STORY EXCERPT

Kayden was leaning against the wall, waiting to see the admiral, when he scented prey. Not ordinary prey, either, but a small human who traipsed down the corridor as if he didn’t know he was taunting a predator with his delicious scent. Only Kayden didn’t want to eat the man. He wanted to fuck him.

This wasn’t the first time such thoughts had entered his mind concerning this particular man. Not by a long shot. Jade was a temptation unlike anything Kayden had ever experienced before. The guy was scrawny, sweet, and his laugh had the ability to make Kayden’s cock rock hard in under a second.

Kayden’s teeth threatened to lengthen and it took a great deal of control to keep them from growing. Jade’s hips swayed from side to side as he walked past with his head down, reading something on his Vid-pad. If Kayden didn’t pull himself together, the evidence of his arousal would be seen clearly through his form-fitting battle suit.

But how could he bring himself under control when Jade was still in sight, chewing on his plump bottom lip? Without much conscious effort, sensual images of what Jade could do with those lips bombarded him.

Kayden sighed. His desires would never come to pass. Not with Jade at least. It would be like signing his own death warrant to pursue the man. He didn’t know Jade all that well and there was no telling if the human would give Kayden up for making a pass at him.

He had to play it cool.

Galactic ice kind of cool.

Kayden winced when Jade ran into the wall. The man hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going. That had to hurt. Jade made a small squeak-like noise before he rubbed the spot on his head that he’d hit. He glanced around until his grey eyes landed on Kayden and then an intriguing blush spanned across his pale cheeks.

A smile twitched at the side of Kayden’s mouth. “Stationary walls sometimes come out of nowhere and attack.”

“I guess they do,” Jade said as he lowered his hand. “What are you doing here?”

Kayden skimmed his tongue over his bottom teeth as his eyelids slid down marginally. His imagination took flight as he assessed the man from his gorgeous head to his shiny boots. “Business.”

Jade sucked that plump bottom lip back in and Kayden had to bite his inner cheeks to stop a moan from escaping. Jade nodded, spun, and then hurried away, missing the wall this time.

Kayden watched the man’s nicely rounded backside until he couldn’t see it any longer.

“Slacker,” Thoran said as he strolled leisurely down the hall. His green eyes twinkled as he approached. Kayden noticed that Thoran had let his hair grow out. The light-brown strands now hung to his shoulders. It looked good on him. Thoran had already been good looking, but it seemed the older he got, the more stunning he became. “They have regulations against corrupt outlaws prowling the hallways,” he finished saying.

A deep chuckle rumbled in Kayden’s chest. They’d been on their own assignments lately and he hadn’t seen his friend in six months. He held out his hand and Thoran shook it. “Good to see you, you smelly bastard.”

“Same here.” Thoran released Kayden’s hand. “Admiral call you as well?” A tiny frowned started to blossom over Thoran’s eyes. The frown only deepened when Logan arrived.

Kayden noticed how much beefier Logan had become since he had last seen the guy. Logan had always been the last one in the gym at night and the first one there in the morning. The man had been obsessed with staying in shape and it seemed that hadn’t changed.

“This must really be important.” Logan gazed between Kayden and Thoran with his steel-grey eyes. “He’s calling out his best.”

It wasn’t a boast, but the truth.

Kayden looked at the men he’d trained with. The Breed Assassins had become the deadliest predators the Constantine Empire possessed. Kayden and the other trained men were now considered lethal.

Weapons.

Thoran rubbed at the stubble on his face—a face most referred to as pretty. But assuming Thoran’s beautiful looks were an indication of harmlessness would be a grave mistake.

The door slid open and the admiral’s assistant waved them in. The outer office was clean, efficient, and so damn boring that Kayden had an urge to mess something up just to give the space some personality.

“The admiral will see you now,” the assistant said. They crossed the outer office before she pressed her thumb onto the electronic pad just to the right of the double doors. The doors slid free and Kayden could see Admiral Shuziano behind his desk, talking on the phone. He waved his hand up and down, telling the three of them to have a seat. They glanced between each other before Kayden shrugged and dropped into a cushy chair.

