Flynn, Joyee - Suck and Lick [Midnight Matings] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

Midnight Matings

Suck and Lick

A Chupacabra sits down next to a giraffe shifter at the UPAC
conference and ends up mated. It sounds like the beginning to a
bad joke, but it’s a nightmare for Leo, a giraffe shifter. His new
mate is rude, socially inept, and claimed Leo against his will.

The joke ends up being on Gable, a hybrid shifter the world refers
to as the Chupacabra, when he finds himself mated to a giraffe
who is head of a lion pride.

Gable screwed up. He knows it, and he’s trying to make things
right, but every time he opens his mouth he seems to make things
worse.

Just as it seems the man accused of viciously sucking animals dry
and the gentle shifter with the big purple tongue start to get their
act together, trouble shows up on their front door. Will they fight
it together or keep fighting each other?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 35,699 words

SUCK AND LICK

Midnight Matings

Joyee Flynn

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

SUCK AND LICK
Copyright © 2012 by Joyee Flynn
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-075-0

First E-book Publication: August 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED:  This  literary  work  may  not  be
reproduced  or  transmitted  in  any  form  or  by  any  means,  including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in  whole or in  part, without
express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Suck and Lick by Joyee Flynn
from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also,
thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
group  has  resale  rights,  auction  rights,  membership  rights,  sharing
rights,  or  any  kind  of  rights  to  sell  or  to  give  away  a  copy  of  this
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The  author  and  the  publisher  work  very  hard  to  bring  our  paying
readers high-quality reading entertainment.

This  is  Joyee  Flynn’s  livelihood. It’s  fair  and  simple. Please  respect
Ms. Flynn’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

SUCK AND LICK

Midnight Matings

JOYEE FLYNN

Chapter 1

I was sitting on one of the benches along the side of the ballroom

listening to Elder Burke when a large man rudely plopped down next
to me. He grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and tossed it down,
not  waiting  for  the  official  toast…  And  he  was  blocking  my  view
now.  I  sat  back  against  the  wall  with  a  sigh.  I  swear  some  people
really were just hoorah for me, fuck you kind of people.

I drank the toast when it was time, not bothering to get up because

I wouldn’t be able to see around all the people that now stood in front
of  me  too.  That  wasn’t  their  fault  since  space  was  limited  in  the
ballroom  and  there  were  tons  of  people  there.  There  was  probably
about  half  the  paranormal  community  since  we  had  to  go  to  at  least
one conference every decade and they were only held on leap years.

I was just glad I got a seat out of the way. At least I could sit

comfortably and not see anything because of my five-one height.

“Chupacabra drains more goats,” the man grumbled next to me as

he read something from his iPad. “Yeah, right. Because I would
totally be sucking down goat blood. Gross.”

I was still mostly paying attention to the elders when his words

clicked. This huge man was the little lizard-looking thing that scared
everyone to death? Wow. This was one hell of a gathering!

Joyee Flynn

“Each of you has twenty-four hours to find and claim your mate,”

Elder Lucas said. “If you fail to claim a mate in twenty-four hours,
and bring him or her before this council to be recognized, you will not
have a mate. You will go feral inside of a week.”

Wait… What? My head snapped in the direction of the dais the

elders were on, though I still couldn’t see shit.

“Those bastards,” the Chupacabra growled. “Now they’re tricking

us into mating?”

I agreed with him. This was total bullshit! The elders prattled on

with a bogus explanation, and the moment they walked into the back
doors of the ballroom, the place broke out into chaos. Now, even
more so than earlier, I really didn’t want to be here.

The man next to me sighed as he set down his iPad. He eyed me

over as if I was going to be his next meal in a way that had me trying
to scoot away. “You’ll do.”

“I’ll do what?” I squeaked as I jumped to my feet.
“You’ll do as my mate and keep me entertained,” he answered

with a leer. “You’ve got a tight little body that I bet was made for all
types of fun. And you seem submissive enough for my needs.”

“Maybe I’m not even gay,” I whimpered, holding my hands up

defensively as I backed away.

“Honey, you’re gay,” he snickered and reached for me.
I darted out of the way and headed for the exit. I screamed as

someone grabbed me between the legs and hoisted me up to their
face. It wasn’t the handsome, rude Chupacabra, but someone else with
scary ass motherfucking fangs.

“You look tasty,” he hissed and leaned in towards my neck. I

fought with all I had, scared enough to shit a house worth of bricks.

“I called him first,” the Chupacabra snarled and punched the guy

in the face just as I felt the man’s fangs touch my skin. He grunted
and released me. I had a moment of falling before I was in the original
brute’s arms.

Suck and Lick

“Please, don’t,” I whispered as I shook in fear. He was gorgeous

but that wasn’t everything to me. His bright-green eyes and dark-
blond hair were very attractive assets. But no matter what, his height
and build would scare me. I mean, seriously, he had to be at least six
five and two hundred and eighty pounds. At least.

“Better me than someone else who won’t give you a good ride

now and again,” he replied with an evil smile. His eyes were
twinkling in mirth but he still was acting like a douche bag so I didn’t
really find him charming. Before I could even think of what to say, he
buried his head in my neck and bit me.

I screamed at the abruptness of it, not even having a warning lick

or something that he was really going to do it. There really wasn’t any
pain, but then when he started drinking from me, my whole body lit
up in flames with pleasure.

“Beg me, my little submissive,” he whispered in a husky voice in

my ear. I wasn’t sure what he meant but I needed to come more than I
wanted air.

“Please?” It really was more of a question because I couldn’t think

enough to know what he wanted.

“We’ll work on your begging and listening to my instruction,” he

grumbled  as  he  shoved  his  hand  down  the  front  of  my  pants.  He
stroked  my  cock  once  and  set  me  off.  I  whimpered,  not  having  felt
this  before  when  someone  touched  me  there.  Hell,  I’d  never  had
enjoyment like this before. Even when I’d come before during sex it
was more like if A, then B. If someone stroked me long enough or hit
my prostate enough times, I would come.

That didn’t mean I ever enjoyed the sex. But that was neither here

nor there and not the time to be thinking about it.

“Oh yeah, you’re a hot little number. I bet you love big cock in

your  ass.”  He  groaned  and  taunted  which  only  made  me  blush  and
look  away.  I  was  embarrassed  for  so  many  reasons  but  mostly  I’d
never  had  someone  speak  to  me  so  crassly  before  even  giving  me
their name. “Fuck. Are you a virgin or something?”

Joyee Flynn

“No, but I doubt you’d care if I was,” I threw right back as I tried

to get out of his arms.

“How did you just talk to me?” he asked dangerously, his eyes

getting dark as he held me firmly. Now I was afraid for a whole other
set of reasons. This man was huge, now my mate, and I was going to
be alone with him quite often.

I wondered if his previous unfortunate mates were buried in his

backyard with the temper on him.

“What’s your name?” I asked instead of apologizing for

something when I didn’t do anything wrong.

He eyed me over for a moment, probably contemplating whether

to push the issue or not. “Gable Zohar, shape-shifting Chupacabra,
and now your mate and master.”

“I’m not into D/s,” I whispered, starting to understand that I

probably wasn’t going to have a choice in the matter. How could the
elders let this happen? They’d given every bully in the room a chance
to take what they wanted.

“Really?” Gable looked genuinely surprised as he carried me up

to the front of the ballroom. “You scream little bitty sub who likes to
be told what to do.”

“And stereotyping like that just got you a mate who isn’t. So

maybe you shouldn’t be that guy who thinks he knows everything
about a person from one look. There’s a name for people like that.”

“And it would be?” he asked, acting as if he didn’t really care but

I saw that dark glint in his eyes again.

“Mistaken,” I answered, lying and changing what was I originally

going to say. I didn’t think my new mate and basically captor, Gable,
would like being called “douche bag.”

“Liar.” He jumped up onto the dais and I couldn’t hear much over

the commotion but I swear my new mate said something like, “Maybe
feisty isn’t a bad thing after all.”

“Names?” the elder asked without even looking up from the huge

book on the table.

Suck and Lick

“Gable Zohar.” He set me down on my feet and pushed me

forwards gently, his order to state my name clear.

“Help me,” I begged as grabbed onto the table. “He doesn’t even

know my name. I seek sanctuary, Elder. It’s well within my right to
ask you for it when being attacked.”

“Who’s attacking you?” the man countered as he glanced up at

me.

“Gable is,” I answered, thinking that this conversation might be as

useful as banging my head against the wall. Gable stepped forward,
and I glanced up in time to see he was pissed. A council guard
stepped in front of him and I had maybe a minute if they fought to get
the help I needed.

“Did he hit you?”
“Well, no but—”
“Hurt you?” The elder started to look annoyed.
“No, Elder. It’s not—”
“So he bit you and mated you. That’s what we want here tonight.

What is your complaint besides that?”

“He did it against my will, told me I’m going to be his submissive,

doesn’t know my name, and scares the shit out of me. He’s mean,
rude, and I bet has bodies of victims in his basement.”

“You couldn’t have picked one that wanted you, Gable?” the elder

asked the man with a smile. I was so screwed. They knew each other.
I felt tears burning in my eyes and quickly blinked them away.

“He’s so pretty and will be fun to play with,” my mate chuckled

as he stepped around the guard and wrapped an arm around me. I
shied away from him as much as I could without pissing the man off
more since I wasn’t going to get any help. “And his feistiness might
grow on me.”

“Probably not,” the elder snickered, shaking his head before

looking at me. “What’s your name, son?”

Joyee Flynn

“No,” I whispered as I tried again to pull away from Gable. I had

another plan now. “You can’t make me mate him if you don’t know
my name.”

“Please cut the drama,” Gable drawled as he lifted me up in the air

and stuck his hand into my back pocket. So much for that plan. Now
he had my wallet. It took him a moment to find what he wanted. “Leo
Casey. Huh, he’s small to be a Leo.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not right here, you big brute!” I

screamed, pounding on his back. “Leave me alone. I don’t want to
mate you! You can’t force me to do this.” Then I cried out in pain as
the mating seal seared into my flesh like a brand. The pain on my
outer thigh, by my hip, was insane. But of course the location sucked
so it was sensitive skin.

It seemed they could force me into this.
“Well that tickled,” Gable grunted as he shifted me to his left

shoulder. Guess his seal was on his right one. Who said searing pain
tickled? Jerk.

“You’re Leo Casey?” the guard asked me as he stepped forward,

eyeing me over curiously.

“I am,” I whimpered, staring at him intently. “Help me?”
“I can’t but if I had known who you were I would have grabbed

you for myself,” he admitted. “I’m a big fan of your work and you’re
hot.”

“Well you can’t have him,” Gable sneered at the guard as he

turned around. His hand landed on my ass and I hadn’t been ready for
it, giving out a yelp. That seemed to amuse Gable. “He’s all mine.”

The elder had already moved on to the next happy couple in line.

He must have handed something to Gable before he ignored us
because I saw my mate stuff it into his back pocket. Gods… I was
mated to this asshole. I swear my soul crumpled inside of me as Gable
hopped down of the dais and went to retrieve his iPad.

Suck and Lick

“What work do you do that the guard was a fan of?” Gable asked

thoughtfully as he strolled out of the ballroom after he had his things,
not caring that I was over his shoulder like a limp trophy.

“Kiss my ass,” I mumbled. That got me another smack. Fine. I’d

answer just to stop getting spanked. “I’m a hacker that companies
contract to check their firewalls and security measures. I try to break
into their systems to find weakness and report back to them.”

“So we have to live with you? I bet you have all kinds of techie

toys that you’ll need. Probably just easier to move in with you instead
of trying to pack all that up. Is your house big enough for me to have
my own room?”

“Yes,” I whispered as my eyes overflowed with tears. This was so

not the way I ever wanted to mate or talk of moving in with someone.
He just invited himself.

But at least he’d take his own room, right?
“So where do you live?”
“Ft. Myers Beach, Florida.”
“That’s cool. You on the beach?”
I opened my mouth with several smart-ass remarks and then shut

it again. Was this guy for real? He was acting like we met in a coffee
shop for a date instead of being mated after he basically was
kidnapping me… But back to my own house. So I wasn’t really sure
of the logistics of that.

Something popped into my mind then. “Yes and I have my own

plane. If you would please put me down I can go pack and meet you
at the front door. I’ll contact my pilot and step up the departure time.”

“Nice try,” he chuckled, rubbing my ass. “You’ll run away if I let

you out of my sight. I’m not stupid.”

Apparently not. But who could blame me for trying?
I directed him to the room I’d been assigned, trying to hatch an

escape plan the entire time. And came up with nothing. Short of
calling in the police or National Guard when we got back to Florida, I
couldn’t come up with anything. I couldn’t do that though because

Joyee Flynn

there were strict rules about getting the human law involved with
paranormal matters. It was one thing if someone was trying to murder
us or kidnapping… Normally.

But this was all council sanctioned. They wouldn’t come to my

rescue as I’d already seen. Was this really just going to be the rest of
my life?

“So, here we are,” Gable said quietly as he set me on my feet

outside my room. “You’re mad, right?”

“My potential answers differ dependent on the possible reactions

from you I can expect.” He blinked at me a few moments as if trying
to work that out in his head. “Can I speak freely or are you going to
strike me again on my bottom? Or growl at me about not talking to
you like I did before?”

“Never mind,” he grumbled and pushed open the door after I

unlocked it. “You’re a lot of drama for a man so small.”

“Yeah, I’m the problem here,” I bitched as I stomped past him

into the room. I grabbed my suitcase and started throwing things into
it after I sent a text to the pilot that I wanted to leave as soon as I
could get a ride to the airport.

“Look, I know I’m rough around the edges, but you didn’t have to

be such a brat about things. We had to mate someone and that wasn’t
my fault. I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about it all.
This wasn’t my idea. It’s not like I came here to steal a mate against
his will.”

I glanced at him as he was singing his defenses. Was he pouting?

Did he really think that after the way he acted I would have simply
swooned and thanked my lucky stars that this really hot, really built
man wanted me?

Idiot.
“I get we had to mate but you chose me and never even asked.

You bit me without even asking my name. You’re a bully and a brute.
You could give two shits as to what I say about all of this and—
you’re not even listening to me now!” I ended with a yell when I saw

Suck and Lick

he was reading the letter the elder had handed him instead of paying
attention to me.

“Yeah, sorry,” he mumbled as he eyed it over. “I remembered he

said  that  there  were  rules  here  we  need  to  follow.  They’re  basics,  I
guess. We have to consummate the mating once a day for four years.
After  that  the  spell  wears  off  and  we  can  break  the  mating  if  we
want.”  Gable  didn’t  look  happy  at  that  knowledge.  “Four  years  is  a
long time if we can’t make this work.”

“Consummate?” I squeaked, stuck on that first part. “As in sex?”
“Um, yeah,” he snickered, shaking his head. “Is the idea of having

sex with me so bad that you look ready to pass out?”

I turned away from him, not wanting him to see that I wouldn’t

answer the way he wanted. Yes, he was gorgeous and I was attracted
to him but in the three hundred years I’d been alive… I never had sex
I enjoyed. I mean, it wasn’t horrible always and sometimes I would
even orgasm, but most times I would have preferred a vibrating butt
plug and jacking myself off.

“Well fine, you can hate me all you want or think me horrid and

ugly, but we have to do it or we go feral. So suck it up and I’ll stay
out of your way besides when we have to have sex,” he grumbled as
he grabbed my packed bag and headed toward the door. “I tried to be
nice and not make you leave your house and job. I’m not all bad.”

I stood there with my mouth agape as he slammed the door behind

him after he stepped into the hall. Maybe he was just so socially inept
that he didn’t understand how big of a jerk he’d been. I wasn’t sure if
that made things worse or not. Even if I could get him to listen to me
it would be like trying to describe color to someone who was born
blind.

Fuck a duck.
I realized he’d been gone a few minutes now and could be long

gone by now. Part of me wanted to dance at the idea of losing him,
but that would mean I’d go feral. That wasn’t an acceptable option

Joyee Flynn

either. Stuffing the rest of my things into my carry-on, I hurried out of
the room.

He was standing there in the hallway, leaning against the stone

wall.  “I  didn’t  trust  that  you  wouldn’t  run  and  make  me  go  feral.”
Gable  glanced  me  over  a  moment.  “Can  we  at  least  walk  along  like
normal adults so I don’t have to carry all the bags and  you over my
shoulder at the same time?”

I nodded with my mouth open in shock. Why was he being so

civil now? Had it all been an act earlier because we were in front of
people? Maybe he was really a good guy but bad in social aspects.

I could hope, right?

Suck and Lick

Chapter 2

An hour later we were sitting in my plane waiting for takeoff. It

was awkward to say the least. Gable had been looking at me funny
since I had to pull my jeans down at the castle to prove I had the
mating seal. I guess seeing that part of my ass or hip turned him on.

I might actually admit that seeing him take off his shirt and the

seal on his muscular shoulder was hot too… If he hadn’t caught me
and given me a smirk.

“I’m not tired and it’s a long flight,” Gable hedged as he moved

his hand from the seat arm to my thigh. “I say that once we’re in the
air we have some fun. We do have to consummate our mating.”

“Sure,” I mumbled, looking out the window. His hand kept

moving  until  it  was  undoing  my  jeans.  He  seemed  oblivious  to  my
lack of interest.  Next  thing  I knew the pilot  was  taxiing the plane as
Gable moved his hand down my pants.

“Maybe if we just get you into the mood it won’t feel like I’m

taking you against your will,” Gable purred in my ear. I guess he
wasn’t as dense as I had thought. He was just that determined.

“I’ll try,” I agreed. As much as this all sucked, it wasn’t fair to

make him feel as if he would have to force me daily so we could keep
from going feral. He gave me a bright smile for my effort and stroked
my cock faster. I relaxed and spread my legs wider. It was an
interesting way to spend takeoff, that’s for sure.

The minute we were in the air and the pilot gave the all clear that

we didn’t have to stay with our seat belts on, Gable was pulling me
out of my seat. He joined me on the floor and moved me onto all
fours. Then he pulled down my jeans to my thighs so my ass was

Joyee Flynn

exposed to him. I sighed and let my shoulders fall to the ground as I
used my arms for a pillow.

Gable was surprisingly gentle as he stretched me out. I’m not sure

where he got the lube from but given this was his idea, I assumed he’d
planned this. He didn’t kiss me, we hadn’t done that yet, but he was
kissing my shoulders and back as he worked two then three fingers
into my hole.

That was a start, right?
“You ready?” he asked quietly as if not to startle me. Part of me

had  to  give  him  points  for  trying  but  the  other  part  of  me  wanted  to
roll  my  eyes.  I  wasn’t  an  abused  dog  who  might  bite  him.  But  then
again… He didn’t know that. I just didn’t understand why he all of a
sudden seemed to care after the way he treated me at the castle.

Maybe he realized he wouldn’t get a lot of sex if he didn’t start

treating me better?

“Yeah, let’s just do it,” I mumbled, trying not to tense when he

pulled his fingers free.

“If you let me I could rock your world, Leo,” he said tensely.
“You’d be the first.” I swear I wasn’t trying to be a jerk but after

the way things went down, I couldn’t just flip a switch in my mind
because he was being nice. Gable sighed again and pushed the head of
his cock inside of me.

“You’re really tight,” he moaned as he pulled my shirt up and

kissed my back. “It’s taking everything I have not to just shove in
you, especially when my initials are on your hip where I can see it.”

I was glad he wasn’t taking me like that because Gable was a very

big boy. I mean, I’d had men with thick dicks before but he had a
third leg he was trying to push into my ass. Then he worked more of it
into me and I shivered as he hit my prostate. Either the men I’d been
with before didn’t know what they were doing or didn’t care enough
if I enjoyed it.

Because I’d never felt that before.

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“How do you like it?” Gable panted once he was fully inside of

me and draped over my back.

“I don’t like sex at all so whatever you want is fine,” I answered,

wincing at the pain. It had been at least a decade since I’d had sex…
Mostly because I hated the burn. “Just get it over with, okay? It
hurts.”

“It will turn into pleasure,” he mumbled as he started moving. “I’ll

take more time stretching you tomorrow. I didn’t know that you were
this tight or didn’t like a little burn.”

Because you didn’t ask! I wanted to shout, just like he didn’t ask

if I wanted to mate him, or have him move in with me. My mind was
swirling as he thrust faster. But then again, I didn’t offer the
information. But why would I think he’d care?

Oh fuck it, I quit. It was what it was and while this was the best

sex I’d ever had so far in my life, I wasn’t into it. The slight pleasure
and the hard-on I had was a response from my body being stimulated.
That was it. That didn’t mean I was enjoying it like I’d want to do it
again anytime soon.

I know, I don’t make sense to myself most times.
Gable picked up speed as he held me close, making sure that he

wasn’t  hurting  me  besides  the  bite  of  pain  from  his  huge  cock.  I
looked up just in time to meet Sam’s eyes, my guard. I had several of
them  back  home  at  my  house  but  Sam  was  the  only  one  I  brought
with  me,  though  he  stayed  on  the  plane  because  there  were  enough
guards  at  the  castle.  Funny  how  I’d  ended  up  needing  him  after  all.
Being  a  hacker  could  be  dangerous  at  times  when  I  knew  all  the  ins
and outs of other people’s security and back doors into their systems.

