STORY EXCERPT

The first thing Boone noticed was the long, auburn hair that fell in gentle waves down to a beautifully curved butt. He could just imagine those gorgeous strands brushing against his skin as he fucked that perfect little ass.

The second thing that Boone noticed was that the gorgeous ass he was dreaming about was dressed in tight denim shorts that curved down over nicely rounded ass cheeks to a beautiful set of long, tanned legs and a pair of hot pink stiletto heels.

And that sent all of Boone’s sexual fantasies up in a huge puff of smoke.

He didn’t do women.

Ever!

And wasn’t that damn sad ’cause that really was a fantastic ass.

Boone cleared his throat so that he didn’t startle the woman as she was bent over a box and facing away from him. “Ma’am.”

He hoped he got that right.

“Oh!” The figure swung around, thick, auburn hair flying everywhere.

Boone’s jaw dropped as he watched a thin-boned hand flutter at a delicate swan-like neck. He slowly raised his gaze up until he met the oddest gray colored eyes he had ever seen. They were almost pale gray like summer clouds right before a violent rainstorm.

And they were staring right back at him.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Boone said carefully, not really sure if he was dealing with a man or a woman at this point. His guess could go in either direction. “I received a call that there had been some vandalism.”

“You’re the sheriff?”

“Yes, ma–uh, yes. Sheriff Boone Marshall.” Boone almost groaned when the man or woman’s lush lips spread into a glorious smile. He so did not need to be obsessing over a woman. And if this was a man, he needed to rethink his thoughts on how men were supposed to look.

“Jackie Lee.”

The name didn’t help at all. Jackie was kind of a unisex name. Boone held out his hand instead. A handshake might be able to give him more of a clue.

Damn.

The hand that was held out to him was delicately boned and had hot pink painted nails. Boone tried not to swear or curse–in case it was a woman–as he shook Jackie’s hand. There was a grip, but it wasn’t tight. It wasn’t limp either.

It was no help at all.

Maybe he could fish for information.

“You’re new to Potter’s Creek. Am I right?”

“Yes. I just moved in.” Pink fingernail polish flashed through the air as Jackie waved a hand back toward the box he or she had been leaning over. “As you can see, I’m still unpacking.”

It was only as Boone looked at the boxes that Jackie indicated that he noticed all of the stuff stacked all over the place. There were shelves of pottery, dishes, and clothing. Colorful quilts hung from the walls as did paintings. Jewelry hung from small turning displays on top of the counters. Handmade brick-o-brack lined every other available space. There were even jars of jam stacked on one shelf.

“Just what kind of place is this?”

Jackie’s perfectly white teeth gleamed in the daylight. “It’s a craft store, sort of. For a commission, I provide space for local artists to sell their wares.”

Boone smiled as he walked over to rub his fingers over one of the quilts. “I thought I recognized this. Kye Hara made it, right?”

“Yes.”

“He’s good.” Boone could see how carefully each stitch was made on the handmade quilt. Kye really was good. He was still smiling as he turned to face Jackie. “Kye is sewing stuff all of the time. You should see his sewing room. It’s filled with things he’s working on. I’ll bet you’ll get a lot of business from him.”

The broad smile on Jackie’s lips seemed to wobble just a bit. “You know Kye Hara?”

“Oh yeah. We live together.”

“Oh.” Jackie clasped his hands together and stared anywhere except at Boone. He acted like he was suddenly nervous. “He seems really nice.”

“He is, although he drives my brother and Neumus crazy on a regular basis.”

“Your brother and Neumus?”

Oops!

How in the hell was he supposed to explain his brother’s relationship to a stranger? It wasn’t like he could tell Jackie that Hugh, Neumus, and Kye were all mated to each other. He hadn’t been able to get close enough to Jackie to scent whether he was a shifter or not. Well, he had when they shook hands, but he had been too distracted by Jackie’s looks to concentrate on how Jackie smelled.

“Kye is my brother-in-law.”

There.

That was simple.

“Oh?”

“He’s married to my brother Hugh and then they have a third in their relationship, a man named Neumus.”

Yes!

The glorious smile was back.

Oh, wait. Boone scratched the side of his head. Why in the hell did he care if Jackie smiled or not? He couldn’t even tell if Jackie was a man or woman and he needed to know that before he got interested–except a little voice in the back of his head said it was too late for that.

He was already interested.

In a woman…maybe.

Hell, he needed his head examined.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Jesus, your legs are smooth.” Boone’s hand slid up as high as the bottom edge of Jackie’s sleeping shorts.

Jackie grinned at the heat he could hear in those words. “I wax.”

Boone swallowed tightly. “Everywhere?”

Jackie raised an eyebrow.

Boone seemed to suddenly get a hold of himself and realized what he was doing. His eyes rounded and he pushed back his chair before jumping to his feet. His hand was shaking as he thrust it into his hair.

“I am so sorry, Jackie. That was totally uncalled for. I had no right to touch you like that.”

“You didn’t hear me arguing, sheriff.”

“No, but I told you I was gay. I have no business messing with—” Boone’s lips pressed tight as he shook his head.

“Messing with what?”

“A woman.”

Jackie’s jaw dropped. “You think I’m a woman?”

