Marius chuckled and sat up. He gently stroked a hand down her hip, letting the last traces of what he"d been able to do for Jack bleed into her. She wasn"t affected nearly as much as Jack, but when he pulled his hand back she reached forward with her nose, her tongue hanging out until she was able to lick him. He smiled at her and put his hand back on his lap. Jack sat up as well and wiped his swollen eyes. Marius didn"t realize Jack had been crying but the evidence was there in front of him. "Better?" he asked. Jack slowly nodded, and Marius offered him a soft smile.
"What was that? That you did to me?" Jack asked him.
Shrugging, Marius leaned forward. He wanted to touch his face, to wipe at his tearstained cheeks. But he knew better than that, and he wouldn"t risk Jack bolting away again just because Marius wanted to be closer to him. "It"s a werewolf thing."
"You can make me feel what you want me to?" Jack guessed.
Marius shook his head. "No. I can show you what I"m feeling. That peace, the joy, it"s all mine. I was simply sharing it with you."
Jack"s eyes grew wide as he slowly nodded. "Are you always like that?"
"Not nearly. But my wolf makes me calm, and I do the same to him when he"s out. It"s how we help each other." Shrugging, Marius tried to think of a better way to explain it than that but couldn"t come up with any so he supposed that one would have to do.
Jack took a shuddering breath and his gaze drifted away before coming back to rest on Marius again. "I liked it. But...." He licked his lips and his shoulders rounded. "But please don"t do it again. Not without asking first."
Marius frowned. "But you said you liked it, right?"
Jack quickly nodded.
"So then why not just let me?" Marius asked him, his confusion clear.
Jack looked away and Marius saw his arms come around Missy, holding her close to him. "Because I"m not in control then. It"s something being done to me. Please ask. Please?"
Marius softened, instantly realizing the complications of what he"d done to Jack, even without meaning to. "Of course. I"m sorry." Jack gave him a little shrug, as if it hadn"t meant anything, but Marius thought he had a pretty good idea of what that quiet admission must have cost Jack. "Thank you for telling me," he softly said.
Jack blushed and gave him a little nod.
"Would you like to stay with me for a while?" Marius asked him after a long moment.
Jack frowned, and his face pinched. "Why?"
He wasn"t sure exactly how to put what he wanted to say. Being delicate wasn"t one of his strong suits. "When the video started-" All right, that wasn"t the way to go. Obviously. Jack"s face paled considerably, and he trembled. Marius pressed his lips together. "It was done here. I thought you might want to get away. Just for a bit."
Jack took a deep breath as Marius waited for his answer. But as the seconds ticked by and turned into minutes in which Jack simply stared at him, Marius quickly realized he"d crossed the line with the other man.
"Sorry, I know that was sort of out of nowhere, and we"ve known each other less than a week," Marius said, easing the silence even if it was with his own awkwardness.
Nodding, Jack put a hand on Missy"s shoulder. "She can come too?"
"Of course."
His fingers tightened in her fur as Jack looked to still be considering it. "Going away might be good."
Marius leaned forward. "Yeah. I can"t imagine it"s much fun living here right now. My house is small. Just two bedrooms. But the other one is free if you want to stay there."
Unfortunately Jack still looked skeptical. "For how long?"
Marius shrugged. He didn"t really have an end date. He tried not to work like that. "Until you feel better?"
Jack rolled his eyes, but a soft smile cracked through his chapped lips. "Better isn"t really going to be happening anytime soon, and I doubt you want to be saddled with a houseguest for that long. Plus, I still have this apartment. Unless you"ve got a way to fix that too?"
Shaking his head, Marius sighed and leaned back on his hands behind his back. "Hmm. Well then how about when you feel ready to take the sheet down and use your own bedroom?"
Jack blanched and shifted away from him. It was too much and too fast for him, and Marius was sorry he"d gone there, even if he hadn"t meant to. But then Jack started to lean forward again, and his gaze drifted to the black sheet behind Marius"s head. "I think... I think I can deal with that," he quietly said. "But if it takes more than a few weeks I"m coming back anyway."
Smiling, Marius leaned forward and offered the other man his hand. "Deal."
