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  “Please?”Shea gulped. “Please do.”

  “Mm, gladly.” Lucian used his tongue to draw a line from Shea’s throat to the center of Shea’s chest. He paused to encourage Shea’s slow hands onto his shoulder and into his hair, and skimmed a wet trail down the gully between ridges of muscle. He stopped again at belly button, biting at the indentation, and Shea’s fingers tightened. Lucian petted Shea’s thighs to ease them wider and the pads of thumbs crossed thin, raised scars. Lucian swallowed and shoved aside that information to draw back and drink the sight of Shea like a parched man would partake of the last sip of liquid on earth. Planes of skin with a sweat-sheen. Soft hair, dark curls widening to thicken around the base of Shea’s dick and dip between Shea’s legs. A thick, heavyerectionbeggingto be tortured.

  “Gorgeous, sweet Shea, truly,” Lucian praised, breathless. He bent to lick along the underside, the ring of his thumb and forefinger steadying and stroking while Luciansucked Shea into his mouth.

  Shea cried out, and his hips twitched before he let out a slow sigh. Lucian lapped around the head, groaning at the silken feel and sweet taste, and Shea’s entire body rolled. Lucian propped on an elbow, caressed Shea’s leg. Lucianencouraged movement with a squeeze, hoping Shea would translate the praise. Shea’s breath filled Lucian’s ears, and carnality blotted out conscious thought. Lucian sucked with wet sounds, divinglower ina careless pace untillips met hand.

  “Nnngh. Oh, Lord, Luke! Ahh.” Shea cupped Lucian’s head with one hand in a grip gentle enough to clasp a dandelion. The other hand fisted the blankets by them both, arm taut and trembling. Lucian gazed up at Shea’s face, the tight seal of lips and fingers never faltering. He could practically see the layers being stripped away from Shea: the rough facade, the genius underneath, the old friend worried for what Lucian would think given new knowledge and insight. In a terrifying second punctuated by a soft moan, Shea was not merely confidant, submissive, partner, lover, or victim. Shea was all and everything, and Lucian didn’t know what to do with the towering wall of need seeing Shea undone created. He came off Shea with a rattling pant. Lucian swamfor the surface of clarity and sucked at Shea’s balls, stillstrokingShea’s saliva-slicked cock.

  Warm palm cradling Lucian’s jaw, Shea stroked Lucian’s cheek withhis thumb. “Mm... Y-youallright?”

  Luciannodded, lickingup to press tongue to Shea’s tip, digat the slit, and Shea moaned and twisted. Lucian stared at the rise and fall of Shea’s chest, at Shea’s parted lips, and the demands of cock overthrew the flailing of mind. “Wondering if you want a taste of me?” he asked, the words dragging and heavy with the effort to keep themclear.

  Agroan was his first answer, but Shea took a deep ragged breath and released the death grip on the blanket. “My esurience to savor your arousalknows no bounds, Sire.”

  Lucian chuckled, equally amused, delighted, and irritated at Shea’s ability to speak thesaurus. “Then you shall,” he said, rising, turning, and straddling Shea’s upper body, stillstrokingShea.

  “Oh. Yes.” Shea’s voice was lust-drenched, and Lucian shuddered. Shea wriggled further down on the bed, moaning when Lucian picked up speed on his dick. Shea brushed the side of Lucian’s cock, a deliberate, slow slide of calloused hand against warm skin, before Shea wrapped his fingers about Lucian.

  “Nn-good,” Lucian said, tucking chin to watch in delirious anticipation. Shea licked his lips, sighed in delight, and breathed against Lucian’s head before gripping and tugging Lucian down a fraction of an inch closer so that his lips could close over Lucian’s crown.

  Lucian didn’t pay any attention to the noise he made, though it rattled off the walls. Shea’s name filled his brain, throbbed intime to the pulse he felt against the damp tongue teasing him. The sight and sensation forced his legs wider and cock further into Shea’s awaiting mouth. He licked at Shea, engulfing head and upper half in a harsh suck, cupping Shea’s balls with a calculated squeeze.

  The hot walls enclosing Lucian vibrated in a garbled cry, and Lucian mimicked the sound. Shea shuddered and gripped one of Lucian’s ass cheeks with his free hand. Lucian gulped for air, working Shea faster, and Shea pumped along Lucian’s wet length. He swallowed, taking Lucian past the back of Shea’s mouthand into his throat.

