Quid Pro Quo
Page 4
Tristan grinned and kept stroking the john through it until the man released them and waved his hand.
They both sat back, wiping their faces. Rolex picked up a stack of napkins that had come in with the champagne bottle and handed it to them with a shaking hand before he took a couple and cleaned himself off.
No one spoke for a long time. The only sounds were napkins brushing on skin, men getting to their feet and getting dressed. The whole room felt surreal. Otherworldly. As if the tension that had built since their arrival had become a tangible thing and shattered, and they were all moving carefully and slowly to avoid disturbing the pieces on the ground. That, or Jared was just halfway out of his mind from everything. Which was entirely possible; he wasn’t even sure he could fit this evening into his head.
The john handed Tristan the thick stack of bills. “You two are ... you’re well worth the money.”
Tristan grinned as he slid the cash into his back pocket. “Well, if you feel the need, you know where to find us again.”
Rolex laughed, and it was a lethargic, sleepy sound. “I don’t know which you boys will kill first. Me or my bank account.”
“Only one way to find out.” Tristan winked at him. Then he turned to Jared. “Ready to go?”
Jared nodded. He wasn’t sure what to say to the john – Thanks for the hottest sex I’ve ever had, even if you barely touched me? – so he just smiled, and then Tristan put his arm around Jared’s waist. Jared pretended his heart wasn’t fluttering at Tristan’s touch.
Wordlessly, they left the john’s hotel room. On the way down the hall, Jared finally found his voice. “That was different.”
“No kidding.” Had Tristan just shivered? Jared was sure he had.
They stopped in front of the lift, and Jared pressed the button. While they waited, he said, “So all the things you’ve heard about me. Good things, I hope?”
Tristan grinned and pulled Jared closer to his side. He kissed just below Jared’s ear and said, “All very good things.” He paused to nibble Jared’s earlobe. “And every one of them was a damned understatement.”
This time it was Jared who shivered.
The lift doors opened. Once they were closed, and they were safely separated from anyone else for at least a minute or so, Tristan pulled the money out of his pocket. He counted out a third for Jared – the remaining third went to Market Garden – and stowed away his own share. Jared was too far gone to crunch the numbers, but he could tell at a glance this was a lot more than he usually brought back to Market Garden before he subtracted the boss’s cut.
“You know,” Tristan said, watching Jared thumb through the bills, “we could make a killing doing this.”
“Working together?”
Tristan nodded. That spine-tingling, devilish grin spread across his lips, and he slid his arm around Jared’s waist again. No need for that now. Holy shit, maybe he likes me. “If you’re game, then I say, let’s make some money together.”
He kissed Jared before Jared could formulate a response. Not that it mattered.
Working with Tristan? Getting fucked, sucked, kissed, and touched by Tristan? For the kind of money that was in his hand right now?
There was only one answer to that.
Hell yes.
The End
Also by Aleksandr Voinov
Dark Soul, Volumes I-III
Witches of London – Lars
Witches of London – Eagle’s Shadow, with Jordan Taylor
Witches of London – Shadows Watching, with Jordan Taylor
Burn
Skybound
Gold Digger
Return on Investment (Return on Investment #1), also available in audio
Risk Return (Return on Investment #2)
Nightingale, also available in audio
Deliverance, also available in audio
Incursion (Incursion #1), also available in audio
Exile (Incursion #2)
Dark Edge of Honor, with Rhi Etzweiler
The Lion of Kent, with Kate Cotoner
For a list, go to www.aleksandrvoinov.com/bookshelf.html.
About the Authors
EPIC Award winner and Lambda Award finalist Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he works as an editor in financial services. His genres range from science fiction and fantasy to thriller, historical, contemporary, and erotica. His books were/are published by Random House Germany, Samhain Publishing, and others.
If he isn’t writing, he studies alternative therapies, explores historical sites, and meets other writers. He single-handedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects. His current interests include European magical traditions, the history of chess, military strategies of the crusaders, and the Golden Age of Piracy.
Visit Aleksandr’s website at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com, his blog at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter, where he tweets as @aleksandrvoinov, and/or subscribe to his newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/71jNz.
L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn't lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don't tell Lauren. And definitely don't tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut...
Website: http://www.gallagherwitt.com
Twitter: @GallagherWitt
Email: gallagherwitt@gmail.com