His face filled with anger and I gave my head a slight shake. Sam

getting involved would not help.

“If you’re going to stand there and watch I think you need to ask

my mate if he minds,” Gable said in a low, dangerous voice. He
stopped moving and his hands ran over my back and ass, making it
clear who I belonged to.

Joyee Flynn

“You mated?” Sam whispered, the pain in his tone making me

wince.

“We didn’t have a choice, Sam,” I hedged as I glanced at the

ground. It wasn’t the total truth.

“Twenty years at your side has taught me when you’re hiding

something, Leo,” Sam replied gently.

“Who works for who here?” Gable drawled, sounding annoyed.
“Stop,” I growled at him. “You want to push me around, mate me

without even asking me, and invite yourself to live with me? Fine. I
accept that because we had to mate someone and the whole thing
sucked. But don’t you dare talk to my friends like that or I’ll let you
go feral.”

“I can take him, Leo,” Sam offered as he stepped forward.
“Please don’t,” I sighed. Could this get any worse? “Please just

leave us to finish what we’re doing. We have to once a day. I’d like it
over with and then I’ll come talk to you.”

“If that’s what you want,” he mumbled and headed back to the

cockpit. I had a full-time pilot, but Sam was normally the copilot,
having his license to fly.

“So I have to compete with your head of security for you?” Gable

asked angrily as he thrust hard and started fucking me again.

“It’s not like that,” I grunted. “You already have me anyways.”
“Do I?”
I wasn’t going to answer that because I might be his mate and

giving  him  my  body,  but  we  both  knew  I  didn’t  want  him  and  we
weren’t really a mated pair in that way. I moved my body in time with
his,  trying  to  get  the  sex  over  with.  My  body  was  having  fun.  I  was
hard and when he stroked me it didn’t take me long to come.

It wasn’t life-altering sex that left me giggling because it was so

damn good.

“Mine,” Gable snarled seconds before he came, pumping his seed

deep into my body. The moment he was spent he turned us so we

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were lying on our sides, his dick still in my ass. “Now do you like
sex?”

“Don’t make me answer that,” I whispered, feeling more trapped

than when the elder had written our names in the book.

“Seriously?” He moved away from me, completely disgusted, and

got to his knees. “What is wrong with you? You had an orgasm, I felt
it.” Gable held up his hand to show the proof. “You came and you
were hard as soon as we started so either you’re lying or there’s
something majorly wrong with you.”

“Fuck you!” I exclaimed as tears burned in my eyes and I hopped

to my feet. “Maybe I wasn’t emotionally invested in it? And even if I
am totally screwed up. What kind of douche says something like that
to another person? For a moment there I thought maybe you weren’t a
complete asshole because you were being sort of nice to me. My
mistake.”

“Leo,” he sighed as he scrubbed his unsoiled hand over his face.
“Fine, I’m screwed up. It’s all my fault. Aren’t we both glad you

forced me into this now?” I buried my face in my hands and bawled
out my humiliation as I raced towards the bathroom. As if I wasn’t
already mortified, I promptly crashed into the wall of the plane
because my hands were over my face. Idiot.

I lowered my hands but still couldn’t see because of the tears. I

thought I crashed into another wall as I wiped my eyes… Only to see
Sam.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked as he lifted me into his arms.
“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking,” I mumbled as I tried to

get him to put me down. I was naked with someone else’s cum
dripping out of my ass.

“I got you, Leo,” Sam cooed.
“You can’t. I’m mated now,” I whispered. And just like that he set

me on my feet.

“Why couldn’t you have just mated me?” I spun to look at him so

fast that I landed on my ass in shock.

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“What?” I gasped, my eyes going wide as the tears kept coming.
“If you had mated me then you wouldn’t be stuck with that

asshole and unhappy. The elders wouldn’t have tricked you into
mating if you had just mated me.” He knelt down in front of me and
raised my hands to his lips. “Why couldn’t you have loved me, Leo?”

“Maybe because I had no clue that you wanted me like that?” I

balked, completely taken aback. “How could you never tell me?”

“You can’t be this dense?” He hissed, throwing up his hands in

the air as he stood, leaving me alone on the floor. “How many times
have we cuddled together during a movie? Who do you run to when
you have a problem or need comfort? Why did you think I use any
excuse I can to touch you?”

Of course Gable had to be there for that rant. I couldn’t even look

at him but I saw him there out of the corner of my eye.

“Fuck you both,” I cried as I scooted toward the bathroom door.

“Everything can’t be my fault! I didn’t know you wanted me and it’s
not my fault that the sex didn’t rock my world.” I knew I was mixing
up who I was yelling at all in one sentence but my brain was all over
the place. “Just leave me alone! Both of you.”

Before they could say anything I scampered into the bathroom and

locked the door behind me. I sat on the floor with my back leaning
against the door and buried my face into my knees. Unfortunately my
outburst didn’t stop the drama in the hallway.

“He’s mine, Sam,” Gable declared darkly.
“You don’t deserve him and if you step one toe out of line I’ll be

on the phone with UPAC and get your mating annulled. Watching
him with someone else is torture but I could deal with it if they’re
good to him. He doesn’t even like you and I won’t see him unhappy.”

“Then you’re fired,” Gable countered and I could practically hear

the smirk in his voice.

“Kiss my ass,” Sam growled. “I only take orders from Leo and he

hasn’t fired me. You have no authority over me.”

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“We’ll see about that.” I heard his footsteps retreating. Could

anything else in my life fucking blow up right then? I couldn’t believe
how I started out the day in a good place. I had new contracts, good
friends, and my best friend, Sam, was always there for me. Now all
this? I just wanted to go to bed and wake up in a week and find it had
all been a bad dream.

“I’m sorry, Leo,” Sam said through the door. “You’re right. This

isn’t your fault. I thought you knew my feelings all this time but you
just didn’t feel the same way so we never took it to the next level.”

I thought about that for a minute. Sam was hot, sweet, and

anything and everything a gay man could want. But I didn’t.

“I don’t feel that way about you, Sam. I’m sorry, but I just don’t. I

thought we were like bestest buds who could cuddle while watching a
movie because I get scared. I thought it was a lion thing since I’ve
seen you do it with your litter.”

“That does make more sense now.” He sighed. “It’s okay. I

figured you didn’t feel the same way. I just never understood how you
accepted my affection so readily but didn’t want more. Now I get it.”

“I don’t even get it.” The tears kept coming no matter how fast I

wiped them away. “Maybe I’m just asexual and can’t have a normal
relationship? I mean, who doesn’t like sex?”

“Someone who was abused by the only person they’ve ever

wanted to have sex with,” he answered gently as I closed my eyes in
grief. “You wanted him before the beatings started and then you had
sex. It’s understandable that he turned you off to the idea of sex being
good and intimacy, Leo.”

“But that was over a hundred years ago. When is it going to get

better for me?”

“I can’t answer that for you. You’ve been to therapy. I think it’s

just a matter of the right person showing you the way and letting all
the pieces fall into place.”

I started laughing then, a harsh, ironic laugh. Gable so wasn’t that

person. He was rude and demanding and even when he tried to

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compromise he came off a douche bag. I got to my feet and started
cleaning up, ignoring Sam as he kept asking if I was okay through the
door.

If this wasn’t my life it would almost be funny. But it was and I

was in hell.

* * * *

Gable had been asleep in one of the chairs when I got back to the

cabin. I had cleaned up and spent a few minutes assuring Sam I was
okay, simply tired. I knew he didn’t believe me… I didn’t believe me.
But he let it go.

The moment I had taken a seat on the other side from Gable,

making sure we weren’t touching, I was out like a light.

I woke when the plane touched down. My mate was staring at me

as if assessing my worth given the drama that had happened earlier. It
annoyed me to no end. I hadn’t asked to be with him. It wasn’t like
I’d hidden my issues from him and now he was finding out like I was
the bastard here. He had mated me without asking, without finding
out anything about me, or even knowing my name.

If he didn’t like what he got… He could kiss my scrawny ass.
It seemed I had done a lot of thinking in my sleep. I would treat

this just like any other undesirable business arrangement. I didn’t
want to go feral and that required being intimate with Gable for four
years. I could handle that. I had to handle that.

I undid my belt and stood when the pilot gave us the green light

and went to get my bag. By the time the plane had stopped I had all
my stuff and was ready. Gable was standing behind me and I told
myself I could care less where he was. He didn’t matter to me besides
a means to an end.

“I can take that for you,” Sam offered after he opened the door

and someone moved stairs to the door. I’d also decided to not dwell

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on what had happened with him and everything was business as
usual… Besides cuddling during movies.

“Thank you, Sam. I’d appreciate that,” I said brightly to him as I

handed my carry-on to him. “And if you could arrange Mr. Zohar’s
belongings to be shipped to home at his convenience that would be
great too. I think Tom can find a room for him.”

“You’re not sharing your room?” he asked in surprise. I gave him

a look that clearly said it wasn’t his concern and he backed off with a
nod.

I debarked the plane and walked over to the waiting SUV. I

smiled and hugged Tom when I saw it was him driving today.

“Good trip?” he asked as he eyed over Gable suspiciously.
“Nope, but I’m making the best of it.” I gestured back to Gable as

I opened the back door of the SUV. “Tom, this is Gable Zohar, my
mate. Can you find him a room in the north wing when we get home,
please? There are many guest rooms there that I’m sure will be
suitable to him.”

“I’ll just take one next to Leo’s,” Gable mumbled as I hopped into

the vehicle.

“My room and my guards all reside in the south wing,” I said,

closing the door in his face before he could respond. Needless to say,
he climbed into the SUV on the other side a minute later, annoyed and
grumbling to himself. I glanced at my phone and saw it was only
seven in the morning. “I apologize for making you guys get up so
early.”

“You know we always rise with the sun,” Tom joked, smiling at

me in the rearview mirror as Sam got in the front seat after loading
our bags.

“Yeah, to shift and bask in it,” I threw right back. “Any chance

Ryan is making breakfast?”

“He’s waiting for me to let him know. Ryan didn’t know if you

had already eaten or if you wanted to go straight to bed.”

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“I’m going to fight the time difference,” I answered as I shot off a

text to Ryan asking if he could make his famous pancakes. “I slept on
the plane and while I might need a nap, I signed some new accounts at
the conference.”

“So the trip was good for business at least?” Tom asked, glancing

over at Gable again who was paying attention to the conversation but
still not happy.

“Yes and no. I think after UPAC pulled this stunt and made me

not only mate but let someone claim me against my will I won’t be
doing business with them anymore,” I explained, not looking at my
mate.

“He claimed you without your permission?” Tom growled as his

hands shifted. “We could easily break that mating bond, Leo.”

“It’s a thought for later,” I replied quietly as I leaned forward and

patted his shoulder. “Things were chaotic and they spiked our drinks.
There’s a certain amount of rudeness and bad behavior to be expected
under those circumstances.”

“Enough of this!” Gable exclaimed as he yanked my hand off

Tom’s shoulder. I, in turn, pulled it away from him. “You’re talking
about me like I’m not here and banishing me to the other wing of your
house. Look, we had to mate someone. I thought we’d be a good fit. I
didn’t want to mate anyone either. Can we not go over all of this with
your staff?”

“These are my friends,” I growled.
He narrowed his eyes at me and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to

like what he said next. “Maybe that’s why you’re so screwed up and
don’t like sex? You’re confused as to the fact that friends don’t work
for you and require pay. How could you know what fun fucking is if
your reality is messed up?”

I clutched my chest and turned away from him. Mostly because he

was right about me being screwed up. Just not about my friends.

“Leo doesn’t pay us, fucktard,” Tom snapped. “He saved us

decades ago and our small pride pledged our loyalty to him. We’re a

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family and like a family, we  all play our roles. Ryan cooks and does
most  of  the  chores.  Sam  and  I  head  Leo’s  security.  Everyone  does
something  for  our  family.  Leo  is  the  head  of  our  pride  and  we  love
him.”

“Some of you more than others,” Gable sneered as he stared at the

back of Sam’s head.

“Do you have to always be an ass and try to ruin everything?” I

whispered  just  as  they  were  all  about  to  start  fighting.  “You  mated
me.  I’m trying to  do the best  I can here. You informed me that  you
were  moving  into  my  house.  Fine,  I’m  giving  you  a  room.  Just
because I’m your mate doesn’t mean you know a fucking thing about
me,  Gable.  You  keep  assuming  all  this  shit  and  coming  up  wrong.
Maybe  you  should  just  see  how  things  are  before  jumping  to
conclusions and opening your mouth.”

I could just about hear his teeth grinding as I stared out the

window, counting the blocks until we were home. Luckily my house
wasn’t far from the small airfield I kept my plane at.

“Fine,” he finally replied after a few moments of silence. “They

said you’re part of their pride now. A pride of what?”

“Lions,” Sam answered, turning around and showing my mate a

mouthful of elongated teeth. “Leo lives with a dozen male lions that
would do anything for him. Good job in picking a potential victim for
you to dominate.”

“Sam, you’re not helping,” I sighed. “Can everyone just play nice

for five fucking minutes before I explode?”

“Sure, Leo.” He turned back around, shaking his head.
“So you saved their pride. How?” Gable sounded curious so I

turned and looked at him. He was eyeing me over as if confused and
not sure he bought the story.

“I’m a hacker.” I ran my fingers through my hair and thought

about how much to tell of the story. I decided for the short version.
“Even before there was the Internet that everyone knows today, there
was a trial version of it the government used linking all their

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computers. I’ve always been good with machines and whatnot since
their invention.

“One day I was sneaking into a government office to wipe my

existence off their mainframe. I popped up on their radar and you can
understand why that would be a bad thing back then. I found I was in
a file of potential paranormals that the government was thinking of
taking secret action on. I came across more, hidden research facilities
that had been doing testing on any shifter they could find.

“When I found out there was one attached to the building I was in,

underground, I helped everyone escape. Most ran for their lives
without even giving me a glance or a thank-you. There was a pride of
teenagers, mostly brothers from the same three litters and one other
lion that had been brought to the facility. They didn’t have anywhere
to go, no home, no family left or parents. I let them come live with me
while trying to figure out what to do to help them.”

“We never left,” Sam said, finishing the story for us. “We made

Leo the head of our pride and became a family.”

“I tried to get rid of them,” I drawled, teasing them. “But they’re

so much bigger that it’s not like I can pick them up and toss them out
of my house.”

“I’m telling Ryan to put chocolate chips in your pancakes just for

that,” Tom threatened.

“Fine, fine,” I conceded with a giggle. “I love all their mangy

hides and offered them a place to stay. We’ve been together ever
since.”

“Must be nice to have a family,” Gable said under his breath. I

glanced at him but he quickly looked away, seeming upset at his
admission. Guess he hadn’t meant to say that one.

Whoops.

Suck and Lick

Chapter 3

“Can we talk?” Gable asked me after we were home and walking

towards the house. Sam and Tom were already around back the SUV
grabbing the bags.

“Sure,” I answered with a fake smile. “After breakfast and I get to

say hi to my family. Then I have some work that I need to handle. We
can talk after dinner before we have our daily sex if that works for
you?”

“I’m not an appointment to schedule,” he growled as he grabbed

me and spun me around to face him. “I’m your mate.” I had a witty
reply but it was lost when his lips were mashed against mine in a
heated kiss. I gasped in shock and Gable used the opportunity to slide
his tongue into my mouth.

Of all the times I’d had sex or been intimate over my three

hundred years, I’d never been kissed like this. There was such passion
and excitement in his touch that I found myself moving my hands up
his body and into his hair. I hung on as he plundered my mouth,
crawling up his body until I was completely wrapped around him.
Gable groaned and moved his hands under my ass, massaging it.

I couldn’t explain what was going on. Something sparked inside

of me and I wanted sex like this, with this passion. I gave back as
good as I got, trying to map out his mouth with my tongue and what
he liked. Just as I thought my lungs would burn from lack of air, I
pulled back and nicked my tongue on his long teeth.

“Mmm,” he moaned and sucked the blood off my tongue as his

eyes opened and stared into mine.

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“You have fangs but you’re not a vampire,” I panted as I tried to

focus on his teeth and not my throbbing erection. “But they’re not just
your canines either.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he mumbled as he lowered me to the ground,

ducking his head so I couldn’t see his mouth. “I just wanted to give
you a real kiss. I didn’t mean to cut you, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I shivered at the mention of the kiss and rubbed my

hand over his arm. “No one’s ever kissed me like that. I’ve never felt
that kind of passion.”

“Really?” Gable let me see his face again, his fangs returning

back to normal. He smiled and lowered his huge frame down so our
noses were practically touching. “Is that a green light to give you
another one and rock your world, baby?”

“I’m not your baby,” I answered, pissed I’d let him suck me in.

He was such a douche bag! Who offers to rock someone’s world…
Baby. Gag me! “It was a wonderful kiss that I thoroughly enjoyed and
maybe we can share another time if you stop talking in cheesy pickup
lines and assumptions that you know me. You did say I was majorly
screwed up earlier, remember? A great kiss doesn’t just wipe that
away.”

“Look, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said quietly

as he reached for my hands. I stepped back and shook my head. No,
this was going to be like any other business arrangement, cold and
without feeling.

Well, unless he kept kissing me like that. Then there were going

to be lots of feelings and passion, but that didn’t mean love or
friendship. Gable wouldn’t be getting those from me.

“No thank you. I’d like to go see my pride now. You’re more than

welcome to join us for breakfast and meet them of course. Someone
will show you to your room after that.”

He searched my eyes for a moment and I swear I saw

overwhelming sadness in his. That couldn’t be though, right? I mean

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why should he be sad? Just because he didn’t think he was going to
get laid until tonight?

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Gable mumbled as he stepped aside and let

me pass.

I walked right up to the door and squealed in shock when it

opened. Rick, one of my pride, pulled me into his massive arms and
then flipped me over one shoulder and around to the other one like I
was a kid. Then he gave me a twirl like a baton.

“Gonna puke,” I shouted as my stomach flipped with the motions.

It stopped as instantly as it started but I wasn’t in Rick’s arms
anymore.

“Look, you guys are his pride and family, I get that,” Gable said

calmly, evenly. I was shocked by that and that he had grabbed me
from Rick so I just stared up at him. “But I’m his mate too whether
he’s happy about that or not. I take that seriously including his well-
being though I’ve been a dick about showing it.”

“Great, but what does that have to do with grabbing him from

Rick?” Tom asked, sounding curious and without judgment.

“We just got off a twelve-hour flight. Which means different time

zone,  altitude,  and  jet  lag.  While  I  don’t  think  Leo  seems  to  get
motion  sickness,  neither  do  I  and  that  kind  of  flight  makes  me  feel
sick.  Maybe  spinning  him  around  like  a  parade  baton  isn’t  the  best
thing for him,” Gable explained with a huff.

“Oh shit, sorry, Leo,” Rick said sheepishly. I reached out and

bumped fists with him to let him know there were no hard feelings. “I
just missed you, squirt. There’s no one to play the Xbox with.”

“I played with you last night,” Tom countered as everyone started

making their way to the kitchen. Gable didn’t move and I could feel
the tension in his muscles.

“Sorry. I know you’re an adult and they’re your family but you

started to look green and I didn’t think that was cool.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I said as I reached up and touched his cheek,

turning his head so he looked at me. “I appreciated the save. Coming

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home and puking everywhere isn’t what I had in mind. I also valued
how calmly you spoke your position to them. It was very logical and
compromising as to making your point.”

“I’m not all bad. I just screw up a lot and am not used to being

around people,” he whispered as his eyes started to glisten. He
blinked and like that the emotion was hidden away behind that wall or
whatever was going on with him. I started to get the distinct feeling
Gable wasn’t the enemy here but until I got more proof of the theory,
I wasn’t opening up to him.

“Fair enough.” I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek

as a thank-you. Then I tapped his arms and he set me down. “I could
use a gallon of coffee and enough pancakes to soak that up.”

“Sounds good,” he agreed and followed me to the kitchen.

Everyone was gathered in a loud, boisterous group. Half were stuffing
their faces before even sitting down at the table. Ryan, who wasn’t
much bigger than me, was the only one with manners it seemed.

“Hi, Gable, my name is Ryan,” he said brightly, introducing

himself and holding out his hand. “I do all the cooking and grocery
shopping so if there’s anything that you’d specifically like for me to
pick up I’ll show you how to add it to the list. If you have any food
allergies I need to know those too and maybe a list of meal
preferences would be good too.”

“Hey, Ryan,” Gable chuckled as he shook his hand. “I’m not a

very picky eater, no allergies, and if there’s something special I have
a craving for I’ll just run out myself when my car gets here. I’m sure
everything you make is fabulous if Leo sings your praises the way he
was, so as long as you serve some form of pasta every so often, I’m
happy.”

