Eat your heart out, you lot, he’s all mine.
Quinn took the microphone as the room grew quiet. “Ladies and gentleman, it’s a pleasure to be here with you tonight. I promise I’ll keep it short as I know you’re all anxious to continue drinking that wonderful wine that’s on the table. Plus luckily for you all I’m not given to long-winded speech like I know Ambrose is prone to.”
There was a low buzz of laughter. Ambrose’s predilection to rambling discourses on occasion was well known.
“My father took over this company when his father died and like me, he believed in what it was trying to accomplish. By learning about our past and the cultures that came before us, we learn more about ourselves and where we came from. QuinnCo promotes racial and cultural tolerance through its work with organisations like the London Project, an outreach for gang members and various what we call ‘A-religious’ groups which seek to promote understanding of each other’s religions and beliefs, with an aim to accepting that whatever anyone believes in, there should be no stigma attached to it. We’ve even worked with Wiccan and other Neo-Pagan groups, as well as creationist and evolutionary organisations to try and promote cultural understanding.”
He looked around the room. “I know there are some here tonight that disagree with what we do, just as I know there are others who are totally devoted to it and want to make it work. Anthropology gives us the insight of our origins and allows us to look back at the mistakes we made in hopes we don’t repeat them. My father believed in this, as do I and this is why this Institute is so important to my company. It makes a difference and it’s what each and every one of us should try to do. Thank you for listening to me and I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”
He smiled and handed the microphone back to Ambrose amidst loud applause. Cade was so proud of him and his confidence and passion. Cooper, seeing he was a little emotional, smiled and leaned over and laid a hand on his.
“He’s really good up there, isn’t he? He really believes in what he says.”
“You have no idea, Cooper. No idea.” Cade murmured, wishing for one crazy moment that everyone in the room could know who Quinn was and what he actually stood for. Knew even who and what Cade was and the strange, wonderful world they lived in together. In a million years, Cade had never dreamt of anything such as what he had now. He still pinched himself. He could only imagine how other people, non-magyck, would see it. He and Quinn would probably both end up in the loony bin.
Quinn appeared at Cade’s side with a smile that faded slowly as he saw Cooper’s hands covering his. Cade hastily moved them away and picked up his wine glass, toasting Quinn.
“You were wonderful up there, babe. To say you did that all from your head, you did well.”
Quinn smiled. “I’m glad.” He sat down and pulled Cade’s hand toward him as he kissed it possessively, glaring at a grinning Cooper. “It wasn’t too long, was it?”
Cade shook his head. “No, it was just right. You speak with such conviction and it’s really heartfelt.” He lowered his voice to murmur into Quinn’s ear. “I was just thinking that sometimes it would be nice for people to know exactly who you are, and why you can say you believe so much in what you do. With what you’ve experienced, people would have to believe you really know what you’re talking about.”
“Sometimes, I feel the same.” Quinn’s tone was wistful. “Sometimes I just want to invoke Taliesin and let him tell everyone about the death and destruction he’s seen in the name of religion and cultural differences. But I can’t. It would wreak complete and utter havoc. So we have to stay hidden away to do what we do.”
It was almost midnight when Quinn and Cade said their farewells and went up to bed. Quinn watched carefully as Cooper hugged Cade, not missing his sly, seemingly accidental caress of Cade’s arse. Words of magyck sprung into his mind, words he tried manfully to suppress. Fusing a man’s fingers together was not something one could get away with at an event like this. Cade also looked quite tipsy and in the lift, Quinn smiled at him in amusement as he regarded the flushed face.
“Had a little too much there? You have that rather dreamy look on your face that always tells me you might have over-imbibed.”
“Listen, handsome, I’m in a very happy place at the moment. It was a good evening, with great company, you by my side and from what I remember, you promised to be the naughty professor when we get upstairs, so this man has a lot to look to look forward to.” Cade yawned sleepily. “I’ll try and find my second wind by then, I promise.”
“Hmm. That Cooper is a little more forward than I’d like. He seems to have no boundaries.”
