STORY EXCERPT

Sebastian was wearing down the living room area rug. He’d been pacing and biting his nails for about fifteen minutes.

The urge to escape and avoid embarrassment had overwhelmed him at least a dozen times. But he knew he’d have to face Christian sooner or later. He was his boss. Come Monday morning they’d be working in the tiny office space, Christian facing him for a whole eight hours.

Because of what happened last night, he wondered if he still had a job. Maybe Christian would find working with him awkward and unprofessional after the fool Sebastian had made of himself on the dance floor and in Christian’s bed.

He wished he’d never tried that Whiskey Bullet every shifter in town spoke about. It was his Achilles’ heel, making him do the unthinkable. If only he could turn back time and erase his deplorable mistake.

The door at the bottom of the stairs opened. Sebastian almost swallowed his tongue from the deep intake of air he sucked in.

His heart began to race. He jittered back and forth, not knowing what to do until he finally decided to sit in the armchair and look natural, laid back.

Ha! If he pulled that off then he should quit his day job and start a career as a Shakespearian actor.

Christian’s ascent was light and agile. He stood in the hallway at the top of the staircase in a couple of seconds.

His bright smile made Sebastian melt from the inside out. God, the grizzly bear shifter got sexier and sexier every time Sebastian laid eyes on him.

“Good morning. How do you feel?” Christian asked.

“All right, I guess.”

Christian handed him one of the coffees he carried in the cardboard cup holder. “It’s black with a shot of espresso mixed in and two sugars, just like you like it. This should help with the horrible headache you probably are suffering from.”

“Thanks.” Sebastian’s stomach almost lurched when he thought about drinking it. But when he forced himself to sip, the sweetness started to wash away the sourness in his mouth.

Christian sat on the couch facing him. He opened the paper bag he carried and handed Sebastian a wrapped item.

“Here, have this. It’ll help with the nausea.”

“How did you know I have that?” Sebastian asked, placing his coffee and the wrapped meal on the coffee table.

“I know how strong Whiskey Bullets are. I took only half of one and had a buzz. You guzzled two so quickly.”

Sebastian cupped his face. “Yeah, that was a pretty dumb move. They didn’t hit me at first, but when they did…wow!” He paused, searching for the words, then asked, “Umm, what exactly happened last night?”

Christian perked his brow. An amused expression painted his face when he said, “A lot. Tell me what you remember. And then I’ll fill in the blanks.”

“Well.” He coughed nervously. “I remember asking you to dance.”

Christian nodded. “Yeah, and then what happened?”

It was getting harder and harder to talk. Sebastian attempted to grab the coffee to take a sip to moisten his parched throat and to loosen his tongue. But his clammy hand made him lose his grip until he caught it with his other hand.

He sipped twice, staring at the rim of his cup, too embarrassed to look Christian in the eye.

He continued to focus on the paper cup’s rim when he set it on the coaster. “We talked about Ron.”

“Right. You told me he was the wrong shifter for me. That there was someone else. Do you remember that? Who was that someone else?”

Now it felt like Christian was mocking him, as if Sebastian were his marionette.

Well, he was no dumb puppet. Enough with beating around the bush. Sebastian had no patience for it. It was just like a bandage on a wound. It had to be pulled off quickly rather than millimeter by agonizing millimeter.

“I said it was me and then I kissed you. The next thing I know I woke up in your bed practically naked!”

Christian’s eyes widened, and he lifted his hand in a halting gesture. “Whoa there, Sebastian. Are you implying that I took advantage of you when you were passed out? I promise you I didn’t.”

“Passed out? You mean nothing happened between us?”

“No, I brought you straight here from the bar. You didn’t wake up once. I put you to bed.” He raised his index finger to continue, “Fully clothed, I may add. And then I slept on this sofa bed.” He patted the red seat cushion below him.

Sebastian moved back, relaxing his upper body on the back of the armchair. “Well, that’s a relief. I guess I must have awoken at night to undress and don’t remember it.”

“Probably.”

“Thank God nothing happened. Now we can forget it, pretend it never happened and move on.”

Christian shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest sternly. “Sorry, Sebastian, no can do.”

Oh, great! This is the part where he fires me because he can’t work with a crazy, horny shifter. He tightened his grip on the armrest, waiting for Christian’s axe to fall.

“You see, that kiss you gave me on the dance floor was quite remarkable. There’s no way I can put it out of mind like you’ve suggested. That kiss revealed something to me I never knew was right in front of my eyes.”

Sebastian gulped. “What?”

Christian stood, never breaking eye contact. He came to kneel next to Sebastian. He cupped his face. Sebastian didn’t say or do anything. He was too shocked to react.

“You.” Christian dipped in, kissing him on the lips.

ADULT EXCERPT

Sebastian wrapped the towel around his waist and pointed. “What do you have there?”

His question seemed to jar Christian out of his stupor. “Oh, this. Yeah, um,” he stuttered. “I-It’s a g-gift from Ron and Trish.” He laid it on the dresser beside him.

