Missy Welsh What 2012

HAT

…All Jeremy had on were those black leather pants. I bet there

wasn‟t any underwear under them either. Not with how low they‟d
been while he sat. I‟d have at least seen the top of a thong or a jock. I
closed my eyes and took a deep breath as my libido went on red alert
from the image of Jeremy in a jockstrap. A ratty one. A ratty one in
desperate need of a wash. It‟d smell like sweat and piss and every
delicious man-smell he could produce. That was something I could—

“Seriously?” he snapped. I flinched and looked at him again. “This

is turning you on? Right now? I could fucking tear this place apart at
any second and you‟re over there getting hot?”

I opened my mouth, but I didn‟t know what to say to that. How the

hell did he know?

He kind of growled and ran his hands up into his short, brown hair,

spiking it up in places. “You‟re really something,” he said and kind of
laughed, shaking his head. “I can smell your fear, but right underneath
that is arousal. Shit, Sam.”

He took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering closed. Both his hands

smoothed down his toned and hairless chest. Oh, man. One stopped to
tease his abs as he took another breath and the other hand went down
to cup his crotch. I became aware of my own heartbeat right then
because Jeremy was getting hard. Like a Pavlovian response, my own
dick swelled in my jeans, that little bit of pain turning me on even
more.

“D-d-do y-y-y-you—”
I stopped, not for any reason except that, when he looked at me

then, a car drove by and the light that reflected off his eyes was bright
green. That… That wasn‟t normal, was it?

“Do I what?” He actually grinned and took a few steps toward me.

“Do I want you? Fuck, yes. Every panther wants his mate, Sam…”

LSO

ISSY

ELSH

Come Cuddle Me

Happy Endings: Briefs

Happy Endings: Shorts

Oscar’s Soul

Yours Forever

WHAT

MISSY WELSH

MBER

UILL

RESS

LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

HAT

MBER

UILL

RESS

OOK

This book is a work of fiction.

All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the

author‟s imagination, or have been used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales,

or events is entirely coincidental.

Amber Quill Press, LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

No portion of this book may be transmitted or

reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in

writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief

excerpts used for the purposes of review.

ISBN 978-1-61124-272-0

PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To all my fans who read the first edition and said

I had better write more of this story because it wasn’t done.

So, fine, you were right. Here’s the rest.

WHAT

WHAT

“Je-Jeremy?” I asked, thankful it only had one false start. I

pushed the door from cracked to halfway open, my hand still on
the knob as I saw another crack and forgot to breathe.

Jesus, but the man had a beautiful ass, the top half of it peeking

at me. His black leather pants had already been low, but now, as he
sat backward in a chair with his back to me, those tight pants
carved his cheeks in half. I had an urge to run over there and slide
my tongue down that crack. What did his sweat taste like? A drop
of it slid down his lower back, but paused, suspended above the
dimple to the left of his spine. I trembled when that little drop
found another and rapidly rolled down into the darkness. I took a
step into the room, part of me all ready to follow wherever that
little guy went.

WHAT

“What?” Jeremy barked and turned from the window to glare at

me.

I jumped back, my heart kicking up again. He didn‟t want me

here, I didn‟t want to be here, but there were things I needed to say
before I left.

“I-I-I-I-I wanted t-t-to s-s-s-s-s-s—” I cut myself off and

changed words, just getting to the point. I‟d stuttered all my life,
but it always got worse around Jeremy. When I was nervous. I
supposed that was normal when you were a weak little queer in
love with your straight boss.

“Apologize,” I finished lamely and realized I‟d tucked my arms

around my chest again. I dropped my arms and tried to stand up
straight. He hated when I did the hugging and slumping thing, but
it made me feel less vulnerable around all the muscular tough guys
like him here in his tattoo shop. Made me a smaller target.

“It‟s fine, Sam,” he said, sounding tired. “Just go home.” He

turned back to stare out the window some more. As far as I could
tell, after he finished breaking something glass in here, his office,
that was all he‟d been doing for the last two hours. Just staring out
the window.

“It‟s n-n-n-n-not fine.” It wasn‟t. I‟d made him mad before,

messed up plenty of times, but not like this. And I wasn‟t even sure
what the hell I‟d done so wrong. I thought maybe the fight had
broken out between those two customers because of me, but I
didn‟t know why.

“Jesus, man,” he mumbled and looked up at the night sky.
“Je-Je-Je—”
“What the hell am I supposed to do with you?” He got up off

his chair and spun around to face me.

I took a step away and gasped as the door stabbed me in the

WHAT

back. He was across the room in a blink, the door shut, and me
pushed up against it. Part of me was thrilled that he touched me,
that he was this close. The stupid part, obviously, since the big
hand in the center of my chest wasn‟t there to pet.

“You‟re just a kid.” He looked down at me with those sharp,

green eyes. “Just a dumb kid who‟s got no idea what the hell he‟s
doing.”

I bit my bottom lip to keep it from trembling and looked away.

He‟d never called me dumb before. Others did all the time. If I
took too long to answer a question so I could get a hold of my
stutter, they thought I was slow. I‟d gotten used to it. From other
people. That Jeremy thought I was dumb really, really stung.

He was the only person in my life who ever treated me like I

mattered. He didn‟t rush to finish my sentences when my stuttering
took over. He was always patient with me. I‟d worked in three
other tattoo places before here because no one else could stand me.
It was only here that I‟d been able just to do my art and not have to
worry about chatting up the clients. Jeremy did that part for me.

I realized now that him telling me to go home was probably

him actually telling me I was fired.

“S-s-s-s-sorry,” I managed, but he didn‟t let me move, so I just

stared at the wall to my right. I had to clench my fists to keep from
wrapping my arms around myself and sinking to the floor.

Yeah. Dumb, pathetic loser—that was me because I still loved

him.

“I can‟t do it anymore, Sam,” he said and really sounded upset.

I chanced a look at him through my bangs only to have him brush
my hair back and cup my cheek. I gasped.

“I tried.” He got right in my face. “Understand that, okay? I

tried to keep near you and stake my claim without the need for the

WHAT

rest of this shit, for your sake.” He sighed, his breath smelling like
the peppermints he always sucked on.

“I-I-I—”
“No. Just let me get this all out. You can talk after.” He let me

go and turned sideways. “After you‟re done screaming, that is,” he
mumbled. He sighed again, then waved toward that chair. “Go sit,
Sam. It‟ll be better if you‟re sitting.”

I walked over and sat. There was no point in protesting because

I was so amped up right now with worry and fear that I couldn‟t
have said anything anyway. I‟d never been afraid of Jeremy before
today. He‟d never given me a reason.

He paced in front of me for a few seconds, and I realized he

wasn‟t wearing shoes. All he had on were those black leather
pants. I bet there wasn‟t any underwear under them either. Not
with how low they‟d been while he sat. I‟d have at least seen the
top of a thong or a jock. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as
my libido went on red alert from the image of Jeremy in a
jockstrap. A ratty one. A ratty one in desperate need of a wash. It‟d
smell like sweat and piss and every delicious man-smell he could
produce. That was something I could—

“Seriously?” he snapped. I flinched and looked at him again.

“This is turning you on? Right now? I could fucking tear this place
apart at any second and you‟re over there getting hot?”

I opened my mouth, but I didn‟t know what to say to that. How

the hell did he know?

He kind of growled and ran his hands up into his short, brown

hair, spiking it up in places. “You‟re really something,” he said and
kind of laughed, shaking his head. “I can smell your fear, but right
underneath that is arousal. Shit, Sam.”

He took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering closed. Both his

WHAT

hands smoothed down his toned and hairless chest. Oh, man. One
stopped to tease his abs as he took another breath and the other
hand went down to cup his crotch. I became very aware of my own
heartbeat right then because Jeremy was getting hard. Like a
Pavlovian response, my own dick swelled in my jeans, that little
bit of pain turning me on even more.

“D-d-do y-y-y-you—”
I stopped, not for any reason except that, when he looked at me

then, a car drove by and the light that reflected off his eyes was
bright green. That… That wasn‟t normal, was it?

“Do I what?” He actually grinned and took a few steps toward

me. “Do I want you? Fuck, yes. Every panther wants his mate,
Sam.”

Every what wants his who?
Despite not being able to get the words out right then, that

thought must have been pretty clear on my face because he came
over and knelt in front of me.

“I know,” he said, his voice finally the soft one I was used to.

The one that made me feel safe and worthy. “It‟s going to get a
little crazy in a minute or two, Sam, but I promise it‟s for the best.
We can‟t keep going on like this anymore.” He put his hands on
my knobby knees, thumbs stroking the insides. “It‟s just not safe
for you.”

“What‟s not?” See? When I felt secure, I could actually talk.
He smiled at me. “I know that fight today wasn‟t really your

fault, but it was because of you.” I shook my head and opened my
mouth. “No, let me finish. You didn‟t do anything but walk into
the room, but that‟s all you had to do. They knew you were an
unmated panther approaching your first shift and they all wanted to
claim you. I had to stop them from trying more with you than they

WHAT

did because you‟re mine, Sam.”

I dared to slide my hands down my thighs to touch the tips of

his fingers. I hoped my expression was clearly asking the questions
my mouth couldn‟t form again. He wanted me? I was his? How
was this at all possible?

He nodded, taking my hands. Green eyes burning into mine, he

lifted my palms up so he could kiss each one. I swallowed hard,
feeling a little dizzy.

“Easy,” he whispered. “Deep breaths.”
I nodded, breathing as instructed. I didn‟t understand, but

processing oxygen was a job I could do right now.

He smiled again, but let my hands go and stepped back. “Just

keep breathing, Sammy. And please remember that I will not hurt
you.”

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell that meant, but words

dried up in my throat when he undid his pants. Just popped the
button and slid the zipper and no, he wasn‟t wearing anything
under there. And yeah, he was definitely hard.

Oh, but the man‟s cock was a thing of real beauty. Thrusting up

from a trim nest of brown hairs, it was nice and thick, the foreskin
looking silky and the head red and shiny. He hooked to the right,
too. Good-sized balls, low and swinging. I lost sight of it all for a
moment while he took his pants off his legs, but then he
straightened and gave himself a slow stroke, moving that skin up
and then back. His balls bounced.

“Ugh-num,” I said around the pool of spit gathering in my

mouth. I wanted to lick. I wanted to suck. I was about to beg.

“Not yet,” he said and groaned. “I want to do everything you‟re

thinking, baby, but not yet. You need to understand this first.” He
sounded a little sad, but I was tripping over the fact he‟d called me

WHAT

his baby.

“Just wait,” he said and sank down onto his hands and knees.

“And please don‟t leave the room. It‟ll be okay.”

As if this all wasn‟t something out of a dream already,

suddenly the man in front of me wasn‟t a man anymore. Where
Jeremy had been bent over and looking like an invitation to fuck,
now there was a big, black, green-eyed, motherfucking panther.

I shot to my feet, the chair clattering over behind me. The

panther flinched back, lifting one huge paw off the wood floor. A
rumbling noise filled the room for a just a second or two. Like a
warning.

“Please don‟t leave the room,” he‟d said. Okay. Right. That

would probably be bad because it would mean going around the
wild animal in front of me and racing through an empty tattoo shop
to a sidewalk that was probably just as deserted.

“Please remember I will not hurt you,” he‟d said. Oh. Yes. This

wasn‟t some escaped cat intent on shredding my flesh from my
bones. A minute ago, that was Jeremy.

“Are y-y-you s-s-s-s-s-still in there?”
The panther slowly nodded.
I nodded back. “Ok-k-k-kay.”
He stepped closer to me. I could see his caution and I was sure

he could see mine. That whiskered snout and shiny black nose was
level with my button fly. How big were his teeth?

But when he reached me, there were no teeth or any hint of

malice. He leaned that massive head into my stomach and rubbed,
while making a huffing sort of noise. He was so soft! It felt
perfectly natural to put my hands on him and sink down to sit on
the floor in front of him.

