STORY EXCERPT

Randy ran into the floral shop, bursting with joy. He had found his mate! This was the happiest day of his life. And he had just invited Randy back. How exciting was that?

“Where are our lunches?” Blair asked, his dark eyebrows high on his forehead. “Did you get lost again?”

“No, no, no,” Randy said with barely contained exuberance. “I found my mate!”

He hated that Blair brought up the fact that he became easily lost in Brac Village. It wasn’t that big of a town. Everything was in square blocks. But for some strange reason, when Randy ventured too far, he couldn’t find his way back. That was bad for a werewolf. He should have a better sense of direction.

But he didn’t.

God had forgotten to give him a GPS when he was born.

“So, tell me about him,” Blair said as he leaned over the counter, his chin resting on his hands. “What’s he like?”

So much came to mind that Randy had a hard time putting his thoughts to words. “He’s big, and strong, and handsome, and—”

“Take a breath before you pass out,” Blair said as he grinned. “Who is he or did you forget to get his name?”

“Priest,” he blurted out happily, the bubbly feeling washing over him as Randy said the man’s name for the very first time.

“That’s an odd name.”

“No, it isn’t,” he defended his mate vehemently. “It’s a very nice name.” He liked it. It was different, not common. Just like his mate. “He works at The Pit.”

“Oh,” Blair said as he narrowed his eyes at Randy. “Now I know why you didn’t bring our lunches back.”

“I forgot,” he said sheepishly. “He rattled me.”

Blair gave him a knowing look. “Mates can do that. Every time Kota walks into a room, I cream my pants.”

Randy crinkled his nose at the graphic image Blair had just given him. He did not want to envision his coworker creaming his anything. Blair was nice, even cute, but he was nothing compared to Randy’s mate. “Should I go back and get our lunches?”

“If you can manage to get them this time,” Blair said teasingly. “Maybe I should call and place the orders. That way your mind won’t take a dump when you see him again.”

“Maybe you should,” he said. He knew for a fact his brain would die on him just as soon as he laid eyes on Priest. The man was everything and a bag of chips!

Randy wasn’t sure what that meant, but he had heard it being said somewhere before. It had to fit this situation, right?

Blair shook his head as he walked over to the phone. Randy sat down behind the counter, giving a sigh as images of the dreamy man filled his head. Fate had been good to him. The big, burly man was so damn hot! He just hoped that Priest was a good guy. Randy had enough of the bad ones to last him a lifetime.

“I called in our orders,” Blair announced as he hung up the phone. “I also threw in extra if the food could be delivered. I don’t need you leaving our lunch behind again.” Blair rubbed his flat stomach. “I’m starving.”

Randy felt disappointed. He had wanted to see Priest again. There was no way that huge man was a delivery guy. Maybe they could have lunch at The Pit for the rest of this week so he could get glimpses at the man. He had to find some way to see Priest again without looking like a stalker.

Priest was human. He wouldn’t know about them being mates. Randy wasn’t sure how to go about telling him. He’d never had to tell anyone he was a wolf before.

“I’m heading into the back to put the inventory away,” Blair announced. “Call me when the food gets here.”

Randy nodded, half listening to the guy as he thought about his mate. There had to be a way to break the ice. Having sex in the man’s office wasn’t Randy’s idea of getting to know his mate. Although he wasn’t against having sex with Priest, he didn’t think it would be a good thing just starting out the gate together.

Hearing the small door chime, Randy looked up to see his uncle striding into the shop. Fred glanced around, his fingers touching a flower here and there, his expression disapproving—as always. “Are you sure this was the only place hiring?”

Randy steeled his nerves, but it did him no good. He could still feel his insides knotting as the man moved closer to him. He held back the flinch that instantly flared up. “I’m positive, Uncle Fred.”

“Seems like a sissy place for a guy to work,” Uncle Fred said as his lip curled at the colorful arrangement Randy had been working on earlier. “When I asked permission for us to move into Brac Village, I had no idea you’d take a job in a place like this.”

Randy desperately wanted to change the subject. He had been over this for the past week with his uncle and he was afraid Fred would tell him to find work elsewhere. Randy liked working here. It not only allowed his artistic side to shine, but he loved the fragrance of the flowers. His job was special orders, and Randy became excited every time he was allowed to create a new arrangement.

“No one else was hiring,” he said, once again trying to convince his uncle to leave his job be.

He was still learning the different plant and flower types and what was needed to care for them, but Randy was taking to his lessons like a fish to water. He was currently putting together a pot of yellow snapdragons. The flowers were beautiful and smelled so good.

“Why can’t you work at the bar or the post office?” Fred waved his hand around the shop. “Why do you have to work with pansy flowers?”

Randy jerked inside, his chest constricting in fear when Fred smacked at his snapdragons. “If your father could see you he would roll over in his grave.” Fred’s dark-brown eyes raked over Randy. “And why haven’t you gone to get your hair cut yet? Are you trying to fit in here with all these flowers?”

