THE BEAR
ESSENTIALS
Coming October 29th
Bear shifter Rob
Colton is excited about the future, and after graduating, he is ready to start
the next phase of his life. He never expects that life to include a frightened
young man that darts out in front of his truck. But one whiff of Casey's sweet
smell and Rob knows his future was going to be brighter than ever. He has found
his true mate.
Orphaned at an early
age, Casey Newton has been bounced from foster home to foster home, never quite
finding a place to call his own. When a big burly man decides Casey is his true
mate, the cold and lonely world Casey grew up in begins to change. For once in
his life, someone wants him.
But wanting someone
and keeping them safe are two very different things. When the man that has
terrorized Casey for most of his life comes after him again, can Casey trust Rob
to protect him or will he be tossed away like he has every other time in his
life? And will the bond between mates be strong enough to withstand losing
everything they hold dear?
STORY
EXCERPT
Rob grinned when he
heard his best friend’s unique ring tone blare on his phone. He tapped his
Bluetooth earpiece, connecting him to the call. “Yo, dude, we did
it.”
“Right?” Billy Ray
Jenson replied.
“I can’t believe
it’s finally over.”
“Yeah, man, school
sucked.”
Rob couldn’t agree
more.
“We still meeting
out by the river tonight?” He couldn’t wait to celebrate.
He had wanted to
drop out of school when he turned eighteen and go to work fulltime in his
father’s construction company. His parent’s made him stay in school, and now he
was glad they did, but the last few months had been the hardest.
Unlike the rest of
the known universe, shifters had to attend an additional three years of school.
Most humans assumed it was some sort of advanced college courses, and maybe that
was true to some extent. The courses they took taught them about their bear
history. It taught them how to control their beasts when they were faced with
violence or situations that forced their bear to the surface.
It taught them how
to be better bears.
“You know it.”
“You and Jed grab
the beer,” Rob said. “I’ll bring some steaks.”
“Cool.”
Billy Ray was a man
of few words, at least few comprehensible words.
“I need to swing by
the house and grab few things then I’ll head out to the river.” And he wanted to
talk to his parents now that he had finished school. He wanted to go to work for
his father fulltime. He had been dreaming of working side by side with his dad
since he was seven years old and picked up his first hammer.
“See you out there.”
Rob chuckled as he disconnected the call. He was still reeling from the fact
that he had finally graduated. It felt like he had been attending school forever
and he had finally been set free. His bear wanted to roar.
“Holy fucking shit!”
Rob slammed on the breaks, his eyes rounding as his truck slid to a stop mere
inches from the small figure racing across the road in front of
him.
Wide eyes the color
of the warm caramel and edged with kohl peered up at him over the hood of the
truck, big fat tears dripping from them down pale white cheeks. Time seemed to
stand still as Rob sank into those big liquid eyes, drowning in
them.
Then the man
blinked, his dark thick eyelashes sweeping over his pale tear stained cheeks as
he huddled further into his dark grey hoodie. He turned and started across the
road again, the moment broken.
Rob stared after the
lone figure, stunned by the overpowering emotions suddenly running rampant
through him. He didn’t understand why his stomach clenched at the sight of those
tears or why his dick became so hard he could have punched a hole through a
steel plate.
But he was going to
find out.
Rob growled as he
drove his truck to the side of the road and turned the engine off. He jumped out
of the truck and raced after the little man, catching sight of him hurrying down
a dirt path on the side of the road that led into the woods.
He quickly caught up
with his prey, barely panting from exertion. He grabbed the guy’s arm, his
eyebrows shooting up when the guy instantly dropped to the ground and curled
into himself.
“Please, don’t hurt
me,” the man whimpered as he covered his head with his arms.
Rob growled, his
gaze snapping back and forth as he scanned his immediate surroundings for signs
of danger. Spotting nothing out of place, Rob lifted his nose and drew in a
lungful of air. He smelled the forest—trees and dirt and the slightly musty
smell of dead leaves.
And apples…cinnamon
and apples.
