by Scott
Dallan raised one eyebrow and pinned Slade with an imperious look. “There’s no need for name-calling. You do, in fact, have your clothes.” He pointed to a suitcase Slade recognized as his own that was sitting next to the closet.
Slade shot him a questioning look. “Where? How?”
I went through the blood gate while you were sleeping, found your car, and brought the suitcase back here for you. Now, shall we get ready for our guests?”
Desperately feeling the need for a bath and realizing that he was getting nowhere in this discussion with Dallan, Slade gave in. For now. But this discussion is far from over.
The bath turned out to be a very pleasurable event. Slade didn’t usually do baths, preferring showers, but Dallan joined him and made the experience extremely enjoyable.
The bathtub was marble, round and sufficiently large for both of them to fit in comfortably. It was deep enough that when it was filled, the water reached Slade’s shoulders. Slade sank down in the warm water and felt all the tension seeping out of his body. He looked over at Dallan and sighed. “This feels wonderful.”
“I thought that you would enjoy it if I could ever make you stop arguing with me.” Dallan smiled, looking complacent.
“Don’t look so smug. I’m just letting it go for now, so that I can relax and enjoy this swimming pool you call a bathtub. Our discussion is far from over.”
“We’ll see. Now, why don’t you come over here closer to me?” He took Slade’s hand and pulled him over to face him. Grasping each of Slade’s legs, he placed them over his thighs and moved him closer so that their cocks were touching. “Kiss me.”
“Don’t you ever ask or say please?” Dallan didn’t respond, just smiled and stared at him with those flashing green eyes, while pulling him closer.
Slade leaned forward, putting his arms around Dallan’s neck, pulling his face into his for the kiss. At the same time he felt Dallan rubbing their cocks together, creating a delicious friction. Fuck. This guy is good. Slade deepened the kiss and Dallan increased the stroking at the same time, causing them to come almost simultaneously.
Slade put his head down on Dallan’s chest and took a deep breath. “Damn it, Dallan. I didn’t think, after last night and this morning, that I had another fuck left in me, but that was great. You really must be a wizard and you’ve put some sort of spell on me.”
Dallan lifted Slade up off his chest so that they were looking directly at each other. “No. I wouldn’t use magic on you for that. I don’t want you that way.”
“I was just kidding, Dallan. Don’t get yourself all bent out of shape. It’s just that I’ve never felt so attracted to anyone and stayed hot for them. I usually just move on. I don’t do relationships.”
Dallan relaxed, looking pleased. “It’s good that you feel differently about me. It bodes well for our future together. Now, we really need to get dressed before Levi comes.”
Slade frowned. He’s not listening to a damn word I’m saying. Slade noticed that the water had become tepid, so he agreed and stood up, reaching for one of two soft towels that Dallan had placed beside the tub. Dallan leaned around him and picked up the other one.
Walking into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around his waist, Slade was startled to see an owl sitting on a perch. Had it been there the whole time? He didn’t think so. Surely he would have noticed, so where the hell had it come from? It was big, about two feet tall, with what looked like horns and its glowing yellow eyes were staring right at him.
Dallan moved around him, saying, “Harry, where have you been?” He reached over to rub his fingers over the bird’s head in a gesture of affection, to which it responded with a cooing sound. Dallan turned to Slade, smiling. “This is Harry. I suppose that you can guess who he’s named after. Anyway, I found him when he was a baby, very tiny, lying on the ground. I assumed that he’d fallen out of the nest and kept an eye on him waiting for his mother to come rescue him, but she never did. After several hours, I picked him, brought him in and he’s been with me ever since. He’s a little skittish around strangers and very protective of me, but I don’t believe he’d hurt you unless he perceived that you were a threat to him or me.”
The owl was nuzzling Dallan’s hand while he was talking, but he was watching Slade the whole time as if sizing him up. Slade was determined to show no fear, so he stared right back. “Okay, Harry, I won’t bother you, or your daddy here, so don’t you bother me and we’ll get along just fine.”
Harry made another cooing sound, as if he understood. Slade laughed and Dallan looked puzzled. “Strange.”
“What is?”
“He usually only makes that sound in response to me. He must like you, and he rarely likes strangers.”
“Well, Merlin, I’m a very likable guy. You’ve certainly liked me a lot in the last few hours.”
“Stop calling me that and get dressed.”
They had just finished dressing when there was a knock on the door. Slade followed Dallan out of the bedroom and stood in the middle of the living room as he opened the door. Dallan bowed his head slightly. “Your Highness, please come in. There’s someone here that I want you to meet.”
Slade didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but a huge, gorgeous man with devil’s horns was definitely not it. There were colorful scales going down one arm and up to his shoulder and the side of his neck. Scales! There was a man behind the king, but Slade couldn’t quite see him. Was this the consort? Weird. The shape of his head, his hair, his walk all reminded Slade of…. “Cole. Oh my God! Is that you?”
The man stepped from behind the king. “Slade? Slade Delaney? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing. Fuck, I’ve been trying to locate you. We were supposed to meet up and have drinks and dinner.”
“Oh, hell, Slade. I’m sorry. I should have found a way to get a message to you.”
