5

Walter

Was I pouting? Maybe. Was it justified? Probably.

"Definitely justified," I muttered as I continued the monotonous task of forming complex sigils at my workstation for a derelict Fae relic, not that anyone would know since it was imbued with so much witch magic only the original framework of the clock indicated Fae origins. I slowly unraveled crudely placed incantations that overloaded the structure and nearly disintegrated the gears. Not the kind of Fae craftsmanship I'd like to work on, not even close to the type of artifacts I could work with based on Baron Novus' offer.

The only thing I'd managed to fix from this clock was the cracked glass casing that surrounded the clock and would sit neatly on the base of the device. It needed sturdy symbols to absorb and store the magics within the clock itself without shattering.

Twirling the gears, I couldn't figure out why the second's hand continued moving faster while the hour's hand barely slugged along. Despite carefully disassembling it and removing the haphazard and lazily lain incantations by the owner, this anniversary clock still needed lots of attentive care.

I grumbled. Anniversary. One hell of an anniversary, too. Anniversary clocks were supposed to run for exactly one year from when they were wound.

I couldn't believe Bez unilaterally decided for us. For me. And yes, I'd made a few unilateral decisions, but that was regarding avoiding Collective mages and Bez's general impulsivity.

Flashes of the flames destroying The Chicago Theatre hit, followed by Bez's frantic expression—something I hadn't seen since Ian stole Bez's essence and forced his obedience. Bez wasn't impulsive last night. He was protective.

I only wished he hadn't shut down when we talked last night. He'd refused to come to bed, claiming his essence was too wired. Total lie.

And this morning, the way he hurled around his trust in my judgment. The way he slipped in, "Always have. Always will." My mouth went dry, and I swallowed hard.

Gods, he even twisted my guilt trip and threw it back at me ten times stronger, sufficiently claiming it for himself. Dammit. He had more Alden family skills than I did.

A soft touch trailed along my neck, and I smiled. The gentle movement was like fingertips walking over my shoulder.

"Tony." I reached my hand out to offer my scorpion familiar an easy step onto the workstation, where his gaze rested.

He stayed planted on my shoulder instead.

Tony, which was short for Anthony, which was short for Antoninus, which was short for Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, most commonly known as Antoninus Pius, the most peaceful emperor of Rome. A fitting name for Tony since he was kind and docile, also an emperor in his own right. And like Antoninus, Tony wasn't magical but navigated the world between Mythics and mages quite well.

The actual Antoninus kept Rome out of conflict better than any other emperor and even expanded relations with many Mythic creatures, despite the mage council of the time disliking such things as the most powerful mages declaring themselves gods of the era. To think, their legacy still stood from the pantheons born through their arrogance.

Tony pinched my cheek.

"Ow."

He jabbed his tail in the direction of my incomplete sigils.

"I am working," I said. "Just a bit distracted."

He scurried down my arm, his feet clicking along my workstation, seeping mana I'd shared with him into the sigils to help complete these tasks. Sunlight from the window shined against his black exoskeleton. Tony always knew when my mind wandered too much and I risked falling behind schedule. Without the threat of angry archivist practitioners regularly scolding my lackluster work ethic, I struggled to maintain such rigorous deadlines.

"Thank you," I said.

Our connection had strengthened as the familiar bond grew. I wasn't certain how much he understood, especially since I only grasped about a fraction of his intentions, but we did have a solid understanding of one another. He'd even gotten really good at helping me decipher things. Some of my knowledge might have passed over to him through our connection. A shame our bond wasn't close enough for him to communicate with me psychically. According to the Pentacles of Power, that was the most advanced skill in the familiar bond.

Tony hissed, and I straightened my posture because he hated when I slouched for long hours in the chair.

"I thought you said that thing wasn't supposed to do that," Bez said, strolling into my office space completely carefree.

Oh. Tony's hiss was about Bez, not my hunched posture. Most emperor scorpions only hissed during their adolescence, but Tony regularly vocalized himself whenever Bez came around. Perhaps the familiar bond added to his reasoning as an added form of communication. It was peculiar, but I figured Tony was a little jealous of the attention Bez got from me. I slumped over my desk, continuing my work so my familiar wouldn't have to worry about that right now.

"Maybe he's as annoyed with you as I am." I scribbled incantation symbols, allowing Tony to saturate them so I wouldn't have to slow down.

