by Jana Downs
Marked 3
Available
Ryan Adamson is the beta for Alpha Mustang’s wolf pack. He never has relationships with anyone other than the pack-appointed availables and willing pack submissives, and he likes that just fine. He hasn’t had the best luck with relationships in the past and finds meaningless sex much easier to deal with than a boyfriend. Unfortunately for him, Bradley seeks to change his mind.
Bradley Gage has been in love with Ryan since the wolf-shifter saved his life six months ago. Something inside tells him that Ryan is his mate and the stubborn wolf just needs to admit it. Getting him to admit it, however, might be easier said than done. Getting inked with an "available" tattoo is the start of an unconventional courtship that will test Bradley’s commitment to Ryan and bring him face-to-face with some unexpected aspects of his own past in order to get his happily ever after with the man of his dreams.
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), BDSM, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 50,648 words
AVAILABLE
Marked 3
Jana Downs
EVERLASTING CLASSIC
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove
AVAILABLE
Copyright © 2013 by Jana Downs
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-410-8
First E-book Publication: February 2013
Cover design by Sloan Winters
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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AVAILABLE
Marked 3
JANA DOWNS
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
“You’re sure that it looks legit?” Bradley asked as he twisted in the mirror to get a look at the freshly inked tattoo. The shop, Alchemy, wasn’t as good as Howlers but it had done in a pinch. The ink was Bradley’s birthday present to himself and the only way he’d ever get to be with Ryan Adamson. The piercer and tattoo artist had been the single bright spot in his life over the past six months, and he’d do just about anything to be with the man. Ever since Ryan saved him and dragged him out of the car wreck that had nearly claimed Bradley’s life, he’d felt an inexplicable pull to the man, wolf, whatever.
The first time he’d seen the man make the transition from man to wolf, he’d been shocked to say the least. He’d hung back after Howlers Tattoo and Piercing Emporium had closed in order to catch Ryan and ask for a date. When the man had stripped off his clothing and shifted from man to wolf in a blink of an eye, Bradley had almost pissed himself. But after he got over the initial shock, it all made sense to him. Ryan was a hell of a male and had this air of aggression around him that most guys just couldn’t pull off. Bradley had known right then that Ryan was his. Wolves had mates right? Why couldn’t Bradley be Ryan’s?
It didn’t take a lot of research to figure out that Ryan didn’t sleep with anyone who wasn’t marked with this specific tattoo that Bradley had just had inked on his skin. It had to be some kind of pack law or something. Whatever the reason, now that Bradley had one, there was no way that Ryan would resist temptation. And Bradley knew he was temptation to the wolf. The man all but humped him when he came in for his piercings, but the iron control Ryan had kept things from getting unprofessional. Not that Bradley would’ve said “no” given the opportunity.
“It looks just like the ones from your picture,” the artist said, smoothing some kind of jelly onto the angry skin. The picture had been legit. He’d taken a picture of one of the men’s tattoos who frequented the private club that Ryan went to. “You know how to take care of it?”
Bradley nodded. This may have been his first tattoo, but he’d been around tattoo and piercing parlors enough growing up to know the drill. “So how long until it will pass at the club?”
The artist took off his gloves with a snap of the nitrile. “Anytime after today should be fine. Just make sure you keep it hydrated with the Aquafor.”
“Thanks, man,” Bradley said, extending his hand for a handshake. They shook and Bradley pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. “How much I owe you?”
“One-fifty.”
Bradley forked out his bills and tipped the guy fifty bucks before sauntering out of the small shop in downtown Loveland, Colorado. The night air was crisp, and a frost had already settled over the cars still parked parallel along the street. But it held a promise because tomorrow Bradley would finally get his deepest desire, a chance to meet Ryan on his own turf.
* * * *
Ryan sipped his Jack and Coke as the availables and other pack submissives strutted their stuff in an effort to attract the pack Dominants who had been arriving in a steady stream since Riders opened an hour ago. The private BDSM club was pack owned and operated. It was the perfect way to blow off steam after a hard day at Howlers. His shoulders were killing him from being bent over a tattoo chair all day and dealing with the interviews with the new Dominant pair who had applied for entrance into the pack. Alpha Mustang had been tied up with his own tattoos and other pack business, including dealing with rising te
nsions with a neighboring pack who had kidnapped Cian’s mate Jeremiah a few weeks back, and hadn’t had the time to screen the two. Regan, his twin brother, usually handled the new pack members but had been tangling with the Circle’s new regulations and uploading their compliances to their database for review.
