STORY EXCERPT

Mitch knew that Cal thought he had betrayed him. That hadn’t been the case, but as soon as he knew Cal would be okay, Mitch had taken off to hunt Holbrook down. But he had still stayed in contact with Cal’s mate’s uncle. Detective Jake Licari, giving the wolf shifter updates.

When Mitch had located Paul DeFranco, he had sent Jake the location, only to give Cal closure.

“The Ultionem wants to hire us for a job,” Mitch said. He knew the leaders had many resources when it came to handling a problem, and once in a while, they threw Mitch and his men a case, which was much appreciated because they paid top dollar and the work never sent them overseas like some of their government contracts did.

“Two hellhounds need to be handled,” Mitch said.

Moose scoffed. “Give me something challenging.”

Moose thought that because he was nearly seven feet tall, thick with muscles, and a softy on the inside. That was what scared Mitch. One day Moose would be nice to the wrong person, and Mitch prayed like hell Moose walked away from the situation with all his body parts intact.

Darren was different. He was tall and lean, with dark hair and a thick beard and mustache that made him appear friendly, although he was a trained mercenary that could go from smiling to stabbing someone in the blink of an eye. The coyote shifter was lethal, but only to those who deserved it.

“Their names are Syphon and Demonian, and these two aren’t your run-of-the-mill hellhounds,” Mitch said. “They escaped the bowels of the underworld and are as ancient as the Keeper.”

“Who?” Darren’s dark brows furrowed.

Mitch rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake. You’re over three hundred years old and you’ve never heard of the Keeper?”

Moose slowly raised his hand, which seemed ridiculous since he towered over both of them. What people didn’t know about Moose was that he had the biggest fucking heart to those he considered a friend. “Kinda need that explained, too.”

“The Keeper,” Mitch said. “He runs the underworld, locks bad guys in cells, has power over the dead, and some even say he was the one who shaped the universe.”

Darren chuckled. “Bedtime stories?”

“You two need to get out more often.” Mitch glanced over the details of the assignment. “They were last seen in Desire, but intel says they are heading this way.”

 “You got pictures of them in their human form?” Darren asked.

“I’m sending them to your phones.” Mitch tapped the picture and sent them in a group text. “We’ll split up. Don’t approach if you spot them. Call it in and wait for backup.”

Darren gave a low whistle as he gazed at his phone. “They look like straight-up thugs.”

Moose smirked. “I don’t know. The one on the left is kinda hot.”

“Hellhound,” Mitch reminded the moron. “Lethal bite to most, nasty temper, and these two have flaming red eyes, and when they shift, their rottweiler form has three heads.”

“He’s still hot.” Moose grinned.

“You’re hopeless,” Darren said. “You won’t get near him to hit on him. Remember, they suck all the happiness out of you.”

“Just like you two are doing right now,” Moose said. “A guy can appreciate good looks and you two need to loosen up.”

“I’m heading to the center of town.” Mitch tucked his phone into his back pocket. “Moose, you take the west side of Brac Village. Darren, you take the east. Report in every hour.”

Mitch watched them leave before he headed inside. He walked to the bathroom and groaned. The wall-length counter had been destroyed, as well as the glass wall for the shower. As soon as this new assignment was done, he would hire Roman Lakeland to repair the mess.

Until then, Mitch went outside and jumped into his truck and headed to the downtown area of Brac Village. He parked in front of the diner and got out, looking over the people walking past him.

Mitch wished a miracle would fall into his lap and he would spot the two, but his luck was never that fortunate.

He stilled when he scented fresh strawberries. Where the hell was that aroma coming from? He looked up and down the street, trying to pinpoint the smell.

“I’m telling you,” some redhead said as he passed Mitch, “dating in this town sucks.”

The guy was with someone else, a short, dark-haired man who wore slacks and a sweater vest. “I’m so glad I don’t have that problem,” the dark-haired man said.

“You’re darn lucky,” the redhead said.

Mitch leaned against his truck, folded his arms, and watched the short and slim man who had the prettiest green eyes Mitch had ever seen.

“You’ll find your special someone.” The dark-haired man patted the redhead’s arm right before they strode into the diner.

Mitch never veered from his assignments. His attention was always focused, but the redhead had distracted him, and before he knew what his feet were doing, he followed the two into the diner.

They’d taken a seat at one of the booths by the window. Mitch slid into the one behind them.

“Anyway,” the redhead said. “Did you hear that Sheriff Werth is taking Newt on a vacation? I’m so jealous. But I think he’s doing it because Newt is pissed that Werth, even after all this time, still misses his dog and his mate is tired of him being all mopey.”

“You’re so bad, Pat,” the dark-haired man said. “Gossiping should be illegal.”

Pat. Now Mitch had a name to go with Pat’s gorgeous face.

“Hush your mouth,” Pat said. “If that were the case, I would be locked up and the key would be thrown away.”

Mitch tuned out the rest of their conversation. He simply stared at Pat as the man laughed, admiring his sweet smile and the way his wrist flipped back and forth as he talked.

Mitch’s cheetah yowled at the delightful sound. Even over the smell of coffee, greasy fries, meat sizzling, and pine cleaner, Mitch could still detect Pat’s strawberry scent.

He cocked his head to the side. He even smelled Pat’s fox. It was the same scent he had detected in Francis’s apartment.

