Jade returned to the living area after unpacking her belongings. Calvario had paid for a service to crate and store the furniture, appliances, and other household items she would not be needing during her contract with him. Jade had packed her clothing and immediately necessary personal belongings and then returned to Rio. The service would pack all the rest and transport it to her new suite in the Penthouse.
She had just made herself a cup of tea when she overheard Calvario’s assistant inform him there was a call from the Haven trading ship, Leather.
Calvario appeared in the doorway between the living area and his office. “Jade, come,” he said. “This will be about Cobra.”
Nodding, Jade rose and joined him at the comlink screen on his desk.
The 28 year old Haven that appeared on the screen was seated behind an elegant desk of black wood and leather. His dark hair was swept back into a tail, a style common for Haven males. He wore a black silk shirt topped with a black leather vest. Haven skin color was that of a permanent, perfect California tan, and when Lane Gage smiled, his teeth were perfect white.
“You sent me a request, Ruis,” he began without preliminary. “Usual remuneration for services rendered and we have a deal.”
“I was certain I could count on you, Lane,” Calvario replied. “Done.” He made a few entries on his computer. Gage’s eyes were watching something off-screen, and in a few moments, he nodded, apparently satisfied. “Done,” he said, then he crooked his finger. Another man appeared on the screen, standing over the Haven. He was tall, Ter-African, young, and his features seemed hard and cold.
“What do you want, you sick fuck bastard?” he said in a voice to match his expression.
Calvario seemed nonplussed by the manner and the words. “Cobra, you’ve grown,” he murmured, and Jade noticed the flare of interest in his eyes. Apparently, so did Cobra, for his jaw tightened. Calvario recovered quickly. “Where are my manners? Forgive me. Cobra, this is Dr. Jade Han. Jade, Jeremy Paget.”
“The doctor and I have already met,” Gage said to Paget.
There was a silent question asked and answered between the two men on the screen, then Jeremy Paget said, “Pleased to meet you, Doctor.”
“Mr. Calvario actually wished to locate you on my behalf,” Jade returned. “I’ve been retained by him to see to the medical treatment of his companion…”
“What have you done to him!” Paget broke in, hissing at Calvario. He had actually leaned on his hands over the desk, and Gage placed a comforting hand over one of his.
“Mr. Paget, I assume you’re referring to Mr. Takeda…” Jade began.
“Calvario.” It was Calvario’s turn to break in. “Sulu Calvario.”
“Since when?” Paget snorted.
“Since he and I were wed a year ago,” was the suave reply.
The look on Paget’s face was one of the most stricken Jade had ever seen. She had no idea if she managed to keep her own shock from her expression. You could have mentioned this, Cal, she found herself thinking. She saw Gage’s hand tighten on Paget’s and realized that, behind the Haven imperturbability, he, too, was stunned. She shook herself, reasserting control over the situation.
“Be that as it may,” she said, “I’ve been hired by Mr. Calvario. I’ve done a preliminary examination of my patient, and I need some background on him. Mr. Calvario suggested you could provide this background, Mr. Paget.”
“You actually want me to tell her what you did to him?” Paget sneered, still speaking to Calvario.
“I want her to have all factual information, Cobra,” Calvario returned. “Not your wild and unfounded speculation; factual material.”
“Let’s all keep calm, here,” Gage put in. His gaze turned to Jade. “Just what do you need to know, Jade?”
“Mostly, I need information about his behavior patterns before his – association with Mr. Calvario,” she replied, very glad to have a Haven’s level-headed aid.
“Jeremy can give you that,” he said. “And, to a lesser extent, so can I. I didn’t know him before he met Ruis, but I was – very intimate, shall we say – with him during the first two years of their acquaintance.”
“That might be very helpful, Lane. Thank you.”
“Where should we meet you?” Gage asked.
“I’m staying at the Penthouse…”
“I won’t set foot in that sick-fuck’s…” Paget began.
“Pardon a moment, I have an urgent signal,” Gage interrupted. He turned away from the screen and the audio portion went dead. After a few moments, sound returned. “Sorry, business,” Gage apologized with a dazzling smile. “If you’re working from Ruis’ home, we’ll meet you there. I assume you have a separate suite?”
“Yes,” Jade replied. She turned to Calvario. “Will that be all right, Ruis?”
“Of course,” Calvario said. “Anything for Sulu’s health.” Jade did not miss Paget’s bristling, or Gage’s subtle restraint.
“How soon can you arrive?” she asked.
“That depends. How long will you need us?” Gage returned.
