“Brock and Doc. Brock and Doc. Brooooock and Dooooc.” Bethany tilted her head to the side as she said his and Doc’s names over and over again. After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head. “No, it’s impossible. It’s too cutesy that you two rhyme like that. You have to find out what her actual name is. I can’t possibly call you Brock and Doc. It’s like something out of a Disney movie.”

“Pretty sure that’ll just make her like it more,” Brock said dryly, grunting as he did another push-up. 

"Hm. Good point. Okay, so we won't bring up that part. But seriously, you two have been together for a week now and you still don't know her first name. She doesn't want you to call her by her middle name. You don't think that's weird?" 

It might be a little weird, but Brock wasn't one to judge. He kind of liked the way their names rhymed, not that he'd tell his sister that. Yeah it was cutesy but Doc made him feel kind of cutesy. Not that he'd tell his sister that either.

"If it wasn't weird before we got together, why would it be weird now?" he asked, feeling a little impatient with his older sister.

Normally gym time was ‘him’ time. He didn't have a workout buddy because he liked to work out by himself and just let his mind rest. Not have to talk to anyone. Not have to engage with anyone. 

"Because now you're together," Bethany said, as if that explained everything. "Shouldn't she be sharing things with you? Like her name?"

"She shares plenty with me," he replied, unable to stop the grin which spread across his face. 

Bethany snorted and wagged her finger at him. "I know exactly what you're implying and you know that's not what I'm talking about. Unless... are you two just having non-stop sex? Is that why you don't know her real name yet, because you don't actually talk?"

"We talk," he said, feeling a bit affronted. Was that really what his sister thought of him? Finishing his push-ups he rolled onto his back and looked up at her. Nope, that wasn't what she thought. She was just trying to get under his skin so he'd do what she wanted.

For some reason what she really wanted was to know Doc's first name. 

She'd told Brock he could call her Harley, and he did sometimes when they were alone, but he could tell she still wasn't super comfortable being referred to as anything other than Doc. So that's what he called her when they weren't alone in either his or her bedroom. He'd also told all his siblings they should keep calling her Doc.

Everyone except Bethany seemed fine with it. Which wasn't totally surprising. She was definitely the nosiest of his siblings. 

Stretching out his arms and legs, he started to do v-ups.

Tilting her head at him, Bethany smirked, her blue eyes sparkling. "You like that it rhymes, don't you?"

Sometimes his sister knew him too well. 

"It doesn't bother me the way it does you," he said, straining a little to talk while he worked out his stomach muscles. 

"No, but you actually liiiiiike it," she said with a smirk. 

Fortunately, he was saved from any further sisterly teasing when her phone started to play the ringtone she'd assigned to Steele—Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf. His sister had a weird sense of humor. But she was also happy, and it made him happy to see how she lit up at the sound of her mate calling her. 

Giving Brock a look that said she wasn't done interrogating him, she answered her phone. 

"Hi good-looking, what's shaking? Do you miss me already? I've only been out of your sight for an hour." 

Snorting a laugh, which hurt his stomach muscles, Brock could only shake his head. Fortunately Steele found Bethany's antics and independent nature not just attractive, but utterly desirable. He could hear Steele's resigned sigh and knew the man was probably rubbing his forehead, the way he often did when Bethany was feeling high-energy and sassy. 

"Yes, light of my life, I'm perishing without your presence," Steele said dryly, making Bethany giggle. "Now get your sweet ass over to my office and bring your brother. Eli thinks he's found the skunks."

"On our way," Bethany said, her smile dropping as she immediately turned serious. Brock was already on his feet, ready to go. 

They'd known Eli was looking into what had happened to the surfeit, but after over a week of hearing nothing they'd started to think the group had just vanished. If he'd found them and was calling Steele about it to talk to all of them right now... well, Brock didn't think it could mean anything good. 

******

Doc hurried into Steele's office, right on Jordan's heels. Apparently Steele had called everyone in. His team leaders plus herself, Dr. Phil, and the entire Bunson family. 

Seeing Brock standing off to the side, leaning against the wall, she slipped over to take the place next to him. He smiled slightly at her, just a small curve of his lips, uncrossed his arms, holding one out so she could tuck herself underneath. Leaning into him, she couldn't help but feel incredibly happy, despite the circumstances of the meeting. 

She and Brock had been together for about a week and almost everyone in the pack seemed thrilled for them. Vivian and Lacy had taken no time at all telling Edith and then the three of them had spread the gossip like wildfire. A few of the guys Doc had gone on dates with seemed a little put out—and a few of the ladies Brock had hooked up with were a bit pouty—but it wasn't like she or Brock cared about their opinions. The opinions of those who did matter to them were overwhelmingly positive. 