"About that." Bez squatted next to me, his tails twitching behind him, clearly attempting to draw my attention.

I kept my eyes on my work.

"Wally."

"I'm busy." I couldn't do masterful guilt trips like Bez, but I had years of observing passive-aggressive productivity thanks to my family.

"I wish to discuss the offer you received."

I snorted. "Think of another thing to add to the list of reasons I can't accept it or just want to point out once again how it's not really about me, but you?"

"I would like us to reconsider it." He placed the card in front of me. "Make an official decision."

"Reconsider it?" I sighed. "You want me to officially decline the offer, don't you?"

I'd stormed into my office, hoping to avoid this, maybe get some time or perspective to come up with a way to convince Bez why this could work. Would work. Tearing this card apart felt like squandering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, destroying a winning lottery ticket, giving up a dream job I didn't even consider daydreaming about because it was too big, too important, too special for someone like me to ever land.

"I would like you to accept, but—"

"Excuse me?" My pulse pounded against my throat, whether from my excitement or Bez's nerves or both. "Why? What are you getting at?"

"It's come to my attention that this is a potentially viable and necessary opportunity…"

I smiled. Bez used a lot of words to skirt around him saying he'd had a change of heart, that he might've overreacted, or—dare I say—maybe that he was wrong.

"This is no laughing matter." Bez stared at my smiling face. "We need to discuss the risks—"

"Absolutely." I grabbed his tie and pulled him closer.

His balance wobbled, but he caught himself against the arm of the chair. I pressed my lips against his, ready to have any conversation on the seriousness of taking this job, but mostly I wanted to stop being grouchy, maybe a little petty, and show him how much I appreciated him. What he did for me before and after the show. Hell, getting us tickets to the show alone.

"Something I have to work on, maybe we have to work on, is learning to pause arguments to enjoy celebrations." My lips met his softly, tongue searching for his and the way he'd respond with an aggressive, leading kiss. He didn't, though. Instead, I guided this kiss, lust taking hold. "I shouldn't have gone to bed a jerk."

"Wally, about that, before we commence with much-needed pleasures, I have to explain—"

"The only thing I want you to explain"—I stood, tugging his tie and watching him stand, towering above me—"is what you plan on doing with me."

I kissed his neck, nuzzling him; my hands rested on his shoulders as I led him backward toward the door.

"Actually, no explanations." I unfastened his belt, continuing to direct him into the bedroom for some well-overdue acts of affection. "I'd rather you surprise me."

Carefully, I shuffled around my piles of paperwork for jobs, stacks of half-read books for personal inquiries, and the single map Bez had on unicorn migrations. My research wasn't nearly as tidy as his, but at least I'd bought my materials, unlike Bez who, as he'd put it, ‘pilfered' the map from Mora's collection. One we now knew was completely outdated.

Bez complained my messy system would spread to the entire hovel if he hadn't insisted otherwise, so to prove him wrong, I made sure to keep the chaos in the bedroom. If I had my external organization strewn about the office, I'd never get actual work done.

"First, allow me to explain," Bez said, groaning as I ran my fingers under his waistband and got a full grip on his growing erection. "Wall—"

I kissed him again, this time with my teeth biting his lip. "You're talking a lot. Usually, you're the one telling me to keep conversation to a minimum since I have this habit of sometimes kind of a little bit getting sort of chatty in the middle of sex."

Bez had planted his hands on my shoulders, bracing some distance from my lips reaching his. Dammit. I'd done it again. Gotten too talkative. He wanted to talk. Maybe apologize. Or explain all the stipulations he'd demand if I were to accept this job. We'd have that talk, of course. But I didn't want a conversation souring the mood, or more accurately, I didn't want my own insecurities souring such a lovely gesture Bez had done.

"We'll discuss it all," I said, unable to quiet my mind. "But I'd much rather save the chitchat."

With that, I pushed Bez back onto the bed and dropped to my knees. There was only foreplay that'd stop my rambles or Bez's, it seemed.

"Wait, this isn't…" Bez ran his fingers through my hair, a firm grip pulling my head back right as I licked the tip of his cock. He growled from the gentle massage of my tongue, and instead of tugging me away, he pushed me further onto his cock.

My eyes watered, and I gagged, taking in the entirety of his shaft so quickly. Still, I relaxed my jaw and planted my hands on Bez's sides, moving with the subtle thrust of his hips.

