“We’re on northern edge of the city center, in Jameson Court. The leader of the nest is Hamilton, an eagle.”
Kane filed it all away for future reference. “I haven’t heard anything about there being a breeding colony around here,” he mentioned, meeting the other man’s gaze and holding it for several seconds.
Everet didn’t even blink. “It’s a male-only nest. Is that a problem for you?”
Problem? If it was true, it was bloody well perfect! There was bound to be someone high up the pecking order that would like a pretty little boy-toy to hang on his arm and suck on his cock.
“What’s your position here?” Kane demanded.
Everet’s expression remained impassive. “I’m part of the nest’s security flock.”
“You’re a cop?” Kane didn’t even try to hide the horror in his voice. Everet could obviously be crossed off his list of possible sugar-daddies. Cops weren’t just trouble; they were usually broke, too.
“Something like that,” Everet said, absentmindedly. “I don’t think anything is broken.”
Sod bones. “I want to look in a mirror.”
Everet took a moment away from his inspection and met Kane’s gaze. “You’re not going anywhere until I’ve checked your injuries. You’re in no condition to wander around—”
“Then bring one to me,” Kane snapped. Really, ravens weren’t half as clever as they thought they were. The solution should have been obvious.
Everet looked down, as if in submission. Kane smiled, but his expression quickly soured as he realized that Everet had only dropped his gaze to resume his examination.
“I said—”
“I heard you,” Everet cut in.
“Then why aren’t you doing what I said?” Kane demanded.
“Because you’re priorities are screwed up.” Everet didn’t even look away from his study of Kane’s right wrist as he spoke.
“I can cause a lot of trouble for you.”
That convinced Everet to look up. He held Kane’s gaze very steadily for several seconds, his expression serious, the emotions in his eyes unreadable. Finally, he looked away.
“You appear to have more scrapes and bruises than anything else. Maybe a few cracked ribs as well.”
Kane pursed his lips, annoyance bubbling up inside him.
“Do you think you’ll be able to clean yourself up on your own, or will you need help?” Everet asked.
“I’m fine.”
Kane levered himself up, swung his legs over the side of the sofa and stood up. At least, that’s what he intended to do. His knees trembled, his ankles buckled. Suddenly, he found himself scooped up in Everet’s arms. It was almost like being lifted by a high, except—
“Don’t even bother arguing with me,” the raven snapped.
He carried Kane across the room and through an open doorway. A big, elaborate bathtub stood on the far side of a marble tiled room. One wall housed a toilet and bidet. Opposite stood a huge vanity containing a pair of matching sinks. And, most importantly of all, above the sinks hung a large, gilt-framed mirror.
Kane twisted around in Everet’s arms. “I want to look in the mirror!”
Everet played deaf and carried on, straight past the sinks, and set him down on a chair next to the bath.
Kane instantly tried to stand up.
“No.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Kane demanded, glaring up at him.
“Take your shorts off.”
“Dream on,” Kane sneered. “You can’t afford me.”
Everet reached across the bath and turned on the gold taps. “Take off your shorts so I can clean you up,” he specified.
Steam quickly filled the air. The water looked hot and tempting. It couldn’t hurt to be clean and pretty when he was finally introduced to someone who could be worth making a play for.
Kane had to struggle to get out of his shorts. Crenshaw had specifically chosen them to be so tight Kane couldn’t conceal any stolen items on his person. As if that would stop him!
Sore joints and bruised muscles protested at his squirming, but Kane finally managed to toss the shorts aside. Everet held out a hand and helped him into the bath.
The plug hadn’t been put in. All the hot water ran straight out. Before Kane had time to call Everet an idiot, the raven diverted the hot water so it ran through a showerhead. Holding the shower head in his hand rather than putting it up on the gilt stand alongside the bath, Everet maintained complete control over the spray, moving it slowly over Kane’s body, washing away the worst of the dust and dirt.
Kane hesitated. It seemed pointless to complain that all the dirty water hadn’t been trapped in the tub with him. He tipped back his head as Everet let the water pour down over his hair.
Being clean felt good, and it could only improve his chances with the richer avians at the nest. And, for a few minutes, while there was no one worth impressing looking on, Kane was free to simply enjoy a moment’s peace. That felt good, too.
There was no one he needed to flirt with, no one he needed to throw himself at. Kane just sat.
Shampoo and soap were offered and accepted. Kane remained silent as he washed himself all over several times in an effort to get rid of dried blood and accumulated dirt. He glanced up at Everet through his lashes as the other guy patiently moved the shower hose over him, rinsing off the suds each time.
In a way, it was a pity that Everet had no chance of raising the kind of money it took to keep Kane happy. He might have found lying face down on the bed while some guy shoved his cock up his arse mildly enjoyable, if the guy could have been someone like Everet.
