by K. Sterling
“I don’t imagine he is and I find myself pitying him.”
“You absolutely should. He’s the only thing I’ve got to entertain myself with in this house,” Reginald replied and Toly’s eyes flared with concern.
“We should warn Aiden,” he murmured but Reginald made a loud shushing sound as he left them.
“Don’t you dare! I promise, you will be delighted and amazed! Just you wait!” He sang then spun on his heel and ran for the elevator. He offered them a jaunty salute as he pressed the button and a calculating grin tilted his lips as he waited for it to lower. He lifted several transmitters and a few microphones as he pestered Toly and “borrowed” Grim’s smaller soldering iron. Reginald opened the door and stepped inside then waved before sliding the door shut and yanking the lever. He waited until they could only see his feet then reached inside his coat and readjusted. The iron was tucked into the waist of his trousers and was poking the almighty hell out of his hip. A footman got the door as soon as the elevator reached the foyer and Reginald offered a polite nod then quickly crossed the foyer and darted up the stairs. It only took him a moment to slip into his and Paul’s suite to hide his haul. Reginald did a quick line and was skipping back down the stairs a few moments later. He found Alon hovering in the foyer by the study and flashed him a bright grin. “Good afternoon, Alon,” Reginald said with a stiff bow for the excessively dour older man.
“Lord Marston,” he replied and tipped his nose back as he cleared his throat. “I hope you’re finding everything you need to make your stay here at Blackhurst as comfortable and productive as possible,” he added quietly and Reginald’s head cocked.
“Eh?” He blinked at Alon and the glacial butler looked around before leaning closer.
“I have instructed my men and the household to leave the Russian’s devices, as they come across them,” he whispered, stunning Reginald.
“Really? Is that why you’re letting him demolish all your old laptops and phones?”
“Making sure all devices are completely wiped and reset to factory settings is the most tedious thing I do as head of security,” Alon confided but a slight smile curved his lips. “And I cannot fault your judgment, in regards to Blackhurst’s physical security,” he said. Reginald pinched himself and wondered if he snorted the wrong powder again. As if Alon could read his thoughts, the older man pulled the handkerchief from his pocket and carefully dabbed at the end of Reginald’s nose. “If there’s anything else you need, please let me know,” he added. Reginald nodded slowly as the wheels in his brain began to turn. It was extremely flattering and tempting but Reginald never liked cutting corners when it came to work. And while he admired Alon greatly and appreciated the offer, Reginald didn’t like the idea of letting him or Blink in on his plans.
“Now, what would be the fun in that?” Reginald replied with a playful wink and gave Alon’s arm a gentle punch. “I’ve got to keep everyone on their toes and this place is dryer than my great aunt’s quim.” He tapped his brow as he danced around the banister then stopped and held up a finger. “You could direct me to Dr. Sharp,” he said. Alon held up his hand.
“Sharp,” he murmured into his sleeve and his eyes swept upwards. “In the library,” Alon said and Reginald cheered.
“Thank you!” He said with a sweeping bow then set off for the library.
“Have a good day, my lord,” Alon replied as he retreated into the study. Reginald chuckled as he skipped down the hall and turned right. “Nice try but I’m not switching alliances, fellas,” he sang to himself then used his shoulder to ease the heavy door open. Reginald hummed softly as he passed the tall mahogany shelves and long tables until he found Sharp lounging on a sofa. He was leaning against West’s side and had his nose in a case file; various anatomy text books and medical journals were scattered on the coffee table in front of them. Reginald coughed softly to announce himself and Sharp’s eyes drifted over the top of the file.
“Oh, fuck!” He whispered and scrambled to clear the couch but West grabbed his arm.
“What’s up?” West asked. Reginald beamed at him appreciatively.
“Stodgy but you’ve always been a good sport,” he said then gave them a sheepish smile. “I was hoping we might work on that little side project of ours,” Reginald told Sharp.
“No... What?” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t recall agreeing to anything like that,” he said and glanced at West.
