his cock and stroked himself. Dane could have all of that, and more.

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Precome slicked Lindsay’s hand, easing the way as he stroked himself. His breath came faster with

every pull, and he fucked himself on Dane’s cock, rolling his hips to get it in deep. His hand moved faster, his body moved harder, until he was shouting Dane’s name and coming all over his hand and Dane’s chest.

Dane was growling softly under his breath, still moving. “Don’t stop.” It sounded as close to begging

as Lindsay had ever heard him. His breath was broken by desperate hitches and he writhed until his back

came up off the bed and his hands dug into Lindsay’s hips, slamming him down and holding him tight.

Then he was coming, and Lindsay soaked up the sound of his name in Dane’s gasping, pleasure-drunk

voice.

Eventually, Dane managed to muster up a tender smile that was exactly what Lindsay wanted to see.

He shifted to cradle Lindsay against him, snuggling down until they ended up nestled in the sheets, still entwined as close as humanly possibly. “Sleep.”

Lindsay woke up already humming with contentment. He was cuddled up against Dane, warm and

safe, and Dane was nuzzling in his hair. The sun was creeping between the broken clouds and through the

window into Dane’s little garret room. It was perfect. “Mmm. Morning?” Lindsay lifted his head, blinking

at Dane with a soft smile.

“Morning,” Dane said, laughing quietly. “We’re still here.” It was a victory, just that they were still

here together. He ducked his head to nudge at Lindsay’s cheek, hunting for a kiss.

Lindsay rubbed his cheek against Dane’s and pulled back to brush his lips over Dane’s. “It’s a good

morning, then.” He kissed Dane again, soft and sweet.

They were still kissing when a knock came at the door. Dane’s head jerked up, his body went tense,

and a growl rattled in his chest.

Lindsay stifled his own nervousness and reached up to cup Dane’s cheek in his hand. “We’re at

home,” he reminded Dane. No one would hurt them here. He hoped.

Dane grumbled at that and got out of bed to pull on a pair of jeans that were folded on a chair by the

bed. Lindsay hadn’t seen it last night, but it was so Dane that the jeans were there with a pair of boots on the floor by the chair and a shirt folded over the back. There was an old, dark coat hanging on the back of the door. Of course. In case Dane wanted to go out the window instead of getting his coat in the front hall.

Lindsay was filled with a wash of tender affection for his eccentric lover.

“Wait,” Dane snapped, when the knock came again. The tone made Lindsay feel safer—there was no

chance Dane was talking to him that way.

Dane offered Lindsay the shirt from the chair and Lindsay wriggled into it. He didn’t have to undo

anything to get it on, and it came to his thighs when he smoothed it down. His hands were lost in it, so he pushed the cuffs up. He tugged the blankets around himself again and sat up against the pillows, giving

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Dane a smile. He wasn’t ashamed of being nearly naked, or of being marked with the reminders of their

sex.

“All ready now,” he said. Dane pressed a kiss to Lindsay’s forehead and went to answer the door.

“I thought you might be hungry.” It was Vivian’s voice. “And I wanted to speak to you. Cyrus said

you would be awake.” Dane checked over his shoulder one more time before letting her into the room.

“Good morning, dear,” she said to Lindsay. She was carrying a tray laden with food, a newspaper propped

up against the coffee carafe.

“What do you want?” Dane leaned against his desk, arms crossed over his chest, and watched her with

more suspicion than Lindsay thought she deserved.

“Aside from bringing you breakfast,” Vivian said as she put the tray on the chair by the bed, “I came

to give you my apologies.” When she straightened, she clasped her hands and gave Lindsay a bow. “I am

sorry for failing you both.”

Lindsay felt a shock of concern and then a rush of awkwardness. He wasn’t used to anyone

apologizing to him. “You didn’t…” he began.

“She did,” Dane said flatly. “What happened?” Lindsay hadn’t seen him look so dire about anyone

but Ezqel or Jonas.

“I miscalculated,” Vivian said simply. She faced Dane’s anger without flinching. “I thought Moore

would be controlling the girl. She’s more of a free agent than I ever expected Moore to allow. She must

have found Jonas on her own, but I have no idea how she knew you would be in New York when you

were.”

“She had other people with her,” Lindsay blurted out. The memory of the twin mages and their hands

on him wouldn’t fade any time soon. He remembered their names, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the

words out loud, like speaking would summon them up again.

“Who?” Dane’s voice made Lindsay jump and clutch the covers tighter. He hadn’t been afraid of

Dane since he’d woken up in this house, but he was now, just for a moment.

“Two men.” The names wouldn’t come out; Lindsay’s tongue refused to work. He had to focus on

Dane to keep talking. “She said I could have them, instead of you.” His throat got tight at the memory and

his vision blurred. “Because she was taking you away.”

Dane crossed the room so quickly that he was already there when Lindsay blinked away his tears. He

sat on the bed and let Lindsay burrow into his arms. “It’s okay,” Dane said gently, stroking his hair. “I’m here now. You did that.”

The petting worked, it always had. Lindsay took a breath and tried to shake off the flood of misery

that was trying to drown his memories. “They were twins,” he managed to say, taking comfort in the fact

that his voice didn’t shake that much. “Tall and thin. Like polished wood.”

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“Dark skin and hair and eyes? Older than you?” Vivian asked. Lindsay could only nod. “I’ll have to

tell Cyrus they’re here. That explains much.”

“It does?” Lindsay pushed away from Dane enough to look at her. He didn’t want to lose Dane’s

comforting presence, but he wasn’t going to cower and cry when Vivian knew something he didn’t.

“Null mages.” Vivian’s face was tight and pale. “And they have other tricks. But they are at their

best—their worst—when they’re together. I wonder what the girl did to draw them in.”

“You know them?” It still felt that Lindsay needed a map to his own country.

“Of them.” Vivian looked at Dane, then back at Lindsay. “We are not all so interesting that those

among us with extraordinary powers don’t go unnoticed by the rest. And she may not be able to keep

them.” She picked up the paper that was on the tray and unfolded it, offering it to him.

Dane let Lindsay go and Lindsay took the paper to read it. The front page documented a terrible

accident at a National Guard base miles away. Another failure for Moore. “Is she in trouble?”

“In disgrace, I’d call it,” Vivian said quietly. “Once more. I’ll be leaving for Washington in a few

hours. I may not be back for some time. I’m leaving Kristan here to help out, for now. She knows what I

need her to do.”

“Are you…?” Lindsay pulled his eyes away from the paper—he could hardly make sense of it all

right now anyway—to look at her. Are you in trouble? As soon as he knew what he was thinking, he

couldn’t say it. “It wasn’t all your fault. You can’t know everything.”