STORY EXCERPT

"What do you want me to do with him, sir?"

"Take him to the emergency room, Ivan," my boss, Colton Knox, said "They can help sober him up."

"Da."

It might take awhile. He was pretty sauced. I doubted he even knew what year it was let alone what day. It was sad to see one so young living a life like this. I couldn't help but wonder what had driven him to it.

I personally had nothing against people stripping off their clothes for a living. Sometimes, people did what they had to do to make ends meet. I'd certainly had jobs I disliked before joining the Russian Special Forces and then coming to work for the men of Silver Spoons, Inc.

But Donny's situation just didn't sit right with me. He couldn't be a day over twenty years old, and yet he had all the makings of a raging alcoholic. If he was happy in his life, and his work, that wouldn't be the case.

"Meet us back at the penthouse," Mr. Knox directed. "I'll take Yuri and Sergei with me."

I nodded, knowing my brothers would keep the billionaire and his new husband safe while I took my charge to the emergency room. That was what we did and we were damn good at it. The three of us worked as a team to keep Colton Knox, his husband, and his friends safe from anyone that meant them harm, either physically, emotionally, or financially.

It was a fulltime job.

I grabbed a blanket out of the backseat of the SUV and used it to wrap Donny up. Those little skimpy boy shorts wouldn't hold in any heat. Since we had brought more than one SUV, I wasn't worried about the others getting home.

I buckled Donny into the backseat then climbed into the front seat and started the drive to the hospital. I was thinking about taking Donny to the one closest to where we were, but that didn't feel right to me.

Instead, I drove him through town to the one by the Silver Building. Not only was the quality of care better there, but it was closer to where I worked. If my brothers—or anyone else for that matter—had asked me why having Donny closer was important, I wouldn't have been able to give them an answer. I was actually a little mystified by the urge to have him close myself.

I think it was simply the utter despair I'd seen in his sea blue eyes right before they slid closed. Donny hadn't seemed like he really wanted to be in The Refectory club anymore than I had.

When we arrived at the hospital emergency room, I parked and then went to the back of the vehicle to get Donny. I made sure the blanket was still wrapped around him before lifting him up in my arms and pushing the door closed with my hip. I hit the lock button on my key fob as I started for the emergency room doors.

A soft moan had me looking down. Donny's eyelids were fluttering. When they lifted, I found myself once again staring into those deep sea blue eyes.

I did not like seeing the fear in them.

"You are safe, solnyshko." Calling him "sunshine" made sense considering the light blond curls that framed his delicate face. They looked as if they had been kissed by sunlight.

A small smile crossed Donny's face before his eyes slid closed again. That smile tugged at my gut in ways I couldn't describe.

I didn't understand it.

I wasn't ready to try and understand it. I had a job to do, and that wasn't to grow whimsical over a drunken stripper who probably couldn't even remember his own name right now.

I carried him through the emergency room doors and right over to the check-in counter. "I have a young man here who may have alcohol poisoning. He needs to see a doctor."

The nurse behind the counter glanced at Donny with a dispassionate frown. "Take a seat in the waiting room," she said. "Your name will be called."

That would be pretty hard considering I hadn't given the woman my name.

This would not do.

I glanced around until I spotted a gurney pushed up against the wall. I walked over and gently laid Donny down on it before pulling my cell phone out and dialing my boss.

"Ivan," Colton Knox said when the call connected.

"I need you to call your doctor and get him down here to see Donny, sir," I said. "They are not taking his condition seriously. They want us to wait in the waiting room. He needs to see a doctor now."

Mr. Knox must have heard the urgency in my voice because he said, "I'll call Dr. Brashear right now."

"Spasibo."

I hung up the phone and stuck it in my pocket before picking Donny back up. I probably could have left him lying on the gurney, but I felt better having him close to me. I carried him into the waiting room and found a seat where I had a clear view of the main door and had the wall at my back. I never sat somewhere that left my back vulnerable. That was just asking for trouble.

I moved Donny around until his head was resting on my shoulder, his warm breath blowing out across my neck. It wasn't the most comfortable position for me, but it allowed me to wrap both arms around him.

That really wasn't that hard. Donny was far too skinny. I knew dancers were usually on the thinner side, but this didn't seem healthy. He was just short of being skin and bones. I could actually feel his hip bone through the blanket.

When Donny whimpered in his sleep, I started humming the old Russian lullaby Bayu Bayushki Bayu. My mother had sung it to me as a child. I wasn't sure it was appropriate considering it was meant to scare little children into not getting out of bed, but it seemed to settle him so I didn't care.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Nearly an hour had gone by since I called my boss. His personal physician should have been here by now. I considered calling Mr. Knox again, but when I stopped humming and reached for my phone, Donny whimpered again and jerked.

"Vy vie bezopasnosti," I whispered into his ear. It felt important that Donny knew he was safe. I didn't know what his life had been like before, but maybe it needed to change. I would have to talk to Mr. Knox and see what he could do.

"Ivan?"

I glanced toward the doors to see Dr. Brashear standing there with the nurse from the check-in counter. I tightened my hold on Donny before standing and striding across the floor to him.

"Mr. Knox called and said you had a young man in need of medical treatment."

"Yes," I replied. "I believe he has alcohol poisoning."

And maybe more.

"Bring him." The doctor seemed to have a no nonsense attitude. He simply turned and started walking toward the doors leading to the emergency room. I ignored the nurse standing there and followed the doctor.

Dr. Brashear led me to an exam room where I laid Donny down. He immediately started taking his vitals. "Tell me what happened."

I quickly explained where we had found Donny and what we'd been doing at the club. As soon as I mentioned Anatoli Brasov, the man froze and then looked up at me.

"This is one of Brasov's dancers?"

