Just as Caden began to feel as if he couldn’t take it any more, Persius leant down against his back, and he asked a question Caden was dying to answer with a “Yes!”
‘Are you ready to come?’ was the question, but before Caden could answer him, an insanely intense orgasm caused any and all thoughts of answering Persius to fade away to nothing. Caden cried out, shaking as he came, and then Persius was bucking against him too, panting and cursing as his body shook above Caden’s.
That night, Caden slept over. While he fell asleep almost instantly, Persius had to spend a few hours trying to do the same. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be doing this – be doing any of this – but it felt so … Right? Yes, that was the word. He’d had flings in Faeyne, of course, but none of them had held much importance, especially compared to this. No, not compared to what he had with Caden. Though he knew Caden still didn’t feel the same way, at least not yet.
Not yet? Would he ever start feeling the same way? Only time would tell. Time, yes, something that Persius knew was limited for both of them. Especially for Caden, if he couldn’t figure out the when, where, and why of his death. If Persius couldn’t stop it from happening, he knew he would wind up dying a little himself.
He didn’t sleep well that night, but when he woke in the morning, the smile he saw on Caden’s face made him feel far more well-rested than he actually was. And their following sexual romp certainly perked him up a little too. But today would be a day of many, many trips to the coffeemaker at work. And possibly a few to glance into Caden’s office and see the man he loved – and the man he was sworn to protect. Oh fuck, this was certainly a mess. A mess of immeasurable size.
That evening, just as Persius walked in his front door, his necklace began to glow.
‘Shit!’ The glowing necklace meant that if he didn’t place it on the floor, and fast, it would start to burn against his skin. It also meant that he was about to receive a very unexpected – and unwanted – visit from Vaherena. He had no choice in the matter though, despite how intensely he didn’t want to be disturbed. So he placed the necklace on the floor and got ready for her to appear.
But instead of Vaherena, it was his friend, Makai, who was now standing in front of him, wearing a tunic and loose, shimmering pants. They’d become more than just friends at one point, but it had never become very serious, and Persius and Makai were still on very good terms.
‘Hello, Persius. How are you?’
‘Well enough,’ Persius answered, placing his coat on his couch and sitting down. He was very relieved that his visitor wasn’t Vaherena herself. Incredibly relieved. ‘How about you?’
‘I am well, also. I have been enjoying the company of our friend, Barios, and he’s proven to be quite the – lay? Is that what humans say?’
‘Yeah, sure is.’ Persius couldn’t help laughing. Most of the other fairies had more trouble than he did picking up on human slang, and their common misuse of it was always entertaining. ‘I have something I’d like to talk to you about, actually.’
‘Oh?’ Makai sat down himself, settling into a chair made out of large, chartreuse flowers. ‘Are you having trouble with your current charge?’
‘Yes, actually, I am. He’s … We’re …’ Was he really about to tell Makai his secret?
But it turned out he didn’t have to say another word. ‘Oh Persius, it’s written all over your face. You … You have a “thing” for this human, don’t you? You … Are you sleeping with him?’
‘Fuck, it’s much more than that, but yes, I am.’
‘Oh my! More than just sleeping with him? I must admit, I did that a number of years ago. He was too gorgeous to resist. But … By more, do you mean you …’
‘Yes, I love him. I have ever since I started watching him, I think. And I’m wondering if … I think he may be falling for me as well.’ Persius slouched down and sighed. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, nervously waiting for Makai to tell him what an idiot he was.
But Makai didn’t. Instead, he asked him a question. ‘Are you still going to be able to save him?’
‘I sure fucking hope so. But there’s been no sign of what I’ll need to do. And I’m dreading the day the threat finally arrives.’
‘I’d guess that it’s not just because his life will be threatened?’ Makai smiled at him, a kind smile which, wonderfully, managed to brighten Persius’s horrible mood, but only a small amount.
‘No, you’re right. It’s because I’m worried of losing him in another way too.’
‘Because you will have to return to us either way, of course.’
‘Of course, yes, of course.’
The rest of their chat was not cheerful, but Persius welcomed the company all the same. Caden was coming over at nine, and while Persius couldn’t wait to see him, he knew it would be a little painful to have him there too. He didn’t know how much longer the two of them had to be together, and he knew their time would come to an end, and at any moment too. But when Caden’s knock came, Persius still grinned as he went to the door and opened it, because damn, but it was so, so good to see him there. Letting Caden into his apartment felt wonderful. An ever better feeling came when he got to wrap his arms around Caden for the first time in hours. He realised then that the smell of Caden’s hair and skin was quickly becoming his favourite scent in the world – in either of their worlds.
Chapter Eight
The next three months passed relatively uneventfully –or at least, without the one big event Persius was expecting. Expecting and, of course, dreading. Because what if he failed? Persius hadn’t failed an assignment before, at least not yet. But he was relatively new to saving humans, and he’d also never been so distracted in his life, spending all this time with Caden – with his charge – in and out of bed, in the office and almost everywhere else. The brief periods of time when they weren’t together were often filled with visits from Makai – but none from Vaherena, thank Keole!
