STORY EXCERPT

When Jason had told him to give Logan a chance, Jared had really looked at his brother for the first time. What he saw amazed him. His mind made up, Jared had chased after Logan. He couldn’t have been more than five minutes behind him. But still.

The threat of Logan wishing to be dead instead of living without the love of a mate haunted Jared as he drove. How had he not seen the desperation in his mate until then? Logan had been trying to reach him since that day he responded to the call eight months ago. All he’d ever done was try, and all Jared had done was refuse him.

Finally, he arrived at Logan’s home. A small two-story house, it appeared to have been constructed during the time the village had first been founded. Logan’s Taurus sat in the drive way, driver’s door open and engine running. Jared felt his heart plummet.

Rushing into the house, his eyes grew in size and his heart stopped.

“No!”

Without thinking, he raced to his mate’s side. Logan was dangling from the support beam in his living room, a rope around his neck. Grabbing the chair Logan had obviously used, Jared climbed up and cut the rope with his claws. Catching Logan in his arms, he gently set him on the ground before checking his pulse. It was weak.

Seeing the results of his own cold rejection left Jared motionless. Logan lay on the ground at his feet, the rope still around his neck.

His brain told him he had to do something. Logan, though still breathing shallowly, wouldn’t last long if he didn’t get medical attention. Reaching for his cell, Jared didn’t dialed 911, knowing what could happen should they do a physical on the cougar shifter. It could be a disaster if modern medicine found out about them. Instead, he dialed 555. A brief conversation followed once the call was answered, and Jared was left alone with his mate as he waited for help to arrive.

He could only be thankful that the cop hadn’t used his gun to end his life.

Logan didn’t move, nor did he shift to heal the damage already inflicted. Jared’s world stood still, unable to move forward until some definitive show of life appeared from his mate.

“Jared Strand?” The call came from the front door.

“In here,” Jared replied, unable to move from Logan’s side.

The paramedics moved into the room, working around Jared’s prone bulk.

“Has he shifted?” one of the two men asked, the smallest of the pair. His blue-black hair and grey eyes were a startling contrast to his delicate face.

Jared shook his head.

“Give ‘im a shot of adrenaline.”

Jared watched as the uniformed men worked to force Logan into the shift. After they injected him, Logan’s cougar form soon took the place of the man. Jared felt tears prick his eyes. He couldn’t believe that this was the first time he’d seen his mate’s second form. The cougar was beautiful with red-brown fur covering most of the animal. It lightened around his belly, and darkened around his ears, the tips of his tail, and paws.

He hated the circumstances, and himself, for allowing it to get this far.

“Okay, we need to move him.”

As the pair reached for his mate something clicked inside Jared. He wasn’t going to let someone else touch his mate during such a vulnerable time. Stepping forward, he lifted the large cat up himself, cradling the animal tenderly. The one hundred sixty pounds of weight was nothing to the sea serpent.

“Where is your vehicle?” Jared asked.

The two looked at each other before motioning toward the door. “It’s out front. Don’t worry, our associate will prevent humans from seeing us, or anything suspicious.”

Jared didn’t even bother asking what the man meant. Moving from the apartment, he walked quickly but smoothly toward the waiting van marked Pămȃnt Moving Center, one of the many false names used for the Hospital of Our Lady Pămȃnt. Leaning against the side of the van was the third member of the emergency response team. His startling red hair and glowing green eyes gave a hint of the power being released from the man. A haze clinging to the air allowed Jared to know that an illusion was being cast on the humans in the neighborhood, making it so they didn’t see anything unusual.

“Who’s this?” the demon asked. His scent couldn’t be denied. The taint of fire and sulfur clung to the third man.

“Patient’s mate,” the smallest of the three answered.

ADULT EXCERPT

Jared stripped Logan of his shirt, breaking their kiss for just a moment before his mate was claiming his mouth again. Growling into Logan’s mouth, Jared’s hands traveled to his mate’s ass. He squeezed the jean-clad mounds, loving the fullness in his palms. Logan’s body was perfect. He wasn’t short, only two inches shorter than Jared, making him the perfect height for kissing. His lithe, muscular body was sexier than sin as he pressed against Jared.

Logan broke the kiss and sat up. His golden eyes looked down at Jared with a heat that Jared was sure his own gaze mirrored. Logan smirked. Jared didn’t know what to do as his mate suddenly got off of him and stood in the center of the room. He watched, curious as to Logan’s intentions as he mate began to strip from his pants.

Feeling his mouth go dry, Jared panted as Logan crawled back onto the bed, now fully naked. Every glorious inch of his mate was open to his view. He reached out to touch him, but Logan bit at his fingers. The devilish gleam in his mate’s eyes had Jared’s cock filling at the seams, pre-cum soaked his boxers.

Logan’s nostrils flared, his own cock twitching at the scent of Jared’s arousal thick in the air.

Logan reached for Jared’s shirt. Sitting up briefly, Jared allowed Logan to strip him of the material. Next to go were his pants and boxers. Logan smiled at his steel-hard shaft, but he didn’t make a move to touch it.

“Logan,” Jared whined when his mate got off him again. He didn’t know what Logan was planning, but he certainly seemed to enjoy torturing Jared.

“Easy,” Logan soothed as he grabbed a tube of lube from his own bag and returned to the bed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Neither was Jared, especially if Logan was going to do what he thought he was about to do.

For a moment Jared’s mind turned rational, reminding him that Logan had just recovered from passing out due to exhaustion. Then Logan pressed a finger into his own ass and Jared forgot to breathe as he watched his mate prep himself.

“Damn.” Jared fisted the base of his dick to keep himself from coming as Logan moaned above him, moving his hips in time with his hand thrusting up into himself.

Jared had fantasized a lot about what sex would be like with his mate. This never showed up in his dreams before. He’d always imagined himself being the one bringing Logan pleasure from start to finish. Jared found it surprising that he liked taking a less controlling role in this part of their relationship.

Logan added a second finger, his voice calling out to Jared with a breathy moan.

Just because Jared enjoyed Logan’s forwardness didn’t mean he wasn’t going to participate. Sitting up, Jared ran his tongue down Logan’s neck, sucking on his pulse point. His fingers glided up from Logan’s hips, circling his nipples before pinching and rolling them between his thumbs and forefingers.

“Fuck, yes,” Logan moaned, his head falling to the side so Jared could continue to mark his neck. A third finger breached his ass and Jared felt the purr radiating up from Logan’s chest.

Continuing his caress of his mate’s body, one of Jared’s hands traveled back down. He smoothed down Logan’s strained thighs, slipped between them, and came back up to cup his balls. Logan jerked, thrusting into Jared’s hand.

“Keeping fucking yourself,” Jared instructed.

Logan nodded.

Jared massaged his mate’s sac, rolling the heavy balls in his hand before continuing to his leaking cock. Logan moaned, his enter body contorting when Jared’s hand wrapped around Logan’s length. All it took was a few pumps of his hand, from root to head, for Logan to come in Jared’s grasp.

Logan’s body slumped against Jared’s as he continued to stroke his mate through his climax. Bringing his hand to his lips, he licked it clean. Jared found he loved the taste of his mate. Next time, he’d have to take Logan into his mouth. Right now, though, he wanted to be buried in his ass.

His cougar sat back, smiling at him. “You’re turn.”

Jared was about to ask what he meant, but didn’t get the chance. Logan lubed Jared’s cock, lined it up with his well-stretched ass, and slowly sat down on the length.