STORY EXCERPT

Knowing he couldn’t sit in his car forever, Colton got out and used the passcode Lucian had given him to get in through the back door. The club was shadowy, with only a few lights on behind the bar. Colton didn’t need the lights. He saw fine in the dark.

He walked over to the door that led downstairs where the coven slept, but before he could figure out how to get the door open—since he hadn’t accepted the Master role, he hadn’t been given the code to this door—Lucian appeared at his side.

Lucian pressed the palm of his right hand against the door as his gaze slid over Colton. “You refuse to take your place as Master, yet you will come here to execute a warrant.” 

An unstoppable shudder raced through Colton at Lucian’s deep, silky voice. “I still have a job to do.”

Lucian’s dark irises faded to red. Colton had seen the triplet’s eyes do that when they were angry or turned on. “You do not get to execute anything in my home if you are not Master. If you weren’t my mate, I would tear out your throat for having the audacity to assume such privileges.”

Colton bared his canines. “I’d like to see you try.”

Before he could sense what Lucian was doing, the vampire had him pinned against the door, his hand curled around Colton’s throat, his other hand pressed against the wall. He sniffed along Colton’s jaw in such a way that Colton wasn’t sure if he was pissed or playing with him.

Lucian leaned back and stared into Colton’s eyes. “You play a dangerous game, my love.”

For a moment Colton forgot to fight against his attraction as he was swept away by Lucian’s scent, his beguiling eyes, and how firmly they were pressed against one another. He hadn’t been with anyone since the triplets claimed to be his mates, and the closeness had him hard.

“When will you stop this foolish game and take your rightful place?” Lucian grazed his jaw over Colton’s. Colton knew the inner workings of the vampire world. If he hadn’t been Lucian’s mate, the vampire would’ve have killed him by now and seized the coven as his own.

Power was everything to their kind.

“The longer you wait, the less likely they will follow you.”

“I don’t want them to follow me,” Colton snarled.

Lucian didn’t look convinced. “You could have allowed someone else to execute that warrant, but you chose to come here. Tell the truth, love. You wanted to be near me.”

His hand slid down Colton’s side and then moved to the front of his body and gripped Colton’s trapped cock. Colton hissed. “Get your goddamn hand off me.”

The air sizzled with tension. Colton’s heart beat wildly. He swallowed as his gaze landed on Lucian’s perfect lips. He wanted Lucian to kiss him, but Colton would be damned if he uttered a single word, if he would give any indication of just how badly the vampire affected him. Lucian might feel his swollen cock, but he had no idea the erotic dreams Colton had had of him and his brothers, the constant yearning he held inside.

Time ticked by slowly, but Colton’s pulse refused to return to normal. The vampire would be able to detect the beats, to know how excited he was. But who wouldn’t react that way when trapped against a wall by such a sexy beast?

Lucian’s soft chuckle slid over Colton like cool water on a hot summer’s day. The sound quenched a thirst he didn’t even know he had. Colton gasped and closed his eyes, refusing to look into the vampire’s alluring gaze any longer.

“Come to bed with me.” Lucian kissed Colton’s stubbled jaw.

Colton shuddered and moaned and mentally struggled against the hold Lucian had over him. When Colton opened his eyes, he saw Antonio standing behind Lucian.

Antonio moved closer, his steps careful and soundless. Colton glanced around briefly for Corbin but didn’t see the third brother anywhere. He had a feeling, though, the vampire was close by. He would’ve scented Colton coming into the club, just as Lucian and Antonio had.

“Come to bed with us,” Antonio whispered into Colton’s ear. His hand slid down Colton’s back as Lucian continued to nibble at his throat.

Colton was quickly falling under their spell—but not in a vampire-bewitching sort of way. He didn’t need them to bespell him. Their closeness, their scents, and the way they touched him was doing the trick just fine.

When Lucian pulled away to look at him, Colton had a moment of clarity, and a moment of clear-headedness was all he needed. With a sharp growl, he shoved Lucian away and moved until he had distance between them. His breathing was ragged, and he was still swooning a bit as he took a few more steps backward.

“Keep your fucking hands off me,” Colton repeated to Lucian but made sure he looked Antonio’s way, as well. “I’ll be back later, and next time you won’t be able to seduce me. Hand Pierre over, or I’ll make you wish he was never a part of your coven.”

Colton reminded himself of why he hated vampires so much, of why he was refusing his mates. The bloodsuckers had killed his baby brother and kidnapped him. He was wolf, and they were not. His species was stronger, united, and they didn’t play politics the way vampires did. Colton didn’t belong here. This wasn’t his home, and no matter what the triplets said or did, Colton would never become the coven’s Master.

Pivoting on his heel, he headed for the front door, uncaring who stood there when the sunlight poured in.

ADULT EXCERPT

Lucian stalked toward him, and Colton forced himself not to take a step back. Lucian was tall and sleek, and his black, silky hair fell around his shoulders. He was handsome as fuck, but lethality bled from him. “Why are you avoiding your mates?”

“Who said I was avoiding any of you?” Colton spun and was ready to walk away, to find Rio and join him on his hunt, but Lucian grabbed his arm and spun him back around.

“Are you afraid of being with us?” Lucian smirked as his heated gaze slid over Colton. “I promise to be gentle.”

