22

Ilya lay on the couch alongside a sleeping Julien. He had his ear next to Julien's heart, comforted by the steady beat. He wished he could put Julien's world to rights, that Lors and Borsha would get what they deserved, that Julien's parents would understand what he'd done for them and that if he wanted to be a doctor again, it could happen. But whatever Julien had to face, they'd do it together. Ilya had no life away from him. He didn't want a life away from him. Even so, it was hard not to hope there might be a way to confirm Borsha's role in the deaths of Abrek and Sébastien, assuming he was guilty. Could he be tricked into admitting it?

It was the sort of thing that happened in films, where the bad guy was cocky enough to think he'd got away with what he'd done, and when the good guy was about to die, the bad guy confessed, wrapping everything up nicely, except in a twist, the good guy didn't die, the bad guy got his comeuppance, and it all ended happily ever after.

Was real life ever like that? If there was any chance of reaching that illusive fairytale ending, Ilya would do all he could to keep Julien safe, to make sure that heart kept beating. He was in deep, he knew he was. That four letter word he'd never said to anyone kept flitting in and out of his head. Too much, too soon, so he'd keep it inside his heart and wait for the right moment.

Julien stirred and opened his eyes. "Shit, I fell asleep?"

"Right in the middle of me doing bad things to you. I'm hugely offended. Not sure I'll ever recover."

Julien's brow furrowed. "What bad things were they?"

"I took various pictures of you posing with that silver otter. I've got thousands of hits on Instagram."

"Good thing I'm fully dressed then."

"You weren't."

"Ha! Ready for bed?"

"Bath. I'm going to show you how to hold your breath for ages."

"Does that involve me shoving something tasty in your mouth so you can't breathe anyway?"

"Or the other way around."

Julien's eyes darkened. "Are we both going to fit in that bath?"

"Shouldn't be a problem if I fold you in half."

Ilya jumped to his feet and hurried off to start the water running. By the time Julien joined him, there was no mistaking the way his cock was tenting his trousers.

"Is it being folded in half that has you so excited? Or the tasty treat heading your way?"

"Yes."

Ilya laughed.

"Good luck folding me in half."

Ilya took off his clothes as fast as he could and climbed in while the bath was still filling. He leaned back with a long sigh and watched as Julien stripped. He had the most beautiful body, honed with just the right amount of muscle and adorned with a beautiful straight cock.

"Like what you're looking at?"

Julien asked.

"I really like what I'm looking at."

Maybe there was something in how he said that because the way Julien was looking at him now made Ilya's mouth lose all moisture.

"There is no way I can fit in there too,"

Julien said.

"My phone's handy. I can always call the fire brigade if we get stuck."

He shuffled forward towards the taps. "Behind me."

Julien climbed in, wrapped his legs around Ilya's hips and Ilya lay back against his chest. Julien put his arms around him and they slid down with their knees bent.

"Can you turn off the tap with your toes?"

Ilya asked.

"No, can you?"

"Not without dislocating my hip. Damn, I'll have to sit up in a minute so we don't flood the bathroom, and I was almost comfortable, apart from that hard thing poking me in the back."

Ilya reached forward, turned off the tap and lay down again, resting his head on Julien's shoulder. Julien dragged his hands up the sides of Ilya's body, then over his chest, teasing his nipples to hardness one after the other and nibbling Ilya's ear at the same time. Bliss!

"Julien,"

Ilya groaned.

"That was the first time you've used my name."

"I was saving it until I needed to convince myself it was you."

He felt Julien shaking with laughter, then he wrapped his hand around Ilya's cock. Strange, barely comprehensible sounds lurched from Ilya's mouth. "Oh G-g-god… Yeah. Ohh…enooh…you…shhhh. Yes… many…ahhh."

Julien's cock pressed repeatedly against the seam of his arse as they rocked together, water sloshing up the sides of the tub. When he brushed the tip of his thumb over the head of Ilya's cock, Ilya cried out.

"Wha… I… Christ."

The words hiccupped from him.

"Forgotten how to speak as well as breathe? I thought you were going to show me how to hold my breath for ages. You don't even have your head in the water."

"Maybe later… Too…distracted."

He bucked into Julien's fist, squeezing his arse cheeks against Julien's dick.

"Yes…later."

Julien was equally breathless.

"Water's…Der…chhh…not the best for this,"

Ilya gasped. "Forget the lube?"

"Did you?"

"Turn over. Rest your arms on the end of the bath. Then let me do whatever I like to you."

"Are you going to be able to do anything? There's no room."

Ilya glared. A moment later Julien was leaning over the edge of the bath with his backside in Ilya's face. Perfect.

At the first lick along the crease of his arse, Julien froze.

Ilya nipped his backside, then lifted his head. "Remember to breathe. I'll have to bite you if you forget. Imagine I'm a lioness. Recall that trick she has."

