STORY EXCERPT

Royce peered closer to the hollow, but it was too dark to see anything. “Damn it,” he cursed under his breath. “What am I even doing? I should be back home with Shay.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think so,” the herald’s voice suddenly said behind him. Royce turned his head, meeting the man’s silver gaze. The herald grinned at him. “Maybe I’m not too late after all.”

That was the only warning Royce got before the strange being inexplicably shoved him into the hollow.

Royce liked to think that he was pretty open-minded and had the capacity to take most things in stride, but after today, he thought he couldn’t be blamed for screaming like a little girl. The fall was nothing like what he might have expected. The mouth of the hollow had been pretty big, but when Royce actually fell into it, it expanded. The ground itself seemed to shift, and suddenly, he was no longer surrounded by dark earth. It was more like he was falling through stars, through the night sky itself. It frightened him, since he was sure that any moment now he’d hit the ground. He’d possibly break his neck or maybe even every single bone in his body.

Scary as his fall might be, it was also breathtaking in more than one way. The speed literally threatened to impede his breathing and made his lungs constrict, but it was the amazing sight of the stars, visible everywhere, as far as the eye could see, that truly overwhelmed him.

Hitting the ground did nothing to decrease the strangeness of the moment, largely because he wasn’t even immediately aware of it. In a twist that somehow managed to both alarm and relieve him, the landing didn’t hurt in the slightest. He bounced once, twice, until his momentum settled at last and he lay still on the ground.

For a few moments, he remained there, catching his breath, still dazed and confused. When he finally shook off his trance, the first thing he did was curse up at the... sky? Right, he was going with ‘sky’—it was, at the very least, upwards. “What in the name of the gods are you doing, herald? What do you want with me?”

There was no answer. Still fuming, Royce got up. He had no intention of sticking around to find out what had made the herald shove him into a magical hole in the ground. Returning home sounded like a pretty good idea right about now.

He should have known better than to think anything would go smoothly for him today. Even walking turned out to be a challenge. Royce stumbled and slipped on the weird moss that had broken his fall, and face-planted gracelessly back onto the ground.

With a frustrated huff, he lifted his head, and for the second time since his unwise flight from the mansion, he caught sight of something interesting. It was hidden in the moss and seemed to have been buried deep within the ground before being dislodged by Royce’s sudden arrival. Despite all the dirt covering it, the item shone a bright silver-gold. Intrigued, Royce dug through the moss. It took some effort, but at last, he finally unearthed the strange item.

It was a lamp.

At first sight, the lamp wasn’t anything remarkable. Its shape was similar to some of the ancient, ornamental objects in Conor’s house. The material, though... It reminded Royce of his fall through the stars, of the bright glow that had broken through the darkness.

The lamp seemed to be engraved with rune markings, but the filth made them illegible. Intrigued, Royce rubbed the sides of the lamp, cleaning it as well as he could.

He didn’t expect the lamp to suddenly start glowing and heating in his arms. A soft sigh actually seemed to escape it—what in the world?—and Royce dropped the thing on the ground, falling back on his ass in surprise.

Instants later, there was a bright flash, an explosion of smoke—and then a heavy, and very warm weight landed on top of Royce. When the smoke cleared, Royce realized in mute shock that said weight was, in fact, a person.

Like the herald, this new arrival had rabbit ears on top of his head and bright silver hair. That was where the similarities ended. His eyes were a deep, hypnotizing red, although Royce feared he couldn’t distinguish all the shades in the bright orbs. They were like blood and sunset, blending into a restless sea. His skin was fair and soft, softer than anything Royce had touched in his life. He was also completely naked and had conveniently landed in Royce’s lap.

The new arrival blinked in confused surprise, but didn’t try to remove himself from his position. His eyes widened, as if he’d just come to a realization. When he looked at Royce again, there was a different, inscrutable expression on his lovely face. And he said something that upended Royce’s world for the third time that day.

“Hello, master. My name is Keyan, and I will be your genie today. Tell me, what are your wishes?”

ADULT EXCERPT

He would have loved to taste Keyan’s sweet lips again, but he had a whole beautiful genie to explore. He wriggled down Keyan’s body, licking and nipping as he went. Keyan’s skin was like warm silk, and he arched his back and moaned beautifully, each of Royce’s touches making his cries escalate. His sensual purity was even more potent because Royce knew beyond any doubt that Keyan’s responses were completely honest, with no artifice and deceit.