Colton snarled. “I said I wasn’t avoiding you.”

He stopped himself from shuddering at the way Lucian was staring at him. The look was primal, seductive, and Colton felt that gaze touch him deep inside.

Lucian nodded. “Very well, then.”

Colton yelped when the vampire grabbed him and used his inhuman speed to make it to the club. By the time he had them at the door to the lower chamber, Colton felt like he’d be sick. “Don’t fucking do that to me.”

He held his stomach and waited for the lightheadedness to pass as Lucian opened the door and led him downstairs. The hallway was dark, with door after wooden door lining the walls. Halfway down the hallway was a kitchen to his right. It looked modern, sleek, and unused, and Colton wondered why vampires would need the room, but he was too nervous to ask.

At the end of the hallway was a red door. Colton wasn’t sure he wanted to see what was on the other side. Would Corbin and Antonio be waiting for him? Did the triplets plan on ambushing him?

Man the fuck up. These are your mates and you need to get used to being with them.

Lucian opened it and walked in, leaving Colton in the doorway. It was the swankiest bedroom he’d ever seen. He wasn’t sure why, but Colton had expected dark paneled walls, candelabras everywhere, and maybe even a coffin.

What he saw were light hues, from the walls to the bed to the carpeting on the wooden floor. The bedroom appeared…normal. The only thing missing were windows.

“Were you expecting a coffin?” Lucian smirked. Had the guy read his mind, or was Colton’s stunned expression giving him away? He walked in and looked around.

“Honestly, yeah. I thought your room would be decorated in black and red colors and be, well, more vampire-y than this.”

The comforter on the four-poster bed was white, with tan-and-cream pillows. The carpeting was beige, and there were swirly patterns cutting through it. The walls were tan and white, making the room appear bright. The sheer curtains hanging from the four-poster were a light yellow, bringing the entire room together.

Lucian moved in behind him and brushed his hand over Colton’s nape. One guy? Colton could handle that.

He didn’t protest when Lucian lowered to his knees and removed Colton’s shoes and socks and then stood and guided Colton to the bed.

He lay down on his side, his head propped on his hand as he stared into Lucian’s beautiful face. Colton was staring at a vampire, the very breed he’d sworn to hate, yet being here with Lucian felt…right.

“Having second thoughts?” Lucian gave Colton a soft smile as he undressed, exposing inch after inch of his perfect, flawless body.

“Fuck no.” When Lucian’s cock sprang free, Colton whimpered. It had been nearly a year since he’d had sex, and he was more than ready. He lifted his upper half from the bed and tore his shirt off, tossing it aside.

Lucian groaned. “I love when you look at me that way.”

The vampire crawled into bed and moved his fingertips over Colton, caressing him. Colton fought to hold on to a sense of balance as Lucian slid Colton’s pants off and tossed them aside before his mate tugged the boxers off too. When he settled back into place, the pad of Lucian’s thumb raked over the head of Colton’s cock.

The sensation was exquisite.

As he arched against Lucian, his legs parted for the hard thigh pressed between his, lifting him, forcing Colton to ride the contours of Lucian’s leg as he ground his balls against the vampire.

Colton ached as though sex was more than a want. He ached as though it were imperative to his very being.

Lucian’s mouth found Colton’s nipple, and the lash of the man’s tongue had Colton’s eyelids fluttering, had sensation shooting straight to his cock and beyond as a ragged cry left his lips.

“Come for me, my love.” Lucian’s voice was rough and raspy.

Colton gasped for air as Lucian took Colton’s lips in a kiss, the man’s tongue licking along his as Lucian’s fingers slid down Colton’s ass, gripping him closer. Arcs of pleasure tore through him as his legs tightened and he rode the vampire’s powerful thigh.

“I’ve dreamt about this,” Lucian growled against Colton’s lips as he gave Colton a moment to breathe. “I want to bury my cock deep inside you. I want to feel you quivering in my arms, calling my name.”

He wanted Lucian to take him, to ease the hard knot of hunger tightening inside him. His hips arched closer, the friction nearly shattering him.

Lucian chuckled as his fingers rubbed over Colton’s ass. “You want that, too, don’t you?”

A shudder tore through Colton. He wanted to feel Lucian inside him badly. It was all he could think about, all he wanted. “Make love to me.”

He no longer cared if Lucian was a vampire. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the feel of Lucian’s hands, his kiss, and his touch. Colton burned for it. He twisted his body closer, feeling his canines elongating.

Lucian lifted his head and gazed at Colton as if he was the most beautiful creature on earth. “I want you to bite me. I want to feel your teeth sinking into me as I fuck you.”

Lucian rolled, placing Colton beneath his powerful body. The man’s hands were everywhere, caressing, touching, and learning every inch of him. Colton cried out when Lucian swallowed his cock. Spirals of sensation crashed through him, making his body shake as his fingers clutched into Lucian’s hair.

Colton writhed, riding the waves of pleasure. He spread his legs farther apart. The man devoured him as Colton thrashed his head back and forth.

And then a wet finger slid inside Colton’s ass. Pleasure centered in his very core, convulsing through his body as he teetered close to the edge. The pressure was building inside him, making his body jerk as Lucian inserted another finger.