He crowded close, making sounds that seemed happy, and

WHAT

rubbed his cheeks all over my head and shoulders. I couldn‟t help
laughing even as I touched him back, running my fingers though
silky black fur and feeling the hard muscles just beneath the
surface.

“Big kitty,” I whispered when he looked me right in the face. I

laughed when he rolled his eyes and licked my cheek. “Oh,” I said
because that long tongue was deliciously scratchy.

I thought maybe he‟d waggled his eyebrows at me, but then the

human Jeremy was sitting on his heels in front of me again. He
wasn‟t hard anymore, but he was still spectacular from head to toe,
not just because he was physically beautiful, but also because the
man was magic.

Then he gathered me up, pulling me to straddle his thighs as he

sat back, and he suddenly kissed me. Nine months I‟d been
dreaming of kissing this amazing man! To say I dove into it would
be an understatement. I gave up breathing to devour his mouth. It
didn‟t last nearly long enough, though.

“You‟re okay?” he asked, his lips shining and red. “I didn‟t

scare you?”

I took my shirt over my head, tossing it away, then leaned into

his hand when he cupped my cheek. I gripped the meat of his
shoulders and shifted closer to him, my whole pelvis aching from
want and denim containment. We both moaned when he wrapped
an arm around my waist and pulled me in tight. He felt so good
under my hands, his skin as silky as his fur had been. The hand
holding my head slid down my chest, his fingers going for the
buttons of my jeans. I moaned again and leaned in to taste the
column of his neck.

“Yeah,” he said, “you‟re fine.”
I chuckled, nodding as I sipped at his lightly salted skin.

WHAT

Then—oh, sweet hell!—he was fishing my dick out of my briefs
and stroking me. He was a little rough, though.

“Jeremy?” I asked, as I stilled his hand and looked down into

his eyes.

“You need to come, Sam,” he said and shook my hand off his.

“It‟ll trigger your shift if you come with me here like this. I woke
up your panther when I shifted near you. It‟s better if you do it
now.”

I swallowed hard, trembling for a second from more than the

brutal pull of his fist. I grabbed his hand and pulled it up to my
mouth. If he was going to do this, I needed some damn lubrication
so he didn‟t tear my foreskin right the hell off. Me being a panther?
Me shifting? No. I couldn‟t think about that now. I‟d wanted, loved
this man for so long nothing was going to get in the way of this
moment with him.

He liked watching me lick his hand, wetting it as best I could. I

spared a grin, got one in return, and he reached down to adjust
himself as he started getting hard again. I scooted closer to him,
cocks bumping, and, wow, did I enjoy his rumble right there.

When a little rivulet of saliva began inching down his wrist, I

wrapped his hand around me and showed him how I liked it.
Thankful he didn‟t take over or go back to that brutal yanking, I let
him go and leaned back in to kiss him some more.

It was slower now, less urgent, though I could feel something

more than a need to come building inside me. My skin felt kind of
itchy and my muscles ached. My waking panther? If I didn‟t really
think about it, it was mostly just distracting, but I didn‟t want to be
distracted now that I finally had Jeremy in my arms, that minty
tongue of his exploring my mouth. I made a sound of annoyance
and need.

WHAT

“It‟s okay,” he whispered, his hand stroking firmly but slowly.

“Let it happen, baby. You‟ll come and then you‟ll shift. You won‟t
need to think about it this time, and I‟ve got you, Sam.”

I held tight to his shoulders, panting now, feeling like I had a

fever, complete with sweating and shaking. This was about the
least fun orgasm I‟d ever had, except for the fact Jeremy tugged it
out of me. I tried to focus on that. On the concern in his emerald
eyes as he stared into mine. On the way he kind of cradled me in
his other arm and ignored himself, just taking care of me. If that
was part of being someone‟s mate… Oh, thank God he‟s mine!

I came with a cry, spurting and dribbling over his hand and

damn near shaking myself apart. And maybe that‟s what I did
because when I next opened my eyes, I wasn‟t me anymore.
Jeremy eased the new me down so we lay on our sides, facing each
other.

“Now who‟s the big kitty,” he said with a grin, as he petted my

face.

I could hear more than just his quiet words. With my one ear

pressed to the floor, I could hear all kinds of things I‟d never
noticed before—thumping and creaking in the old building. And
his heartbeat. I could hear the clatter of Jeremy‟s heart.

I raised a hand to touch his face and saw the black paw

reaching for him. Yeah, totally new me. Oh, look at those claws!

“Sam,” he warned and gave me a look as I pressed sharp points

into his cheek.

I had to think about making the claws go away again and heard

the grumbly sort of noise coming from my throat as I succeeded
and he smiled. Not a purr exactly, but I knew it was a happy sound.

“You‟re a beauty.” He stroked his hand down my side and,

while that felt delightful, I caught scent of his other hand, the one

WHAT

covered in my cum, and found myself licking it. He made a quiet
sound of appreciation, and I remembered the rasp of his cat tongue
on my human skin.

“Hold on.” He sat up, and I realized I still had my jeans on.

Sort of. I was definitely twisted up in them as they attempted to
hug my panther hips and hind legs. My boots popped off easily
enough when he tugged, then he pulled off my socks and worked
my jeans and briefs off. I sat up on one elbow when I saw my long,
black tail snapping around.

Myself was suddenly a lot less interesting when Jeremy shifted

again. We made those happy sounds at each other, while we
bumped heads and rubbed together. I could smell him leaving his
scent on me and how mine was now on him. We were delicious
together. That must have been what moved me to start licking his
face.

I licked everywhere. His eyes, his nose, his ears. It wasn‟t so

much that I tasted him as it was experiencing him and trying to
say… I didn‟t know. I‟m yours maybe?

Oh, yeah, that must‟ve been what I said because he suddenly

stood over me, his teeth holding me down by the scruff of my
neck. He pressed my chin into the floor, and I went with it
willingly, just lying there on my belly. A twitching of anticipation
shot through me when he started humping my lower back, right
above my new tail, and growled around his mouthful of me in his
teeth.

I didn‟t know if I could smile as a panther, but I sure felt like

smiling. Jeremy claimed me. Claimed his mate. His mate, that‟s
me! It sounded so much more permanent than boyfriend or partner
or even husband. So I made those rumbling happy sounds as he
growled and got himself off on my kitty ass. I shivered at the

WHAT

sticky wet coating my fur back there and at his rough growl just
before he let me go and flopped onto his side. My neck throbbed
where he‟d held me down, but that made me laugh for some
reason.

And like that, I was human again. A moment later and so was

he.

“Wow,” I whispered, grinning like a fool.
He chuckled and opened his arms to me as he lay back. I dove

into him, feeling…giddy! Just stupid happy with answers to why
he‟d… Wait a minute.

“Why did you wait?” I asked, as I looked down into that

handsome, flushed face. “If this was why everything—”

“I‟m not gay, Sam.”
God, that hurt. I pulled away from him, sitting back and

pressing a hand to my chest where it ached so suddenly. Maybe
this pain was a heart attack. I scooted away so he couldn‟t save me.

“Stop, Sam.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him,

my slick skin squeaking against the hardwood floor.

“You d-d-d-don‟t w-w-w-w—”
He gave me a shake. “Yes, I do, damn it. I might not be gay,

but I…I don‟t know. I kind of am. For you.”

I stared at his face, trying to read anything he wasn‟t saying.

Regret? Disgust? Had he kissed me just to help get me off so I‟d
shift? Humped me out of instinct?

“Quit that,” he snapped and used both hands to make me sit up

straight and put my hands down. I‟d hunched and tucked again,
that move he hated.

“I‟m s-s-s-s-sorry.”
But straight guys didn‟t just go gay for somebody, and I knew

he was as straight as the rest of them from their long, loud talks

WHAT

when no women were in the shop. They one-upped each other with
tales of their conquests, and absolutely no one had ever mentioned
anything gay. Jeremy couldn‟t possibly want me.

“God, baby, stop.” He pulled me into his arms again, squeezing

me as we leaned over our tangled legs. “I want this. You. Yeah, it
threw me when I figured out why being near you was making me
fucking crazy. I expected a female mate, if I ever found one, so it
wasn‟t easy to accept a male one.”

I forced one word through my tight throat and it came out a

croak. “Now?”

“You seriously have to ask?” He kind of growled at me and

swatted the back of my head. “I‟m counting what we just did as
sex.” His hand went down my back, and I could feel him rubbing
his cum into my skin just above my ass. “Don‟t you agree?”

I nodded, leaning into him and resting my head on his shoulder,

taking deep breaths as I calmed down again. It didn‟t make sense,
but I wanted it so badly.

“Sam, don‟t think I‟m not in this one hundred percent. You‟ve

driven me nuts, but I‟ve always liked you.” His voice went quiet as
he said, “You‟ve always had a place in my heart, Sam.”

I wrapped my arms around him, and he did the same back to

me. I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I just couldn‟t. “I like you
that much, too, Jeremy,” I whispered into his neck. “From the
first.”

He squeezed me tightly, making it hard to take a deep breath,

but I knew now that he felt something deeper than friendship for
me. Instinct might‟ve pushed him to finally claim me, but I
believed he really did like me. I could build on that. I snuggled into
him, feeling like I was inside his heart.

He rubbed his face slowly against the side of my head, and it

WHAT

felt like when I‟d licked him. I smiled, wondering if there‟d ever
come a day he‟d let me pin him down.

“Come on,” he said. “Let‟s get out of here. I want a shower,

food, and more sex.”

“In that order?” I asked, as we got up and retrieved clothing.
“Definitely a shower first, but that could be combined with

some sex.”

I really liked the leer he sent my way, even as he covered up

the goods with those pants again. I turned around like I was
looking for my shirt as I wiggled my ass into my jeans. He
groaned. Yep, the straight guy liked him some skinny boy butt.

As we stomped into our boots, it occurred to me that he‟d said

the trouble in the shop was my fault. So I asked him about it.

“Well,” he said, “that‟ll be different now. The ones who came

in and caused all the fights and shit were tuned into you and the
fact I hadn‟t claimed you yet. It won‟t be a problem anymore
because of everything that we just did.” He winked at me. “And
everything else we‟re going to do in a bit.”

I grinned, but wondered aloud, “Is it okay if, um… Can we be,

y-y-y-you know?”

He chuckled at my fumbling and looped his arm around my

shoulders, leading us to the door. “Are you trying to ask if we can
let everyone know we‟re a couple?”

I nodded and watched his face as he took us through the door

and back into the quiet tattoo shop. Now I understood the
significance of the purple neon panther prowling one window. I
suddenly realized I could smell a ton of different scents. People
scents. Like the smell of everyone who‟d been in the shop today
still lingered. I sneezed.

“You‟ll get used to that.” He let me go to grab up his jacket,

WHAT

wallet and keys from under his desk in the back. “And yes, we can
be…out, I guess, around everyone. I‟m not ashamed my mate‟s a
guy. I don‟t want it to be a secret.”

That bubble of giddiness burst inside me again, making me

laugh. I hunched my shoulders and hugged my chest, but only
because it stopped me from running over and jumping on him. He
laughed at me, shaking his head, then tucked me back under his
arm and took us to the front door now.

“We‟re taking my bike and going to my place. You‟re spending

the night with me.”

“Can we stop at my place for—”
“I‟ve got lube and all kinds of stuff that ought to keep you

perfectly happy to stay in my bed.”

Silly man. I didn‟t need anything more than him to keep me

perfectly happy. That he had lube did help, though.

I let him pop his helmet on my head before he instructed me on

how to tuck into his back on the bike. I liked the way the machine
vibrated my balls and how I could press into his ass. He laughed as
he removed my hands from between his thighs and made me hold
him around his waist.

As we rode off, I had a million questions filling my head about

my new self, how many others there were, and what it all meant
for our future together. I could wait, though, to ask and get
answers. Loving my Jeremy was more important. I held him tighter
and felt the rumble in his chest just before his hand gave mine a
comforting squeeze. We were united, and that was all I needed
right then.

