STORY EXCERPT

Micah Faraday was royally screwed, and not in the good way most incubi would have liked.

It all started when he brought Erik Anderson into his life. Saving the man by binding himself to Erik hadn’t been a part of his life plan, but there was a little seed of thought inside of Micah that told him that if he could provide an inkling of good in the world by saving a life, then he wouldn’t die completely useless. He hadn’t counted on Erik actually wanting to be with him, though.

The moment the mating bond snapped into place between the two of them, Micah knew he was screwed, because there was an actual chance that Erik actually wanted him, and Micah couldn’t admit to himself that he —no, yearned for—another person to like him.

Now, he had someone who wanted him. Erik was many things to Micah even though they’d only been mated a short while. The phoenix was a lot of unknowns, certainly, but the one thing Micah knew about the man was that they were bound together irreversibly, and it seemed Erik was okay with that, much to Micah’s surprise and chagrin.

And they hadn’t had sex, well, ever, though that wasn’t so much a problem since they’d only been mated for three weeks. Although, Micah definitely felt the pangs of hunger inside him, a hunger that wouldn’t be sated by any meal, and it was something that only Erik could give him. As an incubus, he needed to feed in other ways than just eating food. Being bound to someone else just made this need stronger, this need to feed, to play with, and to devour the man he was bound to.

Not to mention the fact that the man with wild, blond hair, ice-blue eyes and a perpetual, lopsided grin on his face was like sex on a stick. Micah needed to mentally fan himself whenever he even turned to look at Erik, and something inside him constantly tried to propel him into Erik’s arms. He needed to stay away.

Because of the way he was trying hard not to feed from Erik, Micah’s mind trailed off from time to time into some state where he constantly felt exhausted, sometimes to the point of catatonia. It felt as though the world around his would cease to exist, and it brought him some peace of mind even as he sat there, unresponsive.

Back when he had been abducted, so much of his time was spent feeling the rhythm of a machine press into him on all ends that there were times that he almost felt one with the machine. Every so often, when his body throbbed, he could feel everything around him disappear, and he would be sucked into his thoughts, daydreaming and not paying attention to anything else, really.

Much like this moment, where Micah was seated in the middle of an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, the apartment he now lived in with his newfound “mate.” A whole group of his roommates were seated in the living room. Erik was waving his hand about in front of Micah’s face to try and capture his attention, and two couples were off on the other side staring at him like he’d just lost his head. Zack had an arm draped over the back of the couch, with one leg drawn up while Rain was leaning forward, his legs splayed out in a comfortable sitting position, his fingers tented.

Then there was Kai, who was settled right against Darius, his head against the gargantuan man’s shoulder. Erik, of course, was to one side, with that lopsided, sexy-as-sin grin on his face and the way his arm draped over the back of the couch, his body language just screaming honest and open and everything Micah just wanted to touch and feel and…do a lot of other things to.

Micah was so deep, deep into his reverie that he hadn’t realized he was actually talking to a group of people. One minute he was listening to Kai tell a story, when Erik’s arm tightened around him slightly and he careened into oblivion. Part of it was extreme hunger.

Times like these, Micah missed the freedom of being able to feed from the energy of the world around him. Now, it was as though everything was funneled—and amplified—by the big, Nordic-looking lug beside him. It was just one of the many double-edged swords when he bound himself to Erik weeks ago. When Erik started to feel worried, Micah lost the already tenuous supply of energy he had, and it made his mind attempt to shut down to try and conserve what little energy he had left inside him.

But he knew he couldn’t. Micah could see the looks on the faces of his friends and he had to come back. He blinked rapidly, before turning to the source of the voice trying to talk to him.

“Earth to Micah, come in, Micah,” Kai said. “You still with us, space cadet?”

“Huh, what?” Micah blinked and turned to Kai. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking…”

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Kai grinned.

“No, not specifically,” Micah said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as a tinge of red appeared on his cheeks. “It’s nothing serious.”

“Party pooper. No, seriously, we’re worried. You’ve been spacing out a lot.” Kai frowned.

“Not to mention, you’ve gotten pretty pale.”

“It’s just incubi stuff, don’t worry,” Micah replied, waving a hand absently. “Nothing to be worried about.”

