by Gale Stanley
“Potential employer. I haven’t hired you yet.” Jaxon snorted. “Flirting won’t get you the job. Find another partner.”
Slade leaned in close. “You’d be doing me a favor. The natives are restless, and if they see me with you, they’ll back off.”
Slade wasn’t kidding. Jaxon glanced around and saw a number of men eyeing the new dancer and edging closer to the bar. It was nearing the end of the night, and inhibitions were being left by the wayside. He almost laughed out loud. Slade isn’t as tough as I thought if he wants help fending off the wildlife. Hell no. Jaxon didn’t want to send the wrong message to the crowd. He played his personal life close to the vest. In all the time he’d owned the club, he made it a point not to dance with any of the men. If Slade wanted to live and work in Dogtown, he’d better learn how to handle himself. “Sorry, I don’t dance.”
“Your loss.” Slade picked up his bottle, stood, and started to walk away.
Arrogant prick. “Slade.” Jaxon yelled, stopping the man in his tracks. “We’re not open on Sunday. Come back the same time Monday night.”
Slade saluted with his beer bottle and made his way toward the pool room.
Fuck him. Who does he think he is God’s gift to a shifter? Jaxon downed the rest of his beer and slammed the bottle on the bar. It shattered, and Quinn was there immediately with a rag. He really needed to take his raging hormones to bed. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t mind taking the new guy as well. Damn, the control freak was off his game tonight. He might as well go upstairs to his apartment.
Jax took a walk past the pool room—just to make sure everything was quiet. Slade was leaning over the table, lining up a shot. A well-built man with a blond ponytail came up behind him and edged closer until his hips brushed Slade’s ass. Slade straightened up and growled over his shoulder. “Back off.”
Jaxon had never seen Ponytail before, but the big shifter looked like trouble. He hung in the back watching the scene play out in front of him.
Ponytail ran a hand down Slade’s arm. “You looked a hell of lot friendlier on the stage.”
“Yeah, well that was then, this is now. You’re ruining my game.”
“I can think of a better game.” His eyes traveled below Slade’s waist. “Looks like you’re up for it.”
“Fuck off.” Slade snarled.
“If you don’t want the attention, you shouldn’t shake your ass in front of a bunch of hungry wolves.”
“It was a show, asshole.”
“Maybe I’d like a private show.” He put a palm on Slade’s hip and started a slow slide to his crotch. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Slade gave him a hard elbow to the chest.
“Fucking tease.” Ponytail’s face turned ugly.
The hair stood on the back of Jaxon’s neck, and he tensed, ready to jump in if Slade needed a hand.
Slade caught Jaxon’s eye and winked, and then he turned and blocked Ponytail’s sucker punch. A big, ginger wolf picked up a cue stick and moved in on Slade. Before the prick knew what hit him, Jaxon slammed him to the floor. He planted a booted foot on the man’s chest and looked from him to Ponytail. “I want you both out—now.” Two enforcers appeared, as if by magic, and pulled the redhead to his feet.
Ponytail put his hands up in surrender. “We don’t want any trouble.” He nodded to the redhead, and they followed the enforcers to the door.
“Okay, boys. This show is over.” Jaxon nodded to Slade. “How about that dance you promised me?”
The other men looked at each other, surprised at this new development, but they shrugged and went back to their game. Jaxon not only owned the club, but he was the closest thing to an Alpha in Dogtown. Somebody had to step up because no one else wanted the job.
Slade grinned, and Jaxon got the distinct impression the man had planned the whole thing. Too late to back out now. He’d committed to a dance. “One dance.” He held up a forefinger. “And then I’m packing it in.”
“That’s all I want.” Slade led the way, and the next thing Jaxon knew, they were on the dance floor and the sexy wolf was moving to a slow beat.
“In hindsight, I should have put my shirt on, but I was hot and sweaty.”
“Still are from the looks of it.” Jaxon eyed Slade’s chest. “But I don’t think a shirt would have helped,” he added. “For a first-timer, you’re pretty damn good. How do you do it? You make it look easy.”
“Nothing to it,” Slade said, smiling. “Put your arms around me and just feel the music. Take it slow and easy.”
Jaxon was keenly aware of everyone’s eyes on them, and he hesitated but finally let Slade pull him closer. Only one beer, but it had been enough to loosen him up a little. Besides, Slade’s moves oozed sex and were hard to resist.
