I was fast asleep when Dion apparently slipped into my room and shook me awake. He looked seriously at me as I scratched my eye and sighed deeply.

“What do you want?” I asked and sat up, turning on the lamp on the bedside table.

“I… I don’t understand what you want with me.”

“By the gods, Dion, I don’t want anything. I wanted to be friends.” I fell back down on my back, running my hands over my face.

“I don’t understand why you don’t want me but asked me to move in.”

I rolled my eyes and turned my back on him, pulling my blanket up to my face. “I’m not a patron.”

“I didn’t ask you to pay...”

“Gee, thanks.”

He sat down on my bed and put his hand on my shoulder. I turned again, looking up at him. He was biting down on his lip, looking very confused. And slightly sad.

“You won’t believe I care about you unless I sleep with you?” I asked, my voice harsh.

“It’s not like that.” He didn’t look at me anymore. He was just looking down at his hands, opening and closing in his lap.

And I was sure it was like that. It was exactly like that. And it hurt to realise what this guy had been through. How no one had loved him, discarded him, only used him for sex.

I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down to me. I lifted my blanket and covered him with it, bringing him close.

“Sleep now, Dion. We’ve got work tomorrow,” I murmured.

“But-”

“Sleep,” I interrupted.

He didn’t say anything but relaxed in my arms. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep. I could hear it on his breathing.

 ***

I woke up early and left Dion in bed, taking a shower. I quickly finished and stepped out, pulling on my sweats. I came back to my room to find Dion pretending to be asleep. He was really a horrific actor. I pretended to not notice as I rummaged through my closet to find some clothes.

“You have a nice back,” Dion said, his voice a little gruff.

I looked over my shoulder and arched a brow at him. “That’s a pretty odd compliment. But thanks.”

He smiled and sat up, running his hand through his hair, in between his horns. “Listen...”

“You don’t have to say anything. Things get weird and hard sometimes. It’s alright.” I pulled out a t-shirt and pulled it over my head, turning back towards Dion. I grabbed the towel I had tossed on the bed and rubbed my head, trying to dry my hair.

“Alright.” He sighed a bit and met my gaze. “I’ve… Just never had a friend like you.”

“I kind of figured.”

“And.” He took a deep breath. “I’m used to everyone wanting one thing from me.” He tugged his hair behind his ear, looking out the window, his gaze distant.

“I’m not like that.” I was still kind of annoyed. Annoyed with myself too for kissing him back and kind of proving, I did want that from him. Annoyed I did want him. Gods, I wanted him. But it wasn’t just about his body. It really wasn’t.

He looked back at me and smiled. “No, I don’t think so either.” He pushed the duvet aside and put his feet down on the floor. “What’s the schedule today?”

“House call. New patron.”

“Ugh, right. Well, at least those are usually over fast. You wanna grab food after?”

“Sure. A new place just opened down on the corner and I’ve been itching to try it.”

“It’s a date.”

I arched a brow at him, and he smirked back.

 ***

I opened the door to the suite for Dion and he took a deep breath before entering. We found the patron pouring champagne into tall flutes. He looked up and smiled.

“Welcome. I’ve heard such good things about you.”

“I’m the best.” It was like he slipped on a new skin, when he was working.

He always pushed his hips slightly forward and kept one hand in his trouser pocket. And he’d wear this crooked smile that made no good promises.

He looked like all the mistakes I wanted to make.

“Money upfront, and you have...” I looked down at my watch. “Two hours.”

“Yes, of course.” The patron smiled and handed me the money. As I reached out for it, he took my hand in both of his. “How about you stay too?”

“I’m just a guard.”

“Yes, but how much will it cost me to make you something else?”

Dion must’ve seen how visibly uncomfortable I was getting because he stepped forward and in between us.

“You wanna show me to the bedroom?”

The patron looked down at Dion. “No, you go to the couch.”

Dion glanced up at me but followed orders. He dumped down on the couch as the patron looked back up at me.

“Stay there then. I like being watched.”

I cleared my throat and took a step back, folding my hands on my back. The patron more or less shoved Dion down on his stomach, getting busy with his trousers. Dion’s fingers dug into the sofa and he clenched his jaw. He looked up at me as the patron grabbed one of his horns and pressed his face into the leather.

The patron groaned almost drowning out Dion’s whimper. I clenched my fists and kept my eyes on him, focusing only on Dion. Making sure he only had to whisper, and I’d stop this.

The patron was so rough and then he pulled on Dion’s horn, almost forcing his head back.

“Stop. Stop!” Dion cried out and I was there in seconds, pushing the patron away.

“He said stop!” I growled and shrugged my jacket off, draping it around Dion.

“What kind of business are you running? I thought I got what I paid for!” the patron sputtered angrily and pulled up his trousers.

“Keep your money.” My teeth were burning. This wasn’t good. I picked Dion up from the couch and he grabbed my shirt, clinging on to me. He pressed his face to my chest as I walked out of the suite.

He had hastily pulled his trousers up and tried to pull his shirt down, but it all looked jumbled.

In the elevator I put him down on his own two feet, correcting his clothes. Tears were running down his cheeks and he didn’t stop me. I tucked my blazer tighter around his shoulders and quickly led him through the lobby and back to our car.

I picked out my phone from the pocket of my blazer and pressed the number to our boss. Had to report back when the clients got too rough. He’d be blacklisted from ever getting Dion again.

“Arlo,” was the only thing Achilleus said when he picked up.

“Blacklist the patron.”

“You got it. What went wrong?”

“I’ll tell you later. I’ve got Dion with me now.” I glanced at Dion, but he was looking down at his hands, resting in his lap.

“Okay. Just get him home. Is he alright?”

“Yeah, I think so. No need for hospital or anything.”

“Good. This is why I hired you.” I could hear the pride in his voice and that made me a little proud too. And grateful. He immediately trusted my judgement and didn’t care if he lost money. He wanted his workers to be treated well above all.

“I’ll report in tomorrow.”

“Yep. See you tomorrow.” He didn’t even wait for me to reply, he just hung up. He always did that. Busy man and all.

I put my phone in the holder and got the engine going.

“Dion, I’ve gotten that patron blacklisted. You’ll never see him again.”

He nodded a small nod. I reached over and grabbed his hand, making him look up at me.

“What do you need?”

“A shower.”

“Okay, I’ll take you home.”

He nodded again.