The Recruit: Book One (9 page)

“Hannah – “ Richard tried to interrupt her but she carried
on, speaking even faster. 

“Besides, it was an unfair fight.  There’s no way I could
have beaten Will in hand-to-hand combat.  None of us could – he’s a Lycan for
God’s sake.”

She paused.  “Wait...what did you say?”

Richard laughed.  “I said congratulations - you passed.”

Hannah’s mouth dropped open and she stared at him.  “I
passed?  Are you – are you sure?”

He laughed again.  “Very.”

“Thank you.”  Hannah said thinly.  Her heart was pounding,
sending blood rushing through her body.  “Richard, thank you so much.”

He shrugged.  “Don’t thank me.  Will, Mannie and Isabelle
are the ones who have the final say on whether you pass or not.”

She stood up on legs that were still shaking but Richard
held his hand up.  “One last thing Hannah.  How did you know Will’s a Lycan?”

“I’m sorry – what?”  She stuttered, trying to buy some time.

“A Lycan.  How did you know Will is a Lycan?  He normally
doesn’t tell the recruits until they’ve moved on to the weapons training.”

“Oh um, I just kind of figured it out.  You know...after the
lessons from Isabelle and stuff.”  She said lamely.

Richard stared at her.  She knew he didn’t believe her but
he let it go.  “Very well.  Go back to your friends and tell them the good
news.  It’s been a while since every recruit in a group has moved on to the
next level so you’ll have extra to celebrate tonight.”

“Celebrate?”

He grinned.  “It’s tradition.  We give the babies a break
from their training, and give them an evening off outside of the facility. 
Enjoy yourself; it’ll be the last break you get for a very long time.”

She nodded and walked composedly out of his office.  She
shut the door and stood quietly in the hallway for a moment with her eyes
closed.  She took a deep breath and then broke into a hip-gyrating, pelvis-thrusting,
arms-waving-wildly-over-her-head dance. 

Grinning hugely she opened her eyes and jumped when she saw
Will standing two feet away.

“Jesus!  Stop sneaking up on me.”  She scowled.

He grinned at her.  “Nice moves.”

She gave him a sour look and started to push past him.

He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to a stop.  “I hear
congratulations are in order.”

She scowled at him again.  “Yeah, no thanks to you.”

The smile dropped from his face.  “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb, Will.”  She hissed, yanking her arm free. 
“You intentionally tried to sabotage me by forcing me to fight you in the
combat training.  No human would have been able to beat you.  You set me up for
failure.”

“I can assure you that was not my intention.”  He said
dryly.

“Oh really?  Then why did you step in yesterday?  Hmm?”  Her
face was completely pale except for two red spots high on her cheekbones. Her
absolute fury with him had turned her usual soft and pretty features into a
ruthless and cold type of beauty.

He took a deep breath and tried to remember how incredibly
inappropriate it would be to kiss her right now.  He took a few steps
backwards, wanting to put some space between them.  She followed him, her body
nearly touching his, and he backed up again until he felt the wall against his
back.

“Well?  I’m waiting.”  She said coolly.

“I thought it would be good for you.”  He lied.  “Thought
you could use the extra challenge.”

“Fuck you.”  She said scornfully.

“You already have – remember?”  He dropped his gaze to her mouth
and she punched him solidly in the chest.  He looked back up at her, barely
feeling the blow, and his nostrils flared at the look in her eyes.  The anger
was still there, but underneath it was an emotion he recognized well.  It was
the same thing he felt every time he even thought of Hannah – lust, desire, and
need.

He glanced both ways down the hallway.  Although he was
aching to kiss her, four feet outside of Richard’s office in a busy corridor
was definitely not the time or place. 

“This is not a good idea, Hannah.”  He mimicked her from
earlier, and she gave him a decidedly shark-like grin and leaned closer.

“What’s not a good idea, Will?”  She asked softly.  “This?”

She ran her fingers over his mouth, making him inhale
sharply.  “Or maybe this?”  

She raised his hand to her lips and sucked his index finger
into her mouth.  He groaned loudly and snatched his hand free.

“Stop that.”  He muttered.  As Hannah leaned closer,
pressing her breasts against his chest, he rolled his hands into fists at his side. 
For the first time in his life he felt like the prey, and it was making him
decidedly uncomfortable.

