STORY EXCERPT

Phillip couldn’t believe he was actually in The Manacle, a club owned and operated by Prince Christian LeAnthony Espelimbergo. He felt like a fanboy as he worked his way through the crowd, hoping to get a glimpse of the prince.

It had been a dream of his for a long time, and finally Phillip had arrived. After all, Prince Christian was the founder of their race, the first-ever vampire created.

Who wouldn’t want to meet such royalty?

The club was everything Phillip thought a vampire club should be. The interior was dark, almost smoky, with grinding, rhythmic music that made his hips want to sway.

It didn’t even bother him that the club was so packed. Normally Phillip hated crowds. He didn’t even like being seen in his own coven. His coven leader, Cassius, was a total dick, and so were most of the members.

Phillip had traveled far to be here, even though he’d defied Cassius’s orders not to leave the premises. It wasn’t as if anyone would miss him. He doubted anyone even noticed that he wasn’t there.

In general, Phillip was mainly ignored, and when he did gain attention, it wasn’t the right kind. Clearly vampires didn’t like the small, twink-like members of their species, and Phillip fit that bill in spades.

It wasn’t his fault he was born that way, but his coven never let him forget that he was pretty much useless and unwanted.

And Cassius? The guy was so shady that he should have had a canopy of leaves covering his head. Phillip had never met anyone with as big an ego as his coven leader had. The vampire was the embodiment of narcissism.

Phillip maneuvered his way to the bar, excited to be somewhere where he wouldn’t be criticized or ignored. Hell, even the bartender was gorgeous.

“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked. The guy was tall, lean, shirtless, and wearing a sexy grin. “You could have me if you wait until my shift is over.”

Phillip sputtered, his brain cells melting. No one had ever flirted with him, and he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“I see you’re shy.” The bartender winked. “What drink do you want?”

Phillip leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. He’d smelled plenty of humans in the club and didn’t want to freak them out. “Do you have any blood on tap?”

It wasn’t as if he’d been to a club before. Phillip hadn’t, and that was one reason he was so amped. Though he had known the bouncer, which surprised him. He hadn’t known that Harley worked here but had been delighted to see him. He’d met the vampire when Harley had visited Phillip’s coven, and the two had gotten along just fine.

The bartender chuckled. “Let me warm you a glass.”

Phillip turned, giving the counter his back as he stared at the sea of dancers. His gaze bounced everywhere, from the dancers to the DJ to the laser lights that shot across the room.

This was so unreal!

If Phillip got in trouble for leaving the coven, this night would be well worth the punishment.

After getting his drink and paying for it, Phillip inched his way back into the throng of people, wondering if he should just start dancing or ask someone.

The bartender had been right about one thing. Phillip was shy as hell, so he decided to dance on his own. He downed his drink, found a table to set his glass on, then went back to swiveling his hips.

Then it happened. Just like in the movies. Phillip looked up and spotted a guy staring at him, watching his every move. Talk about godlike and stunning. Phillip felt himself blush as he turned away.

What should he do? He wanted to talk to someone, anyone at this point. He didn’t want to spend the evening just dancing with himself.

“Are you here by yourself?”

Phillip’s heart did a somersault as he turned around and saw the guy who had been watching him. “Yes.”

The guy smiled, and it was genuine and warm. “Mind if I join you?”

“I…you could…I mean…sure.” Phillip started dancing again, only now he felt self-conscious about the way he moved. Was he dancing right or making himself look like an idiot?

“I’m Rourke Aziza.” The guy placed his hands on Phillip’s hips and pulled him much, much closer. “Are you a part of Christian’s coven?”

“I’m Phillip Gautier, and no, this isn’t my coven.” If Rourke knew about Christian, then he had to be nonhuman. It was hard to sift through the smells of the club, but he managed and discovered Rourke was a wolf shifter.

The way they moved, touched, Rourke’s hand ghosting down Phillip’s arm was enough to make him want to pass out. Phillip wasn’t a virgin, per se, but he was so inexperienced that he might as well have been.

Hopefully he would see some action tonight, because if he didn’t, it might be a millennia before he got laid. When Cassius found out Phillip had defied him, his coven leader would punish Phillip and lock him away.

So Phillip had to make tonight count.

“What coven are you from?”

Phillip didn’t want to answer that. The less people who knew about him, the better. “Nothing personal, okay?”

Rourke, with his gorgeous brown eyes, nodded. “Suits me. I’m here on business anyway and was looking to let off some steam.”

After the second dance, Phillip was so horny that he thought he would bust. He grabbed Rourke’s hand. “Do you want to go to the bathroom and fool around?”

His boldness surprised even himself. That wasn’t his style, but if he had one night to have fun, he wasn’t chickening out.

They cut a path through the crowd and made their way to the hallway where the bathrooms were. When Phillip entered, he was surprised to find so many people inside.

Some were leaning against a wall, smoking something that smelled funny. Other guys were staring into the mirror, primping and preening. Rourke pulled Phillip to a stall and locked them inside.

