Out Of The Shadows (2 page)

Jai ran a little further and then turned, heading back to the car park. When he reached his bike again, he changed back to his human form, dressing once he got his clothes from the saddlebags. The run may not have chased away all of his problems, but it had definitely relaxed him a bit. He had thought about heading out to Howlers for a while, but even that didn’t appeal. There he could have his pick of men who would gladly go home with him and provide a bit of fun, but it wasn’t the same. He wanted Dane. The others just weren’t him.

Jai dropped onto one of the low leather sofas on the balcony of the club and took a drink from his beer bottle. Next to him, Dex leaned on the railings and waved as four men edged their way though the crowd and headed for the stairs. No one here knew they were wolves; they were just the same as anyone else. When the men reached the balcony, Jai called out a greeting, recognising three of them. Lou and Chris were both police constables whom they had met a few years ago whilst investigating a pack incident that had strayed into the human police jurisdiction. Afterwards, they had kept in touch. Chris was tall and skinny, his hair always giving the impression he had just crawled out of bed. Lou was just the opposite. Where Chris would be described as permanently dishevelled, Lou always dressed as though he was going to a job interview. His hair was always perfect, his clothing not daring to wrinkle. The two were as different in attitude as they were in appearance, and it had made Jai wonder what had brought the pair of them together as friends to begin with.

The third man, Tony, had been introduced by Lou. And a good thing that was, too. Tony was in his mid twenties, like the rest of them, but when Jai had first laid eyes on him, his first thought had been,
wow
. The man stood just over six feet tall, with jet black, shoulder length hair and olive skin that he had inherited from his Japanese mother. When he flashed his usual seductive smile, the wicked twinkle in his eyes as he had shaken Jai’s hand, it had taken all of Jai’s self control not to pin the man to the nearest wall and kiss him senseless.

“Jai, Dex, this is James,” Lou said, indicating to the stranger with his arms wrapped firmly around Lou. He leaned down to the smaller man and kissed him.

Dex chuckled softly as the young man’s hand slipped down to squeeze Lou’s arse.

“If you aren’t going to share, Lou, quit showing off.”

James laughed as Lou flipped Dex the finger. “Back off,” he said. “Find your own.”

He led James to the sofa, pulling the young man almost into his lap where they remained so wrapped up in each other that they were oblivious to the others. Dex shuffled over to make room for Tony and Chris.

“So, how long has he had this one?”

Chris laughed. “About twenty minutes. He picked him up downstairs.”

Yes, that sounded like Lou alright. Lou changed boyfriends on a daily basis, some not even making it to a day. Chris, Jai knew, was slightly pickier, wanting something a tad more permanent out of life. He had recently split from his partner of six months after finding out that the man was sleeping around behind his back. They talked for a while, catching up and having a few more drinks until Tony stood.

“I want to dance,” he announced, looking around. “Aww, come on. Anyone?”

Dex took a gulp from his glass and shook his head, as did Chris, looking up from their conversation. Tony’s gaze settled on Jai as he pouted, lower lip sticking out.

“Don’t make me go on my own,” he pleaded.

Jai rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said, taking the hand Tony offered and allowing the man to pull him to his feet.

The smile Tony flashed him lit the room and he bounced happily onto the dance floor downstairs. Jai let himself get carried along with Tony’s mood, enjoying himself as he danced.

“Oh, I love this song!” Tony enthused as the music changed.

Tony’s arms circled him, pulling Jai back against his chest as they swayed, and as the other clubbers moved in around them he found himself pressed close to Tony. In the heat and noise of the club, Jai could actually forget his problems and relax. Tony’s arms felt wonderful around him and he knew that it could feel even better. He had spent nights with Tony before, never making more of it than that. There was always the little voice in the back of his mind that kept reminding him it was Dane he wanted, but he also had needs. There had been a few others, some of his fellow wolves and all one night stands, but more often than not it was Tony. He felt vaguely guilty about using Tony, but the other man didn’t seem to mind. Tony had summed it up best when he referred to it as friends with benefits.

