STORY EXCERPT

A knock at the door sent a jolt through his chest, causing him to startle. He swallowed, his throat still dry. 

Percy exhaled hard, shivering as if coming out of a bad dream. The knock sounded again. A familiar knock. Why did Santiago always use Shave and a Hair Cut? 

Taking one last glance at the pantry—still open, still waiting—he turned and headed for the front door. Percy cursed when he tripped over his own shoes he’d left in the way.

“One of these days they’re gonna make me actually fall. Breaking News: Percy Weaver Knocked Unconscious by Laziness. News at Eleven.”

Santiago stood there, broad and easy, like he hadn’t just halted Percy’s spiraling thoughts with nothing more than his presence. Hazel eyes flicked over him, but not in a way that lingered. “Did you get a full view of my almost-death?” 

“You gonna let me in?” Santiago smirked, leaning a brawny shoulder against the doorframe. “Or are we chatting through the screen?”

 The sight of him had Percy’s heart racing, like the day they’d met. He knew the big guy was sweet on him, and the feeling was mutual. Only, since Percy’s ordeal… He shoved the thought aside, refusing to dwell on it. What was done was done. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t bust through the screen to save me from faceplanting.” He pulled the door open wider. “My wayward shoes could’ve assaulted me.” 

Santiago chuckled, stepping inside the house. Percy sniffed, trying to catch a hint of Santiago’s cologne, but all he smelled was cooked garlic and butter.

“You cooking?” One of Santiago’s thick brows arched. Sexy bastard.

“Attempting to, but the humidity is trying to drown me in there.” Percy walked back to the kitchen, Santiago on his heels. He could feel the man staring lasers into his ass. Wait, that didn’t even sound right.

When they entered, Santiago glanced toward the stove, his large frame taking up a lot of space. “What’s on the menu?”

Percy started to answer, but then Santiago moved even closer, just a little, like he wanted a better look at the pot on the stove. Percy’s pulse jumped before he even thought about it. Before he even registered it.

His body moved before his brain did, a tiny, instinctive step back.

Not much. Not obvious. But Santiago noticed everything.

If he caught it, though, he didn’t say anything. Didn’t look at Percy like something was wrong with him. He just pretended not to see it.

Percy hated that he appreciated it.

Hated that, for the first time ever, being close to Santiago made him feel like something inside of him was frayed, like he wanted to pull away when he really just wanted to lean in.

Instead, he turned back to the stove, stirring the pasta, acting like he wasn’t severely damaged now. Just another bright, sunny day. 

“You gonna hover, or you gonna help?” he asked. His voice came out even, like everything was normal. Like he was normal.

Santiago just grinned, resting a hip against the counter. “Nah. I like watching you work.”

Percy rolled his eyes, shoving down the way his stomach fluttered. The way he desperately wanted Santiago to hold him and chase away the nightmares like he always chased away Percy’s father. 

“Well, I’m putting you to work anyway.” He pointed the wooden spoon at the pantry. “Grab some pasta, buddy. Can’t eat just sauce and garlic bread.” He pursed his lips. “I guess you can, and it would be a lot healthier without the extra carbs.” 

“If I’m helping, I’m eating.” Santiago snorted. As he walked away, Percy checked out his backside. Nice glutes, like he’d been sculpted by gods. “What kind of pasta?” he asked, blissfully unaware Percy had just been cataloguing the curve of his ass. 

Percy quickly glanced away before he was busted. He might appreciate Santiago’s body, but the guy was associated with that biker club. The same club he’d belonged to. 

Push it away. If you don’t think about it, it never happened.  

“You pick.” Percy opened the oven, checking on the garlic bread, but the rush of hot air caused him to let go of the handle, the oven door slamming shut. 

“Did you burn yourself?” Santiago was at his side in seconds, his gaze flicking over Percy’s hands. 

“No.” But Percy couldn’t move. Couldn't force himself to reach for the handle. Sweat trickled down his back, sliding along his spine. He was on the border where fear and attraction crashed together in a swirl of heat and longing. 

Santiago set the box aside, moved into Percy’s line of sight—no touching—and gazed at him. “Deep breath in through your nose. Deep exhale out through your mouth.” 

Percy wanted to say he was fine, that he didn’t need Santiago’s help, but found himself doing as he was told. He concentrated the man’s hazel eyes, the sound of his deep, soothing voice, and his nicely trimmed facial hair. Would it agitate his sensitive skin as he kissed Santiago? Percy had never kissed anyone with a beard and mustache before.

“You with me?” Santiago asked, his voice never rising above a whisper. “You’re doing beautifully, cariño.” 

Another deep breath in. Another deep breath out. Not because of the heat. His fingers itched to touch those swollen pecs, to squeeze his huge biceps. Percy resisted. 

Santiago turned and checked on the garlic bread. 

Percy stood there feeling useless. He watched as Santiago added the pasta to the boiling water, stirred the sauce, adding a touch more garlic to it. 

“This tastes incredible.” Santiago lifted the spoon to Percy’s lips. “You did amazing.” 

That snapped him out of it. “It’s my secret recipe.” He parted his lips and accepted the spoon full of sauce Santiago fed him. 

