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Cursed Gift

By: pebo



Copyright 2008 Patricia Osmundsen

For those of you who so kindly asked for another story, here it is. Something new, in many ways. My first short story, my first story written specifically for you wonderful people, my first foray into anything other than simple sex. (Well, when is sex really simple? But you get my drift.) Also, my first try at creating some original lyrics within a story. I hope you enjoy this little piece.

Additional note: While working on a second Alex/Wade story, I re-read this one, and realized it needed a little more work. (I'm frequently guilty of tampering with intent to improve.) So I've added a scene or two, given a bit more information, and hopefully not ruined the whole dang thing in the process. My thanks to one brave reader who courageously pointed out that they caught the bad guy too easily. I've tried to fix that, as well. Hopefully, I succeeded. You be the judge.

pebo 

**********

Alex Nightingale sat at the triple keyboard setup, fingers spread and waiting to lower as the stage lights came up and the house lights dimmed. He shifted on the stool and adjusted the battery pack that powered his hands-free microphone. He looked out at the tables that filled the lounge. The large club was crowded, and he knew the owner would be pleased. He looked toward the center of the stage, and watched the shadowy female figure become clearer as a baby spotlight brightened slowly. She was the reason for the large turnout. She was gifted, in more ways than one.

She was dressed as he was, in black leather pants, a matching leather vest, and a white tee shirt. He grinned. The outfit sounded boring, and on him it was. On Alison, however, it was sinful. The pants hung low on her hips, and clung to soft curves and lithe muscles like a living being that worshipped her form. Her tee shirt couldn't possibly be any tighter, and the unbuttoned vest gaped enticingly, creating shadows that drew the eye and made you long for more light, so you could see what was hidden. Her long brown hair, straight and shining, hung to mid-back, thick and lustrous under the lights. 

He played the opening bars to Evanescence's Bring Me To Life, the piano notes falling soft and clear into an expectant hush. Alison began to sing and Alex could feel the crowd's pleasure. Then the lead guitarist came in, Keith's instrument and voice adding to the song, and Alison soared. Next was the drummer, then the base guitarist, Caitlin, who also sang backup, and the music filled the room. Alex provided the lead male vocal, his baritone blending effortlessly with Alison's contralto. She prowled back and forth across the stage as the pace of the music picked up, and when they reached the bridge of the song, she moved toward him, leaned against him, and sang to him. 

He felt the warmth of a blush creep up his neck. He didn't like the attention, would have been perfectly happy if the light never fell on him, but he sang his part without faltering. Thankfully, she didn't stay long. Once the refrain began, she was back at center stage, and he faded into comforting anonymity again.

They performed for two hours, the music ranging from current hits to tunes from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. They mixed in songs Alex had written. All were sung with Alison's unique blend of smoky sensuality and hauntingly clear vocals. Alex stayed in the background, provided harmony or counterpoint vocals as needed, and played, his fingers gliding over the keys. When she announced a short break, he was off the stage and into the dressing room behind it before the house lights came up.  

"We've got two requests for the next set," Alison said, striding into the dressing room. She was glowing, her gray eyes sparkling and her lips curving in a wicked smile.

Alex leaned against the wall and sighed. "Why don't I like the way you're looking at me?"

"Probably because you're a smart man, and you already know what I'm going to say." She stopped in front of him, curled her fingers into his vest, and tipped her head to one side. At five-eight, she was only two inches shorter than her brother.

He frowned at her. "No way. I don't mind providing back-up, but I'm not doing a solo number."

"You can sit at the keyboard. I won't make you take center stage."

He shook his head. Keith and David started laughing, and he glared at them. Keith bent his head to needlessly tune his guitar, and David twirled a drum stick in his fingers. "I can't, I'll freeze up and ruin your show."

"No, you won't. You never do. Come on. I'll even have them keep the light real dim, if that'll help."

He sighed. "What songs?"

She grinned at him. "Lonely No More and Ever the Same. And thank you."

"A Rob Thomas fan. You've got the voice for it, Alex," Caitlin said. He knew she loved Rob Thomas. 

Alex glared at her. "I didn't say yes, damn it."

Caitlin chuckled. "You will. You always do." The redhead looked over at Alison. "Who asked for those songs?"

Alison grinned. "The club owner."

By now everyone was laughing, and Alex flung his arms up in exasperated surrender. "Okay, fine, two songs."

"Three."

"What?"

Alison nodded. "I want you to sing Cursed Gift tonight."

"Why? No one knows it, so it wasn't requested."

"A hunch."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "What are you playing at?"

"Nothing. Just sing the song, okay?"

"Shit. All right."

Alison hugged him. "We'll do the Thomas songs first, and save Gift for last. You're the best, twin."

"And you're a terror. Tell the lighting guy to keep me in the shadows."

The stage was dark when they returned, and Alex was thankful for that. He settled onto the stool behind the keyboard, heard the rest of the band move around and get ready, and felt a slender hand on his shoulder.

"Want me to stand here until you get going?

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Can't have my bro going all nervy on me. Just pretend we're at home, rehearsing."

He relaxed a little, heard her chuckle, and felt her confidence flow into him. He began to play, swinging into the opening bars and waiting for the band to join him. Once he started singing, he forgot the audience, and his voice rose smooth and clear, carried to the entire room over the sound system. He sang with his eyes half-closed, never leaving the safety of his keyboards, and kept his head in the music.

**********

He sat at the bar, nursing a drink and watching the keyboard player. Oh yes, what a wonderful choice those songs were. Perfectly suited for the smooth power of the masculine voice. He was a handsome devil, with thick, brown hair that dove off his forehead toward sleepy-looking gray eyes, full lips that formed each word with care, and a dimple that appeared when he smiled. The white tee shirt hugged wide shoulders and lightly muscled arms, the ends of the open vest dangled over a flat stomach, and pointed the way to the top of the low-slung pants. He wanted the man to come out from behind his equipment. He wanted to see if those pants were as tight on him as they were on the woman.

He wiped his upper lip clean of the sweat that had collected there. He shifted on the bar stool and tried to ease the pressure that was building in his groin. He kept his eyes on the man who'd captivated him. He looked so young and innocent. Just the way he liked them. I'll have so much fun with you.

**********

The band continued playing two hour sets until the club closed, Alison taking the lead for everything except their final song. The crowd quieted when she took center stage and announced their final song. "This will wrap it up, folks. Let's send you home with a song my brother wrote."

The stage lights dimmed and Alex began the intro, joined by Keith and Caitlin, now playing acoustic guitars. For this song, Alison and the others provided backup vocals, letting Alex take the lead. Slow and melodic, David wove in and around the tune with a flute. 

I'd give it all up in an instant, 

the touch that brings knowledge and pain.

For one moment of silence, the warmth

of a kiss, things I'll never know again.

This cursed gift that rules me, secludes and precludes 

me from reaching out.

Left here alone, the arms of another, something 

that I live without.

Once the song ended, the stage lights went out. There was a long moment of silence, and then applause that grew and built. Alex returned to the here and now with a shock, dismantled his keyboards and carted them backstage. He had them packed in their cases and was ready to leave when Alison showed up.

"Come on, shy one. The owner wants to talk to us." She ignored the frown he sent her. "He already knows you don't like to shake hands, so relax." She latched onto his arm and dragged him out of the room and into the club proper.

The other band members were at the bar, grouped loosely around a tall, blond, and devastatingly handsome man, dressed in black jeans and a red tee shirt. The shirt strained over his muscular chest, hugged his arms tightly, and emphasized the strong abdomen. Alex felt a jolt that went straight to his dick, and wanted to turn around and leave. This gorgeous hunk was their boss-to-be? He'd noticed him while they were performing. Noticed? Couldn't keep my eyes off him.

The blond smiled as they approached, and leaned against the bar. "Wade Turner," he said, his blue eyes direct. "You left the audition before we could meet. Alison told me you're not used to singing lead. I wanted to thank you, personally, for making the opening week a success. And for singing for me."

Alex ducked his head and felt warmth stain his cheeks. "Oh, well, Alison and the band make me sound good." Turner was a walking wet dream. At least, my wet dream, Alex thought. Broad shoulders that arrowed down to trim hips. A deep tan that made his teeth whiter and eyes bluer. Topped with a chiseled jaw, strong face and thick, wheat-blond hair. Probably straight as a plumb line, too.  Down boy. He felt a ripple of amusement in his mind, and gave a mental grin. What the hell, I can drool, can't I, twin?

"I listened carefully during your solos, and you're good. Your last song gave me chills."

Alex shrugged. "So would fingernails on a chalkboard."

"Are you always this self-effacing? Trust me, I've spent the last six months auditioning bands and singers, and you guys are great. I'm prepared to offer you a contract, if you'll answer one question."

"What?"

"Why is the band named TFB Relativity? I've been trying to figure it out for two weeks."

Alison grinned. "My weird twin's idea. We're all trust fund babies, and sort of related. Keith and Caitlin are brother and sister, Keith and I are married, and Caitlin's married to David. See?"

Wade chuckled. "I thought it was some obscure musical reference." He gestured toward the bar. "I'm buying, if anyone wants a drink."

"I'll take a club soda with a twist." Alex chose a stool halfway down the bar, glanced around the table area as the last of the patrons left, and rubbed at the back of his neck. The hair there, which should have rested on his skin, was standing up. He lifted the glass the bartender set before him, took a swallow, and spotted an empty glass six inches down the bar. He watched his hand reach out to pick it up, and felt the room fade and fall away. 

**********

"Is your brother all right?" Wade tipped his head toward the other man. Alex was holding an empty glass, his face white and his hand shaking.

"Oh, shit." Alison reached him in three long strides. "Alex, what is it? Come on, come out. Alex, come out."

He turned his head slowly, and she saw his eyes. Pupils widely dilated, surrounded by a thin ring of steel gray. "Loverboy was here. Watching. He's already picked number seven." In the last nine months, the Loverboy Killer had struck six times, three in the last six weeks. The citizens of Phoenix were terrified. He was escalating, and the police were frantic to find him. Alex blinked, and his eyes slowly returned to normal. He set the glass down, but waved the bartender away from it. "Call Frank. Maybe he can lift prints from this." His hands trembled.

She nodded, used her cell phone, and hung up thirty seconds later. "He's on his way. Did you get anything else?"

"Maybe." He looked past her. "Wade's walking this way. Head him off."

She nodded and intercepted the blond before he could reach them.

Wade looked at her, a frown knotting his brows. "What the hell was that about?"

She looked over his shoulder to the other band members, and jerked her chin toward the back of the club. They took the hint and headed for the dressing room. Alison sat down and pointed at a barstool opposite her. Wade perched one hip on the stool, grimaced slightly, and waited.

"Listen, we'd like to work here, but you have to understand something first."

Wade raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Alex has a gift, and I'm not talking about music. He calls it a curse, and I can't say I blame him. It's certainly brought him nothing but grief." She shrugged. "What's your opinion of psychic abilities?"

Bright blue eyes studied her carefully. "I'm undecided."

She tilted her head. "It always comes down to show and tell. Okay." She curled her fingers around his wrist. "Ah, that's why you've been favoring your left leg. Sciatica. Okay, hold on." She closed her eyes, hummed an odd little tune, and then released him. "How's the hip?"

Wade stared at her. He'd felt a strange tingle as she'd hummed, and now the pain from the pinched nerve was gone. "How'd you do that?"

"Not a clue. This is my gift, and it's more or less benign. His isn't, and that's why he doesn't like to shake hands, or be touched, at all."

"His song. But why would he consider it a curse?"

"I told you, his gift is different. I tune in on hurts, and heal them. Alex tunes in on thoughts, and hears them. Mine is voluntary and under my control. His isn't."

"Which means ... what?"

"He's a touch telepath, and wide open all the time."

**********

He sat in his car and watched the rest of the band leave. The twins were still inside, along with the owner and the bartender. Well, he could wait. His prey couldn't stay in there forever. Another car pulled up, a man got out, strode to the front door, and was admitted. The beefy, dark-haired man was so obviously a cop, the word could have been branded on his forehead. Shit, now he had to leave. Were they onto him? He'd done nothing to create suspicion. Unless the rumors he'd heard about his latest prey were true. If so, what did it mean to him? Should he go ahead, or find another?

He smiled. He'd just change the plan a little, alter the timetable. He was nothing if not flexible. He'd still get what he wanted. He drove around the parking lot to the back, where the employees parked. He kept his mind quiet, and waited. This could be fun.

**********

Frank saw Alex at the bar, an empty glass sheltered within the circle of his forearms. He looks tired. Damn, let us catch this bastard soon. He sat down next to Alex, squeezed his shoulder in a brief hello, and gave him a smile. "What an opening night, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, I live for moments like this." One corner of his mouth lifted in a weary smile, and he drew his arms away from the glass. "You might get his prints. Which probably won't help you, because I don't think he has a record. He's too careful for that. Still, I had to call you."

"What did you get?"

"First, a promise. You have to keep this from Alison."

Frank leaned back. "I thought you two don't have secrets. That you're in each other's heads too much to hide things."

"She told you that, not me. I learned a long time ago to shield part of my mind from her. I had to." He ran his finger through the condensation on his glass and stared at the top of the bar. "The things I've seen ... no way she should share that. No one else should ever see the monsters that inhabit my mind." He looked up again. "So, give me your promise. Alison doesn't hear this from you."

Frank stared at the pale face, the shadowed flesh under steel gray eyes, and the determined mouth of the younger man he'd come to consider a friend. "All right. You have my word."

"He has a new target picked out." Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "He's focused on me. I'm his next victim. And I think he knows I'm onto him."

**********

Wade drummed his fingers on the top of the bar. He'd seen the man touch Alex's shoulder, and had to suppress an unexpected surge of jealousy. "He's a telepath. You're not shitting me?"

"Believe it or don't, but see the guy sitting with him? He's a detective with homicide. Hard-nosed as you'll ever meet. He believes."

"Your brother helps the cops? How?"

"He's also clairvoyant. He picks up things about people from items they've handled. Sometimes the cops bring him things from cases they're working. Sometimes, like tonight, he calls them."

"So, Alex touched that empty drinking glass, and 'picked up' something that made him call the cops? What, is some guy gonna go home and shoot his wife? How the hell does that help?"

"If only it was something that simple." She watched Wade's blue eyes grow wide.

"He's working on the Loverboy Killer." So named by the media, the Loverboy Killer singled out gay men. Wade swallowed as news accounts of the atrocities committed by this beast flickered through his mind. "Jesus, Alison, every gay man in town is looking twice at people they've known all their lives because of this bastard. Big as I am, I haven't even dated in six months, wondering if some new guy might be him. Your brother's trying to help catch him?" He saw her eyes close briefly, noticed the sudden trembling of her hands. "Tell me Alex isn't gay, please."

"Well, I'd be lying. He isn't in the closet, either. Hasn't been for years." She looked down at her hands. "I tried to get him to take off with me, just cut and run. He wouldn't. I told him he could at least stay out of this one, keep his head down. He didn't."

"Hopefully his partner keeps an eye on him."

"He isn't involved with anyone. Not in a long time. It's ... difficult."

Wade rubbed his eyes. "That's what his song was about. That touch thing?"

She uttered a strangled laugh. "Yeah, that touch thing. After a few dates, most guys run. Too ... intrusive. It isn't like he can help it, but they don't see it that way. One guy stuck around long enough to ... shit, what the hell am I doing? I never talk this much."

Wade spread his hands, palms up. "I'm a good listener. And right now, you're worried. Anyone can see that." He looked over at the slender man and felt the urge to scoop him up and hide him somewhere safe. What the hell? I don't even know him. Maybe not, but he'd watched him all night. Alex had a beautiful body, the voice of an angel, and devilish eyes. And he didn't even know it. He was completely unaware of how captivating, sexy, and flat out gorgeous he was. Wade turned his head with an effort to find Alison's gray eyes on him.

