Dire Straits (6 page)

His meaning could not have been plainer, and Bannick smiled a slow, hot smile in reply. "Now, I'll just assume that question is rhetorical, Ez."

Matching his smile, Ezell settled his hat on his head and slung his saddlebags over one shoulder, then led the way out of the enormous Citadel Train Station, the primary station in Crown City. Out in the street, Ezell caught up one of the many runner boys flitting about and gave him a coin. "Run to house 113 on Rue St. George. Tell them that Master Ezell will be home in half an hour with a guest, and food and baths would be greatly appreciated."

Taking the coin, the boy tugged politely on the brim of his cap then bolted off, hollering to two other boys, all three vanishing around the corner at the end of the street.

"Shall we then?" Ezell said and flagged down one of the open public carriages so common this time of year when it was simply too hot to endure a closed carriage if not strictly necessary. Bannick climbed in and settled on the seat opposite Ezell, removing his hat and scrubbing a hand through his sweat-damp curls. Settling his hat again, he said, "I'm looking forward to that bath something fierce."

Ezell scratched at his own rough, unshaven face. "It will be nice," he agreed. "I hate not being able to shave."

"Well, now, I wouldn't say it's a bad thing you can't," Bannick said with a smile, looking him thoroughly up and down. "Not bad at all."

"I think you wear rough better, gunslinger. I still like a bit of city polish when opportunity permits."

Bannick laughed, and they slid into a comfortable silence as the hackney slowly fought through city congestion. Almost forty minutes later, they finally pulled up in front of an elegant blue and white townhouse, complete with a wrought iron fence and red rose bushes.  Bannick shook his head. "City slicks."

Ezell laughed then hopped down neatly and flipped the driver a silver coin.  "Come on, gunslinger. Bath and food."

Inside, the house was shaded, cool, and smelled of roses and roasting meat. Bannick's stomach rumbled, but he was still more interested in getting clean.  A woman came through a doorway at the back of the hall, wiping her hands on her apron. She was younger than Bannick had expected—couldn't have been much older than he was, really.

"Rosy," Ezell greeted. "Thanks for making dinner and drawing the baths. Sorry for the short notice."

Rosy scoffed, her eyes on Bannick. "Ye might've told me we had fancy company coming, Master Ez. Father, welcome to our humble home."

"It's beautiful," Bannick replied. "And that dinner smells marvelous. Thank you for having me, ma'am."

"My pleasure," Rosy said, flushing. "Shall I get a room ready for you, Father?"

Ezell shook his head and replied, "That won't be necessary. How's Jimmy?"

"Well. Sent him down to the pub for some beer. Go get clean, then, Master Ez. The water's drawn, call if you need me to heat it. Supper should be ready in an hour. Father." She nodded politely to Bannick then vanished back into the kitchen.

"Stop charming my housekeeper," Ezell said, grinning over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs.

Bannick laughed then removed his hat and hung it on a hook by the door before following Ezell upstairs.  Ezell led him halfway down the upstairs hall, then into a room that proved to be a washing room.  It was handsome, the sort of thing he didn't see except in fancy houses like this.

Ezell's was a bit different, though, in that it had two bath tubs set up in the middle of the room. "Nice, city slick."

Shrugging, Ezell replied, "My mother was really fond of her washing room. My father had the idea of two tubs—there were so many of us in this house growing up."

Bannick knelt and examined the runes on the side of the porcelain tub nearest him, smiling. "And a much easier way to heat the water." Laying his hand over the marks, he spoke the activation. Once his water began to steam, he moved and did the same to Ezell's tub.

"Thanks," Ezell said. "Normally, Rosy does it for me. She must have assumed that being a priest, you'd be able to do it fine."

Nodding, Bannick stood and began to pull off his clothes, carefully setting his guns out of the way first before shucking all the rest, piling it in a tidy heap. "Should have sent for clothes at my house first."

"We can send someone later,"  Ezell replied. "I'm sure there's stuff here you can wear in the meantime. My eldest brother is about your size, and he's always leaving clothes here when he's in the city and stays a few days."