Cade waved an airy hand. “Coop is fine, just a little excitable. He’s not a threat, Quinn, honestly. No man can measure up to you.”
Quinn stayed quiet and Cade looked at him. “Is everything all right? Normally you’d have some witty repartee for me by now about the length of your dick or something.”
“I’m fine,” Quinn murmured, feeling a little distracted by what he had planned. They reached the room and he slid the key card into the lock and opened the door, motioning Cade inside. Cade entered the room and gasped at what he saw. The room was decked out with some very ornate and very large red rose bouquets, scattered around the room, in front of which stood a magnum of champagne and two glasses. Cade turned and gazed at Quinn, his eyes wide.
“Wow. This is quite a display. Did the hotel do this for us then? Or the Institute perhaps?” He leaned over and smelled the roses, breathing in their delicate scent.
“No, Cade, I did.” Quinn reached over and pulled Cade closer to him, his hands encircling his waist as he looked deeply into silver—albeit slightly glazed—eyes. “I’m really not very good at this sort of thing, so bear with me.” He took a deep breath, feeling like the first night at his prom when he wanted to kiss a special girl and wasn’t sure how she’d respond.
“Cade, you know I love you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and meeting you on the heath that day was just meant to happen. I know that. But I don’t think I tell you enough just how much I love you. You’re my world.”
Cade looked up at him with eyes that drank him in, and Quinn swallowed.
“I love coming home to you and seeing you curled up in your chair with the cat, and your books, just looking as if you belong there. There’s no other sight I’d rather see. So I thought it was about time I made an honest man of you.”
Cade’s eyes widened and he swallowed, his full lips parting and Quinn wanted to kiss him so badly he had to look away. He reached behind the one bouquet of flowers and picked up the small box he’d hidden there earlier.
“Cade Mairston, will you marry me?” He took a deep breath and opened the box to reveal the ring he’d picked out of the safe earlier that evening.
Cade looked at him and Quinn saw the glint of tears in his eyes as he looked down at the ring. It was an eighteen-carat yellow gold wedding band, with three small diamond chips embedded on the top, simple but very elegant, like the man himself.
“It was my father’s ring,” Quinn said softly. “My father said the three diamonds symbolised the past, the present and the future, which is very apt considering who we are and where we’ve both come from. It’s been in the safe since Daniel gave it to me when I was eighteen.” He grinned slightly. “Dan said one day I’d put it to good use if some man was stupid enough to say yes, so I hope that’ll be you.”
Quinn watched Cade’s face anxiously, looking for his answer and found it when Cade reached up to him, eyes glinting with unshed tears and kissed him with a tenderness that made Quinn’s body ache with need.
“God, of course I’ll marry you,” Cade whispered. “I love you more than life itself, you know that. I don’t need or want anything else other than you.”
Cade’s lips found Quinn’s again and he melted into him, feeling Cade’s hard body against his, feeling the heat in his own body rising with the embrace. Finally they pulled apart reluctantly an
d Quinn took the ring out of the hardwood box and took his left hand, gently placing the ring on his finger. It fitted perfectly. Cade looked at it in awe and then looked back up at him with such adoration that Quinn’s chest surged with emotion.
“It’s the most beautiful ring ever. I love it, and the fact it was your dad’s makes it even more special.” Cade frowned. “I guess that means I need to get you one, then? Something special because I don’t have any family heirlooms to give you, unless there’s a safety deposit box I don’t know about somewhere and if there is, I haven’t found it yet—”
“Cade,” Quinn whispered with a wide smile, “You’re blathering, sweetheart. I need to shut you up.”
He reached over and cupped Cade’s face, kissing him deeply and Cade moaned and pressed himself against Quinn with a ferocity he hadn’t felt before.
“I should propose to you more often,” Quinn murmured as Cade’s hungry mouth travelled down his neck. “It seems to bring out the beast in you and definitely makes you ready for action.”
Cade’s tongue finished licking Quinn’s skin and with a sly smile, he knelt down before Quinn, pushing him back against the wall. Quinn lost his breath. Cade on his knees was a real treat. He cleared his throat as Cade’s fingers unzipped him and pulled his trousers down to his thighs. His very needy cock sprung up, and Cade nuzzled his cheek against it. Quinn nearly blew just from that alone.