"One guy stuck around long enough to what?"

She shook her head. "Not my place to say. Anyway, he's done talking and will be here soon." A tiny smile curved her lips upward. "Yeah, we have a stronger link than most twins. You'll get used to it. Or not."

Frank and Alex stood and shook hands. Frank had the glass tucked in an evidence bag, and headed for the front door. Alex walked toward them and paused at Alison's shoulder. "I'm going to load up my equipment and head home. I need a shower and sleep." He nodded at Wade. "Sorry to cut and run, but I'm beat."

Wade stood. "Need a hand?"

"No, thanks. I'm used to it." He waved a casual goodbye and walked toward the back of the club.


Cursed Gift Ch. 02



Cursed Gift 2:  Taken   

copyright 2008 Patricia Osmundsen

Author's Note:  If you haven't read Cursed Gift, you might want to, before you read this.  This is a sequel, after all, and rather than recap events and explanations, I've simply carried on from the first story.  If you did read Cursed Gift ... well, I edited it, added a scene or two, and a bit more information.  Give it a quick perusal if you like.  No matter what you decide, I hope you enjoy spending more time with Alex and Wade.  I certainly did.

A few words of caution.  This tale traveled some dark and twisted paths, much to my surprise.  Please understand that what's depicted in some of the scenes has nothing to do with consensual bondage or pain play.  In fact, it has little to do with sex, and more to do with power and rage.  So please, don't consider this a diatribe against bdsm.  It isn't.  It's simply a story, with aspects of cruelty that are all too common in real life.  If I'm guilty of anything, it's portraying the bad, as well as the good, of which we humans are capable.  Mea culpa.    

My thanks to Michael Buble for his wonderful rendition of "I'm Your Man" and my apologies to Leonard Cohen for changing one little word in his beautiful lyrics.  Both of these gentlemen provided the inspiration for the first nightclub scene.

Further thanks to two friends, who helped with the editing of this piece.  Kathi, as always ... you da best.  And Carizabeth ... thanks immensely.  For the stuff I got right, thank them.  For the goofs, blame me.
pebo  

**********

"All you have to do is sit front and center for the last number," Alison said.  She was standing at the bar, a club soda in her hand, her gray eyes steady on Wade.

He lifted an eyebrow.  "I seldom sit anywhere when the club's open.  I walk around, make sure all the wheel's are turning properly."  He looked over the floor.  "I don't even have a table up there."

"Well, move one over, and sit.  It took me weeks to get Alex to agree to this."

"How'd you get him to join the band in the first place?  He doesn't seem the type."

"I nagged and harassed until he gave in.  He's got a great voice, he plays half a dozen instruments, and he writes music and lyrics to die for."  She took a large swallow of soda and shrugged.  "Besides, if not for this, he'd be a complete recluse.  You really don't know how it is with him, do you?"

"Well...."  He didn't want to admit that he hadn't asked Alex.  They hadn't been together long enough for him to feel comfortable digging for information.

"Thought not."  She smiled.  "You're good for him.  You bring him out of himself, even more than I can.  Don't worry.  When he's ready, he'll open up to you.  It's difficult for him.  He's lived with ridicule and disbelief most of his life."

"Because he's a psychic?"

"His ability manifested when he was thirteen.  School was torture, because he couldn't avoid touching people and things.  He was bombarded with knowledge and feelings he didn't seek or want, but couldn't escape.  Our parents were worthless.  They told him he was crazy, threatened to have him committed.  Keith's mom and dad paid them to butt out and took over as guardians for us.  They pulled him from school and hired a private tutor.  He stayed with them until he was eighteen, when our grandfather's trust fund became available to us."

"I knew he wasn't on good terms with his folks, but he never said why."

"They don't even know where he lives.  He tried to keep them in his life.  God knows why.  When he was fifteen, he told them he was gay, and they tried to have him sent away again, this time to doctor who said he could 'cure' him, make him straight.  After high school, we moved out here.  Keith and Caitlin followed six months later, and we met David shortly after that."  She smiled.  "Keith's mom and dad moved to Flagstaff, just to be closer to all of us.  So things got a lot better for Alex, but it's still tough."

"You two had it rough as kids."  He thought of his parents and silently thanked them for being the gems they were.

"We managed."  The house lights flickered, a sign that her break was nearly over.  "I've run my mouth long enough.  Just make sure you have the best seat in the house, okay?"  She waved slender fingers and ran to the dressing room.

**********

"I can't do it, I'm a wreck, I'll fall on my ass."  Alex paced back and forth in the dressing room, sliding the brim of a gray fedora through his fingers.  Alison had picked the color to match his eyes, and he knew it looked good on him.  Right now, he didn't care about that.  "What if I forget the lyrics?"

Alison sighed.  "You're such a drama queen.  You've got the routine solid in your muscle memory."  Alison snatched the hat from him and set it on his head.  "You won't miss a step, and you never flub a lyric."  

"I can't," he said, as he automatically moved the hat to sit slightly off-center, and tipped forward.

Alison adjusted the y-suspenders over his tank top and made sure the shirt was tucked smoothly into the tailored slacks.  "Damn, bro, you're gonna raise the temp out there.  Among other things.  Sexy as sin, you are."  She cradled his face between her hands and smiled at him.  "Just remember you're performing for an audience of one."  The rest of the band was already set up, waiting for Alex to take the stage.

"Brat," he muttered.  "Okay, all right, I can do this.  Is the chair ready?  The mat?"  The chair had to be carefully positioned on a nonslip rubber mat, or he'd wind up falling into an audience member's lap.

"Everything's ready.  Go sit down.  I'll intro you in one minute."

**********

Wade was seated directly in front of the stage.  He wondered what was so special about this song.  The club was dark until a soft, baby spot lit the front of the stage.  Alison's silky voice, carried through the room by the sound system, stilled the low buzz of conversation.

"Tonight, we'd like to send you home with something a little different.  A wonderful song by Leonard Cohen called I'm Your Man.  And here to sing it for you is my brother, Alex Nightingale." 

The spotlight moved and grew brighter, illuminating what it had previously hidden.  A simple, armless chair, its back facing the audience.  Alex, legs straddling the seat, arms draped over the back, his head lowered so only the top of a gray fedora showed.  His long fingers were curled around a microphone.

The band, unlit and unseen, played the intro, soft brass and jazzy drums.  Without lifting his head, Alex began to sing.  He softened his clear baritone, as if singing to himself.  A little bluesy, a tiny bit jazzy, and incredibly intimate.

If you want a lover, I'll do anything you ask me to.
And if you want another kind of love, I'll wear a mask for you.
If you want a partner take my hand....

Wade lost track of the lyrics, because Alex lifted his head, stood, and propped his foot on the seat of the chair.  Holy shit, he's hot.  Wade already knew that, but this was an Alex he hadn't seen before.  Where was the shy man who didn't like to sing solo?  Does he know how sexy he is in those clothes?  Gray flannel slacks hung loose on his long legs, but were snug over the taut buttocks.  A black tank, tight enough to show the lean muscles of his chest and abs.  Red suspenders that drew attention to the wide shoulders and slender hips.  Wade licked his lips and leaned forward, his hands resting on the edge of the table, and stared into smoky gray eyes under a matching gray fedora.  Alex leaned against the chair, his hand in his pocket, and smiled.  Wade's ears started to work again and he heard throbbing words of want and need.

If you want a driver climb inside
Or if you wanna take me for a ride, you know you can,
Cuz I'm your man.

Alex stepped up and stood on the seat of the chair, propped his right foot on the back, and rocked the chair forward and backward in time to the music.  He lifted his voice, belting out the refrain.  Partway through the refrain, he sent the chair over in a controlled tilt, and rode it down.

Ah, the moon's too bright, the chain's too tight,
the beast won't go to sleep.
I've been running through these promises to you 
that I made and could not keep.

He moved toward the edge of the stage, in perfect time to the music, and dropped to one knee as if in desperate appeal.  He leaned forward, one hand reaching out, and lowered his other knee.

But a man never got a lover back, not by begging on his knees.
I'd crawl to you baby, and I'd fall at your feet.
I'd howl at your beauty like a dog in heat.
And I'd claw at your heart, and I'd tear at your sheets, I'd say please

He straightened and then bent backward until his hair nearly touched his shoes, and came slowly back up.  He bent his head and nearly sobbed the last line. 

cuz I'm your man.

Wade wanted to drag him off the stage and ravish him.

Alex stood and turned in a smooth, graceful move, his back to the audience as he slowly returned to the chair.  In a slick maneuver, he used his foot on the seat to pop the back of the chair into his waiting hand, slung his leg over, and returned to his original position.

The crowd was silent, rapt, scarcely daring to breathe.  Wade realized he had a death grip on the edge of the table.  He further realized he was fully erect and ready for action.  Fuck me, he thought.  Sex in suspenders.  He began to get his breathing under control, only to have it ratchet back up when the refrain was repeated.  The whole thing, the chair tilt, the slow walk, and the kneeling on stage.  Wade was torn between admiration for the skill and strength displayed, and sheer, animal lust for the singer.

After Alex sang 'Cuz I'm your man' for the last time, he slumped forward, bent over his thighs in surrender.  The music ended, the light winked out, and total silence reigned for sixty seconds.

Once the audience caught their collective breath, they erupted with whistles and wild applause.  The stage lights came up, Alex and the band took a bow, and the stage lights dimmed again.  Wade sat at the table, applauding with everyone else.  He didn't dare stand, not until a certain part of his anatomy stopped raging and begging for freedom.

**********

Alex leaned against the wall and downed a bottle of lemon water.  The dance shoes he'd worn on stage were tucked under a chair, and a pair of leather sneaks now covered his feet.  He'd removed the hat and wiped his face with a towel, which now draped, forgotten, around his neck.  "Well?"  He moved his eyes from one band member to the other.  "How was it?"

Keith and David raised their thumbs, Caitlin clapped, and Alison rolled her eyes.  Before anyone could say a word, Wade opened the door.  He stood there for a second, blue eyes riveted on Alex.  "I don't think I want you singing that song again," he said, walking slowly toward him.

Alex swallowed.  "You ... you didn't like it?  Oh shit, I must have fucked it up.  In rehearsal it worked so well...."

Wade stopped the babble of words with his lips, devouring Alex's mouth.  Alex found himself molded to the bigger man, a strong hand cupping his head, another pressing against his lower back.  He heard himself whimper under the sensual assault, wrapped his arms around the strong body, and held on.

At last Wade lifted his head.  "I loved it.  Everyone loved it.  But damn, I thought I was the only one who got to see you like that."

"Like what?"

Wade's voice lowered to a rough growl.  "Primed for sex, making love to the entire audience.  Songbird, you were scorching."  He caught an ear lobe between his teeth and flicked his tongue over it.  "Got me so hard I couldn't move."  

Alex shivered.  "I was singing to you, just you," he murmured.

"I should hope so," came the reply.

"Uh, guys?"  Alison's voice woke them to their surroundings.  "You might want to take it home before you burn down the club."  She picked up her purse, linked her hand with Keith's, and planted a kiss on first Wade's, then Alex's cheek.  "You did good, twin.  Go home and unwind.  'Night, Wade."  She and Keith were out the door before either man could reply.

Alex lifted his head, realized the rest of the band had also left, and smiled.  "You still ready for action?"  He thrust his hips forward in a blatant invitation and ground his hardness into Wade's.  "You certainly are.  Let's get outta here."

Wade took a deep breath and adjusted himself within the confines of his jeans.  "Prepare yourself for a long night, sexy."  He tossed the towel aside, set the fedora on Alex's head, and gently popped a suspender.  "Love the outfit."   

**********

He watched them exit the club arm-in-arm.  They got into separate vehicles, but he knew they'd go to Alex's house, and spend the night together.  When Alex and the band performed, Wade spent the night at Alex's.  They spent other nights together with no discernible pattern, but those nights were certain.

It wouldn't be easy to get to Alex.  His life was highly structured.  He sang at New Moon every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, from eight until two in the morning.  Those afternoons, the other band members came over to rehearse.  Every other day of the week, Nightingale was at home, and frequently by himself.  He didn't go anywhere but the club.  He kept the house locked twenty-four/seven.  It could be breached, but Alex would probably know it had happened.  No, not easy at all.  But not impossible.

He smiled.  Turner was heading out of town Saturday afternoon.  Keith and Alison planned to spend three days in Flagstaff, visiting his family, along with Caitlin and David.  As of Sunday, Alex would be completely alone, until sometime Tuesday, when everyone returned.  All the pieces were in place.  He'd make his move Sunday.

**********

Wade expected passionate lovemaking when they got home.  He didn't expect to get into an argument with Alex.  It started in the kitchen, where he'd asked a simple question.  It followed them into the bedroom, both men refusing to concede.  Now, perched on the edge of the bed, Wade shoved his hand through his hair and watched Alex undress.  He toed off his shoes, stepped out of the slacks, and hung them neatly on the rod.  He set the shoes in the closet, pulled off his socks, and tossed them in the hamper.  

Wade spoke to the smaller man's back.  "It's just three days.  It'll be fun.  Dinner at a nice restaurant, a first-class suite at ritzy hotel, and we can take in a play or something."  He forced himself to relax and adopt a wheedling tone.  "Not to mention joining the Mile-High club."  Come on, say yes, he thought.

Alex's mental voice was ominously silent.  "I'm not going.  Drop it."  He sent his tank top and briefs to join his socks, and slammed the door shut.  The bifold door jumped its track in protest.  "Shit."  He grabbed the edge of the door, wrestled it into place, and closed it with exaggerated care.  He moved to the dresser, shoulders stiff and tense, and pulled out a clean pair of briefs. 

Even ticked off, Wade took time to admire the view.  "Why not?  It'll do you good.  You hardly get out, except to sing at the club.  That's not healthy."  Wade was assaulted by a burst of mental static, like the yowl and hiss of a cat between his ears, and he winced.

Alex pivoted sharply, gray eyes blazing, full lips thinned in anger.  "How healthy would it be for me to be flooded with the thoughts and feelings of countless strangers?  I live this way to protect my sanity.  I thought you understood that.  Guess I was wrong."  He turned abruptly and headed for the bathroom.  "I'm going to take a shower."

Wade rubbed the back of his neck.  Damn.  He hadn't given a thought to how difficult such a trip would be for a man with Alex's psychic abilities.  Walking among the throngs of New Yorkers, or visiting a crowded restaurant, even staying in a hotel room, with its emotional detritus, all would be unbearable for him.  He strode after the smaller man, caught up with him before he got the water running, and pulled him against his chest.  "Please, I didn't think.  I just wanted you with me.  It'd be hell for you.  I should've realized that.  I'm so sorry."  The tight muscles under his hands relaxed slightly.  He rubbed his cheek against the brown silk of Alex's hair, nuzzled against the delicate shell of an ear, and slid his hands down the slender arms in a gentle caress.  Forgive me?

Alex curled his long fingers around Wade's wrists and leaned back.  His lungs worked overtime, with a little hitch at the end of each indrawn breath. "I'm sorry, too.  Sorry I can't go, sorry I got so pissed, sorry my life is so fucked up.  I wish I were different.  You have no idea how much I'd like ... ah, hell, never mind."  He released Wade and turned to press his face into the junction of shoulder and neck.  "You'd be better off with someone else, who could do the things you want to do.  Someone normal."

