When No Doesn't Cut It

by Lisa Oliver

  “I’ll sort something out,” Damien said slowly.

  “Ring me again if you need to talk,” Shawn said. “You both mean the world to me and I don’t want to see either of you dead, simply because you can’t learn how to be in a relationship. But that is the nature of our wolf spirits. They can’t live without each other, even if our human sides mess up. All you need to remember in a relationship is that you need time together, honest communication and lots of love. That’s what makes a relationship work.”

  “Yeah, Shawn, I’ll try and thanks.” Damien hung up the phone and stared at the clock. It was almost eleven, so Scott should be back in the office soon. He wouldn’t want to miss his appointment with Phillip. After Phillip was sorted, then Damien would take some time off for lunch before his afternoon meetings and hopefully put his mate in a better mood. Because God knows the aches Damien were feeling were getting a bit beyond a joke, and all Damien wanted to do was recapture the feeling of contentment he had felt when he held Scott in his arms the night before.

  Knowing that all he would do is watch the clock if he didn’t focus on his work, Damien forced himself to pay attention to the papers on his desk. He knew most of it was petty stuff that just about anyone on his staff could deal with personally. But when Damien first opened the club he was very hands-on about everything, and now it had become a habit that was hard to break. Maybe he would need to learn some delegation skills if he was going to take Shawn’s advice.

  Deciding to think about that later, Damien lost himself to the world of invoices, orders, complaints and business correspondence. He was startled when he heard a knock at the door and as he called out, “come in” a glance at the clock told him it was after twelve. Damn, where was Scott and Phillip? Malacai came into the office carrying a tray.

  “I bought your lunch Alpha,” Malacai said, putting the tray on the desk. “Madison is busy working out some things with the Alpha Mate. He will be up shortly to report.”

  “Scott?” Damien said hopefully.

  “No, Madison,” Malacai said. “I offered to bring lunch up for the Alpha Mate too, so that you could have it together, but he said that you were probably busy and he was going to keep working. The bar is quite busy with the lunch rush. But he has had his meeting with Phillip and that all went smoothly. I had Ralph and Gordon supervising them in case Phillip got out of hand,” Malacai added in case the Alpha got upset about the thought of his mate with another man and no protection.

  “How could Scott have a meeting if he wasn’t here in the office,” Damien said and then felt really stupid. You didn’t need an office to have a meeting.

  “John let him use his,” Malacai said. “Alpha Mate said he didn’t want to disturb you. He’s allowed the protection detail for while he is working at the bar and when he was meeting Phillip. So he is fully protected.”

  “Well I want the Alpha Mate to have lunch with me so he can report on his meeting with Phillip. Go and tell him to come up here, Malacai.”

  “No need,” Madison said as he came bustling through the door. “I’ve got the notes of the Alpha Mate’s meeting right here along with the resolution sorted, all ready for you to approve. And the Alpha Mate won’t be able to take lunch because he has let Seth go for an extra long lunch break instead - apparently Seth’s mother is sick.”

  Fuming, Damien snapped his mouth shut and looked over the report Madison had given him. Apparently Phillip was driven to ask for retribution because Drake’s money was the only money supporting their mother. Phillip had been trying to get a job for the past two weeks but hadn’t had any luck. As Drake had been an enforcer, there was no way Phillip could have taken over his job, as Phillip just didn’t have the skills.

  Somehow though, Scott had found out that Phillip could cook, and after consultation with Madison, had put Phillip on the roster as a bakery chef. Another roster problem solved. Shit, his mate was good at that side of things. Then he frowned at something Madison had written.

  “What’s this?” He said, pointing to where Madison had written, Payment, one time, responsibility of the Alpha Mate, to help with overdue accounts.

  “Oh yes. Gosh that was so generous of Alpha Mate,” Madison gushed. It seemed he had become a fan of Scott’s within the last hour. “Apparently Drake’s death has left the family in some difficulties with utilities and a shortage of food and what not. Alpha Mate gave Phillip cash so that he could buy food and promised him that when his cars arrive, Phillip could have one to sell to make up the money needed to clear the overdue bills. Wasn’t that wonderful of him?” Madison beamed.

