Finished & Submitted: Protective Custody

PROTECTIVE CUSTODY

By Stormy Glenn

Hayden Flynn saw something that put his life in jeopardy. Put into protective custody for his own safety, he’s whisked away to a secret location. Pretending to be someone’s live-in lover isn’t so bad except his new love interest is a man.

Christian Jackson had been an F.B.I. agent for several years. He had been trained by the best but nothing prepared him for his next assignment—pretending to be the gay lover to the hottest straight man he had ever seen. Trying to keep Hayden alive seems to be easier than keeping his hands off of the man.

When Jackson and Hayden finally give into their desire, sparks fly. Hayden tries to blame it on the threat of death hanging over his head. Jackson tries to pretend that it wasn’t the best night of his life. Both men are confused by the feelings developing between them. But that doesn’t seem to matter when they discover that the threat to Hayden’s life is even closer than they thought.

http://www.stormyglenn.com/protectivecustody.htm

STORY EXCERPT

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Jackson." Deputy Director Malone motioned with his hand. "Come in and shut the door."

Christopher Jackson stepped into the director's office and shut the door behind him. He nodded to the other man in the room, a man he knew well, and walked over to stand in front of the director's desk, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited to find out why he had been called to the director's office.

"Oh," the director said when he looked up from the papers he was reading over. He waved his hand. "Have a seat, Jackson."

Jackson sat down, although he felt a little funny about doing so when his immediate supervisor, Special Agent Maxwell Bernaro, was sitting on the edge of the director's desk, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I need you for a special assignment, Jackson," the director began.

"Yes, sir."

Deputy Director Malone set his pen down and leaned back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Without the director looking straight at him, Jackson could still see that the man was worn out and tired. He had the beginning of light bags under his eyes and age lines that had never been there before.

Jackson wouldn't want his job for love or money.

"How long have you been with the agency, Jackson?" the director asked as he lowered his hands to his desk and looked at Jackson.

"Seven years, sir. Two years as a field agent and five years on the Alpha One Fly Team."

"And before that?"

Jackson wasn’t really sure where this line of questioning was going. "Five years with Navy Intelligence, sir."

The chief looked down at a file lying open on his desk, nodding as he read. Jackson knew it was his file. He could see his name at the top in big bold black letters. Jackson glanced up at Max, wondering why the man was here if the special assignment was meant for him.

"It says here that your area of expertise is technical analyst for one of our fly teams."

"Yes, sir."

The chief glanced back up, his face stretched tight with a grim look. "Do you like working in the field, Jackson?"

"Very much, sir."

"You came highly recommended by Special Agent Bernaro."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me yet, Jackson. You haven't heard what the assignment is."

"Yes, sir."

"I have a situation that requires someone with your unique set of skills."

Jackson's eyebrows shot up. "My unique set of skills, sir?" What in the hell was that supposed to mean? His one main skill was being a technical analyst. He wasn't good at much else. He couldn't even drive a car.

"He means you being gay, Jackson," Max said.

"Oh." Jackson wasn't exactly sure being gay was a skill—at least, not that he had heard of.

"Yes, well…" The director's face flushed. He looked uncomfortable. Max did not. He looked amused. The slight smirk on the man’s face was a big clue.

Jackson had never hidden the fact he was gay from anyone. Everyone on his team knew he was. He refused to hide it. He was gay. So the fuck what? Jackson just didn't understand what  sleeping with other men had to do with this current assignment.

"While this wouldn't normally even be discussed in the bureau, Special Agent Bernaro is correct in this instance." The director folded his withered hands together and rested his elbows on the desk, his face still slightly flushed. "Your unique skills would be of great asset on this assignment."

"My gayness would be of great asset?" Jackson glanced from the director over to his immediate supervisor. He wasn’t sure he liked where this was going. Never before had his being gay affected his job in any way. Now they wanted to use his sexual orientation? "For what?"

"Have you ever heard of the RAF?"

Jackson’ brows pulled together as he quickly racked his memory for the definition of those letters. "The Revolutionary Armed Forces, sir?"

The director nodded. "We've suspected for some time that they were moving arms into the country. For what purpose, we haven't been able to discover, but it's something big. The shipments that we have been able to track have been moving into the country at an alarming rate, nearly two a week for the last six weeks."

