Too Hot to Handle Read online

  

  Hard to Handle 2

  Too Hot to Handle

  [Siren Classic ManLove: Alternative, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Werewolves/Vampires, MM, HEA]

  Chad Watson has only loved one man. It’s wrong to lust after his best friend’s father but Chad can’t help himself. Daniel Shepard’s big, bad and powerful. A bona fide Alpha to the core. Too bad Daniel doesn’t see him as a potential partner. One drunken night changes everything—for the good or bad, Chad doesn’t know. What he’s certain for are his feelings for Daniel and he’ll do anything in his power to make the Alpha notice him and eventually, keep him.

  After the loss of his first mate, Daniel’s lived a lonely existence. Daniel knows his feelings for his son’s best friend isn’t right. He’s kept his distance from Chad for a reason but when all the walls come crashing down, Daniel can’t deny the mating call between them. Claiming Chad means jeopardizing Daniel’s alliance to Chad’s pack but ties can be reforged. He sees a future between them. Daniel knows if he doesn’t make a move, he’ll regret it for the rest of his life.

  Length: 21,000 words

  TOO HOT TO HANDLE

  Hard to Handle 2

  Fel Fern

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Too Hot to Handle

  Copyright © 2020 by Fel Fern

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-070-2

  First Publication: January 2020

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2020 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Felicia Fern loves penning M/M paranormal erotic romance.

  A sadist who loves watching her heroes break their backs trying to earn their happy endings, Fel likes throwing in the occasional dash of the unknown to the usual romantic concoction.

  www.felfern.com

  https://tinyletter.com/authorfelfern

  For all titles by Fel Fern, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/Fel-Fern

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TOO HOT TO HANDLE

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  TOO HOT TO HANDLE

  Hard to Handle 2

  FEL FERN

  Copyright © 2020

  Chapter 1

  Daniel Shepard took a deep breath and fixed his tie. He looked out the windows of his car. The entrance of the Eternal Lights Cemetery stared back at him. Eleven years after his mate died, he still dreaded coming over here. Still, he made Teri a promise he’d visit her every year.

  “Sir?” asked his driver, Gaston.

  “Wait here. I won’t be long,” he told Gaston. Daniel grabbed the daises next to his seat and got out of the car.

  Daniel quickened his pace, passed by a few mourners along the way. As the Alpha of the Goldcrest werewolf pack, the largest and most influential pack in the city, death was a constant part of his life. He lost plenty of pack mates and their loved ones in territorial disputes, meaningless brawls. Truth be told, Daniel was getting sick of being Alpha, of being responsible for so many people.

  He finally found Teri’s resting place, amongst the rest of his family members. Daniel replaced the wilting daisies there with fresh ones. Max must’ve been here recently.

  “When you died, you were supposed to take me with you,” he told his mate. “I stayed here, knowing I had to take care of Max, of the pack. Max’s all grown up. He’s mated, can you believe that? You probably know that already. Did he come here with his mate, Grant?”

  Some days, Daniel forgot about what Teri looked like. He had to look at their old photos. Over the years, his memory of her had faded away, but the hole she left in his heart still lingered. The wolf that shared his skin still felt empty. Incomplete. No one else would be able to fill that void.

  There is another, whispered his traitorous wolf in his head. That was right. There was only one other man Daniel had been interested in except that was territory he should stay far away from.

  Daniel updated Teri about the recent events in his life. “I got careless a few weeks ago in a pack war. I let myself get taken, and in the process, I got Max involved as well. It was a disaster, but we managed to pull through. Somehow.”

  Like Teri, his son, Max, was human. If it weren’t for Max’s mate, a powerful werewolf fighter named Grant, neither Max nor Daniel would be alive here today. Some nights, Daniel wondered if he should’ve just died in that warehouse. If he let his enemies put a bullet to his head, then he’d be free of the burden of being Alpha. He’d be able to rest.

  If Daniel was whole, no longer broken, he wouldn’t entertain such depressing or suicidal thoughts. That meant he had to find a mate. God knew his Beta, Ben, and even his son, had tried to set him up on multiple dates over the years. None of the men and women they set him up with clicked. Save one. Someone who’d been there all along but one he couldn’t touch.

  Daniel shook his head. What the hell was he thinking?

  “I’ll do better,” he promised Teri.

  With a heavy sigh, Daniel gave Teri’s grave one last look, before turning away. By then, the afternoon sun had started to set. Usually, stopping by Teri’s grave made him feel better after, but not today. He’d unloaded hard truths on her today, truths he’d tell no one else, but that was fine. The dead kept secrets well.

  He headed back to the car. His phone rang, and he pulled it out, about to ignore it because right now he needed a little time for himself. To contemplate. Seeing his best friend’s name, flashing across the screen, made him press the answer button.

  Allan Watson and he had been friends since childhood. Allan had been part of the Goldcrest Pack once, many years ago, but Allan soon left to form his own pack. They were still business partners, and Allan’s pack, the Windshide Pack, were his strongest allies.

