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.You re real good at playing innocent, aren t you?Á
River folded his arms. Didn t even slip in a denial, just acted all wide-eyed and amazed.Hell, I betyou d even pass a polygraph with that act.Á
His shock gave way to anger. I never wanted the money.I ve told you that.I wanted Á
 Me, right?Á
River said with obvious disgust. Sure.You saw me in the subway and thought to yourself, damn, that is one hot bum.I d like to bang him six waysto Sunday.Come on, man.You want to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge too?Á
 River, I& Á
Blast it, he was no good at this.He d always relied on his abilities to sense what would please his sexual partners, to give them what they wanted andpersuade them to give what he wanted.But he could not read River at all and he understood so little of humans and their behaviors, he could scarcely begin toguess what the man might be thinking. It is the truth,Á
he said at last. I was& I am attracted to you.More than I m able to explain.And I did not take themoney.Á
He lowered his gaze, and his shoulders slumped. But if money is truly all you desire, I will obtain more for you.Á
 You will?Á
River whispered the words.He looked up and met gray eyes that had darkened to the hue of a tempest sky. Yes,Á
Braelan said,  if it pleases you, I ll do it.Á
He looked up and met gray eyes that had darkened to the hue of a tempest sky. Yes,Á
Braelan said,  if it pleases you, I ll do it.Á
70S.W.Vaughn Fuck!Á
River closed his eyes, and his hands clenched in tight fists.A muscle worked along his jaw. Why d you have to say that?Á
 What? What have I done now?Á
 You Á
He made a frustrated sound, nearly a growl. Shit.Look, Braelan& I don t want you to steal more money for me, okay? I have no fucking idea whathappened, but I believe you didn t take what I had.I was wrong.And I have to go.Á
 Wait.Á
Desperation left him breathless.He d apparently said something right, but what? He could barely follow River s rapidly shifting emotions. Please stay.Á
 Why, so you can screw me again? I ve been screwed enough today.Á
River cursed softly and looked away. All right, you didn t deserve that.I m sorry,Á
hesaid. The thing is, I can t play with you anymore.I m officially homeless as of this morning.Monte kicked me out.And since the money disappeared into a blackhole or something, I need to go make more, or I m gonna starve to death.Á
Braelan s heart wrenched. If you cannot return to your room, where will you live?Á
 Christ, don t you have homeless people in your country?Á
River released a bitter laugh. Everywhere.Nowhere.If I m lucky, I ll find a park bench to sleep onfor a while before I get busted.On second thought, I can t even chance the park.So I ll sleep in the trash piles with the rest of the unwashed masses.Á
 No.Á
A strange kind of smothering panic rose from Braelan s gut and caught in his throat, leaving him barely able to speak. You will not sleep in the trash.You ll stay with me.Á
 What do you think this is, Adopt-a-Bum? I can t do that.Á
 You ll stay with me!Á
The idea of allowing this strong, incredible human to wither and die on the streets was unthinkable. Please.I ll not screw you, if you do notwish to be screwed.Only stay and eat and sleep in a bed.Á
River went quite still. That s all, huh?Á
 Yes.Anything you like.Á
Unforgiven71 I don t believe this.Á
River drew a deep breath and released it slowly. Okay.I ll stay tonight.I must be out of my goddamned mind, but I ll stay.Á
 Thank you.Á
Braelan refrained from embracing the man, from thoroughly claiming his mouth as he d longed to do when he first saw him here.For the moment, itwas enough that River would stay because Braelan could not bear the alternative.He walked back to the door of the Grotto and held it open. Come in,Á
he said.River hesitated, then approached and stepped inside.* * *Exhaustion.That had to be it.River was too tired to argue anymore.That was the only reason he d agreed to put himself through this.Damn Braelan for offering to steal for him.That, more than anything, had convinced him the man hadn t taken the money.And made him realize that even if there wasthe slightest, insane chance he could be part of Braelan s life, he didn t deserve it.But here he was, spending another night with the man.Stupid.At least he knew it wasn t dangerous.Except to his heart.He d been right about the security light.It illuminated a small, mostly empty room with a table and chair to the right and two separate doors on the back wall.There was a closed black book on the surface of the table, nothing on the cover or binding [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]