Bethany had even said she wanted to have a ladies’ night soon, with her, Bailey, Doc, and Jesse. Which definitely made Doc feel like one of the gang. 

Sure, she didn't know if she and Brock would make it for the long haul, but things were looking really, really good right now. She'd been a little worried because he'd been so closed off before, but now he was definitely more demonstrative than she'd ever expected. Cuddlier too, all the time. It was like, now that he had permission to snuggle with her, he couldn't get enough of it. 

Kasim was the last one through the door, his dark eyes shooting over to where Bailey was standing behind Steele's desk, tucked between Bethany and Brady. Closing the door behind him, he stayed in place there since there wasn't really anywhere else he could stand. The whole office was pretty crowded with bodies now, everyone murmuring conversations to each other. 

The other Bunsons, including Jesse, were all behind Steele's desk. Brock was the only one along the wall. Jordan, Jacqueline, Dr. Phil, and Steele's squad leaders, Robert, Ana, and Kasim, took up pretty much all the space in front of it. 

Steele was sitting behind his computer, ignoring everyone until Kasim closed the door. Then he finally looked up and around at all of them, his dark eyes filled with both worry and determination.

He'd shaped his pack basically into a group of mercenaries. Everyone was expected to work and contribute to the pack even if they weren't a soldier. The whole pack was well trained, but he still worried every time they went on a mission—as a good leader should. 

"All right everyone, here's the situation," he said without preamble. Steele wasn't the type to beat around the bush. "Eli's had contacts looking into The Company for a while now, along with the information he gets from the government. One of them uncovered a site where a large number of prisoners are being held and experimented on. We're pretty sure they're trying to re-create Montgomery's work."

All the Bunsons growled, making everyone else shiver. Doc could feel the rumble through Brock's body as he made the unnatural sound and it made all the hairs on her body stand straight up. Her puma wanted to yowl back, unhappy with the odd noise which it couldn't identify as belonging to any one animal. 

Ignoring them, Steele continued. "Because of the large number of captives, Eli wants as many squads as he can get on this. He's called in Raoul and Thor as well. Jordan and Robert, you're going to stay here and guard home just in case somehow The Company finds out we're on a mission. Everyone else's teams will be coming with me. We're leaving here in three hours. We'll have dinner and sleep at Lakewood tonight and roll out from there tomorrow morning." His eyes flicked between her and Dr. Phil. "Doc, Dr. Phil, would you two be willing to come with us? It's possible some of the skunk shifters may need medical care."

"Of course," said Dr. Phil.

"Absolutely." Doc spoke nearly on top of him, even as she felt Brock tense beside her. Yeah, he might not be happy about her coming, but there was no way she was staying behind. She hadn't been able to get those empty houses out of her head, if she could help then she wanted to. 

Besides, this was going to be an interesting mission. Raoul was Eli's cousin-by-marriage, one hundred percent human and a former soldier turned mercenary. He got along with everyone. However, put Steele together in a room with Thor, reindeer shifter and alpha extraordinaire of a pack to the north, and suddenly everything turned into a testosterone-fueled contest. Thor's herd lived further north but he ran it in a similar manner to how Steele had formed his pack. The two of them were just too alike to do anything but butt heads. 

The last time they’d gotten together though, Steele hadn't been mated to a little spitfire who enjoyed bursting egos like balloons. So this was going to be interesting. 

The good news was none of them let their egos get in the way of a mission and they were all very good leaders of extremely capable teams.

"Ana, Jacqueline, and Kasim, go inform your teams and get them packing. We'll meet in the garage at four. That gives you just under two hours. Don't be late. Jordan, Robert, stay here with me so we can go over protocol for while I'm away."

Chatter immediately sprung up as Kasim reopened the door. To Doc's surprise, Brock moved with her rather than staying behind with his siblings. She gave him a little glance as they headed off down the hallway, his arm still slung over her shoulder. 

"You don't want to stay with your siblings?" she asked him as they walked down the hall.

Brock snorted. "Brady and Jesse are going to have a short argument about whether or not she's coming too. Steele's already resigned himself to knowing Bethany and Bailey are going to insist on going. I'm not particularly interested in hanging out for either."

"Are you going to argue with me about going?"

"No. I'm just going to make sure you're safe while we're there." The almost fierce way he said it touched her heart even as her puma sat up, a little insulted that he thought she couldn't keep herself safe. The cat didn't understand, even though Doc did. It was because he cared. 

