Howl and Harmony
Categories: Erotic Romance, Alternative (M/M or F/F), Fantasy, Shape-shifter
Word Count: 40,211
Heat Level: SEXTREME
Published By: Siren-BookStrand, Inc.
The Gathering is called. The spell is cast. There is no escaping the Midnight Matings.
Milo’s spent the majority of his life parading one man after another through his bedroom. He doesn’t do relationships, and he definitely doesn’t do commitment. While trying to escape the chaos of the gathering, the sweetest sound in the world catches his interest and threatens his playboy lifestyle.
When Milo Gavari loses control and claims him in the middle of the ballroom, Lark thinks he’s finally found his missing half. The hellhound has a body to die for, but Lark quickly realizes the total package is far from perfect.
Milo’s reputation for being cold and evasive isn’t going to deter him, though. There’s a sweet center to that rough exterior, and Lark intends to bring it to the surface. With his meddlesome aunts and Milo’s overbearing father in the mix, finding his happy ending isn’t going to be easy. But, the best things in life never are.
Milo’s spent the majority of his life parading one man after another through his bedroom. He doesn’t do relationships, and he definitely doesn’t do commitment. While trying to escape the chaos of the gathering, the sweetest sound in the world catches his interest and threatens his playboy lifestyle.
When Milo Gavari loses control and claims him in the middle of the ballroom, Lark thinks he’s finally found his missing half. The hellhound has a body to die for, but Lark quickly realizes the total package is far from perfect.
Milo’s reputation for being cold and evasive isn’t going to deter him, though. There’s a sweet center to that rough exterior, and Lark intends to bring it to the surface. With his meddlesome aunts and Milo’s overbearing father in the mix, finding his happy ending isn’t going to be easy. But, the best things in life never are.
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STORY EXCERPT
The noise level in the cavernous room was enough to make his temples ache, or maybe that was from the bewitched champagne as well. Whatever.
Some of those with the ability to shift had done so in order to more easily stalk their prey…er, mate. Some had partially shifted. Some of the magic users were mumbling incantations and such under their breath. The most annoying, though, was probably the group of giggling girls huddled together in the middle of the ballroom.
“Hi, Milo,” one called to him when he passed. She fluttered her eyelashes and gave him a beaming smile.
“Barkin’ up the wrong tree, darlin’.” Anyone who’d met him knew he preferred a more masculine touch. Apparently, the little brunette with the oversized tits hadn’t read the memo.
Milo pulled at his collar. Damnation, it was hot. Sweat beaded across his forehead and trickled down his neck. His skin crawled, his stomach did loops, and his cock swelled inside his jeans, begging for him to let it come out and play.
Whatever the elders had slipped into their drinks had just become the bane of his existence. He didn’t want a mate. He didn’t want the responsibility that came with having one. Nope, he was better off on his own, and the elders should know that.
Changing directions, his temper rising, Milo decided he’d just have a little chat with the elders. Surely they had more sense than to force him upon some unsuspecting paranormal. It wasn’t so much that he was a bad guy, he just didn’t know the first thing about love and tenderness and that garbage. A quick fuck, and get them the hell out. That, a place to sleep, and food in his belly were all he wanted in life. A mate just didn’t fit into his blueprints.
Watching the elders descend the dais and disappear through a door off to the side, Milo gritted his teeth in anger. Well, he’d just wait for them then. They would have to come back at some point to start recording everyone’s matings.
When he was halfway to the stage, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard caught his attention. It was a scream, and not one of pleasure, but it was still otherworldly in its beauty. Scanning the mob of moving bodies, Milo searched for the creature that had made the sound.
“Again,” he whispered. He needed to hear it again. Though he couldn’t explain it, he felt as if his entire existence rested in finding the source of that cry.
He’d almost given up when the strangely harmonious scream rent through the room again. It was followed immediately by a frantic refusal. “No, please. Stop. Just leave me alone. I don’t want to mate you!”
The smallest man he’d ever seen wrestled with a were almost as large as Milo. The guy sneered, jerking on the smaller man where he held him by his upper arm. “That’s not for you to decide. I need a new toy. The elders say I need a mate. Congratulations, you win.”
He jerked the little man with enough force to lift him off his feet and began dragging him across the room toward the stage where the elders were once again seated. Milo saw red. In that moment, the room, the noise, the people—everything faded out of existence except for the tiny man with a voice that could soothe the savage beast within him.
Without knowing how he’d gotten there, he found himself blocking the large were’s path. “Let him go,” Milo said dangerously.
