STORY EXCERPT

For me, morning usually meant two things—coffee and work. On good days, I enjoyed both. Most of the time, only the former kept me going.

It was therefore no wonder that, when the delicious scent tickled my senses, I was drawn out of my slumber. I cracked one eye open, then the other. Sunlight filtered through the curtains of the unfamiliar room, and for a few moments, I stared at the walls blankly, unable to remember how the hell I’d gotten here in the first place.

My body ached in places it hadn’t hurt in a long time, but it was a pleasurable pain. I clenched my ass cheeks and was rewarded with a flash of the night before. Arden Laberge, the gorgeous werewolf who’d fucked the daylights out of me. Arden Laberge, who actually had a knot that had kept his prick inside my body. Arden Laberge, who’d made me do what was probably the most idiotic thing in my existence.

I moaned, suddenly having the urge to curl back in bed and sleep until the world ended. Alas, I was not granted this small mercy, as the source of the scent that had awoken me appeared. Arden walked into the room, carrying a tray with what appeared to be breakfast.

Instantly, my feelings of depression vanished. “Oh, thank God,” I said, pushing off the covers and making the universal “gimme” gesture. “Coffee.”

Arden chuckled. “And good morning to you, too.” He placed the tray down on the bed and handed me a cup of the heavenly brew. I didn’t bother to reply, just snatching the coffee from him and bringing it to my lips.

“Someone’s not a morning person,” he commented idly.

I couldn’t argue against that. I was useless until I had at least one cup of coffee. After that, I could actually reason like a normal person, and if I allowed myself the luxury of a second cup, I could actually start my day in a good mood.

He sat on the mattress in front of me and watched me with a small, enigmatic smile. “Italian roast,” he said as he took a sip out of the cup of coffee he held. “Has quite a kick.”

The beverage was indeed among the best I’d tasted, and I took a few moments to revel in the flavor of it on my tongue. Already I could feel the cobwebs that had gathered in my brain clearing.

Arden, on the other hand, lost interest in the coffee and directed his attention toward the rest of the tray’s contents. He seemed to have brought the entire breakfast table, or half of it at the very least. There were two portions of eggs Benedict, bacon, ham, salads, croissants and various donuts, butter, honey, juice, and many other dishes.

I expected him to go for the meats, but instead, he grabbed one of the donuts and idly snacked on it, still watching me. When he finished the first one, he grabbed another, then another. I watched in fascination, surprised at having discovered what seemed to be a quirk of this mysterious man.

“What?” he asked. “I’m a man who enjoys the simpler pleasures in life, and I consider donuts among the best of them.”

“I can see that,” I replied, taking another sip of coffee. God, it was good, and it reminded me far too much of Arden’s kisses. “A man after my own heart.”

I didn’t know what had made me say that, but he froze, as if my words had shocked him. It wasn’t exactly an unusual expression, but it held far too much meaning, and especially in this case, that was dangerous.

For a few moments, we just stared at each other, and I almost dreaded what he would say. However, he seemed to shake off his trance and finished the donut as if nothing had ever happened.

“Mmmm,” he said, licking his lips of powdered sugar. “Then I have to say you have great taste.”

I laughed, the tension broken by his lighthearted comment. “Especially in men,” I answered flirtatiously.

That wasn’t exactly true. Until this point, I’d had horrible luck with my love life, and I doubted that would change. I always seemed to fall for the worst guys. Unfortunately, my fixation with Arden seemed to fall into that pattern. He was perfect with one little exception. A donut aficionado he might be, but he also had the ability to change into an animal that had a very different diet. He was a werewolf, and that wouldn’t ever change.

I thoughtfully sipped my coffee, wondering what in the world I’d do now. Last night, sleeping with Arden had seemed like an excellent idea, a one-time thing to relieve the stress. Now, however, I found myself reluctant to leave Arden’s side, and that created a problem for me, a huge one.

It was exactly my reluctance that eventually pushed me to make the step I hated so much. I realized I needed to get out of here before I got even deeper into this mess.

“I should probably go,” I said, placing the cup back on the tray. “I want to find Mack and talk to him.”

“He’s probably still asleep,” Arden replied. “Stay for a while longer. We can finish breakfast in bed, then have another, even sweeter dessert.”

