STORY EXCERPT

Izan’s hand found the small of Kevin’s back. Possessive. The guy was guiding, claiming space that made Kevin’s gut tighten.

This felt…off.

“My place isn’t that far,” Izan said, already steering Kevin past his Civic. “We can take my car.”

Not a chance.

“I’ll follow you in mine.” Kevin stopped walking, keys jangling in his hand. “I don’t leave my car places.”

“It’ll be fine here. I’m more interested in peeling off your clothes.”

Izan’s needs were all that mattered to him, probably in bed too.

“Hard pass.” Kevin pulled away from the hand on his back, turning to face Izan fully. Something had changed in his expression. The easy charm from the club had been replaced by something that made Kevin’s instincts scream for him to ditch the jerk. “Actually, I think I’m gonna call it a night. I have an early morning tomorrow.” Lie.

Izan’s brow creased. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” Kevin’s lips popped the P. “Changed my mind. Happens all the time with club scenes. Thanks for the water.”

Turning toward his car, Kevin took a step, but Izan caught his arm, his fingers bruising.

“It’s bad manners to string a guy along,” Izan said, making every red flag in Kevin’s head wave. The asshole was staring at Kevin like he was expecting complete submission. 

If Kevin hadn’t rolled over for his ex, a stranger could kick rocks. His entire life predators had tried to bend him to their will but failed.

“Bad manners?” A high-pitched laugh escaped, loud enough to make a passing couple glance over. “Honey, I promised you nothing, yet you’re acting as if I signed a blood oath. Get your damn paw off me.”

The grip tightened. “Lower. Your. Voice.”

“Or what?” Kevin’s volume climbed. He looked directly at the couple, who had slowed their pace. “He thinks buying me a Dasani means I owe him more than a thanks. Four dollars and now he’s got receipts.”

“You’re embarrassing yourself,” Izan growled, eyes darting toward the strangers. They hurried away as a group of guys emerged from the club, laughing and shoving each other.

“I’m embarrassing you,” Kevin corrected, yanking his arm free. “There’s a difference, creep. And honestly? You should be embarrassed. This whole can’t-take-no-for-an-answer is restraining-order energy, bub.”

One of the guys from the group let out a low whistle. Someone else muttered something about getting security.

“Think this is cute?” Izan’s words came out low and clipped, barely human.

Izan backhanded him, cracking Kevin across face with enough force to snap his head sideways and send his keys airborne. Pain exploded from cheekbone to jaw as Kevin cried out.

The taste of copper flooded his tongue where his teeth had cut the inside of his cheek.

For a second, the parking lot went still. Even the bass from the club seemed to dim, but that could’ve been from the ringing in his ears.

One of the men in the group raced back toward the club while the others headed toward them.

The scent of human overwhelmed Kevin.

His keys were on the ground…on the opposite side of Izan. Looked like his car was staying after all.

The wolf shifter glared at Kevin, pure malice in the dark depths of his eyes.

Heart thundering, Kevin took off toward the woods behind the building. As soon as he cleared the tree line, he shifted, hooves hitting soft earth.

He moved on pure instinct, eating up distance, launching over a fallen tree without losing stride. The woods swallowed him. Branches whipped against his flanks as he crashed through underbrush. His heart raced even faster than his legs, each beat a thunderclap that drowned out everything…except the sound of pursuit.

Shit!

Multiple sets of paws struck the forest floor, guttural snarls echoing through the night air. Of course Izan had a pack, because Kevin’s luck was a dumpster fire that never stopped burning.

A branch caught his antler and snapped. He stumbled, recovered, and pushed harder. His lungs burned. Impala were built for bursts of speed, not sustained marathons through dense forest. Every root threatened to snap an ankle. Every low-hanging limb tried to clothesline him.

Behind Kevin, the pack was gaining. He could hear their ragged and hungry breathing now.

Lights! Ahead and to the left, yellow and warm, filtering through the trees like a beacon. Kevin veered toward them, hooves churning up dead leaves and rocks. The trees thinned and the ground changed from forest floor to gravel then to pavement.

A road. Buildings. Storefronts with darkened windows. The scent of mountain air was stronger now. Signs blurred past him, but he caught two words

Crimson Hollow.

His hooves clattered loudly against the asphalt, a ridiculous sound in the stillness.

Farther ahead there was warm light spilling from a two-story building. Kevin grew close enough to read the fancy sign. Glass Oak was carved into wood. Would’ve made more sense to have a glass sign.

Kevin’s entire body shook, his lungs on fire. The sounds of pursuit had gone quiet, which was either very good or so, so bad. He wasn’t slowing to find out.

His hooves scraped against the pavement of the side alley as he headed for the door spilling light. He tried to pull back, to slow down, but his impala cut left.

Right through the screen door.

The screen got tangled in his antlers, his hooves skidding on the tiled floor.

Screams blasted through the room, cookware clattering everywhere.

His legs shot out in four different directions when he tried to reverse course, his flank knocking a sheet pan off a counter and sending it crashing to the floor with a sound that could’ve woken the dead.

Oh fuck! He skidded right into a chrome table, the edge clipping his shoulder.

Was anyone going to help or just stare slack-jawed at him? They could at least throw something down for grip.

The impact sent a bin of potatoes soaring through the air.  His antlers collided with an overhead rack of pots and pans, causing copper to rain down around him.

A hoof rolled over a cluster of potatoes, and Kevin slammed into the floor, his snout whacking against a thick pot he’d knocked down.

Not his most graceful moment.

Voices erupted from the front of the restaurant. Footsteps, fast and heavy, headed his way.

“What the hell was that?” A man asked.

“Something’s in the kitchen!” a guy shouted. “It just crashed in here then crashed again and again!”

