Double Alchemy: Climax (3 page)

Chapter 2

Quinn frowned as Percy’s phone went to voice mail for the third time. He’d been calling every half an hour and still no word from his Marshall. That was very unlike him. The first tingling of dread caressed the back of Quinn’s neck like the slow stroke of a lover. He’d even tried getting hold of Magnus, his other senior Marshall, as the two of them were often together, but Magnus’s phone simply rang with no message. Quinn regarded his phone in frustration as he looked at his computer screen, the winking cursor seeming to mock him as it stayed put in place. Even his instant messaging service was having no success connecting to his team. He rubbed his eyes in exhaustion and took off his glasses to look at his watch. It was midnight so there was nothing much more he could do now—he might as well go to bed.

Quinn yawned, locking his computer screen, and stood up, stretching his tired limbs. As he looked out of the study window into the darkness outside, he saw a faint shadow by the lamppost directly across the street. Although he saw no one physical, he distinctly felt the presence of someone standing there. He blinked his eyes and rubbed them again. The shadow was still there and he got the eerie impression it was looking directly at him. It was very tall and thin. Quinn stood completely still, his eyes narrowed as he watched for any signs of movement. A car slowly drove past, obscuring his vision for a moment and when it finally passed, the shadow was gone. Quinn watched steadfastly for a few minutes until he was satisfied that there was definitely nothing in the surrounding area, before making his way to bed to curl up next to a warm and softly snoring Cade.

Quinn’s phone rang at close to two a.m., just as he’d managed to fall into an uneasy sleep. Cade mumbled beside him and Quinn quickly picked up his phone, switching it to silent. He swung his legs out of bed, sitting naked on the side.

“Percy, where the fuck have you been? I’ve been calling you all night,” he hissed angrily. “All I want is someone on my bloody team to tell me what the hell is going on!”

“I’m sorry. We had a young warlock who could make things disappear. He has no idea how he does it but this time it was me.” Percy’s voice was wry, his tone apologetic. “He has some strange new power with the ability to send people into some sort of limbo land. I had the devil of a time getting out of there and getting the others out as well.”

“Has he been taken into custody until you can find out how the hell he does it? I don’t want the silly blighter doing it to all and sundry. That would just be bad for us as a whole. We don’t need any more bloody exposure.” Quinn’s voice was grim.

Percy sighed. “Yes, he’s at one of the Consortium centres. They’ll test him, see what’s causing it. If we can repeat it it’ll make a great parlour trick. Anyway, that’s by the by. You’ll want to know if we know anything about the Warlock death.”

“That’s exactly what I want to know.”

“Nothing’s surfaced yet. We’re working on it.”

“Well, step up the efforts. If someone’s lying dead out there somewhere we owe it to them to find them and let their family know. Not to mention find out how they died and who did it. Has there been anything yet on Jeremy Payton?” Quinn rolled his shoulder as he sat, feeling the tenseness in it.

“No. It’s as quiet as a nun. I’m not sure this death is the Witchfinder though. It just doesn’t feel like him.”

Quinn nodded. “I think the same. Keep me informed and let me know the minute you know anything. Oh, and in a couple of days I’m going down to visit that witch Misty Ravenbrook from the coven that had the death. I need to understand what the hell happened there. A Book of Shadows doing the rounds killing people is definitely something we need to look into.”

“Not to mention that you wouldn’t mind getting your greedy paws on it,” Percy remarked in amusement. “I know you too well, Quinn.”

Quinn scowled. “Yes, well, that’s not fucking likely to happen if Valensia has it. But we need to figure out for ourselves what happened.”

“I agree; it’s a dangerous affair.” Percy yawned. “God, I need some sleep after today. Quinn, go back to sleep, I’m sorry I woke you up so late. We’ll catch up tomorrow then?” Percy rang off.

Quinn sat in quiet contemplation for a minute until the bed shifted and a warm form come up behind up and begin to massage his shoulders. He groaned in satisfaction. “God, that feels good. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“It’s okay, I’m getting used to it.” Cade’s warm breath brushed his ear and the quick darting of his tongue inside it made Quinn shiver. He groaned in pleasure as goose bumps formed on his bare skin. Cade’s strong hands dug into his shoulder muscles, getting to the rigid muscles beneath and Quinn winced as he unknotted them.

