STORY EXCERPT

“What in the hell happened in here?” Louis Redgrave snapped as he walked into the ballroom where his boss and friend, Nikolas Vaile, was throwing the annual company Christmas party. The place had erupted into a war zone. Tables were overturned, chairs smashed on the floor, people stood in a large circle by the bar as men threw punches at each other in the middle of the melee.

“Etienne happened,” Nikolas said as he wrapped an arm around his newly claimed rajaaka, Jon, and pulled the little man out of the way of a glass flying through the air. Nikolas waved toward the bar with his other hand.

“Excuse me?”

Nikolas had demanded that Louis attend his yearly company party despite Louis’s protests that he didn’t have time or the inclination to mix with a bunch of drunks, vampires or humans. Louis wasn’t sure which was worse.

At the very least, Louis expected to have to break up a few fights, avoid passes from some enamored humans, and teach a couple of the younger vampires that their bravado was misplaced. He didn’t expect to walk into total chaos.

“Etienne got tired of being passed around like a Christmas fruitcake so he said that whoever kissed him the best would get to take him home.” Jon snickered. “The line formed at the door. Things went to hell about three kisses in.”

“And you’re allowing this?” Louis was shocked.

“I don’t think there is much I can do at the moment,” Nikolas replied. “Until Etienne chooses who he’s going home with, this crowd is going to be volatile.”

Louis rolled his eyes, and then stormed across the room. He was going to smash a few heads together then make them clean up the mess they had made, that was assuming anyone was walking by the time Louis was done with them. He wasn’t the head of Vaile Industries security for nothing. He had the brute strength to back up his words.

Louis lunged toward the first vampire he came to and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He flicked his wrist and the man went flying across the room, skidding to a stop under a table. Louis barely paid him any mind as he reached for the next one.

By the time Louis reached the other side of the crowd, he’d tossed several vampires and a few humans out of the way. He had a few more to go. Louis was just reaching for the next fighter when he caught a flash of golden blond hair out of the corner of his eye.

Something akin to an electrical shock shot through Louis’s body when he turned and set eyes on the most alluring man he’d seen in nearly all of his three hundred and twenty years on the earth. Louis suddenly understood what all of the fuss was about.

Even sitting on the edge of a bar top, leaning back on his arms with his legs crossed as if he hadn’t been the cause of all of the chaos, Etienne was stunning. Add in the wavy sunlight blond hair, the strong cheekbones, and dark eyelashes long enough to make a mascara company weep, and he was nearly perfect.

A deep rumble began to build in Louis’s throat. It grew louder when piercing emerald green eyes turned and pinned him where he stood. The sensual light that seemed to pass between Louis and the man sitting on the bar counter made his knees quake, and that was something that hadn’t happened to him since he was an untried vampire.

The quaking almost turned into an all-out body shudder when the man smiled, showing off a set of perfect white teeth, and crooked his finger at Louis. Against his better judgment, and whatever free will he had, Louis found himself crossing the floor between them until he stood just a foot away from the sexiest man he’d ever seen.

Mr. Sex-on-a-stick grinned as if he knew Louis was picturing him spread eagle and naked on his bed. Louis just bet the little man didn’t imagine the restraints that would be used to keep the gorgeous creature there for the rest of his life, but Louis did.

Louis crossed his arms over his chest, spread his legs slightly apart, and grinned as he imagined reinforcing the restraints just to ensure the man stayed in his bed. Maybe he’d add a butt plug so he could fuck the man whenever he wanted to, which Louis rightly imagined would be any time he set eyes on the sexy man.

Etienne opened his mouth as if to say something when another drunken buffoon stumbled over and grabbed him, his lips puckering as he tried to capture Etienne’s lips. To give Etienne some credit, he did try to avoid the man’s mouth, fighting off his grabby hands.

But it wasn’t enough for Louis.

Louis slammed one fist into the other to keep from planting it into the vampire holding onto what he now considered his exclusive property. Etienne became Louis’s the second he set eyes on him. Everyone would know it by the time he was done.

Louis stepped closer and grabbed the vampire around the neck. He pulled the man back until he could look deep into his eyes, letting the young vampire see the red flames in his own.

“Mine!” Louis growled before tossing the vampire away as if he were a bothersome insect. The lyrical sound of laughter filled his ears as he turned to see Etienne’s face filled with amusement. Louis growled again, unsure if he was being made fun of or not.

The soft velvety touch of Etienne’s hands moving over his shirt sent shivers of desire through Louis’s body. The touch of skin against skin might be separated by a thin piece of fabric but Louis could feel the warmth in Etienne’s touch and it burned him hotter than the strongest rays of sunlight.

“My, they do make them big around here, don’t they?”

Louis’s eyes almost crossed. Etienne’s voice was like a caress, soft and lilting, with just the right amount of sensuousness to make Louis’s cock stand up and beg. Unable to prevent further contact, but afraid he might lose control and take the man right where they stood, Louis pressed closer.

“A kiss, kitya, and then I will take you home.”

“You kiss better than all of these men?” Etienne asked. He waved his hand at the men Louis knew were standing behind him, waiting for their turn to kiss the beauty.

It wouldn’t happen.

Louis grinned. He saw Etienne swallow hard, the smile falling from his plush lips. “I can promise mine will be the last kiss you’ll ever want.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“You thought what we had was a one-night stand.”