"Last week we were able to track one of those shipments to an Irish pub in Boston," Max added.

"An Irish pub in Boston?" Jackson arched an eyebrow in amusement. "You don't say."

"This is no laughing matter, Agent Jackson," the chief snapped.

"No, of course not, sir." Jackson instantly straightened his shoulders and dropped the smile from his face. "If you want to give me the pertinent facts to the case it shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours to get up to speed. I can have a suggested scenario for you by morning."

"That’s not why you're here, Jackson," Max said.

It wasn't? Jackson glanced between the chief and Max. He was a technical analyst. Putting bits of information together to make a whole picture was what he did. "So, what do you need me to do then?"

"The pub where the arms shipments have been going to is owned by a man named Hayden Flynn."

"Is he a suspect?"

"No." The chief grimaced. "He's a witness, a very important witness."

ADULT EXCERPT

Jackson groaned and rolled over the second the door closed behind Hayden. This was such an extremely bad idea. He thought it was a bad idea when Max approached him about it but he had wanted to get out into the field and look good for the boss. Now, he was positive he should have turned the assignment down.

This was an incredibly fucking bad idea.

Jackson reached under his body and palmed his aching cock. His body seemed to know that he was trapped in Hayden’s arms even before he did. He had woken up surrounded by the man’s raw and powerful musculature —which only resulted in Jackson’s hard as steel erection..

Even knowing that Hayden was running from him hadn’t been enough to dampen the lust running rampant through his body. Nothing seemed to make his cock deflate, not even thinking about how bad of an idea this was.

Jackson groaned again and humped his hips, driving his cock through the firm grip of his fingers. He closed his eyes and imagined that it was Hayden holding him, that the man’s large strong hand was wrapped around his cock instead of his own hand.

The image began to build stronger and more vivid in his mind as he moved his hips faster and faster–Hayden’s fingers tightening around his erection, the man’s thumb rubbing across the slit at the top of Jackson’s swollen dick and then raked over the bundle of nerves just below the head.

He moved his hand faster and then squeezed his cock so tight that he thought he would break the damn thing. Jackson needed to come and he needed it now. He drew his knees up and moved his free hand down past his balls. He slid a single finger into his tight puckered hole, twisting his finger until he felt the tip slide against the little pleasure button inside his ass that made him gasp.

Jackson rocked on his finger as he rocked on his knees, his hips moving faster. He slipped in another finger inside his asshole, pushing the digits apart, stretching himself out as he imaged that it was Hayden’s dick splitting him apart. Wiggling his fingers around some more, Jackson started fucking himself.

Oh hell, that felt so damn good.

He shoved his fingers in and out of his ass, still imagining that it was the hard cock he had woken up to, pressing into his ass instead of his own fingers.

Never before in his life had he wanted someone to fuck him as badly as he wanted Hayden to shove his damn dick up Jackson’s ass. He wanted to man’s lips on his body, his teeth nipping his flesh, his body driving in Jackson’s.

Jackson’s hole clenched tight around his fingers at the fantasy building in his head, making him groan with need. He just bet Hayden would be a fantastic lover. The man was built to please whoever he fucked. Jackson was pretty sure Hayden could make him call to the gods. That thought send a spike of thrill through his body, making his cock impossibly harder.

His erection slid through his hand every time he thrust forward, wishing it was Hayden who was behind him instead of Jackson’s fingers. He could feel his balls drawing up tight against his body, his orgasm almost on him.

Almost there.

Jackson yanked his hand from his ass and then curled it into a fist, shoving the knuckles into his mouth to keep from crying out loud as his seed erupted into a sticky mess in his hand. He gave his cock a few last strokes as his body jerked with the last of his climax and then dropped his hand.

Flopping down onto the mattress, Jackson buried his flushed face in the pillows. His burning lust had been temporarily extinguished but somehow, he felt worse now than he had before he started jerking himself off.

He had no idea how long this assignment was going to last but he was pretty damn sure he wasn’t going to make it until this debauched mess was over. He had been attracted to Hayden Flynn from the moment he saw the man’s picture. Meeting him in person just made it all that much worse. Living in the same house was going to be damn near impossible.

