Double Alchemy: Climax (2 page)

Cade’s arms reluctantly uncurled from Quinn’s waist and he followed him down the winding staircase to the ground floor of the house they shared in Hampstead Heath.

Quinn disappeared into the kitchen and left Cade on the couch staring at the lights on the five-foot Christmas tree in the bay window. Five minutes later he sat beside Cade as his boyfriend’s hands cupped his tea, the contents of which Quinn thought looked fairly passable. Quinn stroked a wayward lock of hair off Cade’s forehead. “So, tell me exactly what happened,” he asked quietly. “I imagine the police came?”

Cade nodded. “Graham was in his office early this morning, and about ten o’clock his secretary heard this almighty bang, went rushing in and found him dead in his chair across his desk. He’d blown a hole right through the side of his head.” He winced. “Needless to say, Greta, his PA, was hysterical, the whole place was in an uproar, and Ambrose managed to seal off the room before everyone went rushing in. He’s very good that way, quiet and calm and just takes control. He handled the whole thing when the police arrived.”

“I’m really sorry,” Quinn said softly. “I know you thought a lot of him.”

Cade’s body shuddered in his arms. “It’s the way of things, isn’t it? We live, we die and we leave people behind who love us.” Cade idly traced the seam of Quinn’s chinos. “I’m just glad you’ve had no more near-death experiences. I don’t think I could cope with another one.”

Quinn chuckled. “I was contemplating having one earlier, actually.”

Perhaps a little story would take Cade’s mind off the tragedy.

Cade looked at him in puzzlement, his grey eyes worried.

Quinn grinned. “I got wind of a book that I really want.” His eyes gleamed avariciously. “But it’s with someone I really don’t want to see, so it will be a definite battle of wills, possibly even to the death, to get it off her.”

Cade glanced up at him, his curiosity overriding his grief. “Her? Who is this formidable lady who has my Warlock quivering in his boots? Or should I say his Ralph Lauren footwear?” He raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Quinn felt a little uncomfortable in that he’d opened his mouth to something he didn’t really want to get into too much detail about, especially with Cade; his past relationship with Valensia. He glossed over his comment with a careless shrug.

“Oh, just a really difficult woman I know—knew,” he amended hastily, cursing his slip. “Don’t worry, I’ll make a plan to get it one way or another.”

Cade glanced at him from under furrowed brows. “I know you, mister. There’s something you don’t want to tell me about this woman.” His eyes narrowed in suspicion and Quinn groaned inwardly.

Shit, here comes the third degree. I’m a stupid bastard, why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?

“Is she a past girlfriend or something? You have that furtive look in your eye.”

Quinn cursed Cade’s unrelenting knack of noticing his tells. He sighed as Cade regarded him intensely.

“Yes and no,” he said, his answer sounding feeble even to his own ears.

Cade sat back. “How can it be both? From the way you’re acting, either she was and you bonked her, or she wasn’t and you bonked her anyway.”

“God, you have such a subtle way of putting things,” Quinn muttered.

“Who the hell
is
this woman?” Cade asked.

Quinn drew a deep breath, knowing Cade the Inquisitive wouldn’t let it go. “Valensia is her name.”

Cade frowned. “Valensia who? Would I know her?”

Quinn shook his head. “Just Valensia. She, erm, doesn’t have another name. I certainly doubt you’d know her,” he remarked drily.

Cade glared at him. “Don’t be silly. Everyone has a bloody surname.”

“Not if they’re the self-professed Queen of the Witches, they don’t,” muttered Quinn, knowing even as he said the words how ridiculous they sounded. Cade’s mouth dropped open and Quinn had to smile at the complete look of disbelief on his face.

“The Queen of Witches? You
are
joking?”

Quinn shook his head in amusement. “No, Valensia is one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Through a fairly complicated and probably totally underhanded process, knowing her, she managed to become Regina—Queen—and has been ever since.”

“And you relationship with her was what? My sexy Warlock King and this Queen of the Witches. Exactly what did you get up to?” Cade asked silkily.

Quinn felt himself flush. “We had a relationship, which turned out to be pretty one sided and very short lived.”

“Go on.” Cade’s grey eyes regarded him appraisingly. “Tell me more.” Cade was well aware that Quinn used to swing both ways. It had only been in the last six years he’d been man-exclusive.

“God, you’re like a bloody pit bull!” Quinn said in frustration. “It was many years ago, I’d just turned thirty and Valensia was this young twenty-one-year-old woman. The sparks flew, and one thing led to another and to put it in your words, we bonked.” He glared at him. “There, happy now?”

