With Caution: With or Without, Book 2 (4 page)

“I used to play in high school.”

Panting, Sterling stopped in front of them. He also wore a tank top but bruises covered his arms. After tossing the ball to Remi, he dropped his hands to his knees. “He was quarterback the year our high school made it to state.”

Jake ignored the bruises. He would ask Remi about them later. Remi played football in high school? “Holy shit. Lassiter, number twelve.” How had Jake never made the connection? Tina had been a freshman and on the drill team that year. Jake had gone to most of the home games to watch his younger sister and found himself watching the sexy starting quarterback more than a few times.
No wonder.
Had he ever gotten close enough, he might have realized the man was his mate back then. “You were fuckin’ awesome, man.”

Remi shrugged off the praise.

If Jake hadn’t been watching closely, he would have missed the brief grin.

“Where’d you play college ball?” Jake asked.

After tossing the ball into the air, Remi caught it.

“He didn’t.” Sterling stood and stretched his hands over his head.

What?
How could he not have played in college? He was damn good. Several players on the team had gotten scholarships to big name colleges. He figured Remi would have been one of them. If Jake remembered correctly the middle linebacker was now in the NFL. “Why not? I heard guys were getting scouted left and right.”

“Yeah, some were.” Remi flipped the ball to Jake. “Jake, you can snap me the ball.” He studied Sterling. “Ready to go again?”

Catching the ball, Jake frowned. Remi’s scent had changed.
He’s hiding the truth for some reason
.

“Same pattern, Sterling.” Remi stepped back, motioning for Jake to get in front of him.

Jake wanted nothing more than to ask what was going on, but he had a feeling it would put Remi on the spot. He could sense Remi had been upset by the conversation.

Giving in to the need to nurture and protect his mate, Jake bent over and set the ball on the grass, and let the conversation drop. He glanced back at Remi, raising a brow, then clapped his hands together to gain Sterling’s attention. “Okay, let’s go. Let’s play. Sterling, get over there. Remi, what count?”

Sterling jogged over to his position.

Dipping his head, Remi caught Jake’s gaze. “Okay, on two.”

After about three passes, Remi’s pensive mood dissolved. At first, all Jake could concentrate on was Remi’s unease, but after Remi relaxed and started having fun again, Jake became ultra aware of Remi’s hands on his body, constantly touching him. To make matters worse, Remi was beginning to work up a sweat. He smelled so fucking good. Jake nearly groaned the next time the strong hand touched his back, before getting into position behind him.

“Hut! Hut!”

Jake snapped the ball into Remi’s hands and Remi dropped back, holding onto the ball a few seconds before releasing it. As soon as it left his hand, Remi took off running toward Sterling.

Catching the ball, Sterling looked back. His eyes widened when he spotted Remi coming toward him. Whipping his head back around, he turned on the speed. The kid was quick. A great asset if he was going to play receiver. Getting to the edge of the schoolyard, he spiked the ball and yelled, “Ha.”

Remi never stopped. He dipped his shoulder, planted it into his brother’s midsection and swooped Sterling up.

Sterling hollered in surprise and started beating on Remi’s back. When Remi set Sterling on his feet, they both fell to the ground laughing.

Grinning from ear to ear, Jake made his way toward them. He loved seeing this side of Remi. He’d seen the man joke and cut up around Chay, but it was nothing like this. This was real…unreserved. Whatever had bothered him earlier about discussing his high school days was gone now.

“Butthead.” Sterling tore grass from the ground and threw it at Remi.

Jerking his head to the side, Remi nudged Sterling’s thigh with his own. “Brat.” Remi licked his lips and smiled. The shiny gold surface of his Oakley lenses reflected Jake’s image.

Before Jake realized his intent, Remi caught his ankle and tugged.

“Shit.” Jake leaned forward to keep from landing on his ass. Catching himself, he fell with his hands on either side of Remi’s head. His face poised inches from Remi’s, his glasses slipped, hanging on his ears by the earpieces.

Sterling roared with laughter, but it seemed distant. Jake couldn’t focus on anything but his mate being so close.

