STORY EXCERPT

“I was actually waiting for you.” Maverick pushed away from his SUV and closed the distance, leaning his long arms on the open window of Cole’s rental. It was a good thing he’d gotten an SUV, because it would have hurt Maverick’s back to lean down into a car considering he was damn near seven feet tall.

He was still taller than the SUV.

“I have to head to my dad’s,” Cole said. “Can we catch up later?”

“Malcolm and Luke are at the Den,” Maverick said. “They came over as soon as your flight landed.”

Now Cole’s curiosity was getting the better of him. “Do you know what this is about?”

Maverick leaned back and slapped the frame of the open window. “Why don’t we meet at my house and we’ll talk about this.”

Cole gritted his teeth. He was so over this secrecy shit. He wanted to know what in the hell was going on but knew Maverick wouldn’t budge in telling him until Cole followed him.

He waited until Maverick slipped back into his truck and pulled onto the road then trailed behind him. They pulled into the long gravel driveway and parked by the house.

As soon they walked into Maverick’s office, Cole’s stomach dropped.

Not only were his fathers there, but so was Detective Lewis Keating. Cole looked around, uneasiness settling inside of him as he watched Maverick walk over to his desk and lean against the mahogany wood.

“Okay, please tell me what’s going on,” Cole said.

“When was the last time you talked to Jonah?” Malcolm, or Pa, as everyone called him, asked.

“About ten days ago. He didn’t answer my call Friday evening.” Cole’s trepidation turned to downright fear when they mentioned Jonah’s name. It became worse when he saw tears in Luke’s eyes and the stern set to Malcolm’s jaw.

Cole turned to Maverick then looked at Lewis. “Please talk before I explode. What’s this got to do with Jonah?”

Maverick studied him. “Did you know he worked for the Ultionem?”

“No.” Cole shook his head as dread pooled in him. “Jonah lives in Dalton Falls with the rest of our friends. He’s a mechanic.”

The first year of college Cole hadn’t been able to get away much, but when he’d managed, he’d gone to Jonah’s apartment in Dalton Falls. But had Jonah ever shown Cole where he worked? Fuck. He hadn’t.

After the first year, it was Jonah who came to visit Cole since his classes had gotten a hell of lot harder and he could barely spare the time. They saw each other only a handful of times a year, which Cole had hated, but he wanted to become partners with Dr. Sheehan and help the preternatural community.

He’d wanted to become a doctor ever since Jonah was four and was diagnosed with cancer. His mate had come close to dying, and it had been Cole’s blood that helped save him. After that, Cole had been obsessed with the medical profession, determined to help those that modern medicine did nothing for.

Maverick sighed. “I already got reamed out by your parents for keeping it from them, but it wasn’t my place to tell Jonah’s business.”

“You should have still let us know,” Luke argued. “That’s my son, and what he does concerns our family.”

Maverick held up a hand. “We’ve already been over this. Jonah asked us to keep his profession quiet, and we honored his wishes.”

Anger rolled inside Cole that Jonah had lied to him. “What exactly does he do for you guys?”

“He’s a bounty hunter,” Maverick replied.

Cole closed his eyes as he cursed under his breath. After Jonah’s phase with wearing fairy wings, he’d started wearing a cape, always saying he was going to save the world since the world had saved him.

He’d been five at the time, and Cole had thought it funny and cute. He just never thought Jonah was serious about it. He clenched his hands into fists as he opened his eyes and pinned his gaze on the alpha.

“Since I’m here, I take it something went wrong.”

Maverick walked behind his desk and hit a few buttons. He turned the laptop to face Cole. “We have cameras all around town. This happened Friday night.”

Cole’s insides froze when he saw three men jump Jonah and shove him into a trunk before speeding away. That wasn’t what really caught his attention. It was how pale Jonah looked, how weak he was, because he’d barely fought back. His mate dropped to his knees and threw up blood after one of the guys slugged him.

If Jonah had become a bounty hunter, he would have used everything in his arsenal to get away from them. He was a hybrid, part wood elf, shifter, demon, and vampire. There should be no way they’d taken him so easily.

