Cameron and Keaton

STORY EXCERPT

A group of concerned men and women surrounded the red-faced teddy bear. Hands pushed aside shaking fuzzy paws and yanked on the stubborn zipper at the bear’s neck, sending the man stumbling back until a gray-faced ghoul caught him.

Cameron Kodiak had seen enough. Making his way through the crowd of dancing Halloween partiers, Cam used his impressive height and wide muscled form to reach the man he had been watching all evening.

Eyes, large enough to drown in, widened as he drew near. One of the would-be helpers leaned over, blocking Cam’s view before he could see what color the man’s eyes were. Cam suppressed the urge to separate that person’s head from his body.

Leaning down, Cam put his mouth next to the man’s real ear covered in fake fur.

“Turn around,” he ordered.

Cam glared at the crowd surrounding them and caught the man when he would have tipped over in his haste to do as Cam had asked. Satisfaction at the man’s instant response soothed Cam’s irritation. He had no patience for people manhandling someone who had snared and kept his interest throughout the evening. It didn’t matter that they had no knowledge of or that he hadn’t acted on that interest. Cam had staked his claim and the others better back off.

A quick jerk tore the zipper free from the snagging plastic hair. Cam opened the man’s costume revealing a tight T-shirt and painted on jeans. He didn’t bother to resist skimming his fingertips over the sweet curve of the man’s lower back or the round globes of his ass. Nice.

“Keaton, are you okay? I told you that costume would be too hot to dance in.”

A skinny dark-haired man dressed in a French maid’s costume stood in front of Cam, shifting his weight from one high-heeled, delicate black sandal to the other. Giving the newcomer a deliberate message, Cam put his arm across the man’s fur-covered chest and pulled him back into the protection of his body.

“Whoa.” The man stepped back and raised his hands, one still holding a fluffy duster. “I see you’ve met someone. Damn, how do you always find big, bad, and gorgeous?” The man shook his head and the little white maid’s hat tilted at an odd angle. “I don’t think you’ll be needing it, but let me know if you need a ride home, Keaton.”

The man in Cam’s arms moved. Cam tightened his hold and the one called, Keaton, settled down. The instant compliance mollified Cam’s building annoyance at the interruptions of getting to know the man.

The crowd around them disbursed, and the man in the maid’s costume disappeared into the mass of dancing bodies, leaving him alone with the little bear in his arms. Cam suppressed a chuckle. He wondered how this Keaton would handle the knowledge that a real bear held him.

Cam tugged the costume down Keaton’s legs and left the red fur lying in a puddle on the floor. Amusement at the sight of the Keaton’s slim bare feet curved Cam’s lips into a rare smile. If Cam had his way, he would keep as much of Keaton’s body uncovered as possible.

Cam held out his hand. “Let’s go get a drink.”

The small man turned and placed his hand in Cam’s.

Time stopped.

In the glow from a beer sign hanging near their heads, Cam met a gaze made of ice blue. Never before had he encountered eyes of that color. His bear roared, and his guts cramped into knots.

* * * *

Keaton Johnston watched Cameron Martin Kodiak ground his teeth together and wince. Could it be that the huge man’s insides were feeling as if vice grips were clamping down on them? Would he turn caveman and claim Keaton? Could the legends of the bear people and the stories of his family be true?

The need to give this man his complete submission was something new. Keaton had never felt that way before. Was he the first of his cousins to be successful in their search for true happiness? Prickles of hope and anticipation race over Keaton’s skin.

Leaving his costume abandoned on the floor, Keaton let the big man lead him toward the bar area.

Cameron lifted his hand and the bartender set two open beers on the bar. Keaton took a quick drink of the one Cameron handed him trying to calm his nerves. If he didn’t somehow know it would enrage the man before him, Keaton would have taken out his phone and texted his cousins. If Cameron wasn’t his, he may be one of theirs. Yeah, that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Keaton wanted this one.

A large, deeply tanned, muscled arm, reached across Keaton and rested on the bar, trapping him in the circle of Cameron’s big body. Keaton suppressed the urge to run his fingertips through the dark hairs covering that arm.

Keaton froze when Cameron leaned forward and lips brushed over his ear. “What’s your name, pretty man?”

“Keaton Johnston,” he answered, unable to not answer, which was weird.

Cameron’s tone turned hard. “Who’s that guy in the maid costume?”

Keaton kept his gaze lowered. “Just a friend.”

A finger under Keaton’s chin forced him to look up.

“I’m Cam Kodiak,” the big man stated. “I own this bar, and I want to be more than your friend.”

“Okay,” Keaton responded and hoped his heart wasn’t about to explode. The guy was so gorgeous, he yearned to press up against him, and stay there forever.