“You don’t like this?”  She ran her fingers over his cheek. 
There was no mark or bruise to indicate where she had head butted him.  “You
seem to be a fast healer.”

“It’s a Lycan thing.”  He muttered again.  “Listen, Richard
is going to come walking out of his office at any moment.”

She slipped her hands under his shirt and across his flat
abdomen before trailing them through the hair on his chest.  Her thumb brushed
across one flat nipple and a quiet moan escaped his lips.

She grinned again and circled her thumb around his nipple. 
“We’ll just tell him we’re having a grudge match – winner takes all.”

She pinched his nipple and he grabbed her around the hips
and yanked her against him.  She could feel his erection pushing against her
and she stretched up, tilting her head until her lips were nearly touching his.

“How are your balls by the way?”  She breathed with
amusement in her voice.

His eyes popped open and he glared at her.  “I spent the
night with an ice pack on my crotch - thanks to you.”

“Poor baby.”  She smiled innocently.  “Hopefully it won’t
affect any future bedroom performances.”

“Why don’t you come back to my room, and I’ll show you
exactly how well I can perform.”  He growled.  He tried to kiss her but she
pulled her head back.

“Richard, remember?”  She glanced at the closed door to
Richard’s office.  “What would he think if he came out here and saw you kissing
me?  Our grudge match cover story would be blown.” 

She ran her hands down the bare skin of his back and then
over his ass, squeezing it firmly through his jeans.

“Come back to my room with me, Hannah.”  He paused.  “Please.”

She smiled again.  “Maybe I could make up for hitting you in
the crotch yesterday?” 

She licked his upper lip lightly and quickly.  “In fact, maybe
it would help if I kissed it better.”

His hands dug painfully into her hips, and she glanced at
him just in time to see his eyes change from their light blue to the now-familiar
golden yellow in an instant.  She could almost see the beard thickening on his
cheeks and chin and, with a hard look of satisfaction, she tore free from his
grip.

“Sorry, Will.”  She sauntered away from him and down the
hall.  “I just remembered I have a previous engagement tonight.  I’m
celebrating with my friends.”

She winked at him and exited the hallway. 

“To the babies!  Who, after tonight, will no longer be the
babies.”  Mannie held up his shot glass of tequila and the others followed
suit.  They clinked and quickly swallowed the amber liquid.  Selena made a face
and quickly bit into her lemon half.

“Ugh.  Now I remember why I don’t drink tequila.”  She
choked out.

Hannah laughed.  The tequila was burning a warm path down
her throat and into her chest.  She rarely drank and after only two beers and two
shots of tequila, she was already feeling pleasantly tipsy.

“Another round!”  Mannie roared.  He, Tyler and Frank headed
to the bar to order another round.

Hannah glanced around the bar.  Mannie had loaded them into
a van shortly after supper, and they had driven nearly an hour to the small,
dusty bar.  It was a country bar with garish neon signs on the wall and a
decidedly redneck vibe to it.  It was only eight o’clock but the place was
already nearly full.  It was an odd combination of young women in short skirts,
men who were barely old enough to drink, and good old boys.  There was a small stage
in the far corner of the bar, and a dance floor barely big enough for ten
people.  Four guys in cowboy hats had taken the stage about half an hour ago, and
were playing a mixture of classic rock and country.

“I wonder why Mannie brought us here.”  Hannah said loudly
to Selena.

Jeremy leaned forward.  “So we don’t run into family or
friends.”

Hannah blinked at him.  She had never thought of the others
and what their back stories were.  She had been too wrapped up in her
depression over the loss of Sara.

She leaned towards Selena.  “Does your family think you’re
dead?”

Selena shook her head.  “No.  I was in the military before
this – special ops.  They think I’m currently deep undercover in the Middle
East.  I’ll be ‘overseas’ for at least a year.”

Hannah looked at Jeremy and Alison.  Jeremy shrugged and
took a gulp of beer.

“I’m not close to my parents.  Gave them a lot of trouble
when I was a teenager – drugs and alcohol, some jail time that sort of thing. 
I cleaned up my act in my early twenties and joined the marines, but by then
they were finished with me.  I haven’t spoken to them in at least three years.”

Alison leaned in and spoke loudly over the sound of the
music blaring from the band.  “My parents died in a car accident when I was
just a baby.  I was raised by my aunt – she died when I was eighteen.”

