Rhys called him again. “Remi.”
In a daze, Remi stepped up to the battered old bar, next to Rhys.
“What will it be?” the bartender asked Remi.
“I’ll have a Jake and Coke—uh, Jack and Cock, uh—” Oh fuck
.
Remi stopped talking. He could actually feel his face heat with a blush.
Someone shoot me.
Rhys burst out laughing. “Get him a Jack and Coke. I’ll take a Crown and Coke and a scotch for Jake.” Rhys smiled at Remi and reached toward his face. “Talk about your Freudian sl—”
Remi stiffened, flinching away, and waited for the blow.
It never came.
Goddamn, he was batting a thousand tonight. What else could he do to embarrass himself?
Rhys dropped his hand and the grin melted from his face. “Sorry.” He came across even more grim.
“No, I’m sorry. Bad habit.”
The bartender came back, setting all three drinks on the bar.
Rhys took the glasses and handed Remi’s his and Jake’s.
“Thanks. How much do I owe you for these?”
“You don’t. Jake’s uncle runs the place.”
Well, shit, how many more surprises was he going to get tonight? Remi nodded, looking around for Jake. Jake had gone and joined the guys at the pool table. He was now talking to Tank and Gadget. He seemed so commanding, with his wide shoulders and straight, confident posture.
The image of Jake standing over Remi sprang to mind and he shivered. His cock got hard instantly.
No!
Wanting to please Jake was another mate thing. That was all it was. He had enough to deal with. He was certain he had a problem with being a submissive…didn’t he?
The overwhelming urge to give in to Jake had been there from nearly the beginning. It felt natural to lean into Jake’s touch, to trust Jake. That was another thing, he trusted Jake…really and truly trusted him. Remi couldn’t think of one other person he felt he could depend on like that, except for maybe his brother.
As if he knew Remi was thinking about him, Jake walked up to Remi and Rhys as they reached the table and took the scotch from Remi. “Thanks.”
“Hey, Remi, you play?” Nick asked, holding up a cue stick.
“Yeah. What are you playing?”
“Nine ball.” Nick tossed him the cue.
Crap. Remi wasn’t expecting it and he had his drink in the wrong hand. He opened his left hand in an attempt to catch it, but Jake snagged it from midair then handed it to him.
Jake pointed his finger at Nick. “Watch it.”
“Sorry, Remi. Wasn’t thinking.” Nick grimaced.
Whoa, Jake had actually sounded angry with Nick. What was that about? Remi handed his drink to Jake before addressing Nick. “No problem. Warn me next time.”
Dago, who was seated on a tall chair near the table, extended his leg and shoved Nick’s leg with his foot. “Kind of hard to hustle pool if you knock out your opponent before the game starts, asshole.”
Remi laughed, forgetting about his latest dilemma for now. “Well, if you’re hustling me, I get to break.”
“What the fuck kinda rule is that?” Nick grinned and stepped back, motioning to the cue ball.
Remi lined up his shot, aiming for the one ball. Please let him hit the one ball hard enough to get a ball in the pocket.
Here goes nothing.
Remi took the shot, satisfied with the loud crack and the way the balls scattered. How many had to hit the rail for a legal break? Four? He couldn’t remember, but several did, so he was probably okay. Six ball in the corner pocket. Two ball in the side. Nine ball in the corner…
Holy shit.
He’d sank the nine ball on the break. He’d only ever done that once before and just like this time it had been completely accidental, not that he was going to tell Nick of course. A refrain of holy shits, goddamns and fuck mes went around the table, followed by laughter.
Excitement bubbled inside Remi, making it impossible not to smile. Turning to find Nick standing with his mouth open, Remi raised a brow.
Tank laughed so hard he grew red in the face. Dago was nearly rolling on the floor. Even the somber Rhys was grinning.
Gadget held out his hand for a high five.
Remi slapped it and doubled up his fist and bumped knuckles with Gadget like they’d been friends for years rather than new acquaintances.
Jake was leaning against the wall, a smirk on his face. He caught Remi’s gaze, raised his glass and winked before taking a drink.
