Chapter Two

Gale had never been into men. He’d never looked at a man the way Jude looked at him. But the incessant heat of that gaze was too much to bear in silence. Some truths a man didn’t bother denying.

He may not be into men, but Gale wasn’t a coward and didn’t hide from the obvious. He never hid from a fight, never let others pay for his mistakes, would never let anyone hurt his family, and he didn’t run from what scared him.

Gale Toreto didn’t tolerate fear. The moment it sparked, he grabbed the skinny shit by the throat and throttled it. Fear had no place in his life, not even when it came to Jude.

When the team returned to the fraternity, Gale made it known he would eat in his room when he was hungry. Since everyone knew he wasn’t comfortable in Dnara, no one pushed.

He had two choices: beat off in the shower or have fun and get answers.

He knew what he preferred.

First on the agenda, Gale had a shower and grabbed a towel from the heated rail to throw over his shoulder. He paused at the mirror above the sink and took in his reflection.

His hair was short, dark, and messy. Like the expensive styles on TV, where the longer hair at the forehead was gelled, his sat naturally. He could use a shave, stubble on his cheeks and jaw, but hadn’t brought his shaving knife and wouldn’t rely on electric gadgets. Besides, it looked good. Drew called it rugged. Gale called it natural.

His eyes were coffee dark and bright with amusement. His scent swirled with a blend of his natural essence—the scent any potential mate would recognise—cinnamon, fresh apple, and hints of arousal.

If Jude didn’t know what he had planned the minute he stepped into the bedroom, he didn’t deserve his attention.

Gale ruffled his hair, checked his teeth, and left the bathroom in naked glory to find Jude where he expected: lazing on his single bed, legs sprawled, with Drew’s spare laptop on his lap and headphones on.

He must have put those headphones on thinking Gale couldn’t hear the echo of moaning across the room. But over the last few nights, female cries echoed as Jude jacked off under the duvet. Gale had a feeling it was the guy who was making her moan that Jude was paying attention to, or else he was in serious denial.

Time to find out.

As he crossed to Jude, hazel eyes glanced in his direction, then darkened with lust when they found Gale naked. Jude couldn’t hide his obvious desire, the way his eyes raked every inch of bare skin, no matter how hard he tried.

Gale detoured to his own bed, an unmistakable glimmer of disappointment flickering in Jude’s eyes. He sat and used the towel to scrub his hair. “There’s one benefit to this fucked up place,” he said, watching Jude’s eyes dart to his, always paying attention, always focused, no matter what distractions there were. “Our water can’t get that hot.”

Jude pressed a button and removed the headphones. “True.” He leaned against the headboard, gazing out the window by his bed. “But it’s crowded. I feel like I can’t breathe.”

Strange. He’d thought Jude would feel freer in Dnara, as he’d certainly been eyeing a lot of men. What Gale did know was that Jude was learning what he liked. If he returned to Vihaan and picked a twink, no one would say anything. They’d secretly snigger and turn up their noses, shunning his chosen mate, but they wouldn’t show outward hatred.

No, the problem was most men in Vihaan didn’t fit the stereotype. He knew a total of five gay men from their pack: Keon, Eliseo, Jude, Yosi, and Callum.

Eliseo was mated. Simeon had been a prick and died, but it didn’t matter. He was classed as ‘safe’ because no one denied Simeon what he wanted. The same was true for Keon. Their true mates had been bastards who happily and indiscriminately fucked anything that moved.

Jude was the odd one out. While Eliseo and Keon stood halfway—young, buff, and not overtly muscled—Jude was big. Broad shoulders, tall and imposing, he had thighs to break a man’s neck and was known as the best fighter in the pack.

If he took a man as his mate and that man wasn’t younger or weaker, it would cause a riot. If Gale accepted Jude, full-scale war could erupt. He was every inch Jude’s equal in physique and personality, working the border hut and missions regularly, considered the strongest of the pack.

The situation would need to be handled in one of two ways: delicately or with a war cry.

Gale grabbed a packet of human cigarettes from the bedside table and lit one to take a deep drag. He stood and crossed the room, tapping Jude’s shoulder to encourage him to shuffle over and make room.

As he sat beside Jude, belatedly realising the bed was quite a few inches wider than his own, he offered his smoke and grabbed the laptop. It sat open on a news article about an upcoming storm, no doubt a safe site left open to disguise the porn.

He had a basic understanding of how to use the laptop from Drew showing them. Calling on the memory, Gale opened a new tab on the browser and typed in ‘bisexual porn’.

Jude choked and returned the cigarette. “What are you doing?” He waved a hand through the smoke he’d coughed out.

Gale clicked Video, and a list of porn videos appeared. “I seem thick, but I’m not,” he warned, using the right-click option to open the video in a new tab. He clicked to fill the screen, found the Sound button, and leaned back.

