Title: Bitten by the Bond
Series: Surviving Vihaan, Book 2.5
Author: Elaine White
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 11/14/2023
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 21900
Genre: Paranormal, bonded mates, friends to lovers, hurt-comfort, MM Romance, rescue mission, road trip, slow burn/UST, wolf shifters
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Description
Travelling to Dnara to find the exiled Vihaans sounded like a great idea. Except…Dnara is nothing like home. Homesick, bored, and confused by the way Jude’s eyes keep drifting over him, being in Dnara brings only chaos and uncertainty into Gale’s life.
With Jude doing everything but climbing into his lap to make his attraction clear, yet putting on the brakes at the strangest times, it’s up to Gale to make the first move and claim his mate. Men might never have been on his radar before, but Gale isn’t about to ignore the true mate bond he thought he would never find.
Jude can fight all he wants, but no one denies the bond. Not when his words bark ‘back off’ and his eyes scream ‘claim me’. Besides, Gale never was any good at doing what he was told.
Bitten by the Bond
Elaine White © 2023
All Rights Reserved
“What did you do with my smokes?” he asked, gruff and ice cold.
Gale raised an eyebrow at the tone and took a drag, refusing to speak when Jude was in a foul mood.
Rolling his eyes, Jude took the cigarette from Gale’s hand and put it to his lips before leaning against the tree.
It wasn’t worth wasting a good smoke to resist. “Do you find me repulsive?” Gale pulled a spare cigarette from his waistband.
Coughing on his drag, Jude scowled. “What?”
“I’m asking—” He leaned in to light his smoke from Jude’s cigarette. “—if you find me repulsive. I mean, getting you off doesn’t make you my bitch. We had a good time.” Gale wouldn’t show his hand early, as Jude may not have sensed the bond forming. “You’ve been avoiding me.” And Jude was being a coward.
“I haven’t been—” Jude knew better than to finish. He took a drag, blew out the smoke, and shook his head. “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“I was—” Again, he was smart not to spell out his vulnerability. “To play the bisexual video. Why didn’t you choose straight porn?”
Gale watched Jude closely as he answered, “You wouldn’t have enjoyed it.” To reassure Jude he wasn’t willing to lie, he explained, “I have eyes. I see you staring at me. I feel your eyes on me. I can feel you when you’re near me.”
Jude gulped, clearly swallowing the lie on the tip of his tongue, so evident from the guilt in his eyes. To help resist the temptation to find more lies, Gale threw his cigarette into the rain pooling around their feet and added Jude’s cigarette.
Jude dropped his gaze to whisper, “You weren’t supposed to know.”
“How was I not supposed to know, when your eyes have been on me every second we’ve been here? Are you ashamed of me?”
“No.” Those eyes rose to claim his, defiant and angry. “But I don’t know if I want…this…either,” Jude insisted, gesturing between them.
“Why not?” Gale caught Jude by the neck and stepped close, bringing them chest to chest. “Because I’m not a skinny pretty-boy you can dominate?” he asked, knowing that would be acceptable in Vihaan. “What is it about me that scares you?”
Jude ground his teeth and pushed at his chest, jaw tightening when Gale brought his free hand to his neck to strengthen his grip. Thumping a fist against his chest, Jude barked, “The way you look at me.”
That wasn’t the answer he was expecting.
Dropping his hands to the waistband of Jude’s shorts, he tugged. The little bastard shoved him and tried to step back. Gale wound the fabric around his fist and pulled hard, making Jude stumble.
Taking a fistful of hair in one hand, he kept hold of the shorts with the other and let his fingers slip behind the band to the bare skin beneath. “Go ahead and fight me. Show me how strong you are,” he urged, eager for a good tussle in the rain. He hadn’t had a fight in ages, and his blood was singing, itching for a worthy opponent. Only, this time, the reward would be sweeter than winning.
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Elaine White is the author of multi-genre MM romance, celebrating ‘love is love’ and offering diversity in both genre and character within her stories.
Growing up in a small town and fighting cancer in her early teens taught her that life is short and dreams should be pursued. She lives vicariously through her independent, and often hellion characters, exploring all possibilities within the romantic universe.
The Winner of two Watty Awards – Collector’s Dream (An Unpredictable Life) and Hidden Gem (Faithfully) – and an Honourable Mention in 2016’s Rainbow Awards (A Royal Craving) Elaine is a self-professed geek, reading addict, and a romantic at heart.
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