STORY EXCERPT

It was a little after nine o’clock on a beautiful June Tuesday morning in Englewood, Florida, and Sean damn sure wanted to be a part of it. He’d been working his ass off six months straight with barely a day to himself. If his father didn’t like it, he could go screw himself. When he woke up and saw the weather report, and the fact that he didn’t have to be out in the field today supervising their survey crews, he’d decided to chuck it and called in to the office. No doubt his father would be up his ass about it, but unlike his old man, he didn’t enjoy working twenty-four-seven.

Today is me time.

When he left the no-wake zone behind and reached the main channel, he pushed the throttle forward. The 250-horsepower Yamaha outboard smoothly responded, putting the boat up on plane and gliding over the silky water not yet rippled by afternoon sea breezes. He could almost feel fish tugging on his line already. Hopefully, no one would be out at his favorite near-shore fishing spot in the Gulf and he could shuck his swim trunks.

Maybe even rub one out under the sun. It’d been too damn long since he’d been laid. The only thing he didn’t like about Englewood was the lack of eligible and hunky gay men. He rarely had time to trek up to Sarasota or St. Pete or even Tampa to waste nights trolling bars, which really wasn’t his thing anyway. He also wasn’t comfortable meeting someone online. He wanted face-to-face interaction.

He smiled when he spotted the trio of dolphins off to starboard a few hundred yards ahead of him in Lemon Bay. It wouldn’t be the first time dolphins swam along with him, surfing in the outboard’s wake. As a kid he’d been fascinated by the animals, wondering how they always managed to stay safe despite their dangerous-looking acrobatics while playing chicken with boats.

They veered toward him, homing in on his wake. He laughed and maintained a steady course for them. Except for some commercial guides, he practically had the glassy water to himself this morning and didn’t need to watch for other boats.

* * * *

Emery and Erik closed in on their quarry, Denby. Denby was “it” in their game of fuck tag, and if he could make it to the no-wake zone before they caught up with him, they’d switch off until one of them tired enough to get caught by the other two.

And that one would then proceed to get his brains fucked out.

Not a bad fate, admittedly.

While the pod generally frowned on them going off on their own for play due to their stuffy “safety in numbers” thinking, the older younglings generally preferred to take this kind of play out on the water when the elders were at their normal two-legged day jobs.

Besides, it wasn’t like they were going out in open water to hunt. And it was daytime. On a weekday, for chrissake. A few hours playing in Lemon Bay wouldn’t hurt anybody. Emery loved the feel of his shifted body cutting through the warm salt water, feeling free in a way his human form didn’t allow.

Denby veered toward an oncoming boat. Emery and Erik both let out chirrups of triumph, easily seeing from his trajectory that he’d have to veer away and back toward them, giving them the win. Denby had just turned twenty and wasn’t used to the rocketing pace of their play yet. It was only the fourth time he’d been out with them for fuck tag, although he hadn’t come out to the pod as gay yet.

Then again, Denby could be like one of many others before him, playing on the side with his male youngling pod mates while putting up a respectable front for the females and eventually settling down with a female dolphin shifter, or even a human female.

Hell, stranger things had happened.

Emery didn’t give a shit who knew he liked guys over girls, and neither did Erik. Not that Erik was mate material, but as a friend and fuck buddy, he was fine. Emery’s parents insisted that because he was an Alpha, and son of the Placida Pod’s head Alpha, he would mate with a female dolphin shifter and produce grandchildren for their line despite him repeatedly telling them no way in hell. He just wasn’t interested in women, shifter or human.

Just because Dad’s in charge of the pod doesn’t mean I’m going to kowtow to him.

As they drew closer to the boat and Denby didn’t veer away, Emery’s thoughts turned to concern. “He sees the boat, right?” he chattered to Erik.

“Yeah, I think he does. Shit. Maybe not.”

They both put on speed, the game no longer fun as they sent warning clicks to the younger male. “My father will sooo have my ass if someone gets hurt,” Emery said.

“No shit, dumbass. I don’t want him ripping me a new one, either.”

Unfortunately, Denby maintained his course. Emery dug deep, adrenaline pouring through his shifted body as he flipped his tail fluke and pulled ahead of Erik. Denby’s course was too straight. He’d cut in front of the boat just in time to get hit by it if he didn’t veer off or slow down.

Denby either ignored or couldn’t hear their loud pleas for him to stop. Within a few yards of the boat, Emery managed to leap out of the water, striking Denby in the side and knocking the wind out of him.

Unfortunately, it put Emery directly in the path of the boat. He heard the captain throttle the engine back, but too late. The bow caught him squarely in the head over his melon, sending blinding pain throughout his body that violently spun his world into grey clouds of pain, followed by black.

ADULT EXCERPT

They shut the water off. Barely pausing to grab a couple of towels from the shelf in the bathroom, Emery led Sean into the bedroom and fell backward onto the bed with him in his arms.