“We’ve got another pasta man in the house,” Tom cheered before

stuffing another piece of bacon in his face. “We debate a lot over
Italian or Mexican for dinner. It seems we’re split down the middle.”

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“I like both.” Gable shrugged and took a plate Ryan handed to

him. He loaded up with pancakes, bacon, and eggs before finding an
empty seat.

I kept covertly glancing over at him as everyone ate. Gable was

paying  attention,  nodding  along,  and  answering  any  direct  questions
asked  of  him.  But  something  surprised  me  about  the  interaction.  He
looked  scared.  Gable  actually  looked  pale  and  like  he  might  have  a
panic attack at any moment.

What had this man been through to act like that? Granted he

inadvertently walked into the lions’ den with my family but they
weren’t being hostile to him in the slightest.

“So what do you do for a living, Gable?” Rick asked when there

was a lull in the conversation. I caught an instant panic in Gable’s
eyes before it was gone.

“Guys, it’s not an interrogation,” I chuckled nervously, a little

worried  about  Gable’s  answer.  This  might  be  a  conversation  for
private.  “I  need  to  go  stretch  my  legs  and  shift  for  a  bit  because  it’s
been days. Can someone show Gable to  his  room?  I would but  I’ve
got work piling up.”

“I’ll do it!” Ryan excitedly offered. “Tom’s on cleanup duty

anyways.”

“Okay, then we have a plan.” I smiled as I stood and brought my

plate over to the sink. Cleanup duty didn’t mean slave so we all
helped clear the table at least.

“Why kind of animal are you?” Gable asked quietly, seeming

embarrassed he didn’t know. No shit. He mated someone without
even asking what type of shifter I was. He should be embarrassed. But
of course I gave him a cheeky answer.

“Look out your window in a few minutes and you’ll find out.” I

sauntered out the back door onto the terrace, refusing to give him any
more insight than that.

I quickly stripped off my clothes and left them in a pile on one of

the chairs before walking off the edge of the terrace and onto the

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grass. Wiggling my toes in a bit, I pictured my animal and changed.
The moment I was in my giraffe form my stomach growled. One of
the downsides from being a smaller man and a large animal is he was
always hungry.

So I had a second breakfast. I wandered among the trees, picking

off leaves here and there with my long purple tongue. When I’d
bought this land I had planted a score of acacia trees which was what
giraffes preferred in the wild. They weren’t found in the area since
they were mainly in Africa so having them shipped here was a small
fortune.

Luckily I’d had one. Believe it or not, I had been one of the

people who started the gold rush out West in the nineteenth century. I
had moved out that way to unsettled land so no one would figure out I
wasn’t aging way before people knew about paranormals. I had made
sure not to settle anywhere the indigenous people were and built a
small house on a stream. As my luck would have it, the stream and
surrounding land was full of gold.

Go me, right?
So I kept digging it up as I could, making trips back to the closest

bank. I ended up not being as stealthy about it because within a few
decades people were everywhere looking for their own gold. But my
land had been safe and I’d been able to get most of the gold out by
then. There had also been a few issues… Including the man that had
broken my heart and soul.

Just thinking about that asshole had me making the jump to the

one I was mated to. I gazed over the windows of the north wing. It
took me a moment but then I found where his new room was. Gable
was standing on the balcony, staring at me with his jaw hanging open.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. I was about a hundred yards

away but with my increased shifter hearing and being in giraffe form
it was like he was standing next to me when he said it. I wandered
over to him, grabbing more leaves as I went and being careful of the
stones of the terrace.

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I was right around three thousand five hundred pounds and that

kind of weight wasn’t meant to be held on decorative stones… As I
had found out by accident many years ago when I wasn’t paying
attention one day. I had an interesting time explaining that to the guys
who came to replace the terrace.

“I can’t believe my gorgeous little mate shifts into an amazing

huge animal.” He smiled as he extended his hand and ran it along my
face. “I wish I turned into a majestic animal when I shifted.” Gable bit
his lower lip as he stared into my eyes. “Wow. I can’t get over how
much easier it is to talk to you like this than when you can speak. I
don’t feel the pressure of hurrying up to say the right thing before you
tell me to fuck off.”

That might have been true and I did feel a little guilty for how

standoffish I’d been but it wasn’t my fault he was getting attitude
from me. I licked his face with my long purple tongue, trying to push
him into explaining his previous statement.

“My mother was a hybrid from a coyote shifter and a kangaroo

shifter.  My  father  was  a  crocodile  shifter.  It  makes  for  a  hideous
hybrid  that  my  parents  couldn’t  even  stand.  Chupacabra  isn’t  a  real
animal,  Leo.  I’m  a  freak  of  nature.  I  have  some  scales  but  I’m  still
part mammal. People see me and they scream before running for their
lives. You’re lucky you shift into something so amazing.”

He dropped his hand and lowered his head in shame as he stepped

away. I watched my mate retreat into his room as if someone just
kicked his puppy. Wow. I finally learn something real about him and
it just about broke my heart. I had never heard of such a mix of
shifters and I could understand him feeling awkward about his lack of
identity.

I also knew that the people who were supposed to love him

mistreated him if he was so upset about the topic. It made me see my
mate in a new light. His family turning their backs on him would have
made anyone jaded.

Joyee Flynn

And here he mated a rare shifter who had a family of powerful,

wondrous lion shifters. Yeah, I could see how that would be hard on
him. I was lost in thought as I walked back to the trees to graze some
more. There was a loud snapping sound and I winced.

“Leo!” Rick shouted from the back door. “We just replaced some

of those. Seriously? Can’t you watch where you’re walking, you big
lug?”

I really wished I had fingers right then to flick him off. Instead I

intentionally stomped on another stone and stuck my tongue out at
him. It was my house and I could break whatever I wanted.

“Brat,” Rick grumbled as he walked back into the house. Yes, yes

I was sometimes.

But it was allowed. Well, in my book it was.
I ate my fill of leaves, making a mental note that they were kind of

dry and I needed to tell the guys to up the length of the sprinklers so
the trees were properly hydrated. Then I shifted back and found my
clothes. I heard a giggle as I got dressed. Glancing up, I saw Ryan
standing there pointing to the destroyed stones.

“Yeah, you showed him, Leo. Break your shit so you have to buy

more.” He shook his head in mirth as I walked over to him. “Rick is
bitching up a storm and slamming things around. It’s funny.”

“You think everything Rick does is funny because he’s not from

your litter,” I teased, knowing full well the crush Ryan had on the
man.

Ryan’s face fell as he stared at his feet. “Rick said I’m not his

type. I finally confessed to the way I felt while you were gone and it
didn’t go over well. It’s time to move on.”

“I’m sorry, Ryan,” I said gently as I pulled him into my arms.

He’d been pining over Rick for almost a decade. That kind of
rejection was harsh to say the least.

“Be grateful you found a good one.” I snorted at his statement and

he looked at me with those big eyes. “Gable’s amazing. He’s hot,
smart, kind, easygoing, and fun.”

Suck and Lick

“You got all of that from one breakfast and showing him his

room?” I questioned, a little miffed that someone I considered as a
brother was so fond of my mate. Yeah, that was a good way to put it
without sounding jealous.

“We talked for a few minutes.” He shrugged as we walked back

into the house. “I think I’m just easier to talk to because most of the
other guys want to rip his balls off because they don’t think he’s good
enough for you. I just like that he’s not demanding about the food he
wants since I cook for a bunch of babies.”

“We heard that!” Sam shouted from the hallway. That got a smile

from me. I swear this house had ears sometimes.

“Be nice or you’ll go hungry since none of you can cook!” Ryan

shouted back as he gave me a wink. “Anyways, Gable offered to help
me with the cooking if I wanted. I guess he used to help in the kitchen
at his last job.”

“Glad you two are getting along.” I gave him a fake smile and

excused myself. I did have a lot of work to do but if I kept listening to
Ryan singing my mate’s praises I might really start to get jealous.
Which was stupid, right? I didn’t even want to be mated to the man.

But I was. His initials were on my hip and thigh. That should

mean something even if we got there in a backwards way. Why did
everything have to be so fucking confusing? I get another glimpse that
Gable might not be an asshole and now I was getting jealous that
Ryan liked him.

I was damned if I did, and damned if I didn’t.
Deciding maybe work would help, I headed to my office and got

lost  in  my  work.  I  loved  my  office,  it  was  totally  pimp.  There  were
flat-screen  monitors  on  most  of  the  back  wall,  fifteen  of  them  to  be
exact.  They  were  all  hooked  up  to  networked  computers  giving  me
wicked  speed  and  hacking  capabilities.  I  could  attack  systems  from
any and all directions with my next-gen worms.

They weren’t the type of worms to destroy systems unless that’s

what I’d been contracted to do. I didn’t take those jobs often. But a

Joyee Flynn

few months ago there was a terrorist trying to take down the country’s
National Security Agency system and they hired me to attack back on
their behalf. Needless to say that when I was done the terrorists’
network was toast and I had all their names so they could be brought
to justice.

I actually felt bad for taking money for that job since I was a

citizen of the USA. Sam had counseled me into cutting my normal fee
in half. He said that even soldiers got paid and if I didn’t show that I
valued what I did next thing I knew I’d have everyone contacting me
with those kind of jobs instead of using the people they employed.
They had to try their own capable people first.

It made sense and I had listened to his advice, stressing to the

NSA that I was a last resort. They said they understood but time
would only tell. I did get the distinct feeling that I was lucky I had my
own security detail otherwise I might have been locked away in some
undisclosed location forever “helping” the government.

They had taken one look at all the lion shifters at my house and

suddenly didn’t have much of a reason to show up on my doorstep.
Yeah, that wasn’t shady.

I gave a happy exclamation and pumped my fist in the air when I

found the hole in this new company’s system I had been looking for.
Every system had them. Half the time it was like playing Twister…
They covered one color only to leave another one open for someone
to use. That’s why my job wasn’t a one-shot contract but a year at a
time.

But I liked to shine when I picked up a new contract, finding at

least one flaw in their system within the first day of agreeing to do
business. Now that I found this one, I only had five other new
companies left.

It seemed enough people had found out I was the reason UPAC’s

network was impenetrable and sought me out. I’d long since moved
past having to scout for new business. They came looking for me
now. That was kind of cool.

Suck and Lick

Except when they took one look at me and laughed that there was

no way I was the Leo Casey who protected UPAC. Right, because
height and physical strength are totally attributes needed for a good
hacker. Idiots.

I dictated some quick notes for Mark, another member of our

pride who helped me with the administrative side of my work. Then I
moved on to the next company and so on.

Next time I looked at the clock it was dinnertime and I was itchy.

I  took  off  my  headset  and  headed  to  the  kitchen.  Everyone  was
already  sitting  down  and  joking  around  as  if  no  one  was  missing…
With  Gable.  They  were  including  him  and  no  one  even  looked  up
when I came in.

Fine, they were getting along. I wanted that. Instead of making a

fuss and being drama leader, I walked over to the island counter and
grabbed a plate. Glancing around, I saw there was no vegetarian meal
prepared  for  me.  I  walked  over  to  the  table  and  saw  the  same  thing.
Sure  there  were  sides,  but  Ryan  had  made  pulled  pork  sandwiches,
coleslaw,  and  potato  salad.  Coleslaw  and  potato  salad  was  not  a  full
meal.

When he made a meat main course, like sandwiches, he normally

sautéed me up some tofu or grilled me a huge cut of eggplant for my
sandwich so I didn’t feel like odd man out.

“Want some more?” Ryan offered Gable as he made my mate

another sandwich.

“Yeah, this is amazing, Ryan. What’s your secret?” Gable asked,

staring  at  Ryan  in  a  way  he’d  never  stared  at  me.  It  wasn’t  just
appreciative  because  Ryan  was  hot,  it  was  more  awe  and  respect.
Which  of  course  Gable  didn’t  respect  me  because  he  wouldn’t  have
just claimed me the way he had if he did.

“Root beer,” Ryan admitted with a blush. “I have a huge slow

cooker to feed all these guys and cook the pork loin on low for seven
hours in root beer. But you have to get the good stuff or it’s got an
aftertaste.”

Joyee Flynn

“That’s genius. You’re a magician, Ryan. And this potato salad is

so creamy without being too rich or tasting straight mayo.”

“Well, I use the olive-oil mayo and a little of the mustard mayo

combination stuff.” He gave Gable a bashful smile and just about
batted his eyelashes. Ryan was eating up the attention with a shovel
and asking for more.

I didn’t even realize I’d done it until I heard my plate shatter on

the  kitchen  floor  across  the  room.  It  seems  maybe  I  didn’t  always
have  my  emotions  under  as  good  of  control  as  I  thought.  I  was  just
standing  there  thinking  that  I  was  going  to  either  vomit,  scream,  or
throw  my  plate.  Guess  I  chose  the  last  option  before  making  the
decision to.

“Oh, hey, Leo,” Ryan said as he glanced down at his plate and

centered himself in his seat so he wasn’t as close to Gable as he’d
been. “We didn’t want to interrupt your work.”

“Or cook the vegetarian something he could eat either,

apparently,” I replied angrily, not even trying to hide what I was
feeling. “Plus, if I was working you and my mate couldn’t be gushing
all over each other how great the other is. And why am I itchy?”

“Because our twenty-four hours is almost up,” Gable answered as

he stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “You’re a vegetarian? Why?”

“Because I’m an herbivore, you fucktard!” I screamed, throwing

my arms up in the air in exasperation. “I can’t process meat. You saw
me walking around in giraffe form eating leaves.” I sneered at him
and waved between him and Ryan. “But I guess you found someone
as magical as I am who won’t give you as much grief, huh? Fine, call
UPAC and tell them you claimed Ryan otherwise you can fucking go
feral!”

I stormed out of there as several voices called after me. Fuck them

all. I was jet-lagged, working my ass off to keep my business big
since I was the only one who brought in an income for our family.
Granted, most of them helped and worked for me, but they needed me

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 4

Figuring everyone would look for me in my room or my office, I

ran out the front door and circled back until I was on the beach. I
buried my face in my hands and broke down crying. Why couldn’t I
get a handle on my emotions? Ryan and Gable might have been
flirting a little or being super sweet to get used to each other but I was
acting like I walked in on them bumping uglies on the kitchen table.

It still hurt. Ryan had forgotten my food because he was so

wrapped up in Gable. I hadn’t wanted Gable to claim me but moving
into my house to pay attention to someone who was my brother was
worse than what he’d done already. Sam loved me and I never knew
it. I was stressed out about work and deciding what to do about UPAC
and the way they hadn’t helped me.

I had a mate now. Let’s not forget that one! A mate who was a

jerk,  not  what  I  always  dreamed  of,  wasn’t  even  going  to  be  in  the
same  room  as  me,  and  didn’t  make  me  finally  enjoy  sex.  My  life
sucked.

Plopping down in the sand, I started to calm down. I was tired and

that  clouded  everything.  The  past  two  days  had  been  the  most
stressful  of my life and  I  wanted off the roller coaster.  I  didn’t  want
any  of this  and  I  was  two seconds from  telling  everyone to  just stay
here,  that  I  was  going  to  my  vacation  home  on  a  private  island  I
owned.

Actually, why didn’t I just do that?
“Oh right, if I don’t have sex with my asshole mate I’ll go feral.

That’s why I can’t leave and get some peace.” I gave a dark laugh
then, pissed that I was stuck in this position.

Suck and Lick

“I’ve done enough to deserve that asshole comment,” Gable said

loud enough for me to know he was approaching and had heard me.
“But not this time. I wasn’t flirting with Ryan unless every time I
commend a chef’s cooking it means I want to get in their pants.”

“He was eating up every word you were saying and just about

fucking swooning,” I countered, refusing to look at him or
acknowledge I overreacted just yet.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t because of some attraction,” he replied as he

stopped next to me but didn’t sit. “I can feel the tension between him
and Rick. It’s so bad everyone was making random conversation as if
trying to ignore it. Ryan was sad so I decided to be honest and tell
him I thought his cooking was amazing. If Rick should get jealous of
the attention I was giving Ryan, then all the better.”

“Oh,” I whispered, feeling about two feet tall. Shit, I sucked. “He

still forgot about feeding me.”

“No he didn’t,” Gable said gently as he sat down next to me and

handed me a plate. “He went to see if you could take a break from
your work but said he could hear you talking gibberish in your office
and said that meant you were taking notes. Ryan didn’t want to
interrupt your flow so he put your dinner in the oven.”

I stared at the plate in my hands and the tears that had just dried

up burned again in my eyes. “I’m the asshole.”

“No, you’re tired and hungry and upset after what I did to both of

us and I’m all over the place too because I’m feeling the mating heat
from the spell. I want to claw my skin off and rub ice all over my
body.”

“I don’t feel like sex,” I grumbled as I stuffed some of the

parmesan eggplant into my mouth. It was one of my favorites and
Ryan had made it just for me. I owed him a huge apology.

“Have you ever felt like sex?” He held up his hands in surrender

when I shot him a dirty look. “I know I was an asshole when I said
something was wrong with you. I shouldn’t have done that and I

Joyee Flynn

didn’t mean it. The fact that I enjoyed it so much and you didn’t made
me feel inadequate and I lashed out. I’m sorry.”

I thought about that for a minute and decided to accept his

apology. I couldn’t stay mad at him for everything he did forever. It
was time to start working through some of our issues or we’d be the
two most miserable people on the planet for the next four years.

“I forgive you.” Gable sighed and rubbed my back with his hand

while I ate. We were quiet a few moments before I decided to answer
his original question. “No, I’ve never felt like sex. I don’t want to get
into the why of that until I get to know you better and trust you.”

“Fair enough. I know we’re running out of time tonight, but I’d

like starting tomorrow for you to give me a little leeway and explore
what might work for you.”

“I don’t know what that means,” I admitted. Why was everything

so damn complicated?

“When someone’s new to sex they like to explore to find out what

gets them going. I’d like for us to try that and find out what works for
us.”

“That’s a nice way of saying you want to try and fix me,” I

mumbled, but still nodded. “Fine, whatever you think will work so I
don’t dread sex and we push the twenty-four-hour mark every day.”

“Then you should hurry up and eat,” he purred in my ear as his

hand worked down the back of my shorts. “Because gods, am I horny
for you and your sweet little body. You are so delectable, Leo.”

I shivered because it didn’t sound like a lame line this time. It

truly seemed like he meant it. I found myself leaning forward so he
had more access as I stuffed my face with food and ate it faster than I
could chew.

“Done,” I moaned a few minutes later with a full mouth. Gable’s

fingers were rubbing my hole as he licked along my neck and
shoulder. I was so wound up and turned on that I wanted to be stuffed,
and not with my dinner.

Suck and Lick

“Good,” he growled. In a flash I was up in his arms, still holding

my empty plate as he ran back towards the house. I practically threw
the plate onto the counter as he raced through the kitchen, up the
stairs, and into my room. It seemed my mate had done some exploring
of the house and figured out where I slept. “Get naked.”

He tossed me on the bed and went digging through my nightstand.

I tugged off my clothes as quickly as possible and was nude by the
time he crawled into bed with me. I offered my ass up in the air as my
shoulders hit the bed.

“Turn over,” he ordered as he gave my ass a light smack. “I want

to see you.”

“I’ve never had sex like that.” I bit my lip and did what he

wanted. I mean, I knew the mechanics of sex like this and that it
would work. I’d just never done it. The idea seemed to make me
nervous. Maybe because it seemed really intimate?

“I like a little of everything,” Gable hedged as he squirted some

slick  on  his  fingers  before  setting  the  bottle  on  the  bed.  Then  he
spread  my  legs  and  put  one  of  my  feet  on  flat  on  his  chest.  “And
there’s nothing wrong with down-and-dirty doggy style. But I want to
see you and not just so I can see if you’re in pain.”

He shrugged and lowered his gaze to my hole as if embarrassed.

Something had just happened here and while I wasn’t sure, I think it
was good. I moaned as his finger breached me, lifting my hips so he
had better access.

“No burn,” I whispered when he watched my face intently. My

mate nodded and kept wiggling his finger around. When I was ready
for two he slid another one in as his other hand stroked my cock.
“Good, feels better than last time.” I was a little more into it. It was
like he primed me by kissing me earlier and then teasing me down by
the beach.

“What would help move it from good to great?” he asked gently,

no judgment in his tone. “What would you like from me?”

Joyee Flynn

“Kissing.” My face turned bright red as I said it so I was glad it

was dark in the room. I really hoped it didn’t make me some pansy in
his eyes that I wanted to be kissed and feel that passion.

“Glad I’m not the only one who liked our making out earlier.” He

gave me a smile as he leaned forward, pushing my knee to the side of
my body as my foot stayed on his chest. His fingers slipped deeper
into me as his lips met mine. I gasped at how good he felt. “Open for
me, baby.”

It took me a moment to realize he didn’t mean my ass and I parted

my lips. Gable plundered my mouth as before and I moaned in
pleasure as I threw my arms around his neck. I couldn’t imagine how
awkward the position was for him. Two fingers in my ass, other hand
on my dick, leaned over to kiss me. But he pulled it off and soon two
fingers became three.

