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Nox worked in the dark, naked and surrounded by candles as he brushed Nelson’s limbs and brow with a bundle of smoking herbs. “Earth, water, air, and fire, heaven’s light and sacred moon, waken all and work my will. Smoke, feather, pentacle, and salt, hearken ye unto the druid’s rune.”
They stood together in the shower, holding onto each other as Nox spilled salty moonwater over their heads and bodies. Then, steam and the smell of flowers and lemony and peppery herbs surrounded them as Nox cleansed their skin. His touch remained light and healing, washing away the rage and grief and leaving Nelson boneless, his mind quiet and blank as he was dried, anointed with oils, and then led to Nox’s bed.
“We’ll heal, and we’ll help them heal,” Nox proclaimed, his voice as light as a feather as his hand cradled and stroked Nelson’s jaw tenderly.
Naked, chest-to-chest, legs interlocked. Nelson hadn’t been that close to another human being since he’d left his mother’s womb and he felt like he was being reborn as Nox’s lips and tongue tangled with his. The idea of another person’s tongue in his mouth or putting his tongue in someone else’s mouth had never appealed to Nelson and he hadn’t particularly enjoyed the rushed, sloppy kisses he’d been party to in college. But kissing Nox stirred Nelson’s soul. A yearning uncoiled in his center and it sang Nox’s name and gloried in his touch. And Nelson felt every hot slide of their tongues as if his body was curling and sliding around Nox’s.
Every nerve hummed with warm, golden pleasure and Nelson felt their souls tangling into one. The world grew brighter and brighter until the joyful glow in Nelson’s core burst into ecstasy, bringing tears to his eyes as he held on and clung to Nox’s lips.
“Gods, Nelson,” Nox panted, a drunken, sated smile stretched across his face. He threw an arm around Nelson’s shoulders, binding them together as he yawned. “I think I touched the sun,” he said with a delirious hum, just before a tiny snore fluttered from him.
“Me too.”
Nelson sank into radiant, dreamless bliss, swaddled in peace. When he came awake, he heard birds chirping and a harp plucking as he rubbed his cheek against Nox’s hair and breathed him in.
“It’s like you were made for each other, isn’t it?” Merlin whispered from behind Nelson.
“We didn’t—!” Nelson flipped around and popped up, blinking at the bright sun spilling through the windows and the pastel rainbow reflecting off the chandelier.
Merlin tittered in amusement as he went to a tray on the dresser. “So I see. Poor Nox’s legs are still attached to his torso and his backside appears to be disappointingly intact,” he noted while filling a mug with coffee from a carafe and turning to deliver it to Nelson.
Nelson gasped at their naked bodies and his semi-aroused cock, snatching a pillow from behind him and covering himself. “No! I wouldn’t—!” He started in horror, pausing when Nox stretched and chuckled drowsily next to him.
“Not in the shape we were in last night.” He pulled himself up and draped his arms over his knees, beaming at Nelson. “Hey, you.” Nox purred and kissed Nelson’s shoulder. “But the rest was perfect, once the awful parts were over,” he whispered, making Nelson feel absurdly pleased.
Kissing like that and reveling in the feel of Nox’s body in his arms had been heaven. There was no other way for Nelson to describe the pure beauty, joy, and pleasure, but it had been everything his heart had craved and felt as life-altering as the vivid climaxes they had shared in his dreams. He never would have imagined that would have been enough to satisfy Nox, but he was staring at Nelson in that adorably goofy crystals-and-moonbeams way that made him lightheaded.
It was making it hard for Nelson to drink his coffee. His own lips kept twitching and he felt like laughing. “Perfect,” he murmured and nodded in agreement.
“So I see!” Merlin said, handing Nox a cup. “I took the liberty of ordering you a late breakfast,” he said, returning to the tray and lifting a cover to reveal waffles piled high with sliced bananas and fresh berries. Nelson covered his stomach when it growled.
“A late breakfast? What time is it?”
“A little after noon.”
“Noon!” Nelson’s legs swung over the side of the bed and he held the pillow over his groin as he turned in a circle, looking for his things.
“You told me to burn your clothes, but I left your phone, holster, and wallet in the closet,” Nox informed him.
Nelson ran to the walk-in closet and found everything on a shelf next to Nox’s wallet and his phone. Both phones were thoughtfully plugged in and charging, but Nelson swore at the dozens of missed calls and messages.
“It was magick while it lasted,” Nox sighed as he wandered in and pulled on a robe. “What could we have possibly missed except paperwork?” He asked, selecting a chunky black sweater and swiping a pair of ratty-looking black jeans off a hanger.
“They picked up Julian outside of New Castle and they’re holding him in Roanoke for questioning.”
“Let’s go!” Nox added a pair of combat boots to his bundle and dashed into the bathroom.
An hour later, they were racing down Highway 81 while Nox relayed messages to and from the task force and from Merlin as he worked his sources in the witching community.
“Howard is devastated,” Nox informed Nelson sadly. “He said Julian fled the store saying we had ruined everything and that he was leaving to serve the All-Father.”
“That coward!” Nelson spat. “He left his loving, disabled father stranded at the shop to face that alone while he ran off to serve some evil wannabe ‘All-Father.’”
“Julian must have been brainwashed,” Nox said distantly. “I think whoever this ‘All-Father’ is, he used Elsa to get inside Julian’s head.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. And we’ll find out if he used the store’s van to transport Elsa and the other victims. Techs are going through it now,” Nelson added.
The difference in Julian was startling when they were let into the interrogation room to question him. He was no longer earnest and eager to help, he was seething and incredulous when Nox sat in the seat across from him.
