STORY EXCERPT

Steam filled the bathroom when Shiloh stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his hair as he used another one to dry off. Why did Jocelyn have to make so much damn sense? He hadn’t been able to get those last words out of his head since, and it had been hours. Yes, he loved her, and Shiloh didn’t know what he would do if she wasn’t there to bring him out of his downward spirals, but sometimes it would be nice if everything wasn’t always his fault.

Standing in front of the mirror, Shiloh wiped the fog from the glass and stared at his reflection. His ice-blue eyes seemed harsh in the dimly lit room. When he was younger, his eye color had received a lot of attention. The girls always seemed jealous while the boys liked to tease him about their femininity. Was it just him, or were they getting even brighter?

The birthmark on his hip caught his attention. From a distance, it looked like a flower with five petals, but upon closer inspection, ’it was much more detailed. Each petal had a unique design that wasn’t repeated in any of the other petals. Intricate birthmarks weren’t uncommon. They usually indicated a person’s affinity for magic. However, Shiloh’s was different in that he couldn’t use magic—none at all. He was the only person he knew who couldn’t.

A knock on the bathroom door made him jump. He quickly wrapped the towel around his waist, making sure he was sufficiently covered before opening the door. His grandmother stood on the other side, tapping her foot against the floor. She had a stern look on her face. This was actually quite tame for her. Honestly, he was lucky she didn’t just barge in.

“Uh, hi, Grandma.”

“Don’t ‘hi, Grandma’ me,” she retorted. “How long do you plan on staying in the bathroom? Your young man has been waiting downstairs for almost forty-five minutes. Now hurry up and get dressed or I’m going to drag down there, clothed or not. And close your mouth before you let flies in there,” she added with her back turned as she returned to the first floor.

Shiloh’s mouth snapped closed as he stared at his grandmother’s retreating back, trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. The only person she called your young man was Callum, and he was the last person Shiloh wanted to see. Resigning himself to the inevitable conversation, Shiloh sighed as he ran to his bedroom to get dressed, then yelped.

“What the hell?” he screamed.

His best friend sat on the edge of his bed, arms crossed, as if he’d been waiting there for hours without a care in the world.

“Shiloh, language!”

“Sorry, Grandma,” Shiloh hollered down the hall before facing Callum. “I thought you were waiting downstairs.”

Callum frowned at him, eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a thin line. “That’s all you have to say to me?” he asked in a sharp tone.

Forgetting the towel on his head, Shiloh brushed his hand through his hair, knocking it to the floor. He avoided Callum’s gaze as he bent to pick it up, taking his time folding and unfolding it before dropping it in the hamper. Hands fidgeting on the towel on his hips, he swallowed hard.

“I”—” He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“How about you start by explaining why you haven’t answered my calls or responded to a single message since yesterday? Or better yet, tell me why you ran away right after we had sex,” he demanded.

Shiloh’s hands clenched into fists as his face heated. “Why does everyone keep assuming it’s my fault? You left me first!”

“Me?” Shooting up from the bed, Callum lunged forward until their faces were mere inches apart. “I went to throw away the condom and wash off. When I came back you were gone.”

All the blood drained from Shiloh’s face. “What?” he whispered.

Callum cursed under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose, and Shiloh cringed. He only did those things when he was either really pissed off or annoyed. Neither of which he wanted to be on the receiving end of.

“After all that, you thought I’d just leave?” he asked, returning to the bed.

Shiloh blushed, sitting next to him. “No, I thought… I don’t know… Maybe you were just doing me a favor because”—”

“You really think I’d have sex with you because it’s your birthday? We’ve been friends for years; do you honestly believe I’m that type of person?”

Guilt flooded Shiloh. “No, of course not. But”—”

“But what?”

“You’re straight.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Unable to take his eyes off of his friend’s erection, Shiloh swallowed hard. This was a situation he had been hoping for, wasn’t it? At the very least, it meant that Callum found him attractive. It might be his only chance to act on his feelings, but if Callum didn’t feel the same, it would mean the end of their friendship. Shiloh didn’t realize his arms were free until he reached up, grasping the top of Callum’s cotton pants.