“Christ, Cade,” he groaned. “You are such a fucking bad boy. For God’s sake, either do it or get on the bed so I can make love to you properly.”
Cade tutted and flicked the tip of Quinn’s penis with a warm finger, causing him to hiss in sheer delight. “Stop your whining. I’m setting the mood. It’s not every day a man gets a marriage proposal.” His tongue snaked out and licked Quinn’s tip and Quinn thought he might explode.
“Cade, I’m warning you,” he grunted between clenched teeth. “Either suck it or get on the damn bed.”
His fiancé—God, I love the sound of that—sighed heavily and wrapped his mouth around Quinn’s cock, causing him to levitate onto his toes as a hot, wet tongue and greedy lips took control of that most sensitive part of his anatomy. Quinn’s hands clutched Cade’s hair in a grip so tight Cade felt like he was getting a facelift.
“Oh…my…God,” Quinn moaned, thinking hazily that Cade’s assault on his throbbing and needy erection made him eligible for a cock-sucking award of some sort. “Hell, you are so good at this.” His voice trailed off to a moan as his dick was clasped in rough hands and pumped with the sort of vigour he’d only seen in porn. Quinn’s knees threatened to give way, and he swore Cade was laughing, the rumble of his laughter reverberating against Quinn’s extremely pressured cock. There was no way in hell Quinn was going to survive much longer. His balls were scrunching up, his arse tingling with his imminent orgasm and the heat in his groin unbearable.
He let out an unmanly warble as he blasted his way into Cade’s mouth like a rocket launcher lifting off. His body shook, and he’d never realised he had the capacity to produce so much come. All the time Cade milked him dry, swallowing everything he was given. Finally, Quinn was spent and he lifted his hands from Cade’s hair, splayed them out against the wall for support and looked down at the silver-grey eyes observing him wickedly. Cade stood up, licking his lips salaciously and, from the large wet patch on the front of his trousers and dreamy eyes, already satisfied. He licked his fingers one by one as he watched Quinn’s face.
“That was so fucking hot,” Cade murmured. “And you made me come in my pants. What the hell was that noise you made at the end? It sounded like a damn bird of some sort.” He shivered in pleasure. “It was damn sexy whatever it was.” He stopped the erotic sucking of his fingers and looked down at his groin in steady contemplation. “I guess we both need a shower now.”
Quinn took a deep breath. “You bastard. That mouth of yours is pretty talented.”
Cade shrugged. “I have my moments.” He gazed over at the table, at the bottle of champagne. His eyes grew stormy. “Before we even think of getting clean, I’d like to get dirty again. I think we need to open that champagne and toast ourselves,” he murmured softly as his hands caressed Quinn’s jawline with fingers that smelled of sex. Quinn closed his eyes at the sensation. “In fact, I think you should pour it all over me and drink it off. I think I’d like that. Then I can return the favour.”
He leaned in and ran his tongue across Quinn’s bottom lip. Quinn’s heart stopped at the thought of drinking champagne from Cade’s body. Just when he thought the man couldn’t surprise him any more…
“I think I’d like that, my dirty fiancé,” Quinn murmured and Cade chuckled in satisfaction.
“Then stop talking, get undressed and open the bottle. I think this is going to get very messy.” With a wicked grin and a swing of his hips, Cade sauntered over to the bed and turned, beckoning Quinn over with one finger. Quinn was out of his depth with this rather bossy yet uber-sexy Cade but he had no intention of refusing anything the man wanted.
After all, it wasn’t every day a man agreed to be your husband.
Chapter 16
Cade awoke the next morning feeling both sticky and sore from the activity the previous night. The drinking of champagne from each other’s bodies had certainly been memorable but he didn’t think the hotel cleaning staff would appreciate the mess they’d made. He smiled when he saw Quinn snoring lightly still, his arms flung out above his head, his chest hair matted with sticky champagne. He raised his hand and looked at his ring, still unbelieving of the fact he was now Quinn’s fiancé. Cade felt a surge of happiness as he clambered out of the bed and made his way to the shower. Twenty minutes later he was towel-drying his hair when Quinn stirred and yawned, stretching his arms and his legs. He sat up, the sheet draped loosely across his waist and smiled at him widely.
