STORY EXCERPT

The front door swung open. The guy standing there was of average build with brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked a little like Bradley Cooper. “You must be from Driscoll Security.”

Graham gave a single nod. “Are you Oscar Friatt?”

“Nope. I’m his cousin, Nick.” He stepped back and waved a hand for Graham to enter. “Oscar is in the kitchen on his laptop. Just so you know, he’s totally against a bodyguard. Don’t ask me why, either. I told him he needed protection, but he thinks the cops can figure this out. I disagree.”

Great. Graham wasn’t looking forward to a hostile client who thought his presence was a waste of time. That would make guarding him more difficult. “You must be the one who hired my firm.”

“Wrong again.” Nick sighed. “Oscar’s father insisted on your firm. Background, Oscar’s dad wasn’t a part of his life growing up. Daniel Friatt didn’t even know Oscar existed until my cousin turned twenty. Now he throws money at his son to try and make up for that fact. The old man is a neurosurgeon with big bucks but has no time for Oscar. I guess throwing money at his son eases his guilt.”

“If Oscar knows someone is out to get him, why is he so against protection?”

Nick shrugged as they stood by the front door. “He’s one of those people who thinks problems will magically go away. Ignore it and it doesn’t exist.”

That wasn’t a very intelligent way of looking at life. Graham believed the opposite. As soon as a problem arose, confront it then fix it or kill it. Always worked for him.

“Oscar also hates confrontation,” Nick informed him. “We might own a multi-million-dollar company, but he’d rather work behind the scenes and let me handle the public aspects of our business, which includes meeting with clients. He’s the brains, and I’m the mouthpiece.”

Which was why Nick had met him at the door and was giving him the skinny on things that weren’t in Oscar’s file. Not all of it. Daniel Friatt had been mentioned, but briefly. Graham hadn’t known Oscar’s father had footed the bill for this.

“Let me introduce you.” Nick walked down the short hallway, passing a set of pocket doors that Graham assumed led into the living room. On his left were a set of stairs leading to the second floor, and at the end of the hallway was the kitchen. Beyond that Graham saw a screened-in patio with cushioned barrel chairs.

Sitting at a four-seater table was a brown-haired guy, slim, with a gorgeous side profile. Oscar looked up, and Graham was struck at how amazing his hazel eyes were and how troubled they appeared. “I told you I don’t need a bodyguard, Nick.”

“And I’ll remind you for the hundredth time that I didn’t hire him. Humor your old man and let—” Nick frowned as he looked at Graham. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Graham Madden.”

“Let Mr. Madden do his job. For all you know, the next attempt could be fatal.” Nick crossed his arms. “Is that what you want, Oscar?”

Graham had seen the copies of the emails, and they’d gotten progressively violent over the course of the past month. They basically warned Oscar to keep his nose out of where it didn’t belong before he ended up buried in one of his concrete pours.

That sounded pretty goddamn mafia to Graham, but he would reserve judgment until he knew more details.

Oscar looked Graham over, and damn if Graham’s wolf didn’t sit up and take notice. It panted and howled, urging Graham to get closer.

“You’re a big guy.” Oscar’s eyes moved from Graham’s body to his face, curiosity in those hazel depths. Their gazes stayed locked for a few moments before Oscar looked away, and damn if Graham didn’t want those eyes back on him. Talk about lust at first sight.

But Graham had never crossed the line with a client, no matter how gorgeous the guy was, and he wasn’t going to start now. “I’ll blend into the background, Mr. Friatt. You won’t even know I’m here.”

“Oscar.” The human looked at him before his gaze jerked away. “Call me Oscar.”

“Then call me Graham.”

“Call me Nick,” the cousin said. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I have errands to run. I feel better knowing Oscar has a bodyguard and no one is going to creep into his house again.”

“I asked you not to remind me of that,” Oscar argued.

“Fact is fact.” Nick gave an unapologetic shrug. “I figure if I say it enough, then you’ll get it through your head that you do need protection. Stop fighting this, cuz. The quicker you accept Graham’s presence, the quicker you’ll stop bitching at me about being on your old man’s side.”

“I still don’t see why you can’t be the one to protect me,” Oscar said to Nick.

“Because as much as I love you, I have a life, Oscar. I don’t know shit about being a bodyguard. Leave it up to me and we’ll both end up in a ditch with twin head wounds that we can’t come back from.” He made a gun with his fingers and held it up to his temple.

At least the cousin was honest, if not a bit crude.

“You’re morbid.” Oscar gave a hard, obvious swallow.

“I’m honest.” Nick headed for the entryway. “Call me if you need me, but not to complain about Graham. Do what he says, Oscar. His abilities just might save your life.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Gradually Oscar’s shaking subsided and his body flooded with need. It was serendipitous that Graham had been sent to him, that fate had guided them together. There was no other explanation, and now Oscar couldn’t imagine a life without him. Without his strength, his protection, without this need Oscar felt every time Graham was near him and even when he wasn’t. But that shootout only proved how attached Oscar had become to him, how destroyed his life would be if he lost Graham.

