STORY EXCERPT

Sage stepped into the kitchen to get six trays of food ready, and stopped dead in his tracks when he came face-to-face with his mate. He had heard someone say earlier that the man’s name was Slade, and Sage thought the name fit the man. His shoulder length, pin-straight, jet-black hair went beautifully with his cobalt-blue eyes. And the pink lips that stood out against his pale skin, caused Sage’s attention to zero in on them, and Sage wondered what those lips would feel like pressed against his.

Sage’s gaze lowered to a wide, muscled chest straining against his black T-shirt, then dropped lower to tapered hips, and nicely muscled thighs that stretched the material of his black jeans. The black combat boots topped off his ensemble, giving him the whole dangerous bad-boy look, causing a shiver of desire to race through Sage. Sage’s gaze slowly made the path back up and hesitated on the rather impressive bulge. After a quick fantasy about how his mate’s cock would taste, Sage looked up to meet his mate’s gaze.

Slade just stood there stone-still and let Sage peruse his form to his heart’s content. Their gazes locked and Sage could see the desire in Slade’s eyes, but there was also amusement. The side of the vampire’s lip twitched and a small smirk appeared. Neither said a word as they just stared at each other for a few minutes.

Why wasn’t his mate saying anything? Maybe he was waiting for me? Would he even want me once he knew everything about me? Would he be disgusted and walk away? Damn, look at the man. He must be a supermodel in his off time. What the hell would he want with me? Shit this was hard. Maybe just go with my normal smart-ass and see how he reacts? Show him right from the start who I am and what I’m like, and just get this over with. Sage raised a brow and gave a smirk of his own. “You do know that just because you’re a vampire doesn’t mean you have to wear all black all the time? There is a whole wonderful wheel of colors to choose from,” Sage said with a hint of sarcasm.

Slade just continued to silently stare at him for a moment. “I figured the black clothes make me look more mysterious. We’ll leave the rest of the rainbow to you, sweetheart,” Slade replied with the same amount of teasing that Sage had given.

Sage chuckled. “I don’t know about mysterious, but they do make you look hot as hell and edible.”

Slade finally moved and took a step closer. “So you’re saying you want to eat me?” Slade asked with a raised brow.

Sage licked his lips and gave Slade an appreciative look. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Only one person matters though,” Slade replied.

“Oh yeah?” Sage asked as he walked farther into the room and added a little sway to his hips. “And who would that be?”

“I think you already know the answer to that question, sweetheart. And I would say it’s about damn time too. You’re a hard man to nail.”

Sage laughed. “Well if I’m lucky you’ll be hard. I’m pretty easy to nail if it’s the right man,” Sage flirted.

“And who would that be?” Slade asked, throwing Sage’s question back at him.

“I think you already know…sweetheart.”

A nice, soft laugh came from the gorgeous man and his eyes filled with pleasure. It made him even more gorgeous than he already was, and the sound of his laugh had Sage’s cock filling. “So we’re really mates, huh?” Slade gave a nod. “So what do we do now? Where do we go from here? Well, besides a flat surface.”

“A flat surface sounds perfect to me about now. I’ve been chasing your ass for months,” Slade said and stepped closer, bringing him within inches of Sage.

“Really? And how’s the view from back there?”

“Perfect,” Slade whispered. He reached out a hand and cupped the back of Sage’s neck, pulling him closer as he pressed their lips together. Sage gasped at first contact, but then joined in. He closed the gap between them and pressed his body against his mate’s, placing his hands on the man’s hips.

The kiss was surprisingly slow at first, making Sage light-headed. He opened his mouth to his mate’s roaming tongue and Slade accepted the invitation, sliding his tongue inside to meet Sage’s. The kiss slowly built in intensity, consuming Sage. Heat rose within him and everything became need, want, and desire. Every fiber of his being screamed out to be taken by this man and to be owned by him. That thought scared the shit out of Sage and he pulled back suddenly, breaking the kiss but not leaving Slade’s embrace.

Slade looked at him with concern. “What is it? What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sage whispered. “You did nothing wrong. I just…there’s so much…I’m not a good person. You deserve someone better than me,” Sage said in defeat as he dropped his hands away from Slade’s body and took a step back, then turned.

ADULT EXCERPT

Suddenly Slade grabbed the hem of his shirt and ripped the garment in two up his back. Sage pulled back from the kiss with a gasp. “That was so hot,” Sage said in a husky voice.

