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STORY EXCERPT

Crawling forward into the roiling wall of fog, he kept his eyes trained on the yellow divider line. He wasn’t sure which direction he was traveling, but he hoped it was the way that would eventually lead him out of the city. If he was wrong, he’d be trekking right into the heart of enemy territory.

“You’ll need to move much faster than that,” that deep voice taunted him.

Warren was ashamed to admit that it was a damn sexy voice. There was something very, very wrong with him. Most likely, it was meant to be alluring, like a siren’s call, leading him to his doom. Doing his best to ignore it, he picked up his pace, wincing as his injured hand landed on a pebble in the road.

The moisture of the fog licked at his skin, making it feel clammy and cold. Since it was the closest thing he’d had to a shower since the last rainfall—nearly three months ago—he decided to look at the silver lining of the situation. It might not wash away the smell or the grime, but it did feel kind of nice.

“Watching you crawl around like an animal is fun and all, but I’m fucking bored now. Game over.”

In the next blink, a pair of black boots with thick rubber soles appeared in front of Warren’s nose at the same moment the fog disappeared. He was grabbed by the strap of his backpack and jerked to his feet. Strangely, it made him feel better. At least he wouldn’t die on his knees like a coward.

Swallowing hard, he lifted his head to peer into the eyes of his attacker. The moonlight was reflected in the dark pools, giving them an eerie shine that did nothing to dispel Warren’s fear. He forced himself to keep looking, though, moving past the man’s eyes to take in more of his features.

A strong, square jaw, gently sloping nose, and high, proud cheekbones gave him a dangerously sexy look. As far as last sights before his slaughter, Warren figured he could have done worse. Monster or not, the guy was over six feet of gorgeousness. How unfair was that?

With his thoughts a chaotic mess, it took him a second to realize that he was still alive. And more than that, this mountain of a man was looking at him very oddly. It was almost like confused disdain, as though he didn’t understand what he was seeing but still didn’t like it.

“Can you just rip my throat out and get it over with? It’s been kind of a shitty night, dude.” Warren didn’t know what made him say it, and he wanted to smack himself in the forehead once the words were past his lips.

The guy’s frame rippled from head to toe, but not like a shudder. It was almost as if his body was trying to change forms, but couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Throughout it all, those deep, dark eyes never left Warren’s face, studying him intently, dissecting him.

“Mine,” the beast growled at him, a primal sound that rolled up from his chest. Then he snapped his lips together and scowled as his brow furrowed. He shook his head firmly, stopped, and shook his head again.

Warren didn’t know what the hell that meant, but he didn’t like the sound of it. He didn’t want to be anybody’s “mine.” No, no, and hell no! “Uh, yeah, you can just kill me. I’m cool with that.”

“Mine,” he growled again, more guttural this time, like he was losing control of his vocal chords.

Warren wished to fuck the stranger would quit saying it, because every time he did, he just looked more pissed off than the last. It was clear he didn’t want Warren, so why did he keep staking a claim to him?

Suddenly, Warren was released and shoved away, while his attacker glared at him like Warren had made some crack about his mother. “Oh, fuck no. Absolutely not.”

“I agree. So…” Warren trailed off and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll just be going now.”

“Be quiet.”

“No need to get testy, dude.”

“My name is Drakon, not dude. Now, stop talking.” Drakon shoved both hands through his short, dark hair and growled, cursing under his breath. Still grumbling to himself, he picked Warren up, slung him over one shoulder, and began walking toward the center of the city.

“Well, I’m Warren. Warren Colfax.”

“I don’t care what your name is.”

“I just figured since we’re getting close and all that I should introduce myself.”

The guy growled in response, clearly wanting to end the conversation. Unfortunately, Warren babbled when he was scared, and just then, he was scared out of his goddamn mind.

“Where are you taking me?”

“I thought I told you to shut it.” Drakon grunted at him, hitching him up a little higher and shaking him more roughly than necessary. Apparently, he wasn’t big on conversation. Good to know.

Resigned to his fate, Warren rested his elbow in between Drakon’s shoulder blades and propped his chin in his palm. When he’d fantasized about a sexy man carrying him off to have his wicked way with him, this wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind.

ADULT EXCERPT

Pushing up to a sitting position, he grabbed Warren around the waist and pulled the smaller man into his lap so that he straddled Drakon’s thighs. “You are not allowed to speak unless I ask you a direct question. Do you remember how you should answer?”