“It may take more than one conversation,” Jade admitted. “I suggest you plan on several days at least.”
“Let me consult my schedule,” Gage said. Once again he turned from the screen, and once again the audio cut out.
“We’re not too far from Terra,” Gage finally rejoined. “We can oversee several runs from there. That means we can make it in two days. Will that fit your needs, Doctor?”
“Nicely, thank you.” She faced Paget. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Paget.”
“Anything for Sulu’s health,” Paget replied, his tone bitter mockery.
“I will look forward to seeing you again, Lane,” Calvario offered graciously. “And you, Cobra.”
“Rot in hell,” was Paget’s terse response, and the viewscreen went abruptly dark.
Jade folded her arms, turning to face Calvario. “It seems, Ruis,” she began, “that Mr. Paget isn’t particularly fond of you. I do hope you’re going to explain certain of his references.”
Calvario looked over at her. “I have already stated that some of his information would be wildly speculative.”
“And if I’m to be of any meaningful aid,” Jade continued, “you’re going to have to give me accurate and complete information – including Mr. Paget’s ideas, be they wild and speculative or not. Such as,” she stared directly at him, “the fact that you and Sulu are married?”
Calvario frowned. “Why is that small legality of such importance, Doctor?”
“Such things will affect how Sulu views his relationship with you, and that will affect his mental state,” Jade returned. “For example, if he views marriage as a monogamous state, your forcing him to serve others could be setting up a serious schism within him.” She tilted her head, arching a significant eyebrow.
“I do not force…” Calvario blustered.
“I saw you giving him permission just before each instance of – sharing,” Jade told him. “And I saw his reaction when I mentioned that fact. He said it was ‘business,’ Ruis. It was, in fact, what led to my diagnosis of multiplicity. The change in him from sensual pet to cold whore was too drastic to miss.” She stood from the chair in which she had been seated. “So no more games, and no more half-truths, and no more withholding information you don’t see the relevance of.” She paused to let her words sink in. “Or I’m off the case. Do I make myself clear, Ruis?”
Calvario’s face was red with fury. “You are not the only psychiatrist…”
“But I’m very likely the only one who won’t report the fact that your ‘husband’ expects to fuck the doctors that treat him, or the fact that you supply him with the illegal drugs he uses, or who wouldn’t call a spade a spade and report you for criminal sexual abuse!” Jade snapped coldly.
“And to what do I owe this generosity, Doctor Han?” Calvario sneered.
“To the fact that I care more for my patients than I do for my profession,” Jade replied calmly, but her dark eyes were still flashing. “If I can successfully treat someone who is psychologically damaged, all the compromises are worth it.” She continued to stare at Calvario until his gaze dropped. “Now,” she said as she re-took her seat, “spill, Ruis. And I mean everything.”
Hours later, Jade sat on the edge of her bed, completing her dictation to her records. If it were anyone else, she knew, she would have bailed on the case and walked out. The history of Ruis’ association with Sulu was not a pretty one, even in Calvario’s own words, even without Jeremy Paget’s ‘wild speculation.’
Sulu Takeda had been a promising racer at the age of 15. Vivacious, open, warmly good-natured, he’d made a lot of friends very quickly. Most of those friends were also lovers, for he was as open about sexuality as he was about everything else. His promiscuity was one of the things that attracted Calvario’s attention. As he told it, he approached the young man, propositioned him, and was welcomed with open arms. Their relationship matured. Within a year, Sulu was living at the Penthouse in Rio. He was pampered, spoiled, given anything and everything his heart desired – which included unlimited access to Haven chemicals. And Calvario, so much older, wasn’t fully cognizant of the effect constant drug use would have on one as young and as impressionable as Sulu. By eighteen, Sulu was addicted to a number of chemicals, with no interest in any curatives. Which was when Jade had first met him.
She remembered the struggle to get him to accept treatment. His attitude was, simply put, why fix what wasn’t broken? He was content. “To stay drugged and mindless?” Jade had asked. He kept his lover happy, he countered. It was Ruis himself who had retained her services, she told him. Which only meant, Sulu had insisted, that Calvario was rich enough to afford the chemicals. The fact that his addictions were taking a noticeable toll on his health was brushed aside with a teenager’s typical inability to accept his own mortality. At the last, only Calvario’s threats to throw him out on his ear convinced Sulu to acquiesce to Jade’s therapies.
It had been a difficult year.
