chuckles just out of sight but no a soul stepped in to help as
he stomped off toward the house.

"I'll show you the rest of it later. Right
now I want you under me!" There was what sounded like another growl
and she tried to bite him on his ass.

"You bite me, woman and I'll bite back. You
may not like where I bite you!" he promised.

"Tyrant!" she screamed, slapping his tight
ass.

"You have no idea," His laugh echoed in the
empty foyer of the house as he quickly climbed the stairs.

Kayne dropped her in the middle of their bed
after taking the stairs two at a time. He stared down at her as
Chaley huffed and puffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. Her
color was high, giving her cheekbones a beautiful flush and her
breasts rose at the rise and fall of her chest as she tried to calm
her temper but Kayne didn't care. To him, she was the most
beautiful thing in his world.

Slowly, like a huge cat stalking its prey,
he crawled onto the foot of the bed, his dark blue eyes never
leaving Chayle's face. She crab crawled backward away from him
toward the head of the bed but the look in his eyes stopped her
when he growled again.

"Stop the growly thing," she hissed.

"You leave this bed and I will redden your
ass," he purred, moving toward her again.

"You wouldn't dare!" Chayle screamed,
appalled that he would even threaten such a thing.

"Yes, I would dare, woman!" he growled
again. "You need to learn that when I say drop, you drop. When I
say run, you run. If I say stay, you will damn well stay!"