  Body helplessly seeking more, Lucian managed to stop himself from outright fucking the mobile, velvet tunneldriving himmad with greed. He slid too far down Shea, gagged, and growled in irritation. He let Shea loose long enough to spit and soak his fingers, two of them seeking and circling Shea’s asshole while Lucian resumed the suction on Shea’s cock. A desperate rumble accompanied the tight ring of muscle flexing against Lucian’s fingertips, and Shea convulsed. The hand on Lucian’s length spread to cradle his pelvis before lifting Lucian’s lower body. Shea coughed, chest heavingagainst Lucian.

  “S-sorry,” Shea stuttered, and apologetically licked at Lucian before sucking him in again. Lucian’s vision tinged gray behind his squeezed lids, the pleasure he held caged in his balls, belly, and base of his spine threatening to break free. He got completely overloaded by sound, smell, and slippery slide, and had to do, else he succumb.

  Tossing hair and shoving an elbow into the back of Shea’s knee, Lucian bent Shea further and wider. He traced a line over the side of Shea’s swelling dick, stroking firmer and using the weep of pre-come to mix withspittle and quickenthe motion. Shea made the kind of helpless sounds that were only possible with a filled mouth and that only added more fuel to the fire frying Lucian’s nerves. Lucian bypassed Shea’s nuts and used the flat of his tongue to explore Shea’s fluttering entrance, fingertips assistingthe quest byexposingmore pink for Lucianto relish.

  The body under Lucian’s drew taut, a startled warning rose fromShea’s chest, and as Lucian stroked and licked again, Shea came. Lips and hands clamped down on Lucian’s cock and body, but no edge of teeth touched him. Come splashed against Lucian’s shoulder and dripped to Shea’s belly, and Shea gasped for air throughhis nose.

  “Oooh, Christ, Shea.” Lucian’s whisper was threaded with a moan. He milked every last drop from Shea, and pulled out of Shea’s mouth. Turning, Lucian caught a running line of fluid fromShea’s abs, humming in delight at the taste. Shea’s hands opened and closed, eyes unfocused, and Lucian straddled Shea’s head and shoulders. He petted hair and cheek, set his cock to Shea’s lower lip. “MyShea,”he muttered.

  Shea’s hazy gaze lifted to Lucian’s face. “Yours, my prince,” Shea whispered against Lucian’s tip and licked witha breathygroanbefore openingfor Lucian.

  Strangling on a noise of possessiveness and relief, Luciancupped Shea’s head, let the other manadjust for angles, and plunged, shallow and quick, into Shea’s mouth. Palms smoothed over his ass and legs, his hair swayed to trail on pillows, and Lucian hissed through teethwhenhe sought depthand it was granted to him.

  “Oh,” Lucian managed on a hitching breath. “Oh, God, Shea--!” He stared at his cock vanishing between Shea’s lips, memorized the lax line of eyelashes on Shea’s flushed cheeks, and it was over far too soon. The orgasm ripped from balls to crown, tightening ass and leg and lower body in a vicious clench. Lucian’s hand slammed against the top of the headboard, rattling it, and he spilled down Shea’s throat with a garbled shout. Shea sucked eagerly at him until Lucian withdrew, thighs trembling and giving way. Lucian caught himself on the pillows on either side of Shea’s head. He managed to shift lower and then sprawl on top of Shea, pleasure still uncoiling in his groin in tiny tremors.

  Shea petted up and down Lucian’s back, one wrapped about his waist, the other his shoulders, and Shea hugged him while still panting for breath. As heartbeats slowed, Shea finally shifted, turning to rub chinlightlyagainst Lucian’s hair.

  “That was really good,” Shea said with relief and wonder woveninto his soft mutter. “Thank you.”

  “It was a pleasure to conduct this experiment in our compatibility in the bedroom,” Lucian mumbled against Shea’s chest, not bothering to move. “Delighted it
was a success.”

  “Luke,” Shea rumbled a laugh and shook his head as he tightened his embrace. Then with a sigh, Shea stroked Lucian’s arm, flank, and leg in long, soothing, slow lines. “Real. This is real,” Shea said quietly, almost to himself. “You asked me back, and this we thing is real.”

  Lucian got his hair out of his face and met Shea’s cloudy eyes. “Yes. Very.” He touched Shea’s jaw, smiled. “Good to know that a blow job can actually make a dent inthat stubbornbrainofyours,”he teased.

