“I see,” Zavion answered slowly. “I think that’s Dr. Araceli’s job. You know, to get people to talk when they don’t want to. Like you said, it can’t hurt to try.”
“I happen to know that there is a deliciously half-naked man in your room right now,” Keeton announced as he sauntered into the room. Didn’t the guy ever just walk somewhere?
And what the hell was he doing there anyway? Then again, he was Braxton’s best friend. Maybe he’d come in search of Braxton to offer a little moral support. They probably had a lot to discuss as well. Zavion had it on good authority—Keeton’s incessant complaining, as it were—that he was no happier than Braxton in the love department these days.
Apparently, Logan’s new position as an Enforcer was taking him away from home much more than his impetuous mate cared for. Zavion could definitely sympathize. Maybe he hadn’t had to deal with it yet, but the day was coming when Cian would return to his regular duties.
“What are you waiting for?” Keeton asked when Zavion
continued to sit there.
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He almost sprang out of his chair, but he held on by sheer will, torn between wanting to see his mate and staying to be a good friend to Braxton. Glancing up at Keeton, he tried to ask with his eyes what he should do. In return, he received a wink as the blond plopped down in the chair beside his friend.
“I wouldn’t wait too long,” he quipped, and then silently mouthed, “I’ve got this.”
Knowing the two had been friends much longer than he’d even known Braxton, he trusted that Keeton would understand better how
to handle the problem than he would. “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I know I’m young and just beginning a relationship, but I can listen if nothing else.”
“Thank you, Zavion.” Braxton rose from his chair and rounded the table to give Zavion a crushing hug. “I’m really glad you’re part of our family now.”
Tears prickled the corners of his eyes, but Zavion battled them back ruthlessly. He wasn’t going to spaz out like a child just because he finally had a real family. “I’m glad I met you, too, Braxton.”
“Go get your man.” Then he released Zavion and gave him a little shove toward the doorway.
No one had to tell him again. Hurrying down the hallway, he practically barreled into his room in his eagerness to see Cian. He came to an abrupt halt when he found the object of his desire standing in the center of the room, wearing only a pair of jeans and holding a single red rose to his chest so that the petals brushed under his chin.
“Hello, a ghrá.”
Swallowing loudly, Zavion eased the door closed behind him while his chest constricted with emotion. “Hello,” he responded hoarsely.
“Are you ready for the day?”
He was ready to tackle his mate to the mattress and do dirty, dirty things to him. “Yes.”
“Where should we start, Zavion?”
From This Moment 117
With your cock in my mouth. “Uh, I don’t know. You decide.” “C’mere.” Cian lifted his free hand and crooked a finger at him. As if attached to some invisible line that reeled him in, Zavion
floated across the carpeted floor like he was in a trance, very similar to the first night Cian had been waiting in his room for him. It was hard to believe that he’d known the man for only months rather than
years.
“Do ya like it?” Cian asked, pressing the stem of the rose into
Zavion’s hands.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” It was beautiful, and the sentiment behind it was even more so. Right then, Zavion couldn’t really care less about the flower, though.
Two warm fingers slid under his chin, tilting his head up to Cian’s waiting lips. The kiss was slow and tender, speaking louder than any words ever could. “I love you, Zavion Dobbs. Just so ya know.”
How could he forget? The man was adamant about expressing his devotion in everything he did. Still, it was nice to hear the words. “I love you, too, Cian Murphy.” He paused for dramatic effect before tossing the rose aside and tackling his lover to the bed, just like he’d wanted to do since entering the room. “I’d really love it if you were naked.”
* * * *
“Am I doing this right? I don’t think I’m doing it right? Why couldn’t we just use fishing poles? This is ridiculous. The fish are looking at me funny.”
Why on earth Cian had insisted that he try fishing in his fox form, he’d never know, but it wasn’t going very well.
“You’re splashing too much,” Cian coached him. “You’ll scare all the fish.”
He wasn’t scaring the fish. If anything, they were looking at him like he was dinner. Wading a little farther into the chilly water, he
118 Gabrielle Evans
surveyed the fish swimming around his feet, trying to gauge which
one looked the smallest and weakest.
In a quick move, he plunged his muzzle into the water, but only ended up biting his own leg. “Ow! Damn it. This sucks. ” Then to add insult to injury, one of the stupid fish leapt out of the water and smacked him in the face with its tail. “Are you sure these are real fish? Maybe they’re shifters and don’t appreciate me trying to eat them.”
