Page 3 of Broken Trust

A hand grazed the back of Kellen’s shirt just as he dove forward, hitting the water with a perfect dive. Since you had to think of where you wanted to go when you entered, there was no way in hell they would be able to follow him.

Kellen hit the concrete hard and then rolled to his side. “Motherfuck,” he groaned. As many times as he’d taken the black river, he should have had the landing down pat.

Grunting, Kellen pushed to his feet then looked around. He was in Midnight Falls, and to his right was Fearless Fox.

At least he’d made it back to his town, though he hadn’t thought of the bar. Kellen had thought of home, but the black river had spit him out on the streets of downtown.

“This just isn’t my night.” He lived too far to walk, and there was no way in hell he was shifting into his wolf form. Not when he was wearing his favorite jeans and boots.

He took one last look around the dark, almost empty streets before heading inside the bar. It was Saturday night, and the place was packed. Music blared from the jukebox, nearly drowning out any other sounds in the crowded bar. The air was thick with the aroma of food, followed by the strong scents of alcohol, perspiration, and a mix of cologne and perfume.

In the adjacent room, the unmistakable crack of pool balls echoed through the air. Everywhere he looked, people were either eating and drinking at various tables and booths or engaged in lively conversation.

It was sensory overload but in the best way possible.

Kellen weaved through the crowd, making his way to the bar. He had two options. Wait for Cole to finally pick up his phone or wait until Jake closed down for the night and could drive him home.

When Kellen spotted a hot little twink seated at one of the booths, he knew how he could kill time while he waited.

“What can I get for you, Kellen?” Jake asked.

“Three beers.” The twink was sitting with someone, and it would be rude of Kellen not to buy the other guy a drink, too. He’d learned early on that it was wise to win over the friend to avoid any pushback when he left out the door with the one he wanted in his bed.

After paying for his drinks, Kellen took the bottles and made his way to the booth, turning sideways a few times to get through the clusters of people in his way.

He was laser-focused on the one with light-brown hair as he made his way across the room. The other guy wasn’t even a blip on Kellen’s radar.

“Mind some company?” He placed two of the unopened bottles on the table but didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned an arm against the back of the booth, raking his gaze over the one he was interested in.

“No thanks.” The guy with the light-brown hair didn’t even look up to see who’d approached their table.

“Dude, this was exactly what I was talking about!” the one with the black hair said. He turned his attention to Kellen. “I’m Braylon, and he’s Atlas.”

Atlas. He liked the name. “I’m Kellen.”

“Have a seat, Kellen.” Braylon waved a hand across the table.

With a roll of his shimmering eyes, Atlas finally scooted closer to the wall. Either the guy was tipsy or it was the lighting, but Kellen loved the way his gray eyes sparkled.

“So what exactly were you talking about?” he asked Braylon, but he never took his eyes off of Atlas.

“I’ll let my best friend tell you. I’m hitting the head,” Braylon replied. “Don’t you dare back out of this, Atlas.”

When Braylon got up and walked away, Kellen threw his arm over the back of the booth and turned toward Atlas. He looked even better close up. His gray eyes had flecks of black, and the guy had the cutest nose and softest-looking lips. He also smelled human.

Oh yeah. Kellen definitely wanted this guy in his bed tonight.

“I need to get married,” Atlas said.

The guy was damn good-looking but not that fucking gorgeous. “Pump the brakes, sweetheart. I was just trying to get to know you, not tie the knot.”

Atlas blinked several times then shook his head. “No, my sister needs to get married.”

“And that somehow makes it better?” Kellen asked. “If you haven’t noticed, I approached a guy tonight. Although I respect woman, they don’t have what I need.”

Laughter burst out of Atlas. “I’m totally screwing this up. That’s not what I need.”

Kellen leaned in, brushing his lips over the guy’s earlobe. “Why don’t we go back to your place and I can give you what you need?”

---