  “Why didn’t you tell him to use pack funds if he thought the need was urgent enough?” Damien snarled. He knew how much those cars meant to Scott because his mate had told him that he hated to sell them.

  “I did mention it, Alpha, but Scott, sorry Alpha Mate, was quite adamant that the killing occurred while he was not a member of your pack, but his one in Cloverleah. So the responsibility to ‘fix the mess’, I think is how he put it, was his. You’ve got to admire a man with morals,” Madison concluded.

  “Yes,” Damien grumbled as he looked at the report. His mate was smart. Had taken the time to talk to a pack member, work out what he needed and the best way to get it, all without consulting Damien. Damien expected to feel angry about being left out of the whole thing, but instead he just felt sad that his mate didn’t want to share things with him. Including lunch it seemed. Sadness was not an emotion that Damien had felt for a long time and it usually only came when one of his pack members died. The fact that the cause of this sadness was working in his bar, just fifty meters away seemed to make the feeling stronger.

  Damien had wanted to see Scott earlier, basically because he was hoping to fuck the bad mood out of him. But Scott had wrangled the situation so that if Damien insisted that Scott attend to him, then the bar would suffer, because John would be left to manage a job that usually took at least two and preferably three people to do. Effectively Damien couldn’t see Scott, until Seth came back from his lunch break.

  Looking up, Damien saw that both Malacai and Madison were looking at him. He signed the report confirming the deal that Scott had struck with Phillip. Then he said, “Malacai, you can go back down to the bar and keep an eye on things there. As soon as Seth returns from lunch, can you ask the Alpha Mate if he can spare me five minutes.”

  Trying to hide a smirk and not doing it very well, Malacai simply responded, “Yes Alpha,” and left the room.

  “Madison, I want you to get in touch with the car transport trailer that is bringing the Alpha Mate’s cars here. I want a list of what vehicles they are, types, year and all of that type of information. Then I want you to go online or call one of our vehicle brokers and find out how much each of these cars are worth in pristine condition. Bring that information to me when you are done.”

  “Yes, Alpha,” Madison said. Then he bounced on his feet. “Oh I know what you are going to do. You are going to give the money to Phillip so that Alpha Mate doesn’t lose one of his cars. Oh that is so sweet of you Alpha.”

  “Maybe,” Damien grumbled even as he thought, I just hope Scott thinks so too.

  “Okay, I’m on to it. Your first meeting is in five minutes,” and with that Madison bounced out of the room.

  Leaving the tray of food on the desk, Damien stood up and pulled aside the curtain to an internal window that was mounted in the wall. From here Damien could see the whole floor of the club, the stage and the bar area. He stifled a groan at the sight of his mate, who was smiling at a customer as he took a drink order. The man looked positively edible in those tight jeans with his muscle shirt showing all of the man’s well defined body.

  Then Damien growled as the customer, who wasn’t a pack member and was probably human, leant across the bar towards Scott, looking like he was trying to steal a kiss. Scott moved away quickly and said something to the man and whatever it was must have been effective, because the customer grabbed his drink and hurried away. Da
mien watched as Scott just shook his head and then went on to serving the next customer. From Scott’s expression, this was obviously not the first time something like this had happened.

  Damien felt this overwhelming urge to just go and see his mate. He wanted to kiss him and cover him in marks right there in the bar, so every single one of those slimy customers in the club would keep their hands off what belonged to Damien alone. There was no way he could get Scott to wear a collar - if Damien was honest with himself it would be what he preferred, at least while the two of them were in the club, but there was no way he was going to even mention it to his decidedly non-sub mate. Even he wasn’t that stupid.

