by Kim Fielding
“Don’t make me leave,” Des whispered. “Not yet.”
“Not ever.” Kurt meant that, and all its implications.
“No ringing phone.”
“I’ll ignore it if it does.”
“Good.”
And then somehow they were laughing and kissing at the same time, with maybe a tear or two thrown in. Des was more complex than anyone Kurt knew, so their emotions would never be simple.
When the kissing became active enough that Kurt’s knees went weak, he pulled away with a gasp. “Bed. I’m still not a hundred percent.”
Des froze. “Have I hurt you?”
“No,” said Kurt, stroking Des’s lips. “You never have.”
They made it to the bedroom, where Kurt had no chance to be embarrassed by the unmade bed or the general debris of a man who wasn’t yet up to housecleaning. Des probably didn’t notice anyway. He was too busy peeling away Kurt’s clothing and kissing each bit of skin as it was exposed, cautious around the healing wounds. He wouldn’t let Kurt undress him but instead sat Kurt on the edge of the mattress and did a strip show so sexy that Kurt nearly keeled over.
With both of them finally naked, Des urged Kurt’s knees apart and knelt between them, his head resting on Kurt’s chest. Kurt petted his hair. “This wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“Is it bad?”
“Polar opposite of bad.”
Des looked up at him earnestly. “This is my first time in over seventeen years. And the first time ever with… with someone significant. I don’t want to rush.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “We can boink like bunnies next time.”
Next time. That was the best phrase Kurt had ever heard.
Des kissed Kurt’s belly and the inside of his thighs, which made Kurt tremble and clutch Des’s hair. Usually Kurt took the lead during sex, but it was lovely to sit there and wonder what Des would do next, knowing it would be wonderful no matter what. And really, just looking at Des’s bare body and feeling the brush of his hair against Kurt’s skin was almost enough.
“I want to taste you,” said Des, blowing soft breaths onto Kurt’s already aching cock.
“Yes. Please.”
Judging from his smile, the please made Des very happy. He was practically purring when he kissed the tip of Kurt’s cock and then gave the shaft a long, sweet lick. By the time he’d licked twice more, Kurt was panting hard.
Des’s eyes had a wicked sparkle. “Been a while for you too, yeah?”
“Yes. And Des? Never before with someone significant.”
“I’m that?”
“Entirely.”
Des hopped onto his feet, did a neat little dance around the end of the bed, then threw himself backward onto the mattress. He pulled Kurt down on top and gently squeezed his ass. “Injuries feeling okay?”
“Yes.” At this point Kurt could probably withstand several more gunshots, as long as Des kept touching him like that, as long as they kept rocking their hips and sliding their dicks against each other.
“I brought…. Oh, sweet Jesus!.... I brought condoms.” Des made a ragged sound that suggested he might be as close to the edge as Kurt, and that was very, very close.
Kurt supposed he should be pleased that Des had taken to heart his lecture on safe sex, but it was hard to remain patient when Des squiggled out from underneath him, rooted around in his discarded jeans, and finally returned to bed with a little plastic bottle and foil-wrapped protection.
It turned out that Des had never rolled a rubber onto anyone—including himself—so sheathing Kurt involved some fumbling and laughter. Oddly, neither of those things cooled their passion. The chuckles faded and became moans when Kurt slicked up his fingers and slid them into Des.
When Des got really worked up, his brogue grew stronger, sometimes slipping into Gaelic curses, and a delicious flush spread from his chest all the way up to his face. Best yet, though, was the way he gazed at Kurt in wonder and gave his powerful body over. Des was always pretty, but while writhing beneath Kurt—Des’s hair splayed on the pillow, his nipples hardened to nubs, his skin as hot as a furnace—his beauty was as overwhelming as the complexities of his soul.
“I think we’re going…. Oh God, Des…. We’re going to need to save the slow for the next time.” It wasn’t easy to speak clearly.
Kurt was shatteringly close to climax when Des pulled Kurt’s head down for a kiss and then moved him back slightly so they could see each other. “Two ships… could take on monsters… better than one,” he panted.
“Together,” Kurt agreed before falling into a spiral of sweet fire.
Des in bed with him was not new. But Des naked in bed—against Kurt’s equally naked body—was. Kurt liked this development.
“I have a job offer, you know,” said Des, sounding sleepy and content.
Kurt hadn’t known, although he had a suspicion how this might end up. “Oh?”
“Townsend and I had a chat after I finished in Oklahoma.”
“Aren’t you a little old to start out as an agent?”
Des gave Kurt’s belly a poke. “I’m a year younger than you.”
“And we’re both past forty. Although some days I feel four hundred.”
