ANGEL: When Angels Cry (4 page)

The customer was handsy, and those hands were
damn strong. But Dane knew how to handle even these types of men,
though they weren’t really his preference. Once they were in the
booth, the man dropped into the leather chair and grabbed Dane’s
hips. “I like a man with meat on his bones.” The guy smiled. He was
good looking and seemed like he belonged on the front of a
bodybuilding magazine. His strong hands rubbed down over Dane’s ass
and squeezed with force. “Fuck, baby, you have a fine ass. Nice and
tight, hard glutes. There’s no way you have a body this beautiful
and not work out.”

Dane smiled, eyes heavy with seduction, and
shoved his fingers through the guy’s stylish dark hair, moving in
closer. His lips glided over the bare surface of his face as he sat
down in his lap and slowly worked his ass against the man’s hard
crotch.

“Oh fuck.” The customer groaned and laid his
head back as Dane let his lips brush lightly down his throat. The
guy still had a firm grip on his ass and was beginning to move with
him, breath panting. “Oh fuck yes…” He raised his head a little,
eyes weighted with lust. “Can I take off my pants?”

“As long as you keep your shorts on.” Dane
murmured then stood up. The man stood as well and shoved down his
expensive slacks, revealing snug briefs that highly accentuated his
raging erection. He opened his shirt but left it on then sat back
down, legs parted wide, giving Dane room to maneuver between them.
His hard abs flexed into rippled concrete slabs as his stomach
tightened with sexual tension. Dane concentrated on the music,
turning his ass to the man, sinking low against his crotch again,
feeling his hard cock much more pronounced now that there was less
fabric between them.

The guy’s hands were back on his hips, though
not forcing him. “What’s your name?” he panted, lifting his crotch
to push against Dane’s ass.

“Dane.”

“I’m Oliver.”

Dane shifted around and faced him, riding his
lap again. He combed the guy’s hair back with his fingers and
teased him with an evasive kiss. “It’s a
pleasure
meeting you, Oliver.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Oliver smiled and
gripped his ass once more, pushing up against him, grinding. His
head dropped back again as a hard groan burst from him. “Fuck,
you’re gonna make me come, baby.”

Dane smiled and worked his hips around and
around, lifting up a bit then lowering down once more, creating a
rhythm that was shoving the man over the edge.

“Oh fuck yes…yes…oh my god…” Oliver was
squeezing Dane’s ass hard, eyes clamped shut and jaw tightening.
“Uuuhhh!!
God!”

He knew he should let up and back off a bit,
but the guy was being nice and he’d shelled out a nice stash of
cash. Dane didn’t mind giving a little
bonus
now and then.

It didn’t take much more rubbing and grinding
before Oliver gave it up, exploding in his shorts, grunting and
panting, clawing Dane’s ass and back, pumping his crotch against
him until his strength suddenly fled and he sagged into the
chair.

***

Dane was coming out of one of the booths with
a powerfully built man when Angel entered the club. He couldn’t
help but devour Dane’s glistening body, clad only in a pair of
tight shorts that showed off the majority of his beautiful ass. The
customer was talking to him, clearly satisfied with their session,
then leaned close and kissed his cheek, giving him a light smack on
the ass before walking away.

Jealousy simmered but Angel pushed it down.
He lingered in the entrance as Dane approached the bar and ordered
a shot then downed it in one swallow. Another customer was already
approaching him, this one less physically built, but still quite
attractive with his expensive haircut and costly attire. He wasn’t
shy about flashing a thick wad of cash before Dane, and equally
bold about working it down the front of his shorts. Dane flashed
him a smile that made Angel’s knees go weak, then walked off with
the guy.

Those are the kind of customers you need to be
setting your sights on; the ones willing to pay the big bucks.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Angel was suddenly backed
against the wall and pinned by a thick, sweaty man with patchy
scruff on his jaw and chin. He had a stink to him that ignited
Angel’s gag reflex. He wasn’t anything like the typical customers
Angel had seen around the club but reminded him of the men
from…

“Get off me.” Angel said tightly.

“What? My money ain’t good enough here?”
Angel turned his face away quick when the guy tried to kiss him.
There was a distinct odor of cheap liquor on his breath, mingled
with stale cigarettes, a smell that conjured up bad memories.

