STORY EXCERPT

The tavern was a whirlwind of chaos—glasses clattering, deafening music, uproarious laughter, shouting, cigarette smoke drifting in the air, and the thunder of motorcycles.

Totally not Noel’s scene. A world he didn’t belong to. Tomas had promised his protection, but it was something Noel didn’t need.

Okay, so maybe he’d needed it when he’d stupidly grabbed Tomas’s gun and waved it around at some very dangerous-looking dudes, but that was pure panic talking.

Who wouldn’t freak out when faced with four intimidating guys? Noel hadn’t exactly waved it, more like held it with a flimsy grip, scared out of his mind he might accidentally fire it just from its weight alone.

But as nice as Tomas had been in giving Noel a place to crash, it was time to bounce before he overstayed his welcome.

Or before anyone expected him to “thank” them in other ways. He slammed the lid on those thoughts, refusing to think about…them and weaved his way around burly guys, heading for the door.

“Noel!” Brett called from the bar, surrounded by guys just as small as him.

Nope. Noel was trying to make a break for it, not get caught up in small talk. Truth was he actually liked Sin’s and didn’t really want to leave, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

The place was wrapped in leather, exhaust, and liquor, and the gruff men had been nothing but nice to him.

Except Matias and Santiago, who were still salty about having a gun pointed at them. What had they expected when men twice Noel’s size converged on him? He had a right to defend himself by any means necessary, even if he’d never handled a gun before.

Continuing toward the exit, he pretended he hadn’t heard Brett. The tavern was so noisy the pretense was believable.

Besides, Matias was currently standing behind the bar, leaning over, forearms resting the counter as he talked with Elijah. Noel wasn’t going anywhere near the counter. He didn’t need the leader of the biker club to stare through him with those intense, light brown eyes.

As crowded as it was, the men moved slightly as Noel passed, giving him enough space to walk without being jostled.

Finally! He’d made it to the door, already feeling the warm breeze against his heated skin. With so many packed bodies, the tavern’s interior was a damn sweat box. The air outside wasn’t as stifling.  Noel stood there for a second just to cool off.

His gaze landed on Tomas next to his motorcycle, rummaging through his saddlebags. Holy fuck. Every time Noel saw him, he was blown away by Tomas’s good looks. He was at least six-three and had a body that just wouldn’t quit. Thick shoulders and muscular arms, with  an ass Noel wanted to palm with both hands.

He glanced toward the sidewalk leading him away from the tavern, then back at Tomas. Biting his lip, Noel fought the urge to go over and see what Tomas was up to. Maybe say a proper goodbye and thank you.

But he hesitated.

Tomas might not’ve hurt him when Noel had taken that gun, but it would be foolish to think he was harmless.

There was an aura danger radiating from the guy. The literal reason Noel needed to leave. The last dangerous guy he’d been involved with had tried to kill him. 

Still was.

Then Tomas glanced up, catching Noel’s gaze. A smile tugged at the corners of the guy’s mouth as he beckoned Noel over with a tilt of his head. Oh my god. The confidence he exuded when he moved was like standing too close to the sun.

Noel’s heart stuttered. He shouldn’t. He needed to just walk away, leave yet another place behind like he always did. Keep moving, keep his distance. Attachments only led to disappointment.

But his feet were already carrying him toward the curb where a row of motorcycles were parked. The sounds of the tavern faded as he approached Tomas, replaced by the rumbling purr of idling engines.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, straightening up. Amusement danced in his dark eyes, as if he could read Noel’s struggling thoughts.  

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Noel shrugged. “I was thinking about it. Figured I should get out of your hair.”

“Who says you’re in my hair?” Tomas’s voice was low and smooth, sending a shiver through Noel.

“I just meant…I don’t want to overstay my welcome. You’ve already done a lot for me.”

“It’s no trouble.” Tomas leaned a hip against his bike, arms crossed over his broad chest. The posture made his biceps bulge against the sleeves of his T-shirt. “In fact, I was hoping you’d stick around a bit longer.”

Don’t you dare read into that. Noel’s mouth went dry. “Oh? Why’s that?”

Tomas’s chuckle settled between them, warm and intoxicating, as though it belonged there all along. “Let's just say I’m enjoying your company, cariño. Wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.”

A current raced under Noel’s skin. This was dangerous territory. The smart thing would be to politely decline and get the hell out of Dodge.

But he couldn’t deny the spark of excitement Tomas’s words ignited in his belly. The reckless part of him, the part that had grabbed the gun in the first place, wanted to explore this.

Explore Tomas.

He must’ve read the conflict on Noel’s face. He reached out, hooking a finger through Noel’s belt loop and tugging him a step closer.

“Stay,” he murmured. “Just a little longer.”

Noel secretly inhaled, the spicy scent of Tomas’s cologne filling his nose. This close, he could see the faint stubble lining the man’s strong jaw, the pulse beating in his throat. He knew he should pull away, knew he was playing with fire. But Noel had always been drawn to the flame.

“Okay,” He heard himself say. “I can stick around for a bit.” He smiled tentatively.

Tomas’s answering grin was blinding. He clapped a hand on Noel’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Great. Let me just finish up here and we can head inside. I’ll even buy you a drink.”

Noel ducked his head, feeling his cheeks warm. “Sounds good.”

As Tomas turned back to his bike, Noel released a shaky breath. What was he getting himself into? Shoving his hands into his front pockets, he scuffed the toe of his shoe against the pavement, reminding himself not to get caught up in this place.

In Tomas.

