STORY EXCERPT

“You need your job,” Palmino mumbled to himself as he gripped the handle tightly, imagining it was Mr. Cooper’s neck. “Don’t go back in there and slap the bitch. Keep calm. You have rent to pay and can’t afford to get fired.”

He would’ve told his boss he’d already called the repairman, but that wouldn’t have mattered. Mr. Cooper was looking for someone to blame, and Palmino had been his target. “I should shove this broom right up his uptight ass.”

A deeper, darker thought surfaced, but Palmino forced it out of his mind. He wasn’t his father and…Palmino gripped the push broom so hard he nearly snapped it in half. “Just don’t think about it.”

“Talk to yourself much?”

Palmino spun, ready to tell whomever it was to mind his own damn business when his cock jerked and his heart sped up. Standing behind him was the sexiest damn man he’d ever seen. And the guy wasn’t even fairy.

Palmino’s race didn’t mess around outside their own kind, but since their king had been taken to the underworld for the heinous crimes he’d committed, none of the rules Palmino had grown up with seemed to apply—except where his father was concerned. Palmino’s father was an extreme traditionalist through and through.

Not that Palmino had ever given the dating rule a second thought.

If he thought the guy was hot, Palmino slept with him. As long as no one ever found out what he'd done, it was all good.

But this guy? He looked like a six-foot-three Viking. His hair was blond, his eyes were blue, and god, he was built like a freight train. His bone structure in his face were masculine, and his smile…wow, Palmino was taken aback by its beauty.

“Only when I’m trying to stop myself from killing someone,” he admitted. The stranger’s scent came to Palmino on the slight breeze that wafted by him. The guy wasn’t human. He smelled like Kyle’s mate.

The sexy stranger was a winged beast.

And then another, more powerful smell enveloped him and Palmino felt a deep, overwhelming need to throw himself into the man’s arms. He gasped as the broom fell from his hand and hit the ground.

The smile on the winged beast’s face widened as he looked Palmino up and down. “Now how lucky am I?”

Not as lucky as Palmino. Damn…just damn. “What’s your name?”

“Silo, and yours?” The guy moved a step closer and Palmino’s heart sped up even faster.

“Palmino.” He couldn’t have stopped his wings from fluttering even if he’d tried. He stood facing his mate. He barely noticed the repair van pull up as Silo grabbed him and pulled Palmino into his strong arms.

“Is that a fairy?” Gary asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk. His brown eyes were wide as he stared at Palmino. “Wow.”

Palmino immediately tucked his wings. They were his one weak point. If his wings were destroyed, he would die. He tried his best to keep them hidden, but he didn’t always succeed.

Thank goodness Gary was a wolf shifter or Palmino would’ve been screwed. Try explaining to a human why a guy has colorful wings. That wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. Ever. “Mr. Cooper is having a meltdown,” he said from Silo’s strong arms. “Please go in there and fix the cooler before I have to slap him around.”

Gary’s smile was stunning as he nodded. “I’ll take care of it. Told him more than once that motor needed replacing, but he refuses to come off the money.”

Palmino’s paycheck attested to Mr. Cooper’s cheapness.

He ignored the rest of what Gary said as he stared up into the prettiest blue eyes. He wrapped his arms around Silo’s thick neck and pulled his mate close, their lips colliding. He moaned as Silo hauled him from his feet, his tongue delving deep into Palmino’s mouth. Oh yeah. It had been forever since he’d gotten laid, and his dick was so hard it was about to erupt.

He knew the winged beasts didn’t live in town—except for Nikoli, who had bought a house a few streets over—and Palmino didn’t think he could wait long enough to get fucked. “My place is right over the tavern.”

Silo’s nostrils flared as he nodded.

Shit. “Wait.” Palmino shoved at Silo’s impressive pecs. He took a brief second to appreciate the muscly firmness before his mate set him back on his feet. Palmino instantly missed the closeness. “I’m still on the clock.”

The door to the shop flew open and Mr. Nasty Attitude stepped outside.

“Am I paying you to make out or work?” Mr. Cooper’s face was an even deeper red, if that were possible. His upper lip curled as he stared between Silo and Palmino. “Get back to work! The only reason I don’t fire you is because you had brains enough to call Gary.”

A damn thank you would've been nice.

The human stormed back inside, and Palmino was five seconds away from going in there and wrapping his hands around the man’s pudgy neck.

Palmino licked his lips and stared up at Silo. The winged beast had to be a good foot taller than Palmino, and he loved that. Palmino had always liked being short, and he’d always slept with guys who were built like mountains. It was his kink, and he’d lucked out having a mate who fit that particular bill.