True, he was no Prince Charming, more like Prince Caveman sometimes... but she thought she might prefer Prince Caveman. He made her feel safe and happy and loved for who she was. 

Now they were going to go rescue the skunks, come back home, and she could finish out the happily-ever-after she was pretty sure she was on her way toward. Was it guaranteed? No. But for the first time in forever, at least she had a chance. 

And yes, she did sing that last thought to herself.

******

Arriving at Lakewood wasn't anything like what Brock had expected. 

Brice had joined all of them and there had been a lot of happiness at being reunited with him again. He'd taken one look at Brock and Doc together and given Brock a little nod of understanding—he knew Brock wasn't going to be coming back to Lakewood. Fortunately he didn't look particularly upset about it. 

He was probably glad to get some separation from the family, do a little bit of growing up on his own. Brock had to admit, as much as he liked having his family around him all the time so he knew they were all okay, he'd also been enjoying being a little less codependent. 

The family dynamics weren't what was making their arrival odd though.

Nope, the alpha dynamics were. 

Brock had met Raoul, Eli's cousin-by-marriage before. He was a nice guy, a good soldier, and pretty level-headed. They all said hi to him and everyone was chatting and catching up when the alpha of the reindeer shifter herd came over to introduce himself to Steele’s new mate.

Thor actually looked like a Norse God. He was a few inches shorter than Steele, but that still made him taller than average, and with his presence it took a bit before anyone even noticed he was a little shorter. With his muscular build, long blond hair that touched his shoulders, and sparkling blue eyes, he'd made both of Brock's sisters and Jesse stare when they first saw him. 

Fortunately Doc didn't. Brock would have hated to have to pound an ally's face in. 

Of course, she'd probably seen him before and had known what he looked like, but Brock told himself he wasn't jealous.

He sure as hell didn't want to act the way Steele was right now. Seeing Bethany's reaction to Thor, he'd gotten aggressively alpha and possessive. It didn’t help that Thor kept winking at Bethany either.

“Stop winking at my mate,” Steele growled, pulling Bethany against him so firmly and so quickly that her feet actually lifted off of the ground. She squeaked in surprised outrage, elbowing Steele.

“If she’s your mate then why are you so worried about what I’m doing?” Thor asked, winking at Bethany again. “She won’t be tempted.”

“I don’t like you even trying,” Steele snapped.

Shaking his head, Thor tutted and gave Bethany a sympathetic look. “Wow, he really doesn’t trust you sweetheart. That must be hard.”

As Steele sputtered with outrage, Bethany had obviously had enough. Snorting, she pushed away from her mate and gave herself a little shake.

“You two are fucking idiots,” she said, making Steele look suddenly sheepish and Thor almost alarmed. That was probably not what he’d expected. She glared at Thor. “I have a brain and can both think and talk for myself, thanks asshole.” As he gaped at her, obviously in shock that his charm hadn’t impressed her, she rounded on her mate. “And even though he’s being an ass, he’s also right. You have nothing to worry about and you know it. So stop being a twit. You should be smirking and lording it over him that you have someone as awesome as me for your mate and rubbing his face in his envy, not getting all riled up over nonexistent issues! Dumbass!”

She stomped off, muttering under her breath. Mostly curses at men who were too stupid to live.

Beside Brock, Doc was quietly cracking up, pressing her face into his side so no one could hear her.

Steele and Thor exchanged a look.

“Still want to flirt with her?” Steele asked dryly.

Thor gestured with his hand, palm up and open. “No, no, she’s all yours. You know I like my women sweet.”

He just watched, shaking his head, as Steele stalked off after Bethany.

“He definitely won’t want anything to do with my sister then,” Brock murmured, making Doc laugh even harder. Now that the drama was over they went over to find out where they were sleeping that night. It wasn’t that hard to make sure they got a room together, especially when Eli stopped by to say hi, looking both surprised and pleased to see Brock with his arm around Doc.

******

Full of nervous energy, Doc practically bounced on the bed next to where Brock was laying down rather than climbing into it like she normally would. Opening one eye he gave her a look.

“We’re supposed to be sleeping.” His voice was low, growly. Sexy.

“I’m all hyped up,” she admitted. “I’m not sure I can fall asleep right away.”

To her surprise, she suddenly found herself being yanked over on top of him. Since they both slept naked, that meant her bare pussy was suddenly straddling a cock that was quickly growing. She hadn’t been thinking about sex or been even the least bit turned on… but she was now.