He needed to just walk away like he’d planned, but his feet wouldn’t budge. It was like Tomas was a magnet keeping Noel right there with him.

Tomas secured his saddlebag and made his way toward the tavern door.

Noel didn’t move.

ADULT EXCERPT

It was all Noel could do to hold on, fingers twisting in the sheets as Tomas worked him over with devastating focus. Clever fingers rolled his sac, tugged rhythmically in time with the lewd slurps and wet suction around his cock. Each rasp of Tomas’s calloused palm over his perineum had Noel’s breath catching, had him writhing against the mattress.

“Oh fuck,” Noel gasped, spine arching. “Your mouth...so good...”

Tomas rumbled his approval, the vibrations rippling through Noel like a livewire. He bobbed his head in a relentless rhythm, throat working around the thick intrusion as he steadily drove Noel toward the edge of oblivion.

“Tomas.” Noel whimpered out a strangled warning. He was right on the razor's edge, teetering and powerless to hold back the cataclysmic rush. It was too much and not enough all at once. Noel fisted his hands in Tomas’s hair, holding on for dear life as the coil of pleasure wound tighter and tighter in his core. He was shaking apart, dissolving into a maelstrom of ravenous need with each slick drag of that wicked mouth.

Tomas pinned him with a heated stare, never slowing the wicked onslaught of his mouth. He gave the barest nod, silently urging Noel to let go, to give himself over to the madness.

His orgasm slammed into him like a freight train, whiting out his vision as he came with a hoarse shout. Tomas drank him down greedily, unrelenting until Noel was wrung out and boneless against the sheets.

When Noel’s tremors finally subsided, Tomas rose to his knees, dragging Noel into a kiss that seemed to mark his very essence. The taste of himself on Tomas’s tongue only fueled the fire burning through his veins.

With Brian, sex was a chore, twenty minutes of questioning decisions and feeling a part of himself wither away. With Tomas, every nerve ending sparked a thrill, every brush of fingers drawing him closer to surrendering entirely to the guy.

Noel looped his arms around Tomas’s neck, clinging to the solid weight of him as they traded messy, openmouthed kisses. His mate was everywhere—the searing glide of skin, the rasp of his stubble, the low rumbling growls that vibrated straight to Noel’s core. He was utterly surrounded, consumed in the best way.

Tomas broke the kiss with a guttural groan, rocking his aching cock against the crease of Noel’s thigh. “Need you,” he panted against the thundering pulse in Noel’s throat. “All of you, cariño. Need to be inside you.”

Hearing that wrecked plea spurred Noel into action. He hooked a leg over Tomas’s hip, using the leverage to flip them in one smooth motion until he straddled those powerful thighs.

Tomas’s eyes went comically wide for just a heartbeat before that familiar fire blazed in their depths once more. His strong hands settled at Noel’s waist, gripping hard enough to leave marks as he ground upward with a feral snarl.

“Told you couldn’t handle me, mi lobo.” Noel gasped at the delicious friction, head tipping back as he rose up on his knees. He reached back, grasping Tomas’s rigid cock and giving a firm stroke from root to tip. Tomas’s stomach muscles jumped beneath Noel’s thighs, his growl morphing into a guttural moan.

Glancing down, Noel drank in the sight of his mate—chest heaving, muscles taut and straining, cheeks flushed with arousal. He was a vision of rugged masculine beauty, completely undone yet radiating quiet power.

Noel sank back down, guiding Tomas’s cock to his entrance. He sucked in a breath when he felt something wet bathe his hole.

“Natural lube,” Tomas growled softly. “Just hold steady, mi pecado bonito.” My pretty sin.

“That is so hot.” Noel felt another spurt then a third, his ring of muscle relaxing.

He locked eyes with his mate as he slowly impaled himself in one long, steady glide until he was fully sheathed. The burn radiated through him in dizzying waves of sensation.

Tomas watched him through eyes gone black with want, lips parted on a ragged exhale. His hands roamed restlessly over Noel’s thighs, hips, waist, like he couldn’t stop touching every inch of bared skin.

Neither of them moved for a breathless eternity. They simply existed in that suspended moment, bodies joined in the most carnal way as the air thickened with their mingled breaths and the scents of sweat and musk.

Then Tomas surged upward, capturing Noel’s mouth in a bruising kiss as he rolled his hips in a slow, relentless grind. Noel gasped into the kiss, clinging to those broad shoulders as pleasure lanced straight to his core.

It had been so long, he’d forgotten what good sex was, although it had never been this good.

Tomas growled against his lips, one hand fisting in Noel’s hair to angle his head for deeper plundering. The kiss was pure possession, all teeth and tongues and molten hunger. Noel surrendered to it utterly, letting the firestorm entirely consume him.

Noel dragged blunted nails down the slopes of Tomas’s back, relishing the way those muscles rippled and flexed beneath his palms. He was utterly consumed, lost to everything but the taste of Tomas on his tongue, the scorch of calloused skin against his own.

A breathless whine spilled from Noel’s lips. He braced his hands on Tomas’s shoulders and obeyed, rising up with shaky thighs until just the thick head of Tomas’s cock stretched him wide. Then he sank back down, a guttural moan torn from both their throats.

Noel set a rolling, sinuous rhythm, grinding down to meet each of Tomas’s powerful thrusts. His head lolled back, lips parted on a litany of breathless curses and wordless pleas. The angle was perfect, dragging Tomas’s cock over that bundle of nerves with each downward grind until Noel was trembling on the razor's edge.

“That's it, mi alma,” Tomas growled, voice wrecked. “Let me see you. All of you.”