Evrain took everyone’s coats upstairs then returned to find the corkscrew.
“Lunch is almost ready, but we have time for a pre-meal drink. Is red wine okay with everyone? This looks like a really nice bottle, Gregory.” Evrain hefted one of several bottles Gregory had put on the kitchen counter.
“From a friend who runs a vineyard in California. He holds back the best stuff for himself and a few select friends. I dealt with an irrigation problem he was having a few years back and he’s never forgotten—sends a couple of cases every now and then.”
“That’s because you waggled your fingers and tripled his profits.” Coryn reached for a glass. “Hardly a great effort.”
“Yes, my love. You and I know that, but he thinks I spent weeks surveying his land, taking boreholes tests and using complex computer models to come up with a solution to his problem. I didn’t charge him nearly as much as I could have and he feels guilty about it. I’m happy to drink his penance.” They clinked glasses.
“Damon, you want a glass?” Evrain asked.
Damon scuffed his toe into the rug, casting a glance at Nathaniel.
“Ah. Nate, is it okay for Damon to have small glass of wine?” Evrain redirected his question.
“Just the one. I’m in a benevolent mood and he behaved himself on the journey. Even listened to my favorite country music in the car without making any sarcastic comments.”
Damon beamed and accepted the glass Evrain offered him. His free hand strayed to the thick leather collar around his neck. “Thank you, Master.”
“You deserve an entire bottle to yourself for holding your tongue under such trying circumstances,” Coryn said. “Nate has the worst taste in music ever.”
Damon tried, and failed, to hide his grin.
“Why don’t you go and see what you can do to help Dominic? And don’t listen to Coryn—he’s talking trash.” Nathaniel grabbed Damon’s thick black hair and gave him a fierce kiss before releasing him. Damon scurried over to Dominic, his face bright red.
Evrain gave Nate a knowing glance. “It’s a shame Felix couldn’t join us.” Nathaniel’s long-suffering driver was part of their extended family too.
“He has a new girlfriend and apparently, every now and again, I’m supposed to give him time off. Most inconvenient.”
Evrain chuckled. “Things have progressed with you and Damon too, I see.”
“I’m channeling through him now. He still needs discipline, but considering his past, he’s willing to learn. I’m pleased with him.” Nate didn’t lower his voice and Evrain could see the blush on Damon’s cheeks from across the room. “Doesn’t mean he won’t get his nightly spanking of course.”
“Of course.” Evrain gave thanks that the cottage had thick walls.
Coryn, Nate and Gregory settled with their drinks in chairs around the fire. Evrain had heaved two extras from the bedrooms down the stairs at the cost of quite a few bruises and a lot of cursing. There wasn’t room for more but plenty of cushions would allow a couple of people to sit on the floor in relative comfort. He took a glass of wine over to Dominic.
“You can take a break for a few minutes.”
“I don’t…”
“I can keep an eye on everything,” Damon offered. “Go relax for a while.”
“It’s just the gravy and bread sauce. I could use a break.”
“Uh, Dominic, what’s bread sauce?” Damon prodded at the contents of the pan.
“One of Evrain’s Brit imports. Apparently you can’t eat turkey without it.”
“You can’t,” Evrain confirmed. “Wait until you try it, it’s good.”
Dominic took the offered glass then swallowed a large mouthful. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” Evrain led him over to the fire, took a seat then pulled him onto his lap.
“Careful.” Dominic swung an arm, trying to keep his wineglass balanced. On the rug, Shadow stretched out her front paws, then her back ones. She settled onto her side, stomach to the fire.
“She knows where she’s well off,” Nate commented.
“Evrain thinks he’s in charge,” Dominic said, “but in this house, Shadow rules with an iron paw.”
“She does not,” Evrain protested.
“And who drove an extra five miles to a different market to find the particular brand of canned tuna she likes the best?”
“In my defense, I gave her some of that other stuff and she looked at me like she was about to commit murder.” He nipped at Dominic’s earlobe. “And for that, you’ll be punished later.” He traced the line of Dominic’s throat with the back of his hand. “You’d look good with a collar wrapped around here.”
