(Pepperjack has her ducky and is now ready!) 

"Ravi, why is there a person in here?" 

Huh? 

Blake wanted to jump out of bed immediately and get ready to defend himself against whoever had woken him up, especially since his abilities weren't working again, leaving him unable to read the new man's mind, but he quickly tamped down his nerves and forced his body to remain relaxed as he heard him walk closer. 

Everything in him wanted to go on the offensive, but he knew that the man walking up to him would be waiting for him to try something, too. So, he forced himself to stay calm as the footsteps finally stopped at his back. 

He could hear the little goth dog whining somewhere a short distance away, but it was clearly not interested in intervening in whatever the man planned to do. Which, Blake found out a moment later, was reach over and press his cold hand against his forehead. 

"Fever..." 

The man sighed as he moved his hand to Blake's cheek, then neck. 

It really was uncomfortably cold, but at the same time, it felt so good. 

"I suppose taking care of one more couldn't hurt," the man eventually said as he removed his hand and began walking toward the bathroom. 

He could easily make a run for it if he got up right then, but honestly, once the guy had mentioned him having a fever, he realized just how exhausted he felt. 

I don't think I can even make it to the door, let alone open it and get down the long hallway to the exit...

He was considering whether he should keep pretending to be asleep or just force his eyes open when he began coughing uncontrollably. 

Shit. 

So much for pretending. His throat was even getting uncomfortably rough as he fought with himself to quell the terrible coughing fit. 

"Here, lean back," came the same voice from a few moments ago as the man's too-cold hands gently guided him to lean back against more pillows than he'd initially thought were there. 

Before he could rasp out his thanks there was a paper cup being pressed against his lip. He didn't think that he was honestly that thirsty, just super tired, but when he felt the cool liquid flow between his lips he couldn't stop himself from downing the entire thing greedily. 

He would have probably choked on the water with how fast he was trying to gulp it down, but the man refused to pour it fast enough for him to make that mistake... thankfully. 

"Hang on a second. I'll refill the cup," he said before the weight Blake hadn't realized was depressing the bed beside him disappeared. 

He waited quietly as he heard the water turn on in the bathroom, but was distracted when he felt a warm tongue gently lick at the tips of his fingers where they rested near the edge of the bed. 

Ah, the little dog. 

He slowly lifted his fingers in response, allowing the dog to nudge its wet nose into his hand. 

"What a good, strange dog," he said, coughing slightly as he finished speaking. 

"His name is Ravi," the man said as he returned to sit on the edge of the bed. "He's an African wild dog shifter. They aren't too common, but he's a sweetheart." 

He seems like it. Has a cute name, too. 

Blake slowly forced his eyes to open the slightest bit so that he could try and see what the man next to him looked like, but they didn't seem to want to focus so he let them slip closed again after a few moments. The cup was then returned to his lips and he began to drink again, but this time much slower. 

"There you go," the man said in a voice that sounded like he was trying to help a scared animal instead of a sick man. 

Wait a second...

Blake immediately pushed himself up and yanked the covers over his exposed, scarred chest, his abrupt action splashing the little bit of remaining water onto the bed beside him as the cup slipped from the man's hand. His eyes narrowed on the blurry person in front of him as he began to tense up. 

To his surprise, the guy's form immediately retreated all the way back to the bathroom door before he slowly lowered himself to sit on the floor. 

What?

Blake managed to blink away most of the blurriness after a few more moments, but the exhaustion was harder to combat, making him have to hold his weight up on a shaking arm so that he didn't collapse back into the pillows. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the man said as he leaned back against the doorjamb and settled one hand on the floor, then draped the other calmly over his leg. 

Blake pursed his lips as he fought with himself to calm down. The guy hadn't been trying to hurt him, but he'd reacted to his scars, and that had made him feel uncomfortable enough to want him to move away. 

He did move, though. It's okay to calm down now. 

His previous lover had been extremely rough with him, and while he'd enjoyed the attention and authority he'd provided, the damage to his body had gotten to be too much. Of course, there was also quite a bit of damage to his psyche, too, but he wasn't going to delve into that. He was a man and could push through the mental stuff on his own... eventually. 

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just noticed your scars and it startled me a bit," the man said with a cautious, but warm, smile. 

When Blake didn't respond right away, because honestly, he was still panting quietly and trying to think through the growing fog in his mind, the guy tilted his head slightly and patted his knee. 

The gesture was a little strange, but when he saw the little dog run over and wiggle its way into his lap, he realized that it had been a signal to it, and not him. 

I could definitely use that kind of attention right now, but I don't think I could handle it. 

He'd literally just run away from the only person he'd ever seriously dated. The man that he'd been with for nearly three years. The man he—shouldn't be thinking about, ever again. 

"Would it be alright if I asked for your name? Mine is Wyatt, and I'm a pretty well-known BDSM dom here in town," he said, making Blake's eyes widen in surprise. 

He'd just left that lifestyle. Packed up his stuff and gotten the hell out of town.

And now...

"I'm sorry if me saying that was the wrong information to convey, but your injuries look like they're from severe bondage play...?" the man said, his words turning into a question toward the end as he hugged the strange little dog against his chest gently. 