  “Better a lick than a kick to the head, huh?” Shea finally focused on Lucian, and his next words matched the smile crinkling the edges of his eyes. “Yeah, Luke. I think youfinallygot through. Took youlongenough.”

  “Glacial speed is some of the most effective,” Lucian said with a sniff, rolling away from Shea. “And on that note, let’s get cleaned up so you can keep me warmfor the rest ofthe night.”

  “Yes, my prince,” Shea said amiably and got up to follow Lucianinto the shower.

  Chapter 6

  Frost crunched beneath Lucian’s boots as he climbed the stone stairs leading to the front entrance of Club Bliss. Early morning fog crept along the ground, and Lucian waved a keychain in the shape of a crown over the sensor next to the two-story wooden doors. Clouds obscured the view of the city that the cliffside location offered, and the first terrace parking lot was empty save for the cleaning crew’s vehicles, Clark’s Jag, and Lucian’s Rover.

  Sunday morning mass at Bliss was not heavily attended. Sunday night mass at Club Break, however, would see manymore penitent souls.

  Lucianwaited for the cathedraldoor to swingopen, stepped into the narthex, and swiped his pass over the entryway sensor. The interior service lights were on, and the harsh fluorescence stripped away any hedonistic atmosphere fromthe coat check, host stand, and mural above the two doors leading into the dance club. Somebody was whistling inside the men’s room, a bucket and mop parked in front of a gothic mirror, and Lucianturned to the right. Another swipe ofhis passkey granted himaccess to a hallway lined with more doors: storage, private bathrooms, and the communal owners’ office. There was also a wide, black pair of ominous doors leading to the basement and Club Break. It was one oftwo entrances into the underground BDSM club. The other one was through the Tomb Entrance, a small building in the woods next to the rear parking lot that took guests through the Gauntlet Tunnel and into the hallwaysurroundingthe mainpart ofthe club.

  Today, one of the Break doors was open, and Lucian heard another member of the cleaning staff rustling in the storage room. All employees from janitorial service to bartenders to performers were vetted through Clark and interviewed by all four owners. Being employed at the clubs meant free membership to Break, quite the discount, and it was amazing how the chance to play in a fantastical environment stifled the urge to gossip.

  Then again, in this day and age, belonging to a kink club was hardly newsworthy. Even if some enterprising idiot decided a picture of the head of the school board on bent knee was something the Times would enjoy, Lucian, Clark, and Chance had people at every major newspaper, TV, and radio station in the city. The network was vast, trust was made through blackmail, favors, and mutual desires for privacy, and, so far, it had always been easy to find the leak and deal with it appropriately.

  Luciankeyed himselfinto the office and went inside. The room held a conference table, two desks, and a variety of seating. Clark sat in a blue winged back chair with a netbook on his lap, but stood in greeting. The man looked pensive, and Lucian’s anxiety immediately ratcheted. “Good morning,” Lucian said, removing gloves, scarf, and coat.

  “Such a pleasant surprise to see you here,” Clark answered, putting the computer aside while Lucian sat behind one ofthe desks.

  Lucian snorted. “And by ‘surprise’ you mean, ‘So nice ofyou to be where your schedule said you would,’ yes?”

  “Your translation skills are getting rusty,” Clark said soberly. “Because I obviously meant it’s so nice of you to be earlyfor your appointment withthe ITguy.”

  “It’s a chronic problem, earliness,”Luciansaid.

  “As is being a workaholic. You do realize it’s Sunday?”

  Lucian cocked an eyebrow. “Are you implying that there are days ofthe week not meant for business?”

  Clark sighed. “Hopeless as I thought, though since you’re here and youbringit up...”

  “What do youhave for me?”

  “Good news and bad news. Which would my fearless leader like to hear first?”

  The diction sent a shiver down Lucian’s spine, and he let himself remember Shea’s lips forming the words, ‘My Prince’ and ‘Sire’ before scooting his chair closer to the desk and folding his hands on top of the mahogany wood. “It’s been a pleasant couple of days. Let’s not ruinit immediately. Good news first.”

  “I don’t think sending anyone into Haze to gather intelwilldo us anyrealservice.”

  “Avoiding such risks is good news.” Lucian studied Clark, the drawnmouthand dullgaze. “Now tellme the bad.”

  “I looked into the name Shea gave you -- Michael Sandias?”

  Lucian’s heart crept into his throat. He gestured for Clark to continue, but he suspected he knew what was coming.