When Jude didn’t move, Gale tugged at his joggers. “Come on, get these off. I’m horny and I’m not waiting,” he argued, letting his eyes roam.

Jude lifted his hips off the bed and pushed the joggers past his ass. He glanced at Gale, who palmed his cock and gave it a good tug. Once Jude was settled, Gale pressed Play. He had no idea what would happen, but the point was to take one step closer to figuring out what Jude wanted.

The video began in a living room, with two guys sitting on either side of a woman, all ridiculously attractive. Gale gave another long stroke as the actors, featured in close-ups, kissed. He’d struck gold with one guy being smaller and prettier, the other bigger, bulkier, and with Gale’s colouring.

The woman got no reaction from Jude, but his hand tightened on his dick when the pretty man got his close-up, tongue slipping into her mouth with expert ease. As the camera panned to the bigger guy, Jude’s breath hitched, and he brushed a thumb over the head of his cock.

Bingo.

His man liked them big.

Gale bit his lip and casually stroked his cock as the scene progressed from kissing to stripping. He focused on Jude, half watching the screen when a noise or movement caught his attention.

The woman was his type: small, slim, an ass to fill his hands, a handful of flesh and long hair to grip while fucking. Not that he’d fucked anyone, he was too traditional, but he’d imagined it.

Big Guy—clearly the one in charge—flipped her onto her stomach and told her to suck Femme Boy. The close-ups of her deep-throating had them jerking faster. Big Guy straddled her back and caught Femme Boy by the neck—and Jude’s hips jerked off the bed. The men on screen kissed hard, wet, and aggressive.

Gale grunted and rocked into his fist. He silently swore when the camera panned to the woman’s blowjob. Her fake slurping and moaning were beginning to piss him off. Femme Boy moaned like a dream. When Big Guy fisted his hair and cupped his ass, he sounded genuinely surprised and delighted. His eyebrows rose, and he shook when Big Guy shoved a finger in his ass and panted when the kiss broke.

After Femme Boy came down her throat, Big Guy bent Femme Boy across the coffee table and ate his ass expertly. The close-ups gave a mental video image of How and What To Do to file for later.

Though the video was disjointed from the various positions and lack of flow, fake and unappealing in some ways, it still did its job.

Jude grunted and bit into his free hand, eyes glued to Femme Boy, who whined and begged for more. When Big Guy filled him with a massive dick, Jude was the one who whined and arched off the headboard.

He was gone. Lost.

Jude let loose a litany of swear words, shakily stroking his cock. His leg kicked out and he dropped his free hand to the mattress, trying to control his reactions.

Gale shoved the laptop to the end of the bed and wrapped an arm around Jude’s waist to haul him back between his legs. He strapped one arm across his chest and put lips to his ear. “Come on, baby.” He gripped a strong shoulder hard as Jude jolted, needing to come, locked in the high of the moment.

Gale wrapped a hand around Jude’s cock and tugged, using his pre-come to smooth the glide. Jude turned his head to bite the curve of Gale’s neck, moaning as if in pain.

Gale held his middle finger to Jude’s mouth. “Get it wet.” Jude was so high he obeyed without hesitation.

When it dropped from his mouth, Jude panting, Gale slipped his hand between them and carefully, slowly circled Jude’s hole.

Nodding his permission, Jude accepted his finger with ease, letting him know the dirty bastard had experience. Hiding his smile in Jude’s hair, he erred on the side of caution and used the tip of his finger to tease in circles, leaving Jude shuddering in his arms.

Within seconds, his cock shot an explosion of come over Gale’s fingers. His cries drowned out the porn, and his teeth latched onto Gale’s neck.

Fuck. He had the answers he needed but may have pushed too far too soon.

While Jude shook, falling from the high, Gale grabbed his aching dick between their bodies and focused on the porn. Big Guy was fucking Femme Boy hard, using his shoulders to pull him onto every thrust. The woman lay beneath, sucking Femme Boy and fucking herself on a dildo.

The combination of the screen, the sounds, and Jude leaning against him, his scent thick and sweet, had Gale gritting his teeth through an orgasm. He came across Jude’s back, painting golden flesh with streaks of white, and wiped his hand on the covers. He stopped the video on a frame of Big Guy coming over Femme Boy’s ass and saved the video to the browser bookmarks.

Gale wrapped Jude in a bear hug and held on as he recovered, leaving Gale shaken from more than the orgasm. He breathed in the heady tang of come and Jude’s unique scent: sage and rosewood, lust lurking beneath the surface.

He buried his nose in Jude’s neck and looked at his hand. He’d had a finger in Jude’s ass. Curious, he slipped the finger into his mouth and closed his eyes, eyebrows arching. Fuck, he tasted like his scent. When his dick made a valiant attempt to rise in approval, Gale decided this was only the beginning.

They were forming a mate bond, and it was time to find out how far that could take them.