“You could do this for a living, you know that? Anyone would love to be man- handled by you and those hands of yours.” He grinned as Cade’s warm breath ghosted against his back, and he smelt the warm male fragrance of him in his nostrils.

“Are you pimping me out like a damn rent boy?” Cade whispered in his ear. “Because I have to say you might not like it when I take it seriously and find someone else with a good, strong body, and a large—””

His boyfriend’s words were cut off as Quinn growled deep in his throat and turned round swiftly to take his mouth in a passionate kiss, his lips pressing against Cade’s, feeling his lips part and a wet, needy tongue slip into his mouth. He pushed Cade back on the bed, seeing desire for him in his eyes, hearing his breathing grow quicker as he covered his lover’s strong body with his. He loved the warm strength of Cade’s stomach against his, and the strong legs that scissored between his, twining like snakes against his heated skin. He gasped as Cade’s hands slid down his backside, stroking his buttocks as Cade pressed himself against Quinn urgently.

“God, you always feel so good,” Cade groaned. “I love your body, you know that? Every single muscle, every bit of skin, every warm place no one else can feel but me.”

They kissed, tossing about on the bed amongst the rumpled sheets, hands touching skin wherever they could find it, warm, soft strokes leading to more urgent movements as passions grew more intense. Quinn slid his fingers down Cade’s shaft, hearing his moan of pleasure as he stroked him firmly, already slick and warm along his cock. Cade twisted beneath him as Quinn rubbed his own needy dick against his strongly muscled thigh. His groin tingled with heat and lust.

Cade moaned. “Don’t stop, just keep going. Your fingers are so good at doing this. You make me so fucking horny.”

His soft pants of passion echoed in Quinn’s ear and it made him want to immerse himself inside Cade, slide into that velvety passage that was his and his alone. Quinn knew Cade’s body well, knew just when to increase and decrease the pressure enough to drive him crazy with want. He brought Cade to the edge of orgasm then stopped. Quinn loved his moans of frustration as he teased him, his fingers knowing exactly when to cease their movements and start again, leaving him moaning deeply in his ear.

“You’re killing me, you bastard,” Cade gasped. “Please finish it.”

“I’ll finish when I’m ready,” Quinn whispered, his tongue darting in Cade’s ear. But he knew he couldn’t keep it up much longer anyway. He needed to get inside Cade, find his own release. Quinn took pity on the body writhing beneath him and increased the pressure on Cade’s cock, feeling his body tense beneath his, revelling in the moaning in his ear. Cade came with a shout, warm fluid coating Quinn’s hands. His hand tightened on Quinn’s hips as Cade shuddered in release beneath him. Quinn rose smiling above his sweaty lover, mouth biting down on Cade’s shoulder, eliciting a hiss of both pain and pleasure.

“Forget any foreplay,” Cade hissed. “Just want to feel you inside me, I can take it. Hell, I think my arsehole has an automatic release valve when it comes to your cock.”

Quinn suppressed a laugh as he thrust into Cade. His mouth found his, greedy and insistent, his tongue making love to the other in its passion. Not for the first time, Quinn marvelled at how this man made him feel, as if he was the only thing that mattered, Cade’s all-encompassing possession of him something to be cherished. Cade was heat and passion, velvet and steel, and Quinn gasped as he climaxed, that feeling of extreme pressure and unbearably intense heat flooding though his groin, his hips, up his spine. He exploded in a rush of heat and wetness that made him cry out. Cade held his shuddering body tight to his, his hands keeping Quinn inside him until he was totally spent and breathless on top of him. Quinn grinned against Cade’s sweaty neck. “I thought you were trying to sleep. Not that I’m complaining of course. I needed that after tonight. You too, from the feel of you.” He rolled off to lie beside him.

Cade chuckled quietly. “I always need that where you’re concerned. And I have to say I’m pretty turned on by those black eyes of yours. I find it very sexy.”

“I’ll have to try and do it more often then,” Quinn murmured softly, rolling off Cade’s warm body, his eyes half closed. “The bugger is I don’t know what causes it or how to induce it. I remember it happened once when I was in school; I was about ten years old. The teacher even called the school preacher because she thought I was possessed by something. It took Daniel all his influence to convince them it was some sort of genetic family trait.” He grinned in the darkness. “It was great, though, because I convinced all my friends I was some sort of anti-Christ and they towed the line for a long time after that. I got free lunches and some of their pocket money.”

