Authors: Kim Dare
Bayden obviously wasn’t impressed, but he eventually nodded his acceptance of the term.
Axel rolled his shoulders, trying to work some of the tension out of them before they completely cramped up. “The men who you were with last night—did you meet them here?”
Bayden shook his head.
A little of Axel’s guilt lessoned.
“The White Lion, in the city. It’s—”
“I know the club.”
Bayden looked up.
“Yes,” Axel confirmed. “I’ve played there. Most of the Dragons have played at most of the local clubs at one time or another. Now, we play here.” He let that sink in for a few moments. “I want you to do the same.”
Bayden twitched his fingers, but he still didn’t try to pull away. “You said…”
“Go ahead.” Axel stroked his thumb over the inside of Bayden’s wrist. That loose hold was the longest they’d ever maintained physical contact. It was also the conversation where they’d made the most progress. It didn’t seem like a coincidence.
“You said you didn’t want to see me do another…bet that looked a bit like a scene.”
Almost every muscle in Axel’s body tensed. He managed to keep the ones controlling the hand touching Bayden’s wrist relaxed. Forget some vague sense of guilt that Bayden might have met one of the bastards at the pub.
Axel looked at the mark around Bayden’s wrist.
Bayden had gone to The White Lion because Axel had told him to play out of his sight. He’d sent him to those bastards. He’d actually sent Bayden away from the one place where Axel could guarantee that he’d be safe because, what? He’d be jealous. Bayden had put himself at risk, he’d put himself in a situation where he could have been killed, just to make Axel more comfortable.
He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. His stomach turned over. He forced more coffee down his throat. “I should have been clearer. I meant I don’t want you to do bets like that anywhere.”
Bayden closed his eyes. Seconds ticked past. “I should go.”
Axel closed his fingers around Bayden’s wrist, not firmly enough to keep him in place if he made a serious attempt to pull away, not hard enough to hurt the bruised skin, just enough to let Bayden know he wanted him to stay where he was.
“I won’t stop taking bets,” Bayden said.
Axel held back both a sigh and a curse. “How much of that is down to species pride and how much is down to the money?”
“It’s not about the money,” Bayden bit out.
“How do you make a living?” Axel asked. “You’ve never mentioned having a job.”
Bayden looked down.
“Does your family help you out?”
“No!” Almost as vehement as when he’d denied being willing to take a bet off Axel. “Wolves don’t take charity from outside the pack,” Bayden bit out.
“And since you had to move out, you’re not part of their pack anymore. So it would be wrong for you to take money from them? It would be…shameful?” Axel guessed.
Bayden nodded. “Wolves don’t do that.” He looked down.
Watching for the tiny changes in expressions paid off. Shameful had been the right word for it. It was that big a deal to him.
“Do you have a job?” Axel asked again.
Bayden shrugged.
“Or is taking bets your job?”
Bayden shrugged again.
How would a wolf put it? Axel chose each word carefully. “Maybe while so many people are willing to bet against you, you don’t need to get a regular job. The bets prove your point, but they also pay the bills—they kill both birds with one stone.”
Finally, Bayden nodded. “Something like that.” He studied Axel very carefully. “I won’t stop taking bets.” He dropped his gaze. “But I can take them somewhere else.”
“No.”
“You said—” Bayden began.
“And now I’m telling you that the only place I want you to take bets is here, where I can see you.”
“Why?”
Because you need someone to keep an eye on you.
No, a wolf wouldn’t get that—something more diplomatic. “Because here you can be sure the bets will be bets and they won’t turn into mistakes.”
“I can look after myself,” Bayden protested.
“And because this is where all the Dragons play,” Axel cut in.
Against all human logic, that statement seemed to carry more weight with Bayden than the fact that playing there would stop him from getting killed.
Axel wasn’t above taking advantage of any gain he could get. “I’m not treating you differently because you’re a wolf. I’m expecting the same from you as I would from any human who rides with us.”
“You don’t like seeing…”
“I don’t necessarily approve of all the things that the other Dragons do. They’re members of my club, not my submissives. There’s a difference. Providing they obey the house rules, I don’t get involved. The same would apply to you and your bets.”
