Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series (3 page)

While she called Ian and his teammates ‘uncle’, Nick was only five years older than her, so she didn’t use the title with him. He knew she’d had a crush on him for a few weeks when she was in junior high, but that’d changed after some kid named Ryan had transferred into her school and caught her eye. He squeezed her hands where they lay clasped on his chest. “Hey Baby-girl. How’s my favorite blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl?”

In the mirror behind the bar, he saw her eyes roll. “Yeah, right. I’m sure you have blue-eyed blondes throwing themselves at you left and right.”

He chuckled. “I’m not denying it, but none of them can hold a candle to you.”

“You’re so sweet.” Grinning, she ruffled his hair before stepping away and heading toward the kitchen.

“Today’s burger looks good.” Ian handed him a ‘Daily Specials’ menu. “So, where did Jake run off to? I figured he would’ve come to lunch with us.”

Instead of looking at him, Nick lifted his gaze to the basketball game on the TV above the bottles of booze behind the bar. Who was playing, he had no idea as he shrugged. “Didn’t ask. He just dropped me off and said he had things to do.” Hell, the fucking bastard hadn’t even told him that much.

Mike approached them from the other end of the bar. “Hey, Nick. I forgot you were coming in for a visit. What can I get you?” Not needing to know Ian’s order, he slid a bottle of Bud Light in the man’s direction and then grabbed another when Nick said he’d have the same. “How long you in for this time? I only got to see you the night of the bachelor party and at the wedding last time.”

He took a much needed swig from the ice-cold bottle and swallowed.
Damn, it tastes good
. “I’ve got a month’s leave before I have to report back for some new equipment training. I’ll be here for most of it, but might be heading up to Mom and Dad’s for a few days after Thanksgiving. Playing it by ear.”

Chuck and Marie Sawyer still lived in the boys’ hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, but had several residences up and down the east coast, and one in San Diego near Nick’s condo. Their dad was a self-made, real estate mogul, but did a lot of traveling and charity work with their mom, a plastic surgeon, while the company board ran things during his absence. While the boys had plenty of luxuries most kids their age didn’t have while growing up, their parents made sure they worked to earn everything they got. Each one of them had a trust fund in their names which they gained full access to at age thirty, but received a small monthly dividend from the fund to help with bare-bones expenses until then. Anything they wanted beyond that had to come from a paycheck. They’d all been earning their own money since they were old enough to work. And each one of them had gone into the Navy, with the exception of John. The second youngest of four boys, John had plans to enter the military almost nineteen years ago, but it never happened. A closet alcoholic, he’d died at the age of eighteen after several hours of binge drinking.

While Mike took their lunch orders and entered them into the computer behind the bar, the two brothers settled in to watch the game. Nick did his best to force Jake from his mind. He’d deal with him later. And he wasn’t letting the bastard run next time.

Jake strode into The Covenant’s luxurious bar area, feeling a little better after spending a few hours working out in his condo complex’s gym, instead of the one at the compound. It was smaller with less equipment choices but there was no worry about Nick walking in to confront him again. An intense cardio session, coupled with some weights, had helped him force a few demons from his mind, as well as a certain boy-toy. After his longer than normal workout, he’d gone back to his unit, grabbed some dinner, and then showered. Dressing in his favorite black leather pants and boots, he’d forgone his usual T-shirt. Instead, he was wearing a button-down leather vest which he knew would draw the gay and bisexual submissives like moths to a flame. He wasn’t being egotistical—he just knew the attention his sculpted arms and shoulders got from past experience. And tonight he planned on using that attention to forget Nick completely.

The club’s manager greeted him as he approached the bar. Mitch Sawyer was also the bosses’ cousin and part owner of the club. As he shook Jake’s hand, his eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Unsure what the problem was, Jake asked, “What?”

Frowning, Mitch shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit. What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you in your vest.”

Jake glanced down at the sleeveless leather top, and then his eyes narrowed at the other man. “Yeah…” He waved his hand, gesturing for Mitch to continue. “And?”

“The last time I remember seeing you wear it was after you broke up with the cop last year. Seems to me, it’s your ‘purging’ vest. You know, when you want to get over someone.” He paused and tilted his head to the side. “Is that why you traded nights with China? I know you won’t use the whip when you’ve got something distracting you.”