ADULT EXCERPT

The world around Micah was reduced to the sensations of his lover’s kiss and their embrace. Erik’s cheeks hollowed out as he sucked Micah’s bottom lip almost harshly, demanding and needy all at once as he kissed his mate. The way Erik’s stomach flexed, rigid and hard against his own softer, smoother frame, as well as the tension of the larger man’s arms as Erik drew himself closer, threatened to engulf Micah in his sultry warmth, like moth to a flame. Erik tasted so sweet—sinful, even—almost like warm, melted chocolate engulfing him with velvety softness. Micah craved more, trying to tangle his tongue against Erik’s, but their kiss ended all too soon.

Their lips finally parted with a soft suckle. Micah looked up to see Erik’s ice-blue eyes dilated, and his lips parted as he panted. The phoenix’s arms tensed, grasping the wall. Micah could even hear his mate’s nails scrape against the wood.

“You taste real good,” Erik murmured, his voice just a bit lower and more guttural than usual. Instead of retching like Micah did whenever somebody used a pet name on him, the term of endearment actually made something in his stomach do some form of a flip.

“No, no I’m not,” Micah said, his cheeks puffing up as he turned his eyes away, trying to sound as menacing as possible while his hands went up into the messy mop of near neck-length blond hair that Erik had. His fingers curled into them, combing through the locks as he peered up into his mate’s eyes, dragging his gaze along Erik’s form. It took him another few moments to speak, looking up to see an amused expression on his mate’s face. “Your hair is, though.”

“Was that a legitimate attempt at flirting?” Erik chuckled. He pressed his kiss-swollen lips right up against Micah’s once more, lightly pecking the incubus’s lips. “That was awful.” He took that moment, though, to grasp his smaller lover’s body up from the wall and hoist over to the bed, dropping the man unceremoniously onto the mattress, and making Micah bounce slightly from the force.

“No it wasn’t. I wasn’t flirting. Sh–shut up!” Micah stammered and turned to look away, his face turning bright, bright red and heat prickling at his face. He collected himself as he tried to pull away from the phoenix, curling up into a little ball near the headboard.

“Micah, look at me, pretty,” Erik drawled in a whisper.

“N–no.” There was a petulance in his voice, even as Micah stammered. “You’re making fun of me. Also, I hate that name. Can’t you just call me Micah?”

Erik’s voice was filled with mirth. “No, I wasn’t. You’re cute and I like it, so stop hiding yourself away, all right? Come on, Micah. Look at me.”

If it weren’t for the fact that Erik stopped saying the word pretty and actually called Micah by his real name, he wouldn’t have looked.

Micah turned his gaze slowly to see Erik’s hands grasping the edges of his shirt. Almost in time with the sweep of Micah’s eyes upward, Erik undressed right before him, revealing his broad, muscled frame. Micah’s eyes were drawn to the perfect hills of his lover’s abdomen, to the small treasure trail of dark blond hair that surrounded his lover’s peach-colored nipples down into his pants. The incubus’ breath hitched. His fingers clenched around the covers of the bed. In that moment, there was only Erik, and suddenly Micah felt so warm in the clothes he wore that he began to perspire just a bit.

Erik, of course, didn’t look so fazed, though he did permeate arousal in every movement of his body. In fact, he’d started to remove his pants, too, revealing a cock that was already pointed up, smacking against his belly right below his belly button. He grinned and his head lifted, tongue darting out to lick over his lips. Like a panther, he stalked forward, crawling up the bed until he loomed right over Micah in all his naked glory.

Micah couldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted so badly to resist, but his impulse control was shot to hell. Erik was fulfilling his mate’s needs and desires at that moment, the cloud of passion and energy permeating them both fueling Micah. It wasn’t just his lust, either. Micah could feel his strength coming back to him, flowing back into him. The small incubus didn’t know that it could feel like this.

From the many stories Micah had heard about incubi who’d bonded who didn’t at least have sex once a week with their partners, it was a wonder he was still alive.

True, he’d already been weak and starving for some time, but he was able to get by just from feeding off of the happiness of the people around him, and it wasn’t such a big problem without being bonded. An unbound cubi could simply feast on whoever they desired, eating up the pleasure—which was also why they were so sexual—of almost everyone around them and ensuring their survival. But now, it was different. With Erik and their bond in the picture, his body now craved and yearned for nourishment from the phoenix. After all, Micah’s life now depended on a single person.

Deep in his reverie, he hadn’t even realized that Erik had removed his pants, though his shirt remained on his body. It was only when he was being flipped over, his face resting against the mattress and his legs in the air, held in place by Erik’s strong arms, that Micah was able to realize what was happening. Erik’s face pressed in between his cheeks, making Micah’s eyes widen in surprise. “E–Erik, what are you doing—ah!”