ADULT EXCERPT

Jade cried out, trying to outrun the guard. But no matter how fast he ran, he was getting nowhere. The walls were closing in and the malicious laugh echoed all around him. Jade clawed at the walls, slammed his body into the bars, but he couldn’t get free.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the guard asked as he appeared just behind Jade. “I’m not through with you yet.” The Vyklion removed his belt and snapped it together, the sound of the leather horrifying. “I’m going to beat you until you learn not to run.”

Jade screamed.

“Hey, wake up.”

Jade shot up in bed, shaking so badly that his teeth were chattering. When a hand landed on him, Jade swung his fist out, fighting off his attacker. Strong arms wrapped around him. “Jade, it’s me, Kayden.”

At first Jade didn’t understand. His mind was still in the grips of his nightmare until he felt a hand soothing up and down his back. Jade had never been in that violent of a situation before, and now that he was quasi-safe, the horrific details were coming back to haunt him.

“It’s okay, little bit.” Kayden began to gently rock Jade.

“H–how long have I been out?” Jade clung to Kayden, needing an anchor as his mind tried to settle.

“Three days.”

Jade nodded, although he wasn’t sure what he was nodding for. As his breathing began to calm, his heart started beating even faster. He was suddenly aware that he wasn’t wearing any clothes and that he was wrapped in Kayden’s arms.

Sucking in his lower lip, Jade tried not to breathe. He didn’t want this moment to shatter and Kayden to pull away. Chancing a huge risk, Jade moved his head slightly, pressing his lips into the man’s bare chest.

“Jade.” Kayden said his name in warning, but his tone was rough, husky.

Jade could fell the muscles under him tightening. He was terrified of not only being rejected, but of Kayden becoming outraged that Jade would dare touch the man in such a way. Kayden had never given any sign that was interested in Jade. The Assassin was a killing machine, quiet and reserved. He didn’t set off Jade’s gaydar but he was so tired of fighting what he felt for the man.

“I’m sorry.” Jade turned his head, wanting to flee. “I didn’t mean to—” Jade couldn’t finish his sentence because he did mean to kiss the man’s chest.

He’d never been so brazen in his life when it came to making the first move and he couldn’t understand why he was doing it now.

Especially with a Breed Assassin.

Was he out of his mind? Kayden could kill him a hundred different ways and make it look like an accident. Jade was playing with fire. No, he was messing with a wild predator.

“I’m Synian,” Kayden said.

“I know.” Jade chanced a peak up at Kayden and he was stunned when he didn’t see any repulsion in the man’s gorgeous blue-green eyes. In fact, there was a liquid heat there that took Jade by surprise.

“I could be killed for even thinking of what I want to do to your sexy little body.”

“I know, but—” Jade blinked. “What did you just say?”

His breath caught when Kayden’s hand slid down Jade’s back and then cupped one cheek. Kayden gripped Jade’s ass, pulling him closer. “Sexy.” Kayden’s thumb traced over Jade’s jaw. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

He had to still be sleeping. There was no way the man was saying what Jade had been dying to hear. “You’re gay?”

Kayden let go of a gruff chuckle. “No, I just like waking up next to sexy, naked men and telling them that I want to fuck them into next week.”

Jade sucked in a breath as Kayden’s lips brushed over his. But as badly as Jade wanted this, he didn’t want Kayden to take him any further only to back off and say it could never happen between them.

His cock was already hard and his brain was slowly melting. If he was going to back out, Jade needed to do it now. “Wait.” He pressed his hands into Kayden’s chest and let go of a moan. Damn, the man’s pecs were so impressive.

“You’re right.” Kayden tilted his head away from Jade’s. “We shouldn’t do this.”

Jade’s fingers curled before he slipped them across the hard wall of muscle. “No, we shouldn’t.”

“It’s too risky,” Kayden said.

“Too insane,” Jade replied.

Jade cried out when Kayden pressed him into the mattress and hovered over him, his lips sucking so hard on Jade’s neck that he felt the beginning of an orgasm stealing over him. “Kayden.”

“Do you want me to stop, little bit?” Kayden’s canines were already elongating.

Jade had never seen a shifter like this before. He knew their kind existed. He worked around them all the time. But he’d never laid eyes on anything like—“God no.”

Heat flared in Kayden’s eyes before he moved down the bed and swallowed Jade whole.

Jade’s gripped the sheet as his back arched. His toes curled in and there was a damn good chance that he was going to pass out. Kayden was a skilled lover. The man’s mouth was doing things to Jade that he hadn’t thought possible.