HUNTER CHECKED HIS appearance one more time in the mirror. Quentin had told him to dress well, so Hunter had selected his favorite khakis, a blue button-up shirt that he always thought made his blue-green eyes pop, and a black tie. He slicked his dirty-blond hair back and slipped on his polished black loafers just as Quentin texted him that he was outside.
He made himself take the stairs one at a time at a calm, medium pace. He exited the manor and walked down the front path to the street where Quentin was parked. Hunter opened the passenger door and slipped inside.
“Hey,” the shifter said.
“Hi,” Hunter responded, his tongue dry.
The shifter looked incredible in a leather jacket, and he smelled even better.
Quentin put the car in drive and stepped on the gas. “So, you excited for tonight?”
“Yeah. I’d be more excited if you told me where we were going.”
“We’re just going to one of my favorite bars. It’s a place I go often, so I know a lot of the people there. I think it’ll be a good place for you. Not too flashy, nice and laid-back.”
“Nice place for me? What does that mean?”
Quentin turned his gaze from the road and looked at Hunter. “You’ll see,” he said with a big smile across his face, his black eyes shining in each streetlight they passed.
“Cryptic.”
The wolf laughed. “I’m not trying to be. I just don’t want to give you any unnecessary expectations or doubts.”
“Okay,” he agreed out loud, but inside, he had even more questions.
It felt like forever, but only about twenty minutes later, they pulled up to an average building in the downtown part of one of the many suburbs.
When they both got out of the car, Quentin came around to Hunter’s side and stopped.
“Oh, no, no. What are you wearing?” Quentin asked.
Hunter looked down at his outfit. “You said to dress nice.” That was what he had done.
Quentin sighed. “I meant, dress nice like you’re going out for the night. Not”—he waved his hand up and down at Hunter’s clothes—“dress nice like you’re going to church on Sunday.”
Normally, Hunter would be able to let this stuff roll off of him, but he felt his cheeks heat. It only got worse when he saw what Quentin was wearing.
The wolf had on dark designer jeans that fit him like they had been made especially for him and black boots, and under his leather jacket, he wore a light-gray V-neck T-shirt. He looked like he was dressed for a night out.
Quentin rubbed his chin and looked Hunter up and down. “I think we can fix this.” He stepped forward and started removing Hunter’s tie.
Hunter had already been struggling to ignore Quentin’s woodsy scent, but now, there was no denying how good the shifter smelled. Hunter looked down at Quentin’s neck, too embarrassed to meet his eyes. But the sight of his bare dark skin had Hunter almost licking his lips. He remembered the taste of Quentin’s blood last night, and he wanted to taste him again. But, this time, he wanted the shifter to tilt his head and offer Hunter his neck.
Hunter groaned and felt himself sporting wood once more in the presence of Quentin. Fuck you, penis. No pun intended.
Thankfully, Quentin was too busy with rearranging Hunter’s clothes to notice his reaction.
After Quentin removed Hunter’s tie, he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and pulled it out of his pants. At first, Hunter was panicked because he didn’t want the wolf to notice his bulging erection, but then he realized his shirt covered up his crotch, so it was probably a good thing.
Quentin stood back and surveyed Hunter. “Much better.”
Hunter looked down. “The bottom of my shirt is wrinkled.”
Quentin shrugged. “It’s still an improvement. Trust me.” He opened the back door of his car and threw Hunter’s tie inside. He hit a button on his key fob, and the car beeped. “Let’s go,” he said as he turned and headed for the entrance.
Hunter followed, feeling self-conscious about his appearance and about his presence there.
As soon as they walked through the door, a group of arms shot up in the air, and their owners made a bunch of noise upon seeing Quentin. Quentin grinned as he returned a wave and took off for his friends.
All the excitement and nervousness turned into regret. He shouldn’t have come. Hunter had been in this situation plenty of times—a tagalong as he went out with friends, searching for females to get laid, while he’d rather be at home.
He hadn’t known what to expect tonight, but now that he was faced with the situation, he realized that he’d thought it was just going to be him and Quentin. He hadn’t known they were going to meet up with friends, with Hunter being the odd man out.
Since he was there, he might as well get a drink. Hunter headed to the bar and ordered a beer. He would quickly drink it, tell Quentin good-bye because he wasn’t rude, and call an Uber. He supposed it was a little rude to walk to the bar without Quentin, but the shifter had left him first to join his friends.
Hunter took a seat on an empty stool. The bartender brought him his beer, and he took a drink as he looked around the room and took in the smells. He was surprised. It was filled with mostly guys with maybe one or two females. One of who was in Quentin’s group.
That wasn’t what surprised him though. There were humans, shifters, and vampires in the room. He hadn’t known there was a place where all three hung out. It was only recently that the shifters and vampires had made a truce.
A guy came up and sat next to Hunter. The place was busy but not so busy that he had to sit right next to him. The male was human and ordered a rum and Coke.
After the bartender stepped away to make the drink, the male said, “How’s it going?”
Hunter looked around and pointed to himself. “Are you asking me?”
