The door chimed and he glanced at the newcomer, climbing from his stool as the doctor entered the diner. John gave the animated group an uncertain smile, and Jamie went over to him.
“Good morning. I heard you’ve been out all night.”
“Hi, Jamieson. Yeah. Unfortunately, Mrs. Reynolds didn’t make it.” His worried gaze swept the room. “Andy isn’t here with Ms. MaGee?”
Jamie’s heart skipped and suddenly Nico was at his side, his comforting hand on his shoulder. “They’re not with you?”
John Meiden gave him a distracted look and Jamie rushed to introduce them. “John, this is Nico De Mira, a good friend of mine visiting from Italy. We were told Andy would be coming here with you. I wanted Nico to meet your family.”
John shook his head. “No. He stayed with Anna last night.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll try calling again and find out what’s keeping them.”
Nico dropped his hand and gripped Jamie’s while the man took out his phone. Jamie wanted to reassure them both but couldn’t. He didn’t trust Piter. Maybe the man had the ability to hide from Nico, and was playing some twisted game of hide-and-seek with his senses. And though Nico said Piter wouldn’t harm the boy, Jamie had his doubts. He wouldn’t put anything past the creature. He shuddered, recalling his dream of the bloody butcher with Piter’s green eyes.
John’s frown deepened, and he slipped his phone back in a pocket. “Still no answer. Think I’ll head over there—”
“Can we accompany you?” Nico asked.
The doctor’s eyes narrowed and Jamie explained, “We have something to talk to you about, but not here. Please, it’s important or I wouldn’t ask.” Jamie held his breath. The doctor and he had become friends over the last few months but he wasn’t sure what the man would think of their request.
“If it’s something that concerns Andy, you’d better tell me right now,” John said impatiently.
Jamie glanced at the group at the counter eyeing them with interest. John followed his gaze and pressed his lips into an irritated line. “Very well. I’ll meet you at the car.”
He turned and slammed out the door. Nico glanced at Jamie, then grabbed his snow gear and followed him while Jamie pulled out his wallet and paid for their meal.
“Come back soon,” the waitress said, and the invitation was echoed by the others. Despite the circumstances, Jamie had to smile as he pulled on his coat, scarf, and gloves. Seemed like his lover was very good at making friends.
Outside, he found John already seated behind the wheel of his Jeep. Nico stood in the falling snow by the vehicle, holding their snowshoes. When Jamie approached, Nico climbed in the backseat, leaving Jamie to sit next to the doctor.
John looked at him. “Want to tell me what this is about?”
Jamie nodded, but motioned for John to start the engine. “We better talk on the way. Piter has a head start on us.”
Anger flushed the doctor’s face, but he turned on the ignition and shifted the Jeep into drive.
Chapter Ten
JAMIE HELD on, his stomach churning as the Jeep’s tires slipped a little when they turned out of the parking lot onto the newly plowed road. The doctor’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he held in his anger, but Jamie had no idea where to start his story.
“Just say it,” John demanded, his voice harsh with impatience.
Jamie swallowed his nervousness. “Me and Nico were caught out in the storm yesterday and spent the night at your cabin. Unfortunately, a man named Piter Rupert took refuge there as well. He’s dangerous and I’m afraid to say he saw a picture of you and Andy on your refrigerator—”
“Why would he take any interest in us?” John interrupted, and Jamie winced at the growing alarm in his voice.
Nico answered from the backseat. “This is my fault. Piter is my enemy, and he may use you and your son to get to me.”
John dragged in a breath. “That’s just great. Can someone tell me what the fuck’s going on?”
A tense silence filled the vehicle, Jamie wanting to know the answer as much as John. The swoosh of the tires through the snow filled his ears and he shivered. Why had he picked such a cold place to escape to? He could use some warmth and sunshine right now.
Nico leaned between their seats to be more easily heard, his voice emotionless when he spoke. “The story is too long to tell now. All you need to know is that Piter Rupert is criminally insane. Years ago I stopped him from murdering three innocent boys. Since then he has found me, wherever I hide, seeking his revenge.”
John sounded confused. “You say you saw him last night. I don’t mean to be cold, but why didn’t you try to detain him and call the police? Is he trying to kill you?”
