"Close the door behind you."

Oh, man. This had to be a dream. Harland's voice was rough, raw, and deep. Just listening to the whiskey tone was making Dresden's cock hard. Dresden's nerves felt raw as he not only closed the door, but flipped the lock. This was what he had wanted, had craved since moving in here.

Dresden was going to deny the man nothing. The attraction between them was strong and was growing even stronger as time went on. It was at the point where Dresden was ready to beg the cowboy to fuck him.

"You smell so damn good." Harland hooked a hand behind Dresden's neck and pulled him closer. As their lips collided, he felt Harland's cock thicken between them.

Dresden tilted his head, sucking in the masculine scent of Harland. He normally fooled around with men closer to his own stature and build. Dresden had never been interested in someone Harland's size before. But for some strange reason, the cowboy flipped every trigger Dresden possessed and some he hadn't even known about.

When Dresden pulled back for air, he gasped. Harland's normally blue eyes were golden amber, animallike. He'd never seen anyone with eyes like that before. "What are you?"

"Horny," Harland said. He tried to pull Dresden close again, but Dresden's heart was thumping hard, and for the first time since meeting the cowboy, he was scared.

Had Dresden misjudged Harland? Had he jumped from the red-hot frying pan into the fire? What did he really know about Harland? Not enough to put his full trust in the man. "Tell me what's going on, Harland."

The break in his voice was noticeable.

The air in the room became heavy, making it hard for Dresden to breathe. Harland moved closer. Dresden backed away.

God, I'm scared of the man, but I'm also turned on by his nakedness. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Don't run, Dresden," Harland warned. "Just so you know, that's a turn-on for me."

Dresden shook his head. "What kind of sick game are you playing?" Oh, god, and he had brought his son into this madman's home. He needed to get Markey out of here. Dresden turned, racing toward the door. A low growl filled the room before he was lifted off his feet.

"Please, just don't hurt my son." Dresden fought to get free, but Harland was too damn strong. "I'll do whatever you want as long as my son is safe."

"You got it all wrong." Harland nuzzled his neck. As terrified as he was, Dresden moaned.

Fuck. I really am sick and twisted for liking this. "What do you mean?"

"Baby, I'm not going to hurt you," Harland whispered into Dresden's ear. "I would never hurt you."

Dresden didn't believe the guy. There was something off about Harland. It wasn't just the strange amber color of the man's eyes, but the air around him. The cowboy...Dresden couldn't quiet put his finger on it, but Harland was definitely different.

His head fell back to Harland's shoulder when he felt the man's thick cock pressing against his ass. Dresden wanted to strip the denim away and let the guy fuck him. The urge was so strong that Dresden had to curl his fingers in to stop himself from unsnapping his jeans.

He didn't protest-was too afraid to protest-when Harland bent Dresden over the bed, pressing some of his weight into Dresden's back. He thought for sure the cowboy was going to rip his jeans off and do what he wanted with Dresden.

But Harland just lay there over him. He could hear the man's heavy breathing and feel his chest contracting and expanding, but he didn't make a move.

"Harland?"

"I'm trying, Dresden." Harland's voice was rough, raw, as if the man were fighting something internally. "I need to tell you, but-" Harland shook his head and then buried his face into Dresden's shoulder. "Fuck."

"Just tell me," Dresden said. He was hoping like hell that whatever Harland had to say would explain this strange behavior and the changing eye color. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Dresden just might be reading too deep into this.

"I'm a bear shifter."

Nope, he wasn't reading too deep into this. If anything, Dresden had given Harland too much credit when it came to sanity. He should have known the guy was too good to be true. "Okay."

It would probably be best if he didn't piss the crazy man off. Going along with the cowboy's delusions was probably the best thing he could do right now.

"I'm serious."

"I believe you," Dresden said. He had to figure a way out of this. If he played along with Harland, maybe he could get to his son and then he could run as fast and as far as he could.

Bear County seemed to be filled with psychos.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Harland moved his hips and Dresden sucked in a breath. Damn, the man was well endowed.

