by Maggie Walsh
“Micah, I have some info you might be interested in,” Raith said as he walked into Micah’s office and sat on one of the couches. It was a nice-sized office. Micah’s mahogany desk sat to the back, facing the door. There were two leather and mahogany chairs in front. There was a fireplace on one wall, with built-in bookshelves on either side. A big L-shaped leather couch in the corner with a low table in front and four chairs around it.
Micah looked away from his computer and leaned back in his chair. He folded his hands over his stomach and raised a brow at his Beta. “Oh yeah, and what would that be?”
“I was hanging at the club last night, talking to this cute little hottie, and he started talking about a certain beautiful blond singer.” Raith smirked at Micah.
Micah stood up and walked around the desk. He sat down in one of the chairs by the couch and looked at his best friend. “And what did you find out?”
Raith sat forward. “His name is Jesse Alexander, he’s twenty-five, his parents threw him out when he was eighteen when he told them he was gay.” Micah started to growl, but Raith ignored him and continued. “He’s been traveling around since. Sang in some clubs in New York City for awhile. He and his best friend, Taylor, who also got kicked out for the same reason, have been together since. But not together, together. They’ve been best friends since like birth or something and they’re inseparable. They landed here about two and a half months ago, and after one weekend here, performing at the club as a guest act, Frank asked if they wanted a permanent gig. They discussed the details and Frank hired them both on the spot. You saw the talent Jesse has, but Taylor is a dancer, a partier, gets the crowd all hyped up, gets them spending. But, there is nothing romantic going on between them.”
Micah was smiling from ear to ear. “Great intel, buddy. Thanks. Now I just have to go back and introduce myself properly. I feel better now. I thought I was going to have to break up a couple.” Micah stood up and with a little dance in his step, he went back to sit behind his desk.
Raith laughed at his antics. “Well, it might not be that easy, brother.”
Micah sat down and looked at Raith. “Why is that?”
“My sexy little companion also told me that although Taylor loves the company of the boys, Jesse has never once accepted an offer. Ever. He has never seen Jesse with anyone, or even heard about him with anyone. Says Jesse is a really sweet guy, but he’s been hurt pretty bad. Last boyfriend he had was four months ago and it wasn’t a good relationship. Says Jesse doesn’t trust anyone but Taylor.”
“Looks like I have my work cut out for me. But this is my mate we’re talking about, Raith, so he’s worth the effort. Anything I have to do, I’ll do it.”
“Good luck with that, brother,” Raith replied.
* * * *
Jesse sat at the bar in a dark corner, sipping on a soda. “Anything else I can get for you?” someone asked Jesse in a cold, clipped tone. Jesse looked up at the bartender, then smiled. “No, thanks anyway, Dale.” Jesse looked back down at his drink. Dale sneered at him, then turned and walked away.
A nasally voice whispered in Jesse’s ear, so close he could feel the breath on his neck. It gave him a cold shiver and Jesse stiffened up. “Hey, sexy thing, can I buy you a drink?”
Without turning, Jesse answered him politely, but icily. “No thanks, I don’t drink.”
The nasal voice sat down next to him and pathetically said, “So, did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?”
Jesse rolled his eyes in disgust and turned so his back was to the guy. “Don’t be like that, sweetness.” The voice dripped with sleaze. He ran his finger softly down Jesse’s arm. “I can show you a really good time, make you feel real good,” the voice said, trying to sound seductive.
Jesse turned to fully look at the guy to give him hell, but then gasped in surprise. Jesse bit the inside of his cheek to hold in the laugh. This guy was like five foot four, about sixty pounds overweight, and about fifty to fifty-five years old, with a hideous comb-over. Jesse cleared his throat, as evenly as he could, “No thank you. I just want to sit here and be alone.” Jesse turned away from him, but the guy grabbed Jesse’s arm roughly and spun him back and snarled at him. “I know your type, sweetie. You tease the guys, get them all hot and bothered, get whatever you can out of them, then take off. Well, I’ll take your ride. Or actually, you can ride me till sunrise.”