* * *

WHAT

Jeremy‟s neighborhood was lit only by individual porch lights

in an area I knew gave way to farms and forests if we kept going
just a little farther south. Probably to offer additional privacy given
what he was? We were. If I hadn‟t shifted, it probably would‟ve
been harder to wrap my brain around it all. It was just a truth now.
Maybe that had something to do with why I felt comfortable here
on the edge of nowhere like I hadn‟t before. Rural isolation had
creeped me out previously, with its so-dark nights and “what is
that?” nature sounds. Now I felt like I could breathe out here.

His driveway was two paths of gravel with a swath of grass

down the middle that sparkled with dew in the moonlight. We went
down the grassy part slower than we‟d driven on the paved roads,
but I still clung to Jeremy. It was less in fear of open air at high
speeds and more just because I could. I paid attention, though,
getting my first look at where the man I loved lived.

“Home sweet home,” he said, as he stopped us in front of a

small, white garage that probably hid the Jeep he drove in the
winter.

I swung off the bike with the same care I‟d taken getting on

and tugged my helmet off so I could see better.

I‟d already noticed the place looked like it hosted a lot of

outdoor parties given the fire pit and assortment of metal and
wooden chairs. There were two sets of sawhorses holding up
planks to make a few tables, like buffets. It actually looked like
Jeremy had maybe partied just last night. With others like us?

I opened my mouth to tell him his house was adorable, but

decided to keep that to myself when he finally stood beside me. It
was a bungalow, all cute and white with a long string of clear
Christmas lights in a triangle to illuminate the front of the house
and enough of the small deck to see obstacles from steps to door.

WHAT

Felt a little like a fairytale, actually. Darling little house, twinkly
lights pushing back the dark, a full moon overhead and a panther in
his man-suit easing himself closer to me like he couldn‟t help
himself. I resisted quoting Little Red Riding Hood since he wasn‟t
a wolf.

“I like it here,” I told him and smiled up at him.
“Good. Get inside.”
A giggle at that growling order slipped out of me before I could

smother it. I laughed again, though, when he laughed and shoved
me toward the deck. Just a few hours ago, I‟d thought he was so
disappointed in me, but now he was back to being the sometimes
playful guy I‟d fallen for. He even tripped me up on my way to the
door like he wanted an excuse to wrap an arm around my waist and
haul me close to his hard body.

“Jeremy,” I whispered and touched his cheek. It was just so

wonderful to have him like this. I didn‟t care about the shifter stuff
so much because it was an acceptable price to pay for this man‟s
affection. And I knew I had that because he left his keys swinging
in the door‟s lock to gather me up and kiss me.

It was a sweet kiss, like he felt as glad to be here with me as I

felt to be with him. No awkward nose-bumping or out of synch
head-tilts either. We kissed like we‟d already been doing it for
years. I knew his lips and the feel of his tongue was familiar. Man,
but I liked being a mate. Destiny rocked!

Then Jeremy lifted his head and opened the door so he could

push me inside. I laughed again, stumbling into his living room.
An antique-looking table lamp with its belly softly glowing
provided just enough light to see that the room was fitted out for
manly comfort with—

“Tour later, Sam,” he said and guided me deeper into the house

WHAT

with a hand on the back of my neck. “Bathroom‟s this way.”

“Oh, you meant it about the shower,” I said, happy to do that,

too.

“I‟ve got dried sweat and cum all over me and so do you.”
I snorted at him as the dark hallway dead-ended into a

bathroom lit by a plain little nightlight. He was a real fan of
minimal and strategic lighting. Except for in the shop; that place
was lit up like an exam room. When I turned to face him, I could
appreciate the shadows since they delineated every muscle in his
chest as he whipped off his T-shirt.

“You‟re so gorgeous.” It popped out before I could stop it.

Since he grinned, though, I figured he liked compliments, and we
were together enough that I could give them now.

“So are you, Sam.”
There was a sweetness to his words and expression that made

my heart flutter, but I wasn‟t so good at taking or believing
compliments. I shrugged and took off my shirt, not looking at him
since he watched now.

“You could use more food,” he said and ran a finger along one

of my ribs. He did it again when he realized I was ticklish there.
“Need to eat more meat. You‟ll start to crave it now.”

He didn‟t seem to be hinting, but I dropped to my knees

anyway. “I love eating meat,” I told him, seeing his surprise as I
unzipped his pants.

“That‟s not… Yeah, okay.”
Even soft he was still thick and he smelled like sex down here.

I nuzzled into him and could actually smell myself on his silky
skin and dark thatch. He petted my hair; I could hear his breath go
deeper, and I just had to spend some time rubbing my nose and lips
all around every bit of soft, warm skin and kinky hair I could

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reach. And I needed to reach more.

He pushed his pants over his ass, and I took them to the top of

his boots. He spread his legs as far as he could. I had better access
and an encouraging groan from above sent me back in to rub and
lick now, too.

“I‟m yours, Sammy,” he whispered. “I‟m yours.”
I moaned with my lips against his balls, felt him shudder, and

realized that yeah, I marked him by doing this. The cock getting
harder against my cheek was mine. All of him was mine! I pulled
back, opened my mouth, and swallowed him down.

He grunted and alternated between fisting and petting my hair

as I added eating this meat to my diet. He tasted delicious as I
sucked him harder, his bulbous head reaching for and then gaining
my throat. I moaned; he moaned. My knees ached, my jaw was just
starting to, and my own dick throbbed behind my fly, but I wanted
to make him come so I could—

“No.”
“Jeremy,” I kind of whined when he pulled me back.
“Not yet. I don‟t want to come yet.”
“Well, when?”
This was new for me. I‟d never had a guy want to stall an

orgasm, even if there was more he wanted to do to me. I usually
just ended up waiting.

Jeremy smiled and pulled me back up to my feet. “When I‟m

inside you, baby. We‟ll come together like that.”

I nodded, probably looking a little dazed while trying to

process that, then pointed at the shower. “Need that, then.”

“Get to it, then.”
It wasn‟t a lingering shower, the kind I fantasized about having

where we were in there so long we used up all the hot water. More

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functional than foreplay, we both took care of the icky bits with his
all-in-one hair and body wash. There was kind of a lot of staring
and grinning for the both of us being naked and wet and touching
ourselves. I blushed so hot when I fingered my ass clean while he
watched. It was cute that he did the same, like he didn‟t want me to
be embarrassed alone.

Swear to God, though, he better not have had any plans for me

fucking him without a portable defibrillator on hand. I would not
survive topping for the first time without medical support.

He barely let me dry off before hustling me into his bedroom. I

didn‟t get on the bed—his nice, big, soft-looking bed—because he
grabbed my arm and spun me around. I smiled as he kissed me,
then opened up for more because I loved the man‟s tongue. He
chuckled about the logistics of two hard dicks sword fighting
between us when we stood that close, then lined us up and moved
in closer.

Even as horny as I was, just standing there holding him and

sharing little kisses and smiles was perfection.

“You need to know some things before we do this, Sam.”
“I know you‟ve never done this before, but that‟s okay. Maybe

you‟ve done it with a girl? In her ass, I mean?”

He blinked a few times at me. “Well, yes. Yeah, I have. That‟s

not what I meant, though.” He looked uncomfortable, so I stayed
quiet and let him work it out. “See we have to do things a little
differently because we‟re mates. There are rules.”

I couldn‟t imagine. “Like what kind of rules? Missionary only

or something?” God, please not that! I adored having a guy sunk
deep in my ass from behind while he held me down. Well, some
guys. This guy? Jesus, yes!

“No, not like that. See I really do have to come inside you,

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Sam. No condom.” He cleared his throat. “And… Well, I also have
to…bite you.”

I nodded. “I‟m healthy, Jeremy, and if you are, too, then no

condoms is fine.” I grinned. “And biting can be fun.”

“Yeah, I am, but…” He sighed. “I have to make you bleed

when I bite you. I have to take that into myself while you take my
cum.”

Well, that was different. I shivered for a second, but nodded

again.

“You‟re okay with that?”
“Yes.” And then I shifted my hips because it was obvious I was

doing just fine since my dick still throbbed right beside his. He
chuckled, and I smiled. “I want to be with you, Jeremy. If it takes
some weird fluid transfers or any other rules to do it, I‟m in. For
you.”

“Thank you, Sam,” he said, as he rubbed at his forehead with

one hand and the other gave me a nudge toward the bed. He still
looked worried, so I took some of the lead and got on the bed.

I didn‟t see any point in not letting him know I was eager. Why

conceal that? So I got on the bed on my hands and knees with my
ass pointed at him, then arched my back and spread my legs. If I‟d
had a tail right then, it would‟ve been thrown over my back to
make sure my ass was completely exposed. Come and get it, big
boy.

“Well, fuck,” he whispered before he gulped.
I angled a little so I could see him back there, then went down

on my elbows, resting my cheek on the back of my hands. He
looked shell-shocked and adorable. “You want me to beg?” I asked
with a grin.

He made a strained sort of noise and shook his head. I could

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see his eyes dancing all over my body like he couldn‟t decide
where to start.

“Lube.”
“Huh?”
“Start with lube.”
From the bedside table he produced a bottle. “This okay?”
It wasn‟t my favorite brand, but it would do just fine. “Yep.

You want to get me ready, or watch me do it?”

He chuckled like he was embarrassed. “Holy hell, Sam.”
I laughed because he got hold of his dick like he had to slow

himself down. Then he grinned at me and shook his head. “Who
knew shy, stuttering Sam would be zero to sixty in a second and a
half in the bedroom.”

I just winked at him because, usually, I wasn‟t.
“You‟re not stuttering now, though.”
“Not nervous.”
He grinned. “Because you know what you‟re doing.”
“Well… And because it‟s you.” He really needed to get with

the program on that part of this.

He came over then, smoothing his hand up my back as he knelt

behind and beside me. I moved back up to lean on my hands,
intrigued by the soft, smiling expression on his face.

“I‟m glad it‟s you, too, Sam,” he said and gave me a little kiss.
Oh. He did get it. I gave him a little kiss back.
Jeremy might not have done this with a man before, but he

wasn‟t shy about touching my ass. His lubed up fingers swirled
around my hole, making me squirm for them to slip inside. He
chuckled a few times, so I knew he was enjoying himself and my
reactions. He kissed my lower back once, while his other hand did
moguls up and down my spine. I shivered a lot.

WHAT

“In already,” I complained.
“Whatever you want,” he said, and there was definite

amusement in that.

I liked his fingers. He had kind of knobby knuckles that I could

feel every time he moved those long fingers in and out. I was
pretty sure he found my prostate completely by accident, but he
recognized my holler of pleasure and damn near pegged me to
death with a bunch of quick rubs.

“So that‟s a fun little spot,” he said and poked me again.
“Jesus, man!” I had my face pushed into the bedding, hands

gripping the sheets. “You‟ll make me come.”

He kissed my ass cheek, chuckled probably because he‟d

kissed my ass, then I heard that exciting sound of a dick getting
slathered in lube.

“Be kind of slow, okay?”
“Of course, Sammy.”
He was really considerate as he eased that fat cockhead into

me. He was even more so when he waited for me to relax again
before nudging deeper. When he started rocking in and out just a
little, I concentrated on gripping and releasing him. The both of us
were big moaners, and he‟d do this thing where he‟d suck a deep
breath through his teeth so he kind of hissed and then let it out like
a growl. Both the panther curled up inside me and I really liked
that.

Thinking, concentration, all just vanished when he‟d worked

himself deep into me and started pounding. I let out every
pleasured and needy sound, feeling free and growing desperate. I
rocked back into him so our skin slapped noisily, my cock
bouncing between my legs. The only thought in my head was to
not come yet. Not yet. Not yet! So I didn‟t touch myself, just felt

WHAT

every stroke into my ass and the heavy bob of my dick, while my
whole body strung tighter and tighter.