The male laughed. “Yes.” He held out his hand. “I’m Mark.” The male was average height for a human with blond hair and brown eyes.
Hunter shook his hand. “I’m Hunter.”
Marked looked Hunter up in down in a way that made Hunter squirm in his seat. “Hunter. Hmm…it suits you.”
Uh… “Thanks.”
The bartender set Mark’s drink down, and Mark took a sip. “So…I’ve never seen you in here before. Are you new around here, or are you recently out?”
Hunter didn’t quite understand the question. “Um…I grew up in the area. I’m here with a friend.”
Mark raised his brow. “A friend or a friend, friend?”
Hunter was still confused by the whole conversation. “A friend.”
Mark took another drink and smiled. “Hmm…I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I can’t get a good read on you. Usually, my radar is spot-on.”
Now, their exchange had taken a turn that Hunter didn’t comprehend. He was about to ask Mark what he meant when he felt a warm, large hand rest on the back of his neck. Under his shirt, not over.
“He’s with me,” Quentin said from behind him.
It was a possessive move, and once again, his dick thought it was a fine time to stand up and make itself known.
Mark noticed his boner and smirked. He looked over Hunter’s shoulder to Quentin. “Oh, he’s all yours”—he glanced at Hunter’s groin again—“apparently. It’s a shame though because I’m a good time,” Mark said. He dropped off the stool and moved on to someone else.
Quentin filled the now-empty seat and let go of Hunter’s neck. “I was wondering where you went. I thought you were right behind me.”
“Sorry. I decided to get a beer first,” he lied.
He didn’t want to start a fight with the shifter. One, they were in public, and, two, he really didn’t know the male well enough to start an argument.
“Well, grab your bottle, and come with me. I want you to meet everyone.”
Hunter forced a smile. “Sure.”
Quentin got off the stool and turned toward his friends but waited for Hunter. Hunter followed, but when he reached Quentin, Quentin put his hand on Hunter’s lower back and directed him to his friends.
As they headed over, Hunter reminded himself that Quentin had made no promises that they were doing something alone. It was Hunter’s own assumption that had disappointed him. He owed it to Quentin to try to enjoy himself. The hand on his back did make it easier to give the friends a try.
They reached the group, and Quentin introduced them, keeping his hand on Hunter’s back. “This is Mason, Noah, Levi, Zoey, and Isaac.”
All five of them were shifters, but they smiled genuinely at Hunter.
“Guys, this is Hunter.”
“Hello,” Hunter said. He couldn’t help but smile back.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Quentin said. “I forgot while I was over there. Does anybody else want anything?”
“I’ll take another,” Zoey said.
“Got it.” Quentin turned and headed back for the bar.
Hunter felt uncomfortable, being left alone with people he’d just met. He’d never been great at small talk, but they seemed to welcome him without any prejudice and had no problem being left alone with him.
“So, how did the two of you meet?” Isaac asked.
“We kind of work together.”
“So, you’re a Guardian?” Isaac asked.
“Guilty.”
“Cool,” said Isaac.
“Ooh,” Zoey said. “This is the first time Quentin has ever brought a guy, and he’s a Guardian. When he does it, he goes big.”
Hunter was confused again. “What do you mean, brought a guy? He’s never brought friends here before?” He couldn’t deny that he felt a little delighted at this news.
“Oh, he’s brought friends, but he’s never brought friends. You must be special, Hunter.”
There was that emphasis on friends again. Hunter changed the subject because he was getting tired of not knowing what was going on.
“So, how do you all know Quentin?”
“Isaac and I went to high school with him,” Mason said.
“Yeah, I’m the resident straight friend,” Isaac said.
Zoey laughed. “And I’m the resident lesbian. Quentin actually introduced me to my mate.”
“And I’m Quentin’s ex,” Noah said. He held up a hand in front of him. “Don’t worry though; we are just friends now. Besides, I have a new boyfriend,” he said as he put his arm around Levi.
“New boyfriend?” Levi said. He leaned toward Hunter. “We’ve been dating for over two years.”
Hunter was trying to keep up with the conversation, but his mind was reeling with all the information he’d just taken in. “I’m sorry, but are you telling me that Quentin’s gay?”
Everyone lost their smiles and looked awkwardly at each other.
Zoey put her hand on Hunter’s arm. “Hon, you do know you’re in a gay bar, right?”
Hunter didn’t know what kind of face he made, but it must have been notable.
“Oh, hon, you had no idea, huh?”
Noah shrugged. “Sorry, dude, we thought you knew because we thought you were one of us.”
Hunter wasn’t gay. Am I? Suddenly, he saw his reactions to Quentin in a whole new light.
Just then, Quentin returned with three drinks. He gave one to Zoey and set another beer in front of Hunter.
“Sorry it took me so long. The bar suddenly got a rush of customers at the same time I went up there.” Quentin looked up from the table and took notice of the tension in the group. “Uh-oh, what did I miss?”
Zoey took pity on him. “Quentin, I think you and Hunter need to talk.”