STORY EXCERPT

Once Henry was finished in town, he practically sped getting back to the ranch, the demon of loneliness chasing after him. The past few days with Damon there, a walking, talking person instead of a wolf Henry sometimes saw stalking small game in the pasture, had been wonderful. But as Henry listened to the father and daughter talking to each other, he knew the loneliness would be back in full force when Damon left. The wolf shifter had believed he would remain on the ranch for a while, until he got used to being human again and in full control of himself. Henry didn’t see that happening. Damon would go to be with his family. And that was the right thing for him to do. Henry knew it. There was no part of him that was selfish enough to want to keep Damon all for himself when there were people who loved him, had waited, and believed unwaveringly that Damon would return to them.

When Damon cleared his throat, Henry knew what he was going to say. He hadn’t given the conversation between father and daughter much attention. He’d only remained on the porch because he knew Damon would insist that he stay. The guy was nice like that.

Henry looked up when Damon came to stand in front of him. After a moment, he stood. They were too close. Henry backed against the chair, pushing it with his legs to give himself some room. As he did so, he hoped he didn’t get another boner.

“Henry, you’ve been an amazing host, and I’m grateful for what you did for me.” Damon paused, his beautiful blue eyes filled with warmth and kindness and an emotion Henry couldn’t begin to identify. He knew what he wanted it to be, but that didn’t make it real. “Daisy wants me to come home with her. I think I should.”

His head bobbed in agreement. “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.” His heart began to break, and he didn’t know why. Fuck, if he started blubbering like a baby, Damon would think he was crazy. “You need your family as much as they need you.” They had only known each other six days, give or take a few hours. It didn’t count. A lump formed in his throat. Damn, he was going to cry. “Hey, you know what? I’m going to pack up the rest of the cookies for you to take with you.”

“That’d be great,” Damon said as he held out his hand. “Thank you, Henry. I’ll call you in a couple of days. Maybe you can come into town and show me around.”

“Yeah, sure.” Henry didn’t think so. It was better to make a clean break. What did the techy types of people say? He’d read it in a few novels. Oh, yeah, reboot. They rebooted their computers. He would reboot his life, the lonely one without Damon in it.

To cover the emotions churning through him, Henry went inside, packed up the cookies, and then gathered the personal items Damon had used. There was no reason for Damon to have to go buy more of the same when he already had basic necessities. Henry stuffed everything into a bag and took it out, handing it and the container of cookies to Damon, who thanked Henry again for his kindness.

Then Henry was standing on the porch watching as Damon and Daisy left in Daisy’s bright red pickup truck. He stood there and watched until it went out on the road and headed to town. He watched until it disappeared over a slightly elevated section of road, before standing there staring at nothing while pain rippled through him and tears burned his eyes.

A sigh escaped Henry. Well, that was that. He rubbed at his eyes and sniffled.

Going inside, Henry wandered around the rooms for a while, looking in the guest room where Damon had slept. The man was so neat there wasn’t a dent or the hint of a wrinkle in the colorful patchwork quilt covering the bed. He’d wash the sheets tomorrow. At the moment he didn’t feel like doing anything.

When he returned to the living room his gaze landed on the unfinished carving of the cowboy and his dog. The desire to work on it was nowhere to be found, and he decided to cover it with a cloth and tuck it away on the shelf. Maybe he’d be in the mood to work on it in a couple of days.

It was two days before Damon called Henry. Henry was so happy he could barely contain himself. There was also a need to cry with relief because he had been certain Damon would forget all about him after being with his family. They talked for about fifteen minutes, Damon first asking Henry how he was doing and Henry reassuring him that it was all good, not once even hinting that he might have a broken heart. That would just be plain stupid. How could he have a broken heart? That would mean he’d fallen in love with a stranger after only a few days. Who the fuck did that?

Apparently, Henry did.

ADULT EXCERPT

Baby steps. He could touch it if he didn’t pass out from an excitement overload.