Waking up in Hayden’s arms was going to kill Jackson.

Retro Release Special Discount

Retro Release Special Discount: This title is offered at a 50% discount. Offer ends midnight CST, December 24th.

Scales and a Tail (MM)
Midnight Matings

[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Paranormal Romance, M/M, shape-shifters]

The paranormal world is in chaos. The elders are tired of their younger people playing the field, causing trouble, and fighting with each other. Everyone who attends the UPAC Conference now has twenty-four hours to claim a mate of a different species. If they don't, they will never have a mate. The spell is cast. There is no escaping the Midnight Matings.

Beauregard Stratford is a bunny shifter. Simple enough, right? Unfortunately, he is the only white bunny shifter in existence. He also is cursed with violet eyes, hyperactivity, a strong weakness for anything shiny, and a penchant for leaving bubble gum everywhere.

When he finds himself mated to Sebastian Drakus, a dragon shifter and prince of his kind, Beauregard can't seem to make himself behave no matter how hard he tries. He wants to be good, to make Sebastian proud of him, really he does, but things just keep happening to him…bubble gum mishaps, getting drunk, not to mention the fact that he is a true bunny and constantly horny. Nothing seems to go right. Can he convince Sebastian he's worth the trouble, or will the dragon prince wash his hands of the whole bunny fiasco?
http://www.bookstrand.com/scales-and-a-tail

Amber Kell Birthday Bash~

Cebrus allowed Silvan to take his hand and lead him upstairs. All he wanted was food, a soft bed and Silvan’s hard body beside him. The more he saw the prince the more he liked him. Whether it was stay-with-him forever kind of love was a different thing but he did like the idea of waking up to gorgeous man beside him.

A wave of shyness struck him as they reached the room and Silvan locked the door behind them.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the food?” Cebrus asked. He didn’t dare ask about the luxury of a bath. The odds of them even having a bathtub at the inn were meager.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t warm you up while we wait,” Silvan said. He backed Cebrus up against the wall and slipped off his sopping coat. “Poor little bird you’re probably freezing.”

“Let me get the fire started. Maybe we should’ve eaten downstairs until they prepped the room better. There is always fresh bedding but the room is pretty cold.

Silvan stack the wood in the fireplace careful to put lots of kindling. He pulled out his wand and started the fire with a flick of the wooden stick.

Cebrus moved closer to the fire, his body shaking from the cold and wet.

“Let’s get you out of these clothes. You’ll feel better if we share some body heat,” Silvan coaxed.

“Is that the line you use with all the boys?” It was difficult to sound cynical when your teeth were rattling about in your head.

“Surprisingly enough I don’t usually need a line. They eagerly jump into bed with a prince. You’re the only one I need to find excuses for and I’ve discovered I’m quite bad at it.” The prince’s wry smile melted Cebrus’s heart a little bit. Maybe the cocky prince wasn’t as confident as he pretended.

A knock at he door heralded their dinner.

Silvan let in the serving girl who quickly set up a large tray on the little table.

“Is there anything else I can get for your majesty, or your guest,” she added quickly.

“No that will be all.” Silvan tossed her a coin and locked the door after her. “So my dear food or cuddling first?”

Cebrus’s stomach growled like a wild beast making both men laugh.

“I guess my body votes for food.”

Silvan glared at Cebrus’s stomach. “I see I’ll need to lecture your stomach over its priorities later but for now we’ll obey its dictates.”

Silvan lifted up lid off the enormous tray and picked up a bowl of stew.

Cebrus stripped off his shirt, yanked off his boots then lets his pants and underclothes drop to the floor. Stark naked he climbed onto the bed and tucked himself beneath the sheets.

He tried for an innocent look while Silvan froze in the middle of the room staring at him.

“There’s nothing to say we can’t eat in bed,” Cebrus said innocently.

 http://amberkell.wordpress.com/

Available for Pre-Order - Poppy's Pleasure

Poppy's Pleasure

( Assassin's Pride #2 )

 

PRE-ORDER TODAY!

AVAILABLE: Tuesday, November 24th

 

Poppy lives in hell. His only bright spot is his friend Marcus. If he can save Marcus, Poppy knows that he will have done one good thing in his life...then he has to go back to hell.