“Oh yeah?” Slade asked breathlessly as he panted. “How about this?” Slade tore the shirt from Sage’s body, then lifted him up in his arms as Slade stood. He placed Sage on his feet and let his claws grow.

“And what do you plan on doing with those, mate?” Sage asked with mirth.

“This,” Slade growled and with a few sweeps of his claws Sage’s pants were gone and he stood in the cool room completely naked. Slade lifted his shirt up over his head, then tossed it away. His hands went to his own pants and quickly removed them, then his shoes.

Sage licked his lips as he stared at all of Slade’s bulging muscles. “Fuck, you are so gorgeous. You would look amazing up on a stage stripping. I would go broke from shoving dollars down your G-string,” Sage purred.

Slade gave him a smirk and moved closer, placing his hands on Sage’s hips. “Oh yeah? Dollar bills only?”

“Hell, yes. It would give me more chances to shove my hand against your crotch than a hundred-dollar bill would,” Sage said with a laugh.

“You don’t need any excuse to rub your hand against my crotch, sweetness. Whenever the notion grabs you, whether it be Christmas, a Tuesday, or your hand is bored and looking for something to play with. You want it, it’s yours.”

Sage burst out laughing and stepped closer, pressing his body to Slade’s. “Oh yeah? So how about midnight on the Fourth of July? I’m sitting outside with a thousand people just watching the fireworks, but I think, ‘Hey, do you know what would make this moment perfect? If I had a nice big, thick cock in my hand to stroke.’ Or how about during dinner with Raith and Maddy? I suddenly have the urge to just whip it out right there at the table and start playing.”

Sage could see the smile that Slade was trying desperately to hide. But his gorgeous mate was losing the battle. His lips pressed tightly closed and Sage watched Slade’s tongue moving around inside, poking against the inside of his cheek as his eyes filled with laughter. Then it broke free. Slade’s lips went up in the corners and a beautiful smile spread across his face as he started to laugh. “Life with you is going to be one hell of a roller coaster, and I love roller coasters, baby.”

Slade held him tight and claimed his lips. Sage immediately opened for his mate and their tongues dueled. The kiss was rushed, feral, and sloppy, but Sage loved it. Slade slid his hands down Sage’s back and grabbed his ass, pulling him up. Sage got the hint and lifted his legs, wrapping them around Slade’s waist and his arms around his neck. “I need you now, mate. This is going to be hard and fast,” Slade growled against his lips, then thrust his tongue back in deep.

Sage could hear the need and desperation in Slade’s voice, and he couldn’t agree more. He needed his mate inside him right the fuck now. But then a horrible thought hit him and he pulled back from the kiss. “We don’t have lube,” he said in a panic.

Slade gave him another one of those smirks that he was coming to love so much. It meant the wicked side of his mate was coming out. “We don’t need any,” Slade announced, then began to chant.

Suddenly Sage felt a tingling in his hole and a stretch. It felt like Slade had four fingers buried deep inside him and it was delicious. He grabbed on tight to Slade’s shoulders and threw his head back as he cried out his pleasure. A few moments later the blissful feeling dissipated and Sage lowered his head, opened his eyes, and met Slade’s heated gaze. “Gods, you are fucking beautiful in your passion, mate. I can watch you all day,” Slade said.

“Spending all day in bed with you as we touch, suck, fondle, and fuck sounds great to me.” Sage’s voice came out deep and growly. “How did you do that, mate? And what the hell was that?”

“It’s a nice little spell I can teach you that opens you up quickly, without pain, so that you are ready for my cock,” Slade answered in an equally deep voice, then nipped Sage’s chin. “I wouldn’t always want to use it because I love playing with your ass and getting it ready for me, but in times like this it comes in very handy.”

“True, and think of all the money we could save on lube,” Sage said with a laugh.

Slade chuckled as he shook his head, then leaned in for another kiss. Sage felt them moving, then the cold hardness of concrete touched his back, causing him to gasp and arch away from it. “Damn, that’s cold.”

“Then I’ll have to warm you up,” Slade growled and kissed him again.

The kiss was so hot and all-consuming that Sage couldn’t even think. His body started to move and slide against Slade, his hips thrusting, needing more. Slade’s hard shaft skimmed across his crease and the bulbous head slipped between his cheeks and pressed at his hole. Sage pushed his ass down against the tip just as Slade thrust up and he entered Sage and was fully seated in one quick glide. “Yes!” Sage cried out and tightened his hold on Slade.

“Fuck, you’re so tight, baby. I love the feel of you wrapped around me,” Slade panted.