Chapter Two
Tracker woke up earlier than usual. He was too used to running on no sleep.
His body refused to sleep in late. The first thought he had was about Zeus and his proposition.
He immediately dismissed the offer before swinging right back to considering his request. Zeus already knew what Tracker looked like unclothed.
With Zeus, sex wouldn’t be personal. That was where Tracker’s brain screeched to a halt.
He refused to think about the topic again for the day.
After rolling from the bed, Tracker headed straight for the bathroom. Zeus always left early. While his club was only open at night, he had daily deposits and whatnot to deal with. Coming to stay with Tracker had to be the biggest of inconveniences, but Zeus showed up anyhow.
Tracker stood inside the shower, lost in thought, while water poured down his body.
He didn’t want things to change. Right? Fuck, Tracker was thinking about things he swore to himself he wouldn’t.
Tracker ruthlessly showered while forcing his mind blank.
He made it until he had a muffin—that Zeus had obviously run out to buy him—in one hand and sat behind his control center.
When he fired up the biggest screen, his conversation with Atlas waited. He had two more messages.
Wait. Is your silence an angry one?
1CEOofGenius_ATLAS
I apologize for overstepping. It won’t happen again. I shouldn’t have offered to send an inappropriate picture. You’re better than that. If you can forgive me, I look forward to hearing from you again.
1CEOofGenius_ATLAS
Tracker froze mid-bite as he read the messages. So formal. Tracker shook his head. He should have responded last night. It wasn’t like Zeus didn’t know Tracker talked to someone online. He didn’t know why he had killed the screen so quickly when Zeus arrived.
You’re good. Sorry for disappearing. My friend showed up.
1_bottomless_data_base
Tracker finished his muffin. He knew Atlas wouldn’t see his message until tonight.
A movement on one screen caught Tracker’s attention.
Ridge left the property. Tracker made it ten seconds before he was on his feet.
His brothers and he lived on Beau Bosi’s property.
It was basically a compound. Several huge houses were spaced out across the endless acres.
Beau had built Tracker a place just for him where he could have a security hub.
It was Tracker’s job to ensure no one breached the property without warning.
Beau had an army to neutralize any threat.
Thankfully, Ridge lived within walking distance of Tracker.
Tracker made his way to the home shared by a few of his brothers.
There was no need to knock. Too many people came and went.
As Tracker strolled inside, relief poured through him. Shadow was there, and he was alone. “Hey.”
Shadow looked up from his phone. He scooted over on the loveseat, making room for Tracker. “Hey. I can’t believe you’ve left your bunker.”
Tracker rolled his eyes, but it was impossible to be annoyed by Shadow. He was dainty and beautiful. His dark hair, light eyes combination was arresting. Those eyes always flashed with happiness, making people want to be near him.
“I go places.”
Shadow chuckled. “You know I’m teasing you. You look out of sorts today, babe. What’s going on?”
Damn. Zeus really had him frazzled. “I’m fine, but can I ask you a personal question? It’s fine if you don’t want to answer.”
Shadow set his phone aside and gave Tracker his full attention. “Let it fly.”
Tracker took a deep breath. This was harder than he had expected. “Please keep this conversation between us.”
“That depends.” Shadow’s response brought Tracker up short.
“Never mind.” He shifted to stand.
Shadow grabbed his arm. “Tell me the topic. I don’t like keeping things from my husband.”
“Zeus.”
Shadow relaxed. “You’re good. That’s the one topic I never discuss with Ridge unless he brings it up.”
Tracker settled back down. “Oh, okay.” Tracker cleared his throat. “I guess that probably answers my question. You and Zeus had sex.”
Shadow blinked like that was the last thing he expected. “Yeah.”
Tracker swallowed. He didn’t have discussions on this topic. “Was it good?”
“You mean you haven’t?” Shadow’s question held a huge amount of shock.
The desire to run hit hard. He had already been nervous and uncomfortable before Shadow made him feel worse.
Shadow hugged his arm. “I’m sorry. You’re not as open about these things as I am. I should’ve thought before I spoke. You two spend so much time together, and Zeus is… Zeus. I was just caught off guard. Now that I’ve had a second. That makes perfect sense.”
“Great. Thanks for that.”
Shadow rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t an insult.
You’re exactly what Zeus needs. It has to be exhausting being on every second of the day.
