Denying Dare (2 page)

protecting its kill.

"Back off, Ben," Steven hissed. "He's not going to

hurt me." He knew deep in his bones the bartender wouldn't

harm a hair on his head. Two pairs of hands reached out

and yanked Ben out of the way, Dillon and Thomas pulling

their mate to safety. He knew the younger man would get a

good scolding when he got back to his apartment. His

mates took Ben's security very seriously.

Confident the young werekin was protected, Steven

turned his attention back to the tiger pinning him down.

Another tongue lick bathed the other side of his neck,

sending a shiver of pain through his body.

The tiger's tongue hung out of his mouth, giving

him a dopey expression. He looked cute if you overlooked

the fact the big cat could rip a person apart with very little

effort.

"Listen, pal, Anthony has weird sense of humor. He

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didn't mean anything by this."

"Mine."

The word floated into his mind, a word not his.

"No. I want a wolf," he protested. The objection

sounded weak even to him. At night, alone, he dreamed of

the sexy weretiger, but he wasn't about to admit it. There

was still a chance he could find a wolf.

"Tough."

"What do you mean, tough?"

Steven was afraid he knew exactly what the

weretiger meant. Dare was done dancing around their

attraction and had decided to keep Steven. He couldn't do

that. Could he?

Dare moved to the side and clamped his wide

mouth around Steven's arm. With a gentle hold at odds with

his mouthful of sharp teeth, the cat dragged him backwards

across the dance floor towards the elevators. Their audience

moved out of the way. Not one of them offered to help

Steven out. Most of them looked amused.

Fuckers.

The damn cat was taking him to his den and no one

was going to do a damn thing about it. He knew a lot of it

was because they knew Anthony doused him in catnip and

no one was going to interfere with Silver's mate without an

engraved invitation from the alpha.

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Digging in his heels, Steven tried to slow their trek

across the floor. Unfortunately, at this angle he was literally

in no position to stop the large cat. He couldn't get enough

traction to slow their progress and he didn't want to do

enough that the big cat thought he needed a better hold and

actually sank his teeth further into Steven.

"Third floor?" Anthony's voice was smooth and

clear as if they were discussing the weather.

"You fucker. Get me out of this!" Steven spluttered,

looking up at his former best friend.

"Why would I want to do that?" The sparkle in

Anthony's eyes showed he was enjoying himself

immensely.

Steven felt the bump against his back as they went

from hallway to elevator. He saw Anthony push a button

before stepping out into the club, leaving him at the big

cat's mercy.

"Have a good night, you two." His last view was of

Anthony waving goodbye as the doors closed.

If there were a chance he would survive Anthony,

and Silver, he'd beat the hell out of his best friend the first

opportunity he got.

With a sigh, Steven resigned himself to the situation

and relaxed beneath Dare. Anthony may be a little shit

sometimes, but he wouldn't leave his best friend in real

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danger.

"So what are you going to do with me now? Take

me to your lair?"

He got another painful lick for his efforts. "If you're

going to lick me, I'd prefer it be in human form."

Didn't that thought make him harder than marble.

Another chuff had him looking up at the enormous

beast. Damn, Dare was beautiful no matter what form he

took. Months of frustration evaporated as he stroked the

soft fur. "If you let me up I'll follow you as docile as a

lamb."

The cat cocked his head to one side as if

considering his offer.

"Promise." He blinked, trying to look innocent, but

right then the elevator bell dinged and the doors opened.

Large jaws gripped his right leather boot and dragged him

down the hall.

"Shit. I just bought those boots." Rug burn was

going to be a bitch tomorrow.

The tiger stopped right outside apartment 341,

dropping Steven's foot. Dare reared up on his back paws

and scratched a panel by the door.

As soon as he was released, Steven stood up and

found himself face to face with the huge animal. The tiger

flattened his ears.

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"I'm just standing, honest." He wasn't stupid enough

to think he could outrun the enormous cat.

The panel popped open, revealing a computer

screen. One giant paw pressed against the screen. A few

flashes and the word
reading
appeared before there was a

click and the apartment door opened.

"Clever. I could use something like that at my

house." All he had was an extra big dog door, but if he was

going to be entertaining giant cats in the future he'd make a

few modifications.

Where had that thought come from?

The big cat led the way inside. Steven followed,

closing the door behind him. His nerves swirled through his

stomach as if they were butterflies in a tornado-like frenzy.

Dare sat in the middle of the living room, looking at

him with a tilted head like a dog seeking approval. Or a cat

expecting something. Steven looked around in surprise at

the rich colors and tasteful collection of blown glass

decorating the room.

The bartender had sophisticated tastes.

Now, the question was how to get the man of his

jerk-off dreams to shift back. Most werekin needed a

trigger to shift from their animal form. The moon, a

powerful emotion, or certain drugs all worked depending

on the person and what they desired. Catnip obviously

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served as a trigger for Dare to shift. Maybe the sight of

Steven without clothes would do the reverse.

Watching the big animal for signs of distress or

anger, Steven slowly unbuttoned his shirt, slipped it off his

shoulders, and let it slide to the floor. The cat sat on his

haunches, licking his chops. Hoping this meant he liked the

show and not that Dare was planning on how to eat him for

dinner, Steven slipped off his boots and socks as well.