Alex's voice was husky, and Wade realized he was fighting back tears.  "I don't want anyone but you.  I love you."  Wade wrapped his arms around Alex and pulled him closer.  "It isn't your fault, and I'm a jerk to make you feel bad about it."  He felt heat in his groin as he hardened, a natural reaction to the feel of Alex's body against his.  That Alex was naked while he was clothed was an extra spur to his libido.  He caught their reflection in the mirror and marveled that their bodies, each so different from the other, fit so perfectly together.  "Come to bed," he murmured.  "Let me apologize in style."  He sent one hand down to cup a taut buttock, the other up to brush across a sensitive nipple.  

A shiver of pleasure ran through the dark-haired man.  "Let me shower first.  I was sweatin' like crazy through that last number."  He shuddered as Wade sucked on his ear lobe.

You smell wonderful.  "I'll bottle the scent.  Call it Music and Lust."  Wade planted a line of kisses down Alex's neck.  "We'd make a fortune."  He moved his hands to grip the trim butt and lifted, pleased when long legs wrapped around his waist.  He turned and walked back to the bed, Alex a welcome burden in his arms.  "Want you in me, songbird." 

"Now you're talking."  White teeth fastened lightly on Wade's shoulder.  "This'll be a first.  I've never had make-up sex."  Gonna make you claw the sheets, lover.

Wade sucked in a sharp breath and set Alex on his feet.  "Take me hard, baby.  Make me feel you while I'm gone."

Smoky gray eyes regarded him eagerly.  "Strip."

Wade quickly pulled off his clothes.  He felt his stomach tighten in anticipation.  "What now?"

"On your back, hands under your head."  Alex's grin was wicked and his eyes were lit with wildness.  "You don't get to touch anything until I say so."

Ten minutes later, Wade was writhing under the assault of Alex's lips and teeth on his neck and chest.  Twenty minutes, and he was pleading for a touch to his dick, a lick, anything.  Some endless time after that, he was on his hands and knees, cock hard and dripping.  He begged for more, harder, deeper, faster, and he got it.

Alex had brought him to the brink three times, and denied him relief each time.  Wade felt the shudders that wracked Alex's body, a body as desperate for release as his own.

He hoped Alex was ready to give them both what they wanted.  He groaned each time Alex's hard length withdrew.  Every thrust in stroked his prostate, and each touch against that gland forced a deep-throated growl from him.

"Want to come? Need to?"  Alex's voice washed over him, carried on hot breath.

"Yes, god, please, now."

The reply was a volley of quick, hard jabs that pushed Wade into a climax so strong, so shattering, that his body seized and froze, his voice caught in his throat, and his dick felt like it exploded.




Cursed Gift Ch. 02



Alex pulled almost all the way out, rammed himself back in to the root, and bit down hard at the juncture of Wade's neck and shoulder.  "Oh, shit, yes."  His voice was rough and raw.

Wade could swear he felt each individual spurt into his channel.  He uttered a long, guttural groan and pressed back as his cock jetted again.  And just as Alex had promised, he clawed at the sheets, scrabbling for purchase while the room dipped and swayed around him.

Alex's hands slipped off Wade's hips, and his full weight fell onto Wade's back.  For a split second, the world grayed out and Wade collapsed onto the mattress.  Alex went down with him and slithered limply to the side.

Wade finally realized he was still breathing, and groaned.  Behind him Alex slowly stirred.

"Apology accepted," Alex mumbled.

**********

Alex unloaded the Blazer, closed the door between the kitchen and the garage, locked it, and dropped his keys and phone on the counter.  Tonight's performance at New Moon had been exhausting.  Six hours of singing and playing, coupled with little sleep the previous night, left him with as much energy as a snail on downers.  Thank god it's Sunday, and the club's closed tonight.

He missed Wade.  They'd only been lovers for two months, and already Alex found his bed far too lonely without the big blond in it.  Maybe it was time to talk about something more permanent.  Is Wade ready for that?  Am I?

He opened the fridge, scanned the contents, and settled on a cold slice of pizza.  He grabbed a bottle of lemon-flavored water from the counter.  The bartender at the club had sent it home with him, compliments of Wade.  Typical of him.  He knew that was all Alex drank during and between sets.  The water kept his body hydrated and the lemon kept his throat clear.  

He tried a sip and considered the taste.  Not bad, a little heavy on the lemon.  It wasn't, however, what he wanted right now.  He set the bottle aside and poured a glass of orange juice.  He ate standing at the counter, debating the merits of a shower versus just collapsing into bed.  He finished the pizza, drained the glass of juice, and decided sleep trumped clean.  He rinsed the glass, walked to the bedroom and undressed. After a brief bathroom stop, he crawled into bed, pulled the covers up, and slipped easily into the abyss of sleep.

********** 

He watched the man in the bed, lusting over the slender form that the covers hid.  He knew the body well, knew its planes and hollows, and longed to touch them again.  

He smiled.  I wonder if he'll like the scent of blood?  I wonder what his fear smells like?  He looked down at the knife in his hand.  He turned the blade so the moonlight glinted coldly off the edge.  He drew it lightly over the ball of his thumb, watched the blood well from the shallow cut, and soothed the small hurt with his tongue.  Soon, Alex.

**********

Alex was catapulted from sleep like a man from a cannon, gagging at the taste of blood in his mouth.  He fought his way free of the sheet that tangled around his legs and staggered to the bathroom.  A flick of a switch and the room was bathed in light.  He stood at the sink and spat, sure he'd see blood in the gray granite bowl.  Nothing.  He could still taste it, but the sink was clean.  He ran the cold water, scooped it up in his hands and fed it to his mouth.  He rinsed, spat, and then did it all over again, several times.  At last his mouth felt clean.

Where the hell did that come from?  Bad dreams weren't uncommon, but to wake tasting blood was something new, and freaky in the extreme.  He didn't even remember the dream, only the feeling of eyes on him, watching him sleep.  "Get a grip, asshole.  No one's watching you.  It was just a dream."

He trudged back to the bedroom, glanced at the clock, and sighed.  Six o'clock, barely three hours since he'd fallen asleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to relax for a while.  If Wade were here, I could play.  He flopped onto the bed, his cock twitching and thickening at the thought of his lover.  It's nine in New York, I wonder what he's doing?  I wonder if I can reach him?  In his mind, he gently followed the mental corridor that bound him to the other man.  

Songbird, why are you awake?  Wade's thoughts were fainter than normal, but the distance between them was great.

Woke up, can't get back to sleep.  Miss you.  Alex moved his legs restlessly.  What are you doing?

Taking a shower.  

Alex pictured the broad chest and strong muscles covered in water, droplets clinging to blond hairs, and groaned.  Damn tease.

Wade's chuckle, heard in Alex's mind, was low and sexy.  Let's play a game.  Touch your lips, nice and soft.

Alex raised his right hand, ghosted his fingers over his lips, and knew Wade was doing the same.  Oh, god.  Want you so much.  His hand drifted lower, to twist and pinch a nipple.

Oh yeah, baby, now the other one.  Pinch it hard.

Alex moaned.  Pervert.  He tweaked his left nipple and sent his right hand lower.  Already a small pool of clear fluid had dripped from his cock to his stomach.  He dipped his fingers in it, spread it over the rigid, heated length that rose against his belly, and curled his fingers around himself.  Are you as hard as I am?  

Another laugh from Wade, this one decidedly shaky.  Teak, baby.

Alex moved his hand faster, thrust his hips upward, and kept his eyes closed.  Feel this, feel me, my hand on you, my hand stroking you, you touching me, your fingers curled around me, feel it, feel it.  He drew his legs up and spread them, rested his feet flat on the bed, and worked his balls with his left hand.  

Oh, fuck, yeah.  So close, just a little more.

Alex released his sac, sucked two fingers into his mouth, and reached between his legs to thrust them into his ass.  Oh, shit.  His hand moved faster, his fingers thrust deeper, and suddenly he was there.  He topped the rise, hung motionless for an endless time, and then cried out.  Come with me, lover, now.

Alex felt the muscles in his stomach tighten and draw up, felt the twitch and sudden swelling under his fingers that signaled his release, and let himself go.  He spurted over his belly, felt his channel spasm around his fingers, and like an echo in his mind, felt his lover tip into completion.

He lay there, drowsy and replete, muscles suddenly clumsy and useless.  God, so good.  Still miss you, though.  He heard Wade chuckle.

Now I need another shower.  I'll call you tonight, and be back early Tuesday.  We'll do this again, in person.  Love you, baby.

Mmm, love you.  He felt himself drifting to sleep, and sighed.

**********

He checked the contents of the bag and nodded, satisfied that he had a good selection of toys.  His fingers gently traced the item at the bottom of the bag.  He smiled as he caressed it.

"I'm coming for you, Alex."

**********

"No!"  Alex jerked out of a dream and into darkness.  He fought to free himself from whatever held him and tried to quiet the whimpers he heard in his throat.  He bumped into the dresser and realized he was in his bedroom.  He groped along the wall and flicked the light switch, looked around at the familiar room, and leaned heavily against the wall behind him.  He covered his face with his hands.  "Shit, not again."  He sat on the floor for a few minutes, while his heart slowed and the sweat dried on his body.

After a quick shower, he was clean, but no less tired.  He pulled a pair of briefs from the dresser, slipped them on, and headed for the kitchen.  He grabbed the bottle of lemon-water and drank half of it without pausing.  The rest he carried to the living room, where he flopped onto the couch, and turned on the television.  Time for some mindless entertainment.

**********

Wade spent Sunday morning in his room, going over the paperwork for Monday's meeting.  He wanted to finish his business early and get home.  He took a break for lunch and decided to call Alex.  After ten rings he was routed to voice mail.  He stared into his coffee and felt for his lover in his mind.  Nothing.  Given the time difference, Alex was probably asleep.  He'd performed at the club last night and would've gotten home late.  Or maybe he couldn't reach that far.  Alex was the gifted one, Wade just the beneficiary.  Wade frowned.  Either of those were likely explanations, but he was worried.  He looked at his watch and grumbled.  He'd try again, later.

**********

Alex moved restlessly, his sleep plagued with dark images and faceless danger.  He wanted to wake up, to throw off the fear, and instead sank into a deeper darkness.

**********

At three o'clock, Wade gave up trying to work.  He canceled his appointments for tomorrow, called the charter company, and arranged a flight to Phoenix.  He packed his bag, checked out of the hotel, and took a cab to the airport.  He didn't understand his need to return, or the strange foreboding in his heart.  But he couldn't ignore those feelings, either.

**********

Alex slipped from a bad dream into a living nightmare.  He felt someone looming over him and struggled to sit up.  He was dizzy, disoriented, and his vision was blurry.  A large hand swung and his head rocked back from a vicious blow.  He toppled off the couch and landed on the floor, the side of his face connecting with something hard on the way down.

He was yanked to his feet by his hair, and tried to drive an elbow into his attacker.  His aim was off, his coordination was gone, and he connected with nothing.  Another blow to his face, this from a fist, and then darkness swallowed him.

**********

Wade jerked awake, his lover's name on his lips.  A glance at his watch told him it was nearly seven o'clock.  He picked up his cell phone and called Alex, listened to the rings, only to be directed once again to voice mail.  He dropped the phone in his pocket and closed his eyes.  He felt for Alex, and found only hissing silence.  "Shit."  

The cell phone rang and Wade snatched it up quickly, sighing in relief when he saw the caller identification.  "Songbird, where've you been?"  

"It's Allison.  Have you talked to Alex?"

"Not since early this morning."  He felt his heart thump heavily in his chest.  "Why are you calling from his phone?"

"I had a bad feeling, so we came home early.  I drove over here right away.  He's gone.  Something's wrong.  I called Frank.  He wasn't in, but I left a message."

"Can't you hear Alex?  I thought you two were ... always connected."

"No.  He's like a radio, set to receive.  If we're in close proximity, he always hears me.  The only time I hear him is when he flips the switch to send.  It's difficult for him, unless we're near each other.  Even if he tried, I was out of his range until today." 

"No, he can ... I heard him in New York."  He shook his head.  "Never mind, we'll figure that out later.  Is it possible he just went to the store?"

"Alex?  He plans everything to avoid stuff like that.  Groceries, clothing, meals, and anything else he needs, he orders online or by phone.  If he can't buy it that way, he has me get it or he does without.  I gas up his car and take it to the shop for repairs.  Other than the band and Frank, you're the only person to set foot in his house since he bought and remodeled it.  He did that with emails and video conferences."

"I didn't know."  I should have.

"He wouldn't have told you."

"Still." 

"The point is, except for performing with the band, he doesn't leave his house unless absolutely necessary.  When Frank needs help, he comes to Alex.  On the rare occasions he has to visit a scene, Frank takes him in and out, solo.  Jesse was Alex's one exception, and we know how that ended."

"Jesse was the guy who...."   

"Yeah, the guy who.  Anyway, the idea of him making a quick run for beer is ludicrous."

"If there was trouble, wouldn't he have called Frank?"  Or me?

"If he sensed it, yeah.  Or if he ... if he had time.  I think you should ... can you come back?"

"Already on my way.  I had my own bad feeling.  I'll be there in half an hour.  Call Frank again."  Please, let us both be wrong.  Please.

**********

Alex felt hands on him, and tried to push them away.  His efforts were rewarded with slap that left his ears ringing.  He felt the softness of a mattress against his back, and something cold and hard around his wrists.  His mind was strangely numb and quiet.  No thoughts from Alison or Wade, no warm presence in his head, just himself.  He'd once thought such silence would be a relief.  Instead, he found it frightening.  I think I'm in real trouble here. 

Something was fastened around his left ankle, his legs were pulled apart, and his right ankle was also restrained.  Sharpness pinched his nostrils and he caught the smell of ammonia.  He jerked his head away, tried to shift his legs, and realized he was secured to a spreader bar.  He blinked and forced his eyes to focus on the man standing over him.  Faded jeans hugged broad, powerful hips and massive thighs.  A white tee shirt emphasized the overdeveloped muscles of chest, arms, and shoulders.  He was big, bigger than Wade.  Milk white skin.  Black hair, mustache, and beard.  A nose that had been broken more than once, and a scar near the left eye.  The face and body struck no chord of remembrance, but the eyes ... he knew those eyes.

"Hello, pretty boy.  Did you miss me?"

At the sound of that voice, Alex felt fear slide into his belly like the blade of a knife.  "Jesse." 

**********

Wade arrived at the house just as Frank pulled into the driveway.  Alison came to the door and let them in.  "All I've touched is the front door and his phone.  It was on the counter by his keys."

Frank took charge.  "Look around and tell me if anything's missing or out of place.  A tech team's on the way."

Wade pointed at the bottled water on the kitchen counter.  "That's new."

Alison frowned.  "Alex brought it home from the club Saturday night.  The bartender said you wanted him to try it out."

"I didn't."

"All right, leave it for the lab guys," Frank said.  He led them to the living room.  "Damn," he muttered.

Wade's hands clenched when he saw the overturned table and the scattered sofa cushions.  When he spotted the drops of blood on the floor, he nearly lost control.  Only the sight of Alison's white face and trembling body stopped him from roaring out his rage and fear.  Instead, he slipped an arm around her waist and half-carried her to a kitchen chair.  "What's Keith's number?"

Her voice was faint and wobbly as she recited it.  Wade dialed the number, gave Keith a brief explanation, and hung up.  "He's on his way.  Hang in there."  He kept a hand on her shoulder and turned to Frank.  "I take it Alex didn't get in touch with you?"

"No."  The detective rubbed the back of his neck.  "I'm not sure what that means, though."

"Either he didn't sense any danger, or he didn't have time to call for help."  Not even to me?  What could prevent that?

**********

"You remember me."

"How could I forget you?  You left me with such lovely parting gifts.  When did you get out of prison?"  Alex took in the changed appearance of the man who'd beat him, tried to rape him, and put him in traction for a month.  Glittering anthracite eyes returned his gaze.  

"Technically, I'm not.  You could call it a clerical error."  He smiled cheerfully.  "Just you and me, Alex.  It'll be like old times."

