A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing (Welsh Wolves) (10 page)

The bartender’s head snapped up and he stared at Kieve, those sunglass-covered eyes drilling through him. The bartender’s mouth tilted down at the edges and his lips pinched into a flat, cruel line. Kieve could practically see the man wanting to snarl at him.

Pure asshole potential, Kieve thought. But Kieve couldn’t help but imagine those lips relaxed and wrapped around his cock. His shaft gave a twitch inside his jeans as if in full support of Kieve’s fantasy.
Damn, I guess everyone does love a bad boy.

Dragging his eyes away, he checked out the other side. A couple of hetero couples were bumping and grinding on the tiny dance floor in the corner. He could handle that, but it wasn’t something that turned him on. He sure as hell wasn’t going to find anyone to fuck him here—unless it was that bartender and, while he loved the idea, somehow he knew from that single look that he wouldn’t only get fucked, he’d get screwed by that guy.

This clearly wasn’t the place for him.

Kieve dug his heel into the floor, doing a quick one-eighty to get him out of there.

The way his cock was pressing against his jeans, he needed to head into the city—about a fifty-minute drive—and find a club where he could work out his aggressions.

Two steps and—“Hey, Doc!”

He recognized the voice almost immediately.

“Dex.” The guy’s natural cheerfulness created a smile on Kieve’s lips.

He turned and found himself with an armful of Dex. It wasn’t a sexual embrace, just a hug, like Kieve was a long lost relative.

“I’m so glad you came by.” Dex released him but didn’t step back, staying inches from Kieve’s body. “You weren’t leaving, were you?” He didn’t get a chance to answer. “Come on.” Dex grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the bar, patting one of the high stools.

Five, six empty tables lay scattered around the space, but Dex had dragged him to the bar. And the gorgeous bartender.

The aggressive stare mellowed a little, but the guy still didn’t look happy. At Dex’s insistence, Kieve plopped down on the barstool and glanced cautiously at the bartender, not sure he was welcome.

Anger radiated from the man and for some unknown reason, it seemed to be directed at him. He didn’t even know the guy. How had he pissed him off?

Maybe he was Dex’s lover, but the little hug hadn’t been anything to worry about.

“Doc, this is Reese. He’s our main bartender and overall wizard of all things.” Dex tipped his head to the side and flashed a smug smile across the bar. “Reese, this is...Kieve, wasn’t it?”

He nodded.

“Kieve’s the doctor who rescued Fido.”

Kieve still chuckled over the name. No one
actually
named their dog “Fido.”

“I asked him to come by so we could thank him properly.”

Reese nodded. Without looking, he reached to the side, ran his fingers across the neck of a bottle, moved to the next bottle and did the same thing. This time, he seemed to find what he was looking for and picked it up.

Kieve stared, reality hitting him like a brick.
The guy is blind.
Again, without looking down, he grabbed the bottle, tipped it into the shaker and seemed to know how much had poured out. Kieve watched as Reese returned the bottle to its slot and reached for another. He moved by instinct, scooping ice, closing the shaker and rattling it back and forth.

No way. A blind bartender?
It had to be some kind of gimmick.

The man’s hands were amazing and Kieve could easily imagine how they would feel sliding along his dick, exploring with that light, confident touch. His already hard cock pressed against his jeans, demanding to be let out.

“Doc?”

“Huh?” He yanked his gaze away from Reese’s hands. He blinked and looked at Dex. The questioning look on the kid’s face warned him he’d missed something.

“What did you want to drink?”

“Oh, uhm. Can you make a bourbon sidecar?” He directed the query to Reese. In his experience, it was a drink that if someone didn’t know how to make it, looking up the recipe didn’t help.

There was no hesitation. Reese nodded and looked at Kieve. Even if the guy couldn’t see him, it felt like he could.

“Sure. Any special bourbon?”

“House is fine.”

The bartender gave him a stiff nod.

“Reese will take care of you.” Dex threw his arms around Kieve’s neck and gave him another hug. “I’m so glad you came,” he whispered in Kieve’s ear.

Reese’s head snapped up and damn, the guy’s lips twitched like they were getting ready to growl. He’d seen that look on dogs, usually before they bared their teeth and snarled out a warning.

Dex laughed and grabbed the tray that Reese had loaded with drinks of various colors.

