She leaned closer, her long hair puddling on the table between them. “Women should clue in about gay bars. More gorgeous men with more muscle tone than I’ve ever seen gathered outside of a gym. Dancing and making out in the corners. This is best sort of way to spend my time.”
Jude had to agree that the scenery was pretty damn fantastic, although he generally wasn’t a fan of these big, noisy clubs. He preferred smaller, more intimate settings. Preferred relationships over anonymous hookups. It was why he hadn’t gotten laid in more than six months. He hadn’t even called his friend Shane—his only friend with benefits—in all that time.
“I want to lick the sweat off that one.” Rebecca pointed, then pointed again. “And that one. Oooooo…and that one.”
Jude followed her finger and had to admit she had good taste, especially when she pointed at a man gyrating on the dance floor, his tank showing off hard, broad shoulders, his black skin shiny with sweat. The man caught Jude’s gaze and smiled, his invitation clear. Sweet smile, too—just the kind Jude should be drawn to and nothing like the superior scowls of an older doctor. Sighing, Jude turned back to Rebecca. He’d never been one to stray anywhere else once his interest was caught and this time, it was thoroughly trapped. Damn it. “What did you mean the night couldn’t get more fun?”
She wasn’t paying attention to him. He waited, grinning as he watched his friend get lost in her licking fantasies. There could be a few who would welcome her attentions here, especially the women, but her odds weren’t good for what she wanted. She finally looked at him, her eyes shiny and reflecting the strobe lights. “I meant...” She drew it out, then took another drink. “That it is now more interesting with the surgeon general here. I can’t wait to see him in action. Talk about hot. Do you think he just points and orders men about in the bedroom like he does at the hospital?” She shivered.
It took everything Jude had to keep his expression slightly interested as he turned in his seat. The thick crowd hampered his view, but he waited and then nearly swallowed his tongue when the doctor came into view. He couldn’t stop his mouth from falling open. “Fuck me,” he breathed.
Rebecca, who had leaned over far enough to read his lips, cackled. “I know, right? I knew the man was gorgeous but when he dresses to show it off, he’s unbelievable. And he obviously came here expecting to get laid.” She leaned closer. “And lookee at the testosterone beginning to gather around him. This should be good!”
Doc Frost wore nothing more than low-riding, faded jeans and a tight blue T-shirt that matched his eyes and made the white in his hair shine. Casual. Simple. The long, leanly muscled slopes of that broad-shouldered body were on perfect display. He’d messed up his hair, making it stand tussled on his head. He looked younger dressed like this. He strode through the crowd, expression fierce as usual, intentions obvious.
Yep, the general wanted to get laid.
Snow leaned over the bar as the bartender chatted him up and Jude’s mouth snapped shut at the way his jeans framed his taut ass. He’d caught glimpses of it before, but normally his long doctor’s coat covered things up. It was a shame, too. Jude watched as Snow asked the bartender something, his hand moving up to his cheek as if he were motioning about something on his face. Or someone else’s. Was he looking for someone?
The bartender pointed toward the back of the bar and Snow curtly nodded. The doc pushed away from the bar and strode purposefully through the crowd and out of Jude’s line of sight. Jude fought the urge to lean forward so he could watch. Rebecca didn’t hesitate, nearly taking a header out of her chair as she stretched.
“Damn! That man is built!” She sat up straight, grabbed her glass. “I love the way he walks. All predatory and shit. If he wasn’t gay, I’d be crawling his body like a spider monkey.” She sipped her drink. “Which brings me to this question. What the hell are you waiting for?”
Jude stopped grinding his teeth long enough to throw back the last of his drink, trying not to think about Snow picking up some nameless guy when he was more than happy to welcome him to his own bed. He just wasn’t ecstatic about the idea of going after Snow with Rebecca watching him.
Barely ten minutes had passed before Snow returned to the bar alone. His expression was still hard as he leaned across the bar, talking to the bartender again. This time, Snow reached across and handed the man something, but it didn’t look like money or even a credit card. Had Snow slipped the bartender his phone number?
