Chad rolled over and sat up.
“Shift,” Miles said, staring at him.
Noah and Eric tried to slink away.
“Uh-uh. You two stay put.”
They both froze in place, then turned around slowly.
“Now. Let’s try this again. All three of you. Shift.”
A moment later, three preschool boys squatted in the grass, looking like Miles had just taken their favorite toy away.
Noah, the black-haired boy, looked up first. “I’m sorry, Uncle Miles.”
“Me too,” Eric, the auburn-haired boy, said.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Chad said, looking about ready to cry.
“You two,” Miles said, pointing at Noah and Eric, “Need to go sit in time out for a few minutes.” Miles looked up at Jamie. “Could you take them over?”
Jamie nodded. “Happy to.”
“And I’ll take my namesake. Come on, squirt,” Chad said, lifting Chad-the-pup.
Miles looked up at his shoulder and carefully peeled the black jaguar cub out of his skin. He held his son up by the scruff of the neck. “And how many times have I told you not to climb people, Aubrey?”
Aubrey drooped, his tail and head hanging down.
“Trees, Aubrey. You climb trees, not people. Your claws are too sharp!” Miles took a deep breath. “You need to shift too,” he said, changing the hold he had on his son.
A few seconds later, the black-haired little boy looked up at him, ready to cry. “I sowwy, Daddy!”
“Not sorry enough if you keep doing it. You’ve got sharp little claws, bud. You don’t like to hurt people, do you?”
Aubrey shook his head. “No.”
“What’s this?” Quincy asked, walking up to them.
Miles turned. “Oh good, you’re here. Your cub climbed me. Again.”
Quincy took Aubrey from Miles’s arms and held him up. “Aubrey, I will forbid you from shifting if you keep this up.”
Aubrey’s blue eyes widened. “But… Papa!”
“Uh-uh. Don’t ‘but, Papa’ me. We’ve told you before, haven’t we?”
Aubrey drooped again. “Yes, Papa.”
“Time out, bud. And you’ll sit quietly the whole time. If you ask me even once if time is up, I’ll take you home. Do you understand?”
Aubrey nodded several times. “Yes, Papa.”
“Good.” Quincy took out his phone, set Aubrey in the grass at his feet, then set the timer on the phone and put it between Aubrey’s feet. “Not until that goes off.”
“Yes, Papa.”
Miles didn’t think Aubrey could sound any more bummed and had to turn around briefly to keep from grinning. Finally clearing his throat, Miles turned back to Quincy. “How was the meeting?”
Quincy wrinkled his nose. “It went. I’m not a big fan of meeting people like that in person. These two were clients from the deepest parts of the underworld, I swear.”
Miles winced. “Sorry, baby.”
Quincy shrugged. “That job is done, though. And I think I’m going to cut down on the number of those types of jobs I do. Stick to the graphic design projects that really interest me.”
“I’ve been saying that for a while now.”
Quincy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”
Miles chuckled. Well, I’m glad to hear it. You’ve been too stressed. You started chasing yarn last night.
Quincy sniffed. I did not.
Miles simply stared at him.
Quincy’s nose twitched. Okay, fine. I did. I get it. But I’m done. But you were eyeing my slippers the other night.
Guilty. Miles grinned. But I hired the new nurse today, so no worries there.
Good. Now, when Aub gets up, let’s run as a family. I could use some time doing simple things.
Me too.
“You guys ready for the run?” Tanner asked, coming up with Eric in his arms.
Finley approached right behind him, holding Noah. “I know I am. If I hear one more ‘but, Papa,’ I think I’m going to explode. It’ll be nice to hear nothing but a few barks and a whine or two.”
All the adults laughed.
Chad brought back the third pup and handed him over to Miles. “You know, every time I wonder if we should consider pups of our own, we get to deal with yours and remember that… we’re happy being uncles.”
Finley grinned. “They’re not that bad, are they?”
Chad laughed. “Naw. But we are. We get to spoil five pups and a cub, and send them home to their dads.”
“Seriously, what’s not to like there?” Jamie asked joining them.
