Chapter Three

Austin

Austin felt so nauseous when he got into work that morning that he spent ten minutes locked in a bathroom stall heaving over the toilet. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He couldn't believe the disdain and disgust Lynton had treated him with.

He knew Lynton liked him! He'd seen the interest in his eyes the moment he'd walked in the door. So Austin had degraded himself, gone there virtually on his knees and offered the only thing he could to save Rupert's life—and Lynton had sent him away. Perhaps the rich boy didn't like to play with paupers. Perhaps he was afraid he would catch some poor person's disease.

I hate myself.

He was on a downward spiral and Rupert's injury had pushed him even further towards the edge. Money, his job, his crappy home, his loneliness and isolation…They all conspired to beat him down further. At the moment, he couldn't see which way to turn. The culmination of years of living like this, working at a menial job and surviving hand to mouth, had come swiftly. Without warning, it had enveloped him in despair the likes of which he had never known. He felt hopeless, beaten by life, and the final kick had been delivered by Lynton, who didn't even want to take his body for free.

Austin splashed some water on his face and went out into the vast warehouse to start work. It was twenty minutes to eight and he was ten minutes late. His heart was leaden in his chest. He hadn't slept all night because Rupert's solid, comforting body wasn't lying on the end of his bed.

"What time do you call this?" the foreman bellowed at him.

"I'm sorry. My dog's sick. He got run over yesterday."

The foreman, Dennis, peered out from under his hard hat for a moment and just for a second Austin thought he was going to cut him a break. No such luck.

"You're docked ten minutes. Get to work."

As he walked away, Austin's phone, which was strictly forbidden during work hours, vibrated against his leg. Austin scurried behind a pillar and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Bale. It's Doctor Brooke calling from Montpelier East Animal Hospital."

Austin's heart jumped into his chest and bile clawed its way up his esophagus. He squeezed his eyes shut, sure Lynton had called to say he was going to euthanize Rupert. Austin was moments away from vomiting. "Hello." His voice was a squeak. He jammed a finger in his other ear to block out the sounds of forklift trucks and clattering palates.

"I just wanted to let you know Rupert had a stable night. He slept well and his vitals are good. He's going into surgery at eight o'clock. He's having his anesthesia at the moment."

Austin's legs were suddenly like rubber. He sagged against the pillar, tears streaking his cheeks.

"Are you there?"

"Yes."

"I need to explain the risks of surgery to you. There's a risk with any anesthesia that the animal might not survive. There's a risk of bleeding and infection, and breakdown of the wound with the necessity for an amputation later, probably not sustainable for a large dog. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Austin trembled uncontrollably.

"So I have your consent?"

"Of course."

"Why don't you call me later today and I'll give you an update?"

"All right."

"Goodbye."

Lynton hung up just as Austin opened his mouth to thank him. He stood leaning against the concrete column, wiping a hand across his eyes. He managed a shaky laugh to himself. Rupert was getting his twenty-seven-hundred-dollar treatment. What had changed Lynton's mind and why hadn't he mentioned Austin's offer?

It didn't matter. Austin's shame was the furthest thing from his mind. Rupert was going to be okay.

Austin ducked out back near the smokers' corner during lunchtime and dialed the animal hospital number with a shaking hand. He tried not to breathe in the poisonous fumes wafting over from the men at the back door.

"Hi, may I speak to Doctor Brooke?" he asked when the receptionist answered.

"Who's calling?"

"Austin Bale."

"One moment please."

He was put on hold, tinny Mozart playing away at him.

"Hi, Mr. Bale, it's Christina Buckley, one of the vet nurses. Doctor Brooke is in surgery at the moment. He can't come to the phone."

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to know how Rupert is." Austin felt a strange sense of relief that he didn't have to speak to Lynton.

"He came through the surgery just fine. No major complications. He's recovering in the ICU and still a bit groggy from the anesthesia."

Austin leaned against the wall, smiling through tears of relief. "Can I come see him?"

"Yes. Before six if you can manage it."

"Yes, I can. Thank you."