A potato rolled lazily across the floor, coming to rest against someone’s shoe.

The footsteps stopped.

Kevin stared at the black boot. Practical for someone who spent hours on their feet. Maybe a size twelve. 

ADULT EXCERPT

“This what you had in mind?” Rio asked, mouth close enough that Kevin’s breath ghosted across his lips.

“Getting warmer,” Kevin said, and then Rio kissed him.

Kevin’s mouth opened immediately, hands coming up to grip Rio’s shoulders. His mate tasted like garlic and bread and something bright that made Rio press closer and cage him against the wall with his body. Kevin made a sound low in his throat, not quite a moan but heading in that direction, and Rio’s control slipped another notch.

“Office makes more sense now,” Kevin gasped when Rio moved to his neck, finding the spot where his pulse hammered against thin skin. “Very convenient.”

Rio bit down gently, just enough pressure to make Kevin’s hips jerk forward. “You talk a lot.”

“It’s a coping mechanism.” Kevin’s hands found the hem of Rio’s shirt, tugged it up. “Among other things.”

Rio pulled back long enough to strip the shirt off, tossing it somewhere behind them. Kevin’s hands immediately explored the exposed skin, fingers tracing the lines of muscle with an appreciation that was both tactical and aesthetic.

“Snow leopard,” Kevin murmured. “Should have known. The whole silent-predator thing.”

“Still talking.”

“Make me stop.”

Rio kissed him again, harder this time, swallowing whatever comeback Kevin had been forming. His hands found Kevin’s hips, thumbs pressing into the hollows above the waistband of the sweatpants. Kevin arched into the touch, shameless and wanting.

“Desk,” Kevin managed between kisses. “The couch is too far.”

Rio lifted him easily, Kevin’s legs wrapping around his waist without hesitation. The few steps to the desk felt longer than they should have, Kevin’s mouth on his neck now, teeth grazing skin in a way that made Rio’s vision blur at the edges.

He set Kevin on the desk’s edge, papers scattering. Kevin laughed, bright and unexpected.

“Very dramatic. Very romance novel.” His hands framed Rio’s face. “I’m into it.”

“You’re into everything apparently.”

“Not everything.” Kevin’s expression went serious for a moment. “Just you. Which is inconvenient as hell, actually.”

Rio kissed him before that conversation could go anywhere complex. This thing between them was already complex enough—the mate pull singing through his bones, his snow leopard practically purring, Kevin’s scent filling his lungs with every breath.

Kevin’s hands pushed at Rio’s shoulders. “Off. Everything off.”

Rio stepped back, giving himself room to strip properly. Kevin watched with an expression that was pure appreciation, his eyes tracking every movement. When Rio’s hands went to his belt, Kevin made a sound that might have been a prayer.

“This is unfair,” Kevin said. “The whole”—he waved a hand at Rio’s body—“situation you have going on.”

“You’re one to talk.” Rio’s gaze traveled deliberately down Kevin’s form, still perched on the desk’s edge in the sweatpants. “Take those off.”

“Bossy.” But Kevin was already lifting his hips to slide the sweatpants down. “I should probably mention I don’t usually—”

Rio kissed him quiet, hands bracketing Kevin’s thighs, thumbs stroking the sensitive skin of his inner thighs. Kevin moaned into his mouth, unabashed and loud enough that Rio was grateful for the building’s thick walls.

“Usually what?” Rio asked against his mouth.

“Hook up with guys who find me as wildlife.”

“First time for everything.”

“Oh good, we’re both branching out.”

Rio’s hand wrapped around Kevin’s cock, and whatever Kevin had been about to say dissolved into a sharp inhale. Rio stroked once, slowly, watching Kevin’s face transform.

“Fuck,” Kevin breathed. “Okay. Yes. That.”

Rio dropped to his knees.

Kevin’s hands immediately tangled in his hair. “Oh my god. You can’t just…without warning…”

Rio took him in his mouth, cutting off the protest. Kevin’s grip tightened, hips lifting slightly off the desk. The sounds he made were incredible—gasps and moans and half-formed words that might have been Rio’s name.

“I’m going to—fuck, Rio, I can’t—”

Rio pulled off and stood in one fluid motion. “Not yet.”

“Excuse me?” Kevin looked wrecked already, pupils blown wide, lips swollen. “You can’t just—”

“Turn around.”

Kevin slowly slid off the desk and turned, bracing his hands on the wood. “This escalated quickly.”

“Too quick?” Rio smoothed his hands down Kevin’s back, loving the way he arched into the touch.

“Did I say stop? No. Definitely did not say stop.”

Opening the desk drawer, Rio found what he was looking for. Kevin glanced back, saw the bottle, and laughed.

“You keep lube in your office desk?”

“I like to be prepared.”

“For impala invasions?”

“Among other things.” Rio slicked his fingers and pressed one against Kevin’s entrance. “Still good?”

“If you stop now, I will actually commit violence.”

Rio pressed in slowly, watching the way Kevin’s shoulders tensed then relaxed. He added a second finger when Kevin pushed back against his hand, impatient and demanding even now.

“You know,” Kevin said, voice slightly strained, “most people—oh fuck, right there—have a longer warm-up period.”

“You want me to slow down?” Rio crooked his fingers, finding that spot that made Kevin’s whole body jerk.

“Don’t you dare.”

Three fingers now. His mat was practically riding them, shameless and perfect. Rio’s control frayed with every sound Kevin made, every push back against his hand.

“Now,” his mate demanded. “Rio, please, now.”

Rio pulled his fingers free, slicked himself quickly, and pressed the head of his cock against Kevin’s entrance, taking a shaky breath.

“If you’re waiting for an engraved invitation…”

Rio pushed in.