Remi got a fluttery feeling in his stomach. His chest felt a little tight.
Nick bowed to Remi and threw his hands in the air. “Okay, we gotta talk. You’re supposed to throw a couple games first.”
“Oh no, last time I had anything to do with hustling pool I damn near got my ass kicked, and it wasn’t even me doing the hustling.”
Tank frowned. “Yeah? Man, you gotta be careful with shit like that. Next time you go, let me know. I’ll watch your back.”
Whoa.
The offer puzzled and pleased Remi. Something told him he was going to get along well with Jake’s friends. “Cool. Who wants to play?”
“I’ll play if you let me break.” Zack stood.
Dago shook his head. “Hey, no fucking around with the rules, Zack. Winner breaks.”
Zack pointed his cue at Dago. “Bullshit. He’s the one hustling, I get to break, he said so himself.”
Remi gave them his best innocent look. “What if I said it was accidental?” No way was he admitting it really was accidental.
Dago laughed at Remi. “Smug bastard.” He called out to Zack. “By all means, Remi says it’s a rule, it must be.”
Remi started out playing the second game pretty well, but halfway through the game he got distracted watching Jake talk to everyone. His mind kept conjuring Jake standing over him, protecting him and taking care of him. Somehow the image fit. It also gave Remi an uneasy feeling.
As the game progressed, Jake’s friends made Remi feel welcome, including him in their conversations, yelling out encouragement for him to, “Whip Zack’s ass,” and telling jokes. They were a great group of guys. Even Rhys, although he remained quiet.
By the time Zack sank the nine ball, Remi was ready for another drink.
Jake took the cue from Remi and tossed back the last of his scotch. He started to set the empty tumbler down, but Remi grabbed the glass and picked up his own as well.
“I’ll get you another.”
Dipping his head, Jake started to step around Remi, then hesitated. He held Remi’s gaze for several seconds. “You having fun?”
“Yes, I am. Thank you.” And he was, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually had so much fun he hadn’t worried about stuff.
“You’re welcome. You know, I have a pair of leather chaps at home that might fit you, if you’re interested.”
“Yes, sir. I’m definitely interested.” Remi licked his lips, wanting Jake to kiss him again.
Jake’s eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up.
Remi frowned. What the— Then it dawned on him what he’d said and how Jake would’ve taken the “sir”.
Chapter Nine
Outside of Remi’s apartment, Gadget handed Jake Remi’s helmet and keys. “You gonna stay with him? He’s pretty messed up.”
Taking the keys and helmet, Jake peeked over his shoulder to where Rhys and Remi waited in Rhys’ car behind the bikes. “Yeah, I’ll get him settled before I go. Thanks for bringing his bike home. I think this is the first time he’s drunk hard liquor since he was changed.”
Gadget laughed. “Yeah that new metabolism will fuck you up. Although the advantage to that is the drunkenness will wear off faster too.” Gadget scrunched his face and headed toward Rhys’ car. “Maybe that’s not an advantage.”
“I never get dis drunk.” Remi tried to get out of the passenger side of Rhys’ car but got tangled in the seat belt and fell back into the seat.
Jake jogged over to the car and reached inside to unbuckle him. He glanced over at Rhys. “Thanks.”
Rhys dipped his head. “No problem.”
After moving back to let Remi out and Gadget in, Jake then shut the door and ducked his head to see in the open window. “You two got plans tomorrow?”
Gadget shrugged. “When? We have a pack meeting tomorrow evening.”
Shit.
He’d forgotten about that. Oh well, it was at nine, that left the day open. “Around noon.”
Buckling his seat belt, Gadget shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of. I’m fixing Rhys’ bike day after tomorrow.”
“Why? What’s up, Jake?” Looking past Jake, Rhys frowned and pointed.
Jake turned around to see what Rhys was trying to show him and noticed Remi staggering off in the opposite direction of his apartment.
Well damn.
Jake whistled.
Remi stopped, faced him and waved.
