by Lynn Hagen
It didn’t.
Eric worked his mouth up to Samson’s jaw, his stubble scraping along Samson’s skin, making him jerk with the pleasure that was plunging him deep and refusing to let him go. Their lips touched, and Samson was seconds away from erupting.
“Are you as needy as I am?” Eric pressed his lips to Samson’s, and Samson ate at Eric’s mouth like Eric’s lips were his last meal. Samson grabbed the man’s biceps, digging his nails into Eric’s flesh as if the man’s body could anchor him, could stop him from exploding all over Eric’s chest and stomach.
“You have to do something. Now.” Samson’s voice was barely above a whisper but filled with so much need that he ground his teeth together. He breathed in deep and let it out slowly, his body becoming more relaxed.
Samson didn’t normally get this wound up, this close to a hair-trigger by a touch. Not the way Eric was making him feel.
“I think you’re ready.” There was humor in Eric’s voice, a touch of triumph as he reared back and used the lube to slick his cock.
The way his hand moved up and down his glistening shaft should have been illegal. Eric made lubing look pornographic. He used the bedspread to wipe his hand. He was hovering over Samson, his cock jutting straight out, his stomach ripped, his arms bulging with muscles. Samson’s ass clenched in anticipation as he stared into Eric’s pretty brown eyes.
Biting his bottom lip, Eric pressed the head of his cock against Samson’s eager hole. Samson sucked in a breath, waiting, anticipating as Eric breached him and inched his way farther in.
Samson’s fingers dug deeper into his lover’s flesh. His heart tripled in beat. Samson blew out a few breaths as his body adjusted to the girth. Eric grabbed Samson’s legs behind the knees, lifted them, and then spread them apart. Samson bent his legs back until they were almost touching his chest, which opened him wider.
“I thought I’d have to go home and jack off tonight,” Eric gritted out. His heavy-lidded gaze was focused where they were joined, and he was still biting his bottom lip.
He was the sexiest man Samson had ever laid eyes on, and some gorgeous men lived in this town. A lot of them came into the candy store, and Samson had to always wipe at his mouth to make sure he wasn’t drooling.
But Eric’s smile, the way he teased Samson, and the way Eric looked at him like he wanted to protect Samson from the world made him stand out from all the rest.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked.
Samson slapped his hand over his face to hide his grin. “Dude, this isn’t a prostate exam. You don’t ask a guy how he’s doing while you’re fucking him.”
Eric’s eyes sparkled like diamonds as his mouth curved into a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The conversation ended, and the fucking shot into full gear. The bed squeaked and groaned as Eric thrust faster and harder, making Samson grab the headboard as he clamped his mouth shut, forcing his screams back down his throat.
Eric dropped Samson’s legs and leaned forward, his hands on either side of Samson’s head as he kissed the sounds right out of Samson’s mouth. Pure instinct had Samson sliding his legs around his lover’s thick waist as he let go of the headboard and grabbed at Eric’s hair, each devouring the other’s mouth.
As badly as Samson wanted to hold out, to make this last, he’d already been close to the edge when Eric stretched him. He threw his head back and cried out, unable to bottle the noise as he came.
Eric must’ve been just as close. He bit into Samson’s neck as he came, his cock throbbing deep in Samson’s ass, shooting Samson’s climax higher as his world was rocked.
But as he came down from his high, he realized what Eric had done. His lover licked at his shoulder and then buried his face in the crook of Samson’s neck, his breaths heavy and quick, his body sweaty as he slowly eased out of Samson’s sore ass.
A strange, warm feeling settled inside him, and for some odd reason, Samson felt as though he’d known Eric all his life.
“Did you just bite me?” Samson felt where Eric’s teeth had broken skin, but when he pulled his hand back, there wasn’t any blood. “Did you seriously just bite me?”
He turned his head to look at Eric and gasped. The guy’s teeth were lengthened, and his eyes had a weird, eerie glow to them. “I thought you knew about mates,” Eric said.
