Fortune's Favor (A Power Up! Story) Read Online Free Page A

dinner.”
    “She offered.”
    “And the utilities? I know the heat and water were working, but do we really need the other stuff?”
    “Hey, the gas fireplace is nice. And I’m not staying out in hickville without cable. Jack will reimburse us.” Nathan slanted him a look. “Not like there’s anything better to do.”
    Avery nodded. “Good point. Not like you can go around sucking every dick in town if we want to keep a low profile.”
    Nathan mouthed an obscenity and slammed his way into the vehicle.
    Avery allowed himself a short grin. Ten minutes later, he parked in the side driveway of a large colonial-style home. He knew Nathan had at one time lived here. Over five thousand square feet, with original hardwood floors, wainscoting, and the original paned glass, the Dixon House had belonged to Malcolm Dixon’s ancestors, back when the place had been opened as a hotel before the Great Depression. In the years since, the large home had been renovated a few times to serve as both an inn and a private residence.
    Avery hadn’t realized Nathan still owned it.
    “Are you going to do something with this place once we’re done with the job?”
    “Hell, yeah. I inherited it from my aunt—from Danielle. Soon as this case is over, I’m selling the thing.” Nathan looked up, and Avery wondered what he really saw when he viewed the whitewashed paint, weathered dark blue shutters, and falling gutters. Snow covered the massive yard, dusting the tops of the shrubbery growing wild around the property. Five large acres of trees, brush, snow, and more snow. It would have been the perfect place for a getaway weekend if they weren’t trying to trap a murderer.
    “This house isn’t going to make security easy.” Avery took note of all the avenues of approach an enemy might use. “We need to get inside and lock down our control point.”
    “Aye, aye.” Nathan gave him a mock salute, and Avery immediately thought of how satisfying it would be to paddle that ass.
    His partner unlocked the front door, and Avery followed him inside. The musty smell of disuse hit him the minute they crossed the entranceway. But inside was a pleasant surprise. A warm yellow painted the walls not covered in glossy cherrywood. The floors had been refinished in the recent past, and the décor was charming in a Victorian, antique-y kind of way. Or at least what Avery could see of it past the dust cloths covering everything.
    “Fully furnished,” Nathan muttered. “Just gotta take off the ghosts.”
    “The what?”
    “The white covers over the furniture. Always looked like ghosts to me.”
    That sadness was back, and Avery wanted it gone. “So you want me to make this place feel like home for you? I could find you some twinks and a bottle of Jack, maybe.”
    The sadness vanished to be replaced by a look of disgust. “Funny, he-man. What should we do to make it a home for you? Maybe some tits-and-ass calendars and religious right videos?”
    Avery chuckled. “I thought you were going to say porn videos. More my speed.”
    Nathan blinked. “You? Porn? My God. I think the floors just shook.”
    Avery had taken more than his fair share of digs about his sex life over the week they’d spent together. But for some reason, today Nathan’s teasing burrowed under his skin. “I’m not a eunuch, Nate .”
    Nathan glared. He hated Avery’s pet names. Sweetheart, princess, and dimples rounded the top three, but Nate was fun because it sounded so normal yet set the guy off.
    “Might as well be.” Nathan shrugged him off, as if Avery didn’t rate.
    Bull. Shit.
    Avery stepped into Nathan’s private space. They nearly stood eye to eye, but Nathan had to look an inch up to meet his gaze. “That’s not the floor shaking, Nate. That’s your heart racing because you want me. Bad.”
    Nathan’s shock came as great satisfaction, because Avery could see he’d struck a chord. So maybe Nathan had been thinking about him too. Christ, that was all he