Sighing, Jake ran his hand through his hair which was now down from its earlier ponytail. There was one thing he wouldn’t lie to Mitch about and this was it. But…he could stretch the truth a little. “Yeah, I’ve got some shit on my mind, but it’s not because I broke up with anyone. I haven’t been seeing anyone lately. It’s just work and some other shit, and I didn’t want to take a chance with the subs tonight.”

Mitch nodded and his voice filled with empathy. “You know, if you ever want to talk…”

Barking out a short laugh, Jake brought one hand to his eight-pack abs and shook his head in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me? Since when did you become Mister Sensitive and offer an ear?”

With a broad grin, Mitch scoffed, “I wasn’t offering
my
ear, you dumb fuck. I was going to tell you to call Doc Dunbar for an appointment.” Dr. Trudy Dunbar was a one of the psychologists whom The Covenant referred its members to, if needed. While she wasn’t in the lifestyle herself, she had done her dissertation on the BDSM society and understood it better than most. She had also become Jake’s good friend over the past few years.

“Yeah, well, I don’t need the ear or Trudy. Just need to blow off a little steam.” He scanned the bar and surrounding areas, not seeing who he was looking for. “Have you seen Tyler tonight?” Tyler Ellis was a bisexual switch Jake hooked up with every so often. The stockbroker and operative had a mutual attraction, but it didn’t go beyond the club. Personality-wise, they were too much alike, with the major differences being Jake was a gay Dom and Tyler preferred to submit to men, but top women. When he was stressed out, giving up sexual control to another man was something he benefited from.

“Yeah, and I think he was looking for you, too. I saw him head down into the pit.” Mitch clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll catch you later.”

Jake headed for the stairs leading down into the pit. In some sex clubs it would probably be called the dungeon, but The Covenant members had dubbed the recreational area ‘the pit’ when the club had first opened up and the name stuck. The main entrance to the club was on the second floor, which consisted of a lobby, bar, sitting areas overlooking the first floor, and at the far end, a fetish store and the offices. In addition to the pit, there were also locker rooms and private playrooms downstairs.

After having his alcohol consumption/ID card swiped by a security guard—there was a two drink maximum if a member intended to play—he descended the grand staircase, searching the crowd for Tyler. But…
fuck
…his eyes found Nick, standing with his brother, Ian’s fiancée, Angie, and another couple. The huge room was congested enough—about one hundred and twenty members in attendance—so he was able to pretend he hadn’t spotted them on the left side of the room. Veering to his right, he was stopped by several people who either just wanted to say hello or had something more to chat about. He managed to put as many people as he could between Nick and him, but the tingling on his neck said his body was still aware the other man was in the room.

His eyes continued to search the crowd as he talked to a few members and forced himself to concentrate on looking for Tyler and not Nick.
Damn it
. He knew he shouldn’t have come tonight. There’d been a good chance Nick would be here, but Jake had planned on making it obvious to the kid that there was no future between them. Nick wouldn’t make a scene here because it would mean he’d have to come out of the closet to Ian and everyone else, and he was still refusing to do it. Why, Jake didn’t know, but it wasn’t his place to out the guy. And that was another reason why a relationship with Nick wouldn’t work. Since the night Jake’s father had beaten the crap out of him sixteen years ago for being gay, he vowed never again to feign he was straight. It’d been his ‘fuck you’ to his father from then on and he refused to be in a relationship with anyone who was hiding his sexual orientation.

As he was about to excuse himself from a conversation he was only half listening to, he noticed Tyler walking towards him and his anxiety eased a little. He deepened his voice to let the other man know he was in full Dom mode and wanted to play. “Tyler.”

The relief in the switch’s eyes was evident before he lowered his gaze to the ground in respect. “Master Jake. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see you tonight. May we please negotiate a scene?”

“This way.” Jake gestured with a side nod of his head for Tyler to follow him to an empty table a few feet away. Instead of taking a seat, he leaned an elbow on the pub-height table. Some other Doms may have ordered the switch to his knees, but Jake rarely issued the command in the open recreation area. And public humiliation was one of Tyler’s hard limits. For someone who was a Dominant part of the time, it would be humiliating to kneel in front of another Dom unless they were somewhere private. The switch would still be respectful and it’s all Jake would require of him until they were alone. “Bad day?”

Tyler nodded. “Very, Sir. The market was all over the fucking place, and I had clients calling all day long, on top of meetings. Damn, if I was into drugs, I’d be doped up and jonesing for more right now.”