“
Come on, baby. You look like the perfect fit for
my fat cock.” The overweight, smelly man grabbed Angel by the arm
and dragged him towards the back room of the dingy club.

“
Hey!” Wade called, and for a second Angel thought
he might object to this filthy pig fucking his little brother. Wade
snapped his fingers. “Cash first, asshole. A hundred
bucks.”

The man grunted and dug out his wallet while still
clutching Angel’s arm. He fumbled through the billfold and produced
five twenties, slapped them into Wade’s hand then shoved Angel into
the back room.

“Get off me.” Angel’s eyes began to burn as
he pushed against the customer’s thick, somewhat meaty chest.
Unlike the other places, here at the Phoenix, it was the dancer’s
choice whether or not to accept an offer–Max had made that very
clear.

“Is there a problem?” Cole was suddenly
standing at the entrance, hands clamped on his hips, eyes narrow,
hard, as he glared at the persistent customer. His gaze swept
quickly over the man with disgust and he reached out, touching the
guy’s shoulder with just his fingertips. “How about you back off my
boy for a moment.”

“How about you go fuck yourself?” The man
growled. “I got the cash, and I want some fucking ass.”

Cole looked at him dryly. “The only
ass
you’re
getting in this place is an
ass kicking
if you don’t take your fucking
nasty
ass
out of here.” He took a step closer to show he wasn’t joking. “The
Phoenix is a high class club. There is a dress code, as well as a
shower code. Our boys are clean and smell damn good…the same is
expected from the customer. So how about you go home, scrape off
the stink and
don’t
come back.”

“I have the cash.” The guy insisted,
seemingly incapable of comprehending that Cole was kicking him
out.

“Do you now?” Cole smirked, moving forward,
causing the man to back away from Angel. He slipped his arm around
Angel’s shoulder. “Well the cost of some private time with this
fine specimen here is five hundred dollars. And that’s just the
starting price. You got
that
kind of cash?”

The man looked Angel over skeptically. “He
ain’t worth no five hundred bucks.”

Cole’s arm tightened around Angel’s shoulder
and for the first time in a very long time, possibly ever, he felt
safe and secure. At no time with his so-called
family
had he ever felt so
safe or protected…or cared for. “This kid’s fucking
sweat
is worth five
hundred bucks. And consequently more than your life is worth.”

The man grunted, started to retort, when a
hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. “How the fuck did you get in
here?” Trevor growled. “I didn’t let you in.” He glanced at Cole.
“Sorry about this. I just stepped away from the door for a second.
Didn’t know this slug was going to slither in.” Trevor’s mere
appearance said he wasn’t someone to fuck with. He turned the guy
around with force and shoved him towards the front doors. “Get the
fuck out, you nasty ass motherfucker.”

The unwelcome customer spewed a load of
profanity at them but offered no challenge and walked out. Trevor
looked at his hands and grimaced. “Now I need to go fucking
sanitize my hands.” He glanced at Cole. “Watch the door for a
sec?”

“No problem.” Cole chuckled as the guy headed
towards the restroom. His arm remained around Angel’s shoulder and
he looked down at him. “You okay?”

He swallowed thick and nodded. “Yeah.” He
whispered. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.” Cole smiled. “You know, that
nasty fucker’s lucky it was me and not Max who came along.” He
chuckled low. “Max would’ve probably just shot his ass and dumped
him in the alley out back, for trying to come into his club looking
and smelling like that.”

A tight smile squeezing his lips, Angel
murmured, “I thought you handled it great.”

“Aww, you’re just saying that.” Cole feigned
modesty and Angel laughed. “So, you want to watch the door with
me?”

Angel nodded and Cole walked him out to the
front of the club.

“So,” Cole mused. “Your dance lessons look
like they’re coming along well. Ricky’s a hot dancer, isn’t he?”
Angel nodded, lips tightening. He felt Cole’s eyes on him. “Yeah,
Ricky can teach you the saucy moves.” He said as he accepted the
entrance fee from an incoming customer. “But if you want to learn
the smooth, sensual stuff,” he winked, “You should get Dane to
teach you.”

Where Angels Fear To Tread

“Hey, boss.”

