Twin Pines Grizzlies 15 Lusty Alpha

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Twin Pines Grizzlies 15

Lusty Alpha

Lust drives him to fulfill his destiny…

Massive cornerback Flint McIntyre makes up any excuse to spend time in the library, but he isn't researching
facts for his classes. Flint is far too busy studying the man of his dreams and thinking of all the ways he can tease
and please his delectable form.

Shy librarian Victor Donatello is aware of Flint's infatuation, and he does his best to ignore Flint's allure, but
Victor's heart doesn't seem to care about improprieties. Still, no matter how strong the desire is between them,
Victor simply can't become involved with a student. Not only would doing so cost him his job, but such an indul-
gence could destroy his career forever.

When Flint takes matters into his hands and abducts the timid librarian, will Victor be able to resist his longing
for Flint, or will he ultimately succumb to the hunger between them and complete the bear-shifting brotherhood?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 36,066 words

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LUSTY ALPHA

Twin Pines Grizzlies 15

Anitra Lynn McLeod

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

LUSTY ALPHA
Copyright © 2012 by Anitra Lynn McLeod
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-604-9

First E-book Publication: July 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any
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without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living
or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

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Letter to Readers

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or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

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DEDICATION

For those who truly know that love knows no boundaries.

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LUSTY ALPHA

Twin Pines Grizzlies 15

ANITRA LYNN MCLEOD

Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1

Flint McIntyre had to stop making up excuses to come into the library. Stalking the

totally sexy librarian was only going to end with him jacking off in the shower. Again. No way
would super cutie Mr. Donatello get involved with a student. He simply wasn’t that kind of
guy. But damn, if he was, what fun they could have.

Mr. Donatello looked like the kid who played Harry Potter all grown up. Way grown up.

Into a Clark Kent kind of guy who was pretending to be mild mannered when underneath his
conservative clothing he was really a superhero—of lust. He also had a Sherlock Holmes thing
going on with his incredible memory.

Flint was aware of the fact that in his brain, he mixed his literary, movie, and graphic-

novel heroes. Having muddled through adolescence with all three modes of media, he simply
couldn’t help himself.

“Have you finished your report?” Mr. Donatello pushed up his glasses then finger

combed his longish brown hair back. He performed this gesture about every fifteen minutes.
By the end of the day, Flint just bet his hair smelled like the hand lotion he used. It had a scent
that Flint couldn’t identify but totally made him bonkers. Flint would give his left nut just to
be close enough to smell the man’s hair. As it was, Flint was sitting at the table nearest to the
main desk so he could pretend to study when he was really checking out his crush and debat-
ing whether or not to follow through with his crazy plan. Mr. Donatello was still sitting behind
the main counter that encased his desk.

“Uh, yeah. Well, I guess I need to check a few more facts.” Flint had done various reports

for classes he wasn’t even taking. Mainly, he just came into the library to aggravate his hor-
mones. In his lusty dreams, Mr. Donatello told him they needed to get down to the really im-
portant research, and then he dropped to his knees to suck Flint’s cock. After an exclamation
of pleasurable surprise, Mr. Donatello would pull off and toss his glasses aside, saying he
wouldn’t need them to see something as big as Flint’s prick. According to his teammates, who
nicknamed Flint’s penis the rectum wrecker, his dick was one of the seven wonders of the
world and visible from space. Of course, Mr. Donatello would never say anything so crass. Mr.
Donatello would probably say something in Italian, something that sounded sexy but was
raunchy as hell. And then he’d open that beautiful mouth of his and—

“Can I help you find something?” Mr. Donatello rose from his chair and moved over to

where Flint was sitting. Rather than talking to him across the table, he came around to the
side where Flint was sitting. Mr. Donatello was now standing right next to him.

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For a moment, Flint just stared up at the librarian. Keeping his mind split between

fantasy and reality was not as easy as it should be. Not when it was late, it was dark outside,
and Mr. Donatello was so close Flint was able to smell that his breath was flavored from the
peppermint tea he favored. If only the man would lean closer, Flint could test his theory about
Mr. Donatello’s hair.

“Mr. McIntyre?”
“Flint. Uh, everyone calls me Flint.”
Mr. Donatello grinned and nodded. “Is it all right with you if I do?”
“Yeah.” Fuck yeah was what Flint really wanted to say, but he held himself back. Hearing

this man say his name would give him all kinds of new elements to add to his fantasies, but
swearing would garner him a reprimand. He smiled wryly. Maybe that could be fun, too. Flint
imagined himself bent over the main desk as Mr. Donatello lightly paddled his ass with a
yardstick.

“It’s such a unique name.” Mr. Donatello smiled and then waved good-bye to Jeffery

O’Dwyer, who worked part-time in the library for work-study.

Flint would just about kill to have that job. Well, having that job would probably kill him.

What with his hang-up on—“What’s your name?” Fuck! He couldn’t believe he’d just asked.
Students did not casually call their teachers by their first names. Technically, Mr. D wasn’t a
teacher, but still. Twin Pines College was pretty hip and all, but that was not how faculty was
addressed.

“My name is Victor.”
“Victor.” Ah, yeah. To have a name to add to the wicked dreams was like giving a crack

addict another rock. Before he could drift off into his rich fantasy land, Flint kept his focus on
the here and now by talking. “I like it. It suits you.”

“Does it?” Victor pulled out the chair next to Flint, turned it so the seat faced Flint’s dir-

ection, and then he sat. He kept his knees together and crossed his legs at the ankle. This
made Flint’s gaze run from his leather loafers, up his sleek woolen trousers, right to the
bulge—“I’ve never given my name much thought. May I ask why your parents named you
Flint? It’s so atypical and interesting.”

When most guys asked, Flint told them he was so dubbed with the name because he was

hard and unyielding, just like stone. Usually, after delivering that line, he grasped their hands
and showed them what he meant. At six foot eight and three hundred pounds, there weren’t
many men Flint couldn’t pin to the nearest wall. But he barely got his mouth open to tell that
little story to Victor when he blushed madly.

Up went the brow over Victor’s right eye. “Is the tale an iniquitous one?”
Normally chattier than a sixteen-year-old girl on espresso, Flint found himself utterly

tongue-tied. Mr. Donatello was close enough for Flint to see that there were golden rings
around the warm brown of his irises. Flint could fall into eyes like that and just stare at them
for days. Especially if they happened to be below his thrusting body. Watching Victor’s eyes
widen, narrow, and then roll back as orgasms ripped through him would be the best sight
Flint would probably ever see.

But Victor Donatello was part of the faculty.
That made him off-limits.
It also made him three times more desirable.

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Desperate to keep the librarian talking, Flint blurted, “My dad said he’d always liked the

word so using it for my name was the most normal thing in the world to him. Since my mother
got to choose my middle name, I guess she didn’t mind that my dad picked an uncommon first
name.”

“Middle name?”
Fuck. Had he kept his lips zipped he wouldn’t have to confess the horrible truth of his

middle name. Flint had never told anyone that juicy tidbit. But Victor’s face was so earnest.
He seemed like the sort of man Flint could tell anything to. God, he wanted that. He’d had
some great boyfriends during high school, but he wanted more than hot sex and good times.
He was looking for depth and breadth.

“I can tell that you are reluctant to tell me your middle name, so you don’t have to. But

you must be honest with me about this report of yours.”

Flint looked around and realized they were alone in the library. Oh, shit. He was busted.

Mr. Donatello knew he didn’t have any reports due. He’d probably had half the student body
hitting on him. Of course he did. Mr. D is a total hottie. That particular sentiment had been
scrawled on the whiteboard of the dorm lobby about a dozen times. Flint had never written it
because he didn’t want anyone to know just how deep his infatuation ran.

“I can explain,” Flint began and then slowly shut his mouth when no other words were

forthcoming.

“I think if you start at the crux of the matter, which is the war over the rights of land own-

ers versus the rights of the states to eminent domain, you might have a clearer focus for the
conflict.”

“Yeah. That’s, uh, yeah.” At the moment, Flint couldn’t remember what the fuck he’d told

Mr. D his paper was about this time. By what he’d said, though, Flint was guessing US history.
“I think you’re right. That would make the paper better.”

“You are a very diligent student. I’m honestly astounded that so many young men on the

football team devote equal amounts of time to academics and athletics.”

“Mind and body.”
“I believe that was the goal of the school’s founder, Mr. Phillip Remson.” Victor pushed

up his glasses and then combed his hair back.

“What brought you here?” Flint bit his bottom lip, trying not to lean over and take a deep

breath of the man.

Victor looked down at the beige industrial carpet. “I don’t know, exactly. Something

called to me.” He lifted his head, met Flint’s gaze, and smiled. “It must have been powerful to
get my attention all the way in Virginia.”

“Must have been. But at least you’re no stranger to the cold.” There was a good two feet

of snow on the ground in most spots now that winter had settled into Twin Pines, Colorado.

“Good point.” Victor smiled warmly. “Why did you come to Twin Pines?”
I was following someone. But there was no way he was going to tell Victor that. Not

when the guy he’d been panting after had called him a fag and promptly left the school tour.
What irked Flint was he’d never covered up the fact he was gay. He didn’t put it on a neon
sign, but he didn’t hide it. Funny. The guy had called him that after they’d had a weekend of
wild, crazy sex during their tour of western colleges.

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“Ah, I see that is not a pleasant tale, either. I can’t seem to find a single enjoyable subject

to converse with you about.”

“Can I ask you something?” Flint decided he would never get anywhere if he didn’t take

some risks.

“Absolutely.” Victor leaned closer.
When Flint took a deep breath, he was able to smell Victor’s hair. God, that scent. It

moved him nearer to the gorgeous librarian and compelled him to ask, “Have you ever fucked
anyone in the library?”

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Chapter 2

Have you ever fucked anyone in the library?
The question rang in Victor’s mind. Watching the words pour out of that sinfully perfect

mouth, the mouth he’d tried so desperately to capture on canvas, was only weakening his re-
solve to leave this young man alone. No matter how painful suppressing his urges was, he was
determined to keep his hands off Flint McIntyre. Victor had never been so tempted by another
man. And if ever there was a human who fit the definition of man, it was Flint. Big, broad,
bold—Flint was the epitome of everything male. And Victor wanted to know him intimately so
he could finally paint him, do his beautiful form justice, and by so doing, rid himself of his
dangerous obsession.

“In all honesty, the idea had never crossed my mind until I met you.” As soon as the

words left Victor’s mouth, he wanted to call them back, but it was too late now. The truth was
out, and there was no going back. Flint might look like a man with his massive build, but he
was nineteen, almost ten years Victor’s junior. Moreover, Flint was a student at the very insti-
tution that employed Victor. He had never looked up the rules regarding faculty and student
dating because he didn’t want to know. If such liaisons were prohibited, that would make Flint
more alluring as the proverbial forbidden fruit. If they were not deemed outright inappropri-
ate, then it might lead Victor into a potentially messy situation. Victor knew he should be
looking for men his own age. There was a tremendous maturity difference between nineteen
and twenty-seven. And yet, the harder he tried to stay away, the more firmly he was drawn
near. It was madness. And now, by Flint’s provocative question and his more-aggressive an-
swer, they were locked into either giving in or giving up.

Flint’s eyes widened. He was obviously shocked that Victor had met his crass question

with a leading answer. Recovering, Flint leaned closer and murmured, “In your version, which
table do we fuck on?”

Knowing what he was doing was wrong only seemed to egg Victor on. “All of them.”
Flint was breathing very slowly through his nose. To keep his gaze pinned to Victor’s, he

had to tilt his head down, which caused the overhead lights to cast a shadow over his face,
hooding his eyes. At the moment, Flint appeared more like a predator than he ever had before.
If Victor didn’t know better, he’d swear it was Flint who had called him here to Colorado as
some kind of test. Resist or surrender. It seemed either way he went, Victor was going to lose
his sanity or his soul.

“Isn’t it about time to close the library for the night?” Flint’s dark gaze examined the im-

mediate area, and then he casually turned toward the double-hung front doors. “All the good
boys are snuggled down into their bunks.”

“Aren’t you one of those good boys?” Victor tried to remind himself that despite the fact

Flint was seven inches taller and a hundred pounds heavier than he was, Victor was by far the
more experienced between them.

“I’m not good.” Flint shook his head, and the lights glittered through his black hair like

the gods were pouring down tiny stars upon his head. “And I sure as hell am not a boy.”

Victor’s entire body tensed. He wanted to move away, to laugh, to say or do something

that would put an end to this. But he sat mute. The inappropriateness of the situation, the po-
tential danger of getting caught, was so much more arousing than terrifying. It was as if he’d
finally broken free of the yoke. He was determined to run as fast as he could before he became

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a constrained beast of burden again, because he knew without a doubt this would not last. He
would have to return to his humdrum life with all of its restrictive rules.

Flint lifted his massive hand and then settled it upon Victor’s knee. Heat bled through

the fine wool, warming his skin, making him hunger to know the feel of flesh against flesh.
How long was he expected to wait for the right man? He wanted this one. The problem was
that Flint was definitely the wrong man. Yet Victor didn’t push his hand away. After consider-
ing Flint’s hand upon him, Victor looked up and met Flint’s gaze.

“Do you want me to be a good boy, Mr. Donatello?” Flint’s question rumbled from his

chest and seemed to wrap around Victor’s cock with a grip that was pure possession.

“I think—”
“I asked what you wanted, not what you think.” Flint lifted his hand from Victor’s knee

and grasped his glasses, right at the nose bridge, and pulled them off his face. Victor was still
able to see Flint clearly, as he only needed them for reading, but the gesture was more de-
manding than any words could ever be.

“I want to close up the library and go home.” Victor didn’t reach for his glasses or allow

his trepidation to show. To a hunter like Flint, that would only encourage him.

“No, that’s not true.” Flint flashed a smile that was pure sexual hunger.
It wasn’t true, but it seemed his rational mind had finally taken command of his body

from his libido. Victor stood abruptly, put his glasses back on, and then returned to the main
desk. Belatedly, he realized he never should have left the area in the first place. Behind the
horseshoe-shaped counter he was safe. It was a three-foot buffer almost all the way around
him.

Victor turned the lights off and on twice, then called out, “The library will be closing in

five minutes.” Actually, he should have done this five minutes ago, but he’d been distracted by
Flint. Without bothering to look over and see if Flint was gathering his things to go, Victor
performed the rest of his closing procedures on autopilot. He’d just settled himself back in his
swivel chair when he more felt than heard Flint approach.

“I need help.”
Victor looked up and right into Flint’s eyes. They were so dark he had to recall from

memory they were brown and not black. “I’ll have to help you tomorrow since we’re closing
in”—he checked his watch and couldn’t believe only two minutes had passed—“three
minutes.”

“Tomorrow is Saturday.”
“Don’t you have a game?”
“I do. But my point is that the library will be closed.”
Victor nodded. “I’d be happy to help you when we reopen Monday morning.”
“I need help now.” Flint put both of his hands flat on the counter. Good God, his hands

were simply huge. His nails were roughly trimmed, like a man who didn’t have time to fuss
over such details. His fingers were so callused that Victor could see that the rough patches ex-
tended beyond the pads of his hands to the sides. Clearly, he never stopped working with his
hands. How many footballs had this man caught? But there had to be more than that. More
sports that roughed up his big, beautiful hands. “I really need your help, Victor.”

Victor realized he never should have told Flint his first name. Knowing his name was one

thing, but using it implied intimacy. “I would prefer if you addressed me as Mr. Donatello

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while we are on school grounds. Should we meet at the grocery store or some other off-cam-
pus site, I would not be opposed to you using my first name.”

“Yes, Mr. Donatello.” His low voice held the slightest trace of mocking. Flint knew they’d

gone well beyond bounds and there was no going back. Try as he might, Victor could not put
the genie back in the bottle.

“Thank you.” Victor checked his watch and grimaced. These were the slowest minutes in

the history of the world.

“I still need your help.”
“With what?” Victor lifted his gaze and looked directly into Flint’s eyes.
“I want to fuck.”
Victor felt his eyes widen despite their earlier flirting. Flint was so straightforward, so

forthright that it was as arousing as it was disturbing. In many ways, he was less a teenager
and more a man than Victor himself.

Stammering, Victor said, “I—I—can’t help you with that.”
“Oh, yes. You can.” Flint effortlessly leaned over the protective width of the counter space

and turned off all the lights. The only brightness came from the terminal in front of where
Victor was sitting. “You are the only man who can help me with what I need.”

Victor’s heart was beating so fast he swore his tie was fluttering. He reached for the bank

of four light switches, but when he did, Flint grasped his wrist. Stunned by the heat of his
touch, Victor yanked his hand back, but Flint didn’t let go.

“Are you trying to say that you’re not attracted to me?” Flint kept a possessive hold of his

hand. He didn’t use his strength, which was considerable, but more the sheer force of his will.

“I am saying that.” Victor pushed up his glasses with his free hand, but when he tried to

comb his hair back, it became entangled in his watch. “Please let go.”

Flint did.
While Victor struggled to get his hair untangled from his timepiece, he lost sight of Flint.

Once he’d returned himself to rights, he glanced around and panicked when he didn’t see Flint
anywhere. Had he left? Victor looked at the main entrance door and was fairly certain it
moved slightly. Rather than slamming, as so many doors did, there was some kind of air brake
on this one that caused it to close silently, lest the patrons be disturbed. The school’s founder
had spared no expense when building the library. The beautiful building was just one of the
reasons Victor would hate to lose this job. He loved Twin Pines, the campus, and even the
frigid, pine-scented air.

After drawing a deep breath and uttering a sigh that mixed relief and disappointment in

fairly equal measures, Victor rose from his chair. He switched off the terminal, retrieved his
keys from his desk, and moved toward the front door. Unable to help himself, he pushed the
door open and looked across the quad. Several shadows in the shapes of young men moved
about the campus. He noticed there was a group of boys near the dorm entrance. None of
them were big enough to be Flint.

Shaking off his frustration, Victor pulled the door closed, locked it firmly, and then

turned the sign against the glass that notified the students he would reopen the library bright
and early on Monday.

Victor pocketed the keys and took one last look around the library. What had he been

thinking? As soon as Flint asked his name, he should have changed the subject. He never

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should have asked permission to use his name or offer up his own. A momentary loss of ob-
jectivity would now make future dealings uncomfortable for both of them. Victor considered.
Perhaps not for young Master McIntyre. Flint seemed able to speak his needs so plainly. There
was that curious blush that had washed across his face when Victor had pressed about the ori-
gins of his name, but after that, he’d become ever so bold.

The way Flint had looked at him had been predatory. Hungry. Ravenous. For the wicked

freedom of ten minutes, Victor had allowed himself the fantasy that he could have something
with a student. Not something transitory or fleeting, but something permanent. What folly.
Flint was nineteen and probably fornicating with half the student body.

Just because Victor worked in the quietest room on the entire campus, that didn’t pre-

clude him from hearing the rumors. The awe-inspiring size of Flint’s cock was one of many fa-
vorite tales that the students discussed. Victor had passed the stories off as nothing more than
urban legend, but then he’d seen Flint in a soaking-wet pair of pants during a prank involving
the fountain at the center of the campus.

One glance and Victor understood why the students spoke of him in hushed tones. When

one young man told another he happened to have an image of Flint naked, Victor had done his
best to gain a casual glance. When he failed, he debated confiscating the phone. In the end, he
chose to do nothing, because he was determined to ignore his obsession with Flint. Nothing
could or would come of what they’d done here tonight. It was over, they’d move on, and that
was that.

However, when Victor tried to envision the next few weeks without having Flint in the

library, something in his heart clutched. He was a welcomed presence. For a large man, he
could sit with preternatural stillness, almost like a gargoyle on the edge of a building. When
Flint was near, Victor felt protected. Aroused, protected, and a little guilty. He sighed. If they
could only get through the next few weeks, they should be back to normal, which was both of
them lusting in their hearts, longing with their gazes, and keeping their hands firmly to
themselves.

Victor retrieved his overcoat from the back of his chair, along with his satchel, and then

moved toward the back door. His car was parked in the small slot behind the building to assist
him when he brought books into the facility, which he did with surprising frequency. He was
always finding something they needed. No matter how stuffed the shelves, he could always
make room for one more book.

On his way out the back, he turned and looked at the table where Flint had been study-

ing. For a moment, he allowed himself the fantasy of helping Flint exactly as he described.
What would it be like to be fucked by a man that big? Would he be rough and demanding? Or
would he have moments of tenderness? Victor sighed, because he would never know. There
had been a moment, but it had passed, and that made Victor sad.

When he looked at the exit door, a massive shadow disengaged from the others and

stepped forward.

“I can’t wait until Monday, Mr. Donatello. I need that help now. And I need it real, real

bad.”

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Chapter 3

Flint had waited and watched. What he saw convinced him Victor wanted him just as

much as he wanted the hunky librarian. All he had to do was push just a little. He wouldn’t
force him, he wouldn’t make him, but if nudging Victor just a tiny bit more pushed him off
that pedestal, then that was exactly what Flint was going to do.

“Flin—Mr. McIntyre, as I explained, I cannot—I won’t—”
Flint let Victor struggle for the words as he stepped forward. With the overhead lights off,

the library was lit only by the campus lights that managed to spill in through the long, skinny
windows that encircled the building.

Victor stepped backward but kept his attention on Flint.
“Are you afraid if you look away again I’ll disappear?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Why did you look out the main door?”
“I was checking for—I don’t see how that matters in the least.”
“I saw how you looked at the table I was sitting at, too. You sighed like a man who wished

he could go back in time just a few minutes. What would you have done differently?”

Victor backed up until he bumped into the counter that surrounded the main desk. He

startled, dropping his coat and bag. Before he could pick them up, Flint stepped into him, pin-
ning him by slapping his hands down on the counter, one on either side of Victor’s body. The
only way to escape was to duck. To prevent that, Flint took another half step until their bodies
were as close as possible without actually touching.