Rubbing his chin with his finger, Jake regarded the man for a moment. “I won’t use a bullwhip tonight, so that’s off the list, but any other of your green or yellow limits, I’ll consider.”

“Restraints. And a flogger and crop can replace the whip, Sir.”

“Sex?”

A grin spread over Tyler’s face. They’d been playing together off and on for over two years. He knew if Jake asked about sex, the Dom wasn’t dating anyone. If he was, the relationship would be exclusive when it came to sex, but he would still be available for certain scenes with a submissive, as long as his significant other didn’t make it a hard limit between them. Not all BDSM scenes were sexual in nature. Sometimes a submissive needed an emotional release which could result from a variety of their green or yellow limits.

“If Master Jake is in the mood, I have no complaints.”

Jake narrowed his eyes at the snark in the other man’s tone of voice. “Keep it up and you
will
have some complaints by the time I’m through with you.” He pointed with a thumb over his shoulder. “Go find an available room and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“I already reserved one after I saw you walking down the stairs. Room number five.”

Frowning, Jake raised an eyebrow. “Topping from the bottom, boy?”

Tyler knew he’d almost overstepped his boundaries and his gaze immediately dropped to the floor. “No, Sir, not at all. Just optimistic.”

“Uh-huh. Let’s see how optimistic you are after I refuse to let you cum.” They both knew he would eventually get the guy off, but there would be plenty of begging before the Dom allowed it. Jake suppressed a grin when he saw the switch swallow hard.

“Yes, Sir.”

“I’ll be there in five. Strip and present before I get there.”

“Yes, Sir.”

As Tyler headed to the private playrooms at the far end of the pit, Jake turned toward the locker rooms. The entrances to the male and female lounges were on either side of the grand staircase. There were also entrances and stairs down into them from behind the second floor bar. When Jake entered the men’s locker room there were only three other people there. A male submissive was on his knees waiting patiently as his Dom talked to another Dominant about something to do with local politics. Jake rolled his eyes as he continued on to the urinals in another room—politics in this venue was never a good mix. He quickly relieved himself and stepped over to the sink. Washing his hands, he glanced up into the mirror and saw the reflection of Nick standing in the doorway, staring at him. And the kid did not look happy. Tough shit, Jake thought.

He shut the water off and grabbed a paper towel from the metal receptacle to dry his hands, his gaze never leaving Nick’s. “Something you want to say, Junior?”

“You’re such a fucking prick.”

Jake snorted and threw the towel into the garbage before turning around and leaning his ass against the sink. He crossed his arms and gave the kid a look which had made lesser men pee their pants. “Tell me something I don’t know. What do you want, Nick?”

The kid growled…actually growled at him. He kept his voice low to avoid being overheard by the men in the other room. “You know damn well what I fucking want. I want us to get together again. But instead, you’re going to chicken out and go play with that jackass I saw you talking to, aren’t you?”

Jake took three steps faster than Nick could blink. He yanked him out of the doorway and shoved him up against the wall, his hand around the kid’s throat. His voice was deep and menacing. “Listen, you little shit. There are a bunch of reasons why I’m going to fuck someone else tonight. One—I already told you, what we had was a one-night-stand, nothing more. Two—you’ve never scened with anyone other than me, and don’t fucking lie and tell me otherwise. I went easy on you that night and I doubt you can truly submit to me. Three—this isn’t your lifestyle. If it was, you would be playing here whenever you visit, but you don’t.”
Fuck
. He just gave away the fact he’d been doing some discreet research on Nick through members of the club he could count on to keep their mouths shut. He knew the guy had been cleared to play a long time ago and provided his military physicals to stay current. This way, he didn’t have to be considered a ‘guest’ whenever he was in town. But regardless, he’d never once done a public or private scene with anyone at The Covenant. “Four—there is no
us
, so I can play with whomever the fuck I want to. And five—until you decide to come out to your family and the rest of the fucking world, you and I will never be together again, and even then it’s questionable. You got it,
Junior
?”

Jake had to hand it to the kid. He knew Nick wanted to start brawling with him right then and there, but he didn’t. Instead, with rage flaring in his baby-blue eyes, he pushed Jake away and stormed out of the locker room without another word. The big bad Dom hung his head. God, he was such a fucking prick.