Axel's Pup (48 page)

Axel reached over the bar and grabbed one of the knives from the block there.

It took him less than three seconds to cut through the centre of Bayden’s jeans, separating the legs from one another.

Bayden spread his legs and tugged at Axel’s wrists, pulling him forward.

Axel didn’t need to be coaxed. Throwing aside the knife, he caught hold of Bayden’s hips once more, and held him in place as he slid deep inside him. Bayden stared up at him, every emotion and reaction flashing across his face. There were no lies now, nothing hidden.

Bayden tilted his head, bearing his neck.

Axel leant forward and sucked at the skin directly over his jugular to create a deeply coloured love bite.

Bayden jerked as he came, no warning, no holding back, and completely perfect. He writhed against the table as his cum spilled over his stomach. His howl echoed around the room as Axel straightened up.

Bayden settled his hands over Axel’s as he gradually came back to himself, not holding his hands in place, but petting them and welcoming the tight grip Axel had on him. He slid his palms up Axel’s arms, braver and more tactile than he’d ever been when he was focused on Axel being a human.

When Axel moved his right hand up to Bayden’s shoulder, Bayden’s fingers traced higher up his arm. Bayden’s touch became even lighter, but there was nothing tentative about it. There was more genuine confidence in it than Axel had seen him show before.

Bayden slid his hand over Axel’s chest through his T-shirt. He paused with his palm over Axel’s heart and kept his hand there as Axel thrust into him harder and faster than ever. Their eyes locked. It was obvious that Bayden didn’t find it easy to meet his gaze, but he worked at it. His fingers trembled, his breath caught in his throat, but he didn’t look away until Axel came deep inside him.

Pleasure hit Axel like a truck. He had no idea what a wolf’s orgasm felt like, but pretending to be a shifter had put his own human senses on high alert. Bliss burned through his veins. The room swirled with vivid colours as he fell still and fought to catch his breath.

A few moments passed, and Axel moved his hand from Bayden’s shoulder up to his cheek. The kiss Bayden pressed against his thumb was feather light. Sliding his hand behind Bayden’s neck, Axel pulled him up to be kissed properly.

The urgency was gone; Axel allowed this kiss to be gentle. Bayden hesitated. Axel instinctively tightened his grip on his hair, reminding his pup that he was being gentle because he chose to be, not because he’d lost the ability to be strong.

Axel hadn’t realised it was possible for a wolf to purr in approval, but there was no other word for the sound Bayden made.

Finally, Axel broke the chain of tender kisses. “Okay, pup?”

Bayden nodded. His attention settled somewhere around the centre of Axel’s chest, until Axel made him look up.

His expression was off. Axel stroked his fingers along Bayden’s jaw as he tried to work it out.

Bayden dropped his hands to the table on either side of him. He no longer reached out to Axel. The perfect trust had gone, but Axel knew it was possible now. In time, he had no doubt he could make it permanent.

Stepping back, he helped Bayden off the table. He smiled to himself as he took in the state of Bayden’s jeans. He’d ripped a few seams in his time, but that was the first time he’d resorted to completely obliterating someone else’s clothes.

“I’ll get you a new pair of jeans,” he promised, just in case Bayden didn’t realise it should go without saying.

Bayden shook his head. “It’s fine, sir. I can—”

“I’m not saying I don’t think you’re capable of buying your own clothes. But, if I wreck something, I replace it.”

Bayden glanced up at him. He nodded, although he still seemed far more bothered by the idea of Axel buying him a new pair of jeans than Axel cutting a pair off him.

“I…I should clean up.” Bayden pushed his hand through his hair and blinked at the room as if he’d never seen it before.

Axel didn’t know if wolves experienced sub space, but Bayden seemed more than a little out of it. The separated legs of his jeans were around his knees. Bayden tried to pull them up, but there was no way they’d stay in position. He frowned at them, apparently unable to work out a solution that would leave his hands free.

“Don’t throw them away,” Axel ordered.

Bayden blinked at him. Axel settled his hands on Bayden’s hips, holding the denim up and considering the possibilities. “A little bit of trimming, add a belt, and they’ll make an interesting alternative to chaps.”

