#FirstChapterFriday from Blond
What would you think if the guy you were dating raced off
every night before midnight and would never say why? Would you succumb to the
urge to follow him one night?
Liam Hale can’t believe his luck when he meets the man of
his dreams, Karl Oberon.
Hunky Karl is the sexiest man Liam has ever met, but his
mysterious disappearances start to tease.
Gorgeous Liam is the only man Karl has ever loved.
Together they spark and sizzle with passion, but Karl
doesn’t know how to tell Liam why he races away. Maybe keeping Liam’s mind off
the question with mind-blowing erotic encounters will work.
@evernightpublisher Editor's pick
Chapter One
Frozen in terror,
Serge Oberon stared at the huge leopard that lay on the polished floorboards of
the living room. The ceiling fans swished around. The first glimmer of dawn
seeped through the gaps between the thin slats of the bamboo blinds unfurled on
the outside of the villa’s shallow windows. A shirt lay discarded over one of
the rattan chairs—a pair of white jeans crumpled at the foot of the couch.
Wide-eyed and dry-mouthed, Serge took in the scene as if it wasn’t real, as if
he’d stumbled onto the set of a movie. The big cat stirred, stretched a paw,
but remained asleep.
His first
coherent thoughts were for his son, Karl, who was visiting on his vacation. Please don’t let anything have happened to Karl.
His heart thumping in his chest, Serge retreated from the horrifying sight and
crept silently to the back rooms.
Karl had a
bedroom in the area of the building shaded by the huge old banyan tree in the
extensive grounds of the villa. Serge tiptoed toward the open door. He stopped
in the entrance and gazed at his twenty-four year old son. Oh no—I should have warned him. A cold shiver of fear ran down his
body and pooled in his stomach as he saw the love bites on his son’s neck, one
of which looked more like a nip from an animal than a token of sexual enjoyment
from a human.
Serge went
to his son with nausea building. “Karl, son, Karl, wake up.” He bent to inspect
the bite he knew in his heart meant Karl would never be normal again. The teeth
marks were human, the break in Karl’s skin minimal, but all the same the saliva
would have entered his bloodstream. A slight ooze of blood showed at the corner
of the wound where Karl must have lain on his side as he slept.
He opened
his eyes and stretched as his father drew away. “Hi, Dad, what’s going on?” He
yawned and shifted his muscled shoulders, bringing a hand up to the base of his
neck where he touched the bite gingerly.
Frown lines
furrowed Serge’s forehead. His eyes filled with tears. His voice a whisper now,
he sat heavily on the side of the bed. “You brought a man home.”
Karl
shuffled to sit up. He smiled at his dad. “Yeah, but what’s up? I’ve brought a
guy home before.”
Serge took a
deep breath. “Not here—not in Mumbai—at home in the States.”
Concern
flared in Karl’s eyes. “What’s this about, Dad? I’m always safe.”
“Come to the
kitchen. We’ll have coffee. I’ll tell you everything.” He gazed at his son who
reminded him so vividly of his beautiful dead wife, green eyes, dark blond
hair, streaked with almond brown.
A voice from
behind sent spikes of surprise and anxiety over him.
Serge
rounded on the man who lounged against the doorframe. He saw immediately why
his son had brought the tall, slender, and dark-eyed young man home. Well-cut tawny
hair spiked up and framed a handsome face. Muscles moved under the white linen
shirt the man wore. He was ‘hot stuff’ as his son would say. “You bit my son.”
He spat the accusation.
Karl caught
his father’s arm. “Dad.” His voice held a question as well as surprise at his
father’s ferocity.
“I forgot
myself. It was accidental. Forgive me, Karl?”
Karl stood
and went to the young man whose expression had filled with contrition and
affection. “For what, Dash? What’s going on?”
Serge
followed his naked son to stand in front of the shifter. “Get out of my home.”
Karl spun
around to confront his father. “What the hell…”
Dashiell
Chandra silently walked away along the wide hall and exited the house. He cast
a mournful glance at Karl then closed the door behind him.
