"You're a dumbass."
Jak flipped Tay off with one hand as the other shoved popcorn in his mouth. "Bite me."
Tay sat down in his chair and pulled the notebook into his lap. "No. I mean it. You are a dumbass. Did you even listen to what he was trying to say? Or did you just lose your temper and become obstinate?"
His friend set the bowl aside and pulled his knees up. "He basically said he was a manwhore." He caught the paperwad thrown at him. "What?!"
"Reaux was never a manwhore. He only ever had one lover at a time and only shared with others when the other person was comfortable."
Jak blinked at his best friend. When he'd shown up at Tay's condo, he'd started rambling about the fight and Dante. Tay had listened as he'd gathered names, phone numbers, and prices so they could set up the party. He'd asked questions here and there, but for the most part he'd just let Jak rant.
The other Alpha had gone through something similar with Damian while they'd been in high school. He was neither as tactful as Reaux nor did he care whose feelings he hurt. As long as Damian had been and was safe, he hadn't cared what the outcome had been or was. Now that they were a bonded pair, Tay didn't allow anyone near Damian he didn't know or trust.
As far as Jak knew, Reaux was not the same. He allowed Jak to do whatever he wanted within reason. Jak could come and go as he pleased, and he didn't have to check in with him if he didn't want to even though he did. Their relationship was pretty relaxed. Jak's family knew he had a lover, but they didn't know the extent of it. He rarely brought it up to them unless they asked.
The news of Reaux's past was somewhat unnerving for Jak. He knew how dominant Reaux was. He'd see him back down the fire chief at a party, but he hadn't known about Andrew and his past until the man had messaged him. Jak hadn't been snooping. Reaux had been logged in to his computer when the message had come across. It had all come at the same time as Dante Rodriguez, and Jak had a hard time separating the two in his head.
"How did you know about his past?" he asked.
"You're not the only one who's worried about your relationship," Tay mused.
Reaux had only one close friend he talked to on a regular basis. He had Tiffany, but she didn't give as much advice. She usually rold him to beat the silver spoon out of Jak's mouth. If he was talking to Tay, it meant he was troubled by it.
Jak had seen Reaux troubled one time. It had been when they'd started investigating Damian's case. It had been so high profile he hadn't wanted to screw it up, but most importantly, Damian was Jak's friend. They had just bonded and had tried to figure things out. Reaux hadn't wanted to fail Jak by failing Damian. He'd stayed up days on end trying to find clues and piece the story together. That had been before there'd been any leads other than Evan Delmane.
When Even had been murdered, Reaux had thought his case was over. He'd withdrawn from Jak for several weeks because he hadn't wanted to be seen as a failure. But luck had been on his side and they'd found a link to Conrad Evers. Both Reaux and Jak had pursued it, and thankfully had come up trumps. Now Evers was on death row and Damian lived with Tay.
"Jak," Tay said. He waited until his friend looked at him. "Have you ever looked at anyone since you started living with Reaux?"
He didn't have to think. "No, not as in a sexual partner. I find people attractive, but I don't want to sleep with them."
A slow smile spread across Tay's face. "People?"
Jak nodded. "Yeah, people. What about it?"
"Freshman year up until Christmas break of senior year, you would have said you only found women attractive."
"And you would have killed me for saying Damian looks good as an adult than he did as a teen."
Tay held back his laughter. "My point is you've changed since you've been with Reaux. So why can't he change too?"
"He wanted me to allow Damian to apologize."
"You should have let him then punched him in the face." Jak snorted out a laugh. Tay shrugged. "He opened his mouth to Damian. He deserves much worse."
"You know Karl and I are doing our graduate papers on the case, right? What's the difference?"
Tay put the notebook to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. "You were there. You helped him come through it. You never treated him any different. To you, he was Damian and not a victim. Plus you asked his permission. That's the difference."
Permission was a big thing. Asking permission to Damian was a no brainer. Jak hadn't wanted to hurt his friend. At Damian's back was Tay, his staunchest defender. He was more afraid of Tay than Damian. Like now, he didn't pull punches. If anyone hurt the Omega, Tay wouldn't hesitate to go to war. David Marquette would be right behind him with the money to defend his song.
