STORY EXCERPT

After grabbing his cleaning cart from the locked utility closet, Jace began to clean the locker room, ignoring the fact that Ian was naked in the shower, soap suds sliding down his wet body.

Not going to think about that. Jace shoved his earbud back into his ear and turned on his music. At least he was allowed to jam while he worked, which was a bonus.

As the music played, he scrubbed the unoccupied showers, but no matter how hard he tried, thoughts of a soaped-up Ian kept sliding into his mind. His fingers itched to shampoo the man’s long hair, to scrub his lean back, and to drop to his knees to worship Ian’s cock.

What in the hell was wrong with him? Jace had been nothing but professional since starting his job, ignoring the naked men entering or exiting the showers or simply changing their clothes.

Distance. That’s what was needed. He pushed his cart over to the lockers and wiped them down, completely focused on what he was doing when he felt a presence next to him.

Ian stood at his locker, completely naked as water trickled down his body. The dust cloth in Jace’s hand dropped to the floor. Ian was towel drying his hair, but nothing was around his waist.

Nothing.

Not a scrap of cloth to hide his manhood or ass. Which was perfectly sculpted. Toned, muscled, and lip-bitingly round.

A loud groan escaped Jace. Ian looked him over as he rubbed that towel over his damp hair, the strands darker from the water.

Jace spun, ready to grab a towel for Ian, but he crashed into his cart. His face collided with the handle of the mop and poked his eye. As Jace shouted and his eye throbbed, he’d lost his footing, and he was going down.

A strong arm curled around his waist and yanked him backward. Jace’s back hit a solid wall of muscle. His eye was watering as he realized that Ian’s bare cock was pressed into him.

“Are you okay?” Ian’s voice was deep and close to Jace’s ear. His bicep flexed. His arm grew tighter. The masculine fragrance of Ian’s bodywash punched Jace’s senses and made him drool.

Ian turned Jace around and lowered him onto the bench. A slight pounding started in the back of his skull. Not now! Jace had suffered from migraines since the car accident that had claimed his dad’s life. For eight years, he’d battled them. There was never a good time for his migraines to grip him, but right now would be the worst.

“Let me take a look.”

Clearly unashamed of his nudity, Ian crouched and examined Jace’s eye. “How bad does it hurt?”

“It stings, and my eye won’t stop watering.” Fighting against his oncoming headache, Jace curled his fingers around the edge of the bench and glanced down. Enormous mistake. Even soft, Ian’s dick was an impressive size.

“I don’t see any damage,” Ian said. “I think the handle hit your eyelid instead of your eye. Your skin isn’t even red, so I don’t think you’ll have any bruising.”

Two men walked in then stopped when they glanced Jace’s way. This had to look bad.

If either guy said anything to Owen about a naked man crouched in front of Jace, there was no telling what the jerk would do. From day one it had been obvious that Owen didn’t like him, although Jace had no clue why.

As if sensing Jace’s discomfort, Ian used the towel he’d dried his hair with to curl around his waist.

“Everything okay?” the man on the right asked.

“Yeah.” Ian helped Jace to his feet. So far, the headache had remained mild. “He got whacked in the eye with the mop handle. Aside from watering, his eye looks to be okay.”

The men walked to the showers as though the matter was resolved. This was not turning out to be Jace’s morning. “I need to get back to cleaning.”

Ian tilted his head to the side and drew in a deep breath. He chewed on the side of his mouth as his gaze swept over Jace. What was that intense look about? Why was Ian studying him so hard?

The locker room door slammed open, causing Jace to jump out of his skin.

“There you are!” Owen chucked a thumb over his shoulder. “Some sweaty guy leaned against the mirrors and left huge smear stains that need cleaned. Get your stuff and make that gross shit disappear.”

A peculiar noise rumbled in Ian’s chest. It sounded like an animalist snarl. Weird. Jace parked his cart by the utility closet. With glass cleaner and rags in hand, he hurried out of the locker room.

It took him a few minutes to find where the smears were located. Owen had acted like an entire body was outlined on one section of the mirrors. There were four smudges no bigger than the size of a hand.

What a drama king.

In a few swipes, the glass was sparkling. Jace might as well do the mirrors in the locker room since he had the cleaner already in his hand.

“Nothing but pigs,” Owen grumbled as he passed Jace in the hall.

What did the guy expect? People sweated during their workout. Things were touched. Owen was in the wrong line of work if perspiration upset him. 

By the time Jace returned, Ian was dressed in a pair of loose-fitting jogging pants and a thin, sleeveless hoodie. His legs apart, Ian stood in front of his open locker and brushed out his long hair. Someone would have to poke out Jace’s eyes to stop him from staring—which literally almost happened. A few strands of damp hair clung to the side of Ian’s neck, the rest falling past his shoulders with each stroke of the brush. 

How did his hair have so much volume without using a blow dryer? Some people just had all the luck. Jace’s hair only reached his neck, but he still needed to use a dryer and styling gel to make it look even halfway decent.

Before Ian realized he was being creeped on, Jace headed to the mirrors. He was so into what he was doing that he didn’t see Ian approach until he heard the voice.

