STORY EXCERPT

Raven opened his bedroom door, making sure that Darcy’s door was closed before making his way downstairs. He could smell Darcy’s scent lingering in the hallway. It almost made him cross the hall and take what he wanted. He knew he needed some fresh air to clear his mind. That and being right across the hall from Darcy was too much of a temptation.

Raven had made it down the stairs and into the kitchen, almost getting away without being stopped when he spotted little Oscar digging in the refrigerator. “Are you supposed to be up this late snacking?”

Oscar squealed and spun around, nearly losing his balance because of his bad legs. He looked relieved to see that it was Raven. “I’m not snacking.”

Raven hid the grin that threatened to emerge. “Where are Chance and Seth?”

“Asleep.” Oscar moved away from the refrigerator, but kept his hands behind his back. The little six-year-old thought he was sneaky.

“Show me your hands, Oscar.”

Oscar shook his head.

Raven quirked a brow at the young human. “And why not?”

“Because,” Oscar whispered, “you’ll tell on me.”

Raven moved closer to Oscar, squatting down in front of the small male child as he rested his arms on his knees, making himself seem smaller. “I secret swear I won’t say a word.”

Oscar didn’t look convinced, but pulled his hands from behind his back. One hand was filled with three Oreos—that was all the small fingers could curl around—and the other held a slice of leftover pizza.

“Are you having some sort of party I wasn’t invited to?” Raven asked teasingly.

Oscar shook his head, bewilderment etched on his tiny little face. “I’m not allowed to have friends over unless I ask permission first.”

Raven rubbed his hand over his mouth, hiding the smile. “What will happen if I let you eat these things?”

Oscar shrugged. “I’ll be happy?”

This time Raven couldn’t fight the grin. He chuckled as he nodded. “But you have to promise to brush your teeth when you’re done.”

Oscar grinned, shoving a cookie into his mouth. “I will,” he mumbled around the Oreo.

“Do you need help getting back to your room?” Raven asked. He knew the small human child had been badly burned in a fire. Although Oscar was in physical therapy, the child still had trouble getting around, stairs being his biggest obstacle.

Oscar nodded, curling his fingers around his stolen snacks. Raven picked him up and cradled Oscar in his arms and then walked back upstairs. He peeked into Chance and Seth’s room, making sure they were asleep before taking Oscar to the adjoining room, settling him in his bed. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

“I won’t,” Oscar promised as he began to nibble on his stolen pizza, a sparkle of thanks in his eyes.

Raven walked out of the bedroom, seeing Chance awake and watching him. He should have known he couldn’t sneak by a shifter.

“Thanks,” Chance said as he glanced back at Oscar’s door. “I heard him when he left the room. Seth doesn’t know I let Oscar go for snacks at night.”

“I do now,” Seth said sleepily. “And I’ll deal with you and Oscar in the morning.”

Chance grinned as he looked over at Raven, his large hand rubbing down Seth’s back. “Thanks for bringing him back upstairs.”

Raven nodded as he walked out of the bedroom and closed the door.

“Nightly rescue mission?” Darcy asked from behind Raven, his voice a mix of tension and humor.

Raven closed his eyes briefly. It seemed he just couldn’t put any distance between himself and his mate. The aroma of Darcy’s blood wafted around Raven, creating a cloak of temptation and making his jaw tic. His heart rate sped up. Not to mention he was practically drooling at the sweet scent of his mate’s blood.

Raven took a step back, letting a breath out slowly. “You should go to your room.”

Darcy shook his head, taking a step closer for every one Raven took back. “Tell me, Raven. Why do I get the feeling that this perfect little town is hiding something?”

Raven stilled, stopping his backward progression. He nearly closed his eyes at the sound of his name on his mate’s lips. He wanted to hear it again. Only next time, Raven wouldn’t protest to both of them being naked. “Like what?”

Darcy shrugged, his hands folded behind his back. “You tell me.”

Not only was his mate’s blood tempting, he was very observant. Raven would have to remember this. He took a step forward, noticing that Darcy didn’t look so confident now that he was moving toward his mate. Darcy’s arms came to his sides as he glanced behind him in the direction of his bedroom.

“Afraid, Darcy?” Raven asked as he took another step toward the human, his eyes narrowing when he saw a nervous twitch in Darcy hands. He wasn’t trying to scare the man. Raven was only trying to get Darcy away from him before he sank his teeth into his mate’s soft-looking flesh.

Raven scented his mate, and he hungered.

Darcy turned back toward Raven, his coppery-brown eyes skipping over Raven’s face as his mate’s breathing intensified, coming in quicker pants. Even the pulse in Darcy’s neck was thumping harshly. Darcy looked like he was caught in some sort of imaginary headlights, unmoving and frightened.

Raven’s tongue traced his bottom lip as he stared at Darcy’s neck. His fangs were painfully trapped in his mouth as Raven fought against biting his mate. “Go back to your room, Darcy.” Because he was losing control fast. Raven wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand there and ignore the succulent scent of his mate’s blood. The need to drink was overriding his common sense. He had to get Darcy away from him.

ADULT EXCERPT

Darcy froze, every muscle in his body locking down. Even his breathing was so shallow that his lungs were beginning to burn from lack of proper oxygen. He was even too afraid to remove his fingers from his ass.

