by Joyee Flynn
Midnight Matings 1
Squeak and a Roar
The paranormal world is in chaos. The elders are tired of their younger people playing the field, causing trouble, and fighting with each other. Everyone who attends the UPAC Conference now has twenty-four hours to claim a mate of a different species. If they don't, they will never have a mate. The spell is cast. There is no escaping the Midnight Matings.
Software developer Gavin Ashby is perfectly happy with his life. He finds other people annoying after being around them for only a short period of time, and having a mate sounds like pure torture to him.
Video game tester Ant Marino is satisfied with his quiet, solitary life. After being accosted and almost forcibly mated, he meets the aloof but handsome Gavin.
Neither Ant nor Gavin are prepared for the feelings that arise. Will the two men continue to dance around each other or will they pounce on love and never let it go?
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 35,379 words
SQUEAK AND A ROAR
Midnight Matings 1
Joyee Flynn
EROTIC ROMANCE
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove
SQUEAK AND A ROAR
Copyright © 2011 by Joyee Flynn
E-book ISBN: 1-60601-651-2
First E-book Publication: May 2011
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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DEDICATION
To Stormy & Gabrielle: Thanks for seeing my crazy-ass idea as I did and making it way better than I could ever have dreamed. Three heads are better than two and I'm proud that you're my sisters in crime on this project!! Just wait until the bar crawl, Mwaa-haaaa
SQUEAK AND A ROAR
Midnight Matings 1
JOYEE FLYNN
Copyright © 2011
Chapter 1
“Welcome. I am Elder Burke.” The elder paused as if waiting for something from us. “I want to thank you all for being here tonight. This is a momentous occasion for us. It’s been twenty-five years since the Great War between all paranormals ended, taking a large portion of our population from us.”
I thought it was odd that the room was so quiet with so many people. There wasn't a single cough or sneeze even as everyone stared at the elder, hanging on his words. Then there was me, who was ready to fucking bolt and trying not to roll my eyes.
“I would like you all to drink a toast with me in memory of those we lost.” The elder held up his champagne glass and waited for the rest of us. Grinding my teeth, I did it. I caught my father's smug gaze then. What was he up too? “May we never forget them.”
The elder swallowed everything in his glass then looked out over the crowd, I threw mine back as he watched everyone else. A few moments later he set his down on a nearby table and turned back to us, clasping his hands behind his back.
“As I have said, this is a momentous occasion for us all. In the twenty-five years since the Great War ended, the United Paranormal Alliance of Cooperation has watched and waited. We will wait no more.”
“The fighting between species must stop,” another elder in a long white robe said as he stepped forward. “We are known to the humans, and they have learned to accept us in their midst. However, their tolerance will only last so long. The constant fighting among the paranormal communities has come under scrutiny. We no longer have the luxury of watching you solve your own disagreements.”
“Elder Lucas is correct,” Elder Burke said as he gestured to the other elder. My father's smile grew even wider as his gaze never left me. Fuck! That was never good. “We no longer have the indulgence of waiting for you to end your petty squabbles. As such, we have taken measures to ensure that you take your place amongst our society.”
Now that got some whispers. I glanced around to see lots of confused faces and questioning looks directed at the elders. Elder Burke gestured to the glass he had set down on the table. “You’ve all taken a toast with me. As such, you are now bound by the covenants we put before you.”
“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.”
The gasps and grumbling almost overshadowed the elders’ words as they continued to speak. My father gave me a smirk and a mock salute. Son of a bitch! Both elders stepped back from the edge of the dais that they stood on. They knew the crowd was angry. Someone would have to be dense to not feel the tension in the air.
“Because of your continued squabbling between races, you may not claim a mate of the same race,” Elder Burke said. “You must claim a mate outside of your own species.”
“If you fail to bring a mate before this council by the stroke of midnight tomorrow night, yo
u will be hunted down and executed as a rogue paranormal.”
“To ensure that you will find a mate, something special has been added to the potion that each of you drank. It will insure that the need to mate outweighs your need to fight. It is a particular additive that induces the mating heat in each of you. You will not be able to deny the need to mate.”