A blond kid came up behind Snow, blocking Jude’s view and sudden resentment flooded him when the doctor turned and the kid shoved his hands under Snow’s T-shirt.
“Wow,” Rebecca scooted her chair closer to Jude’s so she didn’t have to yell. “Check out the stomach on him. He has that perfect vee thing going with his hips like you. Damn, I really need to start hanging out in straight bars where I might actually have a chance.” She propped her chin on her fist. “Who knew he had all that under his clothes?”
Jude had known because he watched the man. All the time. Watched him move that toned, stunning body and when one loved the male form as much as Jude did, he knew the signs. Plus, he’d rubbed all over it that night in the parking lot. The night before Snow’s friend had died.
A frown tugged at Jude’s lips as he realized what was off about the doctor tonight—more than the usual prickly arrogance. There was a hardness to his face, as if Snow were clenching his teeth and his hands opened and closed at his side. He looked like he was teetering on the edge and cruising for a fight.
Fuck, had the funeral been today?
“So many men are in here in clothes so tight, they probably have trouble breathing and that man wears his jeans loose and low—” She hummed her approval.
“And knows exactly how fantastic he looks in them.” Jude stared, both worried about the man’s state of mind and turned on by the way the jeans hung off his hips. He imagined that he could slide his hands inside them, cup his ass. They’d slide off his legs so easily. He wondered how much hair Snow had on his body.
Rebecca chuckled. “That kid is annoying the hell out of him, but I sure am enjoying the show.”
Jude was barely listening to her at this point, lost in the fantasy of undressing the sexy doctor even as he watched him fend off the blond. Snow frowned fiercely at the dainty kid who didn’t look like he was old enough to even be in the place and who was obviously made of hands. The doctor pulled the hands away, but they returned fast, this time raising the shirt high and giving every man around him a glimpse of that ripped stomach.
Heat built in Jude so hot and fast, he jumped off the stool before he knew what he was doing. “I’ll be right back.”
“Finally! Do I get to watch you in action?”
“Yeah, you do,” he muttered, but he knew there was no way that Rebecca had heard him over the music. He turned toward the doc only to see that a giant of a man had approached Snow. The doctor gave the guy a wicked, inviting as hell grin. Lust slammed through Jude and pulled him that direction like he was being reeled in. He had never seen that particular expression on the general’s face.
And he wanted that for him and him only.
The little blond stepped in front of the big guy and scowled up at him. Jude could only see the back of the larger man, but the blond was in full sight. He was a delicate thing with fine features and head full of platinum hair. He said something to the big guy that sent his hands into fists, his shoulders straight. He picked the kid up and physically moved him out of the way.
What happened then was an accident—even Jude could tell from halfway across the room—as the kid’s hip hit the bar too hard.
Snow slowly turned toward the kid as he cried out and the fury that spilled over his features was dark, violent. He snarled and shoved the big man.
In the next second a huge, meaty fist had grabbed the doc by the shirt.
Bodies surged around them as some men jumped in to stop the fight and some to obviously egg it on.
Alarm surged through
Jude and he pushed through the outer group of people who’d spotted what was going on and gathered to watch. Jude couldn’t guess where the fucking bouncers were, but there was no way they were going to reach Snow and the asshole in time to keep this from getting ugly. In the few seconds it took Jude to get through, Snow had obviously lost it. He plowed his fist into the giant’s face then jumped out of the way of the man’s counter.
He didn’t get completely away as the fist slammed into his shoulder. The force sent him spinning into the bar. The blond kid tried to calm them down.
Once again the big man wasn’t paying attention, his elbow hitting the kid in the nose as he muscled for a better position on Snow.
Snow looked at the blood that streamed from his nose, then growled and rammed his shoulder into the guy’s chest, slamming his back into the bar hard enough to rattle glasses and bottles. The bartender shouted, moving as if he were preparing the climb over the bar to separate the two men.