Hell. My ploy to take Cade’s mind off things has turned into an inquisition for me instead.

“I don’t see what’s so one sided about that? It sounds pretty mutual to me. Even though I would have thought twenty-one was a little young for you at age thirty. Why did you split up?” Cade looked at him. Quinn flushed redder than before.

Cade gazed at him, his face quizzical. “You seem very embarrassed about something, baby. Your face keeps lighting up like a beacon. That’s pretty unusual for you.” He leaned forward and touched Quinn’s leg, his hand travelling up toward his thigh teasingly. The tragedy of today seemed a little forgotten as they sparred.

“Valensia is half witch, half Fey,” Quinn said between gritted teeth. “She had the same sort of attraction for me that you had. Once we’d gotten the first—urges—out of the way, we tried a proper relationship. It lasted six months and then,” he hesitated, seeing Cade’s silver eyes fixed on his face intently, “I told her I couldn’t do it anymore. I realised that I was more into men and I had to be honest with her.” He sighed. “She was also possessive and hard, and yes, too young for me. When I broke it off, she took it very personally. She wouldn’t let me leave her house. She performed some sort of magyck that took me some time to break—three days in fact—and in the meantime I was imprisoned in her bedroom, on tap for whenever she fancied a bit. It was degrading and downright bloody exhausting.” He scowled fiercely. “But she knew how to enhance her Fey side all right, with magyck, and it was fucking horrible being turned on and off like a bloody light switch!”

Cade’s shoulders shook silently, his face hidden from view in Quinn’s neck as he tried to contain his laughter.

“I’m glad you find it so funny, Cade,” Quinn said smoothly, his eyes narrowing.

Cade chortled loudly as he lifted his face. Quinn saw mirthful tears in his boyfriend’s eyes and he scowled as Cade shook his head in amusement. “God, the thought of you being some witch’s sex slave is just too bloody precious! What a terrible ordeal for any man to have to endure!”

Quinn reached over lazily and pulled Cade toward him roughly, as his mouth found his. He was glad he’d made him laugh, even if it was at his expense. For a short time Cade had forgotten about Graham. Quinn kissed him thoroughly, his mouth demanding and hot, his hands already creeping inside Cade’s button-down shirt and touching his midriff.

He heard Cade’s low moan as his tongue sucked his and Cade’s warm hands slid up over Quinn’s broad shoulders and then entwined themselves into his hair. The sensation in Quinn’s groin intensified as Cade’s skilled hands moved down and untucked his shirt from his jeans then slid lazily over his stomach. For a moment both men were lost in the kiss and the feel of each other’s skin. Finally Quinn removed his mouth from Cade’s and they regarded each other, both breathing deeply.

Cade eyed him lasciviously. “Well, that made me feel a lot better. I can see why Valensia kept you locked up. I might try that trick myself with you, locking you in the bedroom.”

Quinn reached down, trailing his fingers along the jawline stubble that was Cade’s five o’clock shadow. “I don’t think I’d mind that at all,” he drawled. “Especially if you tie me up like last time. I liked that part. I liked tying you up too, so we’ll definitely do that again sometime soon.”

Cade snorted. “Last time we did that, we could hardly walk the next day. But it was fun.” He leaned in and kissed him again, nibbling his bottom lip.

As Quinn reached for him again, Cade stood up swiftly with a laugh. “Hold your horses, stud, and those naughty thoughts. I really need to go pee. Perhaps you can open a bottle of wine and we can sit and enjoy each other a little.” He smiled sadly. “I know Graham’s gone but we’re still here and it’s Christmas Eve. We need to forget all the bad stuff for a while.”

He disappeared to the bathroom. Quinn needed no urging. He went over to the wine rack, drew out a bottle of red wine and proceeded to open it, pouring it into large wine glasses. He heard a plaintive “meow” below him and turned to see Marco Polo rubbing himself against his legs.

“Marco, where have you been all day then? I don’t think I’ve seen you at all today.”

He took the two glasses of wine over to the centre table, placing them down and picking up the remote control. With a few button presses, the curtains closed around the room, the lights dimmed and with another flick, the Bluetooth system switched on, linked to Quinn’s mobile phone. The mellow tones of one of his favourite artists, Ben Howard, filled the room with sound. He looked around in satisfaction, happy that he’d set the right mood for a bit of ‘enjoyment’ with Cade. It all looked fairly festive and he’d rather be nowhere else than here with him now.