“Get your own,” the guy shot back. “I found this one first.”
“I am not a fucking bone for you to fight over,” the little guy screamed. “Let me go!”
Every sound the man uttered had Milo’s cock throbbing between his legs. He imagined he was working his way up to a pretty nice stain on the faded denim. Never in all of his years had he wanted anyone like he wanted the small imp with the dark hair and majestic green eyes.
“Mine,” he growled before he realized he’d intended to say it.
The were shoved at him roughly. “Go find your own mate. There are plenty to choose from.”
“Do you have any idea who I am?”
“No, and I don’t give a shit.”
Milo smirked and held his hand out. Some of the anger seeped from him until he felt marginally in control. “Milo Gavari.”
He thought the huge man would wet himself. His face paled, his entire body trembled, and he released the tiny dark-haired man as though he’d been shocked. “I–I’m sorry.” Shoving the smaller man into Milo’s arms, he spun around and sprinted across the ballroom.
“Lark,” the little man whispered. “My name is Lark Rhodes.” He pressed closer to Milo. “Did you mean what you told him?”
“You are mine,” Milo growled. He shook his head and tried to beat back the urge to sink his canines into the beauty’s neck.
“I want you to be mine, too. Is that okay?” The more he talked, the more Milo’s head spun. “Thank you for saving me.”
“What are you doing to me?” Milo asked in a pathetic whimper that embarrassed him. “Are you hypnotizing me?”
Lark’s eyebrows drew together, and he shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so.”
“Why me? You were pretty adamant that you didn’t want that other guy.”
“Could we maybe talk about this after you fuck me against the wall?”
ADULT EXCERPT
Lark’s dick pulsed against his belly, leaking clear drops of pre-cum onto his creamy skin. Mmm, such a pretty sight. He started to add a second finger, but Lark tensed and his muscles clamped down on Milo’s finger.
Continuing to pump just the one, he gripped Lark’s thick length with his other hand and gave it a few good strokes. Lark’s hole loosened almost immediately, and his head began to thrash back and forth on the pillow.
Well, if he liked that, Milo had a few more things to show his inexperienced lover. Gripping the base of Lark’s dick, he dove forward and wrapped his lips around the spongy crown.
Lark went wild. He bucked up into Milo’s mouth and needy moans poured from his parted lips. Milo swirled his tongue around the head and flicked at the slit. Lark’s hips jerked upward again, pushing his cock into Milo’s mouth until Milo’s lips bumped against his fist.
“Oh, oh, oh,” Lark chanted as he began thrusting his hips faster and harder.
Giving up on keeping the man still, Milo relaxed his throat muscles, removed his grasp on Lark’s dick, and allowed his mate to set the pace. While Lark humped up into his face, Milo gently inserted a second finger into his lover’s tight passage.
Lark froze, and Milo started to remove his fingers.
“No!” Lark yelled. “More!”
Taking him at his word, Milo went back to sucking Lark’s rigid shaft while he sawed both fingers in and out of his opening. He rocked his own hips against the mattress, groaned around Lark’s prick at the wonderful friction. Never with any lover had he received so much pleasure by simply giving it.
When Lark’s hole began to loosen around his fingers, he pushed in a third, going deep and searching out the little walnut-sized gland that would push his mate over the edge.
Lark screamed. Found it. Milo stroked his lover’s prostate, loving the sounds of Lark’s ecstasy. The first shot of cum splashed against his throat, and Milo backed off, swallowing quickly as Lark filled his mouth.
His mikro, his small one, sagged into the mattress like a wet noodle. Milo licked him clean before releasing his still-throbbing erection and sat up to admire his handiwork. “Still want more, baby?”
Lark’s eyelids drew back to half mast, and he grinned goofily. “Oh, yes, please.”
Milo chuckled as he extracted his fingers and grabbed the lube to slick his straining cock. “So eager,” he murmured.
Tossing the little bottle to the floor, he leaned over his mate, bracing himself on one hand, and lined up the engorged head of his shaft. “Deep breath, mikro.”
Lark’s eyes flew wide open. “Will it hurt?” His small frame began to tremble, and he chewed on his lower lip.
“It might be uncomfortable at first. I think you’ll like it.”
“Go slow.”
Milo had never done anything slow in his life. For Lark, he’d do anything the man asked. Lowering himself until their chests pressed together, Milo attacked his mate’s mouth, licking, sucking, and nibbling at his lips before thrusting his tongue inside.
Lark moaned, and his arms came up to encircle Milo’s neck. His back arched, his hold tightened, and his knees locked against Milo’s ribs.
