Sweet-Delight[ Brac Village 1]

Brac Village 1
Sweet Delight
SWEET DELIGHT
Brac Village 1
Lynn Hagen
EVERLASTING CLASSIC MANLOVE

 

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

SWEET DELIGHT
Copyright © 2013 by Lynn Hagen E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-689-8

First E-book Publication: April 2013

 

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Sweet Delight
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SWEET DELIGHT
Brac Village 1
LYNN HAGEN
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One

Kenway strode into the living room of the home he and his friends had settled into just as Recker—a rhino shifter—was putting curtains up in one of the windows. The large man looked like he was in his element as he slid the bright colorful lace back and forth across the rod until he finally took a step back and gave an approving nod.

To Kenway, the curtain looked like it was just hanging there, but what did he know? He sucked at interior decorating. He guessed it looked perfect and wonderful to Recker.

Paine was lounging on the couch, a mischievous glint in his green eyes as he watched the rhino work. Kenway inwardly groaned. He sure as shit didn’t want to hear the two arguing this morning, but by the look on Paine’s face, the cheetah was feeling playful.

“Dude, that looks like what I coughed up this morning…in a hair ball,” Paine teased with wickedness from the couch, his hands tucked behind his head, his legs propped up on the red chest they had as a coffee table. The man looked like he was languidly enjoying his morning, but Kenway knew that Paine could transform from unenergetic to lethal in seconds. He was a cheetah, after all. Lazy as the day is long, but cunning and deadly.