"Yes."

The doctor walked over to the door and pulled it open, calling for someone to draw Donny's blood. After letting the door close again, he came back and continued his examination.

"Why do you need to draw his blood?" I asked.

"If he's one of Brasov's dancers, then he's probably been drugged."

My jaw clenched. "Drugged?"

It would explain a lot about Donny's current condition if he was drugged.

"Brasov likes to drug his dancers so they are more compliant."

I was going to kill the bastard.

ADULT EXCERPT

"I like kissing you, solnyshko," Ivan whispered against my lips. "I like kissing you very much."

I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. My chest was tight and there was a lump in my throat bigger than my fist. I felt hot, like the air in the room had grown thick.

"I like kissing you too," I whispered.

"I know." Ivan's hand brushed down the side of my face. "You are very responsive."

"Is… is that a good thing?"

"It's a very good thing, solnyshko."

I almost swooned at the deep rich timber in Ivan's voice. It traveled right down my spine and settled in my balls.

"I like knowing how you feel, that you enjoy it."

Okay, swooning was a very real possibility. My knees started to tremble. I grabbed onto Ivan's shirt and locked them in place. If I didn't, I was positive I'd collapse on the floor.

"I… I am en-enjoying wh-what we're doing together," I stammered. I could feel my face flush with each word I spoke. I'd never talked to anyone the way I was talking to Ivan.

It was a little exhilarating and a whole lot scary.

"Would you like to find out what else we can do together?"

I nodded rapidly, biting my lower lip as wicked thoughts began to fill my head. I could think of so many things I would like to try with Ivan, most of the requiring a flat surface. I'd been fantasizing about the man for ages.

I could imagine a lot.

"Let's get you settled then, shall we?"

I nodded again, although I was unsure of exactly what Ivan wanted until the man grabbed the edge of my shirt and lifted it up. I raised my arms in the air and let Ivan draw the shirt up over my head. I didn't even care when Ivan tossed it on the floor.

The man's hand next went to the buttons of my jeans. I quickly sucked in a deep breath when Ivan's fingers brushed against the skin of my abdomen. My body suddenly felt hot and flushed.

"I've got you, solnyshko."

The softly spoken words whispered over my skin like a caress. I dropped my head back on my shoulders and tried not to moan. I wanted to impress Ivan, not freak the man out. But just the mere touch of the man's fingers over my skin felt like heaven.

I felt Ivan's arms wrap around me and then the world tilted. I lifted my head to find Ivan carrying me toward the bed. I didn't say anything when Ivan set me on the side of the bed and then knelt down in front of me, reaching for my shoes.

I didn't know what to say.

Gentle was not something I was used to. I certainly never thought of Ivan as gentle, but that’s how the man was acting. He treated me like I was made of spun glass. Each touch was gentle, careful, as if he didn't want to startle me.

A small, lonely part of me appreciated each tender touch, soaked it up and stored the memory away to be taken out later and examined. Another part, also the lonely part, was afraid of how much I knew I'd come to depend on those small touches. I knew I'd crave those touches as much as I craved the sight of Ivan.

Ivan tossed my shoes over his shoulder and then peeled my socks off. I groaned and leaned back on my hands when Ivan gave each foot a gentle massage. I didn't realize until then that my feet even hurt that much.

And Ivan's touch was magical, drawing away every last ache and pain.

"Lay back, solnyshko."

I did as Ivan directed, carefully lying back on the mattress. "Lift your hips if you can."

I lifted my hips, my face flushing furiously when Ivan tugged my pajama bottoms down my legs. I quickly reached down and covered my naked groin with one hand.

"Sshhh, solnyshko," Ivan said as he tugged on my wrist, "you don't have to hide from me."

"I just…" I felt flustered as I let Ivan pulled my hand away. "No one's ever… it's, well… being naked has never been my choice before and now that it is I don't know how to... how to do this."

Ivan looked at me squarely. "You do want this, right?"

I nodded quickly so he'd know I was telling the truth. "I do. I want this very much. I just...I don't know what I am supposed to do." Even with all of my experience in the sex act itself, I was flustered. "But, I do want this."

"And I can't even begin to explain to you how much that means to me."

I trembled and inhaled a sharp breath when Ivan's hands stroked my naked skin, slowly moving up my legs towards my groin. No one had ever touched him like Ivan was doing, with such care.

I almost jumped right out of my skin when Ivan leaned down and rubbed his face against the sensitive skin of my abdomen. Ivan seemed to be breathing in deeply as he rubbed his face over me again and again.

"You're all mine now, solnyshko, all mine." Ivan suddenly pushed away and stood to his feet, stepping back a couple of paces. "Watch me, Donny, watch what you do to me."

Like that was a problem. I could no more look away from Ivan than I could stop breathing. I was mesmerized by the powerful man.

The fact that Ivan had started stripping off his clothes only made it more impossible for me to look away. Each bit of naked skin revealed only added to every fantasy I had ever imagined about the man, only this was real.

I was already semi hard. Watching the man strip naked put a whole new spin on the lust coursing through my body. Ivan was a work of art. Seeing him naked for the first time, I quickly realized that none if my fantasies ever compared to the man in reality.

Ivan's broad shoulders belied the trimness of his waist. The man was definitely fit. He worked hard for a living and it showed in every bulging muscle and every bit of taut, rippling skin. He was breathtaking. He was certainly taking the breath from me.

His skin was lightly tanned but unmarred by tan lines, giving me yet another fantasy to dream about, where the man sunbathed nude. Thick pectoral muscles graces his chest leading down to a trip waist and ripped abdominal muscles.

My eyes started to move below Ivan's waistline when the man suddenly grabbed my cock. I groaned and arched into the air, the soft touch exquisite. "Ivan!"