“Shi…” Callum snatched his hands, stopping them from pulling the waistband down.

He glanced up, and Shiloh licked his dry lips when Callum’s lust-filled green eyes met his. Watching for any hint of hesitation or disgust, Shiloh slowly tugged until Callum’s thick cock bounced free. Then, just as slowly, he leaned forward and wrapped his full lips around the spongy head. Callum’s eyes never left his as his hands rose and cupped the back of Shiloh’s head, urging him to continue.

His warm tongue alternated teasing around the edge of the crown and dipping into the slit as he cradled Callum’s balls, rolling them gently between his fingers. Eyes falling shut as his head dropped back, Callum fisted his hands in Shiloh’s long, blond hair, fighting the urge to thrust forward down the man’s throat.

Shiloh couldn’t believe this was happening. He’d dreamed of sucking this cock for years, but Callum had never given any sign that he liked Shiloh as more than just a friend. Hell, for as long as he could remember, Callum had only dated women.

“Stop, I’m going to come,” Callum moaned.

He used the warning as challenge and increased the suction, constricting his throat muscles around Callum’s dripping cock. Taking a chance, Shiloh pushed his other hand back and circled his finger around Callum’s hole. His balls tightened in his fist, and Shiloh applied pressure to the man’s opening. Callum jerked hard on his hair, and his hips thrust forward, making Shiloh gag as cum shot down his throat.

Callum gasped for breath, his hard length twitching as Shiloh pulled his mouth off with a pop. He sat back, ignoring his own cock tenting painfully in his jeans, and waited for Callum’s reaction to what he’d just done. Now that it was over, he was afraid he’d gone too far in the heat of the moment. Maybe if he apologized they could just pretend like the last thirty minutes never happened.

“I’m sor”—” Shiloh let out an unmanly squeal when he was suddenly lifted from the couch and thrown over Callum’s shoulder. “What are you doing?” A sharp smack on his ass made him squeeze his lips together as Callum carried him into the bedroom and tossed him onto the navy-blue sheets.

“Get undressed,” Callum growled. Shiloh didn’t need to be told twice. He yanked his shirt over his head before lying back on the bed so he could take off his pants. He shimmied the jeans over his hips and legs, kicking them to the floor. “There’s a bottle of lube in the nightstand. Grab it.”

He watched as Shiloh shifted to his hands and knees, back stretching as he reached into the bedside table drawer. He moaned when warm hands cupped his ass and squeezed. Callum’s fingers massaged his cheeks roughly, spreading them to reveal his hole. When a wet tongue pressed against his opening, Shiloh yowled.

Pressure on the small of his back reminded him of his mission, and he cried out triumphantly when his search yielded a bottle of lube and an unopened box of condoms. He threw his treasure behind him as Callum’s tongue flickered back and forth across his opening, alternating short jabs with long strokes. Shiloh panted as he wrapped his fist around his leaking cock, protesting when Callum grabbed his wrist and denied him the contact.

“That’s my job,” Callum growled.

Shiloh’s balls tightened at the sound of a lid snapping open and shut, and then one long smooth finger pushed against his hole. He groaned as the thick appendage sank deep. Callum’s tongue continued swirling around his rim as a second finger joined the first. His fingers sawed in and out, using a scissoring motion to prepare him.

“Oh fuck,” Shiloh muttered.

“Soon.”

When Callum pulled out, his fingers fluttered around the ring of muscles twice before he pushed three in deep, nailing his prostate. Shiloh mewled loudly, his hands twisting into the sheets under him as he rubbed his aching cock against the smooth satin. Callum removed his fingers and grabbed his hips, pulling them away from the bed.

Before he could protest, Callum placed the head of his condom-clad cock to his opening and pressed inside. Shiloh wasn’t a virgin, but it had been a while since he’d had anything bigger than a finger inside him, and Callum was anything but small. When he finally bottomed out, the tip brushing against that sensitive place inside him, Shiloh groaned.