  But actually no. A collar wouldn’t do it anyway. This feeling was more than that. He wanted Scott to be by his side while he worked. He wanted to introduce Scott to the men he had meetings with. He wanted Scott to be with him. Damien wanted to share his life with this man. Fuck, was this what Shawn was talking about?

  He didn’t have time to work it out. A knock at the door signified his first meeting of the afternoon and returning to his desk, Damien put his business face on, while trying really hard to forget the memory of his mate smiling and happy and looking so damn hot, while working in his bar.

  /~/~/~/~/

  Two hours later, Damien took the time between appointments to snarl at Madison, wanting to know why Scott had not been bought up to his office. He had spent the whole time distracted, irritable and unable to focus. His dick just wouldn’t go down and his raging horniness was not improving his mood.

  “I did give Alpha Mate your message, but you were in a meeting when Seth got back, so he said not to disturb you,” Madison said.

  “Go and get him now,” Damien growled.

  “There’s not a lot of point, Alpha,” Madison said trying to be helpful. “Your next appointment is already here.”

  “Tell me this Madison, how come I got laid so regularly before I met Scott? I had just as many appointments, but I still managed to fill a hole at least three times a day. So why can’t I see my mate now for ten minutes.”

  Madison blushed. “I’m sorry Alpha. I didn’t realize you wanted a booty call. I will advise your mate immediately,” he said as he hurried out of the room.

  “No…” Damien groaned. But it was too late. Madison had already gone. Okay yes, he wanted sex, but if Scott thought that was all he wanted him for then he would be in more trouble than he already was. Just how much trouble he was in was clear, when just five minutes later there was another knock at the door and Madison and some young blond sub walked in. Damien had had enough. He roared his displeasure so that the whole club could hear, and then he took off after Madison determined to strangle him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Scott thought he was coping with the hurt he was feeling rather well. The work at the bar was busy even if he did have to keep fending off advances from the non-wolf patrons. But it was the sort of thing he used to do at Claude’s, so he had plenty of ways of coping with the attention.

  He was also really proud of what he had sorted out with Phillip. When the man arrived, Scott had been out in the front of the bar, so it was simple to ask the man to step into John’s office, instead of going upstairs to his own slash Damien’s office. The two men talked and Phillip had opened up about how hard things were for him and his mother, and how he wasn’t having any luck finding himself a job. Scott had remembered from the roster incident earlier that Damien needed more than just bar staff, so he consulted with Madison and got Phillip a job.

  Giving up one of his prized cars to the man to help his family was something Scott felt he had to do. He had very rarely killed anyone, and it wasn’t something he was proud of even if the reasoning behind it was right. So to Scott, giving up one of his babies was a small price to pay in retribution. The money would see Phillip and his mother right financially for some time to come. Scott did wonder what Damien had thought of his solutions, but the truth was he was avoiding his mate like the plague.

  Scott wasn’t a coward by any means. But he knew if he spent too much time with Damien, then the big man would find out just how much Scott was hurting over something so petty, like not being in bed with him in the morning when he woke up. In Scott’s eyes though, the problem was much bigger than Damien going to work when he didn’t have to. It was the fact that he seriously had to consider the possibility that Damien might never love him. And given how long the two men would be living together, that thought really did break Scott’s heart. He wasn’t stupid enough to say he loved his mate already. He barely knew the man. But he knew he wanted to fall in love with him. To know it would be one-sided just hurt like a bitch.

  So Scott worked, and was friendly, and ignored the fact that his mate was busy ignoring him, because of course his mate was just so busy all of the time. It was later in the afternoon when he spotted Madison hovering at the corner of the bar, trying to attract his attention. He wandered over and leant against the polished wood. The main lunchtime rush was over, so he could afford to spend a few minutes finding out what Madison wanted.

  “What’s up Madison? Was there a problem with the Phillip situation?”

  “No Scott, the Alpha signed off on it and seemed happy enough with the outcome,” Madison said nervously.

  “So, what’s got you all upset and twitchy?” Scott teased.

  “It’s the Alpha. He wants to see you for ten minutes. Can you take a break?”

