STORY EXCERPT

Dante’s radar gun blinked seventy as the car zipped past where he was parked. He flipped the lights and siren on before pulling onto the nearly deserted road, giving chase.

The car in front of him, a red sedan with a cracked taillight, slowed before pulling over, dust kicking from the sudden stop. Dante got out of his air-conditioned cruiser and sauntered to the driver’s door, where the window was already rolled down. A pair of blue eyes stared up at him. “Is there a problem, Officer?”

“I’d say going seventy in a fifty zone is a problem. Driver’s license and registration.”

The guy’s hands curled around the steering wheel in a grip so tight that the blood fled his fingers, leaving them a stark white. “I was not going seventy,” he argued.

“I have a radar gun that says otherwise. License and registration.”

The sun was already beating down on Dante, and he was not in the mood for this shit. If this guy kept arguing with him, he was hauling the prick in. Dante’s morning had already been tested from an argument he’d had with another speedster, and his mood hadn’t gotten any better.

With a huff, the guy handed over what Dante had asked for.

“Insurance?”

“Do you want my email and password, too?” He tapped a few things on his phone then turned it toward Dante. Dante saw the guy was a few days shy of having to renew it, but for now, it was good.

“I’ll be right back.” Dante walked to his cruiser and slipped into the blessed cool air. His skin began to itch as the sweat dried while he tapped the information into his onboard computer.

Jason Phelps. He was twenty-seven, five six—short for a guy—and the address put him smack-dab in the middle of Willow Point. Funny, Dante had never seen him before. He would have remembered someone as nice-looking as Jason.

Then again, Dante had just moved to town and didn’t know many of the residents.

When nothing turned up, he got out, slammed his door because damn if he wasn’t irritated with the heat, and walked back to the red sedan. Jason had turned the radio on, some talk show, but the volume was low.

“Everything good?” Jason gave Dante those blue eyes again and damn if they didn’t stir something inside of him. A small kick to his chest that said, under any other circumstance, he’d be asking Jason out instead of giving him a ticket.

“No warrants.” After handing him back his things, Dante wrote the ticket.

“Are you shitting me?” Jason looked ready to pop a blood vessel as Dante gave him the piece of paper. The reddening of his face was in contrast to his mop of light blond hair. “You can’t let me off with a warning?”

“You can’t obey the law?” The guy might be cute, but Dante had dealt with many people like him who thought Dante was in the wrong for pulling them over in the first place. Like he was in the wrong because they weren’t obeying the speed limit.

Did he ever give people breaks? Yes, Dante did, but he normally gave them to those who didn’t give him attitude and mouth off. This guy looked as if he demanded his way through life.

“Would it help if I said I was related to Gem City?” Jason batted his eyelashes at Dante. “My cousin is dating Grey Matthews.”

Dante knew who the alpha of this town was, but he didn’t appreciate Jason trying to name-drop after he’d acted like a prick. “Would it help if I said I didn’t care who you were related to?”

“You’re impossible,” Jason said with a huff. “I’ll have you fired.”

Dante pressed his lips together as he narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t sure how much clout Jason had when it came to his cousin, so he took a step back. Dante hadn’t been working for WPPD for very long, and he didn’t want to get fired because he didn’t know who held weight in this town and who didn’t. “Wait right here.”

As soon as he was out of earshot, Dante called his boss. Sheriff Tate Weston was a big, burly man who was fair, but tough. He was a bear shifter, too. It seemed the station was filled with various shifters, from wolves to lions to panthers. There was even an impala shifter who’d started around the same time Dante had.

“Sheriff Weston.”

“Hey, boss. It’s Dante Mykel.” Dante rolled his eyes because he seriously doubted he needed to give his last name. “I got a guy pulled over who says he’s Gem’s cousin. He’s kind of a prick, but I just wanted to know, should I let him go?” Dante had already given Jason a ticket, but he wanted to see what Tate said.

