STORY EXCERPT

Darius scented the air after Richie left. Why on earth did it smell like candy in the kitchen? Fruity, which made Darius’s sweet tooth kick in. Now he was craving something sweet, which wasn’t like him. Although shifters couldn’t get human diseases, like diabetes, he usually stayed away from candy.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zane asked.

“Don’t you smell that?” Darius asked. “Are one of you guys eating candy?”

Alejandro pointed to his mouth. “Do you see how perfect my teeth are? Do you think I eat sugar?”

Zane shrugged. “Only thing I’ve eaten is breakfast, and no candy was a part of that.”

“Let’s get these cabinets installed,” Alejandro said. “I got a lunch date with Shane and Shoeshine.”

Darius chuckled, the smell forgotten. “You’re having lunch with your mate and his goat?”

Zane groaned. “It’s about as bad as how Elijah spoils his raccoon. I have to insist that Buster go sleep in his own bed at night because he’s so damn jealous of me. If I had my way, the furry little critter would sleep outside.”

Darius snorted. “Don’t make Elijah pick between you two. You just might lose out to a raccoon.”

As they worked to restore the kitchen, Darius’s thoughts kept wandering back to the hot little number who’d caught his interest. He wasn’t sure how long Richie was in town, but Darius wouldn’t mind taking the guy out. Not only was he sexy as fuck but he seemed funny, too.

Even his wolf agreed, because it kept whimpering for Darius to hunt Richie down.

By lunch, Darius was starving. He rode into town with Alejandro and Zane, ending up at Cresting Moon. He was just about to bite into his burger when a head of blond hair caught his eye.

Richie.

He was seated at a booth with Taylor. The two were talking and laughing, and Darius was mesmerized by the little twink. Normally he wasn’t one to intrude, but he grabbed his plate and drink, got up, and crossed the restaurant, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t said anything to Zane about leaving the table or where he was going.

“Mind if I join you guys?”

“Hey, Darius,” Taylor said when he looked up. “Sure, you can sit next to me.”

Darius sat next to Richie, making him scoot over. “I think you got that wrong,” Richie said.

“I think I got it right.” Darius set his plate and glass down. “I’m right where I want to be.”

Taylor looked between them, his brows drawn. “Am I missing something?”

 Darius was wondering the same thing because his wolf was going apeshit. He leaned in closer, taking a deep inhale of Richie, and found he was the candy source. But the guy was eating a salad, no sweet treats included.

“Bitches gotta sniff strangers?” Richie shoved at him. “What kind of weirdo are you?”

Taylor’s jaw dropped. “Does he smell like roses to you?”

“Nope.” Darius took a bite of his burger, chewing as he considered what was going on. “Smells like a bag full of Starbursts or gummy Lifesavers.”

Darius knew that smell because some of the mates loved snacking on those things. He kept warning them that the sugar would rot their teeth, but that never stopped them.

“Excuse me?” Richie sniffed under his arms. “I smell manly. What are you talking about? Are you high or something?” He waved at Darius’s plate. “Did the cook put something in your food to make you hallucinate?”

“Didn’t you get all weird this morning?” Darius countered. “You told us to work with our shirts off.”

Taylor burst out laughing. “No he didn’t.”

“Yes, he did.” Darius smiled. “Too bad he didn’t stick around because it got so hot I was working in my underwear.”

Now it was Richie who was laughing. “Okay, fair enough. But you so didn’t work in your underwear.” He wiggled his brows. “There was already a lot of wood in that kitchen.”

“Do you two want to be alone?” Taylor shoved a fry into his mouth. “I can go back to the pizza shop if you guys are about to do something I’m not old enough to know about.”

“Calm down, little grasshopper,” Richie said. “We aren’t doing anything. This is just friendly flirting.”

If only Richie knew. Darius was staring into his mate’s gorgeous eyes. No wonder his wolf had been whimpering earlier. It should have dawned on him since Darius had never had that kind of a reaction to anyone before.

The kind of reaction that had him thinking about Richie all morning. No other guy had occupied Darius’s thoughts that way. He wasn’t sure how long Richie would be in town, but now Darius knew what he had to do.

He had to convince his mate to move to Fever’s Edge. That would be asking a lot since Darius had no clue what ties his mate had back home or what he even did for a living. Even so, he would have to woo Richie for however long he was there to try and convince him.

“Is he…” Taylor jerked his chin toward Richie.

“God, you suck at subtlety,” Darius said. “The entire restaurant saw you nodding your chin at him.”

“Like I know how to do these things,” Taylor argued.

“What, be secretive?” Darius asked. “Drop casual hints?”

“About what?” Richie sucked on his straw, and Darius’s cock perked right up. “What are you two talking about?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Darius warned Taylor. “Don’t you become as bad as Elijah and his big mouth.”

“What?” Taylor looked bug-eyed at him. “I wasn't going to say anything about Richie being your mate.”