Remi wasn’t unaffected. His breath hitched and the smell of arousal filled the air. A soft sound of surprise left his lips and fanned over Jake’s face.

Blood rushed to Jake’s prick and his stomach tightened with anticipation. His vision went monochrome. He wanted to press himself against the lean body and claim Remi’s full mouth.

Turning his face up slightly, Remi parted his lips, displaying the tips of canines. Then he shook his head and snapped out of it. He chuckled, “Gotcha,” put his hands on Jake’s shoulders and shoved.

Reluctantly, Jake rolled onto his back next to Remi. What would Remi have done if Jake had kissed him? “Asshole.”

Sterling laughed harder, seemingly oblivious to Jake and Remi’s plight, and held his hand up to Remi. “Good one.”

Laughing, Remi slapped his brother’s hand, but the smell of lust still surrounded him.

Jake knew damn well Remi was as hard as he was. It was both comforting and puzzling. Maybe he wasn’t going to have as hard a time claiming his mate as he’d first thought. He wondered if Remi could handle him wanting to be more than a friend.

* * *

Jake couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed himself so much. After playing football they’d eaten lunch and gone back to Remi’s apartment and taken showers. Fortunately, Jake had brought a change of clothes with him. He got trounced at video games by Sterling and Remi, then he’d sat back and watched the brothers take turns beating each other and rubbing it in. They’d ordered pizza and dug through Remi’s DVD collection. Time had flown by, as it always seemed to when you were having fun.

Now, he and Remi sat on the couch in Remi’s small living room, bemoaning the fact that they’d eaten too much. They were watching the end of
The Howling
and Sterling was asleep on the floor.

“Ah, fuck. What a day.” Remi leaned his head back, putting his hands over his face as the ending credits played on the TV. Dragging his hands down, he sat back up and turned toward Jake. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For calming me this morning. For hanging out all day and helping me cheer Sterling up.”

“Didn’t look like Sterling needed much cheering up. Something tells me the kid could have fun at an insurance seminar.” Remi had been the one who needed his mood lifted.

Remi glanced down at Sterling, and a fond grin crept across his face. “Yeah, he’s a good kid.”

“He is. Wanna tell me about the bruises on his arms? Does it have anything to do with the person you want me to investigate?”

Remi closed his eyes and bent forward to rest his forearms on his knees. Exhaling noisily, he nodded. “Yeah, let me put Sterling in bed before we talk.” He shoved himself from the couch and walked around the battered oak coffee table.

Jake stood. “Let me. Where do you want to put him?”

“I can get him. He’s not that heavy.” Bending, Remi scooped Sterling into his arms. He groaned a little on the way up. “Okay, maybe he is getting a bit heavy.” Remi chuckled.

Sterling never even moved, he was dead to the world. Not surprising. Anyone who had as much energy as he did awake should sleep like a rock.

Holding out his arms, Jake tried to offer help, but Remi shook his head. “Nah, I got him. Just go make sure his door is open and pull his covers back.”

It didn’t surprise Jake one bit that Sterling had his own room in Remi’s apartment. Jake was beginning to realize his mate had hidden depths. Most bachelors would have turned the extra room into an office or storage, but not Remi. Remi wasn’t the self-centered ass he tried to come across as most of the time.

Jake hurried down the hall ahead of Remi. There were only two rooms and the bathroom, so he had a fifty/fifty chance. He’d already been in the bathroom, so he knew that door was not it. Pushing open the first door he came too, Jake flipped the light next to the door and peeked inside.

The room was small. A big, dark wood sleigh bed that had seen better days, and an old, beat-up dresser with peeling white paint were the biggest pieces of furniture in the room. There was a small desk—with a laptop on it—and chair next to the bed. The one window was covered with an old quilt. A raw wooden crate, doubling for a nightstand, sat next to the bed. On it was the ugliest lamp Jake had ever seen. It looked like the vase Peter glued back together in
The Brady Bunch
crossed with the lamp from
I Dream of Jeannie
. The base was shaped like Jeannie’s bottle, only it was brown. There were two different colored orange oval-shaped facets on the top of the rounded bottom part. The long stem led to a plain white cone-shaped shade. Aside from the awful lamp, it was a man’s room, decorated with hand-me-downs, but not unpleasant.

