STORY EXCERPT

“Was that Dorian?” Drew dropped into the chair beside him and took his hand.

Nigel cringed at the contact. “Yes,” he answered shortly. “He had some very interesting news to tell me.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Drew’s eyes flickered to the untouched cup of tea on the table. “You didn’t drink your tea. It’s probably stone-cold by now.”

“What kind of tea is this anyway?” Nigel spoke calmly, but his insides were a trembling mess. Fuck, the man scared the hell out of him. He could do this, though. No way was he going to be someone’s plaything.

Drew didn’t answer the question, and his eyes tightened in the corners. “What did Dorian tell you?”

“Cut the bullshit, Drew. I know you’re putting catnip in my tea. This whole time you’ve been drugging me, trying to convince me that the jittery feeling was our mating bond.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m done. We’re done. Go fuck yourself and have a nice day.”

He went to stand, but the pressure on his hand increased to the point of pain, holding him in place. “We are not done until I say we are,” Drew whispered harshly.

Nigel winced when Drew squeezed his hand even harder. “You can’t intimidate me.” It was the biggest lie he’d ever told, because he was far beyond intimidated at the moment. “Dorian is waiting right outside.”

“And I could crush your windpipe before you ever got the chance to yell for help.”

Nigel cast a quick look toward the other man in the room, wondering whether he’d intervene or look the other direction if things turned violent. To his utter disappointment, the man rose from his chair and crossed the room to toss his cup in the trash. Crap! He was leaving, and Nigel would be completely alone with Drew.

“What the hell are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Nigel answered immediately, prying his eyes away from the stranger.

The man’s trek to the trash can had brought him closer and given Nigel a small blast of power, declaring the guy to be a paranormal. Hope renewed, and Nigel prayed that whatever the man was, he had advanced auditory senses and had overheard the conversation between him and Drew.

By luck, fate, or some type of divine intervention, the man approached their table with a genial smile, stopping just beside Drew. “Would it be possible to get another cup of coffee? I know you’re closing, but I could take it to go.”

“Sorry, sir,” Drew answered over his shoulder. “I’ve already shut down everything and cleaned up.”

“That’s okay.” He wasn’t looking at Drew as he spoke. His eyes traveled slowly over Nigel’s upper body, ending at his hand where it was still clasped inside Drew’s. “Is there a problem here?”

“Just a little spat between lovers.” Turning back to him, Drew smiled tightly, his stare ice-cold. “Isn’t that right, baby?” He squeezed again, probably harder than he intended—or maybe not. Either way, Nigel felt the bones in his hand snap, and he cried out from the pain of it.

In a flash, the muscled man behind Drew wrapped long fingers around his throat and bent to growl in his ear. “Let him go, or I’ll rip both of your arms off and shove them up your ass.”

Nigel was released immediately, and he jerked away, cradling his injured hand to his chest as he battled back the tears that prickled the corners of his eyes. It would heal on its own in a couple of hours, but it was going to hurt like hell until then.

Releasing Drew’s throat, his rescuer straightened to his full and impressive height, moving around the table to crouch at Nigel’s side. With a gentleness that belied his massive frame, he took Nigel’s wrist and pulled his hand away from his chest to examine it. Then he did the most incredible thing. He dipped his head and brushed his lips over the already bruised and swollen skin.

“I’m sorry this happened to you.”

The simple statement almost made Nigel melt right there in his chair. “Thank you,” he whispered back. “It’ll heal soon.”

“I know, little one. It doesn’t make me any less sorry, though.”

Drew seemed to have found his senses—or perhaps lost them all together. He jumped to his feet, growling like a wild animal, and Nigel could see the air ripple around him as he began to shift.

“Sit!” The new guy barked, never taking his eyes away from Nigel.

Surprisingly, Drew stopped growling, stopped trying to shift, and sat back down in his chair without argument. Holy shit, who was this man?

“Are you ready, angel? Do you have a ride home?”

“I–I–I…my car is…it’s…” Nigel pressed his lips together and closed his eyes on a groan. Way to go, spaz. He blamed it on the endearment that had been spoken so softly to him. His heart was racing, his palms sweating, and a shiver worked its way up his spine. How was he supposed to think with his emotions so out of whack?

He’d gone from pissed to scared, back to angry, then terrified, and now he was fighting the urge to jump into his protector’s lap and lick every inch of him. Maybe it was the catnip. Perhaps the drug was still messing with him, confusing his poor confused brain.

Now that the guy was closer, Nigel could definitely scent shifter—canine, if he wasn’t mistaken. Maybe the man was a wolf like Drew. If so, it was the only characteristic they had in common. Then again, Drew had been very charming when they’d first met.

“What is your name?” the shifter asked him.

“Nigel Durbin.”

“Okay, Nigel.” His big hand came up to cradle Nigel’s cheek. “My name is Cayson Downs, and I’m going to take care of you, okay? Will you trust me to do that?”

