Fierce predator, p.1
Fierce Predator, page 1
Copyright
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The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.
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Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage, the piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of author’s rights is appreciated.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Fierce Predator copyrighted 2022 by Delta James and Felicity Brandon
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____________________________
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Cover Design: Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs
Editing: Sandy Ebel of Personal Touch Editing
Created with Vellum
Fierce Predator
Felicity Brandon and Delta James
This Book is Dedicated to Our
Families and Our Readers
Without You, None of This Would be Possible.
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What Started as a Lark Between Two
Shark Week Nerds Has Now
Become a Series
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
First Look
Also by Felicity Brandon
About Felicity Brandon
Also by Delta James
About Delta James
Prologue
Their primary mission a failure, five brave men sacrificed themselves to scuttle the USS Kracken, vowing to protect the sub, its secrets, and their failure from ever being known. Each man damned himself and the sons that would follow to a life on eternal patrol as masters of the deep.
Chapter 1
Trinity
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Undisclosed Location
Mexican Jungle
Five Years Ago
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As the burly man tossed her into the cage and slammed the door behind her, Trinity wondered how things had gone so wrong. Her assignment, as it had been explained to her, seemed simple enough—make contact, pick up the information that would break the back of the cartel and get back to base. No fuss; no mess.
Only when she’d arrived at the designated meeting place, the man was dead—the cut across his throat so deep that it had almost severed his head from his body. Before her mind could process that, a rough burlap bag smelling of roasted coffee beans had been dragged over her head. Strong arms lifted her up and tossed her into the back of a car with bad shocks and worse tires. At some point all the jostling around resulted in a blow to her head that rendered her unconscious.
When she came to she was caged in the middle of a dark, dank basement. Over the next few days, each time she was pulled from the cage she was tortured—tormented, burned and water boarded. It seemed her captors had a variety of ways to encourage her to share what she knew. The urge to cooperate was tempting. Trinity tried to tell herself she was strong enough to endure their treatment. The problem was, the real reason she didn’t tell them everything they wanted to know was because she didn’t know anything.
Each time they returned her battered and broken body to the cage, she crawled in knowing that at least here, she would know some respite from their brutalization. She tried to gather her strength and the will to hang-on. By the time her rescuers got there, she was all but dead. Over and over she heard them tell her just to hang on and that everything would be fine.
Fine had taken a very long time and it never did resemble the normality she had known before the cartel.
The Rusty Pelican
Coronado, California
Six Months Ago
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You could hear the music blaring from the Rusty Pelican long before you could see it. Trinity Dare, whose name sounded like the heroines in one of those god-awful romance novels her mother had always read, wanted nothing more than a good burger, good music, and maybe some anonymous sex with a hunky sailor.
She’d exhausted the last of her funding options and was out of money. Cobbling enough together for her master’s degree in Marine Biology, she realized the doctorate would have to be put on hold, probably forever. Without a doctorate, finding a job to fulfill her lifelong ambition to be an explorer like her hero Jacques Cousteau would remain a pipe dream.
Trinity thought about the employment offer she’d received from Oceanic Adventures. She’d be able to explore the oceans of the world as a kind of instructor for high-end diving adventures with rich clients. She had to admit, it wasn’t the worst idea, and at least she wouldn’t be stuck behind a desk.
As she rounded the corner, someone opened the door to the bar, and the cacophony of noise was almost deafening. She was a sucker for the rock music that came pouring forth—none of the hip-hop, rap, or heavy metal that seemed to be so prevalent. No, the Rusty Pelican’s musical fare was a lot like its food—straight up, unpretentious, and eclectic. Songs you could dance to, sing along with, and get drunk listening to.
Southern Cross by Crosby, Stills and Nash began playing as she entered the darkened establishment and made her way to an open space at the end of the bar.
“I love this song,” said the tall, broad-shouldered, lean-waisted man, standing next to her.
“Me, too. It’s timeless and can apply to so many situations.”
He nodded, sticking out his hand. “Za—”
She placed her hand over his mouth. “No names. If you want sex, let’s just go do it. If you don’t, feel free to tell me your name.” When he said nothing, she smiled, knowing he had acquiesced. “I’m clean, and I’m on birth control.”
“Kind of bold, aren’t you?” he said from behind her fingers.
“If you don’t think you can handle bold, I’ll find someone who can.”
