STORY EXCERPT

Bear down. Bear down.

Malik, son of Fadin and Renella, rolled over in his bed. He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or if the telepathic alarm had sounded. Shit. Last night had been so festive at Will, Gage, and Sella’s wedding that he wanted to stay in bed and savor the fun. He couldn’t even remember the last time there had been so much cheer on Anterra.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway. “Wake up.” His brother, Cavon, pushed open the door. “It’s a four-alarm attack. Move.”

Ugh. The alarm had been real. He groaned, rolled over, and popped off the bed. A four-alarm meant someone was seriously outnumbered. By now, the shifter was probably dead. Dread oozed through his veins as he forced himself to wake up and get in fight mode.

Hurry. This directive came from his brother.

Without bothering to dress, he shifted into his lion form and followed Cavon through the cat door in the middle of the living room. Scurrying down the tree was faster than taking the slow elevator they used on the outside of the tree house when in human form.

Dawn was just emerging, and the air was scented with dew. He and Cavon raced toward Taryn and Kellum’s tree house where the central command post was located, and his muscles screamed from the rapid deployment. From there, they would discuss tactics.

When they arrived, they appeared to be one of the last ones. How could that be? They hadn’t been that slow.

Taryn, in all his lion splendor, was on a raised stump.

I just received word that Brenan is dead.

Skelak. Malik lowered his rear to the ground, the depression too great. Losing any bear shifter was tragic, but Brenan was a friend and one hell of a fighter.

What are we going to do?

Malik wasn’t sure who threw out that thought.

Taryn puffed out his chest as if the weight of this problem was solely on his shoulders. What we always do. Be vigilant. With the bears’ decreasing numbers, they’ve asked for our help. We will patrol their borders as well as ours.

Malik’s mind blanked after that as Taryn outlined what needed to be done. There was too much fighting and not enough hope. The damned wolves were intent on taking over all of Anterra. He never thought it would come to this.

After the lions discussed what needed to be done, a core of them headed over to the bear leaders to work out a plan. With a heavy heart, he and Cavon took off for home. This time, they only walked since he was not in the mood to race. As he inhaled the fresh air scented with pine and rich earth, he came to a conclusion that had been rattling around in his head for weeks. He hoped his brother would go along with his plan.

They shifted back into their human form and took the elevator since he didn’t possess the desire to scurry up the tree. Neither said anything on the way up. Once he stepped inside his home, he headed to the fridge for a beer.

He pulled out two and waved them. “You want one?”

“At seven in the morning? No.” While there was no censure in Cavon’s tone, Malik put the bottles back and set about making coffee. He needed to get his head clear. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Should I mark down the time and date?”

That did make him laugh. His brother always had the talent to lighten the mood. “I want to live on Earth.” Saying the actual words lifted a burden.

Cavon had been getting the eggs out of the refrigerator and halted. “Come again?”

How did one begin to convince the only other person he could truly relate to that he wanted to change his whole life? “I know you might not agree, but Anterra has become a veritable war zone.”

“Has not. One bear died. That’s bad, but it’s always been this way. What’s gotten into you?” He set the bowl of eggs on the counter. “It’s Amy isn’t it?”

He hadn’t stopped thinking about the adorable woman since their last visit to Earth three months ago. “In part.” Closer to all, but he wasn’t ready to tell Cavon that yet. He began preparing the coffee. “When we’re over there, I can be free. I can go where I want and not have to worry about people being attacked.” He’d spent his life protecting the women and children of Anterra, and while he loved what he did, the end didn’t seem to be in sight. The lion population was growing as was the number of protectors, despite the attacks. He and Cavon could leave without affecting the level of security. Three years ago, he couldn’t have made that claim.

“You wouldn’t be able to shift whenever you wanted to.”

He knew what his brother was trying to do. Malik didn’t always think before he acted. “That is a downer, but we can run around in the woods at least.” He wasn’t able to put into words how his energy and enthusiasm for life lifted when he visited there. “I know we’ve seen the Earth reports about terrorists, but they don’t live in Colorado.” Anterra, on the other hand, had wolf terrorists. “It’s a lot safer there for everyone.” The other differences were too long to list. He was sure Cavon understood.

His brother broke the eggs into the frying pan. “You’re serious about this?”

Excitement raced through his veins. Cavon wasn’t nixing the idea right away. “Very serious. I want a break. What do you say? Will you come with me?”