ADULT EXCERPT

Randy must have died and gone to heaven because feeling all those ripped muscles under his arms felt fantastic! He wanted to forget the movie, straddle the guy’s legs, and lick every delicious muscle he could find.

And there was plenty to find. Priest looked like a bronzed god sitting there watching the movie. Didn’t the man know just how tempting he was?

Being as subtle as he could, Randy inhaled deeply, taking in Priest’s masculine scent. The guy wasn’t wearing any cologne. What Randy smelled was all natural. In his opinion, that was the best scent in the world.

He could probably come just from that smell alone. His cock was getting hard from the aroma.

“Watch,” Priest whispered as he tapped Randy’s shoulder. “You’re going to miss it.”

Randy wanted to miss it. Just from the horrifying screams he could hear, the movie was only getting scarier. He didn’t need anything else to visit him in his dreams tonight.

Giving in, he turned his head and immediately regretted it. Even Priest jumped at the scene. Randy damn near pissed his pants. He burrowed deeper into his date’s side, wishing like hell the movie was already over.

When he glanced down and saw Priest half hard, Randy really wasn’t sure what to think. He was elated, and wondering if it meant anything at the same time. It would be such a shame if the man had a boner from the excitement of the movie and not Randy’s closeness.

Well, there was only one way to find out. But was he brave enough to test the waters? Fate wouldn’t have given him a straight man. At least Randy prayed like hell that fate wasn’t that twisted. His luck in life hadn’t been stellar so far.

Turning his head to watch the movie, Randy let his arm slide down to Priest’s waist in a very subtle way. When the man didn’t say anything, it slid a little more. Good god. If the guy was this big only half hard…Randy swallowed, and then gave a light press into the man’s groin with the palm of his hand.

Priest’s cock began to thicken even more.

Randy felt drugged by Priest’s clean and manly scent, and he was powerless to stop the palm of his hand from pressing harder into Priest’s now hard erection. He wanted to glance up, to see if his mate was staring at him or the screen, but Randy was too afraid the small spell that surrounded them would be broken if he peeked.

His heart began to beat faster and his mouth became dry, but Randy pushed even further by massaging Priest’s hard cock with his fingers. He could hear the harsh uneven rhythm of the man’s breathing and knew Priest was affected by Randy’s touch, but he wasn’t sure if his mate would allow him to go all the way. They couldn’t do too much since they were in a public place, but it was dark and using his hand or mouth just might go unnoticed.

Slipping his hand up Priest’s engorged cock, Randy unsnapped the man’s jeans. He was terrified Priest would stop him, and had become excited when the man didn’t. He slowly lowered the zipper, hoping the sound wasn’t amplified in the quiet theater. That would be all he needed, for people to turn their heads and look his way.

God, was he really going to do this? Out in the open? He threw a prayer up that Priest didn’t stop him and that no one paid them any attention. He was glad as hell they had sat in the back.

Randy reached into Priest’s underwear, massaging his fingers over the bulbous head of his mate’s cock, smoothing the pre-cum at the same time. His thumbnail pressed into the tiny slit at the top of the head and he heard a low moan rumble in Priest’s broad chest.

His mate’s arousal, along with the clear liquid seeping from his cock filled Randy’s lungs, making his mouth water for just one taste. If Priest hadn’t been his mate, there was no way in hell Randy would be doing this on the first date.

But Priest was his mate and damn if the guy didn’t smell delicious. Randy had to fight his canines from elongating. His wolf wanted to howl at their small victory. His wolf wanted to roll around in Priest’s scent and mark the man as his.

Dipping his head before he lost his nerve, Randy wrapped his lips around the flared head of his mate’s cock. He heard a swift intake of air and then Priest gave a shudder. Randy began to suck, his tongue tracing the veins, his cheeks hollowed as he moved Priest’s thick erection further into his mouth.

Fuck the man was huge. Randy seriously doubted he could take it all. As a matter of fact, he knew he couldn’t. But he was going to work the flesh he already had in his mouth.

Priest’s fingers glided through Randy’s long hair, massaging his scalp as Randy sucked and licked, eating the pre-cum and swallowing it down. Using his tongue, Randy laved the tender depression beneath the swollen crown and then tongue-fucked the tiny slit, licking away the salty taste of Priest’s desires.

Another groan rumbled through Priest.

His mate’s hips plunged hard, driving his cock deep into Randy’s mouth, causing Randy’s body to scream with pleasure, with an overload of sensations that made Randy whimper around the hard cock. He was also fighting his gag reflex. He only had half of Priest’s cock in his mouth, but damn, that was more than enough.

Priest’s body was so hard, so hot against Randy that it nearly scorched him. He wished like hell they were someplace private so he could rip his mate’s clothes off and explore every inch of his thick, well-built body.

His mate’s fingers tightened in Randy’s hair, his hips pumping faster. The pre-cum was leaking profusely, and Randy knew the man was close. Priest’s moans were becoming more frequent, his body was trembling.