Release Me (The Music Within Book 2) (5 page)

Mal
extracted himself from the two pretty boys and turned his attention to the more
manly looking guys. He needed someone sure of themselves and not afraid to show
a little domination. He had only ever done the fucking when he and Tyler were
together, but Mal needed to be the one on the receiving end tonight. He needed
to feel the burn and the stretch. Fuck, he just needed to feel.

He
felt eyes on him from every direction, but it wasn’t until he saw a large blond
that he allowed his gaze to linger. He knew why he’d chosen this particular
guy. He reminded him of Cade. If Mal couldn’t have the musician, he would have
someone who looked enough like him to be his brother. The blond inclined his
head toward the back of the building, and Mal gave a slight nod to indicate he
would follow.

Mal
found the man waiting for him in one of the dark alcoves. He pulled Mal farther
into the darkened area and shoved him against the wall. “What do you want?” the
deep voice rumbled against his ear as he rubbed his erection on Mal’s thigh.

“Blow
me,” Mal instructed. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his own
cock wasn’t nearly hard enough, so he closed his eyes and imagined Cade rubbing
against him. The Cade look-alike didn’t hesitate to drop to his knees and unbutton
Mal’s jeans. Mal pulled his shirt up and held it so the man had easier access.
The man eased Mal’s zipper down, and he prayed his cock would cooperate. He
would hate to embarrass himself by having a limp dick. He pictured Cade’s
beautiful blue eyes looking up at him from on his knees. As soon as the hot
tongue made its first pass along the underside of Mal’s cock, it was easier to
imagine what he really wanted.

When
the stranger swallowed Mal’s dick all the way down, Mal involuntarily moaned.
It wasn’t long before his dick lengthened fully and began throbbing. He grabbed
a fistful of blond hair and helped the man set up the perfect rhythm to bring
him to orgasm. Mal didn’t want to hurt the stranger, but he needed it rougher
than what he was being given. He gripped the man’s hair tighter and began
thrusting into his mouth. His partner grabbed onto Mal’s thighs and held on
while Mal fucked his face. When he felt the familiar tingle at the base of his
spine move to his balls, he huffed out a warning, “I’m gonna come.” If the guy
didn’t want to swallow his load, he needed to back the fuck off. When he
tightened his grip on Mal’s thighs, Mal gave over to his orgasm and shot his
seed into the man’s mouth.

The
guy on his knees lapped at Mal’s cock, licking every drop. “You taste so good,”
he purred when he stood. He grabbed Mal’s face, trying to go in for a kiss, but
Mal had never tasted his own spunk before, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He
pushed the man off so he could zip his pants. Instead of the guy being pissed
at not getting a kiss, he prodded, “You wanna get out of here?” This was what
Mal had been looking for when he came to the club, so he only hesitated a
couple of seconds before nodding. When his jeans were righted, they made their
way through the throngs of hot bodies to the front door. The line was longer
now, and Mal didn’t allow himself to focus on any of their faces. Not that he
would have known them, but still… “Where’s your car?” the blond asked.

“Down
this way,” Mal responded and began walking towards where he had parked his
truck.

They
hadn’t walked a full block when an SUV screeched to a stop, right before
jumping the curb. The passenger side window rolled down and the driver yelled,
“Get your ass in the car.”

Both
men stopped and looked at each other. Mal figured the blond’s boyfriend had
caught him cheating, but the stranger stared at Mal like he was the one who’d
been caught. When the driver opened his door and stood, Mal froze.

Cade
glared at him as he seethed, “Malcolm, get in the goddamn car.”

Cade

Cade
went back to the hotel and waited on his attorney to return his call. Not only
was Gerard his lawyer, but also his uncle. That was a little tidbit the guys in
7’s Mistress hadn’t known. His mother’s brother loved him like a son, even when
Cade acted the fool. Cade wasn’t all that computer savvy, so he gave Gerard
what little information he had on Mal and waited while his uncle contacted his
PI buddy to do a little background on the man Cade couldn’t stop thinking about.
Gerard hadn’t questioned Cade’s motives. Instead, he told him to call his
mother.

After
seeing Mal with Suzette, his heart twisted with guilt at not going to see his
mom at Christmas. She might have spent most of his childhood at social
gatherings while leaving him with a nanny, but he had no doubt she loved him.
The call would take less than five minutes, but he didn’t want an ass chewing
from hundreds of miles away. He would go see his parents soon.

Restlessness
settled into Cade. He sat on the coffee table while drumming on the sofa
cushions. He really needed to get his kit out of storage and put it somewhere
local so he could practice. There was nothing like pounding out a tempo on his
skins for hours at a time to soothe what ailed him, even when what ailed him
had more to do with what was hanging between his legs. What Cade couldn’t wrap
his head around was why Mal? What did this man have that no other had in the
last three months? How did someone so completely opposite from the type of guy
Cade usually went for have such a hold over him?

