With Caution

complete confidence in who he was with. That he trusted Jake enough to drink made Jake feel good. “All right, then I’ll call you tomorrow. I better go before he takes off again.”
    Jake patted the side of Rhys’ car. “Later.” He grabbed one of the helmets from under his arm and held it out to Remi as he approached.
    Remi took it and waved at Rhys and Gadget. “Bye.”
    Both men waved, called out goodbyes and Rhys drove off.
    Heading toward the apartment, Jake watched his mate from his peripheral vision, making sure he was coming along. “Where were you going?”
    “Going?” Remi started up the stairs, only wobbling a little.
    Jake hurried after him, getting close enough to lend him a hand if he needed it.
    “Yeah, awhile ago. You were going the wrong way.”

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    Remi shrugged, stepped up the last step and leaned against the wall next to his apartment door. “Don’t know.”
    How fucking cute was that? Remi was pretty out of it. Chuckling, Jake unlocked the door and opened it. He waited for Remi to go in before shutting and locking it. As he set down his helmet and keys on the coffee table something brushed across his ass. Jake looked over his shoulder.
    Remi stood with his helmet held in one hand, hanging from one strap, and his other hand on Jake’s butt. “You ’ave a nice ass. You ’ave a nice ever’thing.” Remi nodded.
    Jake didn’t know whether to groan or cry. His body, however, had no qualms about what to do. His cock stiffened right up. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He ushered his drunk mate down the hall, catching a whiff of Remi’s arousal. Great.
    “Have I earned my jacket?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    Remi continued into the bedroom. “Your old sub, Chance, said I’d impress’d you,
    ’at’s why you gave me the jacket.”
    Fuck. Jake hadn’t even seen Chance at the bar. “Chance was never my sub. And I gave you the jacket because yours got tore up.” And because it was a small harmless way to stake my claim. Giving Remi the jacket was only supposed to be significant to Jake.
    Remi sat on the bed. “You don’t want me?” His brow furrowed.
    “Of course I do. Didn’t I prove that this afternoon?” Jake followed and knelt to take Remi’s boots off of him. He wanted nothing more than to make Remi his sub, but he couldn’t ask Remi for that. Remi’s upbringing didn’t lend itself to the lifestyle Jake had led before Remi came along. Jake could live without it, he needed his mate more than he needed to dominate, but there was no denying the sense of loss. He’d been a Top for over fifteen years. He’d never dated anyone who wasn’t into the scene.
    “Mmm… Yeah, that was nice. I was nerve’us at first, but I couldn’t let you go, ya know? I didn’t want only half.” Remi flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
    Tossing Remi’s boot aside and starting on the other, Jake frowned. Half? Half what?
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    “Whad kinda relationship did ya have with Chance? He said you were good together.”
    “He bottomed for me a couple of times. That’s it. It was nothing serious.” Jake pulled off both of Remi’s socks and stood.
    “Why?”
    Why? Jake groaned. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation.
    Furthermore, he knew damn well he wouldn’t be in this uncomfortable predicament if Remi were sober. “Because he wasn’t my mate.”
    Nodding, Remi smiled but never made eye contact. “He wasn’t me.”
    Jake grinned and pulled Remi up so he could take off his jacket and shirt. “Not even close.”
    Remi chuckled and wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck. With a smug smirk on his face, he kissed Jake.
    Oh, Jake could get used to this uninhibited show of affection. It was nice. Jake kissed Remi back, then unwrapped Remi’s arms from his neck and tugged the jacket free. He placed it on the back of Remi’s desk chair and drew Remi’s T-shirt over his head.
    Remi fell back on the bed and ran his hand over his chest.
    Reaching to unbutton Remi’s jeans, he almost swallowed his tongue. Remi was so fucking hard his cock was outlined perfectly in the thick denim.
    Remi’s hand snaked down, dipping into the waistband of his jeans.
    Jake didn’t wait to see what Remi would do. He unfastened Remi’s pants and took them and his jock off. After tossing them on the floor, he pulled back Remi’s covers.
    “Into bed.” He tapped Remi’s hip,