ADULT EXCERPT

Silo watched as Palmino ate his dinner like a starving man. He didn’t leave a single crumb behind. For a skinny guy, he sure ate heartily. Silo frowned when Palmino let out a big belch.

“Sorry about that, but man, I was hungry.” His mate pushed his plate aside. “Okay, I’m well fed. Are we going to get to the sex part now?”

Silo chuckled. “You know how to stroke a man’s ego.”

Palmino wiggled his dark brows. “That’s not the only thing I want to stroke.”

“Okay, then.” Silo pushed up from the booth and grabbed his mate’s hand, heading straight for the kitchen. He grinned when he felt Palmino squeeze his ass.

“So firm and nicely shaped.”

“I’m glad you like it.” On the right side of the kitchen was the stairway that led to the apartments above the tavern. Silo opened the door, pulling his mate behind him.

“Of course, I’ll have better access to your ass once you’re naked.”

Silo was so hard his dick was ready to explode. He found his zaterio’s door, which had a large B nailed against the wood. He held his hand out to his mate. “Keys?”

Palmino reached around Silo and twisted the handle. The door opened.

“You don’t lock your door?” Was the fairy insane? “Why in the hell not?’

His mate shrugged. “I don’t have anything worth stealing.”

“And what if someone was in there waiting for you?”

With a long sigh, Palmino said, “Can we talk about this later? I’m too horny to think right now.”

Silo narrowed his eyes. “We’ll definitely talk about this later.”

If he had his way, Silo would have his mate packed by the end of the night and have him moved into the castle. The guy was asking for trouble by leaving his door unlocked. Who left their door unlocked? Pride Pack Valley may be a quaint little town, and the crime rate may be close to nonexistent, but it was filled with preternatural beings, and not all of them were the friendly type.

For fuck’s sake, it was Silo’s job to kill as many hellhounds as possible. He’d have to school his little mate on the dangers of not staying vigilant.

He forgot those thoughts as soon as Silo kicked the door closed. Palmino was already undressing, tossing his clothes aside as his dark, luscious skin was inch by inch, revealed.

Silo could only stand there and watch. The fairy’s body was sleek, well-toned, and he had a nicely rounded ass. Silo’s body tightened in anticipation.

“Get those damn clothes off,” Palmino demanded. “Can’t suck your dick if it’s covered in denim.”

Well damn. Silo quickly removed his shoes and socks, and shoved his jeans and boxers down and off. He yanked his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the pile of clothes at his feet.

Palmino stood there for a moment, just staring at Silo.

“Something wrong?” Silo asked. From the way his mate had acted, he’d expected the guy to jump on him already.

“Just appreciating the view.” Palmino licked his lips. “Were you born with that well-defined cut, or do you work out?”

Silo ran a hand over his chest, unable to stop smiling. “I wasn’t born, zaterio. I was created.” He waved a hand over his chest. “This was how I was made.”

Palmino crossed the room and dropped to his knees. Silo watched in utter amazement as his mate took Silo’s cock into his mouth. His body clenched and his lips parted as Palmino licked him from base to head, sliding his tongue in the slit that had droplets of precum escaping.

“Oh fuck,” Silo whispered as he grabbed a handful of Palmino’s long hair and tugged. That was when he noticed the pointy ears. The sight only made him harder.

He brushed his fingers along one of the points, fascinated when Palmino whimpered. “Sensitive,” he said with a grin. “I like that.”

Palmino’s fingers dug into Silo’s thighs as he swallowed Silo down his throat, working the muscles to make a tighter grip.

“Shit,” Silo hissed, tugging at Palmino’s hair. His legs trembled as the fairy’s tongue licked up and down the large vein on the underside of Silo’s cock. He wasn’t going to last long. Not when his mate had such a talented and wicked tongue.

Watching his cock slide between Palmino’s plump lips had Silo’s breathing growing ragged. His balls tightened against his body as electrical currents ran up his spine. Silo fucked Palmino’s mouth in short bursts, his hands tightening in the fairy’s dark hair.

“Gonna blow,” he warned. His short thrusts quickened, and right before he came, Palmino swallowed him down.

“Ah, shit!” Silo clenched his jaw, and curled his toes as burst after burst of his cum shot down his mate’s throat, and Palmino drank every last drop. Silo eased his hold on his mate as he blinked a few times. He hissed and pulled back when Palmino tried to lick him clean. “Sensitive.”

His mate rose to his feet and smiled up at Silo. “Now for the main attraction.” He sauntered off down the hallway, and Silo’s gaze was riveted to the man’s backside.

As soon as Palmino was out of sight, Silo sat on the sofa, trying desperately to catch his breath. His jaw dropped when Palmino came back into the living room, bottle of lubricant in one hand, a pink dildo in the other.

He smiled at Silo. “Ready to play?”