That’s
the only way Cade could describe it. Mal had reached his hand inside Cade’s
chest, found his spirit, and grabbed on. It made absolutely no sense. Cade had
gone to the audition already dreading saying yes and going out on the road.
Wasn’t that what he’d been aching for? To get behind his drums and rock the
world? Now, the country bartender took up residence in his thoughts, pushing
away most everything else. They had absolutely nothing in common. Mal was small
town whereas Cade was big city. Mal drove a beat-up truck while Cade’s Ferrari
sat in his garage in LA. Mal was country where Cade was balls to the wall
metal. For some reason, none of that mattered at the moment.

When
his uncle finally called back, he let the wind out of Cade’s sails. Malcolm
Wilson was more than just a bartender. Gerard had been able to unearth most of
the nasty details of the beautiful man’s ugly life. Maybe not every single
detail, but the ones that mattered most. When Gerard finished relaying the
events of the day Dwight Wilson tried to murder his son, Cade felt sick at his
stomach. If that wasn’t bad enough, the meeting Mal had that morning had more
than likely been with his own attorney. Even though the farm had been in
Suzette’s family for generations, they had to borrow against the land when she
and Mal were in the hospital. They had no insurance because Dwight had lost his
job and soon after went to prison for attempted murder on both his wife and
oldest son. Now, the loan had been sold to the highest bidder.

Before
they hung up, Cade instructed Gerard to do everything in his power to stop the
sale of Malcolm’s property. He told him to make an offer the bank couldn’t
refuse, but to do it anonymously – to set up a holding company with a bogus
name if he had to. No matter what, Cade wasn’t about to let Mal lose his home,
not when he obviously worked hard for what little he and his mother had.

God,
Cade felt like a fraud. Sure he earned every penny he made with the band over
the years, but how fucking hard was it to tour the world and do something you
absolutely loved with people you considered family? Fuck! He had to see Mal and
make sure he was okay. He would go sit at the bar and wait for him to close it
down. Then they would go somewhere and talk. Cade wanted to get to know Mal,
even if the man was straight. Cade could be there for him. At that moment, Cade
realized he wanted Mal in his life as a friend. If that’s all they ever had
between them, it would be good enough.
Yeah, right.

Since
the clothes he’d worn the night before were clearly not the fashion in
Bumblefuck, Kentucky, Cade changed into a faded pair of jeans and topped it
with a button up shirt, rolling the sleeves up his forearms. He changed out of
his Chucks and slipped into a pair of black moto boots. While he waited for the
valet to bring his rental around, he lit up a cigarette and thought about
everything he’d learned. Malcolm was twenty-six and the middle child. His
younger brother, Curtis, was a Marine who had been tagged as missing in action
three years earlier. His older sister was married with three kids. All the
money in the family came from Suzette’s side, and when things had gone south
with Dwight, they had to start selling bits and pieces of the farm just to make
ends meet.

Cade
put the unfinished cigarette in the receptacle when the SUV pulled into the
round parking area in front of the hotel. He gave the valet a tip before
climbing into the vehicle. He didn’t want to take another taxi on the off
chance Mal wouldn’t talk to him. He sure as hell didn’t want to be stranded in
Arlo again without Mal to rescue him. He entered the address for Mal’s bar into
the GPS. Cranking the stereo to the metal satellite station, Cade headed north.

The
drive didn’t take long, but the closer he got, the more nervous he got. He
wasn’t supposed to smoke in the rental, but fuck it. He would buy the son of a
bitch if he had to. With the GPS showing his destination less than a mile away,
he turned the volume down so he could really pay attention. The first thing he
noticed in the daylight was the bad condition of the building. Then he noticed
that the bar appeared to be closed. Several men each tried the door knob. One
knocked while another peered through the darkened window.

Cade
didn’t need to get out of the car to know Mal wasn’t there. He drove on past
the small establishment until he came to a pullover. He opened his cell phone
and pulled up the address Gerard had given him for Mal’s farm. He punched the
coordinates into the GPS and prayed he would find Mal at home. It didn’t take
long for Cade to find what used to be a gravel driveway. Now that he had a
chance to really take in the scene before him, Cade’s heart dropped. Last night
it had been dark, and he’d been drunk. This morning, he had been too worried
about his body’s reaction to Mal to notice his surroundings. But now…

He
got out of the vehicle and waited for Moe and Curly to come charging the gate.
When they didn’t, he unhooked the chain and pushed the gate open so he could
drive through. He prayed he wasn’t setting off some kind of alarm. He didn’t
need for the local sheriff’s department to send a deputy after him. He pulled
through and latched the gate behind him before slowly rolling down toward the
house.

Being
daylight, neither the house nor the barn was lit up. Instead of Mal’s truck
being parked by the house, a small sedan that had seen better days sat in his
spot. Cade opened the car door, and the distinctive bark of one of the dogs
sounded from inside the house. The back door opened and both dogs came running
at him. Cade remained still, but he spoke to both dogs quietly. “Hey there Moe.
Curly, you remember me?” Both dogs took a second to sniff all around his lower
legs, but both were shaking their butts within less than a minute. “Come on,
boys. Let’s go see who’s inside.”