A hand clamped onto Keaton’s ass and another landed on his shoulder. “Hey Cam, who’s this sweet thing you’ve got there? Do you want to party together? I’m up for it.”

Before Keaton could turn and see who was manhandling him, Cam roared and all hell proceeded to break loose.

ADULT EXCERPT

“I have questions.” Cam grabbed a fist full of Keaton’s hair, not letting the man look away. “And I expect the entire truth in your answers.”

“I will always tell you the truth,” Keaton stated.

Cam wondered if it were possible to drown in wide, light blue ice colored eyes. Fire swept through his system when the man’s tongue peeked out and wet his bottom lip. Keaton’s musky scent of need prodded at Cam, demanding satisfaction. Any questions were pushed aside as desire exploded to the surface. Man and predator collided, ready to mate with their soul’s other half.

Keaton’s clothes disintegrated to shreds under Cam’s sharp claws. Cam turned and followed his mate’s smaller smooth body down onto the bed.

Instincts as old as time took over. Cam rubbed his cheek against Keaton’s face and down his neck. He continued over Keaton’s chest to his concaved belly, pausing at his groin, rubbing over the satin skin of his mate’s dick and the course hair covering his ball sac, until the small man trembled and moaned. Cam brushed his cheek over the fine hairs covering Keaton’s leg down to his toes.

Shifting, Cam made his way up Keaton’s other leg.

“The scroll was right,” Keaton’s whisper broke the silence. “Bears need to rub their scent over their true one.”

Not bothering to answer, Cam rubbed his cheek over Keaton’s shoulder and down his arm to his fingers, before doing the same to the remaining arm. Flipping the man over, he enjoyed the slim planes of Keaton’s back and round globes of the man’s ass. There would be no mistakes or temptations of poaching on what was his. Death would be the answer to whoever had that misguided thought.

Laying down onto his back, Cam ordered, “Suck my cock. Bring me pleasure.”

Keaton never hesitated and climbed onto his knees. His small hand encircled the base of Cam’s prick, lifting the already heavy flesh up, and putting the round spongy head to his lips. Satisfaction simmered as he watched his mate’s mouth stretch wide around his cockhead. Not to be deterred by the thickness, Keaton began licking and sucking Cam’s shaft. Cam shivered, the pleasure his mate was giving him made his cock iron hard.

Keaton raised his head to catch his breath, and pre-cum dribbled down the side of Cam’s cock. The smaller man swiped up a few thick droplets and popped it into his mouth.

Keaton smiled and licked his lips. “You taste so good.”

In one move Cam had Keaton on his back. Surging up onto his knees he grabbed his cock in a firm hold and began to jack off. Cam didn’t know where these primal urges came from, but nothing would stop him from carrying them out. Pre-cum began pouring out the tip and Cam used his cock as a wand to spread the wetness over Keaton’s body.

 Once lines of pre-cum covered Keaton to Cam’s satisfaction, he began spreading the clear stickiness into Keaton’s skin. He added more pre-cum onto Keaton’s stomach until the small man’s flat belly glistened with wetness. His bear roared in approval.

“It feels like fire,” Keaton whispered. “Deep inside it’s burning.”

His gorgeous mate’s flushed face and half-closed eyes urged Cam to keep following these instincts that were bombarding his soul. That was what Keaton was, Cam’s mate, and they were destined to be together whether the lies were real or not.

Some of the things Cam had overheard Keaton’s cousins talk about were true of his family.

When a bear was ready to have children, most settled with someone they could exist with, in a somewhat calm state. Relationships with volatile, unbending bears were never easy or peaceful. Great love affairs were few and far between. A child born of a male hadn’t happened in centuries.

Cam’s gaze lingered on his lovely mate’s lips, swollen from the strain of attending to the girth of his cock. From this day forward, Cam vowed to keep Keaton’s lips stained red from his need.

“If another ever touches you, they will die and you will want to,” Cam promised.

“Only you. Please, I need you,” Keaton whispered.

A surge of lust sent another jet of pre-cum from Cam’s cock, painting a streak across Keaton’s thigh. The clear stickiness dripped down over the hated purple crescent birthmark.

Cam never did anything he didn’t want to do. Everything in his being rejected that mark. And yet, his hand reached out. Cam’s willpower screamed in protest as he watched his fingers spread pre-cum over the discolored skin.

“Look at that,” Keaton whispered. “They were right.”

Cam didn’t know who they were, but before him, orange spread over the purple crescent until it formed a round circle.

Heat gushed over Cam’s body in endless waves. In his ears, the great drums of tribal leaders in ancient times drowned out all warnings of danger and catastrophe. The Kodiak raked his claws over Cam’s insides demanding he claim his mate once and for all.