“You did say you’d help keep an eye on him,” West whispered behind his hand. Sharp opened his mouth to argue but snapped it shut.
“I was hoping he’d find something else to do or forget,” he confessed. West chuckled and gave Sharp’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze.
“You’ve been working on that for hours. Go take a break and get into a little trouble,” he insisted but Sharp’s brows pulled together.
“This doesn’t seem like it’s going to be very restful. I’d rather stay here and dissect this murder-suicide,” he said in his dry monotone. Reginald burst into laughter and hugged his stomach.
“You don’t get enough credit for just how funny you can be!” He said and threw a hand at Sharp. “We’re going to be better than Martin and Lewis,” Reginald predicted.
“What does that mean?” Sharp whispered as he looked to his husband. West’s eyes crinkled at the corners and his chest shook.
“It means you’re his straight man,” he said. Sharp’s brow rose before he snorted.
“I doubt I’ll be able to convince anyone here that I’m straight but he’d never pull it off,” he muttered as he got up. West pinched the bridge of his nose as he gathered his composure.
“Nonsense! You’re already nailing it,” Reginald said as Sharp made his way around the table. Reginald tried to put his arm around his shoulders but Sharp swung away, causing West to turn red as he fanned in front of his face.
“Where are we going?” Sharp asked suspiciously.
“To the conservatory, so I can smoke while we brainstorm but we need to do a little scavenging for props,” Reginald said and gave West a thumbs up as they left.
“I’ll take all this upstairs and find you when it’s time to get ready for dinner,” West called after them.
“What? That’s...hours!” Sharp complained.
“It’ll be fun!” West promised but Sharp was glum and uncooperative. Which made for a delightful afternoon. Reginald found a handful of Toly’s “flies” and he was sure their act would be a hit with a lot more practice.
Chapter 12
With Reginald safely occupied and out of the way, Lavender could focus on his own reconnaissance and do a temperature check of the house. He put Sage to work in the game room doing damage control and playing pool with Ezra, Denver, Wilder, Hawk and Lane. Paul was in the library on a conference call with his director and catching up with work while he had a few quiet hours.
“What are you doing?” Lavender asked as he made his way around a work table in the vault so he could see what Casper was pouring over. A saw and sections of PVC pipe were scattered on the table and he was applying plumber’s glue to one of the ends. Casper’s lips pulled at the corner and there was a wicked twinkle in his eye as it flicked to Lavender.
“You can’t guess?” He asked and sat back as he waved at the parts on the table. Lavender considered the longer length of pipe and the grill igniter.
“It looks like a potato cannon but I can’t imagine why when I’m sure Cyril has actual cannons in one of his stables,” he mused out loud and Casper hummed as he pointed.
“He does but I’m not allowed to use any of them or fire real artillery in the house—according to my contract—and I’m bored to fucking tears, so I thought I’d entertain myself with a little craft project,” he said and Elliot looked curious as he craned his neck and wandered over from his station.
“You know, we don’t keep a lot of hairspray on hand but I have a crate of fixative spray. I don’t use it very often but it should behave similarly as a propellant,
” he suggested. Casper gasped as he rocked back.
“Good thinking, professor!” He was impressed but Elliot just raised a shoulder.
“I don’t keep potatoes down here so you’ll have to check with the kitchen,” he said then squinted as he looked toward the actual storage section of the vault and the giant door with the large lock. “I’ve got one of Queen Elizabeth’s croquet sets but the balls are worth about $1,200 each... You might get close to the density of a potato if you soaked some rags and wadded them up. I’ve got bins full of those,” Elliot noted and pointed at the corner behind his desk. Lavender cleared his throat and gave his head a faint shake when Elliot glanced at him.
“I’m not sure if Cyril would want you to encourage this,” he said out of the side of his mouth. Elliot snorted as he went back to his table and reached for a magnifying glass.
“Well... Cyril should have thought about that before he turned my vault into a communal workspace,” he replied absently and Lavender got the impression that they were being tuned out. Elliot was indeed immune to dangerous and unstable men if he was able to turn his back on the two of them. Lavender raised his brows at Casper and they exchanged amused grins as they huddled over the cannon parts.