He made one hell of a predator, but asking him to help with something?
Forget it.
Recker’s mouth was set in annoyance as he pushed the curtains back and forth again, as if trying to space the fabric out evenly. “My curtains do not look like puke. They have a nice daisy-yellow pattern that complements the yellow and white wall. These curtains are sure to brighten up the drab room.”
Kenway kept his smile deceptively composed. Recker was a big man. Huge. But he liked making things look nice. Although Kenway wasn’t going to point out that Recker shouldn’t take up interior designing as a living. The man had a very short temper. Recker was easygoing, until someone pissed him off, and then watch out.
“Recker, you’re color blind. How in the hell do you know it doesn’t look like puke?” Paine pointed out and touched on the rhino’s sore spot at the same time. He smiled at Recker with the mischievous grin the cheetah shifter was known for.
Recker glanced at the set of curtains and then at the wall. Doubt was creeping into his pale-blue eyes, and the man looked like he was becoming agitated. “They really don’t match? How can they not go together?”
Kenway knew that Recker liked sprucing a place up. Maybe the man had assumed the daisies were yellow because they were daisies. Although they were in fact, yellow.
The rhino shifter was born with monochromacy. He saw the world in black, white, and grey. Or more to the point, he saw the world through depths of light and dark. Recker had learned over the years what colors were supposed to complement each other, but as far as seeing them, that didn’t happen.
The only reason Paine wasn’t through a wall for teasing Recker was because they were a tightly knit group. Had anyone outside their group made fun of him, Recker would be trying to kill them right now. He was teased growing up, mercilessly.
His colorblindness was the one subject he went ballistic about.
“It looks great!” Spencer said as he walked into the room. The short little impala shifter smiled as he walked over to the window, patting Recker on his back. “I love how the yellow daisies match the color of the wall.”
Recker growled as he shot a glaring expression at Paine, ripping the curtains from the rod. Yeah, the man was pissed, and Kenway wouldn’t be surprised if Recker went after Paine. He wasn’t sure why Recker tore the curtains down though.
“It’s a matter of opinion.” The cheetah shifter smiled, seeming unfazed by Recker’s growing agitation.
“If you’re done screwing with Recker, we need to head out. Don’t forget that we all need to find jobs.” Kenway headed out of the living room. “Go find your brother,” he called over his shoulder to Paine.
Paine swung his arm out, his hand gesturing toward the stairs. “Steele is still sleeping.”
“Then wake him,” Kenway said with a growl. “Our savings won’t last long, and I like living here.” Although he had almost had it out with the Lakeland bears over a pig. Kenway hadn’t meant to insult the human, but who in the hell carried a baby pig in a carrier? The bears sure as hell had some weird mates.
Thinking about mates only made Kenway think of Ross.
His mate.
He had met the guy at the Lakelands’ when his mate had come to warn everyone about an attack on the fey village. Kenway had thought he was going to go nuts when he spotted Ross standing there looking sexy as hell, tempting Kenway in ways that almost made him take Ross right there in the barn.
Thank goodness he had a little more self-control than that. Not much though. Not when every sense in him had gone haywire and all Kenway could think about was claiming the slim man.
He was usually pretty laid back, observed more than he spoke, and wasn’t one to do things on impulse. But Ross was the exception to the rule. The man was an exception to every damn rule Kenway possessed.
His mate had also been starving. The vampire had acted as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Kenway had given the vampire his wrist, but wanted the man to drink from his neck as he fucked the hell out of the slim vampire and claimed him.
Yeah, the man wreaked havoc on every sense of self-control Kenway owned.
Unfortunately, Ross had to get back to his coven before his leader knew he was gone. Kenway didn’t like that. Ross was his mate. That should have been the end of it. But Ross insisted on returning.
He didn’t understand it, but Kenway hadn’t forced his mate to stay.
Now he was five seconds away from driving to the city to go get his mate, but Ross had promised to return. He didn’t want to seem pushy, but fuck if he didn’t miss the man. Kenway ran his hand over his head in frustration, only to remember that he had gone to Heaven’s shop and had all his hair cut off. Now it was just a short crop lying on his head. He still wasn’t sure why he had done it. It felt weird as hell not having his long hair any longer.
“Mind if I catch a ride with you?” Styles asked as he exited the kitchen. “My truck is broken down again.”
“Sure,” Kenway said as he waited for the two cheetahs to get their lazy asses downstairs. He had a feeling he was going to have to go upstairs and get them. With his luck, Paine had gone back to bed. Paine and Steele were excellent hunters, great fighters—the best. The two were good friends to have, but fuck if they weren’t lazy as hell. “I spotted a garage in town. Maybe you could have them tow your truck and take a look at it.”
The coyote shifter shook his head, his lips set in a grim line. “Even if I could afford it, I don’t like being around wolf shifters. Wolves and coyotes haven’t been known to get along from my experience.”
Then why in the hell was Styles asking for a ride into town? Kenway’s morning wasn’t getting off to a great start, so he didn’t even bother to ask. He knew that Styles had a few run-ins with wolf shifters in the past, and they hadn’t been pleasant. But the coyote was living in a town full of them now. He was either going to have to get used to them or…Kenway didn’t know. He didn’t want Styles to leave. The group of them had grown close, and Styles was more like a brother to him.
They originally started out with more shifters in their group. But Spencer’s brother and Recker’s twin brother had been killed when their small community had been attacked by the same wolf shifters that had attacked the Lakeland ranch when they first showed up in Brac Village. This only cemented Styles’s belief that all wolf shifters were the scum of the earth. He was surprised Spencer wasn’t insane by now…or Recker.
But Spencer seemed to have bounced back, somewhat. The little impala shifter had mourned his loss and then had come back to the land of the living. Recker’s mood had only gotten worse. The rhino was paranoid now. He hated strangers and protected the household with a vengeance.
