Sunshine's Savior [Brac Pack 3] (2 page)

Kota reached around for the drink that was given to him, taking a seat closer to the stage as the dancer seemed to target him. He bent over backwards, grabbing his ankles as he jutted his ass out.

The shifter swallowed his drink down as he felt his erection pressing into the zipper of his slacks. Once the show was over, Kota made a hasty departure. The dancer seemed very interested, something Kota wasn’t going to get into.

The streets seemed a little more deserted when he stepped back out into the night.

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Lynn Hagen

He tucked his hands into his pockets as he sighed. His feet carried him down an alley, knowing it was a short cut to his hotel from the previous night.

“Hey, big boy, looking for a good time?”

Kota rolled his eyes.
Fuck off.
He kept going, not even wanting to deal with a rent boy. If that’s what he wanted, he would have taken the one in that bar.

“Come on, baby. I can make you feel real good.” The guy got in Kota’s face, rubbing his hands up and down his chest.

Kota growled, pissed that someone invaded his personal space uninvited.

“Chill, dude. I meant no harm. Just trying to make some money to eat.” The guy backed off. Tucking his hair behind his ear, he dropped his gaze to the ground. “Sorry.”

Kota froze, sniffing the air around him. He moved closer to the guy and inhaled deeply. His jaw dropped in shock then quickly recovered to clench it.

Mine
!

“Hey, stop sniffing me. You’re weirding me out.” The prostitute took a step back. Kota noticed him looking up and down the alley.

The knowledge that they were alone widened the young man’s eyes.

Kota needed to get his mate back to his room. Take care of him.

“How much for the night?” Kota cursed himself for the question, but he wasn’t about to have his mate out here another second and doubted he would leave of his own free will.

His mate’s eyes grew wide. “Uh, two hundred?” It was a question, not a quote.

“Done, come on.” Kota kept the young man next to his side as they walked back to his room.

The guy was fidgety. His eyes stayed glued to the ground. Kota pressed his lips together. Now was not the time for questions. Once his mate had a hot bath and a good night’s sleep, he would find out how he ended up on the streets selling his body.

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13

The hotel came into sight. Kota placed his hand on the small of his mate’s back, guiding him through the glass and gold front doors.

They rode the elevator to the twelfth floor, stepping off as Kota dug for his key card. His hand hit the brown paper bag he had in his pocket. Kota shuddered.

Once the door was open, allowing his mate to walk in, Kota turned to close and lock it.

“No. I’m paying for the night, correct?” Kota grabbed his mate’s wrists, stopping him from unzipping his slacks. This was not how he wanted to be with him, bought and paid for.

His mate’s head tilted back, the most erotic sight Kota had ever witnessed, and it took nerves of steel not to crumble and give in at the sight of his mate on his knees.

“W–what do you want?”

He could see the wariness in his mate’s eyes, the way his body tensed. This would not do. His mate should be relaxed around him.

The claiming could wait. His mate needed healing of the soul first.

Kota bent down, sliding his hand under his mate’s arm, lifting him to his feet. “I want you to bathe then come to bed.”

“I’m clean. I showered before I left home. You’re the first person tonight.”

And the last.
The words brought home the fact that Kota had his work cut out for him. He watched as his mate walked off into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Kota turned the bed down, stripping down into his boxer briefs before sliding under the blankets. He could hear the tub filling and his mate getting undressed. Being a Timber wolf, his hearing was keen.

Timber wolves can hear a leaf falling to the ground in autumn.

The door opened twenty minutes later, and his mate looked

pruned, his pale skin pinked. Kota lifted the blanket for his mate to join him.

The young man crawled onto the bed, sliding down. Kota stopped him, pulling him up to his chest. “No.”

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Lynn Hagen

“You’re paying me to sleep with you? Actually sleep?”

Kota chuckled at the look his mate had. It was a cross between unbelievable and thinking Kota a nut. “Yes.”

Something flashed across his mate’s face, his mouth rounding into an
O
. “Your plumbing doesn’t work. Its, uh, it’s cool.”

