RED REAPER
SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE
BOOK ONE

★★★

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SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE can be read as a stand alone series even though it is a continuation of THE SPECTER SERIES stories and takes place in the same 'universe'..

If you are interested in reading more of my works, please check the following series order:

THE SPECTER SERIES

1. Hunting for Honey
2. Fields of Clover
3. Broken Hearts & Coup D'etats
4. Secrets of Summer
5. Lace & Leather
6. The Colt & The Cobra

THE BRAVO BOYS

1. Killerwolf
2. Tigerlilly
3. Snake Eater

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE

1. Red Reaper
2. Purple Heart

SPECTER SHORT STORIES

• Halloween Special - ANGELMAKER The Southside Slayer + The Southside Slaughter
• Christmas Special - Dasher & The Dancer; Christmas In Aspen + Vixen & The Viper
• Valentines Special - Hellfire
1. Alfa
2. Bravo
3. Delta
4. Romeo

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⚠️WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS CHILD ABUSE, EXPLICIT BDSM/PETPLAY CONTENT, DRUG/ALCOHOL USE, VIOLENCE, SUICIDE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT THEMES THAT MAY BE DISTRESSING TO SOME

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PRELUDE

"You truely wish to please me?" He arches a dark brow, suspicious and sly..

"More than anything.." I breathe..

"Vury well.. Get on your knees for me, Kiska.." Pushing up from the sofa he rises to his full, dominating height, pointing to the floor at his feet with an inked finger and a coaxing tone spiked in command.. Swallowing my fear and pride I drop down into position.. My cheeks heat with flushing embarrassment and my mouth whets with excitement as I glance up at him to see the growing arousal swell behind his fly.. The uncertainty of what comes next is an anxiety inducing torture but knowing he is as turned on as I am is the greatest reward..

I've never given a blow job before, though I've read about them in so many of my trashy romance novels.. Now on my knees a nervous flutter stirs in my stomach as I try to appear confident enough and up to the task..

The last thing I want is for Konstantin to think I'm not ready.. Because I am.. I want to taste him..

"W-What do you want me to do now?" I stammer, filled with flapping butterflies while my pitchy warble gives way to my nerves..

He chuckles softly, leaning down and hooking my chin with his knuckles to bring my burning gaze from the outline of his hard cock up to his confidence oozing, melted chocolate eyes.. With a sly grin he coos to me, his diamond studded smirk gleaming in the candlelight.. "I v'want you to mewl, like sexy little kitten."

****

Lucky O'Cléirigh

I stand quietly in the corner, taking up the least amount of space possible, tucked out of the way as I peer through the viewfinder of my camera.. The soft click of the shutter barely interrupts the beautiful ceremony unfolding at the church altar before my eyes..

My new niece, the beautiful baby Lyra Paxton, is dressed in her cotton candy coloured lace gown to be blessed in a basin of holy water, and I am here to capture every second of my sister Kirby and her husband Hunter's happiness..

They are the most picture perfect couple I have ever seen.. Like Ken and Barbie, expect way more badass and totally bulletproof.. If there ever were an ultimate power couple it's those two..

It is a nice change, taking pictures of such beautiful events, instead of the usual gory bloodsoaked scenes I've come to witness as a forensic photographer..

Maybe I should have stuck with art-school instead of transferring fields into criminology and forensics, because then I'd be taking pictures of pretty weddings and sepia-soaked sunsets everyday instead of death and decay.. Maybe then I'd be happier..

But with the pressure of my sister's exceptionally ambitious career as District Attorney to the city of Darkport, I had felt obligated to follow her lead.. To do something of importance, rather than simply taking pretty pictures of pretty things.. Kirby has worked so hard to build a life for us, she has earned her respect and reputation through her perseverance and I don't want to disappoint her.. Even if I feel my career is not the one I would have chosen, I know she is proud of me.. Even if it makes me more sad than happy..

The luminous afternoon light shines through the church and dances as it beams down through the stained glass windows to make for the most glorious golden glow.. It's pure magic..