Then he pressed his big hand, fingers spread, right between my

shoulders. I let out a loud moan so he‟d know how much I loved
him holding me down. Love it! I tried to squeeze him harder now,
but he pounded me deep and fast and his stabbing dick kept
catching my prostate just right. High sounds of impending
explosion started breaking out of my throat, even as my every
muscle contracted. I reached down to stroke off and, suddenly, the
hand he‟d held me down with snaked over my shoulder to wrap
around me and haul me up off the bed.

I cried out from the change in position that forced him fully

inside me as his arms wrapped around me. It felt so good! He
ground up into me, growling like his panther had in the shop, and
set his teeth to where my neck met my shoulder. He bit, and I came
with a scream.

Not one stroke of my hand brought me off. That bite and the

scent of my own blood combined with the feel of his cock pulsing
in my ass did me in completely. The scream wasn‟t pain, though. It
sounded animalistic to me, like primal triumph. Maybe it was a
roar. By the time he started licking at the wound he‟d made, I
could let out a big sigh while I petted my happily tingling and
cum-covered dick.

Completely spent, I rested back against him, really liking the

fact I sat on his lap with his cock still wedged up inside me.
Definitely the best seat in the house.

“You okay?”
I nodded, adjusting my upper body enough to lean the back of

my head on his shoulder. My cheek rested against the side of his
neck and I lazily rubbed on him there as I held his arms around me.

WHAT

Then I felt him softening, slipping out, and it made me shiver.

He chuckled. “You‟re shitting me.”
I laughed even as I blushed and smacked at his arm. “That‟s

just gross!”

“Well, you are. I wouldn‟t mind staying in you all night, but

your ass wants me out.” He moved upward, getting us both back
on our knees. His dick left me completely. “See?”

“My ass loves you.”
He smacked the ass that loved him before getting off the bed. I

followed him into the bathroom, happily wincing a bit and mildly
wobbly. We used the washcloth to clean up our dirty bits, him
grinning like a champ when I wiped lube and cum off my ass. He
had every reason to be smug.

“Sensitive?”
“A little.”
“Think we could do it again in the morning?”
“God, yes.”
He hustled me back to bed, all groping hands and kissing

mouth. Angling my neck made me remember his bite, but I could
look at it tomorrow. Oddly, it just didn‟t concern me. We tumbled
back onto the sheets, took a few moments to cover up and arrange
body parts comfortably, then sighed in unison, spooned together
like we did this all the time.

I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I didn‟t need to shove that

in his face if he wasn‟t ready for it. I settled for kissing his
fingertips and getting a kiss to the back of my neck. His easy
breathing into my hair said enough about how he felt.

* * *

WHAT

“Are there a lot of us?” I asked, while he finished with his hair

in the bathroom mirror. He had a crease on his cheek from the
pillow. It tripped me out in the best way to know I‟d gotten to see
him, touch him, from the moment he woke up.

“About a hundred panthers in and around town.”
“And at the shop?”
“You‟ll recognize them by scent.” He smiled. “Don‟t I smell

different to you now? You do.”

I took the opportunity to lean in and sniff at his neck. “You

smell like soap, sex, me and that really good stuff that‟s just you.”
I gave him a slow lick. “Mmm… Taste that way, too.”

He chuckled and crowded me against the sink, that grinning

mouth coming down to kiss me. In seconds, a laughing kiss turned
into something worthy of a porn film. Probably my fault since his
hand kneading my ass made me start moaning from that wonderful
ache he‟d renewed by fucking me again this morning like he‟d
wanted.

“Ugh,” he said on a groan. “I love the sounds you make.”
When he licked over the bite mark at the base of my neck, I let

rip a doozy of a sex-filled sound. I had never been into pain with
sex, and that spot was amazingly sensitive, but something about it
drove me a little wild. He‟d said I could shift and heal it
completely, but I wanted everyone to see it. So it was the claiming
that I loved? Yeah. That I belonged to Jeremy.

“Fuck, Sam.” His voice was all growly as his teeth threatened

my earlobe.

“Stop now or we‟ll be late,” I managed to remind us both, even

as I clung to him.

He grinned, then nipped at my chin. “I‟ve got this fantasy about

you sucking me off in my office.”

WHAT

“Oh, Christ.”
I‟d do it, too. Even knowing the whole shop would probably

hear us, I‟d definitely blow him in his office.

“So let‟s go to work, hmm?” He chuckled at my groan, gave a

pat to my ass, then spun me around and shuffled me out every door
until we stood beside his motorcycle again.

The strong scents of our little city teased at my nose as we

drove. Restaurant smells were the strongest and, in the past, they
would‟ve made me salivate, but today I‟d already eaten a seared
steak and half a dozen eggs for breakfast. Yeah, that much. I‟d
been ravenous and had nearly eaten the steak raw. Jeremy said it
wouldn‟t kill me now, but seared in his cast iron skillet would taste
better. It so had. I was definitely a bigger carnivore now.

“Do we ever hunt live animals?” I asked when we stopped at a

light.

“We do. We spread out for it, though, so the Feds don‟t think

they have a cougar problem on their hands.”

Well, that was… What was that? Getting to run around in my

panther suit in the forest sounded like fun. I wasn‟t sure how to
feel about said panther tracking down Bambi with the intent to
maul and munch, though.

Jeremy patted my hands against his stomach. “It‟s not required,

Sam. You want to try it, we can. Just you and me.”

I gave him a squeeze. I liked the idea of trying with only him

around. If I leapt at a deer and took out a tree instead, he‟d laugh,
but so would I. And then, of course, there were some wild kitty sex
possibilities, too. What would it feel like to lick him to orgasm
with that sandpaper tongue? Or if he penetrated me? I‟d have to do
some panther anatomy research.

When we got to the tattoo shop, I could tell from the parking

WHAT

lot that there were three panthers inside. “That‟s kind of handy.”

“It is.” He took my hand, making me smile with him, and we

walked inside.

Now, normally, when I came in here, I‟d get some looks and a

few nods if I met anyone‟s eye. There weren‟t any clients in yet, so
these guys all worked here, too, and knew me as well as I‟d ever
let them. I would slink to my station, and they‟d let me pass. I‟d
always thought they were a volatile bunch, all loud and rough with
each other, but I‟d never let that get to me because I wanted to be
near Jeremy. I was happiest when they ignored me.

Then, a few weeks ago, they‟d started paying a lot more

attention to me. Brand tried to crowd me into corners sometimes.
Steve kept trying to catch me alone in the john. Will had started to
touch me, fondle me, whenever I stood still too long near him.
They‟d all smiled while they did it and, at first, I‟d thought I‟d hit
some kind of jackpot for attracting these three gorgeous tough-
guys. But they didn‟t stop when I told them no, and sometimes
they fought each other or a client like they were fighting for me,
and Jeremy had to break them up.

This time, walking in beside Jeremy today, I caught Brand

obviously sniffing the air, Will grinning crookedly, and Steve
suddenly hollered, “Hot damn! Congratulations!” before rushing
over to us.

I growled and stepped in front of Jeremy. What the hell? I

cleared my throat, prepared to apologize, but they started
chuckling quietly. Maybe a little self-consciously. Steve stayed
put, and Jeremy wrapped his arms around my chest.

“You‟re right,” Steve said and held up his hands. “Sorry, Sam.”
“Um.” I looked up and back to find Jeremy grinning proudly.
“Protective mating instincts.” He kissed my cheek. “Thanks,

WHAT

honey.”

Huh. Who would‟ve thought little ol‟ me would get all butch to

defend my boyfriend? Yay me! Of course, I had no idea what my
instinct wanted to stop Steve from doing exactly.

Brand came closer, planting his professional wrestler‟s sized

body beside Steve and smiling. “So how was it? How was going
gay?”

I could feel a blush lighting up my face as Jeremy gave a

seductive chuckle in my ear. It kind of felt like staking my claim
on him when I turned around in his arms and grabbed his head
down for a kiss. I needed them to see he was mine and devoured
his mouth to show them how true it was. Or as true as it could be
here because something wiggled inside me that wanted more from
him than another porn star kiss and clutching hands. More even
than the wanton groan he pushed into my mouth.

I pulled back, wanting to ask him why I felt this way, but the

look of desire on his face stole my question right out of my head.
Then all three of the guys watching let out whoops and a couple
claps that had me grinning as I turned to face them again.

“So that works just fine,” Brand said with a laugh, before

getting out his cell phone.

Will made a show of adjusting himself. “I think I might be

okay with a male mate.” He sounded surprised.

“Seriously, guys,” Steve said, “congrats. I‟m happy for you, but

also for a whole lot less tension going on in here.” He and Will
both took deep breaths and let them sigh out.

They were right about it being less tense. I‟d never felt kind of

playful around them. Maybe it was a pack—pride?—thing to feel
like I had buddies when I looked at these guys.

Then Jeremy stepped up close behind me again only, this time,

WHAT

he bumped his groin into my ass. “Office?” he asked in a dark
whisper.

I took his hand and hauled him through Steve and Will to

Jeremy‟s office in the back. As we passed Brand, his head came up
with a look of alarm.

“Uh, Jeremy, you don‟t smell like—”
“Later, Brand,” Jeremy said and hustled me along.
Brand looked down at his cell phone in his hand and said,

“Shit.”

Normally, I might‟ve asked what was wrong, but normally had

never included giving my Jeremy head in his office, so I really
couldn‟t care less what was wrong with Brand‟s cell phone.

Jeremy seemed delighted when I swung him around so he stood

beside his desk chair and I could close the door behind me. His
grin went nuclear when I locked the door, too, then he fought with
his belt and his jeans. I watched, licking my lips, until he got his
pants open. He pushed them down enough to free his filling dick
and those low-hangers, but I wanted more and got on my knees,
pulling his jeans to his ankles as I went. Then I pushed him to sit in
his chair and crowded in close to him.

“Feeling a little dominant this morning, Sammy?” he said with

a chuckle. He sounded a bit breathless, and I realized yeah, I did
feel kind of toppy right then. Maybe it was the panther in me
because no way was I ever the aggressive one in a relationship.

And oh, how good it felt to know I was in a relationship with

Jeremy! I buried my face in his groin, breathing in the manly scent
of him and humming out my pleasure for being right here.

“Aw, yeah,” he said above me, his hands in my hair. “You‟re

so good at this.”

He‟d let me suck on him when we woke up, get him hard that

WHAT

way, before he took me from behind again. I‟d reveled in the scent
and taste of him being all moist and warm from sleeping plastered
against me. Now I loved the freshly showered version of all this
soft skin, crinkly hair, and stiffening flesh that was so very mine. I
filled my mouth with his cock and gave myself over to getting him
off like this, needing the splash of his cum and the sounds of his
release.

Whoever knocked on the door right then obviously wanted to

die. I popped off Jeremy and looked over my shoulder with a
growl and lots of teeth.

“Guys?” Brand said with clear apology in his voice. “I called

Roger before I knew. He‟s here now.”

I turned back to Jeremy. “Who‟s Roger?”
“Shit.” He swallowed hard and scrubbed at his face with both

hands. I was about to ask again, but the sight of Jeremy‟s dick
deflating right before my eyes made me pause to mourn. “Come
on,” he said and gave me a nudge back. “We have to go out there.”

Nervousness started ping-ponging inside me, so I just stood and

watched him get dressed. Whatever this was, it was serious if
Jeremy looked like he was about to face a firing squad.

“Are we in t-t-t-trouble?”
He sighed, staring at the door. “Yeah. I‟ll fix it, though.” He

tried to give me a reassuring smile as he petted my hair down. “It‟ll
be fine. Don‟t worry.”

But he was worried, so I was as well. I worked on pushing

down that feeling and calling up my panther growliness as we left
his office for the front of the shop.

Brand stood against the wall nearest us and his small smile

apologized again. He had his head bowed, and I realized so did
Steve and Will, once I could see them standing against the other

WHAT

wall. The main attraction, though, was the big guy in the middle of
the reception area. He didn‟t look apologetic. He looked pissed.
Seconds later, I got an up-close view of just how angry he was
when he suddenly stood in front of us.

