Lynx Northern Shifters 3

been able to look past that, so what’s changed? Suddenly his partner is rude at every turn. Ben may try to get rid of him, but too bad; Adam won’t be scared off. He has his own reasons for wanting to bring Tazu in, and he’ll do it even if it means putting Ben in his place.
Even if it means acting as Ben’s Master on their next mission: an investigation on a planet where sex is everywhere, and where whips and chains are the norm…
Warning: This title may prove addictive. It contains explicit m/m sex, leather chaps, latex shorts, and slippery goodness.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Crimson:
    The heat birthed a storm. Beyond the balcony doors, the sky darkened moment by moment, rainheavy clouds rushing in from the west. Adam shivered as he watched. Two bands of leather hung from his shoulders, just wide enough to cover his pectorals. The Granati might call it a vest, but he called it decoration, and barely that. Worse yet, neither of his wrists bore gauntlets. Even with latex shorts on, he’d rarely felt so naked.
“I’d give anything for a weapon,” he said, just loud enough to be heard.
    Ben looked over from the birdcage. Tight silk riding pants clung to his legs like a second skin, a perfect match for the riding crop hung from his low-slung, studded belt. Besides boots and a pair of bicepshigh, black leather gloves, he wore nothing else. “We can’t give our identities away.”
Adam met his gaze but didn’t reply.
     
“I said I was sorry,” Ben apologized. His eyes lingered on Adam’s outfit, on his spiked plumage.
    Color rose slowly in his face.
“Do you like me this way?” Adam asked. Suddenly being naked didn’t seem so vulnerable after all.
He leaned back against the balcony door, one hip cocked, and tensed all the muscles in his legs. They
rippled all the way down to his combat boots.
Ben’s eyebrow quirked in mock annoyance. “Are you strutting ?”
“Not yet. Are you staring?”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to answer a question with another question?” Adam laughed. “Should I get you the leash?”
Ben opened his mouth for a quick retort, but nothing came. An instant later he laughed too, shaking
his head. “Only if I’m the one on it.”
Neither of them had a snappy comeback for that.
As awkward as strangers, they made their way to the shuttle waiting on the roof. By the time they
touched down at the club, rain spattered against the skiff’s viewscreen. Ben left its shelter first, guiding
Adam through the bluster with an arm wrapped around his waist. Fingers brushed Adam’s ribs, and the
cold of the storm passed. Heat unfurling in his belly, he could barely stop himself from pushing Ben back
against the wall. Ben would answer him whether he liked it or not, and soon.
Candelabras stood throughout the main room. Their flames guttered, casting the same shadow over
and over again on the red walls. The benches, the stocks—all of them had been cleared away. A single
metal cross dominated the floor, its iron arms forming a massive X. Wrist and ankle straps lay slack against
its limbs.
Tau emerged from the darkness, Lexa at his side. Others sat in the shadows. Adam could hear them, a
subtle shift of weight on leather couches. An eye glinted here and there, fixed on the scene about to begin. Ben nodded in greeting. “A pleasure, Tau, as always. Is there some special occasion?” “Only your pleasure,” Tau intoned. “You cannot imagine how I have enjoyed watching you grow.” Lexa stepped forward and reached for Ben’s belt buckle with ringed fingers.
Adam seized her wrist. He released it an instant later, faking shame, eyes downcast. “Please, Master.
Let me prove that I am the one who should be on the cross, not you.”
Ben glanced at Tau, seeking permission, and at once a different sort of fire burned in Adam’s gut. The
thought that Ben would let himself be ordered around by that son of a bitch! Adam choked back his anger.
The mission, he reminded himself. Until Ben tells me otherwise, I have to believe it’s all for the mission. Tau’s smile grew frosty. He beckoned, and a servant appeared, handing Tau the crystal decanter. The
scarlet within shone like fresh blood in the candlelight.
Tau turned back to Adam, holding the bottle aloft. “Undress.”
“Adam,” Ben began warily, “you don’t have to do this—”
Adam slammed his shields shut before he could hear a word more. He slipped free of his clothing and
handed the pieces to Ben. Then, naked,