“Yes, Master,” Warren responded immediately with a self-satisfied grin.

“When I tell you to do something, I expect you do it without argument. In return, I promise to never ask you to do something that will hurt you or humiliate you. Do you understand so far?”

“Yes, Master.” The agreement wasn’t as forthcoming this time, however.

“Is there something you want to ask?”

“What if it does hurt?”

“You tell me, and everything stops. I’m not going to let that happen, though.”

Warren looked appeased by the answer. His muscles relaxed marginally, his expression softened, and some of the fire returned to his eyes. “One more?”

Drakon chuckled in spite of himself as he kneaded the flesh around Warren’s hips. “Go on, then.”

“Is kissing okay?”

“Kissing is always okay, but in the city, you should always wait for me to initiate it.”

“What about right here?” Warren wiggled a little closer, causing his hard cock to rub against Drakon’s.

Giving Warren that small measure of control wasn’t a big deal, but Drakon worried he’d forget while they were in public. He really wasn’t any good at this Master stuff, but it was in both of their interest for him to get his mind wrapped around it.

Cradling Warren’s face in both hands, he pulled the enchanting creature to him, pillowing their lips together tenderly, but with a firmness that left no doubt to who was in charge. The kiss ignited into a firestorm of passion, desire, and need at once, and it was difficult to decide which one of them moaned louder.

Their tongues met, tangled, swirled, and danced with a familiarity of longtime lovers. It was just a ruse fabricated by the mating bond, but it felt so right that Drakon decided to go with it and see where it led him. Winding both arms around Warren’s waist, he rolled him to his back, insinuating himself between those long, slender legs.

Breaking the kiss only long enough to suck in much-needed oxygen, Drakon recaptured his mate’s mouth with renewed vigor as he popped the cap open on the bottle of lubricant. Distracting Warren by licking, sucking, and nibbling along the delicate curve of his throat, he slipped his gel-coated fingers between their damp bodies, zeroing in on his lover’s fluttering entrance.

Unlike the previous night, Warren seemed eager rather than apprehensive, rocking his hips and pressing his ass against Drakon’s hand. Taking it as the okay to continue, Drakon eased in just the tip of his forefinger, pausing at the first knuckle to check for any signs of discomfort.

The uninhibited moans pouring from Warren’s lips had him fighting for control as he carefully inserted the rest of the digit into his mate’s snug channel. “Does this hurt, priya?”

“No,” Warren answered through panting breath. “It feels amazing.”

Drakon still wanted to find the humans who’d treated his mate so poorly and rip their entrails out through their rectums, but he had more important things to worry about just then. “Good.”

He spent much more time stretching and preparing Warren than he normally would with someone else, but the strange protectiveness he’d felt before had only intensified while he slept. Hell, he hadn’t even known he was capable of such tenderness, and maybe he hadn’t been before Warren came into his life.

Whatever the reason, he couldn’t fight it, didn’t want to, and saw no reason why he should. Human, elf, or alien, Warren was a gift that Drakon was certain he didn’t deserve. Maybe he’d feel differently when the blood returned to his brain, but oddly, he didn’t think so.

When he had three fingers sawing into Warren’s hole without any distress from his lover, he eased them free, coated his throbbing cock with lube, and positioned the crown against Warren’s entrance. Sheathing himself to the root inside the velvet-lined tunnel was pure bliss, erotic pleasure unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

Those silky walls convulsed around his cock in waves, gripping him, massaging him, and pushing him closer to the edge of no return. Urging Warren’s legs around his waist, he spread across his mate, covering him from sternum to hips while still buried to the hilt inside his perfect ass.

Warren’s head whipped back and forth on the pillow, sweat beaded across his bronzed skin, and moaning whimpers of unadulterated pleasure streamed from his kiss-swollen lips in a symphony of erotic delight. Bracing himself with both hands beside Warren’s head, Drakon flexed his hips, dragging his length over the straining muscles of his lover’s hole until only the mushroom-shaped head remained.

Thrusting forward once again, the heat that enveloped his aching dick was even better than the first time, and that thin thread of self-control finally snapped. Using one hand to stroke, grope, knead, and caress every inch of Warren he could reach, he plunged into his mate’s depths over and over, driving them both closer to the brink of climax.

“I…I can’t. I feel…fuck!” Warren’s entire frame began to tremble, his muscles tensed, and his ass clamped down around Drakon’s cock until he felt sure he’d need the Jaws of Life to get free.