Memoirs of a Male Escort

Authors Note: Many thanks go out as always to my beta Alexandra, who lends a hand to all of my stories. I hope everyone is enjoying the progression of this tale, as it's taking an unexpected turn over the next few weeks. Keep speculating on The Code and who you think is involved. They'll be making an appearance soon. ;)

Chapter 11 Houseguest

One thing to master is the art of being invisible. Never leave even a scent of yourself behind, because almost all your clients have a significant other waiting for them at home. It’s never a nice thing when your client gets caught cheating because of something you did.

It’s bad for business.

--

Harry had taken a thoroughly distraught Draco up to his room and sat with him until he fell asleep. He should have anticipated Draco’s reaction to his news, but he hadn’t. The man had been quivering with fear, and it only served to solidify Harry’s determination to protect him.

He would keep Draco safe no matter what the cost to himself.

He ran his fingers through Draco’s soft golden hair and felt instantly guilty. It was certainly breaking several of his own rules to be with Draco this way, just lying here beside him and caressing his sleeping form felt too intimate. Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

Who knew when, or if, he might ever get another opportunity to be with Draco, so vulnerable and small?

It was a stark contrast to his usual self, haughty and indifferent to everything around him. The man carried himself with an air of self-confidence that Harry in his wildest imagination couldn’t match. It was awe inspiring, to say the least.

Though if he were honest with himself, Harry could admit that he had always been jealous of Draco. Malfoy was beautiful and cultured. He had grown up in a world saturated with magical lore and he had parents, something Harry could never achieve.

All Harry could do was work as hard as he could to give the witches and wizards of England a better life and an opportunity to have the happiness that Harry himself could never hope to aspire to.

Draco’s hair was like spun silk through his fingers and he yearned to be able to spend every evening this way, combing through his lover’s hair, caressing his boyfriend’s pale flesh and kissing him goodnight, before falling into a nightmare free sleep.

Such simple pleasures just weren’t in the stars for Harry, though. He had discovered that some time ago. Maybe one day the planets would align and give him his due, Merlin only knew how much Harry had suffered for it, but fate tended to spite him even at the best of times.

Sending him Draco, for instance. This boy—whom Harry coveted, but who would never feel the same about him—was just another instance in a long line of heartache from being fate’s plaything.

A small whimper escaped Draco’s lips and Harry pulled him closer, kissing him lightly on the forehead. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll keep you safe, Draco,” he cooed.

Draco shifted slightly in his arms and gave a contented sigh, pulling Harry even closer and nestling his head under Harry’s chin. Harry practically melted into Draco’s embrace. This was the piece of the puzzle that Harry had been so desperately missing in his life.

He groaned to himself and wriggled free of Draco’s grasp. A large part of him wanted to stay in Draco’s bed, wrapped in his warm arms, but an even larger part, the part that insisted Harry not fall too far into his own fantasies, told him to get the fuck away from Draco before he drove himself mad with want.

So he did the healthier thing and removed himself from the guest room and went across the hall to his own. He had set up wards around Draco’s room that would alert him of anyone entering or exiting, magically or otherwise. He felt secure enough in his own magical ability to leave Draco alone for a bit.

He shut his own bedroom door behind him and leaned against it briefly before undressing and slipping into bed. He knew his dreams would be fraught with images of Draco, but he only had himself to blame on that front.

Sighing to himself, Harry closed his eyes and was immediately confronted with Draco’s pale shining face as he slipped into sleep.

--

Draco stretched and yawned as sunlight streamed through his windows, assaulting his good dream and causing him to wake.

He had been having the most delicious dream about Harry and was quite perturbed to have it end so abruptly. Merlin knew he was only going to get a chance to experience things of such and elicit nature with Harry in his dreams, which was truly unfair.

He was an escort, for Merlin’s sake. He made a living from having sex with dozens of people and the one, the only one he wanted, refused him. Maybe it was fair. Maybe it was exactly what he deserved for his youthful transgressions.

He had been so happy when Harry took him up to his room, and even happier as he pretended to sleep while Harry laid with him, trying to sooth away the feelings he hadn’t known the true cause for. It had been a blissful torture, feeling Harry’s caress and being held close and told he would be safe.

Then Draco had messed it all up, as he often did, when he had tried to return the gesture and snuggle up to him. Harry had left.

The sudden departure still stung, but there was nothing Draco could do about it. He was slowly falling deeper and deeper for this man he could never have and it was tearing him apart.

He pulled himself reluctantly from bed and changed. The only thing that kept him moving was the fact that he would see Harry.

Harry’s door was open when Draco stepped out into the hall and he went down to the third level and noticed a light on in the hall bath. Assuming Harry was in the shower and would be down shortly, Draco passed the door and headed for the next landing.

As he made it past the final room on the third floor, the bathroom door swung open and startled Draco. He turned around in hopes to glimpse Harry in a partially dressed state but was further surprised when the man who exited the bath was in fact merely wearing a towel.

Only it wasn’t Harry at all.

The man who appeared in the corridor was unfamiliar. He was tall and thin and had deep red hair that fell in tight ringlets all around his head. Draco would have assumed it was a Weasley, except his skin was tan and toned nicely with beads of water clinging to his chest and shoulders, as if protesting the very idea of being wiped away from his perfect body.