  “It sounded like a realname as opposed to an alias, so I did a generalsearch. He’s dead.”

  “Dead, how?”Lucianasked.

  Clark’s smile was unkind. “The brakes in his brand new Lexus gave out, and he drove into a lake.”

  Lucian sat back in his seat, sorting through the implications. “Shea mentioned that Mike played with some ofthe deceased women.”

  “Yes,” Clark agreed, slowly. “You also told me in your message the morning after your party that you thought Shea was hidingsomething.”

  Lucian dug the nails of his index fingers into the pads of his thumbs because they tingled with the tactile memory of tracing scar tissue on inner thighs, and beneath a brand new tattoo covering an increasingly familiar chest. “He’s not being completely honest about the depth of his experiences with the late Michael.” Something about Lucian’s tone and glare made Clark flinch. “But my Shea would not lie to me about his knowledge ofMichael, the girls, or the club.”

  “Ofcourse he would,”Clark said easily.

  Lucian’s jaw tightened, and he gripped the arms of the chair. “And on what tenuous thread ofbiased reality do youbase suchanaccusation?”

  Clark sighed through his nose, dropped his gaze to the tabletop. “The same one that knows that if it meant protectingDaniel, I would lie myever-lovingass off.”

  Lucian grunted, the sound somewhere between affirmation and unimpressed snarl. “What piece of information is it, exactly, for which you believe he’s championingfalsehood over truth, Maxwell?”

  “I don’t know,” Clark lied, and Lucian worked very hard to stop the sinking feeling in his guts. “He’s told us he was there, that he knew some of the girls, that he played at Haze with a dead man we can presume was murdered by the same people killing the women.”

  “Dead ends and assumptions,”Luciangrowled.

  “Precisely, sir.” Clark ran a hand through his hair. “If I weren’t already gray,” he audibly murmured to himself. “Look, I feel the need to point out that continuing to dig into this may prove dangerous for our body and minds, not to mention that it may uncover things about Shea that you--”

  “You feel the need to point this out now?” Lucian interjected, voice level and calm but dripping with the irritation and indignant outrage he harbored on behalf of his lover. “We’re using legally questionable means to ascertain information about a string of victims all slain with only the bare hint of attention from the authorities. We’ve been told to get out of the line of fire and let the powers that be have their cover-up and pay their dues to whomever or whatever is behind it all, and now that there’s one more body to add to the accumulating pile over multiple years of violence, you decide to remind me that what we’re doing may, conceivably, be d
angerous?” Lucian cocked his head. “Do you believe me temporarily vacated of my considerable senses or just a child inneed ofreprimand?”

  “Neither, sir.” Clark sat straighter, eyes fixed somewhere inthe vicinityofLucian’s nose.

  “Very well, then,” Lucian said. “I’ll take your cautions under advisement, and you will leave me to handle my affairs with my lover. The expression of his painful past will not be something I require of him in order to further my desires for justice. He has given us what he will give us for the time being, and it’s led us into yet another wall.” Lucian sighed, chair creaking as he adjusted his weight. Clark was not an enemy from whomLucian needed to protect Shea, and Lucian tried to let go of his irritation to focus on solutions. “You mentioned before that you had one last lead to tap for information?”

  “I do, sir. Yes, sir.”

  “Youhesitate. Why?”

  “You previously stated you wanted to focus on Shea.”

  “I do,” Lucian agreed. “But my beloved is now intrinsicallyentwined withthis damned case.”

  Clark nodded, spine still stiff. “I see the need to sate your curiosityinorder to help Shea, somehow.”

  “And to shut down the operation that caused him grief,” Lucian added, dryly. “As though I needed another reasonto burnthat fuckingclub to the ground.”

  Clark smacked his lips. “My lead is Kris Fawkes, sir.”

  Lucianfroze, hummed, and leaned forward onto the desk, again. “How in the world could he be of the kind of help that would benefit us more than the cost would buryus?”

  “I realize the risks, believe me,” Clark said, rueful. “I’ve been keeping an eye on him and his connections with international influences for years, now, but in the last six months, he’s been making overtures to our camp.”

  “Overtures?”Lucianrepeated.

  “Subtle hints that he would like to be of assistance to me and mine. Usually fed to me through my connections. One of his men gets in touch with one of my people. Tells my guy that Fawkes may be of use in a particular matter if I’d like to arrange a meeting. I’ve never takenhimup onit.”