STORY EXCERPT

“Well, it was good seeing you,” he said to Cosmo. Warren was starving and wanted to grab a bite to eat. He also needed something cold to drink. After ducking and dodging around so many people, he’d worked up a thirst.

He’d begun to turn when a tall, muscular, dark-haired man with eyes the color of dark chocolate stopped next to Cosmo. Good lord. The guy was amazingly handsome, making Warren’s heart skip a beat.

“Who’s your friend?” the newcomer asked with a wiggle of his blunt brows. Warren rolled his eyes. He needed another guy in his life like he needed another hole in his head.

“This is Warren.” Cosmo flipped a hand toward him. “We used to be neighbors before Warren moved out of my apartment building. He works over at the pizza joint.”

Jeez, tell other people’s business much? Thank goodness that was all Cosmo knew about him.

Cosmo flipped a hand toward Mr. Flirty. “This is Kane Ashton, but everyone calls him Ash. We’re coworkers.”

Warren didn’t want to be rude, but he wasn’t in the mood to make new friends. He could tell Cosmo was trying to see if they hit it off, but Warren wasn’t interested. Maybe if he didn’t have a psycho ex-boyfriend he would’ve stuck around.

“It was nice meeting you,” he said to Ash then faced Cosmo. “It was nice running into you.”

Warren didn’t say anything to Cosmo’s boyfriend because they hadn’t been introduced.

“Wait,” Cosmo said. “Maybe we could hang out for a bit.”

That wasn’t going to happen. Warren wasn’t sticking around so Cosmo could play matchmaker, though he had to admit that Ash was nice looking, with dark, assessing eyes that raked over Warren with interest.

“Sorry, have other plans.” Like keeping two steps ahead of Ryan, who may or may not even be there. The guy kept really strange hours, which Warren could never keep up with.

Ryan seemed to be a night owl and always slept the day away. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come to the festival to track Warren down. Especially since Warren had just broken up with him.

“Hey, wait.” Ash jogged to catch up to him. Warren kept walking. Whatever the guy had to say, he didn’t want to hear it. Warren was focused on the stand ahead of him that was selling hot dogs, while still staying on guard.

“Did I really make that bad of a first impression?” Ash asked when he caught up. “Or do you find me that repulsive?” He sniffed under his arms. “Definitely not my odor.”

That made Warren crack a small smile, but he refused to stop. It wasn’t Ash’s looks. The guy was gorgeous. That wasn’t even the problem with Ryan because he was also stunning. The problem was boundaries which Ryan had no concept of. “How can you make a bad first impression if all you did was ask who I was?”

Damn it. Warren needed to stop encouraging Ash to have a conversation. He was trying to get away from the guy, but Ash seemed hellbent on talking to him.

“That’s what I’m saying.” Ash easily kept pace with him. “You can’t spare two minutes of your time?”

With a long-suffering sigh, Warren stopped and looked up at Ash. He had to shield his eyes because the sun was directly behind the guy. “Look, you seem like a real nice person, but I’m not interested.”

The fact that Ash was being this persistent turned Warren off. Ryan was the same way, never leaving Warren alone when he asked. He didn’t need another guy in his life that couldn’t respect someone’s boundaries.

Ash cocked his head and folded his arms. He looked less and less impressed with Warren. Good. “Are you always a prick?”

“Are you always this desperate?” Aside from already having too much to deal with, Warren didn’t understand why Ash was this insistent with him. Guys who looked like Ash normally didn’t talk to men who looked like Warren.

It just didn’t happen.

“I’ve never been desperate.” Ash scowled. “Moody, happy, lazy, grouchy, but never desperate.”

Warren really did feel like a prick for being so rude. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m normally not like this. I just have things I’m dealing with, and now isn’t a good time for me to make hot new friends.”

That seemed to mollify Ash. His smile was breathtaking, like the sun rising on a gorgeous beach. Heart-stopping. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with difficult things. Is there anything I can do to help?”

There was no way Warren was pulling Ash into his mess. “No, but thanks for offering.”

Ash stuck out his hand. “We can still be friends, Warren. We can talk some other time.”

Warren seriously doubted that but shook Ash’s hand. When they touched, it was electrifying. A strange, heavy feeling centered itself in Warren’s chest, and he didn’t want to let Ash’s hand go. Which made him yank his hand away.

He didn’t need to be attracted to Ash. He still had Ryan to deal with. An ex who refused to be dumped. A guy who met with shady guys in the middle of the night, who always bit Warren during sex—that alone made Warren want to call things off because he wasn’t into biting—and who was the most possessive person Warren had ever met.

And they’d been dating only two weeks.

Another reason Warren needed to get away from Ash was because he’d had the same reaction when he’d meet Ryan. Sparks igniting and a crazy attraction. Warren’s taste in men truly did suck. He always seemed to pick the wrong guys to date.

“I’ll see you around?” Ash asked. “Maybe have some coffee?”

“Sure.” Warren didn’t plan on seeing Ash again. “Later.”

He spun and walked in the opposite direction, though he felt Ash’s gaze drilling into his back.