“I feel more than I ever have before,” I whispered against his lips.

“It’s not just sex that I could do without. I’m liking this.”

“That’s a good start, Leo,” he cooed as he kissed along my jaw.

“Soon you’ll love it and find what does it for you and you’ll even
instigate the contact because it’s so good. I’m not trying to be full of
myself. I’m really not. It’s a matter of being with someone who will
let you explore to figure out what you like. We already know that you
simply need more than one stimulus.”

“Uh-huh,” I muttered. I had heard him but I’d pay attention to

what he was saying and process it later. Right now all the blood in my
body was in my nether regions.

“One more because I don’t want you to have any burn,” he

warned before pushing in a fourth finger. “Is that okay?”

“Yes,” I hissed as he tightened his grip on my dick slightly.

“Think I’m going to come.”

“Do it, my mate. Come for me,” he demanded. I held on to him

for dear life as I let go for the first time in my life. I screamed his
name as I shot ropes of seed all over the both of us. My hips thrust up

Suck and Lick

on their own and even as I was peaking, I wanted more. It was the
first time I felt that way.

“Yes! Yes, like this. Oh, this is good. No pain, just pleasure,” I

rambled.  Suddenly  I  felt  empty  as  he  removed  his  fingers.  I  blinked
up at  Gable a few moments,  trying to  figure out  what  was going on.
He practically tore his clothes off his body and used the extra lube on
his hand to slick up his cock.

Right! That’s why he stopped. We were going to have sex. Wow,

it had been a good orgasm if I’d lost my train of thought enough to be
surprised by that.

“Just relax and ride the climax you just had and I’m going to try to

keep it going,” Gable said gently as he pushed inside of me. I nodded
and moaned. There wasn’t a pinch of pain or even slight burn. I could
do sex if it was like this.

“I’m good, you can move,” I told him as I nodded. He smiled as

he wrapped my legs around his hips and slid his arms under my
shoulders. It put his face right to mine and it was incredibly intimate.

“There’s no one else I’d rather be here with. Only you, Leo,” he

whispered  against  my  lips.  I  tilted  my  head  and  kissed  him  with  a
smile.  He  had  already  proven  his  point  about  goofing  around  with
Ryan  but  it  was  nice  that  he  was  making  a  point  to  squash  any
potential lingering thoughts on the topic.

After a few thrusts and moments kissing I realized I was just lying

there  like  a  hole  to  pound  in.  I  picked  up  the  timing  and  moved  my
hips  in  time  with  Gable’s  and  felt  a  thrill  go  through  me  that  I  was
participating.  I  chose  to  participate.  Maybe  it  was  something  that
came natural to most people but for me it was a huge step.

“Tell me what you want. What would make this better for you?”
“I don’t know but I like it better than I normally do,” I answered

honestly.

“Then we’ll take that as a win and work up to mind-numbing sex

that makes you scream the whole time.” He smiled at me so I
understood he was teasing me.

Joyee Flynn

Right? I didn’t think sex could really numb a person’s mind or

they could scream throughout the whole thing. That would really hurt
my throat.

“Baby, I need you to come or I won’t be a good mate,” Gable

admitted between clenched teeth. “I can’t hang on much longer.”

“I already came.” I didn’t get what he meant. I had my turn and

most didn’t even give me that.

“A real gentleman makes sure their partner comes once before sex

and once during for the gift of allowing them to take you.”

“Oh, so because I might be tender afterwards I get two orgasms?”

I liked the theory but I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right.

“Yup and because you gave me the gift of your body,” he grunted

as he nailed my prostate. “Does that help?”

“Yes? Maybe?” I was enjoying it and having fun but he wanted

me to finish. It wasn’t easy for me to do when someone was inside of
me. I could come all day long from foreplay whenever I could get it
from someone… Which had been rare. But I could play with myself
and toys for hours when I was bored and lonely over a decade-long
dry spell.

It was someone fucking my ass that I couldn’t come from. Or that

alone. If it was a dildo and I wasn’t touching my dick, I could though.
So it had to be a mental thing and for the first time I really wanted to
get over it.

I think Gable got the idea and without saying a word or making

me  feel  stupid,  reached  between  us  and  started  stroking  my  dick.  I
gasped  at  the  contact  and  pushed  into  his  hand.  His  lips  found  mine
again  and  seconds  later  I  was  having  another  fabulous  orgasm.  I
didn’t  even  remember  the  peak  ending  before  my  eyes  closed  and  I
was out like a light.

* * * *

Suck and Lick

I woke in the early morning, way before my alarm clock would

have gone off… Alone. The sheets next to me were cool, and I was
under the covers, and cleaned up. Well, at least he made sure I wasn’t
sleeping in dried cum with some up my ass before he left. I took a
deep breath as I sat up. I wasn’t going to freak out until I saw Gable
and he told me why he left.

Call me crazy, but I kind of thought it might have something to do

with the fact I’d made him have a room on the other side of the house
from me. Yeah, that didn’t scream he was invited as an overnight
guest.

I pulled on some sleep shorts that barely covered my ass. We were

shifters so nudity didn’t bother us, especially in a house full of lion
shifters. They liked to lounge in the sun in man or animal form as if it
was their religion. I didn’t go that far.

I preferred to cover up my bits since I spilled coffee accidently

when I was too sleepy to be paying attention. That one hurt and it’s
much easier to quickly pull shorts off than it is to try and hop in the
sink to flush with cold water. That hadn’t felt good either. Really, it
didn’t.

After I brushed my teeth and used the bathroom I headed

downstairs. As my timing would have it Ryan was the only one in the
kitchen when I got there.

“Do you hate me?” he whispered with tears in his eyes after a few

moments of us simply staring at each other.

“No, never.” I rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. “I’ve

been all over the place and didn’t know Gable was trying to help you
with Rick. It’s no excuse. Even if you guys were having some
innocent flirting fun you didn’t deserve that reaction from me.”

“I’m glad you did blow up,” he giggled as he wiped his eyes. “It

worked because Rick was on me the moment you stormed out of here
and Gable raced after you. He was scared of screwing up our family
dynamic if we hooked up. It wasn’t that he didn’t want me. We
played hide the wiener in my ass all night long.”

Joyee Flynn

“Hide the wiener in my ass?” I parroted before bursting out

laughing. “That’s awesome. I’m so glad for you both. But if you are
happy about it why are you already up and down here at six in the
morning?”

“He snores really loud.” He gave me a wink as we parted and

handed me a coffee mug. “I mean really loud. I didn’t notice when I
was exhausted from all the sex but then he woke me up this morning
and I wasn’t tired. I decided to get up and make his favorite.” Ryan
gave me a sly look and wiggled his eyebrows. “Gable snore?”

“I don’t know,” I answered as I busied myself fixing my coffee.

“He wasn’t there when I woke up. But it makes sense he wouldn’t
feel welcome to stay the night after I banished him to the other wing
of the house. I would think that’s understandable though after how he
mated me and was such a jerk when we met. Well, and a few times
since as well.”

I snapped my lips together. Now I was just rambling like a loon.
“It’s only been a little over a day.” Ryan shrugged good-naturedly

as if not noticing my overflowing mouth. “Rick and I took years of
knowing each to sleep the night together.”

“Yeah, good point.” I didn’t mean it like Ryan and Rick had the

right idea because Rick was an idiot for not having noticed how Ryan
had felt about him. I just meant that it had been less than forty-eight
hours. Nothing would be perfect or fit into place just yet. “And I did
fall asleep the minute after we both climaxed.”

“You were jet-lagged and tired.” Again he shrugged. I couldn’t

help  but  smile  as  I  sat  at  the  counter.  Ryan  was  so  easygoing,
practically  nothing  ever  bothered  him.  To  him,  most  things  had  a
rational  explanation  and  he  always  gave  people  the  benefit  of  the
doubt.  It  was  something  I  envied  about  him.  I’d  seen  and  lived
through too much to believe that.

Then again, sometimes I made things way more complicated than

they needed to be.

Suck and Lick

“Um, hey, good morning,” Rick said awkwardly as he walked into

the kitchen. “I wanted to, um, make sure you were okay when I woke
alone.”

“I’m fine,” Ryan shyly replied. He took a hesitant step towards

Rick who moved so the island was between them. Ryan hung his head
at the rejection and went back to mixing his waffle batter. “Just fine.”

“Don’t be that guy,” I warned Rick with narrowed eyes. “You

guys played hide the wiener last night and now you won’t even give
him a good-morning kiss?”

“Well I woke alone. I wasn’t sure what that meant or if he was

coming to give me a good-bye kiss and tell me it was fun.” Rick
glanced from me to Ryan. “You already told Leo? So it wasn’t a one-
night thing.”

“No, you ass,” Ryan mumbled as he kept mixing. “I got up

because you snore and I wanted to make your favorite breakfast.” He
kept stirring faster and faster in a way that made my hands hurt for
him. “I told you I loved you last night. Doesn’t that mean anything to
you? Or did you just think I would lie to you to get laid? Is that the
kind of person you think I am?”

I guess even the most logical and easygoing of us could have

meltdowns when matters of the heart were involved.

“Ryan,” Rick whispered and stepped closer to him.
“Forget it, just forget whatever you’re about to say!” Ryan

shouted as he gestured with the spoon… Spraying batter all over
Rick. They both stared at the splattered mix all over Rick’s chest and
I did as well. It was too funny.

“No, I won’t forget it,” Rick purred as he closed the space

between them and took the spoon out of Ryan’s hand. Then he lifted
the  man  onto  the  counter  and  moved  between  his  legs,  Rick’s  chest
rubbing batter on Ryan’s. “Last  night  was the best  night of my life,
baby. I got unsure when I woke alone that you had as much fun as  I
did. So I backed away and wanted to test the waters. I believed every
word you said last night.”

Joyee Flynn

“Don’t back away from me,” Ryan begged as he wrapped his

arms around Rick’s neck. “Please don’t ever push me away again,
Rick. We’ll figure this out and I know you think things are
complicated because we live in the same house and our family is our
pride. But we’re not related and mating within the same pride is okay.
I like that we’ve known each other since we were teenagers. You’ve
always been there for me.”

“Really?” Rick looked shocked at the news. Seriously? Men could

be so dense. Even I knew Rick loved Ryan before he did.

“Yes, really.” Ryan pursed his lips and tilted his head. It was too

much for Rick to resist. He moaned as he claimed the mouth he
wanted, Rick’s hand sliding into the back of Ryan’s jeans.

“Are you too sore from last night?” Rick panted as he stared into

Ryan’s eyes. “I woke alone, baby, and I thought maybe I dreamed it
all. I need you just as much. I want us to be real but I don’t know how
and I’m scared.”

“Hot sex and lots of flowers and I’m happy,” Ryan said with a

smile as he batted his eyelashes. “And no, I’m ready to go. I have the
plug in that you said you wanted me to wear today. I’m all yours.”

“We’ll be back!” Rick exclaimed as he threw Ryan over his

shoulder.

“The batter’s ready, just pour some in the waffle maker and the

timer will beep automatically after the lid is closed and they’re done,”
Ryan quickly told me as he bounced on Rick’s shoulder.

Guess I was making breakfast. I poured in the right amount,

closed the lid, and picked back up my coffee. Then I almost spit the
mouthful out when I saw Rick already inside Ryan on the back lawn.
It seemed he couldn’t wait any longer. They were so close that I was
surprised they even bothered leaving the kitchen.

“Interesting show,” Gable mumbled behind me. “Do you guys

always start mornings this way?”

Suck and Lick

“No, everyone’s single in the house besides Rick and Ryan now,”

I answered with a giggle. “Glad they got over their shit and found
their way to each other.”

“Everyone’s single but them,” he parroted with a nod as he added

sugar to his coffee. I realized he wasn’t happy and what my mistake
had been.

“Well, I meant other than us. I wasn’t saying I thought I was still

single.” Things might be far from perfect between us but we didn’t
need misunderstandings between us making things worse. The last
thing I wanted Gable wondering about was my loyalty.

“Okay, yeah, thanks for clarifying that.” He smiled at me and I

could see the relief in his eyes. “So we’re good?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that one so I bit my lip a moment to

think. “I think we started badly and there’s too much to deal with
between us to say we’re good. But I’d say we getting better and made
a real start at fixing things. Is that fair?”

“If I say yes, do I get a good-morning kiss?” His voice had gone

deep and husky. I was just about to answer when the waffles beeped. I
quickly turned and took the cooked ones out before adding more
batter. Just as I was closing the lid I felt large hands rub my ass under
the boy shorts. “I don’t want waffles. My mate looks good enough to
eat and I prefer him to all else. With the show on the lawn it’s hard to
not be in the mood.”

“What did you have in mind?”
“Everything. I want everything with you, Leo.” I could hear the

emotion in his voice and the sincerity. His hands moved to the front
of my shorts and he started stroking me as his lips found every
blessed spot on my body that set me on fire.

Who the fuck needed coffee when I could get treatment like this

to wake up?

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 5

The next few days were filled with work. I was buried and for

once  had  something  else  I’d  rather  be  doing  instead…  Getting  to
know my mate. Things between us were progressing nicely and he fit
in  well  with  my  family.  He  was  still  really  awkward  in  personal
situations  if  it  was  more  than  one-on-one  and  tended  to  keep  to
himself.

Gable loved to help Ryan in the kitchen and they were becoming

fast friends. Rick was hovering a little, worried that maybe Ryan
would change his mind about their budding relationship. I didn’t.
They were perfect for each other.

My mate had also been broadening my experiences in the

bedroom. I still hadn’t told him why I had such issues with sex, but I
would have to soon if we were going to work. Until the time was right
and I felt comfortable enough with him, I was simply enjoying the fun
we were having.

Gable was a master of foreplay, teasing, and setting my blood on

fire to where I was begging for a release. It was fan-fucking-tastic and
I wanted more, to experience everything sexual there was with him.
Well, except pain. I couldn’t deal with any pain with my pleasure. It
brought back too many bad memories.

I was distracted from my thoughts when I saw an e-mail pop into

my  inbox  from  a  contact  I  knew  that  was  really  a  friend.  We’d  just
never  met  so  we  were  more  like  online/cyber  friends.  I  quickly
opened it up, hoping it  was  some background information  on one of
the  companies  I  had  contracted  to  work  with.  The  guy  was  a  master
on getting the dirt on anyone or any business.

Suck and Lick

“I’m sorry, but I had to look. You protect your business, but not

yourself, Leo. I bet it never crossed your mind, which is okay, because
you have friends who look out for you. Give him a chance to explain
what I found. There might be reasons behind this beyond what’s in the
file.

-James”

Uh-oh, that didn’t sound good. I printed out the attached reports

and started reading them as fast as I could. My heart shattered into a
million pieces as tears burned in my eyes. I was such a fool. I trusted
Gable and let him into my home—my home! He was in this house
with my family!

I grabbed the rest of the reports from the printer and raced towards

the kitchen. It was just about lunchtime so he was helping Ryan in the
kitchen while some of my family had gathered, waiting to be fed like
greedy lions.

“Ryan, back away from Gable,” I said firmly, trying to hold

myself together.

“What? Why?” he asked, his eyes going wide.
“Rick.” That’s all I had to say before the man darted over there

and grabbed his man, making sure he was safe behind everyone. Then
I focused on Gable who was looking at me as if I’d lost my mind.
Yeah, it turned out I wasn’t the crazy one between the two of us. “Get
out of my house. We’ll send your shit to wherever you end up but I
want you out of my house before I contact UPAC and dissolve our
mating.”

“What? Why?” Gable asked, echoing Ryan moments ago. “What

did I do?” He glanced from my face to my hands. “What is that?”

“Do you want me to air your dirty laundry in front of everyone?” I

raised the pages crushed in my hand. “I know where you used to help
out in the kitchen, Gable. Do I need to say more?”

Joyee Flynn

“You did a background check on me,” he said sadly. He nodded

as if he understood but his eyes were pleading with me for something.
Hope maybe? “Do you want to hear my side or did you read enough
to condemn me?”

That gave me pause. James had warned me that there could be

another side to the story. “You could be a threat to my family,” I
whispered, not sure what else to say or do. I wanted to give him a
chance. We’d been growing closer. But my family was everything to
me and I wouldn’t risk them.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Leo,” Sam hedged as he held out

his hand for the papers. “But Gable’s been living with us for days. If
he wanted to hurt us he could have done so a hundred times.”

“He can see the reports,” Gable said quietly as his head hung in

shame. “It might be easier just to get this all out at once.”

“Now I feel like I’m kicking you when you’re retreating to the

corner.” I handed them over to Sam and plopped down at one of the
kitchen table chairs with a sigh. “Why didn’t you just tell me, Gable?
If there’s a valid reason to what’s said in those reports then why hide
it from me?”

“Like you’re not keeping things from me.” He narrowed his eyes

in accusation.

“Yeah, but that’s more a traumatic story to tell you when I feel

you won’t throw it back in my face,” I countered as I ran my fingers
through my hair. “It’s not the same, especially since you live here
with my family.”

“You’re right.” He nodded as he moved in front of the island and

leaned  against  the  counter.  “When  is  there  a  good  time  to  tell  your
mate  you  were  locked  up  in  a  mental  institution  by  your  family
though? I mean, it’s not like I can say, hi, my name is Gable. I spent a
few  decades  in  a  locked  mental  ward.  Want  to  get  to  know  me
better?”

“I understand that but we’re not just dating. We’re mates!” I was

getting agitated again. I wasn’t a total ass that didn’t realize this

Suck and Lick

would be hard for him. But he shouldn’t have hid it. “And I didn’t
pull a background check on you. I trusted you. I had a friend dig up
some stuff on a company I contracted to work with because they seem
shady. I mentioned I had mated someone and he pulled what he could
on you.”

“James?” Sam asked as he kept reading.
“Yeah, imagine my surprise when I get this in my e-mail.”
“Okay, Gable didn’t tell you himself and that sucks. But we know

now and it’s time to discuss it instead of pointing fingers and getting
defensive.” Ryan was right. At this rate we’d never resolve the issue
and spend the day bickering. “Can we agree he’s no immediate threat
and sit down to a nice lunch while he tells us non-judgmental people
everything? We know what it’s like to be locked up against our will
and we never did anything to deserve it.”

“Always the pacifier,” Rick chuckled as he set Ryan on his feet.

“Let’s eat.”

“Yeah, okay.” Gable looked as if he was going to vomit as he took

the seat across from me. Maybe it would have been better comfort-
wise to sit next to his mate but I was glad he gave me space. I wasn’t
dealing with this news very well.

Everyone brought over the plates of food to fix sandwiches with,

sides, and drinks. When we had everything and people started eating,
Gable sighed and pushed a few potato chips around on his plate.

“I’m a son of a hybrid that mated another type of shifter,” he

explained, still staring at his plate. “My mother was part kangaroo and
coyote while my  father  was crocodile.  It made for a freaky  ass  part-
mammal,  part-reptile  shifter  that  scares  anyone  who  looks  at  me.
Including my family. They basically kept me hidden most of my life.
I escaped in 1975 at the age of sixteen in a small town in Puerto Rico.

“My family freaked out and started this legend that some

unknown man killed their livestock by draining their blood and I was
named the Vampire of Moca. I was pale from rarely being out of the
house and on the run in tattered clothes. I got caught stealing food by

Joyee Flynn

the police and the next thing I know I’m in jail, my parents telling the
authorities that I was the one who sucked the blood from their
animals, denying I was their son, and being sent to a mental facility.

“It wasn’t until paranormals came out of the closet until I could

tell anyone the truth and explain what I was. It backfired because then
the humans were just scared of me. I didn’t know what was going on
outside with the humans fighting the paranormals and vice versa. It
took another fifteen years for UPAC to find me and work with the
local human government running the facility to let me go.

“I lost twenty-five years of my life and what my parents did just

so they didn’t have to admit they made some monster hybrid scarred
my record. I could never get a job. UPAC set me free but that was the
only help I got. I had to blend in as an illegal immigrant in this
country even to get work. I couldn’t stay in Puerto Rico or even
Mexico because anytime I shifted to let my monster out, someone saw
and suddenly the Chupacabra was striking again.

“People are morons. An animal gets attacked, it will bleed out and

look withered and horrid if it’s not discovered right away and fries in
the sun after it’s dead. I wasn’t sucking any animal blood. The idea
just wants to make me hurl.” He took a quick sip of his soda and ate a
few chips while the deafening silence dragged on.

“So is that what you were doing when you met Leo? You were

working as an illegal immigrant?” Ryan finally asked. I couldn’t even
wrap my brain around all he told me enough to come up with a
question.

“No, um, not really,” Gable hedged. He sighed and wiped his

hands  over  his  face.  “When  I  lost  my  virginity  I  bit  the  guy  in  the
height of passion. It wasn’t a mating bite, just like vamps drink blood,
my  fangs  came  out  and  I  bit  him.  Well  it  turns  out  my  freaky  fangs
give  off  some  hormone  that’s  like  a  happy  neurotoxin.  The  guy
passed out the orgasm was so intense.

