STORY EXCERPT

When I met Grier Adams, he’d been a victim of the persecution of an important vampire leader, and I had needed to ask him a few questions about his experience at the hands of his captor. It was not the first time I’d gone through this process. Some of my kind tended to forget themselves when they reached positions of leadership, and it had often been my job to deal with the outcome.

This situation was particularly sticky because it involved a werewolf, and an omega at that. Fortunately, Grier’s new Alpha, Arden Laberge, had been very cooperative about the whole issue. We were old friends, of a sort, and he trusted me to clean up the messes of my own kind.

But when Arden and his mate brought Grier to see me, I was gripped by a feeling I’d never experienced before. Under normal circumstances, my instincts made me aware of each and every person in my proximity, of what they felt, and, sometimes, what they thought. But when he stepped through the doorway of my office, my entire being focused on him, as if suddenly, my vision had grown tunneled, able to focus on one single thing.

Grier Adams. A werewolf omega, the man who held more answers and more information than I’d have liked, than perhaps he himself realized. He was smaller than other werewolves I knew, almost frail-looking, but there was strength in his bright green-gold eyes, and he held his spine straight, meeting my gaze without flinching. His chin-length black hair framed his face beautifully, drawing attention to his flawless cheekbones. He tried to remain calm, but his heart was hammering, and I couldn’t help but steal a look at his neck. It would have been easy, so very easy to reach for him and dig my fangs into his soft white flesh and taste the ambrosia of his blood. Arden and his mate, Rylee, couldn’t hold me back if I decided to do so. But that would’ve made me no better than Grier’s previous kidnapper, Barnaby Proctor. I reined in my instincts and focused on the issue the werewolves had come here for.

“Welcome,” I said. “It’s nice to see you again, Arden, Rylee. This must be your new omega.”

“Yes,” the Alpha werewolf confirmed. “This is Grier Adams. Grier, meet Orion Walker. He’ll be asking you a few questions about what we discussed.”

“It’s an honor,” Grier said softly, extending his hand. He was nervous, I could tell. Not that I blamed him. His only experience with vampires hadn’t been very pleasant, and I admired him for the courage he’d had in coming here, to my coven.

“The honor is all mine,” I answered honestly as we shook. When our palms came into contact, a shock of electricity coursed through me, but I did my best to preserve the appearance of calm. No good could come of showing Grier how much he affected me. I didn’t need this attraction. I didn’t understand it, and until I figured it out, I was better off focusing on things I could control and compute. “Please, take a seat.”

In spite of my resolve to focus, I didn’t remember much of what I said after that. Mostly, I fell on autopilot, listening to Grier’s voice, rather than to what he was actually saying. The information he provided was pretty much what I already knew from Arden. Barnaby had wanted to use Grier as a toy and a blood slave, and to that end, he’d coerced Grier’s former pack into handing him over. A small part of me, the dark one all vampires had, might have been able to understand Proctor’s obsession. I’d only just met Grier, and already I wanted him in my bed. I could already see him now, writhing under my body and wordlessly begging for my domination. But any empathy I might have had for Barnaby Proctor melted in the fires of my anger. No one hurt Grier and got away with it. I’d make sure Proctor understood that very clearly.

On the other hand, I had a feeling Grier wasn’t telling me everything. As I scanned his earnest face, I sought any trace of deliberate deception, but I couldn’t find it. Still, a small worm of discontent niggled at my brain, and I knew I had to investigate this further.

When Grier finished telling his story, I said, “You may go. Rest assured that he will be punished.”

As Arden and Rylee gestured the small werewolf out, I watched them go with a measure of discontent and frustration. I had no clue how I was going to get Grier Adams to trust me, but this meeting had certainly made a couple of things clear to me. Arden’s new omega was not safe yet, and likely, he didn’t fully understand it. Not only that, but he was also my mate, a mate who didn’t trust me in the slightest. Just great. In the blink of an eye, my life had grown a hundred times more complicated. God, I needed some ice cream.

ADULT EXCERPT

Fortunately, Grier was already completely naked, so I could go ahead with worshiping his lovely body, just like I had wanted to from the very first moment I’d seen him. He reached for me again, but I pressed him down, shaking my head. “Let me take care of you.”