Great, Kieve thought.
I’m being used by the kid to make his boyfriend jealous.
He’d have his drink and then get out of there.

“Here.” The bartender placed a napkin on the counter then gently set his glass on top.

“That was fast.”

The edge of Reese’s mouth pulled up in a small smile. “Try it.”

Kieve licked the sugar rim then took a sip. The not-too-sweet orange flavor slid easily down his throat.

“Nice.”

He flashed a smile toward the bartender, not sure the guy could see him. But Reese was watching him. Kieve could feel the man’s stare. He licked his lips, capturing a piece of sugar from his lower lip and, damn, if Reese didn’t groan.

The noise was decidedly sexual. The sound hummed through Kieve’s brain. That was familiar, too.

Damn, had Kieve and Reese fucked? He didn’t think so. He couldn’t imagine forgetting the experience if they had.

Besides, Kieve had grown out of one-night stands back in college.

“Order.” A female server slapped her tray on the bar and sighed. Kieve glanced over. Her very round belly looked just about ready to pop.

Reese stepped over as she rattled off the drinks she needed.

Forgotten for the moment, Kieve checked out the room, but nothing was as interesting as the bartender. He loved to watch those hands reach out, touch, feel.

He shifted, turning his legs so they were fully under the counter, hoping his hard-on wasn’t obvious to everyone in the room.

Putting his back to the bar also closed off the rest of the room, leaving just him and Reese.

Kieve couldn’t stop looking at him. The black and silver hair just begged for him to touch it. And those lips. Fuck, he bet the guy could suck cock.

The image flooded his brain and he knew what it looked like, precisely what it felt like, to have those lips wrapped around his dick.

When Reese had loaded up the waitress’s tray, he slid down the bar, wiping the counter, until he was almost in front of Kieve.

Kieve pressed up on his toes and leaned over a bit, keeping his voice low. Though Dex seemed pretty flamboyant, this wasn’t a gay bar and he didn’t want anyone getting outed without their permission.

“Do I know you?”

Reese looked up, but his eyes stared forward, not toward Kieve.

“Not that I know of.”

“Are you sure? You look really familiar.”

Reese stopped what he was doing and turned his shielded eyes to Kieve.

“Not knowing what you look like, no, I can’t be sure.”

Kieve rolled his eyes. Admittedly it was a stupid comment, but damn, the guy looked like...

He shook his head. Damn. He couldn’t place it.

Dex skipped over and slid his hand into the crook of Kieve’s arm.

“Do you want to see Fido?”

The bartender’s head came up so quickly Kieve thought his spine would snap. The sunglasses couldn’t hide Reese’s surprise...maybe panic?

“I’d love to. Is he here?”

“He is, but obviously, health regulations, he’s not allowed in the bar.” Dex turned and smiled at Reese. “Reese, honey, why don’t you go check on Fido? I think he’s in Micah’s office.”

Reese’s mouth cranked down into a deep frown and he glared at Dex.

“If it’s a problem, that’s okay.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. Right, Reese?”

“Right. I’ll go get
my dog.
”

Reese resisted the urge to snarl at his pack mate. He knew what Dex was doing and it wasn’t going to work. His wolf was getting over missing Kieve. Reese, the human, had no interest in him.

Nope, no interest at all.

Except for the intriguing colors of his aura. Most humans barely registered, just enough heat that he could tell where they were in space. But Kieve—he burned bright. And pretty. Captivating, really.

Maybe it was the way he smelled. Fresh and male and something indefinable that made Reese’s mouth water. Or maybe it was the dreams, nighttime fantasies of Reese sucking that long, lovely cock, Kieve’s sexy moans as he came.

Reese looked up. The shades over his eyes did nothing to block the intense colors from the body on the other side of the counter. Dex seemed to be waiting for something.

Right.
Fido.

He was going to kill Dex for that.

“I’ll go see where he’s at.” He threw down his rag and stomped off into the back hallway.

Fuck, was he really going to do it?

But even as he closed the door to Micah’s office he knew that he was. His wolf—traitorous creature that it was—wanted Kieve and clawed at the inside of Reese’s brain to get out.

He had no idea how long he had before Dex brought Kieve back. Reese stripped off his shirt, took off his pants and briefs and put them in a relatively neat pile in the corner.

