Love For Hire Read Free Page A

skin, and he finally understood what all the big fuss about silk was about.

    He hummed in contentment, a soft smile on his face, moving slightly so the soft fabric slid against his bare body once more. He was just about to roll sideways to try and curl up into a tiny ball when strong arms came out of nowhere, restraining him, locking his hands to his sides and keeping him on his back.

    Danger , danger , his mind helpfully supplied, and he started struggling, trying to get out of the secure grip that had him pinned to the bed.

    Suddenly, the way the smooth cloth moved against his body wasn’t alluring and sensual anymore, it was terrifying, and his struggle only intensified when a sharp grunt above him told him whoever had a hold on him meant business.

    “Please don’t hurt me,” Jayden whispered.

    “Open your eyes,” the stranger commanded, and just as they had been ordered to, Jayden’s eyes snapped open. Terror surely danced in them, and he slowly focused on a blond man with amazing blue eyes, sitting on the bed next to him, holding him down.

    The man looked familiar. For a moment nothing happened, and then the events from last night slotted into place and he made the connection.

    The man… Jayden stopped midthought.

    Gods, what should he call him? Couldn’t keep calling him the man in his head over and over again, and there were only so many references to the stranger he could get away with before his head started to ache. He eyed him, gaze getting caught on the sun-kissed blond hair. Blondie—yes, Blondie would work!

    His aborted train of thought continued where it had broken off before.

    Blondie had rescued him last night. After getting lured to what would’ve probably been his death, this blond avenging angel had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, beating away the dark forces threatening his life.

    Yes, Jayden was aware of how dramatic he sounded, but frankly, he didn’t care.

    A stab of pain coming from down below reminded him of yet another important fact: his injury. His eyes widened even further, and he tried to twist his neck so he could see where he had been hurt.

    The silk sheets, though, pooled around his waist, and only a tiny tip of a bandage on his left side was visible.

    “Stop moving,” the guy insisted. “The stitches are all fairly new. I don’t want you tearing them open.”

    Jayden blinked, and then he nodded, his body going limp underneath the guy’s grip, and eventually, after a few tense moments, Blondie moved away, removing his hands from Jayden’s body.

    Jayden wanted to get up; he wanted to run his hands down his body, reassuring himself everything else was where it should be. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, sending feelers out through his mind, checking to see if he could move all his toes, if his arms and legs were working like they should, if there was any other pain lurking about, waiting for him to stumble across it when he least expected it.

    Most importantly, though? He wanted to go home and put last night’s events behind him.

    Home might not be much, but it was all he had, and those four walls made him feel safe. And besides, Danny would be there, and Danny, with his mischievous smile and sometimes-crazy comments, always made him feel safe.

    He tore his gaze away from the blond god and surveyed the room, fully expecting to still be in the motel room even though the silken sheets should’ve been an indication he was in a different place. His brain was still trying to catch up with what had happened, so it really wasn’t surprising that he was scrambling to keep up.

    “Where am I?” he asked slowly, taking in the wide windows, which seemed to be overlooking a vast garden. He strained his ears. Were those birds he heard singing? The place he and Danny had been calling home for a while was in the middle of a really awful part of town, and honestly, Jayden couldn’t recall the last time he had heard birds chirping in the sun. How could he have