Bayden hesitated.
“You’ll be free to take any bets you want,” Axel promised.
“Because I won’t be your submissive,” Bayden echoed, just a little sadly.
“Yes. When you’re ready to stop playing out both scenes and bets with anyone else, we’ll talk about that changing. Until then, I won’t try to stop you from taking any bet that’s within the house rules.”
Bayden stared at Axel’s hand, still wrapped gently around his wrist.
“Whether it’s about money or proving a point to idiots—you can do both those things here.” Axel had to keep a careful check on his tone to make sure it didn’t sound like begging. “True?”
Bayden nodded.
“I want your word.”
“What?”
“I want your word that you’ll only take bets or scenes here, nowhere else.”
Bayden shook his head. “I can’t turn down a bet just because I’m somewhere else. If someone challenges me, I can’t just…”
He couldn’t let humans think they’d won. “If you want to accept the bet somewhere else, you can,” Axel offered. “As long as you carry it out here.”
Bayden looked up.
“I want your word.”
“Why?”
“Because a wolf won’t break his word once he gives it.”
Bayden froze. He didn’t even breathe. Axel found his own breath lodging in his lungs. Werewolves were apparently able to hold their breath for years at a time. Axel struggled to match him.
Finally, Bayden nodded.
Axel would have bet the pub on the fact it was only him saying a wolf’s word could be trusted that convinced him to do that. Bayden wouldn’t be able to resist showing him it was true.
“Words,” Axel pushed.
“I won’t do a bet or a scene anywhere else—until you give me leave to do that.”
“Good boy.”
Bayden smiled. He looked down. A moment later, he cleared his throat. “I should go.”
Damn it, Axel hadn’t done anything to suggest they should hook up, even by scent. Hell, he wasn’t even turned on. “Because?” he asked.
Bayden hesitated for a second. “My mother’s expecting me to drop by. I said I’d sit with my grandfather when she goes out.”
“That’s a good reason,” Axel allowed.
Bayden stood up.
Axel did the same. He still held Bayden’s wrist. Bayden didn’t try to pull away. Axel suspected that they could stand there all day. Bayden might eventually ask for his wrist to be released, but he wouldn’t remove it from Axel’s grip himself.
Bayden tilted his head back and peered up at him. It looked exactly like he was offering his lips up, pleading for a kiss. It would be so easy to give in to temptation and undo all the work they’d just completed. Axel stepped forward into Bayden’s space but he ignored his lips.
He pressed a kiss against Bayden’s temple, then let go of his wrist. “You can go.”
Bayden looked up at him, surprised, but obviously pleased by the gesture. A touch of heat coloured his cheeks before he turned away.
Axel went across to the window that overlooked the back yard of the pub and watched Bayden cross the yard and open what Axel was starting to think of as Bayden’s lock-up.
Money was the obvious root of Bayden’s problems. It was easy to imagine him getting into money trouble since he left home and being too proud to ask his family for financial help. But it didn’t feel like the full story.
From the way Bayden spoke about packs, it was just as easy to imagine that, forced out on his own, he was simply flailing around lost. No structure. No security. No one to keep him safe and point out when he took too many risks. A man might well turn self-destructive under those circumstances—he might utter a cry for help.
Throw in a fierce sense of species pride and a whole host of people ready to take advantage of a wolf who didn’t understand that humans might see his actions as straight forward prostitution, and—
Axel shook his head. Screw whatever was causing the problems. Solving mysteries was an indulgence he could do without. Answers weren’t important, fixing the problem was the only thing that mattered. Happily, it occurred to Axel that there might be one solution to the problem whatever the underlying cause.
* * * * *
“Have you ever worked behind a bar?”
“What?” Bayden looked over his shoulder. The sound of the roller door on the lock-up had completely concealed Axel’s approach. Bayden hadn’t even realised Axel had followed him down from the flat. He wasn’t ready to face him again.
Axel came closer. “Matt—one of my summer bartenders—is going back to university next week. That means I’m looking for a replacement to start on Monday.”
“Me?” Bayden blurted out.
“Why not?”
