“Yes. May I?”
“Oh, good God.” Daniel grabbed a handful of Curtis’s hair, pulling his head down so that their lips met in urgent collision. Curtis grunted, wrapping the slighter man in his arms, feeling Daniel sway forward at the exercise of his strength. He pulled tighter, and felt a gasp, then he was thinking of nothing but kissing Daniel, his tongue in the other man’s mouth, feeling his lips and teeth, hands all over the slim body. He devoured him with the desperation that he hadn’t let himself face until now, the need for Daniel in his arms that had been a burning urgency for days, until he felt Daniel gasping and trying to say something and reluctantly released his mouth.
He was leaning against a chest of drawers, he realised. Daniel was sitting on it with his legs wrapped round Curtis’s hips, arms round his chest. He wasn’t entirely sure how that had happened.
Daniel tilted his head back to look into Curtis’s eyes. “Let the record show, I did try to put you off. And I’m not asking you for promises, or giving any.”
“I don’t expect you to, you awkward sod.”
“Quiet. I truly hoped you wouldn’t come here.” He leaned forward again, resting his head against Curtis’s chest, and whispered, “I dreamed that you would.”
Curtis stroked his hair. “It’s not the first time I’ve come after you.”
Daniel’s head was heavy against his ribs. “Oh, God, Archie. My Viking. You do not know how you have plundered me.”
“You’ve such a turn of phrase,” Curtis said hoarsely. “How could anyone not love your mouth.”
Daniel gave a little choke of laughter. “You do go your own way, don’t you?”
“So do you.” He kissed the tousled black hair. “I wouldn’t ask you to do otherwise.”
Daniel’s arms tightened. “This does not mean I’m going to put you at risk. We’re going to be careful, hmm? I’m not turning your life upside down.”
“You did that when you shook my hand and made a filthy remark about soldiers.”
“Suggestive. It was suggestive.”
“From you, it was filthy.”
Daniel grinned unrepentantly. “If we’re on the subject…” He reached up to brush his hand through Curtis’s hair. “I never knew the most arousing sight in the world was a big man reading poetry. I could have watched you for hours. I could have gone to my knees for you there and then.”
Curtis swallowed. Daniel’s smile was wicked now. “On which note…have you missed me?” He slid his hands down to Curtis’s waistband. Curtis moved his own hands to trap them.
“Just a moment. Will you work with me? Please?” He didn’t say, Will you let me protect you?, though the words were pounding in his mind.
Daniel grimaced. “Do you want to work for your uncle? Truly?”
“I want to work with you.” He leaned down to kiss the top of Daniel’s ear. “Say yes.”
“On a trial basis. No obligations.”
“Of course.” Curtis fought to keep back the smile that threatened to split his face.
“And no more barging into alarms. My nerves won’t take it.”
“Sorry.”
“And if we find ourselves in that situation again, next time you’re sucking me off.”
“Fair enough. Do we have to wait until then?”
“Well, I suppose you do need the practice.” Daniel’s lips curved in that secret smile, and this time, at last, Curtis knew that he was in on the joke. “Watch and learn, my dear.” He pushed Curtis gently back, for space, and slid elegantly to his knees. “Watch and learn.”
About the Author
KJ Charles lives in London with husband, kids and cat. She is an editor by profession and writer by inclination, and blogs about both at kjcharles.wordpress.com.
Follow her on Twitter @kj_charles.
Look for these titles by KJ Charles
Now Available:
A Charm of Magpies
The Magpie Lord
A Case of Possession
Non-Stop Till Tokyo
A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.
The Magpie Lord
© 2013 KJ Charles
A Charm of Magpies, Book 1
Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn’t expect it to turn up angry.
Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude…and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.