Trinity wasn’t sure, but it almost sounded like he growled. Whatever it was, it was as sexy as hell. Without a word, he took her by the hand and slid them into the alley behind the bar.
She’d never noticed before, but the lane behind the Rusty Pelican seemed to be set up for people to slip outside for a quickie. The dumpsters and various paraphernalia often found behind a restaurant seemed to have been strategically set up for trysting. In any event, Za-whatever his name seemed to know where they were going.
Anger, lust, and need reverberated from him. What the hell was he angry about? It’s not like I have a knife to his throat. He pushed her back against the wall of the building, towering over her and crushing her against him as his mouth descended in a punishing kiss that did nothing but increase the level of her arousal. If he thought this aggressive plundering would scare her, he couldn’t be more wrong.
Trinity moaned into his mouth as she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him close, molding her body to his. He used his upper body to press her against the wall, knocking her hands away as he reached down to ruck her skirt up above her hips and push the peasant blouse up and over her breasts. He jerked her bra down, so her tits were revealed, as was the obvious state of her arousal.
One of his hands came up to squeeze her breast before zeroing in on her areola and its distended tip, while the other snaked down her body and slipped between her thighs. He smiled as he realized she had on no panties and felt her swollen clit and her wet desire pooling just inside the opening to her pussy.
She wasn’t sure what to make of his predatory chuckle, but instead of feeling she was in control, she realized the size and power of the man who now intended to take her up on her offer. Trinity thought about making some kind of token protest but knew she wouldn’t. Whatever this was going to be was exactly what she wanted—mind-blowing, anonymous sex.
He was holding her close enough, she could feel his erection bulging against the front of his jeans. It seemed she wasn’t the only one in need. His feral smile revealed even perfect teeth and should have frightened her, but his grin reassured her that she was going to get what she wanted. She felt the moment all inhibitions and coherent thought left her, and she became a creature of wanton desire.
His mouth moved from hers down to her nipple, sucking it in and giving it the edge of his teeth before settling into suckling. His hand kept her other breast engaged while the other hand delved between her legs, alternating between playing with her clit and rimming the opening of her core. Trinity’s arousal was off the charts. She’d been horny when she walked into the Rusty Pelican, but now her desire soared. Even his finger running along the seam of her ass to press against her dark rosette only added to her necessity to get laid.
Suddenly, he released her, but before she could complain, he spun her around, placing her hands against the wall. When Trini ty tried to move, he swatted her naked ass with a sharp, staccato smack.
“Stay,” he growled as he grasped her throat in his strong hand.
When she settled into the position he wanted her, he ran his hand down the front of her body, stopping to knead and squeeze each breast before pinching its nipple, sending heat and pleasure coursing through her body and adding to the swirl of molten desire in her nether region. His other hand slid down, briefly cupping her mons before positioning her, so her ass was cradled by his pelvis. The enormous bulge she could feel there made her moan.
“Get on with it,” she snarled.
Once more, one hand gripped her throat while the other delivered two more stinging blows to her backside before kicking her feet farther apart. The sound of his zipper being lowered diminished the music coming from the bar, and she felt his cock being freed. He swirled the head just inside the entrance to her wet heat.
“God, you’re a hot-blooded little thing,” he said, nuzzling her neck.
“You going to fuck me or talk me to death?”
If Trinity thought the last two smacks had been just this side of painful, the flurry of swats he delivered leaped over that boundary and made her rise up onto her toes.
“You seem to be under the mistaken impression you’re in charge here,” he growled, and this time, she was in no doubt it was indeed a primitive male sound. “You aren’t.”
His cock probed between her legs before finding the entrance to her core. Grasping her hips, he surged forward with a powerful thrust that seated him deep inside her pussy. He didn’t move back, allowing her body to get used to his size and throbbing. Trinity clawed at the wall and cried out in sheer pleasure.
He pulled away until he had almost completely withdrawn before driving back into her, then pounded into her while holding her in place. Trinity felt as though she couldn’t breathe as each time he surged forward, she was rocked forward onto her toes, her pebbled nipples scraping against the brick wall. Her legs trembled, and she was sure if it hadn’t been for the wall and the grip he had on her hips, her knees would have buckled under the onslaught of his furious fucking.
“So good,” he snarled as he nipped her ear, the brief bite of pain sending her over the edge.
Trinity orgasmed, her pussy spasming along his length as he hammered her, grunting and groaning in exertion and desire. Her world had collapsed to nothing more than the sounds of his pleasure and the slapping of flesh against flesh. She could feel the sea breeze caressing her skin as his fingers grasped her tighter.