Darius closed his eyes and counted to ten then to twenty. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

It seemed Elijah had become a bad influence on the mates. That wasn’t a good thing considering how big the omega wolf’s mouth was. Darius couldn’t count how many times Elijah had come to him, dying to tell a secret but didn’t want anyone to know he was running his mouth.

The only reason Elijah came to him was because he knew Darius wouldn’t say a word. The shit he’d learned through the omega was astounding.

When he looked at Richie, his mate was staring wide-eyed at him. “Move.”

“What?” Darius asked.

“Move, damn it.” Richie shoved at him until Darius stood. His mate scooted from the booth and raced out the door, leaving Darius to stand there watching him disappear.

“Great, you ran off my ride,” Taylor said.

Darius turned to the little twerp, tempted to throttle him. The only thing stopping him was fear that Savant would rearrange his organs. “First, the pizza shop is around the corner. You can walk there. Second, why in the hell did you just blab that?”

Taylor’s entire face turned scarlet. “I have no idea. It just slipped out.”

Darius grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and dropped some money on the table. “Enjoy your meal while I try and track my mate down.”

“Sorry!” Taylor shouted as Darius hurried from the restaurant. Unfortunately, Richie was nowhere in sight.

ADULT EXCERPT

Richie had definitely lost his damn mind. Why on earth was he wiggling a bottle of lube when he had no intention of sleeping with Darius? All he’d wanted to do was to check and see if the satchel was still there, but because Darius had followed him upstairs, Richie had tried to play it off.

That was what he told himself, but as he looked at the guy standing in his bedroom… Oh hell, Richie couldn’t resist. He was confused as fuck, wasn’t sure what he wanted, and scared about having men after him, but he was also a guy with needs, and Darius was standing in his bedroom, ready and willing.

Who in the hell was he kidding? Richie wanted a piece of Darius in the worst sort of way. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that they were mates or if it was pure attraction, but Richie was just as willing and ready.

He tossed the lube onto the bed then ran his hands down Darius’s impressive chest. Richie liked his men big, which was why he’d been attracted to Savant back then. Now he viewed the bear shifter as a close friend.

Not Darius, though. He wanted to conquer that delicious mountain. He wanted to stake his claim and… Wait. What was he thinking? Richie didn’t want to claim anything. He just wanted to have a good time before the Barkley brothers caught up to him and snapped his neck.

Richie really needed to stop thinking about that before he lost his boner.

Darius slid his arms around him, a look of need in his gorgeous eyes.

Although Richie was well versed in the art of sex—something he wasn’t going to brag about—he was nervous as hell and didn’t know why. Maybe it was the fact that he knew what might come of this, that Darius would try to claim him.

“How would you claim me?” Richie slid his hands down the guy’s chest then back up again. He couldn’t seem to stop touching him. It was as if his hands had a mind of their own.

Darius grazed his fingers over Richie’s shoulder, where it met his neck. “I’d bite you right here.”

Oh god. Richie shivered at the way Darius’s fingers glided over his skin. It was as though he was powerless against his hunk. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

“Anything.” Darius nibbled at Richie’s ear, making him shiver even more.

“Don’t bite me.” It had taken concentrated effort to say those words considering his brain cells were melting.

Darius pulled back and frowned. “Are you serious?”

Richie was having a hard time thinking, but he managed to string his words together. “I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment, Darius. I need time to think about this.”

His mate didn’t look happy, but he nodded. Richie was relieved he wouldn’t argue about this. That would have killed the mood, and Richie was horny as fuck, ready to bend over and offer his ass to the wolf shifter.

Darius started kissing him softly, tenderly. And that was when the electrical storm moving around his body started sending all interest south. “Clothes. We have to get rid of them.”

With a low, teasing growl, Darius stepped back and yanked his shirt over his head and then kicked his shoes off. Richie didn’t waste any time. He got out of his clothes so fast he should have fallen over.

Thankfully he didn’t.

When he was completely naked, he crawled onto the bed, lying on his side as he watched Darius finish undressing. And Richie was enjoying the show. All those golden muscles had him salivating as he stroked himself, waiting for his mate to join him.

“Are you sure about this?” Darius tossed aside his underwear, standing there gloriously naked with one brow arched. Richie wondered if the guy knew just how sexy he looked.

“Keep asking me that and I just might change my mind,” he teased as Darius slid in next to him. Richie squeezed his own cock and groaned. “You wouldn’t want this to go to waste, would you?”

“God forbid.” Darius slid down Richie’s body and settled between his legs. Richie’s cock pulsed in his hand as a bead of pre-cum dotted the slit. It wasn’t often he received a blowjob. Most of the guys he’d been with always wanted Richie to do all the work.

This was a nice change of pace.

His eyes crossed and his toes curled when Darius swallowed him to the root. Richie shouted, bucking his hips as he grabbed the headboard, hanging on for dear life. Damn, the man knew how to suck cock.

He wiggled so much that Darius clamped his hands down on Richie’s hips to hold him in place. He tried to tell himself to settle down, but he just couldn’t. Not when Darius was blowing his freaking mind. He used his tongue like a weapon, and Richie was powerless against it.