STORY EXCERPT

Through the golden leaves of the tall, overgrown grass, the tiger watched the small rabbit basking in the last rays of the sun. The tiger was hungry for the taste and feel of the bunny. He had waited long enough. Years. Decades. An eternity. It was time to claim what was his once and for all.

Too many years had passed since he had last held his mate. It was time to end the deceit, the abuse, and the pure evilness they had both endured and what he still endured. 

It was time to destroy the wicked poison that was both chemical and human. It was time to possess, love, and be loved. The bunny's cute, little nose twitched, and he turned his head. Fear, yearning, and need all swirled in those gorgeous, dark eyes.

"Go away." The beautiful voice touching the tiger's mind almost brought tears to the big cat's eyes.

"Never again," he vowed.

"I hate you."

"You love me," he countered.

"No."

"Yes."

The bunny leaped to his feet and took off around the corner of the huge mansion. The tiger sprang out of the grass in pursuit. And the chase began.

* * * *

Silas McDougal watched the tiger chase after the bunny from the upper floor nursery window. The last chapter of this section of the great book had begun. How it would end, was still the burning question.

Most living beings of this world didn't understand that all good or bad happened for a reason. The tortures and experiments of the scientists were pieces of a puzzle that would not be complete without them. The Battle Bunnies place in this puzzle was an important piece. And once their unions were complete, they would have an even greater mission, for evil never stopped.

Silas glanced over at the baby sitting in his crib and playing with a soft, plastic dragon. How fitting that was.

Soon, more pieces of the puzzle would fall into place, and if the paranormal world were lucky, the baby and Silas would merge into their true being. But first, they had to find the old woman, and the other child needed to be created. If any of the pieces went missing or were destroyed, the paranormal world was doomed.

The snick of a latch caught Silas's attention, and the door to the nursery opened partway. Salvador's head peaked in. The next moment, the handsome vampire opened the door all the way and stepped into the room.

Upon seeing Silas, he stopped and smiled. "Greetings, old one. I was just checking to see if the baby had finished napping."

"He's doing well," Silas answered. "I do believe he needs his diaper changed and is getting a wee bit hungry."

Salvador went over and picked up the baby. Silas chuckled when the vampire’s nose wrinkled. The child was quite potent, even from across the room.

"Whoa, someone stinks." Salvador brushed his lips across the baby's cheek before he looked at Silas. "I'll just take care of this."

Silas smiled at the baby, who gurgled wet bubbles at him. "It's almost time for lunch. I think I'll go see what Sally has on the menu."

"Sounds good," Salvador answered as he took the baby over to the changing table. "I'll be down in a bit."

After glancing one last time at the baby, Silas left the room, his flip-flops slapping against his soles all the way. Soon, he promised himself. Soon, the puzzle would be complete.

* * * *

Panic stuttered through Basil as the big, striped tiger pounced, pinning him to the cold, hard ground. He squirmed, determined to get away. He'd done it before. He could do it again.

Human hands grabbed him as the tiger shifted, and a man held him down. The touch was gentle, but firm. "I've let you go too many times in the past, my love." The words echoed inside of Basil, shaking him from the inside out. "This time, I'm keeping you."

Basil knew the second he shifted back to his human form, it was a mistake. Naked skin pressed against naked skin. Hot, luscious, naked skin pressed again...damn. It was pressed against him, pushing him down into the dirt. Warming him, and it had been so long since he had been warm.

"Get off me," he growled as he starred up into a set of blue eyes that haunted his dreams, or was that his nightmares?

"I don't think so."

Basil's breath caught as he watched long curls of wavy, blond hair flutter around the man's face as he shook his head. The color of dry, summer grass, and curled just to the point to make him want to tug on a strand, it framed the most beautiful face in existence, and the one guaranteed to break Basil's heart.

"Get off of me, Theo." He was furious at his vulnerability to the handsome tiger.

"So, you do know my name."

"I know it." Until now, he had just never spoken it, at least not out loud. He had screamed it in his secret fantasies.

Heat flashed through those baby blues, the color darkening as Theo's lust ignited. Basil swallowed tightly when he felt the man harden against his abdomen. He flushed and glanced away when his own cock hardened in response.

"I think you missed me," Theo murmured so close to his skin, Basil felt the man's warm breath heat him.

"Don't be ridiculous." Basil tried to dismiss the man's words, but he couldn't.

Theo had been coming in and out of his life for years. Sometimes, Basil would see him three or four times in as many days. Other times, he wouldn't see Theo for months. Basil never knew where Theo went, or who he was with, and he had always been too afraid to ask.

"You did miss me," Theo said before sharp teeth nipped at Basil's ear. "I missed you, my beautiful bunny. Every second of every day that we've been apart has been pure torture for me."

"I know what torture is." Basil's chin jutted out in a mutinous gesture as his temper flared. "You don't have a fucking clue."