This wasn’t just a quick, anonymous fuck. No, this was so much more—dominance, possession, and passion all rolled into one. He stroked in and out with a mesmerizing speed and dominance, ensuring he caught her G-spot with every other stroke. Trinity knew she had lost all control she’d thought she had over the encounter. Her body responded to his in a way it never had before as if it recognized its master and longed to succumb to his command.
Master? Where the fuck had that thought come from?
Trinity bit her lip to keep from screaming as he loosened his grip on her hip with one hand, rolling her clit between his thumb and forefinger before pinching it and pressing down hard. As if it had been a trip switch, another climax seized her. Her pussy pulsed in rhythm to the throbbing cock rasping along her inner walls, feeling it swell before he pulled her back hard against him and emptied himself into her.
When at last it felt as though the maelstrom had passed, he withdrew from her, allowing her skirt to fall back into place as she pulled up her bra and lowered her shirt. Heat suffused her cheeks. She’d wanted a hard fuck, but being fucked in the alley behind the Rusty Pelican was a bit more than she’d bargained for.
“You stay here. I’ll go settle the bill and come get you. I don’t need to parade you through that bar since it’s pretty obvious what we’ve been doing.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “When we get back to my place, you and I are going to come to an understanding about where we go from here and the rules I expect you to follow.” He headed back into the bar.
Rules? He had rules? And he expected her to follow them? Don’t think so!
Her key fob was still on the chain around her neck, so she gathered herself and ran down the alley, away from the bar’s parking lot. All she’d wanted was a one-night-only, anonymous, mindless fuck but had a sneaky suspicion that wasn’t what he had in mind. She was in her Jeep halfway down the block when she saw him exit the alleyway, looking for her.
Present Day
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She lowered the shark diving cage into the clear waters of the Sea of Cortez.
“Are you sure this is safe?” the anxious mother from Kansas asked.
“Mom, you promised,” her teenage daughter whined.
Trinity wasn’t sure which was worse, the nervous mother, the whiney teenager, or the all-too-tactile father.
“What kind of name is Trinity Dare, anyway?” he said, leaning over her to look down her bikini top for the umpteenth time. “It sounds like the name of the heroine in one of those steamy erotic romance novels my wife likes. Silly things. I’ll bet you don’t read them.”
The mother giggled—a really unseemly sound for a middle-aged woman to make.
“Actually, I read all kinds of things. I spent so many years reading treatises on sharks and marine life for my degree, but now I only read for escapist fun.” Trinity turned to the unfortunate woman who she was sure had been harangued into coming along. “You really should apply more sunscreen. The water amplifies the sun’s effect.”
“If you have a degree, why are you working as a tour guide?” The teenager’s question jarred.
“I didn’t have the money to finish my doctorate and I need to pay the bills. Plus, I get to make a living doing something I love. Who’s going to go first in the shark cage?”
“Can’t we all go together?” the girl asked.
“As the brochure explained, and I have told you repeatedly, if you have no diving experience, you must have a certified diver in the cage with you to be fully immersed, which is the best way to see the sharks.”
“I don’t think there are any sharks here. Do we get a refund if we don’t see any?” The father gazed at the sea, apparently having lost all interest once he could no longer look down her top.
“There are no refunds, but there are sharks…”
“I don’t see any dorsal fins,” he stated emphatically.
Trinity sighed and tried to rein in her temper. “And the theme song from Jaws isn’t playing either. Trust me, there are sharks. The Sea of Cortez is full of them.”
“Do you think we’ll see a Great White?” the kid asked.
“We might. There’s a lot of them in the area. But a Tiger is more likely. Great Whites aren’t all that interested in non-prey items, but Tigers seem to be more curious about the things they encounter. They are far less discerning in their definition of food sources.”
“I was hoping for a Great White. They’re the most aggressive,” said the girl.
“Not really.” Trinity shook her head. “Several species are more prone to unprovoked attacks than the Great White. See the corner of the cage where it’s kind of squished together?” The girl nodded. “That was done by a Tiger Shark one day when I was setting up. Huge bugger. Biggest I’ve ever seen. I was setting up a couple of cages for a big group in a different location when he rammed the boat, grabbed that cage, and shook it. No reason. It was as if he wanted to scare me to make me leave.”
