STORY EXCERPT

Blaine made his way to the bar, took a seat in front of Dax. Fine wolf indeed. Handsome boy. No, he shouldn’t call Dax that. At twenty-seven, Dax was a looker compared to his two brothers. Same dark red hair as Duke and Dawson, but his eyes were a pure, startling black. 

Those roguish good looks didn’t help or the fact Dax worked out frequently. At forty-five, he shouldn’t be lusting after a guy eighteen years his junior. God. How would Duke react if he found out about Blaine’s dirty little secret? How Blaine’s thoughts have only been centered on one man, on one wolf lately?

The brothers were protective of each other, had each other’s backs. 

Blaine didn’t even need to open his mouth. Dax set a cold one in front of him. His favorite local brew. 

“Rough night?” Dax asked him.

“Yeah. You can say that.” 

Tonight, Dax wore what he always did to work. Plain, thin white tee with the bar’s logo stamped over the chest, a pair of worn-in jeans with plenty of holes in them, and work boots. Blaine took a long pull of his beer, tried to banish thoughts of putting his hands all over Dax’s body. His mouth to Dax’s.

Dax was completely out of his league.

This was crazy. Dax could have any shifter or human in town he wanted. Hell, he frequently spotted Dax going home with some of his younger werebears on occasion. Dax was the kind of guy who had no trouble reeling in someone to bed, but Blaine?

He might be good with his fists and claws. When it came to relationships? He had no clue. Blaine became awkward. He couldn’t stand first dates or the way his other bears kept trying to fix him up with some stranger.

Ungrateful bastards.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful,” he began. What was it about bartenders that made it easy for someone to unload their problems on them? “But I could use a break from being everyone’s sounding board.”

This wasn’t the first time he’d spoken to Dax like this. Most of the time, he wandered over to this spot, this seat, intoxicated. A shifter didn’t get drunk easily, but it was possible. When morning came around, Blaine couldn’t remember what the hell he confided in Dax. 

“They look up to you. You’re their Alpha.”

Alpha. That word started to sound like a damn curse. The faces of the recent dead floated in his head. Blaine took it upon himself to visit the friends and relatives of the werebears that died during the war with the hunters. Each visit left him hollowed out, guilty. 

Blaine felt like a fake, telling them their loved ones died with honor. He wasn’t even a real Alpha, just someone the other werebears happen to vote as their leader. Even now, he questioned certain decisions he made in the past. Were they the right ones? What could he do in the future to prevent any more deaths? 

Step down? Find someone else to lead the others?

“You don’t need to remind me of that.” Blaine sounded a little huffy and defensive to his own ears. 

“You’re right. I don’t know how it’s like being in your position.” Dax looked thoughtful. “What you need is a good fuck, forget your problems for one night.”

Blaine glanced at Dax, who wiped a few glasses clean. 

“Why?” he began. “You volunteering?”

Shit. What possessed him to say those words out loud? Dax set his dishcloth down to stare at him. Blaine debated apologizing, taking his words back, then decided against it. An Alpha didn’t apologize. Plenty of things might be weighing down on his head, but this, he knew he wanted. 

There it was. His intentions on a platter. What would Dax do next?

He steeled himself for rejection. Dax was young, sexy as hell, confident. Why would Dax even want to bother with some old grizzly like Blaine?

Dax curved his lips to a smile. That caught Blaine completely off-guard. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Dax smile like that before. 

“What if I am?” Dax leaned closer.

This was really happening. Not one of his erotic fantasies. 

Unsure of what he was doing, Blaine did the same until their noses touched. Blaine’s pants felt unbelievably tight. He didn’t imagine the interest in Dax’s eyes or the scent of their combined arousal. He was tempted to fist Dax’s shirt, pull him close for a kiss. Throw Dax right here on this bar. Have his way with him. 

“Blaine?” Dax sounded a little uncertain now. It was almost cute. As if the werewolf had started second-guessing himself. 

That did it, completely lured his bear out into the open. Blaine couldn’t remember the last time both the beast and man in him felt completely in sync. The grizzly and Blaine wanted the same thing, the same outcome. Dax becoming theirs.

Mine.

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” Blaine said. 

ADULT EXCERPT

“You’ve gotten all tense again, big daddy. That’s not good,” Dax whispered in his ear.

Damn Dax and that ridiculous nickname. 

“Don’t call me that,” he muttered. “I don’t want to be your daddy.”

“You sure about that? Because I can be your very bad boy.” Dax then rubbed himself all over him, like a cat in heat. Dax bit on his left earlobe. “Punish me.”

He growled. It didn’t help they were both on a mean, steel machine running on plenty of horsepower. Blaine went faster. Dax let loose a laugh behind him. God. That sexy sound. He could stop the bike right now. Fuck Dax on it. Take him without mercy. That would teach the pouty wolf to watch his mouth. 

 Dax should put his clever little tongue to better use—wrapped around his cock. Blaine groaned.

“You thinking dirty thoughts, Blaine?”