“I insist you step back.”
“Make me.” Flint wanted to grab the man and kiss him into submission. He knew if he

could just get Victor to surrender for one kiss, they would be able to move forward into more.
The trick was getting that first kiss. Flint realized if he stole a kiss, it wouldn’t be nearly as
sweet as if Victor gave him one. What was that saying? Surrender was so much sweeter than
submission.

“I am not going to engage in a physical battle with you, Mr. McIntyre. Such a contest

would be foolish in that you are much, much bigger than I am. I am asking you again to step
back.” Victor put on his most authoritative face. Most students would have moved away, but
Flint wasn’t most students.

“I will. Eventually.” This close in the dark, with his eyes slowly adjusting to the milky

lights washing in, Flint noticed that Victor’s glasses didn’t magnify his eyes by much, but they
showed how dilated his pupils were. Surely that was mostly due to the low lighting, but Flint’s
gut told him it was also due in part to desire. When Victor licked his lips, he had his
confirmation.

“Did you know there are certain definitive signs of arousal that can’t be faked?” Flint held

perfectly still. Their bodies were so very close but not actually touching. The distance, though
slight, was maddening.

“Mr. McIntyre, I hardly think this is an appropriate conversation for us to be having.”

Victor lifted his hand.

Flint knew he wanted to settle his glasses and brush back his hair, but if he did, he took

the risk of touching Flint, so instead, he straightened the knot of his tie.

“You’re right. I’m thinking we shouldn’t talk at all.” Flint lowered his head until his lips

were a breath away from Victor’s. He didn’t make contact but held there, very steady, waiting.

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“Please.”
When Victor spoke, Flint could taste the peppermint tea on his breath. Enjoying his mo-

ment of triumph, Flint asked, “Please what?”

“Let me go or finish me.”
Flint pulled back just enough so he could see Victor’s eyes. They were closed tightly, al-

most as if he was afraid to open them and see what was happening.

“Finish you?” Something about the way he’d said that bothered Flint. It was as if Victor

had a choice between life and death and Flint was forcing him to choose the latter.

Victor clenched his eyes tighter and shook his head. “Finish this, me, or just let me go. I

can’t bear it any longer.”

“Bear what?”
“This yearning. I can’t rid myself of my craving for you no matter what I do.” Victor soun-

ded so defeated, so exhausted, he was like an opponent waving the white flag.

In that moment, Flint knew everything he’d felt was mutually reciprocated. This intense

desire he had for Victor was returned in equal measure. Suspecting the truth was one thing,
but having confirmation gave him the courage to close the distance and press his lips against
Victor’s.

Emotions and sensations exploded within and across his body. Flint couldn’t believe how

soft Victor’s lips were, how sweet his startled cry of submission, how sinful it felt to be kissing
the man he’d longed for after several agonizing months of making up excuses to simply look at
him.

When Victor opened his mouth, Flint reveled in the taste of him. Grasping his hips, Flint

lifted him up, placing him on the counter. Forcefully, he pushed Victor’s legs apart and
stepped between them. Victor lifted his arms, encircling Flint’s neck. Flint grasped his high,
tight buttocks and yanked him against his body so their cocks ground together. He did all this
without breaking the kiss.

Victor moaned and clung to his shoulders as Flint rocked his hips. Oh, God. He was going

to climax! One kiss and a little bit of rubbing up and he was going to lose control. No matter
how he struggled to breathe, he couldn’t calm his instant urge.

It was Victor who deepened the kiss, but what pushed Flint over the edge was when Vict-

or wrapped his legs around Flint’s hips and pulled with all his strength. Just like in Flint’s
fantasies, Victor was a superhero under his conservative clothing. He had to be, because the
man was strong. Victor dug his heels into Flint’s buttocks with such vigor both Victor’s loafers
tumbled off and hit the floor.

Picking Victor up and off the counter, Flint bounced him so he could cup his buttocks

within his hands. Victor’s ass fit perfectly in his palms, and he felt light in his arms. Flint held
him steady as he rocked his hips, rubbing their pricks together so hard it was almost painful.

Flint was on the verge of tearing his mouth away to ask if Victor was okay when Victor

twined his fingers in Flint’s hair and moaned in time with their thrusting hips.

Friction built the heat between them until Flint was sweaty with his efforts. The urge to

climax was like a slow-motion wave gaining ever more power as it approached the shore. Big-
ger and taller the wave grew without breaking, until a tremendous wall of force shattered on
the shore, splashing his climax against the zipper of his fly.

And they were still on their first kiss.

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Flint grinned but kept his lips firmly pressed to Victor as Victor continued to ride the

wave. Damn, but the man had an orgasm that went on for almost a full minute. Holding him,
grinding him against the now-softening flesh in his jeans, Flint wanted to know exactly how
that kind of climax would feel in his mouth.

Eventually, Victor’s epic release came to an end, and he went limp in Flint’s arms. Still

feeling like he could carry him for another hour, Flint nonetheless settled him back on the
counter.

With clear reluctance, Victor broke the kiss. He blinked at Flint with amazement in his

eyes. But then, just as the wave of pleasure receded, Flint watched with horror as a wave of
guilt built. Desperate to cut it off, Flint tried to pull Victor close, but Victor pushed away from
him by sliding sideways across the countertop. Victor slid off the counter, retrieved his
satchel, his coat, and then ran for the exit.

Desperate to stop him, Flint realized in his panic Victor had forgotten about his shoes.

Flint picked them up. “I have your shoes.”

Victor stopped just about a foot from the door. He didn’t turn around. Flint couldn’t see

his face, but he knew Victor was debating whether or not he could make it home without his
shoes. He probably could, but his feet would be in agony from the cold.

“It’s about twenty degrees outside. I think you should probably put them on.”
“Please just put them on the counter and walk away.”
“You locked the front door.”
Victor’s shoulders slumped.
“This wasn’t wrong.”
Victor turned, and his face said everything. Obvious shame kept him from making eye

contact. “Please. I cannot believe my behavior.”

“Your behavior?” Flint frowned. “I’m the one who picked you up and started grinding on

you like a dog in heat.”

“That you would attempt to seduce me is not the issue. What is inappropriate is my al-

lowing you to succeed.”

Flint took two steps toward him. He had to give Victor credit. The man held his ground.

Most men crumpled when they saw Flint striding toward them like he wanted to crush cans
with his teeth, but not Mr. Donatello. Victor not only stayed still, he lifted his chin, ready to
confront the issue.

“I guess you’re done running away.” Flint stopped about foot from him, close enough to

see him, but far enough to ensure he didn’t panic and run again.

“I apologize. It was a visceral reaction to the wrong I had committed.”
“How could anything that felt that good be wrong?”
“The deed itself isn’t wrong.” Victor took a deep breath, as if to calm himself, and failed

utterly, because his shoulders slumped yet again. “What is inappropriate is me engaging in
sexual activity with a student.”

Before this even started, Flint had considered the idea that getting into any kind of a rela-

tionship with a member of the student body could not only result in Mr. Donatello being fired,
but it could damage his career for the rest of his life. Flint knew that was a damn good reason
for Mr. Donatello to walk off right now and pretend nothing had happened.

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“The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you.” Flint softened his tone. “But I won’t

lie and say that I can just let this go.”

“Well, you’re going to have to, as I’m not going to be doing this with you again.” The

words sounded final, but the look on Victor’s face expressed his conflict.

“I haven’t come in my pants since Dickey Braxton rubbed up on me in eighth grade. And

I’ve never in my life come that quickly or that hard. My cock is still twitching.”

Victor’s gaze dropped to Flint’s jeans, and he uttered another sigh of longing before he

said, “Please, just, hand me my shoes and let me go home.”

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Chapter 4

Clearly reluctant to do as he asked, Flint eventually handed over the leather loafers. Vict-

or took them, making a point not to touch Flint’s hand when he did so. He dropped them to
the floor, stepped in, and then straightened.

Flint watched him with that unusual stillness he possessed. In the low light, his shad-

owed eyes weren’t as hungry as they had been. Now they were sad, as if he’d gotten a taste of
what he so desperately wanted and rather than soothing him, it only made matters worse.
Victor knew what they had done had aggravated an already-tense situation.

“For a first kiss, that was pretty damn epic.”
Victor had to agree, which he did, but only inside the confines of his mind. Never in his

life had he ever had any kiss turn that lusty. By comparison, everything that had happened to
Victor prior to this could best be described by the word tepid. With Flint, it was volcanic.
Flint’s strength had made Victor feel protected and yet oddly powerful himself. Almost as if
when they were entwined, Flint’s vigor was shared between them.

“It wasn’t just a first kiss,” Victor said regretfully.
“It wasn’t?” Hope flared in Flint’s gaze.
“It was a first, last, and only kiss. Good night, Mr. McIntyre.” Victor strode purposefully

to the exit. He pushed on the bar, walking out as he opened the door. With it fully open, he
turned and motioned for Flint, who exited. Victor let go and ensured the door was fully closed
and locked before he went to his car.

The beat-up Honda had seen better days, but it ran perfectly despite the freezing temper-

atures and handled moderately well in the snow. Once he unlocked the trunk, he deposited his
satchel and slammed it shut. Then he slipped on his coat. After unlocking the car, he slid be-
hind the wheel, inserted the key, and prayed to God that it started. If ever the car would fail
him, he felt now would be the time. When the car turned over, he gave it a moment to warm
up. All the while, he felt Flint watching him. Victor refused to make eye contact. He’d made a
mistake tonight, but that didn’t mean he had to compound his error by making another.

Victor had a feeling it would take a very long time for him to forget that kiss. He frowned.

No, he would never forget, but eventually, the memory would fade like a photograph kept for
decades. Something inside cracked at the notion of having to suffer that long for the intensity
to weaken. How could he live? How could he continue to get up, enjoy his work, and practice
his art when he was tormented by what he simply could not have?

Victor turned on the headlights. Against his will, he looked at Flint. He was standing near

the back door of the library with his hands at his sides. Without a jacket, he should be shiver-
ing in the cold, but he wasn’t. Perhaps his disappointment was keeping him warm. Victor
knew he wasn’t shivering like usual because he was too despondent to care. Once he got home,
he would have to make a large pot of tea to warm himself, but right now, the chill penetrating
his clothing was a welcomed relief from all the heat.

One kiss.
Who could have imagined that one kiss would prompt so much physical fury? Victor

could not remember a time when he’d been so frantic to feel the press of another man’s body.
Nor could he remember a climax so vigorous and extended. As Flint held him up and pressed
him against his body, Victor had been lost in a world of pure pleasure.

No matter what happened, there couldn’t be a second kiss. God only knew what would

happen. Victor would probably lose his mind. The first had made him forget where he was.

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Anyone could have seen them in the library. Rumors were one thing, and there had been talk
about him and a student, but those rumors were purely speculative, and several students were
named in the liaison, so no one believed them as any more than idle gossip. But to be named
with one student in particular several times by several people—that would prompt an investig-
ation. Such impropriety could cost him his job.

As difficult as it was, Victor put his car in reverse, backed up, and then dropped it into

forward gear. He got all the way to the narrow road that fed into the bigger parking lot. A
snow plow had swept by and deposited a berm of ice-encrusted snow across the lane. There
was simply no way he could drive his car over it. Doing so would damage the bumper. If he
managed to get past the initial rise, the block of ice would scrape along the undercarriage and
rip everything off the car.

Victor glanced in his rearview mirror. Flint was right where he’d been before, watching.

Almost as if he was keeping guard. Victor had a terrible image of returning on Monday morn-
ing to find him still standing there.

Unable to leave in his car, Victor had no choice but to back up and return his car to the

parking spot he’d only recently exited. He turned off the car, popped the truck, and climbed
out of the vehicle.

By the time he got to the back, Flint was there, holding his satchel. Silently, he handed

him the bag, and Victor slung it over his shoulder so that the strap crossed his body.

“Where’s your coat?” Victor asked Flint.
“I forgot it inside.”
Victor unlocked the library door. “Go and get it.”
Flint ducked through the doorway, and after a rather long time, he returned dressed in a

brightly colored ski jacket. He’d also remembered to grab his backpack and had it slung over
his shoulder.

“You live in the dorms?” Victor didn’t know why he was asking. He knew Flint did. And

even if he didn’t, it wasn’t like he going to ask if he could stay the night. Victor needed to just
come out and ask for a ride home. But he was loath to do that. Perhaps he could call for a cab.
Mentally, he checked through the contents of his wallet. After lunch today he thought he had a
grand total of nine dollars. That wasn’t likely to get him home.

“Yeah. I live in the dorm.”
“I can’t get my car out of the lot.”
“That’s too bad.” Flint met his gaze.
“My apartment isn’t within walking distance.”
“That’s unfortunate.” Mist plumed from Flint’s mouth as he talked.
“Do you happen to have a vehicle?”
“I do.” Flint reached into his front pocket and extracted a set of keys. They jingled mer-

rily. “I would be happy to give you a ride home.”

“I would appreciate that.” Victor turned up the collar of his coat to ward off a sudden

sharp chill. It was just a ride, nothing more. He would have Flint drive to the street he lived on
and have Flint drop him off there rather than take him all the way to his apartment. That way,
Flint wouldn’t know exactly where he lived. Why that mattered, Victor wasn’t sure, but it
seemed a safe precaution.

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“I’m parked over by the science building.” Flint flicked his head in the general direction

of where his vehicle was located.

It was the farthest lot from the main campus and therefore the least used. The odds of

anyone seeing them together, especially after eight on a Friday night, were slim to none.

Without a word, they set off in that direction. Despite the difference in their heights, they

kept in perfect step with one another. Victor plunged his hands into the pockets of his coat,
but he found no warmth. His jacket was tailored to look like a longer version of a Navy pea-
coat, but it wasn’t nearly heavy enough for the Colorado winter. He’d been meaning to buy
something more substantial, but all his extra income had gone into art supplies.

Perhaps after tonight’s events he would finally be able to express his haunting image on

canvas. Victor envisioned a long weekend of endless pots of peppermint tea and furious at-
tempts to force the paints to echo what he saw in his mind. So far, every attempt had ended in
failure that only made his drive more acute. There was a part of him that believed if he could
just crack the picture out of his head and splatter it against the canvas like an egg thrown at a
wall, he would be freed from his obsession.

As they approached the lot, it was obvious which car was Flint’s since it was the only

vehicle there. A shiny Dodge truck in black with chrome trim was somehow exactly what Vict-
or had envisioned Flint driving. Rather than hop in the driver’s seat and open the passenger
door, as most young men would do, Flint opened the passenger door first.

“Use the truck step.”
Victor noticed there was a chrome bar near the door, but when he placed his foot against

it, his loafer couldn’t find any purchase against the ice-slicked metal. Flint grasped his waist,
stabilizing him. Once he stopped him from falling, he helped him up into the truck. Flint did
all of this effortlessly, just as he had picked Victor up and settled him on the counter in the lib-
rary. Victor stiffened, ready to fight off his advances, but Flint let go once Victor was inside.
Victor couldn’t decide if he was relieved or disappointed.

Once Victor had settled on the bench seat, Flint closed the door and moved to the driver’s

side. Watching him walk was hypnotizing. He moved with stunning grace, especially for such
a large man. When Victor found his attention drifting to the feel of his enormous cock against
him, he yanked his gaze away and took a deep breath.

Faint odors of fast food, soda pop, and coffee filled the air, but Victor saw no evidence of

empty containers. The interior of the truck was spotless. That surprised Victor. Not that he
thought Flint was a slob, just that most men his age were. It seemed every time his brain tried
to peg Flint into a set standard, he defied him even in the most subtle of ways. Victor realized
he had to stop trying to make Flint adhere to expectations and simply accept him for who he
was. Ah, but that was dangerous, and Victor knew it. Accepting Flint for who he was meant ac-
knowledging the fact that his chronological age was nineteen, but he was far more mature.

Unlike him, Flint didn’t need a truck step to climb into the cab. His long legs allowed him

to bound inside. The truck bounced below his weight. An entirely inappropriate image of Flint
bouncing him around his bed filled Victor’s mind. To stop the visual from going any further,
he turned his attention to the campus. It looked like a typical Friday night with all the stu-
dents either out having fun or tucked into their rooms studying.

“No one saw us.”
“I wasn’t worried about that.”

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“Yes, you were.” Flint started the truck, which roared to life, startling Victor. The engine

was so powerful the entire seat vibrated, which felt almost sinfully good.

“I simply don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.”
Flint nodded. “You know, for the sake of your image, you could lay across the seat. That

way no one would see you in my truck.”

Victor considered that doing so would practically put his head in Flint’s lap. As good as

that sounded, Victor pulled on his seat belt.

“You’re no fun.” Flint pulled on his own seat belt and then put the truck into drive.
Victor didn’t answer. He was fun. Once. But then he’d gotten rather serious about life and

had become driven to find the very elusive thing that would give his existence meaning. So far,
he’d come up woefully short.

“Are you angry with me?”
“What?” The question and the plaintive way it was asked turned Victor’s attention to

Flint. He suddenly looked smaller and terribly hurt. “No, of course not. What happened wasn’t
your fault.”

“Actually, it was.”
“I could have refused to answer your suggestive question.” Victor heard Flint once again

asking, “Have you ever fucked anyone in the library?” And him answering, “In all honesty,
the idea had never crossed my mind until I met you.”
Victor recognized that it had taken both
of them to become close enough to get into trouble. Flint may have been aggressive, he may
have pushed, but ultimately, Victor could have said no.

“Not that.” After stopping at the light, Flint eased onto Main Street.
“I don’t understand.” Victor noticed they were going in the opposite direction of his

apartment.

“I know the guy who plows the parking lots at the school. I asked him if I could use the

plow. He let me.”

It took Victor a moment to understand that Flint had intentionally piled the snow up so

Victor couldn’t exit from his parking space. Flint had stayed, waiting by the door, because he
knew Victor would have to come back.

“And then you were there to offer me a ride.” Victor was astonished at Flint’s behavior.
“Yeah.” Flint met his gaze and winked. “Remember that I told you I wasn’t good.”
Victor remembered that quite clearly. He also recalled that Flint had said he wasn’t a boy.
“Let me tell you what I am.” Flint split his attention from piloting the truck down the

mostly deserted Main Street and Victor’s astonished face.

“I am a very bad man who has decided that I’ve waited long enough to get what I want.”
After swallowing hard, Victor managed to ask, “And what is it, exactly, that you want?”
Flint peered directly into Victor’s eyes. “You.”

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Chapter 5

“Well, you can’t have me.” Victor crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.
“We’ll see about that.” Flint could be extremely persuasive.
“Where are you taking me?” Victor kept his voice level even though it was obvious he was

worried. He didn’t seem to be terrified, and that was good, but he didn’t seem glad to be taken
away by a lust-filled student, either.

“You’ll see.” Flint had hoped Victor would realize resistance was pointless and just let

Flint have his way, but clearly, that wasn’t going to happen. To get what he wanted, he was go-
ing to have to use some coaxing.

“I insist you take me home at once.” Victor straightened his collar and lifted his chin.

Flint had to give him credit. Victor sure sounded authoritative. Only problem was that hungry,
submissive moan during their kiss had clarified the images in Flint’s mind. He wasn’t crazy.
This was going to be mutually beneficial. Flint just had to see things through. He’d wanted
surrender—complete and total surrender—but wanton submission would work, too.

“I’ll take you home soon enough.” Flint hadn’t believed his plan had worked as well as it

had. He felt a little guilty for abducting Victor, but he also knew that something beyond simple
lust was pushing him to claim what was his. As crazy as it seemed, Victor wasn’t just a score or
a cute guy he wanted to bang.

Victor was Flint’s mate.
When that notion had first come to him, Flint thought he’d taken one too many blows to

the head during football games. He wasn’t an animal or a caveman or whatever it was that
took a mate. Yet the harder he resisted the notion, the more powerful the pull had become un-
til claiming Victor became his obsession. He had to have the librarian, and have him in all
senses of the word, or Flint was going to go utterly bonkers.

“Mr. McIntyre, my car is at the school.” Victor kept his hands in his lap, holding them

tightly together as if to steady and comfort himself. “Someone will notice the vehicle behind
the locked and closed library. They will quickly realize that I am not on campus anywhere.
There will be an alarm raised.”

“Yeah. About that.” Flint turned off of Main Street and onto Lake Shore Drive. “I called

security when I went in to get my coat and backpack. I let them know there was a problem and
I was giving you a ride home. As long as you’re back by Monday morning, no one is going to
do jack.”

Mouth open in obvious astonishment, Victor stared at him as Flint drove out to Pine

Lake. He had rented an upscale cabin that had cost him a fortune. But Flint didn’t mind. His
spread on the Hot Jocks website was earning him plenty of money, especially after that erotic
story was posted. Spending all his income on the securing of his mate filled Flint with pride.
He knew part of what was holding Victor back was his concern over the difference in their
ages. Eight years wasn’t that big of a deal to Flint, but it bothered Victor intensely. Perhaps
showing him he could take care of financial matters might convince Victor that Flint wasn’t an
average nineteen-year-old.

“How long have you been planning this?”
“A week. Or so. I wasn’t certain I was going to do it, but after that kiss I knew I had to see

this through.”

“But you have a game tomorrow.”

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“Yeah, I bailed. Told the coach I was coming down with something.” Flint coughed a few

times then grinned.

“Flint, please. Think about what you’re doing.”
“Oh, believe me, I haven’t been able to think of anything else since the day I met you. I

mean, not abducting you, exactly, but being with you.” Flint remembered touring the campus
when he’d been following that other guy whose name he couldn’t even remember. He hadn’t
met Mr. D then, but he’d been compelled by something else to enroll at Twin Pines College.
When he showed up to move into his dorm room and saw Victor strolling across the quad,
Flint had dropped his gear in shock. Never had he had such a strong and immediate reaction
to anyone. “I saw you from a distance, and I knew. I didn’t know what that building was, but I
saw you go in and so I followed. I stepped in, and you were behind the help counter sorting
books. You looked at me then away then back at me very quickly. So fast in fact you almost
flung your glasses off your face. In that second, I knew you were interested in me just as much
as I was interested in you.”

“I was stunned by your size.”
“Maybe. But you licked your lips.”
“What?”
“You looked me up and down. Your gaze settled on mine, and then you licked your lips.”