Jack slowly took his hand in his and gave it a firm shake. The difference in his grip surprised Marius, but he tried not to let it show as he rose to his feet. "Do you need help gathering stuff up?"
Jack shook his head and rose to his feet as well. He picked up Missy"s leash and the half-full bag of food and treats Marius had given him, and stuffed his feet into his shoes. He was ready to go moments later, with Missy beside him and his keys in his hand. Marius stood back from him, giving him s.p.a.ce as he opened the door and let them into the hallway. His toothbrush and toothpaste stuck out of the pocket of his jeans, but other than that he hadn"t taken anything for himself, which surprised Marius, but he didn"t think it would be right to question the other man about it right then. It wasn"t as if he didn"t have a few extra clothes around if Jack needed some anyway, and he wasn"t above sharing. When his brother was in town he rarely remembered even the most simple of basics. But then again he usually arrived in the form of a bright-red wolf so Marius figured he couldn"t fault him too much for being needy when he visited.
After Jack locked the door, Marius followed him down the stairs and out to the parking lot. "I"ll meet you at my house. It"s at that first turn off before you get to the rescue. The field where you sat under the tree will be on your left, and the house will be right in front of you."
"You"re not coming with me?" Jack asked. Marius shook his head. "Did you drive?"
"I don"t have a car. Werewolves aren"t good in them," he explained. He didn"t go into how the cramped s.p.a.ce made him feel like he was in a cage or how the conflicting scents gave him a headache. Jack didn"t look like he needed all that anyway. The other man simply nodded, helped Missy into the backseat, and got in the car.
"My house is unlocked, so go ahead and let yourself in. See you there," Marius said, giving him a little wave. Though Jack looked a bit uncertain, with his mouth pinched into a tight line and heavy creases running over his forehead, he started up the car and pulled out of the spot. Once he"d cleared the parking lot and could no longer be seen, Marius pulled out his phone and dialed his brother"s number.
"This is Jeremy," his brother answered nearly instantly.
"This is Marius," he copied him, teasing him.
Jeremy snickered. Marius could hear the sounds of the bar in the background but they were m.u.f.fled as if there was a wall between them and his brother. He guessed that Jeremy was in his little office, barely more than a closet that connected to the bar through a narrow back hallway. "What"s going on, little brother?"
"Do you have some free time this week?" Marius asked. He turned to look up at the apartment building, easily picking out which window belonged to Jack. All the others were open to let in the warm breeze.
"Hmm. I may. What do you need?" Jeremy replied. Marius heard a pen tapping in the background and pictured his brother sitting at the old metal desk he"d put together from salvaged parts when they were in high school, and Jeremy had been given a welding a.s.signment.
Marius turned away from the building. "Can you come to town? I need some a.s.sistance. With a personal matter."
The tapping stopped. "What kind of matter? What"s going on?" His brother sounded excited. He wasn"t worried, Marius knew that much. But he was absolutely interested. If the situation wasn"t so important to him Marius might have laughed at his brother"s eagerness.
"The personal kind," Marius hedged. "I can"t tell you more than that. I have someone to protect, and I don"t think he"d want anyone else knowing. Besides, I made a promise. But I can"t take care of this quietly like you can."
Jeremy blew out a harsh breath, sounding irritated. "You put yourself into these situations with these people that you"re trying to protect and then you get yourself hurt and-"
"It"s not like that," Marius spoke up, interrupting his brother. "Not at all."
"Oh?"
Marius nodded. "I can"t tell you. But this thing, this is different. It"s important. Someone close to me was hurt."
"Ah. And you want what exactly?" Jeremy asked.
Marius"s hand tightened at his side, and his stomach churned. "I want you to take care of them. So that they can"t hurt him or anyone else again." He hated asking this of Jeremy. After all, it wasn"t as if the man actually enjoyed this sort of thing. "You"re the only one that can do this," Marius continued. "I wouldn"t ask if it wasn"t important."
"Yeah, I know. You realized that after you asked me to take care of a bully when you were ten," Jeremy said, his voice growing soft. "I"ll do it. You know I will. What"s the location?"