"Does Reaux ask permission?" Tay asked. Jak frowned at him, eyes full of suspicion. "There's a woman at the plant who is a submissive. She says everything is about consent. Even regular sex has to be consensual. So…"He pinned him with a serious glare. "Does Reaux ask for permission before he does anything?"
Jak sat back on the couch and crossed his legs. "Regular sex? No, he doesn't. He knows with one touch I'm a bumbling mess who's ready for him. As for anything additional, yes he asks. He knows I'm okay with being bound and having my senses obscured. If he wants to try anything new, he asks first."
Tay's eyes were dangerous as he asked, "Does he hit you?"
"Absolutely not. He did the one time I told you about but hasn't since. Every so often he'll pat my ass as he passes by, but he doesn't slap it. He's threatened a couple of times when I've been a jerk, but so far he hasn't."
Like Damian, Tay knew what had happened to Jak in the past. He was more concerned because he'd been the one to introduce Kayla to Jak. He hadn't known her true personality at the time. So when Jak had shown up with a bruise around his neck in the shape of a hand, his friend had almost come unglued. It hadn't taken that much persuasion to get him to break up with her after that.
He watched Jak fiddle with his toes. Jak wasn't as dominant as he was so he didn't fully understand the possessiveness a dominant feels. The four of them - Damian, Tay, Reaux, and Jak - were protective of Damian because of what he'd been through and because he was a rare male Omega. Their natural instinct was to protect him.
But Jak wasn't mated to an Omega. He was mated to another Alpha, one so dominant he could command others. Tay had wanted to argue with Reaux, but two things had given him pause. First, Reaux was way more dominant than he was right now because he was older and been doing it longer. Like Tay, people naturally flocked to him. Unlike the younger Alpha, Reaux was pretty easy-going and could patiently talk to people.
Second, Reaux loved Jak. As far as he knew, they had never said it to each other. Tay wasn't altogether sure Jak had even thought about it, but he knew Reaux's heart was with his friend. He could see it in the way Reaux watched him from afar.
"There was a very good reason why he was mad at you," Tay said.
Jak looked up. "Yeah, because I went out with someone else and got wasted."
His friend waved it off. "Nah, he's not mad about that. He knows it's partly his fault so he's more mad at himself for that. He's mad at you because you ruined his surprise."
"I know. Birthdays are the one thing we celebrate together, just the two of us."
Again Tay waved it off. "Dumbass, where's the one place you've always wanted to go without your family?"
Jak frowned. "Rome?"
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Jak's mouth fell open. "He bought two tickets to Rome for after your graduation. That was your surprise. Now as for the other, he's dominant and you're his mate. He does NOT like other people hitting on you as much as you hate people hitting on him. He has to own your heart, mind, body and soul. It's what is natural to him. For you to even look at someone else sends his hormones into a fit. Trust me. He's at war with himself."
"But I didn't do anything wrong," Jak argued.
"You're right; you didn't. But all he knows is someone is trespassing on his territory. You are his territory. He wants to protect you, but he also has to know you care for him."
"What my wonderful lover is leaving out is Reaux loves you and wants to know if you feel the same." Both of them stared at Damian as he dropped to the edge of Tay's chair. He smiled sheepishly. "My flight was early."
Tay pointed at the third member of their group. "Case in point, he had two bodyguards fly home with him."
Damian laughed. "They dropped me off first." He laced his fingers with Tay's. "But he's right. All Reaux wants to do is protect and love you. Anyone who encroaches on his territory is an enemy."
"Are you even sure Dante likes me and not him?" Jak asked.
"Trust me," Tay said. "He likes you. Reaux was just a stepping stone. Now go home and talk to him. He won't find you first."
Reaux only sought Jak out if he was in the wrong. If he felt what he said or did was justified, he waited for Jak to come to him. They usually didn't fight like this so unless one of them took the first step, it would just be a stalemate. No one would get any sleep.
Jak stayed an hour more talking to Damian. He was just trying to build up the courage to go home. Damian didn't seem to mind. His trip had been a success so Tay's project now had the green light. They had a quick drink to celebrate while Damain passed out souvenirs.
When he was finally ready to go home, he stared at his friends while standing in the doorway. Tay kissed Damian sweetly, and the other man smiled as he accepted it happily. Jak wished he could have that with Reaux, but he was afraid of opening something he couldn't contain.