Boone’s eyes dropped to the hot pink nail polish. “Aren’t you?”

Jackie laughed. “No.” He had been accused of it more than once, but just because he liked woman’s clothes did not mean he was one.

Boone’s eyes snapped to Jackie’s. “You’re not a woman?”

Jackie shook his head. “No.”

Jackie’s eyes rounded when Boone grabbed him and slammed their mouths together, and then they slid closed as his world turned on its axis. He groaned as he buried his fingers in Boone’s hair, holding the man close as his mouth was ravaged. His heart danced with excitement as he gave himself freely to the passion of Boone’s kiss.

Jackie groaned and opened his mouth, allowing Boone in. He moved his tongue against Boone’s, touching, caressing. Each small touch, each lick felt like heaven. Jackie never wanted it to end.

Jackie yelped when he was lifted and then set down on the counter, the suddenness of the movement startling him. He almost protested when Boone pulled away until he felt the small kisses pressed against the skin of his throat.

When Boone pulled his shirt up, Jackie eagerly lifted his arms. The mouth that latched onto his nipple made Jackie cry out in ecstasy. At the base of his throat, a pulse beat and swelled as though his heart had risen from its usual place, wanting to be near Boone.

Jackie wiggled closer, needing to feel more of Boone’s exquisite touch. Long fingers slid into his sleep shorts and wrap around his aching cock. “Boone!”

“Look how you burn for my touch, Jackie.”

Jackie wanted to look, but he was too busy going out of his mind. He didn’t even care when Boone pulled his shorts off.

Boone’s hand was stroking him, slowly at first then with more vigor. Every time he got to the head of Jackie’s cock, he rubbed his fingers over the top. The gentle touches sent shivers of delight through Jackie until he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Jackie cried out as his body arched into the air, his cock thrusting through Boone’s grip as an orgasm of epic proportions raced through his body, stealing his breath.

Jackie felt melty, blissful. He blinked several times as he looked down to see Boone licking away the evidence of his pleasure.

That was hot.

The sudden flush on Boone’s face was arousing but not as much as the desire burning in the man’s brown eyes. Jackie moaned softly as he felt one of Boone’s hands slide down his stomach to the soft curve of his hip as the man explored.

Jackie grinned at the sudden inhale of breath from Boone and he let his legs fall apart. Boone seemed mesmerized then suddenly started looking around almost frantically.

“Boone?”

“We need lube,” the man said. Boone abruptly leaned over Jackie, reaching for a jar of olive oil sitting on the counter. He opened the bottle and poured some out on his fingers. Before Jackie could question him, Boone put the lid back in the bottle and set it aside.

A moment later, Jackie inhaled sharply when two slick fingers slid into his ass. There was a brief moment of pain, but it quickly turned to pleasure. By the time Boone started moving his fingers around, Jackie’s cock was hard again and he was pushing back against the man’s intruding fingers.

Jackie groaned when Boone pulled his fingers free and wiped them on a nearby dish towel.

Boone’s hands slowly moved down Jackie’s body, skimming his side to the curve of his ass then down to wrap around his thigh. “Lift your leg up, Jackie.”

Jackie did as Boone directed, pulling his leg up as close to his chest as he could. He could feel himself opening up, ready for Boone’s possession. The soft nudge of Boone’s hard cock took the breath from Jackie’s lungs. Boone groaned as he slowly sank into Jackie’s ass.

He moved so slow that Jackie could feel the very veins lining the man’s cock brush against him as he was impaled. Jackie groaned as the man filled him to the brim.

Boone started moving and Jackie thought he was going to pass out. Each thrust, no matter how small or how large, sent pleasure burning through his body. He had thought that Boone jerking him off had been pretty damn good.

This was better.

Boone’s fingers burned into Jackie’s tingling skin as his hands explored the lines of Jackie’s waist and hips. His lips traced a sensuous path of ecstasy along Jackie’s throat.

The man seemed to be doing everything he could to drive Jackie crazy. It was working. Jackie squirmed each time Boone thrust into him, trying to get closer. He panted, his chest heaving with each breath he took.

“Boone, please!” Jackie begged when he felt himself teetering on the edge of another orgasm.

Boone’s thrusts increased in tempo until he was nearly ramming into Jackie. He groaned when one of Boone’s hands wrapped around his cock again. The pleasure was explosive and just what he needed to send him over the edge. Jackie cried out, his head falling back as a second orgasm ripped through his body.

Boone’s hand gripped his hip so hard that Jackie knew he would have bruises in the morning. With one mighty thrust Boone roared out Jackie’s name as his cock swelled and hot liquid filled him.

The sudden blinding pain he felt in his shoulder started to bring him down from his orgasm, but just as quickly as the pain came, it faded away to be replaced by pleasure so intense that stars danced in front of Jackie’s vision until they shattered into a million glowing lights.

A strong masculine scent filled Jackie’s senses, cradling him, comforting him. Boone’s arms wrap around him, adding to his sense of safety. A warmth filled his body, radiating out until all Jackie could feel was Boone.

“Shit,” Boone whispered. “You’re my mate.

Jackie froze before slowly lifting his eyes to Boone. Deep, bone jarring fear filled him. “You’re a shifter?”