“I’ve never done this before,” Sean said.

Emery studied him. “You’ve never been with a guy?”

“No, not that. I mean yes, I have. I mean…” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “This sounds so girlie, but I usually don’t just fall into bed with a guy like this. With a stranger.”

Emery grinned. “Neither do I, but I also don’t let a good thing get away. Life’s too damn short.” He grabbed Sean’s hair and pulled his face down again, kissing, fucking him with his tongue. He wanted to spend all day twined with this man’s body, in every possible way. He wanted to fuck his ass, his mouth, and feel his cock fucking him. He wanted to sixty-nine him and try to make him come at the same time. He wanted—

He blinked. He wanted to spend the rest of his life doing that to him.

What the fuck?

Then Sean’s hard cock rubbed against him and pure, raw need took over.

I’ll think about it later. Much later. He pushed Sean up. “Condoms and lube?”

Sean nodded and rose on shaky legs. He opened the drawer of the bedside table while Emery spread a towel out on the bed and lay on it.

* * * *

Sean didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. At least Emery had brought up the C-word before he had to. Good, one less worry.

Except as he got a good, long look at the fully erect cock jutting straight up from Emery’s body, he had a new worry.

How the fuck am I going to get that in me?

Emery rolled the condom onto him and took the bottle of lube. He slicked his cock with it, his grey eyes burning into Sean’s as he stroked his immense shaft.

“Kneel over me,” Emery ordered.

With a will of their own, his legs complied. Emery squirted more lube into his hand. “Spread your ass for me.”

Sean reached behind him and complied, a little embarrassed to see pre-cum dripping from the end of his cock onto Emery’s abs.

Skillfully, Emery slicked his dark hole, playing with Sean, making him moan as he slid first one, then two fingers in him. He played with him for a minute before adding more lube and a third finger, scissoring them inside him, the pinching burn turning pleasurable almost immediately. Sean closed his eyes and rocked against Emery’s hand, wanting him deeper, harder, faster.

Then the fingers disappeared. Sean was so startled his eyes flew open again.

Emery put the lube aside, wiped his hand on a towel, and grabbed Sean’s hips. “My damn cock is so hard it hurts. I need to fuck you.”

Sean tried to control his breathing, afraid he’d hyperventilate and pass out. With Emery guiding him, he felt the man’s thick knob press against his rim for entrance.

“Just take it slow,” Emery coaxed.

Slow? It was huge. He panted as he gingerly reached between his legs and held Emery’s cock as he guided it past the outer ring of muscle. He whimpered, the burn back with a vengeance. He was too fucking big.

Then Emery’s hand closed around his cock. “You can take it,” he hoarsely said. “You know you want to.”

He did want to, and the delicious feel of Emery slicking his own juices up and down his throbbing shaft quickly turned the burn into a pleasant fullness he wanted to completely experience. Slowly at first, he rocked back and forth, taking a little more each time, Emery matching his strokes until he felt his ass cheeks settle against Emery’s hard thighs.

He opened his eyes and met Emery’s gaze. Emery tented his legs behind Sean, cradling him on his hips. He laced the fingers of his free hand through Sean’s. “You like that, don’t you? You like having my cock buried in you.” It wasn’t a question.

Sean couldn’t think, much less speak. He nodded, whimpering slightly. He didn’t want to explode again so soon. He wanted to enjoy it, savor it for a few minutes at least. He just didn’t know how he’d last.

“Just wait till you’re used to me and I can bend you over and fuck your ass whenever I want.”

Sean’s cock throbbed at Emery’s words. Whenever he wants? It sounded like Emery wanted more than just an afternoon fuck.

He couldn’t understand why the thought of having this guy he’d just met stay in his life for the long term turned his insides into tapioca pudding.

* * * *

Emery couldn’t believe he’d said it. There was no denying it, however. Unless Sean suddenly turned into a real douchebag in the next five minutes, no way in fucking hell was he letting him out of his life. He didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t going to argue with it. The thought of any other guy in his life had suddenly become repellant.

Mate.

Fuck that shit. He could fall in love with a guy without it being a mate-bond, he tried to tell himself. He didn’t even give a shit about the complications of trying to tell him the truth about who and what he was.

He didn’t care. All he cared about was not letting this man walk out of his life.

Sean’s ass squeezed around his cock so deliciously tight that he thought he might explode before he got his shaft totally buried inside him. And then when he started moving, delicious turned into perfection. The only thing better would be fucking without the condom.

We’ll get there soon enough.

He didn’t need a condom, because he was immune to STDs, but had asked for it more for Sean’s mental comfort and to avoid the whole I’m-a-dolphin-shifter issue.

He thrust his hips up into Sean as he started stroking Sean’s cock faster. Through a tight jaw he said, “I won’t last long.”