“I know they existed, but I didn’t know—” He waved a hand at Eric’s canines and then at his neck. “I didn’t know that happened.”
Eric brushed his knuckles where he’d bitten Samson. “Did it hurt?” He looked genuinely concerned. “Did I hurt you?”
“Well…no….but…” Samson sat up and braced his hands on the edge of his bed, his legs dangling over the side. “I never asked my mom what was involved when it came to mating, and I didn’t want to ask.”
Samson shuddered at the thought of hearing his mother talk about her sex life. They were close, but not that close.
Eric pushed himself up onto his elbow. “Your mother is mated to a shifter?”
“Was,” Samson said. “Well, technically she still is, but I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Eric pulled Samson back down and spooned him. “Why don’t we just bask in the afterglow? No questions, just petting and kissing?”
Now that sounded wonderful to Samson. He burrowed himself under Eric, wondering if he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life.
Chapter Four
Instead of helping with the cleanup around town, Eric was seated behind his desk, thumping his pencil on a notepad as he stared at his computer screen, unable to concentrate as thoughts of Samson played in his mind.
“Jacoby!”
Eric spun in his chair to stare at his boss. “Yeah?”
“You get that report done?” Sheriff Werth asked.
“It’s all written up.” Eric turned back around, the chair squeaking as he hit the Send button. He’d gotten up this morning, ready to help around town when he was called into work. They were still shorthanded since Deputies Payton’s and Myers’ deaths. But from what Eric had heard, some new guy was supposed to be starting soon. Dillon had said his name, but Eric couldn’t recall what it was…
Right. Jake Licari. That was it.
No sooner had Eric arrived this morning than he’d found himself in his patrol car, answering to a disturbance where domestic partners, who screamed their accusations at the top of their lungs, accused each other of cheating. Eric ended up arresting one of them after he’d taken a swing at his partner.
Werth went back into his office and sat behind his desk, typing away.
“Jeez,” Eric said. “Is Newt holding out on him?”
Dillon snickered. “Nope. You were just sitting there daydreaming.”
That was bullshit. Something was definitely bugging their boss. And if Eric didn’t want to feel the lash again, he needed to get ghost. “I’m going back out on patrol.”
Eric was happy he’d found his mate. Samson was definitely his type—compact, sweet, funny, and he had a great smile. But there was something underneath all that. There was more there that Samson wasn’t sharing. Eric believed that everyone had secrets they didn’t want to expose to the outside world. He was fine with that. But there had been fear in Samson’s eyes, the kind that twisted a guy’s gut and kept him up at night.
What was his mate hiding? He’d tried to push yesterday, but Samson had shut him down. Since their relationship was just budding, Eric hadn’t wanted to rock the boat. But if Samson was in some kind of trouble, Eric wanted to help.
He just had to get his mate to tell him what the problem was. Eric wanted to get inside Samson’s head and find out what made him tick. Unfortunately, a quick trip to the candy store wasn’t the way to go. Eric wasn’t going to talk to his mate in public, not if he was afraid of something or someone.
He’d just gotten behind the wheel of his patrol car and closed the door when his phone started ringing. Eric smiled when he saw who was calling him. “Hey,” he
said when he answered, already in a better mood.
“I need you here, now,” Samson said.
“As much as I’d like to come by and stroke—”
“It’s not that,” Samson said. His voice was strained, and it sounded like he was barely holding himself together. “It’s about my mom. How fast can you get here?”
“I’m on my way.” With the phone tucked against his ear, Eric reversed and drove from the police parking lot. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Not until you get here.” Samson hung up.
Eric cursed. He flipped on the bar lights and siren to make it faster through town. He cut them off when he reached the bakery and parked. A timber wolf and two humans lingered outside, talking, but looked his way when Eric got out.
“Hey, Jacoby.” Micah nodded. He had his mate Oliver with him, as well as Oliver’s brother, Blair.
Eric tipped his head but hurried to the door that led upstairs. He took the steps two at a time. Samson was in the hallway waiting for him. He moved aside to let Eric in and then closed the door.