  “Dan, sorry to bother you. I know today is Teri’s death anniversary,” Allan began.

  “You wouldn’t have called if it were important,” he said.

  “It’s about Chad.”

  His inner wolf sat up inside of him, alert. Chad was Allan’s son, and Max’s best friend, he reminded himself angrily. Chad was like a son to him, except that wasn’t true at all. Daniel didn’t imagine the looks of longing Chad sometimes flashed him or the spark, the promise of a connection between their two wolves each time they met.

  That was the reason why he always made some excuse to leave when Chad came over to the pack house to see Max or when Daniel bumped into Chad and Allan at a social event.

  Chad was forbidden fruit. Unt
ouchable. Not his.

  If Allan found out, it would be the end of their friendship.

  “What’s he done this time?” Daniel asked. Both Allan and he knew they might’ve spoiled their sons too much. Gave them too much freedom, resources at their disposal. Max and Chad had given them plenty of headaches over the years.

  “Anderson, his bodyguard, just called and told me Chad slipped from under his watch. They were at some newly opened club in town. I don’t know what to do with him anymore, Dan. He’s become a nightmare to deal with.”

  “I heard from Max he just broke up with someone recently,” Dan said, returning to the car.

  “Hell. I didn’t even know that. I’m envious of your relationship with Max, with my son. Chad never tells me anything. I wished he’d hurry on and find his mate, like your Max.”

  “As my new son-in-law tells me, Max wasn’t the easiest man to handle. Chad is similar. They’re both strong-willed, opinionated.”

  “Chad needs a firm hand, that’s all. Someone like Grant.”

  The image of him tugging Chad to him rose in his head. Chad spilling over his lap, jeans hanging loose, and Daniel yanking them down to expose Chad’s smooth, tight ass. He’d give Chad a little spanking. Once his little wolf had enough, Daniel would pull him up, give him a long and lingering kiss. He bet Chad would taste sweet.

  Daniel gritted his teeth, tried to expel the image. What kind of scum was he, fantasizing about his best friend’s son?

  “Grant’s ex-military, a hard man. I’m glad he’s Max’s mate and not some greedy bastard who only wants to date my son for his money.”

  “That’s the problem. All the men Chad introduced me to or hung around with are the kind you’ve described.”

  None of them are me. Daniel bit back his tongue from saying those words out loud.

  “Chad needs an Alpha in his life,” Allan continued. “Shit, here I am, unloading on you when you’re grieving.”

  Grief? Daniel didn’t feel a damn thing since Teri passed away. Oh, he was still capable of getting pissed, annoyed at Max when his son screwed up, but he had a limited range of emotions. He wanted to feel something again, to find another reason for living now that Max had settled down.

  “It’s fine,” Daniel told his friend.

  “Look, just let me know if Chad turns up at your place. I know he likes to hang around your pack house even though Max’s no longer living there.”

  “Will do,” he told Allan, ending the call.

  “Where to, sir?” Gaston asked.

  “Back home.” Daniel rang up Max after. His son answered immediately.

  “Chad? I remember him telling me went to a new club tonight.”

  “You weren’t with him?” Daniel asked. Gone were the days his son and Chad blew a lot of money and partied out all night, he mused. For that, Daniel was forever grateful to Grant.

  He heard Max giggling in the background. “Stop it, Grant. I’m talking to Dad right now.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes. He knew how frisky newly mated couples could be, and his son was no exception.

  “No, I’m at home with Grant. Making wedding plans.”

  “I’m sure,” Daniel said drily. “Allan called. He’s worried about Chad.”

  “That serious?” Max sobered up. “Should Grant and I look for him?”

  “Not necessary.” Daniel said, not wanting to interrupt the happy couple. “Allan has his wolves searching the city for him.”

  “I’ll join the search just in case. I’ll update you soon, Dad.”

  Daniel leaned back against the seat. He didn’t need to involve himself. Max and Allan were good enough, although he didn’t have anything planned for the evening. He took a half day off this time every year, cleared his schedule. Even his Beta and pack enforcers knew not to bother him.

  Half an hour later, they arrived at the pack house. Daniel got out of the car. The scent of beer hit his nose a second later, joined by another, more enticing scent. Underneath the sour was something undeniably sweet.

  Chad sat on the steps leading to the front of the house, golden hair tousled, clothes all mussed. Chad flashed him a drunken, almost foolish smile. Chad’s usually bright blue eyes looked unfocused.

  Just like that, blood surged through Daniel’s entire system, riled up his wolf. For the first time in what felt like forever, Daniel felt an emotion so intense, so dangerous, he didn’t think he’d ever experience it again.

  Pure naked want.

  Chapter 2

  Chad didn’t know what prompted to him take a cab to the Goldcrest pack house. His mind was all fuzzy, thanks to the excessive amount of beer and cocktails he’d consumed at that bar. He remembered being mad at Max for blowing him off, and his new bodyguard, Anderson, annoyed him to no end.