“They’re real fish,” Cian assured him. He looked rather bored just
sitting there with a stick and a pocketknife. Who the hell whittled
anymore, anyway?
“Do you not want to be here?” The picnic had been pleasant, and as much as he complained, he was actually having fun with the fish. If Cian was ready to go home, though, they could always come back another day. It wasn’t like the pond was going anywhere.
Looking up from the piece of wood in his hand, Cian grinned and winked at him. “I’m happy right where I am. I got my fill of fish growin’ up in Ireland, but it’s peaceful here. I like it.”
Something moved near the banks of the pond, and Zavion couldn’t resist going to investigate. “Hey, what’s that?” Whatever it was, it beat the hell out of trying to catch fish in his mouth and having them basically laugh in his face.
“Zavion, no!” Cian jumped up from his place under a big leafless tree and began running toward him. “Don’t!”
It was too late, though. Yelping madly, Zavion reared back and began shaking his head, whining and barking at the snapping turtle clamped down on his nose. When jerking his head around like an idiot didn’t do any good—the turtle just flopped right along with him—he dropped to the dirt and began pawing at the little bastard.
“Cian, get it off! It hurts! Ugh! I changed my mind. I really hate nature.”
His mate looked like he was having a hell of a time containing his laughter as he knelt beside Zavion. In short order, he had the turtle
From This Moment 119
removed and tossed back into the water, but his shoulders were still
shaking, and his face was a brilliant shade of red.
Zavion, however, found nothing funny about the situation. Covering his muzzle with his front paws, he whimpered pathetically while his nose continued to ache and burn. “Where is your compassion? Go kick that turtle’s ass for impugning my honor.”
Well, that did it. Cian fell back on his butt as he roared with
unrestrained laughter that echoed through the trees around them. “Oh, my poor pup. Has your dignity been stripped away, then?”
“Yes, along with part of my nose.”
“Zavion, it’s not even bleedin’,” Cian informed him through his chuckles. “Come here, and let’s see it.”
Crawling forward on his belly, Zavion lifted his head to Cian’s knee and looked up at his mate with as much misery as he could
muster. “It hurts.” It was the truth, but he might be playing it up just a bit to get sympathy from his mate.
“Aww, would ya like me to kiss it better?”
Shifting back to his human skin, Zavion plopped himself into his lover’s lap with a big, cheesy
grin. “Yes, please.” His nose had already stopped hurting, and the turtle was long forgotten. Well, maybe not completely forgotten, but he’d deal with the little bugger later. “One of us is overdressed for the occasion, Mr. Murphy, and it isn’t me.”
They’d already had a nice tangle in the sheets earlier, but he couldn’t get enough of his gorgeous mate. Destin had said nothing
strenuous for twenty-four hours, but how was he supposed to resist when Cian showed up in his room half naked and carrying a single red rose? It had been the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for him, and he’d repaid the favor with great enthusiasm.
Plus, he felt better than fine, so he didn’t really think that Destin’s rules applied to him.
120 Gabrielle Evans
With a playful growl, Cian locked his arms around Zavion’s back like steel bands and rolled him to the ground, hovering above him ashe insinuated himself between Zavion’s legs. “How do you feel?”
“Never better.” Luckily, he’d escaped the minor operation with only a headache, and even that had disappeared with a couple of Advil. “Stop being all protective and kiss me like you mean it.”
The cold grass beneath him seeped into his skin, but Cian’s heat chased away any chill. The tangle of their tongues started a wildfire in his belly, and each sensual glide only stoked the flames higher. Before the kiss ended, Zavion was moaning into his lover’s mouth and rocking his hips, rubbing his hard cock over Cian’s cotton T-shirt.
The last rays of sun shone down on them, lighting the small clearing and gleaming off of Cian’s ebony locks. The scrape of his lover’s facial hair tickled his belly as Cian kissed down his torso, making his way to Zavion’s jutting cock.
Cian licked and nibbled along his hip bone, the crease of his thigh, and swirled his tongue around Zavion’s tight sac before working his way up to the opposite hip. The teasing was delicious torture, ratcheting Zavion’s lust until he was almost delirious with need.
When soft, moist lips surrounded the head of his erection, his shoulders rose up from the ground, and he almost came then and there. A tight grip around the base of his cock prevented him from embarrassing himself, but he couldn’t stop the wild moans from pouring through his lips.