When Axel looked up, Bayden was studying him seriously.

“Was pretending we’re the same species as hot as you’d thought it would be?”

Bayden nodded.

“What aren’t you telling me, pup?”

Bayden shrugged. He made no effort to reach out to Axel the way he had during the scene. It was as if he’d been thrown back into a world where he didn’t know the rules. A slight colour stained his cheeks. He looked unexpectedly innocent.

Axel tugged him forward and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Leave the cleaning up until tomorrow. The only place you need to be right now is in my bed.”

Axel smiled when he spotted Bayden at the sink behind the bar washing something or other. Lately, he found himself smiling at Bayden almost as often as he found Bayden cleaning something.

“Okay, pup?”

Bayden glanced briefly over his shoulder as Axel joined him and leaned against the counter next to him. Bayden took a knife out of the hot soapy water and carefully dried it. His attention was all on his task, he didn’t seem to have any to spare for his dom.

“Bayden?”

“It had been on the floor, sir.”

Axel’s cock hardened at the memory of tossing it aside in his haste. A glance around the room showed that Bayden had already cleared away any other evidence of the scene they’d enjoyed the previous night.

Axel slid his arm around Bayden and encouraged him to lean against him, but Bayden remained tense.

“You said before that it was okay for me to go out, sir.”

“I said it was okay for you to ask—but that you need permission before you can go anywhere,” Axel corrected.

“And that permission is a formality if I want to go to see my family, sir.” His voice was off.

Axel encouraged him to turn around within his embrace.

“My mother called. It’s been a while since I…” He glanced up at Axel. His expression was wary, but it was hard to tell if that was because he wasn’t sure his dom would be pleased with him for wanting to go out, or if his mother had made it clear on the phone that she wasn’t pleased with him for not dropping by more often just because he had a new boyfriend.

“She’s right,” Axel said. “It has been a while. You should go see her today.”

Bayden glanced toward the store room where he usually started his morning duties. “I haven’t…”

Axel shook his head. “Go.”

Bayden shuffled his boots.

“That was an order, pup.”

A few minutes later, Bayden had retrieved his jacket from the flat and was heading out the door. He didn’t seem enthusiastic about his venture. He obviously expected to receive a lecture when he got to his mother’s place.

Axel chuckled as he watched him go, already planning a few fun activities to cheer him up when he got back. Bayden’s visits home rarely lasted over an hour. They’d have plenty of time to play before the pub opened. Maybe it was time to explore one of the back rooms with him. Bayden would look stunning bound naked to the spanking bench.

It was one of the Saturdays when the back rooms would be open later in the night. Watching over the novices would be a lot more erotic if he had a few mental images of Bayden to superimpose on their scenes. The idea of Bayden working his shift in the pub with a spanking hidden under his jeans had Axel hardening even further.

Six hours later, as Axel opened the pub alone, his amusement with the situation was non-existent. He strode across the car park in front of the pub and looked along the road toward the city. Forget any plans involving a back room. Bayden was cutting it fine for his shift.

As he walked back into the pub, the sound of a motorcycle caught Axel’s attention. Drac pulled into the car park and rolled to a stop. Axel nodded to him. How’s business at the tattoo parlour? Working on any interesting designs? Axel went through small talk on autopilot. For once, tattoos held no interest for him.

As he walked back inside, Axel checked his phone. No voice messages. No texts. He tapped his phone against the bar and considered his options. A glance at the clock and he saw the hands tick to the hour. Bayden was officially late.

Axel rattled off a quick text to him and pushed his phone into his pocket.

Drac looked around as he pulled up a stool at the bar. “Where’s the puppy?”

“He went to visit his mother. He should be back any time.”

A few minutes later, the door swung open. Griz stepped in. It was a couple of hours before he’d be needed to man the door. Apparently, Bayden was the only one who couldn’t keep track of time today.

Axel ground his teeth together.

“Hoping to see someone else?”

Axel put Griz’s drink in front of him and marked it down on his tab.

Griz looked around. He laughed as he put together the pieces. “That’s what comes from letting the boy wander around without a collar. Never know what kind of trouble he’ll get himself into.”

Axel said nothing.