Slade nuzzled his cheek. “You smell good.” He licked Jaxon’s neck. “Hmm, taste good too.”
Slade’s sweat and animal musk filled Jaxon’s nose, and following the man’s sensual moves was all too easy. Slade’s lips were inches from his. Jaxon had a momentary lapse of sanity, and he let Slade kiss him. Their tongues danced, and Slade’s hard prick rubbed against his own. Visions of their hot, sweaty bodies doing a tango on his bed danced behind his closed eyelids.
Slade came up for air, nipping Jaxon’s bottom lip as he pulled back. “Feel what you do to me.”
Only too well. Good sense prevailed. He already had a lover. “Keep that shit up and you’ll attract a lot more unwanted attention,” Jaxon warned him.
“I only want your attention.”
Slade’s words made his blood burn a hot path to his dick. What the hell had he started? “Sorry, I never mix business with pleasure.”
“Neither do I, but I’m ready to make an exception in this case.”
Fuck! Slade wasn’t going to make this easy. “It’s a cardinal rule.”
“Okay then. I quit.” Slade forced Jaxon closer still. “You don’t even have to pay me for tonight.”
Jaxon’s head spun. Being this close to Slade took his breath away, not to mention his will to argue. “I thought you needed a job. And you’ll be leaving me without a dancer.”
“I don’t want to leave you at all. Just think about it. We’d be good together. I know it.”
That’s the problem. Jax knew it, too. But he already had a partner he loved, and he didn’t want to screw up their relationship, not any more than he already had. It wasn’t easy maintaining a relationship with a human boyfriend.
As de facto leader in Dogtown, Jaxon would lose all cred with the pack if they knew he had a human mate. Humans were for fucking only, and preferably outside of Dogtown’s boundaries. Letting them get too close to Were business wasn’t tolerated. He and Mike maintained separate residences and always met at Mike’s apartment in the Village. Jaxon could pass as human, but a human could not pass a sniff test in Dogtown. So Jaxon’s time with Mike was limited, and lately Mike had been getting distant. Jaxon was afraid the frequent absences and deception were wearing his lover down. He didn’t like it either, but what could he do?
He’d told Mike to find someone else. They could still maintain a relationship, just see other people. It was unnatural to abstain from sex for long periods of time when they couldn’t see each other. Mike said he wasn’t sure he could handle a relationship that wasn’t hermetically sealed. He didn’t want anyone else, so Jaxon remained monogamous, too. Only it was harder for a wolf…
Jaxon possessed a shifter’s biological imperative, the need to perpetuate their existence, to survive. He might be gay but he still had the high sexual appetite that was inbred in every Were. Like attracts like. It was the law of the universe. Somewhere out there was a wolf-shifter meant for him alone but with his people scattered all over the world, it was unlikely they would ever meet. But somehow he’d been lucky enough to find a kindred spirit in Mike, a human male. Right from the first, they had connected—both feeling as though they had known each other forever. Their feelings went way beyond the physical. Most humans bel
ieved Jax was nothing but an animal. Mike saw beneath the surface and made him feel worthy of the love he lavished on the shifter. They had forged a connection that went beyond genetics.
“So what do you say?” Slade’s hands slipped under the waistband of Jaxon’s jeans and his fingers found their way to the crease between his bare cheeks. “Do I have a chance?”
Jaxon couldn’t help the moan that escaped from his lips. Wolf claws raked his gut and he found himself losing control. His lupine spirit had never threatened to come out on its own. Who was this man who excited his wolf into such a state of heightened emotional and sexual receptivity? Is this the wolf-shifter I was meant to meet?
Slade murmured in his ear, “I know you don’t want me to stop.” His fingers pressed deeper. “Promise me you’ll think about it…about me.”
Fuck! He wouldn’t be able to think about anything else after tonight. Damn, he wanted this man. “Yes,” he hissed. “Promise.”
“Good.” Slade’s voice was rough with hunger. “That’s all I’m asking.” Slade stepped aside, and the extent of Jaxon’s disappointment shocked him.
“Sleep good, baby. I’ll see you Monday night.”