Cam rolled them over until he was on his back with Keaton above him.

Silver and Mikey

STORY EXCERPT

Silver wanted to gather Mikey up and carry him into his home. Something told him—maybe the grinding teeth and flashing, light green eyes—that the little independent, feisty man wouldn’t appreciate those actions at the moment.

Confusion had Silver hesitating. In his world, his word was the law. If words didn’t suffice, Silver had no problem using his will and physical strength to get his point across. Mikey didn’t respond in a normal manner to Silver’s ire. He never wanted his mate to be afraid of him, but a little caution or submission wouldn’t hurt. Instead, the man tended to run or get up in his face and make demands. That Mikey’s actions sent a tingle of desire straight to his cock confused the hell out of him. He didn’t appreciate being confused.

Silver watched Mikey stand there, watching him, watch him. A small sigh escaped past the man’s plump lips and his shoulders drooped. Turning, Mikey started walking down the driveway.

“I now see the flaws of humans who possess the mark,” Silver called out. “They have no stamina to follow through on their life’s path. No wonder it’s been decades since male soulmates have come together.”

Mikey swung around. Outrage sparkled in those magnificent light green eyes. Silver kept his face emotionless, not letting on that his plan to reel Mikey in was working.

“What are you talking about?” Mikey demanded.

“The words of your sires urged you to find true happiness,” Silver explained. “They warned of great danger, but explained the rewards would outweigh any difficulties. Not once, have you been in any danger from me, yet you run without trying to see if our union is of two souls becoming one. I knew humans were physically weaker than shifters. I never dreamed they lacked the willpower to fight for what could be.”

Patches of red flagged Mikey’s cheeks. Inside, satisfaction filled Silver. The net of his trap was closing.

“I have plenty of stamina and willpower,” Mikey yelled.

“Prove it,” Silver countered.

Mikey’s shoes slapped the concrete with each angry step the man took toward Silver. He didn’t stop when he reached him, and Silver had to brace himself when Mikey crawled up his body until they were face to face.

Silver put his arms around Mikey and held him close. Hell, as far as Silver was concerned, he would die a happy man if Mikey’s feet never touched the ground again and he stayed plastered body against body, forever.

Mikey grabbed Silver’s ears and tugged. “It takes two to tangle, giant man. Do I need to remind you of the bounty you bears have put on some of my family’s heads? And, don’t you ever threaten me again. Your big bad attitude may impress others, but it does nothing for me.”

Ignoring the sputtering man’s continued outrage, Silver moved toward the house, refusing to let his eyes water from Mikey’s tugging fingers. He never stopped moving until the front door closed behind them.

“Welcome to our home,” Silver announced.

He carried Mikey out of the black and white marble tiled foyer and up the grand sweeping staircase to the second floor. Mikey leaned to the side, eyes wide, and head turning in different directions.

“Jeez, this place is a frecken mansion,” Mikey muttered. “Who decided to paint all the woodwork white? How in the world do you keep this place clean?”

Silver continued down the hall to the first door on the right. With a flick of his wrist, he had the knob turned and seconds later kicked the door closed with his foot.

Not willing to let go of the still yapping man for a moment, Silver changed his mind about tossing Mikey onto the bed. Crossing the room, Silver laid Mikey on the thick dark blue silky-soft comforter and followed him down.

“This is the biggest bed I’ve ever seen,” Mikey exclaimed, tipping his head back and looking up at the massive, wooden headboard, whose intricate carvings of Northwoods animals hiding amongst ancient oak trees wove their way up to the ceiling.

Silver took advantage of the exposed creamy skin of Mikey’s throat and licked a sweet tasting path from the little guy’s collarbone to his chin. He decided before the night was done, he would taste every inch of this man’s body.

Mikey grabbed onto Silver’s ears and tugged until he looked down into striking light green eyes.

“We are in the middle of an argument about you threatening me and saying I don’t have stamina,” Mikey informed him.

“No, we’re not,” Silver said.

Silver shook his head, displacing Mikey’s fingers. Swooping down, he captured Mikey’s lips. Silver’s bear roared. Mate.

So far, since meeting Mikey, Silver had managed to keep a tight rein on his powerful bear. Instincts as old as time, urged him to mark and mate the smaller man. The bear wanted him to shove his cock and teeth deep into Mikey. Only Silver’s iron will had stopped him from acting on his true nature and no doubt terrorizing his mate. Silver found being civilized sucked.

Hands wrapped around his neck and the tip of Mikey’s tongue pressed in between Silver’s lips. Silver opened his mouth and their tongues tangled. The joining of flesh sent desire and the need to possess thundering through his system. Silver wanted. Now.