Recker swore Spencer was too small to defend himself and it was his job to keep any more harm from befalling their small group. Kenway wasn’t sure where Recker had gotten that idea, but he didn’t argue with the rhino.
“I’ll go get those two,” Styles said as he jogged up the stairs. Kenway was looking forward to this. Styles would have them out of bed and downstairs in no time flat. The coyote didn’t fuck around.
“I’m going!” Steele shouted from upstairs as Paine raced down the steps.
“I said I was coming. You didn’t have to send Styles upstairs,” Paine complained as he walked out of the side door.
Kenway just chuckled, amused beyond belief by the disgruntled look on the cheetah’s face.
“He’s fucking nuts!” Steele shouted as he raced after his brother.
“Mission accomplished,” Styles said with a very wicked grin on his face as he walked down the steps. “Can we go now?”
“Lead the way,” Kenway said as he walked out behind the man.
The brothers were sitting in the back of Kenway’s blue Chevy truck, their faces tilted back, basking in the rays of the sun. It was pretty damn bright out this morning. Kenway didn’t see a cloud in the sky.
“Why are you going into town?” Styles asked once they climbed into the cab.
“I have to go see Maverick. I want to let him know that we don’t want our own separate places.”
A grim look settled over Styles’s face. None of them wanted to be separated. They had gone through hell and back since forming their little group, and most of the men had a hard time even before that. Paine and Steele had lost their two brothers to a senseless killing before joining their group.
They liked staying together in their hodgepodge little family. He didn’t think the alpha would have a problem with them staying at the Manchester place. It wasn’t a huge house like the Lakelands lived in, and it was a shoebox compared to the mansion the alpha lived in with his extremely large family. But it was home to them now.
And Kenway liked the place.
“Just drop me off at Santiago Cycles.”
Kenway cut his eyes over to Styles. “You know that three wolves own the place, right?”
Styles shrugged as he glanced out of the window. “They’re looking for a bike mechanic. I don’t have to like them to work for them.”
“True, but it helps.” Kenway didn’t get the man. The coyote wasn’t willing to go to the garage in town because it was pack owned, but he would work for three wolves? The guy made no sense to him whatsoever. Kenway knew the hardship Styles had suffered with wolf shifters. He understood why the man felt the way he did. But what he didn’t understand was Styles’s way of thinking sometimes.
Styles turned, grinning at Kenway. Why didn’t he trust that grin? “It just means I won’t have to attend any company functions.”
The dude was strange.
“By the way, Pa Lakeland has invited us over for dinner tonight.”
“Really?” Styles asked, his voice deceptively casual even though Kenway knew the man loved going over there. “I could use a good home-cooked meal.”
“Styles, you get a home-cooked meal every night,” Kenway pointed out. Spencer was a magnificent cook, and made sure they ate well, even if sometimes it was just grilled cheese and soup. The man had a flair when it came to inventing different ways to prepare the same damn thing.
Kenway looked back when Steele tapped on the glass window. “Slow down. There’s a man standing by a truck off to your right.”
Glancing at the direction Steele was pointing to, Kenway saw the man. He was standing in front of his truck, his hood opened. Steering the truck to the side of the road, Kenway parked and then got out.
“Need some help?” Kenway asked as the cheetah shifters jumped from the back of the truck. Kenway wasn’t sure what the brothers were going to do, considering they didn’t know a damn thing about trucks. He didn’t either, but if the man needed a lift, Kenway could at least help in that manner.
“It just stopped on me,” the man said as he looked from the engine to Kenway. “To be honest, I have no idea what I’m looking at.”
Kenway stuck his hand out. “Name’s Kenway. And this is Paine and Steele.”
“Hawk.” The man shook Kenway’s hand. “We’ve fought by each other’s side when that fire-spitting demon showed up, but I’ve never been formally introduced.”
“He’s a wolf,” Styles shouted from the cab of Kenway’s truck. Kenway gave Hawk an uneasy grin, but wanted to walk over to the truck and duct-tape Styles’s mouth shut. He understood the coyote’s dislike of wolves, he really did, but things were different now. These wolves weren’t out to harm them. And they lived in the wolves’ town. They had to play nice.
“That I am.” Hawk nodded. “Can you give me a lift into town?”
“Hell, no,” Styles shouted once again.
“Sure,” Kenway said, shooting a glare at Styles.
The coyote shrugged.
“I think I’ll sit in the back.” Hawk eyed Styles and then climbed in back with Paine and Steele. Kenway wasn’t too sure that was a better option. The brothers were known for playing just a little too much.
Kenway climbed back behind the driver’s seat.
“He’s a wolf,” Styles mumbled.
“Yeah, I heard you shout it loud and clear the first time,” he said as he pulled from the shoulder and headed into town.
Kenway’s head snapped around when he heard a loud
thunk
. Paine was holding his head, and Steele was laughing hysterically.
“What happened?” Kenway shouted to the back.
“P–Paine tried to touch Hawk’s hair.” Steele burst out laughing again. “But I guess Hawk wasn’t having it, because…because he smacked Paine’s head into the w–window.”
Paine was smiling, although he was rubbing the right side of his head. “He has nice hair.”
“Back off, pussycat,” Hawk said with a low, menacing growl.
Kenway chuckled.
Styles growled.
Once they pulled in front of Santiago Cycles, Hawk hopped out. “Thanks, I can get home from here.”
“You’re welcome,” Kenway said as he shook Hawk’s hand and watched Styles slam the truck door, grumbling as he walked into the bike shop. Kenway winced. His truck was manufactured in the sixties. Although it wasn’t in bad shape, abusing the damn thing wasn’t a good idea.
“I take it your friend doesn’t like wolves?” Hawk asked as his eyes grazed over Styles’s retreating form.
Kenway sighed. This was not going to be smooth sailing. “He’s had a bad run-in with them a time or two.” It wasn’t his place to tell Styles’s story. That was for the coyote alone to tell.
“Understandable.” Hawk nodded then looked quizzically at Kenway. “But he does know he lives in a village full of us, right?”
Kenway gave a slight nod of his head, but wished he could just walk away. He hoped Hawk didn’t ask too many more questions. “He does.”
“Well, thanks again,” Hawk said before crossing the street and heading for the diner.
Kenway turned to the two cheetahs. “Start at one end of town and don’t stop until you’re both hired somewhere.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Steele grumbled as he and his brother walked across the street and headed into the diner. Kenway sighed. This was going to be a long morning.