For a moment, Theo's blue eyes grew glossy with tears, but then he blinked, and the moisture was gone. "I know you do, my love, and there is no hell on earth worse than the knowledge that I put you there. I will never ask your forgiveness because none can be given. My crime was too heinous."

Something cold and forbidding swept into Theo's eyes, darkening them, but not with arousal. There was a blackness in his soul, and it shook Basil to his core. "But that does not mean I will give you up," Theo finished as his hand curved around Basil's face. "You are mine, and I am tired of waiting to have the gift the fates have given me."

ADULT EXCERPT

Before Basil could utter a protest—if that was indeed what he had been going to do—hard lips covered his, capturing them with a kiss that sent the pit of Basil's stomach into a wild whirl. The kiss was surprisingly gentle for all of its fierceness.

Parting his lips, Basil touched his tongue to Theo's. This was the first true connection they had ever shared even though they had been dodging each other for years. The kiss sang through his veins, leaving him utterly broken in its wake.

"Oh, my love," Theo whispered as he moved, trailing kisses over Basil's hot skin, his mouth leaving a burning path of desire. "My mate. How I have missed you."

Basil had missed Theo as well, but he swore to himself he would never utter those words. That didn't mean he wasn't going to soak up every touch of Theo's lips on his skin, or the soft stroke of the man's hands over his body.

"Theo." He arched up into that sweet touch, craving it more than air. He was desperate, needing each little caress before his fantasy exploded and was gone.

"I'll take care of you, my love."

Basil was afraid to look too deeply into that statement. The fragile bond between him and Theo had always been tenuous at best. It was there. Basil had always known it was there. He had just never acknowledged it. He couldn't. If his brothers ever learned who Theo was, or what he had done, they would kill him. That put being with Theo squarely in the "dream only" category.

But Basil so wanted to give into the need crawling over his skin, making him ache from the top of his head down to his toes.

Basil rolled to his hands and knees, sticking his ass into the air and throwing his dignity out the window as he wiggled his rump for his tiger. Pride had no business between the two of them, not tonight. Basil bit his lip, waiting for the tiger's reaction to his unspoken offer.

He moaned when he felt a wet finger enter him. "You're mine, mate. Never forget that." Theo's words were edgy, but his composure was calm. Basil pressed his shoulders into the dirt, his eyes rolling back at the pleasure his tiger was giving him.

 "Theo," he shouted as another large finger slid into his ass. He wasn't going to be sane by the time this was over. He was already losing his mind, and they had just started.

Once Theo had a third finger in Basil's ass, moving it around easily. Basil whimpered when he felt Theo's fingers slide free of his ass. He didn't want them to ever leave his body again.

A high-toned cry filled the woods as Theo's thick length entered his ass, and Basil was too far gone to care if it was him or Theo that was being so noisy, although he suspected it was him. It just felt too wonderful, and he didn't care if everyone heard him.

Basil's heart rate picked up as Theo thrust deep.

"Yes!"

Theo chuckled as a hand landed on Basil's hip. "You miss me?"

"Hell, yes," Basil panted as he wiggled his ass. "Now, fuck me."

"Such a potty mouth." Theo rested his chest on Basil's back, his lips mere inches from Basil's ear. "I'm going to fuck this ass hard and fast," Theo said as he pulled back and then slammed his cock into Basil's ass.

"Yes," Basil whimpered. "Please, hard and fast."

His fingers curled in when Theo did just that. The tiger's pelvis slammed into his ass, making Basil cry out even more. He was going to lose consciousness, oh yes he was. If Theo kept up his hammering pace, Basil was going to be out for a whole week.

"You are mine," Theo snarled as he thrust his cock harder into Basil's sore ass. "If you ever forget that, I have no problem reminding you."

Theo roared as he sank his canines into Basil's neck, his hips snapping at lightning speed. Claws sprouted from the ends of Basil's fingers, and he curled them into the dirt as Theo never let up on his assault. Damn, maybe he shouldn't have antagonized the tiger. His ass was going to pay for it for many days to come.

"Mine," Theo said as he pulled his canines free, slipped his cock from Basil's ass, and then flipped him over. Theo plunged back into Basil as he tilted his neck to the side. "Claim me, mate."

 Knowing this was a really bad idea but wanting it anyway, Basil pulled at Theo's shoulders until his tiger's sweet skin was at his lips. He licked one long line up his neck, feeling Theo shiver before he sank his teeth in.

Theo shouted as his hot seed splashed inside Basil's ass, his movements becoming erratic. The handsome tiger pushed his hand down between them, and he grabbed Basil's cock, stroking it until Basil was the one crying out, his seed painting their bodies.

Basil regretfully pulled his fangs free of Theo's neck and licked the bite wound closed, then buried his face in Theo's sweet-smelling hair.

"Theo," he whispered.

Theo grinned as he raised his head up far enough to look down at Basil. "You're mine now, my love, and I'm never letting you go."

Basil was afraid of that.