STORY EXCERPT

The spotlight narrowed, Ox counting down just outside the glare, and then he signaled to T-Rex, who hit the first beat. A roar went up from the crowded stadium. Deafened, Ox adjusted his earpiece and waited for the music to build. On cue, T-Rex delivered a slow rhythm, thumping the pedals with his feet then adding a layer of snare. Alvin cut in, his skillful fingers plucking soulful notes from his kick-ass red bass guitar.

Head down, Ox stepped onto his spot, tapping his foot to keep time. The crowd screamed their appreciation, clapping and stomping to the beat. Ox looked up, staring right at the front row where Jonas, Gordon, and other extended family members sat. His mum and dad were there, Emmett and Jean, his dad jigging his head and waving a flag with Ox’s face on it, smirking at his son. Ox bit back a grin, winked in acknowledgement, then lifted his voice, picking out a melody he’d written only a few weeks ago, now a hit around the world. His gaze locked with Jonas’s brother Marty, a little snippet of a coyote shifter, cute as a button, with “mate material” written all over him. As the music washed over him, he read desire, fear, and yearning on Marty’s face…and drew hope.

“♫Who knows where we’re goin’, who cares what we’ve been. My heart is achin’ for you. I can’t take this chill. Give me your warmth, give me your time, I wanna prove to you that I’m worth your while…♫”

The song soared as Ox strummed the melody, his acoustic guitar as familiar as his own hands. He smiled at Marty, stalking across the stage to the opposite corner, hip bumping Alvin as they passed one another, sharing a grin, and then he belted the chorus along with his band mates.

“♫Do you think I’m a player? Do you think I don’t care? Can’t you see that I’m lonely? Can’t you see I’m lost in the glare? Give me a chance, give me a reason, trust in me, and I’ll blow your goddamned mind. ♫”

Strutting, posing, peacocking for all he was worth, Ox sang his heart out. “Worth Your While” had been in the top ten in charts around the world. He’d yet to decide whether the lyrics had been a hit with the guy they were written for.

He stalked back to the center spot, catching Marty’s wide-eyed stare. Once that stare had been filled with affection and hope, not fear.

“♫I’ll be your honey. I’ll be your man. I can wait forever. I can take my time. Give me a chance, give me a reason, trust in me ’cause I wanna blast your goddamned mind. ♫”

Kneeling, staring right at Marty, he sang the chorus again.

“♫Do you think I’m a player? Do you think I don’t care? Can’t you see that I’m lonely? Can’t you see I’m lost in the glare? Give me a chance, give me a reason, trust in me, and I’ll make it worth your while. ♫”

His heart sank as Marty nudged Jonas, darting out of his seat, heading for the exit. Keeping time, finishing the tune, Ox refocused on the audience, wondering what the fuck just happened.

“♫I’m not a player. My heart is pure. With you by my side, I’ll be whole again. I won’t be lost in the glare. Give me a chance, give me a reason. I’ll wait forever. I’ll wait ’til the end of time to blow your goddamned mind. Please, please, baby, let me make it worth your while. ♫”

* * * *

“Marty?”

Marty huddled under the quilt, trying to ignore his brother’s concern, yelping when Jonas ripped the duvet off Marty’s boxers-clad body and jerked his thumb imperiously.

“Up, bro. You’ve some explaining to do.”

Jonas flung Marty’s phone onto the bed.

“You read my texts?” Marty lurched upright, glaring at his brother as he saw the damning evidence.

“I had to find out why my little brother would want to break Ox’s heart so publicly.”

Marty cringed under Jonas’s angry response, ducking his head miserably.

“I can’t be with him. The band has had enough bad stuff happen. I won’t be the reason someone else gets hurt.”

Jonas yanked him from the bed and helped him dress. Marty refrained from complaining. Jonas was a stubborn fucker when he was in that mood. Acting worse than Mom, who, thankfully, was on a Caribbean cruise getting over the death of her mate, and his father, after a long illness two years ago. Damn, but he missed his dad, the only sane one in the family.

Marty had learned to go with the flow. Dressed, he was escorted downstairs. He jerked to a halt as he entered the living room. Ox sat on Jonas’s couch, larger than life and sexy as ever in a body-hugging black T-shirt and crotch-hugging black jeans, his caramel-brown leather jacket folded neatly on the arm of his chair, his booted feet propped on a small foot stool. His hair was loose, falling around his gorgeous face, its warm tones bringing out the golden sparks in his walnut-brown eyes. The instant he saw Marty, he dumped both feet to the floor and sat forward resting his forearms on his knees.

“Talk,” Jonas commanded, herding his husband, who Marty hadn’t even noticed, from the room.

Marty blushed, wringing his hands, avoiding looking at Ox…until the strain became unbearable and he peeped beneath his lashes at the dark-haired Adonis. Ox met his gaze, his own stark with worry and pain. Marty’s heart melted at Ox’s obvious confusion.

“What did I do? I tried to go slow and respect your wishes. What did I do wrong?” Ox asked, his entreaty full of genuine distress.

How could he resist?

Marty still held his phone and glanced at the damning series of messages, the threats and hurtful insults…and handed the phone to Ox.

