Abigail Barnette - [Phases 08]

by Striped [RP MM] (epub)

  Mitchell tossed the belt aside and joined them on the bed. His fist pumped the length of his cock, and Jason sat up, not bothering to wipe off his chest before leaning over to cover the head with his mouth. Amazed by the speed and intensity Jason displayed, Sean could only watch as Mitchell gave over to the pleasure Jason brought him. When Mitchell came, he opened his mouth to utter a groan that caught in his throat. His body bowed, and the veins stood out against his neck before he fell back.

  The bed creaked as Jason lay across the foot of it. “You know, the bed at our house is way bigger.”

  “I have a lease here,” Sean said quickly.

  “I was just thinking we should head over there for the night,” Jason said with a laugh. “Let’s not go leaping into this.”

  Mitchell reached for the box of kleenex on the night stand. He tossed it to Jason. “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious, Sean. We’re not going to hold that against you.”

  “You’ve got your own thing, I don’t want to screw it up,” Sean said with an apologetic smile.

  “Mitchell and I are very happy. You’re not going to screw us up.” Jason nudged Mitchell’s foot with his own, and the casual touch was the first truly possessive thing Sean had ever seen either of them display. Stranger still, he didn’t feel slighted or threatened by it, because it hadn’t been meant that way.

  Even more bizarre, Sean realized that someday, he wouldn’t mind Jason or Mitchell being possessive of him.

  “Forgive my optimism,” Mitchell interrupted, sitting up. “But I think we might have broken our Mr. Sean Warren of his nasty habit of chasing after the locals.”

  Sean leaned over and brushed his lips against Mitchell’s. Mitchell accepted the invitation readily, pulling his head down and kissing him until he forcibly broke free. Sean laughed against his cheek as Jason wrestled Sean to the bed and took over where Mitchell had been thwarted.

  “Yeah, okay, but you didn’t break me of my habit entirely,” Sean reminded them. “You just got me interested in chasing someone else.”

  Jason ground his already recovered cock against Sean’s thigh. “I think we’re the ones who chased you.”

  Closing his eyes, Sean braced his toes against the mattress as Mitchell kissed his way down Sean’s chest. They had chased him, all right. And he was so, so glad he’d let himself get caught.

  Epilogue

  Sean took a deep breath, peeled off his t-shirt and lay face down on the padded black vinyl.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Mitchell asked, catching the shirt Sean tossed his way.

  Sean wiggled a little to get comfortable. “Oh, yes. One hundred percent sure.”

  A soft click and an electronic beep caught both men’s attention. “Camera’s good to go,” Jason said. “Ready whenever you are.”

  Sean nodded. “Let’s go.”

  He’d deliberated for over a year. Everyone knew it was bad luck to get a tattoo of a lover’s name. Two names seemed twice as unlucky. Their relationship was undeniably strong, but Sean had never been a fan of tempting fate. He’d decided to add two more stripes to his back, between the existing ones, in red to signify Jason and Mitchell.

  The needle of the tattoo machine hummed and the artist pressed the point of it to Sean’s back.

  “That doesn’t look so bad,” Jason said. “I could probably handle that. What do you think?”

  Sean heard Mitchell’s soft chuckle. “I think you’re crazy if you think I’m getting on that table.”

  It wasn’t like Sean had plans to go anywhere. He’d tried to wait out his lease on the cabin. Mitchell and Jason had evicted him, all in good humor, about a month early, so he could move in with them. It still took some getting used to; for a while, Sean suspected he would still think of it as Mitchell and Jason’s house. But they both loved him, and he loved both of them. It was hard to be pessimistic or feel out of place when you were surrounded by so much love, at all hours of the day.

  “Come on,” Sean wheedled. “We could be like the Three Musketeers.”

  Mitchell would not be swayed. “I don’t remember the chapter where Porthos and Athos got matching tattoos.”

  “If you can prove you read that book and not just watched the Disney movie, I will give you a hundred dollars,” Jason said.

  “I plead the fifth on the grounds that I was in college, and Charlie Sheen used to be hot.”

  Closing his eyes, Sean was content to feel the hot, sharp lines of the tattoo being laid down. Let the other two men bicker it out. He didn’t think they needed tattoos, or any other physical representation of what they meant to each other. His new stripes, on the other hand, those were a reminder for him of what they’d been patient enough to teach him, and what he’d never again have a problem accepting.

  He might still be a solitary animal, but he belonged to them.

  About the Author

  The alter-ego of USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer Armintrout, Abigail Barnette was born during a conversation with author Bronwyn Green, who encouraged Jennifer to develop an elaborate fantasy persona-- complete with nom de plume-- under which to pen erotic romance. Abigail enjoys long naps in fairy-filled glades, running through corridors in tragically romantic haunted castles, and drinking goblet after goblet of spiced wine.

  Abigail loves to talk to her readers and can be found at abigailbarnette.com.

  The Phases Series

  Now Available from Resplendence Publishing

  Taken by the Pack by Cheryl Dragon

  Phases: Book One

  Danny loves Alaska, but it doesn’t seem to love him back. The full Wolf Moon sparkles over Fairbanks, but he’s alone for those long nights. He wants to come out of the closet and date, but his frail family might implode. All he wants is the right man in his bed.