“What did he do?” Tate asked with a voice laced with curiosity, and a bit of humor if Dante wasn’t mistaken. Dante had met Gem one afternoon at Kent’s Café but didn’t know him personally to assume this situation was funny. He didn’t know what type of guy Gem was, so he wasn’t sure about his cousin.

“Seventy in a fifty.” Luckily, Route 26 was never busy. Dante had been driving this route for about two months, and it was mostly empty. Willow Point had been the right fit for him, but there were times when he missed the hustle of the city.

Not often enough that he wanted to go back to that way of life. Not after a really bad breakup, his ex stalking him to the point Dante had to embarrass himself by having a restraining order sworn out against Cal, and not enough that he wanted to run into Cal, his ex, who didn’t understand what the words “it’s over” meant. It was as if those two words, when put together, became distorted between Dante’s mouth and Cal’s ears.

In his world, Dante could have killed Cal and buried the body. That was what nonhumans did when someone acted as nutty as Cal had. Dangerous was more like it. But Dante hadn’t wanted to take things that far, so he’d applied for the job in Willow Point to get away from Cal.

“I don’t know Gem’s cousin, but I’m pretty sure Grey’s mate would have a fit if he knew a relative broke the law. Give him the ticket, and if his cousin has any problems with that, tell him to come see me.”

Dante grinned. He was glad Tate had his back and he didn’t have to eat crow where Jason was concerned. That took the bite out of the prick’s threat. “You got it.”

After he hung up and tucked his phone into his uniform pocket, Dante walked back over to the car. He rested his arm on the top of the roof and smiled. “Sorry, the ticket stays.”

“It’s not like my day wasn’t already messed up.” Jason sighed. “I’m not normally an asshole, so I apologize. Really, I do.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Got dumped by yet another jerk, and I was taking it out on you.”

Dante wasn’t sure if Jason was lying or telling the truth. Either way he still felt manipulated. “Sorry to hear that. Have a nice day and don’t have a lead foot.”

Halfway to his car, Dante stopped and sniffed the air. The heavy aroma of honeysuckle invaded his lungs. His cheetah was going crazy, too. He thought his animal’s behavior was from the rude way Jason had acted, but that shouldn’t have affected his beast. Dante normally had more control over his animal. There would be only one reason.

Jason was his mate. Good god, please don’t tell me that prick is my mate. But there was no other explanation for his cheetah to be yowling, damn near breaking free to get to Jason.

Dante spun, ready to go back to the red sedan, but Jason had pulled away, his arm out the window, his middle finger in the air.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Need to ground us both.” Dante pulled away but didn’t go far. He licked a long path from Jason’s jaw to his collarbone. “Need to be inside of you.” Dante’s voice had gone to a growl. It vibrated, making Jason whimper as he tilted his head back.

Dante laid kisses along Jason’s neck and then placed a gentle one on his shoulder.

Jason shuddered. Feeling the powerful man’s soft lips on his skin made Jason’s heart quicken.

Dante moved his arm lower, and Jason knew the man was undoing his pants. He reached for Jason’s hand. “Touch me, Jason. See how hard I am for you.”

Dante’s cock felt like silk over muscle as Jason curled his fingers around the thick shaft. The skin was warm, like water left out in the sun being poured over his skin, as Jason gave the man what he wanted.

No, what they both wanted, because Jason was just as hard, just as needy as Dante.

The man’s eyes fluttered closed, his expression morphing into pleasure so strong, so raw, that Jason lay there fascinated that he could do that to someone who wasn’t even human.

Being under Dante, having so much muscle and raw power hovering over him, was a heady sensation that Jason didn’t want to give up.

He squeezed his fingers harder around Dante’s shaft.

Dante groaned.

Jason was aching, wanting to be touched, too. His skin was burning with want as his heart caught in his throat. Dante looked amazing and so damn gorgeous, so wild.

Dante lowered his head, his lips pressing to Jason’s ear. “I’m so damn hungry for you.”

“Show me,” Jason said in a breathless whisper, giving in to the desire ripping him apart. Dante was pulling him under, barely giving him room to breathe.