“And I feel fourteen,” said Des with a hint of wistfulness. “Anyway, not an agent. Seems your Bureau has a library, and the library has need of people to keep it tidy—and to do research for the assholes out in the field. I’m not trained in it, but Townsend thinks I could be.”
“The chief does have an eye for potential.” Kurt thought about Des buried deep in HQ, his nose stuck in books. The image was a good one, and it worked.
“You wouldn’t be bothered, working with me?”
“Polar opposite of bothered.”
Kurt smiled to himself, thinking how well Des and Terry would get along, and how Kurt would sprint past both of them on the track—not quite catching Edge—and how nice it would be to take a break from endless report-writing to eat lunch with Des. There was a little café at HQ with good coffee and a view of a garden, and although Kurt hardly ever went there, Des might like it. On their days off they could go to the beach or maybe take a weekend in the mountains. Maryann was going to be fascinated with Des, and Jason—well, who knew with teenagers? It’d work out.
Even as Kurt glowed with happiness, Des sighed beside him. “I’ll never make up for what I did, no matter how much research I do.”
“I told you it doesn’t work like that.”
Des rolled onto his back and clasped Kurt’s hand, lacing their fingers. Sun crept between the window blinds, striping them in light and shadow. “How does it work then?”
Kurt remembered the conversation he and Townsend had before the mission began. “Redemption isn’t a finish line, a one-and-done. It’s a process. A journey, sometimes a fucking hard one. But the key is to keep on going.”
There was a long pause. “But one needn’t do it alone.”
“No. I’m not sure anyone can do it alone.”
“How does this fit in with your ship metaphor?” Des’s smile was evident in his words. And God, the bed was so warm and cozy and perfect with him in it.
“I guess there’s no reason the journey can’t be by sea.”
Des squeezed Kurt’s hand tightly. “All right, then.”
So they weighed anchor and hoisted the mizzen, and off they went.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Rhys Ford, TA Moore, Lorraine Bentham, and Shira Anthony, who gave me valuable information on various geographic and dialect issues. I’m very grateful to my beloved editor, Karen Witzke, and my sharp-eyed proofreader, Allison Behrens, who worked on a very tight schedule. And a special shout out to Joel Leslie, who inspired me to write a character with an Irish accent.
Kim Fielding is very pleased every time someone calls her eclectic. A Lambda Award finalist and two-time Foreword INDIE finalist, she has migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States and currently lives in Cal
ifornia, where she long ago ran out of bookshelf space. She’s a university professor who dreams of being able to travel and write full time. She also dreams of having two daughters who fully appreciate her, a husband who isn’t obsessed with football, and a house that cleans itself. Some dreams are more easily obtained than others.
Kim can be found on her blog: http://kfieldingwrites.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KFieldingWrites
and Twitter: @KFieldingWrites
Her e-mail is [email protected]
THE BUREAU OF TRANS-SPECIES AFFAIRS
For many years the United States government has been aware that Homo sapiens is not the only sentient species inhabiting the country. Some other species were native to the continent, while others immigrated along with humans. Early on, these nonhuman species (NHS) were largely ignored when they lived peacefully within human communities. At other times they were deemed a threat and local efforts were made to eradicate them. The federal government was not involved in these early efforts.
During the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate armies recruited members of the NHS, with varying degrees of success.
By the early 20th century, some local law enforcement agencies expressed frustration with their inability to deal effectively with the special needs of NHS. Localized incidents of mass violence occurred in several locations, most notably the Omaha Zombie Epidemic of 1908, the Manchester (New Hampshire) Melusine Drownings of 1911, and the Eugene (Oregon) Sasquatch Riots of 1915.
In response to these incidents, as well as a heightened desire for increased federal control, President Wilson created a new federal agency in 1919 called the Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs. The mission of this agency was to communicate with NHS, to control them, to investigate reported dangerous actions committed by them, and to bring them to justice or eliminate them when necessary. Since then, the Bureau has been quietly active throughout the United States. Its jurisdiction has expanded to include humans who engage in magical or paranormal activities.
Over the decades, a great many dramas have unfolded among the people who work for the Bureau. The Bureau stories are a collection of these tales. Each involves different protagonists and is set in a different era, yet all focus on the adventures and struggles of the Bureau's agents. These novellas can be read in any order.
***The Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs: Strength, Intelligence, Honor***
All proceeds from the sale of these stories are donated to Doctors Without Borders.
More about the books in this series.
Book One: Corruption
Book Two: Clay White
Book Three: Creature
Volume One (Compilation of Books One through Three)
Book Four: Chained
Book Five: Conviction
Look for Conned, Book 6 in the series, in 2020