Cole glared at everyone in the room before he looked at the alpha. “How do we get him back?”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Yes?” Jonah kissed his way across Cole’s jaw while shoving his hands under Cole’s shirt, tweaking his hard nipples then running his fingers over the tight peaks.

When Cole didn’t say anything else, Jonah shoved the guy’s shirt up, bunching the fabric in his hands, and attached his lips to the left nipple, sucking and licking, teasing the hard nub with his teeth.

Just because he’d never had sex didn’t mean he didn’t know what he was doing. He’d read plenty of romance novels—a guilty pleasure that he hadn’t told anyone about—and had the gist of things.

Jonah had also seen videos, imagining it was him and Cole playing out those fantasies. That Cole was the pizza delivery guy, or a repairman coming to fix Jonah’s plumbing, or a hotshot director that needed Jonah to “prove” he had what it took to get into the industry.

But none of that compared to having Cole right there, in real life, groaning as Jonah moved to the neglected nipple, sucking it in and lashing his tongue.

He glided his fingers over Cole’s biceps, loving how they felt under his exploring fingers as Jonah slowly moved off of his mate’s lap, kissing his way down Cole’s chest.

Heat encompassed Jonah, sank deep inside of him, growing hotter by the second as he teased Cole’s navel.

“Jonah.” Cole’s voice sounded strained. “Maybe we should–”

“Fuck that.” Jonah nipped his skin. “I’m done waiting, Cole. I’m going to rock your world even if it takes a few more times before I get good at this.”

Cole pinned Jonah with those gorgeous eyes of his. They were filled with need and love. “Baby, anything you do to me will be good. Fuck, it’ll be great. I was just going to say that maybe we should have less clothes on.”

Jonah frowned. “You have a point.”

Cole leaned forward and cupped Jonah’s jaw. “We’ll figure this out. Together. Whatever we do, we’ll make sure it’s good for both of us.”

Jonah smiled. “Stop being so romantic and start getting naked.”

Cole chuckled as Jonah rocked back on his heels then stood. He kicked off his shoes as Cole got up and started yanking his own clothes off. Jonah was finished stripping before Cole had gotten rid of his socks.

When all Cole had left to remove was his underwear, Jonah froze, watching in anticipation. This was what he’d fantasized about for so long, seeing Cole completely nude.

His heart skipped a beat then started beating even harder. His gaze was glued to Cole’s groin as his mate slipped his hands into the waistband and slid his underwear off.

Cole’s cock sprang free, and Jonah’s hole clenched. Fuck, the guy was long and thick and so damn hard. Tiny dots of pre-cum dotted the slit, making Jonah’s mouth water.

Cole grabbed Jonah’s hips and pulled him forward, closing the distance between them. They both groaned as their cocks touched for the first time.

Jonah hissed when Cole’s hand slid from his hip to his ass, squeezing his globe. His lips seized Jonah’s in what he could only describe as toe-curling hotness, demanding and possessive.

Jonah wasn’t bothered by the fact that Cole wanted to take over, wanted to lead. In the bedroom, Jonah would relinquish his tough exterior, would let his mate take control.

Because he loved seeing Cole exert his dominance. It was sexy as fuck and turned Jonah on in ways he never imagined. Right now, in this moment, the strain in their relationship didn’t exist.

Nothing outside the apartment did. It was just the two of them, lost in their own world, ready to deepen their bond.

Jonah slid his arms around Cole’s waist and let yearnings that had kept him awake for years take over. Cole’s lips were softer, his tongue hotter, wilder than anything Jonah could have imagined. His cock ached, so hard, throbbing, and if Cole didn’t give Jonah something soon, he just might die.

“God, I fucking want you,” Cole whispered against Jonah’s mouth.

“You have me.” Jonah pulled away, breaking the kiss, then lowered to his knees. He took a quick, unsteady breath as he stared at Cole’s hard length. He’d dreamed of giving Cole a blowjob too many times, and now it was becoming a reality.

His hand actually shook as he reached out and curled his fingers around the base. When he looked up, Cole was staring intensely down at him, watching, raw need in his eyes.

Cole slid his fingers over Jonah’s jaw then under it. The touch was soft, caressing, as Jonah parted his lips and tasted Cole, sucking the head into his mouth.