“Secret.” His smile was soft, and made Percy ache inside. 

“Prego.” It was just sauce from the store, not something made from scratch. But Santiago didn’t need to know that.

“You speak Italian?” One of his thick brows rose again, amusement sparkling in his eyes. 

ADULT EXCERPT

“Fucking or sucking?” Santiago toed off his boots then slipped his jeans down to his thighs. His cock was hard, pressing heavily against his boxer briefs.

“Huh?” Percy replied without looking up.

“The scene in your head. Are we fucking or sucking?” He pulled his jeans the rest of the way off. 

Percy’s tongue swept over his bottom lip as his breathing grew shallow. “I, uh… What?”

Santiago flexed. 

Percy squeaked.

“Having a hard time focusing, mi elegido?”

“Oh, I’m focusing just fine,” he mumbled.

“On what, cariño?” Santiago took a step forward then made his cock twitch. His mate swallowed roughly, his eyes glued to the swollen outline straining against Santiago’s underwear.

“You’re a goddamn python,” Percy remarked. “I changed my mind. You’re not a bear, you’re a fucking horse.”

Laughter burst from Santiago. “I’m a wolf, sweetheart. A very well-endowed wolf shifter.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Percy moved closer, one hand extended while the other rested against his chest.

Santiago groaned as his mate’s fingers traced his rigid abdomen. “Rock hard.”

“Something else is rock-hard on me.” Santiago tucked his fingers under Percy’s chin, gently coaxing him to tilt his head back. “Wanna guess which body part?”

Their lips brushed in a slow, teasing dance, their breaths growing labored. He waited, the pad of his thumb caressing Percy’s chin. “Kiss me, beautiful.”

Thin arms circled around his neck as soft lips hungrily devoured his. Santiago curled an arm around the slender back, crushing the lithe body to him.

Percy jumped, and Santiago caught him, lifting his mate until slim legs wrapped around his waist. In mere seconds, he had Percy pressed against the wall, his mate tasting faintly of the Cosmo he’d had earlier, the scent of citrus still lingering on his skin.

Percy’s breath brushed against Santiago’s mouth, his lips trembling from the weight of anticipation. Santiago held him there a moment longer, savoring the way Percy’s lashes brushed against his cheek, his pulse fluttering against his own neck. He could feel every ounce of tension in the smaller man’s frame, see the way Percy bit his lip, fire and recklessness in his eyes. 

The kind of wildness a man could become addicted to. 

Loosening his hold, Santiago watched as his mate slid down his body. Fuck me. The look in his eyes was so intense, electricity should’ve crackled in the air. It wouldn’t be a hardship to love this man, to wrap his heart around Percy and never come up for air. An explosion of personality that coiled around Santiago and blew him apart in the best way. 

The moment Percy’s feet touched the floor, he looked up at Santiago, a sin-laced look in his eyes. A wickedness that made him wonder what his mate was up to. 

He palmed Santiago’s trapped cock, kneading the hard length. Raw heat surged through Santiago’s body, spreading like wildfire. He’d intended to prove a point to Percy, but his mate took a few shaky breaths before his fingers slid beneath the waistband of Santiago’s underwear. A strangled groan escaped, low…and damn those fingers for feeling so incredible as they glided down his hips.

Santiago just stood there, gazing down at the man he’d fallen deeply in love with, wanting nothing more than to protect him, to keep him safe. He’d gotten inside Santiago’s head, his heart, making him want to grin like a fool. 

His emotions were a tangled mess when it came to his mate, his fierce elegido with claws and heart, who refused to let life take from him, even if it meant coasting too close to the edge at times, because Santiago would always bring him back. 

With a firmer grip, he pulled Santiago’s underwear down his thighs, his engorged cock springing free. He nearly lost his shit, desperate to feel those soft lips on his erection. 

Beads of precum were already dotting the slit, his shaft throbbing in time with his pounding heart.

He was lost to Percy’s touch, drowning in those big green eyes before his mate lowered them. His wicked tongue flicked out, tracing along his lower lip, leaving Santiago undone. Completely and hopelessly wrecked. 

Jesus. He was out to kill Santiago just from that needy look alone.

His heart raced even faster as Percy lowered to his knees, pressing his nose into Santiago’s balls, inhaling deeply. Everything else vanished—the world, their troubles, every other living soul besides them.

Parting his lips, he took Santiago’s cock into his mouth. Motherfuck. He hissed, guiding his fingers through Percy’s soft hair, the strands gliding through his fingers. What Percy was doing to him had Santiago on the edge already. Had him coasting straight for oblivion in the best damn way. His gaze fused with Percy’s lips, watched as his cock disappeared into that sweet mouth repeatedly. He was the gentle breeze Santiago needed, a wild storm at times too. Sass contained in a compact body Santiago wanted to worship. Wanted to own.   

A desire that swept through him whispering, I see you, I need you, I’ve got you.

He fought not to thrust his hips, to let his mate explore him at his own pace, but he was quickly losing that battle. His hips flexed slightly an inch, his balls growing tighter.

“Mi elegido,” Santiago groaned. “So fucking good.”