Dominic glanced across at Damon, who was stirring the bread sauce and bopping along to the radio providing background music. “In your dreams.”
“The best kind of dreams.”
Coryn and Gregory exchanged a knowing glance and Nate chuckled.
“What?” Evrain glared at his guests.
“Good to see that you are firmly under thumb and paw, Evrain,” Nate said. “Young warlocks have a tendency to arrogance, you’re lucky to have companions to keep you in your place.”
Dominic laughed and took another sip of wine. “Shadow’s better at it than I am.”
“Um, I think this bread sauce is about done, Dominic,” Damon called from the kitchen.
“On my way.” Dominic slid from Evrain’s lap. “If you all want to get situated around the table, the food is on its way. Damon, do you mind helping me bring everything to the table?”
“Sure. It all looks so scrummy.”
Between Damon and Dominic, they transported multiple dishes of food to the table and gave out plates that had been warming in the bottom of the oven. Evrain sat at the head of the table with Gregory opposite. Everyone else took their seats next to their partners.
“Before we all descend on this wonderful food,” Gregory said, “I’d like to make a short toast.” He raised his glass and the others followed suit. “Let’s give thanks for love.” His eyes twinkled as he looked at Coryn. “To friendship and to making the world a better place.”
“Hear, hear.” The clink of crystal rang in the air as they all joined in the toast.
“Then let’s eat!” Evrain stood, picked up a pair of carving knives and set to on the turkey while everyone else helped themselves from the various dishes. For the next hour they ate, drank, chatted and laughed like normal people.
When they were done and Evrain didn’t think he could fit another crumb into his stomach, Dominic put the cheese and wine on a low table next to the fire. Nate and Damon insisted on clearing the table and washing up, saying that Dominic had done enough already. Evrain made coffee then grabbed a tea towel to help dry. When all that was left was the roasting tin soaking in the sink, they gathered around the fire, Damon on cushions at Nate’s feet, Dominic in Evrain’s lap.
“Could you tell us all about your test?” Damon asked, receiving a clip around the ear from Nate for his impertinence.
“It’s not your place to ask Evrain to talk about such a personal matter,” Nate said. Damon bit his lip and bowed his head.
“Sorry, Evrain.”
“It’s fine,” Evrain said. “I don’t mind, and who knows? It might not be too long before the two of you have to face your own test. I’m not sure our story will help you because, according to Gregory, every test is very different. I wouldn’t wish what happened to us on anyone.” Telling the story one more time was cathartic. Evrain had gone over and over the events in his head, trying to work out how where he could have done anything different. Recounting events out loud, hearing others’ opinions, helped him accept that the test had been out of his control.
“And I suppose that’s what I hate most about what happened,” he said, finishing his story. “Feeling utterly helpless.”
“You weren’t completely helpless, though, were you? Sounds like you did an amazing job,” Nate said.
“And the test was far, far tougher than the o
ne Coryn and I faced,” Gregory added. “Killian really went to town.”
“Do you think there was a reason for that?” Dominic asked. “I mean, I thought that though the tests are different, aren’t they set up to be equally challenging for every warlock?”
“I thought so, until now.” Gregory reached for Coryn’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “But you are exceptionally powerful, Evrain. I imagine it was felt that a harsher challenge was needed in your case.” He shrugged. “Who knows? The whole process is shrouded in mystery and I can’t see that changing any time soon.”
“Have you come any closer to deciding what your strongest element is, Evrain?” Nate asked. “Mine is air. Gregory’s is water. What about you?”
Evrain stroked Dominic’s thigh. “I’m still not sure. I thought fire, or earth, but to be honest, I don’t feel that much different using any of them. Fire has the most appeal, but I think that’s probably the visual stimulus.” He flicked his fingers toward the fire and the flames rose higher. “Instant satisfaction.”
Gregory shook his head. “An artistic, creative temperament can be a problem. I’m much more pragmatic than you are. But I think that has come with age.”
