Their Bounty (Four Mercenaries 1)

Clover watched him from behind his glasses with defiance painted all over his face. “With me? What have I done?”

Tank closed the door when Clover entered. “You tell me what you did wrong, boy, and maybe we can work out options other than the belt for you.”

The belt.

Heat burst in Pyro’s head, and he touched the leather strap keeping up his own jeans, before rubbing the grenade-shaped buckle. Despite the pretty pink lips pressing into a thin line and blotches of red splashed over Clover’s face, the boy was still utterly fuckable.

“I’ll gladly teach him a lesson.”

Clover’s eyes went wider. “I didn’t do anything!”

Tank sighed. “You won’t be doing it,” he said to Pyro. “You’ve got a grudge, and punishment isn’t about revenge.”

Clover’s breath hitched, and he hugged himself, for once looking like the picture of innocence. “What ‘punishment’?”

Tank forced Clover’s chin up. “Come on, boy. You know what you did. We talked about respect and honesty. You’ve been a shit to Boar, and now you’re lying about it. I’ve only got so much patience.”

The flush on the pretty face spilled down his graceful neck. “Why do you think it’s me who’s lying? Maybe he’s the perv who wants to see me punished, huh?”

Boar’s head snapped up, and he moved as if he wanted to leave, but Pyro pushed him down and kept him in the chair. He couldn’t believe the audacity of this little prick!

Drake hissed. “I told you he doesn’t deserve our help.”

Tank’s face was going red with anger, and Pyro didn’t miss his fists clamping down on air. There was only so long any of them would allow Clover to keep up this pathetic charade.

“Makes sense. We should believe a boy we barely know over a trusted friend.”

Clover stilled, silent for endless seconds. Pyro had no idea what new lies could be popping up in his head. “Fine,” he said in the end. “Seeing as I can’t convince you, what do you want from me?”

Pyro approached Clover and yanked at his T-shirt, practically tossing him at Boar. “Apologize!”

Clover yelped, and it infuriated Pyro beyond what was reasonable that the little shit looked to Tank for salvation. Like his attitude wasn’t bad enough, did he now want to break down the bonds that kept their group in one piece? Because if Tank got soft on Clover and sided with him over this, the trust the four of them had built across years of working together would be marred by a deep crack.

With no help coming from Tank though, Clover turned to Pyro, eyes fierce despite the constant motion of his pupils. “Or what?”

“There is no other way, Clover,” Tank said. “Apology or the belt. Or we’re kicking you out, and you can see how you like having to fend for yourself.”

That gave Clover the pause Pyro wanted to see. His face was getting redder by the second, and his pale eyes pulsated left and right at an increased pace. But then, the pretty, fuckable lips paled further. Pyro wished he wasn’t so obsessed with the boy’s appearance, because lusting for someone so obtuse was driving him mad.

“The belt then,” Clover said, looking straight at Pyro, who wanted to tackle him then and there.

“I’m gonna snap your fucking neck!” he growled, but Tank pulled him back before the surprise on Clover’s face could have turned into full-on terror.

Tank pulled his belt out of the loops in a languid move, as if to give Clover yet more time to change his mind. Since Clover didn’t move and just stood there with his arms crossed, Tank gestured at the table.

“Pants down, palms on the table.”

Boar scowled, averting his gaze, as if he didn’t even want to participate in this. But fuck that. It wasn’t Boar who should be ashamed of his actions or pulling back! They’d been far too lenient with the pretty, sexy, slutty piece of shit. Fucker looked like an angel but was devil’s spawn.

Clover’s gaze briefly met his, and he faced the table, opening his pants at a pace so slow one might think he wanted to tease more force out of Tank. Pyro had enough.

He stepped closer and yanked the jeans and underwear all the way to Clover’s knees. The boy yelped and looked back over his shoulder, triggering the memory of the last time he did that when they were fucking, mouth still dripping with Boar’s spunk.

“I was doing it!” Clover complained with his teeth bared, but at least he was losing some of that false dignity, because one could only remain calm for so long while waiting for a beating with his ass bare.

“Oh, really? This isn’t a strip show. Didn’t you say it yourself? We have a transaction going, and you broke the rules,” Pyro said, twisting back Clover’s arms with such ease it gave him a thrill despite the unpleasantness of this situation.