STORY EXCERPT

The flames grew higher and higher, consuming anything in its path. Isaak tried desperately to crawl out of the building, but part of the ceiling had collapsed, trapping him inside. He felt himself growing weaker by the second. The blood loss was taking its toll, and Isaak wasn’t sure he had enough strength to make it out.

He’d been so goddamn careless, so overconfident, and now he just might die because of his arrogance. Taking on two humans had seemed like a joke when they’d tried to ambush him in the alley. Isaak had laughed, taunted them about their foolish plan, until ten more men had shown up.

Cash, the new leader of the Ridgeway Riders, had shouted the order to attack in force. Isaak had held his own until he’d been overwhelmed by the sheer number of assailants. They’d beaten him, cut him, shot him, and had thrown him into the building on his right then set it on fire.

Blood loss weakened a vampire. A lot of lost blood made it damn near impossible to function. Cash’s radical group, Council of Darkness—which was an absurd name—had set him up. It seemed they were no longer satisfied with going after humans who helped vampires. Now they wanted vampires dead.

Officer John Slater had run the group at one time, but he’d been killed, and clearly Cash had taken over. Now the human ran both groups. Someone with that much power was dangerous if they used that power for nefarious reasons.

Isaak tried once more to move, but everything had slipped out of his control. His eyes were slowly closing, and his mind was drifting away. Isaak knew he needed to hold on to consciousness, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

He wouldn’t die from blood loss, but once the pain of it had set in, he would wish he had. Only blood would heal him, but since he was alone, there was a fat chance of that happening.

A sound caught his attention, and he lifted his head, only to see a silhouette of a wolf through the smoke. As it stepped closer, Isaak saw that it was a massive tan wolf with black patches and dark eyes. God, now he was hallucinating. So this was how it would end for him, seeing a mortal enemy as the fire consumed him.

It seemed Cash would have the last fucking laugh. If Isaak somehow got out of this, he was going to rip Cash’s heart out.

Isaak tried to say something, but what came out was a feeble wheeze. The wolf growled, and in the dim light, Isaak saw the wolf move closer, the fire blazing all around it. For a moment, he thought the wolf would attack. But the wolf nudged him gently, urging him to move.

That wasn’t happening. Isaak was too weak to get up, let alone walk.

The wolf shifted into his human form, and Isaak cursed when he saw it was Stone. The wolf shifter had helped the vampires in the past, or more to the point, he’d helped the human mates of the vampires, but there was no love lost between him and Isaak’s coven.

Stone stood tall, massive, with pretty brown skin and even prettier brown eyes. Isaak had never trusted the wolf, but he wasn’t in a position to argue. Stone picked him up with ease and battled his way outside, lowering Isaak gently onto the pavement when they were far enough away from the building. The cool night air felt good against Isaak’s charred skin.

Needing blood so badly that he felt on the verge of madness, Isaak’s rational thinking was gone. He was acting on pure instinct now as a red haze began to take over.

He moved fast, grabbing Stone around the head and yanking him down before sinking his fangs into the guy’s neck. Everything blurred in his mind as Isaak drank, already feeling the blood working to restore him. Isaak drank greedily, snarling when he felt something covering his nose, stopping him from breathing.

“You got five seconds to remove those fangs before I rip your head off.”

The red haze began to lift, and Isaak realized he’d attacked Stone. He extracted his fangs as Stone eased him toward the ground.

“Can you walk now?”

Isaak pushed himself to a sitting position. He felt much better, but not whole yet. He would need a lot more blood before he was fully healed. “I don’t think so.”

His voice was rough, like he’d swallowed the burning embers of the fire, and he was having a hard time not looking at the wolf shifter’s neck. Isaak wanted more but knew Stone would kill him if he tried.

“I’ll help you to my truck. Then I’ll drive you home, but if you tell anyone that you fed from me, I know where you live.” Stone helped him up then slung an arm around Isaak’s waist and helped to keep him upright as they made their way out of the alley.

Thank goodness it was still dark out. Had it been sunrise, Isaak would have had to stay in the fire and more than likely would have perished.

His legs were unsteady as Stone helped him into the passenger seat. When the shifter climbed into the driver’s side, Isaak recalled something Cash had said.

“You can’t take me home.”

Stone frowned as he started his truck. “Why not?”

Because someone in the coven had betrayed him. It wasn’t a coincidence that those human radicals had ambushed him in the alley. He recalled Cash saying you couldn’t trust even your friends these days and that he’d had to fork over some serious cash to get his hands on Isaak.

Until he knew who had set him up, Isaak wasn’t taking any chances. “You just can’t.”

