The KinKaid Wolf Pack Trilogy (28 page)

Kaleb gave him a look that could only be defined as dissecting, then dropped his hands from his belt. “If that’s the way you want to handle this...?”

“There’s no ‘this’,” Landry growled. “Let it go, Kaleb.”

“Yeah. Whatever.” Kaleb waved him off and headed for the door. “I’m done. Leaving you alone.”

“Good,” Landry called out to his back. “That’s all I’m asking.”

***

W
ell, we don’t always get what we ask for, do we, Landry?
Kaleb slipped his bike into the darkened parking space across the street from the club where Landry had pulled his vehicle. Kaleb tugged his helmet off, secured it to the seat, and sticking to the shadows, headed in the direction of his partners destination. There was more than one way to find out what his friend was trying to hide.

The lot’s loose gravel crunched under his boot heels, the sound waves hitting his ears with the thunderous impact of a rockslide. He cringed at the noise. Kaleb already felt like a complete dick for spying on his partner, and the whole thing had him on edge. The other enforcer would resent the hell out of knowing Kaleb tailed him. And if he got caught, Kaleb wasn’t sure if Landry would ever forgive him. But he wasn’t about to back out now, not when his instincts said his best friend was in trouble.

Up ahead and above the club’s thick black door, the green neon sign read, The Scene. Kaleb had heard about the place before. It was about an hour and half drive from their territory and mainly catered to those in the gay community with a taste for fetish. The fact that Landry was inside those walls wasn’t part of the mystery. His friend’s sexuality wasn’t a big secret, nor was the fact the male occasionally liked it rough when he fucked. Over the years, Kaleb had overheard enough of the rumors about his partner’s escapades, so he wasn’t surprised when Landry’s trail had led him here.

Inside, the music slammed into Kaleb’s chest, the deep bass vibrating his sternum. Lady GaGa’s voice rang inside his ears, her lyrics preaching something about Money, Honey. After handing over a twenty for a cover charge, Kaleb strolled deeper into the club.

Swinging his head right then left, Kaleb’s gaze was immediately drawn to the cages hanging from diagonal corners of the room. The men behind the bars writhed in time to the beat of the music, wearing nothing but tan muscle and gold thongs, their faces hidden by masks.
Damn...

On the small dance floor, the patrons, most with their chests bare, mimicked the show above with their partners. Kaleb swallowed hard, his pulse racing from the erotic heat wave bouncing off his senses.

He scanned the crowd, seeking out the familiar dark head and broad shoulders belonging to his friend. Rumors placed about half the club’s clientele as shifters. Based on the scents hitting his nostrils, they weren’t far off the mark. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaleb spotted a man wearing a studded leather collar, its leash attached to the palm of another shirtless, muscle-bound man behind him. His owner yanked the guy’s chain, spinning him around for a fast, hard kiss. Next, he shoved his pet to his knees right before rubbing the leather-clad bulge in his crotch in his sub’s face. Is that what Landry liked from his males? Did he chain his lovers and force them to their knees?

Kaleb’s cock kicked at the thought, going rock hard.
Fuck!
He shook his head. Kaleb had to get out of there soon. All the PDA’s were messing with his brain cells.

Finding a discreet spot at the far corner of the bar that allowed him a decent view of the club and its surrounding tables, Kaleb signaled for the bartender. This definitely called for a drink. Maybe more than one depending on how the night went.

The barkeep, wearing not much more than twin nipple rings, stopped in front of him and leaned in.

“Beer. Whatever you have cold and bottled.”

The guy nodded and headed off. Kaleb scanned the room once more, noting more than once a procession of men entering and exiting in pairs down a guarded hallway. The bartender returned and plopped down a Heineken in front of Kaleb.

“Open a tab, sweetie?” Nipple Rings cocked his hip and winked. The fake lashes and heavy black eyeliner exaggerated the almond shape of his eye. From the chin up, the guy was completely androgynous with long dark hair and a full pouty mouth. He really was quite...pretty.

“Yeah.” Kaleb sighed. He hadn’t spotted Landry yet anyway. “Why the hell not?” At least while he waited, the scenery around the place was pretty entertaining to watch.

The bartender started to turn away. “Hey, wait a sec.” He leaned back in and Kaleb eased in a little closer so he didn’t have to shout over the music. “What exactly happens in that area of the club?” Kaleb pointed a thumb over his shoulder, indicating what appeared to be an exclusive corridor.

