Perilous Partnership (3 page)

The chill did not bother Jean the way it did mortals, but he was not opposed to having his lover wet and naked.

“I‟ll join you,” he proposed, urging Raymond down the hall into the generous-sized bathroom, by Parisian standards, anyway. The white claw foot tub was, like most everything in Jean‟s apartment, himself included, a remnant of a bygone era, but it was big enough for both men, and the hot water heater was efficient. Jean turned on the taps before turning his attention to his lover, his hands skimming efficiently over Raymond‟s clothes, buttons and zippers yielding to their expertise. In moments he had his lover naked for his delectation.

Raymond let him, a fact that always warmed Jean‟s heart, the memory of his partner fighting their bond still vivid in his mind for all that over a year had passed. Raymond‟s self-mastery was phenomenal, which made the knowledge that he accepted Jean‟s touch, Jean‟s bite, all the headier. Jean had not seduced his lover into their relationship because his lover was proof against such machinations. He was there, in Jean‟s apartment, Jean‟s bed, Jean‟s life because he had chosen to be. Jean was pretty sure that made him the luckiest man on the planet. His lips lingered on the scar that followed Raymond‟s spine, a vivid reminder of the past. Raymond would say it was a reminder of his fallibility in falling for Serrier‟s propaganda at the beginning of the rebellion, l‟émeutte des Sorciers as it had come to be called. Jean disagreed, though he knew he would never convince Raymond of his point of view. He saw it instead as a mark of bravery, for despite the scar on his back and all it represented, Raymond had defected, fought against Serrier, and seen him brought low. To Jean‟s knowledge, only two other wizards alive bore similar marks. The others had met their end in the final battle. As he always did when Jean saw the scar, he traced its length with his tongue. He did not actually expect his saliva to heal that mark as it healed the bites from his feeding, but that did not dissuade him from his ritual. If nothing else, Raymond needed the reminder that Jean did not view the cicatrix as a mark of shame.

Raymond‟s eyes closed as a gasp escaped his lips, the same reaction he had every time Jean‟s mouth found the livid line on his back. He kept thinking he would grow accustomed to his lover‟s insistence on touching his mark of Cain, but even after a year, it still took him aback that anyone would want to lavish attention on his disfigurement. Jean had never hesitated, not from the first time

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he had seen it, both of them engorged with power from the Piège-Pouvoir they had undertaken to clean up an outburst of wild magic. He shivered as Jean‟s tongue slid lower, all thought of anything but his lover fleeing in the wake of the hot wet muscle drifting across his buttocks. “I thought we were going to take a bath,” he murmured.

“We will,” Jean promised, “but I hope that isn‟t all we‟re going to do.”

Raymond‟s body reacted predictably, his cock hardening, the rest of him melting with heat. He would have sagged if Jean‟s hands had not caught him.

As it was, his legs trembled as Jean‟s tongue worked its way into his crease. He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the sink, wondering if this would be the time when Jean‟s fangs pierced the sensitive skin of his buttocks. He had begged Jean repeatedly to stop protecting him from the feel of his fangs, but the vampire had yet to yield. Jean‟s lips closed over his entrance, sucking eagerly at his flesh, and Raymond pushed back against him, needing more, deeper, harder. Jean complied as if reading Raymond‟s mind, his tongue pushing its way inside, hot and agile and driving Raymond wild. His head fell forward onto his hands, little moans escaping his lips. “Jean!”

“In the tub,” Jean ordered, pulling back and divesting himself quickly.

“Don‟t worry; I‟ll take care of you.”

Raymond considered begging again, but ultimately he needed a bath, although he was certainly no longer cold! They might as well combine the two.

He stepped into the tub, turning back to watch as Jean‟s body came the rest of the way into view. Long and slender, he managed to be commanding even when naked, sending a thrill through Raymond as he anticipated giving in to the quietly imposing presence.

Jean joined him in the tub, looming over Raymond‟s reclining form.

