STORY EXCERPT

With his arm around Austin’s shoulders, Teague turned and led him back to his friends. Before Myles could catch up to them, Zenlo stepped in front of him. This could not be happening. The wolf shifters had gotten who they’d come for. If they wanted to, they could leave Myles there. He was nothing to them. Just some guy who had tried to kidnap Austin. That was all they would see when they looked at him.

“Are we really going to do this?” Myles snapped, projecting a false sense of rage. Well, he was angry, but he was also about to piss himself. He’d never seen Zenlo so livid. The vampire looked as if he wanted to grab Myles and take him back upstairs. Wasn’t Teague going to come back and rescue him, too?

Myles was seconds away from begging the wolves to save him when one of Teague’s men growled and closed the distance. He stepped between Myles and Zenlo, shocking Myles that a stranger would defend him. This was exactly what he wanted, but he was still left totally speechless.

Zenlo snarled, baring his fangs.

The stranger bared his canines.

“Cade?” One of the other men in Teague’s group tilted his head to the side. “What’s going on?”

“Mine,” Cade growled.

Myles had no idea what was happening, but Teague came back, standing next to his friend. Myles thought he was finally safe, but Zenlo wasn’t having it. He moved forward, and Myles was ready to pass out just as the coven leader spoke, stopping Zenlo in his tracks.

Zenlo hissed, looking even more pissed, but didn’t reach for Myles.

Thank fuck.

“I think our welcome has worn out,” Teague said to Cade. “We need to get out of here.”

“Agreed.” Cade grabbed Myles’s hand and yanked him toward the exit, Zenlo watching them the entire time with another promise in his eyes, one that guaranteed Myles would pay for leaving him…again.

He still had no idea what was going on, but Myles would follow Cade just as long as it was out of the club. As soon as they exited, Myles snatched his hand away. “Thanks for your help, but I can take it from here.”

“Get your skinny ass into the truck,” Teague said. “Although I’m not happy about this, you’re coming with us.”

“The hell I am.” Myles had had enough of nonhumans to last him a lifetime. He needed to go home and pack a bag then leave Bakersfield behind. It was no longer safe to live there. That look on Zenlo’s face said the vampire would be coming for him.

Myles needed to get ghost before that happened, even though he knew there was nowhere he could run that would keep him safe from the insane bastard. Zenlo had his scent, and if he wanted to, he could track Myles anywhere.

“Just come with us and we’ll sort this out,” Cade said.

Myles wasn’t immune to the man’s good looks. The guy was stunning, and a part of Myles wanted to run into his arms. But Cade was a wolf shifter. Myles was done with the whole preternatural thing.

All the reasons why he needed to stay away from Cade fled when the side door to the club opened and Zenlo stepped outside. The vampire smiled and tilted his head toward Myles. “I’ll be seeing you soon, love.”

The wolves snarled as Myles jumped into the truck, forcing himself not to duck down and show Zenlo just how terrified he was.

Zenlo thrived on fear, reveled in it. He hadn’t been like that when they’d first started dating. The guy had been exciting, full of surprises, luring Myles into a false sense of happiness. It hadn’t been until two months later that the evil side of Zenlo started coming out.

Myles forced those thoughts aside as everyone piled into different vehicles—Cade scooting right next to Myles—and drove away.

That was when Myles felt as if he could finally breathe.

“I’m Cade North.”

Myles blinked several times at the hottie, and then he stared out the window, wondering if he’d ever get his life back. He’d gone from one preternatural situation to another. How could his luck be this bad?

A tear leaked out of his eye, and he quickly brushed it away. He’d held himself together for this long. Myles wasn’t going to break down in front of strangers. He was going to do what he always did.

Survive.

“I’m Rhys Maxwell,” the driver said then pointed to the man in the passenger seat. “This is Lenox Hart.”

Myles gave a weak smile. “Nice to meet you both.”

He felt Cade stiffen beside him, but Myles ignored it. For Christ’s sake, the guy had snarled “mine” in the club. What was Myles supposed to do? He wasn’t going to be anyone else’s property. No matter how hot Cade was.

Zenlo was gorgeous, too, and look how that had turned out.

As if reading his mind, Cade leaned over and whispered, “Sorry about earlier. My wolf was in charge. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Myles glanced at Cade before looking away. He simply shrugged, looking back out the window. “I’m just grateful you guys got me out of there.”

And he was. He might want to run at the soonest possible moment, but he was grateful, too. If they’d left him behind, there was no telling what Zenlo would have done to him. Myles shivered at the hundreds of possibilities.

“Are you cold?” Cade asked.

“No.” But Myles was cold on the inside, even with the heat blasting in the truck, which was making him sweat. He had a feeling Rhys had turned the heat on just for him. Too bad Myles felt as if he’d never be warm again.

ADULT EXCERPT

After clearing his throat, Cade got the can out of the fridge. Myles took it from him with a big grin, popped the top off, and tilted his head back. Cade nearly lost his shit as he watched the cream drizzling into Myles’s open mouth.

Holy fuck. How was he going to survive this night? When Myles closed his mouth, some of the whipped cream slid down his chin. Cade stood there painfully hard, gripping the counter so he didn’t reach for his mate and demand Myles drop to his knees.

Then Myles’s tongue darted out, swiping across the mess, and Cade had to close his eyes, willing his body back under control. Myles had to know what he was doing. He had to know how that looked and how badly Cade wanted him.

