With Caution: With or Without, Book 2 (7 page)

Dirk cleared his throat. “Let’s go, boy. Your mother has dinner going.” He walked away.

Bending close to Sterling’s ear, Remi whispered, “Do not mention football to him again. Just let it go. I’ll take care of it, okay?”

Nodding, Sterling squeezed Remi’s arm. “See you tomorrow.” He ran to catch up with their father.

Dirk turned around, coming back.

Damn, damn, damn.
What did he want? Remi tried not to fidget. His heart was racing, and his palms were so sweaty the ball kept slipping. He pressed it against his leg.

“Who’s the new friend of yours?” Dirk cocked a brow.

“Excuse me?” Remi stiffened. “What friend?”

“The big guy. Drives a black Tahoe.”

How did he know about Jake? He couldn’t possibly know about the other night. No, of course not. Chill bumps raised on Remi’s arms.

“Jake?” Sterling asked.

Dirk looked toward Sterling. “Jake, huh? What’s he do for a living?”

“He’s a security guard or something,” Sterling answered without missing a beat.

Remi didn’t know whether to kiss him or kill him. If Dirk found out Sterling had lied— Fuck, Remi’s hands were shaking.

Apparently satisfied for now, Dirk nodded. Moving back around, he walked off.

Sterling shrugged, his eyes wide, then followed their father to the car.

Remi tried to breathe normally. Even though Dirk was leaving, the panic was still there. He hated himself for letting the man affect him like this. When would he outgrow the feeling of helplessness?

A sense of peace overcame Remi, his lungs taking in air again. His hands stopped quivering and suddenly everything felt all right. It was the same calm that came over him at the diner the other morning.

“Remi?” A hand touched his shoulder.

Chapter Five

As Dirk Lassiter drove off, Jake rubbed Remi’s back with one hand and tried not to let his anger show. Watching his normally cocky, self-assured mate cower gave Jake a real uneasy feeling. It took every ounce of energy he possessed to stand back until Dirk left. What had Remi endured when he lived at home?

Amazingly, when Jake had showed up, the fear dissipated from Remi’s scent in seconds. He was beginning to suspect that Remi was reacting to his presence. It must be a mate thing, their bodies responding to one another, although he’d never heard of such a thing. Lust? Sure, it was pretty common for mates to react to one another’s arousal, but this… Jake knew darn well Remi’s mind was still in turmoil, he could see it on his face. “You okay?”

Remi leaned into Jake’s touch a little, not quite enough to bring their bodies in contact. “Yeah. I hate letting Sterling go with him, knowing there’s a chance something bad might happen.”

“We’re going to fix that.”

Remi’s head whipped around, his gaze meeting Jake’s. “We are?”

“Yes, but we need to talk.”

Remi looked skeptical, but dipped his head toward the apartments. “You want a beer?”

“Yeah.”

Flipping the football to Jake, Remi walked to the buildings.

Jake caught the ball and followed. “You didn’t tell me he was a rez cop.”

“I didn’t?” Remi’s steps faltered.

Staying quiet until they were inside, Jake shut the door and leaned against it. “You know you didn’t. Why?”

Remi groaned and his shoulders slumped before he turned around. “I was afraid you wouldn’t help me. Most people are intimidated when they find out what Dirk does for a living. Being a rez cop has a lot more leeway than a city cop. The feds only get involved when there’s a murder. There are supposed to be checks and balances, but…” His gaze was cast downward.

Fuck
, Jake hated that look. It was the same look Remi had the other night when he’d admitted to being abused by his dad. It was shame. “You have to trust me, Remi. If I’m going to help I have to be able to prove he’s a dirty cop or a danger to Sterling. He is, right? Both of those?” Tossing the ball onto the couch, Jake pushed off of the door. He knew damn well he shouldn’t but he went to Remi, catching his chin and making him look up.

Remi closed his eyes and nuzzled his face into Jake’s hand.