Serge sagged
against the bedroom doorframe. “I’m sorry. You need answers. Put something on. I’ll
make coffee.” He walked to the living room and, just in case he’d been
mistaken, he checked the animal had gone. The shirt and jeans were gone. Dash
had been wearing them.
The water
for instant coffee had boiled by the time Karl joined him.
Karl’s
bright hair was damp and smoothed back from his face. He wore a pair of loose,
low-rise jeans and a questioning expression. He checked the fridge and brought
out a carton of orange juice. Without a word he took a glistening glass from
the dishwasher, and poured the juice. He drank it before he held up the carton,
offering his dad some.
“No thanks.
Sit down. I need to explain.”
Karl took a
seat at the big kitchen table and ran his hand through his hair.
“They’re just
love bites, Dad. One’s a bit sore, but it’s just a scratch.”
“There’s no
easy way to say this. Please listen to the whole story before you react. It’s
going to seem as if I’ve lost my mind.”
His dad
placed coffee in front of him. Karl turned the cup around in the saucer.
“Your mother
was a shifter, a leopard, and that’s what Dash is.”
Karl let out
a snort. “Dad…”
Serge shook
his head and held up his hand. “Please listen.”
His son
sighed and slumped in the chair with a resigned expression, as if prepared to
listen but not believe a word.
“Here in
this city and surrounds lives the largest concentration of leopards in the
world. Some of them are shifters. They roam with the ordinary animals at night.
The shifters only become leopards at night, usually midnight and then with the
rising sun, they regain their human body. They’re an ancient species. I know
it’s unbelievable.” He gazed at Karl, desperate for his son to believe him.
“That’s how your mom died. The truth is she was shot by a hunter as she ran
with a raiding prowl of leopards one night.” His voice fell to a whisper, as he
revealed what he’d never told his son before.
Karl slowly picked
up his cup and drank some coffee. He sighed heavily. “It’s an urban legend,
Dad. Mom was killed in a road accident. You need to let go now. It’s been
years.”
Serge leaned
forward. “Dash broke your skin. You’ll turn tonight. It’s manageable. If your
mom hadn’t been a shifter you might have gotten away with it. It’s in your genes,
son. I’m so sorry. I should have warned you, but I never expected … where were
you at midnight?” He frowned, wondering at the timeline of his son’s encounter
with Dash.
Karl stared
at his dad and shook his head as he spoke. “This whole thing is ridiculous. I’m
worried about you, Dad. I met Dash last week. We had a drink together.
Yesterday evening I met him again in the city. You know how it is. We both knew
sex was what we wanted. We got home about eight, talked, had a beer, kissed, it
got heated—we had sex. I fell asleep and he was with me in bed. Next thing I
knew you were there at dawn waking me
up.”
“I found
him, Karl. I found him as a leopard asleep in the living room.” Serge saw Karl’s
expression become a mix of affection and worry.
“Dad.” He sighed
the word.
Serge stood
and went around the table to his son. He took a seat next to Karl, put his hand
on his son’s arm, and looked into his eyes. “Your mom told me this. You’ll
retain your human thoughts when you turn. You’ll know not to attack people, but
the call of the animal will make you long for time with others of your kind. I’ll
be there for you, but you need to stay home tonight.”
Karl burst
out laughing. “Stop it. This is stupid. I’m taking a shower and then I need to
get a little work done.”
Serge held
back tears. A lump of sorrow formed in his throat, but he pushed it away. “I
don’t want you seeing Dash again.” Horror that his son’s lover might introduce
Karl to running with a group and so come to further harm gave his voice a
commanding tone.
Karl turned
to his dad and hugged him. “So that’s what this is about. You know I love you,
but sometimes, Dad, you forget I’m no longer fifteen. I don’t have any romantic
feelings for Dash. He’s hot, but that’s it. If I run into him around town I
might have to apologize for you throwing him out of the house.” He stood and
smiled at his dad before he padded off to his bathroom.
Serge
watched him go, and then bowed his head, as finally tears streamed down his
face.
Copyright E. D. Parr Evernight Publishing
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