“What’s going on?” Eric looked around, but the place was pristine, and Samson’s mother was nowhere in sight. From the way Samson had talked, he thought maybe his mate’s mom would be a raving lunatic or something. But the apartment was quiet.
“Follow me.” Samson led him down the hallway and stopped outside his mother’s door. He walked inside, and Eric hesitated to follow. The covers were pulled up, but it looked like she was asleep.
Until Samson pulled the covers back. Instead of his mom, two pillows were lined up. “I don’t get it.”
“Me either,” Samson said. “I called the salon, but my mom hasn’t been there in two days. I thought she was at work yesterday, and then I peeked into her room and saw the lumpy bed, but I didn’t turn the light on, so I thought she was asleep. I came in here this morning to wake her, and I found this.” He waved at the pillows. “I told myself not to freak out until I talked to you, but honestly, Eric, I’m about to flip my shit. Where the hell is my mom?”
Samson’s voice was strained, and he couldn’t stop moving his hands. Tension built in the room as they stood on opposite sides of the bed. His mate appeared small and fragile, made of glass that would shatter at any second if Eric didn’t start talking to fill the silence between them.
“Did you call her friends?”
“She doesn’t have any friends, except the people she works with, and her boss, Heaven, said he hasn’t seen her. None of her coworkers have.” Samson kept worrying his hands as his gaze darted around the room. Unshed tears welled up in his eyes.
Eric cocked his head to the side and studied the guarded way Samson was acting. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Samson walked over to his mother’s dresser and pulled out a small wooden box. He placed it on the bed and opened the lid, pulling out a picture. “That’s my stepdad. He’s a wolf shifter. He said my mom was his mate. About a year ago he became abusive toward her.”
Eric’s chest tightened. Mates were precious. A rare find. He couldn’t fathom raising a hand to strike Samson, no matter the reason. And from the way Samson talked about his mother, she sounded like a sweet woman. “Go on.”
“Four months ago, I convinced my mom to leave him. We packed just what we needed and fled, but James keeps calling me. I answered once, my mistake, and he threatened to kill me if she didn’t come home.” Tears streaked down his face. “What if he found her, Eric? What if he kidnapped her? We have to find her.”
Eric removed his light jacket and laid it on the bed. “I’d like to shift, Samson. In my cougar form, I can get a better smell of things, but I don’t want you to frighten you.”
Samson quickly nodded. “Do whatever you have to do.”
Stripping out of his clothing, Eric shifted. He waited for Samson’s reaction, but all his mate did was look at him as if Eric would suddenly have an answer. Unfortunately, it had been at least two days, and any odors from a stranger would’ve faded, but Eric had to try.
He padded around the room, sniffing the bed, floor, closet, and then made his way out into the hallway. He went through the entire apartment, Samson following close behind him, but the only thing he smelled was Samson’s daisy scent and another human, which was Samson’s mother. He knew because her closet smelled like minty shampoo, and so did the odor in the house.
Other than his mate and his mom and the smells from the bakery downstairs, Eric got nothing. It had been a long shot to start with.
Eric shifted back to his human form.
“Well?” Samson was still wringing his hands. “What did you smell?”
“I’m sorry.” Eric shook his head. “It’s been too long. If there was someone else here, his scent is gone.”
Samson wiped at his eyes. “Then what do we do?”
Eric went back to the bedroom and dressed. “You give me his full name and address.”
Samson grabbed the photo and a pen and scribbled on the back of the picture before handing it over. But it wasn’t the stepdad looking at the camera. James stood next to a petite woman who had the same sandy-blonde hair and blue eyes as Samson. She was downright beautiful. Her blonde locks fell in waves over her shoulders, but her eyes weren’t shiny and bright. She looked lost and trapped, and James looked smug.
Eric wanted to wrap his hands around the bastard’s neck and choke him until he was dead. He pulled Samson into his arms and hugged him close. “I’m gonna do whatever I have to in order to bring her back to you.”