"Is that the one who was going to be a doctor?" Bannick asked.

Ezell laughed. "You remember. Yeah, that's him. But he gave up the respectable life to become an actor. He's doing very well, from what I hear. Never have gotten to see one of his plays."  He laughed again. "Let me tell you how pleased my parents were to hear their darling eldest had given up the respectable life of a doctor to take up
acting.
After that shock, they were not terribly impressed to hear I had become demon fused. I think sometimes they regard it as a step
up
from a mere academic professor."

Bannick laughed with him, but it turned into a groan as he finally slid into the hot water. "That feels good."

Ezell made soft noses of agreement as he slid into his own tub. After that, they spent the next hour washing, scrubbing, and shaving, interspersing it with light, easy conversation.  Sometimes, for brief little snatches, it was almost hard to believe they'd not seen each other for nearly fourteen years.

As Bannick felt more human, however, he became increasingly aware they were alone, naked, and did not have anywhere to be 'til morning. He glanced at Ezell, unable not to, and their eyes met—and just like that, they were out of the tubs, clinging and kissing and touching as if their lives depended on it, wet and hot from their baths, smelling of soap and rapidly increasing lust.

"Bed," Ezell gasped out and tore away with effort, dragging Bannick out of the washing room through a second door, leading into what was obviously the master suite.  It seemed like a handsome room, but Bannick was really only interested in the bed.

He pushed Ezell down onto it then climbed on top of him, bending down to take a kiss that gave no quarter. Ezell kissed him back with equal heat, nails digging into Bannick's shoulders as he tugged Bannick closer, spreading his legs for Bannick to settle between them.

"You're still the finest addiction I ever met," Bannick rumbled, pressing wet, open-mouthed kisses across every bit of Ezell's skin he could reach. Ezell groaned and dug a hand into Bannick's curls, yanking him up for another hungry, bruising kiss.

"Never stopped missing you," Ezell said.

Bannick nibbled at his jaw, his throat. "Same. But we're here now, and we'll figure something out, 'cause I ain't walking away from you again. Right now, though, all I want to figure out is where you keep your oil." Laughing, Ezell pushed him up, off, then rolled over and fumbled in the table by the bed.

Unable to resist the temptation so sweetly offered, Bannick bent and nipped hard at Ezell's ass, chuckling as Ezell yelped and jerked around—and then Bannick was faced with Ezell's cock, and he wasn't resisting that temptation, either.  He licked, lapped, teasing until a sure hand sank into his hair again and a voice growled,
"Suck."

Bannick looked up, meeting fractured eyes, and smirked.  Then he bent his head and took Ezell's cock in his mouth, sucking hard.

Ezell groaned his name, the demon growl slipping way for the moment. Bannick wondered briefly what it would be like with the demon elements fully in control, but he figured he would know the answer sooner or later.   But for the moment, he could only focus on Ezell, on sucking, on drawing out needy pleas, hungry groans, and desperate moans.

When Ezell finally came, it was with a barely muffled shout. Bannick swallowed him down, pulling slowly off Ezell's cock once he'd stilled.  Crawling up Ezell's body, Bannick kissed him deeply.

"Fuck me," Ezell said when they broke apart. "I want to see how much you've improved with age."

Laughing, Bannick stole another quick, sharp kiss then retrieved the forgotten oil and slicked his fingers. Kissing and nipping his way back down Ezell's body, he stroked teasingly at his cock and balls before sliding between them to stretch and prepare Ezell.

Ezell gasped, shifted, hips moving, body pleading for more. Bannick obliged, swiftly progressing from one to two fingers. When he had Ezell begging and writhing, he withdrew his fingers and lined up his cock—then thrust inside, making Ezell cry out, making his eyes fracture with yellow.

Smirking, he grasped Ezell's hips and started up a hard rhythm, until Bannick came with a cry he forgot to muffle.

They collapsed together in a sweaty, tangled heap. Bannick pressed a soft kiss to Ezell's sweaty brown liking that Ezell smelled like them, like sex. Then he rolled out of bed before he lost all will to move, fetching a rag from the washing room to clean them up.