“You bet. All of them involves dominating you, wolf.” 

Dax tested his patience once again by rubbing his crotch against him. Damnable wolf. Dax grew quiet as he split from the main road, moved to the smaller ones, and finally off-road. Blaine entered a lesser known path up a very steep hill. It was quiet tonight in the Greenflower woods. Blaine didn’t sense the presence of other shifters either. Perfect, because he wanted to be alone with his wolf. 

What felt like a century later, they reached his most favorite spot in the world. Lumberjack Cliff overlooked the rest of the town. It could’ve been the perfect getaway spot for young lovers, except it wasn’t the easiest place to get to.

He killed the engine, got off the bike.

“I never knew about this place,” Dax said, dismounting. He watched the werewolf walk over to the edge, peer at the view. “You keep surprising me. I thought you’d fuck me in the men’s room or in the parking lot of the bar.”

“I still can but not tonight.” He joined Dax, lifted his hand to touch Dax’s chin. Mischievous black eyes shot with gold met his. He touched Dax’s split lip, growled softly. 

“Earlier tonight, things between you and Dawson seemed tense. What did you fight about?”

“I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about other people’s problems.”

“You’re not just anyone.” The words slipped out by accident. Shit. Blaine knew Dax. How Dax thought, how he worked. When it came to relationships, Dax bolted if things started getting serious.

Serious. Did Blaine what that? He was in his forties, not young anymore. Blaine’s bear craved permanence, to finally put down roots. Dax might not feel the same, but he would. Soon. Blaine thought he could do this. Have a one-night stand with Dax. That could turn to several more nights. 

Blaine realized that wouldn’t work for him. He needed, no, wanted more.

Dax sighed but didn’t move away from his touch. Blaine moved his hand to the bruise on Dax’s cheek. Awful, but Dax was also a dominant shifter. Like Blaine, he healed fast. Before tomorrow, the bruises would be gone as if they were never there.

“Fine. We got into an argument about you.”

Blaine paused. “What?”

“He asked me if I knew what I was doing, if I was ready. Like what the hell, right? He should just mind his own business.”

Dawson saw a lot more than Blaine gave him credit for. Dangerous but he’d deal with Dawson and Duke soon. One ride with Dax on his bike and he knew. This was the one. No, it had even been longer than that. His bear knew what Dawson was, all those years ago, when Blaine caught a glimpse of him walking into the Dirty Devils. 

“Are you ready?” Blaine asked.

Dax snorted. Enough talk or this could go on forever. Blaine slid his fingers into Dax’s hair, then tugged his wolf for a kiss. He didn’t hold back. Blaine took what he wanted. His plundered Dax’s mouth, all rough bite. Dax liked that.

His wolf kissed him back, passionately, fervently. They rubbed their bodies against each other. Heat kindled. His dick felt heavy, tight against his jeans. Blaine needed to free it soon. Strip Dax and himself out of their clothes. 

Blaine thrust his tongue down Dax’s throat, moved his hand past the hem of Dax’s shirt to touch heated skin. All lean muscle. Blaine licked his lips after the kiss. Gave his first order.

“Take off your clothes.”

Dax blinked, then wore that grin again. “Say please.”

Blaine crossed his arms. “I’ll count to three, or else I tear them off you. I’m sure you don’t want to go back home, naked. I guess you’ll still have your fur if you shift.”

Dax scowled at him, then peeled off his shirt.

“Good boy.”

“Only because you asked, daddy.” Dax winked at him.

That was a fast recovery, Blaine thought. No. Dax was flirting with him. It had been so long for Blaine that he felt sluggish when it came to the dating game. Didn’t matter. Blaine was a fast learner. 

“Your turn,” Dax said, sliding his jeans, then his boxers off. The cocky werewolf even kicked off his boots for effect. Dax stood there, glorious and confidently nude. He looked perfect under the moonlight. 

Blaine took off his shirt, numbed. Part of him still wondered if this was some kind of dream. It wasn’t. Blaine’s bear growled in approval inside of him when Dax knelt in front of him. Dax unhooked his belt, pulled it out, then unbuttoned him. 

He wanted to engrave this memory in his head forever. Dax pulled his prick out, let out what sounded like a whistle of appreciation.

“Everything you imagined?” he asked. See. Blaine could flirt back, too.

Dax licked his lips, eyes the color of amber now. Desire took hold of Blaine. So did possession. He didn’t intend to let Dax go. Ever. Once this started, there was no turning back. Dax wouldn’t leave here tonight, not without Blaine’s scent and bite marks all over him. 

Blaine would own Dax’s body. Then move on to the more important bits. In time, Dax would also realize, in his heart and soul, that he’d always been born to be Blaine’s mate.

“Oh yeah,” Dax said. “Bigger than I imagined.”

“What are you waiting for, wolf?” he asked. Dax liked being ordered around, huh? Then Dax better get ready, because Blaine intended to show his cocky wolf what it was like, being with a real Alpha. “Get started.”