STORY EXCERPTS

Tucking his phone into his back pocket, he wandered into the lot, passing the sexy stranger who was now loading the nozzle into his gas tank. The man paid him no attention, which was a bit disappointing.

Bailey could have just stopped and struck up a conversation, but he lost his nerve and hurried into the station. The place smelled like old oil and looked as if the shelves hadn’t been dusted in a decade. No flipping way was he buying a bag of chips or a candy bar.

He decided on a bottle of water since the cooler looked clean.

As he paid for the water, Bailey glanced through the glass door. The guy was leaning against his maroon truck, his arms crossed, staring at the pump. If Bailey didn’t go out there and say something, he would lose his chance at what he was positive would be great sex.

“Here you go.” The cashier handed Bailey his change. Seriously? He’d given the guy a five and he’d given Bailey two singles and two quarters. Life was just too damn expensive anymore.

After shoving the change into his pocket, Bailey shouldered the door open and cracked the lid to his water. If he was going to talk to the guy, he didn’t need to choke on his dry throat.

Bailey stopped a few feet from the sex god, on the opposite side of the pump, and his mind went completely blank. He opened his mouth and blurted out, “Do you have the time?”

The stranger finally looked at him. He was well over six feet, with the prettiest gray eyes Bailey had ever seen—in truth, he’d never seen anyone with gray eyes before—and he wore a beard but no mustache. That might’ve looked stupid on most men, but this guy pulled it off.

The stranger reached into his pocket and pulled his phone free. “Eleven on the nose.”

“Thanks.” Bailey stood there like a complete idiot, searching for something else to say that would prolong their conversation, but he had nothing. Irritated with himself, he headed back to Corky’s car and lit a smoke, trying to put the sex god out of his mind.

When Bailey leaned against the car again, he looked at the stranger and found the man was looking right at him. His thick, black brows were pulled together and Bailey couldn’t understand why he looked so confused. Bailey hadn’t done anything to make him stare so intently.

Although Bailey did enjoy the attention. He turned sideways, leaning his hip into the driver’s door, jutting his ass slightly to give the guy something to look at. Bailey ran his hand through his short hair, posing like crazy and hoping that drew the guy to him.

His heart galloped when the stranger hung up the nozzle, replaced the cap on his gas tank, and headed his way. He wanted to pump his arm and shout in victory, but he forced himself to seem uninterested as he looked down at his phone.

When the stranger reached him, the guy stopped and cocked his head to the side. Bailey waited with bated breath for him to say something. “If you have a phone, why did you need me to tell you the time?”

Busted. Still, he’d never had someone so damn gorgeous talk to him before, and Bailey became ruffled. “I just…I wasn’t sure…” He gave up sounding like a complete idiot and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

He became completely confused when the stranger leaned in and sniffed at him. Bailey leaned back, wondering what flavor of weirdo the guy was. “Did you want a smoke?”

The man crinkled his nose. “Habit’ll kill you.”

Bailey rolled his eyes. Like he hadn’t heard that a million times before. “Then why the hell are you sniffing me?” He’d showered that morning, and the day wasn’t hot enough to make him sweat.

Bailey gripped his phone tighter when he noticed how dark the gray in the guy’s eyes had grown, and that he had two thick points sticking below his upper lip, as if his teeth had somehow lengthened. What the fuck?

He advanced toward Bailey. Panicked, Bailey raced around the car to put some distance between them. “Stay the hell away from me!”

Bailey’s feeble shout did nothing to stop him. The guy moved around the hood, coming right for him. Bailey dodged to the back, tossing his cigarette aside. “I know karate,” he lied.

“Mine,” the freak growled.

Sex was so not worth getting crazy all over him. Bailey ran in a wide berth, heading straight for the game store door, hoping he could escape and call the cops before this nutjob got his hands on him.

Unfortunately, Corky was coming out as Bailey reached for the handle. The door whacked Bailey in the face. Bailey grabbed his head and howled as he jumped back.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?” Corky stood there with a perplexed look in his eyes, gripping his bag in his hand. “Did you get drunk while I was in there?”

“No.” Bailey felt around his forehead for a lump, thankful when he didn’t find one. “Who throws a damn door open like they’re running from the cops?”

With a smile, Corky held up his bag. “I scored an awesome game.”

Bailey yelped and Corky’s eyes grew round when Bailey was grabbed around the waist, and an explosive pain shot over his shoulder and around his neck. He struggled to get free as Corky swung his bag at the guy who held Bailey.

“Get off him, you crazy bastard!” Corky shouted.

Bailey was released a second later. He staggered sideways, spun, and threw his fist at the tall jerk, only to miss the guy's jaw. “What the hell, man?” he shouted as he pressed his hand over the bite wound. “Who goes around biting people?”