Milo held on by a thread, the tip of his cock just kissing his lover’s quivering hole without actually entering. His balls ached, his skin tingled, and electricity bounced around inside his belly. Then, finally, Lark’s tight sphincter began to relax, and Milo eased forward, so slowly he thought he’d die, until just the head rested inside Lark’s snug hold.
When the little man didn’t react, Milo took a chance and pushed in farther. That got a reaction. Lark groaned, his legs tightened around Milo’s waist, and he thrust up against him with enough force to seat Milo’s cock to the root in one swift move.
Jerking out of the kiss, Milo stared down at his mate in concern. “Lark, are you okay?”
“Don’t you dare fucking stop!” Then Lark yanked him down into another mind-numbing kiss.
All thoughts fled, and Milo began a slow but steady rhythm, sliding in and out of Lark’s silky depths. He’d been too hard for too long, though. He wanted his lover to come again, but four times was a lot to ask from anyone. He didn’t think he would make it that long, anyway.
It was unlike anything he’d ever felt. Maybe it was the knowledge that he was Lark’s first. Maybe it was the fact that he held his mate in his arms. Whatever it was, Milo was seconds away from losing the hold on his frayed thread of self-control.
Lark pulled out of the kiss this time, and his eyes shone with a wicked light. “Fuck me,” he demanded in a ragged whisper. “I won’t break, Milo. Harder.”
“Aah!” Milo roared, beginning an all-out assault on Lark’s virgin ass. Part of him felt like an enormous bastard for his careless treatment of his mate. The other part, most likely connected to his pulsing cock, told him to shut the fuck up and give the man what he wanted.
And Lark wanted it all. He moaned and whimpered, squirmed and writhed, and arched up against Milo, meeting every demanding thrust with fervor. When his body went stiff once more, his inner walls clamping down on Milo’s cock in a stranglehold, Milo couldn’t believe it.
The noise level in the cavernous room was enough to make his temples ache, or maybe that was from the bewitched champagne as well. Whatever.
Some of those with the ability to shift had done so in order to more easily stalk their prey…er, mate. Some had partially shifted. Some of the magic users were mumbling incantations and such under their breath. The most annoying, though, was probably the group of giggling girls huddled together in the middle of the ballroom.
“Hi, Milo,” one called to him when he passed. She fluttered her eyelashes and gave him a beaming smile.
“Barkin’ up the wrong tree, darlin’.” Anyone who’d met him knew he preferred a more masculine touch. Apparently, the little brunette with the oversized tits hadn’t read the memo.
Milo pulled at his collar. Damnation, it was hot. Sweat beaded across his forehead and trickled down his neck. His skin crawled, his stomach did loops, and his cock swelled inside his jeans, begging for him to let it come out and play.
Whatever the elders had slipped into their drinks had just become the bane of his existence. He didn’t want a mate. He didn’t want the responsibility that came with having one. Nope, he was better off on his own, and the elders should know that.
Changing directions, his temper rising, Milo decided he’d just have a little chat with the elders. Surely they had more sense than to force him upon some unsuspecting paranormal. It wasn’t so much that he was a bad guy, he just didn’t know the first thing about love and tenderness and that garbage. A quick fuck, and get them the hell out. That, a place to sleep, and food in his belly were all he wanted in life. A mate just didn’t fit into his blueprints.
Watching the elders descend the dais and disappear through a door off to the side, Milo gritted his teeth in anger. Well, he’d just wait for them then. They would have to come back at some point to start recording everyone’s matings.
When he was halfway to the stage, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard caught his attention. It was a scream, and not one of pleasure, but it was still otherworldly in its beauty. Scanning the mob of moving bodies, Milo searched for the creature that had made the sound.
“Again,” he whispered. He needed to hear it again. Though he couldn’t explain it, he felt as if his entire existence rested in finding the source of that cry.
He’d almost given up when the strangely harmonious scream rent through the room again. It was followed immediately by a frantic refusal. “No, please. Stop. Just leave me alone. I don’t want to mate you!”
The smallest man he’d ever seen wrestled with a were almost as large as Milo. The guy sneered, jerking on the smaller man where he held him by his upper arm. “That’s not for you to decide. I need a new toy. The elders say I need a mate. Congratulations, you win.”
He jerked the little man with enough force to lift him off his feet and began dragging him across the room toward the stage where the elders were once again seated. Milo saw red. In that moment, the room, the noise, the people—everything faded out of existence except for the tiny man with a voice that could soothe the savage beast within him.