You’d never treat anyone like that. To answer your question, being in his bed is everything you can imagine plus more.
Of course, Ridge is the perfect match for me, but yeah. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
That last bit threw Tracker for a loop. “Wait. You two only slept together once?”
“Everyone only sleeps with Zeus once. I imagine if anyone ever has him twice, it’ll mean Zeus finally fell in love. Why did you want to know anyhow? I’ve always assumed you’re asexual. You never… wait. Are you demi? Did someone finally get close enough to you? Oh no. Why did it have to be Zeus?”
“Um.” Tracker’s head was all over the place. “I have no idea what you mean by demi, but I know it’s not a lack of desire. There’s a guy online who makes me…” Tracker cleared his throat. He wasn’t here about that. “No one wants to be with someone who looks like me.”
Shadow froze. After a second, his expression turned furious. “What in the fuck do you mean by that? You’re gorgeous. I’ve heard men sigh when they look at you.”
A sad smile touched Tracker’s lips. “That’s with my clothes on. You know that wouldn’t be the case otherwise.”
“Do you believe no one wants you, or did someone tell you that? Because that is categorically untrue. You look at yourself and see scars. Everyone else looks at you and sees you. Beautiful you.”
“Zeus asked me to let him make love to me.”
Shadow was back to blinking like Tracker fried his brain. “Were those his exact words?”
“Yes.”
Shadow melted into the couch, as if his body gave out. “Wow. That’s… wow.”
Tracker was more confused by the second. “What?”
Shadow shook his head. “It’s nothing. Go on.”
Tracker shrugged. “That’s basically it. I told him I would think about it.”
“And?”
Tracker knew he had to look as defeated as he felt. “I don’t know. That’s why I came to you.”
“Okay.” Shadow squared his shoulders. “Let’s talk this out. Use logic.”
Tracker nodded. Coming at this from an educated point of view made sense. He could do that. Plus, Shadow acted like he took this as seriously as it was to Tracker.
“Here’s the thing. You know what Zeus does for a living. Can you handle that once you cross that line?”
“Does it matter? He didn’t ask me to be his boyfriend or anything.”
Shadow waved away his words. “Of course it matters. Sex with Zeus will be intimate, especially since you’re his best friend. You need to be certain, when it’s over, that you won’t walk away from what you two have when it truly hits you what he does for a living.”
“It’s just business.”
The look Shadow tossed him said it all. It was not just business. “How about this?” Shadow grabbed his phone. “Why don’t I get you into Affinity tonight? You can go check things out and see how you feel afterward. Until you see Zeus in action, you can’t know how you’ll feel.”
“You don’t need to get me in. Zeus gave me a membership about a year ago. I just don’t use it.”
Shadow set his phone aside again. “Oh. Well, I guess I don’t need to call in a favor. Just pop in and see what the place is like when you’re not there for a wedding reception. It’s a lot.”
Tracker nodded along. He could do that. Tracker could just sneak in and out real quick and gauge what he could handle.
Actually, Shadow was a genius. Tracker didn’t want to ruin their friendship, but he was definitely leaning toward accepting Zeus’ offer.
All he had to do was watch Zeus in action.
That would give him all the strength needed to say no.
Loud music pulsed throughout the club. Zeus sat on a barstool and leaned back against the bar.
His gaze continuously swept across the crowd, monitoring safety.
A horror podcast played through his AirPods.
He had done four private sessions already.
Zeus needed to decompress. Rio and Layton kept the subs happy while Zeus chilled.
He kept his expression clear of all emotion and his shirt on.
It was his signal for no one to approach him.
Everyone obeyed. No one wanted to be excluded when Zeus chose to play again. Those were the rules.
The hair on the back of Zeus’ neck tingled.
His gaze swept the room again. At the edge of the crowd, a familiar figure stood out.
A smile exploded across Zeus' face. He motioned for Bronx.
While Bronx worked the door most nights, Zeus had slowly begun introducing the guy to different positions inside.
He was a sexy guy. Zeus got a lot of requests to bring Bronx inside to play. Zeus put his AirPods away.
Bronx was all smiles when he reached Zeus. “What’s up?”
Zeus nodded toward where Tracker stood. “Do you see that guy in the turtleneck?”
Bronx followed his line of sight. “He does not look like he came to play.”
Zeus laughed. “Yeah. That’s my best friend. Grab him and bring him to me.”
“Yes, sir.”