Pestilence (9 page)

Suddenly he paused and whispered against Pest’s lips, “What about my illness? Aren’t you worried you’ll catch it?”

Pest’s smile was soft and gentle. “If I haven’t gotten it by now, I won’t. Trust me, Bart.”

“Okay.”

Their lips pressed together, rubbing and teasing. He opened to Pest’s tongue, allowing him to learn the nooks and crannies of his mouth. He wiggled and squirmed until he covered Pest’s body with his own. Pest placed one gloved hand on Bart’s ass while threading his fingers through Bart’s hair.

He gasped as their erections brushed together and he arched, trying to get more pressure. Bart braced his hands on either side of Pest’s head without breaking their connection. Pest trailed kisses down Bart’s chin to his neck where he sucked up a mark while Bart pressed as close as he could get to Pest.

“Oh my God,” he whispered as he let his head drop back to give Pest more access to his skin.

Pest’s leather-covered hands slid around to fondle Bart’s ass and support him as he moved. He moaned as Pest slipped under Bart’s shorts, and trailed his fingers down Bart’s crease, stopping to rub over Bart’s puckered opening.

“Please,” he whispered.

Nodding, Pest pressed his finger against Bart’s hole, invading him inch by inch. Pest took his time because they didn’t have any lube. Bart wanted him to go faster. The burn of his muscles stretching to accommodate Pest’s finger didn’t bother him at all. He tilted his hips, trying to get Pest in further.

“Easy, honey. I don’t want to hurt you,” Pest murmured.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.” Bart pushed back and gasped as Pest shoved knuckle deep into his ass.

Bart rocked back and forth, letting Pest fuck him with one finger. Before too long, Pest had three fingers filling Bart’s channel, and Bart could feel the tingling in his spine, warning him how close he was to coming. The friction of his clothes trapped between his erection and Pest’s made him insane with desire and want.

One thrust in and Pest nailed Bart’s gland with his knuckles. Bart jerked like he’d been electrocuted. Pest grinned at him and did it again. Bart grasped Pest’s shoulders and whined, wanting more, but his brain was overloading on lust and need.

“Why don’t you come?” Pest leaned over and bit Bart on the shoulder.

The combination of hands, teeth, and body drove him closer and closer to the edge. His climax built until he couldn’t do anything except come, creaming the shorts Pest had given him.

“Holy fuck,” he whispered as he collapsed down on top of Pest. His chest hurt and he winced as he panted.

Pest must have noticed because he rolled them so Bart was on the bottom, and he studied him with such an intense gaze, Bart almost couldn’t meet his eyes.

“This probably wasn’t a good idea,” Pest said, sitting up and stripping Bart.

“Hey.” Bart’s protest sounded a bit weak, possibly because he was finding it hard to catch his breath.

“Shut up and try to slow your breathing.”

Pest pushed to his knees and dunked the fabric in the pool. After wringing it out, Pest wiped Bart off, easing the fever welling up in him. Bart took a hold of Pest’s wrist and stopped him.

“What about you?” He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of Pest’s groin.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I came when you did.”

Bart was surprised. He’d never had a lover who came like that. All of them usually needed him to do something, whether it was suck them off or let them fuck him.

“Even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t let you help me.” Pest frowned. “I shouldn’t have let it happen now. You’re still recovering and this could mark a setback for you.”

“No. I don’t care if I get another fever. I needed this.” Bart cradled Pest’s face in his hands. “I needed you.”

Pest didn’t say anything, just scooped Bart up in his arms and carried him back into the hut. After covering him up with the blankets, Pest kissed his forehead and stepped away.

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep? I’ve got some stuff to do.”

Before Bart could speak, Pest was out of the door. Confusion swirled in Bart’s head. Was Pest upset they’d rubbed off on each other? Maybe he was worried Bart would think it meant more than just two guys coming. Pest had been married, so it could be the man wasn’t gay or bi, and it freaked him out that he’d done it with another man.

As the thoughts rippled and crashed into each other, Bart drifted to sleep. His climax had worn him out. He vowed to think about it later when he woke up.