“That’s mine. Sterling’s is the door on the left.”

Flipping the light off, Jake made a mental note to buy Remi a new lamp. He opened the other door and turned on the light. Taking a brief look around, he shook his head. The kid’s room was nicer than Remi’s. The furniture, while not expensive, was new. The curtains and bedspread matched. There was even a small TV with a video game console opposite the bed.

Jake pulled the dark blue comforter and sheets back and stepped out of the way.

When Remi laid Sterling down and reached across him for the comforter, Jake’s attention zeroed in on Remi’s butt. Fuck, the man made baggy jean shorts look good. Of course, it could be because they stretched tight across his ass when he bent over.

As Sterling rolled to his side and snuggled into his pillow, Remi straightened and headed toward the door.

Leaving Remi to turn off the light and shut the door, Jake went to the living room and sat on the old plaid couch. He waited for Remi to do the same, but instead of joining Jake on the couch, Remi removed the empty pizza box and the bottles from the table and took them to the kitchen.

Jake was certain it was a delay tactic, but he let it go. Obviously, Remi needed to gather his thoughts. Talking about family issues was never easy, especially when abuse was involved.

Chay had mentioned Remi’s dad had slapped him around as a kid without being too specific. Jake was beginning to suspect the abuse hadn’t ended with Remi moving out.

Things just didn’t add together. Sterling seemed to think Remi had kicked up a fuss over Chay and Keaton because he was afraid of their father. How the man got to Remi was not a surprise. From what Jake witnessed today, Remi would do anything to keep his brother safe.

Remi came back into the living room with two beer bottles in hand. Giving one to Jake, he sat on the couch with a leg underneath him.

“Thanks.” Jake took a swig of beer and turned his body to more easily see Remi.

Dipping his head in acknowledgment without ever making eye contact, Remi fiddled with the label on his bottle. He smelled uneasy. Not upset exactly, but nervous. Why? Did he think Jake would condemn him for his father’s sins?

“If you want my help, you have it, but I need to know what’s going on.”

Remi glanced up, his eyes solemn. “I don’t even know if I can afford to pay you.”

Jake started shaking his head as soon as the word
afford
left Remi’s lips. “I’m not worried about it. You’re my”—
mate
—“my friend. If you feel like you have to pay me, we can work something out. I’m not agreeing to help you for money. I keep getting the hint that you think Sterling is in danger of being hurt by someone and I want to help if I can.” Not to mention that helping—protecting—his mate was his job and made him feel good.

“Okay.” Taking a sip of his beer, Remi pulled his other foot onto the couch, bending it in front of him and resting his arm on it. He watched the beer bottle dangling between his fingers for a few moments and nodded, like he’d made up his mind. “It’s Dirk. He’s never hurt Sterling before. This is the first time, but…”

“But it probably won’t be the last,” Jake finished for him.
Fuck.
Even Remi called him Dirk. The guy was a piece of work. What kind of man didn’t want his own kids calling him dad?

“Well, that was my experience when I lived there, but I’ve always kept him from hurting Sterling. He pretty much ignores Sterling as long as Sterling stays out of his hair and I continue to live my life by his rules.” Shaking his head, Remi snorted. “I’ve done that. I don’t even hang around my fag best friend anymore.” The venom in Remi’s voice said the word fag wasn’t his, but his father’s. “Well, not where he would find out about it anyway. I still go to Chay and Keaton’s, I just hide my bike. Pretty fucking pathetic, huh?” He took a long swig of beer, finishing it in one shot. He set it on the table and rested both his hands on his knees. He appeared far away, lost. “Simon and Bobby came with me to pick up Sterling one day and he kicked them out of the house. He told them to never come back because they’re still friends with Chay. So I pretty much steer clear of them too.”