“Next thing I knew, he talked to someone and they told someone

and I had a line of people, men and women, who wanted me to bite

Suck and Lick

them.  They  didn’t  want  sex  and  I  wasn’t  a  prostitute.  They  just
wanted the climax and the high my bite gave them. I was pissed at the
world  and  hated  everyone  so  I  thought,  why  not  take  the  suckers’
money?  So  that’s  what  I  started  doing.  I’d  go  to  certain  clubs  on
weekends  and  make  thousands  of  dollars  a  night  biting  people  who
paid.

“I hated it and I thought I lost what little of my soul I had left. So I

disappeared and traveled from place to place on the money I made
just to be alone and left alone. Somehow UPAC found me and I got
the summons to the gathering and the rest you know.”

“Wow, that blows, man,” Tom said, shaking his head in disgust.

“We were all locked up in a government research facility being poked
and prodded for every test known on the planet. But at least we had
our littermates and then more of us came before Leo found us. So we
had support after it all went down. I can’t even imagine how you got
through it all alone. And I can see you wanting to get back at people.

“Hell, I’m a lion and not a hybrid and we had some fun scaring

the scientists after we got out. If I was you and the only Chupacabra,
I’d be all over Puerto Rico and places with supposed sightings and
give them one hell of a show.”

That seemed to be the general consensus in the room. Everyone

started rambling with ideas on how to get Gable some revenge. No
one batted an eyelash at his story or acted towards him with pity.
They thought he was strong and kick ass for having made it through
what he did.

I just didn’t know what I felt. Foolish? No, I was valid in my

concerns considering the way I found out. I think anyone would have
jumped  on  him  like  I  did  in  fear  for  their  family.  Worried?  Yeah,  I
was  a  little  worried.  It  was  now  obvious  Gable  was  chock-full  of
issues  and  so  was  I.  Would  two  people  with  such  serious  issues  be
able to make a healthy relationship work?

And there was also a bit of doubt. Did I really know Gable well

enough to trust his story when most of it was unverifiable? I’d like to

Joyee Flynn

believe so  but  I had trusted the man  I once loved for months  and he
stabbed me in the back big-time. I wanted to give Gable the benefit of
the doubt. He wasn’t  Ben. It  wasn’t fair to put  my shit with Ben on
Gable.

So I decided not to. I would believe Gable’s story and move on to

what else was bothering me.

“Leo? Are you okay?” Gable asked quietly. I realized no one was

speaking anymore and all eyes were on me.

“He’s processing,” Sam answered for me, giving me a wink. “He

spends so much time with computers he processes new information
like one. He’ll pick apart what you said, sorting out how he feels and
the logic behind it before he comes to a conclusion.”

“About how he feels? I don’t understand that. You can’t help how

you feel.”

“No, but I can rationalize some of it and prioritize the feelings.

That way I know what questions to ask or issues to handle so I move
on,” I explained.

“I wish I could do that.” Gable gave me a shy smile. “It killed me

that I was such an ass to you when we met and mated. I was still
drunk when we got on your plane and my emotions were spinning out
of control.”

“Still drunk?” I whispered, my stomach sinking to my toes as I

lost my appetite. “Still drunk.” Gable’s eyes went wide as he realized
I was upset.

“You didn’t realize I was drunk when we met, did you?”
“No.” I stood, shaking my head. My mind had officially hit

overload. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“Leo, wait,” Gable begged as I turned and walked away from the

table. I kept moving, feeling as if the house had slanted on me.

“Let me go!” I cried out when I felt his arms encircle me from

behind. “I thought it was bad the way you claimed me and gave me no
choice. But to know you did it drunk is just insult to injury.”

Suck and Lick

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he buried his face in my neck and

lifted me into his arms. “No, I won’t let you go. I’m sorry I was drunk
and I’m sorry I was an ass to you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my
past and claimed you against your will. But I am not sorry we’re
mates. I picked you drunk and I would have picked you sober. I just
did it badly because I was upset and hurt and drank too much.”

“Just stop,” I whined, not ready to hear any of this. I needed time

to process what he’d admitted before I could deal with his explanation
and attempt to fix it.

“No. If you won’t let me tell you how sorry I am, let me show you

how much you mean to me. I have something special set up like we
talked about. I wanted to do it tonight but please just give me the
chance now. Please? We’ve made such progress and I don’t want to
move backwards because I screwed up again. Let me worship you the
way I should have when we met.”

I curled into him as silent sobs wracked my body. I didn’t know

what to do. He took my silence as an agreement and carried me up the
stairs and to my room. Next thing I knew I was trying to take deep
breaths and stay calm as he sat me down on the bench at the end of
my bed.

“There’s a method to my madness, I swear,” he explained as he

grabbed the remote for my TV and DVD player. “I just needed the
time for everything to get here.”

Now I really didn’t know what he meant. I sniffled a bit as I tried

to understand what was going on. Gable grabbed the bottle of lube
and some toys, placing them on the edge of the bed before he lifted
me to my feet and pulled off my shirt and shorts.

“I don’t feel like playing, Gable,” I whispered as I shook with

emotion. I felt raw and exposed, stupid for being the only one naked
as well.

“Please just give me ten minutes to change your mind and let you

see all the thought I put into this. I did this for you, Leo. I enjoy the
sex we have, hell, I fucking love it. But you just like it and I care too

Joyee Flynn

much for you to accept that. Haven’t I been good to you in the way
I’ve shown you new things?”

“Yes,” I agreed. Gable had been patient and understanding. Sure

he had blown up that first time and said there was something wrong
with me but he had explained why and apologized. Plus, now that I
knew he had been drunk at the time, I could understand his behavior
better. Being inebriated didn’t excuse what he did, just explained it.

“I compiled some clips to see what interests you. I thought since

you won’t tell me what happened to you, this was a good, interesting
way to find out some insight how to make sex more pleasurable for
you.” He pulled me onto his lap and spread his legs wide, my back
leaning against his chest.

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.
“You will, baby.” He kissed my neck and fondled my sac with his

left hand while reaching for the remote and turning everything on
with his right. It took a moment for the screen to load and then I got a
better idea of what kind of clips he had been referring to.

“Oh my!” I gasped as a man about my size was being double

stuffed in his ass while sucking another man off. There were other
men surrounding the fun, jerking off.

“Is that a good oh my?” I flinched as the man bottoming screamed

in pleasure when one man finished in his ass and another one took his
place, pushing his dick in along with the one already inside him.
Wow.

“It’s hot,” I mumbled as he pinched my nipple and moved his

hand to my cock. “I like the way they all seem to want him so
desperately. No one’s ever taken me or looked at me like that. I mean,
they look like they might die if they don’t have him.”

“I’ve felt that way,” Gable purred as he leaned me forward and

moved his hand to the crack of my ass. “I didn’t want to scare you
and be too rough with you. Do you like the idea of being with so
many men like that?”

Suck and Lick

I thought about it a minute, shivering when I felt a cool, slick

finger circle my hole. I was going to be honest with Gable. Everyone
had fantasies and it didn’t mean that I would run out and cheat on
him. And he had set this all up for me and lying would defeat the
purpose.

“I like the idea of you fucking me with a toy while I suck you off.

But double stuffed and a line around the room for me? No way. I
don’t want anyone to join us and that guy is going to be walking
funny for weeks. I think he likes pain with his sex and I don’t.”

“Okay, good, this is good,” Gable cooed. He pushed a finger

inside of me as he skipped to the next scene. “How does this one
make you feel?”

I closed my eyes and looked away. There was a man chained

down and while he looked agreeable to what was going on, I couldn’t
watch it. “Turn it off.”

“Sorry, baby. It’s on the next scene,” he said gently. I nodded and

opened  my  eyes  back  up,  staring  at  the  screen.  I  moaned  at  the
pleasure Gable’s finger was giving me and at  the fun on the screen.
One  man  was  taking  another  about  my  size,  and  while  they  were
having  sex  standing  the  bigger  man  was  using  some  sort  of  toy  that
mimicked a blow job on the little guy.

“We should try that.” I whimpered and arched my back as he

pushed in another finger. “I love when your hands and lips are
everywhere while you’re taking me.”

“Good, I like to be extra active during sex too.” As if to prove his

point, Gable licked down the bones of my spine and moved his
fingers faster. Then he switched the scene. “What about this one?”

It was paranormal porn. I knew it was because the guys were

moving almost faster than could be seen on camera. It was two large
vampires going at it as if their lives depended on finding their
orgasms. Their fangs were showing and the one on top bit the other
one hard as he drove his cock into the man’s willing body.

Joyee Flynn

“Oh god,” I moaned, pushing my ass back on his fingers. “Please,

touch me, Gable?” I arched my back so he could grab my cock and he
did, stroking me furiously. Then for whatever reason, I decided to talk
to the men on the TV. “Yes, bite him again. Give it to him good so he
screams.” Instead, the other man bit the first and about the same time,
I felt teeth sink into my neck. “Fuck!”

Gable grunted as he pushed another finger into me. I cried out his

name and shot my load all over his hand and legs. He drank my blood
and used his fingers to fuck me with perfect precision.

“Too much but don’t want it to stop!” I screamed as I tried to let

go and ride the waves of bliss. Just as I started to come back down,
Gable removed his fangs from my neck and pulled his fingers from
my ass.

“You’re stretched, baby. Tell me you’re not too mad at me where

I can’t have you,” he begged as I heard the zipper of his jeans go
down.

“I want you, Gable,” I murmured. It was the truth. I wanted him

more than air. “Fuck me like they are.”

“Gladly,” he growled. He lifted me up for a moment and moved

me so I was on all fours, facing the TV. Then he moved behind me
and shoved his cock inside of me, still fully dressed besides undoing
his pants.

“Oh gods!” I gasped. I was so relaxed from the first orgasm that

there wasn’t any pain from him shoving into me like that. I loved it!
Then he pulled my back to his chest again and made sure I was
watching the show.

“Like this, my mate? Is this what my baby wants?” His voice was

all low and gravelly and I couldn’t help but shiver as I nodded. Gable
pounded into me with the desperation I said I wanted but had never
had. “Tell me you want no one but me and you won’t get rid of me
after what I’ve done.”

Suck and Lick

“Not fair to ask me that now,” I grunted as his flesh slapped

against mine. “But I will admit I want no one but you, Gable. I’ve
never wanted anyone like I want you.”

“That’s a start.” He licked his bite marks and I whimpered, hoping

he got the idea. He reached down and stroked me in time with his
thrusts right before he struck, biting me on the other side of my neck.
I came again, harder than the first time. I couldn’t help but marvel that
something as simple as a bite made everything so much better for me.

I felt like I was in heaven, on a beach, with all the fruity drinks I

could have, served by hot, naked cabana boys. That’s how good sex
with Gable when he bit me made me feel.

“I wanted you to have three or four orgasms but I don’t think I can

hold out that long,” Gable told me with clenched teeth after he was
done drinking from me. “I have to come.”

“Do it,” I purred, feeling quite boneless and a little high almost.

“Fill me up with the proof of how much you want me.”

“Oh fuck,” he groaned and then buried his face in my shoulders.

He moved his mouth to my flesh to muffle the screams as he unloaded
in my ass, coming harder than I remember him doing with me. When
he was done and we were both more than spent, we flopped down to
the bed in a sweaty, panting heap.

This was that kind of sex I’d always wanted… And only Gable

had been able to give it to me. That had to tell me something, right?

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 6

I was smiling when I opened my eyes again until I saw what was

on the screen. I whimpered and tried to hide under Gable, bending in
a way I didn’t know I could. “Turn it off. Please, turn it off!”

“Okay, okay, baby, I’ve got it,” he quickly said as he dove for the

remote. Once it was off he pulled me back into his arms and curled
around me as if I was a scared kitten. The analogy wasn’t far off to be
honest. “What did I do wrong? Please, Leo. As much as I don’t want
to push you, you have to tell me what just happened. I thought you
enjoyed it!”

“I did,” I admitted as I turned so I could stare up at him. I wanted

him to see the honesty in my eyes. “That was the most amazing sex in
the history of sex, not just my life.”

“Then why are you so upset?” Gable looked scared and ready to

pull out his hair. He’d confessed his past to me… It was my turn.

“What that man was using on the other one in the video wasn’t

meant to be put there,” I answered cryptically, my face blushing. The
clip was from some hard-core, borderline crazy porn, in my opinion.
There are just some things that should not be able to fit in someone’s
butt. “I experienced something similar but I didn’t enjoy it like that
man was.”

“Oh, you were raped?” Gable went from scared to pissed off in a

blink of an eye.

“I don’t know, can you be raped by a baseball bat?” I chuckled

darkly  and  then  took  a  calming  breath.  “I  was  one  of  the  original
settlers  that  found  gold  out  west.  The  land  was  uninhabited  and  I
never  messed  with  the  indigenous  people.  But  then  people  were

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finding gold in lots of places and seeking land that wasn’t claimed
according to them. It was bullshit and they killed people over fucking
rocks.

“Well, I had been sneaking to the closest town and depositing the

gold  there  along  with  several  other  hiding  places  on  land  I  bought.
They  were  places  that  people  had  already  moved  on  from  so  I  got
them  cheap  and  no  one  thought  twice  to  look  for  gold  there  since
someone had tried to mine it. Long story short, next thing I knew the
land  I  had  found  the  gold  on  was  crawling  with  new  people  on  all
sides.

“I didn’t feel safe so I hired a gunslinger that people were afraid

of, Ben, to protect me, my gold, and my land. We lived there for years
as I pulled gold out of the earth a little at a time. We became friends
and I fell in love. I was a naive virgin who never thought a man like
him could ever want me. He caught me watching him bathe one day
and while we were close I thought he was going to kill me for being
the creepy guy who leers when no one’s looking.”

“But he didn’t obviously,” Gable hedged when I paused.
“No, he stormed over to me naked and demanded why I didn’t tell

him sooner that I wanted him. Then he kissed me.” I didn’t even mean
to, but I touched my lips, remembering my first kiss and how it had
made me feel. “He carried me to his room, tore off my clothes, and
we made out. I remember thinking that this was finally it, I was going
to lose my virginity and live happily ever after with the man I loved.

“But instead he told me he’d fantasized about tying me down and

having his way with me. I didn’t know any better so I agreed. I told
him  I  was  his  forever  and  he  could  do  anything  he  wanted  to  me.  I
was so stupid.”  I  whispered the last part, my eyes filling with  tears.
“The  moment  he  had  me  shackled  down  he  started  calling  me  all
kinds  of  vile  names.  He  beat  me  with  a  horse  whip  and  then  stuffed
things in my ass, dry, that no man should have to have there.

“He tortured me for days, laughing at how stupid I was to think he

would be a fag. Then he packed up the gold I had there, all the

Joyee Flynn

money, and anything of value into my wagon and left me for dead. I
cried and cried for mercy but he still left. I was barely strong enough
to shift, but I broke my wrists and ankles doing it when I broke the
shackles and trashed my room. You saw how big I get. I shifted back
and crawled to the stream.

“It took me a day of just lying there drinking water to rehydrate

and  heal  in  the  cool  stream  enough  to  move.  When  I  could,  I  went
into  town  the  next  day  and  told  the  Sheriff  that  Ben  had  stolen
everything  from  me  and  tried  to  kill  me.  I  couldn’t  give  specifics
because how would I explain my escape? The man looked at me and
said  I  got  everything  I  deserved  for  being  the  way  I  was.  The  law
wouldn’t help me and I wouldn’t be a victim again.

“I went and bought every gun that would fit in my hand, learned

how to shoot, and worked my ass off to get all the gold out of my
land. Then I left. I’m pretty sure I still own that land, actually.”

“That explains a lot. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell

me,” he whispered as he hugged me even closer. “Have you ever
talked about this before?”

“Sam knows.” Gable made a face and I realized we hadn’t

discussed Sam’s feelings for me. “You need to get over it because I’m
not cutting him out of my life. He’s my best friend.” I sighed when I
realized how insensitive that sounded. “Sam more than the others had
a rough time in captivity. I didn’t realize how deeply he felt but I
knew there was always a bit of knight in shining armor, rescue
feelings going on.

“The man would take a bullet for me and not just because he’s my

security. We’re a family and lions aren’t the best at being sociable
outside their pride. Mine especially after what they’ve been through.
He’ll get over me and move on. Just give him some time and let him
see that you’re not the enemy. He wants me to be happy.”

“Okay, I can do that—for you. I don’t like it but I understand and

I’m willing to try it your way.” He gave me a smile and I yelped as he
lifted me up suddenly and got to his feet. “Now to clean up the proof

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of our fun and go see if they left us any lunch. I’m starving for some
unknown reason.”

“Unknown, huh?” I giggled, snuggling against him. “I’m sorry I

didn’t  handle  things  better.  I  hope  you  understand  why  though.”  He
nodded  and  I  decided  to  push  for  more  information.  “You  said  you
were  upset  and  hurt  at  the  gathering  and  that’s  why  you  got  drunk.
Want to tell me what happened?”

He was quiet as he turned on the shower and finished undressing.

“My parents were at the gathering.” I chose not to say anything, being
able to practically see the wheels in his head turning. We stepped into
the shower and closed the door behind us and the instant we were
under the water, I was back in his arms.

“You can tell me anything, Gable.” He sighed and leaned against

the tile. I wasn’t sure what to do but he definitely needed some TLC.
Reaching over, I grabbed the soap and started running it over his
stomach. He let out a soft moan of pleasure and turned so his
shoulders were on the wall, fully opening himself up to me.

“My parents saw me and looked so happy to see me,” Gable

whispered as his eyes stayed closed. “I thought maybe after all these
years they felt bad for what they did to their son. Maybe they hadn’t
meant for it all to happen but after how things started they couldn’t
undo it. I had this whole fantasy built up in my mind in the couple of
minutes it took for them to walk over to me from when they first
waved at me.”

“I’m guessing it didn’t play out that way if you proceeded to get

drunk after talking to them.” I tried to keep the judgment out of my
voice. I understood getting tanked after something traumatic
happened, but the result was he mated me drunk and that still stung a
bit. My hands were all soaped up now so I ran them up his muscular
chest and over his shoulders.

“You’re going to think I’m even more fucked up than I already

am.” Gable opened his eyes and stared down at me to gauge my
reaction.

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I smiled at him as I slowly ran my hands down his tight abs. “I

think that boat has sailed for both of us. We’re the most screwed-up
pair ever.” He watched my every move intently as I made a show of
cleaning him up. “So just get it off your chest so we can get back to
the fun of being in the shower together.” I winced at how that could
have sounded, like I wanted him to hurry up because I was tired of his
issues.

My bad.
“You’re right, there are so many other things we should be doing

in the shower besides talking.” He reached down to lift me up by my
ass, and I danced away from him.

“No touchie until you fess up.” Then to be a tease I played with

myself while he watched. “Purge what’s on your mind and then this is
all yours.”

“Okay, but you have to stop doing it while I’m talking otherwise I

won’t be able to focus.” I nodded and went back to washing him,
working on his legs now. “They want to use me because they heard
what my bite does for people,” he finally blurted out.

“So they wanted you to go back to charging people to bite them? I

don’t understand how that would benefit them. You don’t need them
to do that since you were doing it fine on your own.”

“They wanted to extract whatever my fangs secrete and figure out

what  it is  before producing it on a mass level,”  he explained with  a
shiver. “The  glimmer in their eyes was horrid.  I swear it was  worse
than the disgust they used to look at me with. I wasn’t their son, not
really.  I  felt  like  a  cash  cow.  I  had  a  flash  of  living  in  a  lab  as  they
attached tubes throughout my entire body.”

“Needless to say you turned them down.”
“Yeah and they threatened to take what they wanted anyways. I

knew they wouldn’t try anything at the gathering and ditched them.
Then I proceeded to see how much alcohol I could consume.”

“Do you think they’ll come after you?”

Suck and Lick

“I don’t know. They have no clue where I am now and before

being here with you I was traveling all over the place. I can’t see them
putting forth enough effort to try and pick up my trail. They’ve
always been lazy and all about an easy buck to make. Work is a
foreign concept to them.”

“Well, you have a whole pride to protect you now.” I bit my lower

lip as he took the soap from me and started cleaning my body. “I think
maybe we’re a perfect example of the elders’ plan.”

“What do you mean?”
“We’re both screwed up with so many issues,” I hedged, trying to

think of the right way to phrase what I wanted to say. “I’m not sure I
would ever have mated with what happened to me in the past. Would
you have ever trusted anyone enough to want to mate?”

He thought about it for a moment and shook his head. “No, no I

wouldn’t have.”

“Exactly. There are so many of us who’ve been screwed with, not

even counting those who fought in the Great War. We’ve had issues
with humans and each other and I lost my ability to trust in just about
anyone a long time ago.”

“Specifically Ben,” Gable said quietly. “Is he still alive or do you

know where he is? The whole time you were telling me I couldn’t
help but think about where I could find him and kill him.”