"No problem. Bye."

Austin hung up. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, his heart light, his shame still forgotten.

The shame didn't stay buried for long, though. Austin's palms were damp as he entered the hospital that evening, asking at the desk to see Rupert. He prayed Lynton would be too busy to speak to him or had gone home. He prayed he would be too busy to ever spare time for Austin again.

The same nurse who had received Austin the previous day when he'd run through the doors covered in blood and staggering under Rupert's weight greeted him now. She led Austin down the corridor and through a door marked ICU.

Austin instantly saw Rupert lying on a blanket in the cage opposite, his head resting on his big, drip infused paws, his eyes closed. Christina bent and unfastened the door. Rupert looked up.

"Hey, boy."

Rupert didn't try to stand, but he nonetheless licked Austin's hand, then his face enthusiastically. His back leg rested on a cushion and had a fluorescent pink cast on it. For a moment Austin wondered if this was some sort of sly joke Lynton had pulled, a slur on Rupert's manhood because his owner was bent. Maybe he had got it wrong. Maybe Lynton wasn't hot for him at all and Austin's gaydar was well off. Maybe Lynton wasn't even gay and Austin had propositioned a straight guy. Oh God.

He reddened at his thoughts before he put his arms around his beloved's neck and kissed him on the head. "I love you."

Christina patted him on the back. "I'll go get Doctor Brooke to speak to you."

Austin opened his mouth to say it really didn't matter, but she was already gone. His heart thumped and stray hairs from Rupert stuck to his clammy, stroking hand. Get a grip, he told himself fiercely. He had made an ass of himself but it was all done now. He probably only had to see the man one more time in his life and that would be it. He hadn't mentioned payment for this on the phone, so evidently he had done it out of the goodness of his heart, right? No. Was anybody really so kind these days? It didn't seem possible. It wasn't possible. Unease tightened his stomach. It couldn't be. Nothing was free in this life. Nothing.

He sensed a presence behind him and glanced over his shoulder. Lynton, tall, subtly muscled and dark-haired, looked down at him. He was dressed in blue scrubs and Austin noticed a blood stain on the front of the tunic.

"Mr. Bale." He offered his hand.

Austin took it, cursing his damp palm. They were back to Mr. Bale now, not Austin. A bad sign.

"We'll have a chat if you'd come with me to my office."

Austin stood up reluctantly, petting Rupert again. Lynton bent to close the door, then walked away, Austin trailing behind.

Lynton followed him into that same room where he had shown Austin Rupert's X-rays. Now that he wasn't quite so distraught, Austin had a chance to look around as Lynton bade him take the seat opposite his desk. A bookcase bulged with weighty volumes on small and large animals, birds and reptiles, medicine and surgery, infectious diseases, and anatomy and physiology. Framed diplomas and degrees adorned the walls. Austin had never seen anyone with so many qualifications. For a moment he felt gratitude that he had brought Rupert to such a highly skilled man, no matter the cost.

And what was the cost?

Lynton settled himself behind the desk. He fixed his gaze unblinkingly on Austin, his eyes a startling violet, his lashes thick and lush.

Making the decision to offer himself to Lynton hadn't been too difficult at all. The vet had hardly been beaten with the ugly stick. On the contrary, he was stunning. Austin felt a twinge of deep regret that Lynton hadn't taken him up on his offer and used him for all he was worth. It was nothing but a dirty fantasy, something he might think about in the future in bed with his hand around himself. Austin didn't usually act on fantasies. He didn't really want to be used by Lynton. In reality the idea was terrifying.

He blushed, convinced Lynton saw every impure thought on his face.

"Surgery was just fine. We gave him a unit of blood because his hemoglobin was a touch low prior to the operation, plus it was quite a bloody procedure. I had no problems placing the pin and maneuvering the fracture back beneath the skin. He should recover well."

Austin nodded. "How long will he have to stay?"

"A couple of days. Once he's up on it, he'll be fine to go."

"And after that?"

