Martin looked puzzled, but indicated thatHarrison should do as the Heart had asked, even if they didn"t know what the soul of Amour Magique wanted.
A deeply rooted instinct for survival guidedHarrison "s decision. Albeit with his heart in his throat,Harrison went a step or two within arm"s reach and laid his palms on either side of the Heart.
It was, he thought as his teeth chattered together, a little like sticking a fork in a light socket.
"You"re hurting him!" Martin shouted.
He"s just catching a buzz. Stings like a b.i.t.c.h, sure, but doesn"t do any damage. Besides, I"m in a generous mood, and I"m giving him a gift, so shut up.
The tingling grew as sharp as pins and needles. Just whenHarrison thought he couldn"t take the sensation anymore, the Heart grunted.
Okay, all done. Step on back, Henry.
Harrisonretreated as quickly as he could. His arms were still vibrating and his scalp crawled with leftover energy. "What did you do to me?"
Made you a Magician.
"What?"Harrison yelped. Kidding.
Martin scratched the back of his own neck with quick, angry jerks. "Are you nuts?"
Probably. I hang out with you, don"t I? What I actually did was give Hal here a good st.u.r.dy foundation to build himself up on as a Magician. He had a little juice. Now he has a lot. Teacher, meet your new student.
Harrisonsputtered. Martin stared, clearly shocked.
Hey, don"t look at me like a three-toed lizard, huh? I had my reasons for giving Hal this particular gift. He needs all the help he can get. Harry, buddy, you"ve got a tough road in front of you, son. Believe it or not, right? Ya know, I loved Ripley.The Heart"s tone grew wistful.Big on the questions, but deep down he believed, and I mean my definition of belief. Wish we"d had a chance to meet in person. Anyway, yeah, believe it or not, there"s your personal kicker .
Harrisonput the question of magical abilities aside -- for the moment -- and frowned. "I still don"t understand what the problem is. I"ve accepted. I believe."
No. You"vestartedto believe. Dumping that load of scorn was a good start, but mind you, only a start. If you stay with Martin, every day"s gonna be a challenge. Every day, you"re gonna have to choose to believe or not. So. Think you"re up to running this gauntlet?
Harrisonstarted to answer and then closed his mouth. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
Well?
"I don"t know," he admitted.
Ha. Give the little man a big cigar. That was exactly the right answer.
"It was?"
You bet. If you"d blurted out some kind of c.r.a.p like "I do believe in fairies," clap-clap-clap, I"d have knocked you on your a.s.s again. You still have your courage, though. You don"t know what"s what, not when you aren"t in a submissive heads.p.a.ce -- and, Martin, you d.a.m.n well better explain that to him before you go any further with your s.e.x games -- but you"re stepping forward anyway.
Good deal. My opinion stands. You"ll do.
Harrisondidn"t know what to say. He did decide that being at a total loss for words was really beginning to get his temper up.
"Thank you," Martin cut in. "I do have a question of my own--"
In a minute. I could readHarrisonand see for myself, but I"d rather hear him tell me out loud. Hal, listen up. How much do you know about Liam? For that matter, what about Lily? Or the black cat?
Harrisonwas puzzled but found words at last and spoke honestly. He found it pretty obvious that the Heart appreciated blunt speech. "Liam? As far as I know, he"s nothing more than a pint-sized pain in thea.s.s. Lily? She strikes me as brave, but possibly the "stupid" kind of brave you mentioned earlier. I like her, though." The statement surprised him, but as he rolled it over his mind he realized he meant what he"d said. "I do. I like her."
And the cat?
"Truth?"
Wouldn"t accept anything else.
"I hate cats."
The Heart snorted with laughter.
Oh, yeah. If you stick around, I"m gonna have fun with you, watching you learn and grow and go ape-s.h.i.t and end up a d.a.m.n good Magician as well as a better man when all is said and done.
Don"t worry, you"ll enjoy yourself. Mostly. Probably.
"What do you mean?"
I mean a lot of things, but let me boil it down plain as a peanut. You already know you and Martin are tied. Bonded. Soul mates. Don"t ask, because I"m not telling.
Martin gave a snap of protest.
Oh, put the teeth away. I"m not telling because you can figure it out on your own, Marty. Use your noggin. As I was saying, soul mates. Fated to be together, yadda, yadda, yadda. Fade to black on a note of suspense. You might not be ready -- h.e.l.l, I"m pretty sure you aren"t -- but you have to make another big choice, Harry.
"Which would be?"Harrison asked suspiciously.
Stay or go?
Harrison"s eyes grew wide. "I beg your pardon?"