“He was human so I’m sure he’s long gone.” He nodded and I was

glad it was the truth because I didn’t want to deal with the potential
drama it could have caused. “My point is that maybe the elders
understood what was going on with all of us. If we’re all screwed up
all we’re going to do is keep messing with each other and fighting. I
bet they thought if they mated us up that it would heal us and make us
a better community.”

“Yeah, I can see how they might have looked at things like that.

The war messed up lots of people from what I’ve seen. I wasn’t
around for it since I was locked up, but I heard stories. I know I’d
long since lost the desire to trust anyone before all of this. Now I had

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to when we needed to find a mate that night.” He gently cupped my
cheek with his soapy hand. “I’m glad it was you.”

“Thanks,” I whispered as I blushed and ducked my head. I quickly

turned and let him wash my back. “I don’t think anyone but you could
have broken past my walls.”

“Good to know,” he purred in my ear as he ran his hands all over

my body.

The teasing continued for the rest of the shower, way past the

point where we still needed one. Once we figured we wasted enough
water with our fun, Gable turned off the shower and we stepped out to
dry off.

“Round two?” Gable’s smile was so wide that I shivered at the

ideas I’m sure he had.

I was about to say yes when the house alarm went off. I stared at

him a moment in fear before grabbing a towel and racing out of the
bathroom. I wrapped it around my waist just as I got to the top of the
stairs, Gable right on my heels.

“What’s going on?” I asked Sam when I saw everyone gathered in

the foyer.

“Someone tripped one of the perimeter sensors again. This time it

was close enough to set off the alarm,” he answered as he studied the
tablet linked to the cameras. “Someone set the smaller sensors on the
outskirts of the property line yesterday. This time it was one of the
inner ones that are motion activated.”

“So they’re testing our system,” Rick surmised as he rubbed his

chin. Then he wrapped his free arm around Ryan protectively. “What
do the cameras show?”

“Only shadows,” Sam grumbled. “Not enough of anything to

determine what we’re dealing with.”

“Probably not an animal that just stumbled by the sensors then if

they avoided being filmed.” Tom had a good point there.

“Your parents?” I asked Gable quietly.

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“Maybe, but it just doesn’t seem like their style. They’re more the

type to show up on the doorstep and try guilting me into helping
them.”

“What’s going on with his parents?” Sam glanced between the

both of us and while he was valid in asking since this might be
affecting all of us… It wasn’t my story to tell.

Gable nodded his understanding and gave everyone the short

version of what had happened. There were looks of disgust on my
friends’ faces and some of horror. I didn’t blame them. I’d had crappy
parents but Gable’s took the cake.

“And I thought your parents sucked,” Tom said with a glance at

me, shaking his head. “They should be tied up by their toes for being
assholes. Gable’s should be put down like rabid dogs for being a
threat to society.”

“What did your parents do to you?” Gable asked me, not having

yet discussed it.

“They named their son, the giraffe shifter, Leo,” I drawled, rolling

my eyes. Gable’s mouth twitched as if not getting it or knowing how
to respond. “I was small for a giraffe at birth, like a human preemie
baby. They were so flippant about it and heartless that they named me
Leo, which means lion, because if I made it I was still destined to be
eaten by our most deadly predator one day.”

“Those assholes,” Gable growled before his lips broke out into a

big grin. “Joke was on them though, wasn’t it?”

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure what the punch line was that

he was alluding to.

“Your parents thought that you were going to be eaten by a lion

one day because you were small,” Tom explained with a smirk. “But
instead you’re the Alpha of a pride of lions who would do anything to
protect you.”

“Oh yeah, I never thought about it like that.” I guess I just never

made the connection. “Knowing them, they’d just think I was fucking
you all for the protection.” I shrugged and fidgeted with my towel.

Joyee Flynn

“They hated that I was gay too. I was just a complete disappointment
to them.”

“Not to us, short stuff,” Tom said fondly as he mucked up my hair

with his hand. Luckily it was wet so all he did was dry it off some.

“Okay, so what do we do now?” I asked as I swatted his hand

away, sticking my tongue out at him.

“We’re just going to have to be more vigilant and keep an eye on

the situation,” Sam said firmly. “No one goes out alone and we’re
going to add a few extra cameras for now. If we hide some better in
the area they think they already tested then maybe we can catch
them.”

“Okay, if you need me for anything just let me know.” The

situation made me feel uneasy but there was no need to overreact yet.
It could be a bunch of different things, I rationalized. I mean, as much
as Tom’s theory made sense, there still was an off chance that it had
just been an animal big enough to trip the sensors.

Now if I could just make myself believe that.
I left them to discuss the situation as I went back upstairs and got

dressed. Well, if tiny boy shorts was considered getting dressed. Then
I  headed  back  downstairs  as  I  went  over  all  the  possibilities  in  my
head.  They  were  all  still  talking  as  I  went  past  them  and  toward  the
kitchen.  I  had  just  walked  inside  when  I  was  pushed  up  against  the
wall and strong arms kept me there. For a split second I was about to
panic until I recognized the guy’s scent.

“Yes?” I purred as Gable pushed his hand down the back of my

shorts.

“Baby, you keep dressing like this and we’re going to spend our

lives  with  my  cock  in  you.”  He  growled  as  if  to  prove  his  point  of
how  much  he  wanted  me.  I  gasped  in  pleasure  as  his  other  hand
pulled  out  my  hard  cock  as  he  fingered  my  hole.  “But  for  now  I’m
just  going  to  please  you  because  just  watching  you  walk  around  in
those shorts pleases me.”

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“I’m confused,” I panted as my hips moved on their own. “Am I

supposed to wear the shorts or not?”

“Wear them.” I felt his fangs run over my neck and I shivered.

“Wear them because I enjoy taking them off and playing with you
when you tease me by wearing them.”

“Okay, my mate,” I whimpered, practically going limp in his

arms. I cried out his name when he bit me, his grip on my cock
tightening. Riding the bliss, I was barely able to hang on to reality. He
lifted me and moved around the kitchen. I heard some voices too.

“Yes,” Gable hissed. Just as I came down from my orgasm he

pushed inside of me. Wow! That’s what I call an orgasm! I had
missed getting slicked up and prepared. “Too hard?”

“No, want more!” I yelled as he moved his hands under my ass

enough to grip my hips. My ankles were on his shoulders as I was
spread out on the kitchen table like a buffet.

“Are you sure? You don’t like pain?” he asked hesitantly, freezing

in place and eyeing me over.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I growled and slapped the table. “Now fuck your

mate! You started this. Fuck me stupid.”

“As you wish.” He got a feral look on his face before slamming

into me hard enough that the table groaned. Gable pounded into my
ass like a man possessed… It was amazing. I’d never been taken like
this. As I tried to grab on to something so I didn’t end up being flung
across the room, I realized we had witnesses.

I met Sam’s heated gaze and there wasn’t any jealousy. He was

just excited by what was going on. That had to be a good sign, right?
If he was in love with me like he’d said or thought then he would be
upset by this.

“Wow, they’re really going at it,” Ryan said in awe. Then he

yelped as Rick lifted him up and pulled down his pants. Moments
later Ryan was on the table by me with Rick taking him as well.

“Hey, you with me?” Gable grunted as he picked up the pace.

Joyee Flynn

“Yes, just laughing at the trend we started.” Then I groaned as he

changed angles and nailed my prostate.

“If you’re thinking about anything else but me inside of you, I’m

not doing something right.”

“I’m sorry,” I cried out. He nodded and pushed one of my knees

to the side of my body so he went deeper. Then without even a hint of
what he was doing, he pulled out of me and flipped me over so only
my chest was on the table. Ryan and I winked at each other, sharing a
camaraderie over the fun we were having.

“Bad mate,” he taunted as he spanked my ass. “Gods, your ass is

perfect. You should have misbehaved sooner.”

“Like, I like,” I whimpered as I pushed my ass up higher for him.

“Yes, I was really bad.” There was a sting to his slap, and I wouldn’t
have thought I liked that, but it seemed I did.

“My little mate want more?” He fingered my hole as he taunted

me with the idea of penetrating me again. “Beg.”

“Please, Gable? Please spank me and fuck me until I can’t walk.

You’re the best I’ve ever had. No one’s ever made me like sex like
this and want more. I’m so wound up that I’m dying here!”

“Fine, but I get a chance to give you a full spanking later.” He

shoved his huge cock back into me. I cried out again as he used my
willing body in a way I’d never experienced. I reached down and
grabbed the edge of the table, hanging on for dear life.

We went on like this for about ten minutes. I wanted to laugh in

between my moans of pleasure when I saw that Rick and Gable were
competing as to who could go the longest. They were exchanging
glances as they bit their lower lips and tried to hang on.

Ryan cried out as he came, meaning poor Rick was probably

going  to  lose.  Gable  gave  me  a  wink  that  he  thought  we  would  win
and  part  of  me  wanted  to  roll  my  eyes.  Some  men  and  their  pride,  I
swear. I was simply enjoying the passion and fun of being together.

“I can keep going and give Ryan two climaxes for my one,” Rick

announced proudly as he kept drilling into Ryan.

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“How about you’re both studs and call it even?” I suggested as the

slick he used started to dry up. “We’ve been going long enough where
I’m not  lubed anymore.” And it was starting to  burn.  I left that part
out  though,  hoping  he  would  understand  the  implication.  Plus,  it
wasn’t fun if our sex life became a competition.

Gable frowned and pulled out of me. It shocked me enough to

where I rolled over and glanced at him. It wasn’t lube he’d used, but
olive oil. I guess he had needed to improvise. He slicked himself up
more and then lifted me into his arms after setting the bottle back
down.

“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered against my ear as he carried me

into the laundry room off the kitchen. “Nothing matters more than
you and me when we’re together. I shouldn’t have gotten distracted
by anything else.” He kicked the door closed and turned on the dryer.
Then he set me on it and gently pushed me to lie down.

“Oh, wow,” I gasped as he pushed back inside of me. “Vibrations

good.”

“Not as good as being inside of you,” Gable admitted with a

blush. The honesty shining in his eyes did me in and I came with the
force of a geyser. Gable followed me right over and filled me with the
proof of how much he enjoyed our coupling.

When we were done, I lay there like a limp noodle as the dryer

vibrated my whole, spent body. “Apology accepted.”

“Are you sure? I could apologize again?” Gable mumbled in my

neck and I could feel his smile against my skin. Glad we were on the
same setting… Even if it was the heavy setting on the dryer.

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 7

As the weeks went by they were filled with ups and downs as they

always are. But almost three weeks after the dryer sex, there’d been a
huge up in my relationship with Gable. We were in my room now, all
of his stuff taken out of the other wing. To say he didn’t have much
was an understatement and while he seemed embarrassed about that, I
thought it understandable after the crap-tastic life he’d had to this
point.

The perimeter sensors kept being tripped every other day. I

thought Tom and Sam were going to pull their hair out or just become
some crazy swamp people who sat outside their house with the
shotgun all the time. They were that upset with the situation.

Ryan and Rick had mated and they were so sweet together that it

made everyone else a little sick. I was happy for them… And begged
Ryan  to  teach  me  how  he  got  Rick  wrapped  around  his  little  finger
like  that!  I  was  way  more  wrapped  around  Gable’s  than  he  was
around mine.

“Please, buddy?” I whined pathetically. “How do you do it? I

mean, it’s not just giving him sex, right? I give Gable all the sex he
wants and he’s still so the boss of me! You bat your eyelashes at Rick
and tell him to jump, he’ll ask you how high.”

“Then start batting your eyelashes!” Ryan growled in frustration.

He paused in his anger with me to give a demonstration. “See, there.
That’s the secret, now leave me alone, Leo.”

“You really have no clue, do you?” I slumped in defeat on the

kitchen stool. Ryan sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“He showed me that I could enjoy sex. I feel like a pathetic puppy that

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runs after him all the time to do anything he wants. And I bet he
thinks it’s because of his bite but I swear I don’t feel the drug-like
high he talked about. I think I’m immune because I’m his mate.”

“So it’s just a good bite during sex high?” Ryan asked and I

nodded. “Yeah, it seems I’m a biter and Rick likes to be bitten.” My
eyes went wide and he giggled. Then he got serious when he realized
how much this was really bugging me. “Look, Rick likes that I turn
the tables on him. I’m smaller and a bottom, but he loves when I give
him the claiming bite. Every so often during sex I flip us over so I’m
on top, ride him like a cowboy, and bite him when he’s not ready. Part
of great sex is the changeup pitch.”

“Changeup pitch,” I repeated with a nod as I let it sink in. Then I

gave Ryan a bright smile. “I like it. It’s a winning plan.”

“Good because if—” he started but our conversation was

interrupted by a sudden shouting match going on in the foyer.

“I didn’t even hear the bell ring,” I mumbled as we raced out of

the kitchen and down the hallway. I got there first and my jaw almost
hit the ground as my mate stood there with his head hung in shame
while some woman went off on him. “What’s going on here?”

“Stay out of this,” the man on my doorstep snapped at me.
“The fuck I will,” I snarled and stepped right up to him, not caring

he was almost twice my size. The guy had shifty eyes and I got the
distinct feeling he was some type of reptile shifter though I had never
met one. Something about his eyes just screamed shifty reptile. They
were almost as rare as giraffes and pretty big assholes from what I’d
heard. “You’re upsetting my mate at my home. Start talking before I
decide to be as rude as you and feed you to the lions. Literally.”

“I’m hungry,” Tom agreed as he cracked the knuckles in his hands

for show as he joined us. It seems the whole gang had heard the
ruckus. “Anyone else hungry for crocodile? I could use some new
boots for sure.”

Joyee Flynn

“Crocodile?” Hello, light bulb! “You’re Gable’s parents.” I didn’t

say it with any love in my heart or respect. Some people should just
not be parents and his were amazingly evil. “Why are you here?”

“None of your concern,” the woman barked at me, giving me a

look of disdain. “You’re prey.”

“Lady, you’re part kangaroo. Hello, you’re prey too,” I threw

right back as I crossed my arms over my chest and pushed out my hip,
giving them as much attitude as I could pull off. “And it takes a lot
more predators to take down a thirty-five-hundred-pound giraffe than
it would you. So look down that ugly nose at someone else. You’re at
my house.”

“Leo,” Gable sighed as he shook his head. “Pissing off my parents

is like stirring the hornets’ nest.”

“Look, this conversation is over,” the man sneered as he held up a

piece of paper. “We have a court order that Gable isn’t allowed to
make decisions for himself and is to be remanded to our custody for
care. He’s dangerous and rare.”

“Now all of a sudden you care when you want something from

me,” Gable said angrily as he pulled his arm out of his mother’s
reach. “You just want to lock me up but in a lab this time.”

“Nick?” I asked as I grabbed the paper and handed it back to him.
“I’m on it, Leo,” he answered as he took it from me. Nick was the

lawyer of our pride.

“You can’t take that,” Mr. Zohar growled. “That’s ours.”
“And just like a search warrant, we have every right to see the

proof. You want to remove your son from his mate’s house? Yeah,
you have to prove it’s legal,” Nick shot back as he read over the
paper.

“We have a lawyer in the family.” I gave the man my brightest

smile as I took Gable’s hand in mine. “And you’re taking my mate
over my dead body.”

Suck and Lick

“Leo, baby, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.” Gable’s

eyes shined with tears as he sighed and glanced down at me. “I don’t
think we have a choice here.”

“They don’t know who they’re dealing with, Gable.” I raised our

joined hands to my lips. “Have a little faith. Besides, you leave, and
you’re basically signing my death sentence, remember?”

“Oh my gods,” he gasped as his eyes went wide. “I was so

wrapped up in them showing up and with a court order, I forgot.” His
tone darkened as I saw his body go tense. Then he looked back at his
parents and focused on them. “Fuck you both. We’re mated according
to UPAC and I have explicit instructions from them as to our mating.
I leave and Leo will go feral.”

“The reptile elder already agreed to annul your mating,” Mrs.

Zohar said with a dismissive wave. “This is all legal.”

Just then, Nick burst out laughing. We all turned slowly and

looked at him as if he was nuts. Nothing about this was funny, so
what was up with him?

“Legal in Puerto Rico,” he finally choked out as he clutched his

chest  with  one hand and shook the piece of paper. “That’s why  you
didn’t  want  us  to  see  this.  You  went  to  a  court  in  another
commonwealth  with  their  own  governing  body  to  get  this  order.  It
doesn’t  recognize  that  Gable’s  been  mated  and  we  all  know  that  all
rights  of  the  person  then  go  to  their  mate.  Even  if  you  got  a  court
order  in  this  country  that  Gable  was  unfit  to  make  decisions  on  his
own, Leo would automatically become his guardian.”

“The mating is not relevant because it’s being dissolved,” Mr.

Zohar argued.

“Wow, you really are dumb,” Nick chuckled. “You can’t dissolve

a  mating  unless  all  parties  involved  agree.  I  highly  doubt  Gable  and
Leo would agree to that so you can lock Gable up in a lab and use him
like  a  test  subject  to  make  a  new  drug.”  Then  he  shocked  us  all  by
tearing up the paper in his hand and growling. “This is nothing more
than something to wipe my ass with.

Joyee Flynn

“Now, I suggest you leave and never come back before I have you

thrown  in  jail  for  harassment  and  attempted  kidnapping  of  our
brother. You might  have  your  local  government  in  your back pocket
to  have  gotten  this  but  we  aren’t  there.  And  we  have  friends,  mine
include the district  attorney  of  Ft.  Myers.  And  I’ll be filing  a formal
complaint  to  UPAC  to  let  the  reptile  elder  know  not  to  trust  you
again.”

“You can’t do that,” Mrs. Zohar whispered, her face going pale.
“I can and I will,” Nick replied dangerously as he stepped up to

the doorway. “Or you can challenge me right here to a fight if you
disagree with my decision. You should know your adversary better,
bitch, before you come here and try to take one of our family away.”

“But he’s the Chupacabra, not a lion.” She glanced at her husband

who looked just as confused. “Why do you care what happens to
him?”

“I’m not going to sit here and try to explain what family loyalty is

to someone who so obviously doesn’t get it,” Nick replied,
completely annoyed. “Leo and Gable are mated. Leo is our Alpha and
brother, that makes Gable our brother. Savvy? If not, we don’t care so
take your pathetic asses off our property before we call the police
because you’re officially trespassing.”

“This isn’t over,” Mr. Zohar growled as he took his wife’s hand

and stepped off the porch.

“Yes, it is.” Nick stepped back and we all followed suit right

before he slammed the door closed. Sure, Tom was watching out the
side window to make sure they were really leaving but the message
was clear.

“I’m a little turned on by you right now, Nick,” Gable said with a

tone of awe. I gave a snort of protest. “What? That was hot and he
came to my defense.”

“So did I,” I grumbled good-naturedly.
“And I will thank you over and over again in any form.” He

grabbed my hand and kissed it gently. “I reverted to the little boy I

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had  been  so  long  ago  when  they  had  showed  up.  I  was  scared  and
afraid  they’d hurt  you so  I was willing to  do whatever they wanted.
You  strutted  right  up  to  them  and  didn’t  flinch  for  a  second.  You
reminded me that I’m not that boy anymore. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I blushed at his praise and then gave him a

wink. “I have prior claim on you, Mr. Zohar. That trumps any crazy
they want to try and throw at us.”

“Before you guys break out into song or rip each other’s clothes

off, there’s something we need to discuss,” Nick drawled. Then he
turned and headed towards the kitchen. Yeah, talking would be better
in there instead of having fourteen full-grown men stand in the foyer.
It was a big foyer, but still.

“Okay, so why do I get the feeling this isn’t going to be a good

talk?” Sam asked with sarcasm as he snagged a muffin. Sam and I had
been doing much better in the past few weeks. He had admitted that
seeing me have wild sex with Gable didn’t make him jealous or
upset… Simply horny. He also had said that Gable and I did belong
together and he was going to try and get over his feelings for me.

My hope was that they weren’t as deep as he had originally stated.
“I guess on how negative you want to be today,” Nick teased as he

grabbed a bottle of water out of our huge stainless-steel fridge. “The
date on that court order rules Gable’s parents out as being the ones
who’ve been tripping the sensors. That’s not exactly something you’d
just call in so they had to have been there.”

“Well, balls.” I pouted as I plopped down at one of the kitchen

table chairs and crossed my arms over my chest. We were back to me
being the reason this was going on then. “So either it’s one of the new
companies  I’m working  with,  my  guess  would be the shady ass  one
who  sends  me  replies  via  encrypted  messages.  Or  someone  I  have
worked  for  in  the  past,  maybe  the  government.  Or  someone  who
wants something only I have access to.”

Joyee Flynn

“Or someone we’re not thinking of that might have nothing to do

with you,” Gable added, trying to help. We’d all been over these
theories for weeks. “Are the traps in place?”

“Yeah, but depending on how smart they are or if they’re shifters,

they  might  not  do  any  good,”  Sam  answered.  They’d  decided  to
booby-trap areas of the property in hopes of trying to  catch whoever
was  behind  this.  We  weren’t  talking  steel  bear  traps  or  anything
deadly.  Most  were  counterweighted  that  would  catch  someone  in  a
net.