“I mean, we got to feed babies,” Chad said, grinning.
“And change diapers,” Jamie added.
“And we get to be the cool hero uncles. I’m thinking that’s a pretty sweet gig.”
“Did I mention Eric has started singing 80s songs?” Tanner asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ve been teaching him all the classics,” Chad said, nodding.
“If he asks me one more time to drive fifty-five, I’m going to duct tape his mouth shut.”
Chad tried to look innocent and failed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jamie glanced around. “Hey, where are Ben and Eric?”
“Ben called a little bit ago,” Tanner answered. “Apparently Diana spilled an entire cup of juice on her dress, so they’re running a little late.”
The alarm on the phone beeped, and Aubrey picked it up and stood. “I did it, Papa!”
Quincy squatted in front of his son. “Yes, you did. You were a good boy. Now, you can shift, but don’t climb anyone or we go home.”
“I won’t, Papa!” He threw his arms around Quincy’s neck. “Lub you!”
“Love you, bud,” Quincy said, rubbing his nose against Aubrey’s.
A few seconds later, the little black jaguar cub took off. Not ten seconds after that, three wolf pups gave chase. However, when Aubrey got around the clearing, he made for the tree nearby.
Miles couldn’t stop himself from laughing when all three pups sat at the base looking up with their heads tilted. He elbowed Chad. “Look familiar?”
Chad snorted. “Not in the least.”
Jamie laughed. “Uh-huh.”
A pine cone fell from the tree and landed on Chad-the-pup’s head. He growled up at his brother.
Miles looked over at his mate. “And where did he learn that little bit from, hmm?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Quincy replied, smirking.
Miles shook his head, badly suppressing the snicker when another pine cone fell, landing on Eric next. But the third pine cone didn’t hit Noah. It landed on Chad-the-adult instead, making everyone laugh. Chad turned around, looked up, and tilted his head.
“Uh-huh. Not in the least familiar,” Miles said, grinning.
Chad kept it mature. He stuck his tongue out.
Miles’s grin widened, and he let himself simply enjoy watching his family—all of it. Uncles Chad and Jamie, making faces at the cub in the tree. His closest friends and “nephews,” his own mate and kids. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with them.
More from Grace R. Duncan
Forbes Mates: Book One
Finley Cooper is tired of waiting for his destined mate to be ready to claim him. In deference to human laws, he’s already agreed to wait until he’s eighteen. But now his birthday has come and gone—and his mate has a new set of excuses. Finley doesn’t understand it any more than his wolf does, and he’s beginning to wonder if fate made a mistake.
Tanner Pearce wants nothing more than to claim his mate, but he worries that Finley is too young. Tanner will never forget what happened when his best friend mated at Finley’s age, only to have that mate end up feeling trapped and breaking their bond. While rare, it can happen, and the fallout Tanner witnessed as his best friend tried to deal with the break has haunted him for years.
When Finley finally has enough, he threatens to find someone wh
o will claim him if Tanner doesn’t, and Tanner realizes he needs to come to terms with his fears or risk losing his mate forever.
Forbes Mates: Book Two
Jamie Ryan was almost ready to accept he’d never find his destined mate. They’re uncommon to begin with, and same-sex versions are downright rare. Since his gay best friend found a destined mate, Jamie figured he was out of luck. Until end-of-semester stress forces him to go through the full-moon shift early. Stuck in wolf form, he runs into none other than his destined mate. Who’s human.
Chad Sutton has always had good instincts. They served him well as a detective and continued on when he went private. Those instincts tell him there’s something about the dog that comes up to him while running away from animal control that isn’t quite right. He works to put the pieces together, but is unsuccessful until his dog turns into a human before his eyes.
Jamie has no idea what the mate bite of a shifter will do to a human. He’s terrified to try—and possibly kill his mate. They hunt for answers while working together on one of Chad’s cases. It’s easy to see they belong together, but Jamie fears the gods gave him someone he can’t keep.