  He had a couple of offers from a few cute guys, shifters, at that club. None of them really interested him. Chad let two guys buy him drinks if only to spite his ex-boyfriend Chris, who strolled into the place with an underwear model in his arm. Chris didn’t even give him a second glance. Not that it mattered.

  If Chad had to be honest, only one man was able to grip the attention of his wolf. That man, though, made it clear that nothing was going to happen between them. Ever.

  Yet, here he was. Drunk as hell, sitting on the steps of Daniel Shepard’s pack house, waiting for him. Not Max. He didn’t want to see his best friend right now. Max didn’t even live here anymore, but had bought an apartment on the city outskirts with his mate.

  Chad saw Max as the brother he never had, but seeing Max so happy only made him jealous. He might be a bad friend for thinking that, but he was. Max wasn’t even a shifter. Sure, Max had some shifter DNA in him, Daniel Shepard’s blood running in his veins, but Max was a hundred percent human. A human found his mate faster than Chad, a submissive werewolf, could.

  Maybe he was too picky or perhaps Chad simply knew what, or who, he wanted.

  A few of the Goldcrest werewolves saw him but paid him no mind. Usually, a werewolf from another pack was considered an outsider, but Chad visited so often they were probably used to him.

  He even spotted the Goldcrest Pack Beta, Ben, exiting the pack house. “Chad, you waiting for Max?” Ben asked him.

  “Yep.” He let out an embarrassing-sounding hiccup.

  Ben frowned at him, but it didn’t have the same effect as when Chad’s father glared at him. “Why don’t you wait inside? Clean up?”

  “I’ll be fine here.” Truth be told, Chad was getting a little cold. He’d left his jacket at the club, but what did it matter? Chad was wasted. He could sleep on these cold stone steps, waiting for Daniel to return.

  “Suit yourself,” Ben said.

  Not long after Ben left, a black Jaguar pulled up the driveway. Chad’s heart started beating a little faster as Daniel emerged. God, what a man. Now this fine specimen, was an Alpha through and through.

  Every inch of Daniel Shepard was made of pure muscle. Daniel must be six foot five at least, had dark brown hair with a few grays and the most alluring set of green eyes capable of piercing Chad’s soul. Every single time Daniel looked his way, it kick-started his heart. It didn’t help that Daniel’s immaculately tailored suit fitted him like a second skin.

  His wolf panted inside of him, lusted after the Alpha like it did with no one else.

  Daniel approached him but stayed a few feet away from him. Was the Alpha purposely keeping his distance?

  Cold. That was the description most shifters he knew used to describe Daniel, but that wasn’t true at all. None of them knew the man underneath the Alpha or the hidden pain Daniel lived with every day. Chad did. Daniel only looked indifferent because part of him had died when his wife passed away eleven years ago.

  Daniel was a living, breathing miracle, because most shifters who lost their mates committed suicide afterwards.

  Chad knew wanting Daniel like this wasn’t right. Daniel was his father’s best friend, and Max’s father. He’d hoped his crush would fade away i
n time, but it didn’t. The desire only grew worse, sharpened to a such fine point that each time he gazed at Daniel, his heart ached a little more.

  Daniel wouldn’t be like the pricks Chad dated in the past. Those assholes were just boys pretending to be men. They didn’t want him, not really. They wanted his money. Well, his dad’s money and access to the Windshide Pack. None of them saw the real him, but Daniel always did.

  Chad couldn’t count the number of times he’d run to Daniel’s office in the past, because he couldn’t talk to his own father. Daniel never called him immature or spoiled. The Alpha always listened to all his problems, even though they seemed juvenile at times.

  “I knew you’d end up here. Your father and Max have been looking all over the city for you,” Daniel told him. With Daniel looking down on him, the Alpha looked massive.

  Guilt hit him at those words. Even in his drunken state, he understood Max and his dad were worried about him.

  “I’m fine, as you can see.” He slurred his words. Damn. What must Daniel think of him? Chad shivered, finally beginning to feel the bite of the cold air. To his surprise, Daniel took off his jacket and placed it over his shoulders.

  So warm, Chad thought. The jacket also carried Daniel’s scent. He wondered if Daniel would let him keep it.

  “You’re cold. Let’s get you inside,” Daniel suggested. The Alpha offered him a hand up. Chad stared at Daniel’s big, callused fingers for a moment. He noticed one vital thing. Daniel had stopped wearing his wedding ring. Since when?

  “I need to call Max,” he mumbled. His head spun as he let Daniel help him up. Bile rose in his throat. His stomach felt queasy. Chad bowled over and threw up right over Daniel’s expensive Italian shoes.

  “Oh my God. I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

  Shock reverberated through him. He’d never be able to live with the shame. How could he be so careless? Chad was so angry with himself. Chad was about to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, and was shocked when Daniel grabbed it. The Alpha pulled out something from the pocket of his trousers. A dark green handkerchief with the letters D and S embroidered into it.