Jake stared, mesmerized. It was such a subservient reaction. He had never seen a werewolf react this way. Only his human lovers had ever been this submissive. He sort of understood how mating worked, but it still baffled him. Remi was straight, yet here he stood once again showing a willingness to physically surrender to Jake. And damned if it didn’t make Jake harder than a fucking rock. Of course, the smell of Remi all sweaty from playing ball didn’t hurt either.

Remi blinked. His eyes turned canine and the scent of arousal grew strong.

It took every ounce of willpower he had, but Jake stepped back. He wanted nothing more than to take what his mate offered, but he needed information to try and protect Sterling
and
Remi. “Tell me about the murder.”

“What?” Remi’s voice cracked. A blush tinged his face before he abruptly moved away and began pacing. The scent of lust turned to unease and Remi’s shoulders stiffened. “How’d you know about that? You started looking into it already?”

Interesting.
Once again Jake had to wonder if Remi had even realized he’d nestled into the touch until after Jake had drawn attention to it by pulling away. “Yes, I’ve started looking into it already, I told you I would. Now, I need you to tell me what you know.”

“There isn’t much to tell.”

“According to my source there’s a lot to tell.”

Shrugging, Remi walked off toward the kitchen. “Not really. It didn’t have anything to do with Dirk.” He opened the refrigerator, withdrew two beers and tossed one to Jake.

Jake caught it and set it on the coffee table. “Remi.”

Remi sprawled on the couch, propping his feet on the table.

Jake hadn’t seen the posturing in the last two days. The smug air was back. Whatever happened, Remi had no intention of letting on that it bothered him. Jake knew damn well this was Remi’s way of keeping his friends at bay, but it pissed Jake off anyway. Maybe Remi’s distance was due to the kiss last night.

Remi didn’t say a word.

When Remi finally looked at him, Jake sat there, holding Remi’s gaze. Jake was not going to let Remi hide from him. Maybe it was selfish but he wanted everything, the bad and the good.

Fidgeting a little, Remi turned away. He set the beer on the table so hard some sloshed out, and he ran his hands over his face. “Billy and I were on our way back home from the movies. We got jumped crossing a field. That’s all there was to it.”

“By who? Did you see who attacked you?”

“Don’t know.”

“You didn’t know them? Or they didn’t catch them?”

“I don’t remember. I got the shit beat out of me. All I remember is waking in the hospital, with Simon, Bobby and Chay around me. Dirk had work to do like he always did and my mom was taking care of Sterling, who had just been born.”

Jake closed his eyes, getting his emotions under control. He couldn’t imagine not having a family to count on. Before his parents died, they’d been wonderful. They’d been strict at times, sure, but there was never a doubt they’d loved Jake and Tina. It was amazing that Remi had the relationship he did with Sterling since he certainly had nothing to compare it to.

Opening his eyes, Jake found Remi staring at him, bottom lip held between his teeth. “Did your father even try to find out who did it?”

Remi shook his head. “I don’t know. Dirk never had me questioned. I was in the hospital for most of the investigation. Not that it would have mattered, I didn’t remember the attack. Still don’t.” He looked down. “I just remember…” Taking several deep breaths, he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, keeping the tears at bay. He finally turned back to Jake and smiled. It was a sad smile, full of sorrow.

It made Jake’s heart hurt. He wanted to haul Remi into his arms and comfort him, but he didn’t dare. Remi wasn’t telling him something and Jake needed to find out what that something was. He had a feeling it was very important. “What do you remember?”

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t recall anything useful. I can’t even remember the movie we went to see, or why we were in the field.”

Standing, Jake caught Remi’s arm and pulled him up. “I need you to trust me.”

“I do trust you. I trust you so much it scares the hell outta me.” Remi’s voice was soft, awed.

The honesty and faith went straight to Jake’s head and his cock, which had never fully softened. He stared into Remi’s beautiful eyes, watching as they shifted. “I’ve been needing to kiss you since the moment I got here.”

Remi’s eyes widened, then he sighed and closed his eyes.

It was all the invitation Jake needed. He never even stopped to think what he was doing. He just took what his mate offered, tugging Remi forward and slanting his mouth over Remi’s. Without wasting any time, his tongue traced the seam of Remi’s lips.