That was it, Jesse was pissed. He tried to pull his arm away, but the guy just tightened his hold and Jesse fumed at him. “Look, pal, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I was sitting here minding my own business. You came up and bothered me! So how the hell is it that I was teasing you? You came up to me! I declined your offer politely, but you can’t seem to accept a no! All I wanted was to be left alone. But no! What I want doesn’t matter, does it? I’m tired of trying to be nice. I. Said. No! I’m. Not. Interested. You can’t be nice to me, so I’m done being nice to you! Why the hell would I want to be with someone like you? Huh? You’re a disgusting pig. You’re rude and sleazy. I’d be surprised if any of those crappy, lame-ass lines worked on anyone. Now take your grimy, sleazy hand off me and get lost before I rip your dick off and make you eat it!”
The guy’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in shock. Then he slammed his mouth closed, lips going into a thin line as he narrowed his eyes at Jesse. “Why you little…” Jesse cut him off, “Yeah, I bet you hear that from everyone unfortunate enough to see your dick. It’s probably so small, that you can fuck a Cheerio without breaking it,” Jesse snarled at him.
The guy pulled back away from Jesse like he’d been slapped. He had a shocked look on his face. Jesse stood up to leave. He turned his back to the guy and started to walk away, when he was suddenly yanked back by the hair. He cried out in pain as the guy spoke through clenched teeth against Jesse’s ear, “I should take you…” But he was cut off by a deep sexy voice that made Jesse hard instantly.
“You’ll what?” the voice asked.
The guy turned his head to look over his shoulder at the voice and his eyes meet a broad chest. Slowly he raised his eyes up, up, up, until they met Micah’s cold, hard, angry eyes. The guy’s eyes bugged out of his head and he gulped loudly.
“Go on. Finish your sentence. But first, remove your fucking hand from my man’s head before I break every fucking bone in your body and then make you disappear for good.” Micah growled.
The douche released Jesse’s hair as he swallowed loudly. Jesse turned around and punched the guy right in the nose, breaking it, as he yelled, “Don’t you ever fucking touch me again, you filthy pig!”
Blood ran down the guy’s face as he howled in pain, his hands on his nose. “You broke my nose, you fucking…”
Micah cut him off. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.”
Jesse looked up toward the sexy voice. It was the big guy from last night standing there. The anger in the Adonis’s eyes was so intense, it even made Jesse take a step back.
“Now get the fuck out of here while you still can, and if you ever come back here and bother my man again, I’ll fucking kill you myself.” Micah growled out at him and the guy took off like the hounds of hell were on his ass. If he only knew how right he was.
Micah’s eyes met Jesse’s. He saw fear in Jesse’s eyes and immediately his face and eyes softened. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you all right?” Micah reached out to brush a strand of hair out of Jesse’s face, but pulled back and dropped his hand.
Jesse stammered, “Y-yes, th-thank you.”
“Did he hurt you?” Micah asked in a gentle voice filled with concern.
God, I think this guy is actually concerned. No, it can’t be, he must want something. Jesse thought to himself, but answered, “No, I’m okay, nothing a couple of aspirin won’t fix.”
Micah smiled. “That’s one hell of a right hook you got there, killer.”
Jesse’s face turned pink as he looked away shyly. Micah internally groaned, Damn, look at
that pretty blush, could he get any more beautiful?
“Thanks, I try,” Jesse said as he looked back at Micah.
“So, could I buy you a drink?” Micah asked.
“No,” Jesse answered, then added. “I don’t drink. But thank you anyway.”
“Well, you must get pretty thirsty and dehydrated with never drinking anything,” Micah said with a smirk and amusement in his eyes, letting Jesse know he was teasing.
Jesse softly laughed and flicked his hair back over his shoulder. “Yeah, I do get very dry sometimes.” Micah bit his lip to hold the small laugh in as he raised a brow at Jesse and smirked at him again. Jesse blushed again, realizing what he said. Micah cleared his throat. “How about a water or a soda?”
“Those are both free here.” Jesse smirked back.
“Yes, but I can still order one for you though.” Micah raised a hand at the bartender.
“That’s really nice of you, but no. I really should be backstage getting ready for my next show.” Jesse tried to step around him.
Micah held his hand out in front of Jesse and his hand made contact with Jesse’s stomach. It was like a jolt of electricity went right through his hand, up his arm, and straight to his cock.