“And just in case you think to try and break this spell,” Elder Burke said, “we have added a special clause. Anyone that attempts to negate the covenants of this spell will instantly be cursed as befitting their race. Vampires will no longer be able to drink blood. Shifters will no longer be able to shift. Magic user will have no magic, and so on. I’m sure you get my point.”
No, no, no! They couldn't do this to us!
The two elders went to stand back with their fellow elders and turned back to face the crowd. “Now, children, good luck. We expect to see each of you in twenty-four hours. May your hunt be successful.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” I swore as my heart raced a mile a minute. I didn’t want to be mated! Seeing my father walking out with the rest of the elders to the side room off the ballroom, I raced over to him and grabbed his arm. “What the fuck is this shit? Why include me? I don’t fight with anyone!”
“You also don’t ever talk to anyone either,” he growled at me, staring at my hand on him until I removed it. “Are you challenging me?”
“No, because we both know I’d win,” I shot back fiercely. I’d long-since exceeded my dad in physical capabilities, but I had no desire to lead. “I make money for the pride. I don’t start problems. I just want to be left alone.”
“Good, then find a mate who wants the same! Because I’m tired of having some pathetic recluse as a child.” Just then we broke apart as someone came flying toward the door that most of the other elders were walking through. When I turned back to my father, the shit had escaped away from me.
“Cock sucker,” I mumbled under my breath. We’d never had a great relationship, mostly keeping our distance from each other. But this was unreal!
I blindly walked through the ballroom, ignoring the chaos that followed the elder’s announcement. I already hated coming to these things every leap year because I was forced to socialize. Now I had to take a mate in twenty-four hours or go feral? Un-fucking real!
Lost in my own thoughts, I stumbled through the halls, ignoring everyone else who bumped into me. It wasn’t until I felt the cold rain on my face that I realized I’d walked out into the courtyard. I stepped back inside and sat down in the quiet library to sulk.
It was a wondrous room. I glanced around and took in the peace of the room and tried to let it seep into my weary mind. This was a room I wanted one day in a house of my own. It was two floors high without the ceiling, and had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The library even had the track ladders that were in the classic movies.
“Are you okay?” a soft voice asked, pulling me out of my swirling thoughts. I glanced up at the cutest piece of tail I’d ever seen.
“Are any of us?”
“No, but you were muttering to yourself, and I heard you from the hallway,” he answered and sat down next to me. “I was running away from a few guys that wanted to claim me. One vampire tried to bite me, and I don’t even know his name.”
“I’ll keep them away from you,” I said and wanted to smack myself in the head for offering. Like I didn’t have enough to worry about right then.
“Thank you,” he whispered, and we sat there for several minutes in silence. “Can I ask what you were muttering about, or is that rude?”
“I don’t want to be mated, and my father took a couple of shots at me.” I sighed and flopped back against the couch. “I like being alone. People annoy me most of the time because they’re petty or just stupid. I hate having to explain things to people, and they never understand my job or what I do for the pride. I just want to be left alone, you know what I mean?”
“I do,” he said with a nod and tucked his shoulder-length dark hair behind his ear. “I’m Anthony Marino, but everyone calls me Ant.”
“Why do they do that?” I almost laughed as he gestured to his small body. He couldn’t have been more than five-four and a hundred and twenty-five pounds dripping wet. “Are you okay with that nickname?”
“Doesn’t really matter to me.” He shrugged. “I don’t interact with people very well. I’m not popular in my pack and prefer to just read instead of going out.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling.” And I did. People deferred to me because I was the lion Elder’s son and that made me basically next in command. Not because they wanted to talk with me. Sure, I ran a successful business, but most of the pride’s squabbles were interpersonal. And I tried to stay away from those with a fifty-foot pole.
“Maybe we should mate,” he said so softly I barely heard him. “I mean, you’re gorgeous and I’d leave you alone since I’m not the best with people.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I snickered and then stopped when I saw he was serious and looked like I smacked him across the face. “I’m sorry,” I sighed again. “This whole thing is just a joke, and I’m not dealing with it well.”