ADULT EXCERPT

Cavon pressed her backwards. “Let Malik put the blindfold on you.”

“Okay.”

Shivers traveled over her body. This was what she’d been waiting for her whole life, and she wasn’t going to blow it by asking Malik about his recent behavior. His actions told her all that she needed to know. He slipped the blindfold over her eyes and made a knot at the back.

“Is that comfortable, honey?”

“Yes.” Too bad no light leaked in. She would have loved to watch them undress and see their huge cocks spring out of their briefs.

From his woodsy scent, she could tell it was Cavon who picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom. Her imagination went wild, wondering if they’d let her suck on their cocks or strip her naked and fuck her ass and pussy at the same time. She wasn’t sure how she wanted the scenario to play out. Whatever happened, she knew her men would make it the best experience of her life.

Cavon placed her on her feet. She reached out her arms to see if she was by the bed, but Cavon lowered her arms. “Don’t move, no matter what we do.”

Tingles tripped up her spine. She knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t be able to stand still when they got their hands and tongues on her. “Yes, sir.”

“You don’t have to sir me. Master will do.”

Their sense of humor always made her laugh. One of them moved behind her and unzipped the back of her dress. Wouldn’t he be in for a surprise when he saw she was naked underneath?

“Ah, Amy. Did you get dressed in a hurry?” Malik lifted the hair from the back of her neck and placed tiny kisses along the side of her neck.

Her mind splintered for a moment. “Aren’t you happy?”

“Oh, I’m very happy. I just wanted to know if the present was for me.”

“It was.”

He slowly dragged the sleeves over her shoulders and let the dress fall to the ground. Once the material pooled at her feet, she stepped out of it.

Cavon moved in front and lightly rubbed her nipples. Naturally, they hardened and peaked. “You are so sensitive. I love that about you.”

He continued to rub the tips, but with each pass, he increased the pressure. At the same time, Malik ran his hands up and down her arms while he placed more kisses along her spine. The combination had her wet already. Cavon nudged a foot between her legs and widened her stance.

“Keep your legs wide open. I want to be able to enjoy you any time I want.”

She swallowed hard thinking about having his cock in her. Instead, he slid one hand down her stomach and stopped an inch from her aching pussy.

“Are you trying to drive me mad, Master?”

“Yes.” He removed the hand from her tit and replaced it with his mouth.

When he sucked hard on her nipple, tiny explosions rippled outward. She arched her back to get more contact. Her moan came out too hard and fast.

“Easy, honey. We have all night.” Malik shifted his hands to her waist and lowered them to her ass.

“You know I can’t last.”

“If you climax first, you must know by now that we’ll have to take drastic measures.”

She’d loved every punishment they’d ever doled out. “Okay. I’ll try hard, then.” Or not.

Probably to test her, Cavon slipped a finger into her pussy. It was like a bolt of electricity charging up her body, heating up every cell. Her cum dripped down her leg. How embarrassing was that?

Malik disappeared, and she tried to listen for clues as to what he was doing. Shoes dropped, and a zipper opened. Thank goodness, he was getting undressed. Maybe he needed some release as bad as she did.

Cavon wiggled his finger inside her. “Yes, he’s getting naked as shall I, soon enough, but don’t worry, we want to bring you a lot of pleasure before we seek our release.”

“That’s very noble of you, but I don’t mind if you want to sink your hard, throbbing cock into my pussy right now.”

To increase the torture, he slipped another finger inside her, stretching out her creamy pussy. Tingles burst everywhere and heated her from the inside out. When Cavon returned to sucking on her tits and continued to finger her, the building pressure nearly toppled her.

“It’s been too long.” She hoped that he’d take the hint and give her a little bit of cock.

“Easy now. Malik is here. He has a present for you.”

Cavon loved her ass, so maybe Malik would bless her with his cock. Cavon stepped back and the void made her stomach tumble.

“I found this on you dresser. I’m fascinated by what these do. Maybe I can try them out on you.”

From the chuckle in his tone, he knew exactly what they did. Now that she was about to experience the sensation, she was a little scared. “I’ve never used them, so be gentle.”

“Always.” The paper ripped. He clamped one clip onto her tit and her breath caught. “That tight?”

At first the pain surprised her, but after a few seconds, her body got used to it. “It’s good.”

He placed the other one on her other swollen nipple. Maybe if Cavon hadn’t spent all that time pinching and sucking on the little nubs, they wouldn’t be so tender.

“Ready?”