STORY EXCEPT

“Are you going to deny you’re attracted to me?” Raul asked.

He realized only a few inches of space stood between him, how tempting it would be to reach out, touch that wall of muscle, find out if shifters really burned hotter than the average human. Tom ought to know. He’d been mated to one for half a decade, but he’d been starved for touch, too, had to fight for every tiny bit of affection Bradley bestowed on him.

It took him a long time to come to the conclusion Bradley simply saw him as furniture, always there, a permanent fixture that was nice to look at. That was all he was.

He finally managed to open his mouth and make his voice come out flat. Tom had plenty of practice pretending to be an emotionless robot after all, to smile for the press when needed, to laugh at all the cues. “Why would you think that?”

“Because I can smell your arousal.”

Tom swallowed. It was bad, playing these kinds of games with a shifter. He was way out of his league, too. Raul was a PI, probably dug up information on him. He didn’t think Raul had any sinister intent. Otherwise, he’d never hire the man. He’d grown up among vipers, had to develop the survival skills to navigate the waters of his father’s ambitions. While he made it a point to never step into the cut-throat world of business, some lessons remained.

“I really need to go. Besides, you wouldn’t want to be near me.”

Raul cocked his head and let him pass, but he could feel the werewolf following him out of the diner, until they were out on the street.

“You knew,” Raul finally said, “that Bradley was cheating on you.”

“I did, but I needed the hard evidence.”

“Why?” Those strange blue eyes, capable of stripping him bare, unnerved him.

“To be free,” he whispered.

Tom had been well-aware he’d been equally guilty in trapping himself in his own cage. Five years ago, he’d been naive, foolish to believe his childhood friend would somehow fall in love with him, to truly believe he was Bradley’s soulmate. He’d been such a deluded fool.

Raul fisted Tom’s shirt, jerked him close. He let out a breath but didn’t stop Raul from banding one corded arm around his waist, making their bodies kiss. Hot, he realized, the werewolf’s skin felt incredibly warm under that shirt, and all he wanted was to slip a hand underneath just to check.

Tom stood frozen in place, though, held his breath for a couple of seconds to see what Raul would do, because he’d always been a coward. Tom never made the first move, always waited for the other guy to do so, for fear of rejection.

“If I kiss you, would I still be pushing myself on you?” Raul mused out loud.

“I didn’t mean to put it that way,” he whispered, staring at those perceptive eyes.

Flecks of gold appeared in Raul’s irises, telling him it wasn’t just the man looking at him, but also the animal within. Bradley’s eyes changed color, too, especially when things didn’t go Bradley’s way, but this was different. The hunger that burned in that feral gaze told him all the dirty things this dangerous and sexy werewolf wanted to do to him, deeds that would make him scream in bed.

“Stop me, just say the word.”

It was a dare, he realized, but he wisely held his tongue back, parted his lips in invitation as Raul slammed his mouth over his. Heat went down his throat. Their tongues tangled, teeth clashing. He broke his paralysis, ran his hands over the chiseled perfection that was Raul’s body. So much warmth everywhere, and he’d been so hungry for touch, for someone to remind him he was flesh and blood, too, and not just furniture.

Raul prodded his tongue between his lips and he opened up, letting the werewolf deepen the kiss. Tom’s dick pulsed in his jeans, straining against the zipper of his jeans. More. He wanted so much more, and yet his mind told him now wasn’t the time. They might be in a neighborhood no one would expect Tom Morris to frequent, but who knew? Some tabloid reporter might be lurking nearby, eager to catch wind of juicy news even before he could use the photos to his advantage.

As if sensing his newfound apprehension, Raul released him. He automatically ran his thumb over his kiss-swollen lips. That kiss burned, he realized, capable of incinerating him from the inside out. Dangerous. This werewolf was lethal, because Raul shook the very foundations of his careful control.

Instead of telling Raul this was all a mistake, that they should forget that ever happened, he said something else. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”

The only kisses he’d been privy to were quick pecks on the cheek from Bradley. All for show, of course, only when the public demanded it. Superficial. This was something else.

“Good to know.”

“I really need to leave.” What else could he say? He had so many things to sort out, but once that was all over, he’d have time to mull over the strange events of today. To wonder if there was something between Raul and him.

Raul nodded. What Raul said was unexpected, instantly warmed his heart. “If you need help spreading those wings, you know how to contact me.”

ADULT EXCEPT

Raul blanketed his body over his a second later, pinning his wrists above his head. Then the werewolf slammed his lips over his, all heat and passion.

Feeling playful, he nipped Raul on the lower lip. Raul pulled back, riled up. The werewolf started kissing the side of his neck, moving lower, leaving a path of tiny bite marks that left his body slightly aching, yet he wanted more, to be completely owned by Raul.