Jesse felt a heat in his belly. The heat spread out and settled in his groin, and he was instantly hard. His breath caught in his throat and he couldn’t pull his eyes away from Micah’s. They stood there staring at each other, locked in time for what seemed like forever, until Taylor grabbed Jesse’s shoulder. “Hey, Jess, time to get ready.”
Jesse jumped and internally shook his head to clear the fog. Micah cleared his throat to try to loosen the lump that had formed there. “Here, I just wanted to give you a bottle of water to take with you in case you get dry.” Micah handed Jesse a bottle of water. “And don’t worry, see the cap is still unbroken.” Jesse took the offered bottle and smiled at Micah, then walked away.
“Micah!” Micah said to Jesse’s back. Jesse stopped and looked at him over his shoulder. “What?” Micah steps closer and said again, “Micah, my name is Micah Angel.”
Jesse smirked. “I know, Micah. Your friend called you that last night.” Then Jesse turned and walked away. Micah stood there watching Jesse go, smiling to himself.
“Don’t.”
Micah turned to face Taylor. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Taylor answered, his voice and eyes cold. “I said don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Micah asked as he took a seat at the bar.
“Don’t sniff around him unless you mean it. Don’t ask him for some one night off, then walk away. Don’t get him interested in you, unless you’re actually looking for something meaningful, something real. But seeing as you hang out here, I doubt it. So just…don’t.” Taylor started to walk away.
Micah called after him, “As it just so happens, I am looking for something real, something meaningful, and something very long term.”
Taylor stopped and turned to face Micah. He looked directly in Micah’s eyes hard and cold. “Then take it slow. Have patience, don’t push him, and don’t treat him like crap.”
“I wasn’t planning to. I don’t treat people that way. And I would never treat Jesse with anything but respect. He’s one of a kind. Jesse’s special and I know it.”
Taylor stepped closer. “Yes, he is special. And he deserves nothing but the best. If you hurt him, in any way, even give him a cold, and I will end you. I know you’re bigger and badder than me, but I will find a way. And I will kill you, as painfully as possible,” Taylor said with venom in his voice.
Micah smiled at Taylor. “I’m happy he has you in his life. Someone to look out for him, watch his back. Someone he can depend on. You’re a great friend, Taylor.”
“How do you know my name?” Taylor asked suspiciously.
Micah smirked and winked at him. “I have my ways.” Then he stood up and turned away and walked through the crowd, leaving Taylor to stare at his back.
* * * *
“He is one gorgeous hunk of man, Jesse,” Taylor said as he walked into the dressing room. Jesse was getting dressed. He had on a pair of tight black low-ride jeans, black combat boots, a tight blue V-neck tee, one-inch-thick brown leather bands on his wrists, black Kohl around his eyes, and he was brushing his hair straight back.
“Yes, he is, Tay, but I’m not interested.”
“Yeah right.” Taylor huffed as he rolled his eyes.
“I’m not having this conversation, Tay,” Jesse said then started fixing the Kohl around his eyes.
“Oh come on, Jesse. He seems like a nice enough guy. He didn’t try to mount you, or give you some sleazy pick-up line. He tried to save you. Nice punch by the way.”
“Thanks,” Jesse said as he sat down in front of the mirror.
“You were like totally out of it when he touched you. So spill.” Taylor stood behind him and their eyes met in the mirror.
“Fine.” Jesse huffed. “When he touched me, I felt this incredible heat radiate through my body. Then it settled in my dick, and I got hard in like a second flat. Just his voice makes me want to climb in his lap and start licking every inch of him and purr while I do it.” Jesse’s face heated up just thinking about it.
“Damn, I think I need a cold shower now, or a really big dick to play with.” Taylor fanned himself with his hand. “So how big do you think it is? Like ass-filling and more than a mouthful?”
“God, Taylor, you’re so crude.” Jesse stood up.
“Oh pleeease, like you weren’t wondering the same thing.” Taylor rolled his eyes again.
Jesse headed for the door. “I’ll see you out onstage.”
“You know you want to know, Jesse, you can’t fool me,” Taylor yelled after him.