“That’s okay. I’m just happy to know that you’re okay. Or sort of okay—are you sharing my hallucination or are we really in some kind of other realm?”
“It’s all true, I’m afraid. I know how crazy it must seem, but it’s true, Slade.”
Slade walked over to embrace Cole, just for the comfort and the devil-man stepped between them. Slade heard a low growl coming from him. He was gorgeous, but fierce looking at the same time. Slade stopped in alarm.
Cole spoke up. “Settle down, Levi. He’s a friend. He’s not going to hurt me.” Pushing his way around the demon, Cole embraced his friend. “Damn, it’s good to see you, Slade. What the hell are you doing here, and, more importantly, are you okay?”
Slade was staring at Cole and didn’t answer for a minute. He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Cole was even more beautiful than before. There seemed to be a glow about him, the same as with Dallan. And the demon was not just scary looking, but inhumanly beautiful. He must look like a troll to these beings, no matter how handsome he might be in his own right, and he’d been told he was pretty cute.
“Slade, are you all right?” Cole’s voice was worried.
Slade snapped himself out of his thoughts. “Sure, I’m fine. My mind is officially blown to smithereens, and I’m ready to go back home, but there seems to be some sort of problem with that.” He looked over at Dallan. “Merlin, here, has issues that we’re trying to work out.”
Cole snorted at the reference to Merlin and Levi just looked puzzled. Dallan asked if they’d like something to drink and went to the kitchen to get it. They were all seated when he came back into the room with two glasses of cream and two glasses of a sparkling, turquoise-colored liquid on a tray. Cole took a glass with cream in it, smiling, and took a long drink.
Levi gave Cole a warning look. “Go easy on that stuff, baby.”
“Oh, please, Levi.” He looked over at Dallan, who was also enjoying his. “This is delicious.” He licked his lips and a low growl emanated from Levi once again.
Slade watched
this exchange in fascination. Whoever this fierce-looking demon was, Cole was certainly not afraid of him. And baby? It was more than obvious Cole and the demon were a couple. He looked over at Dallan, who was explaining that the cream was a special one that was a favorite of his.
At Slade’s frown, Levi spoke directly to him. “It’s cream to you, but they’re faeries and it affects them like alcohol. If we don’t watch them, they’ll both be intoxicated soon and nothing will get accomplished this afternoon.”
Slade watched Dallan put his drink down with a little flush of guilt and turn toward Levi. “You said you wanted to speak to me, Your Highness.”
“Yes, I have some concerns that I’d like to discuss with you. And, by the way, when no one else is around, I don’t expect you to call me ‘Your Highness.’ We’re friends, Dallan, so there’s no need for it here.”
“Thank you. I like to use it when we’re at court to remind everyone that you’re in charge.”
Levi laughed. “And I appreciate that. Some of them do seem to have difficulty remembering that.” His face grew serious. “Your father, for one. He’s one of the reasons that I wanted to speak to you.”
“My father? Is there a problem with him?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure.” He paused before continuing. “I think that he may be leaking information to Cole’s uncle.”
Slade and Cole had put down their drinks and were eavesdropping on the conversation between Levi and Dallan. Ever the FBI agents, they were always listening and taking note of anything unusual.
Slade looked over at Dallan. “I thought you told me that your father was a wizard in the high king’s court.”
“He is, and I’ve always believed him to be loyal to the king.” Dallan looked over at Levi.
“The king, yes. Me, not so much.”
“But why?”
“I don’t think he’s ever really liked me, but my talking you into becoming a member of WRAITH was the final straw. His ambition for you was to become a great archmage, as he is. Follow in his footsteps, so to speak.”
“That was his ambition. Never mine. And he knew it. I told him many times, but he never listened. Besides, you never talked me into anything. You offered me a position and I took it. It’s as simple as that.”
Slade had been listening to their exchange with interest. He turned to Cole. “So, how did you get tapped to be a member of this WRAITH organization?”
“It’s a long story, but the streamlined version is that Levi knew of me and asked for me.” He downed the last of the cream in his glass and grinned. “It seems that I’m a faery prince, the true king of the faery domain, but I was stolen as a baby and left in the human realm.”
Before he could go on, Levi touched his shoulder. “You must be careful about giving that information to anyone.”
“Slade’s not anyone. He’s my friend and I trust him.” He looked over at Dallan and asked, “How about some more of that cream?”
Levi gave him a stern look. “I think not.”
Slade saw Cole frown at Levi, but he didn’t push it. As a matter of fact he leaned against Levi with a little sigh. As he watched, Levi put a possessive hand on Cole’s thigh. “Perhaps later, sweetheart, after we’ve conducted our business and can go straight home.”
That seemed to satisfy Cole and he smiled at Levi. It looked to Slade as if they were exchanging some sort of secret message, and not one pertaining to politics. It was a look of knowing and understanding, of thoughts being shared without being spoken. Slade had never had that with another person, had never really wanted it. He believed only in hook-ups, one night stands, fuck-’em and forget-’em. Seeing Cole and Levi together, though, stirred something in him, something like envy. He looked over at Dallan, in deep and serious conversation with the demon. Now, why would I look at him? Hell, there’s something about him, something I’m drawn to. Can’t deny it.