ADULT EXCERPT

Rourke brushed the pad of his thumb over Phillip’s cheek. “Are you hungry? Do you need to feed?”

That right there… What Rourke just asked… Phillip was falling for his mate in ways he never knew existed. The warmth from Rourke’s words turned into heat as he stared at Phillip with those mesmerizing brown eyes.

“Um, yeah.” Phillip had always been shy when it came to drinking from the source, but Rourke made it seem erotic and something wholly natural.

The way Rourke watched him, his mate’s gaze steady as Phillip moved toward the bed, unsure where to sit or what would happen next. “I guess this is as good a place as any.”

Rourke waited a heartbeat, and Phillip thought his mate would say to sit somewhere else, but Rourke moved across the room in sexy strides before he reached the bed.

Instead of holding his arm out so Phillip could take from his wrist, Rourke scooped him up and sat, placing Phillip on his lap, his legs straddling Rourke’s waist.

“Much better.” Rourke slid his hands down Phillip’s back. One had kept going, circling around until it rested on Phillip’s extended stomach.

How many times had Phillip dreamed of Rourke acknowledging their baby? How many times had he dreamed of them talking about what they would have, baby names, and their future?

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Rourke rested his forehead against Phillip’s. “I wish I’d known you were this close to me. I would have scoured the town looking for you.”

“I heard you stayed two weeks at The Manacle, waiting for me to return.” Phillip nuzzled Rourke’s neck, inhaling his dark, manly scent.

“I’m ashamed to say I’d given up hope.” Rourke tilted his head to the side. “I thought you’d taken off, and I left my phone number at the club in case you changed your mind.”

Where would Phillip have gone? Back to his coven? Not after he’d discovered his mate. Phillip was the one who should have been ashamed. The first thing that had popped into his head, a thought he hadn’t even acknowledged at the time, was that he finally had a way out from under Cassius.

But he didn’t tell Rourke those thoughts because then he would have had to tell Rourke about his coven leader. There was a great fear in the back of Phillip’s mind that said Rourke would try to contact Cassius to let him know where Phillip was. That Cassius would come to collect Phillip to punish him.

He wasn’t sure if the fear was unfounded, but Phillip didn’t want to take any chances that Cassius would somehow get his hands on him. After being mentally, physically, and emotionally abused for a hundred years, Phillip couldn’t let go of that fear.

Rourke had already stolen some of Phillip’s heart, and Phillip couldn’t bear the thought that he could be taken away from his mate again.

“You’re stiffening.” Rourke leaned back and stared at Phillip. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m-I’m just hungry.” Phillip nuzzled Rourke’s neck again, this time to stop his mate from looking directly into his soul. Of course Phillip hated lying to Rourke, but they didn’t know each other well enough, and what if Rourke demanded to talk to Cassius?

He sank his fangs into Rourke’s jugular, and Rourke cursed as he spun them, laying Phillip on his back against the covers. As Phillip drank, he wiggled out of his borrowed clothes. Rourke was there with him, undressing the best he could while still having Phillip attached to him.

Their shirts were still on, but every other stitch of clothing was gone. Rourke pressed his hot body against Phillip’s, their naked skin touching, their cocks rubbing together.

Phillip spread his legs wide in invitation as he pulled his fangs free and licked the wound closed. That hadn’t been as bad as he thought it would be. Phillip hadn’t gagged or squirmed like he thought he would, like he’d done in the past when feeding.

“You feel so fucking good next to me.” Rourke groaned as his tongue trailed down Phillip’s neck. “I want to taste you, sweetheart.”

Phillip had no clue what Rourke was talking about until he felt warm, moist lips wrap around his cock. Good fucking god, Rourke could taste him anytime! His hands flew to Rourke’s head, his fingers playing over his soft hair as his body came alive. Just like it had at the club.

He cried out when Rourke took him all the way down his throat. A flood of uncontrollable liquid fire raced through him as Phillip shuddered and shook for Rourke.

Glancing down, Phillip couldn’t tear his eyes away as Rourke pushed Phillip’s legs back, licking at his balls next. Phillip was keening and begging as Rourke lapped at his sac.

Rourke’s arms quivered, his muscles flexed, and Phillip damn near came. The sight of Rourke’s powerful frame settled between his legs made Phillip whimper even harder. No one had ever done this to Phillip before. No one had ever thought of his needs above their own.

 “Fuck me,” Phillip begged shamelessly. “Please, fuck me.”

Phillip cried out again when Rourke’s tongue bathed his entrance, pushing past his ring of muscle. That wasn’t what he had in mind, but hell if he was going to protest. There was no way Phillip was going to ask the man to stop.

It felt too good as he was drawn to a height of passion he never knew existed.

“Rourke, please,” Phillip whimpered as his legs shook. He was going to come any second now. The man didn’t listen as he ran his tongue up Phillip’s shaft and then took it back into his mouth, feasting on his erection.

His mate’s fingers slid into Phillip’s body, stretching him, making his ass burn with excitement. Phillip had had sex a handful of times in his life, but none of the encounters compared to what Rourke was doing to his body.