Fuck. Jaxon knew he wouldn’t sleep at all. He needed to see Mike and try to get this wolf out of his head. It was 3:00 a.m., but he didn’t give a fuck. Needier than he’d been in a long time, he needed to see his lover.
Chapter Two
Jaxon let himself into Mike’s apartment. Although he had his own key, he rarely used it. Hopefully, his lover would be pleasantly surprised to see him. Jaxon undressed quietly in the living room, planning to slip into bed next to Mike and spend the night. Maybe he’d get lucky and Mike would wake up. If not, he could wait until morning. It was only a few hours off.
He left his clothes on the floor and tiptoed into the bedroom, but he’d barely gotten past the threshold when the light went on. Mike sat up scowling. “Do you know what time it is?”
Not exactly the greeting I was hoping for. “Sorry, baby.” Jaxon yawned and scrubbed a hand through his unruly chestnut waves. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” Jaxon sat on the edge of the mattress. “I really missed you, baby.” He slipped a hand under the blanket. Damn, Mike really was pissed. “Go back to sleep. I’ll just slide in next to you.”
Mike looked at him reproachfully. “You smell like cinnamon.”
“You know I was at the club—”
“Yeah, and some cinnamon-smelling slut was all over you.” Mike lay down and threw an arm over his face. “Go home, Jax.”
Jaxon pulled Mike’s arm away and studied his face, trying to see if he meant it. God, his lover really was more gorgeous than any man had a right to be. “I know you don’t mean it.” At least I hope not. He and Mike had been together for over a year, and he couldn’t imagine being without him. Even though he didn’t see Mike as much as he would have liked, it felt good knowing Mike was there when he needed him, like now.
“I do mean it. Get out.” But Mike said it in a halfhearted manner and Jaxon stayed put.
“Let me change your mind.” Jax yanked the covers off Mike’s prone form and stared at his broad chest and narrow hips, the sight of which never failed to turn him on. The dark blond hair on Mike’s toned body matched the hair on his head, cut short because he worked for the New York Police Department. An image of Mike in uniform flashed through Jaxon’s head. Damn, he loved a man in uniform.
Mike was working plainclothes now, but his blues still hung in the closet for playtime. “Punish me, baby. Put your uniform on and you can handcuff me to the bed and spank me.”
Mike scowled at him. “You’re crazy if you think I’m getting out of bed and getting dressed.”
No problem. He’d settle for a naked Mike. In or out of uniform, he was hot. Even if Mike wasn’t thrilled to see him, Jax was glad he’d come. Seeing Mike always settled him, reminded him how good it felt to have somebody. He was lucky they met at all.
Quinn had been buying bar supplies, and he’d gotten picked up outside Dogtown on suspicion of armed burglary. Mike and his partner had taken the shifter to the local precinct and allowed him to call a lawyer. Quinn had called Jaxon, and he went down to the station to bail him out.
They were ready to throw the book at the bartender when another cop brought in the real perp, a human. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. Mike’s partner, a racist and a bigot, had put Quinn through the wringer when he found out he lived in Dogtown. But Mike had been apologetic and nothing but nice. Not all humans were assholes. He and Jaxon had an instant connection, and Mike gave him a card with his private cell number scribbled on the back. Jaxon had pulled it out of his pocket a hundred times, intending to tear it in two and toss it. Instead he’d ended up calling the cop. Mike had met him at an out-of-the-way spot for dinner, and the two men had been seeing each other ever since.
For a shifter, a man like Mike was an exotic, blue-eyed treat, and right now he looked good enough to eat. His lover’s cut cock, long and thick, and his big, low-slung balls made Jaxon’s mouth water. His own cock came to life as he wrapped his fingers around Mike’s awakening erection. The gorgeous, heavily veined cock was already leaking fluid, and Jaxon used it to lubricate the shaft.
Mike tensed, but he didn’t pull away. “I want to go to the club tonight,” he blurted out. No one has to know who I am. You don’t even have to acknowledge me. I’ll come in for a drink, have a look around.”
“Not a good idea.” Jaxon started working on Mike’s prick, stroking from the top all the way to the bottom then releasing as his other hand stroked from top to bottom, creating an alternating motion that never failed to get a rise out of Mike.
“Damn you. I want to sleep in your bed for a change.”