Ryan needed to blow off some steam in the worst way. A night at Riders would definitely fit the bill. He scanned the room, looking for someone who appealed to his pickiness. He felt like something a little more delicate, so he searched for the tattoos that designated the humans available for his interest. Now that the law was lifted regarding the ability of wolves to mate with humans, the choices should’ve been infinite. However, he had no desire to pick up a human who didn’t know what he was and an equally negative desire to mate. He was just looking for some fun.
A dancer on one of the light-boxes that acted like ministages caught his attention toward the right back side of the room. Low slung leather pants and a lean torso marked with a tattoo of one of the availables made his body stir with interest. Availables were humans who knew about the pack and its laws and made themselves available to the Dominant members of the pack. It was a kink for them for the most part. It wasn’t a paid gig, so it had to fulfill some kind of fetish for them. Most of them were just young guys aiming for some guilt-free, commitment-free sex, and that suited Ryan just fine.
He pulled his gaze upward but kept coming back to the tattoo. The ink was new, a couple days old at most. He frowned. All availables went through Mustang’s shop unless they were imported in from another territory, and then they had to be approved. As a beta in the pack, he would’ve met any new available at least. He couldn’t remember Mustang scheduling a new available for inking in the past few days, and he was fairly certain his brother hadn’t either.
The available turned fully into the light, showing off the front of his lean wiry frame and golden-blond hair. Ryan’s eyes bulged. No fucking way. His feet were moving him across the club before his mind processed what he was doing. Not your business. Not your mate. Not. But there was no way he was leaving the kid up there literally for the wolves. Bradley Gage had been coming into Howlers for several months now and had made no qualms about telling Ryan he was interested. The man had driven him absolutely crazy. His tight little body and aggressive flirtation had posed the worst temptation.
However, when they’d first met, Ryan had been forbidden from pursuing anything by pack law, and he had never felt it was fair what humans had to give up in order to be part of their culture. He still felt that it was asking too much of any human who wasn’t already a part of their world. Pack life, for all its awesome qualities, was consuming. He’d seen more than one available waste away on the outside looking in, craving to be part of the pack but never quite managing it yet still being involved to the point where human interactions dwindled.
Ryan had determined that Bradley was too innocent and far too human to pursue any sort of involvement with. What the hell he was doing dancing half-naked at a BDSM club was beyond Ryan’s comprehension.
He had made his way over and looked up into the now-smiling face of his pint-sized tormentor. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Ryan demanded. His aggressive stance and fuck-off expression made the males who had been circling closer to Bradley scatter. None of them wanted to tango with a beta male over an available, not when the room was full of other perfectly good choices of partner.
Bradley smiled, revealing dimples that drove Ryan to distraction every time he grinned. “Looking for you.” The words went straight to Ryan’s cock. How often had he said things like that and how often had fantasies played out in his head after work in an effort to calm some of the instincts to ease himself with Bradley’s sexy body?
“This is a members-only club,” Ryan rumbled, hoping to intimidate the other man. Bradley just smirked. The little fuck.
“The doorman didn’t seem to have a problem once I flashed some ink. Apparently I don’t need a day pass as long as I have this,” he said, motioning to the tattoo on his lower back. Ryan resisted the urge to howl. Of all the things that should be inked into Bradley’s pale skin, “Available” in the wolf-tongue wasn’t one of them. Mine. There was that damnable voice of his again. His wolf needed to shut the hell up when it came to Bradley. He was too innocent and too human to deal with Ryan’s issues.
Ryan had had enough. He reached up and took Bradley’s arm, all but dragging the smaller man off the light box. “You shouldn’t have that. Where did you get it?”
Bradley immediately curled into him, wrapping his arms around Ryan’s waist and looking up into his eyes with unapologetic interest. “At a tattoo joint of course. I know you don’t date anyone who doesn’t sport one. You said I wasn’t part of your world. I’m here to prove you wrong.”