The christening of a baby is practically Irish law, and Kirby had been fast to keep with tradition.. Just like their young son Axle Patrick Paxton, their daughter would be blessed in the eyes of the lord, christened Lyra Luna Paxton.. Named after Hunter's mother, Lyra and given the Christened name of Luna, after our mother..

A beautiful tribute to the women who are no longer with us, but forever in our hearts..

I know for a fact Kirby is not so much of a spiritual believer since she has said to me many times that to her a christening it is more like 'insurance'.. You know, just in case.. Ever the practical thinker is my sister. I don't actually know what her husband, Hunter, believes in.. Though he doesn't at all strike me as the religious type.. Still I have to assume in his line of work as a mercenary agent, he must put his faith in some kind of higher power.. Even if that higher power is just the higher ups giving him orders..

Really, they are both a mystery to me..

Kirby and Hunter have to be two of the most private people I know.. And yet somehow, they hold everybody's secrets.. Between them, they know everything about everyone.. It's like they have eyes everywhere, even in places I'd never think to look..

All I know is today the both of them look so blissful together.. Destined for one and other.. Their family is so happy, brimming with genuine and warm smiles which my lense welcomes.. Each shot is more of a miracle than the last...

God, I want that..

A painful and guilty stab sabotages me as I watch them from behind my camera..

I almost hate to admit that I often feel envious of my sister.. I try to bury the resentment harboured, I try not to hate the fact that while she had never sought the life she now has, somehow she has everything I ever dreamed of.. A husband who looks at her with love in his eyes, two beautiful children, the respect of her peers and a full and vibrant circle of friends..

Somehow.. I have none of these things..

There is no husband to love me.. And I don't even have any real prospects.. To most of the guys who have tried dating, I am a deal breaker.. The ultimate conquest..

A virgin..

But as soon as they hear the words 'no sex before marriage'.. They disappear into the dust..

Poof!

So of course, I have no children to love..

I try to remind myself of all the years I have ahead of me to start a family, after all I am in my early twenties and there is plenty of time for me to forge that future.. But for as long as I can remember it has been a dream of mine to give all of my unconditional love to something so precious..

As for work, I am the youngest photographer in a department of dinosaurs, graduating top of all my classes at an accelerated rate.. I have a photographic memory which makes me an exceptionally fast learner and I am the most competently versed member of ForenX when it comes to new age technologies and digital details.. This has not made me popular around the office, really it only makes my coworkers hate me as of I serve as some kind of reminder to their long lost youth.. As hard as I try to gain their favor, the truth is they see me as a ln ignorant child.. It doesn't matter that I am smarter than them, though I would never say something so disrespectful to their faces.. No.. They only think of me as the girl who puked on her first case and contaminated the crime scene..

Of course I did!

I had never really seen a dead body in such a decomposed condition as the one I witnessed my first week on the job and nobody warned me about the visceral damage it would do to my psyche.. Now after a year with the agency, I have seen worse, and far too many but still that first image haunts me.. I will never forget it..

Lastly, there is my lack of friends.. I have enough of them, sure.. People I went to college with or met in bars and bookstores.. But none of them know me.. Not really..

They don't know the terrible place I come from or the horror of my childhood home.. They only see what I let them, which is a fake smile and a bubbly demeanor.. They don't know anything about the nightmares that keep me awake or the fear that inhabits the depths of my soul..

The fear that I am nothing..

The doubt that I will never be worth loving..

The dread of somebody seeing how broken I am..

The loneliness of my trauma..

Maybe it's all my own fault.. Maybe I deserve the countless heartbreaks I have felt because I have terrible taste in boyfriends.. I've come to believe that my picker is banjaxed.. Like a broken compass that points directly to fraudulent men..

And maybe I could learn to let down my walls so that people like my peers and friends might get to know me better, maybe they would like me more if I weren't always working so hard to convince them that my life is perfect..

Maybe I could be that girl.. But I won't..

I won't, because that is how people get hurt.. And I can't take another hurt..