Not a hard question. But if I have to spell it out, I will. Besides being meant for each other, you signed a blood contract with Martin. You donotwant to know what"ll happen if you break the oath. Here"s where it gets tricky. I"m outtaCharlestonafter tonight. Places to go, people to see, managers to ditch.
"Excuse me?"
Never mind. I"m moving on. Probably headed forCalifornia. Thanks to that oath, I can"t take Martin with me and leave you here inCharleston. You either go with me and him, or this is both your stop on the wild train ride.
"Oh,"Harrison said after a pause. "Oh?"
"d.a.m.n," Martin muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. The Heart"s jolly, countrified air softened.
Yeah. Not an easy call to make. If you come along with us, Hal, you"ll be giving up your home, your career, your whole life as you"ve known it. But if Martin stays here inCharleston, I can"t say as I know what"ll happen to him. He"s not a kid. Staying here with me has kept him young way past when he should"ve been dead. He steps outside for good, and who knows? He could go poof and crumble into dust. Thus breaking your contract on account of the whole "till death do you part" spiel. And then what doyoudo?
Harrisonhad grown more and more troubled as the Heart spoke. Love for the Magician was still an uncertain concept. All the same, he couldn"t deny he felt affection for the man -- now he realized he always had, from the very first e-mails they"d exchanged -- or the way he quivered with excitement when he thought of Martin"s D/s play.
Stay or go? Risk all he knew versus all he didn"t know but wanted to understand?Harrison tucked his chin against his collarbone, feeling small and uncertain.
If you stay, which I hope you will, you"ll find there"s a whole new world just waiting on you.
You"ll never get old, never be sick, and never die. You"ll become a Magician for real and true. I could always use another hocus-pocus man -- never hurts to have a spare. Son, you don"t have to decide right this minute. Go back to Martin"s place and talk things over. You do have to choose by morning, though. I"d give you more time, but that"s how it goes.
"I... see."Harrison nodded. "Thank you."
My pleasure, son. And, hey? For what it"s worth, I really would like you to stay. You tickle my funny bone, and I"ve missed you.
Harrisonfrowned. "Missed me? Whoa. One of the first things you said was that I looked different this time around. You keep calling me "Harry" and "Hal," "Henry" as well as "Harrison." Do you know why everything is giving me deja vu? What do you really mean, here?"
Figure it out for yourself, smarty-pants.
Harrisongot the feeling that if the Heart could have tweaked his nose, it would have.
Okay, scat. I"ve gotta get back to work, and you two need to have a good long talk. G"wan, get.
"You are so in love with irritating me, aren"t you?" Martin demanded.
The Heart glimmered as if snickering but remained silent.
"Fine!" Martin threw his hands in the air. "Come on, pet. The Heart knows what he"s doing. He wants us to talk, so we"ll talk."
An idea had been developing in the back ofHarrison "s mind. He wasn"t sure he dared, but d.a.m.n, it was tempting.
Well, why not try?
"We"ll go talk when I"m good and ready,"Harrison said mildly. He took advantage of Martin"s delightfulsurprise at his unexpected reply to catch the Magician from behind and pin him tight. "Gotcha!"
Martin struggled againstHarrison "s grip untilHarrison strengthened his stranglehold to the point of pain.
"What are you doing?" his lover choked out. "Pets do not attack their Masters!"
"Maybe everyday pets don"t." Wrestling Martin around,Harrison kissed him. "After talking to the Heart, though, I don"t think I"m "everyday." And I think, even if I am a pet, I still have free will. So we could talk." He groped Martin"s a.s.s and ground their groins together, almost completely forgetting they were in front of a sentient audience. "But you know what? I"d rather we do this first."
Chapter Eight.
No matter how Martin liked to think of himself, Master or Magician or otherwise, just asHarrison had suspected, Martin was first, last, and always a man, with a man"s reactions. In this case, a gay man"s reaction to another gay man"s blatant proposition.
Or, to make a long story short, whenHarrison spun the Magician around again and pressed his hardened c.o.c.k against Martin"s a.s.s, Martin hissed and pushed back against him.Harrison thrust forward, drawing a sharp cry from his lover. "Ahh!"
Harrisonfelt like hooting with laughter. Despite everything that was going on, he"d found an oasis of sanity. Some might argue there was nothing sane about s.e.x, but s.e.x reduced all men to a common denominator. Without the fancy words, s.e.x made most men the same: more animal than human, driven by the need to get off and nothing more.
Things might be different when Martin was too taken aback to play his role of Master, or possibly too h.o.r.n.y to care, butHarrison decided the fancy stuff could go to h.e.l.l. For the moment. He had control, at least right then, and he planned to use the power he"d tricked away.
