Tamed (The Courtside King 1)

“Excuse me?”

Kai turned to an attractive brunette.

Peering up at him, she smiled. “Hi.”

He offered a smile in return and inclined his head. “Hello.”

“I was wondering if maybe you’d like to dance.”

He considered it, had nothing against women. And she was beautiful. Dancing with her might even help his cause. Ultimately, though, he just wasn’t feeling it. Only seemed interested in Breck tonight. A fact he wasn’t exactly thrilled with, but it was what it was.

“Thanks. Maybe in a bit.”

She made an adorable little pout, then turned on her heel and headed back into the crowd.

Kai glanced at Breck’s table. Scott was gone. In fact, he didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe he’d found his Tad. Maybe the two of them had ditched the charades and were out on the dance floor.

He scanned the sea of bodies, hoping he was right. Scott smiled a lot when Tad was around. And Scott was awesome. Deserved to be happy. Especially since he’d been single for so long. As long as Kai had known him. Which was what now, at least five years?

He drifted in thought, recalling the day they’d met. At the fitness facility. Scott had taken his class. Way back before Kai had decided to open a dojang. It hadn’t taken long for them to become fast friends. Not long after, Scott introduced him to Dom District. Scott didn’t go there often. Just pulled some shifts from time to time.

Out of nowhere, an image of Breck slid into his brain. One of him roaming the District’s halls all decked out in leather. Not too much, though. Just some combat boots and a pair of skimpy shorts. Perhaps a harness and collar, too. And some bondage cuffs.

Kai’s eyes hooded at the visual, then absently started seeking, searching the dance floor until they found their mark.

Breck.

Kai watched him moving against that girl, his body pure sex. His heart thumped faster, and as his buzz kept growing steadily stronger, he didn’t even bother denying the way he felt. He wanted Breck pressed against him, not that girl. He thought back to months ago, when Breck had sparred with him during class. He’d loved having Breck so physically close. Loved touching him. Smelling him. Watching his gorgeous skin flush from exertion…

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, yanking him from his reverie.

He reached for it, only to notice Max doing the same. Kai thumbed opened his texts. A group message from Scott? Admittedly surprised, he pulled it up.

Sorry, guys.

Had to bail.

Someone needs my fucking foot up their ass.

Kai’s brows hiked.

Huh.

Scott sounded pissed.

Max rolled his eyes and downed another shot of whiskey. “Bet I can guess on one finger who someone is.”

Kai looked at him. “Tad?”

“Yeah,” Max grunted. “Scott’s new friend.”

Ah, so he knew about their situation, too—and didn’t exactly look thrilled about it, going by that scowl on his face. Evidently, Max wasn’t a fan of secrets, either.

Kai shrugged it off. What Scott chose to do behind closed doors was his business.

His gaze slid back to Breck, still on the dance floor with that bombshell. His long, lean body still moving like sex. Kai wouldn’t mind getting him behind a couple of closed doors. His eyes roamed down Breck’s body, fixating of their own volition on his hips. The way they moved like rolling waves at the base of his spine. Kai’s mouth watered, his manhood firmly nudging his fly. Breck may be wasted, but it didn’t show when the guy was dancing.

Oops. No wait.

Kai winced and took that back, watching as Breck elbowed his gyrating partner in the chest. She yelped and palmed her boob. Breck blanched, apologetically reaching for her, his foot coming down atop hers as she instinctively stepped back. Thrown off balance, her arms went pin-wheeling, her wildly flailing hand plowing into his face. Breck barked in alarm and covered his nose, stumbling into a bystander.

Kai fought back a grin, unable to help it.

If anyone should stop drinking, it was definitely Breck. He was even less stable now than he was in the bathroom, when he’d gotten so agitated that he’d nearly lost his balance. Right around the time Kai had offered to show him what he’d just shown to Scott.

Sighing, Kai crossed his arms and conceded to a truth; his reaction to Breck in that men’s room hadn’t been the best. He’d been prideful in his own right and that wasn’t okay. He needed to reassess himself. Figure out why he behaved that way. It wasn’t like him and made him uneasy. Breck affected him in ways that were proving hard to control.

If nothing else, he should dial back the flirting. It clearly stressed Breck out and—

Kai stopped himself. Shook his head. What was he thinking?

He should forget about Breck all together and just let it go. For shit’s sake, the guy was practically Ryan all over again. Self-absorbed. Career-obsessed. Egotistical.