STORY EXCERPT

Ares pushed through the door and jogged down the few concrete steps, wishing he had grabbed his jacket before coming outside. The biting wind stole the warmth from his body as it whipped all around him. “Daniel!”

The slim man with the prettiest eyes Ares had ever seen turned around. The look of total defeat sat heavily on his face before he stumbled backward, his arms flailing. Daniel hit the ground hard.

That had to hurt.

Ares reached down and grabbed Daniel’s hand, helping the guy to his feet. “Why did you run out of there?”

Daniel brushed his backside off, refusing to look up at Ares. “Because I know I screwed that up and don’t have a chance in hell of getting the part.”

Sticking his hand out, he said, “I’m Ares Kattamon.”

As Daniel shook his hand, Ares noticed small snowflakes on Daniel’s hair and cheeks. Curling his fingers in, Ares resisted the urge to brush the flakes away. Since first setting eyes on Daniel, Ares felt a strange connection to the guy. It was an awareness that he wanted to explore a little further.

“How do you know you don’t have a chance?” Ares asked as the wind grabbed Daniel’s hair and tossed it around, flogging the man’s face. Ares couldn’t resist. He reached up and tucked the flailing hair behind the man’s ear.

Daniel’s eyes grew slightly larger and then he laughed. It was a sound that stole Ares’s very breath. “Are you blind? I couldn’t have been any worse had I pissed my pants. No, wait, that should have been my closing scene.”

The man’s sarcasm was endearing and sad. While Daniel sucked at acting, he held a strange uniqueness that the company was searching for. He could be taught to act, but that rare shine was something that couldn’t be taught or even imitated. It was something a person was born with. “You didn’t do so bad.”

Ares’s statement only made Daniel laugh harder. “Right. You must be truly blind to think I was any good in there.”

Who the hell had kicked the shit out of this guy’s self-esteem? The blunt statement made Ares want to growl. He’d seen his fair share of men and women who thought their lives were shit. Ares had been a psychologist and had worked with many battered women, recovering alcoholics, and drug users. But that was before taking the job of assistant producer for Melbourne Productions.

Even though Ares no longer practiced, he recognized the signs. Daniel had been emotionally abused, if not physically. Reaching out, Ares grabbed Daniel’s hand, pulling him back toward the building. “I’d stand around and debate with you, but it’s cold as shit out here.”

Daniel yanked his hand free. “Why are you trying to take me back inside?” The suspicion in the man’s tone cut Ares. Again, he wasn’t sure why. All he knew was that he wanted Daniel to trust him.

The answer slipped out before he could stop it. “Because everyone deserves a do-over.”

Grabbing the handle of the door, Ares pulled, but found the door locked. Fuck. He had forgotten that Thomas locked the doors at five, permitting people to leave, but no one to enter. That had been at Ares’s request to limit the number of people showing up today. He hadn’t wanted to be bogged down with starving actors.

“What about the back door?” Daniel asked. “We got back inside the last time.”

Ares could have kissed the man—if Daniel’s lips hadn’t been turning blue. Releasing Daniel’s hand, Ares nearly ran around the building, praying the entire time that he didn’t freeze his nuts off. This was exactly why he liked the West Coast. He didn’t have to deal with the frigid weather. Why Winston traveled halfway across the United States was beyond him. But the man had said he had the perfect location and Ares knew that location was very important.

He just wished they had done this in the summer when the threat of losing both testicles and having his dick crawl into his stomach wasn’t an imminent risk.

Ares sent up a prayer before grabbing the ice-cold handle and twisting the knob. When the door swung open, he nearly shouted in relief. “Come on.” He held the door and waited for Daniel to pass before going inside and cupping his hands, blowing into them.

“Where’s your coat?” Daniel did the last thing Ares expected. He laid his hands over Ares’s and began to rub them, creating a friction and helping the coldness seep away faster.

He pulled his hands free and grabbed Daniel’s. “Yours are even colder than mine.” He pressed Daniel’s smaller hands between his and held them, wishing he could pull the man close and rub him until the guy’s teeth stopped chattering. The temperature outside had dropped dramatically since early this afternoon.

Daniel blinked at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Ares didn’t have an answer. He was still trying to work that out in his head. Although he always helped those in need, there was just something about this guy. “Because you didn’t give up. Even though you were the last man here, you still tried out. I admire your determination.”

It wasn’t a lie. When he’d gone out back to smoke, Ares was surprised to find Daniel out there. The last couple of kids had left before being called in. The auditions had lasted for hours. Those who didn’t have their heart in this had given up. Though he knew Daniel wasn’t in the age bracket they were looking for, he still had the look of youth on his side. Ares pegged the guy to be in his early twenties.

Letting his hands fall away, Ares pointed toward the gym. “Let’s try this one more time. Minus the falling chair.”

An intriguing blush spread across Daniel’s face before he nodded, giving Ares an intrepid gaze.

A smile curved Ares’s lips as he led Daniel back into the gym.

ADULT EXCERPT

Ares tugged at the waistband of Daniel’s jeans. “Get these off.”