Griz stopped laughing. “Damn, Axe. The boy can look after himself.”

Yes. Unless he got pulled over by a cop who didn’t like wolves, or crashed his bike, or… Axel bit back a sigh and checked his phone again.

“Where’s Bayden?”

There was part of Axel that was pleased to realise just how accepted Bayden was, how damn near every one of the Dragons considered him a permanent feature. Most of him was too pissed off to give a toss about anything other than finding out where the hell Bayden was. “He’s running late,” Axel snapped.

Hale laughed. “I’m working tomorrow so I was only going to stay for a quick drink, but I might stick around, just to see the puppy get his comeuppance. Should be a good show.”

“Yeah,” Griz said. “What’s the plan?”

“That depends on his excuse,” Axel said.

Hale gave a disbelieving huff. “You’re getting soft in your old age.”

“I vote for a spanking,” Griz said. “One spank for each minute he’s late.”

Everyone automatically checked his own watch, then laughed as they realised every one of them was doing the same math. Bayden was coming up to an hour late. A few of the more sympathetic doms winced in sympathy. Evan’s eyebrows disappeared behind his fringe.

Axel forced himself to relax. They were right. Any minute, Bayden would rush in, stumbling over his words in his rush to explain. And, unless there was some very believable reason for him being unable to get back to the pub, or contact him by any possible means, then yes—Axel’s only real concern would be deciding on the most suitable punishment.

A spanking wouldn’t work as a punishment for Bayden. He’d taken too many whippings for cash. Any dom stupid enough to try to punish him that way would just blur the line between a good dom and a punter. A spanking would always be praise between them—a sign that a punishment or a penance was over and it was time to play.

“I think, whatever the punishment is, it should be public,” Drac said.

“Can’t get a sub of your own, so you want to perv on mine?” Axel shot back, but his heart wasn’t in it.

His phone rang.

Axel pulled it out of his pocket.
Bayden.

Axel remembered how to breathe. He opened the call. “Pup?”

“Sir?” His voice was off—not just because it was mangled by a bad line.

Axel’s relief faltered. He hushed the guys at the bar and put his hand over his free ear. Something about his tone got through to them, they fell silent with uncharacteristic obedience. “What’s wrong?” Axel demanded.

“I…” Bayden cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I’ve missed my shift, sir.”

Axel’s heart rate doubled. “What’s wrong?” he repeated.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Bollocks,” Axel snapped. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I…I’m fine.” It would have been more believable if his voice hadn’t come so close to cracking.

“Where are you?”

“I’m…He…” Bayden cleared his throat.

Axel’s grip on his phone turned white knuckled. “Tell me where you are. I’ll come and get you.”

“I need permission to be away from the pub overnight, sir.”

Axel shook his head. “That’s not happening. Tell me where you are. Who are you with?”

“I…He…” His voice cracked.

“What he? Bayden?”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll explain in…in a few days.” The words were barely rushed out before he hung up.

“Bayden?” All Axel heard was the dialling tone. “Bayden?”

He quickly hung up his end of the call and auto-dialled Bayden’s number. It went straight to voicemail. Axel cursed. “Bayden. Call me back. That’s an order, not a suggestion, pup. Call me back.”

When Axel looked up, everyone was staring at him.

“What’s going on?” Hale asked.

Axel frowned at his phone. “I don’t know.” All he knew was that there was a ‘he’ involved, and that he’d never heard Bayden sound that shaken—not even that night he’d arrived cut up and half choked to death.

“What did he say?” Griz asked.

Axel rubbed his temple. His mind was a complete blank. “He said he’s fine.”

“Where is he?” someone else asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You said he went to see his family, right?” Griz prompted.

“That was hours ago.” Axel pushed his hand through his hair. “He could be anywhere by now.”

“Call them.”

“I don’t know their number. I don’t know where they live.” Axel stared across the bar at his friends. He had no idea how to find Bayden’s family. He didn’t even know what their first names were.

“What exactly did he say?” Hale demanded.

“He said he’s fine, but he was lying. He wants a few days before he comes back.”

The other guys exchanged glances.

“Have you done anything that would make him bolt?” Griz asked.