  “I suppose I can,” Scott said looking around at the bar. Things seemed pretty quiet. “But you told me the Alpha had meetings scheduled all afternoon. Why does he want to see me now?”

  “Er, well in the past, this is where he would have called in one of his subs. Seems he’s been horny all afternoon, and given his meeting schedule he would have usually seen two subs already today. He kinda ordered me to come and get you instead.” Madison looked positively terrified at what Scott would say.

  Stunned. Nope. Shocked. Nope. Fucking furious. Yes. That was how exactly how Scott was feeling. Not only would his mate never love him, and couldn’t even take time off from work to get to know him, but now he wanted Scott to act like a sub and service his needs in between his scheduled meetings. Well if his egotistical mate wanted a sub then that would be what he got.

  Looking around the bar, Scott spotted one of the young subs that had been in Damien’s office the night before. He called the young man over.

  “You wanted me Alpha Mate,” the young sub said quietly. Like Damien’s other subs he was very pretty, short with a lean build and floppy blond hair that fell over a cute pixie face and big blue eyes.

  “Yes. What’s your name?” Scott asked.

  “Cody, Sir, but the Alpha usually just calls me boy.”

  “You’re not my boy, Cody” Scott said firmly, “but I do want you to do something for me if you don’t mind. Feel free to say no if you are uncomfortable with what I am asking, okay?”

  Cody nodded.

  “Okay, apparently the Alpha needs one of his booty calls and I want you to go and service him for me. Can you do that?” Scott said, even though his gut clenched at the thought of his mate touching this pretty young man or basically coming anywhere near him.

  Cody looked surprised. “But Alpha Mate,” he said. “I thought you two said last night that it wouldn’t be possible for either of you to have any form of sexual connection with anyone else again.”

  “That’s true, Cody, and there is a very good chance you won’t have to do anything with Damien when you get to his office. But if he does want you to service him then you go right ahead and do it. I won’t be angry with you or upset with you if you do.”

  “I haven’t got a problem with servicing the Alpha, Sir. I have done it often enough. But can I ask, if you don’t think I am being too forward, why it is that you don’t want to be with your mate that way.”

  Scott sighed, because he would love nothing better than to be fucked by his mate, right over the bar in front of everyone if that’s what i
t took - he was so damn horny. But if he let Damien treat him like sex on tap just once, then the big man would keep doing it, and Scott knew he deserved to be treated better than that.

  “I am not a sub, Cody,” he said quietly. “And what the Alpha needs right now is a willing sub. As much as it hurts to admit it, you would be better at servicing this particular need than I would at the moment. Do you understand?”

  “Not really,” Cody said honestly, “but I’ll go. You, you, won’t disembowel me if we have sex though, will you Alpha Mate?”

  Shaking his head, Scott forced a smile on his face. “No Cody. No matter what happens between you and the Alpha, I will not hold you responsible at all. In fact I want you to call me Scott and I hope that we can be friends. Would you consider that?”

  “Of course, Alph…sorry Scott,” Cody said with a smile. Turning to Madison the pretty little man said, “Come on, then Madison, lead the way. Let’s go see what the Master wants.”

  Scott watched them head up the stairs to the office and quickly grabbed some glasses off of the bar and headed out to the washroom to give himself some space. He didn’t want to know what was going on in that office. His insides felt so clenched up he thought he was going to vomit and he vowed to himself that if the bloody Alpha did get off on that young boy then he was going home to Cloverleah. Scott was making a point that he wasn’t a sub. But if Damien took the sub that was offered, instead of trying to spend some time with his mate, then there was no hope for the two of them ever having a relationship.

  Knowing he was taking a huge gamble on the strength of the mating bond he had with Damien, Scott got the glasses ready for the dishwasher, trying to focus on what he was doing. Less than two minutes after he had sent Cody and Madison up to see Damien, Scott heard a huge angry roar and the sound of running feet coming down the stairs, followed by some heavier ones.