My throat constricted as his cock throbbed inside my mouth. Slowly, I worked my way up and down. I couldn't get a full breath through my nose, but I didn't want to stop, to slow down, because the warmth coming off Bez made my skin tingle and my body vibrate.

"I need…" Bez let out a feral snarl. "Walter, I need you to accept the job so we can learn this Fae's secrets and kill him."

I choked on Bez's cock and his words.

What?

I pulled back, wiping spit from my chin. "What?"

"I thought that'd finally ruin the moment." Bez grimaced, pulling his boxer briefs over his fully erect dick, the bulge pointed upward on an angle.

"You can't just kill a Fae." I stood up, ready to storm out of the room but waited, waited for an explanation as Bez pulled his pants up and fastened his belt. "Honestly, as worried as I am for Novus, not sure you can kill him, considering last night's performance."

Okay, that was rude, but Bez hadn't landed a single blow on the baron, and that said something, given his speed and strength.

"Bah. Annoying Fae parlor tricks." Bez waved a hand. "The next time our paths cross, I won't be caught unaware of his shifting temporal frequencies."

I turned to leave, but Bez snatched me by the wrist.

"Wait. There's much I need to explain." His voice was soft, pleading. "There is a chance this Fae is using Diabolic bonds to dabble in dimensional travels, tearing through thresholds which shouldn't be possible."

Bez pulled me onto the bed, and I sat on the end next to him as he explained the difficulties of navigating in or out of Hell—any Hell—how anything non-Diabolic would burn eternally, lost in the cracks of the dimensional folds. A part of me wanted to comment or question if this helped stem the origins of fire and brimstone, but I kept quiet, putting a pin in most of my curiosities.

Mora had informed him of Baron Novus' intentions and his intrigue with me since many Fae supposedly found my actions fascinating. But I wondered if Novus actually did or if that was simply a fa?ade to mask his true interest in Bez. Who was I kidding? Of course it was. I was a joke. The fact I even allowed myself to buy into the flattery of my supposed talents, this offer.

Bez was right. "It was a trap all along."

"I suspect," Bez said, his expression soft and not holding any of the smugness I deserved.

"Surprised you're not gonna mock me for always being so gullible."

"Seeing the best in others and hoping they recognize the value you possess does not make you gullible." Bez patted my thigh, hand resting on my shaky knee until I'd stopped tapping.

"What happens if you find proof the Fae baron is actually doing this, stealing Diabolics and trying to get into Hell realms?"

"If we find proof," Bez corrected.

We. He wanted me to be a part of this. My chest swelled, flattered he trusted me enough to take part in this, and then tightened, frightened of what it meant.

"So, what happens to him?" I asked again.

"I won't lie to you, Wally." Bez's eyes flitted, avoiding direct contact or finishing his response, it seemed.

"You're gonna kill him."

"No." Bez rocked his head side to side; his shaggy hair swayed between the roots of his curled ram horns. "Maybe just unalive him."

"We just talked about not impulsively killing people."

"Just implies it only recently happened, and we know your lectures have been long-standing." Bez rolled his eyes. "And to be clear, it won't be impulsive. I'm already putting much thought into exactly how to kill him."

"Could we maybe look for another way?" I bit my lip. "I can get pretty crafty when dealing with dangerous threats."

"I prefer it when you get murderer-y with those threats."

I frowned, making a face because his expression shifted to the same minxy smirk as the night I'd ended Ian's life. Ian. The misfit mage who sought to reveal magic to the world, topple the Collective, and kill Bez and me. Killing him wasn't something I regretted. It was a decision I made with ease. I suppose the only regret I had there was I didn't have any regret, which made me an awful person.

"Killing a Fae—that's big. They have the Collective wrapped around their fingers; they basically run the Mythic Council…"

"Through whispers only." Bez scoffed.

"Which is a pretty big deal that so many different Mythics heed their mostly silent advice."

"Blah, blah, blah-bidy, blah. And I suppose you think his nobility makes him a more difficult target."

"Well, yes." Standing, I moved closer between Bez's spread legs. "If the Fae Court is anything like the Collective regiments, then working outside sanctioned authority would likely cost him all his standing. Remember a certain chancellor whose coup cost her all title and casting privileges?"

A not-so-subtle reminder I could handle tough decisions. After all, I'd exposed Chancellor Alden to the regiment leaders, and from the one email I'd received from Al, our mother's treachery apparently landed her a one-way ticket to the Collective's most secure penitentiary.

