STORY EXCERPT

“And here I thought you were already on full-tilt crazy.” Fire paced manically back and forth over the carpet in Maverick’s office, wondering if the alpha had truly lost his mind. What he was asking Fire to do was insane.

He stopped pacing and turned his head, glaring at the man who was sitting behind his desk, looking unfazed at Fire’s outburst. “A freaking art teacher? I’m not even qualified. What do I know about art? I’d be lucky to draw two stick figures correctly. And trust me, when I finished, they would be in a very compromising position.”

“Have. A. Seat.” Maverick pulled at the soul patch under his lip, staring at Fire with warning in his light-grey eyes. The alpha no longer looked unfazed, but pissed.

The man was intimidating as hell, but a teacher? There was no way in hell Fire was going to do it. No, he was going to refuse. He didn’t know a damn thing about kids. They were messy, noisy, and always had goopy stuff stuck to them.

He shuddered at the image.

Although he'd obtained roughly sixty hours of credits before leaving college, teaching had never entered his mind.

“Ruttford told me you attended college. That's qualifying to me. You have no direction in life, Fire. You skate through thinking you can get by with good looks and charm.”

Fire smirked.

Maverick didn’t look impressed. “Trust me. You are the least charming man I have ever met.”

Fire bristled at the insult. He wasn’t sure if Maverick was attacking him or trying to help him. Either way he didn’t appreciate the alpha’s criticism—constructive or not. He waved a hand toward Maverick. “And I’m pretty sure you have charm oozing out of you.”

Maverick gave a half snort, half laugh as he sat forward. “Hell no, but I don’t try to use it as a tool to get what I want. I don’t pretend to be charming.”

Fire had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to get out of this. The commitment in the alpha’s eyes was rock solid, and Fire knew he was doomed. He tried one last time to plead his case, to try and let Maverick know he wasn’t the right man for the job. “When we were kids, I accidently knocked Ruttford down into a mining shaft. I turned, bumped him, and then he went flying. What do you think would happen if you stuck me in a classroom with little helpless kids?”

Instead of considering what he had just confessed, Maverick looked pleased. Maybe he shouldn’t have used Ruttford for his example. Fire knew the alpha couldn’t stand the havoc-causing elf—Maverick’s words, not his.

“It’s final, Fire. You start Monday morning. Principal Fishman will show you to your classroom and give you the rundown.” Maverick stood, telling Fire he was done with this conversation.

Well, Fire wasn’t. “I won’t do it.”

Maverick’s fist slammed down onto his desk, making every item placed on the mahogany wood jump. Hell, Fire had jumped. “You’ll do this or I will hand you over to Myne and Yanyte with a fucking purple ribbon wrapped around your throat. Do I make myself clear?”

Fire clutched his arms to his chest, feeling his stomach roll. He needed to get out of Maverick’s office. He needed air. Although he knew he had a gambling problem and hated himself for it, teaching wasn’t going to solve anything. The two had absolutely no correlation. As he stood, Fire found it difficult to swallow. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If one of them falls down a shaft, call Lassie.”

Maverick curled his upper lip as Fire stormed from the office, pinching his lips together before he said something that would really piss the alpha off. The wolf shifter had threatened Fire with the one thing he feared the most—the Shadow elf bookies. Even the thought of seeing those two oversized baboons again made Fire want to find a dark place to hide.

He was no longer in debt to them—which he was grateful as hell to Melonee for that favor—but that didn’t mean he wanted to be anywhere near the two. They were scary as hell. Oh yeah, they were charming to a fault when first meeting them. But as soon as a person lost a bet, the two turned into anyone’s worst nightmare.

But of course, they wouldn’t be in business if they were two nice guys. Myne and Yante had definitely found they niche in life. They excelled at being bad guys and collecting what was owed to them.

Fire began to climb the steps to his bedroom when he saw Oliver heading down the hall from the kitchen. He briefly thought about heading outside, but Fire wasn’t allowed to go anywhere unattended. Maverick had some crazy notion that Fire would take off.

The man was smart. Not that he would go gamble, but damn, he missed his freedom. Fire hated having a babysitter everywhere he went. He was done with gambling. Having those two goons after him…again had taught him a lesson.

He was swearing off gambling for good. Too bad the alpha didn’t believe him.

If only he could get the bracelet from around his wrist, Fire would ditch this place. But no matter how hard he tried to cut it off, pull at it, or bang it on something solid, the bracelet remained fixed tightly in place.

Stupid fey magic.

ADULT EXCERPT

“You have a nice room.” Rio was staring at the full-length mirror that was attached to the wall on the left side of Fire’s bed. He could almost see Rio’s imagination working overtime. While Fire was all for whatever Rio had in mind, his body all of a sudden betrayed him. His mind went blank, his palms became moist, throat dry, and for the first time in a very long time, Fire was unsure of what to say or do.