“You know, I think we underestimated him,” Lavender murmured quietly. Casper chuckled as he went back to glueing.
“He’s not that bad and he’s right about the fixative and the rags,” he rasped. Lavender hummed and bent so he could rest his forearms on the table.
“No. He’s exactly what Cyril needs. He’ll make an excellent chatelaine of Blackhurst,” he said and Casper’s head snapped back as he cackled.
“I have a pretty good idea of what that was about and fuck the both of you,” Elliot called from across the platform.
“Not bad at all,” Lavender said as he passed Casper the smaller piece of pipe. His gaze drifted back to Elliot and Lavender was truly happy for Cyril. He was also happy about the implications for their little group and the world, as a whole. There was something wounded or lost within Cyril that he sought to ease or fill with absolute control and wealth. Lavender had sensed it but was smart enough to know it wasn’t worth the risk to learn Cyril’s secrets. Elliot solved the puzzle and was obstinate enough to withstand Cyril’s bluster. He tempered and soothed Cyril and kept his focus at home and in the bedroom, from the bits of gossip Lavender had overheard. “Long may she reign, Lady Blackhurst.”
Chapter 13
“I’d like to have an answer by the end of the day,” Cyril told the gentleman on the screen. His face was obscured by shadows but Cyril knew who he was.
“I’ll do my best but Interpol is acting very strange.”
“The end of the day,” Cyril ordered then ended the call. “Alon,” he said and turned just as his butler strode into the study.
“Sir?” He was reading something on his clipboard and looked troubled before his attention flicked to Cyril.
“I want you to check with your sources at Interpol. What are you frowning at?”
“We’ve lost a satellite,” Alon replied.
“That is unusual. Do you know where Marston is?”
“Just a moment.” Alon whispered Marston’s name into his sleeve then nodded.
“They are in the game room.”
“The game room?”
“There was an argument. I’m told,” Alon stated and Cyril hummed as he went to check it out.
“Agent Sloan is going back to DC tomorrow and Marston’s worried it’s not safe. It would be helpful if Marston could look into this Interpol problem for us but he’s still in time-out. It would keep his mind off of Sloan as well,” Cyril noted and Alon tipped his head in agreement.
“You could have a word with the Russian,” he suggested but Cyril winced as they turned down the hall and passed the dining room.
“He’s already feeling like he’s been disrespected and taken for granted. I’m not going to step on his toes unless it’s for something important. I won’t gain anything by making him more distrustful,” he confided.
“Very good, sir. Marston is too smart to touch the internet yet but he is scavenging parts and gathering intelligence,” Alon said and Cyril smirked at the game room’s door as he reached for it then stopped.
“Of course, he is. That’s how he’s survived. He grew up with vicious, scheming parents and navigated British society as an impoverished royal. Then, he set out on his own as a very young man and practically built himself and Lavender from scratch,” he marveled then held up a hand. “It’s quiet in there. I hope it wasn’t too serious of a fight,” he worried and offered Alon a sheepish wince before he eased the door open and peeked. They weren’t playing pool or darts so Cyril and Alon took a few cautious steps inside. The door to the card room was open and Cyril heard a hard swear. His brow shot up and there was another swear as they made their way past the pool table. Cyril leaned to see around the door and into the card room and held his hand out to stop Alon as he tried to look over his shoulder.
“Fuck! I still don’t know how you do that!” Sloan whispered. It was high and strained and Cyril assumed Marston picked the card room because he knew there were no cameras. He was on his knees and Sloan’s groin was smashed against Marston’s face. Marston made a euphoric gagging sound as he swallowed all of Sloan’s cock. There was a loud slurping sound as Marston sat back on his heels so he could pump Sloan’s length and lap at the head.
“Years of practice. Come all over my face then feed it to me. I’m going to lose my mind because I won’t be able to taste you,” Marston complained and made a greedy sound as he swung forward and gagged as he took Sloan’s shaft deep in his throat again.