Without knowing how he’d gotten there, he found himself blocking the large were’s path. “Let him go,” Milo said dangerously.
“Get your own,” the guy shot back. “I found this one first.”
“I am not a fucking bone for you to fight over,” the little guy screamed. “Let me go!”
Every sound the man uttered had Milo’s cock throbbing between his legs. He imagined he was working his way up to a pretty nice stain on the faded denim. Never in all of his years had he wanted anyone like he wanted the small imp with the dark hair and majestic green eyes.
“Mine,” he growled before he realized he’d intended to say it.
The were shoved at him roughly. “Go find your own mate. There are plenty to choose from.”
“Do you have any idea who I am?”
“No, and I don’t give a shit.”
Milo smirked and held his hand out. Some of the anger seeped from him until he felt marginally in control. “Milo Gavari.”
He thought the huge man would wet himself. His face paled, his entire body trembled, and he released the tiny dark-haired man as though he’d been shocked. “I–I’m sorry.” Shoving the smaller man into Milo’s arms, he spun around and sprinted across the ballroom.
“Lark,” the little man whispered. “My name is Lark Rhodes.” He pressed closer to Milo. “Did you mean what you told him?”
“You are mine,” Milo growled. He shook his head and tried to beat back the urge to sink his canines into the beauty’s neck.
“I want you to be mine, too. Is that okay?” The more he talked, the more Milo’s head spun. “Thank you for saving me.”
“What are you doing to me?” Milo asked in a pathetic whimper that embarrassed him. “Are you hypnotizing me?”
Lark’s eyebrows drew together, and he shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so.”
“Why me? You were pretty adamant that you didn’t want that other guy.”
“Could we maybe talk about this after you fuck me against the wall?”
ADULT EXCERPT
Lark’s dick pulsed against his belly, leaking clear drops of pre-cum onto his creamy skin. Mmm, such a pretty sight. He started to add a second finger, but Lark tensed and his muscles clamped down on Milo’s finger.
Continuing to pump just the one, he gripped Lark’s thick length with his other hand and gave it a few good strokes. Lark’s hole loosened almost immediately, and his head began to thrash back and forth on the pillow.
Well, if he liked that, Milo had a few more things to show his inexperienced lover. Gripping the base of Lark’s dick, he dove forward and wrapped his lips around the spongy crown.
Lark went wild. He bucked up into Milo’s mouth and needy moans poured from his parted lips. Milo swirled his tongue around the head and flicked at the slit. Lark’s hips jerked upward again, pushing his cock into Milo’s mouth until Milo’s lips bumped against his fist.
“Oh, oh, oh,” Lark chanted as he began thrusting his hips faster and harder.
Giving up on keeping the man still, Milo relaxed his throat muscles, removed his grasp on Lark’s dick, and allowed his mate to set the pace. While Lark humped up into his face, Milo gently inserted a second finger into his lover’s tight passage.
Lark froze, and Milo started to remove his fingers.
“No!” Lark yelled. “More!”
Taking him at his word, Milo went back to sucking Lark’s rigid shaft while he sawed both fingers in and out of his opening. He rocked his own hips against the mattress, groaned around Lark’s prick at the wonderful friction. Never with any lover had he received so much pleasure by simply giving it.
When Lark’s hole began to loosen around his fingers, he pushed in a third, going deep and searching out the little walnut-sized gland that would push his mate over the edge.
Lark screamed. Found it. Milo stroked his lover’s prostate, loving the sounds of Lark’s ecstasy. The first shot of cum splashed against his throat, and Milo backed off, swallowing quickly as Lark filled his mouth.
His mikro, his small one, sagged into the mattress like a wet noodle. Milo licked him clean before releasing his still-throbbing erection and sat up to admire his handiwork. “Still want more, baby?”
Lark’s eyelids drew back to half mast, and he grinned goofily. “Oh, yes, please.”
Milo chuckled as he extracted his fingers and grabbed the lube to slick his straining cock. “So eager,” he murmured.
Tossing the little bottle to the floor, he leaned over his mate, bracing himself on one hand, and lined up the engorged head of his shaft. “Deep breath, mikro.”
Lark’s eyes flew wide open. “Will it hurt?” His small frame began to tremble, and he chewed on his lower lip.
“It might be uncomfortable at first. I think you’ll like it.”
“Go slow.”
Milo had never done anything slow in his life. For Lark, he’d do anything the man asked. Lowering himself until their chests pressed together, Milo attacked his mate’s mouth, licking, sucking, and nibbling at his lips before thrusting his tongue inside.
