STORY EXCERPT

“I’m sorry.” Kijani—as Deputy Kingsman had called him—sighed as the two stood alone in Jonah’s living room. “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. That was unprofessional and inconsiderate of me considering your situation.”

“Honestly, he deserved it.” Jonah wasn’t going to allow the guy to feel bad about giving Flint a taste of his own medicine. “You don’t have to apologize for defending me.”

Kijani had apologized, but he was still lingering. Not that Jonah minded. Having someone else there made him feel a little safer. It was getting dark outside, and for some ridiculous reason, Jonah couldn’t stop imagining Flint escaping and coming after him. He didn’t think it was an irrational fear.

People escaped while in police custody or prison. While Flint was far from a genius, they were dealing with a small-town jail where one mistake or slip-up could give Flint the opportunity to make good on his promise to make Jonah pay.

“Are you okay?” Kijani’s voice was deep and full of concern.

“Okay packed up and left hours ago.” Jonah held up a finger. “Actually, it left the day I met Arlo.”

“The ex-boyfriend before this current ex-boyfriend.”

“Are you insinuating that I go from one guy to the next like a bee pollinating flowers?” Jonah raised an eyebrow. Completely untrue. In his thirty-one years, he had only been in a handful of relationships, though it seemed lately he was looking for love in all the wrong places.

Maybe it was time to invest in a Magic 8 Ball for relationship advice or stick to his plan of getting a dog.

“I’m not judging you. How you dated in the past is your business, honey bee.” He shrugged his enormous shoulders, a hint of a roguish smile on his lips.

“How I dated in the past? Are you saying my dating license has been revoked because of the wreck I was just in?” Oh hell no. Jonah was not being so effortlessly charmed by this guy. His now-ex-boyfriend had just been hauled off in handcuffs. Jesus, what was wrong with him? He’d been single for two months before he began seeing Flint.

Not that Jonah was even considering dating Kijani. He just couldn’t understand what was with the fluttering in his stomach.

Why did he feel such an intense attraction toward the cop? This was out of character for him.

Kijani’s hearty, booming laughter startled Jonah. He hadn’t expected it, but the radiant sound filled the room, obliterating the menacing cobwebs Flint had left behind.

“I like your sense of humor.” Kijani smiled. “The wreck is now gone, honey bee.”

Jonah mentally face-palmed himself for being such a hot mess. He seriously needed to get Kijani out of there before another wreck happened. “Even though you were just doing your job, thank you for helping me with Flint.”

“To serve and protect.” Kijani’s russet eyes grew soft and warm. Jonah’s emotions parroted them.

“You probably have to get back to work.” Jonah cleared his throat and averted his gaze, refusing to let things go any further than they already had.

Spending time and talking to Kijani had been a welcomed distraction from the inevitable freak-out that was sure to hit Jonah later. But he needed time to process everything, and he didn’t want anyone witnessing his meltdown.

Kijani hesitated, as if unsure whether to stay or go. “I want you to have my cell phone number.” He pulled out his notepad and pen and scribbled on the bottom sheet of paper. “Everything is going to hit you later, and you might need someone to talk to, honey bee.”

Goose bumps slid along Jonah’s body at the fact Kijani had read his mind.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of disturbance calls related to intimate partner violence.” Kijani tore the paper free and handed it to him. Jonah’s lips trembled as he accepted the phone number, and then he closed his eyes to hide the tears threatening to spill over from Kijani.

“Jonah?”

“I’m okay.”

“I thought ‘okay’ packed up and left hours ago?” Kijani said in a calm, soothing tone.

Jonah was holding himself together with sheer determination, but his determination was beginning to crumble under the intense pressure, like a dam on the brink of collapse.

“Do you have a support system?” Kijani asked.

“No.” Jonah cleared his throat, his eyes still closed. He hadn’t spoken to his mom in years and had no desire to do so. Their relationship had been rocky for a very long time. He was friendly with his coworkers, with the people who frequented the same establishments as him, but no one he could call for emotional support.

“If you need to, you can talk to me,” Kijani sweetly offered.

Part of Jonah wanted Kijani to leave so he could deal with this in private, but another part of him wanted to beg the guy to stay so he wouldn’t be alone. “That’s kind of you, but this is my problem to handle.”

Kijani gave Jonah’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before removing his hand. “I get that, but you don’t have to be in this alone.”