* * * *
Micah climbed the stairs up to the V.I.P. lounge. He put his drink on the table and sat to watch the show. He looked out over the crowd, he saw a few of his men mulling about. Raith and Gabriel were headed up the stairs. Below he spotted Lexi and Crew in a dark corner booth, sharing a hot little number. Lexi had the guy bent over the table as was pounding into him from behind. Crew was balls deep in the guy’s throat. Micah shook his head at them and sighed, then looked at the stage where a cute twink was stripping.
Raith and Gabriel sat down with Micah. “So, have you seen him yet?” Raith asked.
“Yeah, some guy was man-handling him and I went to intervene, but Jesse had it under control. He was pretty fierce. He clocked the guy right in the nose. Broke the fucker. There was blood all down his face. It was hot as hell.” Micah chuckled.
“So you spoke with him then?” Gabriel asked.
“We had a brief conversation.”
“That’s it? Man, I think you’re losing your touch, Micah,” Raith teased.
“Shut up, asshat. He’s not some one-night twink. He’s my mate. Show some respect.” Micah smiled at his friend.
They heard a soft gasp from the stairs. They all turned at once to look at who made the sound and found Taylor standing there at the top of the stairs. His eyes were wide open and his jaw dropped to his chin, frozen to the spot. “You’re shifters,” Taylor blurted out.
“Shit.” All three cursed. Micah quickly schooled his features.
“What are you talking about?” he said calmly to Taylor. He was surprised how calm it came out, when inside his heart was racing.
“You’re shifters, don’t try to deny it, or bullshit me. What kind are you?” Taylor asked with genuine curiosity, as he walked up to them.
“How do you know about shifters?” Raith asked suspiciously.
“I was with this guy once who was a lion shifter. He told me all about shifters. Even showed me his lion. It was scary as hell, but beautiful at the same time. He told me all about mates, too.”
Gabriel growled. Everyone turned to look at him. He shook his head, “What?” He looked indignant.
“Oooookaaaay,” Taylor said slowly, then turned his attention to Micah. “Is Jesse your m
ate, Micah?”
“You can’t tell anyone about our existence, Taylor,” Micah said. “Do you realise what would happen to us if the humans found out about us?”
“Yes. They would do all kinds of experiments on you. Probably probe you, and not in the good way.” Taylor smirked as he sat down.
Raith laughed and slapped his hand on the table. Micah groaned and Gabriel growled.
“Anyway, yeah yeah, big guy, I know all about keeping the secret. I’ve known for about six years now and the only person I ever told was Jesse, and…”
“What!” Micah cut him off. “Jesse knows about us?” He looked at Taylor hopefully.
“Well, I told him, but honestly, I don’t think he believed me. I was pretty stoned at the time. That fucking John shot me up with some shit. Jesse got so pissed and wanted to kill him. So, I don’t know if he actually believed me. We never brought it up again.” Taylor shrugged. They all looked at him with sadness in their eyes and Gabriel growled again.
After a long pause, Taylor started to squirm a little from their stares. “What?…Oh, you picked up on the John part, huh? Yeah, well,…fuck you. I don’t need people judging me. You don’t know anything about us, you shouldn’t be judging us!” Taylor stood up, pissed off, and turned toward the stairs. He started to walk away as Micah stood and grabbed his arm. “Taylor, wait.”
Taylor turned to punch him, but Micah blocked the punch and gently grabbed Taylor’s other hand. “Taylor, wait a minute. We weren’t judging you. We were just surprised, that’s all. Surprised that someone drugged you and you were just so flippant about it. We’re the last people to judge anyone. Come on, please? Sit down?”
Taylor cautiously sat back down. His anger slowly slipped away. He took a deep breath. “We’re not proud of a lot of the things we had to do. We only did those things to survive. Maybe not the best way to go about it, but at the time it was the only choice Jesse and I had.”
Micah looked Taylor in the eye and gently squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, Taylor. No one here is judging you. We understand having to do things you don’t want to, to get by. My whole inner pack is a bunch of misfit, gay, Timber Wolves. We were all kicked out of our birth packs because we were gay. We’ve all had to do some shit or another to survive, too.”
