Hunger

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Luca woke up to the sound of a car honking from the street.

Fuck, his head was already killing him. He was more than positive he'd bruised it on the wall last night. Actually, he was pretty sure he bruised a lot of shit last night, but he was going to pretend it hadn't been as... animated, as it had been.

Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? Animated is a fucking understatement. He stared blankly across his tiny room, arm hanging off the mattress onto the floor. Beside him, he could hear Jackson's soft breathing, his big body taking up a majority of the space on the bed. He could feel the heat of him, feel the weight of him. Luca briefly wondered if this was what it was like to own a dog. Some fat ass taking up the whole bed, with him hanging off the end.

He shifted to get comfortable, then immediately regretted it as his bladder surged.

Luca growled low, heaving himself up off the floor

He stumbled, caught himself on the wall before managing an awkward waddle to the bathroom where he stood over the toilet and used the wall for support as he did his business.

Well, fuck. What was he supposed to do now?

If he had half a brain, he'd send Jackson on his way. Haul the guy out of his apartment and get his ass in gear trying to find a new job. He needed money, and he needed it fast. How the hell was he supposed to survive now, much less look for his mother? He still had no leads on that in the first place. Hell, he kind of wanted to know who'd tried to kidnap his ass the other night, but that was a mystery he didn't care as much for. For all he knew, it was probably just some local crime ring that wouldn't give a shit what happened to him after the auction.

And yet, with all this bubbling back to the surface, there was still this itching sensation creeping up his spine. Something primal and deep that urged him to return to the mattress on the floor, to snuggle right up against that big huge body.

He shuddered, thoroughly disgusted with himself as he stepped into the shower to do a quick scrub. He didn't want to think about Jackson like that. He didn't want to even consider a relationship with the guy, and holy shit, did that guy panic about a lack of a condom. Luca hadn't been too worried about it; his last doctor's appointment, though before his heat, had assured him he was sterile. His doctor had actually looked fucking stricken by the news, had offered a variety of treatments to get his baby machine working again, but he'd flown out the door so fast and he'd celebrated with a bottle of Jack.

No babies? Ever?

Thank fuck. At least that was one thing he wouldn't have to worry about.

First of all, there was the whole mess of actually producing offspring. Which he just experienced. And it had turned out to be a lot messier than he would've liked. And second, he just did not have the time. Searching for his mother was his top priority. And, honestly, who wanted to settle down with kids anyway? Luca couldn't imagine being a parent. He'd probably screw up his kid more than his own mother did him.

Yeah. Nah. He had more important things on his plate.

Stepping out of the shower, Luca walked into the room, surprised to find Jackson still asleep. Only this time, the oaf was laying on his stomach on the mattress with his arms wrapped around the blanket, as if seeking something to cling to.

For a split second, Luca entertained the idea that the guy was actually kind of cute.

Then he felt a little nauseated and went to the kitchen, popping open the fridge to take out a shake. He gave the bottle a vigorous shake while staring at his pack of cigarettes on the countertop. He was craving a light, something to dull the itch in the back of his mind.