STORY EXCERPT

Blue had admired John for years. When Murphy had been badly injured, John had been there for him. When Murphy had died in a subsequent attack during a weekend from hell that had taken out the clinic, John had stood at the graveside where Blue’s siblings, Kylie, Charlotte, and Mable had also been buried. The man was a rock to everyone, but Blue figured rocks wore down with wear and tear and the occasional explosion. John’s veneer was wearing thin.

“Boss? Ya gotta minute?” he asked.

He, Silver and John were preparing for the next rush of customers, refilling the counter with trays of baked goods and pastries, with Blue manning the coffee machine and intermittently wiping down.

John looked at him warily.

“What do you want? You only call me boss when you want something you know I’ll say no to.”

“How about I give you something?”

John snorted. “Sure. Like an enema?”

Blue laughed loudly. “No sirree, boss. A vacation. Me and Silver and Sarah can man the fortress that is your delectable café. You go and find somewhere to sun your pale ass and get out from under our poor tired feet.”

“Why the fuck should I take a vacation, and what’s with the stupid accent?”

Even Silver, working in the kitchen, sniggered at that one. “Evenin’, Carter,” he said cheerfully, looking past John to the counter. “What can we get you?”

John groaned, glancing at Carter, who looked back, amusement twinkling in his dark brown eyes, his hair a mess of autumnal hues tapering to his nape. John noted something else, too, a certain calculating coolness.

“They do this all the time,” John protested. “Blue...”

“Caramel latte, please, chaps,” Carter responded in a fair attempt at a British accent.

Blue and Silver laughed at John’s narrow-eyed glare.

“Go! Now, boss. We can’t afford to keep you on if you keep loading paper plates into the dishwasher. Third time this week,” Blue told Carter, shaking his head.

John looked at the dishwasher and the load of paper plates they used for kids’ parties and cursed a blue streak, threw his apron at Blue, and stalked out, still swearing.

“Is he okay?” Carter asked and explained his brief meeting with John the previous week.

Blue studied him. There was an odd note in the guy’s voice that Blue couldn’t quite pin down. “No. He isn’t. He never grieved properly. And now he’s at breaking point.” Carter was a shrink they’d recently discovered. A reluctant one, since he didn’t advertise, nor practice his craft. But Blue’s squad figured he should start soon. Too many shifters needed help in Sage.

“I’ll take that latte to go,” Carter said.

Silver placed the carry-out cup on the counter. “Fix John and we’ll give you a lifetime’s supply. We know you’re a shrink.”

Carter grinned. “That tough a challenge?”

Blue chortled. “Nah! We just can’t get rid of this stuff fast enough. I mean... Caramel latte? Duuude!”

Carter flipped him off and wandered out of the café.

Blue blushed as another customer entered, a python shifter known as Cyan. He ducked his head and busied himself emptying the paper plates, trying not to seem too interested. Cyan was lush on a fucking lollipop stick. Jet-black hair tinged with green streaks, stunning amber eyes. Slender as a reed and timid when speaking with people, yet he had a presence that just didn’t quit. Cyan had named himself, a product of a shifter trafficker’s breeding program. He carried himself with a quiet confidence that Blue envied, despite his shyness. An enigma if ever there was one.

Cyan met his stare and smiled.

“Hey, Blue. Murray tells me you wanted to meet with me.”

And Blue nearly pissed himself.

* * * *

Cyan enjoyed Blue’s sense of humor immensely. Some of Blue’s family had perished in the Shifter Games Attack, the rest living in Canada, safe from the dangerous laws that the USA had enacted.

Blue was the strongest of them all, in Cyan’s opinion. Cyan had endured some stuff, but losing half the people he cared about must be the worst. Cyan didn’t know his family. He’d come to Sage after his home was torched by neighbors who’d believed media lies spread by Madge Carmichael and her ilk.

Ironically, in his case, the reports had turned out to be true. His “family” had been traffickers and crime lords and wanted by several global agencies, linked to an organization that had reared its head, Incandesce. He was glad Madge was in prison, because she hadn’t cared a jot who died after she’d incited the horrific attacks.

Cyan knew that Murray was matchmaking and bit back a smile at Blue’s startled reaction, noting the sudden shyness that made Cyan feel so much better about his own timidity. He couldn’t be happier at the excuse to visit Blue.

“Murray did his thing, didn’t he?” he said ruefully, hoping he hadn’t overstepped the mark. “I can go...”

