Free Axel's Pup by Kim Dare Page B

a long time.
    “I’m a damn sight more bloody minded than you. You can stall, but you won’t win a standoff with me.”
    Bayden ground his teeth together. He closed his eyes. Axel was reasonably sure he’d just been cursed back several generations. “You can if you want to,” Bayden repeated. “But I might be able to make it better for you if you wanted to wait until tomorrow.”
    “You really think I’d start a scene now?” Axel asked, far from impressed.
    Bayden frowned. “I wasn’t insulting you.”
    He seemed to believe that. Axel studied him for a second. It seemed more like it hadn’t occurred to Bayden that a man would have to be a bastard to want him to play in that state.
    “You forgot to mention that you’d be more likely to enjoy yourself if you weren’t in agony,” Axel pointed out.
    Bayden’s frown deepened. “That’s not why I said it.”
    “Whether or not you’d enjoy a scene isn’t important?” Axel asked.
    Bayden shook his head, dismissing the whole topic. “It’s not about me.”
    “Oh?”
    Bayden glanced up. He looked confused, as if he really didn’t understand why Axel wasn’t instantly agreeing with him.
    “Have you ever played when it wasn’t for a bet?” Axel asked, suspiciously.
    Bayden said nothing, but his silence was quite eloquent enough.
    Axel got up. “It’s time you went to bed.”
    He showed him to the spare bedroom. Bayden seemed a fraction steadier on his feet as he walked across the flat. He made no comment on anything as he stepped into the room.
    “There’s an en suite through there.”
    Bayden hesitated. “Can I use the shower?”
    Axel shook his head. Maybe Bayden wasn’t thinking so clearly after all. “You don’t want water against your back.”
    “Okay.”
    Axel found himself lingering in the room, not sure Bayden should be left on his own. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Bayden to sleep in his room with him.
    Bayden would go along with it. But, hell, he’d go along with it if Axel wanted to screw him too. What Bayden would go along with wasn’t a reliable indication of acceptable behaviour.
    Axel pushed Bayden’s hair back off his face. “My room’s next door. Shout if you need anything.”
    Bayden dipped his head once in acknowledgement. All Axel could do then was walk away before he ended up sticking around to tuck the boy in.
    On the way to his own room, Axel glanced at the door leading down to the pub, but he didn’t go downstairs. He needed to be there if Bayden needed him. The other Dragons were quite capable of keeping things under control and locking up at the end of the night.
    Shutting his bedroom door, Axel closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The image of Richards’ cat landing on Bayden’s back rushed to greet him. He was sure it would be stuck to the inside of his eyelids for months.
    Just to prove a wolf could take it…
    Axel wasn’t sure if the boy needed a babysitter or a psychiatrist. He busied himself with stripping down and getting into bed, but the little voice in the back of his mind was as persistent as the image of Bayden being whipped by another man.
    Forget a babysitter or a psychiatrist, what Bayden really needed was a good dom.

Chapter Six
    Axel jerked from sound asleep to completely awake. It was impossible to open the roller doors on any of the lock-ups without creating one hell of a racket. They were as good as a burglar alarm. Jeans tugged hurriedly on, he raced down the backstairs, buttoning his fly as he went. His brain had barely managed to catch up with his body by the time he reached the backdoor.
    Bayden…
    Axel paused to catch his breath. Of course it was a good thing that no one was breaking in, but the idea of Bayden sneaking off at the crack of dawn didn’t exactly fill him with the joys of spring.
    As Axel watched, Bayden stepped into the lock-up, but he didn’t make any attempt to jump on his bike and rush away. He moved his helmet to one side and crouched down