“I can help you sleep,” he said, a little smugly, as his hips lifted underneath her, making her rock on top of his now fully hard dick. His eyes dropped to her breasts and he lifted his hands to cup them, brushing his thumbs over her nipples and teasing them to hardness.

“With your penis?” she asked, squirming a little, although not at all averse to the suggestion.

Brock’s grin was swift and incredibly attractive. “It’s a sleep-penis for sleepiness.”

Her jaw dropped. “Did you just make a pun about your penis?”

Chuckling, he pulled her down for a kiss, rather than answering. Doc let him. After all, he was right. They’d had sex every night for the past… Well, every night since they’d gotten together and she had to admit, she was sleeping better than ever.

Why break a winning streak?

This was the first time she’d been on top though, and she had to admit, she rather enjoyed being in the position to tease. She rubbed her pussy over his cock, making it slick and wet as her nails traced new paths down his chest. Although neither of them left marks which would be easily visible—well, except the large hickey she’d left on the side of his neck a couple of days ago after running into one of his pouty ex-lovers being pouty—both of them had marks all over their bodies.

Her puma very badly wanted to sink her teeth into Brock’s shoulder and give him the mark. The mate mark. Doc wouldn’t let her though and she wasn’t about to bring it up with Brock either. They’d only been together for about a week after all! And it wasn’t like they’d gotten along great before that. So no mate bite.

It was way too soon.

Maybe after the skunks had been successfully rescued.

For now, she and her puma contented themselves with clawing him up and wearing all the hickeys he left on her breasts and stomach with pride. She didn’t miss the smug look in his eyes as he ran his hands over the marks either. Which was part of what gave her hope. Brock was just as possessive over her as she felt over him.

He rolled her nipples between his fingers, making her moan and arch, pushing her breasts out for more as the rest of his hands massaged her breasts. Damn he was good at that. Even in this position, with her on top, she still somehow felt like he was more in control of himself than she was of herself.

Doc wanted him inside of her. She wanted to ride him. To fill herself with him.

And she very quickly decided there was no point in denying herself in order to prove she could take things slowly too. She didn’t particularly want to be slow—and since she was on top, she might as well take what she wanted.

Shifting upward, she leaned forward into Brock’s hands, feeling the head of his dick slide up the center of her pussy until it reached her entrance, and then she slowly began to lower herself. They both moaned, his hips lifting slightly to thrust into her. In this position he felt even larger than normal, her muscles stretching to accommodate him.

Letting gravity do its work, she sank onto him, clenching around him with pleasure.

“Fuck yes…” He said, groaning as his hold on her breasts became firmer. He squeezed the mounds, massaging them with strong fingers, and making her moan in turn as he stimulated the sensitive flesh.

Her hands pressed on his hard chest, her nails dug in as she moved, sliding up and down the thick shaft of his cock. Doc arched and her muscles flexed, her pussy squeezing him with every rise and fall of her body. It felt so fucking good.

She moved harder, faster, panting as her pleasure began to climb. The urge to bite him was growing, but she pushed her puma back. This was just for pleasure. The cat wasn’t entirely happy but it didn’t argue either, too caught up in the sensual heat of the moment to be overly pushy.

“Oh yeah…. Fucking ride me, baby,” he said, his hands sliding down her sides to grip her ass. He helped her move atop him, her pussy becoming slicker, hotter as she rubbed her sensitive lips against his groin. Her swollen clit pulsed between their bodies as she began to grind and bounce on his cock, both of them moving together in a hot rhythm that drove her straight toward ecstasy.

“Brock… oh fuck… Brock…”

“That’s it baby, fuck I can feel your pussy squeezing my cock…” He jerked beneath her and Doc found herself becoming even more turned on as he spoke. Who knew Brock could be such a dirty talker? It was fucking sexy. “Oh fuck yes, that feels so good… your pussy is so hot… so wet… fucking hell… I’m gonna cum… fuck…”

His fingers dug into the soft flesh of her ass and Doc threw back her head, crying out in sheer erotic bliss as Brock surged inside of her. His cock throbbed against her walls, each pulse of his orgasm filling her with hot liquid and making her writhe with the intense intimacy of climaxing with him. Still swiveling her hips, her swollen clit pulsed with him, each wave of her own orgasm making her clench and shudder with pleasure.

“Fucking hell…” he said hoarsely as she slumped on top of him.

Doc let out a contented sigh, her body growing lax with sexual repletion.

“Mmmm…” she said agreeably, rubbing her nose in his chest hair.

Brock might have a point about his magic sleep-penis.

Muscular arms slid up her body, cradling her. Fingers slid into her hair. Her puma purred.

This was perfection.