“Sugar, I don’t ‘date’ anyone. You are only proving why this can’t happen.” But Ryan didn’t move. His entire being was focused on keeping his reaction to Bradley’s close proximity in check. His body screamed at him to get the human alone and naked. No. No. No. He had to behave.
The first flicker of annoyance played over Bradley’s face. “Oh? And how am I proving it can’t happen?” The little minx hooked his fingers in the loops of Ryan’s jeans and dragged their torsos together so that the hard line of Ryan’s cock was pressed against the equally impressive bulge in the human’s leathers. Shit. Fuck. Damn me to hell and back. “You can’t have chemistry like this with someone and have it mean nothing. I know what you are Ryan.” He looked up at him under hooded lashes. Was the boy wearing eyeliner? Of course he is. His words didn’t even register until Ryan had leaned forward almost to kissing distance.
He blinked. “What?”
“I know you’re a werewolf or whatever. And I want to tell you, I’m game if you are.”
Ice water wouldn’t have been more effective. “You need to get out of here,” Ryan said, his voice turning to steel. He’d been so caught up in Bradley’s spell that he’d almost let himself forget that an unregistered human was marked as available. “We need to go to the shop and get this ink taken care of. You can’t walk around with an ‘available’ tattoo.” He had to get him away from the other males of his pack. “And you can explain to me exactly how you think you know about me.” He wasn’t committing to the words one way or another, not yet, not until he had to. Silence was the name of the game in pack life, and he wouldn’t confirm a rumor if that was all it was.
“I’m not taking it off,” Bradley said, a stubborn edge infiltrating his tone. “This is my link to you, and if that’s an in, I’ll take it.”
Ryan sighed. This boy was going to be the death of him. When he’d asked Ryan to pierce his dick last month, Ryan had nearly taken him right there in the shop. Maybe going alone wasn’t such a swell idea. “I’m going to find my brother. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go with,” Bradley volunteered, shooting him another sultry look. Damn. He was so screwed. The boy was stubborn, persistent. It didn’t help that Ryan was no doubt sending him mixed signals. His body was all game, but he knew with Bradley it would be more than that.
“Do you even live a BDSM lifestyle?” The word “lifestyle” grated. It wasn’t a choice for wolves. It was instinct, nature. It was everything. He immediately regretted his blurted question when Bradley leaned forward and kissed the side of Ryan’s neck before whispering in the best bedroom voice Ryan had ever heard.
“I’ve read a book.”
Fuck me running. “A book?”
“Yeah. A book. I bought it for my Nook.”
Who the fuck purred the word “Nook”? And who the fuck would read a book about BDSM, have no experience, and yet be so damn proud of the fact?
Ryan sighed. He was developing a headache. “You, little boy, have no idea what the hell you’re getting into.”
Bradley cupped him through his jeans, and Ryan almost shot his load right then and there. “You, big boy, have no idea what the hell I’m willing to do to get what I want.
”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
* * * *
Bradley shivered at the feeling of Ryan’s thick cock in his hand. The urge to fall to his knees and show Ryan just how committed he was pulsed through him with every beat of his heart. His brain was dissolving into mush faster than he could come up with clever come-ons. Ryan had tried to bolt once already. He had to prove to him that he could handle the werewolf thing.
“Porn,” Bradley said, his voice sounding more than a little breathy. Porn? He mentally shook his head at himself. Why yes, Ryan. Let me seduce you with my awkwardness.
Ryan blinked. “Porn?”
Bradley felt his cheeks scald. “I don’t just have a book on BDSM. I watched some porn, too.”
The remark just made Ryan get that incredulous look on his face again. Why can’t I ever be smooth? Ryan looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it. He sighed. “Let’s go find my brother.” He took a step back and reached for Bradley’s hand. A thrill shot through Bradley even though he knew logically that it was just practical to be linked together while traveling through a crowded night club.
“Where is he?” Bradley asked, trying to sound casual despite his pounding heart and the triumphant singing through his veins.
“Probably in the back rooms.” Ryan didn’t sound happy about the fact.
“What’s in the back rooms?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to snatch them back. If it was like the “back rooms” in most clubs, he knew exactly what they were used for. His cheeks heated. What were they going to be walking in on?