Pain, shame, and hospital time.  Oh joy.  "Where are we?"  If his brain ever started working again, he might be able to reach Wade, get him to send help.

"Nowhere you know.  A place near Tonopah.  We're all alone out here."

"Tonopah?"  Come on, damn it.  Give me more.

"Yeah.  I saw you Friday night.  You were wonderful.  I really liked the song.  It could be our song.  After all, I'm your man.  The only one you need."

Great, I made top of the chart in Psycho Musical Review.  "What is this place?"

"Enough with the questions."  Jesse moved to the head of the bed and fastened another set of cuffs over a metal upright on the railing.  The other cuff he secured around the short length of chain between Alex's hands.  Next, he grabbed the spreader bar and fastened each side to a length of cable locked at each of the lower corners of the foot railing.  "That should hold you.  Knees up."

"What?"

"Knees up.  I want to make sure there's enough play in the cable."

"Fuck you."

Jesse laughed.  "Oh no, sweetie.  The only one around here getting fucked will be you."  Still smiling, he grabbed Alex's scrotum and squeezed.

It took everything he had not to scream.  His knees drew up in reaction and Jesse released him.

"Perfect."  Jesse frowned.  "Hell, I forgot to strip you."  He pulled a knife from the sheath on his belt and knelt between Alex's legs.  "Stay still, and you'll be fine."  He cut through the sides of the briefs Alex wore, and pulled the fabric away.  "Lovely.  You're a gorgeous man, you know that?  I'm going to enjoy this."

Alex wondered if he could knock Jesse out with the spreader bar.  He was so looped he wasn't sure he could lift the damn thing.

"I see a nasty little thought behind those pretty gray eyes."  Jesse moved the knife until the edge rested against the base of Alex's cock.  "Behave." 

**********

The technicians had come and gone, and Frank, Keith, Alison and Wade sat at the table, drinking coffee.

"Why did you come back early?"  The sudden question from Frank startled Wade.

"I talked to Alex this morning, after he got home from New Moon.  I told him I'd call later, but every time I did, I got his voice mail.  I was worried."  Frank's raised eyebrow told him that wasn't enough and he sighed.  "We can ... we have ... uh...."

"You can talk without phones?  Like him and Alison?"

"Yeah.  I kept trying, and getting static.  Like a radio tuner stuck between channels.  I knew something was wrong."

Alison leaned toward him.  "What do you feel now?"

**********

"Open up."  Jesse held out a small pill.  Alex stared at him, mouth closed, and Jesse sighed.  "Open your fucking mouth or I'll knock out a couple of teeth and drop it in."  He dropped the pill onto Alex's tongue, lifted his head, and gave him a drink of water.  "Good boy.  We'll give that a half hour to kick in, then the party can start."

"What is it?"

"Ecstasy plus a little something extra.  It'll make our playtime much better, and keep you confused enough that you won't be able to call for help with that extraordinary brain of yours."  Jesse walked to the doorway and paused.  "Relax while you can."  He stepped through the arch, and Alex listened as the sound of his footsteps faded.

Ecstasy.  Supposed to increase sensitivity to touch, create feelings of desire and arousal.  Oh shit, oh god.  Where are you, big guy?  Alex closed his eyes, tried to calm himself, and reached for Wade.

**********

Frank's cell phone rang and he stepped away from the table to answer it.

Alison saw Wade straighten in his chair.  "Alex?"  His voice was a whisper and his blue eyes were wide and unfocused.  "Baby, talk to me.  Where are you?"

Alison kept her voice soft.  "What are you getting, Wade?  What can you see?"  She reached behind her and grabbed pen and paper from her purse.

Wade shook his head.  "Nothing.  No words, either ... but I know it's him.  It feels like him, except...."

"What's different?"  She was used to talking her twin through his visions, pulling as much information from him as possible.  It took time, patience, and a big dose of stubborn.  Patience and mulishness she had in abundance.  She wasn't sure about time.




Cursed Gift Ch. 02



"It keeps fading in and out.  Like he's drunk or...."

"Like he's drugged?  Lab report came in.  They found Rohypnol in the water."  Frank's voice was grim.

**********  

Reaching for Wade was like trying to fight through layers of cotton balls.  Not painful, but frustrating, because he never seemed to gain any ground.  He wondered why it mattered so much.  He was feeling pretty good, nice and relaxed.

He shifted, heard the clink of metal on metal, and remembered where he was.  Shit.  The damn drug's kicking in.  The sudden spurt of fear dispelled some of the soothing effects of the Ecstasy, but Alex knew he didn't have much time.  Between the X and whatever Jesse had doped him with before, his brain would be on vacation soon.

He took a few precious seconds to think it through.  He'd always kept the link to Wade as shallow as possible.  Surface thoughts mingling and touching, never delving too deep or opening his own mind too much.  That wasn't working now, because he was too loaded to control the connection.

Jesse came in, a bright smile on his lips.  But his eyes ... oh god, demons capered behind those eyes.  Alex shut his, gathered his will, and shattered the walls he'd built in his mind.  He was wide open, pouring himself out to the man he loved.  He barely noticed when Jesse unhooked the bar and flipped him onto his stomach.  He did notice the first blow that landed on his ass.

**********

"Oh god!"  Wade clutched at his head, feeling like someone had just set off dynamite inside his skull.  "Too much, everything at once, nothing makes sense."

"Sort through it.  Where is Alex?  What's happening?"  Alison's voice was still soft, but now it held a hint of steel.

"He's ... he's on a bed.  Still drugged.  Tonopah?  Handcuffed and ... other restraints.  A big man, a huge man.  Dark hair and eyes.  He's different now, but Alex knows him.  So do I.  He's a dishwasher at New Moon."  Wade was panting under the load of information streaming into his mind.  "Jesse, it's Jesse."  He covered his face and grunted.  "He's hurting him.  No, please."  He lifted his head.  "What can I do?  How do we find him?"  Hang on, songbird.  I swear I'll come for you.  "We have to get to him, fast." 

"It's a ninety-minute trip by car, and we'd still have to hunt once we got there."  Frank sounded shaken.

"Helicopter.  I can charter one."  Wade gritted the words out through clenched teeth.  He was feeling some of Alex's pain, and he prayed his lover could hold on.  Because the small portion Wade was getting was very bad.

Alison picked up her phone.  "Whose car are we taking to the airport?"

"Mine," Frank said.  "Lights and sirens all the way.  Let's go."  As he drove, Frank spoke into the police radio and explained the situation, leaving out how he'd obtained the information.  "Alert the sheriff, tell him he'll get more when we have it to give."  He turned his head to look at Wade.  "I hope that link you two have will work like a homing signal.  Tonopah isn't a large town, but a door-to-door search will take too damn long."

Wade didn't have an answer to that.

**********

"What's wrong, bitch?  You don't like caning?  We could try ginger root, instead.  I hear it's a blast."  

Alex was on his stomach, biting into the bedding.  He felt sweat drip down his forehead to sting his eyes, felt something else dripping down the backs of his legs and buttocks.  "Bastard," he muttered.  Even the drugs in his system couldn't dull the pain.  

"Sticks and stones, Alex.  Still, it isn't very smart to insult the man who holds your welfare in his hands."  He ran thick fingers lightly down Alex's spine to the cleft of his ass, and rammed two inside the tight passage.

Alex couldn't prevent a grunt from escaping his lips at the harsh penetration, but he didn't care about that.  What dismayed him was his body's reaction.  He felt his penis stir.  Damn drugs.  He managed to keep his voice steady.  "What, no dinner and wine first?  Miserly fucker."  He winced as the fingers withdrew.

Jesse raised Alex's head with one hand, and backhanded him with the other.  "By the time I'm done, you'll be begging me to take you, just to end the pain."  He released him, gave him another blow with the cane, and left.

Alex panted harshly, tasted blood in his mouth, and managed a tiny smile.  That last hit had killed his fledgling erection.  Baiting the animal was a dangerous tactic, but the only weapon in his arsenal.  He turned his head and looked around the room.  The pain had another beneficial side-effect.  His mind was clearer.  He wished he could be happier about that.

**********

The helicopter tore through the purple sky toward Tonopah.  Frank sat up front with the pilot, Wade, Alison and Keith in the back.  Wade was relaying to Frank whatever information he gleaned from Alex.

"There's something weird about the room he's in.  It's big, but there aren't any windows.  It has cinderblock walls and no door, just an archway.  A high counter outside the room, open shelves under it."  He lifted his head, frowning.  "It looks familiar.  Not like a place I've been, but ... like I should know it from the layout."

We're almost there, love, you just have to tell us where to look.

**********

Alex was still looking around when Jesse returned.  He saw what was coiled in one large hand and felt his entire body try to draw in on itself.  Oh god, please hurry.  He focused his eyes on a poster tacked to the wall, and tried to divorce his mind from his body.  He really didn't want to be here.

**********

"No, god, no."  Wade covered his face and bent forward.

Alison reached over and rubbed his back.  "Whatever it is, shut it out.  Find out where he is."

"There's a poster on the wall.  Old, yellowed.  Parts of it torn away."  He clenched his hands as a wave of pain flowed from Alex to him.  "It's ... it's a movie poster.  Bloody Mama."  He sat up.  "It's a theater.  Closed down.  He's in the room behind the snack counter."

Frank radioed the sheriff, spoke for a minute, and then turned to the pilot.  "There's an abandoned drive-in just outside town, on the north side.  Get us there."

**********

Alex wished Jesse would either stop using the damn snakewhip, or keep on until he passed out.  Unfortunately, the lunatic seemed to know just how much torment Alex could endure before descending into the blessed oblivion of unconsciousness.  He also seemed to enjoy keeping him as close to that edge as possible.  Figures.

He'd rearranged Alex, cuffing his wrists to a pipe that ran along the ceiling.  His ankles were hooked to the legs of the bed.

"They give classes on whip techniques in prison, Jesse?  Is this an example of my tax dollars at work?"

Keep talking, songbird.  Almost there.  A pause, followed by a mental shudder.  Keep him in the room, if you can.

Done deal.  Just hurry.

"I won't beg you to fuck me.  Never gonna happen."  Another lash, and Alex screamed.  His voice was wearing out, but he pushed hard to speak.  "I'll never want you, you sadistic son of a bitch."  Fire clawed at his buttocks and curled around his hip.  "Oh, god," he moaned.  

"You ready for me yet, bitch?"

"Let me down, asswipe, I'll show you how ready I am."

Jesse knelt on the bed.  "Why don't I rinse your back?"  He had a pitcher in his hand, and Alex smelled vinegar.  "Think you'd like that?"

Fuck no.  Alex caught a flicker of movement in the room beyond the doorway.  "In case you didn't hear me the first time, let me repeat myself," he panted.  "Fuck you."

Dark eyes blazed and Jesse dumped the pitcher over Alex.  Alex's eyes shut even as his mouth opened in a silent scream.  His body arched and snapped, jerking against the bonds as his wounds were raked by liquid claws.  He found his voice, and his scream climbed the registers of pain and anguish.  Finally, he passed out.

**********

He woke to gentle hands holding him, relieving the strain on his shoulders and wrists.  A deep voice spoke softly.  "Easy, love, I've got you."  Cool water ran down his body, washing away the burning sting of the vinegar.

"Wh-where is he?"

"Hurry up with the keys, damn it."  Wade's voice softened.  "He's dead, baby, you're safe."

"Don't let Alison in."  He opened his eyes, forced them to focus on Wade.  "Please."  His wrists were released, his arms dropped, and he cried out at the pain in his shoulders.  He felt his sister's presence in his mind, felt her hand on his, and hid his bruised face against Wade.  "No, twin.  It's too much for you to fix."  He tried to pull his hand away, but he had no strength.

"Let me give you sleep."  Alison's voice was calm and soothing.  "I can do that without straining."  She kissed his fingers and stroked his brow, humming softly.

Gratefully, Alex let himself be pulled under.

**********

Wade sat on the bed, Alex cradled in his arms, and tried to concentrate on to the fact that his songbird was alive.  Badly hurt, but alive and with him.

"He's stronger than you realize," Alison said.  "It may take a while, but he'll be all right."

"Physically, sure.  Cuts and bruises heal.  Psychologically, I'm not so sure."  He looked up at her, surprised to see a smile on her lips and in her eyes.

"He's strong," she repeated.  "And he was never alone.  You were with him.  He knew you'd save him.  Trust me, he'll be all right.  It's already there, in his mind.  I could feel it.  You would, too, if you let go of your anger ... and your guilt."

He dropped his head.  "I shouldn't have left him.  When I couldn't reach him, I should've come back sooner."

"You didn't create Jesse, and you didn't fail Alex.  Let it go, for his sake.  I can't reach his mind now, but you can.  Look for yourself."

Frank gestured to Wade.  "Get him out of here.  He shouldn't wake up in this place."  He gestured to the front of the building.  "Paramedics are on the way.  This will be hard for him.  All those strangers.  He'll need you there, to see him through it." 

Wade stood and carried Alex carefully out of the room.

**********

Wade was sitting by the hospital bed, his eyes and mind on Alex.  When he felt Alex groping toward consciousness, he spoke.

"Hello, lover.  Gonna stick around this time?"  Wade leaned forward, and watched as glazed gray eyes tried to focus on him.

"Thirsty."  His voice was rusty croak, barely there.

"They said you could have ice chips when you woke."  He spooned one between Alex's lips.  "Better?"  He smiled when Alex nodded.  "Let me get a nurse in here, they need to check you out.  Then we'll talk a little, okay?"

"Don't go."  His eyes opened wider, and his hand moved feebly on the sheet.

Wade linked his fingers with Alex's.  "Not a chance.  All I have to do is press the call button."  He reached above Alex's head.  "Done."  

"How long?"

"You've been here three days.  They've had you pretty doped up.  They were afraid your shoulders would need surgery, but they don't.  They said you're in remarkably good shape, considering.  Most of the ... damage ... is confined to your hips and thighs.  They said you shouldn't have much scarring."  Wade heard his voice growing rougher, and tried to regain control.

"Don't.  You got there in time.  Saved my life, saved me.  I love you."  The short speech exhausted Alex's reserves, and his eyes closed.  But his hand tightened on Wade's.

A nurse came in, checked Alex over, and pronounced him fit for fluids and soft food.  She left, promising to return with apple juice, scrambled eggs, and Jell-O.  Alex shuddered.  

"Gah.  Hospital food."  His eyes closed again.

"Sleep, baby.  I love you."

Not sleeping, throat hurts.  Hard to open my eyes.

"You strained your voice, and you've got a pair of black eyes."

We still in Tonopah?

"Yeah, the county hospital."

What happened?

"Jesse must have heard something.  He came out of the room with a knife, went after Frank.  A local cop was with us, and he didn't hesitate, thank god.  Jesse's dead."

Frank, everyone else, okay?

"We're all fine.  Worried about you, but fine."

Want to go home.

"As soon as I can make it happen, I promise.  Believe me, all I want is you back home.  Well, that's not all I want, but it's a start."

He opened his eyes again, and Wade was caught in a smoky gaze.  "What?  Tell me."

"Me, staying with you.  Not just now and then.  Every night."  A strange look passed over Alex's face, gone too quickly for Wade to identify.  "If ... if you're not ready for that, I can wait."  He watched, horrified, as tears built up and overflowed, tracking down the bruised face.  "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have ... this isn't the right time.  Please don't cry.  We can talk about it later, whenever you want.  Or ... or never, if you can't ... just don't cry."  He wiped the tears away and brushed Alex's silky hair off his face.