“Jesus, I’m just about there,” Sloan ground out and Cyril and Alon were both wide-eyed as he held onto the back of Marston’s head and bucked against his face. Marston gurgled in delight before Sloan pulled out and spilled all over his cheeks, lips and chin. “Fuck!” Sloan laughed as he shivered and jerked then dropped to his knees in front of Marston. “Fuck, you’re amazing,” he sighed raggedly and used his fingers to gather the cum from Marston’s face and shoved them into his mouth. Marston hummed as he sucked and lapped and Sloan murmured his name soothingly as he kissed him and licked at his lips. “I love you and I won’t stay gone a minute longer than I have to,” he whispered. Alon gave Cyril’s sleeve a slight tug to signal he was leaving. Cyril nodded and they tiptoed out the way they came and quietly shut the door behind them.
“I don’t know if I should be offended that it’s happening in every corner of my house or disappointed that I’ve never tried it in most of these places myself,” Cyril admitted to Alon.
“Sir, I...” He said woodenly then shook his head and took off down the hall.
“He’s right. That would be undignified,” Cyril murmured to himself and went to see if he could steal Farris away from the vault for a bit.
Chapter 14
“We should be going down now,” Lavender reminded Sage. He glared at this watch then gave his sleeve a firm tug to pull out the creases and resumed pacing in the sitting room.
“What are we going to miss?” Sage asked as he leaned out of the bathroom. “I’m almost ready. Can you do this for me?” He held out the pewter and lavender paisley bow tie Lavender left out for him.
“Certainly,” Lavender murmured as he went to him and hummed in approval as he tipped Sage’s chin back and admired his neatly trimmed beard. He decided to forego shaving while they were at Blackhurst and it was just enough to make Sage look “dirty” but not unkempt. “I won’t be able to keep my eyes off of you tonight,” he whispered and turned his head so he could suck on Sage’s neck.
“You shouldn’t do that if you want to leave,” Sage warned. His hand slid down Lavender’s back and he really didn’t want to leave.
“What in the world could Cyril serve that would be half as tempting as you?”
“Seriously. Stop,” Sage ordered but his hand curved around Lavender’s ass and squeezed. Lave
nder groaned as his lips dragged along Sage’s jaw.
“I can’t help it. You look so good in a suit and it makes me want to take you home and then I miss being home and in our bed. And once I start thinking about being home, I miss Robin and I want to see my dog... I couldn’t wait for Robin to get back from his trip with Maddie’s parents,” Lavender complained. The mood had passed so Lavender sighed longingly as he stepped back and wound the tie around Sage’s neck. It took just a few quick flicks and Lavender was pleased as he smoothed the front and sides of Sage’s shirt. It was cut to fit him snugly because the coat barely left him room to breathe. “Thank you for humoring me,” Lavender said as he took Sage’s coat off the hanger and helped him into it. The charcoal wool had subtle flecks of lavender and Sage looked devastating in the slim fit, flat-front trousers. The suit certainly wasn’t designed for comfort. Or sitting, really. Sage shrugged as he turned and patiently allowed Lavender to shape the silk floral handkerchief into a rose and tuck a sprig of fresh lavender into the lapel.
“I’m married to you. I can’t turn up to dinner looking like a tool,” he said then leaned close and pressed a kiss to Lavender’s lips. “And I’ve got a reputation to uphold. What kind of fucktoy would I be if I couldn’t carry off a decent suit?” He asked.
“Damn it. Now I really don’t want to go down there,” Lavender pouted.
“Let’s go. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can fuck and put this day behind us,” Sage said and gave Lavender’s erection a playful squeeze before he turned and headed for the door.
“That was so uncalled for,” Lavender muttered as he followed and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Oh. Speaking of uncalled for,” Sage said and swung his head toward Reginald and Paul’s suite. “Are you keeping an eye on that?” He whispered. Lavender pulled a face as he offered his arm.
“I’m afraid to look away. Every time I take my eyes off of him he damn near sets the world on fire,” he said. Sage clicked his teeth and hugged his arm.