Page 4 of Claimed By Two Alphas

Dear lord, the way Joshua said that was too perfect, all sultry, his voice deeper than it normally was. Those three words sent shivers through me. I had to get away from him before I did something I would regret.

Like throw myself at him.

“I guess I should get back to work.” I shot off the bench like my ass was on fire and made a beeline for the front door, leaving Joshua and my dirty thoughts behind me.

Chapter Two

Delvin

An hour after Shane came in from his break, I noticed how tight his features were. He stood at a table of five, order pad in hand, but his eyes were closed and his breathing seemed a bit shallow from the way his chest rose and fell too quickly.

I’d noticed that the first night he’d started. How sometimes he would seize up and freeze in place, his eyes shut, his lips in a flat line, his body tense. Worried, I’d asked him what was wrong, and he’d confessed that he suffered from severe headaches. Maybe hiring him hadn’t been a good idea, but when I’d touched his arm to tell him to go to my office, my wolf had whimpered.

Fucking whimpered, which my wolf normally never did. I’d known that night that Shane was someone special, so instead of firing him, I’d massaged his temples. Now that was a given anytime he worked.

Then Nezat had kidnapped Shane, letting me and my brother know he was a breeder. A human who could get pregnant if he found his mates. Since then I wondered if Joshua and I were Shane’s mates, because damn, my feelings had only grown stronger for the guy since that discovery.

Was Shane our mate? There was only one way to find out. Have sex with him. Too bad he kept us at arm’s length. No matter how openly I flirted with him, he would run away so fast he could have been a track star.

Unable to stand it any longer, I called Janie over. “I need you to take over for Shane tonight.”

The look on her face said she didn’t want to do it, but she said, “Sure, Delvin.”

Joshua and I employed six servers. Two were only parttime. They came in on weekends when things were chaotic. Bailey’s Bar and Grille was the go-to place for the residents, a way to unwind and watch sports on the eight flat screens that were mounted on the walls. Joshua and I had busted our asses to achieve the great atmosphere Bailey’s had.

There were other places in town to go, like Casey’s Café, but whereas Casey closed at ten, we stayed open until two in the morning. There were enough residents that we weren’t in competition, and I liked it that way. Casey was a sweet guy, and I didn’t want any bad blood between us.

I’d even become friends with Jack and Ken, two of Casey’s employees, who happened to be bear shifters. They’d blown into town about seven months ago. We hadn’t become friends until the night the humans were taken and Lucas and Mikhia York had enlisted our help to find them.

Since then, we’d kept in touch, helping each other when the need would arise. They’d even come into Bailey’s a time or two, and I’d sat with them, enjoying their company.

Janie walked over and smiled at Shane, though it was strained. She shooed him away and took over the table. Shane frowned and looked my way. I crooked a finger, and he made his way to me.

“Yeah?”

My gaze slid to his lips. I’d wanted to kiss him from day one. Too many times I’d witnessed Shane licking them, moistening them, and fuck, my imagination had gone wild. Like it was doing right now. “My office.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Shane wrung his hands in front of me, pressing against his half-apron with our logo on it.

Instead of answering him, I walked to the kitchen then opened the door to the office I shared with Joshua. “Have a seat.”

Shane was right behind me, almost on my back, then walked in with his head down as if he was entering the principal’s office. I hid a smile as I closed the door behind me. “They’re pretty bad tonight.”

Shane’s head shot up, his eyes wide, as he gazed at me. “I swear I can do my job!”

“Calm down. I’m not firing you.” I eased into the chair behind the desk, bothered that Shane was suffering. I hated to see the guy in so much pain. If there was anything I could do to erase them, I would have done it in a heartbeat.

Shane had been working for us for about three months. In those three months, I’d come to care about the guy. Sure, I was sexually attracted to Shane, but it was more than that. Joshua was into Shane, as well. I couldn’t recall a time when we hadn’t shared a bed partner. It was just the way shifters were, as far as I knew. Not that shifters went around sharing our sexual encounters, but I’d seen my fair share of menage couples to know it was more often the norm for us.

Even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have cared. Joshua and I wanted Shane. Wanted him so much that it was driving us crazy not to have him. I even camped out on Shane’s lawn at night, watching over him since I knew Nezat would be back. The demon had resurfaced for a second time, only taking Casey, but that was proof enough that Nezat hadn’t given up his plan on sleeping with the breeders and creating his army so he could enslave mankind.

Fucking megalomaniac.

“Then why did you call me into your office?” Shane’s dark brows were pulled close, and his hands were clasped in his lap. “I don’t understand, Delvin.”

“I’m thinking maybe I should take you home so you can get some rest.” And that would give me time with Shane. Some alone time. I had to think of some way to kickstart a relationship with the guy. I was getting blue balls waiting for some kind of signal from Shane. I normally didn’t wait around for the other person to make the first move. Joshua and I were alpha males, dominant, but something told me to wait. To ease Shane into this. My gut had yet to steer me wrong.

“But I still have three hours of my shift left,” Shane argued. “Please, Delvin, I can do this.”

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