Sensing Christian’s unease, Sebastian sauntered over while he fixed his eyes on his. “A gift from Ron and Trish, huh,” he repeated.

Sebastian touched the silk red ribbon, rubbing it between his fingers. He could not draw his attention away from Christian’s enthralling, hungry gaze.

“Let me get this before it gets into your eyes,” Christian said, raising his hand to wipe away soap suds from Sebastian’s forehead. It sent electricity soaring through Sebastian. His cock twitched with sexual charge.

Christian didn’t stop after that. He continued to wipe away more soapsuds while he stared deep into Sebastian’s eyes. His gentle motions made goosebumps stir to the surface of Sebastian’s skin.

Sebastian could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He took Christian’s hand, resting it against his cool cheek, warming it. Then he turned to kiss it.

“You are so beautiful, Sebastian,” Christian murmured, cupping his cheeks with both his hands.

He drew him closer and kissed him on the lips. His lips felt hot against Sebastian’s whole body, warming him from the inside out.

It was the most spectacular kiss Sebastian had ever experienced.

If lightning were to strike Sebastian down at this very second, he’d die a happy and fulfilled man, because he got a chance to kiss Christian Cruz, the only shifter he had ever loved.

* * * *

Christian couldn’t believe it. It was happening so fast and yet he couldn’t stop it. Nor did he want to.

His body and heart urged him to continue, intensify the kiss. He needed to get closer to this divine naked male specimen standing in front of him.

He slipped his tongue into Sebastian’s mouth, wanting to feel and taste him. He looped and fondled his tongue in an erotic dance.

He moved his hands from Sebastian’s cheeks down his strong thick neck until they came to rest on the wolf shifter’s wide, wet shoulders. He traced the contours of his exquisite muscles and continued inward and downward, circling his shoulder blades.

He could feel gooseflesh forming under his ministrations and the warmth intensifying on Sebastian’s flesh. If he continued to heat up like this, the water on his skin would evaporate and turn the soap suds to a sticky film.

Breaking their intense lip lock, he whispered into Sebastian’s ear, “You should get back to your shower. You’re dripping all over the floor.” He nibbled Sebastian’s earlobe, stirring pleasurable moans from Sebastian’s lips.

“Only if you come with me,” Sebastian purred.

“But of course,” Christian teased. Perking his brow, he extended his arm in support for Sebastian to grab, which Sebastian did, laughing.

As they made their way to the bathroom, Sebastian’s wet feet slipped on the glossy floor. He almost lost his balance, but Christian caught him before he fell.

He wrapped his right arm around Sebastian’s narrow hips, pushing him closer to him, so he couldn’t slide again. With his sharp shifter ears, he sensed Sebastian’s raging heart’s beat. It was almost as quick as his.

Once in the bathroom, Christian hardly noticed the remarkable and expensive cerulean blue and terra-cotta ceramic tiles that covered the walls and floor, or the espresso brown Italian marble sink and shower with the sliding glass door. Sebastian had left it open earlier.

All that he cared about was pleasuring this sexy, delectable and aroused wolf shifter and sinking his cock into his tight, scrumptious ass. His dick twitched with his anticipation. He helped Sebastian into the shower and then stood outside staring at him while he stripped.

The grizzly bear in him wished to simply tear off his clothes and jump into the shower with Sebastian as quickly as possible.

But his rational human side took a more civilized route. He began to unzip his jeans and then shrugged them off, along with his boxer shorts.

In haste he didn’t start to unbutton his cotton shirt. That would take too long. Instead, he pulled it up over his shoulders and head.

It seemed Sebastian liked what he saw, because he licked his lips and claimed, “You are freakin’ hot, too.” He focused his eyes on Christian’s cock when he added, “I want to fuck you so bad.”

“Me, too.” Christian didn’t need any more coaxing. He growled and jumped into the shower stall, slamming shut the glass door so quickly it hummed and vibrated.

Sebastian braced it, chuckling. “Yes, I can see that.”

Christian turned on the water. It began to first trickle then stream from the shower head. It appeared the water pressure in this hotel was excellent, which meant he could rinse Sebastian’s hair and body quickly so they could get to more urgent matters, like fucking, sooner.

He pushed Sebastian against the wall, under the spray, and kissed him hard and hungrily on the lips.

Sebastian moaned and snaked his arms around Christian, pulling him toward his chest.

Sebastian’s hard cock poked at Christian’s hip as if demanding his attention. Christian slipped his hand around its thick girth, stroking it, wanting to feel the ridges along its side and its wet tip. It was scorching hot to the touch compared to the warm shower water pouring over it. His teasing, probing strokes elicited pleasurable moans from Sebastian.

Sebastian groaned. His breaths became ragged while his cock hardened and grew in Christian’s grasp. A surge of sexual electricity shot through Christian, centering on his dick. Their kiss intensified along with their sexual desires.

Sebastian’s demanding tongue sent more chills of pleasure throughout Christian’s body. He was on fire. He couldn’t take anymore. If he didn’t fuck this sexy wolf shifter now, he’d go mad.