STORY EXCERPT

Braydon had waited under the cover of darkness before he went to Richie’s house. He’d wanted to wait until he was positive he hadn’t been followed. Now he was starving and had to use the bathroom. Thankfully he had a key to his brother’s apartment. He knew his brother wouldn’t be home. Richie worked at some gay club called Pump.

After looking over his shoulder for the hundredth time, Braydon let himself into the building. It had been a while since he’d visited Richie, and Braydon was still impressed at how nice the building was compared to the craptastic place he’d been living.

He used his key to let himself into Richie’s place and closed and locked the door behind him. Braydon pressed his back against the wall and slid down to his butt, wiping at his face.

It had been the longest day of his life, and Braydon still hadn’t allowed himself to process what had happened. He’d been too busy hiding out in his car behind anything that would keep him concealed from the public eye.

Braydon had even parked his Mazda two blocks over just in case Scarface and his friends had figured out that Braydon had the device and had somehow come after him.

This covert crap was exhausting. All Braydon wanted to do was sleep, but he was also curious about what the computer guy had stolen. Braydon pulled the thumb drive from his pants and looked at it.

It was a small piece of plastic. Nothing fancy, and very inconspicuous. It was something anyone could buy at any store that sold them. After using the bathroom, Braydon went to Richie’s bedroom and grimaced. His brother was a complete slob. He had clothes strewn everywhere, a couple of dirty dishes on his nightstand, and a lot of junk covering the top of his dresser.

But Braydon wasn’t there to inspect Richie’s home. He’d known his brother was a mess because they’d grown up together, and their mom had constantly been on Richie about cleaning up after himself.

Braydon spotted the laptop on Richie’s bed, nearly covered by a mound of mismatched socks. He shoved the pile aside and opened the laptop, frowning when it didn’t come on.

With a roll of his eyes, Braydon searched for the power cord. Clearly the laptop wasn’t used very often. If he knew his brother, Richie powered it on to either play games or search for free porn.

Braydon found the charger in the kitchen behind the toaster. Why it had been there was anyone’s guess. He looked in the fridge while he was in there, but all he saw was a bottle of white wine and a salad that looked wilted.

Braydon checked the cupboards, but had no better luck. Richie needed to seriously visit a grocery store.

Ignoring his hunger pains, Braydon went to the living room where he’d placed the laptop on the coffee table. He plugged it in and waited for it to have enough juice to power on.

His imagination went wild at what could be so important that three men had taken over a law firm at gunpoint. Top government secrets? Proof aliens existed? A map to buried treasure?

Jeez, Braydon seriously needed to get a life or a better imagination.

He frowned when the sign-in screen popped up. He had no clue what Richie’s password was. He typed in his brother’s birthday, but that wasn’t it.

And now he had nine more chances to go. Braydon wasn’t sure what would happen if he screwed up all his chances. Would the laptop wipe itself? Did Richie have anything worth saving?

Braydon got up and paced, trying to think of what Richie would use to protect his laptop.

He froze when he heard keys jingling outside the door. Then a man’s deep voice spoke, although Braydon couldn’t make out what he was saying. He ran from the room and hid in Richie’s closet. Braydon didn’t want anyone besides his brother to know he was there.

He still had the drive in his hand, but shit, he’d left the laptop on the coffee table, wide open with the sign-in screen on display.

“Wait right by the door,” he heard the deep voice say. Richie must’ve noticed the laptop and said something to whoever was with him.

Braydon tried to bury himself deep in the closet. He snickered at that thought. He’d never been in the closet a day in his life, and now was not the time to giggle about it.

The floorboards creaked close enough that Braydon knew someone had entered the bedroom. He held his breath and prayed that whoever it was sucked at searching an apartment. Braydon was hiding behind the hanging clothes, but it figured the closet was the only place that was spotless. His legs would show if the person took a good look inside.

Panicked, Braydon shoved the thumb drive in one of the pockets of the shirts that were hanging in front of him. He didn’t want to be caught with it.

The door opened, and Braydon held his breath, pressing a hand over his mouth so he didn’t make any noises. The clothes slowly parted, and Braydon found himself staring at the hottest guy on the planet.

He was all dark looks with a nicely trimmed beard and mustache. And Lord Baby Jesus he had the sexiest body Braydon had ever seen. All muscles and a tight T-shirt to showcase them.

“Come out slowly,” Mr. Deep Voice said, his face dark with fury. “No sudden movements.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“I…want you to make love to me.” Braydon had opened his mouth to say what Arturo wanted to hear, but clearly that hadn’t been what’d come out.

Braydon didn’t regret it, either. If he was about to die, than damn it, he was about to have sex with this gorgeous man who wasn’t entirely human, but Braydon didn’t care about that.

“Braydon.”