"No, it isn't ... I mean, I want you there, too.  Always.  But ... when Jesse was ... hurting me, he ... there were a few times when I ... shit, this is hard."  He laughed, but it sounded bitter and hollow.  "Well, that's the problem.  I started to ... respond."  He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.  "I didn't want to, I tried not to, but ... but it happened.  I thought you should know.  That it might ... make a difference to you."

"Are you done?  Is that it?"

Alex tried to tug his hand from Wade's.  "Isn't that enough?  How can you even want to touch me?"

Wade clasped the slender hand in both of his.  "I knew about it.  You were broadcasting everything.  All the pain, all the terror, even your helpless arousal, and what you did to make it stop."  He placed a feather light kiss at the corner of one eye.  "It was a physiological response to chemical and physical stimulation."  Another soft kiss, this one to Alex's forehead.  "It didn't mean you wanted any of it.  It was beyond your control, and I won't let you take the blame for it."  A third kiss, to the corner of the trembling mouth.  "A half-dead donkey would've responded under those circumstances."  Wade felt a ripple of amusement from Alex.

"Are you calling me an ass?"

"Are you gonna keep acting like one?"

A corner of Alex's mouth tipped up in a tired smile.  "When can you move in?"

Wade pressed his forehead against Alex's and shuddered in relief.  "As soon as we get back."

********** 

The doctor kept Alex in the hospital two more days, frankly amazed at his progress.  No one let him in on the secret, they just made sure Alison got to visit him a couple of times a day.  Thankfully, for Alex's sanity, he could read only one of the nurses, a young woman just out of college.  She worked the graveyard shift, so he was generally sleeping when she tended to him.  Also thankfully, they allowed Wade to stay with him in the private room.  Alex doubted anyone had argued long about that.  Not after the first objection had been raised and ruthlessly quelled by an incensed Alison.

Frank stuck around long enough for Alex to get answers to a few questions.

"He knew what you were doing, and when you drank the spiked water, because he'd planted video and audio feeds on your windows.  Everything miniaturized and barely noticeable.  Hell, they might've stayed there for months if we hadn't looked for them."

"Bastard always was clever," Alex muttered.  "How'd he escape?  He said it was a clerical error."

Frank sighed.  "In a way.  He switched his wrist tag with another con, and took his place in a work-release program.  Didn't take him long to fade away from that, and make his way to Phoenix."

"Why the hell would the other guy let him do that?"

"He didn't.  They found him in the laundry room, dead.  He had Jesse's wrist tag on, and they were a close match physically.  So he got a pass, until someone figured out the fingerprints didn't match.  That didn't happen until two days before he broke into your place.  No one at the prison thought to give us a call so we could warn you."

"Assholes."

"That isn't what I called 'em."  Frank winked and stood.  "I have to go, buddy.  My boss is already yanking my chain over how long I've been here."

Alex clasped his hand briefly.  "Thanks for ... everything."

Wade returned from a lunch run and raised an eyebrow.  "You getting fresh with my man, Frank?"  His grin took the sting from his words.

"Hell, if I was gay, I would.  I'm just glad he isn't straight.  My wife's taken with him as it is."

Alex laughed.  "We'll have a cookout when I'm home and better.  You and Audrey can bring the beer."

Frank sketched a salute and left them to their lunch.

Wade pulled a cheeseburger, fries, and iced tea out of the bag.  He set them on the wheeled cart by Alex, cut the burger into quarters, and waved at the food.  "Dig in.  Alison's got the door."  He took a bite of his own burger.  "Do you know how hard it was to smuggle this in here?  They still want you on soft foods."

Alex moaned around a mouthful of cheeseburger.  "Oh my god, I'm in heaven.  You're so good to me."  He polished off the burger and started on the fries.  "They keep giving me custard, pudding, Jell-O, scrambled eggs, shit like that.  That isn't food, it's kindergarten paste.  At least, that's what it tastes like."  He rested on his left side in the bed, but it didn't slow him down.  The fries were vanishing rapidly.  

"The only thing on this menu they'd approve is the tea.  Speaking of which," he picked up the container and held it for Alex.

Alex happily sucked tea through the straw.  There's something else I'd like to suck.  He glanced at Wade and smiled at the sudden heat in his blue eyes.

"No way.  I'm not into hospital sex.  Too many interruptions."  Wade grinned.  "Besides, wouldn't you rather wait until tomorrow?  When we'll be home?"

"Please tell me you're not kidding."

"I wouldn't joke about that.  We're going home in the morning."

"There is a god," Alex said, closing his eyes in gratitude.  "I never want to come back to this place.  And I don't mean the hospital.  If I never hear of Tonopah again, I'll live and die a happy man."  Silence greeted his words and he opened his eyes.  Wade was staring at the floor, blinking rapidly.  "What's wrong, big guy?"

"Don't talk about dying, okay?  It was too damn close."  Almost lost you, songbird.

"I'm not that easy to lose.  C'mere."  Alex shoved the tray aside, pleased that he could, scooted back, and patted the empty space on the bed.

Wade shook his head.  "There isn't enough room.  I'll hurt you."

"Get your ass over here, or I'll scorch your brain."  Wade settled gingerly on the bed, his left leg dangling off the edge.  "Smart man."  Alex snuggled against him, pillowed his head on Wade's thigh, and draped his right arm across his lap.  "I've missed holding you.  Curling into your heat."  He kissed denim, wishing it were skin.  "Listen to me carefully, lover.  When Jesse had me, and I was doped to the gills, I knew I had to let down all my walls to get to you.  And you know what I wondered?"

Wade ran gentle fingers through Alex's hair, over and over.  "What?"

"Why it took being kidnapped and tortured to make me do that.  Because there's nothing in you that frightens me, or makes me nervous, or disappoints me.  Remember what I said the first time we made love?"

"Yeah, you told me you wanted it hard and fast."

"Degenerate.  No, I said you're fucking perfect."

"Oh.  And I told you I'm not.  I maintain my position."

Alex grinned.  "We'll see what position you maintain tomorrow.  But you are, you know.  Maybe not to anyone else, but you're perfect for me.  And that's why I should've let you in sooner.  It wasn't something you could do, it had to come from me.  So if anyone failed in this, it was me.  Not you.  Never you."




Cursed Gift Ch. 02



Wade's hand tightened on Alex's hair.  "I shouldn't have left you.  I should've come back sooner.  If I'd only...."

Alex struggled to sit up, glad when strong arms supported him.  He shushed the words that tumbled from Wade's lips.  "Look at me, let yourself look deep.  Know this ... there is no blame in me for you.  You did not fail me."  Wade wouldn't meet his eyes.  "Damn it, look at me."

Blue eyes finally lifted to gaze into his, and Alex watched as they widened.  Come on in, lover.  See for yourself.  "Let it go, please.  No more blame, no more doubts.  We're both flawed, because we're human.  But together, we're perfection.  I love you, all of you."

Wade pulled him close, and Alex didn't hesitate.  He went willingly, gladly, rejoicing in the feel of those arms around him.  This, too, was home.

**********  

Alex was frustrated.  The first three days after coming home, he'd spent most of his time sleeping.  Under the influence of Alison, he thought wryly.  She should come with a warning label about not operating heavy machinery.  He'd needed it.  Not just to heal physically, but to realize he could sleep in his own home without nightmares.

He still had some bruising, and some of the deeper cuts made by the whip pulled if he moved the wrong way.  But for the most part, he was feeling pretty damn good.  He had more energy, his voice was back to normal, and he could move around without looking like a decrepit old man.  There was just one cloud raining on his parade.

He'd been home two weeks now, and had, for the last five days, been ready, no, eager, to resume making love with Wade.  They kissed, they cuddled, Wade stroked or sucked him off, he'd let Alex give him a hand job ... and that was all.  The big man absolutely refused to take it further.

Alex wasn't quite strong enough to overpower him and take what he wanted, what they both wanted.  Wade was taller, bigger, and outweighed him by sixty pounds.  Alex grimaced.  Probably more like seventy, at the moment.  His appetite hadn't quite been up to par.  Which, of course, made his lover more convinced that 'normal relations' should wait.  Without the blond's cooperation, Alex couldn't do a damn thing.

"Piss on that," Alex muttered.  "I'm so damn horny, I could scream."  He was at the piano, putting the finishing touches on a new song.  The fact that Wade resolutely ignored the undercurrent in Alex's mind didn't help, either.  Hmm, maybe I can use that willful avoidance.

At the moment, Wade was stretched out on the couch, reading.  Or at least, holding a book open in front of him.  He hadn't turned a page in a while.  Alex moved to the keyboard and programmed the music into autoplay.

"I like that.  Is it new?"  Wade set the book aside and smiled.

"Yep.  I just finished the lyrics.  Wanna hear it?"        

"Sure."  Wade sat up and stretched his legs out in front of him.

"Great.  Let me get ready.  I want you to get the full impact of the song.  Close your eyes and relax until the music starts."  It didn't take Alex long to get ready, and soon he was back in the living room, perched on the raised platform that held the piano.  Please, let this work.

**********

Wade waited patiently, not quite as oblivious to Alex's frustrated desires as his lover thought.  He kept to the shallows of Alex's mind, however, out of fear.  He still couldn't believe that some part of the other man didn't hold him at fault.  And he was afraid of hurting him, of bringing back memories of Jesse, of disappointing, or failing him somehow.  Fears he kept shut in a tiny part of his mind.  He sighed.  It would take time to get past it.  At the moment, he'd listen to the song.  He could at least do that much for the man he adored. 

He heard Alex come back into the room, and when the music started, he opened his eyes.  And then opened them wider.  Alex was dressed in the gray slacks, red suspenders, and gray fedora from his last club performance ... and nothing else, judging by the way the pants caressed his slender form.

One bare foot was propped on the platform and the other foot swung in time to the slow jazzy tune.  He leaned slightly back, hands supporting his weight, body stretched and on display.  His gray eyes were fastened on Wade, pinning him to the sofa.  And then his smooth, rich baritone rolled out, soft and low, a lover's caress.  

I've been taken by your touch
I've been claimed by your kiss
and swept under by the oceans in your eyes.

I come alive to your voice
my heart beats just for you
I'm held captive by the music of your sighs.

He stood easily, smoothly, and glided forward to stand in front of Wade.  He set his left foot on the couch, just outside Wade's leg, close enough that Wade felt the heat against his thigh.  The pose pulled the soft fabric of his slacks tight against his skin, and now Wade was certain there was only Alex underneath the pants.  A very firm, very aroused Alex.  His eyes were riveted to the damp spot that appeared on the pants.

I'm taken in by you
no one else will do.
I'm taken, I'm taken, I'm yours.

Alex bent forward, picked up Wade's hand, and set it on his raised knee.

I was taken with your looks
rendered helpless by your charm
I surrendered the first time you touched my hand.

He slid his knee down and Wade's hand up, so it now rested on his thigh, which pressed against Wade's leg.  Wade finally remembered he needed to breathe, drew in a lungful of air, and was overcome by Alex's scent.  The perfume of man, mate, and arousal.  He swallowed.

You hold me and I'm home
I won't seek another love
there's nothing left to say but I'm your man.

Alex rested his hands on the back of the couch, raised his right leg and straddled Wade.  He lowered himself slowly, in time to the music, and moved his hands to Wade's shoulders.  Wade was branded by Alex's heat, caught in his gray eyes, and held tight between Alex's legs.  Sex in suspenders, he thought, and licked his lips.  Desire coiled low in his groin, and his erection pressed hard against his jeans.  Hard enough to hurt.

I'm taken in by you
no one else will do.
I'm taken, I'm taken, I'm yours.
I'm taken, please take me, I'm yours.
I'm taken, please take me, I'm yours.

The music continued, but Alex stopped singing, and staked his claim with a kiss that left Wade shaking.  "No more talk," he murmured.  "No more excuses or evasions.  Take me, I'm yours."  He slipped the suspenders off his shoulders, unzipped the slacks, and lifted enough to shimmy them off his hips.  After that, it took a microsecond to lose them completely.

He bent again to Wade's mouth, journeyed from there to his ear, and on down his neck.  His need was clear from the wet trail his erection painted on Wade's stomach.  His lips, teeth, and tongue wrung gasps and groans from Wade, while his long, slender fingers deftly unfastened the five buttons that imprisoned rigid flesh.

Wade had kept his hands on the couch, more from inability to move than unwillingness.  Now he ghosted them over the trim hips and taut buttocks, and reveled in the shiver of pleasure he drew from his man.  He slid his fingers into the cleft of Alex's ass, found the slickness there, and he was lost.  Somehow, without effort, his jeans were on the floor, puddled next to the gray slacks, and his lower body was bare.

His finger slid into tight, wet heat, and another soon followed.  After that a third, and Alex whimpered his need into Wade's ear.  A need mirrored in Wade, and one he no longer wished to deny.  He turned on the couch, his shoulders resting on the broad arm, his knees up to offer support, and Alex moved easily with him, lifted his hips and then lowered himself slowly onto the heated hardness that waited for him.

Wade groaned as he was sheathed in his lover's body.  Alex answered with a trembling sigh of pleasure.  "Oh yes, lover.  Fill me, make me yours again.  You feel so good, so right, so perfect."

He rode Wade slowly, seeming in no hurry to bring their loving to its foregone conclusion.  In truth, Wade relished the languid pace, although he wasn't sure how long he'd last.  

Long enough.  Alex leaned forward, his eyes on Wade's.  Join with me. 

Wade gazed into gray eyes smoky with passion, felt Alex's love and acceptance flood his mind, and the last barrier between them dissolved.  He gasped as he felt not just his own pleasure, but Alex's.  This was deeper and stronger than their long-distance sex.  It was smooth, effortless, and ultimate intimacy.

Alex slid his hands to caress Wade's chest, and Wade removed his shirt, knowing without being told he wanted to feel skin.  They leaned into a kiss, meeting halfway, no words or body language necessary.  The only sounds were their sighs, moans, and whimpers against the background of the music that played on.

Alex rose and fell above him, eyes open and locked on Wade's.  Wade lifted and thrust gently, matching his lover's rhythm without effort.  He felt the long legs begin to tire, and sat up.  Hold on, songbird.  Slender arms circled his neck and he slipped his forearms under Alex's knees.  He stood, walked to a nearby chair, and knelt on the seat.

Alex smiled and let his shoulders rest on the broad, cushioned back of the chair.  His arms drifted down and spread wide so he could hold onto the sides of the chair.  It's perfect.  You're perfect.

Wade didn't answer, just kept sliding in and out of tight, wet heat.  Not a single bruise on Alex's body rested on the chair, and although Wade knew his pelvis touched tender flesh at the end of each inward stroke, he also knew the pain was minor, and swamped by other, better feelings.

He moved his hands up, supporting more of the lean back, and felt himself slip deeper into Alex.  A shudder and a groan were his reward.  Sweat beaded his chest, formed runnels from temple to jaw, dripped from his forehead to splash onto Alex, and merge with the dampness already there.

From their first night together, making love had been a case of more.  More joy, more pleasure, more passion.  More everything than with anyone else.  Now they reached new heights together, still at that slow, wonderfully torturous pace.

Neither wanted it to end, although they both longed for release.  I could love you like this forever.  Wade didn't know if that was his thought or Alex's, and he didn't care.  It didn't matter.  He leaned forward, allowed his belly to slide back and forth over his lover's shaft, knowing the added stimulation would be enough to bring about the end they both needed.

He felt that long shaft twitch and swell, even as his own thickened within the tight, hot channel.  And still, the tempo of his thrusts didn't change.  Alex's head dropped back even as Wade's fell forward.  One final, deep push into wet silk, one final slide over rigid heat, and they cried out together, shuddering and gasping like shipwrecked sailors tossed from the sea to rest on solid ground.