Marius pushed past the memories his brother"s words had evoked. He didn"t need to be reminded of that mistake of his childhood. He had wanted to blame Jeremy for what he"d done but how could he? Marius had asked him to do something and Jeremy, wanting to be the protective brother, had done it.
And the worst part for his ten-year-old self had been seeing the boy"s mother crying as she"d sat with him at the hospital. He"d wanted the bullying to stop, and that"s what Jeremy had done. The rest of it didn"t matter. Or at least that was what Jeremy had told him, and after a while Marius had started to believe that as well.
Marius lowered his voice for this next part. He couldn"t see anyone around, but he wanted to make sure no one heard him, especially with so many people having open windows above him. Just to be safe he also started walking toward the rescue, keeping to side streets. If Jack wasn"t already there he would be soon. Hopefully he"d simply let himself in like Marius had told him to. "There"s an apartment building, an ugly brick square, that sits on Main Street. On the second floor there"s an apartment that will smell like me. I need you to get in there, go into the bedroom and find two male scents. Then take care of them."
He didn"t feel badly for it this time. He knew what he was asking of his brother and was fully aware of what Jeremy would do to the men once he found them. He"d seen enough of the video to know they deserved everything his brother could throw at them and then some. But he didn"t want Jack finding out about this. He didn"t need to have that kind of pain on top of everything else he"d been through.
"Do you care how?" Jeremy asked.
Marius shook his head and cut through a back lawn. "No."
Jeremy chuckled, and Marius heard his old chair creak as if he"d changed how he was sitting. "I can do this for you. You know I can. But I want to meet the person you"re asking me to do this for."
Marius"s breath caught. "I"m asking. For me."
"You moved to the apartment? No, you didn"t. I want to meet him," Jeremy pressed.
Marius frowned. "He"s not really like that. I don"t think it would be a good idea."
"You don"t want me to meet your boyfriend? Since when? I"ve met every other guy you"ve brought home in the past five years. h.e.l.l, I"ve hooked you up with many of them. Why"s this one different?" Jeremy asked, sounding annoyed.
Sighing, Marius ran a hand over his head. "He"s not my boyfriend." He was letting on far more than he wanted to. He"d had this idea that he"d call up Jeremy, arrange everything, and then it would be quietly done. Simple and easy. But his. .h.i.t man wasn"t playing fair. Though why he expected him to was beyond Marius. After all, this was the same brother who had put wasabi paste in the middle of his mint ice cream cone when they were kids.
Jeremy was quiet for a long moment after that revelation. "You"re doing this for a man you"re not even with?" he quietly asked, following with a low whistle. "You must really like him."
Marius shrugged. "I guess I do. But it"s not about that. He deserves this. To know that they"re gone. Closure or something like that. So do it for me, please? C"mon, I wouldn"t be asking if it wasn"t important and you know that."
"I still want to meet him," Jeremy continued.
Marius resisted the urge to growl at him. "You"re so stubborn."
"And you"re being evasive," Jeremy replied, laughing.
Marius stopped and closed his eyes for a moment. His brother wasn"t a bad guy. Not at all, actually. Most people really liked him. But he was a lot to take in all at once, and Marius wasn"t sure if Jack could handle someone like him. He wasn"t quiet or gentle, and Jack didn"t seem to be good with people who weren"t like him, at least not right now. But if that was the only way to get Jeremy to come do this deed, he"d have to give in sooner or later, and Jeremy could hold out for a lot longer than most people. "Sure," Marius quietly relented. "I"ll make dinner, and you can stop by. But no pestering him. Or pressing me for more information about him."
"Sure thing. I can be there Thursday."
Marius nodded and kept walking. "See you in four days, then. I"m going to let him borrow some of the clothes you keep at my place."
He could practically see Jeremy raising his brows. "He"s staying with you? I didn"t know you two were living together. And you say you"re not dating him?"
Marius pressed his lips together, desperately trying not to give away more of Jack"s secrets than he needed to. The man was ent.i.tled to his privacy, as they all were. But he"d made a promise to Jack that no one would know, and he wasn"t about to break it. There was no reason for Jeremy to know more about Jack than he already did. Especially since he"d be meeting him in four days.