"Of course I do."

Harland grunted. "No, you don't."

Dresden was prepared to convince the man that he did believe him-even though he thought the cowboy off his rocker-when claws slid from Harland's fingernails.

His breath became shallow. His heart was hammering in his chest. Dresden was on the verge of passing out. He'd heard whispers of shifters, but he thought they were gossip-nothing to them, just a bunch of lies.

This couldn't be true.

People couldn't change into animals. That was absolutely preposterous. I mean, if they could, wouldn't there be more sightings? Wouldn't we humans have discovered them long ago?

"My son."

"Is safe," Harland said. "He's the safest he's ever been in his entire life. You've been here for two weeks. Has anything happened to you or him?"

As a matter of fact, Dresden had never heard Markey laugh so much. His son wore a perpetual smile on his face. It was nothing like when they lived with Stork. Even his son's health had vastly improved.

"And me?"

"You make me insane." Harland's nails receded. "It's like I can't be more than two feet away from you or I feel like I'm losing my mind."

It was the same with Dresden. That was why he was here in this room with a naked man. There was this strange compulsion inside of him to be near Harland-an almost unfathomable need. "What does that mean?"

"I'm still trying to figure it out," Harland confessed. "My friends think you're my mate. My bear thinks you're my mate. Hell, even my ma claims the fact."

It didn't take a genius to figure that statement out. Dresden licked his dry lips, trying to shift his weight under the cowboy. "How do you find out?"

Did Dresden really want to know? He had seen the proof himself that Harland was telling the truth. Did he want to delve any deeper into this strange life? He knew nothing about shifters. What if he found out that they were mates? Dresden seriously doubted these men believed in divorce.

"Now, see," Harland began. "That's the tricky part."

"Tricky how?"

But Harland didn't answer him. The cowboy began to nibble his way over the nape of Dresden's neck as his hands skimmed down Dresden's sides. He was trying really hard to hold onto the conversation. To find out what was so tricky about...what were they talking about? Dresden couldn't remember, not when Harland's thick, muscular body was pinning him down.

Not when Harland's cock was pressing into Dresden's ass. Nope. There were no thoughts whatsoever.

Lights out. Close up shop. I'll think about what Harland is saying...tomorrow.

He'd panic when his brain cells started working again, but for now, there was nothing but sensations. Pure hot, rock-my-world, please-fuck-me-now sensations. Dresden tried to climb higher on the soft mattress, but Harland wasn't letting him go anywhere.

"I told you. Running turns me on." Harland shoved his hands under Dresden's shirt and then pinched his nipples. Dresden bucked against the mattress, his cock hard as he tried to find some kind of friction.

"II wasn't running." Dresden tilted his head to the side as Harland's lips explored.

"That's too bad." Harland's hands slipped lower until they were at the waistband of Dresden's jeans. Dresden inhaled sharply when Harland released his snap, slid his zipper down, and teased the skin just above the head of Dresden's cock. "Because now I won't have to tie you up."

The breath left Dresden's lungs.

Harland leaned back just enough to relieve Dresden of his jeans. They were pulled off so quickly that Dresden didn't have a chance to blink. Next came his shirt. Dresden helped Harland take that off.

Two strong hands began to knead his ass. Dresden pressed his forehead into the mattress, rocking it back and forth as Harland's fingers slid up and down the crease of his ass. "I bet you look real pretty all tied up."

Dresden didn't have an answer for that. He'd never been tied up before. He had never even thought about being tied up. But Harland made it sound so sexy, so sensual that he nearly begged the man to find some rope.

The tip of Harland's finger pressed against Dresden's hole. "I bet you would look even better with a plug in your ass."

Harland pulled his hand away. Seconds later it returned, lubed, as a finger breached him. Dresden felt out of his depth. The kinkiest he'd ever gotten was having the lights on during sex. He wasn't a very imaginative type in the bedroom.

He had a feeling that was about to change.

A lot of things were about to change.