"A check-up in two days, clip removal in another three, then check-ups once a week for six weeks, after which I expect the cast to come off. At that time, physical therapy appointments will be arranged. Hydrotherapy would be a good idea."

Austin swallowed. He'd had his freebies—if indeed Lynton was offering the surgery and pin for free. How was he supposed to afford physical therapy and aftercare?

Lynton seemed to read his mind. "All the follow-up care will be free."

Austin stared. He was speechless. Lynton's kindness was above and beyond what he expected. He wanted to tell him so, but his throat was closed and helpless tears made his eyes sting.

He lowered his head for a moment, trying to compose himself, and when he glanced up, he saw Lynton scribbling on a piece of paper. He pushed it across the desk and Austin's heart sank into his boots. Right. He got it now. What an idiot he was.

"Come to this address at eight tonight."

He looked up at Lynton with his face hot and his heart roaring in his ears.

Lynton arched a brow. "What? Didn't expect me to cash-in the favor?" He shrugged, leaning back in his chair, an arrogant expression on his handsome face. "I'm only a man, after all."

Austin hated him at that moment. He dropped his gaze from that violet one and forced back his tears. It was laughable, really, that he thought he'd gotten off the hook. Why should Lynton do this for free? Austin had offered this! He'd begged Lynton to take and use his body, hadn't he, and he'd have to suck it up. Trading this man's expertise and the life of his beloved dog for sex was only fair. Fair and right. He had to hold up his end of the bargain, no matter how hard that bargain was.

He took the paper and folded it up carefully before he stood up and pushed it into the back pocket of his jeans. Lynton came out from behind the desk and for a moment, they both hovered with their gazes locked. Austin knew he should thank Lynton for his work but he didn't want to anymore. Not since Lynton had revealed his true colors and was willing to take what Austin had offered so desperately.

Without another word, Austin turned and walked out of the room.

◆◆◆

Lynton

Lynton returned to sit behind his desk for a while. His underused cock had decided in the early hours of that morning that it couldn't allow someone like Austin to escape untapped. It told his brain that Lynton was going to get repetitive strain injury in his right hand if he didn't get laid soon.

He'd had a quiet word with his manager and told her he was covering the cost of the operation and aftercare. The hospital did pro bono work, so it wasn't that unusual, but the fee didn't usually get paid directly by one of the vets. Sharon had looked at him for a moment, trying to read his eyes, before smiling. "He's a nice dog. I petted him this morning."

"Yeah," Lynton said, looking away.

"Are you hot for his owner?" Lynton couldn't help the instant heat that rose up his neck to consume his cheeks and Sharon laughed, clapping him on the back. "I'll take that as a yes. I hope you'll get a date with him at the very least."

Slightly more than that, he didn't say.

Lynton only decided to be a bastard about it when he saw the shock on Austin's face. It had riled him beyond reason that Austin clearly thought he had gotten away with a free ride and wasn't going to be made to pay up. Nothing in this life was free. Why should Austin be any different? It was twenty-seven hundred dollars for fuck's sake! Plus, the aftercare and more importantly, Lynton's time and expertise, and it irked him that Austin thought that came for free.

Lynton's trouble was that he was fundamentally a good guy, which had led to more heartbreak and misery than he could cope with. Guys fucking him once and never calling again, guys giving him the run-around and sleeping with other people behind his back. Infidelity was not a thing he tolerated. But being a good guy didn't get you anywhere it seemed. Certainly it didn't get you into the pants of Austin Bale. Only being a callous bastard did that, and he wasn't going to waste his opportunity. No matter that the sight of the tears in Austin's eyes had almost undone him, made him feel like the lowest snake to have ever crawled the earth.

Austin must know the score. He had offered and Lynton was taking payment. Austin would have to suck it up and get over his bruised sensibilities. Sex for payment was offered in this life more times than people realized. If you went out with a man and he paid for your meal and drinks all night, he expected sex at the end of it. Was that any different from prostitution? No. Austin had offered him his body in exchange for a service from Lynton. Lynton had delivered. He had saved Rupert's life and now he was collecting his debt.

Such was life.

What a bastard he was.