 

Dean Stone is an assassin without remorse. He's also damn sure that he has stepped into a crazy world. His friend is mated to a shape shifting cat, his other friends are missing, and the agency he works for is a mess.

When Dean goes to get Marcus, he finds Poppy--sweet, innocent, and sexy. Poppy clings to Dean like a second skin. Dean doesn't have the heart to deny him, even when taking care of Poppy turns into a full time, and dangerous, job.

http://www.stormyglenn.com/poppy'spleasure.htm

Release Day - Dangerous Desires

Dangerous Desires (MMM) 
Tri-Omega Mates 7

AVAILABLE NOW!

http://www.bookstrand.com/dangerous-desires

Siro Castilian works undercover in the hunter militia. When he learns of a mission to wipe out his mate’s entire pack, he races to warn Conner McGregor in time. But Conner doesn’t believe Siro about them being mates and shoots him.

Conner McGregor wants to believe the hunter that warns him about the impending attack, but everyone knows that mates are found by scent and Siro doesn’t have the mate scent. The hunter has to be lying.

Yuri Miroslav is enraged when he tracks down his mate and finds him shot and bleeding. He has to help him escape the hunters before he can prove to the man that they are mates. Even then he can’t claim Siro because the man is a Tri Omega and their other mate is not only dangerous, he’s a McGregor, and the McGregor pack can’t be trusted.

When Siro, Yuri, and Conner come together, it’s dangerous for all of them. If they can learn to stand together instead of alone, they might have a chance of living through the mess they are pulled into. If not, they are in danger of losing more than their lives. They are in danger of losing each other.
 

Finished & Submitted: Unconventional Mate

UNCONVENTIONAL MATE

Katzman 5

Nari Khenti is running for his life. His contract holder has been murdered and he’s accused of the crime. Now, the real killer is after him, intent on killing Nari. The only place he can think of hiding is on Katzmann.

Semyon Barak is concerned when Doctor Saris tells him someone stowed away on his ship until he realizes that the gorgeous green eyed man is his ate—his very pregnant mate. Now he has to figure out how to keep the frightened man safe while keeping the hardest truth from them…the fact that they are mates.

Taking Nari into the desert might not be the best choice possible but it’s the only one Semyon has because the man after Nari is closing in on them and he has the power of the Elquone thrown behind him. Semyon will have to use every bit of training he’s ever had to keep his mate and their child alive because if the dangers of the desert don’t kill them, the bands of roaming bandits just might.

http://www.stormyglenn.com/unconventionalmate.htm

STORY EXCERPT

“Okay.” Saris started wringing his hands together as he walked away from Chellak and began pacing. “I was going through the supplies that Semyon had brought in on his last mission when I came across a box that wasn’t on the manifest. At first, I didn’t think much about it. Mix-ups like that happen, you know?”

“But?” Chellak encouraged.

Saris tossed his hand up in the air again, looking exasperated. “But the damn box started making tapping noises.”

Semyon’s jaw dropped. “Taping noises?”

Saris nodded rapidly. “When I tapped back, I heard someone speaking from inside the box.”

“There was someone in the box?” Why hadn’t he heard anything when he checked the supplies? Hell, how had he missed an extra box that wasn’t on the manifest? He usually wasn’t so oblivious.

Semyon was very stringent when it came to loading his ship. For someone to get an unmarked box past him was a feat. Now he was just as curious as Chellak. He also wanted to know who in the hell had gotten past him.

“Yes. His name is Nari. He’s the man Garret was telling me about, the one the rumors are about.”

Chellak sighed as he walked back over to sit behind his desk. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment and then clasped his hands together. “From the beginning, Saris. What rumors?”

 “Nari is Brüter. He entered into a contract with a man off world. It seemed to be a good match from everything I heard, and then suddenly Nari was brought back to Elquone to face charges that he killed the contract holder. When it was discovered that Nari was carrying, his execution was held off until after the child is born, which is in about two month, give or take a week.”

“Wait,” Semyon said as he stepped toward the doctor, feeling a sudden unfamiliar urge to know everything about the rumors Saris had heard. “I thought he was being brought back to face charges. I didn’t hear you say that he was found guilty in a trial.”