“I’m sorry, Alison.”  Hannah replied.

She shrugged.  “Shit happens.”

Jeremy draped his arm casually over Hannah’s shoulders and
smiled at her.  “What about you?  What’s your story?”

Before she could answer, Mannie and the others were back and
carrying more shots of tequila.

“Now we must drink!”  Frank shouted, and the table of
cowboys sitting next to them glanced over and frowned.

“No more for me.”  Hannah held up her hands but Tyler
slammed a shot glass down in front of her anyway.

“No way, Hannah.  You’re getting just as drunk as the rest
of us.”  He grinned at her as Frank and Mannie handed out the rest of the
glasses.

“He’s right, HB.”  Jeremy grinned at her.  “Besides, you
haven’t even done a tequila shot properly yet.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Selena giggled.  Her tanned skin was flushed and covered
with a fine sheen of perspiration. 

“Like this!”  She scooted over to Frank and tipped his head
to the side.  She doused the side of his neck with salt and popped a lemon half
into his mouth.

“Hold still, Frank.”  She giggled and turned back to
Hannah.  “It’s simple, Hannah – you lick, drink and suck.  Watch.”

Hannah watched as Selena leaned forward and licked Frank’s
neck with her small, pink tongue.  She drank the shot of tequila in one gulp,
slammed the shot glass to the table and used her mouth to pull the lemon from
Frank’s mouth.  She sucked on it, her face squinching up as the others cheered
and pounded the table.

“My turn!”  Jeremy turned to Hannah and tilted her head to
the side with gentle hands.  He swept her hair back and sprinkled salt at the
base of her neck.  He carefully placed the lemon wedge in her mouth, and
grinned at her before bending his head and licking her neck.

Hannah shivered at the feel of his warm wet tongue.  Jeremy
quickly downed the tequila and then leaned in to pull the lemon from her
mouth.  He let his lips rest on hers and Hannah casually loosened her grip on
the lemon wedge.  Jeremy had to grip it with his teeth and pull away to hang on
to it.

He sucked on the sour juice and then put the lemon wedge on
the table.  “Your turn, Hannah.”  He gave her a wicked grin and handed her the
shaker of salt.

She had just shaken salt on his neck when Mannie yelled
delightedly, “Will!  You bastard!  What are you doing here?”

She looked up to see Will crossing the crowded bar.  He was
wearing a leather jacket over a long sleeved shirt with his usual jeans and
cowboy boots.

“Mannie.”  Will nodded as Selena pulled out the chair beside
her.  With a small nod of thanks he dropped in to the chair beside her.

Mannie handed him a shot glass and Will took it, his gaze
settling on Hannah.  She stared stiffly back and Jeremy frowned a little.

“Hannah?  It’s your turn.”  He put a wedge of lemon in his
mouth and handed her the shot glass of tequila.

“What’s going on?”  Will asked casually.

“We’re teaching Hannah how to do tequila shots properly.”  Selena
giggled up at him.  “She doesn’t know how to lick and suck.”

Hannah flushed and gave Selena a dirty look before Jeremy
squeezed her arm.  “I’m waiting.” He mumbled around the lemon wedge.

Butterflies in her stomach, ignoring the steady gaze of Will
across the table, Hannah licked the salt from Jeremy’s neck as he snuck his arm
around her waist.  She swallowed the tequila quickly, shivering a little at the
taste, and reached for the lemon in Jeremy’s mouth.  Before she could grab it
with her mouth, Jeremy let it fall to his lap and kissed her.  He cupped her
face and tightened his grip around her waist. 

Completely surprised by the move, Hannah made no protest
when he deepened the kiss.  He stroked her tongue gently with his as the others
whooped and hollered and pounded their fists against the table.

Hannah pulled herself free and pounded Jeremy lightly on the
chest with her fist.  “Jeremy, you asshole!”  She sputtered.

He winked at her.  “You taste good, Hannah Banana.”

She stared down at the table, willing herself not to look up
at Will.  She could feel his gaze burning into the top of her skull, and after
only a few seconds she looked up.  He was staring at her, his mouth set in a
thin line, and she could see a muscle in his jaw ticking.  He picked up a shot
of tequila and downed it quickly, slamming the glass back down on the table before
continuing to stare at her.  She flushed and glanced away.