Bayden hesitated. “I’ve never done bar work.”
“Giving clear orders has never been one of my problems. Matt hadn’t worked behind a bar before. He turned out okay.”
Bayden studied Axel. His body language was the same as ever—complete confidence, pure dominance. “I don’t need the money,” Bayden reminded him.
Axel raised an eyebrow. “Too good to work behind a bar?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Said…implied—it’s a thin line.”
Bayden shook his head. Axel worked behind the bar all the time. There was nothing shameful about that.
“Unless there’s another reason?” Axel said, moving to lean against the wall of the lock-up.
Bayden glanced toward the pub. It was easy to imagine how it would be. “They won’t like it.”
“Your family?”
He shook his head. “The men who drink here.”
Axel huffed. “When I want their opinion on who I hire, I’ll let them know.”
Bayden fidgeted with his keys, knowing that Axel had no idea how much trouble employing a wolf could cause, but not knowing how to explain it.
“What would your family think if they found out you were working in a pub?”
Bayden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Money was money. He could explain it to them that way. They couldn’t stop him, but—
“That bad?” Axel asked.
Bayden glanced at him. Would a rich brat’s family have a problem with their son being a bartender? “It’s just not quite what they’d expect,” he said, carefully.
“You seem flummoxed by the idea yourself.”
Bayden didn’t deny it.
“You’re allowed to ask questions,” Axel offered.
Why do you want to employ me rather than a human? I’ve already told you I’ll do whatever you want for free—did you think that only meant sex?
“I didn’t ask you for a job. I told you wolves don’t take charity.”
“I’m not offering you charity. You’ll work damn hard. You’ll do whatever jobs I give you, no complaining, and you’ll earn every penny of your wages.”
Bayden looked down at his keys.
I’ll do whatever jobs you want for free.
“It works out as full time and pays two hundred and fifty a week plus tips. You can have a one month trial to start with. If it goes okay, we’ll talk about a permanent position.”
Bayden looked down. Two hundred and fifty a week, every week. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. That would cover the rent on his mother’s flat, every week—guaranteed. It would… Bayden swallowed. Doing whatever Axel wanted for free appealed to every instinct he possessed, but rent was rent.
“What about the bets? If I’m working here…”
Axel straightened up. “No bets when you’re on the clock—when you’re working, you’re working. But there’ll be plenty of time for you to do them when you’re not working.”
Bayden rubbed the back of his neck. If he was two hundred and fifty in hand to start with, he’d only need to make up the extra three hundred each week. Three fights. One or two scenes if he couldn’t find any fights.
It shouldn’t have been a priority, it shouldn’t even have occurred to him, but working there full time would also mean he’d be allowed to spend hours every day with Axel, and he wouldn’t even have to feel guilty about it. It was a risk, trusting a human always was, but maybe it was a risk worth taking.
“You said you wanted someone to start on Monday?”
“Is that a problem?”
Bayden shook his head. “What time do you want me here?”
* * * * *
“Why do I get the impression that you’re more nervous about this than you were about getting whipped by Richards?” Axel asked.
Bayden shrugged. He was obviously doing his damnedest to look at ease, but Axel’s read on him was getting better. The boy was nervous as hell.
“Getting whipped is easy. All you have to do is stand there.”
Stand there and take the kind of pain that would bring almost any human to his knees. Easy. Axel smiled. “You’ll do fine.”
Bayden nodded, but he looked far from convinced.
“Any questions?” Axel asked. Although, from the intensity with which Bayden had listened to his instructions, he was pretty sure Bayden could have recited them back to him word for word.
Bayden shook his head.
“Seriously, pup, there’s not much that can go wrong. The roof’s not going to fall in if you give someone the wrong change or mix up an order. The only drink you have to get right first time, every time, is Griz’s. That one’s important—and it stays important even if he really pisses you off.”
Bayden’s attention went straight to the correct shelf in the fridge and the non-alcoholic beer. He nodded.
“He’s been sober for seven years, that’s not something anyone messes with,” Axel stressed.
Bayden nodded again. There were probably brain surgeons who looked less determined to get everything right first time.