Shiver (Unbreakable Bonds 1)

“So then, we hit the Laundry Room or Fortune,” Lucas suggested.

Rowe’s shoulders slumped and his compact body sunk into an exaggerated sulk. “Really? I hate being the only straight guy in those places. I have to send back all those damned drinks.”

Snow’s brow furrowed. “Don’t you have to do that when women buy you drinks?”

“Nah. Melissa is usually with me and I split them with her.”

Lucas hid his smile behind his glass as he finished his drink. Both locations were not only nightclubs that catered to gay men, but they were utter meat markets. People there had one goal: A quick hook up. If Snow truly wanted only to get laid, then they’d be there for less than thirty minutes. But Lucas had a feeling that Snow would stretch things out to make Rowe suffer. Rowe had no problem with the fact that his best friends were gay or bisexual. He just tended to squirm when man after man hit on him at the bars they liked to frequent. His solid, muscled form and that startling smile drew men like ants to honey. So did the shock of dark, auburn waves on his head.

“Laundry Room, it is.” Snow paused long enough to finish his drink before leading the way out of the private room.

Rowe met Lucas’s gaze, his own laughing façade melting away to reveal his underlying worry. “He okay?”

“Wanted a screamer,” Lucas murmured, putting the bourbon back under the bar. Rowe, like him, knew that demand came rarely, thank goodness, but it usually came on the heels of some of Snow’s darker periods.

Rowe cursed softly, shaking his head.

Lucas stepped around the bar, motioning for Rowe to precede him. “He’s better. Keep him laughing.”

The shorter man shot him a look as if to say “if only it were that easy.” But he clapped Lucas on the shoulder, squeezing it for a second as he headed back into the club. Rowe knew the role Lucas played and Lucas could guess that Rowe would prefer to never switch with him. They did what they had to in order to keep Snow from unraveling.

Stepping back into the blaring music, Lucas could feel the protective wall go back up around him. Snow, Rowe, and Ian were the only ones who could reach inside him, make him feel vulnerable. But in this world of his making, he was untouchable and always in control.

He followed Rowe as the man bulldozed through the crowd, probably grumbling about crappy music and goofy drinks as he went. Lucas loved Rowe but he didn’t understand his taste for flat beer, chicken wings, and things covered in chili while watching sports and listening to country music. In their little group, Rowe was always the odd man out with his taste in food, clothes, and entertainment. Plus, he was all the way straight and happily married to an amazing woman.

But he fit with them. Always had.

As his friend dodged a woman carrying drinks, he roughly shoulder-checked a man. Lucas caught the stranger by the upper arms as he started to stumble to the side. Lucas’s pulse jolted a second. It was the same man who’d captured his attention earlier. He wasn’t as handsome as Lucas had first thought—his features less refined and a little more blunted, but still not bad. And there was no missing the hot flush on his cheeks or the widening of his eyes when their gazes locked.

Lucas smiled slowly, taking the man’s hard swallow as a good sign. “Excuse my friend.” He leaned so close his lips nearly brushed the man’s ear. Subtle, earthy cologne wafted to his nose and it was hard not to draw in a deep breath.

“No-no problem,” he stammered.

Lucas slid his hands down to the other man’s elbows, feeling strong muscles under his jacket, before releasing him. “Have a good night.” Lucas felt that hot gaze on him as he walked away.

Rowe waited outside the entrance, smirking. “Did you find yourself a piece of ass already?”

“Considering it.”

Snow stepped behind Rowe, one eyebrow raised. “Luc likes to be coy.”

“Yeah, both you pricks make it look so damned easy.” Rowe scowled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“But you’ve hit the jackpot with Melissa.” Lucas motioned to where his driver had parked his black Mercedes.

“And I’d never give up Mel. For anything.” Rowe released a happy sigh, his dark look melting away with the first mention of his wife. “Still, sometimes hanging out with you single bastards makes a man miss the chase.”

Lucas had to smile. The thrill of the hunt was addictive.Chapter 2Lucas shivered when he stepped out of the Laundry Room at just after two in the morning. Cold gripped the city, sending the temperature down to the forties. It whispered of frigid nights in the near future. Leaning against the wall, he roughly rubbed his hand over his face as he let the crisp night air help clear his head. Why he’d let Snow talk him into those shots he’d never know.