Kneeling down so he straddled his lover‟s hips, he took a moment to stroke his hands down the planes of Raymond‟s chest, enjoying the way the hard muscles jumped beneath his fingers. When Raymond tipped his head back, Jean leaned down and nipped lightly at the line of the wizard‟s jaw.

“Please,” Raymond whispered.

“You don‟t have to beg,” Jean assured him. “I want it as much as you do.”

Raymond doubted that was possible, but protesting gained him nothing.

Instead, he let his head fall all the way back against the edge of the tub, offering the full length of his neck for his lover‟s mark. Jean did not hesitate to accept the offer, his tongue sliding across Raymond‟s skin before his fangs penetrated, delving deep. Raymond arched up, his body seeking more contact with his lover‟s.

Jean obliged, bearing down against Raymond‟s cock, the erotic frottage enough to have both of them moaning. It took only a matter of minutes before

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they were both desperate for release. Jean slipped his hand between their bodies, closing it around both cocks, the additional pressure enough to trigger their mutual climax.

Licking delicately at Raymond‟s skin, Jean lifted his head and kissed his lover tenderly.

“Did you take enough?” Raymond asked desultorily.

“More than enough,” Jean assured him. “Let‟s finish your bath and go to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

Raymond nodded, reaching automatically for the shampoo. He bathed quickly, the lure of lying in bed beside his lover enough to push him past his sex-induced lethargy.

Jean helped him dry off and led him into the bedroom, pushing aside the black brocade curtains that enclosed the four-poster bed. Raymond all but collapsed onto the dark sheets, reaching up and drawing Jean down beside him.

“Sleep well,” Jean murmured, giving Raymond a final kiss.

Raymond pulled Jean closer as sleep overtook him, needing the consolation of holding his lover close. Jean moved willingly, watching as the lines of stress and worry slowly faded from Raymond‟s brow. Smiling, he pressed a light kiss to the corner of his lover‟s lips and settled in to enjoy the hours spent in his wizard‟s arms.

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“WE need a place away from Paris,” Raymond declared as he and Jean discussed plans for l‟Institut. They had spent the earlier part of their day, far earlier than they usually went in to work, figuring out how to redistribute their responsibilities. Once they decided to do it and explained the reasons to the people gaining new roles, everyone had pitched in willingly to help. Now they needed to find a suitable location.

“Why?” Jean asked. “We don‟t want it to seem like we‟re hiding anything.”

“For a couple of reasons,” Raymond said. “First of all, I‟d rather not bankrupt l‟ANS by trying to buy a big enough place in Paris, even if we could find one. Money aside, though, we don‟t want the students or the researchers at l‟Institut under constant scrutiny. Yes, we dealt with it because we had a war going on and what else were we supposed to do? But that certainly doesn‟t mean it was easy making all the adjustments the partnerships have required in the spotlight the way we were. I think the school will be less vulnerable away from the capital as well, especially if we can find somewhere truly in the country: in le Morvan or in Auvergne or perhaps in Franche-Comté. The isolation would allow us to protect the location and the students more effectively.”

Jean chuckled. “Serrier‟s dead, Raymond. He can‟t come trouble our pursuits anymore.”

Raymond shrugged. “That doesn‟t mean there aren‟t people who would like to see us fail on a variety of fronts. We‟re political targets at the very least, and the right wing would welcome a public misstep on our part simply because we represent magical creatures of every kind. Serrier‟s active supporters were all rounded up after the war thanks to Eric and Vincent, but no amount of military intelligence can read into people‟s hearts. We have no way of knowing how many sympathizers remain who would love to see our new venture fail simply because it advances an agenda counter to theirs.”

“I‟m not that naïve,” Jean reminded Raymond. “I know all about political agendas. I also know what secrecy can do to the appearance of any undertaking.

You‟ve worked hard to open l‟ANS to more races than ever before. I don‟t

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want that threatened by someone suspicious of what we‟re doing at l‟Institut simply because it‟s under wraps.”

“Let‟s compromise,” Raymond proposed, seeing the logic in Jean‟s words.