Okay, so my offer wasn’t completely selfless. His lips and blood had tasted so delicious that I couldn’t wait to sample him all over. I mentally grinned as I lowered my body over his again. Unlike before, I didn’t touch his pretty, pink mouth, instead brushing light kisses all over his cheeks, his chin, and his eyelids. From there, I went to his ear, sucking lightly on the lobe as my hands explored his lower body. Grier wriggled under me, making those whimpering noises I was quickly growing very fond of.

It almost seemed like those “umms,” “aahs,” and “ohhs” were designed to go directly to my prick and divert my attention from my goal. But I wasn’t a man easily dissuaded, and when I set my mind to something, I refused to let anything stand in my way. And this time, my mission was to explore Grier, to map every inch of his delectable form, to get acquainted to every beautiful inch of my beautiful mate.

From his ear, I progressed to his neck, the throbbing of his pulse a symphony to my intoxicated senses. It would have been easy, so very easy to bury my fangs in his throat, but I didn’t. Instead, I traced his largest vein with my tongue. This time, I didn’t wait to see his reaction. I understood that he trusted me not to hurt him, and in my embrace, he could forget about anyone who had done so before.

I went lower down, sweeping my tongue over his collarbone and slender, perfectly formed chest. When I reached the pink nubs of his nipples, I directed the entirety of my attention on them. As I took the right one in my mouth, I rubbed the other one with my hand, tweaking and pinching. Sometimes, I let my fangs and claws loose, testing his limits, and his reaction aroused me beyond compare. In spite of what he’d gone through, he’d opened himself to all the avenues of pleasure I could offer. I vowed never to disappoint him, not in this, not in anything.

Grier was so responsive that I suspected I could make him come just by sucking on his nipples. But we had far more to do, and I craved being inside him too much. Not to mention that I still hadn’t finished exploring the entirety of his body. I wished I had more than one mouth and two hands at my disposal, but I’d have to make do.

For his part, my mate didn’t seem disappointed in the slightest. He was whimpering and moaning, crying out my name. “Orion…Please! More.”

Finally, when I had him so incoherent my name was about seven syllables longer, I abandoned his nipples and progressed lower down his body. I made a small pit stop over his belly button to fuel up on the control that I’d undoubtedly need. Then, I directed my attention to the lower half of his body.

The obvious target was his prick, standing proudly and waving an enthusiastic hello at me. Grinning, I decided to tease my mate for a little while longer. I still had countless of things to test and to do.

With that in mind, I bypassed his dick, almost brushing against it as I kissed his hip, but managing the performance of not touching it at all. He clenched his fists in the sheets as I brushed my lips over the silky skin of his long legs. I couldn’t help but notice that in spite of his arousal, he remained as smooth as before. Other werewolves often surrendered to their beast in moments of passion, and I distantly wondered if this reaction had anything to do with his half-breed nature. Either way, I loved the result.

In fact, I loved it so much that I dwelled an inordinate amount of time on his legs. My efforts were more than appreciated, however. As I licked on the spot behind his knees, he dissolved in wild groans that somehow managed to sound both primal and delicate, seductive through their complex nature. And when I finally reached his feet, I had to forcibly hold him down because his writhing was such that he almost dislodged me with a painful kick. Sucking on his dainty little toes was a lesson in dexterity and determination, but I received quite a reward when, out of the blue, even through the whimpers of pleasure, he started to laugh.

Suddenly feeling so very lighthearted, I gazed at him with a smile. “Someone’s ticklish,” I said, passing my fingertips over the arch of his foot.

Grier just nodded, panting, trembling, and giggling, so very beautiful it hurt. Since he was distracted, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and give him what he’d been asking for. Without a word of warning, I lowered my mouth over his dick and took it deep into my throat.

Bliss. Pure inestimable bliss. The weight of his dick on my tongue and the flavor of his pre-cum made my head spin with ecstasy. Yes, I had a little of an oral fixation, something all my partners learned to appreciate before I tired of them. But Grier…He was different. Not only would I never tire of him, but I was already addicted to his taste, to the beautiful way he reacted to everything I did.