Rob frowned in
confusion. If he didn’t know better, he’d think someone was out in the middle of
the woods baking an apple pie. God, he loved apple pie. It was without a doubt
his favorite desert next to honey.
Nothing tasted
better than honey.
Dismissing his wild
thoughts, Rob turned his attention back to the man cowering on the ground at his
feet. A deep mind numbing rage began to take hold of him when he noticed the
bruises showing up through the rips in the man’s hoodie. There was even a
trickle of blood at the corner of the man’s mouth, no doubt due from the cut on
his fat lip.
Someone had worked
this poor guy over, and hard.
Rob squatted down
next to the smaller man. Jeez, he had to outweigh him by at least a hundred
pounds if not more. The little thing was all skin and bones.
And bruises, there
were a shitload of bruises.
“What happened,
cub?” Rob spoke in his gentlest voice, which wasn’t easy when his usual tone was
deep and rough. It matched his looks. He was big and fierce and made like a
brick shit house. And for once in his life, he wished he wasn’t so
intimidating.
The poor thing was
going to shake apart.
“Sshhh, it’s okay.”
Rob tried to sooth the man by rubbing his back. “You’re safe now. No one is
going to hurt you.”
When a little of the
tension eased in the man’s body, Rob lifted him up into a sitting position,
surprised by how easily he could move the guy. He had lifted heavier bags of
cement.
Big liquid brown
eyes peeked up at Rob through a fall of honey blond hair. Rob reached down and
gingerly touched the man’s swollen bottom lip, grimacing at the wince of pain
that crossed the guy’s face.
“What happened to
you, cub?”
“They took my bike.”
The words were whispered in the sweetest voice Rob had ever heard. It wrapped
around him like a blanket of tranquility he had never felt in all his years. If
he had been a cat he would have purred.
He wasn’t a
cat.
“Who took your bike,
cub?”
“Casey,” the man
said as his eyes flickered up for a moment before darting away. “My name is
Casey Newton, not cub.”
Rob chuckled at the
small flicker of defiance he could see in those warm caramel brown eyes. He knew
who Casey was. While they didn’t run in the same circles, Rob had seen the man
around town. He might not have known his name until now, but he knew who Casey
was.
“I like
cub.”
And he liked this
particular cub. The draw to cradle Casey in his arms and hold him close,
protecting him from all the evils in the world was riding him hard. Rob had felt
the same way each time one of his siblings came into the world, just never to
this magnitude.
He’d kill a rock for
his mate…
Fuck.
ADULT
EXCERPT
Rob fisted a handful
of Casey's hair and pulled gently until the man's head was tilted back and then
he lowered his head, pressing their mouths together in a gentle
kiss.
There was a quality
to kissing Casey that was unparalleled to anyone Rob had kissed in the past.
Casey didn't just press his lips to someone's and move them around a little bit.
He leaned into the kiss and put his entire body into it.
It was a kiss for
his tired soul to melt into.
As his tongue
explored at its leisure, Rob gently stroked the lissome body pressed against
him. Needing just a little bit more, Rob slid his tongue inside the warm heat of
Casey’s mouth, tasting him, devouring what the man had to offer.
As he pulled back,
he nipped Casey's bottom lip with his teeth.
"I ache, Rob." As if
to emphasize his words, Casey rubbed against Rob, leaving no doubt as to what he
meant. Casey's cock was like a steel rod in his pants.
Rob swallowed hard
as the lust igniting in his gut burned away his ability to breath. He glanced
toward the kitchen where he could hear his parents talking in low voices. He
knew he would get his head handed to him if he took Casey upstairs and claimed
him as he really wanted to do. But that didn't mean he couldn't take the edge
off until he could.
He lifted Casey up
in his arms and carried him out of the living room and down the hallway to the
guest bathroom. He stepped inside and set Casey down on the bathroom counter
before turning back and locking the door.
Once he turned back
to Casey, he leaned in for another kiss. Their lips met again but this time it
wasn't the slow tender and gentle thing it had been before. This time it was out
of control, maddeningly frantic, needy. Blood pounded in his brain, leapt from
his heart, and made his knees tremble.