“He won’t kill me, not yet. He wants to see me suffer by hurting the innocent. You and your son.” Nico’s voice dropped to a whisper, despair lacing his words. “I’m so sorry. I never should have come here.”
Jamie swiveled in the bucket seat, taking Nico’s gloved hands in his. “If you hadn’t, I never would have met you, and I can’t live with that thought. Whatever Piter’s game is, we’ll stop him. I swear it.”
John flicked him a glance, his eyes shadowed with worry. “Can you promise me that?”
A flame ignited in Jamie’s chest. He’d never felt brave, but he couldn’t bear to see John’s fear or Nico’s anguish. “I’ll do whatever is necessary,” he promised. Nico jerked his head up, and they stared at each other a long moment, then Nico’s dark eyes flashed.
“You won’t give in to him,” he said sternly.
“I don’t think it will come to that,” Jamie murmured. Nico scowled, unconvinced, and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms on his chest.
“We’re almost there,” John warned and turned down a side street. They pulled to a stop in front of an attractive ranch-style home, and John jumped out of the Jeep before Jamie had his seat belt off. He hopped out and folded his seat down for Nico to climb over, and then they joined John at the front door. The man didn’t knock but pushed into the house, and then stopped abruptly in the foyer. Nico drew a sharp breath as he and Jamie came up behind him.
Piter looked up from the couch where he sat opposite Anna MaGee. Jamie shoved his hands in his pockets, fighting an overwhelming urge to slap the wide grin that spread over his lovely face. “Nico! You came. And, Jamie dear, come sit by me.” He patted the cushion next to him, his eyes dancing as if he read Jamie’s mind and was amused.
John put his hand out. “Anna, come here, please. Where’s Andy?”
Anna’s blue eyes widened at his rough tone, but she stood and hurried over to him. “Andy’s in the family room. What’s the matter?”
“I’ll tell you in a second.” John took her hand and urged her down the hallway, presumably to the back of the house. Piter’s soft laughter slithered along Jamie’s spine in the silence that occupied the living room when they’d gone.
Nico made an impatient sound and Piter waved him closer. “Come, Nico, I didn’t hurt the boy. Not yet, anyway, but that’s entirely up to you. Come sit down. We have a lot to discuss.”
Nico lowered his brows. “I think we should leave here. Talk somewhere else—”
“Sit!”
Nico jumped at the command and Jamie shot him a glance. Fury marred his face, but Nico walked to one of the chairs facing the couch. Jamie followed, heading for the chair next to Nico, but Piter’s hand shot out and grabbed Jamie’s wrist, tugging him onto his lap.
Jamie struggled up, but an arm like a vise clamped around his shoulders, holding him in place. He jerked his head to the side, and Piter’s lush lips missed his, grazed his cheek, and then burrowed against his neck. He squirmed when Piter’s tongue licked his skin. Piter raised his head and snared Jamie in his green gaze. His warm breath on Jamie’s cheek made him shiver, anticipating a kiss. Piter grinned and plucked the hat from Jamie’s head with his free hand.
“That’s better, my beauty. Never hide your glorious hair from me.”
<
br /> “Let me go,” Jamie demanded, trying to break Piter’s hold.
“No.”
Jamie struggled, but Piter captured his lips, his tongue sliding into Jamie’s mouth dripping honey and heat, drowning his protests in sudden need. Piter’s free hand slid down his arm and under his coat, grazing his stomach. Jamie’s muscles clenched, and he twisted his head, breaking the devastating kiss. He threw a desperate glance at Nico.
“Nico….” His voice trailed off. The man’s attention seemed focused on the Christmas tree against the wall. If anything, he seemed more bored than upset with what they were doing. Confusion swept through Jamie, knowing he was a fool for feeling hurt, but didn’t Nico care at all?
“You see, my pretty Jamie, Nico doesn’t want you. He’s cold. Not like me.”
Jamie gasped, his head falling back on Piter’s arm when Piter’s fingers slid into his pants and grazed the head of his cock. Piter’s lips brushed over his. “I can show you such pleasures,” he promised and swallowed the moan that rose from Jamie’s chest in a kiss.
