STORY EXCERPT

“What are you bastards doing here?” someone asked from behind Sidney. The newcomer’s voice held a thick Spanish accent, and it was raspy as hell.

Melvin paled.

Sidney nearly wet himself.

At first he thought the stranger was talking to him, but Sidney soon realized the stranger was talking to the four men who had been leaning against the rusted sedan.

The guy started speaking in Spanish, and Sidney was lost. He had never paid attention in Spanish class. He never thought he would have a use for the language.

Now he was kicking himself in his lazy ass. But Sidney did catch the Spanish word for dead. He might not have passed the class, but he’d picked up all the curse words and everything morbid.

The stranger behind Sidney spouted out the word for balls. But Sidney wasn’t sure if he was telling the other men he wanted to suck theirs or remove them. The translation was a bit sketchy.

Melvin, on the other hand, had been a straight-A student. His eyes widened as he grew paler and began to shake.

“What?” Sidney asked. “What is he saying?”

Melvin opened his mouth and then closed it. He shook his head as his eyes darted at the men in front of them.

The four burly men leaning on the sedan pulled guns out, and Sidney and Melvin dropped to the ground as the first shots rang out. Sidney had a feeling the police didn’t respond to the violence in this neck of the woods.

He covered his head, trying to ball up into as tiny of a target as possible. Right there he decided his job was so not worth this. If he survived, Mr. Brainerd could shove Sidney’s job up his oversized ass.

He never much liked his boss anyway.

It wasn’t the fact that Mr. Brainerd weighed a good three hundred pounds. It was the fact that he lorded over everyone. He would purposely yell at his employees in front of other employees and even some customers.

Sidney couldn’t count how many times Mr. Brainerd had completely embarrassed him.

The guy walked around, no, waddled around, with a clipboard tucked under his hefty arm, writing anyone and everyone up for the stupidest things.

Like the time Sidney had had his shirt untucked. Jeez. His boss could have simply told him to tuck it in, but no, he’d written Sidney up with a pleased smile on his face.

Too bad Mr. Brainerd wasn’t in this alley right now. He’d make an excellent shield.

“Come.” Handsome Eyes grabbed Sidney under the arm, hauling him to his feet before Sidney knew what was happening. Guns were still being fired and pinging off the sedan. He was terrified one of those bullets would hit him.

Handsome Eyes dragged Sidney through the nearest building and out the other side.

“Wait, Melvin!” Sidney shouted. But his protest fell on deaf ears as the stranger shoved him into a mint condition El Camino. It was the color of burnt orange with black racing strips down the hood. If Sidney weren’t being kidnapped by a hoodlum, he would have admired the car.

“Your friend is being taken care of,” Handsome Eyes said.

Sidney was afraid to ask how Melvin was being taken care of. These men weren’t exactly hospitable people. He was pretty damn sure Melvin wasn’t being treated to lunch and a cocktail.

Sidney didn’t even want to think what Melvin was being treated to. The thought was too dastardly, and his mind refused to believe that Melvin could be hurt in any way. His best friend was too straight-laced, too much of a nerd to survive something like this.

Sidney could just see him now, crying like a baby as someone hauled him away.

Poor Melvin.

He hoped his best friend had his inhaler on him because Melvin was going to need it.

But Sidney couldn’t talk. He was damn near close to tears himself. Aside from being a brat at home and getting into typical trouble growing up, he’d never experienced anything remotely close to this before.

Not even his father walking out on him had made Sidney this fearful. Sure, he’d been afraid, being only twelve at the time, but at least he hadn’t thought he’d die.

Right now that was a real possibility.

The El Camino fired to life, and the sound of the car was magical. It hummed like a well-oiled machine and took off like a charm. Sidney really shouldn’t sit there and drool over the car, but he was a guy after all and loved the classics.

He didn’t know shit about working on them, but he knew a beauty when he saw one.

“Do you mind telling me where you’re taking me?” Sidney snapped the seat belt into place. Handsome Eyes was taking the corners so fast that he feared they were going to wreck.

He should have been shouting for Handsome Eyes to let him out, that he didn’t belong in the middle of what looked like gang rivalry. Sidney didn’t even know the guy’s name, yet he gripped his seat belt and kept his mouth shut.

The man started muttering in Spanish, and Sidney was hopelessly lost.

“Would you mind translating that for me?” If he were about to die, he at least wanted to know why.

Handsome Eyes, however, didn’t translate a damn thing. He was too busy making Sidney’s life flash before his eyes as he took another hairpin turn. Sidney hung onto the seat belt for dear life as he tried not to swallow his tongue. His stomach had gravitated to his throat, and his ass was clenched so tightly that he could have shit out a diamond.

Sidney was the last person to indulge in thrill seeking. The most his adrenaline spiked was when he added chocolate syrup to his milk.

Yeah, he lived on the edge.

When they exited Sunshine Grove, Sidney thought he was going to be safe. He was finally out of the slums, but he couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief.

Not even close.

Handsome Eyes just kept driving, leaving the city behind and entering the open countryside.

Was he taking Sidney to some abandoned mine where he was going to dispose of his body? The guy hadn’t said a word and still wore that deep scowl on his face.