“That’s because there was no trial.” Saris’s words were controlled.

“Then how–“

“The family of the man Nari was charged with killing comes from money, a lot of money. They greased the right palms and the High Ruler declared Nari guilty without a trial.”

“Can he do that?” Semyon asked as he looked at Chellak.

“I don’t think so, but things are still pretty precarious on Elquone since the last High Ruler died. I’m sure a lot of things go on that aren’t exactly above board.”

“Nari says he didn’t kill the man. It was the guy’s brother,” Saris quickly added.

“Do you believe him?” Chellak asked.

Saris’s lips thinned and he looked pensive, as if he was truly giving the question some thought. “I can’t honestly say. I know Nari is terrified. The brother is demanding the babe be turned over to him as required by the contract. He is saying that the babe is the only thing he has left of his brother.”

“Isn’t the contract nullified once the contract holder dies?” Chellak asked.

“Yes, and that’s what they are using to convict Nari. They say that he killed the contract holder in order to keep his babe. Word is that Nari is insane.”

When Saris pulled out a vid-pad and held it out to Chellak, Semyon peeked down at the information before the vid-pad passed into Chellak’s hands. His breathe caught in his throat when he saw the vivid green eyes staring back at him from the picture of the man in the contract.

Those eyes mystified him. There was so much hope and determination in them. How could a man with that kind of outlook on life become a cold blooded killer?

“Is he insane?” Semyon asked.

“I think he’s terrified.” Sadness sapped the color from Saris’s face. “They want to take his babe from him. I think he has a right to be terrified.” Saris looked up. There were tears in his eyes as he glanced over at Semyon and Chellak. “I would be if someone tried to take my baberen.”

“Is there anything we can do to help him?” There had to be something. Semyon didn’t know the guy but he felt for him. And that was strange. Semyon didn’t tend to make a lot of personal friendships, not after watching Bogden—the shaikh of the Leonid pride on Katzmann—get betrayed by another warrior. It had almost cost Bogden his life–and his mate. Semyon never wanted to be put in that position.

“If we continue to hide him here on Katzmann, Chellak could get in trouble with the Federation. But, if we turn him over to the High Ruler of Elquone, then Nari will lose his babe and be executed,” Saris said as if he were truly split on what to do. 

“I’ll take him.” It was a bold statement. Semyon barely registered what came out of his mouth before both Saris and Chellak were staring at him like he might be as crazy as Nari. Maybe he was, but Semyon couldn’t allow Nari to be killed for a crime he hadn't even had a chance to have a trial for. It wasn’t right, and Semyon wasn’t going to allow the man to come to any harm.

“Semyon,” Chellak said slowly, “do you know what you’re saying?”

Not really.

“If I sign a contract with Nari and claim him according to Katzman law, it should keep them from forcing him to return to Elquone and keep Chellak from being caught in the middle of this shit storm.”

“Semyon, you can’t mate with someone that isn’t your mate,” Chellak insisted with adamancy. “Even you now that.”

Semyon grabbed the vid-pad from Chellak and stared down at the man’s green eyes again. He could feel something move inside of him, something he had not experienced before–at least, not on this level.

The urge to protect the man and his unborn babe became almost more impetrative than the duty he felt toward Chellak Rai, and that was something he had lived by for more years than he could count. He felt an overwhelming need to physically claim the man, to protect him and cherish him.

And that was insane, because it could only mean one thing.

“I think he is my mate.”

 

ADULT EXCERPT

Nari’s hands clutched in the blankets on either side of him as Semyon’s mouth moved along the vulnerable arch of his throat, lavishing his skin with kisses and little nips from his sharp teeth. When that wasn’t enough, Nari reached up and fisted his hand in Semyon’s hair, holding the man’s head to him.

“Need you so much, Nari.” Semyon’s voice seemed to glide over Nari’s body like the brush of silken sheets against his skin. It made him ache with want. “Always going to need you,” Semyon whispered along Nari’s sensitive skin.

Nari shuddered. He couldn’t explain the indisputable bond between them. There was some force beyond his comprehension, driving him toward Semyon, making him want to beg for the man’s touch. He just no longer cared what it was, or even why it was.

