STORY EXCERPT

Shaking his head, Noah looked around to see who was within earshot. It was humiliating enough without having an audience to witness this. “It was me,” he said softly as he turned back toward the cop behind the counter.

The cop looked shocked, and then a hint of disgust filled his eyes. He masked it quickly, but Noah had caught the expression. He knew this was a bad idea. “Your boyfriend get a little rough?” he asked.

Noah wanted to argue, to grab the cop around his collar and shake him until he saw that this wasn’t to be taken lightly. But he knew he couldn’t do that. The only thing he could do would be to lick his wounds and get the hell out of there.

“Don’t talk to him like that!” Mikko shouted.

The cop gave Mikko an annoyed glare but said nothing about his outburst.

“No, it was a stranger.” Noah was getting angry. Just because he was a male didn’t mean he couldn’t be forced. He wanted to run, run as far away from the judgmental leer the fat fucker was throwing at him. He knew this had been a horrendous mistake. Noah didn’t have to stand there and be judged. He didn’t.

“Tell me what happened.” The cop shuffled some papers, his interest from earlier gone, the bored look back in his eyes.

Noah’s gaze darted to the nametag resting on the cop’s chest. Officer Smiley. What a joke. There wasn’t a damn thing happy about this man. His name should have been Officer Prick. That would have suited him better.

Knowing the man’s opinion on the crime that had happened to him, Noah decided there was no way in hell he was going to tell this bastard anything. He could tell by the man’s disposition that he thought Noah wasn’t a victim in this. That the investigation would be a mockery of what it would have been had he been a female—if there was any effort in an investigation at all.

“I would rather talk to the officer who will be in charge of my case,” Noah said a little more sternly. He wasn’t the bravest man around, but he wasn’t a punk either. He wasn’t going to allow Officer Shithead to demean him any further than he had already been.

Office Smiley stared at Noah for what seemed like forever, assessing him with his cold brown eyes. Finally he nodded, his jowls shaking slightly with the motion. Noah had an urge to reach out and slap at it, to see if the flabby neck would sway back and forth. He almost laughed…almost. It wouldn’t help the cop to take him seriously if he started laughing in the man’s face.

“You two take a seat over there.” Officer Smiley pointed across the room to a set of hard plastic chairs. “I’ll call upstairs.”

“Thank you.” It took everything in Noah to say those words when he really wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. That would not have been conducive to receiving help with his case. So, instead, he turned and walked over to the chairs, sitting down. They were cold, hard, and unfriendly.

Just like the precinct and exactly like Smiley.

“He had no right to treat you that way.” Mikko said as he balled his fists in his lap. “He shouldn’t have a badge acting the way he just did toward you.”

“What did you expect?” Noah knew he would get the shitty treatment as soon as he said it was him that had been violated. Men didn’t get assaulted, and if they did, it was kept quiet. No man ever wanted to admit to being a victim of a sexual crime. Noah was feeling emasculated already over what had brought him here. Officer Smiley only robbed him further of his pride and manhood. Just because Noah was gay didn’t mean he slept with any man who shook a dick at him. No meant no.

Ice-cold dread settled in Noah’s stomach when he thought about the cop he had to talk to about what had happened to him. He was going to have to endure more prejudice with the cop who would take his statement, if they even believed him. It amazed him how narrow- minded some people were in this day and age. No matter how much progress the gay community made, it still felt as though they were living back in the days when gayness was hidden well in the closet.

As Noah thought about the embarrassment he was about to endure, panic began to slowly set in. He really, really couldn’t do this. Let the next guy report this type of crime. Let the next guy endure the humiliation.

“Oh no you don’t. You aren’t running, Noah. Sit.”

Noah hadn’t even realized he’d stood. His body was primed and ready for flight. The thought of the next guy reporting this sort of crime and the thought of there being a next guy period made Noah sit back down. No one should have to endure what he had gone through. If he could prevent any other man from going through this by getting that offender off the streets, he would subject himself to the humiliation. Noah felt remorse at thinking about letting the next guy handle this. That wasn’t him, and he felt terrible for having those thoughts.

Maybe if the guy before Noah had been brave enough to come here, he wouldn’t be sitting in this unyielding seat now. His attacker and the one who’d attacked the last guy to walk through these doors might not be the same man, but Noah couldn’t help but think that. His mind wasn’t working properly since the attack, and he wasn’t sure it ever would again.

He couldn’t blame the last guy, and he knew in his gut that he hadn’t been that attacker’s first. It took a great amount of courage to report a crime of this nature, not that Noah was brave, but he had to stop this from happening again. He had to stop the violence, if only by ridding the world of one more bad guy.

“Are you the guy reporting the assault?”

Noah’s head snapped up. A tall man in jeans and a red T-shirt was standing in front of him with a badge tucked in the belt. It showed proudly in the light of the precinct, making Noah feel safer but even more scared as he stared at the badge. Noah quickly looked around to see if anyone else was listening.

The man hunkered down in front of Noah, his soft blues eyes making Noah’s breath hitch. “No one heard me.” The man smiled warmly at Noah, throwing him a lifeline. “I’m Detective Grace. You can call me Justin.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Justin’s pants tightened as he watched Noah’s tongue slid across his lips. Fuck. He was having a hard time concentrating. Justin had to force himself to eat and not think about pulling Noah from the table and ravishing him.