Tight, wet, and indescribably pleasurable, Cian’s mouth worked up and down his throbbing shaft, sucking in more of Zavion’s length with each bob of his head. Long, talented fingers fondled his balls and skimmed his perineum, adding more sensations designed to push him closer to the edge.
His orgasm built, tightening his abs and sending electrical currents up his spine, but just when release was within his grasp, Cian pulled off his cock with a naughty slurp. His glistening, swollen lips curled up at the corners in a devilish smile that only made Zavion pant
From This Moment 121
harder. Whatever his lover had planned, it was sure to involve all
kinds of naughty, erotic pleasure.
“So eager,” he cooed, stroking Zavion’s sides in barely-there
caresses.
Unbuttoning his jeans and sliding the zipper down, Cian parted the flaps and pushed the denim down his hips until his thick, dripping cock sprang free. A bottle of lube was extracted from his pocket, and he took his time, slicking his length as he stared into Zavion’s eyes with heat and passion.
Unable to take any more teasing, Zavion sprang up from the grass and dove at his lover. Tackling Cian to his back, he straddled the man’s hips and grabbed his shaft at the root, positioning the tip at his
eager entrance.
“Zavion, wait.”
He didn’t want to wait, though. Letting out a deep breath, he relaxed every muscle in his body as he slowly lowered over Cian, impaling himself on his lover’s cock. It was a tight fit—it always
was—but the intense pressure and slight burn only increased his pleasure, as did the strangled groan that rumbled through Cian’s chest as he arched up into him.
Planting his feet on the ground beside his mate’s thighs, Zavion didn’t start slow. He rode his man hard and fast while one hand
tweaked and pulled at Cian’s nipples. Wetting just his middle finger in his mouth, he showed off his flexibility as he reached behind him, slipping his hand between Cian’s legs.
Allowing Cian to take over the demanding thrusts, he pressed between his lover’s rounded globes, seeking out the tight ring of muscles that beckoned to him. Cian grabbed him around the waist, his fingers biting into Zavion’s flesh as he rocked upward, plunging his cock into Zavion’s hungry hole.
Grabbing his bouncing prick, Zavion stroked the aching length as he inserted his middle finger into Cian’s tight, heated channel. Pumping the digit in tandem with the fist jerking on his cock, he
122 Gabrielle Evans
established a rhythm in no time that had him bucking wildly in pleasure.
Cian’s groans and gasps grew in volume as he slammed up into Zavion. His eyelids squeezed together tightly, his head tilted back in the grass, and the sinewy muscles in his throat strained, creating a glorious picture for Zavion’s viewing pleasure.
“Close,” he warned, pushing his finger just a bit deeper into his mate’s ass. “Come with me, Cian.”
His hand flew over his cock in a blur as his muscles tightened, and his inner walls clamped down on Cian’s invading length. It was hard to tell which of them moaned louder as creamy seed jetted from Zavion’s cock to paint the tanned, rippling stomach of his lover. Cian’s back bowed, driving him balls deep into Zavion’s yielding body, and wet heat filled him to overflowing.
Easing his finger from Cian’s hole, Zavion collapsed to his mate’s chest, struggling to catch his breath and will his pulse back to normal. “It just keeps getting better.”
“Aye,” Cian answered breathlessly. “What did ya do to me?”
“Did you like it?” The answer was obvious, and the proof was leaking down the insides of his thighs.
“Definitely.”
Zavion grinned against the side of Cian’s neck and kissed the salty skin. “Good. I have lots more to show you.”
Cian held him for a long time, silently caressing his back or petting his hair. “When do lessons start?” he finally asked as his cock began to rise and harden against Zavion’s backside once more.
Pushing up so he could see into his mate’s eyes, Zavion gave him
a very serious look before he lost his composure and grinned hugely. He really couldn’t help it, though. For such a big man, Cian was absolutely adorable sometimes.
“From this moment, of course.”
From This Moment 123
THE END
WWW.GABRIELLEEVANS.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gabrielle Evans grew up in a small town in southern Oklahoma. We are talking one red light that may or may not work depending on the day of the week. She married her high school sweetheart and the rest is pretty much history. They have two very active boys and one high-strung wiener dog that keeps her constantly on the go. For now, she parks her car in central Indiana, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Gabrielle believes in love at first sight, falling hard and fast, taking chances, and grabbing your happy-ever-after with both hands. Most importantly, she believes that a great cup of coffee can cure anything.
For all titles by Gabrielle Evans, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/gabrielle-evans
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Evans, Gabrielle - From This Moment [The Moonlight Breed 7] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 11