ADULT EXCERPT

Three nights later Blue and Cyan were finally home alone. Sarah and Silver had taken the late shift at the café, and Cyan had the night off for their date. They’d eaten at Feelin’ Clucky, taken in a movie, and now snuggled on the couch, smooching intermittently.

“I think I’m falling for you,” Blue confessed, stroking his fingers up Cyan’s silky-smooth throat as they shared kisses.

He trailed his fingers beneath Cyan’s waistband, finding Cyan warm and moist and thickening steadily. Exploring the plump rod he pumped his fingers, feeling the slickness of precum providing natural lubrication. Cyan mimicked him, finding Blue’s dick, and they masturbated in unison, moaning their pleasure as they shared increasingly urgent kisses.

“Ditto,” Cyan murmured, moaning as their lips met again and again. He writhed on the couch, legs spread wide, with Blue half on his side feeling equally restless. Cyan’s touch was firm yet tentative, building up confidence moment by moment. Blue was on fire for Cyan, wanting more.

The kisses deepened inexorably. Blue positioned them until they lay prone on the couch, peeling back layers of silky-smooth clothes until Cyan lay naked beneath him, a sultry invitation in his gorgeous amber gaze.Cyan was toned to perfection, his abs washboard flat with clearly delineated ridges. His legs were smooth and covered with silky fine hair as soft as goose down. His chest was devoid of hair. The look on his face had Blue’s heart racing and his cock surging with increasing zeal. He was beautiful, his skin glistening with a dewy glow in the dim light, his lips ripe and swollen, his face flushed, his eyes heavy-lidded.

“I want you,” Blue said. “I want to taste you all over.” He peppered kisses over Cyan’s face, enjoying the feel of Cyan’s soft giggles. He kissed a trail from Cyan’s lips to his Adam’s apple then south again, paying particular attention to Cyan’s nipples, nibbling on them as though they were the finest of delicacies. He sucked and nipped, swirling his tongue around the pert nubs. Drifting south again he explored the little dip of Cyan’s bellybutton, blowing softly against his moist skin.

Cyan’s groans of pleasure had Blue’s cock twitching and his pheromones dancing for joy. The scent, taste, and touch of Cyan had Blue in knots, his libido rampant and his head in a tizzy. He continued his explorations, moving to sample the ridge of Cyan’s ribs then delved into his belly button, cupping Cyan’s ball sac gently as he nuzzled the sparse pubic hair surrounding Cyan’s plump dick.

He teased, licking all around the area, bumping Cyan’s cock with his nose. He inhaled deeply. Cyan’s scent was earthy, yet with a hint of sweetness. Blue wanted to eat him up with a spoon. Instead, to add to Cyan’s torment, Blue licked a line from tip to root, returning to Cyan’s balls, and took the plump sac into his mouth, sucking and nipping, feeling Cyan’s groans of delight on his tongue before trailing another line back along the thick vein to the tip, and lapped at the oozing pre-cum waiting there.

Finally, with Cyan begging him not to stop, Blue took the tip of Cyan’s cock between his lips, mouthing the spongy head for a while then swallowing it whole. He nearly choked as Cyan came off the couch with a series of shrill cries when Blue worked his throat muscles against Cyan’s cock. He hummed his pleasure, his head bobbing, moaning in time to Cyan’s delighted cries. The taste of Cyan exploded on Blue’s tongue as Cyan came hard, spurting thick cream down Blue’s throat. Blue drank every drop, sucking the juicy, meaty morsel a little while longer before easing back.

He found himself on his back moments later, Cyan tearing at his clothing then copying everything Blue had done. Blue’s chest had a fine covering of blond hair that trailed down in a thin line to his crotch. Cyan seemed fascinated and spent endless moments there, licking and nuzzling all over. Finally, when Blue could take no more, Cyan mouthed Blue’s dick, nibbling and licking his way to the tip. He sucked lightly for a few seconds, dipping into Blue’s piss slit and trailing a path around the corona, exploring every inch. Blue’s cock disappeared down Cyan’s throat as his mate deep-throated him with burgeoning skill. It blew Blue’s mind. Blue writhed and yelped, moaning fluently as Cyan bathed him erotically, sampling his nipples and balls again for a brief moment then sucking at Blue’s cock again with a zeal that had Blue coming within seconds.

Panting, Blue cried out his pleasure, hearing Cyan's moan of delight, muffled by Blue’s dick.