Nari licked his dry lips nervously, needing to touch Semyon as much as he needed to feel his touch. Semyon’s rough, rasping tongue stroked over his neck. When Semyon’s mouth closed over the mating mark, sucking at the flesh softly, tenderly, Nari felt his cock swell and pulse.

 “My mayht, always mine,” Semyon whispered against Nari’s skin.

Semyon’s golden eyes glittered with sexual intent as the man raised his head and gazed down at Nari. His cheekbones appeared flushed beneath the dark tan, his lips fuller, more sensual. They looked kissable.

Much to Nari’s relief, Semyon leaned down and latched onto his mouth. Their tongues danced together, gently exploring, tasting, until air became a necessity. They both drew deep drags of air into their lungs. Their lips met seconds later but this time it wasn't the slow gentle kiss it had been before. This time it was out of control, frantic, and filled with everything needy.

When Semyon lifted his head and gazed down at Nari, there was a feral light in his eyes that almost scared Nari. If it wasn’t for the gentle way that Semyon caressed his skin and moved down his body, Nari would have questioned his intentions.

Nari licked his lips, starting to pant with need as Semyon spread his legs and knelt between them, crying out when he felt Semyon’s fingers brush over his tight entrance. He squirmed when Semyon pushed his legs up, fighting for breath.

Semyon’s tongue slid down to Nari’s puckered hole and swirled around. Nari gasped for breath as Semyon licked him, Semyon’s growls of pleasure echoing through his body. He could feel a wild, uncontrollable sensation building. His body tingled. The pressure increased as Semyon’s tongue stroked around his ass, over it, pushing gently but insistently against his tight opening.

“Semyon.” Nari’s plea was a breathless moan as his hands went to Semyon’s shoulders, his nails biting into the man’s tanned skin. He needed. “Please.”

Semyon was up and between his legs before Nari could barely register the man moving. Nari gasped as the thick length of Semyon’s cock slid into him, stretching him. One hard thrust buried the thick erection into Nari’s body to the hilt.

Nari watched Semyon’s handsome face stiffen, his jaw ticking as he fought for control. His eyes closed and his body went tight, tense. Nari’s breath caught in his throat as he watched, entranced. Semyon was a creature of pure beauty as his control fought his need for pleasure.

Semyon’s eyes opened just as quickly as they had closed. He started moving, thrusting his hard length in and out of Nari’s tight hole. The burning intensity in Semyon’s eyes as he looked down at Nari made him gasp. No one had ever looked at him with such need, such want, or with such tenderness. Nari felt like he could live the rest of his life in that look.

Semyon drove his cock harder and harder into Nari, rocking the carriage with the force of his thrusts. Nari moaned as the long thick cock that seemed to fill him so perfectly brushed across his prostate with every thrust of Semyon’s hips.

His head arched back as Semyon leaned down over him and nuzzled at his neck. He groaned, shivering at the feel of Semyon’s teeth scraping over his throat. Semyon licked the soft flesh just beneath Nari’s ear before sinking his teeth in.

“Semy!” Nari cried out. He was held still by Semyon’s hard body, his thrusting hips, and the sharp fangs imbedded in his skin. Semyon growled around the flesh in his mouth, low, primal, demanding Nari’s surrender as he drove his cock into Nari over and over again.

Nari’s eyes widened and he stared at the room of the carriage in stunned silence for a second before his orgasm hit and he screamed. His climax was like a tidal wave, tearing through him. He held tight to Semyon’s hair, praying for some anchor to hold him to this realm of existence because he was positive he was dying.

No one could survive that much pleasure.

Finished & Submitted: Julian's Happy Place

JULIAN’S HAPPY PLACE

Aberdeen Pack 2

Djal was just trying to do his duty as beta of his pack when he made one small mistake and now he has a pack member chasing after him, intent on mating him. If Djal doesn’t figure out how to stop Julian’s obsession with him, he just might strangle the man.

Julian has lived through hell, more so than most people know. When freedom comes, Julian is still faced with people out to harm him. The mere sight of the big strong beta makes Julian feel safer. One night spent together convinces Julian that Djal would be the perfect mate. He just has to catch Djal first.