When Jai felt the touch of lips on his neck he tilted his head to the side, offering his throat. Had this been another wolf, the gesture would have been submissive, but this was Tony. He was human, with no idea of what Jai really was, making it nothing more than an invitation. Jai wriggled his backside against Tony’s groin, feeling the hardness there and hearing the hissed-in breath.

“Shouldn’t tease, Jai,” Tony murmured in his ear.

Turning in his arms and kissing him, Jai grinned. “Who’s teasing?”

Tony’s finger hooked into Jai’s belt and led him off the dance floor, toward the end of the bar. As they passed the bartender, he nodded to them, his gaze lingering on Tony for a long moment. Jai shook his head. The guy checked Tony out every time he saw him but had yet to make a move, even though Jai was pretty sure that Tony would say yes. The thought was brushed away as Tony glanced about quickly before pulling Jai into the cloakroom. Backing them between the coat racks, into the shadows, he pulled Jai against him, closing his mouth over Jai’s. Jai’s hands stroked down his back before settling on his arse and Tony sighed happily. He reached down between them to cup Jai’s erection through the soft leather trousers he wore. Jai pressed into his hand, thinking that he should have worn looser fitting clothes; his trousers were growing uncomfortably tight.

The sound of footsteps alerted them seconds before a man in the club’s uniform of black and white came in. Both of them froze but he didn’t see them moving across the room and picking something up and leaving. Tony snickered softly as he left, resting his forehead against Jai’s.

“Think we should get back to the others?”

“I suppose,” Jai said reluctantly. One hand to the back of Tony’s head, he pulled the man in for another kiss before they went back out into the main club.

As he walked past the bar he stopped, turning. He could have sworn he recognised the man seated on one of the high stools at the far end. Suddenly, the man turned, his eyes widening in horror as his gaze settled on Jai. Abandoning his drink, he fled.

“What the…?”

Tony was also looking toward the bar. “Who’s that?” His eyes widened and he grinned. “Was that the bloke you’ve been chasing? I thought you said he wasn’t into this scene.”

He’s not
, Jai thought, watching Dane disappear out of the door.

“Tony, I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” he said as he pushed through the crowd to follow. “Don’t mention this to the others, okay?”

“Dane?”

Just outside, Jai caught up with Dane, grabbing his arm to stop him from running.

“Let me go, please,” he begged, his voice trembling.

Jai shook his head. “Dane, calm down. I just wanted to say hi; I thought I’d recognised you. Listen, Dex is inside with a few friends; you could come and join us if you wanted.”

“No!” Dane squirmed out of his grip and began to back away. “Oh, God, you can’t tell him you saw me.”

Dane’s uneasy glance slid to the bouncer on the door and Jai took his arm again, steering him out of hearing range.

“If that’s what you want, then I never saw you.” Dane nodded. “But whatever is going on, you know you can talk to me, don’t you? Any time, just give me a call.”

As soon as he released Dane’s arm, the man turned on his heel and walked away; he couldn’t have moved much faster if he had run. Jai watched him leave before going back inside. What the hell had Dane been doing in a gay bar? Well, he could think of a few things, but none of them fit with the straight-laced—emphasis on the
straight
—image of Dane he had in his head. There was definitely more to it than that; Dane had looked too worried about Dex finding out he was there when Jai mentioned it.

“What was all that about?” Tony asked as he got back to the bar.

Jai shrugged his shoulders. “Thought I recognised someone, but I was wrong.”

* * * *

The following day, Jai was already at his desk when Dane slipped quietly through the door. Jai attempted to speak to him a couple of times, but Dane carefully avoided him, not even meeting his gaze. Eventually, as they left for the day, Jai cornered him. He waited until everyone else had gone and they were alone in the office.

“So, are you going to avoid me forever?”

Dane kept his gaze downcast as he shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re going to have to talk to me sometime, you know,” Jai told him.

He could see the worry in Dane’s eyes and it was all he could do not to reach out to him. Whatever Dane was scared of, he wanted to help him. The man was his mate, for goodness’ sake; he wanted to be able to treat him as such.

“Please, Jai, just leave it.”