ADULT EXCERPT

Mikey traced the bright yellow and orange rays circling the sun on his thigh. His purple crescent moon birthmark outlined one side of the sun’s curved outer edge. Standing, Mikey turned and grabbed Silver’s hand. There it was. The exact image of Mikey’s sun-moon mark. He also noted that the cuts from Cecelia’s knife had healed into pink lines. Mikey assumed the fast healing had to do with Silver’s shifter abilities.

Smiling up at Silver, he announced, “We are true ones.”

Silver’s thick eyebrows lowered into a frown. “Did you have any doubts?”

Heat warmed Mikey’s cheeks and he stepped back. “Well, um, no, not really. It’s just that, well…” The tiles of the shower floor became real interesting.

A large finger lifted Mikey’s chin until he was forced to look way up into his true one’s face.

“What’s the matter, my mouse?” Silver asked.

Mikey found the strength in Silver’s black eyes to speak the words that tore at his heart.

“I’m not pregnant,” he whispered and tears clouded his vision. “Keaton became pregnant when he mated with Cameron. We must have screwed up somewhere or maybe something is wrong with me.” Mikey had a sudden thought. “I know. That woman fed you drugs to keep you sterile until she could get her claws into you.”

Great belly laughs erupted from Silver and hands lifted Mikey until he was face to face with the crazy man. He hadn’t been sure that the big stern alpha knew how to laugh. Now it sort of freaked him out.

Not knowing what to do, he patted Silver’s shoulders. “It’s okay. We’ll get through this together. I’m sure I’ll get pregnant sometime.”

Still chuckling, Silver hugged Mikey closer. “My sweet mouse, what gave you the idea that you weren’t pregnant?”

Mikey blinked. And then blinked again. He slid his arms around Silver’s thick neck and hugged tight, needing the closeness to spill his guts.

Turning his head, he whispered in Silver’s ear, “I don’t feel anything.”

Silver shifted and the shower of water streaming over their heads turned off. “Our son called to me before he was conceived. He came to be when our souls united.”

“How can you be sure?” Concentrating, Mikey searched deep inside. Nope, nothing. “Why can’t I feel him?”

“Cameron told me that Keaton’s morning sickness hit him right away.” Silver went on to advise, “Maybe you should enjoy a settled stomach while you can.”

“I suppose.” Mikey wasn’t sure he agreed with Silver. He wondered if he peed on one of those special sticks from a pregnancy kit if two lines would appear.

“I find your lack of trust troubling, my mouse,” Silver declared.

The hand Mikey rested on the back of Silver’s neck grew warm. An image of a group of people nodding and turning in the direction Silver point in, flitted through his mind. Another image appeared. Many of the same group of people were staring at Silver with total devotion shining in their eyes.

Keaton warned Mikey that mates could sometimes read each other’s thoughts. Mikey could work with this.

He lifted one eyebrow and aimed a hard look at Silver. “We are mates and we will learn to trust each other. Don’t think for one moment I will treat or blindly follow you as if you were my king.”

“I am alpha of the family,” Silver declared and moved out of the shower.

“Put me down,” Mikey ordered.

When he regained his footing, Mikey jammed his hands on his hips and glared at Silver. “I am the alpha’s mate and I will give you children. Top that, bud.”

Silver’s mouth fell open. When he managed to close his lips together, Silver’s eyes sharpened with a predatory look. The flaccid cock between his legs twitched and began to grow wider and longer.

Holy shit, Mikey had stirred up the animal.

“Um, Silver.” Mikey glanced around, wondering if he should find a place to hide.

“Run, my mouse, run,” Silver ordered.

Mikey took off and left the bathroom at top speed. He leaped over Cecelia’s body and headed out the of the bedroom at a sprint. Turning right, Mikey ran as fast as he could down the long hall.

Silver’s laughter followed close behind him and the spirit of the game welled up. A giggle burst from his lips. This was fun.

The hallway curved to the left and up ahead ended. Before Mikey could slow down, a ton of man slammed into him taking him down to the thick white carpeting. What the hell was with all this white?

Before Mikey hit the floor, Silver twisted and he landed on his mate’s big body. The next moment Silver had changed their positions and Mikey laid on his back with his lover between his thighs. Their eyes met. The want, need, and passion shining in Silver’s eyes matched Mikey’s emotions.

Silver reached down and lifted Mikey’s legs until they rested against his chest. Mikey looked down to find Silver’s huge cock hard and pointing at him. A bead of pre-cum well up from the eye. Silver’s fingers closed around the stalk and Mikey watched them guide the cockhead to his hole.