“Okay, we need some fucking fun around here,” Ryan mumbled. I

thought it was a great idea. We’d all been working too hard and too
much lately. I could tell my mate was fried from the encounter as
well.

“You are so right. Beach and picnic?” I asked Ryan, noticing all

the smiling faces. “It’s been a long time since we’ve played some
animal sports.”

“I–I’m not, um, f–feeling well,” Gable stuttered as his feet

suddenly became fascinating.

“We’re going to have to see you shift sometime, my mate,” I said

gently, knowing this was going to be an issue. His parents had been
here to pick up the monster. I knew it was a risk, but I was confident
if we saw him shift and didn’t freak out, it would be a big help to him.
“We’re a real family, not those assholes you got stuck with at birth.
We don’t judge or do anything but be there for each other. Give us a
chance.”

Gable looked up at me slowly and nodded.
“Good. I’ll even wear my see-through swim trunks,” I purred

before glancing at Nick and Tom. “You guys have cooler duty. Grab
ice and fill them up with some good stuff.”

“On it!” they agreed and got to work. We did have our own

private beach so we kept an excess of bags of ice in the deep freezer
just in case.

Suck and Lick

“Rick and Ryan, order a spread for delivery. Gable and I will go

grab a bunch of stuff to defrost later from the freezer. Everyone else,
fill in the blanks and meet outside in twenty.”

The mood in the room had changed from frustrated, depressed,

and confused to excited and easygoing in moments. I took Gable’s
hand and pulled him into the garage where we had several deep
freezers.

“How did I not know these were here?” he muttered as I pulled

the tarp off one of them.

“Because we have enough food inside the house normally.

There’s a local farmer that we buy a few cows from every October
when they go to slaughter. It’s just cheaper that way. I have a dozen,
and now you, meat-atarians in the house. And lions especially like
their meat.”

He laughed as he helped me pull out twenty large steaks and carry

them back in to set on the counter to defrost. Then I reached in the
freezer there and pulled out an eggplant steak that had been freezing
as well. Ryan was a sweetie and constantly coming up with ways that
I didn’t stick out as being the only non-meat eater in the house. This
was one of them.

The guy was so crazy, that he chopped up a bunch of eggplants,

mashed  them  together  with  some  eggs,  and  formed  them  into  steaks
before  freezing  them.  Nuts,  right?  How  could  I  not  love  him  for  it
though? Ryan was one of a kind, that’s for sure.

Then I raced upstairs, Gable hot on my heels, grabbed an armful

of  beach  towels  before  heading  to  our  room.  When  I  was  there  I
quickly  yanked  off  my  clothes  and  tugged  on  my  little  see-through
swim  shorts.  Well,  technically  they  weren’t  see-through,  but  they
were white and when they got wet, anyone could see everything.

“I want to try something as long as you’re all about cheering me

up,” Gable said hesitantly as he pulled his long trunks up his body and
tied them.

Joyee Flynn

“Okay.” I was practically drooling. When I wore trunks like that I

looked like a kid trying on someone else’s clothes. He didn’t just wear
them… He owned those trunks. I bet it was the sexiest thing I’d ever
seen him in and I’d agree to just about anything right then.

Gable’s smile made me glad I’d agreed. No longer there in his

eyes was that earlier sadness. He pulled something out of a plastic
shopping bag off our dresser. Now I was curious. I sauntered over to
him, making sure I put a good amount of sway in my hips as I went.

“Baby, you’re playing with fire,” he growled. In a flash he

grabbed me around the waist and threw me on the bed. I let him have
his fun, yelping in surprise and giving him a nice view of my ass
when I landed. I even teased him by pulling down the shorts some. He
leaned over and kissed each cheek of my ass. “So damn pretty.”

“And all yours,” I purred. “What have you got there, my mate?”
“A waterproof, remote-controlled, anal massager that vibrates.

You still game?”

“Will it drive you mad that it’s inside of me?”
“Oh yeah,” he moaned.
“Then put it in me,” I giggled, shaking my ass at him. He quickly

slicked me up and stretched me out before pushing in the toy. It was
weird, not like a normal plug because it was ribbed part of the way
and had little nubs the rest of the way. Gable pulled back up my shorts
and gave my ass a hard slap that resounded through the room.

I couldn’t help but moan. I got the massaging part. When I moved

it rubbed me a different way inside to where I was rock hard as I got
off the bed.

“Are you trying to kill me or just make me hump your leg like a

dog in heat?” I asked as his eyes shined with mirth and a healthy dose
of lust.

“Hump, baby. It’s always about humping.”
“Good.” I walked over and grabbed the beach towels before

heading to the door. I paused and glanced at him over my shoulder.

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“Bring the waterproof lube. I have a feeling we’re going to be fucking
in the ocean most of the day.”

I heard a growl as I raced from the room. I got about ten feet from

my bedroom door before I was about to shoot my load. I slowed down
and stepped more carefully as I walked down the stairs. Still, when I
got to the kitchen I was panting and dying to touch my cock.

“Dude, you get any bigger of a boner and you’re going to tear

those  shorts,”  Tom  teased  as  he  shook  his  head  and  walked  out  the
back door. I followed him, glad I’d slipped on flip-flops before I left
my  room.  For  a  day  in  March  it  was  hot  in  Florida  and  the  terrace
stones would have burnt my feet.

We’d just about set up umbrellas for those of us who burned…

Namely, me, when Gable joined us. The coolers were already out and
everyone helped lay out chairs and towels before getting settled.
Gable was helping Rick and Tom set up the volleyball net when my
ass started to vibrate and the toy turned inside of me.

“Oh fuck!” I cried out as I started humping the air. I was already

lying down on a towel and applying sunscreen when it started.

“Did you get one too?” Ryan asked with his eyes wide. “Rick said

he and Gable went together to pick out some fun for us. I think they
planned this because everything was waterproof.”

“Uh-huh,” I moaned, barely paying attention. I met Gable’s eyes

and to be a shit I pulled down my trunks enough so he could see the
top of my cock. Instead of winning one up on him, he turned up the
toy. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! Gonna come.”

“Not yet,” he called out from fifty feet away. “Ride it, baby. If

you wait until I get there I’ll swallow you down and let you come.”

“Okay,” I whined. I did everything I could to be good, trying to

ignore  the  toy.  I  put  lotion  on  but  all  that  did  was  set  me  off  more
because  my  skin  felt  ultrasensitive.  It  might  not  have  helped  that  I
kept pinching my nipples. Then I looked out at the water, but the toy
seemed  to  turn  in  time with  the  waves  and  I  felt  like  I  was  going  to
float away in orgasmic bliss soon.

Joyee Flynn

“You lasted a whole fifteen minutes,” Gable cooed as he knelt

down  beside  me.  Good  to  his  word,  he  exposed  my  dick  and
swallowed  me  down.  The  instant  he  started  sucking,  I  came  with  a
scream  and  shot  my  cum  down  his  throat  harder  than  I  ever  had
before.

When I was spent I lay there limp, twitching from the aftershocks.

Gable released my cock and tucked me back into my shorts as he let
the toy keep moving inside of me. Then he stared down at me with
such lust and love that I started shivering, and not from the toy.

“You are so damn amazing,” he whispered as he moved his larger

body over me, in between my legs. I gasped when his hard-on hit the
end of the toy, pushing it further into me. “I heard part of your
conversation with Ryan before my parents showed up. I was just
going to walk into the kitchen and tell you that you were wrong when
I smelled them outside.”

“I’m wrong about what?” I asked, completely confused and

having trouble focusing.

“That I’m not completely, totally, and utterly wrapped around

your little finger,” he whispered huskily against my ear. His hands
trailed down my body as he massaged every hot spot before cupping
my ass. “I love you, Leo. I would do anything and everything you
ever wanted if it would make you happy.”

“I love you too.” Mine was more a moan than a heart-filled

whispering of sweet nothings, but I meant what I said. “And it’s not
because you taught me to love sex or your bite. I never feel high after
your bite, I think I’m immune because I’m your mate. It’s just when
you growl and claim me it sets my body off to the moon. I love you
for so many reasons, Gable.”

“But you do love the sex we have too, right? It’s not scary or

uncomfortable anymore? I mean, you start it as often as I do.” He
looked hesitant but hopeful so I knew it was his insecurity and not
something I’d done wrong where he was doubting us.

Suck and Lick

“Why don’t you fuck me and find out?” I taunted playfully. “This

toy is great and something fun and different. But it’s nothing
compared to when your cock is inside of me and we are linked
together as one.”

“You just want to get off again.” He raised an eyebrow and I

couldn’t help but nod. Quicker than I could follow with my eyes, he
bit me, sinking his teeth deep into my flesh. I screamed and came
again, this time in my shorts.

After I was done this time he turned off the toy and lifted my limp

body into his arms. I didn’t care that everyone was chuckling because
of what they’d seen. Hell, I didn’t care that my cum was dripping
down my leg. All I cared about was that Gable loved me and I felt the
same for him.

“Let’s get my poor tuckered-out mate cleaned up,” he cooed as he

walked out into deep enough water.

“You just want to fuck me under the cover of the water,” I teased

as his hand moved into the back of my shorts.

“Any objections?” He raised an eyebrow and pulled out the toy as

I seemed to magically lose my shorts.

“To being with you? Never,” I answered honestly. I was rewarded

with a bright smile, a heated kiss, and great sex that made me scream
again.

What a way to start off a day of fun and sun.

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 8

Everyone had a blast. We played in the sand and water, goofed

around, ate way too much, and those of us that were mated had more
sex than the single guys could deal with. But the voyeurs still
watched. Well, not Ryan or Rick’s brothers of course… They
watched us.

The whole time I couldn’t shake off this feeling that something

was wrong or we were being watched.

When it came time for animal volleyball, those who wanted to

play pulled off their trunks and shifted. I wasn’t a fan of the game, my
large animal form not really meant for something as quick reflexed as
volleyball.

“You’re not playing?” Gable asked, glancing over me with a

predatory grin. “Did I wear you out?”

“Not yet but no, I’m not playing. I’m not very good and the lions

rock so it’s always kind of which team gets stuck with me.”

We watched the game, cheering for our friends as we snuggled

close on the blanket. To be honest, it wasn’t much like volleyball
other than using the net and ball. Any body part could be used to hit
it, there wasn’t any limit as to how many people could hit it, et cetera.

Everyone took a break in between games, laughing and joking

about how it was going and possible player trades. Sam’s head
snapped towards the east as a scent caught my nose. In a flash
everyone was on alert and those who weren’t naked from shifting got
on their feet and undressed.

“Lions and lots of them,” I said to Gable. He was the only one

who couldn’t seem to scent what was going on. I wondered if maybe

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his  being  a  hybrid  messed  with  his  smell  because  I  was  pretty  sure
crocodiles had a good sense of smell… And so not what  I should be
thinking about right then.

“When did you piss off lions, Leo?” Nick asked me as we edged

towards the tree line at the east of the property, staying low to the
ground.

“Not everything is my fault, asshole,” I grumbled. “If it’s lions

they’re probably pissed at you guys for something. I’m prey,
remember?”

Just then we heard almost a yelp and several snarls. Um, that was

interesting.

“Found one of our traps, did you?” Sam called out as he stood.
“What are you doing?” Gable hissed as he tried to pull the man

back down.

“Dude, they know we’re here obviously and we were hiding that

we knew they were here. But after that little show, old, partially deaf
lions would know they were here,” Sam explained as everyone else
stood as well. “You guys need to work on your stealth mode!”

“Seriously? Could you not taunt them?” I bitched as I shoved him.

“We’re outnumbered here.”

“Dude, I’m pissed!” Sam tossed back as he threw his hands in the

air. “They’ve been pussyfooting around for weeks, tripping a sensor
here, one there while avoiding the cameras. If something’s up, they
should have just fucking knocked on the damn door instead of all this
shit. It’s been driving me nuts to recalibrate each time!”

“Okay, then,” I drawled, complete with eye roll. “Well, let me

know when the sane Sam is back.” I would have said more I’m sure
but our guests had officially arrived. Obviously I used the term guests
in the most sarcastic capacity.

“Why have you moved within our territory?” a large, older man

asked as he stepped out of the trees with over a dozen already-shifted
lions flanking him.

Joyee Flynn

“We haven’t,” I called back, shooting a glance at Nick. “I have

owned this land for almost a century and my pride has resided here
for decades.” One man shifted back and grabbed the other man’s arm.

“Father, you said they just moved in?” the younger man

questioned, not seeming happy with the news

“They have,” he snapped, reeking of Alpha hormones. “They are

lying.”

“No, we’re not,” I said firmly as I took a step towards them. In a

flash I was back where I started, Gable and Sam both protectively
yanking me right back. “UPAC granted us sanctuary pride status
about thirty years ago. You should check with the elder before trying
to encroach on others’ turf.”

“There is no elder of the lions currently,” the Alpha sneered. “If

you were truly a sanctuary pride that is no longer valid. Join us or
die.”

“Father,” the son snarled.
“Our deal wasn’t with the elder and whatever shit that asshole got

himself into, that doesn’t affect our status with UPAC.” Was this guy
on drugs? Who used cheesy lines like that, for one? I glanced at Nick,
who was my legal advisor, after all. “I did say that, right? I said we
had the sanctuary pride status from UPAC. That wasn’t me, it was
him not listening?”

“Are you mocking me?” The Alpha roared and shook off his son

to step closer. Now we were all about fifty yards apart. Oh goodie,
this was going to be interesting.

“Not really,” I answered with a shrug. “I’m just trying to figure

out if you don’t know the rules, don’t care about them, or just do a lot
of drugs.”

“Leo,” Gable and several others groaned.
“What? I’m being honest,” I balked. “Some shifters can smell if

someone’s telling the truth so why waste either of our time by being
anything less than forthcoming.” I focused on the Alpha then. “I know
the Alpha code and it’s an insult to lie.”

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“You’re nothing, prey,” he sneered.
“Really?” I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face. “Does it

really  always  have  to  come  back  to  predator  or  prey  with  shifters?
We’re  part  human  too.  Doesn’t  that  account  for  something?”  I
propped  a  hand  on  my  hip  and  gestured  to  everyone  around  me.
“Look, we don’t really have an Alpha. I mean, I am technically, but I
didn’t  even  want  to  be  in  charge.  They  kind  of  made  me  after  I
rescued them and let them live with me.

“So are we good now? Does that fix up any misconceptions and

you can leave now? You are trespassing and making demands. I
thought Alphas had to have better manners than that.”

“Join us or die. Either way the giraffe dies for impersonating an

Alpha and a lion.”

“Apparently not,” I drawled, rolling my eyes. “I never said I was a

lion. Dude,  I’m like six or seven times  your weight  in  animal  form.
That really should count for something. Just because I don’t eat meat
doesn’t mean  I’m not  badass.” Everyone was staring  at  me  as if  I’d
just grown another head. “Yeah, so it seems in life-or-death situations
I  can’t  shut up. Deal  with it or someone get  the  duct  tape because  I
don’t think I’m done.”

“This is ridiculous,” the Alpha growled. “Kill the giraffe and his

mate, take the rest back with us or they can choose death now.”

“Motherfucker!” I shouted and flipped him off as everyone else

shifted. I went to shift but Gable wrapped his arms around me and
lifted me off the ground.

“Sam made me promise,” he whispered sadly in my ear. I couldn’t

shift now because I’d crush him. Idiot. “He made me swear the day
after we mated that if anything ever happened I would keep you out of
it.”

“If they die because you’re protecting me, I’ll never forgive you,

Gable.” I kept my voice even and calm. I understood wanting to
protect his mate, but I could help. “I can bowl lions over when I get

Joyee Flynn

speed. And I gots a nasty kick, neck, and as a last resort I can sit on
any of them and crush them.”

He thought about that a moment. “Fine, bowl through and go right

for the Alpha. You knock him down and this is over. Then you come
right back to me, unharmed, Leo.”

“Deal.” He set me on my feet and kissed my cheek before I

stepped away. In front of us was an epic fight between more lions
than even the Discovery Channel had ever seen. And they were
fighting balls-out. And we were already losing because of our lack of
numbers.

I charged right through the middle, needing a moment to gain

momentum. I think my play shocked the shit out of everyone because
they froze in mid-battle. Those who didn’t move from the intruders, I
trampled.

“I will kill you,” the Alpha swore as if that would change my

mind. Hadn’t he already threatened that? He turned to his son. “Do
something!”

“No, you started this, Father.” The son backed away and by the

time the Alpha looked at me again, I was on him. I ran the bastard
right over, wincing when I heard the sickening snap of his spine.

I shifted back right before I reached the trees and turned to see the

destruction I’d caused. I ran over and knelt next to the fallen Alpha. “I
didn’t want this to happen. For him to back down I had to win but I
don’t have claws. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

“This was an issue of his own making,” the son said sadly. “I was

away when all this was starting, only arriving home to Miami today
when everyone was packing up to come here. I didn’t even have time
to get a full update on what was going on. From what I gather he lied
to the pride that another one had moved in and was going to take us
over.”

“We didn’t even know you guys were there,” I whispered as I

closed the Alpha’s eyes, tears burning in mine. “We don’t want land

Suck and Lick

or more people. We just want to be left alone. I only want to give my
family a safe place to live.”

“I understand the feeling.” The son plopped down on the ground

next  to  me, sniffling as  he touched his  father’s  hair. “He used to  be
such  a  good  leader  but  when  my  mother,  his  mate,  died  a  few  years
ago, I think he lost it. He hid it at first, but lately he’s been paranoid
and  finding  enemies  where  there  were  none.  At  least  he’s  with  my
mother now.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I told him, meaning it with all my heart.

“My parents are assholes but it would still hurt to learn that they were
dead.”

“Thank you, Leo Casey. You are a fierce warrior when it comes to

protecting your family, but you have the loyalty and heart of a lion no
matter what species you are.”

“Thanks, I think.” I blushed at the praise. I knew he didn’t mean

giraffes weren’t loyal or kind, but it kind of came off that way.

“I did mean it as a compliment,” he said with a sad smile and

stood. “I am Reggie and our pride will bother you no more.”

“It’s a long way back to Miami,” Sam hedged. I hadn’t realized

that everyone had shifted and joined us. “Why don’t you guys stay the
night and we can tend to your wounds while you regroup?”

“That is very kind of you,” Reggie replied, eyeing Sam over as if

he’d just found the greatest treasure on the planet. “If it is alright with
your Alpha, we accept.”

“Stay with those who just killed our Alpha? Is that wise, Reggie?”

a man asked quietly as he glanced at us. “We just fought with them.”

“They did not wish this fight nor do anything to warrant it. They

have extended the olive branch to us and as this pride’s new Alpha, I
accept it. Do you not think it wise to fix what we have broken here?”

The man bit his lip a moment and nodded. “You’re right. I

apologize, Alpha.”

“We’ll show you guys to the guest rooms and let you get cleaned

up. Are your vehicles close?” I asked.

Joyee Flynn

“Yes.” Reggie nodded as he stared at his father. He was taller than

me but not huge like normal Alpha lion size. I bet he could still hold
his own though. He glanced at a few of his men. “Go retrieve the
SUVs and bring our things around while I figure out what to do with
my father.”

“You don’t need to deal with this, Alpha,” Sam said quietly as he

wrapped his arm around the man’s shoulders. “We’ll take care of it.
Let’s get you to a spare room so you can lie down and maybe some
Scotch for your nerves.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he whispered. He leaned into Sam and

let himself be led away. When they were out of earshot someone else
from the pride asked what should be done.

I winced and glanced at Gable. He shrugged and gave me a nod to

go ahead with whatever idea I had. “I’m pretty sure we have a
ceremonial wrapping and a large freezer in the garage. I know that’s
crude and not what you want for your Alpha, but I figure it’s the next
best thing to a morgue without getting human authorities involved.”

“That’s more than the bastard deserves,” one man agreed. “Reggie

was right that he used to be a good man. But he’s always ruled with
an iron fist and most of us didn’t agree with him before he lost his
mate. Then his brain took a trip somewhere else from his body.
Reggie doesn’t need to know we all felt that way, but I can assure that
there will be no love lost that he’s gone.”

“Then let’s get it done so we can all relax and help Reggie. He

does seem like a good guy.” I really hoped the pride would accept
him as a leader easily or things could get ugly for the man fast.

“Yeah, we all like him. We’ve tried to get him to take over the

pride lots of times but he knew his old man would fight to the death
and no one should have to kill their father, even if it needed to be
done.” He gave me a look that let me know that the pride owed me a
debt of gratitude.

And here I thought I was just going to get nightmares from what

I’d done.

Suck and Lick

“I’ll catch up with you guys in the house,” I said quietly, looking

away from the man’s gaze. They all nodded and I walked away. Oh
sure, I busied myself with cleaning up our fun-and-sun day since it
was very much over. But that wasn’t why I needed some space, and
everyone knew it.