* * * *

“Pestilence, we have a problem.”

Bart opened his eyes when the strangely familiar voice intruded on his dreams. He was on his side, facing out into the room. Death stood, arms crossed, while Pest leaned against the doorframe of his workroom.

“What kind of problem?” Pest didn’t look happy to see him.

“Have you left the jungle since you returned from your last mission?”

Pest narrowed his gaze and shook his head. “I never leave unless I need supplies or I have to go with you.”

“You haven’t been to Cambridge, Massachusetts recently?” Death paced, his agitation obvious in the clenching of his hands.

“I haven’t been to North America in a century or two, comrade, and even if I were to go there, Cambridge isn’t the first on my list to visit.”

Centuries? Pest must be exaggerating to get his point across. Bart didn’t move. He didn’t want to alert either of them he was awake. Maybe he could learn something about the mysterious man who took care of him.

“I’m going to need you to go to Cambridge then.” Death gritted his teeth, and didn’t seem happy about giving the order.

Pest straightened and glared at Death. “Death, you have never let me go anywhere without watching every move I make. Unless there’s a war or something being planned in Cambridge, I don’t see why I need to go up there. What’s going on?”

Something niggled in the back of Bart’s mind, but he was too caught up in the conversation going on around him, so he pushed it away.

Death shoved his hand through his long, white-gold hair and exhaled loudly. “I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is there is an epidemic spreading through the town of Cambridge and if it’s not brought under control, it could infect other major cities, and then the entire state. We know how fast these things work. Of course, only four men have presented with symptoms much like Bartholomew’s here and they’ve been quarantined. Hopefully the mortals have caught it in time.”

“Wait a minute. I thought there couldn’t be epidemics unless I caused them.” Pest strolled over to where Death stood. “I’ve been here since our last mission, taking care of Bart.”

Both men turned to look at Bart and he jerked in surprise when matching all-black eyes met his.
Shit.
Their eyes were just one of the unusual things about those two. Of course, being Horsemen, and not human, might have something to do with it.

Another thought hit Bart and he sat up in the bed. “Cambridge?”

Death nodded, looking even more disgruntled at the discovery of Bart being awake. Bart ignored him for a moment, focusing on Pest.

“I work as a professor at Harvard University in Cambridge. That’s where the expedition I was on was funded through. Jasper and three of the other scientists were from there as well.”

“Fuck!” Pest shouted, making both Bart and Death jump. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to cure Bart, but all I’ve been able to do is keep the fever down. I should have realized he’d be contagious. The shaman helped me, but he said the virus had to work itself out, yet Bart will always have the symptoms. It’s much like malaria.”

“If I’m contagious, why didn’t you or Lam catch it? Both of you came in contact with me shortly after I started exhibiting the symptoms.” Bart shoved the blankets off and climbed to his feet. He went to one of the dressers and pulled out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

“What are you doing?” Pest stopped his own pacing to stare at Bart.

“I’m getting dressed. We need to head to Cambridge right away. Whatever you did to help me might slow the disease down long enough for someone to come up with a cure.” Bart tugged on his clothes along with a pair of socks. He looked around for his boots. “Where are my boots?”

“They’re in the corner.” Pest rubbed his chin and shot Death a thoughtful glance. “Bart’s right, you know. The herbs I gave him to slow down the progress of the fever might also help stop the epidemic. He’s been getting better over the course of the last couple of weeks. The fever still hits him when he’s tired or has overexerted himself, but it never comes back as bad as it was. I’ve come to believe it’s the fever most likely to cause death in this case. I might be able to help the doctors formulate a course of medicines to keep the fever down.”

Death stayed silent for a moment, and Bart couldn’t tell what the man was thinking. There was something formidable about Death. Looking into his eyes was like gazing into the unlimited expanse of space, only without any stars to light the pure blackness. It seemed as though Death had seen everything the world had to offer and been sorely disappointed by it all.

“Remember you can’t touch them, Pestilence. This was an unplanned epidemic. We don’t need anything else to upset the balance right now.”