His grin told me exactly what in mind, and I was tempted. God, was I tempted. I wanted to pounce him right then and there and nibble on those full lips, sample the delicious, unique treat of his body. But I couldn’t. The light of day reminded me that I had a life outside the sinfully beautiful incubus palace, one that rejected paranormal creatures. My entire existence rotated around protecting my kind from his. If I said “yes” one more time, I would lose myself in him completely.

ADULT EXCERPT

I moaned as our naked forms came into contact, and he took advantage of it to thrust his tongue in my mouth. Honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to protest. He tasted like coffee, I realized, those dark, harsh roasts with just a sip of sugar, wild, untamed, and yet with an edge of gentleness. His kiss had short-circuited my brain, and by this point, I was running on instinct.

He practically ravaged me, taking no prisoners. I soon found that there were certain advantages to having a werewolf lover. As our bodies rubbed together, the hair on his—I hesitated to call it fur since the qualifier would have been excessive—rubbed against my nipples, awakening my every nerve ending. And that was only the beginning. His desire for me seemed to have no limit. His touch left behind trails of fire on my skin, and my cock rubbed against his abdomen, causing little explosions of pleasure to burst through me.

I couldn’t remember ever being so aroused, not even with David. But no, I refused to think about my ex. He had spoiled too many things for me. He would not destroy this.

In the end, it didn’t take much for Arden to distract me from the errant thought. As he broke our kiss, he proceeded to lick down my collarbone, nibbling and sucking lightly. I was sure I’d have bruises in the morning, but I didn’t mind in the slightest.

When he reached my nipples, I half expected him to just bypass the area without paying them much heed. None of my previous lovers, David included, had bothered to focus on the tiny nubs. David in particular had thought that, as a rule, men shouldn’t have sensitive nipples. Arden, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have that problem. He engulfed the bit of flesh in his mouth, and I cried out at the surprising pleasure.

He sucked on my nipple with striking relish, occasionally applying a hint of fang that really should have startled me. It didn’t. Instead, it just made the whole thing better. And by God, did I appreciate finding a man who finally understood the value of all my sensitive spots.

Once he decided he’d tortured my right nipple enough, he released it and directed his attention on the other one. His ministrations soon had me writhing and pleading, my cock throbbing with the need to come.

At last, he took pity on me and lifted his head, giving me a chance to gather my bearings. “Tell me what you want, baby.”

I knew that this time, he would not allow me to elude the question like before. I didn’t even try. His passion and his touch had wiped out any traces of modesty and restraint that might have held me back. “You,” I replied without missing a beat. “Fuck me, Arden. Fuck me now.”

Arden reached for the nightstand and retrieved a tube of lubricant. As he opened the tube, I spread my legs to accommodate him better. I watched him slick up his massive cock, my mind completely consumed by my desire for him.

It was only when his fingers moved from his dick to my hole that I realized what would happen. Of course, it was intensely idiotic. Intellectually, I had known before, but in spite of it, I’d still craved Arden’s touch.

As his slick digits prodded my opening, I couldn’t help but tense. I wasn’t exactly a virgin, but it had been a while since I’d taken a cock up my ass. Since David, actually, and even then, I hadn’t been particularly fond of it. What had I been thinking? I was losing my mind, losing myself in Arden, and it frightened me.

“Shh,” Arden whispered, leaning over me and caressing my hip with his other hand. “It’s okay. I promise you’ll like it.”

As a general rule, I hated being talked down to, being treated like a child who couldn’t face life. Somehow, though, Arden’s words didn’t come out as condescending. For whatever reason, it felt like he genuinely cared about my comfort, about my pleasure. I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. How bad could it be? A lot of gay guys swore by it and claimed they enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps I simply hadn’t been with the right man.

Slowly, gently, a digit wormed its way inside my channel. At first, it felt a little uncomfortable since as much as I tried, I couldn’t shake my awareness of it and my anxiousness. But then, out of the blue, Arden lowered his mouth over my cock and sucked my member all the way into his throat. The wet heat that engulfed me shocked me so much that I forgot to be apprehensive. My world became focused on that delicious suction, and as Arden began to bob his head up and down, I found myself moving with him, fucking his mouth, but pushing against his finger as well.

When he added another digit to my channel, I didn’t protest. In fact, I welcomed it, finding the assault on my ass an added bonus to the pleasure his talented mouth coaxed out of me.