Whatever the Cost by Lynn Kelling Read Free Book Online Page A

him. You have no right to look at him.
    But he can’t not look.
    He’s beautiful. My god, he’s breathtaking.
    The only time Liam saw Jacen without clothes, Jacen was bloody and beaten. It wasn’t sexy. It was horrifying. Now, Jacen is standing nude behindglass. Every golden inch of his flesh, every stark, chiseled muscle, every curve, every line, every ridge is on display, highlighted by the soft light of the bathroom sconces. Jacen is facing the other way, so Liam is left staring, helplessly
staring,
at Jacen’s bare ass.
    Stop looking.
    You have no right. Only his clients get to have this. You didn’t pay for the privilege. What did you expect, anyway? For him to be disgusting? Of course he’s gorgeous. Get over it. Get out. Back up and get the fuck out.
    That’s exactly how long it takes Liam to notice the subtler details. Like the fading welts on Jacen’s backside, right across the thickest part of the muscle in thin, pink horizontal lines.
    “He whipped you? That son of a bitch fucking
whipped
you?!” It comes out as a shout, uncensored, unfiltered.
    Jacen jumps, startled, not having realized that Liam was there. “Jesus
Christ
,” he hisses, glancing quickly over his shoulder and then receding back farther into the stall instinctively, like he could possibly hide himself that way. “Lee, come on. I’m taking a fucking shower here. You mind?”
    “Look at me,” Liam growls. He’d gotten a glimpse of Jacen’s face. It was enough to convince him to stay, even if Jacen hates him for it.
    “Why, you want the full show?” Jacen asks without turning, bowing his head and spitting out water as it fills his mouth. “You got a couple hundred on you? If you like what you see, maybe we can work something out.”
    “You’re scaring me,” Liam says in a more hushed tone, a cold tickle forming in his gut. “What happened? What’s wrong? What the fuck did he do to you?”
    “Doesn’t matter,” Jacen says hollowly. “I was properly compensated.”
    It takes only four steps for Liam to cross to the stall. The splayed fingers of Jacen’s hand slip down the slick wall and he tenses visibly, turning his face further away from Liam, keeping his back to the door. Liam yanks the glass door open and frigid water begins to spray out, dampening his clothes, pooling on the floor, soaking into the rug. Jacen is trembling. It stokes the fire of Liam’s fury.
    “Don’t,” Jacen whimpers, broken. Liam reaches for him and Jacen flinches away like he’s expecting Liam to manhandle him, or strike him, too. It’s the last straw. All self-control drains from Liam, all of his pride, all of his guardedness. All that matters is getting to Jacen, and pulling him back out of whatever hell he’s sunk into.
    Liam’s fingers graze Jacen’s jaw and Jacen surrenders, throwing away whatever was left of his dignity. He looks at Liam from over a shoulder.
    His eyes are bloodshot from crying. Water courses in rivers down the planes of his face, off the tip of his nose, from his chin, over his split lip.
    “Patrick hit me,” Jacen says. “Punched me square in the mouth when he saw the welts.”
    Liam shuts off the water. Grabbing a towel, he wraps it around Jacen. “Come on.”
    Making no move to get out of the stall, Jacen, shivering, mutters, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Tough shit,” Liam says, frowning. “I’ll give you a second to get dried off, but I’m gonna be right there.”
    He points to the bedroom.
    When Liam leaves, Jacen sighs heavily, his head falling back on his shoulders. Moments from his morning come back to him in flashes. It had been going so well.
    Being with Patrick is usually a walk in the park for Jacen. It’s easy, not much effort or thought required. He just turns on the charm and pushes all of Patrick’s buttons. They were no sweat to figure out. Patrick’s a top. Cut and dry. He likes a flirt, but an understated flirt. That means lots of lip biting and sly looks from half-lidded