Blake wanted to tell him that he shouldn't have said anything, but honestly, he was beginning to relax a little, and it was probably partly because the man before him actually knew what his injuries were caused by. Most people would have probably gone straight to the police if they'd found a sick guy with so many fresh scars, but the man now looking down at the little dog in his lap, who was swishing its tail in a wild circle, made it clear right away that he wasn't going to judge his situation right away. 

He also had a bit of a country accent, which was honestly a little disarming, too, considering what he'd previously said. He'd never met a dom from the countryside, but it made sense that they were everywhere.  

I guess just exchanging names can't hurt. It's not like I'm going to stay here much longer. 

He was just going to state his name and be done with it, but when the man's calm, light brown eyes landed back on him, he couldn't help but be courteous. 

"My name is Blake... I-I'm just passing through the area and since my flight got canceled, I decided to come into town until the storm blew over." 

That... was a lot of unnecessary information for someone you're never going to see again. 

But he hadn't been able to help himself, and the appreciative look the man gave him right after he'd finished speaking made him feel the slightest bit better. 

"Thank you for that information. I hope that my friend hasn't been a bother to you?" he said as he gave the dog a gentle pat to its head, making it whine in withheld excitement. 

It was obvious that the little dog wanted to smother the man in affection, but it also clearly knew what was allowed and what wouldn't be appreciated at the moment. 

Blake coughed into his bent elbow a few times before catching his breath and replying. 

"He's been a sweetheart. I would have probably frozen to death if he hadn't let me stay here. I hope I'm not intruding..." 

The man looked down at the pup and smiled proudly as he gave it another good head pat. 

"You are a very good boy, Ravi. Thank you for taking him in." 

If the man's attention had made the pup excited before, it was practically vibrating with energy now. And yet, it still remained in the man's lap and didn't try to lick him or jump on him at all. It simply gave a few more happy whines and thumped its white, black, and brown tail against the floor. 

Blake decided to get comfortable again as the man took his time praising his pup. The stress from him discovering his scars had passed, and since Wyatt didn't seem interested in questioning him about them further, he felt like he could relax a bit more. 

When the man finally looked back up at him, he somehow felt even more at peace and nuzzled into the pillows a bit more. 

"I'm glad. Would you care for some food, or would you just like to rest some more?" 

He was hungry, but he wasn't too sure how well his stomach would handle something to eat. 

"Perhaps some soup? I bought quite a few things to keep here for Ravi, and since the blizzard was forecast, I brought over some extra things when I visited this time, too," Wyatt said, making Blake hesitantly nod. 

He got another warm smile in return as the man gestured for Ravi to move off his lap. The dog did as told immediately, but instead of staying still and watching as Wyatt got busy preparing some form of instant soup for the microwave, he hurried over to the bed and nudged at Blake's fingers again. 

"Hey there, sweetie," he rasped, then coughed again, trying to tuck his face against his arm so that he didn't get it everywhere. 

"Ravi, come here please," Wyatt said, making the dog immediately return to his side in a perfect heeling position. 

Once the man had the microwave going, he reached down and rewarded the pup with another pat. 

"Is he yours?" Blake asked abruptly, feeling a little awkward at the insinuation, but... 

"He's not. It's a long story, and not one that can be told right now," Wyatt replied. 

He understood that well enough. His own story wasn't something he wanted to wave around, either. 

Blake nodded and slowly pushed himself up a bit higher on the pillows as Wyatt removed the soup from the microwave and brought it over to him. 

"Sorry it's not much, but nowhere is going to be accessible during this storm," he said, making Blake chuckle a little as he took the little cup of soup. 

"It's more than enough, thank you for your kindness," he said quietly as he began blowing lightly on the steaming liquid. 

He took a few sips, but as he'd suspected, his stomach wasn't too happy with the little bits of noodles and carrots in the broth. It seemed like Wyatt could tell that he wasn't able to stomach it, because he knelt down next to the bed and held up a new cup of water. 

"Would you care to trade?" he asked with a hint of understanding in his eyes and a tiny bit of humor to his words. 

Blake felt a little embarrassed that he couldn't finish the simple meal, but he only hesitated for a moment before swapping out his soup for the plain cup of water. 

Throwing up would be much worse than not finishing the food. 

If he could keep down the few sips he'd had, as well as the water, then he'd try to eat more later. With that decision made, he drank another half cup of water, then, with Wyatt's help, set it down on the nightstand to his left before getting comfortable again. 

"I'm going to relax in the chair by the window and read a bit since I'm kind of stuck here until the weather lets up, too. Let me know if you need anything?" Wyatt said as he headed in that direction. 

Blake watched him until Ravi suddenly hopped up onto the bed and after hunching nervously close to the covers, wiggled his way over. 

"He's not the best with people, but he seems to have taken a liking to you. I can tell him to get down if it bothers you?" 

Blake gave the pup a light scratch behind one ear, but then retracted his hand with a regretful frown. 

"I'm sorry, Ravi. I'd love to pet you more, but I don't want you to get sick. I promise I'll give you the best attention when I'm feeling better?" 

Those words seemed to placate the pup, because it quickly nodded, then turned and moved to the very edge of the bed, closest to Wyatt, before snuggling itself up into a little fuzzy ball. 

He really is adorable. 

His thoughts wandered for a short time as they went over what all had just happened, but soon enough, he was drifting off to sleep, surprisingly more relaxed than he had been in a long while.