“You still have your moments,” Coryn said, smiling.
“You have a delicate touch with air, love,” Dominic said, “from what I’ve witnessed, but you also have an affinity for the earth.”
“It’s the easiest to feel. It’s like each element has its own personality. Fire is wild, it doesn’t want to be controlled. Air dances, it likes to show off, to move around. Earth is slower, friendly, warm…it seems to have a sense of its own strength and tries to subdue it. Water is challenging, it wants to grow, take over. Spread itself. But it’s not so difficult to manipulate, at least in reasonable quantities.” He met Gregory’s eyes, then Nathaniel’s. “Am I talking utter codswallop?”
“To me, and I think to Nate, the elements are tools that we are fortunate to be able to use. You have a much closer affinity with each of them and that’s what gives you your power. You persuade the elements to cooperate with you. Whereas we bludgeon them into submission.”
Nate nodded. “Succinct, but true. I have to get quite violent to convince the winds to go where I want them to. There’s no way I could manage the same thing with fire.”
“Am I the only one thinking this conversation is surreal?” Damon piped up. He leaned forward to pet Shadow, who was still curled up on the rug. She nosed at his hand then hauled herself up, moving to sit on his lap.
“When you live with a warlock, you get used to it,” Coryn said. “We should set up a self-help group for warlock partners, maybe Skype each other once a week to compare notes.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Dominic said.
“Me too! Can we get a cat, Master? Every warlock should have a cat, right?” Damon scratched one of Shadow’s velvet ears. She purred, nuzzling, asking for more.
“Shameless hussy,” Dominic said. “You’ve discovered her soft spot. She loves having her ears scratched more than anything, but watch out for her belly. She’ll lie on her back with her legs in the air, that soft tummy all tempting. Then the instant you stroke it she turns into a Venus fly cat with four sets of claws and her teeth clamped around your arm.”
“I don’t believe it,” Damon said. “She’s such a sweet kitty.” Shadow licked his hand.
“To answer your question, brat, I wouldn’t mind having a fur ball around the house. When we get home we’ll go to the local shelter and you can pick one out.”
“Really?” Damon vibrated with excitement. “This is the best Thanksgiving ever.”
“I’ll email about a weekly get-together,” Coryn said. “Then Damon can show us his new pet.”
Evrain exchanged looks first with Gregory, then Nathaniel. “We are so fucked.” He mouthed the words silently but got wry nods of agreement from them both.
“On another subject,” Nate said, “and I hope you don’t mind me asking, Dominic, but how much pain do you feel when Evrain channels through you? Damon is finding it quite uncomfortable.”
“I won’t pretend it’s not painful,” Dominic admitted. “It’s debilitating enough that I have to stop work after a while. I had flu once and it’s similar—the muscle aches, I mean. I think it has been getting a bit easier, though.”
“Whereas I hardly feel anything at all,” Coryn said.
“That comes with age and wisdom,” Gregory said. “Though I think Dominic has a hard time of it because Evrain is so powerful. He’s still learning to control what he can do. When he’s mastered his abilities, I’m sure it will get easier. As for Damon, I think it’s the case that Nathaniel has been too used to having to manage his power without a partner to channel through. The pair of you just need more practice being together then things will ease. A warlock’s partner has to be very strong. It’s not easy dealing with such an unusual lifestyle. But, if it helps, once a warlock has met his life partner, his loyalty is guaranteed.”
“To me it feels like I’m being shocked… Lots of tiny electric shocks all over my body and I go jerky.” Damon nibbled on his lower lip. “I must be a freak. It never happened when I was with…”
“Symeon. You can say his name, Damon.” Nathaniel tousled Damon’s hair. “We are working through a few issues regarding Damon’s past, but he’s getting there.”
“Things are getting far too serious around here,” Coryn said. “Someone hand me a plate because I intend to gorge myself on cheese.” He licked his lips and the bleak mood was broken.
Chapter Fourteen
Evrain and Dominic woke late the following morning, slightly the worse for wear.
