Tamed (The Courtside King 1)

But then that day came. After class. Such heated passion. Breck had finally stopped resisting, and Kai had met him on common ground. Or so he thought, until Kai threw him for a loop. To embarrass him? Mostly likely. All he knew was that it’d knocked him on his ass.

Breck ground his teeth, feeling mortified all over again.

Yeah, screw all that.

Kai was a mind fuck he couldn’t afford and didn’t need.

Tonight’s run-in was definitely a setback to finally forgetting him. But he would. Just needed someone hotter to purge Kai out of his brain.

And what do you know, club hopping this weekend. Perfect timing. Without question, he’d find his ‘someone hotter’ there for sure.

Come Friday night, Kai would be out of his system for good.

* * * *

“All right, mate. I think your beastie is finally done.”

Kai peered down at his leg as Liam wiped it with a cloth, regarding his finished tattoo. Not too shabby, at least from this angle. He’d stopped by after his last Taekwondo class so the Australian could color in the image he’d outlined on Wednesday.

Liam set down his gun, then grinned and stood up to stretch. “Take some time to check it out. Gonna go take a smoko. I’ll be right back.”

“Will do.”

Liam grabbed his cigarettes and exited the room.

Kai sat up gingerly, the reclined seat’s taut leather creaking under his weight. His skin stung, that delicious burn that only ink jobs could provide. Raw and biting. Yet somehow inexplicably sensuous, too. A sensation he’d savored once before. Between his shoulder blades in that stretch beneath his nape.

Clutching the towel he’d used to cover his crotch, he got to his feet and moved to the small room’s full-length mirror.

A smile curved his lips. It was perfect. Liam nailed it. Right down to the tiniest little details. Captivated, he took it in. His Eastern dragon. Wingless and twisting like a serpent with razor-sharp claws. Hints of gold accented its dark emerald scales, its colors the perfect complement to Kai’s olive skin. What held him spellbound, though? The way it coiled up his leg. From the middle of his thigh to just inside his hip, its fearsome forelegs seeming to reach for his crotch.

Talk about visually stimulating.

Still, his favorite part was the dragon’s head. Crowned with long spikes and sharp horns, its snout all but grazed his freshly-shaved groin, its powerful jaw partially opened as if defending his cock.

As if snarling, If you want some of this, you’re gonna have to fight me for it.

His lips quirked a little higher.

It was gorgeous.

He loved it.

So much better than he’d—

His ringtone had him turning from his reflection, eyeing his phone where it sat in the corner atop his folded jeans. Walking over, he swiped it up off the chair, eyed the caller ID, then brought the phone to his ear.

“Scott. What’s up.”

“Hey, man. How’s it going?” He sounded off.

“Good.” Kai strode back to the mirror. Back to his dragon.

“Nice. Happy Friday.”

Kai grinned. “Same to you.” Scott didn’t reply. Kai frowned. “Everything cool?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yup, everything’s good.”

But Kai detected a hint of ‘sad’ in his tone. Scott was bummed about something and trying to shake it off. Which didn’t surprise Kai. Scott was just that kind of guy. Never dwelling on the bad or focusing on himself. Always keeping things up beat.

“So, listen,” Scott started again. And just like that, he already sounded lighter. “I’m dragging Max out to a club. He needs a drink. I need a drink. Figured I’d see if you did, too.”

Kai smiled. It’d been a while since he and Scott hung out. “Sure. Why not.” He was due for some fun. Plus, people-watching at clubs on Friday nights was always top notch.

“Awesome. We’ll swing by around nine.”

“Sounds good.”

Kai disconnected the call, his gaze still lingering on his majestic dragon. The last time he’d seen Scott had been three days ago, at the fitness facility, when Scott had wanted to talk. Namely, about his ‘Sean proposition,’ the sub he suspected might be in the market for a brand-new Dom.

Kai had considered it in the days that followed. Had thought about it.

A little.

When his brain wasn’t preoccupied with a certain someone he’d much rather dom. Someone who, ironically, sauntered back into his life just minutes after Scott had brought up Sean.

Crazy timing.

So much so, it made it hard not to wonder.

Was it a sign? Some cosmic cockblock?

A fated interception from the universe?

Because in truth, had Breck not shown up, Kai probably would’ve accepted Scott’s proposal. Why not? His life was quiet. Too quiet sometimes. To have someone around that genuinely appreciated him would probably be nice. After all, it’d been over three years since he’d been intimate, truly intimate, with another man.

Of course, back then, he’d thought that kind of intimacy was love. Live and learn. Because it wasn’t. Ryan hadn’t loved him. The only thing he cared about was his blind ambition. His hunger to reach the stars. Stars that, evidently, he could only reach solo. Meaning a life partner didn’t fit the equation. To Ryan, partners were good for one purpose. Proverbial steps for him to push off from in order to rise.