“If you can find a location within the city that will house l‟Institut and isn‟t outrageously priced, I‟ll take a look at it. If you can‟t, we‟ll look farther afield.”

“Fair enough,” Jean agreed. “That way, too, we can say we couldn‟t find anything in the capital if we end up in the provinces.”

“Regardless of where we end up basing l‟Institut, I‟d like to have Adèle help with the security. She might have buried herself away in le Morvan, but few wizards know more about protective spells than she does,” Raymond declared.

“Will she come back to the city if l‟Institut is here?” Jean worried aloud.

Raymond shrugged. “For Marcel, she would have. I don‟t know if she will for us, but it can‟t hurt to ask.”

“Damn Leighton for his insensitivity,” Jean muttered.

“You know Adèle was just as bad,” Raymond reminded him, thinking of the explosive relationship between the sultry wizard and her antiquated partner.

“She reacted to him badly,” Jean agreed, “but I don‟t think she would have started their fight if he hadn‟t insisted on treating her like dirt. He has to stop living in the sixteenth century.”

“I don‟t know what else we can do to him that Adèle hasn‟t already done by sequestering herself in the country and ending their partnership,” Raymond said, shaking his head. “You can‟t force someone to change their attitude.”

“I wish I knew how they were dealing with the separation,” Jean commented. “It would give us something to tell Paul and Guillemin, if nothing else.”

Raymond snorted softly. “I don‟t know whether to thank those two for forcing our hand with l‟Institut or kick their sorry arses for not listening to everything we‟ve said about the partnerships since the war ended.”

“Kick them now; thank them later,” Jean proposed. “They certainly deserve it for being irresponsible.”

Raymond shook his head in frustration. “We don‟t even know if it really is irresponsibility or if something in the wizards and vampires senses a potential partner even before the first bite.”

“All the more reason to start our research as quickly as possible,” Jean insisted. “We can‟t afford not to have these answers.”

“Then find me a building we can afford to buy,” Raymond said.

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A WEEK later Jean had no choice but to admit defeat. “Everything that‟s available is either half the size we need or ten times what we can afford.”

“I did warn you,” Raymond said with a laugh, reaching for Jean‟s hand and pulling him down onto the wizard‟s lap. “I‟ve been doing a little searching, and I think I‟ve found the perfect spot.”

“Where?” Jean asked.

“In le Morvan, not far from where Adèle lives,” Raymond replied. “It‟s an abandoned monastery, so there are plenty of rooms where students could stay as well as rooms we could use as classrooms or to conduct our research. It will need some work, and not all of it magical, but the price is perfect, and the setup sounds ideal.”

“Then I guess we need to take a trip to le Morvan,” Jean declared.

“We have a meeting with the realtor tomorrow morning,” Raymond replied.

“She‟s expecting us at eleven.”

“You are far too efficient,” Jean teased. “Whatever am I going to do with you?”

Raymond grinned. “Keep me?”

“Absolutely,” Jean declared, eyes flashing with passion and possessiveness.

He managed to rein in his instincts most of the time, so he doubted Raymond knew exactly how hard he fought each day to let his lover out of his sight. That the war had ended and their enemies had been captured or killed mattered not at all. His instincts jangled the entire time he and Raymond were apart. “But that wasn‟t what I meant.”

“It doesn‟t matter anyway,” Raymond laughed. “Fabienne made all the arrangements. If you‟re doing something with anyone, it should be her.”

Jean laughed in turn, thinking of the dark-skinned vampire‟s partner.

Mathieu might not be as powerful a wizard as Raymond was, but that did not mean he wanted to start a fight. “Mathieu might have something to say about that.”

Raymond might have something to say about that too, for all that he had made the suggestion jokingly. He tamped down the surge of jealousy, reminding himself that Jean had given him no reason to doubt him and many reasons to trust. It was his own insecurity that made him wonder why Jean would want him, not anything Jean had said or done. On the contrary. Jean was assiduous in telling Raymond exactly how much he appreciated the wizard.

Raymond just had trouble believing it still. Not wanting to seem needy, he laughed with Jean. “We could take them.”