Other people jumped in to try to stop the fight. Jude shoved his way through. “Shit, Snow!” Jude stepped in front of Snow, grabbed his arms, and got right in his face. “Snow!”
The man blinked at him, panting, and again Jude got the feeling he was teetering on the edge. He needed to get him out of there.
Jude looked over his shoulder at the guy Snow had hit. Fury bled from his face and his cheek bloomed a bright red. “Listen,” he told the guy, keeping his voice as low as he could with the crowd and the loud music. “He put someone he loved into the ground today.”
The guy’s expression didn’t soften. “Doesn’t excuse him being an asswipe.”
“Nah, it doesn’t. But maybe you should be a little more careful around small guys like him.” Jude jerked his head toward the blond. “And maybe you should just go ahead and back off now. The doc here didn’t mean to try to flatten your face.”
“I certainly did,” Snow muttered.
Jude tightened his grip on Snow’s arm and turned him toward the blond kid. “Look at the kid’s face.” He turned back to the wall of bulk, fully expecting to take this to a physical level, but the guy was looking at the short man, regret digging lines in his face before he shuffled into the crowd. Jude turned back to the kid.
“I’m Geoffrey,” he said, voice muffled from the napkins shoved under his nose.
“Are you going to look at him, doc?” Jude lifted an eyebrow. The bartender glared at them both in warning, while more heavily muscled men in black T-shirts with The Dock logo on the front lingered in the quickly dispersing crowd.
Snow was breathing hard and glaring at Jude like he was the one who messed things up. For some reason, his body responded and Jude did nothing to hide it. Instead, he did exactly as he had in the parking lot when Snow said they wouldn’t be kissing again. He grinned and he wrapped his hand around Snow’s bicep.
Geoffrey made a strangled noise, looked at his hand on Snow’s arm then down to Jude’s obvious arousal. “But I found Snow first,” he whined.
Jude didn’t know how to answer that. He stared at Snow to see how he responded. Maybe this kid was what the man liked. He knew Snow’s nickname—said it like they were familiar. He frowned. Did he like them this young?
“He’s twenty-six,” Snow snapped. “Stop looking so disgusted.”
“You and him?” Jude asked, still surprised and faintly alarmed because if this is what did it for the doc, Jude didn’t stand a chance. He was bigger, swarthier, and though only four years older than Geoffrey, it certainly looked like the age difference was larger. And Geoffrey was a hell of a lot prettier. If one liked blond, elfin faces. Or men who looked like jailbait.
“Of course not me and him!”
Geoffrey suddenly growled and threw up his hands, flinging his bloody napkins into the crowd. “Of course not? Never,” he said on another growl that was pretty damn cute. “Never have I had to work so hard to get into someone’s pants.”
Jude could believe it. The kid was gorgeous. He also seemed pretty sweet so Jude didn’t want him to feel bad. “Sorry. The doc and I have something going on.”
“We do?” Snow yanked his arm away, glared for a moment, then went to Geoffrey and gently felt around his nose. Geoffrey closed his eyes and leaned into the touch even though it had to hurt. Jude could see a lot of pent up longing in the movement and again, he felt sorry for the little guy. He understood. He wanted the doctor’s hands all over him, too.
“It’s not broken,” Snow said. “But you’ll need to ice it for the swelling. Fifteen- to twenty-minute intervals.”
Geoffrey blinked huge eyes up at Snow, who gave him a kind smile that had Jude’s already hard dick throbbing even more. There were hidden layers to the doc, layers that ran deep. He grew determined then to have smiles like that one aimed his direction, too. Apparently, he wanted all the man’s smiles.
But then the doctor turned back to him and all that barely banked fury came rushing back. He tried to shove past Jude, but Jude only grabbed his arm again.
Snow tugged on his arm, but Jude didn’t let go. He worked out and between that and determination, he knew he could keep Snow where he wanted him. He pulled the general so they were facing each other, liking that they were close to the same height so he could stick his nose right in the doctor’s face. “Calm the fuck down. I know you’re hurting, but you can’t take it out on people in here.”