When Royce took Keyan’s nipples in his mouth, Keyan flailed so hard he almost shoved Royce off. It was only his shape-shifter strength that kept him steady, that, and his determination to show Keyan all the pleasure they could experience together. As Keyan writhed underneath him, Royce flicked his tongue over the tender nub in his mouth, while tweaking its twin with his fingers. It seemed he’d found a sensitive spot.

He spent quite some time laving Keyan’s nipples, experimenting with the occasional bite, followed by soothing licks. At one point, he was certain—although he wasn’t entirely sure how he knew—that Keyan was already on the brink of climax. He released the bits of flesh from his mouth before Keyan could fall over the edge, drawing a cry of protest from his beautiful genie.

The cry turned into a scream when Royce finally took Keyan’s cock into his mouth. Royce had imagined this more than once, wondering about Keyan’s taste. But no matter how much he might have dreamed about this moment, nothing could actually compare with the reality of it.

Keyan’s flavor was a little sweet, a little spicy, a combination that shouldn’t have come together as well as it did. But Keyan himself was like that, both sweet and full of fire, always surprising Royce.

Royce gave himself up completely to the moment. He bobbed his head up and down his genie’s shaft, sucking for all he was worth, and taking a huge amount of pleasure in witnessing Keyan come undone.

Keyan was always beautiful, but never more than today, writhing underneath Royce as he eagerly accepted the pleasure Royce offered. He was unrestrained and unashamed, his hips pumping as he thrust his cock in and out of Royce’s mouth, eagerly demanding more of the suction.

Royce gladly gave in to Keyan’s wordless plea. He increased the pace, already feeling his reward within reach. His own cock throbbed painfully between his thighs, but he didn’t make the slightest attempt to touch himself. He didn’t have to, and he didn’t want to. It would be ridiculous to claim that he didn’t crave the ecstasy of orgasm, but neither did he need to actively pursue it. Keyan’s pleasure fed his own, his scent, his taste, and the awareness of his acceptance almost more than he could bear.

Keyan spread his legs wide, accommodating Royce, giving him more room to work. Royce took advantage of the occasion to slide his fingers underneath Keyan. He reached for Keyan’s hole and rubbed his finger over the tight opening. Keyan’s body yielded to him, his flesh eagerly parting. As Royce thrust a single dry digit into Keyan’s channel, his knuckles brushed the base of Keyan’s fluffy tail. Just like that, it was all over. With one final cry, Keyan convulsed and fell over the edge, filling Royce’s mouth with his seed.

Royce drank down every single drop, reveling in the way Keyan shuddered in the aftermath of his orgasm. He could feel it licking over his skin, waves of magic reaching out to him like phantom fingers.

He didn’t know how he managed to suppress his own climax. Perhaps it was simply because of his nigh unbearable need to claim Keyan. He didn’t analyze it too closely. He simply felt, knew, believed at a level he had never experienced before.

Once again, he sensed the wolf inside him, but this time, it didn’t unsettle him. His mind—every train of thought—was focused on Keyan. He didn’t have time to worry about anything else.

Keyan was already hardening once again and giving Royce a come-hither look. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t really have to. It was all right there, in his eyes, in his flushed face, his scent, and the warmth of his skin.

Under Royce’s greedy gaze, Keyan reached for the nightstand and retrieved a vial of oil. Their fingers brushed as Keyan handed Royce the bottle, and the simple touch made Royce shiver in delight.

His entire body seemed aflame, lit up with need and desire. There was nothing more genuine to him in that moment than the simple truth of their proximity.

Perhaps he should have been nervous, and to a certain extent, he was. Even so, his hands didn’t tremble as he uncapped the vial and poured a generous amount of liquid on his fingers. Neither did he hesitate when he reached for Keyan’s opening again, this time with slick digits.

Just like before, Keyan sat back, moaning as one of Royce’s fingers pierced his body. This time, he wasn’t satisfied with just that. Fisting the sheets, he fixed Royce with a nearly desperate look. “More, Royce. Please, more.”

Hearing his name on Keyan’s beautiful lips was almost too much for Royce to bear. It seduced him, and he couldn’t have resisted Keyan if he’d wanted to. At the back of his mind, his wolf howled, demanding that he take what was his. He didn’t understand why he’d ever feared it, why he’d doubted any of it.