Page 45 of Controlled Burn

We made our way over to an empty table and took a seat. I watched as he scanned the room. I didn’t know if he was looking for a friendly face, threats, or prospective Daddies, but after a few minutes, he stood. “I’m going to go over to the bar and get one of those drinks I had last time.”

“If you sit tight, a server will come by.”

“I know, but I noticed the same bartender is working tonight, and I wanted to say hi and to thank him for being so kind last month.”

I watched as he walked, no strutted, across the room—when the fuck did my shy little rabbit learn to strut?—and believe me, I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Heads at every table he walked by turned and watched him go. Fucking assholes.

I watched as he stepped up to the bar, and Jesse came over. Caleb said something to him, and he laughed. I knew Jesse was a flirt, but he was a good guy, and as long as he kept it to his normal flirting, that was fine, but if he thought he could take it any further, he had another thing coming.

I watched as he fixed Caleb a drink, placed it in front of him, and then I’ll be damned if Jesse didn’t look right at me and fucking wink. I was still grumbling about that to myself when a guy I didn’t know walked up to the bar beside where Caleb stood. He spoke to him, and Caleb said something back, talking with his hands as always. I waited, thinking the guy would probably get a drink and move on, but Jesse put the drink in front of him, and he didn’t move an inch, at least not unless it was an inch closer to Caleb.

There was no way I was letting some guy I didn’t know sweet talk his way into Caleb’s life. Just as I thought I was going to have to head over there and tell him to hit the road, a boy who looked vaguely familiar stepped up next to the guy, and he wrapped his arm around him. They both talked to Caleb for a second, and then the boy gave Caleb a hug, and they turned and walked off.

I hated every minute of this, but I’d made my bed, and now I had to lie in it. I wanted to leave, to just go home, but I’d sent him out there on his own, and I’d promised I’d be here if he needed me. This was almost like a repeat of the first night I saw him here, except this time I knew him, and I knew this wasn’t his scene, and I didn’t like it one single bit. Speaking of that first time, I looked around, making sure Sebastian wasn’t lurking around here somewhere. The last thing Caleb needed was to deal with that asshole. I didn’t see him anywhere, though, which was good.

I looked back at Caleb, and while I wasn’t paying attention, some other guy had sidled up next to him at the bar. I took a deep breath, determined to sit here like a good guy and just keep watch in case Caleb signaled he wanted help. And that worked… until the asshole touched him. He ran his finger down the bare skin of Caleb’s arm, not once, but twice. I had no idea who the asshole was, but whoever he was had no right to touch what was mine, dammit. And my little brother was fucking right. Caleb was my boy, and it was time I made that clear. Fuck all this pretend Daddy experience bullshit. There was nothing pretend about the way I felt about Caleb or about the fact that I was going to rip that motherfucker’s hand off if he didn’t stop touching my boy.

I stood up from the seat and stalked across the floor just like I had the last time we were here, but this time, I knew exactly what I wanted. On my way over, I saw Jesse tap the guy on the shoulder and point my way, and this one was much smarter than Sebastian. He said something and then made a hasty retreat, leaving Caleb standing there, watching me wide-eyed as I stormed toward him.

“Enough,” I growled as I backed him up against the bar. Then I leaned down near his ear. “Do you want all these men talking to you?” He looked up at me, biting his lower lip, and shook his head. “Do you want one of these Daddies to take you home?” Again, he shook his head. “Good.”

And then my mouth was on his, and I was taking what I wanted. Him. He opened for me, and I slipped my tongue inside. His mouth tasted like rum and tequila, with a hint of lemon and like everything I’d ever wanted.

He moaned into the kiss, both hands holding on tight to the front of my shirt. This kiss was hard and dirty and just what I wanted, but not what I would’ve planned for a first kiss. When I pulled back to take a breath, he whimpered and tried to pull me back. I was tempted to let him. To go back for more. But the surrounding sounds reminded me we were in the middle of the fucking club.

I started to say something, to explain what I was doing, what I wanted, but before I had a chance, Caleb looked up at me and licked his lips. Then he leaned in next to my ear. “Take me home, Daddy. Please.”

Chapter 17

Caleb

I’d thought about what it would be like for Keith to kiss me so many times, but it was nothing like I’d imagined. It was so much better, so much hotter. He always seemed to be so in control and unaffected by… well, by everything. My guess was that came from his firefighter training. I mean, they have to be calm under pressure. But there was nothing about that kiss that was calm, and let me tell you, an out-of-control Keith was a sexy Keith.

When we got out to his car, he opened the door for me and then reached across me to buckle the seat belt, but as he stood up, he trailed his fingers up my arm, making me shiver.

He hopped in the car and turned to look at me.

“My house or yours?” he asked.

“Yours, please.”

He gave me a little smile and reached over and took my hand, twining our fingers together. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, slowly releasing it. I’d been half afraid that as soon as we left the club, he would change his mind.

He parked his car in his garage, and we both sat there for just a second. This was usually the awkward part of a hook-up. Are you supposed to make small talk? Should you have a glass of wine first and try to make nice? Who was going to make the first move?

None of that happened with Keith. The second I stepped out of the car, he grabbed my hand and led me straight to his bedroom. Looked like Daddy wasn’t playing around tonight.

He’d barely said a word since he’d kissed me in the club, so it shocked me when he finally said something. “Caleb,” he said in a deep voice that was almost a growl. “Are you sure about this?”

I nodded yes, and he let out a long breath. “Thank fuck.” He brushed his thumb across my lower lip gently before stepping back. The look he gave me was intense, and all traces of that gentleness were gone. “Clothes off, now.”

I sucked in a breath, both shocked and aroused by the command, but I didn’t hesitate. At least not until he started taking his own clothes off and I got a look at his gorgeous body. For just a minute, I froze, staring as he revealed himself to me, but then he stopped, his fingers hovering just above the buttons on his pants.

“Did I tell you to stop?”

“What? Oh, no. It’s just wow. You’re even sexier than I expected.”

He smirked at me, and a little chuckle escaped before he caught it, and he went all serious again.