ADULT EXCERPT

Nigel didn’t miss the snick of the bottle cap that punctuated that request. When did Cayson even get the lube? When a slick digit slipped between his butt cheeks and rubbed at his rim, Nigel decided it didn’t matter.

His entire body tensed, his muscles locked down, and his hole clenched tight in silent denial of what was coming. Cayson didn’t seem to be surprised or deterred by his reaction, though. He simply continued to ring his rosette with steady, gentle pressure.

The last thought made him giggle. “Ring around the rosy,” he said through his amusement. That statement just made him think of the crazy-ass toy they’d created for Salem a couple of months ago, which then sent him into more peals of laughter.

Instead of asking what his problem was, Cayson dropped his head, engulfing the head of Nigel’s cock into his moist mouth and effectively shutting him up. His tongue licked around the crown, paying special attention to the little bundle of nerves on the underside.

Nigel’s eyes rolled back in his head and his mouth fell open, but no sound emitted through his swollen lips. Oh, sweet mercy, how had he ever gone without experiencing this? The hard suction on his cock and the plump lips dragging up and down his shaft felt indescribable, a pleasure beyond words.

No way could it get any better.

Then he felt the guarding muscles of his hole give way as Cayson slowly inserted one thick finger. “Cayson!” He was going to cum again. His orgasm had become a living, breathing thing inside him, taking control of his body while demanding he obey the siren’s call of sublime release.

Apparently anticipating this, Cayson gently tugged on his sac, drawing his balls away from his body. Then his thumb and forefinger circled Nigel’s cock at the base and squeezed tight, forestalling any plans he had of orgasm. Cayson’s finger pushed deeper into his channel, pausing for just a moment before he began pumping it in the same rhythm he used to worship Nigel’s dick.

His mind floated somewhere above his body, and Nigel barely noticed when his mate added a second finger. The third digit burned, but the pain passed quickly, leaving only a deep ache that he feared would never be soothed.

Whipping his head back and forth on the pillow, Nigel babbled incoherently, begging for more, pleading with Cayson to push him over the edge. When that glorious mouth popped off his length and Cayson’s fingers slid from his hole, Nigel cried out in protest, practically sobbing with the need to come. “Please, oh, fucking hell.”

Cayson chuckled, the sound warm and sexy, sending a shiver of delight up Nigel’s spine. “Patience, angel.” Positioning himself on his knees, Cayson pushed at the back of Nigel’s thighs, urging his knees back toward his chest and opening him wide.

The nerves returned in full force, and Nigel suddenly felt very vulnerable being on display the way he was. The blunt tip of his lover’s cock pressed at his hole, and Cayson looked into his eyes, obviously waiting for permission.

“Wait!”

Immediately, Cayson backed off and just rubbed his palms up and down the outsides of Nigel’s thighs. “We can stop anytime.”

“No, no, I’m fine. Go ahead.” He sucked in a deep breath and tried to relax his muscles. Cayson repositioned himself, and that same pressure pushed at Nigel’s entrance, causing him to tense. “Wait!”

Cayson moved away again, but a little sigh escaped him this time. “Nigel, we don’t have to do this.”

“I want this. I’m okay. Just go slow.”

His mate looked a bit skeptical, but he gripped his hard length and lined up with Nigel’s entrance once more. When Nigel didn’t stop him this time, Cayson flexed his hips, pushing at the guarding muscles of Nigel’s hole until they finally yielded to him, allowing him entrance.

Nigel gasped, the pressure intense and overwhelming. Cayson’s sexy growl was well worth any discomfort, though. Inch by inch, his lover fed his thick shaft to Nigel’s ass until at last, their damp flesh pressed together, connecting them as closely as two people could be. Though it was obviously putting strain on him, Cayson held perfectly still, giving Nigel the time he needed to adjust to the invasion.

It wasn’t getting any better, though. “Just move.”

There was concern in his eyes, but Cayson obeyed, pulling out halfway and pushing back in. He did it once more, extracting a bit more of his length. On the third outward stroke, he kept going until only the flared helmet of his dick remained, paused briefly, and then thrust back inside, straining Nigel’s inner walls to maximum capacity.

By the time he had built up steady momentum, the burn had disappeared, and the fullness was something Nigel craved. His cock sprang back to life so quickly that it left him dizzy, pulsing between his thighs and leaking copious amounts of pre-cum. “Harder,” he urged, grabbing his knees to hold his legs in place as they started to shake.

Dropping over him and bracing himself on one hand, Cayson palmed Nigel’s prick and stroked him fast from root to tip. His eyes flashed with a primal fire, and more growls rolled up from his chest and through his lips. “Never felt like this,” he panted, snapping his hips at a demanding tempo as he drove into Nigel’s body. “So tight, so fucking hot. Can’t last.”

“Yes!” Nigel jerked beneath his lover, arching up to meet his thrusts. “Make you come. I mean, me. Me come, make you, now!” He had no idea what he was saying. His brain wouldn’t function properly, and his lips refused to remain firmly pressed together.