It had taken her over a month to completely clear out Sulu’s system. There had been the usual physical withdrawals, as well as the psychological anguish. She had learned that Sulu was not just Calvario’s ‘precious companion’ and ‘beloved pet.’ Calvario used him in complex, manipulative sexual games involving sadism and bondage and multiple partners. When confronted, Calvario claimed all of it to be no more than mutual pleasures between consenting lovers. Sulu’s expectations of sexual service to her – because she was a doctor – was explained away as a part of his addictions. Calvario had tried to control his drug use with counter-agents, and Sulu got around these attempts by seducing the physicians. Jade had tried to talk to Sulu about her concerns privately, but Sulu would not gainsay Calvario.
Jade had tried to get to the truth of the relationship, and argued with Calvario time and again. He insisted there was no ‘truth’ to discover. After a month, and a threat to dismiss her from the case, Jade gave up and concentrated only on curing Sulu’s addictions. After he was clear, it took her another three months to convince him to want to stay straight. Six more months, and she had given him control over the cravings, though he still had his bad days. And she had warned Calvario that even the recreational use of chemicals would be dangerous to his young companion. Calvario had paid her handsomely, thanking her with all due enthusiasm. He gave her glowing recommendations guaranteed to insure her the best, most lucrative clientele and sent her on her way.
But Sulu’s eyes haunted her, had for the next five years. And now… Now, his need pulled at her, his pain called to her. Why, she didn’t know, and refused to guess at. It didn’t matter anyway. The fact was the same. She cared for him as she had cared for no other since her disastrous affair with a suicidal psychiatric intern ten years earlier, when she herself had been but 22. If that long-ago failure was part of her motive, so be it. All she knew was that, now that she had been given a second chance, she wouldn’t fail Sulu.
She awoke to the sounds of an argument. Sulu’s voice was low, a sensual plea that was nevertheless close to being a snarl.
“I want it, Cal. I need it. After last night…”
“Last night is done with,” came Ruis’ obviously angry reply. It sounded as though it was coming from between clenched teeth, as though he were trying to rein in both his temper and the volume of his voice. “If there is some residual effect, it will be temporary.”
“It hurts now, Cal,” Sulu returned.
“Dr. Han has advised…”
“Fuck Dr. Han!”
“She won’t allow that, pet.”
There was a pause, then a snort of involuntary laughter. “Damn it, Cal, just a short one,” Sulu said, but his tone was lighter and Jade could hear the amusement in it. “Please, I can’t stand it.”
“Sulu…”
“Please?” The voice was wheedling now, sensual in an entirely different way than before. Demand had given way to seduction. “You know how it makes me feel, I’ll be miserable all day. She’s not even awake yet, please, please Ruis?”
Silently, Jade rose from her bed. She put on a robe, and stepped to the door.
There was another pause, then Calvario murmured a nearly inaudible, “My condition, Sulu…”
“Can be fixed. You know I know how.” Sulu’s voice became urgent and desperate. “Cal, I ache for it, the emptiness burns in me. You wouldn’t give me what I needed last night because of her. You know what it does to me. Please, you can’t let me suffer like this!”
Jade opened the door, stepping quietly into the large living room. Calvario stood next to the bar, his back to her door in the usual white lounging pajamas Jade remembered. Sulu was in front of him, naked beneath an open, thigh-length sheer black kimono.
“She will ask where we have been all morning…” Calvario returned. Sulu dropped gracefully to his knees, his arms entwining around Calvario’s thighs.
“Cal, I’m begging you.” His voice dropped again to a hoarse, hungry whisper. “I’ll get you hard, Ruis. I’ll suck you like I’ve never sucked you before. I’ll talk so filthy your blood will boil. I’ll make up new games, I’ll tell you all about new pleasures – and then I’ll do them all, I promise you. I’m hungry, I’m empty, please Cal, please. I need your cock inside me!”
Calvario’s eyes were closed, his face flushed with passionate longing. Jade could see him trembling as Sulu began a fierce oral assault at his crotch. What she had at first thought was a bargaining session for chemicals now seemed something much more straightforward. Something about the last evening’s activities – or perhaps the last evening’s chemical use – left Sulu in desperate need of sexual contact. Jade knew from her previous work that Calvario was usually very difficult to arouse to full erection. It was what fed his more savage needs – violence was the one thing nearly guaranteed to harden him.
She turned, intending on returning to her room and leaving them to their passion. She heard Cal’s groan and Sulu’s sudden, soft cry.