"I just don't want to do something we can't walk back from," I said, fighting back the urge to add I couldn't kill with such a clear conscience as Bez and how sometimes the way he killed with such a nonchalant attitude frightened me. Worse. Sometimes it excited me, knowing no one and nothing would stand between us because he'd always protect me no matter the danger.

"Fine. I'll let you concoct whatever it is you wish, but if it doesn't completely remove him as a threat from you, me, and I suppose others—since a pompous Fae with a skeleton key able to bounce to and from any Hell realm would be a danger to all—then I'll be left with no choice other than to more permanently remove him as a threat."

"It doesn't sound less murderous when you say it that way."

"It's not meant to," he said, his smile gone. Bez kissed my chest directly over my fast-beating heart. "Know that I shall respect your rules. No impulsive decisions. No unaliving without purpose. Cross my heart, not my tails."

I squinted at his three gray tails, which had stretched long and straightened from one another, all lying at different ends of the bedroom.

I kissed Bez. A light peck, waiting for him to reciprocate. He remained hesitant. Reserved. I kissed him again, a bit more assertively, and straddled his waist as I did.

He pulled away, taking a wispy breath in sync with mine. "I expected you to be less enthused once I explained the situation."

"You're treating me like an equal, not just some little mage you have to protect. I find that very enthusing. Enthusiastic? No. Point is this is what I like to see."

"I've always considered you my equal, Wally." Bez ran his hand up my stomach, resting it on my chest over my heart. "In truth, you are my better through and through."

Bez smiled so big it reached his glossy, crimson eyes. An expression of pure admiration.

Swept away by passion, I grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles one by one, unable to stop. His fingers had a sweet flavor like he'd dipped them in syrup. Knowing Bez, that was exactly what he'd done. Essence coursed through me, through him, too, extending to his fingers that I continued kissing. They shifted into claws. I licked them, running my tongue down his palm and reaching his wrist, where I planted tender kisses as he caressed my face.

"I'm glad to be treated as an equal. Flattered you sometimes see me as your better." I slid a hand beneath his horns, grabbing his ruffled hair, and pulled him into an all-consuming kiss, parting only for air and a need, desire, to tell him. "We'll have to put a pin in that since it's not true. I'm no better than you, Bez." I kissed him, unable to break away for too long. "But right now…"

Bez smirked. Dammit. I'd done it again. Talking, talking, talking.

Too late, might as well say it. "You know what I'd like from you?"

"Name it." He stroked my cheek.

"I don't want to be an equal right now. But someone solely for serving your needs."

"My worthless Walter."

"Not a nickname I'd approve of under any other circumstances." I grinned nervously, aroused and buzzing in anticipation for his touch. "I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like it's been forever since we, you know, and I feel like I'm rambling more, or maybe we just have more going on, or maybe I've forgotten how to—"

Bez threw me off him, shoving me face-first onto the bed. I gasped as he stripped off my pants and tore through yet another shirt. At least I learned an incantation to mend the stitching. I shuddered as his lips worked their way down my back and further. His tongue was aggressive and delicate all at once as he slid my underwear off.

I moaned. Bez slowly worked his way up my back again, lightly kissing the nape of my neck before biting. I quivered, then reached out with my hands to find his.

Bez leaned away, retrieving a bottle and pouring lube on his palm. I could see his arm moving back and forth in the corner of my eye as he stroked himself hard. He smacked his wet dick on my bare ass.

I arched, moving closer to him, craving him, wanting him inside.

His clawed hand wrapped around my throat, pulling me into a further arch than comfortable as he worked his way into me. I stifled a groan. Once he'd gotten the tip in, he pressed his chest against my back, holding me tight by the neck and pushing us both forward onto the mattress.

With all his weight pressing down on me, he allowed gravity and gentle thrusts to do the work. After he'd buried himself all the way inside me, I moaned, but Bez slapped his other hand over my mouth, silencing me.

"I can't wait to hear you beg, but first, I have other plans."

He moved faster, harder, keeping a tight grip on my mouth and throat, leaving me delirious and letting out muffled gasps and grunts, lost in the ecstasy of him. The only noise aside from my own was Bez's satisfied growl as he pounded away, and our skin slapped against each other until I couldn't contain myself. My body warmed, tense and twitching in his embrace as I climaxed.