Somehow, from the blazing of white light within his head, to the spilling of his seed, and through the grayness that followed, Wade managed to remain upright.  Shaking, trembling, and panting, he kept his weight off his smaller lover.  He felt laughter in his head, and opened his eyes.  Alex had his hands pressed against Wade's chest, holding him up.  Wade smiled his thanks, even as he lifted so the strong, lean arms could relax.

When he was sure his legs would hold him, he stood.  He was still hard inside Alex.  He'd soften soon, but for now, Alex was able to keep them joined, as they both wanted to be, and Wade moved to the bedroom.  They stayed together as they maneuvered onto the bed, stayed together as Wade settled onto his back, and only then did their bodies relax, still coupled.

Alex draped himself over Wade, his head on Wade's shoulder, one hand playing in Wade's chest hair.  After pulling the sheet over them, Wade removed the hat that had somehow remained on Alex's head.  He set it gently on the nightstand, and curved an arm around Alex's back, while the other hand rested on Alex's thigh. 

I love you, they thought.  And so thinking, they slept.



Cursed Gift



********** 

Alex dropped his keys in his pocket, put the cases in the rear of the Blazer, and shut the hatch. He sensed someone behind him, started to turn, felt an explosion of pain in his head, and fell forward into the Blazer's rear window. Over the roaring in his head, he heard a faint voice.

"You're mine. I'll come for you, soon."

He struggled to turn, felt another blow, and collapsed onto the gravel of the parking lot. Blackness claimed him.

**********

Alison gazed thoughtfully at Wade. "You're attracted to him, aren't you?"

He leaned his elbow on the bar and toyed with his coffee cup. "He's not my type, but ... yeah. There's something about him that...." He scratched his chin and shrugged. "I don't know. I want to ... protect him."

Even, white teeth worried at her lower lip. "The attraction's mutual. I just … I don't think he'll do anything about it." She sighed. "What is your type?"

He grinned. "Usually big guys, like me. Alex seems almost fragile."

She snorted. "Don't kid yourself. I've seen him take down hunkier men than you. He's not ... oh, no." She was up and running for the back door.

Seeing the sudden fear in her face, he found himself right behind her.

**********

Alex pushed himself to his knees, his head bent, and tried to figure out why he was on the ground. He wobbled to his feet, felt an unfamiliar hand on his arm, and grabbed at the strong wrist attached to that hand. He pivoted and shoved a hard body against his Blazer. He held the captured arm against a broad chest, and brought his right up for a disabling blow.

Alison's voice, frantic, finally reached him. "It's okay, twin, let him go. He's just trying to help."

He was face-to-face with Wade Turner, one hand still holding the bigger man's wrist, the other inches from striking at the vulnerable throat before his eyes. "Oh shit, sorry." He opened his hands, held them up at shoulder level, palms forward. "Thought I was being pulled up for round two." He stepped back, heard a strange roaring in his ears, and saw the gravel of the parking lot rush up at him. Damn, not again, he thought. And then, nothing.

**********

Wade caught him around the shoulders before he connected with the ground. He bent, tucked his other arm under Alex's knees, and lifted, holding him against his chest. "Let's get him inside. He'll need some tlc from you."

He carried Alex into the dressing room and deposited him gently on the couch. Alison sat down beside her brother and touched his forehead, humming. Wade shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as lines of pain eased from the other man's face. At last she stopped and sighed.

"Well, I've done what I can. I'm not strong enough to heal him completely, but I've helped." She reached into her bag a pulled out a power bar. "I burn a lot of calories doing this," she explained as she bit into the bar. "Alex insists I carry these, even though I don't do this very often."

"On a scale of one to ten, how strong is your gift?"

"Ten being highest?" At his nod, she chewed another bite while she thought. "Maybe a four. On a good day." Another bite, and she eyed him quietly. "You don't seem to have much trouble accepting this."

"I tend to believe my own eyes. What about Alex? How strong is he?"

"Eight or nine, on an average day. Other days he'd blow the top off that scale."

"So he's taking in stuff all the time?"

"No, not quite. Touching things isn't as sure as skin to skin, and doesn't cause as strong a connection. Even with direct touch, he only connects about fifty percent of the time." She grabbed a bottle of water from the small fridge, and drank half of it. "You do realize, in the parking lot…"

"He knows, twin." Alex spoke quietly from the couch. His forearm was draped over his eyes and shadowed the rest of his face. "I'm sorry, Wade. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known it was you." He pushed himself upright, stood, and stretched. "Thanks, sis. A good night's sleep and I'll be fine." He pulled his keys out, dropped a kiss on Alison's head, gave Wade a troubled look, and left.

"He's going home? Alone?" Wade shook his head. "Like hell he is." He strode to the door and looked back at Alison. "You gonna back me up on this?"

She grabbed her bag and preceded him through the door. "Nope. You're on your own, tiger."

Wade followed slowly, watched her say something to Alex, get in her car, and drive off. He was left facing wary gray eyes that gave away little of what the mind behind them thought.

"You don't have to worry that I'll trespass in your head, Wade. I'll stay away." Alex edged toward the door of his vehicle. "I know what a violation it is. That's why I don't shake hands, or mix with crowds. Once a connection is made, I can't break it. The only thing I can do is avoid the person. You don't have to ask me to do that." He turned away and unlocked the Blazer's door.

Wade thought he'd never seen a person as lonely as the man before him. "You can't be reading me very well if you think I'm worried about that." He took the three steps necessary to close the distance between them. "Alison said you were strong, but I didn't ask about accuracy."

"I'm very accurate." The rich baritone was tight and clipped. "I'm also trying like hell not to listen in right now." The slender body was trembling, almost vibrating.

"I can see that. Why?" He was close enough to smell the man under the scent of cologne. A fresh, crisp smell, like the air before a storm. Close enough to feel the tremors in his body. Close enough to need to be closer still. Oh, how I want this man. He dropped his voice to a soft murmur. "Why don't you want to hear my thoughts, Alex?" 

**********

Through binoculars, cold eyes watched the two men. This won't do at all. He's mine. I won't let you interfere. He set the binoculars aside and drove away.

**********

Alex leaned his forehead against the driver's window. "Maybe it sounds exciting or interesting at the moment, but after a while, trust me, you'd hate having me in your head. Everyone needs to feel their mind is inviolate. That their thoughts are private and theirs alone." He could feel how close Wade stood behind him, and he wanted to scream, shout, or cry. To find release one way or another. He wouldn't take any of those routes. He tried to explain. 

"If it were mutual, it might be different. If it weren't so one-sided, that might make it at least bearable. But it isn't." Alex took a deep breath. "You should leave. Now, please. I don't know how long I can hold the block." He felt a large hand on his shoulder, his body was turned around, and he watched as the blond head drew closer to his.

He felt firm lips on his, warmth that started at his mouth and spread to suffuse his entire body, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning into that heat. Power and passion, desire and need, lust and comfort, all were there in that kiss. He knew what he was letting himself in for, he knew it wouldn't last, and he just didn't give a damn. His mind and body responded, his arms curved around the big man pressed against him, and he surrendered.

Wade claimed his mouth. There was no other word for it. His lips were mapped and charted, the ridges on the roof of his mouth were investigated, his inner cheeks were probed without mercy, and his tongue was stroked and coaxed into submission. 

He set his fingers into denim belt loops, snaked a leg up and around a strong thigh, and pulled Wade's hips into his. The blond grunted as hardness met hardness, and rubbed. 

"You don't fight fair, do you?" Wade found the junction of neck and shoulder with his teeth and bit down.

Alex gasped, slipped his free hand into thick, blond hair, and tugged until their mouths aligned again. "Should I?" He sucked Wade's lower lip into his mouth, closed his teeth over it, and nipped gently.

"Fuck, no." Wade lifted his head, his breath ragged and his voice raspy. "I live on First and Thurgood. You?"

"I'm closer. Stevens and Hawthorne." He murmured this into Wade's ear, felt the other man shiver, and grinned. "Follow me?" Please, say yes.

"Oh, yeah."

**********

Wade parked in the driveway behind the Blazer, shut off his car, and asked himself what the hell he was doing. He wasn't into casual sex, and somehow Alex didn't strike him as the type for a one-night stand, either. He watched leather-clad legs descend to the concrete, followed by a tight ass that begged to be touched. Oh, hell, I'm sunk. Might as well go gracefully. He got out of his car and joined Alex at the rear of the Blazer.

Gray eyes swept over him, smoky and intense. "This time I'll let you help," Alex said, and opened the hatch. "I don't leave the equipment out here." He grabbed two of the cases, Wade took the third, and followed him to the front door, and into the house. Alex flipped a light switch and Wade looked around, surprised.

The exterior didn't match the interior. Outside the house was a single-story ranch, tradtional and somewhat staid, yellow paint with white trim. Inside it was loft-like, spacious and modern. To the right of the huge central space was a hallway with three doors off it. "Spare bedrooms and bath," Alex said. He walked into the middle of the open space, set the two cases on the floor, and motioned for Wade to put down the one he carried. This area was obviously the music studio. A baby grand sat on a raised, wooden dais, surrounded by stools, chairs, and music stands. Other stands held various instruments, and Wade wondered how many of them Alex played. Woodwinds, brass, a violin, and three guitars were scattered throughout the area.

To the left was comfortable seating, leather chairs and sofas, stands with lights, and large area rugs in shades of blues and greens, shot through with gold. Across from that was a modern, utilitarian kitchen setup, complete with rolling workstations, a breakfast bar with high-backed stools, and a metal and granite dinette set. Beyond this, on the left side of the house, was the second interior wall, with a door set left of center. "My bedroom," Alex said, a faint smile on his face. "Do you want something to drink? No booze, but I have water, soft drinks, tea and coffee."

"Water would be good." He cleared his throat. "Stupid question, but how old are you?"

"Twenty-eight, why?" Alex moved to the refrigerator, pulled a bottle from it, and turned. He didn't seem surprised to find Wade directly behind him, although the bigger man knew he'd moved quietly. A corner of Alex's mouth lifted in a wry grin, and he handed over the water. "It isn't easy to sneak up on me," he said quietly. "Why did you ask how old I am?"

"Wanted to be sure you're old enough for me. I was afraid of that cradle-robbing thing."

"Ah. Well, five years isn't a huge gap." He walked past Wade and opened the door to his room. "If you don't mind, these pants are hot and I need a quick shower." He sent a glance over his shoulder, and his dimple flashed as he smiled. "You're welcome to join me." 

When had he forgotten how to breathe? Wade felt his cock thicken at the heat in that gray glance, fumbled the bottle onto the counter, and followed Alex. He entered the room, stared at the king-size four poster bed, and heard water running to his left. The open floor plan had been carried through into this area. There was only one interior wall, which he figured hid a toilet, allowing for some privacy. The rest of the left side of the room was given over to a huge, glassed-in garden shower, double sinks set in gray granite, and mirrored cabinets above the sink. The effect was stunning, and he might have taken more time to admire and appreciate the layout, but the moment he turned his head, his eyes were filled with a sight more arresting than any architecture on the planet.

Alex stood in front of the shower, completely nude and obviously aroused. Steam from the shower curled around long legs and slender feet, which were spread slightly apart. Wade's gaze stuttered up to wide shoulders, traveled down to find the slender hands set on narrow hips, fingers spread and pointed toward a neatly-trimmed thatch of brown hair. Rising from the dark curls, framed by long fingers, was an equally long and extremely hard cock.

Wade toed off his shoes, hooked his socks off one-handed, and stripped the tee shirt off, all the while trying to keep his eyes on that thick piece of meat. What he lacks in body size, he makes up for below the waist. He unbuttoned his jeans, pulled them over his hips along with his briefs, and left them behind on the floor as he took the two steps remaining between him and Alex.

He set his hand in thick, brown hair, tugged, and bent his head to capture Alex's mouth. He was surprised when Alex resisted, and gasped when the other man's teeth fastened on his nipple. "Oh, fuck." His back arched at the sharp, delicious pain. Not too hard, just enough to make his skin sizzle.

"I've got a surprise for you, Wade Turner." Gray eyes slanted up at him as slender fingers found and tweaked the other bud. "I'm in the driver's seat for now." Alex rose and covered Wade's mouth, and when Wade lifted his hands to slide them around Alex's neck, his wrists were caught, and his hands were dragged behind his back. Alex pushed, exhibiting strength his slender form belied, and Wade found himself giving way and backing into the shower. His hands were placed around a grab bar, steel gray eyes bored into his, and a low voice growled out three words. "Don't let go."

A hot mouth traveled slowly down his chest, teeth biting hard enough to leave marks that were immediately soothed by a warm, wet tongue. Wade's hands held fast to the bar behind him as Alex moved farther south, his tongue dipping into Wade's navel before moving on, and following the thin trail of hair that led to the waiting cock. Alex veered to the side and buried his nose in the thicket of hair that surrounded that throbbing pole, his smooth cheek brushing against rigid warmth in passing. His tongue licked the inside of the left thigh, his mouth fastened on soft skin, and he sucked hard.

"Ah, shit." Wade's hips thrust forward at the quick, sharp pain, and his hands tightened on the grab bar. His breath was coming faster now, and he struggled to make his mouth form the words he needed to say. "C-condom, Alex. You have one?"

Alex flattened his tongue and drew it along Wade's perineum, up and over his balls, and straight up to the tip of his weeping, twitching dick. "I've never barebacked. Tested clean a couple of years ago, after my last … encounter. What about you?"

"Shit, I could say anything. How would you know if it's the truth?"

Alex stood slowly, drawing his tongue up the center of Wade's chest, over his neck and chin, stopping below his lips. "I'd know." He paused, his eyes darker than the night sky. "In fact, I do know. You're clean." His eyes cleared, and he smiled. "But if you want me to wear one, I will."

Wade swallowed, nearly losing himself in those eyes, and shook his head. "I trust you." He realized he did. He knew Alex wouldn't lie to him. He didn't know how he knew, but he did.

At that, Alex crouched before him, licked his lips, and slowly engulfed him, moving steadily down until his mouth met the flesh of Wade's groin. He contracted and relaxed his throat rhythmically, and began to hum.

"Oh, fuck!" Wade tried to thrust forward, but strong arms settled across his stomach and thighs, and held him still. He's playing me like an instrument. Teeth scraped lightly over sensitive skin as Alex pulled back, and Wade hissed in a startled breath. The slow journey back down his cock began, and he was reduced to whimpers and moans, unable to move, unwilling to let go of the bar behind him. He held on, enjoying the sweet agony of always approaching, but never reaching, release. When he knew he couldn't take another second of torment, it stopped.

He panted harshly, muscles strained and rigid, eyes closed, and hands locked behind him. He felt the slender body brush against him as Alex rose, felt warm hands cup his face, and hot breath wash over his mouth. Oh please, kiss me. 

Alex covered his mouth gently, teased his lips apart, and caressed his tongue softly. He lifted his head and Wade's eyes opened to see his smile. "Your turn, big guy," Alex said, and removed Wade's hands from the grab bar.

Wade pulled him close, hands cupping and kneading the firm cheeks of Alex's ass. "Did you really need a shower?"

Alex tipped his head back and laughed. "No, I just wanted to see your gorgeous body wet and writhing."

"Bastard." He crushed his lips on Alex's, bit at the lush lower lip, and then dragged his mouth away. "What I want is you, dried off, and stretched out on that big bed of yours." He delivered a light swat to the pert rear as Alex reached to turn off the water, and was rewarded with a snatched breath and a yelp.

They dried each other with big, fluffy towels, turning that simple activity into an erotic moment. Wade had never thought of a towel as an aide to arousal, but in the talented hands of the younger man, it became just that. Soft fabric caressed him, brushed in the cleft of his ass, stroked over his rigid erection, and teased deliciously at his sensitive nipples. He made sure he returned each and every touch with one of his own, and was pleased to see steel gray eyes turn hazy with desire.

