Alpha Delicious

Alpha Delicious (Box Set)
Kate Hill
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Kate Hill
Excerpt from Puppies Bite

Geri stretched out on a flat, sun-warmed rock by the edge of the lake. It had been too long since she had a chance to relax like this. Due to her career she spent most of her time in the city, but she enjoyed vacationing in the country. She and her friend, Dee, had been planning this weekend for months. It was almost like they were kids again -- no business worries, no hustle and bustle and best of all no men.

Geri had split up with her fiancé over a year ago and she still felt like she'd just made parole. Thinking back on her life to when she'd first noticed the magnetism of the opposite sex, she wished it had never happened. Men were nothing but trouble. In her experience, they were all high-maintenance egomaniacs who ignored you when they had you and stalked you when you finally kicked them to the curb.

"Geri! Hey you should come in the water. It's great," shouted Dee from where she swam several feet from the shore.

"No thanks. All I want is some sun and sleep," Geri said.

"Nothing like a swim to wake you up in the morning."

"I just said I don't want to wake up. I want to go back to sleep."

Dee had always been the jock. Her idea of a vacation was waking at the crack of dawn and jogging through the woods. At that time, Geri had still been curled in her sleeping bag, grateful that she didn't have to fight traffic to get to a meeting on time. Not that Geri didn't like to get in some exercise for her general health, but Dee took workouts to an extreme, which probably explained why she had once been among the best female mixed martial artists in the country.

Geri once again closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the feel of the sun on her bikini-clad body. It had been so long since she'd worn a bikini. Brandon had made her feel so self-conscious, always gawking at the scrawny model types. She'd finally said, "Fuck it, if that's what you want then go get it, pal and while you're at it stay out of my life." Geri had curves. She had brains and it was about time she started using them in her personal life, not just in business. It was only after they'd broken up that she learned he'd not only ogled other women, but had a wife and another girlfriend hidden away.

Dee had been her biggest supporter during that depressing time when she'd learned the truth about her fiancé.

"Hey! Help! Geri!"

Geri shot to a sitting position and stared toward the middle of the lake where Dee struggled in the churning water. Strangely, the rest of the water was calm.

"Shit!" Geri sprang to her feet and jumped into the river, swimming as fast as she could toward her friend. Her heart pounded and the thought crossed her mind that if Dee was in trouble and she was the athletic one, how the hell was she going to fight the water and rescue her?

The current grabbed hold of Geri and she tried to fight it. By now she was close enough to touch Dee. The women reached for each other before they were sucked beneath the surface.

Geri panicked. She couldn't breathe. The water dragged her so fast that she was forced to close her eyes and spin in the cold, wet blackness.

They were going to die. She knew it.

Then a tremendous forced hurled them past the surface of the water. She kicked her feet, gasped and choked. Blinking water from her eyes she glanced around and saw Dee a short distance away. They screamed as the force of the rough water pushed them downriver. Somewhere in the back of her mind, past the terror and confusion, it struck Geri that their surroundings had changed completely. Most of the trees had disappeared, replaced by grassy fields. She thought she saw a group of half-naked men fighting on the shore, but she didn't have time to stare. Just ahead the river dropped severely to what had to be a waterfall.

She screamed louder, as if that would help. At least it made her feel better.

Iron danced and ducked, dodging his brother's powerful punches and kicks that could easily knock him into oblivion, should they actually connect with his body. This sparring match was a classic example of speed versus power, but that's what made them such an unstoppable team -- they were the best of the best in their branch of the gladiatorial games.

"I'm going to knock your teeth out when I get you, you skinny bastard!" Rock growled, jabbing his fist toward Iron's face. Shit. That was almost too close.

Iron danced around Rock and curled his lip in a sneer that never failed to piss his brother off. "When you get me? You mean if you get me, lardass!"

Taunting Rock further, Iron darted behind him and kicked him in the butt. Rock spun and this time his fist grazed Iron's cheek, staggering him. He recovered quickly and attacked Rock with several speedy kicks that Rock blocked and dodged.

Iron was about to shout another jibe, but the sound of screaming brought their match to a halt. The brothers glanced toward the river and saw that a small boat belonging to a couple of females had toppled over in the fierce water. The women screamed, then disappeared beneath the surface.

Rock bolted for the water, Iron close behind him.

"Stupid women!" Iron snapped. "What the hell were they doing out there anyway?"

"Hurry up!" Rock shouted, leaping into the water. "I see them ahead."

"They're moving toward the cascade!"

Iron and Rock swam hard, fighting the current. Good thing they were accustomed to swimming in the river as part of their endurance training.