Reese gave his neck a roll, trying to loosen the muscles that bound his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he let the wolf come forward.

The animal broke through, tearing through Reese’s muscles, ripping his skin. The change was over quickly and within seconds he was on all fours, his tail wagging in slow waves. The wolf knew Kieve was near.

A whine poured from his throat as the door opened and the delicious scent of his mate filled the room.

The human mind became a rider, an observer, as the wolf took command, bounding forward, needing to be close to its mate.

Reese tried to restrain the hyper animal. The wolf acted like a puppy, wanting nothing more than to be petted by his mate. It was embarrassing, made worse by the fact that Dex stood there, watching, laughing. The bastard.

Kieve stumbled back a step as the full weight of the dog hit him, front paws landing on his chest like a freight train.

“Hey there, baby.” He patted the wolf.

“Fido! Down!” The wolf dropped at Dex’s command but then turned and snarled at the younger man, the sound aggressive and warning.

Dex just laughed. “Whatever. Kieve, have a nice visit.”

The door closed behind Dex, but “Fido” continued to growl at the door.

“Sh, sh, it’s okay, baby.”

Kieve crouched down and rubbed his hands along Fido’s face, scratching behind his ears. The wolf practically collapsed in satisfaction. He ran his hands down the strong flank, loving the smooth glide of the black and grey fur beneath his fingers.

“Oh yeah, you like that, don’t you, baby?” He lifted his voice and naturally slipped into the childish tones he used when praising dogs. “Oh, what a good boy you are. Yes, you are.” Fido leaned against him, draping himself across Kieve’s knees like he was a lap dog, rolling over and baring his belly to be scratched. “Spoiled puppy,” he murmured but rubbed his fingers through the soft fur on the wolf’s stomach, smiling as the wolf practically collapsed in pleasure.

“Fuck.”

Kieve looked up at the curse and saw Micah filling the doorway. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which made the appalled look on his face even more noticeable. He glared past Kieve to Fido.

“This is worse than Dex and Maddock fucking in my office.”

A low growl rumbled through the dog’s chest, vibrating Kieve’s hands with its power. Fido flipped over and snarled, lips drawn back from teeth, all his aggression directed at the guy standing in the doorway.

“Don’t you fucking growl at me. I’ll rip your stomach open and feed on your entrails.”

Even though the dog couldn’t understand the threat, Kieve flinched.

“What’s your problem?” Kieve demanded, moving cautiously, stroking his hands across the animal’s neck, trying to soothe the wolf and not have it turn on him. But no, Fido’s aggression was focused solely on the other man. “He’s a dog. He doesn’t understand.”

“It’s a wolf,” Micah clarified. “And I don’t appreciate being growled at in my own office.”

Fido lowered his head, as if he could understand the words and felt ashamed.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Kieve shook his head, trying to see if it was his imagination or was this guy actually having a conversation with a wolf? Maybe he’d stumbled onto the set of a new Dr. Doolittle movie.

“Good to see you again, Doc.”

Suddenly, the guy was talking to him. Micah held out his hand for Kieve to shake.

“Uh, you too.” Kieve started to stand but found himself with a lap full of dog. Instead, he reached up and shook Micah’s hand.

Their hands connected and Fido’s head came up, as if watching to make sure there wasn’t anything improper going on.

Kieve dropped the handshake quickly and returned to petting the wolf who had taken up residence across his legs.

“I’ve got to get something out of my desk,” Micah said.

Kieve felt compelled to explain why he was in the man’s office. “I’m just having a little reunion with Fido here.”

“Fido?” The look of disgust could not have been more acute. “Dex is going to lose a hand over that,” he muttered.

Kieve didn’t know how to respond.

Micah walked to his desk, grabbed a pen and a notebook out of a drawer. When he got back to the door, he turned and looked down at Fido. “It’s getting busy so I need all hands in about five.”

A puppy-like whine squeaked out of Fido’s throat and he plopped his head on Kieve’s thigh.

Weird. This whole place is weird.

He glanced up and Micah was gone, leaving him alone with the wolf.

“You have some kind of strange owners,” he whispered. Fido gave that chuffing noise that sounded like a laugh before rubbing the back of his head against Kieve’s stomach. “Well, except for that sexy bartender. He might be strange, but I could put up with strange to have that body in my bed.”