Page 2 of Claimed By Two Alphas

Joshua was just as tall as his brother, only his hair was a bit lighter. Tattoos peeked out past his shirt, right over his collarbone. Too many times I’d wondered how far down that tattoo went, dreaming of him completely naked so I could find out.

His personality was opposite Delvin’s. Joshua was more laidback, whereas Delvin always looked as if he was expecting trouble. He was far more serious, a scowl on his face most of the time. Joshua smiled more, joked with customers, ever at the ready to charm someone when two people looked as if their tempers were heating. Delvin just kicked those people out, but Joshua always found a way to defuse the situation.

“Yeah, we’re pretty slow tonight,” Joshua said. “Go ahead and take your break. I’ll get Janie to take over your table.”

“No, I can finish,” I insisted. The two might have given me a lot of leeway, but I didn’t want them to think I couldn't do my job. Work in Hungry was scarce. That was why I’d taken a job at Bailey’s in the first place. I knew the torture I would endure with so many people, that my mind would never be quiet during a shift, but I needed the money.

Joshua slid a hand down my back, making my insides riot with need. I wasn’t so sure I was in love with the brothers, but I was definitely in lust with them. I’d just been too chicken to do anything about it. They were my bosses, and if things went south, I didn’t want to lose my job.

It was the only way I could live on my own. I loved my family, but no way did I want to move back in with my parents. What grown person wanted that?

Joshua plucked my order pad from my hands. “You can get this back when you’re done with your break.”

As soon as their hands left me, Misty’s thoughts slammed into my head. I sucked in a deep beath and let it out slowly, trying my best not to listen to how she fretted over potty training her two-year-old and why her loser boyfriend wasn’t helping with the training.

“Are you taking a break outside?” Joshua asked.

Her thoughts felt like someone whispering in my ear nonstop. I pressed my hand to my right ear, trying to block her out, though I knew that wouldn’t work because she wasn’t really whispering to me. Her thoughts were.

“Shane?” Joshua frowned. “Come on. I’ll go on break with you so we can both get some fresh air.”

He grabbed my hand, and Misty vanished from my mind. I let out a long breath and gripped Joshua’s hand tighter. We might not have been busy, but there were still plenty of people I had to pass by in order to get outside.

One of those people was a prominent businessman, Mr. Porter. He owned half the businesses in Hungry, and he was as rotten as a person could get. He was as shady as an overcast day.

As soon as I was outside, I breathed in the humid air, letting myself relax as I pulled my hand away from Joshua’s. To the right of the building was a large oak tree, Spanish moss dripping from it like webs. Under the tree was a wooden bench, and I walked to it and took a seat.

Joshua joined me. I knew why the brothers never let me out of their sight. They feared Nezat would return and kidnap me again. Honestly, I’d never learned why that demon had wanted me in the first place. No one had ever told me, even if it was Delvin and Joshua who had saved me. That night was a big blur. I’d come to the conclusion that my mind had been protecting me, blanking out most of what had happened.

But now every shadow frightened me. If the Bailey brothers hadn’t lived next door to me, I might have lost it. Not that I’d ever been in their home, but just knowing they were right there next to me brought me a level of comfort.

They even owned a wolf. I’d seen it many times at night. He would lay in my backyard, as if he was my protector instead of theirs. Joshua had introduced me to the wolf one night, told me not to be afraid of him, and had even gotten me to pet the thing.

He’d said the wolf’s name was Ashford, which I thought was a strange name for a pet, but whatever. I’d stopped wondering about oddities a long time ago.

Now, some nights, I would go outside and sit with Ashford, feeling safe with a wolf next to me. I would tell him things I wouldn’t have told another living soul or simply relax, looking up at the stars. Thing was Ashford had the same dark blue eyes as its owners.

“How’s your headaches tonight?” Joshua stretched out, crossing his ankles and resting his entwined fingers over his flat stomach. I wished I was brave enough to tell him how I truly felt about him and Delvin. But I wasn’t, and what would he think of me when I confessed that I wanted both of them?

Sure, rumors said Dillon was shacked up with two men—and the people spreading those rumors thought it was such a scandal—and I was pretty sure the owner of Casey’s Café was seeing his two employees.

At least, that was what the gossip mill said.

I’d gone to high school with Dillon and Casey but had never been close to them. I wasn’t even sure if the rumors were true. That was the thing about small towns. People were so damn bored that they were always up in your business. Hungry, Louisiana, was a tiny town, just a blip on the map, a place most people outside of this place had never heard of.

I’d dreamed of leaving here, of striking out on my own, but the thought of even more voices bombarding me scared me enough that I’d put those dreams to rest. If it was almost too much in this Podunk town, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in a city.

The thought terrified me.

“My headache is better tonight.” I curled one leg under me, watching a couple of guys get out of a truck and head inside. Two women came out and went their separate ways.

“Come here.”

I scooted closer, turned, and sighed when Joshua rubbed my temples. I wasn’t going to deny that exhilaration shot through me, a course of electricity that made my body hum.

That was another thing about Delvin and Joshua. Whenever my “headaches” became too much, one of them would pull me into their shared office and massage my temples.

Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah. I didn’t really have headaches. But as soon as they pulled me into their office, the voices stopped. That was part of the enjoyment. The other part was them touching me. Joshua would always stand behind the chair I was seated in, some part of his body touching mine. Delvin sat in front of me, his arms outstretched, his muscles flexing, our knees tapping together.

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