Etienne nodded.

“It wasn’t.”

Etienne drew in a shaky breath. “It wasn’t?”

There was so much hope in that tone that it waylaid any remaining resentment Louis felt about Etienne leaving him. “No, kitya, this is not a one-night stand. It’s an eternity.”

And Louis intended to show him just that. When the elevator doors slid open, Louis swung Etienne back up over his shoulder and marched off the elevator. His quarters were only a few doors down from the elevator so it was just a few steps away. Louis nodded to the two guards standing at attention on either side of the door before carrying his mate inside.

He made a beeline for the bedroom. He was glad he had such a large bed. He tossed Etienne into the middle of it, and even when he bounced he still never reached the edge.

“Watch me, kitya.” Louis stood at the bottom of the bed and began to strip off his clothes. Only years of fine honed control kept him from attacking his mate when he saw the fire igniting in Etienne’s eyes. It was good that his mate found him attractive, but that heated look singed Louis right to his toes.

“Do you like what you see, kitya?”

Louis preened just a bit when Etienne nodded enthusiastically. His mate should be aroused by him, but this was something else. The scent of Etienne’s arousal permeated the air, cloaking Louis in a haze of red-hot lust.

Once Louis had dropped every stitch of clothing on the floor, he palmed his cock and gave a few long tugs. Etienne’s eyes followed his movement, the man licking his lips. Louis stroked his finger over the tip, swiping up a drop of pre-cum. He held it out to Etienne. “Do you want a taste, kitya?”

Etienne’s eyes flickered to his for a moment before he rolled to his hands and knees. The sensual movement of Etienne’s body as he crawled to the end of the bed was almost Louis’s undoing. The man moved like liquid sex.

When Etienne stuck his tongue out and licked the drop of cum off his finger, Louis had to reach down and squeeze the base of his cock to keep from coming.

Louis grabbed Etienne and pulled him to the edge of the bed before reaching for the buttons on the man’s shirt. He felt the air in his lungs seize as he bared the man to his hungry gaze. Etienne had miles of golden tanned skin that Louis had the urge to lick.

He took the time to explore Etienne’s silky skin with his hands as he pushed the shirt off Etienne’s shoulders. He dropped the shirt to the floor and then stroked his hands down over Etienne’s narrow shoulders to his beautifully sculpted chest.

Two lightly brown hued round disks caught Louis’s attention. He kept his eyes locked with Etienne’s as he leaned down and nipped at one. Etienne’s nostrils flared but not a sound escaped the man’s tight lips.

That would change.

Louis slid down to the floor and reached for Etienne’s dress shoes. He heard Etienne chuckle when he pulled one shoe off and tossed it over his shoulder, and then the other one.

Etienne’s laughter stopped when Louis reached for the zipper on the man’s slacks. The bulge in his pants pulsed and grew as Louis slowly pulled the zipper down to reveal one of the prettiest cocks he had ever seen. It was thick, long, and dripping.

He had not faired bad in the mate department. Etienne was stunning.

Louis pushed himself to his feet and pointed to the bed. “Make yourself comfortable, rajaaka.”

Etienne just sat there and stared at him until Louis paused.

“Etienne?”

Etienne’s eyes widened for a moment and then his face flushed as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing. Louis smirked as the man scrambled to get on the bed. Etienne was in for more than a few surprises.

Louis watched Etienne scooted back and got settled in the middle of the bed then raised his eyes to meet Etienne’s lust filled ones. The heat in his mate’s eyes warmed Louis as nothing ever had. His breath hitched in his throat, stealing the words he had been about to speak.

He went with action instead.

Louis grabbed his hard cock and gave it a long slow stroke. He saw the instant Etienne became aware of what he was doing. The man’s eyes dropped to his cock and a soft flush filled his face. But it was the way that Etienne’s cock pulsed and jerked that drew Louis’s attention.

“Do you like what you see, rajaaka?” Louis gave his cock another long stroke from root to tip and then back down again. His balls felt heavy, achy. The need to sink his shaft into Etienne’s welcoming body was almost overwhelming.

Etienne’s breathing seemed to stutter in his chest the more he watched Louis caressing himself, which told Louis a lot of things. Etienne enjoyed watching. That gave Louis all sorts of ideas.

Louis walked to the nightstand and grabbed the tube of lube he kept in the drawer. He tossed it down on the bed and climbed on. He slowly made his way up until he hovered over the top of his mate, his hands planted on either side of the man’s head and his body nestled between Etienne’s thighs.

“You’re going to like this, rajaaka,” Louis whispered. “Promise.”

Before Etienne could protest or even speak, Louis lowered his head and claimed the man’s lips. The first kiss was searing, burning right through Louis’s body to his soul. There was no slow start and gradual increase in intensity. It went straight to blazing the second Etienne’s tongue touched Louis’s.

Louis moved his mouth away from Etienne’s and slowly kissed a trail down the man’s neck to his chest. Louis moved his free hand down between their bodies, tracing his fingers over Etienne’s hard cock.

Etienne spread his thighs wider, encouraging more touching. Louis used his thumb to rub over the man’s leaking tip. Pumping the entire length with his hand, he used every trick he knew to build Etienne’s pleasure.