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"You don't live here anymore, Salem, so I'd appreciate it if you would give me your key and not walk in here whenever you feel. I don't walk into your apartment without knocking or calling. Zeke is living here now, and he deserves to have his privacy respected, and so do I." Zeke was captivated by Tanner taking a stand against these two, considering one was a fairly powerful wolf shifter who gave off fierce vibrations. It was a joy to watch his mate put them in their place.
He still remained very close in case the wolf decided to take a poke at Tanner for his defiance. Blake was angry, and his eyes were scorching Tanner, but he did not make a move on him. The little one, the fox, stepped back, obviously thinking his boyfriend could react unpleasantly, and didn't want to get caught in the melee. The fox does not trust his boyfriend.
"What can we do for you?" Zeke asked, hoping to move the interaction along and get the two of them to leave.
"I thought I left my charger in the kitchen," Salem stated and headed for the kitchen. "I'll check, and then we will be out of your way." He placed his key on the counter and entered the kitchen. Tanner followed him, and Zeke got the impression he wasn't trusting the little fox for some reason.
That left Zeke in the living room with Blake, the wolf shifter in the expensive suit. He was the same man he had seen on the sidewalk last night with two friends out in front of this building. He stood and locked gazes with the man for several seconds before Blake felt the need to speak. "Why did you move in here? I know what you are. Why share an apartment with a human?"
"My reasons are not your concern." He continued to eye Zeke with disdain and a growing antagonism, but he held himself back, probably not sure if he was prepared to take on a predator like Zeke.
"Tanner is not yours. He is Salem's friend, and as such, I have taken an interest in him and his welfare. I consider him my responsibility. Do I make myself clear?" The wolf was feeling himself and decided to try some subtle threats.
"I don't care what you think you are or what you think you're doing. Tanner makes his own decisions. He doesn't need a keeper." Zeke took a step toward him, and Blake held his ground. Blake was a little taller than him and a formidable man, broad and solidly built. But Blake was polished and pompous, whereas Zeke had been raised with the down and dirty. When it came to survival and winning, nothing was off the table for him; he doubted Blake was prepared for someone like him. In a straight-up fight, it was a toss-up who might win.
Blake must have thought the same, for he took a step back and glanced toward the kitchen and then back at Zeke. "You don't want me as an enemy." He stated the additional warning just as Tanner and Salem were walking back into the room. He obviously assumed Zeke would not respond, but he assumed wrong.
"People who feel the need to warn you of their power and influence rarely possess either." Zeke shot back, and Blake reacted with flared nostrils, and the whites of his eyes flashed red with his barely suppressed rage. The waves of his displeasure rippled through the room, but Zeke did not react.
He was furious; his rage was hanging thickly in the air. He wanted a fight but instead backed toward the door, thinking better of the optics such a battle would produce. Tanner was human, so restraint was in order. Zeke did fear that young Salem might pay for Blake's pent-up anger, but the young fox chose to be with him, so their relationship was none of his business. Salem's nervous glance at Blake and his body language spoke volumes. He knew his boyfriend, and he knew what to expect.
"If I run across your charger, I will let you know," Tanner interjected in an obvious attempt to defuse whatever was going on. Zeke was pleased when he returned to his place at Zeke's side.
"If he doesn't work out, call me," Blake spoke to Tanner and gave Zeke a scathing once over.
"I'm sure we will be fine," Tanner assured, and Zeke gave Blake a sarcastic smile before the man turned and left, with Salem running to catch up. Zeke walked up, closed the door, and then pulled out his phone and arranged for a locksmith to change the locks and install a deadbolt.
"I don't trust that guy," Zeke said as an explanation.
"Yeah, I got that." He said with sarcasm and then added. "I don't trust either one of them; I also don't know why they keep showing up here uninvited. Salem and I have been roommates since I came to town a few months ago, but we are not friends. He is very elitist as far as his friends are concerned, and I never made the cut. He actually has very few friends; most disappeared once he started hooking up with Blake. That man can suck the joy and energy out of a room quicker than anything I know." Tanner was not holding back on his opinions, and Zeke was loving it.
The locksmith installed a new lock and deadbolt, and Tanner informed the landlord of the change and dropped a key into his drop box. The only thing still lingering was the living room window, but Zeke saw the plywood as a positive; no one was going to take a shot through a sheet of plywood. He was in no hurry to get it fixed, at least not until he determined there was no threat to his mate.
Zeke made them a late lunch, two chicken Caesar salads, and cheese biscuits. He wasn't a great cook, but he knew the basics. They sat down together, and Tanner picked up where he had left off earlier that morning by asking Zeke personal questions.
Tanner took a large bite of his salad and then began his questions. "You work at Zephyr." He said, and Zeke nodded. "Do you get a lot of action while at work? Are you allowed to sample the clientele, and have you sampled the clientele?" That was a loaded question, and he would have to answer it carefully so as to not upset his mate and not paint himself in a manner that might make him look shallow.
"Cross has a policy of live and let live, so there is nothing to stop staff from sampling what is offered. With that said, all such contact between staff and customers must be kept as private and tasteful as possible. No fucking on the dance floor or in public areas. The bathrooms are also off limits to staff but not customers." Zeke paused for a moment and noticed that Tanner was riveted to his every word, which did not fill him with confidence or peace.
"The Zephyr is a leather club, a sex club, to be honest, and I've worked at the club for several years. I am not a monk nor a priest, so yes, I have had sex with the clientele. Does that bother you?" Zeke laid it out and then asked for clarification of his own. It seemed to catch Tanner by surprise, and it took him a few seconds to respond.
"No." He shook his head. "It doesn't bother me. If you had said no, I would have figured you were weird or lying, so I now know that you're honest." He smiled.
"Or a poser," Zeke added with a smile.
"I've never been in the Zephyr, although I have made a lot of deliveries to the back door after hours. That place goes through the whiskey like it's water." He took another bite of his salad before adding. "I've seen some of the people who frequent that place. It would be hard to turn them down." Zeke was tired of talking about other people, and he certainly didn't want Tanner discussing the desirability of the Zephyr clientele; he wanted the conversation to settle back on him and Tanner.
"It gets old. Nothing is real there, and nothing lasts beyond a night or less, sometimes no more than a few minutes. No one is looking for love in that place, only satisfaction and a superficial connection. It's fleeting but enjoyable and keeps people coming back." Zeke was one of those people who kept coming back, filling that void for a few minutes, but now all that has changed.
He has someone now who is destined to be his destined to join his life. Zeke no longer felt the desire or the interest in pursuing anything apart from this beautiful little human. Tanner was his love and his joy. Theirs was a relationship written in the stars, and Zeke would gladly do whatever was necessary to keep him close and grow their Fated bond. This is what he'd waited a lifetime for, and now it was here, and it was his turn.
The thrill, the wonder, and the excitement that filled him every time he laid eyes on Tanner were beyond anything he had expected. No wonder his pack mates had lost their minds when they found their mates. He didn't understand it at the time, and it had struck him as extreme, but now all of it made perfect sense.
"What I'm saying to you is that yes, I have indulged in the offerings of the Zephyr Club, but like so many others, I did not find what I was looking for." He paused and held Tanner's gaze for a few seconds and then continued. "I recently found someone, and I hope to build a relationship with him. The Zephyr Club will hold no more excitement for me.” Zeke was being bold.
"You found someone you want to have a relationship with, a real monogamous relationship?" Tanner was unsure, and that uncertainty was coming through clearly, but he was still putting himself out there.
"Yes, Tanner, I found someone special." When he said those words, Tanner's face literally fell. He wasn't getting it, so Zeke spelled it out to him.
