Desperate to fill the void created when his former lover found his mate and abandoned their weekly guys' night out ritual, Brad Hennessy extends an erotic invitation to a blue-eyed hunk who takes his breath away. It's not the first time he's done this, and as a self-proclaimed life-long bachelor, he believes it won't be the last.
J.C.'s mating ritual is only a week away, and with the Zante pack of werewolves eager to meet their new Queen and welcome her as one of their own, the upcoming ceremony is all anyone talks about. The constant enthusiastic babble is enough to drive Brad crazy. But in Sean Fielding's arms, Brad finds the kind of comfort and passion that surprises even him.
Sean's innocence and complete lack of experience when it comes to sharing himself with another man is both endearing and charmingly seductive. It may even mean the end of Brad's bachelor days. Until a blast from the past threatens to destroy the most intimate, genuine relationship Brad has ever had.
Excerpt
"Hey, I never said being gay was easy." Richard Hudson winked at Sean Fielding and slid his sleek two-door Toyota Solara into a hard-won parking spot.
A horn blared behind them, deafening and persistent. The irate driver who'd been waiting for a spot flashed his high beams. Richard stuck his hand out the window and offered a one-fingered salute.
The sound of tires skidding on the hard concrete accompanied Richard's low chuckle. "But I did promise it would be a hell of a lot of fun."
Sean gripped the leather-covered armrests, his knuckles turning white. "I'm not gay. This is --"
"Research. Yeah, I know." Richard cut the engine and opened the driver's door, but not before Sean saw him roll his eyes.
Fuck. I'm never drinking beer again.
One too many bottles on his birthday, and Sean had ended up spilling his darkest fantasies to a room full of rowdy men. Which wouldn't have been so bad, really, had his fantasies been of the good old-fashioned Adam-and-Eve variety. And had his best friends -- his gay best friends -- not been close enough to hear him wax poetic about big cocks, broad shoulders and chiseled chests.
He climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind him, then hurried to catch up to Richard. "Seriously, man. I've got that big presentation Monday morning. I need to get a feel for the property before I open my mouth and suggest this as the ideal location for Mr. Sheen's new casino."
Richard eyed him skeptically as they navigated the densely-packed cars. On the other side of the lot, a myriad of neon lights flashed against the night sky. "And what makes you think the current owner's gonna sell?"
Sean shrugged. "What makes every owner sell? Money."
Richard gestured around him. "I think Brad Hennessy is doing well enough without your boss's charity. Besides, if he sells, you'd better be prepared to have a riot on your hands. You'll be robbing thousands of horny men of their favorite hangout."
Sean had just opened his mouth to reply when he spotted a familiar black truck pulling into a recently vacated spot a few feet away. He and Richard waited while their four friends made their way toward them.
Frank, a tall, dark-haired man with an Italian complexion and a temper to match, shoved a finger into Richard's chest. "That was my parking spot. You saw me waiting there, and you went for it anyway."
Richard held his hands up in mock surrender. "And you're surprised? Since when is anything of yours hands-off to me?"
Frank narrowed his eyes and tried to keep the scowl firmly fixed on his features, but a grin cracked through the façade. "Fine. Don't let it happen again unless we're in bed, or I say it's okay."
"Either, or?" Sean asked, shaking his head. "I'll never understand that."
Richard brushed a dark curl away from his forehead. "Monogamy's for fools. And heterosexuals." He narrowed his eyes at Sean, then gasped in mock-surprise. "And look, I don't see a ring on your finger!"
Sean decided to let that jab pass without comment. He'd taken a lot of ribbing from the guys over the years for being the only one in their tight-knit circle who wasn't gay.
Sean and Richard had first met in their freshman year of college, eight years ago. They'd both chosen a photography class as an elective and were partnered together to work on a nature project. Unlike the rest of their classmates, they had no trouble selecting a theme. Their collage of photos on "the sensual union of the birds and the bees" was the talk of the class for months.
A week after they met, Richard introduced Sean to his friends and he instantly hit it off with all of them. Steve, Jeff and Frank welcomed him into their group without hesitation.
He'd known from the beginning there was something different about them, but he couldn't put his finger on it for the first few weeks. They hung out with the party crowd, just like everyone else. They skipped class when it suited them and skated through the finals. just like everyone else. Sean had begun to think he was being paranoid.
And then he walked into the men's bathroom one night to find Frank's mouth wrapped around Richard's cock. In a flash, everything became painfully clear. He suddenly knew what was different, and it wasn't just a little odd, it was downright peculiar among frat boys.
His friends didn't talk about girls.
They didn't fantasize about them, pine away over them, or picture them naked. By that point, it was too late for Sean to do anything but deal with his slight discomfort and move on.
For years, he'd adopted a "you do your thing, I do mine" attitude. He met their boyfriends, listened to their stories about failed relationships, crushes and devastating betrayals, and shared his in turn.
Then, eighteen months ago, everything changed. Sean's last relationship ended on a sour note when his girlfriend accused him of spending more time with his "queer friends" than with her.
If that wasn't bad enough, that's when the dreams began. Vivid, luscious fantasies about hard, chiseled bodies, flat abs, firm asses and cocks so solid they might as well have been made of steel. He'd tried to deny they were happening at first, but it didn't take long before they became a nightly occurrence. His stained sheets made it perfectly clear that he could no longer keep a copy of the latest issue of Playboy on his nightstand and wish his dreams away.
Things only got worse when he spilled his secret over a pint of beer on his birthday. That had been three weeks ago. Since then, his friends had been frantically trying to bring him to their favorite hangout. He was proud of himself for adamantly resisting both their subtle and their overt hints. until tonight.
"Well, are you coming in, or are you going to stand there with that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on your face?"
Feral Bachelorism (Book 2 in "Feral Heat" Series)
Genre: Werewolf / Urban Fantasy / Menage / Gay / Bisexual