Jai nodded. “Fine. But, as I said last night, if you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

Jai locked the office and went out to his bike. He had offered Dane a lift home but the man refused, setting off toward the bus stop. Jai watched him leave, knowing that he had to let his mate work out whatever was on his mind by himself. He glanced up at the sky, at the darkening clouds that were gathering, and gunned the engine. It looked as though it was going to rain and he’d like to be safely indoors before that happened. Dane was just climbing onto the bus when he got to the end of the road; he headed for home. 

* * * *

Two hours after leaving the office, Dane let the man lead him out of the bar. He had been coming into the city since moving here, every so often. The bars varied but the situation was the same, just as it had been back home.

The man was a stranger, whom he’d only just met, and who now pushed him through the door into the dingy pub bathroom. He wasn’t the type Dane usually went for, and he was wondering whether or not he should cut and run when another man came in, letting the door slam behind him. Usually Dane went with smaller men, ones more similar to him in build, more his equal. Dane felt his panic rising as the man leaned on the door to stop anyone else coming in, but he pushed it away.

“Drop your jeans,” the first man ordered, and Dane obliged, fumbling with his belt, glancing up at the two of them.

The two men were big, larger in build than he was, and he stood at just over six feet tall. He could get away from them if he wanted to; he was a wolf, stronger than the average human, and so his chances were good. No matter how much they unnerved him, he had known what he was letting himself in for when he came here. Okay, not the two of them, but he had come here for sex. The man who leaned on the door watched as the one who had picked Dane up stood in front of him. He grabbed Dane, roughly turning him around once his trousers were around his ankles, and slammed him against the filthy sink. He leaned around to stuff a wadded up piece of material as a gag into Dane’s mouth.

“I like my meat to be quiet,” he said. The man by the door laughed.

The man spat into his hand and Dane felt fingers wet with saliva press inside him, barely having time to stretch him before the man began forcing his cock in instead. Dane whimpered around the gag, tears forming in his eyes as the man began to fuck him. The man wasn’t particularly big, but he was rough and he hadn’t exactly done a lot of preparation. Dane clutched the side of the sink, his fingers aching as he tried to take some of the tension from his body. When the man came, thrusting forward once, twice more he felt the hot semen filling him. The man pulled out and slapped him on the arse, hard.

“You’re a good fuck,” he said, “So tight and small.”

Dane knew he wasn’t especially small in build, but compared to these two he was. He was still trying to get his breath back through the material in his mouth as the second man began to unfasten his trousers.

“My turn,” he said, drawing his dick out and going behind Dane.

The other man’s semen, now trickling out of his body, eased the way for the second man, and it was a good thing, too. He was bigger, wider, and it would have hurt. He began to pound into Dane, fucking him as vigorously as the first man had, until he came, too.

When they were done, the two of them left Dane in the bathroom on his knees by the sink as his legs wouldn’t hold him any longer. He had his trousers around his ankles still, the men’s semen beginning to trail a cool line down his inner thigh. He was ashamed of himself for letting them do this to him and of the fact that he too had come, but at the same time it had fulfilled something inside of him that nothing else could.

He left the bar about ten minutes later, only then realising that he had missed his last bus home. Checking his wallet, he sighed. He didn’t even have enough money for a taxi; what he had would get him half way home, but that was it. Dane leaned back against the wall and raked his hair back from his face with one hand. It was raining heavily, the droplets soaking him almost immediately. How much worse could this day get?

It was three o’clock in the morning when Jai heard the knock at the front door. He ignored it to begin with, unwilling to get out of his nice warm bed and up into the cold room. The knock came again and he groaned, dragging himself out from under the covers.

When Jai opened the door, he just stared at his visitor, half afraid that he would find he’d imagined it if he blinked. Dane stood in the doorway, in the rain, shivering. He was huddled into a leather jacket over a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He was soaked to the skin from the rain, his dark blond hair plastered to his scalp. Although he was only a year away from Jai’s twenty-five years, he looked so much younger at the moment, young and vulnerable. Jai thought he looked as though he was ready to bolt.