Tossing it aside when he was done, he climbed back into bed and tangled himself up with Ezell again.  "We should really get up and enjoy that dinner your housekeeper so kindly made for us," he said after a few minutes, but made no effort to move.

"Mm-hmm," Ezell replied, shifting slightly, curling into him more, already at least half asleep. Bannick laughed softly and shifted enough to pull up the blankets before settling in and drifting off to sleep himself.

When he woke later, it was to fingers in his ass and a hot mouth around his cock. Bannick gasped, head landing with a thump on his pillow as he arched into that damned fine mouth.  When he was finally able to lift his head, he stared down into a hot, yellow gaze. "Ez—"

Laughing, Ezell pulled off his cock and removed his fingers, and that was all the warning Bannick had before he was being fucked as hard as he had earlier fucked Ezell. So different, he thought hazily. Ezell of fourteen years ago had been nothing like this. He'd been eager and willing, but still shy enough he'd never taken the lead or even initiated much. He'd always been happy to let Bannick be in control.

Bannick did not at all mind this new aspect, someone who was not intimidated in the slightest by him and was more than willing to take all that Bannick could offer—and whatever it made him, he did not mind at all that animal yellow light of demon eyes. Perhaps it was only natural, given how well he'd taken to drinking demon blood. Or maybe he just liked the hint of danger, the hint of dark path, to it all.  Blood priests weren't known for timidity, after all.

He felt every inch as Ezell pulled out and then thrust back in, rocking them, the bed, and this time when he came he did not have to worry about muffling his scream. Ezell bent and took his mouth, kissing him hard, and the sharp taste of demon blood flooded his mouth as they both came.

Hot, sticky, dizzy—Bannick could do nothing more than lay panting for several minutes, and gods have mercy, but that had just made him
like
waking up.

"What time is it?" he asked when he could think again.

"Little after seven," Ezell replied, still a bit of growl to his voice. He sat on the edge of the bed, clearly trying and failing to make himself get out of it.

Bannick thought it would not be much longer before Ezell and his demon were so fused as to be indistinguishable. He smiled faintly and sat up, wrapping an arm around Ezell and dropping a soft kiss on his shoulder. "We're due at the Temple in a little over an hour, then. But after we report, we should get the rest of the day off."

"I hope so," Ezell said and turned enough to take a proper kiss, lingering, before he finally pulled away and stood up. "Come on, then. Your clothes are there." He motioned to the trunk at the foot of the bed.

Sighing, Bannick climbed out of bed—then stopped in surprise. "These are
my
clothes. How—"

Ezell laughed. "I woke up for a little while, earlier. Ate dinner, sent Jimmy to your house to fetch what you'd need for today. Your landlady, he observed, was terrifying."

"She is," Bannick agreed. "Guess I was more tired than I realized, to sleep as long as I did. Thanks for fetching my stuff." He strode briefly into the wash room to clean himself up, then returned to the bedroom and swiftly dressed. As he was going to the Temple, his clothes were of better quality than his everyday clothes, though he still wore only slacks, shirt, vest, and frock coat.  Securing his collar with his pin, he then buckled on his guns, checking each before holstering them. He never felt the same without his gun belt; he'd grown far too used to the weight and feel of it, the presence.

He turned to Ezell and took a moment just to admire. There was still something of the scholar about Ezell, but he mostly just looked like the mages of old in the black coat with its double row of buttons, the long hair, and the fractured eyes. As if he were just this side of tamed and would go feral in a moment. It was not a look he'd ever expected to see on Ezell, but he liked it as much as the sweet smile that Ezell offered him.

"Shall we go, then?" Ezell asked. "The sooner we go, the sooner we're hopefully free."

Bannick nodded, and they  made their way out of the house, Bannick grabbing up his hat as they left. Out on the street, they started walking.  From Ezell's house, he could see the Pantheon, the colorful spires and globes of the Crown Palace, the Temple, the Armory, and the Great Cathedral. From Rue St. George, it was an easy walk, and any time of day in the city, walking was faster than riding.