ADULT EXCERPT

He looked up when the bathroom door opened, and Isaak had to stop his jaw from dropping. Stone had a towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water clinging to his pretty mocha skin.

All those muscles were on display. Every dip and swell. His chest was massive, toned, as was the rest of his body, and Isaak had an urge to walk over to him and yank that towel free so he could ogle what was underneath.

“All yours if you need a shower.” Stone used another towel to wipe his hair. “I got some other clothes you can wear, though I doubt anything I own will fit you.”

When Isaak passed Stone on his way into the bathroom, he couldn’t stop his hand from gliding across Stone’s bare chest. Stone grabbed his wrist, as if to shove Isaak way—or break it—but stood there staring down at him. The moment was electrifying. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Isaak’s breathing quickened as he stared into the shifter’s brown eyes.

The hallway flooded with arousal as Stone slowly pulled Isaak toward him, as if waiting for Isaak to reject him.

This was insane, but Isaak wanted to kiss Stone so badly that nothing could have stopped him.

Their lips met like two opposing forces colliding, the searing heat of Stone’s mouth consuming Isaak’s senses. Isaak felt himself surrendering to Stone’s touch, his hands running through Stone’s damp hair, pulling him closer.

In the heat of the moment, Isaak forgot everything else—the danger he was in, the potential consequences of being with a wolf shifter, everything. All that mattered was the intoxication of the kiss, the way his body responded to Stone’s touch, the pulse of desire that coursed through his veins.

A spark of electricity ran between them. Stone deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring Isaak’s mouth as Isaak moaned in pleasure. The towel wrapped around Stone’s waist dropped to the floor, leaving him fully naked as he pressed his body against Isaak’s.

Their bodies were a perfect match—even if Stone was larger and taller—fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. Isaak slid his hands over Stone’s muscular back, feeling the hard ridges of his spine as Stone touched Isaak everywhere, sending shivers through him.

Stone pulled away, his chest heaving as he looked down at Isaak. For a moment, Isaak saw vulnerability in Stone’s eyes—a raw, unguarded emotion that he had never seen before from the shifter.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Stone said, his voice low and ragged. “You’re a vampire. We’re mortal enemies.”

Isaak felt a twinge of hurt at the words, but he knew that Stone was right. Vampires and wolf shifters didn’t mix. It was a fact as old as time itself. But in that moment, with Stone’s body pressed up against his, Isaak couldn’t bring himself to care.

“It didn’t feel like a mortal enemy kissing me.” Isaak smirked, trying to play off his hurt.

“We shouldn’t do that again.” Stone’s gaze lowered to Isaak’s lips.

“No, we shouldn’t,” Isaak agreed.

Stone shoved Isaak against the wall and inserted his thigh between Isaak’s legs. Isaak rode that muscular thigh, pressing his balls against it.

Stone’s brown eyes burned with feral hunger, and there was a raw desperation in his voice, as if he was struggling against something.

“We can forget we’re enemies, if you want.”

“Just for tonight,” Isaak groaned as he slid up and down Stone’s thigh.

Stone gripped Isaak’s hair, and their tongues met in an explosion of heat and need. Isaak’s whole body shuddered as Stone deepened the kiss.

Stone wrapped his arms around Isaak’s waist and lifted him up, carrying him to the bedroom. He laid Isaak down on the bed and kissed him as if life was a matter of moments and this was the most important one.

After Stone helped Isaak strip out of his clothing, they explored each other’s bodies with almost desperate need. Every caress, every kiss, every touch seemed to break down another barrier until there were none left between them.

Stone’s face softened, and he leaned in, kissing Isaak hard and deep. Isaak closed his eyes, savoring the moment, savoring the way Stone seemed to worship him.

It was a heady feeling, and Isaak never wanted it to end. But Isaak was a realist. The barriers between them weren’t gone. They were lying just below the surface, waiting to be built again.

Vampires and wolf shifters were mortal enemies, but in that moment, none of that mattered. All Isaak wanted was the sweet burn of Stone’s lips on his, the warmth of his embrace, and the connection that pulled them together, if only for a night.

Isaak’s thoughts fled when Stone kissed his way down his body, nipping and licking as Isaak’s cock became like a steel rod. Isaak opened his legs in invitation, and Stone accepted. He licked up and down Isaak’s cock, teasing the tip before taking all of him into his velvety warm mouth. Isaak’s hips rose as Stone’s tongue circled and sucked, each movement expertly designed to drive Isaak wild.

And it was working.

Isaak gripped the sheets as pleasure coursed through him, the sensation almost too much. He cried out as Stone moved faster, the wolf shifter’s mouth expertly exploring every inch of him. Then he felt a wet finger probing at his hole.