STORY EXCERPT

“We’re getting married!” Kelsey screamed, causing Bennett’s ears to ring. “Look!” She waved her hand in front of his face. Her smile was so wide it was blinding. “Daniel proposed.” She started bouncing up and down, then spun around to fasten her arms around his brother’s neck.

Daniel had a goofy, lovestruck smile on his face. It annoyed Bennett. Love was for fools. It never lasted, but he wasn’t going to have that particular discussion again with Daniel. His brother had apparently made up his mind and was going to marry Kelsey Tanner. Just what he needed. A giddy, always happy person in his life.

“Fuck me,” Bennett groaned as he slowly stood up. He’d best congratulate Daniel and his fiancée so as not to anger his brother. Bennett might not believe in that everlasting love, but he did love his brothers and would do anything for them. Including put up with one of them getting married to the first girl he fell in love with. “Congratulations, you two.” Bennett gave Kelsey a stiff hug. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. He stepped away from her to shake Daniel’s hand.

“I’m so excited!” Kelsey’s body shook from excitement. “He totally surprised me.” She brushed her lips over Daniel’s. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby.” Daniel kissed the tip of her nose.

Bennett nearly threw up. His brother looked like a little puppy. Kelsey had him under her thumb, and Bennett wasn’t sure he liked that too much. Giving a person too much power over your well-being could be dangerous. Just ask their dead mother.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but did I hear someone say they were getting married?” Kathy, his secretary, came into the room.

“We are.” Kelsey turned around to face her. She held out her hand with the small diamond ring on it.

“Kelsey, why don’t you and Kathy go and get some coffee?” Bennett suggested. He gave a pointed look at Kathy, to which she rolled her eyes. She was a bossy and opinionated woman, but she was a fabulous secretary. It was the only reason Bennett kept her around. “I’d love to have a moment alone with my brother.”

“Yes, of course.” Kathy put her arm around Kelsey and led her out of the office.

“Wait a sec!” Kelsey ran back in to kiss Daniel on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” Daniel whispered against her lips, then kissed her again.

Bennett balled up his fists. The exchange was nauseating. Of course, he wasn’t blind. Kelsey was a very sweet and beautiful woman. She was tall with a slender body, big blue eyes almost too big for her face, and flowing, soft light-brown hair. She always had a smile on her face, and by all accounts there wasn’t a good reason for Bennett to dislike her so much other than that she was sucking his brother into her web of love, which could potentially end with Daniel having a broken heart.

“You asked her to marry you?” Bennett walked back around his desk and sat down.

“Oh jeez, brother.” Daniel plopped down in the chair in front of Bennett’s desk. “Can’t you even pretend to be happy for me?”

“Sure I can.” Bennett rested his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands together. “But what’s the point?”

“The point is that I’m happy and you should be happy for me.” Daniel sat up and leaned forward. “I love her, Bennett. She’s the one.”

“For right now.”

“Why do you say things like that?” Daniel jumped to his feet.

Daniel was the middle child and he often had his bouts of tantrums, as Bennett liked to call them. He loved his brother, but he needed to be realistic. Love doesn’t always last, and he needed to be prepared when it went away.

“Daniel, I’m your brother and I love you, but don’t ask me to blindly believe in all this.” Bennett stood up and walked over to stand in front of Daniel. Daniel was a few inches shorter than him and thinner, but they had the same blue eyes. But they were different. Daniel’s eyes shone with hope and love, whereas Bennett’s held only skepticism. “I know you think you’re in love with Kelsey—”

“Stop saying that!” Daniel shouted. “I’ve been with her for four years, Bennett.” He held up four fingers. “Four years. I’m in love with her and she’s in love with me. This wedding is going to happen whether you like it or not.” Daniel hung his head and shook it. “Why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“I am. It’s just—I worry about you.” That was the main cause for all Bennett’s stress. He worried about his two brothers more than he worried about himself. Their happiness and well-being meant the most to him.

“Bennett, I know we didn’t have the best examples while growing up, but falling in love isn’t a bad thing. It’s not a life sentence in prison.” Bennett frowned, and Daniel laughed. “I love you, brother, but trust me. I know what I’m doing. Kelsey, she’s… She’s everything to me. She’s on my mind when I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the morning. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Can’t you just be happy for me this one time?”

“Answer me this.” Bennett crossed his thick arms over his broad chest. “What happens if this doesn’t work out? What if she leaves you or something worse? What then?”