Flint met his gaze. “I’ve watched you interact with plenty of students, and you do that thing
where you push up your glasses and finger comb your hair, but the only time you lick your lips
is when you’re looking at me.”

“And from that unconscious gesture you extrapolated that I wished to be abducted and

ravished?”

Flint grinned. “Subconscious gesture,” Flint corrected pointedly. “And yeah, that told me

all I needed to know.” He paused for a moment. “Wait, who said anything about ravishing
you?”

“I—what do you intend to do?”
“Have you ever been tied up?” Flint checked the GPS just to ensure he was going the right

way. He’d been out to the cabin once years ago, but the memory of those bare timbers, that
cathedral ceiling, and the overt masculinity of the place had stuck with him. Well, all that, and
the fact that it was completely isolated.

“I beg your pardon?”
“Bondage. You know, BDSM.” Those were the images he couldn’t get out of his head.

Having Mr. Donatello tied up in that cabin. Why there, why he had to be bound, Flint had no
fucking clue. All he knew was that was what he wanted. No. That was what he needed. What
Victor needed. “After that submissive little cry you made in the library, I’m fairly certain you’ll
enjoy what I have in mind.”

“If I don’t allow you to do what you’d like to do to me, then you will simply tie me up and

make me?”

“Fuck.” Flint chuckled. “Look at me.” He lifted his hands from the wheel and spread

them as if inviting Victor to take all of him in. “Do I look like I need to tie you up to have my
wicked way with you?”

“Is that what this is about? I thought you said it wasn’t about ravishing me?”

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“No, I asked who said anything about ravishing. At that point in the conversation I hadn’t

brought it up. But, yeah. That’s what this is about. Me fucking you. That’s exactly what this is
about.”

Victor flinched at the vulgarity.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be crass, but that’s the truth. I want you. I want to tie you up and

then tease you until you’re as crazed with lust as I am. And then I want to pound my prick into
you until you climax.” Flint darted him a quick glance. “Given what I was able to do to you
with one kiss, I’m thinking with our clothes out of the way you’ll go off like a rocket.”

Very deliberately, Victor stared at Flint’s lap. “You went off, too.”
“Trust me, I know. You should have felt that eruption from my side.” Flint took a swipe at

the crotch of his jeans. “I mean, shit. It almost looks like I peed my damn jeans the wet spot is
so big.”

Victor looked and licked his lips.
“See? You just did it again.”
Yanking his gaze away, Victor stared out the passenger window.
“Well, at least you didn’t deny the truth.”
“What truth is that?”
“That you want to suck my cock.”
“A lick of the lips does not a confession make.” Victor pushed up his glasses, finger

combed his hair, and then looked at Flint without licking his lips.

“Pretty much does when you do it every time you look at my lap.” Flint looked at Victor,

down at his lap, back up to his eyes, and then very slowly licked his lips.

Victor uttered a strangled breath. “I have no wish to discuss this with you anymore.”
“Fine. You just sit there and think about sucking my cock.”
Victor didn’t correct him, but Flint noticed that Victor, as casually as he could, adjusted

the crotch of his wool slacks.

“Hard again?” Flint asked.
“I have no wish to discuss that with you, either.”
“Fine.” Flint reached over and grabbed a palm full of hard prick. “Yeah, nice and stiff.”
Victor was so stunned he didn’t push at Flint’s hand until he was already pulling his arm

back.

“You’ve got a damn big cock for a man your size.” Flint mentally compared his cock to

Victor’s and realized they would suit one another well. His was bigger, but proportionally, they
were roughly the same.

Victor unhooked his seat belt, took his satchel from his back, and deliberately placed it

over his cock. Once he was settled, he rehooked his seat belt.

“Spoilsport.”
“You are proving my point about why this would never work between us.”
“Why? Because I’m grabby?”
“Because you are immature.”
That sucked all the whimsy right out of Flint’s attitude. “If I was really immature, I would

have just banged you simple in the library ages ago and walked away.”

“And what will this weekend be? Forced seduction and then a lifetime together with me

bound as your pet?”

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“My pet?” Flint pretended to consider the idea. “You bare-ass naked wearing only a leath-

er collar with me holding your leash. Fuck. That is a wicked idea. Sadly, I don’t have a collar.”

“You’d honestly prefer to have me bound?”
“No.” Flint met his gaze. “I’d like your willing participation.”
“I can’t.”
“Then we go with plan B.”
“And what does plan B entail, exactly?”
Flint turned his gaze back on the road. “Plan B involves you, me, privacy, and a whole

lotta rope.”

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Chapter 6

“So you do intend to keep me bound?” Victor didn’t understand why the notion of being

tied up and at Flint’s mercy was so appealing. Not once in all his fantasies had he ever engaged
in anything remotely close to bondage. He wanted seduction and lingering glances. Well, that
wasn’t entirely true. Half of his dreams about Flint involved exactly what he’d done to him at
the library. Flint took control. He didn’t do anything against Victor’s will, not at all, but he was
forceful in getting his needs met. It was his unrelenting power that Victor found so terribly
arousing.

“If you’re a very good boy, I might let you run free a few times.”
“I’m not the boy here, you are.” Victor realized that particular insult cut deep. Flint’s

massive hands tightened on the steering wheel until he very deliberately loosened them.

“Keep calling me a boy, Mr. Donatello, and you’ll just keep proving my point.”
“And that is?”
“That you are too uptight to really be yourself and do what you want.” Flint spared him a

quick glance before he turned his gaze back to the road. “You liked everything I did in the lib-
rary tonight. No, you fucking loved it. But you’ll be damned if you’ll admit it. Calling me a boy
and pushing me away over my age is just a way to keep denying yourself what you want.”

“And you think that I want you?” Victor laughed very softly. “How unbelievably

arrogant.”

This time, Flint took a deep breath, but rather than grip the wheel, he pulled the truck

over to the side. With one big finger he turned on the hazard lights. Flint unbuckled his seat
belt then slid across the bench seat. The cab of the truck seemed to compress rather suddenly,
and Victor felt his fight-or-flight instincts engage.

“Arrogant?” Flint whispered the word into Victor’s ear. “Is that what I am?”
Victor kept his mouth shut, because anything he said would only spur on Flint.
“You think I’m full of myself for saying that you want me?”
Flint lifted up Victor’s satchel, causing Victor to tense, but he made no move to pull it

back down. Getting into a physical contest with the man would be ludicrous. In that instant,
Victor realized that when he was pressed, he did indeed think of Flint as a man, and not a boy.

“Explain to me in simple English why your cock is hard.”
Because I want you so desperately I can’t stop my longing even after this crazy stunt of

yours. That was what Victor thought, but he said nothing.

“Admit it, Mr. Donatello. A part of you is relieved I’ve taken the decision out of your

hands. This way, you can just let me do what I want to do and tell yourself you resisted, but
alas and alack, I was stronger than you.” Flint leaned close until his mouth was right against
Victor’s ear. “Isn’t that right?”

Rather than wait for an answer, Flint removed Victor’s seat belt, lifted off the satchel, and

placed it on the floorboard. Then he opened Victor’s coat. With the heater running, the cab of
the truck was now plenty toasty.

“If I do anything to you that you don’t like, I want you to tell me to stop.” Flint opened

Victor’s belt, popped the button on the waistband of his pants, then eased down the zipper of
Victor’s trousers. Pushing the edges of his pants apart, Flint stroked Victor’s prick through the
thin fabric of his boxers.

Victor drew a deep breath through his nose and pressed into the seatback to steady him-

self. He tried to say something along the lines of “I don’t like this,” or “I don’t want this,” but

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no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t make his mouth obey his brain. Somewhere
along the line there was a short circuit. Or maybe the truth of the matter was Flint was doing
exactly what Victor wanted.

Encouraged by his silence, Flint pushed down his briefs and stroked Victor’s cock dir-

ectly. The rough texture of Flint’s hands was a marvelous contrast against the smooth skin of
his shaft.

“Uncut. What a wonderful discovery.” Flint lowered his head and teased his tongue along

the sensitive foreskin, sucking the flesh into his mouth, slipping his tongue underneath.

To stop himself from bucking, Victor grasped the seatback in one fist and the door pocket

in the other. He squeezed with all his might. Just like in the library, his urge to climax gripped
him fast and furious. His balls were high and tight. As if he knew, Flint eased back on the in-
tensity of his torment.

“Lift up.”
Instinctively, Victor obeyed.
Flint pulled Victor’s clothing down. Now he had total access to Victor’s cock and balls.

Between his talented tongue and teasing fingers, Flint had Victor whimpering in mere
moments.

“You’ve proven your point!” Victor thought he would stop, but he didn’t. Flint kept right

on tormenting him. Before Victor knew it, Flint had pushed his pants down to his knees so
that he could spread his legs apart. Flint lifted him up and slipped his finger between Victor’s
cheeks.

“Oh, God!” Victor climaxed in a torrent. Flint drank him deeply by using his lips to apply

unrelenting suction to the head of Victor’s cock as his finger toyed with the sensitive flesh of
his bottom. Just when Victor thought he’d sucked him dry, Flint pressed his big finger inside
and roughly fucked Victor’s hole, releasing another gush into his mouth.

Drained, Victor slumped against the door.
Grinning, Flint rose up until he was looking right in Victor’s eyes. Deliberately, he licked

his lips. “I didn’t hear you say—”

Victor grasped his head, yanked him close, and kissed him. The taste of his own pleasure

on Flint’s tongue was sublime. Possessed with superhuman strength, Victor held Flint to him
and kissed him until they were both breathing hard through their noses.

Tearing his mouth away, Victor gasped, “I want to taste you.” He released the button at

the top of Flint’s jeans then pulled down the zipper. His massive cock slipped out of the flaps
of fabric, totally unhindered by any kind of underwear. Victor’s mouth watered. He licked his
lips. And he descended on Flint’s cock like a man finding an oasis after a week spent wander-
ing the desert.

“Fuck!” Flint clung to the seatback just like Victor had. He didn’t need to see Flint grasp

the bench seat, because Victor felt Flint’s powerful hands gripping so hard he tightened up the
seat cover against Victor’s body.

Into his mouth he sucked the head of Flint’s glorious prick. Victor loved the sweet taste of

pre-cum around the tip. God, he was so big he could barely get the circumference in his
mouth, but Victor was pleased and determined to try. The rumors he heard were more than
true. Flint’s prick was beyond big. And yet, when Victor held the picture of Flint in his mind,
his prick was in perfect proportion to his body.

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“Suck my cock. Ah, yeah. Wrap your beautiful lips around my prick and drink me.” Flint

lifted his hand from the seatback and settled it against the top of Victor’s head. He didn’t force
him, but teased his fingers through his hair. “I want to watch you.”

Victor had no idea what he meant until he turned the overhead cab light on. At first Vict-

or panicked, worrying that anyone passing by would see, but they were in the middle of
nowhere. The odds of anyone driving by were slim. The odds of anyone passing them who
knew either one of them were slimmer still. So Victor kept on going.

The actual taste and feel of Flint’s cock surpassed all his dreams. No man had ever tasted

so good. Victor sucked the tip of his prick in and out while milking his shaft with his fist. He
hungered for his release. If he couldn’t taste Flint’s full climax, Victor swore he would go
crazy.

“Are you ready for me?” Flint rocked his hips in a little flicking motion.
Victor eagerly bobbed his head over him.
“Get ready. Ah, yeah. I’m going to give you everything. I’m going to blow.” Flint lifted up.

While clenching his entire body, he forced a bit more of his cock into Victor’s willing mouth.

When he released, Victor almost choked on the deluge of his pleasure. Jet after creamy

jet poured into his mouth and then down his throat. Flint’s climax seemed to go on and on.
Victor wondered if he needed a nudge to pump his last. Inspired, Victor imitated the sub-
missive whine that he’d made in the library, the one that Flint said clued him in to Victor’s
fantasies of being taken captive.

“Fuck! Oh, yeah, that’s it. That’s what I need. Surrender to me. Give yourself to me.”
In that moment, Victor decided he would do just that. There was no escaping the lust

between them. The more he ran, the more powerful the attraction became. If he gave in, they
might just figure out how to make this work. Or, if nothing else, they could have this weekend.
Perhaps that was all it would take to expend this heat. In his mind, Victor pictured them like
kindling, burning very hot but also consuming all their potential energy very fast. If Flint was
like most nineteen-year-olds, he would quickly grow bored and move on to another conquest.

Before Victor finished, Flint hauled him up and plastered their mouths together. The

combined flavor of their essences was the most fantastic ambrosia. They swirled their tongues
together hungrily, lost in the sea of bliss only two people fully infatuated with each other could
ever know. This was no tepid embrace. This was fire that would consume them if they couldn’t
find a way to contain the heat.

Pulling back, breathing hard, Flint shook his head slightly side to side as he cupped Vict-

or’s chin. “I never would have imagined.”

“What?”
“That you would match my need so perfectly. You were as hungry for me as I was for

you.”

Since there was no point in denying the obvious, Victor nodded. “Are you disappointed

that you no longer need to tie me up?”

“Hell no. I never needed to.” Flint kissed him quick then pulled back. “I just wanted to.

And I still am.”

Victor shivered.
“You’ve never done anything like that, have you?”

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“No.” Victor wanted to look away, but Flint was holding his chin like he knew Victor

would retreat if he let go, so he didn’t. “I’ve never done anything remotely kinky.”

“Are blow jobs on the side of the road considered kinky?” Flint asked.
“In my straitlaced world, they are.” Victor considered. “Even what we did in the library

would be kind of unusual.”

“Are you angry?”
“No.” Victor frowned. “But I still—”
“Have your concerns. I know.” Flint gave him a lingering smooch then reluctantly let him

go. “I swear, we’ll figure all this out. I promise that I’ll do everything I can to make this work.”

“You really want to be with me.” Victor wanted to hold on to his anger at being abducted,

but it was slipping away as his longing took over.

“I do.”
Not a man on the planet had ever stated his desire for Victor in such succinct terms.

There was no coyness, no flattery, just bold honesty that left Victor speechless. Still, he
thought they would simply burn themselves out. It was a sad notion, but probably the safest
course for them to take.

“You feeling me?”
Victor smiled. The first time he’d heard that phrase he’d intuitively understood its mean-

ing, just as he did now. “Yes. I know what you’re saying. And I feel the exact same way.”

The grin that spread across Flint’s face practically lit up the night sky. “Well, then. Let’s

get moving, shall we?”

Before they could, headlights lit up the interior of the cab with the brightness of an oper-

ating room. Victor expected to watch them fly on by, but they slowed, and pulled over to the
side of the road and parked right behind Flint’s truck. When Victor checked the rearview mir-
ror, he discovered a police car.

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Chapter 7

“Holy fucking shit! Get dressed.” Flint hadn’t been driving all that long in the greater

scheme of things, but he’d never been pulled over. Not once. In this situation, he hadn’t been
pulled over, but something had made the police stop. What the hell had they been doing
wrong?

As Flint stuffed his softening prick in his pants, he checked everything around him. He

was pulled far enough off the road to not hinder traffic. He had the cab light on like he was
checking a map or something. So what the hell prompted the officer to stop?

“The hazard lights.” Flint reached over to turn them off but stopped. If he did that now, it

would look suspicious. At least that’s what he thought, so he left them on.

Victor’s face was beyond pale. He was so white he looked on the verge of throwing up. If

there was any kind of report, even the slightest infraction that ended up with both their names
on a piece of paper, their relationship was over before it started. Flint prayed to every god he
could think of to please, please, please let them get away without an incident.

“Take a deep breath, Victor. Everything will be okay, but you’ve got to calm down.” One

look at his panicked face and any officer worth his salt was going to know something was
wrong. Given his stricken look, a cop wouldn’t think librarian and student. He’d think drugs.
Or prostitution. Or something equally as bad. A new and far more terrifying thought occurred
to Flint. What if Victor told the officer he was being abducted?

“Are you going to tell him?” Flint asked.
“Tell him what?”
“That I abducted you.”
“God, no! I just want him to go away.”
In his rearview mirror, Flint watched as one man exited the cop car. He darted a glance

to Victor, who hadn’t relaxed in the slightest. So Flint did the craziest thing. Flint grabbed
Victor by the back of his head, drew him across the seat, and planted a kiss on him.

Victor struggled, briefly, but then gave up and gave in.
By the time the officer came to the driver’s side of the truck, they were macking like two

horny kids.

The officer tapped his knuckles on the glass.
Tucking Victor to his side, hiding him from the officer, Flint rolled down his window.
“Yes?”
“I—uh.” The officer, a tall, lanky man with an enormous handlebar mustache peered into

the cab, flashing a light right in both their faces. It seemed to Flint when he realized that he’d
come upon two men, he instantly backed off. “Saw your hazard lights. Just wanted to make
sure everything is all right.”

“Oh, right.” Flint pressed the button to turn them off. He put on his best lusty smile and

winked. “It’s going good so far.”

“Yeah. Well. I think it best if you move along. Save that for when you get home.”
“Good point. Sorry. You know how it is, I’m sure.”
“I’m sure.” The officer returned to his car and waited for Flint to pull out, which he did

once he and Victor separated and put their seat belts back on.

As they drove down the road at a sedate speed, just two miles an hour under the speed

limit, the cop followed them for about ten miles, hit his lights, then went flying past them.

“I have never been so scared in my life.” Victor clutched his hand to his chest.

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“At least color returned to your face. For a moment there I thought you were going to

pass out.”

“So did I.”
“Well, after that, I don’t think we need to add any more excitement to the weekend.”
“No.” Victor laughed uneasily. “That was quite enough, thank you very much.”
“Come sit closer.” Flint slowed down a bit more to give the police officer plenty of time to

get far in front of them.

Victor unhooked his seat belt and slid closer.
Flint wrapped his arm around Victor’s shoulders. He felt perfect. “I’ve never tasted any-

thing as sweet as you.”

Victor laughed again, but this time it was an unexpected burst of genuine pleasure. “You

are unlike anyone I’ve ever known.”

“Is that a good thing?”
“Very. You are just so honest. Well, except for the whole abducting me thing, but even

then, you confessed relatively quickly.”

“Mainly because I was proud of what I’d done.”
“You did manage to pull the entire affair off rather well.”
“Rather well?” Flint pretended to take affront. “It was devious and executed with perfect

timing. Why, if you were a bank, your vault would be empty.”

“Frankly, it is.”
“What?”
“Well, if ‘my vault’ were a euphemism for my balls, then I’d have to say at the moment

they are totally empty.”

Now it was Flint’s turn to laugh deeply. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”
“Hopefully, we’ll recover so the night isn’t over.”
“Now you see, that’s one benefit to being nineteen. I cycle fast.”
“Do you?” Victor trailed his hand up Flint’s thigh. He toyed around but finally cupped his

hand to Flint’s cock.

“Fuck. Not too much. I don’t want to have to pull over again and get that cop on the flip

side of his route.”

“Good point.” Victor returned his hand to his own lap.
“I didn’t say stop. Just don’t get me too wound up.”
“So you’d like to be teased?”
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
As he drove, Victor stroked his marvelously dexterous hands over Flint’s lap. Just when

he thought it was getting too intense, Victor pulled back and let him level off. Still, he man-
aged to keep him simmering for the rest of the drive to the cabin.

“Damn, but that had to have been the longest drive ever,” Flint exclaimed as he pulled up

to their weekend abode.

“This is the cabin?” Victor peered through the windshield. “I’ve stayed in motels that

were smaller.”

“It’s a modern cabin.”
“It’s a mansion.”
“Okay. It’s a McMansion-cabin.”

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“And abduction retreat.”
“Right. Gosh, I sure hope all the rope, leather, and chains arrived.”
Victor’s eyes went so wide Flint couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m fucking with you.”
“Not yet, you’re not.”
“Ooh, and the prim and proper librarian lands a good one.”
“I’m getting better.”
“Indeed you are.”
After making out in the truck, they eventually climbed out. Flint retrieved two bags from

behind the seats. “Surprises,” was all he’d say by way of explanation, and he wouldn’t let Vict-
or carry them. “You’re my guest. Let me pamper you.”

“What would you have done had I continued to resist you?”
“I would have kept trying to get you to come around.”
“And if I hadn’t?”
“I would have taken you home.” Flint opened the front door and settled the bags in the

foyer. “Seriously. I wouldn’t have raped you. That’s not what I wanted. I just needed to get you
alone. To see if you felt the way I do.”

“I understand. Truly, I do. If you hadn’t, I think we would have stayed in that tormenting

situation for the rest of the semester.”

“And then?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I might have kidnapped you.”
“I’d love to know how you would have pulled that off.” Flint closed the door and locked it.

He realized Victor noticed what he’d done. “Not to keep you in but to keep any wandering
souls out.”

Victor nodded. “Better safe than sorry.”
“Here, let me help you with that.” Flint stepped close to help Victor slip his coat off.

“God, you smell good. You always smell so fucking good. What is that scent?”

“I don’t know. I don’t wear cologne.”
“It’s in that lotion you use.”
“Oh, that. It’s lime, sage, and bergamot, I believe.”
Flint leaned over and took a deep sniff of Victor’s hair. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Smell my hair?” Victor asked as he turned and helped Flint take off his coat.
“Yeah. The lotion gets in your hair when you push up your glasses and finger comb your

hair.” Flint hung up their coats on the hooks next to the door.

“Sadly, I didn’t bring any with me.” Victor flashed him a reprimanding grimace. “I wasn’t

given any time to pack.”

“I have some.”
“You do?”
“Yep.” Flint settled on the bench by the door and removed his boots. “I bought some to

smell it, but it doesn’t smell the same from the bottle as it does on you. So I’m going to slather
it all over your body and then spend an hour sniffing you.”

Victor blushed ever so slightly. He toed off his loafers and placed them in the spot

provided below the hook that held his jacket.

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For a moment, Victor stood looking into the main room. He didn’t step a foot inside it,

but just considered the area. Was taking that first step the equivalent of giving Flint permis-
sion in his mind?

Flint slipped his arms around Victor from behind. “I’m not going to do anything to you

that you don’t want me to do.”