As he had told Makai, things had become quite serious between him and Caden, it seemed, and Persius’s dread grew practically daily – his dread of failure and, as much as he hated to admit, his dread of success. Because either way, he would lose the man he loved. Yes, of course it would be far worse if he failed, because he’d never be able to forgive himself if he did. But if he succeeded? Then he would have to return to Faeyne, never to see Caden again, except through the gazing pools. And even that would most likely prove to be far too painful.
But Caden, for his part, couldn’t have been happier, spending countless hours with this lovely young man, countless hours that certainly didn’t just consist of time spent under the covers. He’d grown quite close to Persius, and he was starting to think that he might love him. It was all happening so quickly, but it was all good, Caden had decided, because it just felt right. So very, very right.
They’d kept their relationship under wraps at work, but there was still the occasional make-out session in Caden’s office, still the occasional touch or kiss when no one was looking. Caden had told Tina about them, and she’d replied by telling him how great she thought it was, as she’d grown to like Persius a great deal as well.
‘He’s a total sweetheart, and very good at his job – good with our clients too. Seems almost like he has a magic touch with some of them. Even the most distant people we see appear to like talking to him. And he also brought one of our youngest kids back from the brink of tears with a lovely story about fairies.’
‘I’ll have to ask him to tell me one, some time.’ Caden smiled, shutting his eyes for a few moments to picture Persius spinning a tale for him. Perhaps a dirty one … And then Caden had to shake his head to rid himself of any further thoughts – it was bad enough the way they carried on at work, but he was seeing Lukas soon. He had to pull his head together, and fast, because based on their last few sessions, it seemed likely Lukas was getting into trouble again, and this time the trouble was pretty serious. Lukas had even come to an appointment a few weeks back seeming to be
high on something. He had told Caden it was just nerves, and Caden wanted to believe him.
But what could be having that kind of effect on Lukas? He seemed to be a good, well-behaved kid these days, and yet Caden had the sense that there was something he was keeping from him, something that was just on the tip of Lukas’s tongue, dying to be said aloud. Caden wondered if he could ease the words out of Lukas during their next few sessions. He didn’t want to push Lukas too far, though; the kid still had his fair share of anger buried deep inside his new, good-natured shell. Caden really didn’t want to draw out Lukas’s old self, so he needed a light and careful touch with the teenager, at least for the time being.
But after he’d caught up on some paperwork, and read a few articles on new psychology studies, Lukas still hadn’t showed. Caden had no idea where Lukas was, and he’d really grown to like the kid – he found himself getting more than a little worried about Lukas’s whereabouts. Honestly, though, there was nothing he could do from his office, and he just didn’t have the right knowledge to try to track Lukas down.
All Caden really wanted to do in that moment was go home with Persius, cook a few steaks, and unwind from his long day. Lukas obviously wasn’t going to show, he realised, as it was now five minutes past the end of their scheduled appointment. As he began getting ready to leave, he couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if he should try and track the kid down. It certainly wasn’t in his job description, although he’d done things like that before for clients. But before he could make up his mind about the matter, his phone rang.
Caden answered it as quickly as he could. ‘Yes? Hello?’
‘Mr Patricks, it’s Lukas.’
‘Lukas, you know you can call me Caden. But I have to ask – why are you calling me? You were due here 35 minutes ago. You know you can’t miss any appointments. Is there any chance you could still come in? I can stay late for you if you need me to.’ That was certainly not in his job description, but the longer he’d waited for Lukas to show, the more concerned Caden had become. Perhaps the boy was finally ready to tell him whatever it was he’d been worrying about these last few months.
‘N-no, Mr Patricks, I can’t. I’ve gotten into some … Well, I need to talk to you, and not here. I need to talk to you downtown. I’m near the Top Hat Bar. It’s kinda an emergency.’
‘I don’t think I can leave the office right now, Lukas. Why don’t you hang up the phone and come here, and we can work this out together?’
‘No. No, no, no! Fuck!’ Lukas sounded like he was crying now, and then he spoke again, lowering his voice. ‘They’ll be here soon, and I need to get out of here – I need to get somewhere safe. Please, man, please! Can you please drive me somewhere safe? Like your office?’
‘I suppose …’ Caden paused for a second to think. But the kid sounded terrified. It seemed as if there was only one thing he could do. ‘I’ll be right there – give me about 10 minutes.’
‘Great, man, great. And hurry, please!’
Persius wasn’t at the front desk when Caden rushed by it. Not that it mattered much – he didn’t have time to explain to anyone where he was going, or why. Persius might have attempted to talk him out of going, and that was utterly and wholly unacceptable. Who knew what might happen to Lukas if he didn’t get there in time? Caden rushed out of the building and into his car, and drove toward the bar where Lukas had told him to go, his head full of possibilities for what he might encounter once he reached his destination.