Cade
didn’t bother going to the front door. Since he and Malcolm had used the door
leading to the kitchen both last night and that morning, he walked up and
knocked. A younger woman looked out the door. Cade knew from seeing the
pictures that this was Melanie, Mal’s sister. She had a toddler on one hip and
a shotgun in her other hand. “Who are you?” she asked accusingly, the gun
propped on her free hip.

“Who’s
at the door, Melanie?” Suzette called from farther in the kitchen.

“Cade.
Tell Suzette it’s Cade,” he said with each hand petting the head of the dogs
that now flanked him.

Melanie
looked down at the animals while she told her mom, “Says his name is Cade.”

“Oh,
Cade. Let him in. Let him in.” Suzette shuffled toward the door holding a baby
in her arms. Melanie unlocked the storm door and backed up so he could enter.
The dogs remained where they were on the porch.

“Cade,
Son, what are you doing here?” Suzette asked.

“I
wanted to talk to Mal. Is he around?” The little girl in Melanie’s arms reached
out for Cade, and he didn’t hesitate to take her. He propped her on his hip and
grinned at her. If Cade hadn’t known better, he would have thought he was
holding Mal’s daughter instead of his niece. Fuck, what if Mal had kids? He
hadn’t thought about that.

“I’m
afraid you missed him. He said he was going downtown. I asked him about you,
but he told me you’d already gone. Cade, what’s going on?” Suzette wasn’t being
nosy, he didn’t think. She seemed more concerned than anything.

“I
was supposed to leave this afternoon, but my plans have changed.”

Melanie
eyed him suspiciously. “That doesn’t explain what you’re doing here in my
momma’s house.”

“I
didn’t have a chance to get Mal’s phone number this morning before he dropped
me off. I wanted the opportunity to thank your mother properly for her
hospitality and to take her up on her offer for dinner Sunday.”

Melanie’s
eyes darkened, and she turned to her mother. “Momma, I thought…”

“Hush
now, Melanie,” Suzette interrupted. “Cade, I’m sorry dear. I’m going to have to
ask for a raincheck on the dinner. Something has come up, and I’m going to be
helping Melanie with her kids for a spell. Please forgive me?”

Cade
handed the little girl back over to her mother and stepped closer to Suzette.
He took her free hand in his and kissed her knuckles before placing her palm on
his cheek. “There’s nothing to forgive. If I don’t catch up with Mal, please
tell him I came looking for him.” Cade pulled a piece of paper out of his
pocket and placed it in Suzette’s palm, curling her fingers around it. “That’s
my phone number. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you give me a
call. Okay?”

Suzette’s
eyes misted with tears. “Okay,” she whispered.

“Melanie,
it was a pleasure to meet you.” Leaving Mal’s sister speechless, he showed
himself out the door. He squatted down and gave both dogs some attention before
getting in the SUV and returning to Nashville. Cade had to wonder where Mal
would go downtown, and why he would be there instead of opening his bar if he
needed money as badly as Cade knew he did. It didn’t make sense he would shut
down one of his only means of income unless he knew he was going to lose it all
anyway. Maybe it was all too much to handle, and Mal decided he needed to get
away. Cade knew exactly how that felt. Not losing his worldly possessions, but
losing his heart and soul.

As
Cade drove, that last thought ran a continuous loop in his brain. If Mal had
somehow managed to capture part of Cade’s soul, then Tag never had it all. Did
Tag truly have any of it? Or had he been some boyhood fantasy Cade struggled to
hold onto because he was used to getting everything he ever wanted? Cade closed
in on downtown and began looking for Mal’s truck. One way streets got Cade
turned around on more than one occasion, but just as he crossed over Church
Street, he caught a glimpse of a truck that looked like Mal’s in a parking lot
on the next street over.

Cade
waited through several lights and finally circled back, finally going the right
way. Before he got to the intersection he was looking for, he passed by Primus,
the gay nightclub. The front door opened, and two men walked out. One could
have been Cade’s long lost cousin and the other… Holy fucking shit! Cade
slammed on his brakes, coming to a stop right before he rolled up onto the
curb. He lowered the window on the passenger side. “Get your ass in the car!”
he yelled at Mal. Cade was beyond pissed. He’d figure out why later. When Mal
and the guy he was with looked at each other questioningly, Cade put the SUV in
park, opened his door and got out. He narrowed his eyes at both men and managed
to say, “Malcolm, get in the goddamn car.”

 
Luckily for Mal, he didn’t hesitate. “What the fuck, man?” the blond protested,
but Mal had the good sense to get in and shut the door without responding.

Cade
didn’t look at his passenger. He had to get his anger under control before he
did something crazy. He pulled away from the curb and headed toward the hotel.
When they got caught at a red light Mal started, “Cade…”