“And if I wanted you to put me back in that truck and drive me home, you would do

that?”

“Is that really what you want?” Flint thought they were over this. Apparently, the cop

coming upon them had put all those same old fears right back into Victor’s mind. They were
legitimate concerns, but Flint was determined to find a way around the issues.

“It’s impolite to answer a question with a question.” Victor was tense, his breath short.
“If you asked me to take you home right now, I would say no.” Flint was only being truth-

ful. Unfortunately, his honesty caused Victor to tense even more. “Give me at least one night.
Haven’t we gone too far to turn back?”

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Chapter 8

“It’s never too late to turn back.” Victor spoke the words automatically, but he wondered

how true they were. Had they gone too far to return to the start? Victor wasn’t certain about
that. To use the common vernacular, they hadn’t “gone all the way,” but was that the danger
here? If he engaged in full-blown sexual intercourse with Flint, would that somehow seal his
fate? Would penetration lock them on a course that nothing could free them from? Even
thinking of their relationship in those terms was preposterous.

“I think it’s far too late now.” Flint took another long sniff of Victor’s hair then kissed his

ear. “Besides, if you really wanted to get away from me, you would have said something to that
cop.”

Victor pushed Flint’s arms off him and turned. “And have the scandal known by every-

one? Twin Pines is an incredibly small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. Your
stunt would be listed in the local paper under the police blotter.” Victor thought the only pur-
pose that column served was to shame local residents into not repeating crimes. It was an ef-
fective deterrent as far as he was concerned. Technically, he wasn’t committing a crime here,
but that he was the victim of one would put him right into the spotlight, which was the very
last place Victor wanted to be.

Frowning, Flint turned and locked the dead bolt for the door. In order to do this, he had

to use a key. Victor had never seen a lock like that.

“Interesting lock, isn’t it? It’s so that if someone breaks in, they can’t simply open the

dead bolt to get everything out by using the front door. Even from the inside you need a key to
get out. They’d have to get everything they wanted to steal out through a window, which would
slow them down considerably. In this case, it’s going to keep you in the house.”

Victor watched as Flint pocketed the key. He also grabbed both coats and both pairs of

shoes.

“What are you doing?”
“You’re staying here. I’m going to lock this stuff up so that if you go, you won’t get far.”

Flint also engaged the alarm. “Break a window to run, and the police will know.” Shaking his
head, Flint said, “I’m really disappointed.”

“You’re disappointed?” Incredulous, Victor glared at him with his hands on his hips.
“I thought we were over this. I thought you were going to give us a chance.”
“This isn’t the way to begin a relationship.”
“You’ve left me no other choice.” Flint moved past him and started up the stairs.
“And what about at the end of this weekend? What then?”
Flint paused on his way up.
“You didn’t think that far ahead, did you?”
Rather than say anything, Flint continued on to the second floor of the cabin. Victor con-

sidered following him but stayed where he was. Obviously, he wasn’t going to get out of here
until Flint was damn good and ready to let him go. The prospect of fighting off his advances all
weekend had Victor feeling exhausted before he even started. His resolve would falter long be-
fore his wish to save his reputation shored up. Victor recalled something Flint had said earlier,
something about Victor being relieved that Flint had taken command and thus had absolved
him of having to take any responsibility for what happened between them. Was that what his
continued resistance was about? If he didn’t give in, Victor could dump the accountability all
on Flint and feel blameless by comparison.

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Victor couldn’t be held responsible if Flint forced him to engage in a sexual liaison. But

that left him with the ultimate question of what about later? Letting Flint think he’d forced
him would damage Flint’s psyche and wasn’t remotely fair. Yet the alternative of both of them
willfully engaging in a weekend of wild abandon left him with that same nagging question
about the future. What would they do when they inevitably had to return to the reality of stu-
dent and librarian? How could Victor have actually considered indulging his lusts when he
hadn’t devoted any time answering what they would do afterward?

Flint was nineteen. He had his whole life ahead of him. Victor was twenty-seven with a

master’s degree in library science. He would have to start all over in some other field if he
were caught dating a student. Even a public library would be dubious about hiring him if he
had any kind of scandal attached to his name. In this modern day and age, one quick search
on the Internet and all his past would be revealed. It would be a mess. Getting caught could
ruin his life, and he didn’t want to do or be anything other than a librarian. It was his passion.
Next to painting, books meant everything to him. And Victor had never felt more at home any-
where other than Twin Pines.

Victor realized he was in a situation of wanting to have his cake and eat it, too. He simply

couldn’t do both. Either he ate the cake and enjoyed every luscious crumb, or he put that cake
on a high shelf and kept it there untouched. There was no way to do both actions.

“Perhaps I could eat half the cake and put the other half aside for safe keeping.” Victor

considered how to do that when he wasn’t actually talking about cake but a human being. One
he cared very deeply about. Victor genuinely liked Flint. Tossing caution to the wind and hav-
ing the best weekend of his life would be the equivalent of eating half the cake. But then how
could he turn around and put Flint on the shelf? How could he mute his emotions after indul-
ging his lust? Victor certainly hadn’t had any success with doing that before now. After even
the two brief encounters they’d had, Victor’s passion had only increased. More sex would lead
to wanting more sex.

“Are you going to stand in the foyer all night?” Flint came back downstairs. He stood in

the center of the main room and watched Victor.

“I again ask that you take me home.”
“No.”
“How did you even pay for all of this?” For a nineteen-year-old to afford this, he either

had an exorbitant allowance or he’d engaged in something not quite ethical.

“What the fuck is that look on your face for?” Flint frowned and settled his hands on his

hips. Even with the soaring ceilings, Flint managed to look enormous. “Do you honestly think
I stole the money to rent this place?”

“Given that you’ve committed the crime of abduction, I don’t see how theft is out of the

question.” It was a low blow, and Victor knew it. He didn’t think Flint was a criminal, but by
picking a fight, he’d turned their lust off. Although, keeping Flint angry all weekend would be
just as exhausting as indulging his desires would be. And the latter would be a lot more fun for
both of them.

“I’ll show you, okay?” Flint stomped over to the side of the great room. There was a

desktop computer there that he powered up. “I can’t believe you would think that of me.”

“Face the fact that we don’t actually know one another.” That wasn’t entirely true.

Through all his reports and research in the library, they’d talked a great deal. Victor had to

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admit that what he felt for Flint wasn’t just lust. He appreciated his intellect and his sense of
humor. Watching him take responsibility for the hazing of another student, a joke that had
gone too far and ended up with another student getting hurt, had shown Victor how emotion-
ally sensitive Flint was. Flint had been truly devastated that his prank had hurt an innocent
bystander. Rather than run from the incident, as so many young men would have, Flint had
taken responsibly to put things right. His actions had endeared him to Victor. But he wasn’t
willing to let Flint know that. Again, Victor tried to put distance between them. “You are just
infatuated with me because you know nothing about me.”

Flint rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I get what you’re doing. Bravo.”
“Do you?”
“Piss me off and push me away. Great strategy. It’s similar to me psyching out my oppon-

ents on the gridiron.” Flint sat at the desk and then turned to look at Victor. “I do this thing
where I just stare at them. I don’t smile. I don’t frown. I just watch them. I’ve been told it’s
creepy as hell because they can’t figure out if I’m touched or mental. Either way, they’re afraid
to get near me on the field.”

“Your enormous frame might contribute to their fear as well.”
“Is that what this is about?” Flint stood. “I’m a big guy, and I know it. I’m not going to

hurt you. What did you think I was going to do? Tie you up and just fuck you raw?”

Victor didn’t picture that at all, actually. He imagined Flint would ease his way inside

with great care. Once Victor was accustomed to his incredible girth and length, then Flint
would fuck with all the power of a caged stallion suddenly set free.

“I didn’t think you were going to do anything, because we aren’t going to do anything.”
Frowning, Flint returned his attention to the computer. When the main screen came up,

Flint connected to the Internet and pointed to a website. “You wanted to know? Come and
look.”

Victor stayed where he was. Maybe he was better off right here in the foyer. If he contin-

ued to resist, then Flint would have no choice but to realize this venture was ill founded and
return him home.

“Are you going to make me come over there and get you?” Rather than get angry at the

prospect of bodily moving Victor around, Flint grinned. “Ya know, I had this thing in my head
that I wasn’t a caveman, but I’m reassessing that idea. Tossing you over my shoulder and tak-
ing you to my cave sounds like the only way I’m going to make you see reason.”

“Make me see reason by besting me physically?”
Flint shrugged. “I guess I’ll take what I can get.” He rose and closed the distance between

them with the longest, most-powerful strides Victor had ever seen. Arousal and fear battled
for control of his senses. Instinctively, he backed away, but there was nowhere to go. Victor
ended up with his back against the front door. Eventually, Flint was a foot from him. Only
then did he stop advancing. Victor had to tilt his head up to keep eye contact.

“Why are you fighting this?”
“I’ve told you why. Repeating myself ad nauseam won’t change anything.”
“I want you.”
“I want you, too. But—”
“No buts.” Flint reached out for him.
Victor dodged his touch. “We are only going to make matters worse.”

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Flint took another step.
Victor stood his ground because he was never going to be fast enough to dart away from

Flint. All he had to do was reach out with one massive hand...

“You’re leaving me no choice.” Flint placed his hands on either side of Victor, just like he

had in the library. Now Victor was trapped and damn it all to hell if he wasn’t completely
aroused.

“You didn’t give me a choice.” Victor did his best to make his voice sound accusatory, but

it sounded breathless and uncertain.

“If I had, you would have gone home and gone to bed alone and lonely and dreaming of

me. Just like I would have, but I’d have been dreaming of you.” Flint reached out, and Victor
braced himself for being tossed over his shoulder, but instead, Flint traced his finger over
Victor’s bottom lip. “Now that I’ve actually felt and seen your mouth around my cock, I only
want you more.”

The feel of Flint’s rough finger against the softness of his lip made Victor hungry for

more of his touch. But what was tearing down all the walls Victor desperately slapped up was
the way Flint, despite his massive size, was able to be so gentle. This was a man who could
plow men over on the gridiron, but here with Victor, he was tender.

“I would never hurt you. Please, just stay here with me for the weekend. We don’t have to

do anything. Okay?”

Victor knew if he stayed he wouldn’t be able to resist Flint. Perhaps that was what Flint

was counting on. That meant Victor had to be the adult he kept insisting he was. No matter
how tempting he found Flint, he had to resist. It was the only way to stop this from consuming
them both.

“Fine.”
Flint grinned and drew his finger back across Victor’s bottom lip.
Victor captured his hand and gently but firmly lowered it. “If I’m going to stay, we have

to set some ground rules.”

“Such as?” Flint dropped his arm to his side.
“No touching.”
“None?”
“None. If you can’t handle that, then I suggest you take me home right now.”
“Fine. No touching. Or, rather, I promise I won’t touch you. However, I’m giving you per-

mission to touch me whenever you want, as much as you want, with whatever you want. Got
it?”

Victor nodded curtly. “I won’t.”
“Suit yourself.” Flint offered out his hand. “Shake on it.”
When Victor crossed his arms, Flint grinned.
“Hell, it was worth a try.” He turned and walked back to the computer. “Come and take a

look at this.”

With their agreement in place, Victor took his first step into the main room. It was truly

beautiful. It was exactly like a rustic cabin but modernized with sweeping windows, bare tim-
bers that gleamed from varnish, and a smooth stone fireplace that soared from the main room
up to the second story. The décor was leather and wood, all in rich brown contrasted with
cream. It looked upscale but lived in. Below his sock-covered feet, the floor was glistening

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hardwood. Oak, perhaps, and very slick. He stopped at a chair and pulled off his socks. If he
didn’t, he was afraid he would slide.

Barefoot, he moved toward the far side of the main room. As he got closer to the com-

puter, he realized there was a picture of Flint on the screen. At the top was a banner proclaim-
ing the site “Hot Jocks.” Victor had heard of the site. Many men from Twin Pines College had
been successful having their pictures posted there.

“This is the main portal to my page.” Flint looked proud of himself, as well he should be.

The shot was him dressed in all his gear. Enormous bare, he looked like some kind of god with
the shoulder pads expanding his bulk. The photographer had caught him just after a game giv-
en the mud, grass, and sweat stains all over his black-and-green gear.

Victor swallowed hard. What made the picture so captivating was the look in Flint’s dark

eyes. He looked like a man who was going to find his mate and then fuck him to within an inch
of his life. Victor’s gaze was drawn down to Flint’s crotch in the picture, and he tried to stop
himself from licking his lips, but he failed. The bulge in his football pants was massive. Sure,
he was wearing a cup, but it would take a damn big one to contain all of Flint’s cock.

“This is the free picture. To see the rest, you have to pay.”
Victor thought of the money in his wallet. How much would he pay to keep seeing pro-

gressively more provocative pictures of Flint? In a way, he wished he hadn’t found out that
Flint was on the site. Now instead of spending his hard-earned money on art supplies, he
could see himself turning over his paycheck to Hot Jocks.

“Since I’m a partner in the site, I have access to my own pictures.” Flint placed his hands

on the keyboard and entered another part of the website. “What really made my pictures sell
like crazy was the story that was posted. Seriously hot. Whoever wrote it has a thing for foot-
ball players.”

When the story came up, Victor swallowed hard. He knew whose work it was. Jeffery

O’Dwyer was his assistant in the library. Victor had found a posting for a writer, and with Jef-
fery’s love of creative writing, he’d given him the posting, and he’d gotten the job writing sexy
short stories to go with the erotic pictures on Hot Jocks.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re a literary snob?”
“Pardon?”
“It can’t possibly be a good story due to its licentious nature?” Flint sighed. “Some of the

greatest fiction works of all time were condemned for being too lusty.”

Victor was astonished as Flint named several books that had been banned for just that

reason.

“Why are you looking at me that way?” Flint asked.
“Sorry. It’s just I didn’t think”—you were aware of such things. But Victor didn’t say it.

Every time he resolved to stay away from Flint, he managed to find a way to show Victor how
much they had in common. “I’m sure it’s very well written.” Without even seeing all of the
story, Victor knew that it was Jeffery’s work, since Victor had proofread it for him. When Jef-
fery had told him who the story was about, Victor already knew. He could see Flint in those
words, those descriptions. However, since Jeffery preferred to remain anonymous, Victor did
not mention any of this to Flint.

Victor considered Flint’s face again. During the prank that had gone wrong, Jeffery had

punched Flint in the nose to defend another student. Flint had sported two black eyes

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afterwards. They were faded now, but Victor remembered his shock when he’d first seen them.
The urge to comfort Flint had been almost overwhelming even though he knew Flint was big
enough to take care of himself.

“Here.” Flint stood and offered the seat to Victor. “You can flip through all the pictures.”
“I’ve seen enough.”
“Have you?” Flint’s gaze wandered down to Victor’s trousers.
Victor didn’t have to follow his gaze to know his prick was making a bulge. He felt the

blood pooling there. Victor’s longing to touch Flint became more acute when he leaned over
and clicked up the next image. Now the jersey was gone. Flint’s bare chest was covered in oil
and sweat. He held a football cradled in the palm of one big hand. He’d flexed the muscles of
his arms, chest, and abdomen. The oil that covered him highlighted the power of his form.

“And just in case you think that’s enhanced.” Flint pulled his shirt up and off, displaying

his perfect upper body for Victor’s hungry gaze.

Victor would give anything to run his fingers over the ridges and valleys of his body. To

stop himself from reaching out and doing just that, he plunged his hands into his pockets. And
he realized he was in a lot more trouble than he thought. How could he survive a weekend of
temptation if he couldn’t even last ten minutes?

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Chapter 9

“It’s okay, Victor. I want you to touch me.” Flint had hoped the pictures would arouse

Victor. Obviously, they had, given the action going on in his trousers, but Victor was going to
do whatever he could to resist. Shoving his hands in his pockets wasn’t going to work for long.

“I told you that I’m not.” Victor took a step back. “I’m hungry.”
For food or fucking? Flint wanted to ask but didn’t. Seducing Victor was going to take

some subtlety. Damn. Flint had never been very good at that. But he would learn.

“No problem.” Flint left the computer on because he wasn’t done using that particular

weapon to break down Victor’s resistance. “I’ve got a great meal planned.”

For a small fee, the rental company had agreed to have the house stocked with food and

drink since Flint didn’t have time to do it himself. As he moved about the kitchen setting
everything up, Victor watched him with a slight frown darkening his features.

“What?” Flint placed silverware next to the plates on the round dining room table.
“You seem to know what you’re doing.”
“And this surprises you? Why?” Flint grabbed the dressing for the endive salad. Once

that was on the table, he added the salt shaker and pepper mill.

“I smelled fast food in your truck.”
“I only eat that crap when I have to, usually when the cafeteria is closed. If they let us

cook in the dorm, I’d be totally broke from buying food.” Flint put salad plates on top of the
dinner plates.

“When did you learn to cook?”
“My mother took an online cooking class last summer, and since I was eating like a horse,

like usual, I joined in. It was a lot of fun. I found out I have a real flare for it.” His mother had
been delighted but his father less so. Flint thought it was funny that him cooking bothered his
dad as much as it did, especially given all the sports Flint played. It wasn’t like Flint was in
danger of becoming feminine.

“Academics, athletics, and culinary skills? Quite a repertoire.”
“I’m a Renaissance man.” Flint pointed to the chair across the table. “Go ahead, sit, and

start on your salad. It will be a while for the Cornish game hens.”

Once he was seated, Flint moved close and poured him a glass of white wine.
“You’re not old enough to buy wine.”
“No, I’m not. Are you going to call the police?” Flint poured some into his own glass. He

was lucky in that his mother had a more European attitude toward such things. Certain foods
called for certain wines. Their class had included a course on pairing the two, so Flint was al-
lowed to have wine with dinner. Given how hard he worked on his body, he didn’t want to
mess up his training with alcohol. To his mind, though, there was a huge difference between
downing half a keg with his buddies and having a glass of wine with dinner.

“Don’t be absurd.” Victor refused his wine but ate his salad. “Will you do me a favor?”
“If I can.” Flint readied the dessert.
“Please put your shirt on.”
Flint had his back to Victor, which was a good thing considering how his begging tone

made him grin. “My naked chest is too distracting?”

“It’s inappropriate for you to be dressed like that while you’re cooking. It’s unhygienic.”

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“Damn. You have all these rules. Must get complicated in your world.” Flint returned to

the living room and pulled on his shirt. While he was there, he clicked up the hottest picture in
his entire spread and left it on the screen. He returned to the dining room. “Better?”

“Yes. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
They ate in silence. Flint watched how slowly Victor ate. He was savoring every bite, and

in that moment, Flint wondered if perhaps Victor didn’t have the money to buy a lot of food.
He was on the thin side. In observing him, Flint noticed that while his button-down shirt was
clean, the pointed edges of the collar were starting to show wear. Maybe his hair was long be-
cause he couldn’t afford to have it cut as often as he would like. Flint had no idea how much a
librarian made. Thinking of his battered Honda, his beat-up satchel, and his nice but
obviously well-worn clothing made Flint realize that whatever money Victor had didn’t go into
creature comforts.

As he served dessert, Flint thought that Victor probably had student loans out the wazoo.

Getting a master’s degree wasn’t cheap. If Victor lost his job, he’d be hurting. Flint realized
how serious this was. He had thought about Victor before he’d put this plan into action, but he
hadn’t really thought in detail about what getting caught could do to him. Yes, he’d considered
their relationship might ruin his life, but he’d not thought exactly what that would entail.

“I’ll quit school,” Flint blurted.
Victor paused with his napkin to his lips. He finished dabbing at his mouth then asked,

“What?”

“That way we can be together and you won’t get into any trouble.” Flint would find an-

other way to get his degree. Or maybe he’d just break it to his father that he really did want to
go to culinary school and not just take some online classes.

“Absolutely not.” Victor lifted his wine and sipped. His eyes rolled back a little before he

got control of himself, but that little slip told Flint that Victor thoroughly enjoyed the
Chardonnay. “You’re not going to throw your life away for nothing.”

“Nothing?” Flint polished off his wine and rose to start clearing dishes. “You’re not

nothing.”

“This is exactly what I mean. You are too immature to handle a real—We aren’t doing

this.” Victor rose and helped clear the table despite Flint’s protests to the contrary.

“You want immature? Fine. You’re not the boss of me. If I want to leave school, I will.”
“I still won’t date you.” Victor was rinsing dishes and placing them in the dishwasher.

Ironically, despite the fact they were arguing, they moved in perfect synchronicity in the
kitchen.

“You are deliberately being obstinate.” Flint put away the uneaten food. “You want me. I

know you do. You put up these blocks, and even when I find a way around them, you still
won’t be honest.”

“Honest?” Victor rinsed out the sink then closed up the dishwasher.
“You’re attracted to me. Regardless of the difference in our ages, we do have a lot in com-

mon. I think we could be very good together.” Flint shook his head. “Think? No. I know we
would be fantastic together. I think you know it, too.”

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“I’ve told you the truth that I’m attracted to you. Despite that and the fact we may have

things in common, it’s not appropriate for me to date you!” Victor’s voice had slowly risen un-
til he was yelling. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Appropriate according to whom?” Flint tossed his hands in the air. “Who the fuck are

you living your life for?”

“For me.” Victor pushed up his glasses, finger combed his hair, and then strode off to-

ward the living room with Flint hot on his heels. “I’m not arguing about this with you any-
more, and that’s final.”

Victor stopped walking and stood staring at the computer.
Flint remained quiet and gave him plenty of time to look.
It was, in Flint’s humble opinion, the very best shot of him ever. The photographer had

him lie on his back like he was going to get a massage. He draped a thin, white sheet over
Flint’s lower half then misted it with water until it clung. Flint was only moderately erect, but
the obscured view of his prick was what made the image so sexy.

“Oh. I.” Victor couldn’t seem to finish his thought. He lifted his hand as if he would reach

out and touch the image. Instead, he clenched his hand to a fist and whirled. “I’m going to
take a shower and go to bed.” Victor looked toward the stairs. “I’m assuming my room is up
there?”