When Djal discovers that someone is abusing Julian, the protective streak he tried so hard to control breaks free. It goes way beyond what Djal knows he should feel for a mere pack member and only by giving in to Julian can Djal come to terms with the need growing inside of him. But before Djal can save Julian, he has to figure out who is after him, and Julian isn’t talking.

http://www.stormyglenn.com/julian'shappyplace.htm

STORY EXCERPT

Djal slipped around the side of the house then pressed his large body back against the wooden building. He closed his eyes and prayed when he heard the quick patter of feet running past his hiding position. He opened his eyes and held his breath as he watched Julian hurry past him as if he was invisible.

And he wished he was.

This thing with Julian was really getting out of hand. If the man wasn’t trying to chase Djal down, he was staring mooneyes at him. Djal had barely had a minute to himself in two weeks. If something didn’t change soon, Djal was going to strangle the little guy.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Julian, because he did. Julian was cute, and he made Djal laugh. But every time Julian looked at him, he had daydreams in his eyes, and that just wasn’t who Djal was. He didn’t sleep with every Tom, Dick, and Harry that came around but he liked keeping his options open.

Julian wanted commitment. He wanted a mate and he wanted Djal to be that mate. Everyone knew it. Djal felt like he had become the butt of everyone’s laughter over the last two weeks. And just because he had tried to comfort the guy after he had been kidnapped and attacked by his ex.

Djal knew he made a mistake when he offered comfort to the man. He knew it when he did it. It should have simply been the beta of the pack–Djal–comforting a pack member–Julian–as was his duty.

It had turned into far more and now Djal was paying the price. It had gotten to the point where Djal was avoiding pack gatherings just so that he wouldn’t run into Julian. The guy was sweet, maybe too sweet. There was a gentle nature about Julian that called to every protective instinct Djal had and maybe a few he didn’t even know he had.

Djal wanted to wrap Julian up in bubble wrap so the world couldn’t hurt him. And that was dangerous–to Djal, to Julian, and to the pack. Djal had no doubt that if he gave into the crawling need that ate away at him every time he smelled Julian’s alluring scent, he would forsake everything in order to keep Julia safe, even his duty to his alpha and their pack.

And in all of the years that he knew Iben Khenti, Djal had never let the man down. He wasn’t about to start now, and that meant staying as far away from his cute little pack mate as he possibly could–no matter how much he wanted to taste Julian’s sweetness again.

When the sounds of Julian’s footsteps faded, Djal blew out a frustrated breath and pushed himself away from the side of the house. He cast a quick glance down the path Julian had taken and then hurried it into the alpha house.

Djal wanted to sink into a hole the moment he closed the door and realized that Iben and his mate Zack were in the great room, staring right at him with a good deal of amusement on their faces.

“Problems, Djal?” Iben’s eyebrow quirked as the man asked a question he already knew the answer to.

Djal curled back his upper lip as he growled at his alpha. He was probably one of the few people in the world that could get away with such an action without losing his head. Iben had befriended Djal and his siblings, Sissy and Rory, when they were toddlers. They had stood side by side in support of the man ever since.

“I swear to god, Iben,” Djal grumbled as he pushed a hand through his long hair in frustration and stalked into the great room, “if something isn’t done about Julian pretty soon, I’m going to flip the hell out.”

Iben laughed. “He likes you.”

“He’s obsessed!” What part of that didn’t Iben get? Taking a deep, unsteady breath, he stepped back from his alpha and lowered his tone. Iben would have his butt in a sling if he was disrespectful. “He won’t leave me alone, Iben. He follows me everywhere. I can’t get a moment alone.”

“Would it be so bad to be with Julian? He’s actually a pretty great guy.”

Djal’s eyes snapped to Zackary Evans, the mate to Alpha Ibenré Khenti. Zack was crazy about Iben, and protective as hell. He saw his duty to the alpha to keep him safe and happy. He would never understand the need Djal had to keep all of his pack safe. It was ingrained in him, part of his very DNA. He could no more deny his need than he could deny his pack or an order from his alpha.

“My duty is to Iben and this pack,” Djal replied. “I don’t have time for a mate.”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you slept with Julian.”

