Their Bounty (Four Mercenaries 1)

Boar’s mouth was full, but he still brightened like the sun itself. “I had nowhere to go, and found him sleeping in the street. He invited me to this place where he was staying. We hit it off, and he pulled me into the shit he was doing. Dealing, burglaries, and all that. It was a whirlwind romance,” he said, gazing at the sky.

Clover couldn’t help but smile at the blissful expression on Boar’s face. He wasn’t sure what Boar meant when he said he’d had nowhere to go, but he didn’t feel it was his place to pry. “Go on, spill the details.”

Boar slurped more of his milkshake. “Once, for New Year’s Eve, I told him I never used fireworks myself, so he stole some from a neighbor to impress me. But when he set them off, he fucked up. You noticed he’s got one finger missing? That’s why. Called him pyromaniac ever since.”

Clover curled his knees up to his chest. He’d love for someone to do that for him. Maybe it was a morbid story, with the finger loss and all, but also weirdly romantic in a way only Pyro and Boar could be. “The most romantic thing my ex ever did for me was remember I don’t like pickles on my burgers.”

Boar laughed but continued to eat. “That’s how you know they really care. When they remember the little things. When they do nice things for you. Pyro might be bat-shit crazy sometimes, but he cares for his people. You can trust him.”

Clover shrugged. “If I learned anything about the world, it’s to trust no one. The pickle guy cheated on me, and Jerry, my boss, landlord, and friend, sold me to human traffickers, so yeah, I don’t expect much of people anymore. No expectations, no problem.”

Boar’s arm rested across his shoulders, providing warmth that couldn’t close the wounds Clover had sustained, but it did make him feel better in the moment. “People are dicks. My family were. They rejected me when I came out.”

Clover turned to him and put away the cup. “I’m so sorry.” He leaned against Boar and hugged him. At times like these he was happy to be an orphan, because being rejected after growing up with a family would have been so much worse than being abandoned as a baby.

Boar laughed and patted Clover’s head. “It’s fine. I don’t need them anymore. In fact, I have all the people I need with me at all times,” he said, finishing his burger. We even have this place in Oregon. It’s... well, it’s Tank’s. But also ours.”

That piqued Clover’s interest. He crawled into Boar’s lap. “What place? A gay oasis you have constant orgies at?”

Boar’s arms closed around him, as if he’d been waiting for this all along. He still smelled of the hot chocolate he’d had in the morning, and Clover briefly shut his eyes, listening to the whisper of the leaves around them, and to Boar’s breathing. This arrangement was too good to be true, yet Clover wanted nothing more than to fall into this dream where all of them lived together in bliss and he wanted for nothing.

“It’s this house out of town. Close enough to all the bars and shopping but far away enough that we have space. It’s... large and modern. You’d enjoy it,” Boar said, petting Clover’s thigh.

Clover knew he’d never get to see it, that they would part sometime soon, but why not indulge in the fantasy? “I could visit you one day. I love to travel. I’ve got this whole list of obscure museums I wanna visit.”

“Then you need a driver,” Boar said, gently hugging Clover while their milkshakes melted. But that was okay. The tender embrace was sweet enough to satisfy Clover’s cravings. “I love going to see new places.”

Clover denied the butterflies in his stomach when Boar looked at him with so much affection. The mean voice at the back of Clover’s head told him what this was about.

They’re empty promises.

He just wants to fuck you.

He doesn’t mean what he’s saying.

He wants to manipulate you.

Clover swallowed and wrapped his arms around Boar’s neck, slowly rocking in his lap. This was easy. This he understood. He leaned in for a kiss. He’d never kissed a bearded guy before he met Boar.

He swallowed Boar’s moan, and the expert way with which warm hands danced up and down Clover’s sides proved that he understood where Clover was going with this. This was probably his reason for taking Clover here in the first place, but the touch still felt nice. In the shadow of the tree, the sun wasn’t as adverse to Clover, but Boar’s body heat was enough to make the T-shirt he wore obsolete.

They didn’t talk much, their mouths and tongues busier by the minute, and when they were both naked, Clover met Boar’s gaze, slicking his dick with the lube they’d gotten at the store. The cock fit so well in Clover’s fist, so hard Clover itched for it to fill him already.