“First door on the right.” Flint had hoped they’d share the master bedroom down the

hall, but apparently not.

“I don’t imagine you brought me any clothing?”
Flint almost said no. He’d love to have Victor bare for the rest of the weekend. Maybe

he’d take all their clothing and toss it in the fireplace and set it ablaze. Then they’d have no
choice but to be naked. He’d like to see Victor resist him then.

“I did bring you some clothing. And peppermint tea. I’ll bring them to you.”
“I think not. Just tell me where they are.”
Annoyed, Flint went up the stairs, got the sweats and box of tea from his duffle, and

handed them to Victor, who had followed him. “Don’t get mad at me for what the picture did
to you.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed. “How convenient that such a provocative image just happened to

be up when I entered the room.”

“You know what? Fine. Have it your way. You want to be miserable go ahead, but you do

it alone. I’m going to shower, stay up late, and have some fun. Maybe I’ll polish off the wine
then run around naked in the woods, just like the immature teenager you accuse me of being.”
Flint didn’t wait for him to respond. He turned on his heel and tore off his shirt on the way to
his room.

When he was inside, he pulled off his jeans and caught a faint whiff of his own scent.

What he smelled was the lingering essence of his pleasure. Just rubbing up on Victor had got-
ten him off. And then what Victor had done with his mouth in the cab of the truck. God. Flint
was hard again. He had a wicked image of tying up Victor and making him watch him mas-
turbate. Slow and seductive, Flint would drag that out for an hour until Victor was begging for
a taste. Taunting him by bringing his prick close to his mouth, Flint would yank his cock away
at the last second. He’d wait until Victor was practically drooling. Only then would he lower

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his aching prick to Victor’s hungry lips. Flint would utter a stream of the most perverse dirty
talk while feeding his cock to Victor.

“And just like usual, I’m going to end up beating off in the shower.” Flint hopped into the

luxurious corner unit. He realized he could have saved a fortune and just stayed in his dorm
room. But then again, he wouldn’t trade the two encounters they’d had for anything. At least
he’d gotten a taste of fulfillment. If only Victor could trust him or trust that they would figure
things out.

Soaping up, Flint pondered Victor’s accusation that he was immature. He didn’t buy that

as any more than a way to toss up another roadblock. Flint had thought about the fallout.
Maybe not as deeply as he had tonight, but he was aware of what could potentially happen to
Victor. His offer to quit college was genuine. No, he hadn’t thought that all the way through,
but he was willing to make a major sacrifice to be with Victor.

It struck Flint quite suddenly that he might have to give up Victor entirely. He could

make him stay in this cabin for a weekend, and he could taunt and tease him and maybe make
him succumb to desire again, but all that wouldn’t make Victor his for a lifetime. Flint was as-
tonished to realize that was what he wanted. Not a weekend, not a few furtive liaisons here
and there, but a full-blown, living together, and loving each other completely relationship that
neither one of them had to hide.

Belatedly, Flint realized that by taking Victor hostage, he’d actually put himself further

from that goal than he’d ever been. This wasn’t the way to make Victor want what he wanted.
Disappointed in himself, Flint decided he had to do exactly what Victor had asked him to do.
Flint was going to have to take Victor home.

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Chapter 10

Victor showered and pulled on the sweats Flint had given him. They were black with a

hunter green Grizzlies team logo of a snarling bear on the left hip of the pants and another one
over the right breast of the shirt. They fit perfectly. Not that Victor was surprised. Flint had a
good eye, and he’d spent hours in the library looking at him. Flint probably knew Victor’s size
better than Victor did himself.

Unsure what to do after his shower, Victor settled on the edge of his big, lonely bed,

which reminded him of his bed at home. It was far too large for one man and only made him
recall that he didn’t want to sleep alone. He’d been sleeping alone most of his life, and he was
weary of it.

When Victor closed his eyes, that photograph of Flint in the wet sheet popped instantly

into his mind. No matter what he tried to do, he couldn’t whisk that image away. It was beau-
tiful and seductive, especially since Flint wasn’t completely bare. Having his cock obscured
but still plainly visible was far more erotic than having everything blatantly displayed.

But that image ran hand in hand with the visual of watching Flint prepare dinner. He

moved with grace and ease. Victor was a disaster in the kitchen. He didn’t eat soup and sand-
wiches because he favored them, but more from the fact he simply didn’t know how to make
anything else. The more he thought about all he knew of Flint, the more he realized they did
have many things in common, such as their love for books, but they also complemented one
another well in that Flint could cook where Victor couldn’t. They harmonized and enhanced
one another.

But that still didn’t make getting involved with him okay.
Victor dug his hand into the bedcover that he was sitting on. Keeping his hands to him-

self was going to be impossible. All through dinner, he kept thinking about what was under
Flint’s shirt and how happy Flint would be if Victor just touched him. Resisting him was get-
ting ever more difficult. Even now, Victor heard Flint in the shower in the room next to his
and wanted to go to him. Was he masturbating in there to take the edge off?

Into Victor’s mind came a perfect image of Flint with his fist around his cock, stroking

slowly. Victor’s mouth watered. Having tasted him once, he found himself hungry for more.
The incredible dinner Flint made had satisfied Victor’s bodily hunger, but not his insatiable
lust.

Hardly aware of what he was doing, Victor rose from his bed. He padded down the hall

and entered Flint’s room. This room was bigger, bolder, and more spacious than Victor’s
room. It suited Flint in multiple ways.

The sound of splashing water was louder in here, but Victor still couldn’t tell if Flint was

touching himself or not, so he snuck up to the bathroom door and peered around the edge.
Victor couldn’t suppress a rush of naughtiness. Was it really any of his business what Flint was
doing in the shower? No. It wasn’t. To himself, Victor acknowledged he would have a sense of
pride if he found Flint stroking himself. He would be pleased to have pushed him to that
length, but he had to acknowledge disappointment that Flint’s pleasure would be washed
away and wasted.

Wavy glass gave a partial view of Flint. Just like the picture with the sheet, this was more

erotic because it was somewhat obscured. He had a vague outline of Flint’s massive form.
Watching his hands move over his body as he washed up was made more intriguing by not be-
ing able to see everything clearly. Victor’s mind had little trouble filling in the details.

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Torn by an urge to join him and another to run back to his room, Victor settled on the

edge of Flint’s bed. Why, he wasn’t sure, but he knew they had to talk. Victor had to make
Flint realize that leaving school wasn’t the answer. Just the notion of him throwing away his
chance for a wonderful education showed Victor how immature Flint was. Victor frowned. No,
that wasn’t fair or right. He’d only said that to put more distance between them. What that ac-
tually told Victor was the length Flint would go to for them to be together. As a driven man,
Flint wasn’t going to stop tackling obstacles.

But that didn’t make his willingness to toss away his chance at Twin Pines College right.
When Victor tried to stand and go, he found he was unable to do so. Victor sat. He

waited. And he wondered what in the world he was going to do. Victor hoped when the time
came he would know what to say or what action to take.

When Flint emerged from the bathroom, he had a yellow towel wrapped around his hips

and was briskly rubbing another towel against his hair. He looked amazing. He was strong, se-
cure, seductive, and damn if Victor’s resolve just slipped away again. Once Flint was done with
his hair, he looked up and caught Victor’s gaze.

“Go and get your things. I’m taking you home.” Flint draped the towel he’d used to dry

his hair around his neck. “I never should have done this to you. I’m sorry.”

Astonished, Victor sat on the edge of Flint’s bed and simply stared at him. He was getting

exactly what he said he wanted. Flint realized, finally, the folly of his actions. Perversely, all
this did was infuriate Victor.

Victor stood, and rather than walk out of Flint’s room to go and get the clothing he’d left

in a heap on the bathroom floor, he walked over to Flint.

“What?” Flint frowned. “Is something wrong?”
Rather than speak, Victor got down on his knees in front of Flint. He did this without

breaking eye contact.

Flint stood very still, almost as if he was afraid to move lest he awaken Victor from

whatever dream he was in. Victor realized that’s what this felt like. A dream. A place where he
could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and suffer no regrets, no recriminations.

Victor reached up and tugged at the towel, pulling it off Flint’s hips. When he exposed his

beautiful cock, Victor sighed, pleased that Flint hadn’t masturbated in the shower. Cupping
the shaft with both hands, Victor eased the head to his watering mouth and licked around the
tender crown.

Flint’s hands tightened on the ends of the towel around his neck, which flexed every

muscle in his body. He didn’t speak. He held so still he almost stopped breathing until he
drew a shuddering breath. All the while, Victor peered up at him over the rims of his glasses.

As Victor continued to suck Flint’s cock, he felt almost like he was worshiping at the feet

of some young, proud god. At any moment, he expected Flint to push him away and tell him to
gather his things. Victor couldn’t recall how many times he’d changed his mind. He’d told
himself he’d give in, but then he swore to resist, only to promise himself he’d give in again,
and then he refused to touch Flint. After all of the pushing and pulling, he was on his knees
sucking Flint’s cock and loving every slick slide of his tongue over Flint’s flesh.

Clinging to the ends of the towel draped around his neck, Flint watched Victor with as-

tonished eyes. It wasn’t any wonder to Victor that Flint was amazed. He’d come to the conclu-
sion to take Victor home, and yet here Victor was, willingly on his knees, sucking Flint’s cock.

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The very idea of going home went against everything in his soul. He wanted Flint. Victor
wouldn’t let Flint throw his life away for their relationship. He couldn’t deprive Flint of all that
he deserved.

In that moment, on his knees, gazing up the long, muscular length of Flint’s body, Victor

came to terms with himself and what he would do. Rather than let either of them throw their
lives away on scandal, Victor would disappear. He’d considered doing so once before when he
realized how deep his obsession with Flint had dug into his psyche. Victor could consider it
again. Victor loved Twin Pines. He’d never felt so at home anywhere, but he couldn’t stay
there knowing Flint would be a constant temptation.

Deciding in a flash of insight, Victor resolved to do what he’d set out to do before the po-

lice officer had come upon them while they were on the side of the road. Before that moment,
Victor wanted to indulge the depth of his lust with Flint. And he would do that now. The dif-
ference was that this time Victor was going to disappear afterward.

This, having his wicked, wild, and wonderful way with Flint for a weekend, would be the

impetus that forced Victor to go to Europe and travel, just as he’d always wanted to do in his
youth. Had time and money not held him back, Victor wondered where he’d be now. But he’d
stayed in America. He’d gotten his degree. Victor had put his painting on the back burner, and
now he would spread his wings and fly to protect a man he truly, honestly, with his whole
heart and soul, loved. Because Flint deserved more than a half-life with restrictions and
recriminations.

All this happened in the span of seconds as Victor ran his tongue over Flint’s luscious

cock. To keep his love safe and secure, Victor would go so that Flint wouldn’t have to. Flint
should stay in school. Twin Pines College gave Flint opportunities that no other small private
college could. And though Victor loved Twin Pines and he loved his job, he realized he loved
Flint more. At nineteen, Flint shouldn’t have to make a sacrifice. As his elder, Victor would.

But before he left, Victor swore he would know Flint down to his very soul. As he stayed

on his knees, sucking Flint’s cock, Victor promised to do anything and everything that Flint
wanted. Victor would satisfy Flint so that when Victor left, the sting would be lessened, and
Flint could move on.

Jealousy for that nameless, faceless man who would ultimately replace him rose in Vict-

or’s heart. Forcefully, he let that go. This wasn’t about him. This was about Flint. Protecting
him, loving him as best he could, but eventually, letting him go.

To that end, knowing this would be the only time he had with him, Victor sucked Flint’s

cock with all the passion he possessed.

“Whoa, no.”
Panicked, Victor thought Flint had read his mind and realized his intentions.
“No, no, I don’t want to come too soon.” Flint reached down and pulled Victor to his feet.

“God, you are way too good at that.” Flint crushed Victor to his chest and kissed him breath-
less before he pulled back. “Please tell me this means you don’t want to go home.”

“I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you. I’m sorry I keep changing my mind.”
“It’s okay,” Flint said, his tone kind. “I understand. But I’m going to get you naked before

you can change your mind again.”

Victor grinned and removed his glasses, setting them on the vanity. Flint gently removed

his shirt and his pants. He tossed his towel in the bathroom. Flint pulled him into his arms

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and let out a possessive growl when they finally pressed their naked bodies together. “You feel
so fucking good.”

“So do you.” Even though hugging Flint was like hugging a wall of muscle, his skin was

soft, and Victor felt incredibly safe.

Slowly but surely, Flint moved Victor back toward the bed while kissing him.
“I’m not going to change my mind again.”
“Good.” Flint kept right on maneuvering him until he had him on the bed, on his back,

with Flint balanced above him. The only places they were touching were their lips and their
cocks. “I want to kiss you everywhere.”

“Should I resist so you can use your ropes?”
“Naw. Let’s save that for when we’re an old couple desperate to spice things up.” Flint

lowered his head and kissed Victor’s lips, cheeks, and neck with calm, loving kisses.

Shivering, Victor couldn’t believe the transformation in Flint. He thought he might be

ravenous for him after all his back and forth, but Flint was gentle, almost worshipful as he
held himself above Victor with his powerful arms and pressed delicate kisses all over his upper
body.

Ever so slowly, Flint worked his way down Victor’s chest. After teasing his nipples and

making Victor arch up to meet his lips, Flint journeyed ever onward and downward. Victor
thought he might skip his cock to tease him, but Flint kissed and licked him there, too, but not
with any intent to make him climax. To Victor, it seemed that Flint was going to make him
thoroughly aroused and only then would he offer him release.

This style was in sharp contrast to the hot, hungry encounters they’d already had. Calm

and relaxed, Flint lived up to his claim by kissing Victor everywhere.

Flint parted Victor’s legs and eased them back to kiss and lick his sac and then lower.
“I’ve always wanted you like this. In my bed, spread out for me.”
Victor’s eyes rolled back in his head as Flint added his fingers to the teasing mix, stroking

them in a slow circle around Victor’s puckered flesh.

“So sweet and so tight.” Flint looked up, caught Victor’s gaze, and smiled gently. “I’m go-

ing to have to make sure you’re ready for me.”

Victor was on the verge of asking what that might entail exactly, but he was prevented

from speaking when Flint bodily lifted him up with one hand below his buttocks and slipped a
pillow under him with his free hand.

“But what about me?” Victor reached for him. “I want to touch you, too.”
“You’ll have time. Later. Much later.” Flint lowered himself between Victor’s legs and

picked up right where he’d left off.

Trapped by Flint’s strength, Victor relaxed and allowed himself to simply receive pleas-

ure. He didn’t need to give back to Flint right now. There would be time later. As a nervous
and thoughtful lover, Victor found his willingness to open himself up to receiving rather diffi-
cult. Especially when he thought all his encounters with Flint would be fast and furious. This
gentle seduction was in such contrast to Flint’s size, but when Victor considered, he realized
Flint could mix passion and care just as he mixed sports and cooking. Flint was indeed a
Renaissance man.

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Around and around went Flint’s probing finger and his licking tongue. Victor melted into

the bed, lost in bliss. When Flint slipped one enormous finger inside his bottom, Victor
tensed.

“Relax. I swear I won’t hurt you.”
“I know. It’s just that I’ve never...” Victor let his voice trail off, because he wasn’t certain

how to explain about his sex life without sounding strange, or worse, putting Flint off.

Flint lifted his head and peered up the length of Victor’s body. “You’ve never had anal

sex?”

“I have, but not like this.”
Cocking one eyebrow high, Flint chuckled. “What does that mean?”
“It was always so rushed. It seemed to be over before it fully began. I think it took longer

to put on the condom than the act lasted.” Victor didn’t know why he felt compelled to share
that. Maybe so Flint would understand the other part of Victor’s equivocation. “With you,
everything is different in that we spent so much time looking and longing before we ever even
touched.”

“Is that why you were so hesitant once we got here?” Flint lowered his head and contin-

ued to tease Victor’s bottom. He did this as if it were the most normal thing in the world to
continue pleasing him while they talked.

“You want to talk about sex while we’re in the middle of it?”
“Can you think of a better time?” Flint eased his finger inside and then worked it in and

out with such slow motions Victor relaxed even further.

“I don’t know.” Victor chuckled. “It’s different for you, isn’t it?”
“Because I’m a manslut?” Up came Flint’s head as he met Victor’s gaze.
“No! I didn’t mean to imply such a thing.” Victor begged himself to shut up before he

ruined everything. “Please, I was just making a comment. I’m going to be quiet now.”

“Calm down.” Flint slowed his thrusting finger even more. “I’m not a quivering virgin,

but I’m not a total whore, either. But I get what you’re saying. Furtive connections in the dark,
right?”

“Yes.” Victor considered the brightly lit room and how much time Flint had already spent

simply teasing Victor’s hole.

“I get it because I think that’s what a lot of guys do. Not me.” Flint kissed the inside of

Victor’s leg. “We’ve already had our fast hookups, but this time, I want calm and lingering.”

“I want that, too.” Since it would be their only time, Victor wanted it to last so he could

remember everything.

“Relax, Victor. Let me love you.” Flint grinned at him. “There’s no hurry since we have all

weekend. Maybe by Sunday night you’ll finally be ready for me.”

Victor laughed. “I think I would go quite mad to have you do this to me for the entire

weekend.”

“Can’t have that.” Flint pulled his hand away, causing Victor to lean up. “Whoa, wait.”

Flint eased him back. “You stay right there.”

Before he knew it, Flint was off the bed. Naked and utterly relaxed with his nudity, Flint

retrieved one of the duffle bags he’d brought into the house. He settled it on the edge of the
bed close to Victor’s hips. Then he retrieved a towel from the bathroom and slipped that under
Victor’s bottom.

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“What in the world are you planning to do to me?”
Flint uttered a hearty, booming laugh as he leapt on the bed and settled himself between

Victor’s legs. “Do you want your glasses so you can see better?”

“I only need them for reading.”
“Ah. So you can see everything I do.” Flint unzipped the duffle bag and extracted a bottle

and a curious bulbous item. “Now, just relax and let me work my magic.”

Victor found it odd how he could be so curious and yet so at ease at the same time. Flint

continued to tease and stroke his pucker, but now he added some slick lube that made his
thrusting finger even more pleasurable, if such a thing was possible. Victor kept waiting for
the enjoyment to even out or reach a peak, but that didn’t seem to happen. Victor kept going
higher until he swore he could barely breathe the air was so thin.

“Deep breath,” Flint murmured. Carefully, he tugged on Victor’s sac. “I don’t want you to

go off just yet.”

Flint went back to teasing Victor’s bottom, but rather than his fingers, he inserted the

curious toy. Victor’s body stretched to accommodate the item.

“Does that hurt?”
“It feels good.” And it made Victor’s ass feel full. “What is it?”
“A butt plug.” Flint rose up so that he could lick Victor’s sack. “You’ve never played with

toys either, I guess.”

“No, not really.” Victor was amazed that here he was the older man, yet it was Flint who

was showing him things he’d never done. It was a curious turnabout and somehow fitting.
Perhaps after this, Victor would demand more from his relationships. Once he knew how it
was to be loved by someone who wasn’t afraid or ashamed, he would know what to ask for.

“There is so much I want to show you.”
Victor looked Flint right in the eye. “Show me everything.”

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Chapter 11

“I will be more than happy to show you every trick I know.” Flint stroked his slick fingers

over Victor’s sac so now when he tugged lightly upon it, the soft skin smoothed against his
rough skin. There was something powerful in teaching an older man, but Flint didn’t get all
full of himself. Rather, he felt sorry for Victor and the few men he’d been with. It was such a
shame and such a waste. Flint had been very lucky to be out, proud, and accepted. Well, that,
and any gay basher with half a brain certainly wasn’t going to call Flint names to his face. “I
have so much to share with you.”

Victor was utterly limp upon the bed. When Flint moved his legs open a bit more, Victor

put up no resistance. All Flint had to do was ask him to move or change positions, and Victor
did. His eyes were softly focused, his hair a tangled mass of brown from tossing and turning
his head on the pillows. Just watching him enjoy himself so thoroughly turned Flint on. He
wanted to slip his cock into Victor so desperately, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet. Besides, there
was something Flint had seen once. Something kinky and strange and he wanted to try it on
Victor. At night, when he showered and slipped his soapy fist along his cock, the scenario was
one of his favorites to mentally act out on Victor’s tall, slim frame.

Flint removed the toy and readied another. “I want you up on your hands and knees.”
Victor got into position with the towel below him.
“I’m going to milk you.”
Laughing, Victor looked over at Flint. “Pardon me?”
“I know, it sounds strange, but I saw it once and I kept imagining myself doing this to

you. Okay?”

“Fine with me. Everything you’ve done has felt incredible.”
Encouraged, Flint lubed up and inserted a slender prostate massager into Victor’s ass.

“Help me find the best spot.”

“There! Oh, God.” Victor spread his legs a bit to brace himself as Flint slid the toy gently

back and forth.

“Now, for the milking part.” Flint’s hand was still well lubed, and he used that to stroke

Victor’s cock from base to tip in a milking motion.

“Ooh.” Victor hung his head and lifted his bottom.
“Good?”
“Very.”
“Now, the trick is to get you very close to climax and keep you there.”
“Why?”
“When you do come, it’s supposed to be incredible.” Flint watched Victor’s breathing and

was able to predict when he was close. Once he pulled back a bit, Flint would push Victor right
to the edge again. Watching him struggle to maintain was profoundly erotic. It was like sexual
torture but with an exquisite payoff.

“I can’t take much more.” Victor’s arms and legs were trembling. When he lifted his head

and looked over at Flint, his eyes were unfocused, and his lips were wet and red from him bit-
ing the bottom one.

Flint moved up so he could kiss Victor, but this threw off his rhythm with the prostate

massager. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Victor dug his fingertips into the bed, clinging desperately as if he could brace

himself from what was coming.

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Flint flicked the device more firmly. He moved his fist up and down Victor’s shaft with

tighter, shorter strokes.

Growling, Victor climaxed. His ass went up, his head went back, and his entire body was

gripped by waves of contractions. He let fly a load against the towel that had Flint marveling
at the amount.