“My beloved, my jewel…” Calvario said and Jade turned back. He held Sulu’s head away from his body, fingers stroking through the black hair. His eyes were still closed, but there was anguish on his face, not desire. “It is too soon,” he groaned. “I cannot…”
“I need, damn you!” Sulu burst out. He pulled away from Calvario’s caresses, rising to his feet. “You did this to me, you force this on me, now, damn it all to hell, you fill me!” The almond eyes were blazing, the lean body taut and straining. Curiously, his cock gave no indication of the frantic desire evident in his face and voice.
“I will call for a surrogate…” Calvario began.
“I don’t want a fucking surrogate, I want you!” Sulu nearly screamed.
“Sulu, I cannot…”
Sulu collapsed to the floor, sitting cross-legged with his head in his hands. “Damn it,” he sobbed, “damn it, damn it, damn it…” The litany repeated as, shaking, he rocked back and forth. Calvario turned from him, misery plain in his movement.
Then he caught sight of Jade. Misery was replaced immediately by fury, then just as quickly changed to embarrassed contrition. Jade put a finger to her lips and silently motioned him towards her. With a glance at Sulu, he stepped quietly to her. She moved back into her room and shut the door behind Calvario.
“Ruis, what’s the problem here?” she asked.
Calvario flushed a deep scarlet. “I am -” he stammered, “- temporarily unable to - ”
“Yes, I know, it’s all right,” Jade interrupted comfortingly. “I meant why is Sulu so desperate? And what did he mean, you wouldn’t last night because of me?”
Calvario looked away from her. “As I have agreed to cease that behavior, there is no reason to discuss it.”
“What behavior, Ruis?”
“Whoring him, as you so delicately put it,” he snarled.
“Why should that make him…”
“Chemical residue, Doctor. It is usually necessary to burn away the last vestiges from his system…”
“Chemical… burn away…” Jade’s mind quickly went over the properties of all the chemicals she was familiar with that might relate to the situation. Finally, her eyes widened as she realized the only logical choice. “Venus? Ruis, you give him venus?”
“A dilute form.”
Jade closed her eyes. Sulu’s condition made sudden, horribly perfect sense. Venus was a Haven-developed aphrodisiac, highly addictive and hell on the central nervous system. In Humans, if one did not engage in lengthy, highly energetic and powerfully stimulating sexual activity, the venus would start to eat away at one's nerve endings. One was literally required to fuck the drug out of one’s system.
Yet, Sulu was not physically aroused.
Frowning, Jade again spoke to Calvario. “What do you dilute it with?”
“Sapphire,” he replied sullenly. “It keeps him calm.”
“Jesus!” Jade exclaimed. Sapphire, another Haven drug, was used to dull the senses and to slow certain synaptic responses, usually in the areas of empathy or telepathy. “Ruis, do you know what you’re doing to him?”
“Obviously not, which is why I engaged your services, doctor,” Calvario snapped back.
“All right, let’s stay calm,” Jade replied. She took several deep breaths. “First things first. You cannot – I repeat, Ruis – cannot allow Sulu to remain in his current state. Even diluted, residual venus can do serious damage to his nervous system.”
“He has refused a surrogate,” was Calvario’s curt response.
“Then you’ll have to either convince him to accept one, or – ” she inhaled “ – do whatever you have to do to be able to help him yourself.”
“You won’t approve, doctor.”
“I’ll approve less of letting my patient suffer permanent damage.” She opened the door. “Go on, Ruis. I’ll stay in my rooms. Call me when you’ve – finished. But I’ll want to talk to you afterwards. Both of you.”
“Very well,” Calvario said, his voice and manner stiff. He stepped through the door and Jade heard Sulu’s renewed entreaties. Biting her lip, she walked through the room, returning to her bed and a pillow to place around her ears.
It was late afternoon before Jade again heard voices in the outer room. She had spent the day going over her old notes on Sulu as well as refreshing her knowledge of the literature regarding the treatment of multiple personalities. She identified Sulu first; he sounded young and delighted and enthusiastic, telling Calvario that he was starving. Calvario sounded weary but indulgent, telling his ‘most precious jewel’ that he had more than earned anything he desired. She rose from the desk in her room and went to the door.
“Ginger soup,” Sulu was saying as she entered the living room. “And eel sushi, and yam tempura and beef teriyaki.” He was speaking through the intercom system, obviously to the chef in the kitchen on the other end of the house. He turned, smiling. “Ruis?” he asked, then caught sight of her. His expression changed rapidly, his voice losing its boundless enthusiasm. “Hello, doctor,” he murmured.
“Manners, pet,” Calvario admonished.