“What’s wrong?” Myles tapped Cade’s chest. “Open up. This is my favorite part about whipped cream.”

Cade felt himself shaking as he parted his lips and Myles squirted some cream into his mouth. His mate smiled, as if satisfied, but Cade saw the flare of desire in his pretty eyes.

Then Myles squirted a dollop onto Cade’s nose before he burst out laughing. Cade frowned as he wiped it away. “Think you’re funny?”

He chased Myles around the kitchen, determined to get the can. Myles bent over, keeping the can close to his stomach. Cade covered his mate’s back, Myles’s ass right there at his groin as he wrestled with him. “I’ll get that can from you, you little prankster.”

Myles wiggled, grinding his ass against Cade’s trapped hard-on. He groaned, placing his hands on Myles’s hips. If his mate had been out to seduce him, it was working. Even if a nuclear blast had struck their backyard, Cade wouldn’t have been able to move from where he stood.

Myles was still bent over, breathing hard, the can forgotten as it hit the floor and rolled away.

Cade ran his hand down Myles’s back then thrust forward. They were still fully clothed, and Cade would give anything to have them naked, but this game was hot as fuck and he hoped it didn’t end too soon.

Hopefully neither Adam or Rhys wouldn’t come into the kitchen and interrupt them. Cade might have to commit murder if they did. He slid his hand around Myles’s waist, teasing the button to his jeans. When Myles didn’t stop him, Cade unsnapped it then teased the exposed skin.

Myles moaned, pushing backward, right into Cade’s erection. Cade’s need pulsed through him, wrapping around his groin as he slid Myles’s pants a little way down until the top of his ass shown.

Cade felt his canines descend. He wanted to lick and nip at the exposed crease. Instead, he reached into Myles’s boxers and curled his fingers around the man’s hard cock.

His mate hissed, reaching out for the back of one of the chairs at the table. Cade scooted a few inches forward until Myles reached it. He still hadn’t let go of Myles’s cock, stroking the hard flesh as he ground into his mate.

“C-Cade,” Myles groaned.

Too afraid of breaking whatever spell had fallen between them, Cade didn’t say a word. He reached up with his free hand, slid it under Myles’s shirt, and played with the man’s nipples, eliciting a loud moan from his mate.

Unable to stand the tension, Cade lifted Myles and laid him on his back on the table. He yanked Myles’s jeans and boxers to his knees then swallowed his mate’s cock, tasting him for the very first time.

Myles bucked, his fingers carding through Cade’s hair as he whimpered and cried out, jerking his hips in an upward motion. Heat flooded through Cade as he used the flat of his tongue to explore Myles’s cock.

The musky scent was nearly Cade’s undoing. The sounds filling the room combined with the way Myles tugged at his hair and how he fucked Cade’s mouth was a heady sensation. Cade didn’t give a fuck who was in the house or if anyone walked in on them. He wanted to bury himself in his mate’s ass, to feel the stretch around his cock, and to finally claim what was his.

Clearly Myles wanted the same thing. He jerked his hands in Cade’s hair. “Need you in me.”

Those were the sweetest words to Cade’s ears. He wasn’t going to question if Myles was sure or not. The look on his mate’s face said it all. Myles was more than ready.

Cade let the hard cock slip from between his lips and looked around, spotting some olive oil on the counter. He would have carried Myles up to his bedroom, but Cade wasn’t sure he could wait that long.

“Don’t move a muscle,” Cade instructed before he moved swiftly across the room, snagging the cruet bottle with the small stainless-steel spout. They were going to smell like a salad, but he didn’t care.

Myles hadn’t moved, still lying there with his chest rising and falling quickly, as he stared up at Cade when Cade returned to him.

“Am I a salad?” Myles’s words parroted Cade’s thoughts as Cade yanked Myles’s pants and underwear the rest of the way off.

“All I had to work with.” He poured some oil onto his fingers then lowered back down to his knees. As he took Myles’s cock back into his mouth, he used his slicked fingers to breach his mate’s tight ring of muscles.

As he scissored his fingers, Myles’s moans were getting louder, as if he’d forgotten that they were in the kitchen.

Cade didn’t stop his mate. If anyone heard him, they knew not to come anywhere near the room.

“I’m ready,” Myles whined. “Please, get inside of me.”

Now how could Cade say no to that? He let Myles’s cock slip from his mouth and stood, looking down at how gorgeous his mate looked splayed on the table.

He lubed his cock and inched his way inside his mate’s ass. Myles groaned, his fingernails digging into Cade’s upper arms.

Hooking an arm under one of Myles’s legs, Cade lifted it higher, driving his cock deeper, drowning in the intoxication of Myles’s body wrapped around him. His mate was warm and vibrant, and the feel of Myles soaked through Cade’s skin and into his blood.

Myles threw his head back and groaned, his eyes fluttering closed. Cade gave a small growl when Myles pressed the heel of his free foot into Cade’s buttocks to impale himself deeper onto Cade’s cock.

“That’s right, sweetheart, take what you need from me.”

Myles lifted his ass higher, giving Cade room to plunge deeper. He thrust harder, letting the scent of his mate’s arousal fill his lungs. It was the sweetest scent in the world to Cade. His thrusts picked up as he pistoned in and out of Myles’s ass.