“Are you free for dinner?” Ian asked from behind him.

Jace glanced in the mirror. Ian was standing so close that all it would take was a single step backward and their bodies would touch. No one had a right to look that damn good. Some higher power had decided to torture Jace by dangling such a sinfully gorgeous man in front of him. 

ADULT EXCERPT

Jace had known the moment he’d agreed to spend the night at Ian’s what would happen. They’d danced achingly slow around each other, exploring Ian’s bedroom at leisure, Jace stalling by questioning Ian’s comparison of his house to who he was inside. The pretense of watching a movie neither of them were interested in.

Now Ian’s muscled body was pressed into Jace’s, his soft but firm lips seizing what the man wanted. There was no hesitation, no holding back.

This was Ian. Wild. Beautiful. Dominant. Staking his claim.

Just as Jace thought he would run out of breath, Ian pulled back, his lips kiss-swollen, gorgeous, moist with Jace’s saliva. They both heaved in breaths, their gazes locked.

Then Ian leaned sideways and dug through the closest drawer, yanking a bottle of lube free. His whiskey eyes were dark, filled with utter yearning. He dropped the bottle onto the bed, curling his fingers around the waistband of Jace’s boxers. His fingers stroked over Jace’s skin, electrifying him as if a live wire had touched him.

As Jace’s underwear slid down, so did Ian. His tousled hair grazed along Jace’s body, silky wisps trailing downward. Blissful torture, one strand at a time.

Ian scraped his teeth, his tongue over sensitive flesh, causing Jace’s stomach muscles to contract and his legs to spread apart. Already he was flying, gripping the bedding in a stranglehold as Ian kissed and licked his way toward Jace’s cock.

The slow, tormenting swirl of the man’s tongue around Jace’s navel caused Jace to moan and Ian to purr. Ian’s hands mapped Jace’s hips, as if learning his body, his fingertips so light that they created goose bumps.

Jace touched, running his hands over Ian’s hair, his sculpted back, broad shoulders, and guns that flexed as if the guy was showing off. Ian’s body pinned Jace to the bed as warm heat surrounded his cock.

“Ian.” Jace gripped the man’s hair, pushing his head downward.

Ian was having none of that. A soft growl rumbled in his throat. He shackled Jace’s wrists and pressed them onto the bed in a display of pure dominance, leaving no doubt who was in control.

Jace had never felt so conquered.

Unable to move his arms, Jace cried out, tugging, but Ian refused to let go. His mouth descended on Jace cock. Suction, a tight pull that had Jace rocking his head back and forth. He couldn’t even see what Ian was doing. His hair created a dark, layered curtain.

Ian’s lips were insatiable, the flat of his tongue an assault on Jace’s senses. “I can’t see,” Jace whined. “Move your hair out of the way.”

Instead of using his hand, which would have freed one of Jace’s, Ian popped off his cock and tossed his head back His tousled mane obeyed Ian’s command, settling to one side to expose his corded neck.

So fucking gorgeous, a bronze, masculine stallion and in control of Jace’s body and heart. Ian dipped back down, watching Jace with smoldering eyes as the tip of his tongue circled the head, flicking teasingly.

Ian released Jace’s wrist and grabbed the lube, his tongue still a torture device. Jace was dying of pleasurable madness.

Two wet fingers glided along his entrance. They pressed inward. Testing. Then they nudged inside, Ian’s gaze never leaving Jace’s. His mouth swallowed Jace’s cock, and there was no holding back the noises, the desperate cries and mewls.

The fingers inside of Jace thrust deeply, thick fingers that stretched him wide. He couldn’t recall if there were still two inside of him or if Ian had added a third. It didn’t matter. Jace rode them, completely consumed by Ian.

By his touch.

By his ability to possess Jace with a simple glance of those whiskey eyes.

Tonight, they were going to bind their souls. Ian would be his forever—the only person who was capable of calming his anxieties and the one being who could destroy him from the inside out.

Ian dragged his mouth upward, those sinful fingers scissoring. Jace arched his back with a breathless cry, pulses of rushing heat pounding through his balls. Ian drank every damn drop, feasting on Jace like a hungry beast.

Still dizzy and breathing like he hadn’t had air in hours, Jace watched as Ian surged toward him, their mouths a collision of lips and tongues, sharing the taste of his seed.

A purr rumbled like thunder, and Jace greedily devoured the sound. An image of Ian’s powerful black panther shot through his mind. A sleek cat with rippling muscles. Fierce. Deadly. Passionate.

Ian used his knees to spread Jace’s legs farther apart. His fingers slid free. With one last nip and lick to Jace’s bottom lip, Ian pulled back. His cock was heavy and throbbing, beautifully thick. Ian stroked lube over the hard flesh, his ripped abs on full display. His biceps flexed as his hand caressed his length.

He looked down at Jace. This was it. There was no going back.

But Jace had already known there was no going back. Even without the bite, Ian owned his heart.

Heavy-lidded eyes focused on Jace, intense eyes as Ian slid the head of his cock over Jace’s hole, teasing him so deliciously. Jace’s heart was going crazy, pounding like hooves across the plain.