Gadget and Rhys laughed.
Jake groaned, but he couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Motioning with his hand for Remi to return, Jake kept his attention on his mate but spoke to Gadget and Rhys. “If you guys aren’t doing anything, I thought we’d play ball.”
“Play ball?” Gadget asked.
Remi started wandering off again.
Shit.
“Remi, come here. Yeah, with Remi’s little brother. I figured it’d be fun and help the kid out.”
Remi obeyed immediately, coming back toward the car.
“Sure, just give me a call,” Rhys said.
Jake peeked back at Gadget and Rhys, who were both staring out the window toward Remi with smiles on their faces.
Gadget nodded. “Yeah, I’m game. I can see if my oldest two boys wanna come too.” He was quiet for a few seconds then jerked his head toward Remi. “I like him. He’s good for you. Fits in with the rest of us too.”
“He does.” Jake grinned. Yeah, Remi did fit in with Jake’s friends. Remi’s inebriated state was testament to that. Remi wasn’t the type to get hammered unless he had complete confidence in who he was with. That he trusted Jake enough to drink made Jake feel good. “All right, then I’ll call you tomorrow. I better go before he takes off again.” Jake patted the side of Rhys’ car. “Later.” He grabbed one of the helmets from under his arm and held it out to Remi as he approached.
Remi took it and waved at Rhys and Gadget. “Bye.”
Both men waved, called out goodbyes and Rhys drove off.
Heading toward the apartment, Jake watched his mate from his peripheral vision, making sure he was coming along. “Where were you going?”
“Going?” Remi started up the stairs, only wobbling a little.
Jake hurried after him, getting close enough to lend him a hand if he needed it. “Yeah, awhile ago. You were going the wrong way.”
Remi shrugged, stepped up the last step and leaned against the wall next to his apartment door. “Don’t know.”
How fucking cute was that? Remi was pretty out of it. Chuckling, Jake unlocked the door and opened it. He waited for Remi to go in before shutting and locking it. As he set down his helmet and keys on the coffee table something brushed across his ass. Jake looked over his shoulder.
Remi stood with his helmet held in one hand, hanging from one strap, and his other hand on Jake’s butt. “You ’ave a nice ass. You ’ave a nice ever’thing.” Remi nodded.
Jake didn’t know whether to groan or cry. His body, however, had no qualms about what to do. His cock stiffened right up. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He ushered his drunk mate down the hall, catching a whiff of Remi’s arousal. Great.
“Have I earned my jacket?”
“What are you talking about?”
Remi continued into the bedroom. “Your old sub, Chance, said I’d impress’d you, ’at’s why you gave me the jacket.”
Fuck.
Jake hadn’t even seen Chance at the bar. “Chance was never my sub. And I gave you the jacket because yours got tore up.”
And because it was a small harmless way to stake my claim.
Giving Remi the jacket was only supposed to be significant to Jake.
Remi sat on the bed. “You don’t want me?” His brow furrowed.
“Of course I do. Didn’t I prove that this afternoon?” Jake followed and knelt to take Remi’s boots off of him. He wanted nothing more than to make Remi his sub, but he couldn’t ask Remi for that. Remi’s upbringing didn’t lend itself to the lifestyle Jake had led before Remi came along. Jake could live without it, he needed his mate more than he needed to dominate, but there was no denying the sense of loss. He’d been a Top for over fifteen years. He’d never dated anyone who wasn’t into the scene.
“Mmm… Yeah, that was nice. I was nerve’us at first, but I couldn’t let you go, ya know? I didn’t want only half.” Remi flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Tossing Remi’s boot aside and starting on the other, Jake frowned. Half? Half what?
“Whad kinda relationship did ya have with Chance? He said you were good together.”
“He bottomed for me a couple of times. That’s it. It was nothing serious.” Jake pulled off both of Remi’s socks and stood.
“Why?”
Why? Jake groaned. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. Furthermore, he knew damn well he wouldn’t be in this uncomfortable predicament if Remi were sober. “Because he wasn’t my mate.”