Cade laughed quietly. “God, you were quite a bully and a conman, weren’t you? Little Quinn Fairmont, devil incarnate. I can really see that.”

Quinn snorted. “I was a little bit of a terror. Daniel and Moira really had their hands full with me. It made for very interesting times, I can tell you.” He turned over his side and Cade spooned himself against him, arms around his waist. Neither of them worried about wet spots or mess, content to wash sheets regularly and be damned.

Quinn reached up and placed his hand on his. “Good night,” he mumbled, already half asleep.

Cade nodded sleepily. “Night. Try not to have any bad dreams tonight. Think of fluffy bunnies and naked men or Santa Claus in your mind.”

“Only naked man I want to think of is you. Bunnies can actually be quite terrifying if you know what I know about them, and Santa Claus gives me the creeps so I’ll stick with just you in a sexy elf costume.”

Cade kissed Quinn’s shoulder gently as he fell asleep.

Cade awoke before Quinn the next morning and slipped quietly out of bed, leaving him still sleeping. Quinn was swaddled in blankets with just the top of his tousled blond head showing. Christmas Day to Cade was something special. Not for any religious reason. He remembered the times he’d spent with first his dad and then Sally before they were taken from him. Christmas had always been a family event, full of great food, laughter and watching reruns of bad programmes on television. Quinn didn’t do Christmas. He’d been fairly apathetic about it in the run up to the festive season, saying it was just an excuse for commercialism to rear its capitalist head. He hadn’t talked about it much, seeming fairly reticent about the whole prospect, although Cade knew he’d bought Christmas presents for him and Daniel and work friends. They were all scattered under the tree, beautifully wrapped, and he just knew Quinn hadn’t done the wrapping. Cade had painstakingly wrapped each of his presents himself, a job he took both pride and a certain satisfaction in. His presents to friends had already been duly distributed, apart from Quinn’s, which lay under the tree.

Cade had bought him a new suede jacket as his old one had been ruined in his fight with Andrew de Vere. Burning energy bursts were definitely not recommended for items of clothing. As far as he knew, Quinn planned on giving his presents out as people popped in to say hello. He wasn’t a particularly forward planner when it came to this sort of thing—birthdays and other seasonal occasions seemed to pass right by him.

Cade had to admit that Quinn had very much remembered his birthday on the seventeenth of November, though, planning both a late dinner, a moonlight trot around the Heath in a horse and carriage and a very inventive lovemaking session when they finally got home.

Quinn’s birthday present had been a beautiful leather satchel with his initials on it, with a Mont Blanc pen and pencil set similarly engraved. Cade hadn’t been sure about the whole ‘man bag’ idea, but now he didn’t know what he’d do without it.

This year, Cade had managed to convince Quinn that the least he could do was enjoy a Christmas dinner together at a rather upmarket local restaurant. Other than that, neither of them had any other plans for Christmas Day other than perhaps curling up together in front of a warm and crackling fire and perhaps getting merry on gluhwein and red wine. The sexual calisthenics Cade planned were also most definitely on the docket. He made coffee for them both, taking it back to bed. When he walked back into the bedroom, Quinn was sitting up against the headboard, covers over his waist, talking on his mobile.

Quinn waved to Cade as he came in and pointed at his phone. “Percy,” he mouthed. “I won’t be a minute, I promise.”

Quinn had a feeling Cade wouldn’t approve of business calls on Christmas morning, King of the Warlocks or not. Silver eyes regarded him with censure as Cade shook his head at him in mock disapproval. He placed their coffees on his bedside table and crawled back under the covers. Cade reached over under the blanket and caressed Quinn’s hip, his hand slowly travelling down to Quinn’s groin and Quinn grinned, reaching down a hand and holding Cade’s in a firm grip away from his nether regions.

“Behave, you man slut,” he whispered as he held the phone away from his mouth. He watched with some apprehension as Cade blithely ignored him and disappeared under the covers. Quinn tried frantically to stop that hot, wet mouth going where he thought it was going and twisted around with acrobatic flair, trying in vain to listen to his Marshall on the mobile.

“Send me all the details you can about that Book of Shadows. Use your contacts to try and see if there’s any inscription or anything that will help me identify—fuck! “