Nipple Rings flashed him a provocative grin. “Sweetie, that section is for those who want privacy when they want to do more than dance with their partner.”

“I see.” Kaleb nodded.

“I get off in twenty if you really want to...see,” he said with another flap of his butterfly wing lashes.

Umm...no, he really didn’t. “Thanks. Not tonight.” Not with him. The mental image of Landry tugging him down that hallway, though, flashed inside his head, sending his heart thudding against his sternum, blood slamming into Kaleb’s cock. His balls tightened.
Holy hell.
Why did the very thought of his partner dragging him back there like some badass Dom wanting to rock Kaleb’s world have him on the edge of blowing one right there inside his jeans?

“Your loss, sweetie,” the bartended muttered and moved away.

Shit.
He really did need to get laid. Kaleb glanced around the room, catching sight of a St. Andrew’s Cross in the back of the large space. Some guy was strapped to the wood, his bare back glistening with sweat under a row of halogens while his Dom worked him over with what looked like a flogger.

Maybe that’s what Kaleb needed to get rid of all his extra energy: a Dom to whale on his ass with one of those straps? Kaleb grinned to himself. Perhaps then the idea of Landry’s large hands, and whatever else he wanted to place on Kaleb’s rear end, wouldn’t seem so fucking appealing.

The DJ switched tracks, turning back the years to the pulse-pounding sound of Nine Inch Nail’s
Closer
.

How appropriate.

At that moment, Landry’s profile came into sight. He stood outside the private corridor with a man Kaleb had never seen before. The stranger had long dark hair and was wearing a black leather vest and pants. Suddenly, Landry closed the distance between them, spearing his fingers into the hair at the other man’s nape, tugging the stranger’s head back. Was he pissed, or was this a part of a game Landry liked to play?

Risking detection, Kaleb slipped from his spot at the bar. He couldn’t hear a damn thing or even read their lips at his current distance. But before he could get a better look, both men turned and disappeared down the hall.
Fuck!

Kaleb reversed his steps, found a seat back at the bar, and motioned at the bartender for another round. Picking at the curling label on his Heineken, Kaleb couldn’t help but hit rewind inside his head on what he’d just witnessed. Landry’s face inches from the other man’s mouth. Were they kissing right about now? Kaleb squirmed on the stool, his gut tightening at the thought.
Stop it!
Kaleb squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the visual replay to shut down. It wasn’t like he’d never been around when Landry had scored a hook-up in the past, and Christ, it wasn’t like he’d considered for one minute the male was living like a monk.
Then what the hell is the problem?

“You okay, sweetie?” The bartender’s voice cut through another loop of the song’s chorus. Kaleb lifted his lids, then grabbed the new icy bottle of beer in front of him.

“I will be in just a few minutes.” Kaleb sneered and downed a gulp of the chilled brew.

Fifteen minutes later and halfway through his third bottle, Kaleb’s brain and limbs were on the cusp of that sweet, numb
don’t really give a shit anymore
mode when the hard feel of another male’s chest pressed against his back. Kaleb eased his brew down onto the wood.

“I want you,” a deep voice stated all matter-of-fact at his ear.

You gotta be kidding me.

With a quirk of a smile on his face, Kaleb glanced over his shoulder. “Is that all you got?” He narrowed his gaze on the bald guy determined to meld his skin to Kaleb’s. “That’s your line?” Kaleb wagged his index finger at the other dude. This was too funny. Or maybe it was freaky? Kaleb wasn’t quite sure what he should be feeling at the moment other than the nice buzz spinning inside his skull.

“That’s all I need.” Baldy reached up, and with one beefy hand, palmed Kaleb’s neck. He pulled him in, his nostrils flaring. “I know a sub when I see one. And, pup, I can tell you’re just itching for someone to call Daddy.”

Kaleb didn’t know how it was even possible, but the other guy inched in closer, making sure Kaleb knew exactly what he was packing behind the leather.
Fuck.
Awkward much?

“And I’ve got everything you need to have you screaming for your papa right here,” the big guy added with a flex of his hips against Kaleb’s lower back for emphasis.

Okay... Buzz kill.

Baldy had to give it a rest.

“Listen...” Kaleb said, about to tell the Dom what he could do with that dick of his when another set of hands landed on the guy’s shoulders.