Surprised by the sincerity in his voice, Jonah opened his eyes and looked at him. Then he nodded, unable to find the words to express his gratitude.

“I want you to know you can call me anytime, day or night, if you need someone to talk to.” Kijani moved toward the front door.

 With an abrupt jolt, Jonah took a step forward. “Kijani!”

ADULT EXCERPT

A burst of red ignited over Jonah’s face, causing his teal-green eyes to sparkle. Kijani’s chest had its own detonation of heat at just how beautiful the flush and sparkle were.

“Unless you want your brownie points to drop a few levels, stop teasing me about my first time holding a gun.”

Kijani resisted the urge to close the gap between them, reminding himself he needed a shower. “Would I get another do-over to win back my epic status?”

Jonah narrowed his eyes. “That cocky grin of yours isn’t swaying me to give you one.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “Try not to bust my level down to zero while I’m in the shower.”

“I’ll consider your request.”

“Your kindness is appreciated, honey gangster.” He yelped with laughter and sprinted to his bedroom when Jonah took a few steps toward him with a mock scowl. He was still smiling when he hopped into the shower, glad to get out of the uniform he’d had on since yesterday.

If he was going to spend some nights at Jonah’s, he had to either leave some clothes there or remember to put a go-bag in whatever cruiser he had while on duty.

There was one in his truck and in one of the panniers on his motorcycle, but since he always seemed to show up at Jonah’s in his patrol car, it hadn’t done him any good.

Steam billowed from the bathroom when Kijani opened the door and walked into the hallway, stopping short when he saw Jonah standing there.

“I came to see if you needed your back washed, but I guess I’m too late.” Jonah bit his bottom lip as his gaze swept downward.

The hungry glance caused Kijani’s towel to rise like a tent being lifted by steel poles. “If I’d known you wanted to join me, I’d have taken a longer shower.”

Heat having nothing to do with the steam filled the air between them, charged electricity building along his skin.

Kijani was primed and ready but waited for Jonah to make the first move, allowing him to set the pace.

His lungs stalled when Jonah reached for the towel, easing the clasped corners out of Kijani’s grip. The towel glided to the floor, where it lay forgotten.

Sweet, beautiful torture pervaded Kijani when Jonah’s lips parted and his tongue slid along them, his gaze transfixed on the swollen cock staring right back at him.

Kijani watched as Jonah lowered to his knees, that perfect mouth so close that his cock twitched with excitement. When Jonah looked up at him… Goddamn, the desire in those green orbs doused Kijani in a bone-deep need to bury his cock between those soft lips.

Jonah took the head into his mouth, and somehow, Kijani held back from driving his cock inside with a wild thrust.

Instead, he braced one hand against the wall, the other gripping and sliding through his mate’s silky hair as Jonah took a few more inches, his lips gliding along sensitive flesh.

It was pure nirvana watching his mate savor his cock, his greedy mouth sucking and licking, a look of pure ecstasy dominating his face.

A slice of paradise, a gift for Kijani to cherish and protect. A gift he couldn’t seem to get enough of as his hips started rocking back and forth and he slowly delved into wet heat.

Jonah pulled back, releasing Kijani’s cock. “I need to get off my knees.”

Kijani swept an arm around his mate, yanking him from the floor before moving swiftly to his bedroom. As soon as Jonah left his arms, his mate almost faceplanted trying to get his shoes off.

“You’re going to give yourself a concussion.” Kijani grinned.

Jonah yanked his shirt off. “You’ll catch me if I fall.”

Without a doubt.

Yanking the rest of his clothes off, Jonah crawled onto the bed, his ass on display as his hips swayed. Damn if that wasn’t the sweetest sight.

A sight Kijani couldn’t resist.

Kijani grabbed the lube from his dresser and joined his mate, so damn glad all the tension, anguish, and flared tempers from earlier was no longer hanging like a dark cloud between them.

His honey bee had cared enough to return and talk things out, healing the wound he’d left inside Kijani.

With a whimsical attempt at a growl, Jonah shoved at Kijani’s chest. He allowed his mate to take him down, loving the playfulness.

Jonah was gorgeous, his naked body moving over Kijani’s, skin gliding over skin, to straddle his hips. That sweet tush was pressed against his groin, so close to Kijani’s cock, making him dizzy with the need to bury himself inside his mate’s luscious ass.

 The anticipation was an itch Kijani wanted to desperately scratch.

Jonah took the lube, wet Kijani’s fingers, and guided them to his depths.