As Rock reached for one of the drowning women, Iron swam for the other and managed to grab hold of her. They headed for the shore and when they reached the shallow water, all four dropped to their knees, panting.

"Hey." Iron brushed the woman's long, dark blond hair aside as she coughed and sputtered. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she gasped, lifting her blue gaze to his.

A strange feeling swept over him and his cock and gut tightened simultaneously. She was the cutest female he'd ever seen and very different. Most Amazurian women were tall and stout. She was rather short and though she wasn't stout, she certainly had curves. Her swimming attire was also strange.

It took him a moment to realize she was staring at him with the same stunned expression.

Finally, she said, "Thanks for pulling me out of there. I don't know what happened. One minute I was swimming and the next there was a whirlpool and..." She glanced around, her brow furrowed. "And where the hell am I?"

"You don't know?"

She must have struck her head on one of the rocks. Gently feeling her scalp, he asked, "Does that hurt?"

"No." Again those lovely blue eyes stared into his and he dropped his hand. No matter how innocent she looked, she was still a woman and no female could be trusted. "My friend and I were camping and...we couldn't have been dragged this far downriver. There was no place like this in our area. What is this place?"

She glanced toward the gladiators on the distant training field and the barracks on the hillside.

"Dee, what's going on?" asked the dark-haired woman whom Rock had pulled out of the water.

"I'd kinda like to know myself," Rock said, wiping water from his face.

"I don't know, Geri, but I think I'm seeing double," said the pretty blond -- Dee -- as she glanced from Iron to Rock.

"No you're not, unless I am too," Geri said.

Rock's brow furrowed. "You know, these women don't look at all like the scientists who went out in the boat earlier."

Iron couldn't disagree with that. Then he recalled something that might turn out to be important. "Weren't they doing research about a great hole in this lake?"

Wrinkling her nose, Dee asked, "What's a great hole?"

"A very rare portal between two worlds," Iron explained, glancing from one woman to the other. "You're both bleeding from the rocks. Come on." He stood and offered Dee his hand. She grasped it and he tugged her to her feet.

His cock stirred at the sight of her small, shapely body.

"We'll get you cleaned up and then try to figure out what's going on," Rock said, reaching for Geri's hand.

She jerked away from him, rose to her feet and said, "We don't even know who you guys are. Just tell us if there's a telephone around here."

A what?

Iron glanced at Rock who looked just as perplexed by the woman's strange request.

"How about a police station?" asked Dee.

"This is a training facility," Iron explained. "If you want those cuts treated, you'd better come with us."

"Names would be nice," said the brown-haired woman.

"I'm Ironflanks and this is my brother, Rockbottom."

Both women looked even more surprised, then quirky smiles played around their lips.

"You're kidding, right?" Geri asked.

These were the most peculiar women they'd ever met. What was their problem?

"You can call me Rock and him Iron for short. Let's go."

"Why not?" Dee shrugged. "Doesn't look like we have much choice."

Iron led the way toward the house he and Rock shared. Living in the barracks would have been cheaper, but far more restrictive. Sure, they were saving to buy one-way tickets off Amazurn, but they weren't going to sacrifice everything in the meantime. In the barracks, men lived bellybutton to ass. Lights out two hours after sundown. Bad laundry facilities and no kitchen privileges so it was either eat in the city or choke down mess hall food. With Iron's strict diet, he wanted to enjoy his food, not spend his calories on crap.

"You're Geri, right?" Rock asked and Iron knew his brother was merely trying to start a conversation with the brunette.

Iron raised his eyes to the heavens. He knew when his brother was interested in a woman and there was no missing the signs. Rock's lips had curved into a grin and he straightened his broad shoulders even more.

Not again.

Rock couldn't seem to get it through his head that women were nothing but trouble. He always gave them the benefit of the doubt and ended up getting kicked in the teeth for it. Iron was the opposite. Screw him once and that was the only chance you got. He made a point to learn from his mistakes the first time, and that was regarding every part of his life, not just the opposite sex.

Geri took a few steps, then moaned softly and limped.

"Are you all right?" Dee asked, approaching her friend, but Rock had already slipped an arm around the brunette.

Glancing at him warily, Geri said, "I must have sprained my ankle."

"Can you make it?" Dee asked.

"Like you said, what choice do we have?" Geri limped a few more steps before Rock swept her into his arms.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, though she instinctively grasped his neck.

"Carrying you."

"I can see that. I mean don't you ask first?"

"You prefer to walk?"

"No... I mean yes. I don't even know you."

"We're not getting married. I'm just giving you a lift to the house."