Malcolm Tate hung up his flogger when his submissive sought out another Dom and landed in the hands of a serial killer. Convinced his lack of dominance sent his sub away, Mal has spent two years blaming himself for what happened. But when his best friend finally convinces him to go back to the local dungeon, Mal’s grateful. Especially when he wins beautiful, submissive, firmly closeted Kyle Bingham in a charity slave auction.
College grad Kyle hasn’t earned enough to move out of the loft his conservative, homophobic parents bought, much less to buy any of the other things still in their name. When he’s won at auction by the hot, amazing Mal, he’s shocked that anyone would want him. No one else seemed to—not his parents, his former Doms, or any of his disastrous dates.
But Mal does want him and Kyle lets his guard down, only to be outed to his parents. With his world crashing down, he must find a way to trust Mal—and their developing relationship—or risk losing everything.
When Kane Harris’s world turns upside down, his lifelong best friend is the only one to catch him.
Years ago, Ian Kelly accepted Kane would never return his love, since he knows Kane believes he’s incapable of it. Ian is willing to settle for what he can get—a best friend, sometimes casual lover, and occasional submissive. He’s learned he can’t live without Kane, but he can’t let Kane know. Because when, not if, Kane confirms that Ian’s love will never be returned, Ian won’t be able to take it. But when Kane loses his job and asks Ian to step up their play to help him deal, Ian’s ability to hide his feelings falters. Then Kane starts his own computer security firm and asks Ian to join him, and Ian struggles further.
It’s not until they visit the exclusive BDSM club the Iron Door that things come to a head. Kane screws up big time, and he’s afraid he can’t fix it. He’s sure he’ll lose his best friend, his Dom, his everything… forever.
Five years ago, everything went wrong. Braden Kirk and Rafe Jessen’s long-term relationship started unraveling. They stopped talking, fears mounted, then Braden walked in on Rafe and another man, completely misreading the situation. Without giving Rafe a chance to explain, Braden walks out. Out of their home, their relationship, and the game development company they started together in college.
After months of therapy to deal with the attempted rape Braden walked in on, Rafe begins to understand that his dominant tendencies in the bedroom aren’t a bad thing and that Braden’s submission is likely what scared his partner into silence. But Rafe isn’t ready to let go of the man he loves more than life itself. He arranges for himself and Braden to end up on the same charity cruise, knowing Braden won’t let his phobia—terror of vast, deep waters—rule him.
With a plan and twenty-eight days, Rafe is determined to get Braden back, make him see there’s nothing wrong with being submissive, and find a way to get Braden to stay with him when they get home to LA.
Readers love the Forbes Mates series by Grace R. Duncan
Devotion
“Shifter fans are going to flock to this one of course, but there is so much more to the story.”
—MM Good Book Reviews
“I really, really loved this book. It was awesome… I devoured this from start to finish.”
—The Blogger Girls
“This is a sweet little shifter story (one of my favorite genres) and I enjoyed it…”
—Hearts on Fire
Patience
“This book was beautifully written and I could see the connection strengthening between them.”
—Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
“I really loved it… it was a fantastic read and I’ll be pre-ordering every book still to come in this series.”
—Divine Magazine
“Fans of the first book are sure to love Patience. The characters and story line pull you in from the beginning.”
—Top 2 Bottom Reviews
GRACE R. DUNCAN grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age—many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.
A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children—both the human and furry kind.
As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the Internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance, and other erotica, or even dabbling in art.
Website: www.grace-duncan.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GraceRDuncan2
Twitter: @gracerduncan
E-mail: [email protected]
By Grace R. Duncan
Beautiful boy
No Sacrifice
Turning His Life Around
What About Now
FORBES MATES
Devotion
Patience
Acceptance
GOLDEN COLLAR SERIES
Choices
Coronation
Deception
PANDEMUS CHRONICLES
Celebrating You
Healing
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Acceptance
© 2016 Grace R. Duncan.
Cover Art
© 2016 Reese Dante.
http://www.reesedante.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-405-5
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-406-2
Library of
Congress Control Number: 2016907030
Published July 2016
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
Acceptance Page 25