Gage's Awakening

Available now at eXtasy Books

Blurb:

Love may be blind, but hell hath no fury like a Hawk being denied his mate.

Hawk shifter Gage has never felt like he fit in—not when he was a teen struggling to survive on the streets and not now that he’s part of the coalition. But he puts on a happy face to hide his feelings and his battles with his inner demons. The only thing that brings Gage any happiness is Branson, a blind Lion shifter who is sexy as hell and smarter the rest of the coalition put together. Too bad Branson has made it clear that he wants nothing to do with Gage.

Branson has no idea why a hot young Hawk sifter would want damaged goods like him. For years, the rest of the coalition has ignored Branson and he’s gotten used to the solitude, making Gage’s attentions particularly unsettling. Despite his misgivings, Branson finds himself becoming more and more drawn to Gage.
Then a shocking secret from Gage’s past is revealed—a secret that could destroy not only the Hawk, but the whole coalition. Branson finds himself facing the biggest dilemma of all—does he choose the coalition or the man who’s managed to capture his heart?



Excerpt:

Unable to stand the thought of his mate fearing him, Branson moved forward until he was standing right in front of Gage and then shifted into his human form. Never before had Branson cursed his blindness more as the image of Gage immediately gave way to the all-too-familiar blackness.

Branson could still feel though and he took full advantage of that. Putting a hand on either side of Gage’s head, Branson leaned in until their bodies were pressed together.
A moan slipped past Branson as he noted how perfectly Gage’s hard body fit against him. Unable to help himself, he leaned in and buried his nose in the crook of Gage’s neck, a sense of calm going through Branson as he was still able to detect his mate’s scent under all those vile layers of Cougar stank.

While he couldn’t see Gage exposing his throat in a sign of submission, Branson could feel the subtle movement of Gage’s head tilting to the side. Branson took the opportunity, running his tongue up the expanse of skin that was slightly rough with stubble.

Gage let out a shivering gasp, but Branson’s nose told him it was from arousal not fear. Reaching down to cup Gage’s erection further confirmed Branson’s suspicion. Gage let out a sound halfway between a sob and a moan.

“What are you doing?” Gage asked, his voice a bit more stable.

Rubbing his cheek over Gage’s chin, Branson replied, “Getting his scent off you.”

“Why do you care? Last time I checked, you didn’t want anything to do with a young, stupid bird.”

While Gage may have sounded angry, the way he thrust into Branson’s hand said otherwise. For the first time ever, Branson cursed the fact that whenever they shifted back into human form, their clothes reappeared as well. Right then, he’d give his left canine for some skin-on-skin contact.

“I changed my mind,” Branson replied simply as he continued to rub his scent on Gage.

“You changed your mind?” Gage echoed incredulously as he shoved Branson in the chest.

The move didn’t unsettle Branson at all. While he may not be a soldier like Gage, he was still a Lion and that made him stronger both in human and animal form.

“When Skye told me that you took off with Damien, I thought I was going to go crazy. All I could think of was him touching you, kissing you, claiming you.”

“What in the hell? Skye was the one who encouraged me to say yes to Damien’s invitation in the first place.”

Branson let out a chuckle. Maybe his brother wasn’t so dense after all because he’d managed to find the one thing that would finally make Branson take some action. Some good old fashioned jealousy had managed to work wonders.

“I think Skye knew that would finally make me wake up and realize that I was being such an ass as far as you were concerned.”

“It’s about damn time, too” Carson called, reminding Branson that they still had an audience.

Gage stiffened. “So, you chasing me down and rubbing against me is supposed to make up for all the mean things you’ve said to me in the past?”

“No. I suspect that I’ll be doing a whole hell of a lot of groveling for the unforeseen future. Right now, I just want to take you back to my apartment and fuck you senseless.”

None of the tension left Gage’s body. “So, is that all you want? A quick hook-up and you decided I would be convenient since you already know how much I like you?”
Leaning in, Branson whispered in Gage’s ear, “No, I want to take you back so I can finally do the right thing and claim you as mine.”