  Brandon and Justin are lovers and wolf shifters native to Alaska. They’re out to protect their way of life, and sometimes that means extreme measures. When Danny’s brother proposes aerial wolf hunting, Danny enters their sights. Danny was the closet case in high school, and now, he’ll be their sex toy. The shifter pair is ready to do whatever it takes to stop the hunting and maybe add a sexy human man to their pack.

  Coyote Savage by Kris Norris

  Phases: Book Two

  February's full moon is rising, only this year, it's bringing a new brand of hunger...

  For coyote shifters Caden and Talon Brady, the upcoming hunger moon has ignited a different kind of appetite. They've been waiting several years for a chance to court their intended mate, and now that she's finally in their sights, they'll stop at nothing to win her over. But when local livestock start disappearing, their coyote refuge is put in the hot seat, and more than just their way of life is suddenly in jeopardy.

  Sheriff Rebecca Savage never planned on returning to Beckit Falls, or for falling for two handsome men. But fate seems to have different plans for her. Unfortunately not all of them are sexy and look fantastic in jeans. The local mayor is trying to run the Brady boys and their coyote refuge out of town. Nothing seems to make sense, but when she starts digging deeper, a new danger rises with the full moon—one that just might get them all killed.

  Unchaste by Mia Watts

  Phases: Book Three

  The mystical Portal of the Gods transports Flynn Chula, shifter and descendant of the Cahokia Indians, six hundred years in the past. Right into a tribal feud between Amaro and Koda, warriors of the empire. While Flynn finds his new circumstances impossible, Amaro and Koda know exactly what to do. Their culture dictates that shifters have to be tested, proving their place among the people--as priests. Only one high priest can rule the empire at a time, but the current apprentice reigns with blood sacrifice and fear.

  As the sexual preparations begin, Koda and Amaro do their duty to rid him of any possible heterosexual leanings...by giving themselves to him wholly. Flynn, who's never wanted a woman in his life, can't believe his luck. Two hunky men can't get enough of him, and their eager to learn all the t
ricks.

  When the blood priest discovers the plot to overthrow him, will Flynn, Koda, and Amaro escape alive, or will more than blood be lost on the altar?

  Awakening Delilah by Abigail Barnette

  Phases: Book Four

  When Delilah Lewis moved from Atlanta to Gwinn Close, a sanctuary for shifters in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, she knew there would be an adjustment period. She just never thought getting shot at by poachers would be a part of that adjustment. When two sexy shifters come to her rescue, things get even more complicated. Delilah is a good girl, with a good-girl upbringing, and both men make her want to be very bad...

  Miguel and Darius are in a committed relationship, but once they meet Delilah, they want more.While Delilah wonders if Gwinn Close is right for her, Miguel and Darius do everything they can to convince her to stay. But secrets from their past threaten a future with the woman they both crave. And while she struggles to let go of her boring former life, both men work to bring out the wild animal in her...

  Horny, Hard and Hare-y by Mia Watts

  Phases: Book Five

  It's time for the annual race, and tortoise shifter, Duncan, is finally going to catch some tail—hare shifter tail, otherwise known as Charlie. With Gibbs, their owl shifter friend, keeping an eye out overhead, they're off and running. But Charlie is as spontaneously careless as the fairytale hare and finds himself caught by local DNR officer, Ben.

  The full moon is rising, and if Charlie stays collared through the Hare Moon, he'll remain an animal forever. It's up to Duncan and Gibbs to free him before time is up. But in telling their secret, will they lose Ben forever? It's a foursome waiting to happen, where Ben reconnects with a mysterious lover, and the tortoise finally catches his hare.

  Summer Surrender by Bronwyn Green

  Phases: Book Six

  Hollis Chambers came to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to teach summer school at a small rural high school. She’d planned on hanging out on the shores of Lake Superior, taking walks in the woods and studying the wildlife. She never imagined that she’d meet one man, let alone two, to have a hot summer fling with.

  Lynx shifters Daniel Cichosz and Josiah Wilder know a good thing when they see it and they’re fairly certain that the gorgeous, full-figured substitute teacher is just who they’ve been looking for. Hollis surrenders to their seduction, but how will she feel about being mated to shifters, particularly when Daniel’s brother is added to the mix?

  Snared by Kris Norris

  Phases: Book Seven

  July’s Thunder Moon is holding true to its name. But will the rash of lightning reveal more than just the landscape?

  Veterinarian and bobcat shifter, Tayen Locke, has devoted her life to saving animals, but a rise in poaching has spurred her down another path. She’s been spending her free time in her animal form, searching the nearby forest for illegal traps. She’s well aware of the risks—she just never thought she’d end up snared by her potential mates.

  Rangers Quinn Harrington and Rogan James know exactly what they want…they just don’t know how to convince Tayen it’s her. Ever since they moved to town two years ago, they’ve had their sights set on the sexy vet, who for the last six months has turned down every offer they’ve made. Though they know she’s interested, they’re losing hope she’ll ever change her mind.

  But an unexpected storm changes the nature of the game. It seems Tayen’s been keeping a secret, and now that the cat’s out of the bag, literally, there’s no where left for Tayen to run—except straight into their arms.