STORY EXCERPT

Phineas was at a loss to explain to himself why he was sitting in a tavern and peeling the label off a bottle of beer. Briggs wasn’t his kind of place. Actually, he didn’t have any place that he would have preferred to drink, other than at home. But for some strange reason he’d woken up by the river with the need to go out tonight and knew that his destination would be Briggs Tavern.

Shrugging, he decided to finish the beer and then leave. No one was giving him any attention, which was fine by him. Okay, it wasn’t. If he met just the right guy, he wouldn’t mind a quick visit to the bathroom. No connection but sex, a mutual pleasure that would ease the ache. And get rid of his virginity, a sad reminder that no one had ever wanted him.

Being ignored ended when someone called out to him across the bar. It was a jerk he worked with. “Hey, little gimp, what are you doing here?”

Gimp. The name stung, but he’d been called worse in his lifetime. Phineas lifted the bottle and tilted it against his lips, taking a long pull. The icy, bitter liquid flowed over his tongue.

“I was talking to you, doggie.”

The human was such an asshole. “Go away. No one jerked your chain.”

“You’re the only one here who thinks so.”

Glancing around, he saw that they were getting plenty of attention. There seemed to be two factions in the tavern. The first were the ones who agreed with jerk face. Then there the ones who, while they didn’t care for Phineas, did care about being insulted, even in the off-handed way that Mark was doing. Calling a wolf shifter doggie didn’t go over well. How much had Mark had to drink? Obviously too much, as he continued to fuck with Phineas in a loud voice, letting others hear his dislike of anything nonhuman.

Bad idea. Deciding leaving would help the guy live, or at least keep him from shooting off his mouth until he got a beating, Phineas stood and shoved his hand into the front pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a few bills, tossed them onto the table, and nodded to the bartender, who nodded back. The man looked relieved, and Phineas couldn’t blame him.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Mark grabbed his arm, pulling Phineas around to face him. Phineas swallowed hard as his heart began to pound in his chest. “I’m not through with you yet.”

“Yeah, you are.”

Phineas hadn’t said the words. They had come from a man he had never seen before. And he knew he hadn’t, otherwise he would have spent a whole lot of time jerking off to fantasies about him. The guy was fucking hot, from the square toes of his black boots to the scraggly man bun on his head.

“Stay out of this, vamp.” Four men were standing shoulder to shoulder now, as if they could actually fight a room filled with shifters.

And one vampire. Hell, the vampire could take them all out by himself. Phineas had heard they were incredibly strong. This had muscles straining to burst from the tight T-shirt he was wearing. He doubted they were just for show. The idiots didn’t seem to take notice of the men and women now standing around them. Or they foolishly believed they were invincible. Definitely idiots.

His gaze moved back to the hunk. The guy was a vampire? Phineas had never met one before. At least not as far as he knew. Edging to the door, he wanted to get out before an escalation of bad attitudes and equally bad decisions turned the place upside down. He doubted anyone would die, but there would be a mess. And he was determined not to be part of it.

Phineas had no sooner stepped outside than the door burst open and the human assholes were tossed out like they were yesterday’s trash. Waiting around to see what happened next was not on the itinerary. Having walked to the tavern, he turned around and headed in the direction of his house as the humans stupidly geared up for a fight.

Someone, probably the owner of the tavern, had called the cops, because two cruisers with their lights flashing passed by Phineas as he hurried around the corner onto Daffodil Avenue. Once he’d crossed the streets of Elm and Buckeye, his house was in sight. He cursed the pain shooting up his left leg, into his hip, and lower back.

The roar of a motorcycle caught his attention, and he sucked in a breath when the vampire from Briggs Tavern rode in his direction, a powerful, sexy knight on a powerful black charger. Phineas blinked at the fanciful image in his head, despite it being pretty cool.

The motorcycle rolled to a stop beside him, and the vampire put his feet down to balance it. At that moment Phineas didn’t believe his life would ever be the same. The vampire cut the motor, and the ensuing silence was odd, as if there was no sound at all in the world. Except for the blood pumping through his veins as his heart pounded with excitement, a drumbeat in his ears.

“Hey, why did you run off?”

That was a weird question and completely unexpected from someone Phineas had never met. “I wasn’t getting involved with that stupid shit. Thanks for stepping in, but it really wasn’t necessary. I’m used to bullshit like that.”

The man’s nostrils flared. “No one should ever have to get used to the bullshit. Those humans were there to start a fight with nonhumans. You happened to be the target they chose.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Jack roared with laughter. He couldn’t help himself. Phineas had a great sense of humor, and this proved it yet again. Wrapping his arms around Phineas, he reversed their positions. He stared down at his mate. “You are so amazing, baby. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“That’s okay. Although I’m kind of disappointed that you’re not some badass biker and that the motorcycle belongs to Josef. I was looking forward to seeing you in black leather chaps. But I like your suits, too.”

Whenever Jack had to wear a suit for a business meeting, Phineas watched him dress with fascination. Phineas called the way Jack looked in his business attire suit porn, telling Jack that he was hot as hell in the exquisitely tailored suits. By the time he finished getting dressed, his mate’s eyes were glazed over and he was stroking his dick and playing with his balls. Talk about something that was hot. Then Phineas would jump out of bed, unzip Jack’s slacks so he could fish out Jack’s hard dick, and then give him a blowjob that would make it difficult to concentrate on anything the remainder of the day.

Phineas was the best kind of distraction.

“I think we should take this up to the bed. Neither of us wants rug burns on our ass.”

“Yeah, I just got rid of the last one,” Phineas complained as he wriggled under Jack.

They made it to the bed. Phineas removed the prosthetic leg and set it aside. Then he turned to get on all fours, offering up his ass by tilting it as he lowered his shoulders. Jack felt like drooling. The man was so beautiful, his shapely ass an offering he was only too happy to accept.

With the bottle of lube in his hand, Jack slicked his dick before he began stretching Phineas. His mate, always a tease, wriggled and pushed until Jack was ready to explode. His dick and balls were aching so much he was almost afraid to touch them. Once he was buried to the hilt in the tight, dark channel, however, he was relieved and took a moment to savor the incredible sensations he experienced every time he joined their bodies.

“Baby, you feel so good,” he groaned as he began to move, slowly at first. But he increased the tempo as the passion that burned between them flared brightly. The heat of it flowed through him. Jack had never desired someone as much as he did Phineas. The man had truly been made for him, never mind that it had been a computer to bring them together.

Grabbing Phineas by the hips, Jack held him firmly as he sat back on his heels. Phineas was now fully impaled on Jack’s dick, and he vocalized his pleasure, causing Jack to grin. There would surely be protests later from his brothers. Josef would no doubt repeat his threat of moving his room to the opposite end of the house. Jack would tell him it would probably be for the best, as they could use Josef’s former room for one of their future children.

Phineas lifted his arms and interlaced his fingers. Then he was sliding them behind Jack’s head to pull him close. It wouldn’t be long before he would bite his mate. For now, he grabbed Phineas’ dick and stroked it, matching the thrust of his hips.

“Oh, I feel like a rodeo rider!” Phineas shouted. “Yeehaw!”

“That’s it, baby, ride my cock. Ride it hard.”