Djal’s eyes narrowed. While he hadn’t come right and said he slept with Julian, pretty much everyone knew he had. Djal wasn’t proud of that fact simply because he had been trying to comfort the guy, not fuck him into the mattress.

But one thing had let to another and things happened.

“It was a onetime thing,” Djal insisted.

“Does Julian know?” Zack asked.

“I told him.” And he still felt the weight of his guilt at the tears that had sprung to Julian’s eyes when he did. But, no matter how he felt, Djal couldn’t back down. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, be the mate that Julian was dreaming of.

There was just no way.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Kiss me, pup.”

Djal was ready for Julian to kiss him. He was even ready for the man’s eagerness. He wasn’t ready for the streak of lust that flared to life deep inside of him the second Julian’s lips touched his.

Julian wasn’t a graceful kisser and he certainly wouldn’t win any awards. But he more than made up for that lack of expertise with pure enthusiasm. Julian kissed Djal with a hunger that rocked Djal to the core.

Crushing Julian to him, Djal pressed his mouth more firmly against Julian’s. He moved his mouth over Julian’s, devouring its softness. He stroked his tongue across Julian’s lips, tasting him. When Julian’s lips parted, Djal delved inside to explore and conquer.

Djal pinned Julian against his chest and moved his lips over the man’s jaw, kissing a line to his swan like neck. Djal brushed his lips over Julian’s throat. His lips left a blazing trail on Julian’s heated skin. He kissed the silky skin at the base of Julian’s throat.

Something intense flared inside of him when Julian moaned. Djal felt a possessiveness that was far beyond anything he had ever felt for Iben, Sissy, or Rory. He needed to possess Julian, to feel the man submit to him, to his wolf. He needed to know that Julian belonged to him and him alone.

And Djal suspected Julian needed the same thing.

“Mine,” Djal growled savagely against Julian’s throat. His nipped at the bite mark he had left, licking across it with his tongue. Julian’s shudders filled him with an overwhelming need to give the man more–more pleasure, more caring, more everything.

He felt the harsh uneven breathing coming from Julian’s body. It was as poignant as the hard cock pressing against Djal’s abdomen. Julian’s body seemed to ache for his touch. His beautiful green eyes were no longer pale but stunningly emerald green.

Djal stroked his hands down Julian’s side until he reached the man’s ass–and what an ass it was, tight and rounded and made to be fucked. Djal didn’t want to tell Julian that. It seemed wrong and out of place.

“Are you ready for me, pup?”

Julian gulped and nodded.

Djal kept his eyes locked with Julian’s–watching for any sign of pain as he lathered his fingers with lube then slowly pushed one into Julian’s tight ass. Except for the slight inhale of breath, Julian didn’t move a muscle.

He pulled his finger out then pushed back in, gently fucking Julian with his finger. When he thought that Julian could take more, Djal pressed in another finger and wiggled it around.

Julian suddenly wailed when Djal pushed in a third finger and altered the angle of his thrusts. Djal knew that he had hit Julian’s prostate. He started to move his fingers in a steady rhythm, making sure he stroked his fingers over Julian’s sweet spot as often as he could.

"Oh gods...Djal...I have to...oh please." Julian clutched at Djal’s arm, his nails digging in as he started moving his hips, pushing back against Djal’s fingers. “I need!”

“I know what you need, pup.”

 Djal fucked Julian’s ass a few more times and then pulled them free. He grabbed the tube of lube and spread some on his cock. Julian had plenty of lube already in his ass but Djal wasn’t taking any chances.

The air around Djal seemed electrified as he lifted Julian up by his hips then slowly lowered the man down onto his thick cock, gently thrusting into him. He pressed in a little more each time, and Julian rocked back, silently begging for more. With every inch that slid inside of him, Julian’s eyes widened until they dominated his face.

Once Julian’s body rested fully against his, Djal paused. It took every ounce of control he had honed over the years to keep from plunging into Julian’s sweet body. He wanted to give in to the blazing fire burning inside of him, to plunge deep inside of Julian.

He just couldn’t.

He wouldn’t move until Julian gave him the okay.

“Djal, please, I…more, I need more.”

Oh, thank fuck!