He had to be out of there getting high and, perhaps just as importantly, he desperately needed to be completely surrounded by guys who were, well…who weren’t Everet. Being in the other man’s company twenty-four hours a day messed with Kane’s mind.
As if it might help straighten out his thoughts, Kane lifted his hand and rubbed at his temple. Everet was hot. Fair enough. He had nice muscles. He might even have a very pleasant face if he’d be just a little bit more willing to smile. But that didn’t mean Everet was the be all and end all of Kane’s world.
Everet wasn’t someone with a wallet big enough to keep him content for more than a day or two. For the first time he could remember, Kane had to keep nudging that fact to make sure it stayed right in the forefront of his mind.
Freedom.
Kane stepped outside Everet’s apartment.
The corridor looked ridiculously long, but with Everet standing right behind him, just waiting to swoop down on any excuse to send him back to bed, not walking along the miles of ugly green carpet was out of the question.
“Go the other way.”
Kane glanced over his shoulder.
Everet nodded toward an equally long length of corridor heading off in the opposite direction. “The only thing you’ll find if you keep going your way are apartments for the other avians based here.”
“What’s that way?” Kane demanded, glancing suspiciously in the direction Everet suggested.
“The main part of the nest.”
Kane grudgingly set off along that route. Everet quickly fell into step behind him.
Kane pushed one hand into his pocket. At least the time he’d spent in Everet’s bed had given someone time to find him some better clothes. These looked like they’d been chosen by someone with an eye for what would make him look like an avian worth screwing—worth investing in.
Running the fingers of his other hand through his hair, Kane smiled slightly to himself. Damn, but he looked good. The bruises were gone. He no longer looked like a zombie in need of a nice long nap. He was back in form.
It wouldn’t take him long to find a rich bird of prey who’d be more than happy to take him under his wing, in return for owning a nice tight backside that he could screw any time he wanted.
Two long flights of stairs led down to a busy hall. Kane kept a tight grip on the handrail, trying to look like he wasn’t knackered even after a short stroll.
He stopped with six steps left to go and ran his eyes slowly over the men bustling back and forth in the lobby.
“It really is a male-only nest,” he said.
“Didn’t you believe me?” Everet said, from one tread behind and above him.
Kane glanced back. The raven had a good enough height advantage over him when they were on level ground. There was no need for him to stand up there and loom.
“Have you ever been to a male-only nest before?” Everet asked.
He shrugged, as if it was no big deal, but part of him was quite fascinated. Did his parents know this kind of nest existed? If they did, why hadn’t they told him? If there were this many men who liked other men, why had they allowed his older sister to give him so much hell about taking it from guys?
Kane looked heavenward, as if there would be any answers coming from that direction! He blinked several times in quick succession as his eyes came to rest on a truly wonderful sight.
Above them, a huge chandelier sparkled. Kane stared up at it, admiring the way the gilt arms that held the up lights shone with a deep golden luster. The crystals were magnificent, cut to refract the light and make each ray dance and shimmer.
It was a work of art, far more beautiful than any of the boring paintings of stuffy old men who stared down at them from the high, wood paneled walls. Kane’s neck protested at the way he tilted his head in an effort to see every bit of sparkle.
Maybe one day he’d get screwed by a man who had something like that hanging in his house. Then, every moment that his arse or his mouth wasn’t required, Kane would lie on the floor beneath the magnificent combination of shiny metal and sparkling glass.
Kane smiled. The very thought of it pulled at something deep within his magpie side. He wanted it. If he could have leapt from the stairs and caught hold of it, he’d have clambered into the center and had himself completely surrounded by the lights and luster.
It was no good. It had been years since he took to the wing. Kane wasn’t even sure he’d even be able to. Maybe it would be worth it, though. If he could build a nest up there surrounded by sparkle and—
“Kane?”
The raven prodded Kane’s shoulder, his touch was gentle, but it was enough to snap Kane out of his daydream. Acceding to the other man’s prompting, for now at least, Kane made his way down the remaining steps.
He was already halfway across the hall when he realized that, while he’d stood on the stairs, he’d missed a bloody good opportunity to scope out a guy to latch on to, or even a dealer he could approach directly. He had to still be pretty ill after all.
“This way.” Everet didn’t lead on. He stayed beside Kane, apparently unwilling to let him out of his sight by striding on ahead.
Kane allowed Everet to have his way, willing to believe a tour guide could be useful until he got his bearings. Lifting his head as high as he could in an effort to see as much as possible, Kane ran his eyes over the men around him, purposefully looking for a man who looked rich enough to own a chandelier—or at least a lot of other shiny things.
Being amid a crowd quickly got his adrenaline pumping; his eyes darted to one object then another as he took in his surroundings. Fancy carving surrounded every door. Another, far smaller and less impressive, chandelier glittered above them as they made their way down a corridor. Even the tiles beneath their feet screamed out their high-quality status. It must all have cost a fortune.