Jeremy tucked me a bit behind him and bowed his head like the

others. So he felt this guy had a reason to be mad. Why? Then the
big guy sucked in a huge breath and glared down at Jeremy even
worse. Brand had mentioned something about Jeremy‟s scent a bit
ago. Was there something wrong with how he smelled? Oh, God.
Was there something wrong with how I made him smell now?
He‟d said my scent had changed. Had his? In a bad way?

“We changed the rules for you, boy, and you‟re going to damn

well follow them.” The bastard stepped up close. Jeremy didn‟t
look up or move, so the guy‟s glare landed on the top of his head.
“Hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”
I hated this! Jeremy shouldn‟t have to bow down to anyone,

least of all some bully. I opened my mouth to tell him off with my
newfound panther butchness, but Jeremy reached back and
grabbed my wrist. He tugged down, my chin hit his shoulder, and
my teeth snapped shut again. I got my wrist back and rubbed at my
chin. I was lucky I hadn‟t bitten my tongue off!

“And explain a few more things to the cub,” the guy said and

speared me with that pissed-off look. “I‟m your alpha now, too,
boy.”

Oh, well, shit. That explained a lot. I wasn‟t so stupid I didn‟t

know what alpha meant when you were part of a…whatever the
hell a group of panthers were.

I stopped looking the man in the eye and slid a little more

behind Jeremy. One of Jeremy‟s hands came back and rested on

WHAT

my hip. “S-s-s-sorry,” I fumbled at the same time Jeremy said, “I‟ll
explain, sir.”

“Good. By this time tomorrow morning, you‟ll be on my

doorstep smelling properly mated.”

“Yes, sir.”
Our alpha spun around and stalked outside. Talk about tension

in the shop! Having him around was ten times worse than what had
been going on around here before my shift. And he was like our
boss now? Jesus.

“Wh-wh-wh—”
Jeremy turned around. “Come here.”
He gathered me up close and tight. I sighed into him. I think it

was his hand on the back of my neck that helped me feel safe,
protected. Then he nuzzled the side of my neck, I did the same to
him, and we both sighed like that fixed everything.

“It‟s my fault,” he said.
I opened my eyes, but didn‟t move back. All the guys watched

us, so I closed my eyes again and tucked my face into Jeremy‟s
throat. I needed to feel like it was just us for a while more.

“I thought we‟d have more time is all.”
“Time?”
He sighed and held me tighter. “Everything we did last night,

you were supposed to do back to me. I thought I‟d have more time
to get used to the idea, though.”

Oh, holy fuck. “I-I-I-I—”
He moved back enough to see my face. “Yeah, I should‟ve had

you fuck and bite me, too.”

I gulped. “N-n-n-never d-d-d-done that.” My breathing and

heart rate climbed up higher than where they‟d been when that
alpha guy was here.

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“Do you want to? Or could you just once?” He looked like he

maybe expected me to say that was the most disgusting thing ever
and no way would I do it.

I nodded. Later, when I could calm down enough to fucking

talk again, I‟d let him know my only fear was the possibility of
being so bad at it that he‟d never have sex with me again.

“Then we‟ll be okay,” he said and even smiled, but he looked

as nervous as I felt. Smelled it, too, if that slightly sour scent was
what a worried panther gave off.

In a softer voice than I knew he could use, Brand said, “Why

don‟t you guys go on back home? We can handle things here
today.”

Jeremy gulped, then cleared his throat and blushed like he was

about to have a stroke. I took his hand and walked us right out into
the parking lot to save him from having to say anything to the
guys. No alpha anywhere in sight, thankfully.

“D-d-d-d-d—” I cut myself off and tried taking deep breaths.

Both of us couldn‟t freak out here, and since I was the one who
had all the knowledge, I needed to get my damn self calm so I
could fucking communicate.

Jeremy set his helmet down and gathered me up in his arms

again. Right out here in the parking lot of a strip mall where
anyone could see us, he hugged me close to him. I managed to
smile for that and then I sighed because his embrace really did
soothe me. Was it a panther mates thing or because I loved him?
His one hand petted the back of my neck and toyed a bit with my
hair. The affection, that was what calmed me down and let me ask,
“Do you have liquor at home?”

“You mean more than beer?”
“Yeah. Something strong that‟ll give you a good buzz fast.”

WHAT

“Ah. To relax me. I‟ve got a new bottle of Jack.” He chuckled

and rubbed his cheek in my hair. “I‟d planned on opening it last
night to stop myself thinking about you.”

I squeezed him. “Well, let‟s get you liquored up, and I bet

you‟ll still think about me a whole lot.”

He snorted. “You, your dick, your teeth…”
I looked up at him, holding tight. “I‟ll m-m-m-make it good. P-

p-promise.”

“I know.” His smile was sweet and his kiss more so before he

rested his forehead on mine and closed his eyes. A slight tremor
went through him.

I thought about my first time while he drove us back to his little

house. What I‟d done, what that guy had done, which things
worked, and which hadn‟t. I would keep my promise to Jeremy
because this was so incredibly important on a lot of levels. I
couldn‟t screw up. Just couldn‟t.

* * *

Despite having showered together earlier that morning, I got us

back in there after a few shots of Jack each. Neither of us were big
drinkers, so he felt the warmth of the alcohol as much and as fast
as I did. Wasn‟t enough to bring any kind of mellow to either of us,
though, so I hoped a little naked, wet petting might be a good
thing.

The look on his face was resignation, and I needed it to be

pleasure because, “I don‟t want this to be something you just
endure, Jeremy. I know it might not be something you love, but I
want you to feel comfortable and…safe.”

He reached out and touched my cheek, his expression melting

WHAT

into something soft, maybe even something like love. “I want that,
too, Sam.”

I reached for the soap bottle, but he took it from me. I would‟ve

protested, except he said, “I like touching you. Sexy Sam.” He
grinned as he rubbed his hands together to build up a lather.

“Sexy?” I just couldn‟t believe that. “I‟m boney and pale.”
“You‟re lean and creamy.” Weird thing was, he didn‟t say that

like it was a joke. And then his hands didn‟t feel funny at all as he
set them on my shoulders and started rubbing my skin in circles.
“You look younger when you‟re wet,” he said in a voice that
rumbled now and worked the soap into my chest and neck. “Your
hair‟s flattened down and it makes your brown eyes look huge.”

Taking a compliment was never something I‟ve been good at

doing. My tongue wiggled with words I wanted to say to deny that
I was anything like what he thought he saw, but a moan left me
instead because he got hold of both my sensitive nipples at once
and tweaked them with soapy fingers. He claimed my mouth a
second later.

This kiss was deep and possessive, yes, but it was also slow

and felt so very meaningful. He touched me everywhere he could
reach, spreading suds, and I kind of actually felt sexy. I knew he
wanted me. He pressed a fiery erection into my belly, then bent his
knees enough to line us up so we could glide against each other in
the soap trailing down our bodies. I caressed the flexing muscles in
his back, then down to his ass. I didn‟t want either of us forgetting
why we were here.

He lifted his head and stood taller, looking down at me.

Deliberately, while I had his eye, I lightly trailed my soapy fingers
down his spine and right into the crease between his cheeks. He
didn‟t flinch, but he did swallow kind of forcefully and take a

WHAT

fortifying breath. I slid my hand up and down, just gently touching
him. Stroking with no real goal in mind.

“What has you most nervous?”
“Just… Not knowing. Nobody‟s ever touched me like this.”
“You never touched yourself?”
He shook his head, so I took his hand and got it all sudsy. Was

it only gay boys who got that curious then? I‟d never asked any
other sexual partners about their childhood explorations, so maybe
it was just us queers who bothered to explore our butts. Smiling up
at him, dimly remembering the first time I‟d managed to find my
own prostate, I guided his hand back and helped him put a
fingertip to his hole.

He licked his lips and kept his eyes on mine as his finger

moved tentatively under my own, learning the feel of his wrinkly
little pucker. I tapped his finger, he twitched, and we quietly
laughed at each other. I could feel his finger rubbing a little bit and
smiled at him smiling back. It felt kind of like a game. Really,
having fun with this was going to be the key to a good experience,
right? Help him to laugh at every new discovery.

I pressed on his finger, and we popped just the tip of the tip

inside him. He gasped a little, his face comically surprised. I
managed not to laugh at all, just glad he didn‟t immediately take
his finger out. In fact, it felt like he pushed a little deeper.

“I thought it was supposed to hurt.”
“Stings maybe. Definitely a weird fullness like you have to

go.” I grinned. “But it‟s just a finger.”

He snorted. “And a finger doesn‟t really compare to this guy.”

He undulated his hips to rub our cocks together.

“Which is why we use more than one to get you all loosened

WHAT

up.” I pushed on his finger until the tippy tip of mine went inside,
too.

His expression was a visual OMG moment, but he didn‟t balk.

I swirled us around, rubbing so little it probably felt ticklish and
weird more than anything else. When he gave me a goofy grin, I
figured it was a good time to move things along to the bedroom.
More foreplay definitely, but lube instead of soap and lying down
instead of standing.

As we rinsed off, then toweled off, his face told me he was

ready to do this without going all resigned again. I felt like we
were a team, so maybe he did also. I didn‟t want to analyze every
little thing, though, so held my tongue and just let him see I was
eager to get him to bed. The slap I gave his ass made it jiggle and
the rest of him laugh.

Since he had way more of a dominant streak than I did—even

with that weird mine, mine feeling building inside me again—I got
a little creative. Lying down on the bed with the lube beside me, I
waved Jeremy to get on top of me.

“I want you to fuck my mouth,” I said and had to pause to

appreciate the holy cow-ness of his expression. “While you do, I‟m
going to use this”—I showed him the lube—“and my fingers to
open you up. Okay?”

He sobered a bit and nodded, but I had a feeling he wouldn‟t be

so serious for very long. Not once he discovered how good I was at
multi-tasking. I set the lube down, adjusted the pillows behind me
for the best angle, then held his hips as he walked on his knees up
from my belly to my chest. Not being real broad-shouldered
worked great here because he could straddle them, opening his legs
nice and wide without being uncomfortably spread. I was then able
to have both hands free to play with his ass however I wanted.

WHAT

“Stop before you come,” I reminded him.
He nodded, cock in hand and watching very closely as he fed it

to me.

Oh, he tasted good. Oh! Better than any other man I‟d ever

been with. Because we were mates? Because he was a panther?
Because I loved him? Actually, I didn‟t really care why. He was
here and he was mine.

For a while, it was just him leaning on the headboard and

watching me suck and lick what length he gave me, while I petted
his back, thighs, and ass and stared up at him. I loved that look of
want and need in the flare of his nostrils and the darkening of his
eyes. How he panted down at me and seemed to claw into the
wood of the headboard was as thrilling for me as the slide of
velvety iron against my tongue. He twitched when I sucked him
deeper, making a humming sound of pure male satisfaction, then
started rocking his hips like he wanted to see how deep he could
go.

I opened up and let him have my throat three times. Then I

picked up the lube.

He paused when he heard the squelch of the bottle giving up

slick on my fingers, but then he bent a little more and I knew it for
the offer it was. His expression said I could finger him as much as
his position did, so with his dick getting nice and suckled by my
mouth, I swirled lube in the hairs around his hole before pushing
the tip of my finger inside.

Sighing was good. He closed his eyes for a second and sighed,

then started rocking his hips a tiny bit. I kept my hand still and
smiled around his cock when he looked at me as he discovered he
was fucking himself on my finger. Grinning was even better.

By jove, I do believe he likes it!

WHAT

A laughing sound vibrated my mouth around his dick and made

him gasp. Then he pressed back, so more of my finger went inside
him, and I had just the crown of him in my mouth. I lashed it with
my tongue and pumped my finger into that tight, wet heat. God, it
was good to see him drop his head back and groan at the ceiling.
Oh, yeah, did he like this.

