Page 5

Luke got into his car and drove to the last location Cody and Mills had texted to him before the call came in that they had lost him. It was the Waretown Hotel on the very end of Main Street. He knew the owner of the hotel well and he had no trouble obtaining a key to his doc’s room, a room he found sans his mate, although his belongings were still there. Luke then went to the underground parking lot and discovered the Mercedes. He was grateful the doc’s car was at least not out in the open for anyone to report back to Lorenzo about it. There were no signs of a struggle in either the room or the car, something else Luke was exceedingly thankful for, which corresponded with his enforcer’s report that his mate had really given them the slip.

Luke caught his mate’s faint scent, this time without any aftershave, and followed it out of the parking lot, to the back entrance of the hotel, and then further out into the deep woods behind the paved area of the hotel’s property. Several yards in, Luke saw the clothes Tom wore this morning in a neat pile atop a fallen branch. He had pretty much guessed what had happened then. The doc may or may not have caught on to being followed, but his panther would have wanted out for the first time, so much so that he may have turned involuntarily had he not willingly succumbed to the change. Luke had warned him that he needed guidance, and he so wished he had listened.

He couldn’t care less at the moment if his mate would continue to be stubborn. Luke stripped and dropped his clothes in a pile next to the doc’s, shifted, and then sped off after him. A few minutes later, he came face to face with the most beautiful black panther he had ever seen, so black, in fact, that his sleek, shiny coat looked like the color of dark-blue midnight against the darkness of the forest and the moonlight streaming in. His emerald-green eyes glowed as they gazed at him. Luke could tell he was a little frightened.

Cautiously, Luke approached the timid panther. He nuzzled him before playfully nipping his ear and then made a chuffing sound in lieu of laughing when his ferociously adorable mate growled at him. Perhaps he felt stuck in his animal form, Luke thought.

Luke shifted back into his human form. “It’ll be as easy as breathing to change back and forth once you get used to it,” he soothingly explained to his mate. He sat down cross-legged in front of the doc and grabbed his reluctant mate by the scruff. “You are mine, Dr. Barrymore, and I mean to keep and protect you. Let me show you how fucking good you and I can be together.”

Luke lifted himself up to his knees and placed his other hand on the panther’s side. He stared intently into the glowing orbs and ordered him to shift. The panther, instantly recognizing not just a command from his mate, but from his alpha, immediately changed back into a man.

“How did you do that?” Tom asked him, his voice sounding gruff and shaky.

Luke was pleased that the doc made no move to remove his hands this time. “I’m your mate, Thomas,” he replied. “I’m also your alpha. It’s natural for you to want to submit to me.”

“And what if I don’t want to?” Tom asked, although he lacked his earlier petulance.

“Don’t you?” This time Luke didn’t give Tom a chance to respond. He tugged him close to his body and kissed him hard on the mouth. He tightened his hold on his mate’s neck while he moved his other hand to thread through his thick soft hair.

The doc moaned when their tongues finally collided, and he threw his arms around Luke, deepening their kiss. Luke had kissed many men before, but all prior experiences now paled in comparison to the one he was currently sharing with his mate, as if they’d been mere practice in learning how to deliver the perfect earth-shattering kiss that had him and the doctor panting and moaning. He couldn’t get enough of him.

Their feverish make-out session turned into longing for much more. Luke began to trail kisses down the doc’s stubbled jaw to his neck. He felt Tom shiver when he licked and then kissed the claiming mark he had bestowed upon him.

“Do it, Doc,” Luke said against his neck. “Claim what’s yours.”

Luke pulled back to look his mate in the eye and tilted his head to the side to expose his neck. He was sure that the newly formed panther could not possibly fathom just how significant the move was. A dominant alpha never submitted to anyone, save for a mate. It was one of the most sacred trusts given to another being by an alpha.

The doc appeared hesitant at first, but then he asked, “What do I do?” His words came out barely above a whisper.

“Bite me,” Luke said. “Then drink until you feel the bond snap into place.”

His doc hesitated a moment more, and then in a move mimicking the one Luke had done, though he had been unconscious for it, his mate leaned in and softly kissed the side of Luke’s neck, before biting down. The sting of the bite was coupled with pleasure. Now that the bond would run both ways, it would be stronger, their connection even more intense, but without the scratchy feeling for either of them. He felt the doc’s tongue instinctively swipe at the puncture wounds on his neck. Though it was an unnecessary act since the aftereffect of the bite was painless and the wound would heal quickly on its own given his strong panther genes, the gesture was still very much appreciated. He took his mate’s mouth in another searing kiss, before ordering him to turn on all fours.