“There’s another.” Victor dug his hands and knees deeper into the bed. He released an-

other copious jet of cream. “Oh, God. I can’t stop.”

Victor was shaking all over. Flint removed the toy and gently pulled Victor onto his side

then lay down next to him, holding him.

“Put your cock in me.”
“You’re not ready.” Flint had wanted a long build-up phase with the culmination being

penetration.

“Please. I can’t stop climaxing.” Victor shivered uncontrollably and continued to plead

for Flint to finish him, so Flint greased up his prick and pressed against Victor’s quivering bot-
tom. “Yes. That’s it. All of you.”

Flint eased his way inside Victor while holding him tight against the shakes. For some

crazy reason, it was like hugging a junkie and what he needed was a hit of Flint’s cock. It was
nuts because they’d never been together, so how could Victor be jonesing for something he’d
never had? But the more Flint filled him, the calmer Victor became.

“Are you okay?” Flint couldn’t believe how good Victor felt around his prick. It was al-

most as if they were made for one another. He didn’t have an effortless slide into Victor’s ass,
but his tight hole seemed to open up and welcome him without pain.

“More.” Victor turned his head and kissed Flint over his shoulder.
“I’m trying not to climax.” Flint was breathing hard and almost crushing Victor to his

chest in an effort to stave off his release. “Damn, but you feel so good.”

“Come inside me. That’s what I want. What I need.”
Flint clung to Victor as he shimmied his way down. Victor didn’t stop moving until he’d

taken Flint’s cock all the way inside.

“Oh, God.” Flint closed his eyes and kissed Victor’s neck and ear. “You are so perfect. So

good. So tight.” Flint was wedged so deeply inside Victor he couldn’t even thrust, but he found
he didn’t need to. Victor was tensing and releasing his rectum around Flint’s cock. “Fuck.
You’re milking me.”

“Turnabout being fair play and all.” Victor laughed lightly but stopped when Flint

grasped Victor’s still-hard cock.

“You got one more in you?” Flint cupped Victor’s balls, lifting them up to the base of his

prick.

“At least.”
Each time Victor tensed around him, Flint squeezed his balls and the base of his shaft.

Working together, moving in synch, they reached the summit in tandem.

“I’m gonna come.” Flint tightened his arms around Victor, holding him steady.
“Fill me. Finish me.”
Flint came so hard he swore he almost hurt himself. As he pumped deep inside Victor’s

body, Victor released his last climax against the towel.

They lay entwined for a long time.

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Flint couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. He wanted nothing more than to lay like this for the

rest of the weekend. Aftershocks racked his body for almost an hour. Each twitch of his
prompted a matching shiver in Victor.

“Are you okay?” Flint kissed Victor’s neck.
He didn’t answer for so long Flint became worried. But then, very quietly, Victor said,

“I’m fine. I’m so sleepy.”

“God, you scared me for a second there.” Flint hugged him just a bit tighter. He had wor-

ried that in the aftermath Victor had once again changed his mind. “I thought you were regret-
ting what we’d done.”

“No. No regrets.” Victor did sound exhausted and almost...resigned. It was as if he’d tried

valiantly to resist Flint but just hadn’t been able to hold himself back. Flint wasn’t certain he
should be flattered so much as he should now worry that Victor would indeed begin to lament
what they’d done. “I’m glad you finished me.”

Flint couldn’t help but hear a strange kind of finality to Victor’s voice. “Finish you? Why

do you keep saying that?” It made Flint feel that this was a one-time deal, and now that it was
finished, so to speak, Victor would never touch him again.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I keep saying that. It’s just I tried so hard to keep away from

you, and I just wasn’t strong enough.”

“You certainly sound like a man with regrets.”
“Not about you, or what we’ve done.”
Flint waited for him to finish that thought. When he didn’t, Flint hesitantly asked, “What

are you regretting?”

“Nothing.”
But Victor’s voice sounded hollow.
“I’ve never done that without condoms.” Flint knew they should have had this conversa-

tion before now, but he’d been so hungry for Victor and convinced that if he didn’t penetrate
him at that exact moment he never would.

“Neither have I.” Victor turned, and Flint lifted his head so they could see one another’s

faces. “Are you okay?”

“Me? I’m fine.” Flint grinned. “I’ve never been happier.”
“Good.” Victor relaxed against the bed.
But Victor didn’t say that he was happy, and Flint sensed there was something deeply

wrong.

“I don’t want you to worry about anything.” Flint tried to reassure Victor with the confid-

ence in his voice.

“I’m not.”
“I mean, with the college. I’ve been looking at cooking schools in Denver.”
Victor’s entire body tensed.
“Please, it’s not about you and me. I’ve been thinking of doing this since I took the class

with my mom. Really. I guess I’ve just been waiting for something to push me the direction I
really want to go.”

Victor relaxed a bit, but not all the way, and as Flint held him tight, he swore Victor was

crying.

“Please talk to me.” Flint tried to get Victor to look at him, but he refused.

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“I’m fine, really. I don’t want you to leave school.”
“Well, technically, I’m not. I’m leaving one school for another. And Twin Pines isn’t that

far from Denver. We can see each other every weekend. I won’t mind making that drive in the
truck, and then, when I get here, I can cook for you and show you all the things I’ve learned.”

“That sounds very sweet.”
And why did Flint hear and totally impractical even though Victor didn’t say it? “Are you

certain you’re okay?”

“Are you going to keep asking until I tell you I’m not?”
“No.” Flint didn’t ask again, but he felt in his gut something was very, very wrong.

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Chapter 12

“I’m just going to take another quick shower. I still feel kind of sticky.” Victor tried to

keep his voice light, but he worried that some of his regret bled through anyway.

“I’ll come with you,” Flint offered without opening his eyes.
“No.” Victor kissed his cheek and took a last breath of Flint’s scent. “Stay here and sleep.”
Once Flint settled in, Victor went to his room. He and Flint had showered afterward, but

since they were sharing, Victor didn’t feel fully clean. Flint took up almost all the space. So
Victor showered again, dressed, and then gathered his things. Flint’s determination to leave
school left Victor no choice. There was a strange irony that Flint had said his relationship with
Victor was prompting him to do something he’d secretly wanted to do anyway. Victor felt the
same in that he’d always wanted to go to Europe and paint, but never had the courage or the
money. But he would make it work now. He had to. Leaving was the only way to keep Flint in
school where he belonged. Going away also protected Victor’s reputation as a librarian. Per-
haps he could find work overseas. For a moment, Victor allowed himself to dream of painting
during his off hours and weekends while he worked at a small library and perhaps taught Eng-
lish as a second language. Since he spoke fluent Italian, he could easily switch professions.

“The thing is I’ll never know unless I try.”
Victor frowned. He could say that same thing about staying in Twin Pines and having a

relationship with Flint. He really wouldn’t know that it wouldn’t work unless he tried. The
problem there was with what failure would cost him. Having never bothered to look at the
policies regarding teachers and students, Victor didn’t really know if they were outright for-
bidden, frowned upon, or never discussed at all in the employee handbook. Since Victor had
only been at the school for a few months, he’d never heard about any of the teachers getting
involved with a student. Although, to be fair, most of the faculty was much older than Victor
and almost all of them were married.

When he went downstairs, Victor realized the computer was still on. He jiggled the

mouse and woke the monitor out of slumber mode. Up popped that delicious picture of Flint.
Victor allowed himself a few minutes to simply admire Flint’s spectacular form. How could he
walk away from him? But if staying ruined Flint’s life, then the question became how could he
not walk away? Tonight, when Flint had teased him into a crazed state of need, the only thing
that would satisfy him was their bodies joined completely. Never had he felt anything as good
as that. Flint’s enormous prick entered his well-lubed hole like they were custom made for one
another. But it wasn’t until Flint climaxed within his body that Victor felt complete for the
first time. When Flint came, each pulse of his release filled Victor with a curious kind of final-
ity. It was over and done, and there was no turning back. But he had to. He couldn’t let Flint
toss away his life. If he really wanted to learn culinary skills, he could do that after he got a
traditional degree.

Victor settled at the desk, frowning. That was the same thing Victor had been told when

he said he wanted to paint. He was encouraged to get his degree first so he would have
something to fall back on should the painting not work out. Shortly after that, he’d made his
decision to go into library science because books were his second love next to painting.

As Victor opened the web browser and searched for the Twin Pines College home page,

he considered if he was really planning to leave to protect himself or Flint.

“Or maybe I’m just a coward who would rather think of what might have been then try

and fail.” Victor clapped his hand to his mouth. He hadn’t meant to speak aloud. With guilty

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eyes, he looked up the stairs, expecting to see Flint standing there. But he wasn’t. Turning his
attention back to the computer, Victor made his way to the faculty log-on page and entered his
information. Once he was into the system, he perused the rules regarding teacher-student re-
lationships. It was as he feared. Rather than forbidding the situation outright, the manual dis-
cussed the inherent improprieties of the situation. A teacher was in a position of trust, and
dating a student would look as if the teacher were taking advantage of that trust.

“The difference here is you’re a librarian, not a teacher.”
Victor whirled around and found Flint coming down the stairs.
“How did you know what I was looking at?” Victor wanted to close the browser page, but

why bother when Flint already knew? Besides, it wasn’t as if his concern would surprise Flint.

“I can tell from the colors of the headers you’re on the Twin Pines College’s website. And

my gut is telling me there is something very, very wrong here.” Flint paused on the landing
and looked at the small bundle of clothing Victor had put together. “What were you planning
on doing? Taking my truck and leaving me here?”

Victor shook his head in the negative, but that was precisely what he’d been planning to

do.

“It would have been a neat trick without the keys.” Flint dangled them and then stuffed

them in the front pocket of his jeans. “You want them? Come and get them.”

Again, Victor shook his head. “I’m not going to play this game with you.”
“Right.” Flint took a step toward him. When Victor tensed, Flint frowned. “So now you

what? Think I’m going to hurt you? God damn it! I thought we were over this.”

“I am not going to let you throw your life away.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Flint didn’t hesitate this time. He marched over to Victor, crouched

down a bit, and then tossed Victor over his shoulder. Flint stood up as if Victor weighed no
more than a pillow. Despite his protests, Flint kept right on going up the stairs.

When he went past both their bedrooms, Victor asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“I was safe where I was at.”
“No, you weren’t. You were in danger of doing something foolish like submitting a letter

of resignation.”

How had Flint known? It was exactly what Victor was planning to do.
“You keep saying you’re not going to let me throw my life away. Well, I’m not going to let

you do it, either. Got it?” Flint entered another bedroom. On the bed was the second duffle
bag. “I’d really hoped to use these for fun, but I see I’m going to have to use them to talk some
sense into you.”

Flint tossed Victor on the bed. He grabbed the duffle bag and moved back toward the

door. Victor didn’t even consider trying to get past him. There was no way he was going to
emerge victorious in a physical contest against Flint. He had at least one hundred pounds on
him, and every ounce of it was probably muscle.

“You can’t just tie me up and make me stay.”
“Oh, yes. I can.” Flint removed cuffs from the bag. “Take off your shirt.”
“No.” Victor crossed his arms defiantly. “I am not going to help you do this.”
“Do you really think I can’t handle you on my own?” Flint grinned. “Unless you’re a

secret black belt, I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble at all.”

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“Think about this. You’re going to tie me up for the rest of the weekend and then what?

Eventually, you’ll have to let me go. Sooner or later I’ll do precisely what I had planned to do
in the first place.”

“And what is that, exactly?”
Victor looked away. Just the thought of saying his plans out loud to Flint made Victor

realize how ridiculous they sounded. Yes, I’m going to sell everything I own, skip out on my
lease, take my last paycheck, and go to Italy to be a painter.
Even in his own head it sounded
nothing short of crazy. Still, he defended his idea to himself because he thought it was better
for him to do something foolish than to let Flint do it.

“Ah. Obviously you’re ashamed and won’t tell me.” Flint twirled the handcuff around his

finger.

“I’m not going to tell you because I don’t want you to try to stop me.”
“I know enough that I already can.”
“What does that mean?”
“Take off your shirt.”
Victor considered ignoring the order, but when Flint took a step toward him, he lifted his

hand in surrender and then removed his shirt. “Happy?”

“Pants, too.”
“No. We’re not having any more sex.” Victor said this even though the thought of being

tied up and fucked by Flint was making him hard.

“Your mouth says no, but your cock is saying yes.” Flint’s gaze riveted on Victor’s erec-

tion, which was clearly visible since he wore only the sweatpants.

“My cock isn’t in charge.”
“Yes, it is.” Flint didn’t wait for Victor to obey this time. With an economy of motion,

Flint closed the distance between them, and before Victor knew it, both his wrists were en-
circled with cuffs.

The cuffs were wide, padded, and felt shamefully soft against his skin. Victor could

struggle against them for days and not do so much as a single bit of damage to himself. Flint
grasped him by his shoulders and walked him backward to the bed.

“Don’t fight me. You’re only going to turn me on more.”
“Flint, really, this is juvenile.”
“So? I can at least have you again. And maybe, if I use all my skills, I can make you see

the error of your ways.” Flint got Victor on his back on the bed then attached the straps from
each cuff to the corresponding bedpost. Now Victor realized why he’d brought him to this bed-
room. It was the only bed that had posts at the four corners of the mattress. Once his arms
were secure, Flint removed Victor’s sweats and then put a towel under his ass. “What were you
saying about not being interested?”

Victor realized his cock was excruciatingly hard. It rose up from his nest of pubic hair like

an invitation.

Flint stroked his fingertips over Victor’s swollen flesh. “Such an eager prick you have.”
Victor struggled to turn over, and almost managed, but Flint adjusted the tautness of his

restraints so that he couldn’t.

“I can still kick you.” However, just thinking of injuring Flint in any way made his stom-

ach hurt.

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“Don’t make me chain your legs, too, because I will.” Flint pulled another pair of man-

acles out of the duffle bag and dangled them before Victor’s face. “I’d like to keep your legs
free so that I have more ways to place you.”

“What are you going to do?”
“Whatever I want, whenever I want.” Flint rubbed his hand over his cock, which was just

as hard as Victor’s, and then grinned. “I’ve got you right where I want you.”

Realizing that he wasn’t going anywhere, Victor became a captive audience as Flint re-

moved his clothing. Once he was bare, he stroked his cock with his fist while looking right at
Victor’s mouth. Victor tried to resist, but it was as if his tongue had a mind of its own, and
licked across his lips.

“Hungry?” Flint asked tauntingly. “I want you to know that before I came downstairs I

made sure to clean myself a second time. Just to be all nice and perfect for you.” He moved
until he stood at the edge of the bed. “I’d love to feed you my cock.”

“I’ll bite.”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because,” Flint said, easing his way onto the bed. “The only reason you’d abandon a job

that you love is to protect something, or in this case, someone, that you love even more.” Flint
straddled Victor’s chest. “In case you missed the point, that someone is me.”

“You think I love you?” Victor wanted to laugh, but he just didn’t have it in him. He real-

ized that he did love Flint. As crazy as it was, and as valiantly as he’d tried to stay away from
any entanglement with him, he’d failed most spectacularly.

“I don’t think. I know so. I feel it.” Flint slowly moved his hips forward until his cock was

inches away from Victor’s mouth. “Because I love you, too.”

Silence spun out as they held eye contact.
Victor broke the intensity when he looked down at Flint’s cock and then back to his face.

“You’re going to force me to suck your cock? If you really loved me, you wouldn’t even con-
sider doing such a thing.”

“Force you? Naw.” Flint held rock steady. “I’m going to allow you to service me.”
“I won’t.” Yet Victor’s mouth was watering.
“Yes, you will. You’re so hungry for my cock that you keep licking your lips and swallow-

ing. Come on, Victor. You know you want to. Wrap your perfect lips around my prick.”

Damn him, but it was true. And being bound was only adding to the allure of taking his

incredible prick inside his willing mouth. The more he resisted, the more Victor wanted to do
exactly what Flint suggested he do. In the end, Victor leaned up and sucked at the tip of Flint’s
cock. A sweet burst of pre-cum caused his mouth to water profusely. As he swallowed, Victor
pulled more of Flint’s length into his mouth.

“Ah, yeah. That’s it. Suck my cock.” Flint teased his fingers through Victor’s hair. “I’ve

had dreams of you like this. Bound and willing. I’m never going to let you go, Victor. Not
ever.”

Victor wanted to shake his head, to argue, but he wanted to suck Flint’s cock more than

he wanted to disagree with Flint’s assessment.

“That’s it. So good. So perfect.” Flint rocked his hips as he held Victor’s head steady. “I

love watching my cock disappear into your beautiful face.”

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Swirling his tongue around and sucking lightly drew more pre-cum into Victor’s mouth.

What was it about Flint’s flavor that just drove him to madness? When Flint pulled back, Vict-
or howled with frustration. He wanted to push him to climax just like he had in the truck.
Victor needed to taste him again.

“Not so fast. I know you want to drink from me, and I’d like that, too, but right now I

want to fuck you. Nice, and slow, and good, and long.”

Victor struggled. “Let me finish.”
“No. I need to be inside you. I have to finish you that way. We weren’t quite right the last

time.”

“What does that mean?”
Flint climbed off Victor’s chest and got a bottle of lube out of the duffle bag. He stood at

the bottom of the bed, looking up the length of Victor’s body while he slowly slicked up his
prick. “What did it mean when you said it?”

“I don’t know.” And Victor honestly didn’t. “It was like there was a finality to us doing

that, but I don’t understand what that meant, or what any of this means.”

“Neither do I.” Flint grasped Victor’s ankles. As he climbed up onto the bed on his knees,

he pushed Victor’s legs apart. “All I know is that if I have you again, it really will be final. Al-
most as if...I were wrapping our souls together.”

Victor frowned. “Flint, just because we have sex again, it doesn’t mean anything. I’ll still

go when I get free.”

“Then I won’t let you up.”
“You’ll have to eventually.”
Flint sighed as he bent Victor’s legs, angling up his bottom. Victor felt totally exposed but

not the least bit ashamed. “I know that I will at some point. But by then I’ll have figured
something else out.”

“Like what?”
“A solution we can both live with.” Flint used his massive hands to hold Victor’s legs up

while he lowered himself and licked across Victor’s overly sensitive hole. “I am not going to
stop until I’ve worked this out.”

Victor couldn’t think straight, not with Flint doing that to him. He didn’t struggle. Each

swipe of Flint’s tongue made his longing more acute. There was a finality between them, but
Victor didn’t understand it any more than Flint did. Would a second time seal their fate? How
would this time be different from the last time? The longing was just as intense. The feelings
inside Victor’s heart were even more powerful than the sensations in his body. Victor’s hunger
for Flint was just as great, just as profound. The only difference this time was they both ac-
knowledged that they were in love.

“It’s love.” Victor looked down at the exact instant Flint looked up. “Acknowledging that

we love one another will bind us together if we do this a second time.”

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Chapter 13

“Then I swear that I love you. I will do anything to be with you.” Flint rose up and over

Victor’s bound body. “Tell me the truth. How do you feel about me?”

“I can’t.” Victor tried to turn his head, but Flint captured his chin. “Please, we shouldn’t

do this when it can’t go anywhere.”

“We can go anywhere we want. If you’re willing to walk away from your work, it’s obvi-

ously love. If I’m willing to change my school, it’s obviously love. Just tell me. I need to hear
you say it. Please.”

Victor closed his eyes, and even though he didn’t speak, Flint saw him struggling desper-

ately with the truth. Victor did love him, Flint was positive of that fact, but he wanted to hear
him confess in no uncertain terms. This time there had to be nothing between them. No
secrets. No hidden agendas. Just the two of them coming together for the most profoundly
moving reason.

Knowing that binding him was wrong, Flint undid the cuffs.
Victor watched him with perplexed eyes.
“I can’t make you tell me. I’m hoping that letting you go shows you how much I love you.”
Flint expected Victor to leap off the bed and return to his room, but he didn’t. He stayed

right where he was and reached for Flint. Victor wrapped his arms around Flint’s shoulders
and hugged him hard.

“I love you.” Victor’s voice was so soft, not even a whisper, but more like breath formed

into words. When he opened his eyes, Victor looked defeated and drained. “I kept trying not
to, but I can’t fight this anymore.”

“I love you. And I swear, I will do whatever I have to for us to be together.”
“Flint, please, I couldn’t bear for you to leave school.”
“Then I’ll stay. And so will you.”
“But—”
“No buts. If you don’t want anyone to know, then we’ll keep this on the down low. I’ll get

over my need to beat my chest and announce to the world I’ve found my mate.” Mate? The
word struck Flint strange for half a second but then felt totally correct. “Not a soul on that
campus knows how I feel about you.”

“Students gossip about me all the time.”
“Right. About you and a handful of students. The name of whom you’re supposedly dat-

ing changes on a daily basis. No one has ever mentioned my name in connection with you.”

“No, but it’s only a matter of time.” Victor sighed. “Surely someone has noticed you com-

ing into the library all the time.”

“It’s the library.” Flint laughed. “Everyone on campus goes there.”
“But people will find out.”
“How? You don’t think you could keep quiet?” Flint pressed his cock against Victor’s bot-

tom. The urge to slide inside was powerful, but Flint waited.

“I don’t want either one of us to get hurt.” Victor wrapped his legs around Flint’s hips,

drawing him inexorably down. When the tip of Flint’s cock entered Victor’s ass, Victor’s eyes
rolled back in his head. “God, you feel so good. I almost can’t stand how wickedly fantastic you
feel.”

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“We won’t be hurt if we promise to do what we need to. Okay?” Flint shuddered as Vict-

or’s heat enveloped him. “And I feel the same way. Having your tight ass around my prick
feels fucking incredible.”

“Then it’s settled.” Victor sighed, but this time, he didn’t sound defeated so much as he

sounded resolved.

“You’re not going to sneak away?” Flint eased more of his shaft inside Victor.
“There’s no point now, is there?”
“No.” Flint kissed him. “We’re tied together now. There’s no way to get apart.”
“We will be cautious.”
“Very.” Flint swore he would take care not to arouse suspicions. “We can meet some-

where other than your apartment if it will make you feel more comfortable.”