"Yes," he said sibilantly, mouth close to Martin"s ear but not quite touching the sh.e.l.l or lobe. Close enough to tickle with lips and breath and, he hoped, just far enough away to be maddening. "You like this, don"t you?" Another idea glittered in his mind. "The mirror has two sides, or so you told me. I haven"t had a chance to show you what I can do when I"m in charge. Now, I will." He made the words into more of a seductive threat than a statement, then nipped Martin"s earlobe to watch him flinch and lean his head back for more. "Are you going to fight?"
Martin"s head bobbed slightly as he exhaled, a sound somewhere between l.u.s.ty and amused. "Not now.
Going to spank you later. Stripe your a.s.s like a candy cane."
Harrison"s c.o.c.k jerked as his body decided he liked the image that conjured. Hmm. Kinky, kinky. Then again, nothing wrong with kink, was there? He"d learned a great deal in these past few hours, and so far, he"d enjoyed the lessons far more than he hadn"t.
"Promises, promises," he taunted. "Tell me, how would you like going first with a bit of rough?"
To his satisfaction, Martin strangled out a curse and rubbed harder againstHarrison "s groin. The Magician was probably d.a.m.ningHarrison "s soul to h.e.l.l, but at the momentHarrison couldn"t have cared less. The awakened animal withinHarrison , a beast of wild magic, wanted to claim his mate.
Harrisondecided he didn"t need to use words when actions would work so much better. He had nothing to sit down on, but he could improvise.
Using his greater body ma.s.s and strength, he shoved Martin away from him. As the Magician stumbled,Harrison grabbed his lover and turned him about, pushing the man against the nearest wall. No need for a prelude to a kiss, either. Better simply to dive in the deep end of the pool.
"Stand there, and don"t you dare move unless I give the word," he ordered.
He could hear Martin"s smirk. "If you want, pet. I"ll let you play."
"You will, will you?" Yanking Martin"s jeans down past his hips, pausing briefly to curse the material as its tight fit clung stubbornly,Harrison bared the man"s tempting a.s.s. After taking a second to gaze at Martin"s tight cheeks in admiration, he brought the flat of his hand against Martin"s left b.u.t.tock as hard as he could.
Oh! What a beautiful print his slap made, five fingers and a palm glowing richly pink on the golden skin.
Martin swore; then he humped against the wall. The Magician liked this, then, yes, he did. So didHarrison , for that matter.
Harrisonlet himself snicker and then got busy. Striping an a.s.s like a candy cane? More like painting a statue"s a.s.s crimson. Each firm spank left Martin"s cheeks blazing brighter and still brighter, until his flesh was a fiery cherry red and nearly gleamed.
Martindid like this, apparently very much. After the few curses he"d spat at Harrison in the beginning, more for the show of it than anything else Harrison thought, the Magician gave up any pretense of being angry. In fact, he yowled and writhed like a cat in heat, wiggling his clearly burning buns to beg for more.
Burning buns.Harrison hooted, feeling five years in age and at the same time far older and wiser than he had ever been. He could see what Martin enjoyed so much about D/s now, oh, yes. G.o.d, he hadn"t played -- really played -- any kind of game since he was in his teens, racing Thyne through the forest, swift as deer and loud as wild horses.
To and in your memory, Thyne. I do believe you"d approve.
Harrisondrew his nails up the contours of Martin"s a.s.s. Though the nails themselves were cut short, he managed to leave some decent-looking scratches. Pretty, pretty. Prettier still the yelp, trailing into a whimper, from Martin.
Harrisonpressed his mouth to the top of Martin"s spine and spoke against the arch of his lover"s neck.
"I"ve warmed you up nicely, haven"t I? And you loved every second. I could get used to some kink with my s.e.x."
Martin gasped and snorted a laugh as he tossed his head. "You call this kink?Harrison , you have so much to learn."
"And I look forward to you teaching me."Harrison shoved Martin tighter against the wall. "Right now, though, I"m top of the cla.s.s." "I"ll indulge you," Martin drawled.
It was a challenge, butHarrison met the dare head-on and winged back by grasping Martin"s bright-red b.u.t.tocks and giving them a hard squeeze that he knew had to hurt like h.e.l.l. The tight grip was meant to cause pain, but not for the sake of cruelty.Harrison knew Martin would love the brief, bright flare of agony/ecstasy as much Harrison himself felt sure he"d love being treated the same when his own turn came.
But soon enough, soon enough, when he decided he"d let Martin have control again. Right then, though,Harrison had a beautiful scarlet a.s.s flexing with antic.i.p.ation in front of him, good and ready to be f.u.c.ked.
Who could say no?Harrison knew he might well have refused only a few hours ago, but he"d been a whole lot dumber in what he"d thought was wisdom.