Raul reached his chest, took one nipple into his mouth and sucked down hard. He tensed at the graze of teeth, but Raul took that opportunity to give his balls and cock a squeeze. Pleasure clashed with pain. He groaned, shifted, but the werewolf effectively pinned his body under his larger one. Looking down, he saw the perfect imprint of Raul’s teeth.

Unexpected pleasure coursed through him at the sight. Raul, he realized, seemed intent on marking his territory, what he deemed his. He smiled, the thought losing focus as Raul began stroking his prick again, dragging fingers down Tom’s tormented cock, balls, even as to play with his puckered entrance, teasing him by drawing circles over the puckered flesh.

“You tease,” he accused, only making Raul laugh.

Those pupils turned into burnt gold. “I want to see you come for me.”

“I—” he began, thoughts scattering to the wind as Raul began stroking his dick faster.

Unable to focus on anything else but the heat emanating from his insides and going right to his dick, his breaths turned ragged, heart starting to gallop. He gripped Raul’s broad shoulders and was gifted with another kiss and more.

Bradley had denied him so much, left him starving for affection whereas Raul was a generous lover.

He managed to make that observation to Raul.

Raul’s gaze turned deadly serious. “Baby, I’ll never do that to you. I’ll give you whatever you want, whatever you need.”

Warmth shot through him, until he forgot how to form words. Together with Raul giving him the best hand job of his life, thinking was futile. He finally understood why he considered Raul so lethal. This man had a way of getting under his skin and making a home in his heart.

Last. Yes, he wanted to be Raul’s one and only.

Raul pinched his tip, and that did the trick. Chest heaving, he let out a scream. The room faded from his line of sight. He emptied his balls, painting Raul’s abs and stomach with his cum. He couldn’t remember the last time he had such a long, intense orgasm. When he was lonely, he’d use his own hand, but those private moments of masturbation felt like a pale reflection, especially compared to being pinned under a man who was both possessive and tender.

* * * *

Fuck, but Tom orgasming sounded like music to his ears. Raul decided he liked his human at his mercy, liked seeing Tom come undone, expression turning languid the way it did so now. He’d never seen anything so fucking gorgeous.

His heavy dick pulsed between his legs, and he told his human, for Tom was his now, “We’re not done.”

Despite the haze of bliss clouding Tom’s mind, Tom smiled up at him. That smile, reserved solely for him, Raul decided, came straight from the heart, the heart that would soon belong to him.

“No, we’re not,” Tom agreed. “I can’t wait to have that dick inside of me.”

“My thoughts exactly, baby.”

“Baby,” Tom mused. “I like that. No one’s ever given me a term of endearment.”

No wonder Tom seemed indifferent and closed-off the first time they met. That had been a kind of defense mechanism for survival. Once he breached Tom’s inner shields, he saw that a passionate individual lay underneath.

He pressed a kiss to Tom’s mouth. “Wait, I’ll get the lube and condom.”

“Werewolves have no need for condoms, right? And I’m clean.”

“You sure?” Because of riding Tom bareback, with no thin plastic between them, would be heaven.

“Absolutely.”

At that confident answer, he got off the bed and opened the drawer beside it to procure the lube. He returned to Tom, stood at the edge of the bed. “Slide a little down, good.”

“What next?” Tom asked, looking up at him for instructions. He had a feeling that before Bradley, Tom had limited experience when it came to the bedroom. That only excited him, because that meant he could give Tom quite the education. They could try new things together. The thought made him smile.

“On all fours,” he said, helping Tom to his hands and knees. He grabbed a pillow and placed it under Tom’s belly. Tom’s tempting ass stared back at him. The human even spread his knees further, exposing his pink little hole.

“I like lovers with initiative,” he remarked.

Tom looked at him over one shoulder, frowning. “You had many lovers.”

A statement, not a question. He wouldn’t lie to his mate about his old life, so he told Tom the truth. “Before I met you.”

Tom blinked.

“Baby,” he drawled, running his hand over the curve of Tom’s tight ass, liking the human’s shiver. “Since I met you, I can’t think about, let alone look at, any other guy. Does that answer appease you?”

“Good enough.”

He chuckled. Raul always liked the little spark of defiance in Tom, loved the fact this slender human could easily stand toe-to-toe with a dominant shifter. Taking the lube, he uncapped it, spread some on his fingers, before working some into Tom’s hole. Tom squirmed.

“Behave,” he chided.

“Are you going to start teasing me again?” Tom accused.

“I like touching you, how you respond to me, but I need to prepare you, too. I’m not exactly small.” Lovers complained about his rough love making before, but Tom was different, a perfect fit to his wolf.

“Okay, I’ll try to behave.”

Smiling, he slid a finger inside Tom, then added a second.