An image formed in Jamie’s mind while Piter continued to fondle his cock, shooting pleasure along his nerves. He was in an unfamiliar room, bent over the back of a bed, naked, feet spread apart. The bedspread felt soft under his face and chest, but his hands were tied uncomfortably at his back. Shifting to ease the pain, fear trickled through him. His ankles were tied to the feet of the bed, leaving him exposed, vulnerable. He jumped when fingers touched his skin, the hard nails making him shiver as they scraped down his back and slid into the crease of his ass.
Piter leaned over him, his breath a warm caress against his ear while his index finger pushed maddeningly against his sensitive hole. “How do you like to be fucked, my sweet Jamie? With the slow, deep strokes of a lover? Or is it a fierce, wild coupling that tears you apart with ecstasy?”
Lust scorched through Jamie as the decadent finger burrowed in deeper. Piter nibbled the back of his neck and started a trail of openmouthed kisses relentlessly down his spine toward that finger sliding in and out of him. God! Jamie unraveled as that talented tongue licked down his ass, stroked his puckered hole while Piter’s finger moved in widening circles. The hot tongue suddenly slid inside him and he cried out, shoving his aching cock against the bedspread before his mind exploded with need.
Piter raised his head and planted a kiss on the small of his back, his whisper full of laughter. “That’s it, baby, my naughty boy. I know what you need.” He shoved a second finger into Jamie, finding his prostate.
“No!” Jamie struggled to sit up, clawing his way from the fog of lust in his mind. He still sat on Piter’s lap, the man’s fingers stroking the head of his hard dick. “Fuck!” Humiliation sent the hot blood flooding his face and he scrambled to his feet. Chest heaving, he glared at Piter’s mocking face.
“Stay the fuck out of my head,” he hissed and rounded the coffee table and flung himself into the chair next to Nico, too embarrassed to look at him.
He sank lower into his seat when Nico let out an impatient breath. “If you’re done playing, Piter, I’d like some answers.”
Jamie winced at Piter’s bark of laughter. “Sorry, Jamie! Guess the man really doesn’t care about you. But I’m always here if you need some… relief.”
“What are you doing here, Piter?” Nico snapped, clearly losing his patience.
“Why, visiting friends, my dear. What did you think?”
Jamie tuned the men out, listening for the slight sound he’d heard at the front of the house to repeat. He furtively looked over his shoulder at the window facing the street. Outside, John stood at the Jeep, helping Anna and a small boy buckle in. Closing the door as quietly as possible, he hurried around the hood of the vehicle and climbed inside, pulling onto the street seconds later. Jamie gave a small silent cheer, then swiveled forward at the silence in the room.
Piter watched him, a sneer lifting his ripe lips. “It won’t save them, Jamie. We can get into any house we want, whenever we wish. Truth, my dear Nicolas of Myra?”
Nico replied, his voice low, menacing, “Bastardo. Silenzio, Knecht Ruprecht, dark helper, before I stuff you up a chimney.”
Piter laughed. “Ho, ho! Not such a saint after all, my love. Careful, or our dear Jamieson here will start wondering about you.”
Jamie frowned. What had he missed? Clearly there was no love lost between the two men, but what had Piter alluded to? Surely Nico would have no part in aiding the horrid creature?
As if reading his thoughts again, Piter gave him a lewd wink. “You’d never lock your door against me, would you, sweet Jamie?”
“Enough.” Nico leaned forward in his chair. “What do I have to do so you’ll go away forever, Piter? I’m tired! Haven’t I suffered enough for you?”
Piter’s voice rose to a shriek, his face blotched with fury. “You wanted to kill me! Murder me without remorse.” He pushed up from the couch and stood, a vengeful angel hiding its corruption in beauty. “You haven’t begun to suffer, Nico. I want you on your belly, sobbing for my mercy. And even then I’d spit on your pitiful soul.”
Piter lunged, grabbing Jamie’s chin, nearly crushing his jaw. The green jewels of Piter’s eyes gleamed with a wild light. “When you tire of chasing this stronzo, this piece of shit, come to me,” he commanded and crushed their lips together. The kiss lasted for seconds of pain and exquisite pleasure, then Piter let him go, and Jamie watched, dazed, as he swept out of the room with a mocking laugh. Jamie giggled at the dramatic moment, overcome with confusion and fear.