“Back. The. Hell. Off,” a dark voice stated, each word uttered with lethal intensity. Baldy stiffened, then slowly turned, revealing the intruder standing behind him. For a split-second, hazel eyes flashing with heat met Kaleb’s gaze, then flicked back to the guy between them.

Landry.

“And who the fuck are you to tell me to do anything?” Baldy jutted his chin and stuck his face in Landry’s.

“He’s mine,” Landry snarled, not giving an inch.

A shiver ran down Kaleb’s spine at the declaration. Holy hell, he liked the way those two words sounded on Landry’s lips. Way too damn much.

Chapter Seven

––––––––

W
hat the fuck was Kaleb doing there?

Landry had nearly lost it when he’d walked away from Arick only to spot Kaleb sitting at the bar, his thick auburn hair bound at the nape and brushing the leather of his black biker jacket. No way those broad shoulders belonged to anyone other than Dalton.

The fact alone that the male must have followed him to the club was enough to piss Landry off, but to find him with another man draped over his shoulder... Then the guy had possessed the actual fucking balls to rub his dick against Kaleb. Yeah, his thermostat was pegged out and about to blow.

Beads of sweat popped on Landry’s brow, driven out by the murderous rage coursing through his veins. But he wasn’t about to even blink in front of the shifter Dom known around there as Brick and give him the slightest impression Landry was anything other than unflinching when it came to the male at the bar.

“Yours, huh?” The corner of Brick’s mouth twitched. “I don’t see a collar.”

“Yet,” Landry stated with an extra sharp “t” and lifted a brow.

Brick’s gaze narrowed, then a slow nod finally formed. “All right, then.” He gave Kaleb a final once over. “I suggest you mark your property a little better next time.” He pivoted away and sauntered out into the crowd.

That’s when Kaleb popped and weaved off the barstool. “Your property?” His lip curled in disgust. “Seriously?” He sidled up to Landry’s chest, inches from his face. “In your fucking dreams.”

Deep breaths. You can’t kill him here, Michaels. Too many witnesses.

“Outside,” Landry snapped, his voice hushed, yet leaving no doubt he meant for Kaleb to obey.

“The moment you drove off our lands tonight, you lost the right to give me orders.” Kaleb sneered.

Landry leaned in, his lips nearly brushing Kaleb’s. “You either leave with me right now or be dragged away on your ass.” For a moment, neither of them twitched. And honestly, Landry didn’t give a shit who came out on top because the outcome would still be the same. Kaleb would be exiting the place. The mode of transportation was up to him.

“Fine,” Kaleb spat. “I’m sick of the scenery anyway.”

“Good.” Maybe Kaleb hadn’t completely lost his mind.

At the bottom of the two steps outside the club’s door, Kaleb’s boots hit the gravel with Landry on his heels. The other male headed in a direction opposite Landry’s vehicle. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Kaleb ground to a halt, but made no effort to turn around. “My bike,” he said, his words clipped. “Where the hell else?”

“You’re not driving.”

His partner whipped around. “I’m sure as hell not riding back with you.”

“What’s your damn problem? I’m the only one here that has any right to be pissed off.” Landry stabbed a finger at Kaleb’s chest. “You were the one spying on me.”

“Whatever.” Kaleb turned. “I’m out of here.”

“No. You’re not.” Landry grabbed Kaleb’s arm, and the other male spun.

“Fuck you,” Kaleb spat.

And Landry swung.

His knuckles impacted his friend’s jaw with a
crack
of bone on bone. Kaleb’s head snapped to the right, and before he had a chance to recover and complain, Landry snagged the other male’s arm and hauled him toward his SUV. Kaleb stumbled along beside him. This time, wisely keeping his trap shut for the short trip.

At his vehicle, Landry hit the button on the key fob and the lights blinked. Uncurling his fingers from the male’s biceps, he stepped away. “Get in.”

Kaleb did as instructed, but his stiff movements implied he barely held his anger in check.

Landry climbed in behind the wheel and pulled his door closed a second before the passenger door slammed shut.

“I’ll need to get back down here at some point tomorrow for my bike,” Kaleb muttered.

“That’s your problem.” Out of the corner of his eye, Landry didn’t miss the tightening of Kaleb’s right fist. “You wanting to hit me with that?”

“You’re being such an asshole,” Kaleb chewed out between his teeth.