“Do we have to decide it all now?” Victor shivered as Flint flicked his hips and went as

deep as he could.

“No. Not now. But promise me.” Flint still didn’t quite trust that Victor wouldn’t change

his mind again.

“I swear.” Victor cupped his face with both hands. “I won’t run off.”
“Where were you going to go?”
“To Italy to become the painter I always wanted to be.” Victor laughed.
“Don’t laugh at yourself like that.” Flint kissed him. “If you want to paint, then paint.”
“I do, but I always thought I would get further with it than I have.”
“But you never went after it as a profession, did you?”
“No.” Victor frowned. “Do you really want to cook?”
“I do. I can see myself in that world.” Flint rocked his hips in a slow, steady pace, loving

the way Victor’s eyes widened and tightened depending on if he were pulling out or pushing
in.

“What?” Victor asked.
“I’m just watching you enjoying this.”
“How can you tell?”
“Well, besides your erection digging into my belly, I’d say it’s this little whimper you

make right at the back of your throat, and the way your eyes open and close as I go in and
out.”

“Digging into your belly?” Victor chuckled. “Your abs are so muscular they’ve made a

channel from your belly button to your sternum. My cock fits into that divot perfectly.” Victor
practically purred as he leaned up and kissed Flint. “You want to see me get really excited?”

“Yeah.”
“Go faster.”
Flint flicked his hips harder, which rammed his cock deeper.
Victor clutched his shoulders as if bracing himself.
“Faster?”
Victor nodded. “And harder.”
Flint pulled back and then slammed into Victor.
His eyes rolled back, and he uttered that mewling cry of submission.
“God, that sound. You have no idea what that does to me.” Flint nudged Victor’s head to

the side and nibbled at his exposed neck. “That noise makes me crazy.”

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Victor cried out repeatedly. Flint answered each whimper with another pounding thrust.
“I’m gonna lose control.”
“Do.” Victor stretched his neck as if offering himself in surrender.
Unable to stop, Flint lowered his lips, and rather than kiss his tender neck, Flint bit him.

Hard. Victor uttered a shocked cry then whimpered, which urged Flint to bite him again. All
he could think of was how much he loved Victor and how deeply he wanted to mark him.

“Mine. All of you is mine.” Flint rose up enough so he could look down into Victor’s face.

“Say it.”

“I’m yours.” Victor’s eyes were heavy lidded but clear and honest. “All yours.”
“Good. And I belong to you.”
“To me.”
They fell into a rhythm of Flint flicking his hips, drilling his prick deep, and Victor rising

up by rolling his hips. They met in the middle, getting just incrementally closer each time.

The faster Flint went, the more Victor clung to him. Concerned he was hurting him, Flint

rose to ask, but Victor tightened his arms and legs, begging him to keep going.

“Finish me.” Victor kissed him between thrusts. “Fill me and bind me to you.”
Sweat poured off Flint’s body, and he moved faster and harder. The bed bounced against

the floor as the entire frame rattled. But he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. There was some impetus
that pushed him onward. The urge to fill his mate, to mark him thoroughly, pressed at Flint.

Right at the height of pleasure, he felt Victor cream between their bellies. Flint howled

with satisfaction and pumped his climax into Victor. His balls were so high and tight they al-
most hurt when they expelled all they had at once. Where before he’d felt relief at having cli-
maxed, this time it was a profound release that left him mentally, physically, and even spiritu-
ally drained.

Victor belonged to Flint not just for now, but forever. There was no escaping the bond

they’d just forged. Flint didn’t think he was crazy for a second. He’d had sex before, and he’d
enjoyed it, but he’d felt nothing like what he’d felt with Victor.

Lifting up, Flint peered down at the mark he’d made on Victor’s neck. He kissed the spot

tenderly. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. I feel so peaceful. Not sleepy, but almost drugged.”
“God, me, too.” Flint rolled so Victor was on top of him, and they slumbered.
Flint had no idea what time it was when he heard a car pulling into the drive at the side

of the house. Given how quiet the forest was, the sound of the car was quite loud. He then
heard four car doors slamming.

“Who in the world is that?” Victor lifted up from where he’d been sleeping draped across

Flint’s chest.

“I have no clue. No one knows that I’m here.”
Victor tensed. “What if that police officer followed us?”
“He went ahead of us, remember?” Flint kissed the top of Victor’s head. “Calm down.

Let’s get dressed. It’s probably just some people who got lost or something.” Flint got out of
bed and pulled on his jeans.

Victor practically jumped out of his skin when someone rang the doorbell.
“I’m going to go down and see who it is. Get dressed and stay here. Okay?”
“Okay.”

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“Relax. No one is going to hurt you.” Flint noticed that Victor was trembling all over.

“God, you’re shaking.”

“I’m not worried about who is down there so much as I’m worried about why.”
“I know. Trust me to take care of this. Okay?” Flint kept his voice low and calm, hoping to

infuse his relaxed state into Victor. “I never realized how high-strung you are.”

“I’m fornicating with a student at a plush cabin retreat that someone is now knocking on

the door of. You think I should be relaxed?”

“I’m relaxed.” Flint kissed him and then left him in the bedroom as he padded his way

downstairs.

Flint looked out the peephole and was amazed to find one guy he knew and three who he

didn’t. Victor need not have worried since this was clearly about Flint skipping out of his foot-
ball game. It had to be. Why else would linebacker Josh Ratcliff be here?

Flint pulled his keys out of his pocket, unlocked the dead bolt, and then opened the door.

“Hey, Josh. What’s up?” Flint stuffed his keys back in his front pocket.

“Can we come in?” Josh seemed both happy and serious, which seemed to make his

handsome face confused. Josh was grinning, but at the same time, his brows were lowered.
His bright blue eyes assessed the cabin as he flipped his long black hair over his shoulder.

“Yeah, sure.” Flint opened the door, and all four guys came inside. Josh was dressed cas-

ually in jeans and a sweatshirt, as were the other two younger guys, one shorter and thin, and
the other was almost as big as Flint. It was this bigger guy who looked vaguely familiar to him.
But the last guy was dressed impeccably in a suit and tie. He looked uncomfortable. “It’s a
little early for a visit. How did you know I was even here?”

“Where’s Victor Donatello?” the guy in the suit asked.
Flint’s heartbeat hit the danger zone. “What the hell is going on?”
“Let’s sit down so we can explain.” Josh motioned to the couches in the main room and

everyone sat down, except for Flint, who remained standing.

“Explain.” Flint crossed his arms over his chest. How the hell they knew Victor was here

was beyond him. Flint hadn’t told a soul they were coming to this cabin.

“I found you and Victor because the time has come to twin you.” Josh still looked hand-

some and terribly confused.

“What the fuck does that mean? And what makes you think anyone is here but me?”
“Because I can feel him.” Josh squirmed uncomfortably in his seat like a little kid who

had to go to the bathroom. “It’s like an itch under my skin.” Josh took a deep breath then
loudly called, “Victor?”

Flint figured Josh bellowing his name like that probably gave Victor a heart attack.
“He’s not here.” Flint grasped Josh’s shoulder. His handsome face lost the confusion and

turned scared. “I think it’s time for you to go.”

“It’s okay, Flint.” Victor was at the top of the stairs. “There’s no point hiding the truth

when they already know.”

Victor was dressed in the sweats Flint had given him. He’d finger combed his hair and

put on his glasses. He was beautiful. Flint felt awful for having already let him down when
he’d just sworn last night to keep everything between them quiet.

“Hello, Mr. Remson. I apologize for making you come out here.”

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Flint realized Victor was talking to the guy in the suit, who stood as Victor came down the

stairs.

“I’m sorry, too.” Mr. Remson straightened his jacket. “Please, join us. We need to discuss

this situation.”

The name rang a very distant bell in Flint’s head. Mr. Remson. Wasn’t that was the name

of the founder of Twin Pines College? Oh, shit. Flint realized that this must be the man who
owned the school!

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Chapter 14

When Victor had peered down into the living room, he hadn’t believed his eyes. How in

the world had Phillip Remson, founder and owner of the college, found out what was going
on? And then Victor realized the how didn’t matter. The fact that he had was the only point
that was material at the moment.

Clearly, Flint was on the verge of demanding answers when Victor descended the stairs.
“Don’t.” Victor pressed against Flint’s side. “Please, just sit,” Victor soothed. “We’ll figure

all this out.” Victor nudged Flint toward the smaller love seat.

They sat down together, and Victor made no effort to hide the fact they were a couple.

Flint looked as miserable as Victor felt. Despite his reluctance, his wishy-washy resistance,
and their resolve to keep things quiet, the truth was out, and Victor was probably going to lose
his job.

“All of this was my fault,” Flint offered. “I abducted him.”
“You did? Balls, dude. You are packing some seriously massive cojones to spirit away a

teacher.” The larger man laughed as he wrapped his arm around the shorter man he was with.
Victor wasn’t certain of either man’s name, but clearly, they were a couple. Victor couldn’t
help but notice they were in some ways similar to him and Flint, not only in size, but also de-
portment. Just like Victor, the smaller one in the pair wasn’t as outgoing as the larger one.

“He’s not a teacher,” Flint defended.
“He’s close enough for this situation to be improper.” Phillip shook his head. “I am sorry,

Victor, but I must ask for your resignation.”

All of Victor’s worst nightmares were coming true. He would have to resign. There would

be a scandal. He’d never find work as a librarian again.

“I’m so sorry.” Flint’s hand tightened on Victor’s. “All of this is my fault.”
“No, it’s not. I should have been strong enough to resist.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to.” Phillip sighed as he settled down on the edge of the

long couch where the other two men sat. “The urge to bond to one’s mate is irresistible.”

Victor frowned. “I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
“You need to do your thing, Josh. I can’t explain if they are only halfway grasping the

situation.”

“Do what thing?” Victor asked as Josh rose from his seat and then stood between Victor

and Flint.

“Trust me, okay?” Josh cupped the back of Victor’s head and kissed him. As if that wer-

en’t shocking enough, he also drew Victor’s startled breath away then turned right around and
kissed Flint, blowing Victor’s stolen breath into him. The fact that he was doing this while the
founder of the school not only watched, but apparently approved, was so shocking Victor was
rendered mute.

Josh repeated this curious act several times until Victor and Flint slumped together. Vict-

or had never felt so dizzy in his life. It was as if he’d just spent an hour on a merry-go-round at
super speed. And then, if matters weren’t shocking enough, Victor came. Hard. And so did
Flint, because Victor noticed the telltale flicking of his hips and then a slowly spreading wet
spot against his jeans.

“What the hell was that all about?” Flint asked as Josh slumped down to his knees

between them.

“Welcome to the bear-shifting brotherhood of the Twin Pines Grizzlies.”

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Information poured into Victor’s head. Names, dates, facts, people, places. His meticu-

lously ordered mind tried to sort it all into relevant categories, just like he did with the items
for the library, but there was so much. After a long time, the knowledge slowed to a trickle, but
Victor knew that if there was anything he wanted to know, he simply had to ask and the facts
would be there.

“A bear-shifting brotherhood?” Flint asked.
“Yeah,” Mitch said. “Welcome to the sloth.”
“Mitch Gay.” Flint looked at him with wide eyes. “I thought I recognized you! You were

the number-one stud on Hot Jocks for months.”

“Yep.” Mitch grinned. “Adrian Grace knocked me off that spot, and then you came along

and shoved him out of the way.” Mitch squeezed the man next to him. “This is Dustin, my
twin.”

Victor realized Mitch meant twin in the bonded sense, not in the sense that the man was

his double. Introductions were made, and then silence made the room seem uncomfortably
tense.

Unable to endure the quiet, Victor turned to Phillip and asked, “You’re here to ask for my

resignation even though you know there was nothing I could do to resist the lure of my twin?”
It seemed horribly unfair to Victor.

“I’m afraid so.”
“That’s hardly reasonable.” Flint gripped Victor’s hand. “It’s amazing we stayed away

from one another as long as we did.”

“Believe me, while I am sympathetic, I’m also duty bound to ask you to resign. It will be

quiet, I assure you. We will concoct a story about why you’re going. No one will know it’s be-
cause you’re dating a student.”

You were dating a student,” Flint accused Phillip. Flint seemed determined to try to find

a way for Victor to keep his job. “Well, you were before he graduated.”

Phillip grimaced, clearly uncomfortable. “The difference is that I am not a member of the

faculty.” Phillip lifted his hand, cutting off Flint before he could speak again. “I’m sorry to be
blunt, but we aren’t here to talk about what I did with Ryan. This is about Victor. It’s simply
inappropriate for the librarian of Twin Pines College to date a student.” Phillip looked at Vict-
or. “I know how diligently you resisted, and your resolve was admirable, but the fact of the
matter is your relationship puts the school in a bad light. I’m sorry, but there it is.”

“I understand.” And truly, Victor did. “I won’t make a scene. I’d rather go quietly than

bring undue attention upon myself or the school.” Also, that way he might be able to find an-
other job.

“I will of course give you a glowing letter of recommendation.”
Victor nodded. Phillip was very kind and munificent, but Victor couldn’t help the pro-

found sadness that washed over him. He would miss what he considered his library. No mat-
ter who they found to replace him, that person would never love the school or the town as
much as Victor did.

“Can I finish the rest now?” Josh asked.
“The rest?” Victor asked.
“Yeah. That’s why we’re here.” Mitch and Dustin came over to the love seat. Mitch settled

in front of Victor, and Dustin knelt in front of Flint. Josh was in the middle of the four of

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them. Josh took everyone’s hands so they were all linked together with Josh in the center.
They pressed their foreheads together using Josh as the focus of the circle.

Victor felt the power swirling around the five of them, and to his shock, he climaxed

again. And then he knew they were now bonded to Mitch and Dustin.

“When we shift into bears, we’ll be able to mate.” Mitch swiped at the front of his jeans.

“Man, I tell you what, I’m glad this is the last time for that. It’s weird to come so hard without
getting all juiced up first.”

“Tell me about it.” Dustin adjusted his pants. “Oh, but lucky you guys, we’re the girl

bear.”

From the collective, Victor learned that the brotherhood had recently discovered they

could mate in bear form. When they did, the female bears gave birth to cubs, who then trans-
formed into young men.

“They come out as teenagers?” Flint frowned. “How weird would it be to have a kid who

was roughly my own age?”

“We think they are about eighteen, but we’re not certain we can’t get them to transform

younger. We’re gestating the second batch now.”

“God, Mitch, you make them sound like cookies or something,” Dustin said. “They’re

kids.”

“I know, I was just trying to explain.” Mitch grinned. “We really, really want to have our

first cub as soon as possible.”

“I’m not so sure we are.” Victor looked to Flint, who looked like he’d just been hit in the

head with a frying pan. “Are you all right?”

“No.” Flint gripped Victor’s hand tighter. “I think I’m overwhelmed. And no, I’m not

ready to have kids of any age.”

Dustin frowned, and Mitch kissed his head. “What did you expect? Did you really think

that right after joining the brotherhood they’d be ready to reproduce?”

“Considering I just lost my job, now really wouldn’t be the best time.” Victor sighed.
“I will do all I can to help you find other work.” Phillip appeared to be deeply troubled.
“I’m not angry, Mr. Remson. I honestly understand that having the librarian of your col-

lege dating a student simply looks bad.” Victor shrugged. “It isn’t as if we could explain to
everyone that we were driven by paranormal forces to mate, bond, and twin.”

Flint laughed, and everyone looked at him. “Sorry. I’m just having a difficult time wrap-

ping my head around that fact, so trying to convince someone else is a little beyond me.” After
a breath, Flint asked, “What if I left the school?”

“No. We’ve been over this. I would feel worse if you missed out on a great opportunity.

Besides, I have a feeling that you leaving and people eventually finding out that we were dat-
ing would look even worse.”

“It would.” Phillip shifted uncomfortably. “That would generate talk that you left to pro-

tect Victor.”

“I know you just want to make all of this right, but realize now that none of this is or was

your fault.” Victor did not want Flint to be racked with guilt. “Neither one of us could have res-
isted for much longer than we did. And I will find something else to occupy my time.” Victor
was a little nervous about that but also excited. “It’s a big world, and there has to be
something more for me. Perhaps we should look at this as an opportunity.”

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Flint didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded anyway.
“Do you guys want to shift?” Dustin asked. “There are plenty of woods around here for us

to play in.”

Victor gave him a dubious eye. “I imagine if I couldn’t resist Flint, then I would have little

skill in denying you two while in bear form.”

“Yeah, probably.” Dustin leaned into Mitch. “So what are you two going to do now?”

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Chapter 15

“I have no idea what we’re going to do.” Flint felt like he’d just woken up into a totally

different world. It was a magical land where he could shift into bear form with the man he
loved, and he would be with Victor forever, but the cost had been enormous. He felt awful that
Victor would lose the job he loved so dearly. “What about your painting?”

“You paint?” Phillip leaned forward, obviously intrigued.
Victor laughed lightly. “I do, but I’m not very skilled.”
“Says who?” Flint didn’t want to hear Victor put himself down in any way.
Victor shrugged helplessly. “I find I am rather...exact.”
“What does that mean?” Flint didn’t know a lot about painting.
“Most painters interpret what they see. I simply paint what is, apparently.” Victor sighed.

“I will find some other work.”

“But you should do what you love.”
“We all have to make sacrifices. I am no different than anyone else.” Victor rose and

turned to Phillip. “I’ll have my letter of resignation to you by Monday morning.”

Phillip nodded. “Again, I wish there was something I could do.”
“If I think of something, I will let you know.” Victor turned to Flint. “Would you like to go

out and try our new skill?”

Flint struggled to understand. He sensed that Victor was trying to distract himself from

the pain of losing his job, so he nodded and said, “I would.” Flint turned to Mitch and Dustin.
“And no, you can’t come with us. I’m not ready to be a father.”

“You might not even mount us,” Dustin said.
“Come on.” Mitch wrapped his arm around Dustin’s shoulders. “We should probably let

them enjoy the rest of their weekend.”

“Indeed.” Phillip rose. “Please, do come to my home on Sunday night. We meet for din-

ner and talk of our week. You are always welcome to stay if you wish. There are plenty of
rooms. The last thing I want is for you to feel you are being tossed out into the cold. You
aren’t. I will do everything I can to help you in any way that I can.”

“You’re very kind.” Victor shook Phillip’s hand. “We’ll be there on Sunday.”
“And please, bring your work. I may be able to help you find a gallery.”
Victor said that he would, but Flint could tell that he had no intention of doing so. It

seemed to Flint that Victor had absolutely no faith in himself as an artist. Maybe that was
something Flint could give Victor. If he could help Victor believe in himself, Flint would be
less devastated at costing him a job he loved.

“You don’t keep pictures of your works in progress?” Flint asked.
“Oh, I do, but I did not feel like having him say he liked my work when he didn’t just be-

cause he felt badly about asking me to resign.”

“You think Mr. Remson would lie to you?”
“Perhaps.” Victor sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Me becoming a painter is simply a beautiful

dream. I have other skills besides being a librarian.”

Flint stood and wrapped Victor up in his arms. “I’m so—”
“Please don’t say it again. I know. I’m not angry with you, but I simply can’t abide all this

pity. It’s maddening.”

Flint was on the verge of saying he was sorry again, but refrained. “Do you want to go

play in the woods?”

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“Yes.” Victor leaned up and kissed him. “I really do.”
Since they’d learned from their brothers that if they shifted while dressed they would lose

everything they were wearing, they both disrobed then went to the back porch. It was late af-
ternoon, but given the time of year, the sun was obscured behind the towering pines.

“It will be dark soon,” Flint pointed out.
“We won’t have any difficulty seeing.” Victor shivered against the rapidly cooling air.
“No?” Flint asked. “I thought bears had horrible eyesight.”
“Actually, it’s quite acute, just like their sense of smell.” Victor took a few steps away

from Flint. “I’m going to pull you into—me.”

“Wow.” Flint couldn’t describe the onslaught of sensations. Everything smelled so

strongly he was overwhelmed.

“Take more shallow breaths,” Victor suggested. “I think that will help us narrow down

the barrage of things we can suddenly smell.”

“I can literally smell each individual pine tree.” Flint sniffed deep, and their nose

twitched.

“I can smell the lake, and the fish!”
Their mouth watered profusely.
“I guess we’re hungry.” Flint wasn’t so sure he wanted to scarf down a raw fish.
“Haven’t you ever had sushi?” Victor asked.
“No. Have you?”
“Yes. It’s delicious. But I think we might draw too much attention to ourselves—er, our-

self?” Victor considered. “If we went splashing about the lake, we would draw undue atten-
tion. Besides, I don’t think we could catch them in there. Most bears fish at streams because
they swipe them out of the water as they pass by.”

“How do you know so much about bears?”
“Librarian, remember?”
Victor chuckled, and it seemed to fill Flint’s entire body rather

than just his ears. “I’ve helped plenty of people research all kinds of things.”

“I’ll bet you kick ass at Trivial Pursuit.”
When Victor had no idea what that was, Flint told him and then realized he could just

show him by mentally pushing what he knew into Victor’s mind. Their connection made com-
munication a snap.

“I simply must play that game,” Victor said.
“We should spring it on our brethren Sunday night. And bet gobs of money. That way

you wouldn’t have to work.”

“I don’t think scamming money out of our fellow sloth members would be right.”
“It’s not a scam if you aren’t cheating.”
Flint dropped the matter, because it was clear

that talking about jobs and what he would do in the future was something that Victor didn’t
wish to discuss. So they didn’t. Together they explored the woods and enjoyed simply being a
bear. But like all good things, it had to come to an end.

They returned to the rear of the cabin then shifted back to human. It took a moment for

Flint to remember how to stand on two legs. Victor seemed to be a natural at shifting.

“Don’t you feel disoriented at all?” Flint asked.
“Not really. It seems rather normal to me.” Victor frowned and tilted his head, just like he

always did when he was searching his big brain for facts. “I swear that I’ve done this before.”