ADULT EXCERPT

He lifted his head, his dark eyes rimmed red. Marty looked tearfully back , and he lapped at the tears streaking Ox’s face then kissed him as tenderly as he knew how.

“We’re getting him first,” Marty whispered. “My family is already tracking him. His stalking days are winding down.”

Ox cupped Marty’s head, kissing him back. Their tongues clashed, wet and wild, in a kiss that curled Ox’s toes and had his dick jerking to attention. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore,” he said against Marty’s lips. “But I don’t want any of your family hurt because of me.”

Marty smiled, nibbling Ox’s jaw. “He’s having trouble with a coyote infestation right now. He just called the park warden to get them moved.”

Ox met Marty’s sparkling gaze, smiling too. “Park warden being…?”

“A cousin of mine.”

“Of course.”

“Of course.” Marty rocked against Ox’s cock. “But you’re right. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, which is why Jonas and I have set a trap for him. Local law enforcement is already alerted that Charles is wanted for arson, so they’re on their way.”

Ox was losing the thread of conversation, his senses attuned to his and Marty’s arousal and the heady scent of pre-cum. “What kind of trap?”

“One he can’t escape,” Marty murmured. Marty rose and tugged on Ox’s hand. “Let’s take your mind off it. Let the cops deal with your stalker.”

Intent on Marty’s face, Ox admired the flush of arousal and the glisten of his kiss-swollen lips. “I don’t want to waste any more time,” he growled, palming Marty’s ass, and then he inserted a finger into Marty’s mouth. Marty sucked wantonly, the subtle pull sending shock waves to Ox’s cock.

Marty moaned as Ox delved beneath his waistband and slid his moist finger along Marty’s crease. “You want to…?”

“You’re mine,” Ox clarified, carting Marty toward the tent, which, surprisingly, he and Alvin hadn’t demolished earlier.

Marty gasped, writhing sinuously under Ox’s sexy assault on his butt. Ox smiled, nibbling at his mate’s mouth, shoving aside the tent flap with one hand while inserting his slick finger into Marty’s quivering hole and grinding him against his rigid dick with the other.

They collapsed onto the pile of sleeping bags and pillows, Marty beneath, wrapping his slender legs around Ox’s waist. Marty keened when Ox delved deeper, stretching him. Ox tore at the seam of Marty’s shorts, leaving Marty wide open, then ripped them off Marty, flinging them aside.

Marty’s gasps rang out, his body arching in tortured bliss. Ox scrambled to find lube, relieved he’d remembered to put a small packet into his pocket…always prepared. Tearing off his own pants, he slicked up, adding a liberal layer to his fingers and Marty’s hole, and then he added a second finger to stretch him wider. Scissoring his fingers, Ox focused on Marty’s dazed expression, the tormented pleasure in his tawny gaze.

They kissed again, urgently, the caresses growing sloppier as passion ramped up. Ox lifted Marty’s legs higher, positioning him with his knees up around his cheeks, pretzel-style, then swapped fingers for cock and surged home in one smooth thrust.

Marty groaned against Ox’s mouth, his nails digging into Ox’s back, raking shallow furrows to his ass and back again. Ox shuddered, the scorching heat of Marty’s succulent ass driving him crazy. Marty took him like a champ, the subtle shivers of his chute signaling that Ox was on borrowed time.

“Ready?” Ox whispered.

“Now!”

Ox gritted his teeth, moving slowly, undulating his hips in a rolling surge. Marty’s cries rang out, soon muffled as he sank sharp fangs into Ox’s shoulder. Ox thrust faster, trembling with the effort to pace himself, but the urge to claim his mate was too strong. His hips began to piston, slamming against Marty, their balls clashing with each strong thrust as he stroked in and out. Marty thrust back, shoving his pelvis at Ox with each in-stroke, his heels digging into Ox’s shoulders.

“Oh God,” Ox moaned, feeling his balls draw up, his cock expanding a little more. His climax hit him like a freight train, pummeling him with a shock wave of release as he spurted deep inside Marty’s succulent ass.

Marty’s fangs dug deeper, and Ox responded in turn, claiming his mate in the time-honored way of shifters as he sank his own fangs into Marty. The effect was electric, triggering a second wave of cum, Marty’s seed splashing Ox’s abs.

They subsided into a pile of satiation, limbs entwined, Ox locked inside Marty, and kissed languidly in the aftermath.

“Thank fuck that’s over!” Alvin yelled. “You’re cramping my happy place here.”

Marty giggled, stroking Ox’s sweaty back. Ox ignored his band mate, focusing on Marty’s mouth, losing himself in his mate’s sweet taste. Tears in his eyes, he thought about how close he’d come to losing Marty because of his ex. He made a vow. If Charles got close enough to harm Marty physically, Ox’d fucking end the bastard. Nobody was going to hurt his mate. He’d wasted too many nights on losers wanting only physical contact. He’d wasted too many weeks on a possessive boyfriend who’d never given Ox anything in return, expecting Ox to give and give and give. Now that he’d tasted what being mated was like, there was no going back. Charles could go to fucking hell.