ADULT EXCERPTS

Bailey hurried to the bedroom and threw his jeans back on, but he had to borrow one of Walker’s shirts—which was way too big for him—before he called Corky. He was surprised his phone worked so well high up in the mountains.

Corky answered on the second ring. “Yo, what’s up, dude?”

“We have to get out of here.” Bailey paced toward the expanse of windows and stared out at the woods beyond. He had to admit, this place was beautiful. And Walker’s house was nothing short of amazing. But he’d just said some psycho shit that Bailey couldn’t ignore.

“You want to leave in the middle of the night?” Corky asked.

“We need to get out of here. I think this guy is holding me hostage.”

Corky snorted. “This old couple has a fifty-inch television and all the snacks I could ever want. Are you kidding me? I don’t ever want to leave. They’re like the parents I never had.”

“You grew up with parents,” Bailey said.

“Don’t remind me. I think we should give this place a chance. Did he say what he wanted with you? I don’t think he wants to cut you up into tiny pieces or have you put the lotion in the basket. He probably just wants to have bondage sex with you.”

“Corky!” Bailey couldn’t believe he’d just said that. “I’m not having any kind of sex with him.”

“Okay, fine, don’t,” Corky said. “Just come over here and we’ll get back into that zombie game.”

“You brought your system with you?” Corky was utterly hopeless.

Bailey missed what Corky said next. The heat flared in his body so quickly, so ferociously that he dropped his phone and grabbed the edge of the dresser. His cock was so hard that he feared it would explode.

Heat pulsed inside him as he staggered toward the bathroom. What in the hell was wrong with him? Was he coming down with something? Had Walker drugged him? When he looked in the bathroom mirror, his skin held a deep flush.

He stripped and hurried into the shower, where he turned the water temperature to ice-cold.

That didn’t help. Bailey was still burning up and he was also shaking now. It had to be the flu or something. He couldn’t think of anything else that would make him hot and cold at the same time.

Last winter he’d come down with the flu for two weeks. He’d stayed at Corky’s to be taken care of. If one could consider a box of tissue and “Don’t you dare get me sick, too” being taken care of.

But this felt much worse. Although he didn’t have the other symptoms like a runny nose, migraine, or fatigue, he was still burning up as his teeth chattered.

“Are you trying to catch a cold?” Walker pulled him from the shower and wrapped him a blanket. He carried Bailey to the bed and laid him down before drying him off. “That water was freezing.”

Bailey hadn’t forgotten how he’d rubbed himself against Walker in Corky’s bedroom. He wanted to do that again, only he wanted Walker naked, too. He grabbed Walker’s biceps, tugging him close as he gritted his teeth. “What did you do to me?”

“It was my bear.” Walker pulled back, then took a seat on the bed. “He took over and went after you when I discovered you were my mate.”

“Your what?” Bailey barely listened as Walker explained what a mate was. He was too busy gazing at Walker’s thick arms, broad chest, lips that looked good enough to kiss, and God, he wished Walker was naked so he could see the man’s cock.

Walker rambled on about fate and how they were meant to be together. He even said something about a baby, but Bailey was just too damn horny and all he really heard was “Blah, blah, blah.” Bailey flipped to his hands and knees and crawled toward Walker. “Fuck me.”

Had he really just sounded that needy? Bailey couldn’t remember his voice ever going that deep and gravely. He pulled at Walker’s shirt, nipped at his bearded chin, and tried to crawl into the man’s lap. He’d never been this damn horny in his life, not even when he was a teenager. Not like this, as if he’d die if Walker didn’t fuck him in the next five seconds.

Bailey dipped his head into Walker’s lap and mouthed the outline of the man’s rigid cock. “Let me suck you.”

Walker was off the bed, practically ripping his clothes off before Bailey had settled onto his side. He stroked himself as he watched, and damn if every inch Walker revealed wasn’t magnificent.

Ripped muscles flexed with every move. His biceps were the size of grapefruits and there was a sexy trail of dark hair that ran from his navel to groin.  His tanned skin made Bailey's body pulse harder with need.

When Walker was completely naked, Bailey rolled to his back and spread his legs. He writhed on the cover as he tried to bring himself off, but no matter how fast he moved his hand, his orgasm was just out of reach.

“Fuck!” Bailey pounded the bed with his fist. “Do something already! I can’t take this.”

“I gotcha, Shorty.” Walker settled between his legs. Bailey was so out of it with lust that he hadn’t even thought about a condom and lube, and he couldn't have cared less about either right now. He hooked his hands behind his knees and pulled his legs back, exposing himself to Walker.

Walker licked his full lips. “Damn.”