Slade felt eyes on him and looked over to see Cole watching him with raised eyebrows. Before he could say anything, Dallan said, “Levi, I need to speak with you about a private matter now that our other business is complete. Let’s go into the kitchen.”
When they had left the room, Cole gave Slade a perceptive look. “You like Dallan, don’t you?”
“I most certainly do not. He’s way too bossy for my taste and he’s holding me here against my will.”
“And yet, you’ve fucked him, haven’t you?”
“Well, um…” At Cole’s shrewd look, he continued, “So what if I have? Look at him he’s gorgeous, but that’s all it was, just a fuck.”
“That’s not the way that you were looking at him.”
“Really? Because that’s all it was— a fuck. Sex. And that doesn’t make it love, so if you’re insinuating that I’m crazy about him, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cole smiled. “Mm hm.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Cole, I’ve only known him a couple of days. You can’t fall in love that quickly, even if you do believe in love, which I don’t.”
Cole laughed, but before he could say anything else, Dallan and Levi came back into the room. Levi walked over and sat down beside Slade.
“Slade, Dallan has told me that he has been unable to neutralize you, and that now, he doesn’t want anyone else to try it and why. I also understand that you want to return to the human realm because you feel that you have responsibilities there.”
“I do. I have a job and a mother who is alone right now.”
I know. Because of my position with WRAITH, I believe that I can get your leave extended for your job if you will be patient and give us some time to implement our plan to discover who has been leaking information to our enemy and put a stop to it.”
“How much time are we talking about?”
“In your way of marking time, about a week, maybe a few days longer than that.”
Slade was quiet for a moment. “Okay, I could do that, I suppose.” He looked over at Dallan, who looked relieved. “But, I don’t want to be held prisoner here. I’d like to be able to go outside and walk around, get some fresh air.”
“I shouldn’t think that that would be a problem. Except that here we have dangers for humans that don’t exist in the human realm. You’d have to be careful.” Levi looked over at his friend. “Dallan?”
Dallan had a troubled look on his face. “I suppose not. It’s just that, as I told you in private, there’s a pack of Dark Elves who have been sending me messages, offering many enticements, wanting me to open the Blood Gates. I sealed the house yesterday to keep Slade safe, as well as to keep him from leaving.”
“It’s your decision, then. I leave it to you to work it out between the two of you. Now, we need to leave to begin putting our plan into action. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Cole walked over to Slade and embraced him. “I hope to see you again soon. With this war going on, we never know from day to day what we’ll be doing.”
“I hope to see you, too.” Slade turned toward Levi. “Thank you for your offer of assistance with the FBI. I promise that I’ll keep my word and stay put for another week or so.”
After the departure of Levi and Cole, Dallan asked, “Why are you so cooperative with Levi and not with me?”
“Maybe because he listened to what I had to say and offered to help, not make demands. Now, can I have some more of that blue stuff to drink? It’s quite tasty.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Slade woke up, it was full daylight and he was alone in the big bed. He heard a sound and cracked an eye open, looking in the direction of the movement. Dallan was standing at the closet with his back to the bed. And he was naked, gloriously so. Must have just come from the bath. Nice ass. Nice everything. Slade lay very still, watching Dallan dress and thinking about the night they’d had. He’d never had this much sex with anyone. The thing was that it just kept getting better and better.
Since he was daydreaming, it didn’t register with him tha
t Dallan had turned around and was looking at him. “Ah, you’re awake, I see.”
Slade stretched. “What time is it?”
“Mid-morning. I’m going to meet with Levi to implement our plan. I’ll be gone for several hours, but I won’t seal the house if you’ll give me your word that you will stay close and be very careful.”
“Of course, I will. I’m not a child, Dallan. I’m an FBI agent and can take care of myself.”
“Even so, I doubt that the Bureau prepared you for fighting Dark Elves. They’re bloodthirsty bastards, so don’t open the door for anyone, and if you decide to go outside, take Harry with you. He seems to like you, so I’m leaving him here for you.”
Slade looked over at the owl, sleeping soundly on his perch. Yep, he’ll be a big help in an emergency. He didn’t say what he was thinking because he didn’t want to rock the boat and have Dallan decide to seal the house again. All he said was, “Okay.”
Dallan crawled onto the bed and kissed him, touching the side of his face in a gesture of affection, which Slade found surprising. Not only was it unexpected, Slade’s feeling of pleasure was a shock to him. He’d neither given nor received it before and he had to admit that he liked it.
Dallan’s mouth moved next to Slade’s ear and he spoke quietly, “There’s one other thing. I’m going to give you my fae name, but you must never use it where others will hear you. If you call me by that name, I must always come to you, or to anyone who uses it, so be very careful that no one hears you call me.”
Slade nodded and Dallan put his mouth on Slade’s ear so that he could speak in barely a whisper. “It is Cynfael.”
Afraid that he hadn’t heard correctly, Slade asked, “What?”
“Cynfael. It is pronounced kinfile. Remember it and don’t let anyone hear you use it. And don’t use it except in the direst emergencies.”
“I won’t.”