"Now I'm going to take the rest of my clothes off.

Don't bite
anything
."

He got another agreeing chuff, or maybe the beast

was laughing at him. Deciding to focus on the man inside

the cat, Steven made his movements as smooth and slinky

as possible, hoping to entice the younger man back to his

other form. He knew he had nothing like the bartender's

sexy kitty grace but he wasn't chopped liver, either.

Though, if he had some liver it might trigger a shift, too.

Focused on sliding off his tight leather pants in the

sexiest manner possible, Steven was startled when a

calloused finger slid up his arm.

"Fuck, you're the sexiest thing ever," Dare said.

Steven barely finished removing his pants before

warm hands gripped him and yanked him up against acres

of hot, naked bartender.

Steven's mouth was taken in a kiss so carnal he

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went from nothing to full arousal in the blink of a tiger's

eye. Who knew cats were so fucking hot? Coherent thought

was burned away by the flames flaring high with the

contact of skin against skin.

Memories of every other encounter before melted

beneath the searing heat of the weretiger's touch. Never

again would he consider the fast couplings of other wolves

an acceptable substitute.

Steven knew that once he succumbed to Dare,

things would never be the same.

Fuck.

He wrenched free. "Just a minute."

Dare lunged. Steven tripped over his boots and went

down.

A warm naked body slid on top of him, holding him

firmly to the plush carpet.

"Got you." Dare's eyes glowed bright green, telling

Steven the other man wasn't completely in charge of his

cat, and he'd be damned if the thought of being prey didn't

make him hard enough to hurt.

Steven reached up to stroke the werecat's hair only

to have his hands pinned beside his head on the carpet. As

many times as he'd imagined being in Dare's arms, it was

always with him being the aggressor. He was used to being

the man in charge, the one who called all the shots.

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Dare rubbed noses with him before sliding his

cheek against first one side of his face and then the other in

a feline gesture of affection. The slight rasp of a five

o'clock shadow sent shivers down Steven's spine,

everything in his body seizing. His toes curled from the

sensation and his cock grew hard enough he was almost

certain he could pound nails with the thing.

"Fuck." He almost came from nuzzling alone. There

was no way he was going to last much longer. "This first

one's going to be fast."

"As long as it's only the first." The bartender's deep,

rough voice sounded as if he hadn't completely let his cat

go. Playful eyes looked down at Steven seconds before

Dare's large hand gripped both of their cocks together,

tugging and rubbing until Steven forgot how to speak, how

to form words, that there was even an oral language that

didn't completely consist of moans, whimpers, and satisfied

sighs.

The room blurred before his eyes as he came so

hard he was certain his soul poured out into the other man's

hand. Dare soon followed with a shout of his own before

collapsing on top of Steven.

The other man's weight pressed him into the plush

carpet and for the first time he didn't mind the weight or the

stickiness. Usually, he was quickly ushering his wolf

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partner to the door and calling Anthony to gripe about the

lack of emotional connection. Instead, he snuggled Dare

closer, content to lie without breathing, because fuck Dare

was heavy.

"Shit, Steven," Dare said, moving off of him. "I

didn't mean to crush you."

"No worries, babe." Steven slid his fingers through

Dare's amazing sable hair. It was soft and tumbled down to

the base of the younger man's neck. "Why isn't your hair

white?" His mind floated after the best orgasm in his life,

fixating on little details. Most shifters reflected their

coloring when they shifted. Orange tigers had auburn hair,

it was curious that Dare didn't have white locks.

The weretiger shrugged. "Just one of those odd

magic things. Want a shower?"

Steven nodded. "I'd love one. Did you want me to

head out afterwards or do you want to get a bite to eat?"

Dare was ahead of him, walking to where Steven

assumed the bathroom was, but at his words the weretiger's

head snapped around and he found himself facing one

pissed off feline shifter. He could tell his lover was barely

holding onto his human form. The tiger's eyes could light

up the room with their glow.

"Go?" he growled.

Steven held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I

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was just checking. I didn't want to impose."

Dare rolled his shoulders as if trying to shove the

tiger back under his skin. His big body shook with the

effort. After a few minutes he was able to speak. "Sorry,

my tiger wants you to stay pretty bad. If you don't mind

spending the night, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course. I'd be happy to." He hoped he sounded

more nonchalant than he felt.

Steven never stayed the night. He must've sounded

more sincere than he thought because he could almost feel

the tension leave Dare as the other man gave a soft "thank

you" and continued walking.

Moving from a pretty, green painted hall that

reminded Steven of a lush forest, they entered the prettiest

bathroom he'd ever seen. It wasn't rich and masculine like

the rest of the place. It was actually pretty. A pedestal sink

in pale blue and an old claw foot tub with flowers painted

on the sides dominated the room.

He saw Dare blush at his surprised stare. "It was

like this when I moved in. I thought it was nice."

"It is," he assured his lover. "It is." When Dare

turned to start up the shower he let his smile out. The kid

was so sweet he could eat him up with a spoon.

His cock took interest in that idea.

"The water's ready," Dare said, pulling out two