“Hm?” he asked absentmindedly, still thinking back to the joy on the asshole’s face when Dex had let him win. It had been difficult to swallow his pride, but a brush with the cops might not end well for both him and Ham—
Hammer leaned in and kissed him.
All thoughts dispersed from Dex’s head as if his brain melted and drizzled out through his ears. Hammer’s scent enveloped him like a cloud, and he dropped his shopping bag so it wasn’t in the way. He’d been happy enough taking what Hammer was willing to give, and hadn’t wanted to rock the boat asking about kissing, but whether this was an experiment or the start of a new pleasure to share on a regular basis, Dex welcomed it with open arms.
He opened his lips for Hammer’s tongue and pressed against his lover, sliding his arms under the fragrant leather jacket. Any thoughts about past and future ceased to matter when Hammer explored his mouth in a lazy kiss, and Dex knew he wanted more. Wanted everything. Now. It was dark. Maybe a quickie in the car wouldn’t be out of the question?
Hammer could have anything he wanted because he wasthe bestDex ever had—the coolest, the most in tune to Dex’s needs, the most handsome, the best smelling, the most proficient with a sledgehammer, the hottest, with the most perfect dick and sense of humor—and on top of that, thebestfuck of Dex’s life.
Dex clung to Hammer’s sturdy form, waiting to be pulled up and carried off to wherever Hammer wanted to consume him, but then the air swished, and a sudden impact clashed their teeth together. Hammer leaned most of his weight on Dex before sliding to his knees.
Dex inhaled and was about to grab his gun when strong arms twisted his hands back.
“Quiet now!”
Dex struggled to rip out from the firm hold until it sank in that the disembodied voice belonged toFrank.
Only once his mind hung on to that familiar thread did he notice Jag standing close with his spear of junk and fur, and as he glanced at Hammer's sprawled form, Dex recognized Shane as the man cuffing him.
“No!” Dex choked out, too shocked to breathe normally. “Don’t hurt him! What the fuck?”
“He’s still alive,” Frank said but his hold on Dex was as steady as iron shackles.
Shane placed his boot on Hammer’s back and grinned, pushing back his short hair, like a dashing action hero in one of the year’s biggest blockbusters. “See, Frankie? Told you Dex was fine. If a bithammered.”
Jag must have smeared his face with mud or some kind of paint, because it was as dark as the night, with the whites of his eyes in stark contrast to the skin around them. “I can’t believe you lied to me to free him!” he spoke, with hurt breaking his voice.
Dex’s mouth dried. “I didn’t! I mean, I lied, but not to free him! I had no idea that was on the cards.” When Hammer groggily rolled his head from side to side, still face-down on the asphalt, Dex jumped up and used Frank as leverage in an attempt to kick Shane. “Get your fucking foot off him!” His mind pulsed with the need to ensure Hammer’s safety, and seeing the man he’d learned to care so much about laying in dirt like some unwanted ragdoll made him burn with hate.
Shane stepped back, shaking his head, but he didn’t seem impressed with Dex’s attempts at stopping him and put a sack over Hammer’s head. “His dick must be magic for you to pull a stunt like this.”
Jag growled and shook the spear at Dex, making the many attachments hanging off the blade on top wiggle like the tentacles of an angry octopus. “We trusted you! Have you forgotten where your loyalties lie?”
“We need to check what’s in his pants, and then we’ll know all about Dex’s loyalties,” Shane said, grinning at Hammer’s knocked-out form. “Help me with this, Jag.”
Jag’s mouth twisted as he held Dex’s gaze with a mixture of betrayal and distaste, but he did eventually grab Hammer’s legs, lifting him up alongside Shane. The wind blew into Dex’s face, bringing a waft of the delicious cologne his lover favored.
This couldn’t be happening.
“Frank, it wasn’t safe for me to call. You gotta understand.” He tried to free himself again, but Frank had hands that could crush a watermelon, and they wouldn’t budge from Dex’s thrashing. “Please don’t take him back. The club could hurt him. He’s being framed. You have no idea what’s been going on.”
Frank growled. “Oh Iwillfind out what’s been going on. On the ride home.”
Dex’s stomach shrunk to the size of a nut when he spotted Frank’s van. Still knocked out, Hammer was a limp bag of meat and bones between Jag and Shane, but a part of Dex hoped it was just a bluff, and that Hammer would pick himself up in the right moment to—to do what exactly? Dex might be angry at his friends now but didn’t want to see them hurt, which might end up happening if they stood in Hammer’s way.
“Don’t worry, Dexie, your prince will arrive at the junkyard unharmed,” Shane said, climbing into the back of the van. His grinning face hidden in shadow, along with Hammer’s form, which disappeared from sight as the two men carried him in.
“Don’t out him either!” Dex cried, slouching in Frank’s hold. This was really fucking bad, but Frank was his uncle, and the guys—his friends. Surely, he could change their minds about Hammer on the long drive home.
Shane slid out through the side door and rolled his eyes. “We’re not animals.”
Jag growled, shutting the back of the vehicle with more force than necessary. “You sure? Because I would love to rip him apart for causing all this. What if he took Dex and killed him?”
Shane’s mouth opened in a wide grin. “I think it’s pretty clear at this point that’s not what he wanted with Dex.”
Frank must have thought that Dex was over fighting the inevitable, because his hold loosened, and the moment that happened Dex shot forward, leaving his new jacket in Frank’s arms.
“I said let go of him and we’ll talk about it!” He sprinted toward the van, but the fact those were his friends, not people he’d have no issue pointing the gun at, put him at a disadvantage. It was three to one, and if he didn’t want to risk their lives by playing dirty, his and Hammer’s fate was in their hands.