Suddenly he dropped his towel, bent, wrapped his arms just under Alex's butt, and lifted the smaller man straight up. He swiped his tongue over the weeping cock, licked up the juices collected there, and then draped Alex over his shoulder and headed for the bed. "Payback, songbird. You ready?"

**********

Alex expected Wade to drop him on the bed, but he didn't. Instead, he lowered him slowly and carefully, as if he were fragile and too precious for careless handling. Aw, hell no. Don't treat me like spun glass. Not now. 

Wade's blue eyes widened and a small vertical line appeared between his brows. He reached out, flicked a fingernail over an erect nipple, and smiled at the gasp it provoked. He bent his head, set his teeth around the same nub, and pulled back, allowing them to scrape over the sensitive flesh. 

Alex arched his back, his chest pushing against Wade, and his head pressing into the pillow under him. Shit, yes, that's it. The other nipple was given the same treatment, and he groaned. Open-mouthed kisses rained over his chest and belly, and then down, stopping just inside his hip. Wade's mouth settled on the tender skin at the juncture of hip and leg, his tongue swept out to taste, and then he sucked hard.

"Ah, god!" His hips bucked, not to get away, but to beg for more. Somehow, Wade understood, and gave it to him. He was roughly flipped over and hauled to his knees. Strong fingers pulled and kneaded the cheeks of his ass, and his hands clenched on the bed cover. He felt his buttocks gripped and spread apart, and then wet heat flicked over his rear entrance. He grunted and thrust back, needing more. A barely wet finger was shoved in, the burning pain delicious and welcome. So good, just right, don't fucking stop. Wade reached around, his hand touched Alex's mouth, and Alex smiled. Oh, yes. He sucked in three fingers, nipping at them, wetting them with his saliva. 

"Good boy," Wade murmured. He pulled his fingers away and shoved them hard into the tight channel of Alex's hungry ass.

Alex cried out harshly at the invasion, his asshole tightening in reflex, trying to expel the fingers. His body jerked forward and then he shoved back, and he felt the fingers curl and rub over his prostate. Sparks ignited behind his eyes and his whole body tightened. Wade quickly pulled his fingers out and Alex growled. Wade chuckled. "Hang on, songbird." 




Cursed Gift



Alex knew what was coming and he wanted it. Hard and fast, he thought.  No mercy. A stray thought skittered across his mind. Lube. He panted, his body in overdrive, and thought of the bottle in the drawer of the night stand. He tried to make his mouth form the words, felt the bed shift, and Wade pulled away. Alex didn't move, couldn't think, aware only of the need that burned and raved inside him. Hurry, please, hurry. The bed shifted again, and Wade was behind him once more, blunt heat pushing at him, demanding entry. He spread his legs farther apart, felt large hands grip his hips, and then Wade rammed in, all the way, until they were balls to balls.

This time Alex screamed, his back arched at the exquisite pain, and his hands clawed at the bed cover. Wade held him tight, and Alex could only ride it out. "Too much?" Wade's voice, pushing through the fireworks that consumed Alex.

"Not ... not too much," he panted. "J-just right. Don't stop." He managed to force the words out to reassure the bigger man. Dear god, don't stop now.

Wade pulled back, withdrew nearly all of his cock, and then slammed forward, again and again. Alex cried out with each thrust, his prostate hit every time, and felt himself begin to peak. Nothing this intense could last for long, and now Wade moved faster. The room filled with the slap of flesh against flesh, the grunts and groans that spilled from the bigger man's mouth, and then a long, climbing wail that was torn from Alex's throat. His climax was ripped from him by the hard length that still drove into him. That length twitched, swelled, and released into him, and he was filled with hot fluid. Wade collapsed against his back, and Alex fell under him, both men trembling and weak.

He felt the bigger man stir as their heartbeats slowed and synched. Now he'll pull out, he thought sadly. Instead, a strong arm wrapped around him as Wade rolled onto his side and brought Alex with him, the two of them still joined. Broad, hairy chest to slender, smooth back, Wade held him close. He felt Wade soften, finally, and slip out. Gentle kisses were pressed into his neck, shoulder, and back. God, he's fucking perfect. 

He felt a rumble of silent laughter against his back and heard Wade's amused voice in his ear. "I'm hardly perfect. But that was." He nuzzled Alex's ear lobe. "I hope you intend to return the favor, songbird."

He turned over, stared into bright, blue eyes, and ran his fingers from temple to chin. "You feel so good, your skin against me, all those strong muscles overpowering me, and your furry chest rubbing over me." He slid his hand through the thick chest hair, combing it with his fingers. "Just enough, in all the right places." He outlined the furred areas with his thumbs, tracing below the hollow of Wade's throat, across his upper chest, over the breasts, and down the ripped abdomen to his navel, where the hair thinned to a line that led to a neatly trimmed patch surrounding his manhood. Oh yeah, all man.  

Wade shivered at his touch and smiled. "You're a study in contradictions. You look almost frail, dressed. Undressed ... well, still slender, and smooth. I love it. All that sleek, warm skin over those whipcord muscles. But you're stronger than you look. That was a … pleasant surprise." He drew strong fingers up Alex's thigh and in, letting them sift through the curls between Alex's legs. "How can a man be so slim, so delicate, and still so strong and macho? Not just physically, either. You may have been submissive just now, but I think you can give as good as you get."

Alex groaned, pressed the bigger man back on the bed and leaned over him. He kept his body close, brushing against Wade, soaking up the feel of him. His hand moved slowly over the strong chest, stroked up a shoulder and down a sculpted arm. He levered himself up, swung his right leg over, and straddled him, resting his butt on the powerful thighs. Now he used both hands to caress, from the top of the blond head to the valley where their members rested together, slowly coming back to life.

Wade reached up, returning the touches, and Alex closed his eyes and leaned into the large hand. So good, so warm, so long since I've been touched. And never like this, so tenderly. He fastened his teeth on his lower lip, holding back the words that wanted to pour from him. Better to keep quiet. It would be easier later, when their time was through. No, don't think about that now.

He moved back, nudged Wade's legs apart and settled himself between them. He lowered his mouth to the base of the thick cock and licked the fur-covered balls, taking first one and then the other gently in his mouth, caressed them with his tongue, and released them. He sent his tongue lower, along the taut, warm flesh to the tiny, puckered ring, and smiled when Wade gasped.

Wade tasted of musk, man, and some indescribable something that was just Wade. Spicy, tangy ... he had to have more, and he delved for it. Wade spread his legs, drew up his knees, and invited him in. Alex stiffened his tongue and pressed in, delighted when the bigger man grunted and pushed against him. Like that, do you? He lost track of time as he feasted on the small portal and the surrounding skin, reveling in the sounds of arousal from above. Wade's fingers were buried in his hair, and he began to tug.

"Please, god, I need, I want, oh shit…."

Alex reached blindly for the end table, fumbled over its surface, and finally grasped the lube. He coated his fingers, circled that enticing rosette, and eased inside. He started with one finger, slowly added another, and waited to make it three, but Wade derailed him. "Enough, I'm ready, I need you in me now."

Alex raised up, coated himself, and eased inside the tight. slick furnace of Wade's ass. He gasped as he felt himself surrounded for the first time in his life, and struggled against the urge to thrust and plunder. He closed his eyes, withdrew a little, and moved back in carefully. He heard a whimper of need, and realized it came from his own throat.

Wade tilted his hips up and drew Alex in. "Harder, baby, faster. Don't hold back. Take me, make me scream."

Alex gave in to what they both wanted, and drove into silken heat again and again, matching every upward lunge of the powerful hips with a hard thrust. He felt the head of his cock brush against the bundle of nerves in Wade's tight channel, heard Wade groan, and changed the angle of his entry so he hit that spot every time.

Large hands played over his chest, his back, and his butt. Alex leaned in, letting his stomach stroke Wade's hardness. He bent his head, found a taut nipple, and bit down. At the same moment, strong fingers settled around and tweaked his own nub. He felt the jolt run from his nipple to his cock, twitched, and without warning he came. Oh god, I didn't know it would be so good.

His hips stuttered as he drove hard into Wade, each stutter a thrust, each thrust a pulse. He felt wetness bloom against his stomach, felt the warmth that sheathed him grow tighter, felt it suck him dry and he fell forward, limp and exhausted. For a few moments, the only sound in the room was that of two men trying desperately to draw more air into their lungs.

Wade pressed a kiss to Alex's forehead. "I can't believe this was your first time to top. Your other lovers were insane not to want this." 

Something about the comment bothered Alex, but he was too damn tired to chase it down. He sighed, relaxed against the broad chest, and slept.

**********

He'd watched with angry eyes as the two men entered the house. When it became obvious that the blond was staying, he felt hot rage turn cold and vengeful.

"You sullied my innocent, you bastard. He was meant for me, not you. You'll pay for that." He sat in his car for a long time, fuming.

**********

Alex woke slowly, warm, comfortable, and relaxed. In sleep, they'd shifted, and Wade once again nestled behind him. He felt strong arms around him, holding him close, and felt a pinch of despair. Oh, god, why had he given in? There was only one way this could end. Already, he could feel Wade's presence in his mind, feel the other man's thoughts slipping into his brain. He tried to shield his mind, and couldn't. Much as Wade's body wrapped around his, Wade's mental presence enfolded him. He kept his eyes closed, trying to fight against the bond that was forming. Not just a mental bond. If he wasn't careful, he'd give his heart to this man.

Wade stirred. "Quit worrying," he mumbled, half-asleep. "I don't mind. Feels good."

Alex's eyes popped open. "What?"

"You were muttering about the connection, the bond. I don't mind it."

Alex jerked upright, staring down at the sleepy blond. It isn't possible. How ... oh god, was it real? He stretched out facing Wade, slipped one arm over the powerful hips, and tucked his head into the junction of shoulder and neck. I'm hungry, he thought.

"Mmm, yeah, so'm I. Gimme a minute to wake up."

Alex felt the room spinning, and realized he'd forgotten to breathe. He dragged air into his lungs and released it on a sob. He tried to stop, but the tears took over, and he shuddered against the broad chest.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Wade tried to pull back, to lift Alex's head, but Alex refused to let him go.

You can hear me, he thought. How is that possible?

"Well, I have ears, and they work just fine. How else?"

Alex wiped his eyes, relaxed his hold, and leaned back. He stared intently into blue eyes, and smiled. I love you, he thought.

"I love you, too, even though it seems way too soon," Wade said. His blue eyes grew wide and round. "Holy shit, how the fuck did you do that?"

Alex decided it was time he used his voice. "I don't know. It's never happened. Before, it was always just me, hearing hidden thoughts. Just me, listening to secret desires. Never ... never anyone hearing me, except Alison." He traced kiss-swollen lips with his thumb. "You heard me, earlier. Gave me just what I wanted, what I needed, every moment."

"Hell, you're not shy about asking. I was only too happy to meet your needs, since they were mine, too."

Alex shook his head. "I hardly said a word. You heard me, anyway. You even knew you were ... my first."

"I was honored ... and surprised." Blue eyes sparkled for a moment, and then grew heavy-lidded and hazy. You're a wonderful lover. He ran a slow hand along the inside of Alex's thigh, trailed lightly through the dark curls that surrounded his shaft, and fitted strong fingers around the growing hardness there.

"Oh, god. Feels so good." He moved his hips lazily forward, and then laughed when his stomach rumbled. 

"Food first, songbird." 

You really are fucking perfect. 

********** 

He crept closer to the house, unseen in the pre-dawn darkness. He reached what he thought was the bedroom window, and peered in. His eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him. The two men were asleep, a sheet over them, his intended draped obscenely around the big blond. No, this was all wrong. The muscleman had ruined his beautiful boy, dirtied him, and he had to pay.

They couldn't stay in there forever. When you're alone, I'll be ready. You'll wish you'd never met my boy.

**********

Wade felt Alex jerk, heard the restless mutter of his voice, and tightened his arms around him. "Shh, just a dream." Alex sighed and relaxed. Wade looked over at the clock and groaned. Seven o'clock. Shit, he had a meeting at eight with a banker. He began to unwind himself from Alex, reluctant though he was to leave. "Baby, come on, I have to get up."

Alex grumbled and muttered, the frown on his face too cute to resist. Wade kissed him awake, felt other parts of them start to raise their heads, and realized he might not make that eight o'clock appointment.

"Appointment ... important?" Alex sounded a bit more awake.

"Well, yeah. Papers to be signed to move funds around, so I have a hefty reserve to run the club with." He bent his head to sleep-warmed skin and inhaled the musky odor of man, sex, and sweat. "I could reschedule," he said absently, concentrating on memorizing the scent and taste of the man beside him. 

Alex relaxed into the bed. "Mmpf, gwan, needaseep." 

Wade translated that and grinned. Go on, I need to sleep. "I'll only be a couple of hours." He got up, cleaned up, and dressed before returning to the bed. "Will you be awake enough to let me in when I get back?" 

A slender hand pointed at the dresser. House key. Love you.

"Thank you, baby. I love you." He kissed the smooth brow and left.

**********

He watched the blond pull out of the driveway and smiled. Perfect. He followed at a safe distance, waiting for his chance to act.

**********

Alex woke to a ringing phone, fumbled on the night stand for the receiver, and answered without opening his eyes. "Yeah, what?"

"We've got a name and driver's license photo," Frank said, his voice excited. "I'm on my way to your place. I want you to take a look at this guy's picture, see if you can pick up anything."

Alex rubbed his eyes. "Okay. I'll get dressed and have coffee waiting for you." He hung up, trudged to the kitchen, and started a pot of coffee brewing. He didn't have time for a shower, so he settled for a splash of water in his face, a damp washcloth over his body, and called it good. He pulled on a pair of bikini briefs, button-front jeans faded to an indeterminate gray-blue, and a black tee shirt.

He padded barefoot to the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, added sugar and cream, and leaned against the counter to wait for Frank. He'd taken only a single sip of the hot brew before the doorbell rang. He set the cup on the table and went to let the detective in.

**********

The bank parking lot was too crowded and presented no opportunity to grab the big blond. He drummed his fingers against the dashboard, followed Turner's car out of the lot, and hoped for another chance.

Turner pulled into the lot behind a donut shop, got out, and walked around to the front of the building.

Perfect. He parked next to Turner's car and waited.

**********

Wade bought six jelly and six glazed donuts. Alex would need the carbs and sugar for energy. He chuckled as he paid for them, wondered just how far the mental link would travel, and felt for Alex in his mind. He wasn't sure how to do what he wanted, and he paused just inside the door.

You like donuts, songbird? He felt a quick ripple of amusement, love, and joy in his head, and grinned.

Love 'em, big guy. So does Frank. He's here.

Wade's grin broadened. This stuff was pretty cool. Freaky, but cool.

**********

He watched Turner come around the corner of the building, got out of his van, and timed it so he crossed the front of the van as the blond slipped between the vehicles. He came up behind Turner, pressed the muzzle of his gun against the hinge of his jaw, and readied the wire tie.

"Nice and easy, now. Set the food on your car. Hands behind your back, fingers laced together." He slipped the wire tie over the linked hands and pulled it tight. "Good. Into the van, hurry up."

"Why? What do you want?"

"You took something from me. You have to pay."

"Took something? Like what? I don't even know you."

"He was mine. I've watched him, wanted him, planned to take him. You came along and ruined him. He was pure until you touched him." He shoved the gun harder into Turner's jaw. "Get in the fucking van, now."

**********

Trouble, baby. Bring Frank.

Alex dropped the coffee cup and it shattered on the floor. "Wade!"

Frank jerked in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"He took Wade. At the donut shop. Jesus, no." Alex grabbed Frank and shoved him to the door. "You have to drive. Hurry." Show me the way, lover. We're coming.