Casey’s skin was
flushed, his beautiful face transformed by the flush of desire. Rob hadn’t
thought Casey could get any better-looking, but staring down at the man, he knew
he had been wrong. His mate was breathtaking.
He was one lucky
bear.
Rob leaned forward,
inhaling Casey’s scent from collarbone to ear, taking in the scent of cinnamon
and apples. The sweet fragrance rushed back into Rob in a wave of intoxication.
Smelling Casey was hardening his cock. Rob loved the smell of the man, was
addicted to his delicious flavor.
There was a pull
that was almost maddening in his mind. Rob wanted to sink deep into the man’s
soul and never come out. It was a need so strong that Rob let it wash over him
and carry him under.
He glanced down at
his mate, staring as he snaked his hand into Casey’s jeans and massaged the
heated flesh tenting up his pants. It was hard, but felt like liquid silk under
his fingers with the pre-cum leaking over Rob’s fingers.
Lifting his hand to
his mouth, Rob sucked his fingers in, the tangy taste rolling over his taste
buds like nectar to a bee. He groaned, licking each finger clean before he
pulled at the waistband of Casey’s pants, chasing the material down Casey’s body
until he could toss the fabric aside.
Casey lay there on
the counter, stunningly naked, exposed to Rob’s appreciative eyes. He drank the
man in as he pushed Casey’s thighs apart.
He found himself
wanting to rub his scent all over Casey again. The urge was strong, compelling
him to lean forward until his stomach was touching Casey’s erection. He rubbed
his body over Casey’s length, feeling the pre-cum trailing over his skin.
“Rob?” Casey asked.
Rob grinned as he
dropped down until his head was even with Casey’s weeping cock. He licked a path
down Casey's abdomen to his cock. He nuzzled in the wiry curls before licking
his way up the fully hard shaft and sucking at the engorged head to savor
Casey’s pre-cum.
Casey groaned out
his pleasure as Rob swallowed the erection to the root. Using his tongue, Rob
laved the tender depression beneath the swollen crown and then tongue-fucked the
tiny slit, licking away the salty taste of Casey’s desires.
“Please,” Casey
hissed as he gripped the edge of the countertop until his knuckles turned white.
Rob placed Casey's
feet on his shoulders and then pushed his knees apart. He wished he had a camera
to take a picture of what was most definitely the most erotic sight he had ever
seen. His jeans became tight, quickly growing uncomfortable.
Rob splayed his
fingers over Casey's nicely rounded ass cheeks and pulled them apart before
abandoning the man's cock and lowering his head to lick at his tight puckered
hole. The high keening cry that came from his mate made Rob's bear rumble. The
desire to take Casey and claim him was riding him hard and it was all Rob could
do to keep his bear at bay.
He concentrated on
pleasing his mate, which seemed to satisfy his bear. Making sure he left plenty
of spittle behind, Rob swallowed the man's cock again. At the same time, he
pushed his finger into Casey's ass, curving his finger up to reach that special
spot.
Casey bucked,
driving his cock deep. Rob sucked harder. He wanted, needed, his lover's seed in
his mouth. When Casey cried out and filled Rob's mouth with his release, Rob
swallowed greedily, savoring the salty taste of his lover's cream.
Rob fumbled with the
buttons on his jeans, frantic. His balls burned, and at this intensity, Rob knew
he wasn’t going to last long. He jumped to his feet and shoved his jeans down
his thighs. Grabbing his aching shaft, Rob began pumping his hand at a frantic
rate.
"Rob."
Rob's eyes snapped
to Casey. He felt his balls draw up tight to his body when the man lifted his
hoodie up to his throat, baring his stomach and chest. "Come on me. I want to
smell like you."
His mate's simple
request was all it took for Rob to find his release. Rob came with an
incoherent, hoarse shout. He spurted hot jets of cum all over Casey's naked
skin, marking him in a way that every bear would understand.