Billy nuzzled Henry’s neck. “Mm, you smell good.” Something warm and wet traced along the column of his neck. Oh, fuck, that was Billy’s tongue. Henry could think of a few other places Billy could lick. Henry’s balls clenched as his excitement built. “And you taste good, too. I’m glad you decided to come over for a visit. My night sure got less boring. Sleep is often overrated.”

A long, low moan was pulled from Henry’s throat as Damon joined in, reaching out to stroke Henry’s shoulder and arm before Billy rolled, placing Henry between the two sexy shifters.

All his desires and dreams flared to life as their warm hands pushed under the flimsy shield his pajamas provided, stroking his skin, exploring his chest, his stomach, but not quite touching the aching shaft trapped beneath Billy’s bent leg.

Feeling bold, Henry touched Billy’s chest, the tips of his fingers exploring the one small, flat nipple he could reach. Billy moaned and nipped Henry’s neck. Fire shot through Henry, causing him to suck in a sharp breath. The sensations coursing through his body were unfamiliar. Unfamiliar but irresistible. Henry wanted more. Nothing this good could be bad. And he was sharing it with two men who were beginning to mean a lot to him.

Henry wasn’t naïve enough to believe that he needed to be in love with a sexual partner. But it was something he felt he wanted to have. Billy and Damon had planted the first seeds of love in his heart. Love had taken hold, growing steadily for weeks. The intensity of the two shifters’ emotions wasn’t as scary now as it had been at first. He’d known about shifter attraction, although this was the first time he had encountered it for himself, had been the object of it. While Damon had been more subtle, Billy was like a huge neon sign flashing in the night, letting Henry know exactly what he wanted from Henry and why.

How could he resist something like that? He couldn’t, of course. Something inside Henry responded to the signals both men were sending.

“How are you doing, Henry?” Damon’s voice was close to his ear. It was only then that Henry realized that he was now on his back between Damon and Billy. They were still pressing against him, their hands under his clothes. “Are you scared?”

Henry shook his head. “No. But I’m about to go off. There’s nothing I can do about that,” he told Damon breathlessly. “I’d like someone to at least touch my dick while I come. Then it might not be so embarrassing.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Billy told him reassuringly. “Damon and I are two hot studs. There’s no way you could be with us and not be supercharged by our mere presence, let alone what we do to you.” He kissed Billy, enjoying the feel of the soft lips against his.

“So humble,” Henry said with a laugh, relaxing a little. “Seriously, I’d really like to know what it feels like to be stroked off by a hand that isn’t my own.” Thirty-four years old and not one of the few men he’d been with had bothered themselves with Henry’s pleasure. “I’m too old to wait a second longer.”

Damon shoved Henry’s sleep pants down past his hips. Billy was now licking and nibbling Henry’s throat, sucking on his Adam’s apple, kissing a trail up to his ear, where he growled softly. Shivers of pleasure swept over Henry’s skin, raising goosebumps.

Just when Henry didn’t think either man would touch his dick, long fingers wrapped around it. He believed they were Damon’s fingers, as Billy’s hand continued to play beneath his shirt, pulling and tweaking his nipples. It was surprising to discover how sensitive they were, at least when someone else touched them. Not so much when he was playing with them.

Henry moaned, his eyes closed tight, as Damon stroked the heated flesh rising from his groin. He hadn’t come as expected. There was some kind of control still going on. How he was managing that he didn’t know.

“You feel good in my hand,” Damon told him, his words thick as he leaned in to kiss Henry’s temple. His mouth didn’t stop there. It continued on, kissing a trail across Henry’s cheekbone to his nose, and then down to his mouth.

Henry couldn’t stop moaning. It was all so much. The kisses from both men, the touches, his balls ready to disappear as they pulled tight to his body. Damon continued to stroke, gently but firmly. Henry began to meet the man’s strokes, his hips rising, the cheeks of his ass clenching.

“That’s it, baby. Fuck my hand. Come for me.”