STORY EXCERPT

My knee still ached from when I fell off the stage after the explosion. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bruise. What the hell was that? The club turned into chaos as everyone tried to go outside at the same time. Unfortunately, that had given Rossi the perfect escape, and I wasn't able to catch him before he left. He was smart though, and he knew that if something happened, the palace would be the first place to go for information. It was also the place where information was most likely to be accurate.

The palace wasn't in much better shape than the club however. There weren't as many people as there had been in the club, and they were a little more prepared in the face of whatever the hell was going on, but there was still a lot of commotion as guards ran in and out. They took turns covering the perimeter so as not to let anyone through. No one actually seemed to know what that explosion had been though, which made it that much worse.

I stopped one of the guards as they ran past. "Have you seen Rossi or Ari?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Ari and King Brennen still haven't returned from their trip, but I haven't seen Rossi since last night."

I sighed. "Thanks anyway."

The sun was already rising in the distance, and I was exhausted, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep before I talked to Rossi. I needed to know why he was at the club and how long he'd been there. Had he seen the entire performance... or what there was before all the chaos started anyway?

Running through the palace, I tried to think of any place my brother could have gone, wishing that Ari had decided to come home sooner than later. I could tell that no one in the palace actually seemed to know what the hell was going on or what that explosion was. It sounded like it was close by, but apparently it was farther away than I thought. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing considering how big it would have had to be in order for the ground to shake that much.

As I descended the stairs, Tyrstin, Reese, and Bryson were racing up, and we almost collided. They gave me rushed apologies and continued up the stairs before I stopped them to ask if they'd seen Rossi. Justin, who was following close behind them, stopped to make sure I was okay.

"Sorry about them. They've been going a little crazy since they got more comfortable around everyone," he said, brushing a hand through his hair.

The four boys, plus Abrom, had been raised and abused by the same horrible family that tortured and left Ervyn for dead five years ago. I think they all considered each other to be brothers, kind of like Rossi, Ari, and me, but Justin acted more like the father of unruly children than their older brother. I couldn't say it wasn't nice to see them having a good time for once though. They didn't speak to anyone or really even come out of their rooms for weeks after we brought them here.

"It's no problem at all, but I did want to ask if you've happened to see Rossi today. I need to talk to him, but I can't seem to find him anywhere," I said.

At this point, I didn't expect his answer to be any different than what he'd received so far, but when Justin nodded his head instead, my hope peaked.

"Yeah, he was down in the harem's rooms just a few minutes ago. He wanted to check on everyone after the explosion. Honestly, we all thought it was just an earthquake. I couldn't believe it when he said it was so bad. Do you know what happened?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I have no idea. Whatever it was happened on the opposite side of the kingdom from where we were. All we know is that it was bad."

Justin appeared to be considering my words. "I hope it's not as bad as we're all thinking."

Yeah. I was pretty sure that was what we were all hoping at this point. Since the giants first appeared on the border, we were all counting down the days until they attacked, trying to live our lives as normally as possible. But it was hard to do that when you were constantly wondering when all hell would break loose.

I continued down the stairs as Justin ran off after the other men. I understood why he was so protective after everything they'd been through, and especially now with the fear of the unknown, but I hoped one day he would be able to let go and have some fun as well so he didn't have to be so full of worry and anxiety all the time.

When I made it down to the harem's rooms, I was surprised to see that it looked pretty normal. I was unsure why, but I expected it to be chaotic like the rest of the palace. Maybe it was for the best, though, because no one seemed to have any knowledge of what was going on out in the world anyway. It was best if they waited until there were some actual answers to give.

ADULT EXCERPT

Unable to stop myself, I turned and straddled Nico's lap and wrapped my arms around his neck, not wanting to give him the opportunity to let go. It had been way too long since we'd been together, and I was like a starving animal finally being given something to eat. I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by.

Nico reached behind me and slid his hands up the hem of my shirt, palming my back. My skin heated where he touched like he was lighting me on fire. Electricity shot through my balls and up my spine making my cock harden in my jeans as he traced his nails across my sensitized skin. I groaned. I needed more, more stimulation, more connection, more fire. I just needed more. 

"Please," I moaned. At the moment, I honestly didn't care what Nico thought about me. I didn't care if someone was in the room watching the whole thing, I just needed him to not stop. If he did, I would probably completely lose my shit.

"I won't," he said as if he'd read my mind.

It was highly possible that was what happened. We'd experienced something like that before, but neither of us thought anything about it, and in that moment, I couldn't have cared less. It just made it that much easier to share what I was feeling with him without having to stop and speak.

When Nico's hands trailed back down my back to cup my ass, I moaned into his mouth and pushed back. He got the message and slipped a hand down under the waistband of my jeans, fingertips brushing the head of my leaking cock, straining against its denim confines. I wasn't wearing any underwear, as I'd been in a hurry to follow him to the club before the show began, and I had never been happier to have been in a hurry in my life.

He squeezed my bare cheek and pulled it to the side so he had access to my hole. It had been so long since I'd had sex that there was no doubt I was tight, but I would give anything for him to slip that finger inside. Instead, he just circled it around my hole and tapped it gently, making me throb.

My breathing increased as our kiss deepened. His tongue slipped inside my mouth, and it was like a shock to my system. I couldn't take it anymore. Breaking away, I yanked my shirt off over my head and went to work on his. He still had on the outfit he was wearing in the club, and for a moment, I wondered what he thought as he walked through the palace wearing it. I knew he dressed inconspicuously when he left so no one would figure out where he was going but returning like this would be completely obvious. Then I decided it didn't matter.

Nico's shirt, if you could call it that, was designed to break away with ease and snapped with the slightest pressure from my hands. There wasn't much there to begin with, but with the measly straps gone, I now had unhindered access to his glorious chest and abs. But that still wasn't enough. I wanted... no, I needed all of him.

Slipping from his lap, I dropped to my knees in front of him and attacked the button on his leather pants. They weren't as easily removed as his top, but my determination won out. Nico didn't try to stop me and lifted his hips to allow me to pull them down his hips, leaving him naked in front of me.

His cock stood up, rock hard, directly in front of my face. Taking that as an invitation, I swallowed him down to the root. It was one of the talents I was proud of. I would do anything to make Nico feel good. I was a little embarrassed to say that I had in fact practiced, but all that went away when he groaned, and his hips rocked forward.

"Oh shit," he yelped and grabbed the back of my head, his fists clenching in my hair.

I swallowed around his head as it pulsed down my throat, sucking my cheeks in hard to create more friction. Nico panted as I cupped his balls and rolled them gently between my fingers. Determined to make him come, I pulled back so I could focus on the head of his cock and teased the sensitive underside. Having been together with him before, I knew all of his sensitive spots, all the spots that made him go crazy.

I smiled when I felt his balls draw up in my hand and squeezed them lightly as I swallowed him back down.