Page 3 of Restoring His Howl

Chapter Two

Cinders headed to his room. He didn’t mind sharing his space with Ryder, but there wasn’t a spark between them. Hell, he knew almost nothing about his roommate other than Ryder had come from Covington, shifted into a puma and didn’t leave a mess in his wake. He didn’t drink, smoke or flirt. It seemed like the only time he talked to the others was during dinnertime.

Cinders had wished there was a spark between him and Ryder. God, he’d tried. He’d strolled around naked, shaken his ass—bare and clothed—hinted at sex and downright asked for it. Even a blowjob had been out of the question. He should’ve been insulted but wasn’t. If Ryder wasn’t in to him, there was no point in pushing it even more.

He knocked on his door before entering. Then when he got no answer, he went into his suite. He didn’t smell Ryder nearby. Good. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Dillon in the hallway. “Hey you.”

“Hi,” Dillon said. “I… Costume?”

“Sure. My roommate might show up while we’re finding one. He’s a good guy. You’ve probably seen him. Ryder?” He crossed the room and opened his prop box. He wasn’t sure why he’d been holding onto it. Now, it seemed rather silly to have a container full of costumes from his former life, but he hadn’t been ready to let go of the barely-there clothes. “Pick what you want, and take it.”

“Just not the cop outfit.” Dillon smiled. “Right?”

For a moment, Cinders could’ve sworn Dillon hadn’t said anything, that the words had to be a figment of his imagination. “Huh?”

“I’m not permitted to take the cop getup,” Dillon said. His eyes widened. “Right?”

“If it tickles your fancy, you can.” He had just given away his best costume and his schtick fromStifffor a guy who barely spoke? Jesus.

“I’m not cop material,” Dillon said. He knelt by the box. “You wore all these?”

“Yeah.” Cinders sat beside him. His knees nearly touched Dillon’s. Heat radiated from them. Cinders’ heart skipped a beat, and his jaguar took notice. The cat paced within him, curious.

Dillon held up a pair of hot pants with holes in the ass. “You wore this? How?”

“Oh that.” Cinders laughed. Embarrassment crept into him. He hadn’t thought about those shorts or his dance in them in quite a while. “Those go over a g-string. See the tabs here? They’re part of the break-away mechanism. You pull this loop, and the pants split apart at the sides. Makes removal easier.” He’d gyrated in the faces of countless women in those shorts.

“Wow. In my former line of work, we didn’t wear anything.” Dillon picked up a baseball jersey. “This seems tame enough. Does it have pants?”

Cinders paused. Wait… Had Dillon just said he wore nothing in his previous line of work? Had he been at a competing strip club? Nah…Stiffwas the biggest game in town. No one else would dare try to be like them. “Did you strip? Dance?” he asked. “You were at theTallboy Club, weren’t you?”

“Me?” Dillon clutched the jersey. “No, I never worked at a club.”

“Oh, you went from house to house to dance? I bet you made good scratch.” Cinders rummaged through the box. He’d heard about dancers that went to the clients, but he’d never met one. He slid his gaze to Dillon. Maybe, there was a decent need for silver-haired men. “Here are the pants. Well, they’re shorts. I always wore them with knee socks and a catcher’s mask.”

“Oh.” Dillon put the jersey back in the box. “I see.”

Dillon’s hesitancy annoyed him. “Grossed out? It’s all clean. I’m meticulous about my clothes.” He wasn’t sure why he’d admitted that. He wasn’t real sure why he’d gotten irritated, either. So Dillon hadn’t chosen one of the outfits? So what?

“I bet you are meticulous.” Dillon stood. “It’s a good thing.”

Cinders couldn’t figure him out. Dillon acted so guarded, but what was he hiding? Why did not knowing bother Cinders so much? “Well, you’re welcome to any of the clothes. If you decide on something and I’m not here, just tell Ryder, or come in and take it.”

“Thanks.” Dillon retreated to the door. “I should go.”

“Want to run with me? I’m headed out soon. My jaguar is getting restless.” He managed to stand. “I’d love company.”

“You don’t have a running partner? Not Ryder?” Dillon asked.

“No. He… I haven’t gotten him to open up. He’ll go without talking then once he’s in a group of people, he can’t stop talking. He’s happier with the group than with me.” He shrugged. “I think I make him nervous.”

“You do me.”

Do me.He’d like todoDillon. The guy had a nice body and would fill out the costumes well. He’d probably made great money dancing.

“I’ll see you. Thanks for the offer.” Dillon scrambled out of the room.

Before Cinders could chase after him, Dillon was gone.

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