I pulled on my swim shorts and wrapped a towel around my waist

before starting to pick everything else up. We had guests now and I
didn’t feel comfortable enough to strut around in tiny shorts meant for
drawing attention… Except I kept tripping over the beach towel.

“It’s not fair,” I bitched to no one because I was alone, as I got

back on my feet. “He came here to kill me. I should be glad I’m still
alive and my family is safe.” I sighed, knowing that part of me did
feel that way and that was part of my guilt. I knew talking to myself
might be a sign that I was cracking mentally to some but really I just
needed to talk it out and I wanted to be alone right then.

I needed to say the words to get them out and decide how I felt

about it all. It was the way I processed. Don’t judge.

“None of this was necessary though! We weren’t a threat. He

didn’t need to die and all this drama.” I put all the drinks left into one
cooler with ice, dumped the ice out of the other one, and loaded up all
the empty bottles and cans.

“I killed someone,” I whispered as I plopped down on the pile of

towels I had gathered. “I really killed someone.” I buried my face in
my hands and whimpered, not knowing how to process something
like this. I heard someone approach and was comforted by the scent of
my mate.

“I know you made it clear you wanted to be alone but I was

worried about you,” Gable said gently as he sat down next to me and
wrapped his arms around me. “Can I tell you something without
seeming like I’m making this all about me?”

“Sure, hit me,” I mumbled in my hands.
“The way you’re reacting to this just makes me love you more,

baby.”

Joyee Flynn

I wasn’t sure I understood that one. I turned my head and looked

at him, pulling my knees to my chest and setting it on them. “Want to
try that one again?”

“Instead of being that person who runs around gloating that they

bested a lion Alpha and could take over the Miami pride because of it,
you’re grieving. I bet it never crossed your mind that you could lead
the Miami lions, did it?”

“Oh fuck,” I groaned, having a whole other reason to be depressed

now. “I don’t have to, right? They were calling Reggie their Alpha.”

“No,” he hedged, giving me a soft smile. “You don’t have to, but

you could if you wanted to. They might not recognize you as a
possible Alpha because you’re a giraffe but according to UPAC
you’re the Alpha of this pride. Another pride’s leader challenged you
and you won. That makes their pride yours. If they haven’t realized it
yet, they will so be prepared for that.”

“Yeah, well, I can just tell them right up front I don’t want it.”

Now I was sad, depressed, and full-out pouting. “I never want to be
the boss of anyone. I wanted to do my work, take over the cyber
world one day, and be left alone on my little slice of paradise I built
here.”

“That’s not still what you want, is it?” Gable looked horrified at

my statement and I realized how it had come off.

“No, not since I found the lions being held in a lab.” I reached

over  and  took  his  other  hand  as  I  snuggled  into  the  comforting
embrace he was giving me. “Everything changed then and I realized
that  some  people  could  be  trusted  and  there  was  more  to  the  world
than thieves and horrible people. I just wasn’t ready for a committed
relationship  until  you.”  Well,  that  wasn’t  the  full  truth.  “After  we
worked out our issues and dealt with the whole forced mating thing.”

“I knew what you meant but thanks for clarifying that,” Gable

chuckled. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my arm. “We’ll
get through this, Leo. You did the only thing you could to protect
your family and the ones you love.”

Suck and Lick

“Including you,” I admitted quietly. “The idea of losing you made

me realize I would do anything, and I mean anything to keep you
safe.”

“I feel the same way.” He kissed my hair again. “I was so worried

you’d get mad at me for letting you go. Or for even trying to hold you
back. I felt like either way I was directly responsible for what
happened here. I’m sorry. I would have killed him for you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Look, it’s not that I’m saying

you couldn’t have. But I haven’t seen you shift. It never crossed my
mind to even include you in the fight because I don’t know if you’re a
little lizard or a big coyote?”

“Should we just get this over with?” he asked with a sigh. I moved

out of his embrace and nodded.

“Please? No one’s looking and we’ve been mated a month now.

You’ve seen me shift dozens of times and it’s killing me that you
don’t feel comfortable enough to just be yourself in our home.”

“When you put it like that I could never deny you.” He smiled and

kissed my nose before standing and undressing. I momentarily forgot
what we were doing when I started getting to see more and more of
his gorgeously tanned flesh. “If you keep staring at me like that, Leo,
I won’t shift and we’ll be having sex.”

“Right, shift first, sex after,” I grumbled good-naturedly as I

crossed my arms over my chest and winked at him. Who knew a
month with the man would turn me from anti-sex to a hound dog?

He glanced at his feet and let out a long breath. Then he shifted. I

smiled and then full-out giggled as I rolled to my knees and crawled
toward him.

“You are so cute!” I cooed as I reached out and touched his cheek.

He  was  about  three  and  a  half  feet  tall  with  scales  and  spines  of  a
reptile on his back, and the longer tail. His front was  more kangaroo
with his muscular legs, big feet, and short arms. But his face was his
coyote  side,  almost  looking  wolflike.  He  had  the  ears,  eyes,  and
muzzle of one.

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Joyee Flynn

Honestly, I know some might have balked at such a combination

but to me it was as if fate gave him the cutest parts of each animal and
glued him together.

“Oh, I just want a stuffed animal of you and to squeeze you until

you squeak!” I hugged him tightly, smiling when he chirped. I wasn’t
sure if any of his animals made that noise but it made him even more
adorable. “Yeah, you’re so not the big, bad Chupacabra.”

I moved back to kneel in front of him and lifted his upper lip

without warning. I felt bad, almost as if I was picking him apart or
giving him random inspection. He did have fangs in this form, but the
reason his bite was different was that his two front, lower teeth almost
fused together into one bigger fang. So his bite left three marks as
opposed to most that had two.

“I’m so keeping you,” I giggled as I rubbed his furry tummy. “We

need to set the world straight on their perception of the Chupacabra.
There’s nothing scary about you.”

He shifted back and I pulled my hand away because he ended up

kneeling when he was in human form and I had been cupping his
groin. Not the best for saying he was so cute and serious talk.

“You really think so?” he asked quietly as he searched my eyes.
“I’m not sure what part you’re talking about but yes, I meant

every word, Gable.”

“I know you would never lie to me,” he replied shyly. I was

shocked at his reaction. I mean, I’d never seen him vulnerable and
introverted like this. “I meant do you really think we need to set the
world straight? They won’t just believe us, Leo.”

“Honey,” I whispered as I understood what he was afraid of now.

I pushed him back onto his ass and straddled his lap, losing my towel
in  the  process.  Then  I  took  his  face  in  my  hands  so  he  had  to  look
straight into my eyes. “You’ve been living here a month and there’s
not  been  one  animal  dying  from  loss  of  blood.  Humans  accept
paranormals  now and they  appreciate the truth.  So we will give it to
them. It’s not like they’ll need to know where you live.

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101

“Nick can work out the logistics of the whole thing and maybe

just  a  press  release.  After  seeing  you  and  how  cute  you  are,  I’m
furious  with  the  way  your  parents  treated  you  even  more  so  than
before. You’re not a monster, Gable. You’re not scary or creepy or a
threat to society. We need to set the record straight so these lies and
rumors  go  away.  No  one  can  do  this  but  you  and  I’m  with  you  no
matter what you decide.”

“I only got about half of that because your ass is rubbing against

my cock,” he mumbled before claiming my mouth with his. Next
thing I knew I was on my back in the sand… Minus my shorts. Damn!
The man really could move fast when properly motivated. “Shouldn’t
I be ashamed that at my size my mate thinks I shift into a cute little
hybrid?”

“Nope. You’re way too secure in your hot masculine-ness to

worry  about  such  trivial  things.  I  saw  you  shift  and  wanted  sex  the
moment  you  changed  back  to  a  man.  That  should  be  enough  to  tell
you that I’m not lying about how I felt about  your animal and that I
love you.”

“Good point,” he agreed with a bright smile. Then it faded as he

looked around at our belongings. “We took back in the toys and
waterproof lube. I can’t take you.”

“You’ll come up with another way to have some fun,” I purred

and wiggled my eyebrows at him. “You always do.”

Shit! Did he ever! The Chupacabra had nakie moves that should

almost be illegal they were so good.

No, not really, but I wasn’t ever sharing his talents.

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Chapter 9

“You’re leaving?” I whispered in shock as I stared at Reggie and

Sam. The next morning after the fight I had walked into a
conversation that would change my life forever.

“Yes,” Sam admitted quietly as he glanced at Reggie. “We, um,

well, we mated last night. I don’t think either of us meant to but in the
heat of the moment everything clicked.” His eyes went wide as he
stared at the man. “I don’t regret it. I didn’t mean that, baby. I just
was explaining why we moved so fast.”

“I know,” Reggie chuckled as he kissed Sam’s hand. “I feel the

same way. It’s fast but it feels right so I’m just grateful we’re on the
same page and you’re willing to move.”

“It’s not like Miami is on another continent,” Tom said quietly

with a shrug as he shuffled into the kitchen. “So you’re not really
bailing on us, bro.”

“Thanks for the support,” Sam snickered. They were from the

same litter and I’d never seen two siblings closer than them. I smiled
as they hugged, both trying to hide how emotional this was for them.
“You’ll visit, right?”

“Of course and it’s not like you can’t ever come back. Maybe

when you and your Alpha mate need some space from your duties
you can come hide here and hang out with us.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Reggie agreed with a

smile. He glanced at me then and bit his lip. “Sam and I did talk about
the fact that you should be the pride’s new Alpha, Leo. I apologize for
being a cad last night and not realizing it. I told Sam this and I swear
to you it has nothing to do with your being a giraffe. Our pride has

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103

had someone from my lineages in charge since its inception. It’s
always been passed down to the oldest son when the term is up.”

“Last night was very stressful for both of us,” I hedged, amazed

we  could  talk  so  calmly  and  friendly  about  the  fact  I’d  killed  his
father.  “I  didn’t  realize  that  I  could  take  over  either  until  Gable
brought  it  up.  I  so  don’t  want  to  lead  the  Miami  pride,  I  hope  you
know that. This wasn’t some power play for me or anything. I’m not
really  even  the  leader  of  these  lug  heads.”  I  gestured  over  my
shoulder, knowing everyone was pretty much in the kitchen now.

“But you are our leader and as such I need your permission to

leave our pride and join theirs,” Sam said quietly.

I nodded, letting him know I understood the seriousness of the

situation. Then I walked over to him and took his other hand, smiling
to  Reggie. He returned the gesture  and let  go of  his  mate.  I led Sam
out  the  back  doors  and  just  walked  with  him  for  a  bit,  way  past  the
terrace  and  onto  the  beach  so  the  waves  muted  the  conversation  so
anyone who might be listening couldn’t hear us.

“Is this what you want?” I finally asked as I wiggled my toes in

the wet sand. “I mean, really want. I know you’ve been talking about
moving on and I agree with that because you deserve someone
amazing, Sam. But is this too fast? Mating an Alpha of a real pride
and not just our little family?”

He sighed and dropped my hand as he squatted down and fidgeted

with  a  shell  that  was  sticking  out  of  the  sand.  “When  I  saw  Reggie
shift into a man I actually couldn’t breathe, Leo. He stole the air out
of my lungs he was so beautiful. I just wanted to hold him and never
let go, protecting him from the world. I’m not sure I believe in love at
first  sight  but  I  do  believe  that  someone  can  have  such  a  profound
effect  on  you  the  moment  you  meet  that  they  become  a  part  of  you
forever.”

“Well, that settles one of my concerns,” I said gently as I moved

down so I could see his eyes. “Here’s my other and this is no
judgment against Reggie because I do like him.” I paused, trying to

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Joyee Flynn

figure out how to voice what I wanted to say and then decided just to
go with my gut. “Sam, your best friend killed his father. How do we
know you’re not going back there to be some sacrificial lamb to the
slaughter as retribution?”

“Because lions are forever with their mates, Leo.” He spoke

softly, letting me know he wasn’t upset or offended by my question.
“You know that’s how the paranormal world works. If they kill me,
Reggie could die or go insane like his father did when he lost his
mate. Even if they annulled our mating, some lions still go nuts from
the loss of the connection. He wouldn’t risk himself like that if this
was just a trap.”

“Good point. I’m sorry, I had to ask.”
“I know you did and it was something I thought about as well. But

Reggie’s a good man, Leo. I look at him and my heart just skips a
beat because he feels like my forever.”

“You really do talk pretty for a big lug,” I giggled as we stood

again. Then I threw myself into his arms and hugged him fiercely. “I
approve your changing prides, my friend. He better be good to you or
I don’t care if I’m a vegetarian, I’ll eat him with some eggplant. I love
you and wish you all the best.”

“I’m not dying, Leo,” he replied, but he was sniffling as well. “I

love you too, squirt. You were my first real crush and you were
always good to me. You’re my best friend forever and I’ll be back
here all the time to make sure the idiots are protecting you.”

“Good deal.” We headed back toward the house hand in hand, but

wiping away stray tears. They were happy and sad tears. I was thrilled
Sam found someone to love who seemed to feel the same way about
him. That was all I wanted for all my friends, for them to be happy.

I just never wanted any of them to leave even if it was a few hours

away in Miami.

Reggie looked worried as we stepped into the kitchen until I gave

him a nod. Then he was in Sam’s arms the next instant. Wow! They
must have really connected last night because the passion they shared

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105

in one kiss rivaled what I’d experienced with Gable or seen between
Ryan and Rick.

Good for Sam.
His littermates went to go help him pack while everyone got to

know each other better and made arrangements. Reggie and I had a
chat where he assured me that he bore me no ill will for what I had to
do and hoped our prides could be friends.

I would have been stupid not to accept the olive branch… And

I’m not stupid. We shook on it and then when Sam was ready they
left. There were only a few of us with dry eyes as we watched them
drive away.

“What now?” Tom asked quietly. “I feel like something is

missing.”

“He’ll come visit,” Ryan said as he wiped his eyes. “Besides,

we’re too busy to pout. We have Operation Chupacabra to attend to.”

“Do I want to know?” Gable groaned as Ryan danced around and

took my mate’s hand. “What are you plotting?”

“A PR campaign to let everyone know you’re as adorable as Leo

told us.”

There were a few mocking awws but they were all in good nature.

I laughed as my friends and brothers dragged my mate to the kitchen.
Then I got a little worried when I saw the digital and video cameras.

“Okay, strip and shift,” Rick ordered as he picked up the video

camera. “I promise that no one will see anything vital.”

“Leo?” Gable asked shyly as his hands fumbled with the buttons

to his shirt.

“It’s up to you, my mate. I say go for it and let the world see what

the Chupacabra really looks like.”

He nodded and took off his shirt. “I’m shorter in my shifted form

than I am like this. My shorts will just fall off.”

“Then let’s start easy. Can you state your name and what

paranormal you are for the record?” Rick asked gently. We all moved
around him as we gave supportive smiles to my nervous mate.

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Joyee Flynn

“My name is Gable Zohar and I was born in Puerto Rico where

the legends of the Vampire of Moca and the Chupacabra started,” he
explained calmly. I was impressed because I could see that his hands
were shaking slightly at his sides. “My mother is part coyote shifter
and kangaroo shifter. My father is a crocodile shifter so I’m a hybrid
of all three really.” Rick nodded, letting him know it was okay to
shift. “And I don’t drink animal blood.”

It was hard not to laugh as he nervously added that before letting

the shift flow over him.

“He’s so cute!” Ryan squealed and ran over to my mate. Then he

looked at the camera, his face full of guilt. “I just totally screwed this
up, didn’t I?”

“No, it’s fine,” Rick snickered. “Gable, why don’t you turn

around so we can see all sides of you?” My mate nodded and did as
asked, slowly turning. Then he chirped and knocked Ryan over with
his tail. “Hey, be nice to my mate.”

“He was just showing how playful he still is in animal form.”

Ryan rubbed his hand over Gable’s head. “He’s so soft on this side
and scaly on the other side. Are you warm- or cold-blooded when
you’re shifted like this?”

Gable shrugged his small shoulders, his eyes darting back to the

camera before glancing back at the floor. He didn’t like all the
attention and Rick was quick to catch on.

“Okay, shift back behind the table so no one sees more than they

should.” I gave Rick a grateful look as Gable half walked, half
hopped over to where he was instructed to do. It was almost a skip. So
cute!

Then he shifted back and quickly pulled on his shorts while he

was hidden that Ryan handed him. “So, yeah, I’m the Chupacabra.
Yes, people have seen me in that form but I never killed any animals
for blood. I eat normal food. Most of the reports are when animals are
attacked and bleed out, namely goats. Left in the sun in that condition,

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107

the blood will dry in the grass so there’s no evidence of it, and the
animal will wither.”

“Well, we can attest to the fact you’ve been living with us for a

month and there’s been no random animal deaths in the area,” Rick
agreed with a wink. “So why did you move to Florida, Gable?”

“I mated a giraffe shifter,” he answered, staring at me with a wide

grin. “Best thing that ever happened to me. I love him.”

“Love you too.”
“That’s enough of that before you guys give people a show,” Rick

drawled as he turned off the camera. “I can pull some stills from this
for the press release but I think we should put this on YouTube.”

“No one can find me here, right? I mean we don’t want reporters

on the front lawn.” Gable glanced around the room nervously as he
put his shirt back on. We understood his meaning. He didn’t want to
bring any more drama or crap into our lives.

“We have a huge gate and lions roaming the property,” I giggled

as I went over and hugged him. “You were great. You are so friggin
cute.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled before kissing my hair. “Cute enough

to get some morning sex? You got out of bed before I woke up.”

“I was hungry.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I could go for some cock,” I answered smoothly. He growled

and I dashed out of his arms. “Nick, write the press release!”

“Yes, Alpha,” the man teased as I flew by him. I flipped him off,

trying to outrun Gable. The man was wicked fast and since he didn’t
get me by the time I reached the stairs I guessed he was giving me a
head start. I took full advantage of it.

What I hadn’t told my mate was that when I’d woke up I did

stretch myself out in the shower and put a plug in my ass. So when I
got to our room I yanked off my clothes and grabbed the handcuffs I
had ordered along with another toy. They were the kind I could get

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Joyee Flynn

out of if I wanted but I thought Gable would understand the
significance of them.

I pulled out the plug and inserted the dildo Gable had gotten me

that we had yet to try. The damn thing got hot then cold as it twisted
and turned inside me. And vibrated, must not forget it vibrated. Then I
secured my hands to the headboard.

Gable darted into the room and skidded to a halt when he saw me.

“I have the best mate ever.” He kicked the door closed and tore off the
clothes he’d just put back on. “Baby, are you sure?”

“Yes, I trust you,” I whispered, letting all the love I had for him

shine in my eyes.

“Then I gratefully accept your offer.” He stared at me with a feral

grin as he got on the bed and crawled to me. Gable was between my
legs and within arm’s length distance of the toy. Then he moved my
feet to his shoulders and grabbed the slicked-up dildo. “Push up so I
can see your ass jiggle as I fuck you with this.”

“Okay,” I squeaked, not sure I was coordinated enough for that.

But I did what he wanted and with most of my weight braced on my
shoulders and back, I found I could. Gable took me to new heights
with the toy and his dirty talk.

“Oh, my baby likes when I tell him what his ass looks like being

fucked with the toy.”

“Yes, yes, I do,” I cried out as he thrust it in me hard. “Oh gods

that’s good.”

“You are like a perfect, hot, wet-dream offering spread out for me

like this, Leo.” He reached down and stroked my cock in time with
the toy. “I think I’m going to have to worship your pert ass like this
once a day at least. Would you like that, my mate?”

“Uh-huh,” I groaned as he turned up the toy. I swear the damn

thing was rolling and bending in half inside of me. It wasn’t like
anything I’d ever felt before. “Gable, need.”

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109

“I know what you need,” he growled. Then he shocked me by

bending over and swallowing down my cock. The toy went so much
farther into me now that my knees were on either side of my body.

I screamed out his name and came so hard that I thought I might

pass out. Gable kept right on worshiping my body as I went wild. I
swear we needed to call the Guinness Book of World Records and tell
them we broke the previous record for longest orgasm.

“You still with me?” Gable asked when I was spent and he was

done sucking me off.

“Uh-huh,” I answered, gasping for air. “I think I’m filled with the

wrong thing for round two though.”

“There’s going to be a round two?” he teased as he pulled the toy

from my body.

“There’s always going to be a round two with you, Gable.” I

sighed when I saw the smile he gave me, knowing he understood my
meaning. There would always be a round two for us because we’d
never tire of each other, and not just sexually. He was my forever.

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joyee dreams of one day living on enough land to have a few

horses,  and  find  a  couple  of  cowboys  or  pool  boys  of  her  own.  A
lover  of  men,  Joyee  is  all  about  them  in  any  form  in  her  books;
vampire, werewolf, shape-shifter, military...It’s all good! She loves to
get  lost  in  fantasy  that  only  books  can  bring.  Her  wide  interest  in
reading is reflected in her writings, whether short stories, romance, or
mystical.  Currently  Joyee  lives  with  her  dog,  Marius,  named  after  a
vampire from Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series.

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