“Things got pretty intense yesterday,” Dominic said, running his fingers down Evrain’s chest. “Coryn knows exactly how to defuse a situation, though, doesn’t he?”
“I imagine he’s had a lot of practice with Gregory.” Evrain shifted, throwing one arm across the pillow. “That man cannot be easy to live with.”
“When we get to their age, I hope we’re still as much in love as they are.”
“That’s not in doubt.” Evrain yawned. “That was some late night. I feel like I’ve only had a couple of hours sleep. My head hurts too.”
Dominic checked the clock. “It’s called a hangover and it’s almost ten—you’ve had seven hours. Nathaniel is quite the card shark, isn’t he?”
“It’s a good job we were playing for Cheetos, otherwise you and I would be destitute by now. I swear that man can see right through the cards.”
“Could he? Is that possible?”
“I think the plastic coating on the cards might be a problem. If they had been older-style ones, just paper and ink, it might be possible, but that kind of focus would have required him to channel and Damon wasn’t showing any sign of that. I think we both have to face up to the fact that we are rubbish at poker.”
“Maybe Shadow was helping in some way. She sat on Damon’s lap all evening and he was next to Nate.”
“Now that I could believe. That animal will do anything for food and Nate was sneaking her bits of cheese most of the night.”
“We had fun, though, didn’t we? Good company, good food… We have a lot to be thankful for.”
“We do. And I had a great time. You did an amazing job with the food.”
“Talking of, I should get up and sort out some breakfast before Nate and Damon make an appearance.”
“Damon is quite capable of finding his way around a fridge. Pretty sure he can boil an egg if he needs to. I’d much prefer you to stay here in bed with me than slaving in the kitchen, though a mug of coffee would go down well. Which, I will make. You did all the hard work yesterday.” He threw back the covers, revealing a straining erection.
“Oh, yum!” Before Evrain could move and take away his treat, Dominic slithered down the bed. “Coffee can wait.” He plunged his mouth over Evrain’s straining shaft, taking him as deep as he could. He loved the power that giving Evrain a blow job gave
him, adored the sounds that Evrain made as he fought to hold back his orgasm. Evrain made no attempt to take control. Often he would wind his fingers through Dominic’s hair and hold him in place. This morning, he let Dominic have his way.
Dominic sucked, kissed and nibbled until Evrain was squirming and crying for release. He mouthed his balls in turn, sucking and kissing the tender, heated flesh.
“You taste so good.”
“Dom… I need…”
“I know you do.” Dominic paused to grin at his lover before resuming his task. The taste of Evrain’s pre-cum flooded Dominic’s mouth. Evrain grunted, his muscles tensing. After a few more soothing licks to his balls, Dominic nibbled his way from one end of Evrain’s shaft to the other before focusing his attention on the head, where he knew Evrain was most sensitive. He ran his tongue around the tip then sucked the head again and again.
“Dominic!”
His name being screamed was all the warning Dominic got before Evrain came in a hot gush into his throat. He swallowed and licked a bit more, drawing the last threads of orgasm from Evrain’s body. When his shudders stopped, Dominic gave Evrain’s dick a final kiss before crawling up his body to plant another kiss on his lips.
“You taste of me.” Evrain reached between them to grasp Dominic’s cock. “Your turn.”
“Hard and fast,” Dominic urged. He loved the feeling of Evrain’s spell-calloused fingers wrapped around his cock. Evrain obliged with a few aggressive jerks, bringing him over the edge in a rush of pleasure. Dominic sagged against him, drawing a few ragged breaths.
“Now I want that coffee,” Dominic said.
“Just give me a moment to recover, brat.” Evrain delivered a couple of sharp slaps to Dominic’s bare ass.
“Stop that. What’s that noise? Can you hear something?” Dominic strained to listen to the sounds coming from somewhere across the landing. “Oh…”
“It sounds like Nate is delivering quite the spanking over there,” Evrain muttered. “He must have a permanently sore palm dealing with Damon.”
Elemental Faith Page 13