“Morning. You’re up bright and early.”
“I was all sticky and I really needed a shower.” He grinned. “You were very edible last night. We’ll definitely have to do that again.”
Quinn chuckled as he swung his legs out of bed and padded naked into the bathroom. “I have to say it was quite an experience. I had no idea champagne could get drunk out of so many places in the human body.”
Cade flushed slightly at remembering exactly where Quinn had drunk his fill from. He heard the shower start and Quinn’s whistling as he got into the water. His mobile bleeped as Quinn came back into the room, a towel around his waist, towelling his hair dry. Cade glanced at his phone then put it down.
Quinn raised an enquiring eyebrow. “Is that your friend Cooper again? What does he want now?”
Cade nodded. “He stayed over in the hotel too. He was wondering whether we’re coming down for breakfast.”
Quinn frowned. “He’s quite a tenacious little bastard, isn’t he? What’s he going to say when he hears you’ve gotten engaged? I hope it cools his ardour a little.”
“He’s harmless,” Cade said with a sigh. “He knows full well I’m attached.”
“Hmm. He certainly seems to be a little hands-on, from what I saw last night. The man was all over you like a leech. That toad spell was starting to look pretty attractive to me.”
Cade stood up, moving over to Quinn, leaning in and enjoying the fresh, soapy smell of him as he hugged him.
“You can’t go around turning people into toads and frogs. You know you’re the only one for me. Cooper’s just a little showy, that’s all.” Cade kissed Quinn softly. “Once I show him this,” he waved his engagement ring, “he’ll get the message.”
Quinn grunted. “He’d better. Right, shall we go down and get breakfast? I have to confess I’m starving after all last night’s activity.”
He picked up the room key as Cade followed him out. “Perhaps I should tell young Coop exactly what we got up to last night,” he said slyly as he locked the door. “That would give him something to think about.”
Cade shook his head fiercely. “Don’t you dare embar
rass me. I know you. You’ll drop little sly innuendos just to make a point.”
Quinn grinned. “You do know how to spoil my fun.”
The lift pinged and as they stepped inside, Cade hoped he’d behave himself. Quinn could sometimes be too mischievous for his own good.
*****
The next week passed far too quickly as the date of the seventh of May and the eclipse drew nearer. Quinn and his team had managed to find the hidden cottage where Jeremy and Rowan were staying, thanks to some local knowledge. A helpful land conveyancer in the local council office and a rather eccentric botanist who knew the flora of the area backwards were able to identify the seven trees.
Quinn, Percy and Magnus put their plans in place to gather at the Mistley Flats to perform the ceremony to banish Matthew Hopkins.
Daniel, who’d been given the task of getting something personal from Rowan Kirkpatrick, had to get creative in his efforts so as not to draw attention to himself. He finally managed to achieve his objective one cold morning as he waited in line behind the stork-like man at the local coffee shop. Daniel was not a coffee drinker but it looked as if Rowan and his friend Jeremy Payton were. The man ordered two cappuccinos and two flat whites along with a variety of muffins and what looked like large, round biscuits. The two men definitely had a sweet tooth.
Daniel stood behind the tall, gangly man as the human vessel dithered with the change in his hand, deciding what coins to count out into the patient barista’s outstretched hand. Daniel shifted behind him slightly, seeing a few stray hairs on the man’s rather soiled coat shoulder. He made as if to lift his hand and swat something, and quickly made his action into something else, plucking the hairs off the man’s shoulder and clutching them tightly in his hand. The man went still and then slowly turned around. Daniel had noticed the large sunglasses the man wore and wondered why in hell’s name he needed them on a cold, grey Essex morning. He smiled as Rowan’s gaze met his eyes. Daniel felt the stare even through the dark mirrored glasses.
Double Alchemy: Climax Page 13