Pest nodded. “I understand, and I don’t plan on taking off my gloves for anything. This is partly my fault anyway. When I realized just how bad Bart’s illness was, I should have had someone look into his fellow scientists. There was no way they could have escaped the virus.”

“How long will it take us to get to the closest city?” Bart remembered he had no real idea where he was in the jungle.

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Pest grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the workroom. “There are three canvas bags hanging on the wall just inside the door. I want you to fill them with all the bundles on the left side table. Those are the herbs I’ve been giving you since you got here. I have to talk something over with Death, then we can head out.”

“Okay.” He picked up the first bag and watched as Pest pulled the door almost shut.

His curiosity getting the best of him, Bart inched over to the door, putting his ear to the crack and holding his breath. There were more secrets to Pest than the man would ever let on, and Bart found out he wanted to know them all.

“How am I supposed to do this, Death? How do I hide my eyes and my hair? It’s not like there are many people who look like us. Humans rarely see me when I walk among them.”

“They’ll see you this time. It’s been arranged. This situation needs to be brought under control before it becomes an epidemic. Don’t worry about the hair. Most will assume you’ve bleached it. Wear sunglasses, even at night. You’re an eccentric doctor who has been studying undiscovered viruses in the Amazon Basin for several years. Use the cover you established long ago. You’re a germaphobe, which will explain the gloves.” Death’s voice was slow as he seemed to think out what Pest would say and do.

“How am I to explain any of this to Bart? He’s been asking a few questions and I’ve managed to distract him from the answers, but that won’t work much longer. He knows there’s something different about us.”

“We can wipe his mind.”

Bart wanted to scream
no
, but he bit his lip to keep from saying anything.

“No. That’s not an option for me.”

“You just don’t want him to forget about you.” Death’s words were tainted with annoyance.

“You might be right. For the first time in centuries, I’ve met someone I might actually fall in love with and it’s getting more serious with every minute I spend with him. Yet I can’t ever touch him without a layer of leather between us. I can’t tell him anything about my background because he’ll never believe me.”

Bart closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the wooden frame of the door. His heart skipped a beat at hearing those words. Yet how could he be excited about that when he didn’t really know the man? It didn’t have anything really to do with the secrets Bart knew Pest kept from him, it was simply that they hadn’t spent that much time together when Bart wasn’t ill. If they had met at a club or bar in Cambridge, how did Bart know he would have been as interested in him as he was?

A man who looked like Pest, even with the odd eyes and the need to wear leather gloves all the time, wouldn’t look twice at Bart. If Pest didn’t hide out in the jungle, he would have tons of men and women flocking around him for his attention.

“You can’t tell him anything, Pestilence. Our presence in the world must be kept secret. The Horsemen must remain myths and legends. No one can know we exist, which is why I’ve never argued with you and the others about where you live. The less people you encounter, the less likely you are to let something slip.” Death sighed. “When you get to Cambridge and stop the epidemic from spreading, leave Bart and come back here. Fuck him as much as you want while you’re there, but don’t tie yourself to him.”

Not wanting to hear Pest’s response, Bart went back to the table with the bags and finished filling them with the herbs. After fastening the pouches, he headed toward the door just as Pest pushed them open.

“Have you got all of it?”

He nodded. “How are we getting to the river? I assume we’ll grab a boat or something to take us to the nearest big city, but I don’t have a passport to get back into the U.S.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of it.”

Bart started to ask how when a warm hand touched the nape of his neck and darkness swirled around him. As his knees buckled, he saw Pest hold out his arms and Bart dropped into them as his eyes rolled back in his head.

Chapter Five

A soft groan caused Pest to turn and look in the direction of the bedroom. He’d been sitting next to the window, staring out at the cars driving down the street. It had been a long time since Pest had spent any time in a city. It was loud and harsh on his ears and lungs. God, he wanted to return to the relative quiet of the jungle.

“Oh, my head,” Bart complained as he staggered out of the bedroom, and pressed his hand to his forehead. “What the hell did you give me?”