ADULT EXCERPT

After a long day working around the ranch, Shay hopped into the shower. When he was done, he went to sit on his porch to enjoy the evening breeze. He hadn’t been out there long when he smelled it. A strong, minty aroma combined with male sweat, but not just any male, Bennett.

Against his better judgment to keep his distance, Shay grabbed his flip-flops and headed down the trail that led to the cabins behind the barn. There in the darkness, sitting on his porch, was Bennett. He’d folded his large, muscular body into one of the wooden rocking chairs. His posture was stiff and the smell of beer flowed from his mouth on every heavy sigh he emitted. The pinched creases on Bennett’s face told a story. Something was bothering him, and Shay wanted to know what it was. He wanted to comfort his mate.

After only five minutes in Bennett’s company, a couple things were clear. Shay was falling for the city boy, and Bennett was a miserable fuck. Who didn’t believe in love? Most people spend their whole lives searching it out, and here Bennett was, openly admitting that he wanted to avoid ever finding it. Bennett might be human but it didn’t matter. The pull of the mating bond couldn’t be denied. No matter how much Bennett said he wasn’t going to fall in love and spend the rest of his life with another person, it wasn’t up to him anymore. Their fates were twined together, and Shay didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life with a man who refused to admit he loved him. This wasn’t fair.

Shay hadn’t expected Bennett to kiss him, but the next thing he knew the man was all over him. His minty, male smell surrounded him, and Shay fell victim to the pleasure Bennett was giving to his body. Bennett had an ability to make Shay feel small and fragile, and Shay had to admit that turned him on. Bennett’s grip was hard and rough, and his sharp teeth kept biting into Shay’s swollen lips. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d say Bennett was a shifter.

“Oh fuck, Bennett.” Shay gasped for breath.

Bennett chuckled and moved his lips down his jaw, then onto Shay’s neck. A sharp sting rocketed through his body. Bennett nipped and sucked on his shoulder, and Shay couldn’t keep his hips from rocking into Bennett’s. His cock was so hard he thought he might blow his load then and there.

Bennett yanked on the hem of Shay’s shirt and jerked it up and over his head. Shay’s body hummed with pleasure. His nipples hardened into tight little peaks, and Bennett pinched and tugged at them.

“Fuck me,” Shay groaned. He hadn’t realized he’d voiced those words out loud until he felt Bennett unsnap his jeans and push them down his thighs. “Bennett, wait a minute.”

Bennett spun him around to face away from him. Shay put his hands up to brace himself. The heat of Bennett at his back blanketed him. His hard cock hung free in the air, and each gust of wind was like a caress on his stiff shaft.

“Come on, Shay.” Bennett put a hand around Shay’s neck and squeezed gently while his other hand reached down to part his cheeks, probing at his tight hole. “Tell me you don’t want this.” The questing finger left for a brief moment, then came back wet with spit. Bennett pressed his finger inside. Shay tensed up. It had been a while since he’d let a man have him last. His body wasn’t used to the invasion. “Tell me to stop, or I’m going to fuck you so hard and deep you’ll feel me for days.” Bennett pulled on Shay’s neck, causing him to arch back. “What’s it going to be, cowboy? Tell me you want it or I stop right now.”

“I want it,” Shay moaned. Everything Bennett was doing just felt too good. He whimpered as another finger joined the first. The dry, tight friction stung but in a good way. He couldn’t wait to have Bennett inside him. “Please, fuck me, Bennett. I need it.”

Bennett pulled his fingers from Shay’s stretched hole and lined up his cock. Shay closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The damp tip of Bennett’s cock breached his opening, and Shay bit his lip to keep from crying out. It was painful but quickly faded away to pure bliss. Bennett’s thick cock filled him to the brim, and Shay was surprised the man’s length fit.

Bennett stood still once he was all the way in, giving Shay a chance to adjust, but that was the only moment he got. Bennett pulled his hips back then thrust forward. Shay grunted and tightened his grip on the wood railing in front of him. Bennett kept one hand around his throat and the other around his stomach, jerking him into each forward thrust.

“You like that, don’t you?” Bennett whispered into his ear. “You like being fucked by a real man, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Shay hissed as the fat head of Bennett’s cock slammed against his prostate. His cock was leaking a steady stream of pre-cum. It wouldn’t take much more to send him over the edge. “Harder, Bennett. Give it to me.”

“I should have known you’d like this.” Bennett tightened his grip on Shay’s throat, and he could barely breathe. “My dirty little cowboy.”