Kota fell onto his back, laughing. The young man was comical.

“Get some sleep.”

Sunshine’s Savior

15

Blair stretched, relishing the feel of a soft bed. For the first time in a long while, he hadn’t had to go to sleep with feelings of disgust for selling himself to survive. Well, he had, but sex hadn’t been involved.

He thought about the apocalyptic dude he followed to the hotel room.

There was something ancient and old-world about him. Something commanding. He had felt relaxed enough to actually fall asleep, which was a big no-no in Blair’s book. Too many bad things could happen while in dreamland. He should know.

Opening his eyes, Blair looked around. The room was empty.

Fuck!
Did he stiff him? If he did, Blair missed a whole night of making money. He would be behind now, having to work harder to catch up.

The door opened, and the man walked through with a tray and a large shopping bag. Blair was curious to know what was in the bag, but the aroma of food overpowered that thought.

“Morning, sunshine. Hungry?”

“Starved, as a matter of fact.” He pushed himself up into a sitting position, wondering if he had to get up and get his own food. The guy set the bag down and brought the tray over to him. Guess not. The dome was lifted from the plate, and the wafting steam revealed scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and home fries. Oh, yeah. He tucked his hair behind his ear and smiled. It really did look delicious.

“Let me know if you want more, and I’ll order it up.” The man walked over to the small, round hotel room table that he had set the bag on, rifling through it and pulling clothes out. He set a toothbrush down, and a comb, deodorant and mouthwash. Blair shrugged and

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Lynn Hagen

dug into his food. His eyes rolled at the heavenly taste. Everything was just the way he liked it. The eggs were fluffy, bacon tender, and the home fries browned just right. The toast was even perfect.

Blair kept an eye on his paying
host
as he ate, watching for any sudden moves. He still didn’t trust that someone paid another person to just sleep then gave them breakfast in bed. This shit wasn’t
Pretty
Woman
, and he wasn’t Julia Roberts. Fairy tale crap didn’t happen, especially not to people like him. The only knight in shining armor he was going to see was in a museum.

The fierce looking dude sat in one of two chairs that occupied the room, steepling his fingers under his bottom lip and watching Blair eat.

Awkward.

That’s what he felt like having someone watch him chew his food.

Blair suddenly became aware of how he ate, chewed, and swallowed.

It sounded like a booming echo now that attention was being paid to it. He sipped his juice, which had the acoustic effect of a bullhorn in front of it, then set his glass and fork down.

He dropped his gaze to the tray, tucking his hair behind his ear.

Why wouldn’t the guy stop staring at him? Was he, like, voyeuristic?

He knew it was time to go. This was becoming too bizarre. Setting the tray aside and sliding from the bed, Blair walked into the bathroom only to find his clothes were not where he had laid them. He checked the little cabinet under the sink, but nothing. Shit, was the guy going to try and hold him there? He would walk out naked if he had to.

Nobody was holding him hostage.

Blair walked back into the room, walking straight up to the still sitting man. “Could I
please
have my clothes back?” The man stood.

Holy shit, he was altitude privileged. Blair was six one. This guy had to be close to seven feet. He hadn’t paid attention last night, too busy trying to
get the job done
.

“Those clothes on the table over there are for you. I also took the liberty of getting you some personal hygiene items.” The man

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leisurely raised his hand, tucking his index finger under Blair’s chin.

Blair stopped himself from flinching. He didn’t want to piss the man off because knew he for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to take him in a fight. It didn’t look like anybody could. The guy slanted his lips and kissed Blair feather light on the lips. Blair stood there momentarily in a trance, leaning in for another. He shook his head and stepped back.

Kissing johns was against his rules. It was way too personal, too intimate. Blair grabbed the clothes from the table and shoved his legs in the jeans, pulling the sweater over his head. Where did he put his shoes? There. Grabbing the tennis shoes on the floor by the dresser, he laced them up and stood. The socks, they were just lost.

“Um, can I have my money now?” Blair tucked his hair back, twisting his fingers together as he waited.

The guy pulled his wallet out and handed Blair two crisp one hundred dollar bills. Shoving the notes in his front pocket, he sighed.