Chapter Two
Everet turned off the water and handed Kane a towel. It was hard to tell if the droplets that hung from the magpie’s lashes were tears or simply spray from the shower. The boy had seemed to be in a world of his own for the last half an hour. That didn’t change as he began to dry his body.
The shower might have made Kane cleaner, but it hadn’t given him back his balance. As soon as he tried to stand, he swayed. Everet caught hold of him and ended up taking most of his weight as he guided him back onto the chair alongside the bath.
Everet ran his eyes over Kane, checking to see if any new injuries had become visible.
“While you were out-cold, I sent one of the wrens to fetch some clothes for you.”
Kane’s eyes narrowed, wherever his mind had wandered off to before, he was suddenly back in the here and now. “What kind of clothes?”
“Ones that will stop you from having to walk around the nest naked.”
Right on cue, a knock on the guest suite door heralded the arrival of those clothes.
“Stay where you are.” Everet strode out of the bathroom. Relief pounded off him as he managed to temporarily escape being in such close proximity to the naked magpie. Pushing his hand through his hair, Everet tried to force his mind back onto the job at hand.
Fetch the boy, clean him up and take him to the elders. His orders were simple. They did not involve getting all hot and bothered while helping Kane take a bath. An erection would not be required in order to fulfill his duties. Now, if he could just convince his cock to believe that.
He jerked open the suite’s door with far more force than he intended and glared down at the wren standing on the threshold. The servant lifted up the clothes, as if they were some sort of talisman that could ward off evil spirits—especially those which came in the form of a very pissed off raven.
“Thanks.” Everet snatched the clothes from the wren and slammed the door in his face.
There was no time for polite little niceties. Everet’s faith in Kane’s ability to obey his order and remain safely in his chair was severely limited. As he reached the bathroom doorway, Everet half expected to find the other man sprawled across the bathroom floor, quite possibly with a gash to his temple, after hitting his head when he collapsed.
Kane’s chair was empty. So was the floor. Everet frowned as he spotted the other man. Kane stood in front of the bathroom sink, staring into a section of mirror he’d wiped clear of steam.
“I look like I was hit by a steamroller.”
“I told you to stay where you were.”
Kane ran his fingers over his face. One side of it was a mass of bruises. It was a wonder he could stand to touch it at all. Or, perhaps it would have been if certain other facts hadn’t become apparent while Kane was in the bath.
Everet’s mood turned more somber than ever as he set the clothes down on the counter alongside the sink. “What are you on?”
Kane continued to stare into the mirror. “Nothing. I don’t do drugs.”
Everet caught hold of Kane’s wrist and turned his arm so the inside of his elbow was clearly visible to them both. With all the dust from Crenshaw’s floor washed away, the track marks were obvious.
“They’re old. I used to have a problem, I don’t anymore.” Kane didn’t even blink as he said it. In a way, it was quite impressive.
Everet was used to being lied to. It was practically part of his new job description at the nest, but he’d come across relatively few men who lied as seamlessly or as shamelessly as Kane. “I know what fresh track marks look like,” he bit out.
“Apparently you’re not nearly as well informed as you think you are.” Kane tried to snatch his wrist out of Everet’s grip and failed.
“If you weren’t high, you’d be in so much pain right now you’d barely be able to stay conscious, let alone move around the room.”
“I have a high pain tolerance. Spend a few years getting whipped just so some old fool can get his rocks off and you’d barely notice a few bumps and bruises either.”
“Tell me what you’ve taken over the last few days,” Everet ordered once more, keeping his voice entirely emotionless through sheer force of will.
Kane rolled his eyes. “Nothing! Are you deaf or something?”
“If I have to, I can order a blood test and—”
“I don’t belong to you.” Kane turned to face Everet head on. Tilting his head back, he glared up at him, real anger burning in his gaze. “If you want to order me around, you can drop your money on the end of the bed, just like everyone else. I don’t do freebies—not even for cops.”
“I’m acting on orders from the elders. While you’re in this nest—”
“You want to screw me, don’t you?”
Everet said nothing. There was no point denying it when his erection strained against the inside of his jeans.
“Don’t bother lying,” Kane sneered. “I can always tell when a man wants to pin me against the wall and screw me, quick and rough. You’re gagging for it.”
Everet continued to stare down at the magpie for several seconds while Kane grinned in triumph.
“Finished?” Everet asked, when Kane failed to add another taunt to his list.
“Only because I’ve obviously won!” Kane’s laughter was brittle and harsh—an ugly sound to come from such a pretty boy.
“Tell me what you’ve taken.”
Kane snatched his hand out of Everet’s grip. This time, Everet let him. He pushed against Everet’s chest. There was little strength in him, and even less weight behind him. Everet remained exactly where he was. Kane didn’t.