ADULT EXCERPT

“What you’re going to do is get some rest while Ryan finishes cooking.” Ash reached for the snap of Warren’s pants. “I’ll wake you when the food is done.”

“But Ryan can’t cook.” Warren lifted his hips and allowed Ash to shimmy his pants down his thin, pale legs that held a smattering of hair. They were the perfect legs to wrap around someone’s waist while being fucked. “I’ve had his cooking. Have you?”

“How badly can he mess up eggs and toast?” Ash reached for Warren’s shirt and lifted it over his head, tossing it aside. Warren’s reedy chest made Ash want to run his palms over it, to tweak those nipples that were already hard, to suck on each of them until Warren was moaning and begging.

“You’ll see.” Warren looked up at him, and Ash’s cock went from flaccid to hard as nails in a matter of seconds, pounding under his gown, tenting the material to show Warren just how much he wanted the human.

Warren’s gaze fell to where Ash’s cock was poking at the gown. He smiled. “How can you make a hospital gown look so damn sexy?”

Ash grunted. “I feel like I’m wearing a damn dress.”

Warren nibbled on his lower lip. Watching his teeth catch his lip wasn’t helping the situation. Ash was trying to be a gentleman, trying to make sure Warren got the sleep he needed, trying not to rip off the damn gown and join him in bed.

“Then maybe you should take it off.” Warren looked up at him from under his thick lashes, his jade-green eyes growing dark with pure lust. Ash stood there, unmoving as Warren rose to his knees and slipped from the bed. He circled around Ash, untying the back of the gown and pushing it off Ash’s shoulders.

Warren came back around and looked Ash up and down. The front of the gown was doing nothing to hide his chest and groin, or his erection. It stood at full salute, throbbing, aching for Warren to wrap his soft-looking lips around the head.

As if reading his mind, Warren lowered to his knees. Ash’s cock jerked as he waited to see what Warren would do next.

Warren palmed his balls as he used his other hand to grip Ash’s dick. He licked at the head, his pink tongue sliding across to draw the pre-cum into his mouth. Ash hissed, running a hand over Warren’s blond hair, and clenched his jaw at the fervent need to come.

Ash normally didn’t have an easy trigger, but the sight of Warren on his knees with Ash’s cock between his lips and the way he massaged Ash’s nuts was getting to be too much.

He cupped Warren’s chin, ran the tips of his fingers over the smooth flesh, knowing that his mate had finally given in to the pull, the obsessive need to be near your mate, to please them in any way.

Warren’s scent of pure sunshine, of warmth, and the smell of honey clung to the air, and Ash drew in a shuddering breath, telling himself over and over again to gain control of his body. He was so damn close already.

“You are a beautiful creature,” Ash said as he brushed his knuckles over Warren’s cheeks. “Suck me, sweetheart.”

Ash’s fingers caressed Warren’s jaw, almost begging his mate to show him just what he could do with his lips. Warren leaned forward, engulfing Ash’s cock into his mouth. Ash groaned out his pleasure as Warren swallowed the erection to the root. Using his tongue, Warren laved the tender depression beneath the swollen crown and then tongue-fucked the tiny slit, licking away the salty taste of Ash’s desires.

“So perfect,” Ash groaned. His orgasm was cresting, and Ash could no longer hold back. He strangled Warren’s hair in his hands as he fucked his mate’s mouth, emptying his seed down Warren’s throat.

Ash exhaled and blinked several times before he reached down and lifted Warren from the floor. He laid his mate on the bed. “Lube?”

“Top dresser drawer.”

As Ash walked to the dresser, he pulled the other gown off. Now he felt normal, as if he hadn’t escaped from some loony bin, running the streets with nothing but a gown on. He grabbed the lube and returned to the bed. Warren had removed his underwear and lay there staring up at Ash.

He really was a beautiful sight.

Warren’s eyes sparkled like dark gems, telling Ash what Warren truly wanted. Ash leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of Warren’s head, his cock brushing along Warren’s crease as he ran his tongue over his mate’s parted lips. Ash reached up and touched Warren’s moist lips, the pads of his fingers running along the smooth and soft skin.

Warren nipped at his fingers.

With a wink, Ash used the lube to coat his fingers before easing two of them inside Warren’s tight hole.

Warren arched his back. “Oh my god. That feels so fucking good.”

“Trust me. It gets better,” Ash teased. “This is nothing compared to how you’ll feel once I have my dick inside of you.”

Warren didn’t answer him. He was too busy writhing, pressing his hands into the headboard above him, and sinking his ass down on Ash’s finger.

Ash wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out. The sight of Warren undulating in pleasure had him ready to come again. Already Ash’s cock had hardened, painfully throbbing to sink into Warren’s ass.

Finally, Ash removed his fingers and pressed his cock against his mate’s entrance. Warren’s eyes rolled upward, his hips pressing down onto Ash’s length.

Ash didn’t move, allowing Warren to take control.

He may be claiming the human for the first time, but Ash had no doubt who was the one in charge. Ash didn’t mind. He liked seeing the spitfire come out of Warren.