STORY EXCERPT

Rick twirled the knife in his hand and then shoved the blade in the sheath at his thigh. “I don’t think he’ll be getting up anytime soon.”

Dorian scrunched his nose as he shivered, standing there looking as if he were going to be sick. Rick damn near laughed at the look on his mate’s face. “Not after you cut out his heart. That was just plain old gross.”

“That might be, gatito,” Rick said as he tossed the heart as far as he could, “but it’s the only way to truly kill a vampire. I don’t see how you’re still squeamish after all this time.”

Dorian pulled his gun from his holster, aimed, and shot the vampire in the head. Rick knew that even though Dorian was changeling now, he still preferred to do the things that made him most comfortable. Rick would give him that. A slow grin tilted up the side of his mouth as he shook his head. “Feel better?”

“Much,” he said as he reholstered his gun. “Now I know he’s truly dead.”

Rick clapped his mate on the back, and then gave his shoulder a light squeeze. “Come on, babe, let’s get back to our group.”

That was the seventh vampire they had to kill in two nights. Rick was getting irritated as hell. The Rebellion group was making its way to Washington, but it seemed every time they turned around, either someone needed help, or they were fighting their way out of a situation. It didn’t help that the master vampire, Kraven, was in hiding, but sending his Soul Reapers after them every few days. They never killed anyone, and Rick was starting to think it was Kraven’s way of fucking with their heads.

Like they needed that. Rick would love to get his hands on the damn man.

Not even Salvador, an ancient vampire from Brazil, could detect where Kraven was. And that didn’t set well with Rick. It either meant Kraven was growing in power, or messing with some dark voodoo shit.

Dorian walked to the truck and slid into the passenger’s seat while Rick set the body on fire. He wanted to make damn sure the thing was dead. There would be no getting up from this. He made sure there was a roaring blaze before heading toward his truck. Why the vampires were suddenly attacking, Rick had no clue. Maybe Kraven was sending them. Maybe he wasn’t. It wasn’t like he stopped them in the middle of fighting to ask. But whatever was going on, it had the vampires attacking the Rebellion groups all around. The vampires and the Soul Reapers could be two separate incidents, but Rick highly doubted that.

Walking across the grass to reach the road where he was parked, Rick scanned the area one last time. He knew they needed to get to Washington. Rebellion groups across the nation were waiting on him to call them into action. But Rick didn’t want to make that call until he was closer to the White House. With all the delays they were experiencing, he wasn’t sure he would be there in a few days’ time.

Hell, he was praying they made it there sometime before the end of the year, which was a long way off. With the vampires attacking and small things slowing them down, Rick was starting to think fate was keeping him away from his goal.

“You coming?” Dorian asked as he leaned forward, glancing from the passenger window, his Peruvian-brown eyes staring intently at Rick. “Unless you think more vampires are around. If there are, I’m sitting in the truck. Watching you cut their hearts out is not my favorite pastime.”

A grin tilted the side of Rick’s mouth as he rounded the truck and slipped into the driver’s seat. “You are such a wuss.”

Dorian gave a throaty protest as he sat back and tucked his arms over his chest. “I was a deli clerk before all of this started. I highly doubt I can add Rebellion and vampire slayer to my résumé once this is over. I’m sure no one would like me writing that I can slice meat while cutting a heart out.”

Rick chuckled, needling his mate. “You’re still a wuss.”

Although Dorian was glaring at Rick with narrowed eyes, Rick could see his mate fighting not to laugh. It was good to see him back to his old self. He had hated—and felt helpless—when his mate had gone through his meltdown not too long ago. It was something Rick never wanted to see his mate go through again. He had feared losing Dorian while the man worked things out in his head. Rick couldn’t blame Dorian. He was right. The guy had been a deli clerk before all of this had begun. Throwing his mate into this and expecting him not to crack was pure stupidity on Rick’s part.

He should have anticipated something like that happening. But Rick had been so caught up in the fight that he hadn’t paid attention to the signs.

He was paying attention now.

Pulling from the grass he had parked on, Rick drove onto the road and headed back to the safe house they were currently residing in. He should be unwilling to use anyone’s home after what had happened before, but there were no more detention centers, and he prayed like hell no one else betrayed them.

“Have you heard from Salvador?” Dorian asked.

Rick shook his head as he gazed at the road. “No. Freedman, Omar, and Salvador were last seen up in Canada. I’m not sure how much closer they are to tracking Kraven down.”

Dorian looked as if he was mulling that over in his mind, and then he spoke. “You would think that as powerful as Salvador is, he would have no problem catching Kraven. I saw what he can do, we all did, and it was some spooky-ass shit.”

Rick agreed. Since this war had started, his eyes had been opened to many things. There were some horrors that would forever haunt him. But Salvador topped every weird thing he had ever come across. The ancient vampire even topped the ghost that had helped them free Ian from a vampire hurting him in the dream world. “Speculation is that Kraven is messing with some very dark voodoo.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Remus was dead on his feet. Without thought, he stripped naked and climbed into bed, finally closing his eyes after a long-ass ride.

He felt the bed dip and then a warm, naked body was pressing into his back. Remus was exhausted, but he turned over and pulled Marco close. “Scary day.”