Not waiting for rejection, Braydon thrust himself into Arturo’s arms and pressed their lips together, giving Arturo a reason to want Braydon as badly as Braydon wanted him. As the kiss turned heated, Braydon pulled at Arturo’s shirt, trying frantically to get it off.

Arturo lifted his arms, and they broke away long enough to remove their shirts. They came back together, touching, kissing, as if they were desperate for each other, as though they had only moments to spare.

That was what it felt like. As if they were stealing this moment in time, their last act before their inevitable doom. Braydon had a lot of regrets in life, and he didn’t want passing this opportunity up to be one of them.

Not saying good-bye to his parents and brother was another one of Braydon’s regrets, and he hoped they wouldn’t take his death too hard.

“Hey.” Arturo gripped Braydon’s jaw and made Braydon look at him. “Stay with me.”

Arturo slid his hands down Braydon’s back then cupped his ass, bringing their groins closer. He felt how hard Arturo was, how much the guy wanted him, and all thoughts fled as Braydon unfastened Arturo’s pants.

“Need you in my hand.” What he really needed was to feel Arturo pounding in his ass, making him forget what lay in store for them. Maybe this really was how Braydon dealt with stress. Hell, he’d jacked Arturo off on the side of the road after having to hide from Scarface and his friends for an entire day.

After seeing Arturo shift into a lion to heal.

Arturo climbed off the bed long enough to finish undressing. Braydon lifted his bottom half and did the same, tossing his pants and underwear aside before removing his socks, too.

His heart raced and his cock thickened as he stared at Arturo’s nakedness. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen him naked, but damn if it wasn’t a sight to behold again.

Golden muscles. Gorgeous face. And those eyes. The way Arturo looked at him made goose bumps break out all over Braydon’s body. It was the kind of look that made Braydon feel as if he were the only man on the planet for Arturo.

Braydon jerked upward and thrust himself into Arturo’s strong arms. They fell backward onto the bed, Arturo careful of his weight as Braydon curled his legs around his waist. They rolled two, three times, grabbing at each other, carding their fingers through each other’s hair, kissing, moaning, uncaring about the world outside.

The heat of Arturo’s skin, his smell, his weight pressing Braydon down, drove Braydon insane. He felt as though he couldn’t get close enough.

If they survived this, and Braydon highly doubted they would, next time they’d go slower. Next time they would stretch this out, explore each other more, take their time, but not now. Braydon felt too frantic as he slid his nails down Arturo’s back.

Their hard cocks slid together, elevating Braydon’s excitement. He gripped Arturo’s erection, smiling as the man hissed, and loved how hot the shaft felt in his hand and the way it pulsed.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Arturo looked as though he was barely holding it together. His canines slid free, and although Braydon was fascinated by them, his thoughts were on the cock in his hand.

“Never more sure about anything in my life. Where’s the lube?”

It looked as though it pained Arturo to pull away. He left the room, giving Braydon a chance to catch his breath. He didn’t know what time it was, had no idea how much of the four hours were gone already. Mr. Davila had given them very little time, but Braydon planned to make the most of it.

Then he would hand over the thumb drive and more than likely get a bullet in the head for his troubles.

Panic started to set in until Arturo returned, lube in hand. He crawled back into bed, and Braydon’s worries vanished. He concentrated on Arturo and forced himself not to think of what would happen when Mr. Davila returned.

Braydon was in the here and now, his sole focus on the guy who was about to rock his world.

“I’m going to make you mine, Braydon.” Sweet, teasing heat brushed over Braydon’s ear. “Are you ready to belong to me?”

“Yes,” Braydon hissed. Arturo’s masculine aroma curled around his senses, making Braydon feel drunk. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as Arturo wet his fingers and drove them into Braydon’s ass.

Blake pressed his fingers against Arturo’s cheeks and made him turn his head. “Never more sure.”

Arturo nodded.  “There’s no going back once I claim you.”

Braydon didn’t pretend to know what Arturo was talking about and didn’t care. Maybe later, if he lived long enough, he’d ask Arturo what he meant.

Arturo kept pulling his fingers free, alternating them, scissoring them, as if he couldn’t decide what he wanted to do. He kissed along Braydon’s jaw, his neck, his ear, before nipping his lobe.

“Mine,” Arturo whispered. “All mine.”

“Yours.” Braydon would say anything to get Arturo to move faster. His body sang with tension, his skin pulsing with need, his cock so hard that Braydon feared he wouldn’t last much longer.

Braydon wanted this moment to last forever. The taste of Arturo on his lips, Arturo touching him, caressing him, working his fingers in and out of Braydon’s ass. The guy’s scent, the weight of his body pinning Braydon down. That passionate, almost unhinged look in his eyes.

The wild and exotic look of those canines.

Braydon inhaled sharply when Arturo slid his fingers free and replaced them with the head of his cock.

“All mine, Braydon.”