It might seem shallow, the two of them enjoying themselves when Graham and his family were dead, but Quinn was realistic. He knew better than most that the past couldn’t be undone, that neither of them could change anything and that life itself needed to be celebrated. Especially on Christmas Eve. Quinn might not believe in the religion of the event but he knew Cade liked the tradition.

Quinn had just sat down and taken a sip of his wine when he felt a tickle in his nose. He looked down and swore. His nose was bleeding again, small drops that dripped onto his favourite Ralph Lauren work shirt. Nosebleeds appeared to have become an occupational hazard since he’d undergone Unity with his Withinner, had a hex put on him by a witch and undergone a major battle with an uber-Warlock. It was something he was learning to live with but his laundry pile seemed to be getting higher and higher each day.

He stood, making his way over to the kitchen and as he stood up, his vision blurred and a familiar nausea rose in his chest. Gagging, he barely made it to the ground floor bathroom before vomiting up what was left of the steak and ale pie he’d had earlier on. He hugged the toilet bowl, his head spinning and his spirits plummeting as he realised what was happening.

Somewhere in the city, a Warlock was dying.

Cade stood anxiously watching Quinn sitting on the closed toilet, his face pale, his head back, trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. It hadn’t abated since Cade had come down and found him being sick in the bathroom. The facecloth had once again been run under cold water and placed across the bridge of his nose.

“Are you feeling any better?” he asked quietly. Quinn suffered terribly when one of his own died and the resulting aftermath left him drained for days afterward.

Quinn nodded. “The sick feeling’s gone. It’s just this bloody nosebleed. I’m getting sick of this,” he said fiercely, closing his eyes, his brow furrowed.

Cade laid a hand on his shoulder. “Do you think it’s Jeremy Payton who’s killed someone?” Jeremy Payton was the Witchfinder General, a psychopathic fifteen-year-old boy that Quinn had been tracking for the past two months. He was a real danger to Quinn’s world. Jeremy had escaped the last battle Quinn had fought with him by literally disappearing into thin air.

Quinn sighed tiredly. “I don’t know. Perhaps, but it could just be a simple death, if there is such a thing, by which I mean one not involving the Witchfinder. It was a violent death, I could sense it. But until we find out who died, we have no bloody idea. Perhaps Percy can help when he calls.” He frowned. “He’s normally called by now. I wonder what’s keeping him.”

His words triggered a wash of dread in Cade. “Quinn, you don’t think—”

Quinn forestalled him, shaking his head. “No, it won’t be Percy that’s died. If it was I’d feel much worse, believe me.” His tone was grim. “Percy and I have shared blood, sweat and tears and I’d definitely know if something happened to him.”

He reached up and removed the washcloth, lifting his head upright and gazing at Cade with shiny, black eyes. Cade gasped in awe. Quinn’s pupils were so large the iris could hardly be seen, like someone in a vampire movie when their eyes became completely obsidian. It was an incredible sight, sexy but disturbing. Cade chided himself for having that thought even as he saw his lover suffering in front of him.

“What is it? You have a really strange look on your face.” Quinn was looking at him with a worried expression.

“Your eyes, they’ve gone almost completely black again, like they did when I found you in the kitchen that time being hexed. You look demonic.”

Quinn looked in the mirror and sighed. “I haven’t seen this much reaction since the last incident in the kitchen. It makes everything look different for me, as if it’s all lit up, like auras. It’s been a lot more prevalent since the Unity with Taliesin.”

He stood up, a little shaky, and threw the washcloth into the basin. “Don’t worry, they’ll go back to normal within a while. I’m not possessed or anything,” He smiled tiredly. “Well, I am but it’s only Taliesin. I promise my head won’t go spinning around in the middle of the night.”

He chuckled at Cade’s apprehensive expression.

“I promise you I’m fine. I need to get upstairs and call Percy, see what’s happening.” Quinn shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts and made his way out of the bathroom.

Cade picked up the blood-sodden washcloth, rinsed it out and popped it in the laundry hamper. He followed Quinn up the stairs, looking at his watch. Eight o’clock. He supposed that sexy get together they’d been planning on the couch was now a thing of the past. In truth, all he now wanted to do was get into bed and hope this day would never be revisited. God, what with friends shooting themselves and Quinn having a turn, it was turning out to be a really eventful evening. Probably best to just get into bed and read if he could concentrate. Quinn certainly wouldn’t be coming to bed anytime soon. Once he got in his study talking to Percy, Cade would be lucky to see him before midnight.