So here I am, dateless and alone at my niece's christening, surrounded by happy couples and their young children..

If I weren't standing on holy ground in a house of god, I'd swear I was in hell..

Okay, so maybe that's a touch dramatic..

I'm not totally alone, I have my family.. Kirby and Hunter are always there for me, Hunter's sister Lacey is my closest friend and my being an aunt to two beautiful babies is like a dream come true..

I have people who love me.. I know that..

But I still feel empty inside.. I still go home to a quiet apartment every night.. I still don't know where I fit, or why I don't seem to be able to make the kind of meaningful connections I know I should.. And I know that I can't cling to the fringes of my sister's life, living vicariously through her family forever..

Of course, none of this is her fault.. I know it isn't.. And yes, I am so happy for her.. She deserves every ounce of joy life has to offer after she had spent so many years taking care of me..

The truth is it's all just a little hard to watch.. And so incredibly bitter to swallow..

....

After the procession closes, I quickly make my way to the front of the church to congratulate the happy couple.. "Kirby, Hunter.. Hiya! The ceremony was so lovely!"

I look down to their first born son Axle, who stands proudly beside his father looking dapper in his Sunday best. Four years old and more than adorable with his messy blond mop and starry grey eyes.. "Heya lil' Axe-man, don't you look handsome all dressed up in your wee suit!"

Axle beams proudly, showing off his miniature tux jacket with the excited flap of his tiny hands.. "My jack-iee is da same one as--as the one wot daddy has, Ant-iee Luck-iee.."

"Oh, wow! It surely is!" I heave an exaggerated gasp with an approving smile before I lean down to wink and whisper.. "I think it looks much better on you, buddy-boy.."

Axle sways his uncoordinated frame from side to side, showing his appreciation of my compliment through a happy little dance..

"Hey Lucky, it's good of you to be here.." Hunter grins at me, bouncing the baby Lyra in his bulky arms as Kirby steps up to wrap me in an embrace.. "We didn't know if you'd make it--"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I squeeze my sister so tightly she groans.. "You look amazing Kirbz, and I got some great shots.. You guys are gonna' love em'.."

"Really? Oh, thank god!" Kirby smiles dreamily as we break apart and her gaze passes over her daughter in the arms of her hulking husband..

I really can't blame her, it's a sight to send any woman's ovaries into overdrive..

He really is handsome with his sharp Scandinavian features, blonde hair and dark blue eyes.. There's no denying the man makes gorgeous kids.. They both do..

"Uhem.. Duchess.." Hunter coughs teasingly, reminding her that we are in a church and she shouldn't be taking the lord's name in vain.. "Try an act appropriate for five minutes, would ya?"

Kirby flushes at his cheeky smirk..

"Oopsie.. Wait-- you're giving me shit?! 'Thank god' is not profanity!"

Hunter snorts.. "No, but 'shit' is.."

"Whatever.." She rolls her eyes and tsk's her tongue at him.. "Since when were you such a goody-goody, Saint Paxton?!"

"Now now, play nice you two.." I giggle at their bickering exchange.. "I was going to catch a cab back to the apartment, will I just meet you guys there?"

Kirby winces at me apologetically.. "You don't mind? We have two car seats and Stacey with us--"

I shake my head and hold up my hands insistently.. "I'm fine to take a taxi, KP.. It'll give me a chance to review some of the shots.."

"S'cuse me, ladies.." Hunter hands Lyra off to me before he calls out over my shoulder and steps away, shuffling off to greet some of the other attendees.. "Hey, brother! Thanks for coming!"

Immediately my attention is enraptured as I smile down at Lyra, she is the most beautiful baby I've ever laid eyes on.. She bares a striking resemblance to her other aunt, Hunter's sister Lacey, with sharp grey eyes and ashy blonde hair..

She is so little.. So unbelievably perfect, like a tiny porcelain doll..

