Topping the Alpha

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Nick Sawyer flipped on the lights and closed the door to his hotel room. Striding across the room, he unbuttoned the jacket of his Navy dress whites and tossed it on the back of a chair near the windows as he kicked off his spit-shined shoes. His brother’s fiancée—now wife—had insisted the men in the bridal party wear their formal uniforms. Nick prayed when his oldest brother, Ian, got married that his future sister-in-law, Angie Beckett, agreed to elope. After years of being in combat gear, T-shirts, sweats, or jeans, dressing up in his monkey suit was irritating as hell—especially in the heat and humidity of Florida, the weekend after Labor Day.

Entering the bathroom, he pulled his white tee over his head and dropped it next to the sink, then took a piss in the toilet. He flushed and washed his hands before returning to the main room. It was oh-two-hundred hours, and he was still nicely buzzed from an evening of partying. Devon and Kristen had thrown a big shindig for their wedding, but Nick knew most, if not all, of it was Kristen’s idea. Devon had collared her in a b**m ceremony at the club he owned with Ian and would’ve been happy with a quickie ceremony with one of the Tampa justices of the peace to make it legal. But his brother loved the woman, and a man in love would do anything to see his significant other happy.

Seconds after Nick flopped face-first onto the king-sized bed, there was a knock at his door, eliciting a growl from his chest. Wishing he could just yell, “Come in,” he sighed and stood again to answer it, figuring it was either Ian or their dad. He turned the knob and pulled, shock punching him in the gut at the sight before him. It wasn’t his brother or father. It was Jake. Jake Donovan—his brothers’ teammate in the SEALs and now in their operative business, Trident Security. Otherwise known by his nickname from the Navy—Reverend. And, f**k, the man was hot. As uncomfortable as Nick had been in his dress uniform, Jake looked completely at ease in his. And hot. Had he mentioned that already?

“Hey.” Was that all he could say to the sexy-as-sin man standing before him?

He watched as Jake’s emerald-green eyes traveled downward, taking in Nick’s bare chest, sculpted abs, open belt buckle, and everything below it. His breath hitched as the man’s intense gaze returned to his face, and his c**k began to swell at the heat he saw there.

“Mind if I come in?”

Holy s**t! Nick knew exactly what Jake was asking. It was what he’d been fantasizing about all night. Him . . . Jake . . . together. Holy s**t! “Um, yeah.”

He took a step to the side and opened the door wider. As Jake brushed past him, Nick inhaled deeply, and his c**k twitched against the material of his pants. The man smelled incredible—like a forest, fresh from a morning rain, combined with a hint of leather—and Nick wondered what cologne it was.

Letting out a long exhale, he shut the door before turning around and . . .

Fuck! Jake was lying on his side along the bottom of the bed with his head propped up in his hand. Posing like that, he could be modeling for a magazine. He certainly had the body for it, and the only thing marring his beautiful, sculpted face was a small scar next to his left eye, but it only enhanced his good looks. The top two buttons of Jake’s white dress coat were undone, revealing the collar of his T-shirt and a few light strands of chest hair. Nick’s mouth watered as his legs became weak.

What was it about this man which made him want to drop to his knees and beg? Nick had always been the alpha in every relationship he’d had since he joined the Navy at eighteen, but Jake had him yearning to submit in every way. He knew all about the b**m club his brothers owned and that Jake was a member of. He’d even been inside a few times and cleared to play, but he never did . . . play, that is.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen any guy he could get interested in because there had been a few good-looking men who’d caught his eye. What was holding him back was that he didn’t quite understand the draw to the lifestyle, and he also hadn’t come out to his family yet. And hooking up at The Covenant was not how he wanted to do it.

He knew his parents and brothers would have no problem with him being gay, so why he hadn’t come out to them was a question he kept asking himself. But with Jake Donovan in his hotel room, with blatant desire in his eyes, Nick didn’t give a s**t about anything else at the moment.

“I was . . .” He cleared his throat. “I was just getting ready for bed.”

Shit, that sounded so f*****g lame. Get a grip, Sawyer.

“Really? Then don’t let me stop you. Please continue.”