Remi opened, kissing back. He let Jake explore his mouth, following Jake’s lead. Panting, he pulled away and held Jake’s gaze as he slid to the floor. Resting his head against Jake’s thigh, he closed his eyes again. “Jake.” His voice was strangled, a raspy plea. The war he waged in his mind was written all over his face.

Running his hand over Remi’s head, Jake tried to soothe him. “Remi.” Why was he doing this?

A hand snaked up the inside of his leg, stroking his calf through the denim. Remi rubbed his cheek against Jake’s leg and his pale green eyes fluttered open, already shifted into wolf eyes. He lifted his nose in the air and sniffed. His fangs peeked out from under his top lip. Moving his face closer to Jake’s crotch, he scrunched his nose and snuggled his face against Jake’s jeans.

Fuck.
Jake hissed out a breath and his cock jerked. His vision blurred, no longer seeing color, making him blink several times to focus.

He brushed his fingers through Remi’s hair. He wanted desperately to draw Remi’s head forward and demand Remi take out his cock and suck it. But he didn’t dare.

His hand clenched and unclenched in the silky dark hair. He should stop this, yet he hadn’t started it in the first place.

Remi blinked and unbuttoned Jake’s jeans without ever looking away. Slowly, he tugged down the waistband, licking his lips as he bared the head of Jake’s cock.

Oh God.
The sight of him licking his lips— Jake moaned.

As Remi pulled the pants down further, Jake’s prick slapped against his lower abdomen, leaving a wet spot. His conscience screamed at him to make certain this was what Remi really wanted, yet at the same time he found himself reluctant to break the spell. Maybe Remi needed this…maybe they both did.

Remi leaned forward and buried his nose in Jake’s balls. A soft drawn-out satisfied sound left his throat. It wasn’t the sound of a reluctant man. It was like music to Jake’s ears.

Something warm and wet slid across his balls. Startled, he caught Remi’s hair in his fist and tilted his head back slightly. As good as it felt, Jake was still being cautious. Had he somehow made Remi feel pressured?

Remi shook off Jake’s hold and licked a long line up Jake’s balls to the base of his cock. His eyes were glazed over as he concentrated on what he was doing. The look of sheer bliss on his face was all Jake needed to see to make him give in and enjoy the moment. It was also the prettiest fucking sight he had ever seen. His stomach muscles clenched and unclenched. His prick jerked.

Using Remi’s hair to pull him away, Jake grabbed his dick with his other hand and tapped Remi on the cheek with it. And damned if Remi didn’t open his mouth, trying to catch it. Jake tightened his hold on Remi and tugged him back.

Remi licked his lips, focused on Jake’s cock. After a few seconds, Remi’s canine gaze met Jake’s, then his lips parted and he whimpered. Closing his mouth over Jake’s cock, Remi slipped all the way down in one movement. No gagging. Nothing. He drew back up and did it again. His hands slid to knead Jake’s thighs.

Jake’s head swam and his whole body tingled. Remi was like a whirlwind. He alternated between licking and running his mouth over the shaft of Jake’s cock. He found a rhythm, using suction every time he went up. Happy little moaning noises vibrated along Jake’s prick and wet slurping sounds echoed in the quiet apartment.

Holy shit.
Remi knew exactly what the fuck he was doing. This couldn’t be the first time he’d ever sucked cock, could it? He was just too damn good at it. Even his newly acquired fangs didn’t seem to hamper the apparent talent he was showing Jake. And he seemed to love doing it. Jake could barely wrap his mind around what his brain was telling him. How? When? He couldn’t think with Remi on his knees, driving him insane.

Panting, Jake fought to keep from driving deep into Remi’s sweet mouth. His gums stung and his own teeth dropped. Remi’s saliva ran over his balls. Fuck, he was so close.

Sliding a hand down, Remi cupped Jake’s balls, then used the spit that had dripped and smeared it around. Remi groaned around his prick, and the smell of Remi’s come reached Jake’s nose.

“Oh, fuck.” With his whole body tingling, Jake arched his back. When he came, Remi’s nose was buried in his pubes.