Living with Magnum, Daniel hated to be bossed around. As a matter of fact, he loathed it. But the way Ares was looking at him…

Daniel shoved the jeans down his legs and then kicked them aside. He stood there naked, his breath coming out in small pants. He was excited and nervous at the same time. Although Daniel had had his share of lovers, none of them looked this good. He wanted to take a bite out of the man.

Ares smiled, as if he could read Daniel’s mind. He nipped Daniel on the chin before pulling back and removing his shirt. Daniel nearly swallowed his tongue. Ripped lines and hard muscles were revealed to him. It was all he could do not to drool.

Had I known he looked this good, I would’ve jumped his bones the first time I saw him.

And Daniel wanted to see more. He almost whimpered as Ares began to remove his pants. There was no denying that this man was going to be damn good in bed and he couldn’t wait to find out.

Ares turned to toss his pants aside and Daniel got a good look at the man’s ass unhindered. The guy must do a thousand squats a day to look that freaking good. His fingers tingled to grab those well-rounded cheeks and give them a firm squeeze.

Daniel exhaled quickly when Ares turned back around, grabbing Daniel by his hips and dropping him to the mattress. He had been so quick that Daniel hadn’t even seen what he was doing until it was too late. Ares was on top of him, sucking Daniel’s nipple and sending rioting emotions through him.

God but the man had a golden tongue. He wondered how magical it would be on other parts of his body. Pressing his hands into Ares’s shoulders, Daniel let out a long moan. He spread his legs wider, accommodating Ares’s large frame. Daniel could feel the man’s erection pressing into his leg.

“Why can I get enough of you?” Ares bit down on Daniel’s nipple, making him cry out. It hadn’t been a hard bite, but the sensation had caught him off-guard. His hips bucked as he shuddered. Ares moved to his other nipple and Daniel was finding it hard to breathe.

His body was heating up and Daniel was so close to coming. His cock was growing thicker and thicker by the second. In a moment, he would embarrass himself. He didn’t want Ares to think he had such an easy trigger. Regardless of species, men prided themselves on stamina. And Daniel was doing a piss poor job of proving he had any

When Ares hooked his arm under Daniel’s knee and pulled his leg back, he wasn’t sure what the man was about to do. Ares’s tongue began to explore from Daniel’s hip to his knee, blowing Daniel away. No one had ever used him like a snack before. It was as if Ares was drugged by his skin. The man couldn’t stop tasting him.

Not that Daniel was complaining.

His head fell back and Daniel gritted his teeth as a wet finger began to enter him. His mouth dropped open as he expelled a breath of air. What Ares was doing to him…

An unmanly sound fell from his lips when Ares looked up at him through his bangs. Sexy wasn’t even close to what the man looked like. The word god came to mind. Daniel was drowning in lust, suffocating under the man’s masterful lips and hands. Ares bit Daniel’s inner thigh and Daniel cried out as he came. Another finger drove into his ass, and then a third. The sensation only escalated Daniel’s orgasm.

“Amazing,” Ares breathed.

Daniel’s face exploded with heat. “Ah, god. I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Ares asked. “Don’t apologize for looking so damn good that I want to eat you up.”

Daniel laughed nervously as he panted. It was sweet of the guy to play down the fact that Daniel’s endurance was nonexistent. Ares was probably inwardly shaking his head and thinking what a lousy bed partner Daniel made.

Ares leaned forward and began to lick Daniel’s seed from his stomach, leaving Daniel totally stunned. He thought for sure that Ares would find a way to beg himself out of this, giving Daniel some sort of crappy excuse.

But…he looked like he was enjoying himself. He licked and sucked until not one drop of seed was left on Daniel’s skin. It was the most erotic thing he had ever witnessed. Ares crawled back up Daniel’s body, his hunger tangible. Daniel was pretty sure that if he reached out, he could touch the man’s arousal with his hands.

And he wasn’t talking about the man’s cock. There was an aura that was permeating around Ares—a spiciness in the air that made Daniel want more of what Ares had to offer.

Ares dipped his head and nipped at Daniel’s earlobe. “I’m going to fuck you, baby. Your body is driving me insane.”

Even though he had just climaxed, Daniel could feel his cock growing hard once more at those dirty, illicit words. Not only that, the predatory look that Ares was giving him was downright exciting, making Daniel’s blood race through his veins.

Ares sheathed his cock with a condom and Daniel soon forgot any intelligible thought. The only thing he was capable of doing at the moment was watching as Ares began to work his thick erection into Daniel’s body. His lover leaned down, brushing kisses across Daniel’s lips as hic cock stretched Daniel wide.

How could I have forgotten how this feels?

His fingers dug into the man’s biceps, breathing through the burn. Ares slowed, as if he could feel the discomfort radiating from Daniel.

“Incredible.” Ares hissed into Daniel’s ear. He wasn’t sure if it would be better for Ares to thrust forward and get it over with because the slow movements were a sweet torture. His body pulsed with the invasion as Ares finally bottomed out. “So fucking incredible.”

Daniel slipped down the slope of pleasure when Ares started moving, setting his body on fire. Pain soon turned to pleasure and Daniel was crying out as Ares thrust repeatedly. Ares braced a hand on either side of Daniel’s head, gazing down at him. His eyes were liquid pools of heat, making Ares seem unreal, ethereal.

If only he could keep the man.