“Thank you.” Samson slid his arms around Eric, resting his head on Eric’s chest. “Thank you so much.”
There was a bit of hope in Samson’s voice as Eric ran his hand up and down his mate’s slim back. “I’d do anything for you.”
On the one hand, Eric wished Samson and his mother had fled to the city where they could’ve gotten lost in the large population. The address Samson had written down was in Desire, and that small town wasn’t too far away. Desire was the next town over, and it was a miracle James hadn’t found them sooner.
On the other hand, if they had gone to the city, or farther, Eric would’ve never found his mate.
Samson pulled away and once again wiped at his eyes. “I have to get ready for work.”
“You should take the day off,” Eric suggested.
Samson shook his head. “I need to stay busy, or I’ll go crazy.”
“This town is full of timber wolf shifters that guard Brac Village.” Eric held up his hand when Samson’s brows shot up. “They’re good people, Samson. I’m gonna ask one of them to stick around the store so you’re guarded.”
“Do you think James would come after me?”
“If he thinks you’re the reason his mate left him, I have no doubt.” And if James came anywhere near Samson, Eric would rip his fucking throat out. He still might if James was the reason Samson’s mother was missing.
His mate gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Again, thank you.”
Eric cupped his jaw. “Like I said, I’d do anything for you.”
Even head to Desire to hunt James down. But first he needed to call Sebastian Brac. It was his town, and Eric didn’t want to step on any toes. Which meant he had to call Maverick to smooth the way.
* * * *
“Like I said, I’d do anything for you.”
Samson was already coiled with worry. His heart wouldn’t stop hammering, and there was a buzz rushing through his body. His stomach was cramped, and his heart felt like it had been ripped right out of him. He was worried sick about his mom. She has to be all right. There can be no other outcome.
Yet, Eric’s words keep circling in Samson’s head, bouncing through the cotton that had filled it from his fright. He was surprised at just how much he trusted Eric, how safe he felt with the guy around. They’d met just yesterday, and yet…Samson couldn’t imagine not having Eric at his side. The thought made his chest tight, but that could also be the worry he was experiencing not knowi
ng what had happened to his mother.
He knew Eric had to leave so he could do whatever he had to do to find her, but Samson was hard-pressed to let the guy go. He didn’t want Eric to leave his side. Samson didn’t want a babysitter, either. James had made him mistrust wolves, and even though Eric said they were good guys, Samson was still wary about being around them.
He’d been so busy trying to protect his mom that he’d never stopped to exam how the last year had affected him. Samson’s mom might have been the abused one, but watching it happen made him feel just as battered. He’d gotten her out, but Samson hid behind his smile while he blamed himself for not taking her away the first time it happened.
“Hey.” Eric cupped Samson’s face, his smile so genuine and soft that Samson’s insides melted. He’d never realized before this moment how important Eric had become to him.
Samson rested his head against Eric’s strong, broad chest, inhaling his scent, and the smell relaxed him and made Samson feel as though everything would be okay. That he could trust his deputy to help him, that Eric would do everything in his powers to get Samson’s mother home.
Being wrapped in his arms was like sitting in front of a cozy fire on a cold winter’s day, like holding his head back in the summer and feeling the warmth of the sun caress him. It was like coming home when Samson hadn’t even realized he’d been lost.
The comparisons sounded stupid in his head. His mother was missing, and here he stood, waxing poetically about the man who was holding him tight. But as flaky as those thoughts were, they were also true.
Eric tilted Samson’s head back with his fingers tucked under his chin. His brown eyes were amazing, comforting while Samson battled against the avalanche of emotions that threaten to unleash inside him.
“I need to go talk with a few people.” The pad of his thumb caressed Samson’s cheek. “I know you don’t want me to leave, but I have to. Just call me if you start to feel too overwhelmed.”
Samson nodded and took a step back, forcing himself to pull his shit together. Eric guided him to the door, and they walked out together, stopping long enough so he could lock up the apartment.