Free Kelan's Pursuit by Lavinia Lewis Page A

his bones than having Kelan’s sweat-soaked, muscular body writhing in ecstasy above him.
    A car backfired, causing Jake to jump. He put his hand over his heart and stopped walking, taking a moment to calm himself. He was about to set off again when he thought he heard footsteps walking behind him. But when he turned around and scanned the area the street was practically empty.
    “Get a grip,” he mumbled, continuing on his journey home. “Great. Now I’m talking to myself too.”
    After another block or so, he heard the same heavy footsteps pounding the pavement behind him. Shit. Jake knew if someone was following him it could very well be the person who had broken into his apartment, and that person clearly disliked him. What if he had a knife or a gun?
    “Jake!”
    Jake span around when he heard his name. He squinted in the darkness to make out the features of the man running towards him.
    “Jake! Wait up!”
    “Tony?”
    “Hey, Jake,” Tony said, stopping at Jake’s side.
    “Have you been following me?”
    Tony frowned. “Excuse me? You know you really ought to get over yourself. You called me, remember?”
    “Uh, yeah, sorry. I just thought there was… Oh, forget about it.” It had probably been his overactive imagination. “Look, I called to apologise to you about the other night.”
    “Huh?”
    “Thursday night in Liberties. I…”
    “Yeah. I know what you’re talking about. I just can’t believe you’re actually apologising. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use the word ‘sorry’ before, like ever .”
    “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, too.”
    Tony scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. “Are you feeling okay?”
    “Never better. You wanna come back to mine for a drink?”
    Tony hesitated then shook his head. “Sorry I can’t. Got a date tonight.”
    “Wow, good for you. With who?”
    “Just someone I met at Liberties Saturday night. We got on, so I decided to see him again. What happened with that guy from Thursday night? You take him home?”
    “Yeah,” Jake said. “Actually I spent all weekend with him.”
    “You did? That’s not like you. So you like him, then?”
    “Yeah, I do. His name is Kelan . He’s from Texas. I’m even considering moving there with him.”
    Tony looked like he’d been hit over the head with a flat iron.
    “You’re what? Are you insane? You’ve only known the guy for four days, Jake. Don’t you think that’s a little soon?”
    Crap. When was Jake going to learn to keep his big mouth shut?
    “Well, yeah. I don’t mean right away, of course…but it’s a possibility, uh, for the future.”
    “Oh, right. Look I can’t stop or I’ll be late, but if you want to talk we can meet up tomorrow night, say at Liberties?”
    “Yeah, sounds good. I’ll meet you there at eight.”
    “Cool. See you then.”
    Jake waved goodbye to his friend and made his way towards his apartment. He wasn’t far away, but he couldn’t get there quickly enough. He felt vulnerable and exposed, and those weren’t emotions he was used to.
    Jake had always been able to take care of himself. Not that he got into fights often—he didn’t—but he knew how to handle himself in one if the situation arose. The scary thing was, Jake didn’t know what he was facing, and if this guy was a shifter like Kelan said, he’d be strong.
    Jake had made a point of telling Kelan he could look after himself, and under normal circumstances he could…but these weren’t normal circumstances. Jake had to concede that maybe he’d need Kelan’s protection after all.
    For the rest of the short walk home, Jake couldn’t shake the feeling someone was following him.

Chapter Six
     
     
     
    “Is there some reason you keep staring at your watch every two minutes?” Cody asked his older brother.
    Kelan sighed. “Jake’s gone to a gay bar to meet with his ex.”
    Cody nearly choked on his beer. “And you’re okay with that?”
    “Don’t have much choice. I’m just going to