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One
“Hello, stranger,” Reginald drawled. He was practically hanging onto the door and there were deep shadows under his eyes. But he groaned in exhausted delight as Paul gathered him in his arms and shut the door behind them. Paul could feel ribs and the knots of his spine and his arms were lighter beneath the thin silk of Reginald’s pale pink kimono. “Dear God, you have no idea how good you feel. I’ve been miserable since we left Lake Cliff.”
“Me too.”
Paul dropped his backpack as Reginald went to work on his shirt, ripping buttons loose in his haste. They danced through the darkened foyer of the opulent townhouse and up the grand staircase. Paul had no idea where anything was or where they were going, he was content to let Reginald lead the way as they kissed and left a trail of clothes behind them.
“When was the last time you ate?” Paul whispered as soon as Reginald released his lips.
“I ate several gummies when I got in this afternoon. I was ready to jump out of my skin, I was so sick of missing you.”
“Jesus, I love you, but that doesn’t count.” Paul picked Reginald up when he spotted a bed through a set of opened double doors at the end of the hall. The decadent white bedding was rumpled but Paul could tell by the three laptops and the cocaine residue on the mirrored surface of the nightstand that Reginald hadn’t been napping. Just about anything that wasn’t a window was a mirror in the bedroom and Paul bit back a curse as Reginald’s robe fell away. “You promised me you’d eat. And when was the last time you slept?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have you to distract me so I spent most of my time searching for anything I could find about Speed’s life with the Westies. I know he’s hiding something from us that has to do with them. It has to because Alon knows everything Speed’s done since he went to work for Blink and he’d have no reason to hide any of that,” Reginald babbled.
“Shhh! I don’t want to talk about Speed until you’ve slept and had a few decent meals. You have to rest now.” Paul kissed him then stepped away so he could kick off his shoes. He dropped his trousers and boxers and guided Reginald onto the bed. Paul carefully shut the laptops and relocated them to the floor so he wouldn’t unplug anything, then crawled over the crumpled duvet and into Reginald’s arms. “Is there food in the kitchen?”
“Yes but I ordered something so you wouldn’t have to cook. It’ll be here in an hour.”
“Good. How was your trip, aside from all the work? Did you have any trouble?” Paul asked but Reginald shook his head, his nose wrinkling as he waved it off.
“Had to spend an extra day in Peru because of a flight delay but I barely looked up from my laptop,” he said.
It was too easy for Reginald to pass himself off as a college student if they traveled separately. He had let the blue fade so his hair was a pale blond and a baseball cap or a beanie took an instant fifteen years off of him. Reginald said he enjoyed wearing hoodies and jeans and pretending to be middle class. Fast food and self-service were fun novelties when he was traveling but he hadn’t enjoyed himself the way Paul had hoped.
“I know you can get yourself into or out of anything without me but I wish I could trust you to do the minimum to fucking sustain yourself.”
“I’m sorry. I know I look like hell and you’re worried but I’m fine. There’s just no point when you’re not there. Why should I stop and eat or sleep if you’re not with me? Who am I going to talk to? It’s so lonely and I miss you even more,” Reginald pouted as he wound his arms around Paul’s neck.
“It wasn’t even a week and you knew I’d get here right after you.”
“I know. I’m irrational and selfish.”
“You’re not selfish,” Paul said with a heavy sigh. “You’re scared that we’re in danger and you don’t want to let him down.”
“He says I couldn’t disappoint him but he’d have to be if we lost someone because I’d missed something.”
“You’re obsessing over this because you know Speed’s hiding something from you. You want to prove you’re better than him and that you’ll do anything to protect us but what if there’s nothing to find?”
“What do you mean? There’s always something. Nothing gets completely erased. There are always traces if you look carefully enough, I just haven’t found them yet.”
“What if it’s just something that Speed knows or did that he’s kept to himself? He said it had something to do with his heart but I don’t think he meant in an emotional sense. Or he might have but I think he was playing with us too. Remember what he said about revenge and that he wasn’t playing any more games,” Paul explained and Reginald’s eyes flared.
“I thought that was a touch sentimental for Speed, given what he’d just shared… He never compromised, not once, in over thirty years so he could avenge his parents. They were never a game to him. What would matter more to Speed’s heart than his parents?”
“Nothing,” Paul said, then smirked. “Except Blake, now.”
“That’s what I told Lavender,” Reginald murmured thoughtfully as he became distant.
“Meanwhile,” Paul interrupted, snatching Reginald’s attention so he could give him a pointed look. “Speed’s having the time of his life being waited on by Blake. He isn’t obsessing over any of this. Take a cue from Speed and give yourself some time to recover,” Paul insisted. His grip was firm around Reginald’s jaw as Paul kissed him thoroughly, ending the conversation until Reginald was stronger.
“Mmm… More of that. I’m already feeling better.” Reginald undulated beneath Paul. “You know how turned on I get when you’re pushy and possessive.”
Paul rolled his eyes because this was as close to pushy and possessive as he was capable of and it took a lot to bring that out of him. “Only when I’m scared. I’ve never seen you this tired and fixated.”
“I’m fine. You’re here now and I’m going to get lots of rest.”
“You better. I had a talk with Lavender and this is your warning: he said he’ll send you on vacation again if this doesn’t work.”