"Where are we going?" Frank started his car and waited for directions.

"They're passing Fifth, on Grand, headed toward Sixth Street." On our way. You okay?

Frank swore. "Damn it, all the way across town. What's he driving?"

Yeah. Still on Grand.

"A gray van, Chevy, fairly new. Wade didn't see the tags."

Frank called for backup, racked the mike, and floored the gas pedal. "Any idea where he's going?"

"No. Where's the picture?" He took it from Frank, studied the ordinary face under dark, brown hair, and dark eyes that peered back at him. Nothing to suggest the monster within. He pressed his fingers to the photo, and shuddered. "Oh, god. He went after Wade because of me." He looked at Frank, bit his lip, and swallowed. "Hurry."

**********

Wade kept his eyes on the road, feeding information to Alex. We're gonna win this one, baby. He messed with the wrong pair.

"Why are you so calm?" Dark eyes were narrowed at him. "You shouldn't be so calm." Restless fingers tapped on the steering wheel. "It's true, isn't it? He's psychic. He knew about me, that's why he called that cop to the bar."

Smart guy. "I don't know what you're talking about. What cop? Who's psychic?"

"Don't play dumb. It really is true. That's why you're not worried. He knows where you are, doesn't he?"

Uh-oh. "I still don't know what you're talking about." We have another problem, songbird.

"Shit." He lashed out with the gun and caught Wade on the side of the head. 

Wade fought against the darkness, and lost.

**********

Alex was frantic. Wade was unconscious, the last location he'd given them was fast approaching, and he didn't know where to go.

"Hang on, Alex. This is near the address on his license. We'll try there." Frank relayed the information over the radio, flipped on the siren, and cut through the morning traffic.

**********

Wade lifted his head, wincing as pain lanced through the side of his face. His left eye was swollen shut, his cheek was bruised, and he had the mother of all headaches. But he was alive, and he'd find a way out. He looked around, but that wasn't very helpful. He was in a room that had only one small window, with concrete flooring and cinderblock walls. A basement? Maybe.

He was laying on something cold and hard. Ankles and wrists restrained, somehow. He swept his fingers back and forth. Whatever he was on, it was smooth. He lifted his head, looked down his body, and shivered. He was naked. This didn't bode well. 

The skinny, dark-haired guy came into Wade's field of vision. "About time you woke up. I didn't think I hit you that hard." In one hand he held, of all things, a cheese grater. Wade didn't want to know what the maniac intended to do with that.

"The cops are on their way." Tell me they are, songbird.

Pulling in at his house.

"Sure they are. You'd say anything to make me anxious."

"Possibly, although I'm not sure I like the idea of you being anxious. I think I'd rather you were calm. But the fact remains, the police are nearly here."

The other man laughed. "I doubt that. The address they have for me isn't this one."

Oh, shit.

**********

The police had cleared the house. It was empty of people, containing a bare minimum of furniture. "I'll have them run a check, see if he owns property anywhere else." Frank spoke into the radio and then clipped it to his belt. "Give me something to go on, Alex. Anything."

Alex still held the photo, his fingers moving back and forth over it. Where are you? Can you see anything? "Wade thinks he's in a basement. That doesn't make sense. People don't build basements here." He stared at the photo, his focus narrowing to the dark eyes in front of him. "We're close, I can feel it." He got out of the car, the picture pressed against his chest. "Not here, but ... close." Look out the window, what do you see? 




Cursed Gift



**********

"I know this sounds trite, but you won't get away with this." Wade stalled for time, hoping to find anything that would help Alex find him. The window revealed patchy grass and raggedy bushes outside it. Grass and shrubbery? In Phoenix?

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because you were right. Alex is psychic. A telepath, to be precise. He knows who you are."

Dark, dead eyes studied him, unblinking, and then the man smiled. It was, strangely, a cheerful, friendly smile. "He may know the name I'm using, but that's no more accurate than my home address."

"Your description, fingerprints from the glass at the bar ... they'll find you."

The man shrugged. "Possibly. But will they find me in time?" He placed the grater on a shelf and moved to stand over Wade. "I'd like to keep you here for a while. You're much bigger than the others. You might ... last longer." He ran his fingers up Wade's leg, over his ribs, and up to his chin. He patted Wade's face. "You're not bad-looking, in a rough sort of way. Not as pretty as your friend, but ... acceptable. Of course, you're much bigger. I'm not sure those restraints would be adequate once I got to work." He stepped back, his eyes cold and remote once more. "Yes, I think I need to take additional measures with you." He left the room, his footfalls fading as he walked away.

**********

Frank walked beside Alex, ready to guide him around obstacles. Alex wasn't seeing what was in front of him, he was almost sleepwalking. Frank looked at his eyes, saw the dilated pupils, and waited for Alex to speak. 

"He's in an underground room, on a table of some kind. It feels like metal. There are bushes outside the window. The room he's in is small, but ... the rest is bigger. I can hear water dripping." He stopped, turned, and stared down the street. "What's that building?" He pointed at a structure halfway down the block.

"Used to be a funeral home. Went out of business years ago. Someone bought it, tried to have the zoning changed so they could turn it into a home. The dopers and punks pretty much destroyed it when everything fell through. I don't know who owns it now."

Alex grabbed his shirt, his eyes no longer faraway. "Does it have a basement?" He didn't wait for Frank to answer, just took off running. Frank followed, calling in the details and waving the two uniforms over.

He grabbed Alex, and had to use all his strength to prevent the man getting loose. "Damn it, you can't go in there! Let us handle this." Alex finally calmed down enough that Frank felt safe letting go of him. "Wait here. Tell Wade we're on our way." 

********** 

Tell Frank to be careful, songbird.

"I already did," came a low voice. 

Wade whipped his head around. "Alex! What the hell are you doing here?" He kept his voice low, but couldn't control the fear that tainted it.

"Getting you out. Frank and the rest of the cops are up above. They told me to wait. Fuck that. I came through the window."

Wade watched Alex pad silently to the door. "No lock. Damn." He found a pair of wire cutters on the shelf and snipped the ties holding Wade's hands and feet. He found Wade's clothes under the table and tossed his jeans to him. "Come on, let's get our bad selves outta here."

Wade slid quickly into the jeans and frowned at the small opening high on the wall. "Alex, baby … no way I can fit through that window."

"Sure you can. Put one arm and your head through first. Then wriggle like hell. It might take a minute or two, but you can do it. I'll have to support you until you get your other arm through. Then you can pull me up. Easy, see?"

"No, but you haven't left me much choice." He eyed the small window doubtfully. "How are you going to support me?"

"Kneel on the table, facing away from me."

Wade frowned, but did as Alex asked. 

"Spread your legs, big guy. I'm coming in." Alex tucked his head between Wade's legs, shoulders under and hands over the powerful thighs, and lifted the bigger man.

"You'll give yourself a hernia, damn it. I'm too big."

"Shut up," Alex grunted. "And get your dick outta my ear." How can you be hard right now?  He moved to the window and held Wade there. "Start working through it. Just grass on the other side, so dig your hand in and pull."

Wade didn't argue. Alex was standing rock still and steady, but the strain had to be enormous. Shit, I weigh at least sixty pounds more than he does. He got his right arm and shoulder through, pulled himself forward three inches, and felt his left shoulder and right ribcage scrape against the sides of the window. Great, I'm stuck.

"Push all the air out of your lungs and relax. I'll shove you through."

And he did. Wade's shoulder popped through, leaving behind a bit of skin, but he didn't care. He was out. He pulled his legs through, swiveled around to reach for Alex, and saw the killer enter the room.

"Give me your hands, now!"

Alex jumped up, arms stretched for Wade to grab, perfect trust in his eyes. Wade latched onto his forearms and yanked, dragging Alex through the window and onto the grass. He felt a sizzle of pain flicker through his mind, looked down, and saw the killer below the window with a knife in his hand. Frank burst into the basement, gun drawn. The maniac turned and rushed him. Frank fired twice, and the man went down.

**********

Alex was propped up in bed, pillows piled high behind him, and another cushioning his left leg. The killer, Brian Weiss by name, had managed to slash at Alex as he was pulled through the window. It took fourteen stitches to close the wound on his calf, but the doctor didn't think there'd be any permanent damage. Even so, Wade fussed over him. 

Alison sat on the edge of the bed, glaring at him. "Woke me from a sound sleep, all in a panic, and not a damn thing I could do but wait. I knew what was happening and I kept waiting for a phone call. So who calls? Frank! What kind of brother does that to his sister?"

He looked up at Wade. Will you send her home, please? "Alison, I'm fine. You saw my leg, you did your healing thing, so you know I'm okay. Quit ragging on me." 

I'm not getting on your sister's bad side. Take it like a man, songbird. "He really is all right, Alison. Honest."

She transferred her glare to Wade. "I'm going to count on you to make sure he stays out of trouble."

"I'll do my best. I kind of like having him around, you know?"

She leaned over and hugged Alex. "I'm sorry. I was scared." She kissed his cheek and released him, and turned to Wade. "Your bruise looks better." She gave him a kiss and a hug, as well. "I hear you've bought into this crazy family."

"Not much choice, even if I wanted one." Which I don't, so not a peep out of you. "Once this guy gets into your head, you're kinda stuck with him."

Keith leaned through the doorway. "Time for us to go, sweetheart. Hey, Alex, hurry and get well, okay? The guy subbing for you sucks in harmony, and he's fumble-fingered in the piano solos. Strictly amateur night."

Alex laughed. "He can't be that bad, but I'll be back on stage by next weekend, bro. The doc already said so."

"Good deal. Bye, Wade."

Alex sighed after they left. Between police taking statements and visits from the other band members, the house had been crowded since they'd gotten home in the afternoon. He looked over at Wade, sitting quietly at the foot of the bed.

"What are you doing so far away?"

"Thinking that having you incapacitated could be fun." He moved up to settle at Alex's right side.

"How so?" Alex lifted Wade's left arm and draped it around his shoulder, snuggling in and leaning against the bigger man.

"I thought I'd see how you like slow and easy."

Alex ducked his head, suddenly shy. "I've never tried that. There's only been one other man. He … liked it rough, no other way. I couldn't handle a steady diet of that, so … well, it didn't work out."

"Alison said something last night. She said one guy stuck around long enough to … and then she stopped. Said it wasn't her place to say anything."

Alex kept his eyes down. He knew it had to be said. "He stuck around long enough to put me in the hospital. He figured, if I liked it rough sometimes, that equated to all the time, and rougher. When I objected, he decided to teach me a lesson. Forcibly." I'm sorry.

"Why are you sorry? It wasn't your fault." Wade shook his head. "You didn't deserve it, you didn't ask for it, and I don't blame you."

"You're forgetting something. I should have known." He still wouldn't raise his head. "I think I did, even though I tried to keep to just his surface thoughts. I was ... so damn lonely." His voice was softer than a whisper.

"Do you know how many people think they can change their lovers? It's universal." He coaxed the dark head up. "Did you get some licks in?"

"That's how I ended up in the hospital. It turned into a total brawl. He had a bed in the next room. Complete with handcuffs."

He tightened his arm around Alex. "Just because you like a little mild pain doesn't make you a doormat for a sadist. You stood up for yourself. So forget the guilt, okay? You don't need to own that."

"Okay." He relaxed into Wade's arm. "I always had the idea that a little spice now and then made the tender times better. But I never got to test that theory."

"Hmm, you could be right. You realize, you're not supposed to move that leg much for a couple of days?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So you have to agree to let me do the work. All you get to do is sit back and enjoy."

"That sounds interesting."

Wade grinned. "Oh yeah. Ready to find out if you're right?"

"Bring it on, stud."

Wade rearranged the pillows so Alex was flat on his back, two pillows tucked under his delectable ass, and his left leg propped on two more. He looked open, vulnerable, and incredibly sexy.

Wade started with a kiss. His mouth moved over Alex's slowly and softly, his tongue traced over warm lips, and delved inside the hot mouth. He gave oral worship to the slender neck, strong collar bones, and the hollow of his throat. He wrung soft cries and silken shivers from his love when he suckled gently at each nipple. He stayed with those sensitive nubs until they were achingly hard and then moved down to tease the muscles of the flat stomach.

Alex's hands were in his hair, sifting through the wheat-colored strands. Alex's skin was under his mouth and hands, warm softness over hard, wiry muscle. Alex's presence was in his mind, a mix of passion and calm, as comfortable as faded jeans, and as electrifying as a lightning storm.

He lowered his mouth to his lover's hardness before the slender hips could thrust up and heard a moan from above that matched the one he uttered. You taste wonderful, salty and sweet. Like chocolate-covered pretzels. Alex laughed, mind and body, and Wade stilled the laughter, changed it into pants and gasps by moving a lubed finger gently into Alex's hot channel.

Without lifting his mouth, he added another finger, found and stroked that magic button inside the greedy ass, and was rewarded with a deep-throated growl of pleasure, and more of Alex's essence in his mouth. Long legs shifted restlessly, and he pinned the left one. Not supposed to move that leg, lover.

Alex levered himself upright, his weight on his elbows, and his hair in his face. Peering out through the fall of straight hair, his gray eyes were bright, almost fevered. "I'm more than ready for you. If you don't take me now, I'll pin you to this bed and fuck you. The hell with the damn stitches." 

Wade lifted his head from the hard, dripping length in his mouth and chuckled. "Can't have that, songbird. Here I come." He lubed his cock thoroughly and slid inside his lover. Slow, baby. Want you to feel every inch slipping into you.

"Oh, god, yes. Fill me up, make me yours." Alex set his right heel on the bed and canted his hips up. "More, all the way, all of you," he panted. Need you, want you, love you. His leg locked around Wade as the bigger man set a slow, steady rhythm in and out. 

Wade lowered himself over Alex and rested on his forearms. His hands turned and curved over the wide, slender shoulders from beneath, and his mouth settled on his lover's lips. Slender hands mirrored Wade's as Alex gripped the muscled shoulders. Their breathing and heartbeats steadied and synched, their eyes closed as they concentrated on the slide of belly against hardness, hardness pushing into soft heat, and hands gripping sweat-slicked shoulders. 

Their thoughts joined and flowed until neither could tell where one began and the other ended. Alex felt Wade's rigid warmth move inside him, Wade felt hot silk surround him, and they shared those feelings with each other.

There, like that, so tight, so hard, so strong, so hot. Thoughts pulsed together, hearts beat together, bodies strove together, and they came together. They were, in every imaginable way, joined. They were one.

**********

Alex sat at the triple keyboard setup, fingers spread and waiting to lower as the stage lights came up and the house lights dimmed. He shifted on the stool and adjusted the battery pack that powered his hands-free microphone. He looked out at the tables that crowded the lounge, found the man he loved, and smiled. The spotlight came up and he sat bathed in its warm glow, for the first time happy to be there.

"I've got a new song for you tonight," he said. His fingers moved over the keys, a soft background to his words. "It's a surprise for someone special, although it was very difficult to keep it a secret." He smiled again, his eyes, heart, and mind seeking and finding Wade. For you, love. He pressed the program button to play the music he'd written, and walked to the center of the stage.

You claimed me with a kiss,showed me everything I'd missed,filled the empty, aching hollows of my heart.

Two hearts that beat in synch,two minds forever linked,two people who will never be apart.

This gift that led me to my one,that brought me from my darknessto stand shining in your sun.

You are my own, you are my one,I am the shadow to your sun.You give me light, I give you shade,I am the evening to your day.

And everywhere we are,we are one. 

By the time the song was over, he was standing in front of Wade. He didn't need his ears to hear his lover's words, he didn't need his eyes to see his lover's joy. Yet, even as his mind was filled with warmth and love, he feasted his eyes on the smiling blond, and let his ears hear the words meant for him alone.

"I love you, songbird."