Nico sighed, head bent as he stared at his clasped hands. “I’m sorry, Jamie. I tried to shield you from him.”
Jamie sat back in his chair and gave him a cool look. “Really? I thought you handed me over to him very nicely. Might as well have trussed me up with a ribbon on my cock for his pleasure.”
Nico hunched his shoulders, and Jamie winced at his own crudeness. But seriously, Nico had ignored everything Piter did to him. He widened his eyes at a sudden thought. “Nico, you don’t want him to suspect how much you care about me.”
“No, angelo mio. If he knew, you would have no place safe to hide from his cruelty. He would flay the flesh from your bones to bring me to my knees. Dio mio, when will it end?”
His strong shoulders shook and Jamie heard his soft sob. In a flash he was off the chair and kneeling at Nico’s feet. He nudged between his knees and pulled Nico’s head onto his shoulder. “Hush, baby, I’m here,” he crooned, tugging off a glove and stroking the dark curls he loved. Nico drew a shuddering breath and Jamie lifted his chin with a finger, looked into the stormy hazel eyes shimmering with tears. “We’ll figure this out, together.”
Nico’s expression softened. “By all rights I should leave you, go far away and disappear from your life. But I am a coward, amore. I can’t be without you, not ever again.”
Jamie’s heart celebrated and a smile spread on his face. He lightly kissed Nico’s trembling lips. “And you’re forgetting something. I love you. Piter’s bound to ferret that out sooner or later and will use me against you no matter where you hide.” He twined his arms around Nico’s neck. “So you might as well stay here and protect me.”
“Tesoro mio,” Nico murmured against his lips and kissed him hungrily. Jamie pulled him onto the rug and let his lover take what he needed from him, exalting in their closeness.
Chapter Eleven
NICO LOST himself in the heat and sweetness of Jamie’s kiss. When a child, he shared a precious cup of tea with his mother on Sunday afternoons, a luxury in their impoverished village. Jamie’s mouth had this same hint of honey, but under that was his own delicious flavor, driving Nico mad for more. He couldn’t get enough! He could spend a lifetime kissing him.
Jamie moved under him, laughed as he ground his hard length against Nico’s hip. Dio! He loved Jamie’s playfulness. Sex with Jamie was a joy and pleasure. Shifting, he rubbed their cocks together through their clothing and eagerly swallowed Jamie’s gasps. H
e nipped his lover’s lips, aching to have Jamie’s swollen dick in his mouth, nudging down his throat. Would his cum have this same hint of honey as he drank it down?
He became aware that Jamie had stilled and felt the tremble that traveled his sleek body. Stifling a sigh, he rolled to his side, buried his face against Jamie’s neck, and kissed his hot skin. Jamie had come back to reality. Nico sensed his dismay and the fear for his friend’s young son, steadily cooling his ardor.
Nico rose up on an elbow and met Jamie’s tentative smile with one of his own. “It’s okay, my angel. I know you’re worried about the boy.”
“Will he be safe?”
“Perhaps. But it will take Piter time to find him. Do you have an idea where they might have gone?”
Jamie shook his head. “No. I’ll try to call John.” He took his cell phone from a pocket, frowned at it, then climbed to his feet. Nico stood with him.
“Phone doesn’t work,” Jamie muttered, shoving it back in his pocket. “I’ll borrow Anna’s house line.”
Nico watched him cross the room. So pretty, his little angel. He ached to undress him, suckle his sweet breast, bury himself in the tight heat of his body. But Jamie hadn’t spent the long years Nico had playing Piter’s wicked games. Nico had learned to seize his brief moments of happiness when he could. Jamie’s fear was immediate, and Nico had to swallow his needs until Jamie was ready for him.
The phone rested on a side table and Jamie hunted in a drawer, pulling out a small personal phone book. Nico waited impatiently while he dialed a number.
“Hello? John?”
He watched Jamie’s expressive face as they spoke together. “Yes, that could work.” Jamie nodded when the man continued to talk, but then a frown crossed his earnest face. “No, I don’t think…. John! That’s not a good idea—”
Jamie stared at the phone in his hand, then looked at Nico. “He hung up on me.”
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