“I want that, too, but The Kennel Club is off-limits to humans. You wouldn’t even get past the door unless I brought you in. The men get rowdy sometimes, and if they find out you’re a cop…” His voice trailed off. Mike’s cock was filling nicely, and Jaxon really didn’t want to talk about the club.
“I’ve heard all this before.”
“And you’ll hear it again. It’s for your own good. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.” Jaxon couldn’t wait another minute. He needed to have Mike inside his mouth.
“Oh, God. Jax!”
* * * *
With no warning, Jaxon swallowed his prick until his nose was rubbing Mike’s pubes. Damn him. Mike had wanted to throw him out, he really did, and for more reasons than one, but he couldn’t do it. First off, with all that hand action going on, it made it impossible to think straight. Now Jaxon’s hot mouth had swallowed his anger along with his dick, and he was lost.
Mike never meant it to happen, but somehow, he’d fallen under the shifter’s spell and become totally smitten with the wolf. He had not an ounce of self-control when Jaxon got near him, and that was part of the attraction. It was nice to give up control sometimes, especially to someone a man could trust, and he trusted Jaxon—completely. Oh, he might give him a hard time once and in a while, but he knew Jax would always be honest with him. They had something good between them, and it made doing his job so much harder. A job he now wished with all his heart that he could quit. But once the Feds had a man under their thumb, they would never let him go.
Mike had started service with NYPD as a probie, a probationary police officer. After six months he was automatically promoted to the rank of police officer. Ultimately he wanted to be a detective, and he’d already worked a few investigative assignments, but the budget-conscious department had been dragging their feet on promotions. He became increasingly frustrated until his Captain called him in the office one day and offered him a proposition he’d almost refused.
He’d been assigned to the Division of Shifter Affairs, better known as the DSA, a fairly new branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It had been set up as a watchdog for Were population across the country, and right now they were knee-deep in the middle of investigating
the wolf-shifters in New York. The Feds believed that the growing community of wolves had formed a resistance movement and were preparing for an armed rebellion against what they considered unfair practices against all shifters. DSA had asked for help from the NYPD. In order to keep their investigation as quiet as possible, the Special Ops unit was only asking for one man to join them, but that man would have to infiltrate the Were community and bring back whatever information he could gather. Mike had been picked because his Captain knew he’d befriended Jaxon. He didn’t know they were lovers, but if it helped the investigation, he’d probably encourage it. If Mike completed his assignment successfully, he’d be assured of a promotion to detective, or a permanent post with the DSA, but that wasn’t the real reason he took the job. He accepted because he saw it as a way to help Jax. He intended to prove that Jax had done nothing wrong. His new boss warned him to keep his position a secret. He would have anyway because he knew Jax would go crazy if he found out.
In hindsight, he felt he should have turned it down, but it was way too late for second thoughts. Mike had nobody to blame but himself for the permanent knot in his gut. It is what it is. Although his superiors wouldn’t believe him, Mike knew Jaxon was not a terrorist. Now he consoled himself with the thought that at least he was in a position to help Jaxon. And if the government decided to start pulling in members of the shifter community, he could warn them.
Right now he just wanted to forget the job, forget everything but how great Jaxon’s mouth felt on his dick. Most people, men and women, didn’t know the first thing about sucking cock. They thought all they had to do was close their lips around a man’s penis and bob their heads up and down. But Jaxon was an expert cocksucker. His hot mouth slid up the length of Mike’s cock, tongue swirling around the head. Then his wet heat engulfed Mike’s length once again. Only Jax’s tight hold on his hips kept Mike from thrusting into his throat. “You’re fucking killing me,” he groaned.
Jax hummed around his cock and slipped a hand under his ass to finger his hole, and his eyes rolled back in his head. There was no point trying to string a few words together because he’d lost the power of speech. All he could do was moan his pleasure and hang on for the ride. He gripped the sheets while Jax increased his suction and tried to suck Mike’s brains out through his cock. Sparks started exploding behind his eyelids as Jaxon’s long finger finally pushed past the tight ring of muscle and penetrated his ass. Jaxon’s mouth slid down his shaft once more, and he couldn’t hold back. Mike slammed his head back against the pillows and shouted Jaxon’s name as he filled his lover’s throat with thick spurts of cum. Jax swallowed his load, only releasing him when his muffled cries stopped.