He wasn‟t real fond of two fingers, though.
He didn‟t say anything, but he didn‟t need to since I could read

that wince clearly enough. His expression was sexy as fuck to me,
what with the lip biting and how flushed he already was and even
that grimace. He nodded down to me after a few seconds, when his
grip on my fingers relaxed just a bit, and then we were rocking
again. I mostly gave him a warm, wet place to plunge his dick as
we both concentrated on those fingers filling his virgin ass.

Damn, but it was a total ego boost to be the one debauching

him. I think he recognized my expression, even with my lips
wrapped around his cock, because he chuckled shakily down at me
and shook his head.

He groaned at more lube and three fingers, but I thought it was

more in pleasure than any kind of being uncomfortable. His
thrusting hips had a steady rhythm now that filled my throat or
ground his ass back on my hand. Man was losing himself in this.
Part of me was all for letting him go, letting him come like this.
We had a mission to accomplish, though. Maybe next time.

I pegged his prostate on his next press back, and his whole

body jerked as a holler leapt out of him. He stilled and looked
down at me. “Holy fuck, Sam.”

I pulled off his cock, and he backed up so I could, then I

laughed. “Good stuff, huh?”

He grinned, the muscles in his arms and thighs twitching.

WHAT

“Hell, yeah.”

The both of us panted equally as I rearranged us so he was on

his back now. Stroking my cock, watching him watch me touch
myself, I let that claiming feeling build up because it had to be the
reason I wasn‟t flipping out about topping for the first time. No
panic, no stuttering, just calm about-to-make-him-mine pulsing
through my veins. Especially the ones in my dick.

“You know,” I said as he lay flat, “I‟m looking forward to

sucking you off completely as soon as all these rules are over.” I
licked my swollen lips, the taste of his pre-cum lingering in my
mouth.

“You like…like doing it that much, huh?” If he could see how

messily gorgeous he was right now, he wouldn‟t have to ask.

“Oh, man, do I love it. Having all that hot flesh in my mouth,

the skin so silky, getting it stiff as a board? Those salty-sweet
drops of joy you just can‟t stop yourself from giving me? Hearing
your sounds, sounds I‟m making you give up?” I leaned over and
licked his crown as he stared at me just to hear that gasp. “Yeah, I
love it.”

“Do you…” He cleared his throat. “Do you want me to do—”
“Nah.” I grinned at him, that dominant feeling making me a

little wicked. “Not until you know how to do it right.”

I got what I wanted as he glared at me, challenge accepted. He

sat up, hauled me to my knees, and bent over my dick. He didn‟t
hesitate at all to suck half my cock right on into the warm, wet
cavern of his mouth.

He really didn‟t know any technique, but he was enthusiastic

and that went pretty damn far when a straight guy was sucking
your dick. And Jesus, but seeing Jeremy sucking on me? I couldn‟t
let him do it for very long because I‟d come any second now.

WHAT

“Stop,” I begged and tugged at his hair.
“Just give me a minute. I think I‟ve got—”
“Stop or I‟ll come, Jeremy.”
He grinned. It was very smug.
“Yeah, yeah. Shut up.”
When he opened his mouth to, no doubt, tell me he hadn‟t said

anything, I swooped down and kissed him. Dirty kisses. All
tongues battling and teeth nipping already abused lips. Gripping
hands that pulled willing bodies closer. I almost lost myself again
in just being with him.

Damn that alpha and his rules!
“Honey, we have to do this,” I said, as I stopped him from

rolling us over so he could squash me into the bed. Even as
pumped up on domination as I was for the first time in my life, I
still wanted to let him climb on top and pound me good and hard
again.

“Yeah,” he said, looking serious. “Okay.”
He made to turn over, but I stopped him when he got to his

side. I eased myself behind him, like we weren‟t going to do
anything more than spoon, then I tucked both arms around him,
one to be his pillow and hold his chest, with the other along his
waist. I pressed my groin to his ass, gently nestling my erection
along his still-slick crack. I felt him shiver, and loved the silky
firmness of his body fitted so closely to mine. I wanted him to feel
secure without being completely dominated. That seemed
important.

“How‟s this?” I asked and kissed his shoulder.
He sighed and gave my arms a squeeze. “Yeah. Yeah, this is

good.”

I buried my nose in his hair, smiling. I hated to make this

WHAT

moment awkward by taking his ass, but we were under orders and,
really, he‟d liked everything else so far.

“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
The lack of hesitation was really encouraging, so I moved back

enough to push his top leg up more toward his chest to open him
better. Then I slathered my dick in a whole hell of a lot of lube.
Watching between what I could see of his face and what I had in
my hand, I guided my cock to his hole.

“Oh.”
“Okay?”
He nodded, that virgin channel twitching as I forced my way in

a little bit at a time. He grimaced again, but he gave a bearish
groan, too, so I didn‟t stop working myself deeper. This wasn‟t the
best position for getting really deep, but I got enough of me inside
that I could rock my hips. He could definitely feel it.

“Fuck, Sam.”
“That‟s what we‟re doing.”
He huffed a laugh and pulled my arm around him, rocking with

me now. It was a little awkward, but it was working. He was
loosening up perfectly around my cock, but still so tight I could‟ve
wept for the amazing feel of him wrapped all around me. I did
want deeper, wanted myself buried inside him, but resisted for his
sake. This was for him, not me. Maybe some other time I could
show him how—

“Sam, more. I need… Sam!”
My heart rate kicked up because maybe later seemed like right

now. He pulled at my arm; ground his ass back into my groin. He
wanted me deeper.

“Okay,” I managed to say. “Get up on your knees.”

WHAT

I pulled out and moved back. He kept his head down and put

his ass in the air, thighs spread, cock stiff below him and balls
tight. Rawr! went my little dominant streak and I got behind him,
spreading those cheek to see the fuzzy furrow between them,
before stabbing my dick right back home.

“Yeah! Oh, yeah!”
I could only growl and thrust, claiming my mate, taking what

was mine. A little whisper in my brain hoped I wasn‟t hurting him,
but the panther in me said he‟d survive and fucking fuck him
already.

Jeremy wasn‟t shy with the sounds like this. He‟d made

appreciative noises when I‟d sucked and fingered him, but he
howled and whined with my cock up his ass. Those strong hands
fisted and scratched at the sheet, his teeth bit and gnashed, and his
hard thighs slammed him back on my dick as I thrust forward. I
held him still with both hands on his hips, fingers biting into the
meat of him, and jackhammered his ass.

His entire body, every muscle, clenched tight. That so-

handsome face flushed red and he looked like he was in agony.
The best kind of agony. As he shook, he made a strained,
animalistic sound that started low and built until it was a scream.
This was my Jeremy lost in that hard, slamming ecstasy that I had
given him! No way could I resist shoving in deep just before my
own climax powered out of me. I gripped him hard and close and
not one thought went through my brain before I wrapped an arm
around his throat to haul him up, opened my mouth, and bit into
the base of his neck.

He screamed again, his body bucking against me, and I

growled as I sucked his blood into my mouth, swallowed it down
and emptied my balls into his squeezing ass. That metallic tang on

WHAT

my tongue and the feel of his twitching, sweaty body was like a
whole other kind of orgasm. The air was filled with the scent of
cum, sweat and…blood.

Oh, Jesus Christ! My brain finally engaged. I‟d just seriously

fucked and then bloodied Jeremy, the man I loved.

“Oh, God, Jeremy. You okay?” I slowly pulled free of him and

stared at that bite. It didn‟t look too deep and wasn‟t really
bleeding, but it looked angry. I‟d bitten him! I knew I was
supposed to, but—

“Jesus, Sam.” He sounded overwhelmed and he trembled. Was

he shocked? Going into shock?

“It‟s okay.” I gently encouraged him onto his side again. “Just

breathe and relax. You‟re fine.”

He nodded, and I curled close around him, petting the sweaty

skin of his chest and arm. In front of him now, I kissed his face
with little pecks and stroked his hair. I wanted him to feel safe and
loved again after the frenzy I‟d just put his body through. Holy hell
had I fucked him!

When he opened his eyes and looked at me, took a deep breath

and sighed, I asked him how he felt again because, Jesus, I was
actually worried. He nodded, though, and said, “That was really
intense there at the end. Felt like I was going to die, but…in a
really good way.”

I smiled and kissed his forehead. “I was aiming for „not

horrible,‟ so that we got to „good‟ is really awesome.”

“Definitely good. Maybe even mind-blowing. W-world-

altering.” He laughed a little weakly, but looked happy.

I kissed him, so relieved, and it made me want to make sure we

could kiss next time. When I said that out loud, though, he looked
worried. “Oh, wait. I just mean next time we have sex of any kind,

WHAT

I want to be able to kiss you. I like kissing you. A lot. That‟s all.” I
smiled, wanting him to smile back.

“As good as it was… I‟m just… Um…”
“Jeremy, we had to this time. Next time, it‟ll be our choice

about who does what.” I rested my hand on his cheek and stared
into those green eyes. “No one defines our relationship but us from
here on out.”

There was his smile. It was small, but pleased. “I like that. Just

us.”

I kissed him again, moving closer and looping one leg over his

waist. He finally gathered me in, touching me like I touched him,
and I knew everything was just fine now. If we never did it again
this way, I wouldn‟t complain. There was a part of me, though, that
had a pretty good feeling this was something he‟d want to explore,
and I definitely wouldn‟t complain about that either.

“I love you, Sammy.”
My breath caught. My heart might‟ve skipped a beat.
He smiled sweetly and kissed my cheek.
“I… I…”
“Deep breaths. Don‟t faint.”
I swatted at him. “I‟m not going to faint, for God‟s sake.”
He giggled, not chuckled…that was a giggle. “Just making

sure.”

“It‟s just that I‟ve wanted to say „I love you‟ for months now.”
“Yeah?” he whispered.
“I love you.” I kissed him. “I love you so much.”
His smile was serene then as he closed his eyes and sighed. I

cuddled closer, everything right with my world now, too.

* * *

WHAT

I woke Jeremy with a rimjob. Just couldn‟t resist, really.
We‟d fallen asleep facing each other, but he‟d rolled to his

belly in the night, and I‟d flung myself all over his back. I woke
breathing in the scent of his hair, had to sniff all down his neck to
the bite mark, and then the dip of his spine called to me. We hadn‟t
showered, only wiped up the essential bits, so when I got to the
hills of his ass there was a wealth of scents to revel in for a
moment.

I loved a good rimjob almost as much as the fact someone

wanted to do such a thing for me. Spreading Jeremy‟s full cheeks
while he slept deeply made me appreciate the other side of things
way more than I ever had. He smelled like sex, all sweat, cum, and
lube, but that it was my cum on him or, more importantly, buried
deep inside him? Oh, that just made everything down here fucking
delicious.

I‟d only done this a couple times before, but that it was Jeremy

was the only technique I seemed to need. I loved him and so loved
every inch of him. This little, wrinkled muscle getting all twitchy
under my tongue? It was my new favorite place. Nose buried in the
crease, lips and tongue working delicate flesh, this was so good I
could feel how much he liked it as it got me hot, too.

He moaned and moved his leg up and out more, flexing his

hips. Still asleep, though. What was his dream mind imagining
happened to him right now? I slipped my hand up under him and
just held the hot, swelling flesh of his dick to feel him grow.

“Oh, God,” he said and twisted to look back at me. “That

feels…” His head dropped down and he groaned into the pillow. I
figured he meant it was real damn good and gave him a tongue-
lashing to let him know I agreed. The deep sounds he made were
musical as he writhed against my hand cupping his dick and my

WHAT

tongue poking his ass like he just couldn‟t stop himself.

I gave him some time to enjoy this while awake before I said,

“Roll over. I wanna suck you.”

He rolled, I backed off, we arranged his long legs, then I dove

in to fill my mouth with his cock. My spit slick fingers went down
to play in the wet tightness of his ass. The sounds he made hopped
up an octave, making him sound marvelously desperate.