Ten minutes later they were on the couch, Noah patting his stomach. “I’m so full I might fall asleep.”

Justin turned the television on and sank back into the couch, pulling Noah’s legs onto his lap. “I hadn’t realized how starved I was.”

“Right?” Noah yawned. “I’m just glad you were there for me.” Noah looked at him. “I haven’t told you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

Unable to stop himself, Justin stretched out next to Noah. “I’m just glad I could be here for you.”

Justin brushed his hand over Noah’s long, dark hair, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He knew Noah was in a vulnerable place and didn’t want to take advantage of him. Justin wished he’d met Noah sooner. Maybe he could have saved his mate from the attack.

Then again, if Noah hadn’t been attacked, Justin might not have met him.

Noah locked gazes with him, and Justin was amazed once again at how beautiful the blue coloring truly was. Everything about Noah appealed to him. His compact body, handsome face, inky-black hair, and pretty eyes made up one hell of a package.

“You have been. Every step of the way,” Noah said.

Justin’s eyes were glued to the man’s mouth when his tongue flicked out and licked his bottom lip. Before he knew what he was doing, Justin leaned in and tasted his mate for the second time. Only, this time, it was even better than their first kiss.

Justin licked purposefully at the man’s upper lip and was granted entry to the warm wet cavern. The kiss sent the pit of his stomach into a wild swirl as he pressed his lips to Noah’s, caressing his mouth more than kissing it.

Their tongues dueled and fought as Justin pinned Noah against the couch. As if in slow motion, Noah’s head tilted back as Justin kissed his mate’s throat. Noah moaned as Justin teased his flesh with his lips, and the sound sent shivers through him.

Justin moved back to Noah’s mouth, and their tongues tangled in an intimate glide, his emotions whirling and skidding, the need to claim almost overwhelming.

“I can’t.” Noah pushed at Justin’s chest.

Justin pulled back, gazing down at his mate, and then their mouths crashed together again, hungrier and more desperate than before, muffling the sounds of their pleasure.

Noah arched his back, opening his mouth wider, and Justin felt as if he were burning in the fiery passion of their kiss. Justin guided one of Noah’s hands to his aching cock. He thought the man would try and push him away again, but Noah’s touch was oddly soft and caressing.

The smoldering flames he saw in Noah’s blue eyes startled him. Justin smiled when his mate’s cheeks colored under his gaze. It was like the man had been starving for affection and Justin was finally feeding him. But he wasn’t foolish enough to think that Noah was totally giving himself over.

The man wanted sex, pure and simple. It was a way for Noah to deal with what was happening to him, a way to forget his troubles and ground himself in something. Justin didn’t mind giving the guy a distraction.

Noah didn’t protest when Justin released the man’s wrists and began to remove his mate’s pants. He tossed them aside and then stood, undressing. Noah’s eyes stayed riveted to Justin as he lowered himself to the couch, blanketing his mate, careful of his weight.

He braced himself by his hands on either side of Noah’s head as he leaned down to recapture Noah’s kiss-swollen lips. Noah’s arms wrapped around Justin’s neck, his lips opened to his.

Shudders of pleasure raced beneath Justin’s skin as his free hand began to caress Noah, moving up the man’s back, over his waist, and up Noah’s side as his tongue stroked his lover’s mouth.

Justin slid his hand lower, his fingers searching for and finding the heated length of Noah’s cock as it pressed against Justin’s side. Thick and iron-hard, throbbing beneath his touch, the silken flesh was like a flame in Justin’s hand.

“Oh god.” Noah’s head fell back. His hips arched against Justin’s touch as his fingers began to slowly stroke the man’s heated flesh.

Justin gave a low growl when Noah tangled his fingers in Justin’s hair. His mate gave a light tug, and pleasure surged through him.

Damn, if Justin didn’t fuck Noah, he was going to die from the need. He had to get inside his mate. He had to fill him, thrust inside him. Feel the pleasure that exploded into complete nirvana when he came inside him.

His cock hardened to painful intensity at the need.

“Sex…just sex.”

Justin nodded, even though it pained him to do so. He wanted more than just sex with his mate but knew that was all Noah had to offer at the moment. Releasing his mate’s cock, Justin moved farther up the couch. “Suck me.”

He leaned over and fed his hardening dick to Noah’s panting mouth. His mate took Justin’s erection into his mouth in one swift move and sucked ferociously. Justin hissed as he pushed his cock to the back of Noah’s throat, waiting for the man’s reflexive swallow to squeeze the sensitive tip before retreating and fucking into him again.

Every time Noah’s gaze met Justin’s, Justin’s heart turned over in response. His fingers curled into the back of the couch as he watched his cock repeatedly disappear between Noah’s lips.

Justin suppressed the growl rumbling in his chest. That wasn’t what Noah needed to hear right now. His mate didn’t want to get to know Justin’s wolf right now. Justin knew Noah wasn’t ready for that.

Justin began to thrust his hips toward Noah’s face and cried out when Noah played with his balls. His mate knew exactly how to drive Justin insane.

Knowing this, knowing that he was only a means to sate Noah’s lust, Justin held Noah in place as he rolled his hips backward and pulled his dick from his mate’s mouth with a damp pop.

Noah gazed up at him in confusion.

“On your hands and knees,” Justin commanded in a rough tone. He moved back enough to give Noah room, watching as his mate turned over and presented Justin with his smooth, tight ass.