STORY EXCERPT

“Can I help you?” An older man in blue approached.

“I’m from Dark Horse. I’m supposed to meet the captain here.”

“Never heard of Dark Horse,” the cop countered. “Push off. This here’s a crime scene.”

“No shit. I would have never got that from the plethora of cop cars lining the street.” He stepped off the bike, and the cop visibly swallowed as he craned his neck to look up into Nick’s eyes.

“I, uh…”

“I’ll take it from here, Monroe.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Nick glanced up to the house as a man walked out, a badge on his belt. As he approached, Nick got a good look at him.

A real good look.

No way was this guy a captain. He couldn’t be a day from thirty. And since when did captains have ponytails? He wore dark-blond hair pulled away from high cheekbones that accented the most incredible blue eyes Nick had ever seen. He had a rugged, square jaw with a hint of a five-o’clock shadow—at ten in the morning.

His tall, trim body held Nick’s attention. The closer he got, the more Nick noticed how well he filled out his slacks, especially the bulge between his legs that drove Nick’s imagination wild. He licked his lips and held the man’s gaze.

“Are you the captain?”

“Why do you sound surprised?” When he smiled, flashing a blinding mouthful of pearly whites, Nick suppressed a groan at how striking this man was.

“You seem young.”

“I get that a lot. I bet we aren’t too far off in age.”

“I’m twenty-nine,” Nick offered, though he didn’t know why.

The captain’s smile widened, which sent his beautiful eyes into a wicked glimmer. “Aren’t we all?”

Nick really was but couldn’t think of a better retort than that, so he simply chuckled and let it go.

“Come on. What I need you for is inside.”

Nick followed him and tried not to be too obvious as he checked out the guy’s seriously fine ass. He definitely filled out his slacks quite nicely.

“He’s with me,” the captain announced, and for some reason Nick’s gut clenched. Once the uniform let them through the tape, the captain handed Nick paper booties and latex gloves. “Cover your shoes and slip these on.”

Nick looked at them and swallowed thickly. What did Burns get him into?

“I trust you know what to put where.”

Tossing the captain a look and holding it, Nick pulled the paper booties over his boots and then shoved his hands into the gloves. To demonstrate, he forced a smile as he lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers.

The captain put a new set of covers on before pointing out everything Nick needed to step around. “It’s a zoo in here right now. CSU is everywhere and will have your ass if you dirty up the scene. Watch your step.”

Nick didn’t know what to do, so he followed the captain’s instructions. He’d never been at a fresh crime scene before. It was a circus, with camera flashes and people shouting at each other, barking orders. Two men in dark clothes, both with little tablets in their hands and scribbling furiously, nodded at the captain as he walked by them.

“Anything?”

“Dispatch said the 9-1-1 call came from this address,” the taller of the two spoke up after giving Nick a quick assessment. “The only phone is in the kitchen, which is weird. Who only has one phone, and a corded one on the wall at that? It’s like a throwback to the seventies.”

“Is our vic the homeowner?”

“Yes, sir.” This time the shorter one spoke, again, only after giving Nick a once-over. These two clearly didn’t want to answer the captain’s questions in front of him, but must have enough respect for the captain to trust him.

“And the second vic?”

“Still working on that, sir.” The short one shot a look at Nick again.

“Dark Horse.” The captain nodded at Nick. “Special assignment. It’s okay.”

“Wait,” the taller one said as he pointed his pen at Nick. “Isn’t Dark Horse where we send—”

“It’s this way,” the captain cut him off and gave him a look. Both men nodded once and went back to their scribbling. “Follow me.”

He stopped at the entrance to what Nick assumed to be a bedroom. So far he hadn’t seen anything that made this house a crime scene.

And then he stepped into hell.

ADULT EXCERPT

“You saved my life today,” Nick corrected and cupped the back of Chris’s neck, ignoring the race of pain shocking his system. Chris tried to turn, but Nick held him close. “Don’t.”

“I’m a cop. I go through shit like this every day. This isn’t even the first time I’ve shot someone.” His voice shook with such raw emotion that Nick’s eyes burned with emotion in return. “But the thought of losing you…” He trailed off and sucked in a breath.

“I feel you in my soul, Chris.” His words came from someplace so deep inside him he didn’t even know it existed. He knew he’d never survive the rest of the night if he didn’t have Chris beside him. “Stay with me.”

“Tonight?”

“For starters.” He needed Chris, all of him, inside and out. He needed to touch him, feel his touch in return, and get lost in him.

Chris stood off the bed and undressed, never taking his heavy gaze off Nick. In turn Nick removed his shorts and tossed them aside. His cock throbbed, and he swore he had to be harder than he’d ever been in his life.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?”

Nick threw the blankets off him and fisted his erection. “I’m sure. Come here, baby.”

Chris grabbed a small foil pouch and a little tube of lubrication.

“Come prepared?”

“I’m always prepared,” he said as he sat back on Nick’s lap, straddling a leg on either side of him.

Nick grabbed Chris’s hips and rocked his own, rubbing his cock up against its mate. Chris’s head tipped back as a whisper of a moan slipped past his lips.

“Nick, I need you now.”

“We’ve got all night.”

He whimpered and moved his hips so that Nick’s cock slipped behind him, wedging between his cheeks. Chris reached back and squeezed Nick’s erection before rolling the condom over it. He then slathered lube all over.

When Nick felt the head of his cock nuzzle up against Chris’s tender entrance, he grabbed Chris’s hips to slow him down. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“So we’ll go slow.” He wiggled and pressed against Nick’s erection. The tip slipped beyond the unbelievably small, tight hole. Chris panted and bit his lip as he worked to sink down on Nick’s rigid flesh.

He refused to rush through this. Nick needed to feel every inch of Chris and wanted to experience every ripple of his muscles when his orgasm tore through him.

“Oh, Nick.” Chris lowered his head and met Nick’s lips, licking at them, as he took Nick’s cock all the way inside his ass. His breath caught when Nick rocked his hips and started to move. “It feels so good. So good, baby. Oh, my God. Oh, yeah.”

Chris lifted himself, almost completely disengaging them, then slowly sank back down, creating a friction that had Nick groaning into Chris’s mouth. Nick felt the walls of Chris’s ass caress his thick shaft, accept him in, swelling his heart as he made love to the man he wanted to call his forever.

Nick knew the instant he fell absolutely and irrevocably in love with Chris Taylor. It was like a switch had been flipped, where night became day and the world shifted off its axis. He knew, there and then, that he’d never make it another day without Chris in his life permanently.

He moved his hips gently, taking in every second of this sweet paradise. He never wanted it to end. Chris raked his nails against Nick’s scalp, and it drove him wild. Moving in long, steady strokes, Nick buried his cock inside of Chris, over and over, building the pleasure that threatened to consume them both.

“Let me have you.” Nick dug his fingers into Chris’s slender hips as his release drove his motions faster, harder. “All of you, Chris. I need all of you.”

“I’m yours,” he whispered and arched his back as he grabbed his own cock and squeezed. He then stroked in time with Nick’s thrusts. “Oh, Nick. I’m all yours. Don’t stop. Oh, please. I’m so close.”

Something changed between them as they pushed each other closer to the cataclysmic explosion. Nick felt it. It was more than just physical pleasure they shared. Chris’s touch became deeper, more possessive, as he fisted Nick’s hair and whimpered out Nick’s name.

“Chris.” Nick took his lips and consumed them as he couldn’t hold back. The cum bubbled in his balls and climbed inside his cock like mercury on the hottest day of summer. With each stroke he brought their worlds together all that more.