Marco nodded. “But it wasn’t so bad. No one was hurt.”

There was that. Remus was glad his friend wasn’t freaking out. Marco could become very dramatic. He had once seen the guy go spastic when he found colors mixed with whites in his washing machine. Remus had tried to be nice and do Marco’s laundry. He never went near the damn machine again. But Marco wasn’t freaking out. Instead, Remus could feel something very hard poking him in his stomach.

He only needed one guess to figure out it was Marco’s hard cock. Remus gazed down at the man, Marco’s dark eyes growing sultry as he blushed.

Remus’s hand was shaking when he reached for the hardened shaft. Marco’s dick was heavy and thick and felt hot to the touch. Now that he had it in his hand, it looked even bigger. Marco’s bush had grown thick and was untrimmed. The dark hairs spilled down onto his sack as well. He slid his hand up and down, mesmerized by the way the foreskin slid back and forth across the head.

Remus slid down the bed and gave the underside of the head a lick, causing Marco to groan. He licked his tongue up and down the shaft, then sucked each of his hairy balls.

“Suck me,” he begged. He grabbed Remus’s head and pushed it down onto his dick. “Take it in your mouth. Suck it.”

Damn, it seemed Marco was a  damn tiger in bed. Who would have thought?

The hot head of Marco’s dick slid into Remus’s mouth. His foreskin retracted and Remus tasted the musky sweat underneath. He let out a groan and closed his eyes as the flavor burst across his tongue. He moved down as far as he could until he was about to gag, then pulled back up, sucking hard as he did so.

As he sucked Marco’s cock, Remus pushed two thick fingers slowly inside Marco, up to the first knuckle. They slid in easily with the spit Remus had used. Remus began slowly moving his fingers in and out, and when he pushed them back in, he hit that spot inside Marco that had the man gasping in pleasure. “Remus!”

Remus was staring into Marco’s eyes as he pulled the man’s cock free and whispered, “There’s the spot. You like that, don’t you? Just imagine what it will feel like when it’s my cock hitting that spot.”

Remus grinned when Marco’s entire body shuddered. He rubbed the spot again and again, making his lover moan and whimper. A sweet scent of arousal wafted through the air. That scent was forever blazed into his memory from the very first time he smelled it.

The leopard would no longer be denied what was his. He would no longer be denied his mate. Remus planned on making Marco his, but then again, it felt as though his best friend had always belonged to him. Remus had just been too blind to see the truth.

The corner of Remus’s lip turned up and he growled low. The blinds were gone and he wasn’t going to hold back. He took his lover’s cock back into his mouth, sucking it all the way down his throat.

“God…damn!” Marco shouted. Marco’s ass clamped down on Remus’s fingers as his body began to tremble. Remus eased back and then nuzzled in the wiry curls before licking his way up the fully hard shaft and sucking at the engorged head to savor Marco’s pre-cum. As he swallowed Marco’s cock once more, he felt a hand on his head and looked up to see his lover gazing at him.

“I’m going to come if you don’t stop,” Marco warned on an unsteady breath. Remus could see the man’s chest rising and lowering quickly, his eyes liquid heat, glazed with pleasure.

Remus was hit with a wave of lust. His cock stiffened even further. He ached to be inside Marco. All he could think about was claiming the small man. He wanted to mark Marco, to let everyone know the man was his and they better stay away. “I’m going to claim you, Marco.”

Marco’s eyes grew wide as he began to nod his head. “Yes, please, claim me.”

Remus looked around and saw a bottle of lotion on the nightstand. It would have to do. It smelled like flowers, but at the moment, Remus didn’t give a shit. He rubbed the lotion over his cock and then used a generous amount to lube Marco’s asshole.

Tossing the bottle aside, he moved closer to Marco, settling between his legs. Marco eagerly spread his legs wide, allowing Remus to slide forward and position the head of his cock at Marco’s hole. One hard thrust buried his thick, steel-hard erection into Marco’s body to the hilt. Remus groaned as his cock was enveloped in searing heat and slick tightness. Marco’s body was trembling as Remus took in a shuddering breath. Marco was tossing beneath him, his hips bucking, driving Remus harder into the soft flesh of Marco’s ass, grinding against him.

Remus grabbed Marco’s hips and pinned the man to the bed. “Calm down.” If Marco didn’t, Remus was going to come way too fucking soon. He slipped his hands under Marco’s ass and lifted him higher, giving the man a small warning growl.

Marco licked his lips and nodded, telling Remus he would follow instead of trying to lead. That was much better. Remus was already having a hard enough time with his control. Marco’s scent of arousal was only growing, filling the room and Remus’s lungs.

Marco whimpered.

Remus purred.

“Please, Remus,” Marco begged. “Please move.”

Remus’s body was burning with need, a hard, urgent ache. Once certain he could move without losing control, Remus set up a slow, leisurely pace. He didn’t want to rush this. He was going to claim Marco. It was a night Remus wanted the man to remember for a very long time.

Bracing one arm next to Marco’s shoulder, Remus leaned over to claim Marco’s mouth as his dick claimed the man’s ass. Marco became submissive as hell. He allowed Remus to take charge, his body becoming pliant as Remus moved inside of the small man, his tongue thrusting inside Marco’s mouth.