Sidney wanted to ask the guy again where he was taking him, but if Mr. Mute hadn’t answered the first time, he wasn’t going to answer now.

The only thing Sidney could do was hold on tight and pray he made it out of this alive.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Thanks.” Sidney took the clothes from Samson’s hand, and their fingers touched. Warmth spread through him, and his cock was starting to harden. If he didn’t hurry back into the bathroom, Sidney just might embarrass himself. “Well, I guess I better get dressed.”

But Sidney didn’t move. He couldn’t. As if under some spell Samson had woven around him, Sidney couldn’t rip his eyes away from the guy’s mouth. He wanted kissed so badly that his entire body yearned for it.

“Samson, I wanted to—”

Sidney sucked in a deep, surprised breath when Samson slid his hand around his neck and yanked him forward. The kiss stole Sidney’s breath. He groaned into Samson’s mouth, gripping the man’s broad shoulders.

Samson curled an arm around Sidney, bringing him even closer as he slanted his mouth, taking the kiss deeper. Sidney needed air, but he refused to pull away.

Sidney wiggled and protested when Samson finally pulled away, but he didn’t move far. He used the pad of this thumb to wipe at the moisture on Sidney’s lips. “That was perfect.”

“I want more,” Sidney said before he chickened out.

Samson didn’t say a word, but the smoldering in his eyes said it all. He was just as turned on as Sidney was. The sexual tension had been building between them since they’d met. Maybe not as soon as they’d met. Sidney had thought Samson a thug and kidnapper, but he’d changed his mind over the course of them running for their lives.

Now he saw a man who went the extra mile, even for a complete stranger. Sidney couldn’t count how many times Samson had saved his life, and for that, he was grateful.

And feeling very, very appreciative.

Sidney slid his hands down Samson’s chest, but Samson grabbed his wrists in a gentle hold.

“What?” Sidney became confused. Hadn’t things been heating up between them? Why was Samson pumping the brakes? Sidney was naked, and Samson was damn near. The bed wasn’t too far away, so what was with the gripped wrists?

“We need to talk,” Samson said. “Having sex—”

“Oh, right! You’re a wolf.” Sidney smacked his forehead. “How could I have forgotten something that mind-blowing? Do we, like…I have no idea what I’m trying to say.”

Samson smiled. “No, as a shifter I don’t do anything kinky or bizarre. That’s not what we need to talk about.”

“Then I have no clue.” Sidney was done talking. He couldn’t think with an almost-naked man standing in front of him. “We can discuss whatever later.”

“Sidney.”

Nope. Sidney wasn’t going to be put on the back burner. He wanted Samson, and he knew Samson wanted him.

He dropped to his knees, ready to suck Samson off, but the guy dropped to his knees, too. “I’m not rejecting you. I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Okay, so that sounded serious. “Fine, but just so you know, only half my brain is working. The other half has fled south and is currently tenting my towel.”

“Mates.” Samson cupped Sidney’s face. “We’re mates.”

“Like real wolves in the wild?” Sidney asked. “A wolf picks a female to be with for the rest of his life?”

“Close. More like fate thought we would be a great couple.”

“And how do you know that?”

Samson tapped his chest. “I felt it in here when we were at the shack. A strong sensation, the scent you gave off, and the strong urge to protect you.”

“Look, I know I smelled, but that was because of all that running,” Sidney said. “A guy perspires when he’s caught in a shootout and kidnapped by some random stranger. You can’t blame me for that.”

Sidney squeaked when Samson grabbed him and rolled them to the floor. He tucked Sidney under him, staring down at him with a huge smile. “I wasn’t talking about body odor. I was talking about the smell of the beach on a summer’s day.”

“But we were in the woods. There wasn’t any water around.”

“Exactly,” Samson said. “When that smell hit me, I knew you were my mate.”

If Samson kept rubbing Sidney’s arm, the other part of his brain would melt. The guy’s fingers glided over his skin in a soft, sensual motion, sending waves of shivers through Sidney.

“Why are you telling me this?” Sidney swallowed, trying his best to concentrate on the conversation.

“Because, if we have sex…” Samson groaned and kissed Sidney along his jaw and neck and then suckled at his Adam’s apple. “We bond for life.”

“That’s…that’s…ugh.” Sidney rolled his head to the side. Samson might not have let Sidney suck him off, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing the man’s fat cock trapped inside his underwear.

The hard flesh was hot to the touch and throbbing in Sidney’s palm. He slid his hand up and down, keeping his grip tight.

Samson hissed and rolled, landing on his back. Sidney took that opportunity to slip between Samson’s legs. He pulled Samson’s underwear down his thighs, his heart quickening at just how thick the man was.

While Samson looked down at him, Sidney took his cock into his mouth, moaning as the taste exploded across his tongue. He suckled the head, gliding his tongue over the slit that was beading with pre-cum.

“Oh my fucking god,” Samson groaned.

Smiling, Sidney sucked Samson’s cock farther down his throat. He used the muscles to squeeze then licked his way back up, leaving a wet trail behind.

Samson’s eyes nearly crossed as he hissed and jerked his hips upward.