The whiskey-laced voice sent shivers down Nick’s spine, and he didn’t move a muscle. He knew Jake was ordering him to undress, but he was being held in place by his penetrating stare. Those eyes seemed to delve straight into his soul, trying to figure out what made him tick, nonetheless still hiding the man’s own secrets behind a shroud. Swallowing hard, Nick crossed his right arm over his chest and grabbed the opposite elbow. It was a defensive yet unsure stance, and he watched as Jake’s pupils widened in unadulterated lust. Nick felt like a sheep being eyed by a hungry wolf, and his breathing and pulse rates increased. “I . . . um . . .”

He didn’t know what to say. He wanted this man in the worst way, and he was sure the feeling was mutual. They’d been avoiding each other all night, but their eyes had met hundreds of times over the last ten hours or so. It had been a few years since they’d seen each other. Since SEAL Team Three was based in Coronado, California, Nick hadn’t had many opportunities to get to Tampa. On the few occasions he’d made the trip to the Sunshine State, Jake had been out of town on different assignments each time. Nick had arrived in Florida two days ago and been floored by the hunk when they first saw each other at the bachelor party later that night. He’d always thought the guy was good-looking, but the sudden attraction, which had hit Nick over the head this time, was stronger than anything he’d ever felt.

Jake was four inches taller than Nick’s six-foot-one and, at about two-ten, had around fifteen pounds more muscle—in fact, lean, sinewy muscle would be a more accurate description. His medium-brown hair was a little longer than Nick remembered, and he longed to run his fingers through it to see if it was as silky as it looked. At the party the other night, held at Donovan’s, a pub owned by Jake’s brother, the man had sported a two-day growth of whiskers on his chiseled face. He’d since shaved for the wedding, and Nick wasn’t sure which way he preferred because both were sexy as hell.

He flinched when Jake leaped from the bed and stalked toward him—the wolf had morphed into a panther, but the same hunger was displayed in his eyes. The man hadn’t missed the involuntary jerk, and an evil grin spread across his handsome face. How long had Nick been standing there staring? Seconds? Minutes? Eons? He retreated until his back hit the wall, and there was nowhere else to go—not that he wanted to escape. Hell, no!

Jake bit his lower lip, his gaze roaming Nick’s face. “Let me help you finish getting ready.”

Praying he wouldn’t embarrass himself, Nick almost came in his boxer briefs when the man’s hand reached for the open belt buckle and pushed it out of the way. An arm crossed his chest and held him prisoner against the wall. All he could do was clench his fists as they hung heavy at his sides while boiling blood surged through his veins. The rich, smoky scent of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel hit his nose. However, Jake showed no signs of intoxication—well, maybe he was a little buzzed, but no more than Nick.

Jake’s face moved closer, and Nick licked his lips in anticipation. He felt the zipper of his pants being lowered over his throbbing erection, and once again, he prayed he wouldn’t come prematurely. That hadn’t happened since he was fifteen, and he sure as hell didn’t want it happening now. Not with this man. Puffs of breath caressed his mouth and chin when Jake stopped inches from where Nick wanted him.

“You ready to be topped, little boy? Because I’m going to dominate you, and you’ll submit to my every whim.”

Nick stiffened and tilted his chin in defiance. “I’m not a boy.” He wished he’d also added that he wasn’t a submissive, but the Dom before him wouldn’t have believed him anyway. This man was the only person who’d ever made him feel submissive, made him want and need in ways he’d never known, and he unsuccessfully fought the feeling in his gut.

“Tonight, you are. Tonight, you’re my boy, and I’m going to f**k my boy any way I want.”

Nick never had a chance to respond as Jake’s mouth came down hard against his and . . .

“Sir? Excuse me, sir?”

Shaking his head, Nick opened his eyes to see the blonde-haired, first-class stewardess staring at him. He glanced down quickly and was relieved to see the book he’d been reading was open on his lap and hiding his painful erection. He looked back up with a sheepish expression. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

She gave him a thousand-watt smile which he was sure had heterosexual males drooling over her. It did nothing for him. “We’re getting ready to land, sir. Please put your seat and tray table up.”

Nick reached for the lever and sat forward, wincing as his jeans tightened further in the crotch. The memory of that incredible night two months ago faded away, and he wondered what Jake would say when he saw him again. He was on a four-week leave, and instead of visiting his parents and old friends in Norfolk, Virginia, he’d decided to take a chance and spend the time off in Florida. He hoped he was doing the right thing.