Max glanced up from behind his desk when Dane
leaned in the door. He waved him inside and had him close the door
behind him. “What’s up?”

“Have you heard from Caleb?” he perched on
the arm of the sofa. “Do you know what’s going on with Coulson’s
trial?”

Leaning back in his chair, Max nodded slowly.
“It should be starting soon. But Samuel doesn’t anticipate it
lasting long. Coulson isn’t contesting the charges, so they won’t
have to go through a court battle.”

Dane stared at his hands, eyes distant. “And
the others?” He looked up. “How soon will Samuel put together Nick
and Christian’s cases?”

“He’s working on them.” Max stood up and
walked over to the sofa. “He’ll take care of Christian first. Nick
won’t leave the prison until Christian is out.”

“That’s understandable.” Dane murmured and
lowered his eyes again. “I wouldn’t either, in his place.”

“Well that’s because, like Nick,” Max
squeezed his shoulder. “You’re a hell of a good man.”

“Yeah.” Dane whispered but didn’t sound too
positive about it.

The young man had a tense, troubled look on
his face as he stared at the floor. Max raised an eyebrow. “Want to
talk about it?”

“Huh?” Dane looked up, frowning. “About
what?”

“Whatever it is that’s bugging you.”

He sighed then shook his head. “Nothing’s
bugging me.” He stood up. “I just wanted to see how things were
going with Caleb.”

Max gazed at him warmly. “You miss him.” He
wasn’t asking a question.

Clearing his throat, Dane stuffed his hands
in the pockets of his jeans. “Yeah, I…I guess I do.”

“Can I ask you something?” Max picked up the
decanter of scotch and poured himself a third of a glass.

“Yeah…sure.” Dane replied uncertainly.

Max gestured at the liquor and Dane shook his
head. He sipped from his glass. “Are you in love with him?”

“Who?”

“Caleb.” Max walked over and leaned against
the front of his desk.

Licking his lips slowly, Dane’s gaze drifted
from Max’s face and settled on the floor again. “I…thought I was.
But…I think maybe it was just…” He shrugged and whispered, “I don’t
know.”

“Deep affection for the boy?” Max offered and
lifted the glass to his lips.

“Yeah, maybe.” He murmured dully.

Max wasn’t blind to the
behind-the-scenes
dance going
on between the young man and their new recruit. He suspected that
Caleb may have been the first boy Dane had truly ever cared about,
and facing the reality of such heartache could cause a man to run
scared when confronted with it a second time. Especially so
soon.

“So what made you decide that maybe it wasn’t
all out
true
love
?”

The guy seemed to contemplate his answer,
then merely shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because…when it’s the
real thing…it goes both ways.” He looked up and his dark eyes were
damp. “Like with Caleb and Samuel.” He shrugged again. “And Abel
and Devlin.” He sighed. “And Cole and Gabe.” He laughed low, with
only a measure of humor. “The list is growing.”

Max nodded and smiled. “Maybe you’ll be next
on that list.”

Releasing a slow breath, Dane stood up. “No,
I don’t think so.” He said quietly. “And that’s…whatever. I’m fine
on my own.”

“Are you?” Max murmured.

Dane looked at him then walked over and
kissed him without warning. “As fine as you are on your own.” He
whispered, his dark eyes speaking volumes that never reached his
lips. He turned away and left the office without saying
anymore.

Sighing heavily, Max downed the rest of the
scotch and shook his head.
As fine as you are on your own.
“In that case,
baby,” he whispered. “You’re fucked.”

***

“Oh, by the way,” Cole caught hold of Dane’s
arm as he brushed past him on the way to the dressing rooms. Dane
halted, the skin around his eyes tight, the dark orbs somewhat
piercing.

“What?” His tone was brittle and Dane knew he
was overreacting to Cole’s and Gabe’s earlier ribbing about Angel,
and even he didn’t really understand why it was pissing him off and
putting him on edge. It was as if this whole situation was causing
pressure on a deep rooted splinter which, if left alone, was
fine–but became irritated if messed with.

Cole released his arm. “I suggested to Angel
that he ask you for some dance lessons as well. Ricky is into the
hot moves, but he isn’t as skilled with the slow sexy stuff as you
are.” He winked.