Jade saw Sulu’s jaw tighten. “Can I get you something from the kitchen?” he asked sullenly.
“Oolong tea would be wonderful,” Jade replied, making sure her tone was pleasant and neutral.
“And nothing for me, thank you, jewel,” Calvario rejoined.
“And oolong,” Sulu repeated into the com. He snapped it off and moved next to Calvario, deliberately taking the older man’s hand.
Jade took several steps toward them and was aware that though Sulu didn’t move, he shrank from her approach. She cleared her throat.
“Ruis, Sulu, I think we should go over a few basics of the therapy I’ll be providing.”
“An excellent idea, Doctor,” Calvario replied. He gestured toward the large, long couch. “Shall we sit?”
Jade nodded and took a seat. Calvario, too, sat on the couch. Sulu, not letting go of his hand, knelt on the floor beside him. Calvario turned to him. “No need for that, beloved.”
“I prefer it,” was Sulu’s nearly inaudible response. As if to underscore the truth of the statement, he lifted Calvario’s hand to his cheek, softly nuzzling to it, then kissing each finger.
Calvario smiled, cupping the young man’s face, then returned his attention to Jade. His expression was clearly triumphant, and Jade found herself wondering just what had been won.
She made pleasant small talk until the food arrived from the kitchen. Only then did Sulu rise from his position at Calvario’s feet, and only to move to the coffee table, where his plate had been set. He knelt across from Calvario, avoiding Jade’s gaze. His motions were fluid and graceful, as confined as any proper Japanese wife. The realization was momentarily distressing, until Jade realized it was either an act to convince her that he was in the relationship of his own free will – or that this was a personality who was a proper Japanese wife.
She took a sip of her tea, then gently replaced the cup on its saucer and began speaking.
“As we agreed, Ruis, I will have control of Sulu’s therapy, with you making the determination as to its duration.” She saw Sulu glance at Calvario, who nodded. “Also, I agreed not to interfere with your relationship unless absolutely necessary, and only with prior consultation with you as to the reasons for its necessity.” Again Sulu looked to Calvario, and again, he nodded. She turned to face Sulu, catching his eye and holding it. “With that in mind,” she said to him, “the only other stricture that I find necessary is that we all agree that your chemical usage is curtailed, safely, of course, but with an eye to its total elimination.”
Sulu had been obviously uneasy with the visual contact. Now he smiled, but the expression didn’t touch his eyes. “Is that all?” he asked.
“Mind your behavior, pet,” Calvario murmured. Jade watched for and saw the flash of bitter anger from Sulu she had noticed in her first renewed interview with him. If Calvario also noticed it, he gave no indication.
“You won’t really allow that, will you, Ruis?” Sulu returned. His voice was soft and seductive.
“Doctor Han believes you cannot become well unless your body is purged of such things,” Calvario answered.
Sulu caught the careful wording as easily as did Jade herself. He got up, moving with silken elegance to Calvario’s feet. He knelt, pressing his body along Calvario’s lower legs, reaching for the older man’s hands. Staring into the cool brown eyes, he said, “And is that what you believe, Ruis?”
Calvario’s face softened, his gaze momentarily unguarded. The adoration and devotion Jade glimpsed there gave her pause. “I believe that I will endure almost anything to have you well, my jewel,” he replied. “I believe that Doctor Han is the only true hope of that for you. And so I will follow her rules as best I can.”
There were tears in Sulu’s eyes and he lowered his head to Calvario’s lap. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. It was child-like and sorrowful and Jade reminded herself to keep a careful log of when the personality changes occurred, and whether or not Calvario himself seemed to notice.
“I – overheard your conversation this morning,” she admitted as a way of continuing, “and I wanted to let you know that my approval or disapproval of your behavior and interactions will always be based solely on my professional opinions regarding what is or is not best for your physical and emotional health.” She watched for and saw the sullen defiance return to Sulu’s eyes. She deliberately smiled. “And of course, sexual activity between married partners is not a concern when it’s intended to help your physical and emotional health.” Sulu looked up at Calvario, who flushed, then shrugged, smiling. Sulu’s face relaxed into a smile of his own. “I understand that withdrawal from certain chemicals might, at first, require some activity that wouldn’t be considered conducive to your emotional health in the long run, but for the short term…”
“What I do for Ruis is none of your fucking business, Doctor,” Sulu suddenly spat, pulling away from Calvario’s lap, sitting back on his heels. “If he needs me to beat the hell out of some juicy little cunt to get him hard, that’s exactly what I’m going to do and nothing you can say will stop me!”