And that scared the hell out of him. Oscar had never felt this way about anyone, so vulnerable, so dependent on someone else to make him feel whole.

With his fingers, Graham tilted Oscar’s head for better access to his throat. Oscar’s head spun. His body ignited. This tactic was definitely working because the only thing on Oscar’s mind right now was Graham. His massive body eating up the space around them, those lips so concentrated on Oscar’s skin, and those hands that wouldn’t stop exploring. They ran down Oscar’s sides, gripping his waist, squeezing gently before working toward his back.

Graham slipped his fingers past Oscar’s waistband and grabbed a handful of his ass, massaging as Oscar hissed and whimpered, his cock so hard that it throbbed desperately in his jogging pants. Oscar inhaled sharply when Graham lifted him and set him on the counter, but not before he’d slipped Oscar’s pants and underwear down. When he was perched up there, Graham yanked them the rest of the way off, leaving Oscar bare.

“So fucking gorgeous,” Graham murmured before he lowered to his knees and took Oscar’s cock into his mouth. Oscar’s head fell back, and he slipped his fingers through his mate’s hair, sensations bursting through him, making him jerk and twist to the point that Graham gripped his sides to hold him still.

Nirvana. Sweet fucking nirvana. Oscar could count on one hand, and have some fingers left over, of who’d given him blowjobs. By far Graham was the best, so attentive, his lips gliding over Oscar’s cock as if his mate was worshiping his shaft. Oscar gasped and groaned, arching toward him, craving that sweet release that he knew was just over the edge.

He rocked into his mate’s mouth, his fingers tightening in Graham’s hair. “More,” he begged. He needed more friction, more suction. For Graham to go faster. His orgasm was right there, yet out of reach.

Graham took Oscar all the way down to the base then created a tight suction as he worked his way back up, stopping at the head to suckle, his strong hand cupping Oscar’s sac, rolling his balls. Oscar cried out, holding on to his mate’s hair as he came down Graham’s throat. Shudders racked him, twisted him, before he slumped.

“Better?” Graham smiled up at him. That smile punched Oscar in the gut, told him just how in love he was with his mate.

“Much.” Oscar grinned back at Graham as he held up his hands. “No shaking.”

With a chuckle, Graham got to his feet, pulling Oscar from the counter, and grabbed his clothes from the floor.

“Wait.” Oscar’s brows furrowed. “What about you?”

One of Graham’s dark brows rose. “Who said I was done with you? To the bedroom, sweetheart.”

Oscar laughed. “I’m already naked from the waist down, and there’s a perfectly good table I can bend over.”

A wicked grin exploded on Graham’s face. “Then bend over while I get the lube.”

He jabbed Graham in the chest with his finger. “I’m the bossy one when it comes to sex. You can be bossy with all other aspects.”

A low growl rumbled in Graham’s throat. “Yes, sir.”

Oscar’s smile was permanently stuck to his face as Graham dropped the clothes and hurried from the room. Oscar stared at the table, wondering how this was going to work. Graham was so much taller than him, but he was pretty sure they could figure this out. Oscar had never had impromptu sex on anything other than a bed. Now all he could think about was how many flat surfaces, or non-flat surfaces, his mate could take him on.

Graham returned moments later, completely naked, with a bottle of lube in his right hand. Oscar didn’t think he would ever get enough of looking at his mate’s body. Firm pecs, rigid abdomen that Oscar wanted to lick, a tapered waist, and firm thighs. All for me. All mine. Oscar felt giddy and appreciative as Graham stalked toward him, getting so close that Oscar had to bend backward.

“Turn around and spread ’em.”

This time Oscar wasn’t going to say anything about Graham being so bossy. He was too wound up, even though he’d just climaxed. Oscar’s cock jerked, ready to come back to life as he turned, gripping the edge of the table as he did what Graham said.

Wet fingers slid over his hole, making Oscar jerk and moan. He spread his legs even farther apart, jutting his ass higher in the air. Graham’s fingers stretched him wide, filling Oscar. He rose to his toes, a rush of breath escaping before he bit his lower lip.

Graham scissored his fingers, tiny shocks of electricity shooting through Oscar. Oscar gripped the table tighter, letting his head fall back, and his lips parted as he groaned. The blowjob had been amazing, but this was what Oscar truly needed. To be connected to Graham, their bodies melded together, to feel his mate inside of him, thrusting, showing Oscar that Graham was alive and Oscar hadn’t lost him. Intellectually he knew that, but his body demanded Graham show him, to prove Oscar’s life hadn’t ended when Graham was shot.

To prove how much Oscar truly loved him.

Then Graham’s fingers were gone, replaced by the head of his cock. Oscar’s heart hammered, and he felt lightheaded as Graham worked his shaft inside of Oscar inch by slow inch. The leisurely way Graham took him was agonizing. Oscar wanted fast and hard, but Graham had other ideas. One of his hands pressed against Oscar’s hip, and the other gripped his shoulder as his mate bottomed out.