"Ah, now there iz a soul in much need of salvation.. I am vury pleazed to see you have finally come to repent all your dayz az a heathen, comrade!" The deep rumbling thunder of a familiar Russian accent has the hair on the back of my neck standing up..

I know that voice.. The sexy slavic melody of his timbre gives me captivated chills and causes my skin to prickle.. I'd recognise it anywhere..

Konstantin Ivanov..

I haven't seen the man in almost two years now, not since I got embarrassingly drunk and made a pathetic attempt to kiss him at Kirby and Hunter's wedding..

Good Lord forgive me for my foolish behaviour, I cringe in humiliation just thinking about it now..

To say the shadowing bear of a man had acted like a perfect gentleman would be an understatement and to say that I had been so ashamed of the memory that I had avoided all of my sister's social invites since then, would be the god's honest truth..

I have excused myself from every event and function possible, all of those which I knew he would be present for.. But I couldn't ignore this one today.. My niece's christening was just too important to me.. So here I am.. About to do the last thing I want to be doing and facing my stupid shame..

I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole! I wish somebody would pull the fire alarm, scream for help or something.. Anything so that I could avoid having to confront the past..

"I might be a heathen, but my kids are angels.." Hunter jokes with his friend a few feet behind me and I can hear the rugged Russian Bear laugh, a hearty booming burst of joy that vibrates through every nerve in my body like an electric current..

I double down my attention on Lyra, fixating on her and trying to avoid any kind of interaction.. Just praying and begging to be ignored, but Kirby seemingly unaware of my awkward shift moves to scoop the baby from my arms, leaving me defenseless.. Vulnerable..

Oh no..

Please god, don't let me embarrass myself again..

"Konnie! I'm so happy you made it.. You remember my sister, Lucky?.." Kirby cheers unknowingly, completely ignorant to my shame as she smiles in my direction..

Nooooooo..

I die inside, recoiling into myself, blushing beet red as I turn to drink in the sight of his handsomeness, raw masculinity and dangerous smile..

With his broad shoulders and a close cut beard, the testosterone practically seeps from his dark olive skin.. Konstantin is all man and then some.. The fit of his exquisite and expensive black suit accentuates his dark features and short kempt ebony hair.. He is impeccably dressed and around his neck he wears a thick platinum chain that peeks out from beneath his starched collar.. Stacks of silver and onyx-stone rings decorate each and every one of his thick, tattooed fingers along with inky Slavic symbols and Cyrillic letters that are printed over the backs of his hands.. An open mouthed devil, a spider, circles with patterns around them and the words CEBEP, OMYT and MNP are among some of the emblems he wears..

Holy Mary.. He is even more gorgeous than I remember..

"Da! Ov' courze I remember.." Konstantin croons, stepping closer to greet me as one of his big warm paws settles softly on my shoulder.. Suddenly I am assaulted by a rush of volcanic desire, teased by the scent of dark liquorice, rich coffee and subtle smoke.. "I could not ever forget, Mizz O'Cléirigh.."

My rolling Irish surname fits funny in his hot Russian mouth and the 'r' sound tangles on his tongue.. But, sweet suffering lord, I like the way it sounds..

His molten mocha eyes burn as bright as hot lava as they lock with mine and he leans forward to place the lightest of polite European kisses on each of my cheeks.. Then, as swiftly as he had approached he is stepping away to leave me cold..

Oh heavenly Christ on Christmas day!

He is a beautiful beast to be sure..

Immaculate in his divinity..

Unmatched in his appeal..

Suddenly I am embarrassed to be standing in a church, because my heart is thumping like a battle drum and my mind is filled with sinful fantasies.. Fantasies that have never been fulfilled, because I have never been with a man, any man, beyond second base..

But Konstantin..

Oh, I could kiss the man stupid and never stop.. I could throw caution to every rule I've never broken and explore every unspoken urge I've ever felt..

My god, all the things I could do..

Yeah right.. As if..

As if he would ever be interested in me.. The kid sister of his long time friends..

In fact, he's already made it perfectly clear that he isn't..

I don't stand a chance..