I could relate, but I wanted him to come first. Then maybe I‟d

lean over him, kiss him hard and dirty, while I worked myself off
to cover him in my cum all over again. Yeah. Yeah, that‟d be
good.

“Sam,” he said. “I need… Sam.”
I lifted my head, my hand taking over on autopilot, and saw

him looking kind of like he wanted something in his mouth. His
tongue kept licking his lips, mouth open, head back and panting.
Like he‟d been when he sucked me just yesterday. Then he shut his
mouth and pulled in a deep lungful of air that he held, then moaned
out. He could smell me leaking. I flipped around so I was on my
side, hands and mouth still able to reach all of him that I wanted,
and dick positioned so all he had to do was twist a little and he‟d
have it in his mouth.

He latched onto me like a hungry baby.
“Jesus!”
With just the head inside, his lips wrapped tight, and one of his

strong hands clamped onto my thigh to hold me still, the man
sucked hard and fast. Like he needed me to come more than he
needed to himself. Race on, then, buddy-boy. I did the same to
him, then added shoving my fingers up his ass to peg his gland.

He didn‟t let my cockhead go, but he did give a beautiful whine

all around it. Then he came, filling my mouth, making me sink

WHAT

down on him and swallow fast. His ass quaking around my fingers
made me smile, even as his panting on my cockhead made me
shiver with my own needs.

When he sucked me deeper into his mouth, it was all over for

me. I came with a grunt-whine sound and managed to see my cum
overflow his lips even as he tried to swallow it down. Hottest thing
ever, painting Jeremy‟s chin. He seemed to think so, too, judging
by the wanton sounds he made as he licked and swallowed. His
pink tongue swooping out to lap up cum from his bottom lip made
me shudder and dribble out more for him to suck away.

Him leaning up to wipe his face on my thigh before licking up

what he‟d left there, could‟ve had me coming all over again if
there was any strength left in me. I did moan for him, though. My
Jeremy was really getting into having a male lover.

He rested his cheek on my thigh, where he‟d licked, and gave

me a smile. “We need to get down to Roger‟s place.”

“Who?” Good God, how was he even coherent right now?
“Our alpha. Roger Bristol.”
“Right.” Whatever. “Wait. Bristol? Is he related to Brand?”
“Brothers.” He rubbed at his nose. “I‟m sure he was just

excited to tell Roger the news that we were mated and didn‟t mean
to get us in trouble yesterday.”

“Roger said they‟d changed the rules. What did he mean?”
Jeremy‟s smiling expression became softer. “I went to him and

told him I‟d found my mate and that he was you. There had been
other gay couples, but they‟d left instead of declaring themselves. I
didn‟t want to leave and I wanted us to be recognized. Roger
agreed that it was time pride rules changed to reflect the times.”

“So…the pride rules now include gay marriage?”
He nodded, rubbing his stubbled cheek on my thigh. “We‟re

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the pioneers of the gay rights movement for were-panthers.”

I chuckled as I flipped around to give him a kiss. “You‟re the

pioneer, Jeremy. I‟m just benefitting from your fight to stay here.”

“Stay here and keep my mate.” He cuddled me close. “Love

you.”

“Love you, too.”
Then something that had been sparking in the back of my mind

gathered words and popped out of my mouth. “Did you make me a
panther the other night?”

“No. You‟ve always been one. Being with me just sort of

activated it.” He brushed my hair back. “We couldn‟t figure out
how you didn‟t know you were a panther until you told me—”

“That I‟m an orphan.” Raised in the system by a series of foster

parents, my name having been one given to me so they could file
my paperwork properly, I had no idea who my parents might‟ve
been. I wasn‟t originally from this state, but maybe there was a
way to track down my relatives through the were-panthers that
there hadn‟t been through humans.

“You‟re part of a huge family now, Sam,” he whispered. The

hand he‟d been playing in my hair with stopped to cup my cheek.
“The whole pride wants to meet you.”

Oh, wow. I didn‟t know how many people he was talking

about, but that there was anyone, that there was a family? My God,
that was a dream come true for someone who‟d never really had
anyone. It was a little overwhelming. I burrowed in close to
Jeremy, hiding my face so I could breathe.

“Taking a mate means sharing everything, Sam,” he said in

such a sweet tone. “What‟s mine is yours from this house and the
shop to the people who call me their friend and their family. Some
of those people are confused, sure, but they‟re all eager to meet the

WHAT

one person in the world who is my perfect match.”

I kissed him to make him stop talking so I wouldn‟t start

crying. I got it. I really understood that everything about my life
had changed for the better. I‟d thought a lover who‟d give in to
something that he didn‟t understand, that scared him, just so he
could be with me was something to celebrate. His family and
everything he owned now being mine, too? Holy hell, that was
enormous.

“I‟m glad you‟re here, Sammy,” he said when we broke apart

to breathe.

I could only nod.
“Come on. Let‟s shower and have breakfast before we head

down to visit our alpha.”

I let him lead me around and, by the time he was washing my

hair, I felt like I could deal with all of this perfection if I took it
one piece at a time. I mean, I‟d already made this man mine in
every way I could, really. That was good. The growly bit inside me
that had wanted to claim him had now calmed. His friends at the
shop, Will, Brand and Steve, were all on our side. I had a feeling—
maybe a hope—that meeting the alpha with all the rules followed
would be a much happier occasion than yesterday. And whenever I
met Jeremy‟s dad and his younger sister, I would be okay, too.

It helped very much to see how excited Jeremy was to get on

with my introductions. His smile made everything right with my
new world.

* * *

We took the Jeep down to visit our alpha, since he lived in an

even more rural location than Jeremy. As the roads changed from

WHAT

city-owned and well maintained to more private, one-way deals, I
was glad for better shocks and four-wheel drive. Even more rural
than Jeremy‟s place, it was obvious pretty fast that Alpha lived on
what looked like a nature preserve. Old growth trees, lots of
underbrush, roads like afterthoughts… It seemed like the perfect
place for people who weren‟t always people to play.

The house we finally found was modest-looking from the front,

but coming up the drive let you see that the building stretched back
through the clearing like a strip mall. There was even a gravel
parking area off to the side, so the long, two-story house kind of
looked like it had been deemed historical and turned into a tourist
attraction. Come and see the local were-panther headquarters?
Yeah, I didn‟t think so, but that‟s what it looked like.

“Remember,” Jeremy said as he parked the Jeep, “if he‟s in a

mood, no direct eye contact unless he asks for it and be respectful
even if you have to argue with him.”

“A-a-a-argue?” He‟d already mentioned the few protocols, and

I had been going with as few words as possible just to make sense.

“I had to argue some to get us to this point.” He shrugged and

reached for his door handle while looking at me. “Aside from
sniffing me and telling me he‟s glad I got properly fucked”—he
grinned—“I have no idea what else might come up.”

Oh, goodie.
He turned more toward me and cupped my cheek. “Seriously,

Sam, this‟ll be fine. Roger‟s a good man. I think he was just upset
we weren‟t exactly how he expected to find us after all the work he
and I and a bunch of others did to get us to this point.”

He‟d already told me about that work. About how he‟d

basically recruited like-minded panthers and then lobbied for gay
rights. And then won. The panthers had a sort of constitution

WHAT

they‟d had to reword so passages defining mates‟ rights could
include gay couples, their surviving partners, and any children.
Jeremy and I might not have the same rights in the human world,
but we had it all in the panther world.

“You‟re amazing,” I whispered and nuzzled his hand.
“You‟re worth it.” He said it so casually, so simply. Like it just

was.

“So are you.” And if we didn‟t knock this off, I‟d start bawling

any second.

He chuckled, then kissed me gently like he could see the sappy

romance here was about to explode in gooey syrup all over him.
“Come on, Sam. Let‟s go show off.”

We got out of the car and met around front of it. I wanted to

show off, but years of not calling any attention—or as little
attention as possible—to the fact I was gay made it difficult to
conceive of just letting it all hang out. That was why I flinched
away when Jeremy went to take my hand.

“Uh-uh,” he said and took my hand, held it tightly. “We earned

this, Sam. Let‟s show them how good we are together. How right
this is.”

Never in my life had I been with a man more proud to be out

and gay. He might‟ve been nervous about the sex for a while, tried
to spare me having my world turned on its side for as long as he
could, but he embraced every bit of who we were to each other
now.

“I love you,” I told him and leaned in for a kiss, even as I

heard—and smelled—three panthers coming out onto the porch in
front of us.

His hand clasping mine went behind me and the kinkiness of a

little bondage made us smile against each other‟s lips. He waggled

WHAT

his eyebrows at me, and I waggled mine back. He wasn‟t the only
one who knew how to tie a knot. Or where the handcuffs were
kept.

Even with a flutter of trepidation still inside me, I used our

clasped hands to tug him up the stairs and onto the porch so he‟d
know I was eager to do this, too. The three panthers—two men
who were beefy like bodyguards and a very pregnant brunette—
looked us over with tentative smiles. Without any indication of
impending introductions, the woman said, “He‟s waiting for you in
the hall.”

The way she said that made me think she didn‟t mean hallway.

Which explained the length of the building a bit more. Which
made me wonder just how many friggin‟ panthers were we about
to stand in front of while ol‟ Roger sniffed my mate for doneness?

“Easy,” Jeremy said quietly and squeezed my hand as we

passed through the double front doors. “Don‟t worry about this.
We‟ll be fine.”

“Au-au-audience?”
He put his arm around my shoulders, and I put mine around his

waist. It took a few steps to find the rhythm of walking like that,
but when we got it… Yeah, I felt calmer.

“No audience. Oh! The hall thing. He just likes to spread out on

a hall table when he‟s doing paperwork. Makes a mess every time.
But it‟ll just be us and him for something like this.”

So I felt better, but worried a little about the possibility there

would be other times with way more participants. At least this
mating thing didn‟t require the whole pride to approve us. Deep
breaths.

Getting to the hall was as easy as walking straight through the

foyer and then through another set of double doors. This room was

WHAT

so big, old and masculine, it made me think of a church, minus the
pews. The huge back window was stained glass, but had a panther
stalking around the edge in a tropical jungle instead of religious
figures. Still, with an open ceiling and log beams, light from
windows high up the walls, and wood paneling everywhere, I got
the impression of power, like laws really were made here.

Add in the big guy surveying a table littered with papers and

books, and I felt properly intimidated, thanks.

Roger turned around, taking a deep breath, and… Smiled at us.

A big grin on his face made him seem younger and way more
approachable, which was probably why Jeremy quickened our
pace over to the guy.

He pointed at Jeremy. “I can already smell the difference. Hot

damn!”

Jeremy let go of me and got a bear hug from Roger. The alpha

who‟d seemed to intimidate the hell out of Jeremy and three others
in the shop yesterday was now all huggy and back-slappy like they
were best friends. A second later, I was in that bear hug, hearing
and feeling my back crack.

“Welcome to the pride, Sam.”
I nodded and maybe produced a smile. Jeremy tugged me back

into his arms, and Roger laughed. A second later, he looked a little
panicked, but the look was for something behind us. The pregnant
brunette from the porch walked toward us, her giant belly leading
the way. Was she having triplets? No wonder Roger was worried.

“What are you doing up?” he asked with alarm as he rushed to

her, his hands out like he expected her to topple over and he‟d need
to break her fall. “You‟re supposed to be resting with your feet
up!”

“I did rest. I‟m fine now.” She took his hand, even as she

WHAT

waved like he didn‟t need to bother. “I wanted to meet Sam, see
them together.”

“Well, there they are. Now sit.”
“Roger, we talked about this.” She sounded like a teacher.
He gave a low growl and bared his teeth for a second, but

backed off a little. I resisted grinning by biting my lips together.
Looked like our alpha had an alpha.

“I‟m Annie,” she said, as she moved to stand in front of me.

“Roger‟s mate and bearer of his gigantic son. I am not, however,
made of glass.”