He turned to meet Draco gaze and a lopsided grin erupted on his face, accented nicely by a small amount of stubble and brilliant golden eyes. “You must be Drake,” the man said, extended one hand while holding the fluffy white towel in place with the other.

“Draco,” he corrected and shook his hand.

“Right, sorry,” he apologized and blushed slightly. His accent wasn’t British and sounded a little more like a mixture of Asian and something from the islands, Polynesian maybe. “I’m Blake,” he said. “Harry’s told me all about you.”

“Oh, and what exactly has our dear Harry told you?” Draco asked, feeling suddenly out of place. No one liked being the third wheel, and this man was obviously very comfortable in Harry’s home and must have spoken to him fairly recently in order to know about Draco.

Blake’s smile faltered slightly at the word ‘our’ but he quickly fixed it. “Only good things I promise,” he said, seemingly begrudging the fact. “He’s gone into the office for a few hours and didn’t think you would wake up so early. I’m sure if he had known he would have stayed around to introduce me himself,” he laughed.

“I’m sure,” Draco agreed, feeling that a proper introduction to his boyfriend would be precisely the polite and torturous thing Harry would want to do. “I feel that I’m at a bit of a disadvantage here,” Draco added. “You seem to know all about me, but I don’t know a thing about you.”

Blake shrugged and Draco was impressed that he managed the gesture without losing the towel. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Do you live here?” Draco asked, genuinely curious. If he did, Draco was going to high tail it out of there as soon as possible. Draco could put up with a lot of torture, but the one thing that he couldn’t take was to overhear Harry having sex with someone else. That would surely kill him.

“I usually stay here when I’m in town. I live in Hawaii,” he added.

Well that explained the accent perfectly… and the tan. Even Draco had to admit that Harry’s taste was exceptional, but it irked him to realize that Harry must not be attracted to him at all if he was usually attracted to men like Blake.

This guy was like the anti-Draco in every possible way.

“So are you in town for awhile?” he asked.

Blake nodded and shot him what Draco could only assume was his version of a smirk. “Two weeks,” he said.

So he would be here through the duration of Draco’s stay and he would get to stay even longer once Draco left. The world was truly unfair. Wasn’t it enough this man got to share Harry’s bed, did he have to actually stay here too?

“You don’t need to worry though. Harry’s a bit of a screamer, but he usually keeps it in check when we have other company,” he said with a wink and turned away to walk up to the top floor.

Draco balled his hands into fists and used every bit of self-control he possessed to keep from hurling a hex at the man walking away from him. So he was sleeping with Harry in every sense of the word. And he casually used the word ‘we’ when referring to him and Harry. The whole idea of it was a blow to Draco’s system.

He had to get out of there.

He waited until he heard Harry’s door close before he ran up to his own room and started packing. He didn’t have much, so the task went quickly and Draco found himself barreling toward the exit only minutes later.

He was closing in on the door, his ticket to freedom, when it opened abruptly and Harry stepped through it, looking startled by Draco’s immediate vicinity.

“Dr-Malfoy, where are you going?” Harry asked, concern flooding his voice.

Draco wished he could trick himself into believing it was more than just the fact that Harry had given himself a mission to protect Draco, and without him there, that would be much more difficult. It also wasn’t lost on him that Harry had returned to calling him Malfoy.

“I met Blake, he seems like a nice bloke. I really should get out of your way. I’m sure you’ll want to give him a proper welcome home, screaming and all,” Draco spat, not trying to hide the bitterness from his voice.

Harry blushed furiously. “It’s not like that. He just stays here when he’s in town.”

“Oh? In your room, in your bed?” Draco asked.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no, he doesn’t stay there. Not anymore,” Harry grumbled.

Draco was about to light into another series of accusations when Harry’s words sunk in. “He’s not…”

“He was. I met him shortly after I broke things off with Ginny and he reminded me of her. It made for an easier transition,” he shrugged.

“I… he said… er,” Draco stuttered, finding himself unusually out of words.

Harry smiled weakly. “He’s a bit jealous,” he whispered.

“Of me? Why? The man is gorgeous and has obviously gotten to be with you, I don’t hold a candle to that. If anyone should be jealous it’s me,” Draco muttered, wishing he hadn’t spoken at all.

“Are you? Jealous, I mean?” Harry asked, a black eyebrow quirked in curiosity.

“Of course I am,” Draco huffed.

A small smile pulled at the corners of Harry’s mouth. Harry was about to tease him, he just knew it. He was aware of Draco’s feelings for him and was going to mock him for it.

That was unacceptable.

“Anyone would be jealous that you’ve gotten a chance to bed that man, he’s stunning,” Draco said at last.

Harry’s face fell instantly. “Right,” he sighed, looking like someone had killed his puppy. Who knew the leader of the wizarding world would look so forward to teasing someone like Draco? “He is though, isn’t he? I can set you up with him if you’d like?” he asked.

“Brilliant,” Draco replied half-heartedly. He really wasn’t interested in anyone but Harry. The last few weeks since he had kissed him had been surprisingly hard. He found it awkward to do his job, which had come so naturally to him before.

He was always thinking about Harry, wishing it was Harry instead of whatever John he was with instead.

Draco’s life had become very sad, pathetic even.

Authors Note: Little white bunny Dracos for all who review. They are fluffy and sweet, but tend to only want to mate with cute black bunnies named Harry. Go figure.