Shaking his head, Jude kept a tight grip on the slightly taller man and shoved his way through the crowd until he got to the table where Rebecca sat with her mouth hanging open. They’d come separately, but he normally walked her to her car before he went home.
“You ready to leave?”
She shook her head.
“Are you okay to get yourself home tonight? I’ve never left you out alone before.”
She snapped her mouth shut and nodded, her eyes shooting him a million questions. “I’m a big girl who can drive her own car. I know where the key goes and everything.”
He would have smiled, but the anger building back up on the doctor was like a wave of heat against his back. The man dug his fingers into Jude’s hand and tried to pry it off his arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told Rebecca as he turned and stalked off with the doctor in tow. He pushed through the door only to growl in frustration when he hit a wall of cold rain. “Shit!”
“I don’t know what your damage is, but you’ve been up in my face lately, Torres. I’ve had enough.”
“Trust me, you haven’t.” Cursing, Jude tugged the man down the street until he saw a dark alley. Rain pounded down on them and he didn’t give a crap. “Seems I’m going to have to find a better way to shut you up.” He found a shadowed corner out of the rain, turned and shoved Snow into the bricks.
“You are some kind of dominant fucker,” Snow muttered, sounding pissed yet slightly amused. It didn’t escape Jude’s notice that there was a thread of intrigue in his tone, too.
“You’re not fighting me.” Jude swiped both hands back on his forehead to push his sopping hair back and licked rain off his lips. Damn, it was cold. The rain poured off an overhang above them, creating a gray sheet behind Jude, cocooning them in. It could almost have been cozy and private.
Snow’s light blue eyes reflected the miniscule amount of light coming into the alley as his gaze locked on Jude’s mouth momentarily before returning back to his eyes. “Why’d you get in the middle of that? Back in the bar?”
“You’re an idiot, but you’re also a surgeon.” Jude lifted Snow’s hand, the rain slicking their palms together. He turned “Not only could beating up that guy hurt your job, it could hurt your hands. What the hell were you looking for in there?”
Snow yanked his hand away. “That’s none of your business.” He looked away from Jude as if he could no longer meet his gaze.
“I want to make it my business. You need something? Let me give it to you.”
“I’m trying to find someone. You can’t help me with that.”
“Oh, I think I can.”
“Tell me.”
“We work in the same damn place,” Snow continued, dodging the question.
“So what?”
“So what?” With a growl, Snow grabbed him and switched their places, only he turned Jude all the way around to face the wall. Snow slammed him into it and his chin nearly hit the wet brick, but he managed to shove his hand up to block the hit. Snow leaned close, his chest pressed against Jude’s back while his groin dug into Jude ass. Jude nearly groaned while resisting the urge to grind his ass against the erection he could feel straining against Snow’s jeans. Snow’s hot breath skimmed across his ear, sending a different kind of shiver through him. “Tell me something, Jude. You like to scream?” Snow’s hand tightened on his shoulder as he thrust his cock against Jude’s ass again. “I like men who want to be held down, want to give up everything just for the feel of my dick in their ass. I like things rough, Jude. Do you?”
There was a hint of something off about what the man said. Jude knew men who liked pain—men like his ex, Brian. What the doc was saying didn’t ring true. He smirked. “You’re so full of shit. I think you’re the one who’s mixed up. Is that what you were looking for in there with that giant? A fight? Pain?”
“Who the hell do you think you are? Don’t tell me what—”
Using Snow’s confusion, Jude shoved away from the wall, throwing the man behind him off balance. He turned, grabbed Snow’s arms, and returned them to their earlier positions. “What’s your problem?”
Snow sneered. But again, he didn’t fight back. He seemed to be waiting, watching Jude with eyes that held something new, something speculative. The rain continued to pummel them despite the covering, slicking that light blue shirt to every muscle in Snow’s body. He could see the man’s nipples had pebbled in the frigid cold but everything below was in shadows. Jude wished for more light.
Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds Series Book 2) Page 8