2. Kane
Chapter 2
Kane
Kane Scott was enjoying every single sip of his ice cool latte.
The sun was beating down on Kane’s neck and he could already sense that it was going to be a busy shift.
Kane was a firefighter.
Summer nights invariably meant plenty of fires. People got drunk. They let their hair down. Some folk seemed to totally lose their shit and become incapable of looking after themselves and sticking to basic fire safety.
It drove Kane bananas.
Kane was thirty-three years old but had been around the block enough to know how to keep himself alive. He couldn’t comprehend how young people could be so irresponsible. Carefree. Totally without any kind of common sense…
Then he remembered.
He was no angel himself.
Well over six feet tall and with an incredibly masculine face, Kane was classic Daddy Dom material. His bulging arms and taut, rippling abs were a testament to that. As was his hard, clearly defined jawline. It was like he had been chiseled out of the roughest, toughest rock.
The only concession to anything less than uber-masculine were the two dimples on his cheeks. Growing up, Kane had hated them as he was often taunted by the older kids in school that he had a baby face.
This was a distant memory now.
Those very same school bullies wouldn’t dare speak a single word out of place to him. Not the way Kane looked now. Not a chance in hell.
With his warm brown eyes and chestnut brown hair, Kane was a tough, soulful guy with a whole lot to give.
Finding a Little should have been easy. Plenty of Littles would have given anything to get into bed with Kane.
But it was complex.
At least from Kane’s point of view.
He felt that certain elements from his past meant that being in a relationship wouldn’t be a good idea. Not for him, and not for the Little either.
To solve this issue, Kane had decided to simply take the prospect of a relationship out of the equation. That way, no one could get hurt - even if it did mean that he wouldn’t be as happy as surely he could be.
It was at this point that Kane cursed an Uber driver who turned the corner too tight and nearly ran him over.
Patience was a virtue.
A virtue that Kane had in short supply, even on his best days.
But it was something he wanted to work on and improve. Kane did believe in self-improvement and not repeating mistakes. It was something he prided himself on.
‘Maybe I should give people a break sometimes,’ Kane grumbled out loud to himself. ‘No, I definitely should.’
A loud car horn blasted in his ear as he crossed the road. A big group of friends jostled for position on the sidewalk as they made their way to one park or another. All carrying big bags of canned beer.
Kane thought wistfully about the life of partying he once led.
It was a lifestyle that he had considerably toned down in recent times, but the burning desire still lay inside him. It wasn’t just partying either.
Kane enjoyed gambling.
Beer and betting went hand in hand for him.
But it had always made maintaining a relationship difficult. Kane had struggled to marry his partying ways with the needs and desires of a partner.
It was a tough balancing act.
One that Kane had never succeeded in conquering. Avoiding relationships altogether was the answer to that conundrum, at least as far as Kane was concerned.
Now, all that remained was negotiating the final few blocks of New York citizens out having fun before he arrived at Precinct 14 Fire Station, ready to get to work…
‘Yo, Kane! You ready to lift some serious weight?’ McCall hollered from the open gym area of Precinct 14 station. ‘We’re going for some serious PBs today. You in?’
Kane shrugged his shoulders and carried on through the station towards his locker.
The noise was unavoidable.
Well, what would anyone expect from a fire station filled with the gruffest, toughest, and loudest firefighters in a tri-state area?
It was a raucous atmosphere.
And that was putting it mildly .
The station itself was very well maintained. The firefighters took great pride in it. They even went above and beyond and would bring in their own equipment to make sure that they and their colleagues were never bored while waiting for a call.
Non-alcoholic beers.
Protein snacks.
Games consoles.
The latest HD TV sets.
Kettlebells.
Free weights.
More free weights.
Oh, and even more free weights on top of that for good measure.
Put simply, it was a highly masculine atmosphere. The banter that went back and forth between the men wasn’t for the fainthearted. It was sink or swim. Kill or be killed.
But underneath everything, the men had a great bond together. An unbreakable one. They put their lives in danger in order to save lives. Trust was required. They had to be able to totally rely on one another. Without exception.
And they did. Very much so.
For Kane, work was the one place where commitment and trust was never an issue for him.
As Kane got changed out of his civilian clothes and into his standard under-layer of vest and athletic shorts, he listened as the hollering and hooting from his fellow firefighters seemed to get louder by the second.
Kane was not feeling it.
He was grumpy. The fact he’d been up late the previous night drinking was certainly a contributing factor. As was the fact he’d lost a not insubstantial amount of money playing poker.
Kane had cut his partying and gambling down, but it was still very much a part of his routine. In some ways, it was like a stress-relief from the undeniable pressure that came with being a firefighter.
When you know that even a single mistake at work could have deadly consequences, it’s a big deal. Kane held people’s lives in his hands. If he screwed up, it could see someone lose everything. Including their life.
So what if he sunk the beers and gambled when off duty?
It was his way of having a palette cleanser.
A blow out.
As long as he had it under control, that was all that mattered.