I smiled and shook her hand. “N-n-n—” I cleared my throat as

Jeremy‟s comforting hand rubbed at my neck. “Nice to meet you.”
I sighed.

She giggled. “Oh, God, I‟m sorry. I don‟t want to be that girl,

but Sam, you are just too cute!”

Oh, how I very much hoped she wasn‟t looking for one of

those stereotypical gay best friends.

“Can you kiss? Just once? I swear I‟ll never ask again.”
I looked up at Jeremy. She was awfully cute herself, even if she

was mildly nuts. Probably the hormones.

“Really, Annie,” Jeremy said and held my face, “this won‟t be

the only time you see me kiss my mate.”

A shiver shot through me at the husky tone of his voice and

wicked intent in his eyes. He took my mouth—Took. It.—and I
moaned almost immediately. So I had a kink for showing off.
Okay. Clinging to a fantastically hot guy who wanted to show
people how much he liked my mouth was a perfectly fine kink.

We broke off when Annie said, “I think I‟ll take that chair now,

Roger.”

All of us sat then and chatted long enough for me to chill and

WHAT

actually join in the conversation. Annie had a wicked sense of
humor that had her working gay references and questions until all
of us blushed, even Roger. Ol‟ Roger was a doting teddy bear
where his little mate was concerned, even rushing off to fetch her a
glass of water at one point. When the wooden chair started to
bother her back, he cuddled her up on his lap. I was sure he could
pull on his alpha-ness and have me ready to piddle on the floor
again, if he wanted or needed to, but it was nice to see he was just
a man in love and an expectant father.

It was the last bit that probably had him asking, “So what do

you plan to do for kids? Adoption? Surrogate?” He rifled through
some of the papers on the table as I tried to breathe. “I have
resources for both here, especially if you‟re looking at—”

“Roger, honey, I don‟t think they‟re ready for that yet.”
I looked over at Jeremy and decided we were on the same

stunned and oh, hell no page.

“Not quite… Not quite yet,” Jeremy said.
“C-c-c-couple years,” I managed.
“Yeah!” Jeremy nodded like a bobble-head doll. “Yes, a couple

of years would be great.”

I chuckled quietly at him, then looked to a slightly pouty

Roger.

“Sure,” he said and tucked the papers away. “A couple of years

is fine.”

“Let them be newlyweds for a while.” Annie patted Roger‟s

chest and smiled sweetly at him.

He smiled back at her and his big hand slowly slid up her thigh

and under her dress. Okay then. I squirmed a little, but then Roger
said to us, without looking away from his mate‟s grin, “Jeremy,
why don‟t you show Sam the grounds?”

WHAT

Annie giggled as Jeremy and I fled.

* * *

The back deck was loaded with chairs and tables and had a

large wardrobe off to one side against the house. Since Jeremy
started stripping right there, I figured this was usual were-panther
protocol and did the same. Seeing the grounds alone with Jeremy
and as a panther would give me that chance to run and pounce like
I‟d thought about earlier. And since Roger had said we were the
only ones around who‟d be out here, I felt safe to screw it all up.

Jeremy gave me an absolutely beautiful smile that had me

stepping over with the intention of mauling his hotness. Then I
remembered Annie and realized my kink for showing off didn‟t
extend to public sex. Jeremy chuckled like he knew what I was
thinking, then shifted and trotted down the deck stairs to the grass.
I did the same, glad to see shifting with a semi didn‟t hamper
anything.

The scents of pine, fresh earth, dewy grass and— Oh, what is

that? I smelled something. That‟s yummy. I figured it was instinct
that had me following that nutty, meat-ish scent across the yard
and into the trees. I knew Jeremy was there for a while and that he
gave me a push like he was fine with me going off without him,
but my focus was on that something I very much wanted to find
and snack on.

My nose was good for this. Within a few seconds, I‟d tracked

that scent to a tree. Looking up, I realized the source was clinging
to the tree and eyeing me. A squirrel!

Usually, I gave the little tree rats a wide berth since I‟d been

bitten by one as a curious and too-quick kid. A part of me was

WHAT

satisfied to know the source of that smell, so it had to be instinct
again that made me leap up onto the tree. Claws digging into the
bark without me even having to think about it, I reached out and
swatted the stunned squirrel onto the ground. With a flip and a lot
of chatter, it took off through dead leaves, stirring up new scents
and disappearing from sight. Shoot! Oh, well.

I was a little more careful, probably more human, about getting

down from the tree. I backed down, claws gripping bark, until my
back feet touched the ground. There was squirrel smell on my front
foot. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was tell Jeremy.

I found him easily just by following my nose again. There he

lay in the dirt at the edge of the clearing, looking like he‟d just
stopped rolling in it. I trotted right up to him and presented him
with my foot. Look! I smacked a squirrel! Yes, it was a goofy
thing to be proud of, but I still was.

Dutifully, he sniffed at my paw, then licked between two of my

toes. My claws popped out and a shiver lit down my spine. I didn‟t
know if he cared about the squirrel, but it left my mind completely
as I gave a rumble of want and crouched down to rub on and lick
his face. He made a matching noise, and suddenly we were
wrestling around in that patch of dirt. No claws, no teeth, but he‟d
push me over and rub his face on my belly, then I‟d wiggle around
and slide my whole body down his in one long rub.

Okay, so there were some teeth then because I nipped at the

base of his tail. A second later, he popped up and pinned my head
to the dirt with a hold on my neck. I shivered all over, made some
needy sound, and moved my tail out of the way. What would it feel
like, his kitty cock in my kitty ass? I pushed up into his groin.

I didn‟t get a chance to find out because, a moment later, there

was a human Jeremy on top of me.

WHAT

“I‟m not fucking you as a panther, Sam.”
I gave a grumbly aw come on noise and wiggled under him.

Did he like feeling all my fur on his naked body? Oh, he liked. The
dilated eyes, flared nostrils, panted breaths all said—

“Not that you aren‟t sexy as all fuck right now, Sam, but I think

my horizons have expanded enough for one weekend, okay?” He
did thrust his hips, though. I could feel the hard length of his cock
rubbing into my fur, so I rubbed back. “Oh, God, baby. Shift back.
Please, Sammy,” he whispered and sounded desperate. Taking pity
on him, I shifted.

He sighed as I turned human again—amazing how little actual

effort it took. He lifted up, and I rolled over. “You could‟ve just
rubbed off on me like you did before,” I told him.

His eyes went wide, then he looked away and… Oh, my God.

Jeremy blushed. Blushed! It was the cutest thing ever. Him
embarrassed that he‟d humped me as a cat? So cute!

I snickered at him.
He barked a laugh, smiling. Blushing brighter!
“Shut up.”
“Pervy kitty humper.”
He snorted and dropped his head to my chest. There was debris

from the forest floor in his hair. All over him, actually, and
probably me, too. It was kinda sexy.

I reached down and palmed his ass—brushed away a little twig

first—then spread my legs to cradle his pelvis better, get that fat
cock lined up along mine. He raised his head and grinned wickedly
at me. I rubbed up into him, and he looked toward the house.
Apparently satisfied with what he saw—er, hopefully didn‟t see—
he refocused on me to get one of his thighs between mine. And
then, oh, yeah, we were frotting the hell out of each other right

WHAT

there in the dirt.

“Ow. Wait.”
“Yeah. Got it.”
We brushed away some bits of stuff between us, then he bent

and blew a hard breath on me. I whimpered. He grinned and did it
again. Even shivering all over, I called up a little of my panther‟s
dominant growliness and flipped us over, while grabbing his head
and slamming our mouths together. There were some teeth,
somebody had a cut lip now, but holy Jesus, was it hot. Hot!

I felt like a wild thing there in the dirt, gripping the flank of my

mate, and riding him hard. We made sounds of desperate need,
growling possession, and “Oh, God, do that again!” We rolled over
I don‟t know how many times, mouths desperate not to break their
seal, until the fire licked through me, caught him, too, and we came
with matching sounds of ecstasy roared up at the sky.

I‟d ended up on the bottom and there was a little stone digging

into my lower back. Didn‟t want to move, though. Surrounded by
the scent of pine, earth, sex and Jeremy, with my body gasping and
buzzing, I was beyond content just to melt here for the next few
hours. Maybe days. Whatever.

“So that was hot,” Jeremy said into my neck, still flopped on

top of me.

“Worked for me, yeah.”
“I think there‟s a leaf between my ass cheeks.”
I chuckled and managed to make a hand reach down there and

find out. “Maple.” I set it on his hair and wrapped that arm back
around him.

“Would‟ve been funnier if it was an aspen.”
“You‟re such a dork.”
He shifted, relieving me of some of his upper body weight.

WHAT

That his groin was still smooshed against mine, fiery meat and
slick jizz, made me feel like purring. I wiggled happily and smiled
as he looked at me.

“So what was with the squirrel? I thought maybe you caught

one, but you didn‟t taste like it.”

“My paw?”
“Your mouth.” He bared his teeth, then snapped them together.
“Oh, no, I didn‟t catch it. Kind of smacked it.”
He bit his bottom lip, obviously trying hard not to laugh at me.
“Go ahead. I know.”
He cackled, his whole body vibrating with it. “Watch out,

forest creatures, or my boyfriend will smack you around!”

I snorted, only mildly embarrassed. Anybody else and I‟d get

sulky and rude, but Jeremy loved me. And, all right, it was stupidly
funny.

“You‟re the dork,” he said with a grin, then dipped down to

kiss me. “My big, bad squirrel smacker.”

Yeah, it would be a while before I heard the end of this.
“And what were you doing while I hunted?” I asked, and he

giggled. “You just rolled around in the dirt.”

“It‟s a good patch of dirt.”
I rolled my eyes, but grinned since, yeah, it was now.
He levered himself up off me, our groins separating stickily,

and got to his feet. “Come on. There‟s a stream I want to show you
and a boulder we can piss on.”

“A boulder we can…”
He chuckled and shrugged. “You‟ll want to when we get there.

All the guys do.”

Then he shifted, shrinking and stretching down into his

gorgeous black panther form. Jeez, he was beautiful. Sure, I

WHAT

wanted to see the stream and I could piss on a boulder, but what I
really wanted was to run around as panthers with Jeremy some
more.

He trotted to the edge of the dirt, just before the pine needles

started, and turned. A yip sort of sound left him. Immediately, I
shifted, something in me recognizing the call of my mate for me to
come to him. He gave me a head bump and a cheek rub when I got
to him that made me feel comfy-cozy inside, so I gave him the
same back. Then we loped through the forest side-by-side,
together.

ISSY

ELSH

Missy Welsh has a Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction that
was a gift she gave herself for making it through an undergraduate
degree; she‟s still paying for that gift, too, so she thanks you for
your contribution to that end with the purchase of her stories.
Romance has always been the main theme of her writing, even
when she was twelve and concocting little tales for her friends. She
grew up watching tough-guy action movies with her dad and
stealing her mom‟s romance novels, so it seemed perfectly normal
to pair up the two and see what happened. As long as there are men
being brave and falling in love, Missy plans to fantasize about—
um, she means, write about them.

For more information about Missy, please visit her website at
http://missywelsh.com.

* * *

Don’t miss Yours Forever

by Missy Welsh,

available at AmberAllure.com!

Rick knows his lover Danny has a secret and has been lying to
Rick in order to keep it. Rick’s pretty sure this secret has
something to do with Danny seeing another man once a month for
three days at a time.

Determined to show his boyfriend that he can be everything Danny
needs, Rick hatches a plan that ends up revealing way more than
he could’ve imagined.

MBER

UILL

RESS

LLC

OLD

TANDARD IN

UBLISHING

UALITY

OOKS

OTH

RINT AND

LECTRONIC

ORMATS

CTION

DVENTURE

USPENSE

HRILLER

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ICTION

ARK

ANTASY

AINSTREAM

OMANCE

ORROR

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www.AmberQuill.com

www.AmberHeat.com

www.AmberAllure.com

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