After eight minutes and a few very infuriating red lights, Caden pulled into the parking lot next to the bar. It was only a few seconds before his passenger door flew open and Lukas jumped inside. ‘Thanks man, thanks! Now go … Go!’
Lukas’s eyes were wide open, and he kept glancing back behind them as Caden drove off. If he’d had actually taken the time to think, Caden probably would have done something much smarter than just driving back to his office. But he’d never been in a situation quite like this before, one where it seemed someone’s life depended on him. Was that the case? he wondered as he drove them back the way he’d come. Was Lukas’s life really hanging in the balance?
Just as they pulled into a spot near his office, a black SUV turned on to their street. ‘Shit! Shit! They followed us, Mr Patricks! Hurry, we gotta get inside!’
Caden’s body was flush with adrenaline – he’d never been this scared in his entire life. What would happen if they didn’t get inside soon enough? He and Lukas rushed toward the building, and Caden’s heart pounded in his chest as he jammed his key into the building’s heavy front door. It would certainly keep their pursuers out, but would they manage to get through the door in time?
Chapter Nine
Persius had been in the back room of the office for the past hour, filing paper after paper. A glance at his watch told him it was well past time to leave. But why hadn’t Caden come to get him? They’d had dinner plans, and overnight-stay plans, and Caden wasn’t the type to forget that sort of thing. Persius left the back room and was about to walk to Caden’s office when he heard yelling outside. As he got closer to the front door, he saw it start to open, and something told him he had to open it the rest of the way, and fast. That something also told him to rush outside, and to stand in front of the very familiar man who stood near the door. And then there was a loud sound, and he felt something hit his chest incredibly hard, and he fell into Caden’s arms. The last thing he saw before everything went black was Vaherena – what on earth was she doing there?
Persius slowly opened his eyes. He was in a pale blue room, with someone sitting next to his bed. Caden. Caden was sitting next to him, and his lips were quickly spreading into a large, toothy grin.
‘What … What happened?’ Persius asked him, but instead of answering his question, Caden planted a huge kiss on Persius’s lips. A huge, long, very delicious kiss, one which Persius hoped would soon lead to more. But instead, Caden pulled away. Then Persius saw a young man standing in the corner, who looked almost as happy as Caden.
‘Man, we thought you weren’t going to make it for a while there,’ the boy said. ‘I still can’t believe you threw yourself in front of Caden. Man, if that isn’t love …’
‘Love?’ Caden asked, turning his full attention on Persius.
‘I – uh … Well. I think you should tell me if I’m going to make it, first.’
‘Hell yeah you are!’ The boy walked over to Persius and bumped his fist against his hand. ‘You’re my hero, Persius. And this place, this – Faeyne, it’s awesome!’
‘We’re in Faeyne?’ Persius’s throat suddenly felt very, very dry. What were these two humans doing here? This wasn’t allowed; no, not ever. Was he in trouble? But then the curtain hanging over the room’s doorway was drawn back, and Vaherena entered the room. She didn’t look angry at all – instead, a look of incredible relief was on her face.
‘Ah, Persius, you’re all right. Thank Keole. You know,’ she said, sitting on the side of his bed and placing her palm over his, ‘no fairy guardian has placed themselves in harm’s way as you did in a very, very long time. And seeing as how these two men were still in immense danger, we thought we might as well bring them along with you, back here to Faeyne. You are what the humans call “heroic”, young man. Now, can we get you anything to eat?’
After a large meal of Harare, which Persius said was far better than what he’d made on earth, and which Caden assured him was every bit as good, Caden told him the whole story. The moment Persius had been shot, Vaherena had appeared before them, out of nowhere, and circled her arms around the three of them, taking them straight to Faeyne. The shock had worn off pretty fast for both of them, as Faeyne was, as Lukas had said, pretty awesome. But the shock – the fear – from seeing Persius get horribly wounded hadn’t gone away for Caden until Persius’s eyes had opened that evening, and Caden told him he had something he needed to say.
‘Yes?’ Please, Persius thought, please …
‘It’s just … We haven’t kn
own each other very long, not at all, but I feel like … I feel like I’ve known you much longer than the few months we’ve spent together since we met. I feel like there’s an incredibly strong connection between us, and – and I think I love you.’ Caden took Persius’s hands in his own, then said, ‘No. I know that I love you.’
‘I love you too, Caden,’ Persius said back. He took Caden’s hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss upon its palm. ‘I have from the first moment I set eyes on you in the gazing pools. But your family … Your home city … Your whole world. I can’t ask you to give all of it up.’
‘Vaherena and I talked about that, actually. She’s placed the men who were after me and Lukas in a fairy jail. I’ll be safe at home. But I’m not going back there unless you promise, and I mean promise, that you’ll come back there with me.’
‘I … I mean, I love you, but leave Faeyne? For ever?’ Persius sighed and lay back on his pillows, closing his eyes for a moment. ‘I think I need to rest … Sleep on it, you know. Yeah …’
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