“I can’t wait,” he said. The need for his mate was past the point of primal now. “I’ll be sure to explore every inch of your body later, but now I need to have you, to fucking fully claim you.”

He growled appreciatively after his mate’s easy compliance had him revealing a perfectly round, tight ass. He spread the doc’s legs wider with his knee and took a moment to enjoy the view of the man who clearly took care of his body. His muscles were well defined, his back toned, and his legs muscular and lean like a runner’s.

Luke leaned over to deliver open-mouthed kisses to both sides of his neck in turn, placing his own body flush against his mate’s—chest to back. He knew he couldn’t hold off much longer. His cock was an iron rod against his belly, the head turning purple with pre-cum glistening on it. He trailed hurried kisses down Tom’s back all the way down to the ass he had just been fervently admiring, and he beamed with unadulterated male pride when the doc moaned and arched his back as Luke rimmed his puckered hole. He delivered a few more passes with his tongue, this time reaching around to stroke his mate’s cock. The sounds of pure ecstasy coming from his mate egged him on.

He kissed up the doc’s body, this time until his mouth reached his ear. “We can’t carry anything that requires protection,” he said before giving him a gentle nip. Then he slipped inside of him in one long stroke that had the good doctor crying out. There would be no barriers between them.

“Oh, fuck, yeah!”

“You like the way my dick feels inside of you, mate?” Luke asked.

“Fuck, yeah!” Tom repeated, exhaling loudly.

“Good, because I plan on pounding your tight ass quite often.” Luke groaned as the doctor’s ass squeezed his cock. He felt so fucking good, warm, welcoming his long and thick appendage as if it were made to fit perfectly.

His mate pushed back into him as Luke thrust forward, their heavy panting breaths and gravelly moaning sounds reverberating around them. Luke kissed Tom’s shoulder blade and then thrust up harder, faster, chasing the nirvana he saw within reach. His balls tightened. He could feel himself getting ready to let go, but he was determined for his mate to go with him.

Luke reached around, grabbed the doc’s shaft, and stroked him as he continued to thrust into his ass. Only when his mate cried out, spurting his hot seed into Luke’s hand, did Luke let himself go inside his mate. “Ah, I love your ass,” he said, moaning in ecstasy immediately after.

When the shaking finally stopped, Luke pulled out of his mate and drew him back against his chest, embracing him tightly. “That was so fucking amazing.”

The doc brought his arms up in front of him, placing them over Luke’s, and leaned back against him. “It’s never felt like that before,” he admitted. “That intensity has never been there before with anyone.”

“And there never will be,” Luke said in Tom’s ear, adding a possessive growl. But then he, too, had to admit, “It was never like that for me either.”

“You’re not a monster, Luke.”

“What?”

“That’s what I thought you turned me into at first.” The doc turned in his arms to face him. “But you’re beautiful. The animal side of you is beautiful, too.”

“Not all of us are like Lorenzo and his gang,” Luke said.

“I know that now. The young man … I think he tried to warn me.”

“Owen.”

“Is he okay?” Tom asked with genuine concern.

“He’ll be fine. Everyone will be fine after tomorrow.”

“What happens tomorrow?” His mate now turned completely and faced him, sitting back on his haunches. “What are you going to do?”

“I challenged him,” Luke replied. He then explained what it meant to challenge another panther. The fight would end when one opponent submitted or found himself dead, and in this case, though submission would never be given from Lorenzo, it wasn’t even an option. His extensive crimes against several packs, along with going after a human, and the mate of another shifter, called for his execution. His doc did not look pleased hearing this explanation.

“Thomas,” Luke began, his voice gravelly, “the only way I can keep you safe is to kill him. He nearly killed my mate, not to mention the countless others he has killed.”

“But he’s like you,” Tom stated. It wasn’t a question.

Luke cupped his mate’s face with both hands and kissed him sweetly on the lips before bringing their foreheads together. “If he kills me, I know he’ll come after you again for sure. I’ll have that extra incentive and I will not fail you.”

Luke was about to suggest they head back to his place for the night when something in the air had suddenly changed. They were no longer alone.