Dante had Jason’s boxers shredded before he could even blink. He hovered over Jason, his honed muscles bulging. Jason could feel his heart struggling to keep up with the demands his arousal was placing on it.

Pure sensuality spread across Dante’s features as he stared down at Jason’s naked body. “So perfect.” The hunger blazed in Dante’s eyes.

Jason gripped Dante’s cock tighter, reminding the man that he still held his shaft in his hand. Dante smiled at him in a way that had Jason’s stomach feeling all tight and hot.

“Suck it, Jason.” Dante began to crawl up Jason’s body, giving Jason a glimpse of tanned flesh and tight, flawless muscles.

Jason moved his hand to the base of Dante’s cock to take Dante into his mouth. The feel of Dante in his hand was exquisite, but the feel of Dante in his mouth was explosive. The sensations roared through him, making Jason open wider as the tip of Dante’s cock slid into his mouth.

“More, Jason, take me in.” There was a roughness to Dante’s demand, his voice raspy.

Jason knew his mate was losing control. But so was he. Madness was taking over as he licked and sucked at Dante’s steel rod. The flesh was salty, and the feel of him was as smooth as silk on Jason’s tongue.

“God, yes.” Dante curled his hips, pressing his cock a little farther into Jason’s mouth.

Jason kept his grip on the base of Dante’s cock super tight. If Dante started thrusting, Jason wanted to make sure he didn’t gag.

“Jason.” Dante moaned as his hips started thrusting in long, even strokes. “Oh hell, Jason.”

He kept his mouth wide open, his tongue sliding over vein-riddled flesh.

“Tighter, sweetheart.”

Jason formed a seal around his mate’s cock, sucking in when Dante’s shaft came forward and clamping down when he pulled back.

Encouraged by Dante’s moans, Jason sucked harder, moving his head back and forth. He swallowed greedily, savoring the taste of Dante in his mouth.

“There, kitten, I’m there.” With one last thrust, Dante grunted loudly, his seed flooding Jason’s mouth.

Jason drank it down, squeezing Dante’s cock harder, and pulling every last drop from his mate that he could.

Dante shuddered. “That was just to knock the edge off.”

Jason wasn’t sure what Dante meant until he noticed that the man hadn’t softened. His cock was still as hard as before. Jason released Dante, and his mate moved from the bed, pulling his jeans all the way off. His shirt was next, falling to the floor.

Dante reached into his nightstand drawer and pulled out a bottle of lube. Jason’s heart began to speed up, seeing the hunger still swimming in Dante’s eyes as he crawled back onto the bed.

Tossing the bottle aside, Dante began to lazily stroke Jason’s body. The man’s hands felt wonderful on his skin. They were strong, powerful, and were massaging Jason until he felt like warm butter. They’d fooled around before, but somehow tonight seemed more intense, more raw and needy.

As his mate’s fingers played over Jason’s skin, he found himself being slowly turned over onto his belly. Dante was good. Jason hadn’t even paid attention to what he was doing, so lost was he in Dante’s touch.

“God. I love this ass,” Dante said and then slid between Jason’s legs, licking a long path up the crease between Jason’s cheeks.

Jason lay there, enjoying the feel of Dante touching him, licking him and nipping at his skin. He arched into Dante’s touch, his body drowning in desire as he melted under Dante. His breath stuttered when Dante ran his teeth over Jason’s sensitive flesh.

“I want to eat you up.” Dante slid his hands into the crease, his fingers probing at Jason’s back entrance. “And then I want to fuck you until you beg me to stop.”

Jason heard the snip of the cap and knew Dante was lubing his fingers. His body tensed with expectation.

“Relax, kitten.” Dante’s voice was soothing, his fingers probing. Then he speared a single finger into Jason’s body and then blanketed Jason’s body with his. Dante’s finger felt too damn good as it probed his ass.

Jason’s legs spread apart, his lower body trying to impale itself on Dante’s finger. As good as it felt, Jason wanted more. The ache in his groin wasn’t satisfied with just one finger. Jason wanted to feel his mate inside of him, splitting him apart and making him shatter into a thousand pieces.