Lark moaned, and his arms came up to encircle Milo’s neck. His back arched, his hold tightened, and his knees locked against Milo’s ribs.
Milo held on by a thread, the tip of his cock just kissing his lover’s quivering hole without actually entering. His balls ached, his skin tingled, and electricity bounced around inside his belly. Then, finally, Lark’s tight sphincter began to relax, and Milo eased forward, so slowly he thought he’d die, until just the head rested inside Lark’s snug hold.
When the little man didn’t react, Milo took a chance and pushed in farther. That got a reaction. Lark groaned, his legs tightened around Milo’s waist, and he thrust up against him with enough force to seat Milo’s cock to the root in one swift move.
Jerking out of the kiss, Milo stared down at his mate in concern. “Lark, are you okay?”
“Don’t you dare fucking stop!” Then Lark yanked him down into another mind-numbing kiss.
All thoughts fled, and Milo began a slow but steady rhythm, sliding in and out of Lark’s silky depths. He’d been too hard for too long, though. He wanted his lover to come again, but four times was a lot to ask from anyone. He didn’t think he would make it that long, anyway.
It was unlike anything he’d ever felt. Maybe it was the knowledge that he was Lark’s first. Maybe it was the fact that he held his mate in his arms. Whatever it was, Milo was seconds away from losing the hold on his frayed thread of self-control.
Lark pulled out of the kiss this time, and his eyes shone with a wicked light. “Fuck me,” he demanded in a ragged whisper. “I won’t break, Milo. Harder.”
“Aah!” Milo roared, beginning an all-out assault on Lark’s virgin ass. Part of him felt like an enormous bastard for his careless treatment of his mate. The other part, most likely connected to his pulsing cock, told him to shut the fuck up and give the man what he wanted.
And Lark wanted it all. He moaned and whimpered, squirmed and writhed, and arched up against Milo, meeting every demanding thrust with fervor. When his body went stiff once more, his inner walls clamping down on Milo’s cock in a stranglehold, Milo couldn’t believe it.
4 DELIGHTFUL DIVAS: "I am really enjoying the Midnight Matings series and Howl and Harmony by Gabrielle Evans was a hoot. Called by the Council to mate, Mil Gavari, a hellhound, is pissed off that he might have to take a partner. He’s all set to cause a ruckus when he sees the beautiful Lark. Unable to stop himself, he claims Lark in the middle of the festivities. On the other hand, Lark is extremely happy about his mating, now only if his family would stop interfering and leave Milo and him alone, things would be perfect! What I truly liked about book eleven in this series was Lark. He was a shy, introverted man who had been living under the thumb of his over-protective aunts for so long that when he gets free, he’s so happy that his joy is infectious. Enter Milo, a gruff, seen-it-all hellhound and you have the ideal combination for a couple. Throw in some hot sex, great secondary characters (Milo’s brother and partner are wonderful and I hope they get their own book) and this was a delightful read, and so far my favorite in the series. Easily recommended." -- Lasha, Dark Divas Reviews
"By edict of the Elders and their magical meddling, the Midnight Matings begin. The choice is simple, either find a mate and bond or else go feral within 24 hours. Living alone, being a loner suits hellhound Milo Gavari just fine, so the announcement by the Elders doesn’t thrill him in the least But as he decides to leave the room alone Milo hears the sweetest sound imaginable and hunts down the little man with the beautiful voice to claim him. Lark Rhodes is a half siren, half something his deceased mother never told him. He couldn’t be happier when Milo mates with him. He doesn’t know how to tell Milo that he’s secretly been drawn to the hellhound even before this Gathering. Of course Milo and Lark have issues to deal with and work through after literally being forced to mate. More difficult to handle are their relatives. Milo’s father is insisting on his son taking his place, in Hell, while Lark’s many, many Siren aunts are insisting that Milo is not Lark’s true mate. Falling in love is proving much easier than getting the relatives off their backs, and unfortunately they can’t move and forget to tell anyone. The power of love is sweet music indeed for Lark and Milo in Howl and Harmony. Their ups and downs are the result of miscommunication and emotional maturity, but Milo and Lark manage to work things out. It’s the aunts and the father that are the real problem. Lucky for the mates, some special help comes along in the nick of time. This is one couple that readers will root for, they deserve their happily ever after. Howl and Harmony tells a sexy tale of destined lovers and relatives who give new meaning to the word troublesome." -- Lisa, Joyfully Reviewed