He spread Julien's tight arse cheeks and licked from his balls over his taint and up to the entrance to his body.

"What…?"

Julien gulped.

"Was that—what are you doing? Or—please stop? Or—have I died and gone to heaven."

"Continue, s'il te plait, bratkin. C'est bon. Oh ouiii. Merde. Tu es fou."

Julien gulped. "Tu me rends fou. Qu'est-que tu fais? Mon dieu. Je vais…"

He fell silent as Ilya pushed his tongue in his arsehole and as he kept pushing it in and out, he slipped his finger in there too.

"Don't come,"

Ilya ordered and went back to what he was doing, crooking his finger and brushing Julien's prostate until the sounds he was making became increasingly desperate.

"Mon dieu, mon dieu…"

Ilya swivelled onto his back—not easy in the little space he had—slid his head underwater through Julien's thighs and as his mouth surfaced, he pulled Julien's cock down between his lips. Julien came in an instant, flooding Ilya's mouth and face with come.

It took them both a moment or two to return to their senses. Ilya flailed as Julien turned them both, sending water cascading over the sides of the bath, until he was positioned over Julien's face.

"You'll need to hold your breath for eleven minutes,"

Ilya said.

Then he pushed his cock between Julien's lips.

Julien's hands clasped Ilya's backside, pulling him in as he sucked and when Ilya felt his cockhead brush the back of Julien's throat, he lost control and his world imploded. How can it feel better every time?

When he was lying curled up against Julien, he said, "Twelve minutes. Well done."

"I really like guys who can't count."

For a few days, life seemed magical to Ilya. They did everything together, and everything they did was fun. Shopping, cooking, watching TV, walking on the beach, running on the beach, listening to music, sex. Especially sex. For a guy who'd thought he was straight, Julien was making up for lost time. What was coming hadn't been forgotten, but for those special shared days, Ilya had never been happier. He hoped Julien felt the same.

While Julien sat writing out details of all the jobs he'd done for Lors over the last three years, Ilya transformed wire into animals. He'd made a small whale coming out of the sea, and was currently working on a polar bear on an iceberg. Every so often, Julien would heave a sigh and stare off into the distance. Ilya wondered if he was feeling guilty.

"Will you let me read what you've written?"

"No."

So he did feel guilty. "Why not? I won't think about you any differently."

Julien shot him the first smile Ilya had seen since he started. "And what do you think about me?"

"That you're a guy who always wants to do the right thing and you've had to hide that part of you for the last three years."

"I've done things I'm ashamed of. It's safer for you if you don't know the details."

"Are you including the names of the guys who worked with you?"

"Yes and no."

Ilya looked across the table. "Don't you think you'll be pushed to provide them?"

"Probably. But, to be honest, with most of them, I don't know more than a first name. I only know where one lives."

"The waiter from my sister's wedding."

"Yes. I told him to move out for a while. Of all those I worked with, I liked him the best. One name I'm happy to give is Cheng's."

"The guy who wanted to kill me."

"I'd like to know what he's up to, but I'm not going to get in touch with him. Most of the communication for jobs was done via burner phones. Those phones are gone."

"The police will be more interested in Lors anyway."

Ilya got up, moved to Julien's back and massaged his shoulders. "Do you have any proof that Lors blackmailed you into doing all the things you did, or even that he was behind it?"

"Not as much as I'd like. This delivery job has to be enough to bury him."

Ilya wrapped his arms around him, then moved round to sit on his lap. "And if it's not? You're the one who gets buried. That can't happen."

I can't lose you! "What about giving the information to a lawyer, then tell Lors that if anything happens to you, the truth will come out. His name must be on the Battersea flat, on the car, on the money he pays into your bank account—right?"

"There's no obvious link to him over payments to me. It comes from an offshore company, which makes me think he's been equally careful over the flat and the car. And do you think I'd stay alive long enough for a lawyer to use that information? They'd make me tell them who the lawyer was. He'd die too. Anyway, all they'd need to do is—"

"Threaten your parents."

"Or threaten you, bratkin."

Ilya hugged him. "Even if it all works out the way you want, you'll never be safe."

Julien pressed his forehead to Ilya's. "But I'm not safe continuing with this, and I'm putting you at risk too. I can't do it anymore. I should have stopped before now. I was just clinging onto a futile hope that he'd let me go. I was delusional."

"We could use the money I stole from my father to pay a security company to guard your parents. Then you don't have to worry so much about them."

"And when the money runs out?"

"We'd worry about that when it happens. When we find out exactly what Lors wants you to do, we look at what we can do to make the job safe."

"I can't take that risk. I have to speak to the police. I'm not going to do it through a lawyer. I don't want to talk about deals. I just want to make things right."

"The police in the UK or France?"

"Both, probably. They'll probably make it a joint operation. Which makes me think I should check my phone for messages from Lors. I need to get some distance from here. You want to come?"

"Always."

Ilya smiled.