His cheetah yowled louder. Mitch felt his canines trying to descend, and the hairs along his body stood on end. What the fuck? He had never had this kind of reaction to a cute guy before. Normally his cheetah didn’t give a shit one way or the other who Mitch was interested in.

But his beast was going nuts.

ADULT EXCERPT

His smile faded as Pat stood, still sporting a boner as he reached for Mitch’s snap, but instead of undoing his pants, his mate slid his fingers past the waistband as he straddled Mitch’s lap.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have powerful thighs?” Pat wiggled his ass on Mitch’s denim-covered cock, and Mitch nearly lost it. It seemed everything Pat did turned him on. Hell, the way Pat’s knees pressed into Mitch’s hips made his stomach flutter.

“That’s the oddest compliment that anyone has ever given me.” Mitch’s gaze slid over the bewitching man sitting atop him. Pat’s skin was flawless, not a freckle in sight, which was weird considering most redheads were riddled with them. Not that Mitch would have minded if Pat had them. The spots wouldn’t have detracted from his beauty.

“You’re killing me.” Mitch moaned.

“Poor baby.” Pat gave him a mocking pout. “Shall I put you out of your misery?”

“God yes,” Mitch moaned.

With a devilish smirk, Pat slid down Mitch’s legs and unfastened his pants. The top of Mitch’s boxer briefs was already wet from his pre-cum seeping through. His legs tightened, and his breathing quickened as he watched Pat trace the pad of his finger over the wet spot.

Mitch wanted to grab Pat and throw him to the bed, but he had the use of only one arm, and that frustrated the fuck out of him.

“Don’t.” Pat narrowed his eyes. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“See what?” Mitch glanced toward his hand when the tingling in his pinky moved to the first knuckle. He wasn’t going to say anything to Pat. He didn’t want his mate to get his hopes up. He didn’t want to see that hope flourish because he didn’t want it dashed.

His attention was pulled back to his mate when Pat yanked Mitch’s pants and underwear down to his knees. But Pat stopped and simply stared down at him.

“Are you just gonna kneel there staring?”

“I’m just…” Pat’s lips parted. “I’m just enjoying your work of art.”

Mitch couldn’t believe he was blushing. Fucking blushing. When was the last time he had ever done that? He couldn’t even recall.

Pat moved back up his legs and helped Mitch get his shirt off. When Pat tossed it aside, he ran his hand over Mitch’s chest. “Do you know how gorgeous you are?”

Goddamn it. Mitch’s blush deepened to the point that his face felt as though it had caught fire. Sure, he had heard how good he looked from other guys, and even women, but Mitch had never been into his looks. He had been too busy building his career, too busy with the insanity of life.

Plus he had been raised to be humble.

“Will you do something besides stare at me?” Mitch gently demanded. “You’re seriously killing me.”

This time when Pat wiggled his ass, Mitch’s cock wedged between his cheeks, making Mitch hiss as his muscles bunched. When Mitch tried to rise up, Pat pressed his hand into Mitch’s chest and forced him to lie back down.

“You just lay there and let me do whatever I want.” Pat gave him a sinister smile. “And you’re gonna like it, too.”

Mitch quirked a brow. “Oh yeah?”

“Trust me.” Pat’s hand was still pressed against Mitch’s chest. “I’m very good at helping people in distress.”

He liked this side of his little fox. In bed, Pat was a take-charge kind of guy. That didn’t seem to be the case when outside the bedroom. Pat was more uncertain and a little scared. That was okay with Mitch. They could reverse roles whenever his mate needed them to.

Mitch would be Pat’s protector, yet he could also allow his mate to take over whenever Pat needed to feel powerful. Mitch wasn’t such a control freak that he would demand to be the dominant male in the sack.

“I think I’m in distress.” Mitch licked his lips. “What can you do about that?”

Pat slid off Mitch’s legs and crossed the room. When he bent over to reach into his pants pockets, Mitch’s gaze zeroed in on his small, plump ass. He had to grab his cock and squeeze the base before he came just from the sight of Pat’s nudity.

Fuck. Again, no other lover had affected Mitch like this. He could honestly lie there and jack off just watching the way Pat sashayed across the carpet.

Pat turned with a travel-sized pack of lube in his hand. Mitch tightened his fist as his gaze followed his mate back to the bed, his eyes on Pat’s cock as Mitch’s mouth watered.

He wanted to suck his mate off, but Mitch was wound too tight for that. Next time. Right now he wanted to feel Pat’s tight ass wrapped around his aching cock.

Pat climbed back onto the bed, but he didn’t straddle Mitch. Instead, he turned to give Mitch a show. A show Mitch wouldn’t soon forget. His mate wet his fingers and wiggled his ass as he inserted them.

Mitch lay there with his lips parted, strangling his own cock as he watched Pat stretch himself. He reached for Pat, only to realize his mate was on his left side. He snarled at his useless arm, but just then, Pat turned and climbed onto him.

“Ready for this?” Pat smiled down at him.

In that single smile Mitch lost himself to his mate. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his redhead. There was no fucking way he would ever be able to deny Pat anything. His heart belonged to his little fox shifter as Pat leaned forward and guided Mitch’s cock to his lubed hole.

“More than ready.” Mitch clenched his jaw when he breached Pat, his cock inching its way into his mate’s body.

They groaned in unison as Pat bottomed out. But he didn’t stay still. He began to bounce up and down, his palms planted against Mitch’s chest as his mate’s head rolled to the side and his eyelids fluttered closed.