“Well. It’s, uh, been fun. Come find me if you want someone to
sleep
with you again.” He headed to the door, feeling a sadness pull at him.

Why would he be sad to leave a trick? Well, technically the dude wasn’t. He didn’t qualify as one since no sex was exchanged. That’s how Blair looked at it anyway.

He took a deep breath to rid those crazy feelings and reached for the doorknob.

“Wait.”

Kota couldn’t let his mate just walk out the door. He had seen the way the guy hesitated, and he knew he didn’t want to go back out there on the streets. He had to think fast. “How much would it cost me to keep you off the streets, not selling yourself?”

His mate’s head snapped back. “Dude, you should seriously get back on the meds.”

“Okay, since that’s not a reasonable request to you, how much

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Lynn Hagen

would it cost me to have you by my side while I’m in town?” Kota waited for his next quick witted remark.

“Okay, Richard Gere, why don’t you put the pipe down and come back to reality.”

“Who?”

“Haven’t you seen…never mind. I’m going to go along with the story line and tell you cash. Up front. Two grand.”

Two grand was a drop in the bucket to Kota. His mate’s life was priceless. He would take as long as he had to convince him to go home with him, convince Blair that they were mates. “Done. I’ll have to stop at my bank. Is that reasonable?”

The young man stood there with his jaw on his chest and his eyes as wide as saucers. Wasn’t it enough? Kota would pay more.

“Uh, yeah. Okay. Um, what are we going to do while you’re

here?”

“I have to track someone down. Since you are a native here, maybe you could assist me?” Kota gently tugged his mate further back into the room, and the guy looked too dazed to argue. He had at least a few days before Alpha Maverick started calling and questioning him about his delay. Kota would take that time to get to know this young man, find out what made him tick.

“Uh, sure, I can take you around. It would probably help if I were there anyway because, no offense, but you’re one big ass scary dude.

People would piss themselves and run away before you even got to ask them anything.”

Kota smiled. His mate was charming, in a hallucinatory sort of way. “My name is Dakota, but everyone calls me Kota.”

“Everyone calls me Raven. I don’t give my real name to anyone.”

Kota frowned. This wouldn’t do. He wanted—no, needed—to

know his mate’s name. He didn’t want the street one. “I think I am paying enough to at least get your real name. That isn’t

unreasonable.”

The young man sighed, tucking his hair behind his ear. He did that

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a lot. Was it nerves or just habit? Kota guided him to the edge of the bed and sat him down, squatting down in front of his mate. The guy dropped his eyes again. Kota suppressed a growl. “Lowering your eyes is a sign of submission. Do not give anyone that part of you…not even to me.” The man brought his gaze back up to meet his. Better.

“It’s, uh, Blair.”

“Blair. I like that. It’s nice to meet you, Blair.”

His mate smiled shyly, “Nice to meet you, too, Dakota.”

His name sounded like a symphony coming from his mate,

wanting to hear it over and over again. Kota noticed the guy didn’t have a coat. He would rectify that. It was too chilly out not to have one. “Please excuse me.” Kota went out into the hallway, extracting his cell phone and calling the clothing store downstairs, requesting a coat in the young man’s size, in white. His mate’s hair would contrast with it beautifully. He walked back in to find Blair stripping his clothes off.

“What are you doing, young man?”

“I figured, for two grand, you wanted your money’s worth.”

Again, his eyes dropped. He stood there naked, hands clasped in front of him, looking nervous as hell.

“No. I am not
renting
you. You’re my assistant. You’ll help me in my task. Nothing more. If sex is to happen, it will be natural, not because you feel it has been paid for. Now, raise your eyes.”

Blair raised his head, tears welling up in them.

Blair was humiliated. Wiping his eyes, he grabbed his jeans, punching his legs in and yanking the sweater back over his head. He stood there with his back to Dakota, unable to face him. That had been the most embarrassing moment he had had in a long time, and considering how he made a living, that spoke volumes. Why should he care what the man thought of him? No one took their time to get to
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