No sudden movements.

“I know you’re awake, Darcy.”

Darcy still didn’t move. He wasn’t sure how Raven had gotten into his bedroom so quietly, or why the man was here, but damn if this wasn’t the most embarrassing moment of his life. Had Raven heard him crying out to be fucked? Darcy was going to die of complete and utter mortification.

When the blanket was tossed aside, Darcy slammed his eyes closed. He knew what Raven was looking at, and there was no way Darcy could deny what the man was seeing.

“Darcy,” Raven groaned as his fingers trailed lightly down Darcy’s arm. It was the same arm that held the fingers that were tightly tucked into his ass. Darcy shivered. “What are you doing to me?”

The dryness in Darcy’s mouth was almost painful, but not as painful as the heart that slammed into Darcy’s chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. “Raven.” He half whispered, half whimpered the man’s name.

“I couldn’t stay away, Darcy,” Raven murmured as he crawled onto the bed next to Darcy, his fingers lingering dangerously close to Darcy’s wrist and the fingers that were inserted into his rear end. He could feel that Raven was still fully dressed, the denim of his jeans scraping against Darcy’s bare legs. “Keep your fingers where they are.”

Darcy swallowed, trying to moisten his mouth to speak, but it was a futile attempt with Raven so close, the heat of his body soaking into Darcy’s naked flesh. He lay very still, wondering what Raven was about to do, and prayed at the same time that the man fulfilled Darcy’s fantasy.

Raven’s firm hand curled around Darcy’s chin, tugging Darcy’s head until he was staring into Raven’s eyes. “I’m trying to figure out what to do with you,” Raven whispered against his lips before he laid a kiss as tender and light as a summer breeze across the edge of Darcy’s mouth. When he tried to pull his fingers from his body, Raven’s fingers wrapped around Darcy’s wrist, holding it firm in its place. “Don’t.”

Darcy gave a tight little nod of his head, wondering if he hadn’t fallen asleep and all of this was just one great-ass dream. If it was, hell if he wanted to wake up anytime soon. Raven’s weight felt good pressed into Darcy’s body. They were lined up perfectly.

When Darcy tried to turn his head further to look behind him, Raven dipped his head and began to trail his tongue over Darcy’s jaw, and then he licked at the pulse in Darcy’s neck. “So good,” Raven whispered.

“What’s good?” Darcy asked. He was confused and willing in equal measures. He didn’t want Raven to stop touching him, but Darcy wanted to know what was happening, what to expect. He felt the need rise up inside of him to overanalyze the situation, but his brain wasn’t functioning at the moment to scrutinize a damn thing.

Tomorrow. Darcy would overanalyze Raven tomorrow. Right now he prayed Raven gave him some kind of relief. His cock was so hard that Darcy feared his blood wouldn’t return to his brain anytime soon.

“You,” Raven sighed as his teeth nipped Darcy’s neck. “All of you, Darcy.”

He shuddered when Raven nipped at him again. He tilted his head to the side in hopes that Raven wouldn’t stop his oral exploration. The man’s lips on his skin were heavenly. His heart sped up when Raven began to move Darcy’s hand, the one with the fingers still buried in his ass.

“Fuck yourself.”

Oh, hell. He was going to come. There were no two ways about it. The command, along with Raven’s sexy-as-sin voice, was going to be his undoing. Darcy had never performed for anyone, and found himself blushing so badly that his skin was heated to the point it felt like it was boiling. But damn if feeling Raven’s hand on his didn’t add to the excitement.

“I’m watching everything you do, Darcy. I want to see what you do when you are alone and think no one is watching.”

Gee, the man didn’t want much.

Raven pulled Darcy until he was lying on his side, and then his fingers brushed over Darcy’s erection. It made Darcy moan and hitch his hips forward in hopes that Raven would stroke him off. Darcy began to move his hand in novice pumps, his eyes closing as he felt Raven push closer. Every time his fingers pulled out, his hand grazed over the hard bulge in the front of Raven’s jeans.

“Just…fucking…perfect,” Raven moaned, his arm resting over Darcy’s hip, his knuckles brushing over Darcy’s cock in a lazy rhythm.

A powerful tremor shook Darcy’s body as he tried desperately to get Raven to do more than just graze his damn knuckles over Darcy’s cock. “Please, touch me.”

He almost cried out in joy when Raven’s lithe fingers curled around his erection, squeezing it tightly as Darcy’s fingers plunged deeper into his ass, bearing down on them as Raven stroked his cock.

Yes! That was exactly what Darcy had been looking for.

Raven fisted a handful of Darcy’s hair, yanking his head harshly to the side, and then moved so fast that Darcy almost imagined Raven at his neck. The bite was painful, radiating throughout his body, and then Darcy screamed, his orgasm ripping through him from so much pleasure he thought he was going to drown in it. Raven grunted and pulled deeper at Darcy with his mouth and sharp teeth as Darcy’s orgasm seemed to not only go on forever, but intensify with every pull of Raven’s mouth.

There was a raw desperation to Raven as he clung to Darcy’s neck. “R–Raven.” Darcy was becoming dizzy, and wasn’t sure if it was from his explosive orgasm alone.