Jade tried to remain calm, though her heart was racing.
“As I said, Sulu, for the short term…”
“Fuck this,” Sulu muttered, and rose to his feet. “Am I done here, Ruis?” he asked. “Because I’m exhausted.” He paused, glaring at Jade. “And I’ve lost my appetite.”
Calvario inclined his head at Jade. She sighed, nodding. “Go on, pet,” Calvario murmured. Sulu bent, defiantly kissing the older man before turning and striding off in the direction of his room.
“Forgive him, Jade,” Calvario began. “I fear I have requested an impossibility…”
“Nonsense,” Jade returned, waving a hand dismissively. “We haven’t even gotten started. I didn’t expect this to be as easy as last time.” And she smiled to accentuate the irony.
Calvario smiled back. “I will try to give you all the cooperation I can. It will not be easy, I am a man set in my ways…”
“But you truly love him, Ruis,” she broke in. “I can see that. And that, in the long run, will make all the difference.”
Lane turned over in bed, then sat up at the realization that the other half was empty. “Lights, one quarter,” he said, then blinked as even that dim illumination was momentarily painful. “Jeremy?” he called. There was no answer, which meant he wasn’t in the bathroom.
Sighing, Lane threw the blankets aside and got out of bed. He grabbed the black robe that lay across the nightstand, belting it as he padded to the bedroom door. It slid open. The living area was dark, but there was light coming from the office.
“Jeremy?” he called again, and this time got, “In here, Lane,” from the office for an answer.
Lane stopped in the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee, knowing that if Cobra was up this late, there’d be a pot made. Then he moved to the office.
Jeremy was sitting at the computer, staring at Clave records, a statboard covered with notes on the desk beside the viewscreen.
“I finished the pot,” Lane told him, bending down to kiss his forehead. “You couldn’t sleep?”
“I’m going to see Sulu again,” Jeremy muttered. “What do you think?”
Lane pulled up another chair, sitting down and putting his feet up on the desk. “I think you’re obsessing again.”
Jeremy ignored the accusation. “The sick-fuck wants him cleaned up again, for what?” he said. “So he can abuse him for another five years? Why does a shrink want his history? Why before he met Calvario? What could that possibly have to do with…”
“Cobra,” Lane interrupted, “she’s a good doctor, she knows her shit and she’s ethical to boot.”
“Does she think that being with someone other than the tricks the son-of-a-bitch lines up for him will make it all better?” Jeremy went on as if Lane hadn’t spoken. “Does she really think the bastard will let him stay off the chemicals? Doesn’t she know what that motherfucker needs to get off?”
“I’m sure she’s done her homework.” Lane didn’t feel it prudent to add that if she was staying at the penthouse, there was no avoiding the truth of Calvario’s relationship with Kamikaze.
“What can I do anyway? I don’t know him anymore. Sometimes I wonder if I ever did. Why ask me, what does she really want…”
“Let it go, zevran,” Lane said gently. “Do what you told Dr. Han you’d do, and let it go
Jeremy swiveled in his chair, his face a mask of raw agony. “What has that sick-fuck done to him?!”
Lane stood, putting down his cup of coffee. He cupped his hands behind the younger man’s head, pulling it to his chest, running his fingers over the tight curls. “We can call back,” he whispered. “You don’t have to put yourself through this. We don’t have to go.”
“God, Lane, how can you say that!” Jeremy sobbed, pulling away from the embrace.
“Because he doesn’t, can’t, won’t ever love you, that’s how.” It was painful for the Haven to watch the shamed, stricken look come over his lover’s face, but he knew too well it was a necessary cruelty. “So if you don’t want to go through with it…”
There were several minutes of tormented silence, then Jeremy murmured, “No. If there’s even a chance we could help him – whatever’s wrong…”
Lane sighed. He hadn’t, of course, expected any other answer. “Then come back to bed,” he urged. “We’ll start chronicling the bad old days for Dr. Han first thing in the morning.” He let a lascivious smile cross his features. “And I’ll make you forget all about it till then, done deal.”
Jeremy smiled back but it was wan and the dark brown eyes remained anguished. Still, he managed to reply “Done,” then rose from the chair, switching off the viewscreen. Lane drained his coffee cup, then followed the tall Human back to the bedroom. He kept a firm lid on his own feelings of grief and trepidation. If Cobra got through this, there’d be time enough for dealing with that. And if he didn’t, none of it would matter anyway.
To Be Continued...