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“You’ve shifted?” Flint just about peed himself.
“Not in reality, but I think I have in my dreams. It just feels so very familiar.” Victor

shook his head. “Come on. Let’s get inside and eat supper.”

“Yeah. I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” Victor teased.
“And horny.”
“We’ll deal with one and then the other.”
Flint waited until Victor was inside the house before he picked him up and tossed him

over his shoulder.

“I would ask where you’re taking me, but I think I know.”
“Need sex. Need sex now.”
“Caveman.”
“Part caveman, part bear. Hey, I can hunt myself.”
“Neat trick, that.”
Victor didn’t struggle as Flint carried him up the stairs.
“You do realize I would have happily followed you, right?”
“It’s faster this way.” Flint entered his bedroom and tossed Victor on the bed. “I don’t

want to hear any excuses.”

“There’s no point in resisting you now,” Victor pointed out.
“I’m just doing my due diligence to ensure I get exactly what I want when I want it.”
“Perhaps you should be a lawyer.”
“Nope.” Flint grinned down at Victor as he grabbed the bottle of lube and slicked up his

cock. “I’m going to get my degree like a good boy, and then I’m going to culinary school. Case
closed.”

Victor grinned as he pushed away the bedclothes. “Good for you.”
“Meanwhile, through all of this, I’m going to sex you up, down, sideways, and every other

direction I can think of.”

Victor lifted his hands over his head. “I’m all yours.”
“Good.” Flint climbed onto the bed. He grasped Victor’s ankles, spreading his legs wide.

“I’m so glad I don’t have to tie you up anymore.”

“You don’t have to, but you always could.” Victor waggled his brows.
“Ah, I’ve turned the librarian kinky.” Flint slid his hands down Victor’s legs to his but-

tocks. He lifted him up as he slowly sank his cock inside his tight bottom.

“I don’t think you can make someone kinky.” Victor wrapped his arms and legs around

Flint.

“I just brought it out, then.”
“I think so.”
“And finally, the mystery of your middle name is solved.”
“Oh, man!” Flint had forgotten all about that. “I thought I’d keep that hidden forever.”
“No. Besides, I think Thumper is cute.” Victor paused then dramatically exclaimed, “Flint

Thumper McIntyre. That is a name to conjure with.”

“Conjure with?” Flint asked.
“If one were into such wicked pursuits as witchcraft they could use your unique name to

conjure up demons, spirits, or whatnot.”

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Flint laughed. “I’ve never heard that before. But I guess mating a librarian means I’ll

learn all kinds of interesting tidbits.”

“You will.” Victor kissed him softly. “So how did you get your name?”
“Thumper was my mother’s favorite Disney character.”
“For some most curious reason I find that it suits you.”
“Yeah?” Flint kissed him then started thumping his leg on the bed. “I’ll show you

thumping.”

But he didn’t. They made a lazy kind of love. Things weren’t entirely resolved between

them, but the nagging issue of Victor’s job was put to rest. Flint still felt sad about the situ-
ation, but there wasn’t anything he could do. But he swore, whatever Victor wanted to do, he
would support him completely.

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Chapter 16

“I honestly don’t know what to say.” Victor stood at the entrance to Phillip Remson’s

palatial estate. Frankly, it was bigger than the building that housed all six of the apartment
units where Victor lived.

“It’s huge,” Flint said. “Start with that.”
They’d come up in Flint’s truck after cleaning up and leaving the cabin in the woods.

Victor had wanted to come directly here, but Flint insisted on getting Victor’s paintings. Torn
between wanting to embrace himself as an artist and the urge to keep his work private, Victor
had ultimately brought three paintings, but he’d covered them up. If Flint wanted to see them,
he would see them at the same time as everyone else. That way, Victor would only have to
brace himself once. Why he felt the need to buttress himself, he wasn’t certain. He supposed
he was afraid to hear false compliments coming from his brothers. But then he realized the
truth would be there in their collective. Somehow, that made matters worse.

“I just remember thinking that cabin was massive, but compared to this...”
“Bigger is better, huh?” Flint teased.
“Not at all.” Victor gripped Flint’s hand. “I’m just marveling. There are a lot of homes like

this in Virginia. Old palatial estates. But I guess I just didn’t think I’d see one in tiny Twin
Pines.”

“Someday, when I’m a rich and famous chef, I’ll build you something like this.” Flint car-

ried the three paintings Victor had selected and covered in an old sheet.

“Please don’t.” Victor grinned at him as he rang the bell. “I’d like something cozy.”
“Aw, you’re sweet on me.”
“Very.” Through the stained glass, which Victor belatedly realized was a beautifully craf-

ted scene of a bear in the woods, he saw a smartly dressed man approach. From the group, he
discovered this was Wilkins, Phillip’s butler and a trusted friend of the sloth.

Wilkins welcomed them warmly, took their coats, tried to take the paintings, but Flint re-

fused to give them up, and then Wilkins showed them into the grand parlor.

Pairs of men were scattered around the room on chairs, fainting couches, and love seats.

Victor couldn’t help but admire how handsome his bear-shifting brothers were. The urge to
paint them was almost overwhelming. Tall, broad, muscular—more than half were football
players. Even those who weren’t were still tall and strong. There was something interesting
about their group evolving around football. Victor found using games to settle disputes
between different species of shifters so much more intelligent than fighting with fists or—God
forbid—guns.

“Close your mouth, dear, before you start drooling.” Flint cupped his hand to the small of

Victor’s back, propelling him into the room.

“I’m sorry.” When he probed delicately into his twin’s mind, Victor realized Flint wasn’t

jealous at all.

“Don’t be sorry. They’re all fucking hot.” Flint leaned very close. “If we ever get into

swapping, we could have a blast just with these guys.”

“I’m hoping the urge to do such a thing is far along in the future?”
“If ever.”
Victor and Flint settled on a fainting couch, but it didn’t seem strong enough for Flint, so

they moved over to a sturdy-looking chair.

“Come on. Sit on the nice man’s lap.” Flint patted his upper thigh.

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Victor settled in and realized several of the twins were sitting in the same way. Here, they

could be themselves. Victor found it liberating to not have to hide who he was or who he loved.
He tilted his head. It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about that particular word in connec-
tion to Flint, but it was the first time it came to mind effortlessly.

“I love you, too.” Flint kissed his ear.
“You heard me thinking?”
“I did. I kind of have this low-level background connection to you. The only thing I

haven’t been able to get is what your paintings look like.”

Victor glanced over at them. Flint had stacked them against the entranceway wall.
“Whoa, okay.” Flint hugged Victor hard. “Take a deep breath. I sure as shit just felt you

take a wallop of adrenalin. Your whole body is shaking.”

“I’m nervous. I can’t help it. And it’s not just the paintings. It’s everything. In one week-

end, my whole world turned upside down.”

“Don’t I know it.”
Victor realized that he wasn’t alone. All of his brothers had endured changes to their situ-

ation. His was no more dire than any of theirs. If he asked for help, they would grant him as-
sistance unreservedly. He didn’t have to ask if that were true, because he felt it right down to
his toes. They were brothers in many senses of the word.

After Wilkins brought him a drink, Victor relaxed into his twin’s arms. Flint was strong in

both body and mind. Without the constant fear of discovery, Victor was able to more fully ap-
preciate everything his twin had to offer. The most profound of which was his clear, calm, un-
conditional love. Flint was grateful that they were together. He had no issue with the fact they
weren’t just dating but eternally bonded. Victor had worried that was a huge burden for a
nineteen-year-old, but Flint shrugged it off with his usual style. Flint said he knew what he
wanted, so why fuck around with half-assed measures?

“If you want to leave school, I’ll support you.”
“What?” Flint set their drinks aside so he could turn Victor on his lap. “I thought you

wanted me to get my degree first?”

“I want you to do what you want to do.” Victor kissed him and then pressed his hand over

Flint’s heart. “I grew up wanting to paint. It was all I ever saw myself doing. But my teachers,
my parents, everyone in my world insisted that I simply couldn’t make it as a painter. I had to
have a day job. So I went to school because I believed them. I’m not angry or regretful, be-
cause I do love books, but I wonder what might have happened had I followed my dreams. I
don’t want you to look back with any regrets.”

“Thank you.” Flint kissed him slow and sweet. “I knew what I wanted, but I was reluctant

to go for it. And no, it wasn’t just you saying that to me. Like you said, everyone has pretty
much said the same thing in different ways. I don’t want to miss out on something that will
truly make me happy just because other people are worried about me making a living.”

“I don’t want you to be afraid to follow your heart and chase your dreams. I’ll be there to

support you in every way that I can.” For the first time, Victor truly made peace with what he
wanted to do. Suddenly, the idea of revealing his work wasn’t nearly so traumatizing. He
painted because he loved to express himself in that way. If other people didn’t like his work,
that was okay. They didn’t have to. But that wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he
loved.

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“And since you love me, you can do me, too.” Flint grinned.
“Absolutely.” Victor stood. “Come on, I want you to see them.”
“Yeah?” Flint rose.
“Are those the paintings?” Phillip asked, nodding to the sheet-wrapped bundle that was

leaning against the wall.

“Yes.”
“Oh, don’t open them here. Come.” Phillip led Victor and Flint down a hallway to a large,

relatively empty room with off-white walls. “I have a place for you to hang them.”

Victor was touched. “How kind of you. Thank you.”
“Now, come along with me, Flint. Allow Victor the chance to set up his impromptu

showing.”

Victor waited until they’d left. He unwrapped his work and traced his hands over what

he’d created. Memories of agonizing nights were mixed with nights of utter bliss. There were
times he was convinced they were perfect, but the very next day he thought they were pedes-
trian. Now he recognized that his work was his own. His technique was no better or worse
than anyone else’s. He had painted what he saw in his mind, and that was the best he could
do.

Carefully, Victor hung the canvases, then stepped back to admire his work. He changed

the order three times before he was happy with the arrangement.

When he returned to the grand parlor, he discovered all his brothers were milling

around, waiting.

“Are you ready for your first show?” Phillip asked.
Victor nodded, swallowed hard, felt the fear, and plunged ahead anyway. He turned and

led them before he could change his mind. Once at the room, he stepped back and away so
they could have an unobstructed view. Victor watched them as they looked at his labor of love.
He saw surprise on their faces, but the reaction that most pleased him was Flint’s.

Flint moved through the men until he was able to get close enough to touch the center

painting. It was the largest canvas, and the subject was Flint himself. He was seated in the lib-
rary, leaning over a book, but he was looking up at the observer.

“It’s so real.” Flint reached out as if to touch the work but stopped himself. “It’s like I’m

just going to get up from that table and then there will be two of me.”

It was the painting Victor had struggled with the most. Now that he’d actually been with

Flint, he knew he’d gotten the right feel to the work the very first time, but Victor hadn’t trus-
ted himself. It was only after he’d been claimed by Flint that Victor was able to accept the
baldness of his painting. The hungry look in Flint’s gaze had alternately seemed too predatory
and then too tepid. Victor tried to find the balance between them, but in the end, he portrayed
Flint as a hunter. He showed him that way because Victor could not escape the feeling that
Flint had tracked him down, and once he’d set his sights on him, Flint simply wasn’t going to
stop until he captured Victor. Now that the event had occurred, Victor was secure in present-
ing his work.

“What in the world made you think these weren’t good?” Flint turned to Victor. “They’re

nothing short of amazing.”

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Victor considered the other two paintings. One was a self-portrait of himself painting,

which Victor thought was rather cliché, but it was his favorite work next to the image of Flint.
The final work was of a bear tracking a wolf in the forest.

“I had no idea why I was compelled to paint the last one. Now, though, knowing what I

am, what I’m a part of, it makes more sense.” All through the work, Victor had thought it
strange that he saw the bear hunting the wolf. And not to eat it, but to track it back to its
source. For the life of him, Victor couldn’t figure out why a bear would care about a wolf, but
he painted it when the image haunted his dreams. “If you look at the intensity of the bear’s
gaze, you’ll see the same look in Flint’s eyes.”

“They are truly amazing works of art.” Adrian Grace darted his gaze from the wall of

paintings to Victor.

Victor believed him because Adrian was a painter, too. “Thank you. Truly, it means a lot.

I was always so concerned because they seemed too lifelike.”

“How is that bad?” Flint asked.
“Just as I said, painters generally interpret what they see, where this is more like a

photograph.”

“No, it’s more like 3D.” Flint extended his hand toward the painting of himself. “Can I?”
“Certainly.”
Flint stroked his fingers over the painting. “It’s just uncanny.”
All of the brothers took turns looking at and even touching the paintings. They had to

touch them to assure themselves they were in fact paintings and not photographs.

“Well, I do believe your first show was a hit.” Phillip clapped Victor on the back. “I think

you’ll find a place in the art world without much trouble.”

“But you can’t sell this one.” Flint pointed to the one of the bear stalking the wolf. “I want

this as a twinning gift.”

“Done.”
“Now, this one.” Logan pointed to the one of Flint at the library table. “You’ve got to let

me show it to my boss.”

“The man who owns Hot Jocks?”
“Yeah. Franklin Willow would love to get this on his site. I’m sure of it.” Logan extracted

his cell phone from his pocket and used it to capture an image of the painting. “Honestly, it’s
as good as any photograph I’ve ever taken. Better, even.”

“Why in the world would he want this for Hot Jocks?” Victor was honored for Logan to

show it to his boss, but he didn’t quite get the connection. “All the shots on there are a little
more sensual.”

“Not all of them.” Logan grinned. “But the thing is he’s been expanding what we offer. It

started out with sexy shots of jocks, but now we’ve got erotic stories, too.”

Jeffery flashed a little secretive grin, and Victor realized that despite their group con-

sciousness, the rest of the brothers still didn’t know that Jeffery was the one writing the erotic
tales.

To Victor’s horror, Jeffery’s head came up as he darted Victor a shocked, angry glance.
“Well now they know!” Jeffery tossed up his hands.
“I’m sorry. Oh, Jeffery.” Victor was mortified that he’d inadvertently outed him.

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“Ah, what does it matter? Everyone was probably going to find out eventually.” Jeffery

grinned and shook his head. “It’s not like it’s a big deal. Just, well, it was nice to have that little
secret just between me and my twin.”

“And the big-mouthed librarian.” Victor grimaced.
“Big brained since you didn’t actually speak a word.” Flint hugged him as he considered

Jeffery. “So you’re the one who wrote that lusty tale about me.”

“Don’t get any ideas, big boy.” Jeffery’s twin, Van, wrapped his arms protectively around

his mate. “He’s taken, and no, we don’t swing.”

“Bummer.” Flint laughed. “Who’s your bear twin?”
“Kevin Henderson and Anthony Reed. We found out the very first time we met them.”
“So right now everyone has their mated twin and their bear twin?”
“All except Dylan and Preston. But they’re in a unique situation. Unless there’s another

set of twinned nexuses out there, they won’t be having kids. Not by this route at any rate.”

“Maybe since they’re different from us they have a different method of reproducing.”
“Good point.”
There was a delicate chime in the air.
“Dinner is served.” Phillip clapped his hands. “We can continue this discussion or per-

haps find a better one at the table.”

Victor and Flint followed along with the group as they made their way into a beautiful

dining room with a table that was about as long as Victor’s entire apartment. True to his
nature, Flint seated Victor then settled across the table from him.

“Finally, a young man with impeccable table manners.” Phillip nodded to Flint.
“Is that a dig at me for wanting to sit next to my twin rather than across the table from

him?” Derek asked as he settled in next to his mate, Brandon.

“I’m not digging at you,” Phillip defended. “Just suggesting to you that some people”—he

nodded at Flint—“have very good manners.”

“Fine.” Derek rose and offered his seat to Simon. “I’m assuming it’s okay to have our son

sit next to one of us?”

“Indeed.”
Victor considered Simon for a moment. He was clearly the product of Derek and Bran-

don. Simon blended their features and even their hair. All his hair was black like Brandon’s
but for a platinum-blond streak like Derek’s.

“May I sit here?” Derek asked.
“Of course.” Victor smiled.
“Now, about this swapping thing.”
For a moment, Victor thought Derek was serious, but he quickly discovered that Derek

loved to joke around.

The conversation ranged over many subjects as they ate, but eventually, they came back

to the one that most intrigued Victor, and that was what they had learned about their cubs.

At the moment, there were the four boys from the first four twins who had mated while

in bear form. Their cubs—Simon, Gage, Colin, and Alexi—were all extremely bright and ap-
peared to be in their late teens. Phillip was working on getting them papers so that they could
eventually attend school, but there was a great disagreement about where they would go.

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“Having them all go to your college just seems unwise.” Brandon was concerned that if

one was discovered then they all might be.

“But I don’t want to live anywhere else, and sending them away just breaks my heart.”

Burke might appear to be gruff, but he was the most protective of all the men when it came to
his cub, Colin, and his mate, Tommy. “I want Colin here.”

“Well, it seems we are going to have to agree to disagree.” Phillip tried to keep the con-

versation civil, but tempers flared even among the twins. Some men wanted to live with their
children in other places, but that could be potentially dangerous.

“How is it going to look that a gay couple in their midtwenties has an eighteen-year-old

kid?” Derek rolled his eyes. “It will stir up trouble faster than you can say kiss my fanny.”

“He’s right.” Brandon shrugged helplessly. “I love Simon, and I want the best for him, but

living alone with Derek and me puts him in danger.”

“Have you ever considered asking us what we want?” Simon lifted his glass of water,

sipped, and then wiped his mouth before returning his napkin to his lap.

“We’re willing to listen to you, but ultimately, we have to decide what’s best. We are your

parents after all.” Brandon was trying to keep the peace, but it was clear Simon had his own
ideas.

Victor looked at Flint, who gave him a concerned frown.
“I’m so not ready for all of this. Are you?”
“I can barely keep my life straight.”
Victor sighed. “I’m with you that children, even chil-

dren who come into the world mostly grown, have to be a way down the road for us.”

“I agree, but I think we’re going to have Dustin and Mitch hounding us to mate.”
“Maybe not so much after this discussion.”
Victor noticed that Dustin and Mitch were

following the argument, but they looked sad. It was obvious they wanted children but not until
some of the more difficult details were worked out.

When Victor expanded his awareness, he realized that in the basement were two mamma

bears gestating cubs. The leader of their sloth, Danny Jones, and his twin, Matthew Edwards,
were carrying cubs from their mating with Adrian and Logan. Also, Maxwell Wallace and his
twin, Quinn English, were carrying the cubs from their mating with Phillip and Ryan. Since
Maxwell was a wolf-shifter, everyone was wondering what their cubs would shift into.

“You didn’t work all this out before you decided to have more?” Victor realized he’d

spoken aloud. When everyone looked at him, he wanted to turn into water and seep away.

“I wanted a child no matter what,” Phillip said softly. “All this”—he lifted his

hand—“these arguments are just a part of what we must deal with because of what we are, but
there was simply no way I was going to let that stop me.” When Phillip looked down the length
of the table to the other end, Victor followed his gaze.

Ryan nodded in total agreement with his twin. “We’ll work it out because we’ll love him

no matter what.”

Victor met Flint’s eyes, and they shared smiles with one another. Communicating si-

lently, they vowed to make those words the ruling force in their lives.

“No matter what,” Victor said, “we’ll work it out because we will love one another, and

our children, unconditionally.”

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Epilogue

In the days and months that followed, Victor found work with Hot Jocks. His paintings

were auctioned off on the site, and bidding often became fierce. Franklin Willows took a small
percentage of the proceeds for himself, and the subject of the work received a cut, but the bulk
of the proceeds went to Victor.

Flint enrolled in culinary school in Denver, much to the dismay of his father and the

coach of the Twin Pines Grizzlies. But Flint was beyond happy, and once his father realized
that, he was far more understanding. Coach Miller would never understand, but that was a
different matter.

Josh Ratcliff, the nexus of their group, announced that his work with them was over. The

twinning of Victor and Flint to their bear mates Mitch and Dustin was the last. The brothers
were stunned to find out Josh was straight and had a girlfriend in Conifer. However, this in-
formation eased Danny’s mind that he did not have to scramble to find Josh a mate. Now that
all of them were twinned and mated in bear form, they would not need him any longer. Their
communications no longer ran through him, and he had no answers about why the change
had occurred. The entire brotherhood, including the cubs, were able to silently communicate
with one another whenever they wanted, even over vast distances. Phillip speculated that
since they were a full unit, perhaps that is what caused the shift in what they could and
couldn’t do. After several tests, they discovered their ability to shift over greater distances was
also enhanced.

The brotherhood remained strong despite their differences. Once they found a way to

give their children papers, the parents were then left to decide for themselves how they would
live. Some chose to stay in Phillip’s home and send their children to Twin Pines College, oth-
ers chose to move to various places across the country and claim their children as younger sib-
lings to avoid unnecessary strife. Some even elected to send their children to boarding schools
overseas. But they always came together once a year during the holidays to share and rejoice
in their brotherhood.

When there were issues between the sloth and other animal-shifting brotherhoods, they

solved their differences on the gridiron. The bears were known for their physical strength and
seamless team spirit. As the other shifters gained an understanding of how they could mate
and reproduce, there were fewer conflicts between the shifters. Ancient rivalries died when
those involved found greater pleasures to occupy their minds.

Various timing techniques with feeding the cubs were tried, but they still shifted into

young men and not actual children. The boys always resembled their fathers and seemed to
inherit their traits as well. Eventually, all the brothers mated and had children. Some had
more than one. Some had twins, one had triplets, and one pair even had a girl with unique
abilities unlike any of her counterparts. As the children aged and took on more active roles,
the brothers of the sloth realized that the children of the shifter groups were different than
their fathers in many ways.

But that would be the subject for another series.

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THE END

WWW.ANITRAMCLEOD.COM

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reading, writing, and white-water rafting are the three things Anitra Lynn McLeod en-

joys the most. You can visit her at www.AnitraMcLeod.com.

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Also by Anitra Lynn McLeod

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 10:

Dangerous Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 11: Daring Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 12: Proud Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 13:

Dominant Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 14:

Determined Alpha

For all other titles, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/anitra-lynn-mcleod

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Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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@Created by

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