“Neither am I, but we’re at least in agreement on a few things here. Maybe we could make it as mates, unless you don’t find me attractive, of course.”
I glanced him over slowly, drinking him in. Not being attracted to him wasn’t going to be a problem. He was a gorgeous little twink with bright blue eyes and a firm little ass I wanted to sink my dick in all night. “No, I’m attracted to you. I just don’t want to be mated, Ant.”
“I don’t either—I don’t know your name.”
“Gavin Ashby,” I replied, turning to face him. “You’re really serious about us mating? You’d just accept a stranger like that?”
“We all have to unless we want to be put down like lab rats.” He shrugged and tucked his hair behind his ear again. I realized it was a nervous gesture, and I found it quite endearing. “Plus, you’ve not tried to just bite me without talking to me first. I’m not a fan of that crap. I’d like someone to at least ask me first. I know I’m small, but I’m not just a plaything.”
“I like to be the boss,” I said after a few minutes of staring at him. “I’m not an affectionate person, and I’m always in charge. It’s part of being a lion. Can you deal with someone who’s dominant?”
“Are you going to make me call you master and treat me like some loser sub?”
“No, not anything like that.” I chuckled, liking his sense of humor.
“You’re not violent, are you?” he asked, scrunching up his nose. “Because I had a boyfriend once that said he was dominant and to him that meant smacking me around. I won’t mate for eternity to someone like that.”
“I’d never hit you,” I whispered as I reached out to cup his cheek, before realizing what I was doing. I dropped it back to my lap, my heart breaking that such a sweet little guy was ever abused. “I’m a pretty laid-back guy, especially for a lion, as long as I’m not annoyed. But I’d never just hit someone unless they punched me or something.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t have to worry about that from me.” He giggled, and I instantly got hard. Seems I had a thing for small twinks who giggled. Who knew? “Maybe we should find out if we’re even physically compatible?”
I was just about to ask what he meant when I saw the lust in his eyes. Oh! He meant sexually. Well, fuck, I was more than willing to get some action at least.
“Here, get yourself ready,” I purred as I pulled a small tube of lube out of my pocket.
“You just walk around with that shit?” Ant squeaked, glancing from it back to my face. Shit! Why was the squeak as hot to me as the giggle? And I’d never known a shifter who squeaked like that.
“If I’m forced to come here, I might at least get laid.” I shrugged. Then I stood up and started stripping.
“Aren’t you even going to kiss me?” he asked, squirming in his seat as he stared at my naked c
hest. “I mean, shouldn’t we kind of work up to sex? I know everything’s going really fast and all, but I’m not very experienced with just jumping into bed.”
“We don’t even have a bed.” I snickered as I started to unzip my pants. It took me a minute again to realize he was serious when I saw his face fall at my words. “Okay, we can kiss.”
Ant glanced up at me with such hopeful eyes that I felt my heart skip a beat… Which was ridiculous, since I wasn’t a romantic. Lions weren’t known for being very loving. Even lions in the wild were known for giving a quick fuck and moving on. While lion shifters mated for life, I wasn’t about to start snuggling and being all kissy face with someone. But I could give him a few kisses now, at least.
I leaned over, bracing my hands on the back of the couch as I crowded Ant’s personal space. His eyes went wide as I slanted my lips over his and brushed them softly. While the lion side of me couldn’t give a shit about kissing, the human in me found Ant delicious. Giving him a longer kiss this time, I tasted something sweet on him. I know the drink we all had was sweet, but it wasn’t that. This was all Ant.
“Wow,” he panted as I pulled away after a few minutes of gentle making out. “Yeah, I think this will be just fine. Are you okay with the idea of mating me?”
“You’re cute and promised to leave me alone for the most part.” I shrugged as I toed off my shoes. Then I took of the rest of my clothes and looked back at him. It was then I realized he’d not gotten undressed and was staring at his hands as he picked at his thumb with his nail. “Ant? Don’t you want to do this?”