‘Hey, Kane, I made you this,’ McCall said, walking over towards Kane with a big mug of coffee. ‘You look like you could do with a hit of the old caffeine.’
Kane smiled.
He definitely was grumpy, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate his friend’s efforts to cheer him up.
‘Thank you, bro,’ Kane said. ‘I had a latte on the way over. But you know these hipster places, right? Never strong enough.’
McCall nodded in agreement.
The pair of them had joined the fire service on the same day. McCall was the same height and build as Kane, and it often meant that things got damned competitive when it came to physical exercises. They had even traded blows on more than one occasion during their training.
But that was all water under the bridge.
Kane and McCall were true friends now.
Bonded by more than just their jobs.
If it wasn’t for the fact that both were Daddy Doms, there might even have been a spark of chemistry there too. But, of course, that just wasn’t going to happen.
‘Okay, so I’ve got a favor,’ McCall said, running his hand through his strawberry blonde hair. ‘You should know by now that a cup of Joe doesn’t come without a price.’
Kane rolled his eyes.
Of course there was going to be something required in return.
‘I should have known. Whatever. Shoot,’ Kane said, standing up and taking a sip of the strong, black coffee. ‘As long as it doesn’t involve swapping my free weekend, I’m down.’
McCall laughed.
‘No, nothing that serious,’ he said, his rough stubble looking extra thick. ‘My email has been hacked. Again. Any chance you could get back into it? I’ve got some… personal… things on there. You know, like… pictures of my dick? I really don’t need them getting online.’
McCall blushed.
He was very tough and macho, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t immune to feeling embarrassed like the next man.
Kane couldn’t help but tease McCall. This was classic. Probably a disgruntled ex or something along those line. And it would be very easy for Kane to sort out too.
Kane had a side hustle as a computer expert.
He had been fascinated by computers since the day his father brought home the first family desktop PC, way back in the day.
Kane had taken to it like a duck to water and maintained his interest in all things electronic right through childhood and now as an adult.
Specifically, Kane had a talent for hacking.
He would never use his skills to steal, cheat, or cause harm. He wasn’t that kind of hacker at all. Kane was what was known as a White Hat Hacker. In short, a hacker who used his powers for good. If an institution had weak online security, Kane would report it to them anonymously to ensure that they weren’t hacked by someone less moral than him.
It gave Kane a lot of satisfaction.
While it didn’t come with the same personal risk to life as being a firefighter, it was another way that he felt he could contribute to society.
Oh, and if it meant he could help his buddies out too? Well, that was an added bonus.
‘Yeah, don’t worry, I’ve got your back,’ Kane said, grinning. ‘After all, I don’t think the world needs to see photos of your big snake all over the internet!’
McCall laughed and nodded in appreciation.
‘Okay, well enjoy the coffee,’ McCall said. ‘If I know you as well as I think I do, you need a little bit of alone time to get your head in the game.’
‘Thank you, man,’ Kane said, appreciating McCall’s reading of his mood.
In the past, and at the peak of his partying days, Kane had been badly hurt by a friend.
His name was Travis.
He was the kind of friend who was actually a lot more toxic than positive. Travis had encouraged Kane to drink, drink, and drink some more.
Ditto with the gambling.
In the end, it became clear that what Travis had really wanted was a free ride.
He didn’t care about Kane.
Not really.
Not the way a real friend should.
Kane’s problem was that he could be too trusting. Travis had seen this and exploited him.
This, combined with his issues over needing his own space, had solidified Kane’s mindset into not searching for a Little.
That didn’t mean that Kane wasn’t still attracted to Littles though.
Far from it.
Even as recently as the previous night, Kane had been chatting to a girl at the bar. Twenty-two-years old. Cute as hell. The kind of peachy butt that was just perfect for spanking. Perfect for other things too.
Kane had flirted with her a little. It was clear there was an attraction between them. And if Kane’s Little Radar was anything to go by, this young lady was definitely a Little.
But in the end, Kane simply excused himself and went back to hanging out with his Daddy Dom friends, Cage and Leon.
That was much easier.
No room for misunderstandings.
No potential for anyone’s hopes to rise and then fall back down to earth.
The night continued into the early hours and Kane had a great time with Cage and Leon. They always did. Kane enjoyed listening to Cage talking about his relationship with his Little, Katie.
It made Kane so happy to see one of his Daddy friends find his Forever Little.
Kane knew that Cage was happier than he had ever been, and that his life was enriched and satisfying in a way it had never been previously.
And that was good for Cage.
But as far as Kane was concerned, it wasn’t an outcome he was ever expecting for himself.
No, between firefighting and hacking, Kane had plenty to keep his mind occupied.
With that, Kane decided that he would in fact go and join the guys for some weight training. Kane enjoyed lifting weights almost as much as he did cracking a top-level security system.
One was a workout for the mind.
The other a workout for the body.
But both felt great.
A good pump on the heavy metal would be the perfect way to clear his head and get him ready for the shift.
If Kane knew one thing to be true above all else, it was that a New York summer shift was never anything less than dramatic.
And as he was about to discover, today would be no exception.