"Would you like that, Dresden? Would you like a big, fat plug in your ass?"

Dresden's fingers curled into the sheets. He gritted his teeth, his eyes rolling. "II don't know."

Harland began to move behind him. Dresden wanted to look over his shoulder to see what the man was doing but didn't dare. He was both frightened and excited in equal measures.

Something that felt like steel slid over his cock until it reached the base. There was a pressure at his perineum, and then Dresden shuddered when something hard pressed into his asshole. It was wide. Definitely wide. Dresden's ass was stretched almost to the point of pain.

Whatever Harland had put on him was one long device, stretching from the base of Dresden's cock to his back entrance. The middle pressed against his perineum, giving Dresden added pleasure.

Harland wiggled whatever it was and Dresden nearly came on the spot.

"I knew you'd like this." Harland gently scraped his fingernails down Dresden's spine, making Dresden moan. He was pulled from the bed and placed on his knees. "Put your hands behind your back, sweetness."

The plug shifted, grazing over Dresden's prostate. His cock jerked as he put his hands behind his back. Harland circled around him and then stopped in front of Dresden. His beefy hand was holding his own cock at the base, the tip leaking, making Dresden's mouth water.

Without being told, Dresden opened his mouth, taking in the tip and licking the pre-cum clean. As soon as Harland's essence touched his tongue, something inside Dresden snapped, folded, came together, and fell apart. It was the strangest and most wonderful feeling in the world. It was almost like they were bonded on the deepest level. Dresden couldn't really explain the sensation, but he'd never felt closer to anyone in his life.

Harland growled and the sound was pure animal.

"Do you know how I would find out that you are my mate?" Harland's fingertips grazed Dresden's jaw.

Dresden shook his head as he sucked Harland deeper.

"I would fuck you, Dresden." Harland's fingers stroked Dresden's throat. "And then you would become pregnant."

Dresden faltered, his jaw growing slack as Harland's cock slipped from between his lips. "Come again?"

Harland's fingers slid through Dresden's hair before the man fisted the strands. "I didn't tell you to stop sucking me."

"But you just said pregnant."

"I did."

"That's impossible."

"Suck me, Dresden." The tip of Harland's cock tapped at Dresden's lips. "Take me into your mouth."

Dresden started to tell the man to fuck off, that he was insane. But that bone-deep connection was growing stronger. If he hadn't known any better, Dresden would have thought the man had drugged him. But Harland hadn't. This strange feeling had been growing since Dresden first laid eyes on Harland at the station.

He had dismissed it at the time.

But there was no dismissing it now.

Chapter Six.

Harland was trying his best not to scare Dresden. That was the last thing he wanted. But Dresden needed to know the truth about what could happen if they had sex. He could already feel the bond growing between them. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

Dresden opened wide and sucked Harland's cock like a fucking pro. Harland was having a hard time standing up straight. His knees felt weak. He'd always had a kinky side to him, and Dresden seemed like the type of person who could fulfill all of Harland's fantasies.

But he also wanted to make sure that Dresden had all of his fantasies taken care of, as well. This being their first time together, Harland wouldn't tie the man up-though the urge was strong.

Instead, he lifted Dresden off of his knees and placed him on the bed, on his hands and knees, before pulling the plug from Dresden's ass. Harland lubed his cock and pressed the head against Dresden's wet hole. "Do you understand what I told you?"

"Hell no," Dresden admitted. "Men can't get pregnant."

"Are you willing to bet on that?"

Dresden hesitated. Harland felt like he was going to melt. He was so damn horny that he was ready to jack off. But he knew that wouldn't be satisfying. Not when he had an ass jutting out in front of him.

Dresden tossed his head back and wiggled his ass, tempting Harland in ways he wouldn't be able to resist for much longer. "Just fuck me."

"I warned you."

"You did, now fuck me." Dresden pressed his ass back and Harland wasn't about to deny the man. The head of his cock popped past the ring of muscle and Harland didn't stop until he was buried balls-deep inside Dresden's tight ass.