"It"s complicated," Marius finished. He hoped that would be the end of it. Actually he silently begged for it to be.
Jeremy snickered. "All right. You want to have secrets, that"s on you. I"ll take care of your little problem, and then I"ll come meet your secret houseguest. But, Marius, from one guy to another, and not just your brother talking to you here, if you like him, then make him yours. Stop being a little d.i.c.k about it and just tell him."
Marius snorted and shook his head at his brother"s absurdity. "Right. If only things were that simple. If wishes were horses and all that."
"If wishes were horses I"d be trudging through c.r.a.p all night," Jeremy shot back. "So no thank you. If wishes were hundred dollar bills I"d like that a whole lot more."
Marius agreed with him wholeheartedly. "See you Thursday."
"Yes you will. Is that cute little boy still working for you?"
Marius choked back a laugh and groaned instead. "Seth? College student Seth? You think he"s cute?"
Jeremy snorted. "Yeah. Don"t sound so surprised, though. He is pretty cute. Very easy on the eyes." Marius rolled his. "Besides, it"s not like I"m going to bed him. He"s a bit young for me in that way. But I can still look."
With a sigh Marius shook his head. "Right. Look but don"t touch him, Jeremy. I don"t need you corrupting my employee. Bye for now."
Jeremy"s laughter continued until Marius cut him off by ending the call. He arrived at the rescue moments later and at home just a bit after that. He saw Missy first and came over to find out where Jack was. He nearly stumbled over him because he didn"t see him lying in the gra.s.s, though.
"Hi," he said, smiling down at Jack.
"Hey." Missy came over and lay halfway on Jack"s stomach. He put an arm over her and stroked down her back.
Marius nodded toward the house. "Was it locked?" Jack shook his head. "Didn"t want to go in?"
"We did. I put my toothbrush in the holder next to yours in the bathroom. Then we came outside," Jack replied. He squinted against the sun, and Marius moved a little more to the left to block it from getting in his face.
Marius nodded. "With Clara gone for a bit I won"t be around much during the day, so feel free to do whatever you want to."
"Thanks."
"When do you go back to work?" Marius asked him.
Jack shrugged. "I took some time off. I have some left."
"Because of what happened?"
Slowly Jack nodded and looked away. "I tried going back. The first day after it happened. But I didn"t even get to my car before I felt like I couldn"t breathe. So I went back upstairs and lay down on my couch. I didn"t get up the rest of the day."
Marius went to his knees in the soft gra.s.s next to him. "I think that"s the most you"ve ever said to me at a time." Jack gave him a tentative smile. "Since you"re not doing anything during the day, then, if you"ve got some time, you"re welcome to come hang out at the rescue with us. Missy can come too. Sometimes Peter drops off chocolates." He shrugged. "It"d be company at least. But don"t feel like you have to. I just figured that if you get lonely or bored or something the offer is there."
Jack nodded. "Thanks. I might do that."
"And my brother is stopping by for dinner Thursday night." Jack"s eyes grew wide, and Marius knew his brother coming over was probably going to be a mistake. "He won"t stay long, and he won"t bother you." Jack visibly seemed to relax a little.
Marius looked up at the sky and breathed deeply, letting the afternoon warmth move through him and calm him. He tried not to think about what he"d done when he"d asked his brother to take care of his problem. He wouldn"t run away from his decision, and he knew that it was the right one to make. But he wasn"t an idiot either. He knew what he"d set in motion, and Jeremy would have it all taken care of. Just like he always did. Still, the idea that his words would end the lives of two men he"d never even met weighed on him. Reminding himself that they were guilty helped ease him, though. He"d seen it for himself. Had seen Jack"s face, his pain. His fear. The emotions of that moment had darkened and twisted the calm face he saw before him now into something nearly unrecognizable from the man he"d met just a few days ago.
"Do you remember our kiss?" Jack quietly asked him.
Marius"s head tilted to the side. "It was yesterday."
Jack blushed deeply and nodded. "Did you want that to be a onetime thing?"
Marius stared at him for a long moment, unsure of what Jack was trying to say. Did Jack want to kiss him again or was he just testing him? And if it was a test then what was the right answer? Finally he went for honesty. "No."