Yes. Kane smiled to himself. The humans could keep their seedy little clubs. This was much more his kind of world. This was where he’d really thrive.
Kane frowned, as Everet tried to steer their course toward what looked like a much quieter part of the nest. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to get some food. Then, if you feel up to it, we’re going to talk about what’s going to happen now you’re up and about.”
Kane made no comment about that. It didn’t sound like the kind of talk he’d enjoy. Food, however, was something he could easily declare himself in favor of. One corridor later, they stepped into a high, beam-topped space that seemed to be a cross between a really high-end restaurant and the food hall of a huge human shopping center.
It was all mahogany and glittering silverware, but the bustle and noise that filled every inch of the place didn’t fit with the murmuring of polite voices Kane expected to grace that kind of establishment.
With one hand on the small of Kane’s back, Everet guided him to an empty table near the middle of the room.
“I want to sit over there,” Kane said. Stopping short, he pointed toward the right hand side of the room, where the men looked far more capable of supporting a magpie in the way to which he’d really love to become accustomed.
“No. We sit here,” Everet said. He had a way of stating stupid things like they were facts that couldn’t be disagreed with. It was a bloody annoying habit. Kane folded his arms across his chest.
It the raven thought that he wouldn’t throw a tantrum just because they were in a public place, he really didn’t have a clue who he dealt with. Making himself the center of attention would just ensure the richer part of the restaurant noticed him.
“If you try to sit over there, one of the men who serve here will simply ask you to move.”
“Why?”
“Because rank has its privileges, and neither of us have that sort of rank,” Everet said, calmly. He put his hand on Kane’s shoulder and nudged him down onto his seat.
Kane sat. He glared across the table as Everet took the chair opposite him. “It doesn’t bother you that you can’t sit wherever you want?”
For a second, Everet’s mask of emotionlessness slipped. He actually looked surprised. “Why would it?”
Kane folded his arms and looked pointedly away from him, not willing to say another word if the raven wanted to be stupid about it.
“Kane—”
Whatever Everet was about to say, he stopped short when a man wearing nothing but a pair of very skimpy black shorts stopped at their table.
Kane’s eyes narrowed. Just because he had no interest in remaining under Everet’s protection by the end of the day, that didn’t mean the raven could turn his attention elsewhere. Kane leaned forward in his seat. “Who the hell are you?”
The guy looked like he was barely out of his teens, but he was more than old enough to be a threat. At his age, Kane had already been working men for money for years, and had moved onto his third sugar-daddy. The guy took a step back when he saw the pure hatred in Kane’s eyes.
“I’ll be serving you this morning, sir. If you have no objection.” He proffered a menu.
Snatching the thing from him, Kane only stayed silent long enough for Everet to take one of the other menus from the guy’s hand. “You can go now.”
The waiter looked to Everet for confirmation, as if Kane’s words didn’t mean a damn thing without the raven’s approval.
Everet nodded his endorsement. “Thank you. We’ll let you know when we’re ready to order.”
The waiter hurried away, shaking his arse far more than he needed to, in Kane’s opinion.
“There’s no reason for you to be rude to him.”
Kane pursed his lips and turned his attention pointedly his menu. Flicking open the leather cover, he peered down at the list of offerings.
“Did you notice the waiter’s wrist?” Everet asked.
“No.”
“You should have. His mark would have told you that he’s a pigeon.”
“So?” Kane snapped.
“So, in case you’ve forgotten everything you learned before you left avian society, you and he are of a very similar social rank.”
Kane forgot all about the menu and turned his complete attention to the man sitting opposite him.
If looks could have killed, Everet was sure he’d have been hung, drawn and quartered, then buried at the crossroads for good measure. It was very possible that Kane would have even added a stake through his heart, just in case the rest of it hadn’t made his annoyance clear enough.
Kane threw down his menu, almost knocking over his glass. “He and I are nothing alike.”
Everet had lived at the nest long enough not to need to consult the menu, he set it down, leaned back in his chair and studied his companion. For the first time in an eternity, his primary concern no longer had to be if Kane was close to death. The novelty was almost dizzying. “You’re not the same species,” he granted. “But you are—”
“I have nothing in common with some pathetic little idiot, who’s content to waste his whole life waiting on other people,” Kane bit out.
“Pigeons do tend to take to service far more easily than magpies,” Everet allowed, very calmly. That was the important thing now. He needed to be calm and in control, of both himself and his reactions to Kane, or everything would quickly descend into insanity.
“They’re stupid!” Kane snapped, apparently still completely focused on the pigeon.
“They don’t have the reputation for being the brightest of breeds,” Everet admitted. “Magpies are smarter.”
“Smart enough not to stay at the bottom of the pecking order for a second longer than I need to!” Kane cut in triumphantly.