He just stood there, his hands smoothing over his abdomen. Rio was like this all-powerful being in his room—that was what it felt like. It was as if his presence sucked the very oxygen from the air. Fire found Rio an imposing force, but even more so now that they were alone.

“You look a bit pale.” Rio closed the distance, running his knuckles over Fire’s cheek. “Tell me the fey who has bragged about being bedded by any man or woman of his choice is nervous.”

Fire lifted his chin at Rio. “Have no idea what you’re talking about, buddy.” Although Rio was telling the truth, there was no way Fire was going to confirm it. His pride wouldn’t let him.

Fire’s heart fluttered. His belly tightened. His cock was as hard as a rock when Rio stepped into his space, grabbing Fire’s fingers and bringing them to his mouth, nibbling on each knuckle. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I only bite if you ask nicely.”

His breath became sharp and short, feeling as if he was about to hyperventilate when he saw Rio’s eyes smoldering with promise.

Using nothing more than tongue and teeth, Rio nibbled his way to Fire’s wrist. He kissed the pulse, and then began to move his way up Fire’s bare arm. Rio stopped at the elbow, his eyes darting up toward Fire’s face.

That look, oh god, that look was like nothing Fire had ever seen before. It was so damn seductively wicked that Fire jerked on an exhaled breath. He felt like he was being pulled into Rio’s gaze, trapped in the man’s beautiful blue eyes. He couldn’t move. Fire found it hard to breathe. The only thing he could do was stand there wondering how deep Rio was going to pull him in.

His lips parted when Rio began to work his way toward Fire’s shoulder, the panther’s tongue twirled and swirled an erotic path until Rio’s lips pressed into Fire’s collarbone.

Fire was so lost in the moment that he knew Rio could do anything to him and he wouldn’t protest. His mind was shrouded in lust, his body aching for release. A small, agonizing sound rumbled in the back of Fire’s throat. He didn’t want Rio to stop, but he wanted Rio not to torture him. It was a conflicting emotion, and Fire was powerless as Rio’s hands explored his body. The only thing Fire could do was bow his back and let his head roll to the side.

“Mmm, you taste so damn good on my tongue.” Rio bit down on Fire’s neck, but not hard enough to break skin. Fire’s body shuddered at the sudden sensation and the sound of Rio’s deep baritone voice. He was so lost in the moment that Fire hadn’t realized his hands were shackled behind him, caught in the tight grip of Rio’s hands. He tried to tug them free but found that Rio’s hands were like solid, steel bands around his wrists, unrelenting.

One of Rio's black brows hitched up. “Do you really want me to let you go?”

“N–No,” Fire said, his voice so strained that it was nothing more than a mere whisper. Rio let out a low, deep chuckle as he nipped Fire’s flesh. Rio clasped a hand to Fire’s cheek, now only using one hand to keep Fire’s arms locked behind him.

His thumb stroked over Fire’s bottom lip, Rio’s gaze following the move. “I want to feel these lips sucking my cock.”

Fire whimpered.

Rio leaned forward and caressed his cheek over Fire’s, whispering softly in his ear. “Don’t be shy, darlin’”.

Fire felt himself slowly lowering to his knees. He kept his gaze locked with Rio’s, seeing the intensity and the man’s azure-colored eyes blaze even higher. The blue became so dark that the color damn near turned purple. Rio’s hand caressed Fire’s jaw as his other hand worked his jeans open.

“Take me into your mouth, Fire.” Rio guided the head of his cock to Fire’s parting lips. The explosion was instantaneous when he tasted his mate for the first time. The texture and taste of Rio’s cock had Fire moaning around the shaft.

Rio brushed Fire’s hair from his face and then gathered the strands as if making a ponytail. He held on with a tight grip. Fire pressed the palms of his hands into Rio’s thighs, his fingers curling tight as he felt the head of his mate’s erection touch the back of his throat.

“That’s it, baby. Suck me.”

Relaxing his throat muscle, Fire leaned further toward Rio’s groin. He felt the thick, hard cock slide all the way down as his nose touched the curly hairs at the base of Rio’s shaft. A fine tremble began to vibrate in Rio’s legs, telling Fire that his mate’s control was slipping.

Rio gave a hard tug to Fire’s hair, pulling him back until only the head remained between Fire’s lips. Fire smiled and Rio growled. Before he could sink fully into his satisfaction, Rio caressed the tip of one of Fire’s pointy ears.

Fire nearly fell back from the intensity of Rio’s touch to his erogenous zone. He hadn’t been expecting the move and was caught off guard. The only thing that stopped him from falling to the floor was Rio’s grip on Fire’s hair.

“Two can play at that.” Rio’s voice was harsh, raspy, sounding as if he barely had a thread of a grip on his control.